'Older'
Chapter 2
"Of all the moronic, irresponcible, asinine Things That Daddy's done..." Nabiki grumbled, finding it just too early in the morning to be dealing with an ordeal like this. Ranma on the other hand, was very eager to deal with it, a she was quickly packing his belongings in order to begin his hunt for his father. The middle Tendou sister turned back to the pigtailed boy, as he was gathering what little he had taken out, and grumbling irritably to himself.
"...don't know what type of scheme you're try'n ta pull, Pop, but if you think you can just abandon me like that, you got another thing coming, like a whole world, no a whole GALAXY of hurt! I'm..."
"Ranma..."
"...then, I'm gonna..."
"Ranma."
"No, that'll be too good for ya! I know! I'm..."
"RANMA!"
"Huh?" The pigtailed young man turned to the woman, almost as if noticing her for the first time since he had handed her the letter.
"As upset as you should be," Nabiki began in a calm tone, "I don't think it's wise to just run off half-cocked like this."
"I ain't about to let my Pops get away with something like this!" Ranma argued, before turning back to pack.
"I know how you feel, Ranma," Nabiki continued, "But, firstly, do you even know where our fathers are heading?"
"Ah.. no..."
"So you plan on tracking them down? Do you even have an idea where to begin?"
"Well, I..." Ranma didn't even consider finishing the notion. He knew full well that his Pops was not going to be found if he didn't want to be.
Feeling the advantage, Nabiki continued, ticking off a third point on her fingers, "Even if you did know where to start looking for them, do you even have the funds to do so?"
"I never needed much before!" Ranma retorted.
"That's besides the point," Nabiki argued, "My guess is neither of them are going to want to be located, and will especially be looking out for you.
"I guesss that's true," Ranma replied, hesitantly.
The woman put her hands on Ranma's shoulders, "Listen, Ranma. I think I know how I can find them, but it's still going to take a bit of time."
"How do you think you can do it?" Ranma challenged.
"Does your Dad have that much money?"
"Well, no... he usually just, kinda... took what he needed when we had to. Or he worked a few odd jobs during our training trip."
Nabiki nodded at the confirmation of her suspicions, about Ranma's father's financial status, "Well, Daddy's got a good deal of money to live off of. And as much as he enjoys the romantic idea of being the poor martial artist, I doubt he would tolerate it for too long."
What does that have to do with anything?" Ranma argued further.
"I'm a co-signer on one of his credit cards... in case he ever got into trouble," Nabiki added, "and the one we hold in joint is the one with the largest balance on it."
Ranma tilted his head, somewhat impressed with the idea, "I guess that would probably work. If Pops doesn't have to, he won't live in squawler. But what am I supposed to do in the meantime?"
Nabiki's eyes turned away, before she turned back to him with a mischivous smile, "Well, we *could* use that time to get to... know each other better..."
The woman sighed at the speed Ranma backed against the wall behind him. "I was just kidding. I guess we can put you up at Kasumi's for time being. Better yet, you'll probably stay here, since Kasumi will probably stay to watch over the home while Daddy's gone. That way we can get you enrolled in school."
Ranma's expression contorted, "School? Why do I have to go to school?"
"Because I won't have any fiance of mine without an education!" Nabiki retorted sternly, she was rather enjoying teasing this young man.
Ranma didn't even seem to notice the barb, "Man, this sucks."
With a slight cute pout of dissappointment, Nabiki concluded the subject, "Well, I'm going to go take a bath. It's been a while since I've used the traditional bath here. You just make yourself comfortable, and you're on your own for breakfast." With that, Nabiki turned, and went upstairs to gather supplies.
Once she left, Ranma let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding.
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"Okay, Ranma, Kasumi's on her way..." Nabiki stopped, and took a sniff of the air, "Ranma, is that you?"
The pigtailed boy in question poked his head out of the kitchen, just as a fully dressed Nabiki made her way there through the tearoom, "Is what me?"
