Chapter 7: Ranko's story.

"So there I was in the pool that pops had knocked me into, looking at these great big breasts sticking out of my chest, You have no idea how pissed I was." Ranma was explaining Jusenko to Nabiki who was going through various stages, first she had been disbelieving then sympathetic now she was desperately trying not to laugh her ass off.

"The guide is all 'very tragic story' and 'poor mister customer' and I take one look at him then look at dad. I took off after him as fast as I have ever run in my entire life and whoo you should'a seen the beatin' I gave him when I caught the fat shit." Nabiki was nodding soberly, still trying to quell the smile.

"So that's when you went to the Amazon village?" she said, mouth wobbling.

"Yeah, an of course they are all treatin me like a girl an stuff, so you can imagine how happy I am. Dad scoffs the prize, I challenge Xian and everything goes to shit all over again. I get the first real kiss from a girl and not only am I a girl at the time but I'm also being told that I'm dead meat."

"That's just too bad" Nabiki said, really trying for sincere through her smile.

"We leg it. An Xian just keeps chasing us. Every time we think we've lost 'er she turns up, 'Ranma, you I kill! She shouts" he said imitating Xian's cute attempt at Japanese. "And if that ain't bad enough one of the first thing she shoots is my goddamn water pot. It was ages till either dad or I got any hot water."

"That's too bad" Nabiki said, smile fading a bit at the genuine distate in Ranma's account.

"Worse than you think," he added, "Cuz it was a long time, like longer than a month" he finished ominously. Nabiki was puzzled for a second, made the connection and burst into peals of laughter.

"Hey, its not funny I thought I was dyin'" Ranma argued. She only laughed the harder. HE sat there doing a manly pout.

"Oh come on" she said "It IS that funny. Imagine how Genma must have felt, getting his ass handed to him by a cute little red head. Imagine how badly he was shitting himself over having to try and explain what exactly was happening 'down there'" Ranma thought about it for a moment and then smiled.

"Okay, maybe that is a bit funny." He agreed, "But the rest of it really wasn't. You any idea how long it took me to get used to peeing from a squat?" She looked at him with another attempt at a serious face, but it was ruined by the corner of her mouth twitching.

"So that was what all the mix up in the village was about?" Nabiki said.

"Most of it," Ranma replied.

"Only most?" she asked.

"There was this guy Mu Tse, he had a different problem" Ranma answered.

"Had?" Nabiki asked, guessing the answer.

"By the end it was kill him or die by his hand," Ranma answered.

"Something to do with Xian" Nabiki guessed.

"HE loved her, she chose me, I didn't protect her well enough, he came after my blood, I spilt his." Ranma replied.

"There's more to this" Nabiki observed.

"He was really rude about what Xain and I had, and I was still hurting real bad." Ranma said quietly, "Maybe, just maybe I could have calmed things down but to be honest I just needed to hurt someone. Turned out to be him"

"So you still had he curse when you joined X-Com?" Nabiki asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, but we were inside and I sorta managed to hide it most o' the time" Ranma replied. Nabiki looked doubtful.

"Okay some o' the guys sorta guessed but you gotta remember this was in the darkest days. Nobody really cared, back then you didn't even ask someone else's full name. There just wasn't any point in getting attached to someone who was gonna die that soon. 'Specially since you might have to be the one that killed 'em." This did manage to sober Nabiki's mood up. "Xian helped a lot too, an Sam, when she got over the impossibility of it."

"Sam knows?" Nabiki asked "who else?"

"All the bigwigs of the original base, an Kodachi of course."

"Of course?" Nabiki asked.

"She was my shrink remember," Ranma replied, "Fortunately she ain't into women, that woulda freaked me out." He finished with a shiver. Nabiki's smile was back.

"So you were never tempted to…'experement'?" she asked, teasingly.