"What are you cooking?" The woman counter-questioned, as she brushed past Ranma through the doorway.
"Ah, it's not really anythin' much. I only got experience with a bit of campfood cooking and instant ramen," Ranma replied, somewhat nervously, "It's not anything complicated, just some rice, some eggs I found in the fridge, some boiled cabbage, and some of the fish in the freezer."
Nabiki sighed, but decided beggers couldn't be choosers, "Need any help with that?"
"Na, I was almost done, anyways. Uh, I made enough if you want some. I'm not the best cook... as Pops was fond of always reminding me..."
"Heh, as long as you aren't on par with my younger sister when she was your age," Nabiki quipped, before grabbing a couple of plates, glasses, and some utensils to eat with. "Did you make any tea?"
"Um... I had a kettle boiling," Ranma replied, though thinking about the fact that it wasn't exactly being prepared for tea. He knew enough for the past two weeks that the curse had a tendicy to activate when he least expected it.
Several minutes later, Ranma walked into the tearoom, and set all four dishes he had prepared on the table. As Nabiki was sitting at the far end of the table, he somewhat self-conciously sat at the other far end. "Kasumi? Which one was that?"
"My eldest sister," Nabiki replied.
"The one not married?"
Nabiki nodded, serving herself, "Yeah, but try not to bring that up when she gets here. It's a pretty sore spot with her."
"Ah," Ranma quietly started on his meal, just before Nabiki. The middle Tendou sister dug into the cabbage first, and paused after the first bite.
"Um..." Nabiki started with a tight voice, "Not, not bad." She quickly took a chug of the glass of water before her, which didn't go unnoticed by Ranma.
"Yeah, the rice balances out the cabbage... I kind of like a lot of flavor in my food."
Nabiki estimated she had to have tasted about half a bottle of soy sauce in that bite, though she was sure it was an exaduration, "It's alright, everyone has their preference. Um..."
"I usually don't spice the fish much, got accustomed to how it usually tastes."
Nabiki cheerfully nodded at the answer, and took a bite. Not bad, it flaked pretty well, and not a hint of over-softness or toughness. "You cook often?"
"Not really, just when we couldn't afford a lot, or... scrounge up much."
"I see," Nabiki decided to let that subject slide, "Anyways, you'll be staying here with Kasumi, just as soon as I tell her."
"How come you didn't just tell her when you called her?" Ranma enquired.
"Well, you see... heh heh...." Nabiki quickly took a bite of the eggs, and frowned as she bit into a piece of shell, "It was probably best to wait until she got here. Don't want to run up the phone bill, you know?"
"Right..." Ranma replied, sceptically. "When can you get to work on locating my Pops and yours?"
"Right away, though I have to wait for him to use his card, so we will probably have a wait. I can't believe Daddy would do something so irresponcible!"
"Well, I can believe my Pop would, and probably was all his idea."
Nabiki smiled, and nodded, "I guess, I couldn't fathom my father doing something like this on his own accord."
"You say."
"Pardon me?" Nabiki replied back with a bit of an arched tone.
The change in demeanor didn't slide by Ranma, "I mean, you know your Pops more than I do! I mean, my Pops most likely instigated the whole thing!"
Nabiki relaxed a bit, before turning down to her meal, "I apologise about that. I didn't quite catch what you had meant."
"N-no problem," Ranma replied, visibly sagging. He thought about it, and realized it probably did sound a bit accusing on his behalf.
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"No."
"Kasumi, you're being unreasonable," Nabiki counted, rubbing her temples.
Kasumi took a slow drag of her cigerette, but her gaze never waivered, "No."
"Kasumi, it's just until I find Daddy! You're already going to be staying here until he gets back, so why can't you just take Ranma, too?"
"Because I already have two kids of my own to take care of," the eldest Tendou daughter flicked her ashed tip off the porch into the grass, "He's your fiance, after all."
"He CAN'T stay with me!" Nabiki retorted. Her older sister cut her off before she could respond.
"And why not?"
"It... it would be ackward! That's why! Besides, I don't have that much room!"
"I've seen your place, it's almost as big as here."
"I mean for him to practice! At least here he has a dojo!"
Kasumi remained unfettered, "Your backyard's big enough for a good workout."
"Come on, Kasumi!"
"Don't whine, it's unbecoming a woman your age."
"SO IS HAVING A YOUNG MAN HALF MY AGE AS A FIANCE!"
Undaunted, Kasumi took another puff of her cigerette, turned away, and exhaled, "No."
Nabiki's head drooped, "Why are you being so stubborn."
"Why are you?"
Nabiki tossed her hands into the air. Kasumi was her only hope, and Akane already said she was going to be leaving within the next couple of days, "Alright, alright. I guess he's going to have to stay with me."
"I'm glad you're accepting your wifely duties," Kasumi said with a straight face. Nabiki nodded, and turned away, before pausing, and turning back to glare at the wicked smile on Kasumi's face.
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"Are you sure this is wise, Saotome?"
"Of course, Tendou!" the stout man in a very ill-fitting blue business suit replied, as he shifted uncomfortable in his coach-class seat, "If we just give them time alone with one another, they'll grow together!"
"I'm not quite so sure of this plan, my friend," the man wearing the olive brown business suit replied, while adjusting his seatbelt for the umpteenth time, "They both did seem adimant about their ages..."
"Not to worry, Tendou! Why, just remember that love conquers all, including age!"
"You're right, Saotome! Right indeed!"
"And you made sure that your daughter Nabiki will be stuck with my son?"
Soun frowned, "I think Kasumi went along with it, mainly for the humor factor if it, but she gave her word to comply with my wishes."
"Good!" Genma replied, before nervously turning a quick glance out the window, "Then nothing can go wrong! Ah... right?"
"Saotome, honestly. Have you never been on a plane before?" Genma's nervous smile, and finger indentures into the armrests easily answered the question.
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Ranma was irritated.
It wasn't that he minded carrying Nabiki's rather light luggage, or that he had to walk two blocks while doing it. Only a wuss would complain about stupid things like that, and dear Ranma was far from a wuss. So then, why was he irritated?
Because Nabiki was irritated.
As any war-weary male will tell you, a woman's irritability is contagious. Like an overbearing fog of tension, anyone within its radius will be reduced to an inexcusing, obnoxious, intolerant miserable being capable of producing great despair upon those around them. As luck would have it, usually the ones around are the ones also suffering from the same affects.
"I don't see why I have to go to your place. Did you have to live so far?" Ranma grumbled, looking out the window of Nabiki's BMW.
"For the last time, shut UP!" Nabiki retorted, "and it's not like i WANT you there, but until we come up with something else, i'm stuck with you."
"Oh great, I'm stuck at an old woman's house. Pop is *so* gonna feel the pain for thi-OW!"
"You call me an old woman ONE more time, and I swear I'm going to hit you!"
"You ALREADY hit me! Do women get more violent as they get older or something?"
"No, they only get more violent when they're stuck in traffic with obnoxious, bratty punks!"
"I ain't a brat! If you don't want me around, then just let me get my stuff and go after Pops!"
"And have you running all over on some wild goose chase? I don't think so, Ranma."
"What do you care?"
Nabiki readied another comment, before she realised herself. With a deep sigh, she brought her temper under control, "Ranma, please, let's just get through this right now, one step at a time, alright? If you're coming to stay with me, the least we can do is be civil to one another."
"Yeah, well you started it."
"WELL I'M FINISHING IT!" Nabiki turned and shouted, feeling her already frayed temper beginning to snap.
"LOOK OUT!!!"
Nabiki turned, and screeched on the breaks, just in time to keep herself from rear-ending a taxi... at least severely.