"Oh sure I was," Ranma replied, honestly "but being tempted and doing are two different things. Xian and I spent the night together that way and she may have given me a few 'pointers' but we never really 'got it on' that way."

"Why not?" Nabiki asked.

"Cuz one I got the fix pretty soon after we started 'going out'" he explained, making it clear that they didn't do a lot of actual dating, " and two Xian and I were usually too busy screwing each other to get kinky."

"water's getting cold" Nabiki said, standing up out of it, and deriving no small amount of satisfaction from the way his eyes devoured her body. "You just going to sit there stud, or do I get a towel?" she said, striking a bit of a pose. He put the baby down in her cot and came back holding a towel. He dropped it. She was unprepared for his passionate attack. But the resulting tender 'embrace' went a long way to convincing her that whatever he felt for Xian he was all hers now.

-

-

"You said fix" Nabiki said, "not cure." The two of them were lying on the slightly damp bed, with her half on top of him, luxuriating in their afterglow. Nabiki was feeling inquisitive. IT always seemed to affect her this way, and he always was more pliable afterwards.

"Uh-huh" Ranma replied. "Not cured" he added simply. She stroked his hair back, kissed him and said,

"Details Saotome!"

He grunted and reluctantly answered, "Can still change but takes REALLY cold water."

"Like ice?" Nabiki asked.

"Uh-huh, lots of," he replied, immediately wishing he hadn't. Just the calculating look on her face gave him chills. "Nabiki no!" he commanded.

"Isn't a girl entitled to see what her lover looks like in the flesh?" she asked, pouting a little, but her eyes were still sparkling with mischief.

"No!" Ranma replied.

"Please" she begged.

"No" he replied.

-

The two of them were walking through a park on their way to Ukyo's hand in hand. Ranma, in girl form was pouting like mad.

"This is really awkward" he grumbled. Nabiki just smiled, that twinkle still there.

"But you're sooo cute" she said. He snarled back, incidentally looking cuter. Nabiki couldn't resist so she kissed him. He stopped looking at her stunned.

"Nabs, I am a chick at the moment" he said. She wrapped her arms around his-her shoulders.

"I do have eyes" she said.

"But what about the people?" he began.

"As if I care," she said, "I love you, not just your body," she added. "Besides who says they haven't seen me with a girl before."

"Wha?" Ranma asked confused and happy at the same time.

"You are not the only one with a past," Nabiki said, and then led him off towards the restaurant.

-

-

Nabiki and Ranma-girl were sitting at the counter in Ukyo's place both trying hard to hide their feelings. Ranma was trying to hide his discomfort over Konatsu's discreet approaches, and Ukyo's waxing lyrical about his male form's good 'qualities;' while at the same time Nabiki was trying hard not to laugh at this same discomfort.

"So he's got a new arm grafted?" Ukyo was asking "Damn they can do some amazing stuff these days."

"Yes they sure can" Nabiki said. "I bet they could even totally someone's body" she added, smiling.

"Do you reckon?" asked Konatsu.

"Sure of it," Nabiki replied. "In fact my friend here-"

"Nabiki!" Ranma warned.

"Oh sorry, forget I said anything" Nabiki replied with false apologies. Konatsu looked at Ranma all the more appraisingly.

"I am going to make you pay for this Nabiki" Ranma whispered in English.

"Huh?" asked Ukyo. "You say something sugar?"

"Nah" Ranma replied, digging into his food with a vengeance.

"Whoa girl" Ukyo said, causing a wink, "Girl as pretty as you should watch her figure." Ranma started growling under his breath. Nabiki had to run to the ladies, before she burst. Even so they all heard her braying in the toilets. Ukyo looked around.

"Was it something I said?" she asked cluelessly.

It was at that moment that Ranma and Nabiki's phones both sounded an alarm. Ranma flipped his open, grabbed his food in one hand and started for the door. Nabiki was only two strides behind.

"Sorry Ucchan" he said "gotta run!" And then they were gone.