The driver got out, and looked at his bumper to inspect the damage, while Nabiki banged her head against the steering wheel. This, is what she was getting herself into with Ranma. Feel the joy radiate from her being.
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"I mean, I couldn't even touch him, Dad! I've never seen anyone that good!"
"That's impressive, son. Could you hand me that beaker, please?"
"Auntie Akane says that he's supposed to practice Anything Goes, but that didn't look anything like Grandfather's style!"
"I see... the beaker, son?"
"Oh, sorry Dad. I wonder if he can show me how he got so fast? I mean, it was like he knew my moves almost a day ahead of me doing them! Dad, Dad?"
"Right, day ahead, very fast."
Kaoru sighed, and slumped his back against the counter, "Mom's right, you barely pay attention to us."
Dr. Tofu stopped short, before turning a concerned eye towards his son, "What? Why do you think that?"
Kaoru celebrated internally at his victory. He knew his father's weakspot was always bringing up something about Mom, "I've been trying to talk to you, and you're barely paying attention!"
"Well, that's because I'm busy with something important, son. I try to keep up with you best I can, but I can only divide my attention so much from this."
That internal victory turned into a hollow one, "So, you're work's more important than me?"
With an irritated sigh, Ono ceased what he was doing, "Look, I love you, but this is extremely important to the people I'm doing this for. Don't you think that you're being a bit unfair?"
"I guess..."
Tofu patted his son on the back, "I'll tell you what? How about we call the Tendou home in a few minutes when I'm done? You can take me then to meet this illustrious Ranma who managed to defeat my own son in a sparring match, alright?"
A slight smile crept across the younger Tofu's face, "Okay, thanks, Dad."
Tofu turned back to his work, "No problem, son, but let me concentrate on this for the time being so I can get the done faster."
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Ranma walked in after Nabiki unlocked the door, still shuddering from witholding his laughter. Nabiki grumbled quietly to herself, as she made her way into her home, towards the kitchen.
Once she was gone, Ranma managed to control himself long enough to look around. It wasn't anywhere near as big as the Tendou home, but it was spacious for one or two people, big enough for a small family. the mother of pearl wallpaper and pale brown carpeting was asthetically pleasing, to say the least, and the pigtailed martial artist found himself a lot more relaxed than prior, of course that could be the fact that he was out of Nabiki's vicinity for the moment.
And the memory of Nabiki kissing up to the taxi driver to let it slide was definitely lifting his mood.
"Heh, 'look way too young to have a son that old,' Ranma mocked, as he made his way over to what he presumed was a western living room, or at least some sort of den. The blush couch that was lightly hued with baige, white, and a pale pink faced a fifty-two inch flat screen TV. He was rather surprised to find a Dreamcast and Playstation 2 attached to it, and wondered if Nabiki babysat often.
"Ranma, I'm making us some tea, so go ahead and get comfortable."
"Alright." Ranma looked around, somewhat disorientated, "Um... how?"
Nabiki paused from deciding what flavor of tea she was interested in at the moment. Did he just ask 'how'? "Why don't you put on some music or turn on the TV. The CDs and DVDs are in the cabinet to the left of the TV. I use the PS2 as my DVD player."
Ranma frowned slightly. He wasn't much of the movie watcher, at least he didn't have to stay still while listening to music. His frown got deeper, as he skimmed through nabiki's music collection.
"Bonnie Pink... John Denver... Earth Wind and Fire... Ken Hirai... Keiko Matsui... Pizzicato Five... Ryuchi Sakamoto... Sting... uh, do you have anything... um... good?"
"They're *all* good, Ranma," Nabiki quipped from the kitchen, "if you want to go get them, I have some Hikaru Utada cds out in my car."
"Ah, no thanks," Ranma declined, choosing to look around at the portrait landscape pictures hung around neatly.
"What's a matter, Ranma? The great and mighty martial artist too lazy to walk to the garage?"
Ranma chose (correctly) not to reply to the quip. "Who took these pictures?"
"I did," Nabiki answered behind Ranma, as she handed him a cup of tea, "Don't spill any on the couch or rug, please."
"Sure." Ranma watched Nabiki sit down on the couch, and almost daintily, but authoritively, drape one leg over the other one, while reclining into the back.
Nabiki took a deep breath of relaxation, before lifting her head to take a sip of her apple and allspice tea with cream and liberal amounts of honey. After several moments, she noticed Ranma just standing there, before he quickly turned his head back to the blown up photographs.
Nabiki chuckled, before setting her beverage down on the coffee table, and patting the seat beside her, "Relax, Ranma, I'm not going to bite."
Almost cautiously, Ranma sat down next to Nabiki, albeit with distance between them. "What's that one from?"
Nabiki looked to where he was pointing, which depicted a tall castle overlooking a large crystal lake, and took a quick sip of her tea before setting it back down with both hands, "Ludveig's Castle in Germany. I was their during my tour through Europe."
"Oh, and that?"
"Company vacation seminar in Cancun. The one next to it was a beach in Northern California in the U.S."
"You mean America?"
Nabiki smirked lightly, "Yeah, that's what I mean."
"The only place I've been abroad was China," Ranma replied, looking at the last picture.
"What was it like?" Nabiki enquired, leaning a bit closer to Ranma in interest.
"I guess it was nice... up until Pop got me cursed."
"You know? That's the first time since I met you last night that you mentioned your curse."
Ranma paused, realizing she was right, "Hmm, haven't thought about it since. Guess it's because I hadn't gotten splashed since yesterday."
"Maybe," Nabiki answered, "Listen, I'm going to finish up my tea, and then go set up the guest room for you. You're putting up your own clothes, though, and you're going to be handling your own laundary."
"Never had to have anyone else do it for me since I was eight," Ranma replied, almost sounding irritated at the insinuation.
"Good, because I barely like doing my own laundary," Nabiki joked. She brought herself to standing, and pat Ranma on his shoulder, "Excuse me a sec, ladies room..."
After Nabiki left, Ranma gave a slight hum of approval. Maybe staying with Nabiki wouldn't be all that bad after all...
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"I'm not so sure about this," Akane commented in English, folding laundary she had just done to go back into the suitcase.
Her husband calmly packed them back into the luggage, as his wife handed them to him, "It's their business. It's not like there's going to be anything that comes out of this."
"It's just not right for Dad to mess with Nabiki like this. Sometimes I swear, even if he does love us, he's so inconsiderate of our feelings."
"Hmm?" Thomas raised an eyebrow to his wife, "I remember a few comments from you on Nabiki's behalf."
"Jerk..." Akane grumbled, as she began to fold the clothes a bit roughly. The Native American knew his wife's sudden attitude shift wasn't going to be for the better, but fortunately knew how to counter it.
"But I'm your jerk, right?" He put his arms around the outside of Akane's shoulders, and rocked her side to side gently.
"Mmmm, no fair when I was about to get mad at you!"
"I prefer my wife happy, and me without the headaches... particularly from concussive blows."
"I'm not THAT bad!" Akane replied with a chuckle, "But you know? I can make me happier..."
"But the clothes..."
"We can refold them later," Akane replied, suggestively. Just before their lips met for a gentle kiss, the bed in the next room began to hammer against the wall.
With a growl, Akane jerked herself from her husband's arms, "BRUCE, STEVEN, I SWEAR IF YOU DON'T STOP JUMPING ON THE BED IN THERE..." Akane quickly got up, and left their hotel room to go into the next, leaving Thomas to chuckle, and sigh to himself. After a quick consideration, he decided to make a call back to the Tendou home to see how everything was going the morning after.
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Kasumi was in no rush to get to the phone. A great portion of her life was spent waiting on others, so she had decided in her latter years that people could wait for her every so often. Almost hesitatingly, she picked up the phone in the hall, "Tendou Residence... Good day, Thomas. Are you and Akane leaving already? Yeah, I wish you would, it would be nice to see you for more than a day, especially after four years. No, they're not here..."
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Thomas blinked in surprise, "I... see... if you would, tell Nabiki that I and Akane apologise for such a short visit, and tell Ranma.... um... to behave himself. We'll call before we leave. Good day to you, too, Kasumi."
"That was Kasumi?" Akane asked, walking back into the room, still somewhat irritated, and looking for something to take her mind off of her unminding children.
"Yeah," Thomas replied, turning to look at his wife, "She's at your father's right now."
"How is she? And how's Nabiki and Dad?"
"Your father went on a training trip," the Native American said, easily, before he turned away, and somewhat muffled his voice, "And Nabiki went back to her place with Ranma..."
Akane stopped abruptly, "What?"
"Nabiki took Ranma back to her place until their fathers returned."
Akane remained staring at her husband, unblinking for several moments, as she suddenly snapped out of whatever trance she was in. Suddenly, Akane was quickly unpacking luggage, and seperating her clothes from her husband's, "I think I'm going to remain here for a few more days. You go ahead and take the kids back home, and check up on things."
"Honey..."
"If any jobs call in for me, tell them I'll get back to them as soon as possible."
"Dear..."
Akane repacked the suitcase with her husband's stuff, "Don't worry about the rest of my clothing, I'll pick up a few things here for the time being. I'll also be staying at my Dad's..."
"Akaaaaaannnnnneeeeee...."
"I'll call you as soon as you're back in the U.S. okay?" Akane leaned over, and kissed her husband on the cheek, "Let me go tell the boys what's going on, and to mind you while I'm-"
As Akane was turning away, Thomas grabbed her arm, and firmly pulled her back towards him, "No."
"No? No what?" Akane asked with an obliviously confused stare.
"You're about to interfere with something that's none of your business."
"I WAS JOKING!" Akane shouted, sitting on the bed next to her husband with a perplexed expression, "They weren't supposed to take me seriously!"
"No, you weren't. You were going to go interfere with your sister and Ranma."
"I mean about THEM, THEM as a couple!" Akane exclaimed in exasperation, "I can't let them do this!"
"Honey, it isn't any of our business, and besides-"
"But he's so... so..."
Thomas gave a wry grin at being cut off, "Young?"
"EXACTLY!" Akane shouted, "I have to stop this, it's not right! Nabiki should KNOW better! She-"
"She does, dear..." Thomas interjected, finally getting a word in against his wife.
"But-"
His hand clamped over her mouth, keeping her from finishing her counter-argument. "Nabiki took Ranma because Kasumi was too busy to watch another boy, while your father's gone. That's all, okay?"
Once he was sure his wife understood what he was saying, he removed his hand from her mouth. "Are you sure?" Akane asked, not sounding to positive, herself.
"Like you said, your sister should know better..."
Akane slumped, "I guess you're right, but I'm still concerned..."
Thomas enveloped Akane into an affectionate hug, "Don't worry about it. Nabiki's a grown woman with a good head on her shoulders. She doesn't need her younger sister playing the part of the protective martial artist against some young man... even if she did want protecting..."
"What are you trying to insinuate?" Akane asked in an arched toned, turning her head towards her husband in displeasure.
Thomas sighed at his wife's temper, "Nothing, just that Nabiki will ask for help if she needs it, and she isn't planning to rob the cradle. You heard her last night."
"Yeah," Akane replied, chagrinned, "I guess I better pack my things again."
"Yes, we still have to be out of the hotel and to the airport in two hours." Akane nodded, gave her husband a kiss on the nose, before re-opening his suitcase.
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Kasumi grumbled, just as she was about to turn away from the phone. "Hello, Tendou Residence... Ono..."
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Dr. Tofu flinched at the way his ex-wife seemed to say his name almost as curse. He still loved her dearly, but apparently she was still feeling a bit... well... inhospitable towards him. With a deep breath, he kept his tone as pleasant as possible, "Hello, Kasumi. I heard you had a guest there that made an impression on our son last night..."
Tofu's expression went neutral at what Kasumi tersely told him. Covering the phonepiece, he turned towards Kaoru, "How old did you say Ranma was?"
"I think just a little older than me," Kaoru replied, "Why?"
The doctor's eyebrows climbed to his forehead, before he turned back to the phone with a strained smile, "Fiance, you say... Nabiki must feel very... fortunate..."
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Nabiki walked out of her den, adjusting her nightclothes that had bunched up a bit from sitting. She completed Ranma's paperwork for school rather quickly, having had the necessary documents required faxed to her.
She went out to the back yard, where Ranma had been practicing almost non-stop since earlier, "Ranma, I'm going to bed, so I need you to come in so I can activate the alarm."
After pausing, and wiping the sweat from his brow, Ranma nodded, and walked inside, being careful not to brush into Nabiki. With a slight grimace, Nabiki spoke again, "The bathing room's on the left down the hall, try not to be too long in it, okay?"
Not catching the veiled allusion to his current 'aroma', Ranma nodded again, "Thanks, shouldn't take me too long to wash up."
"I'm also going to be taking you to school tomorrow, so don't stay up too late." Expecting possibly some sort of argument, Nabiki was surprised at Ranma's easy agreement, before he made his way up the wire spiral staircase and to his temporary room to gather some bath supplies plus a change of clothes.
"I guess he isn't a bad kid, after all..." Nabiki mumbled softly to herself. Nabiki made her way to her own room, stripped out of pants of her silk pajamas, and retired under her covers with a novelette, before finally going to sleep about an hour or so later.
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Nabiki awoke to the obnoxious sound of her alarm clock. She dearly hated the thing, and couldn't even remember why she had set it. Of course, being far from a morning person as she could be, there wasn't much she remembered during the earliest hours of the day.
The limited capacity she was alloted focused on the need for caffinated stimulant, so that it could at least regain half her true mental capabilities. Druggedly, her feet shuffled against the thick carpet, as she scratched her ruffled hair. Barely even paying attention to her surroundings, she made her way around the stairway, and towards the kitchen, before she stopped just before running into an unrecalled obstacle.
Looking up sleepily, Nabiki opened her eyes a bit wider, to assist with identifying the young man that was currently standing in front of her, unmoving from a martial arts posture.
Suddenly, without the assistance of coffee, the lights fully came on upstairs, as Nabiki recalled Ranma staying at her house. As an after-thought, she looked down towards herself. That woke her right up.
Ranma watched the woman, dressed in nothing but her panties and a short-cut silk pajamma top, attempt to rush back to her room, while swearing obscenities about her idiocy. The swearing further escalated, as she clipped her bare leg against the spiral stairway.
With a sigh, Ranma stopped his morning exercises to see if she was okay.
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"Why were you doing them in the middle of my house?" Nabiki demanded, while shifting uncomfortably in the chair Ranma had carried her to and set her in.
The pigtailed boy returned from the bathroom, after raiding the medicine cabinet and the lennon closet for some disinfectant and a washcloth. "I couldn't go out to the backyard because you had your alarm set!" Ranma retorted, kneeling before Nabiki to inspect her leg.
Nabiki shifted again, but for other reasons than her pain. She never made it to her room, so she was still in her panties, with Ranma tenderly feeling around the wound in her leg. She resisted the urge to tense her leg, as Ranma gingerly cradled her well toned but supple calf with his let hand, while preparing to apply the antiseptic with his right. She was well aware of her situation; being half naked while a rather handsome, but much younger man attended her, but she concentrated on the reality of Ranma's rather professional attitude while he tended to her.
"Luckily you just skinned it," Ranma commented, as he delicately dabbed the sterilizing fluid on the washcloth onto her leg. Undaunted by the slight hiss Nabiki made at the contact, he cleaned up the thinly peeled skin that had been torn to the side, "You coulda caught it on one of the stair corners, you know?"
Nabiki's expression darkened at Ranma's unwitting admonishment. "Did you have to use my good linen for this?" She retorted, quickly trying to find fault with Ranma's cartaking, "It's not easy washing blood out, you know?"
"Hey! I coulda just let you bleed all over your rug, if that makes you happy!" Ranma shot back, staring up at her with irritated slate gray eyes.
"Excuse me, sorry," the woman placated, turning away, and bunching her shoulders closer to her neck in discomfort, causing her whole chest to rise.
Ranma nodded, before turning back to concentrate on his hostess's wound, and continued. "You have any ace bandages? A bandaid won't work on an abbraision this big..."
"Under your bathroom's sink," Nabiki answered, still not looking down at Ranma. The pigtailed boy got up, and went back to the bathroom. Once he was out of Nabiki's line of sight, he frowned slightly, before taking a deep breath. After several moments, he went under the sink, and retrieved a roll of bandage. He hesitated a few moments, before he gathered himself, and went back to Nabiki.
________________________
The morning continued it's ackward silence between Nabiki and Ranma. The pigtailed boy stared intently out the car window, trying not to turn his attention to Nabiki. Nabiki herself seemed to focused on her driving, so much that she was extremely tight lipped, regardless of all she wanted to say.
She wanted to say something to alleviate the ackward tension that hung between her and Ranma. This unwanted and somewhat disturbing feeling she was internally throwing fits over. A woman like her, getting a crush on a younger man just because he took care of a wound she clumbsily caused herself.
No, it wasn't a crush, Nabiki told herself sternly. She knew she was a lonely woman, and she had a ticking biological clock, that she didn't really think she would do anything about, badgering her on an instinctual level. With a refirmed resolve, Nabiki decided that the matter was settled, and there was nothing to discuss. After all, what would she say, anyways?
________________________
The students awaiting their morning classed paid very little mind to the apparently new student that had just happened upon St. Paul's high school campus. That, Ranma would have found a small blessing. Unfortunately, the woman currently walking in front of him was attracting their attention.
Ranma shifted his eyes around, observing the students, and with a wide-eyed realization, came to a conclusion. He wondered if Nabiki had realized it, so he thought it would be best to bring it up. "Ah, Nabiki?"
"Yes, Ranma?" the woman replied with a somewhat distant tone.
Not sure what to think about Nabiki's peculiar distancing, Ranma continued, "There's no girls here..."
"I know, it's an all boy school. Obviously there wouldn't be any girls here..."
Ranma groaned, but Nabiki ignored it, thinking Ranma's hormones were sounding disappointed. Ranma clarified his problem to her, "Nabiki, maybe you forgot about a certain water-triggered CURSE..."
Nabiki paused, before turning back to Ranma with an irritated expression. "Try not to get wet while you're here, then."
"It's NOT like I have control over when it gets triggered most times, you know?" Ranma argued back.
Nabiki was unphased, "You haven't changed once since yesterday, Ranma. You obviously have some control over it..."
Ranma's eyes went wide with fear, when he realized he hadn't changed since he was at the Tendous, "We have to get inside... NOW!"
"Look, Ranma, I may be a bit tolerant about what I let you get away with, but commanding your elders is some-HEY!"
Ranma had scooped up Nabiki, and leapt, just before the sprinkler system for the lawn came on. "QUICK, WHERE WE HEADING?"
"Uh, that building with the tower-" she was cut off, as Ranma jolted her with his second leap, just avoiding a broken waterhose. Nabiki blinked as it suddenly got darker, and looked up. Blinking a couple of times, her eyes settled into a hooded glare upwards, "I don't believe this..."
Ranma yelped, and dodged him and Nabiki away from wild sprinkler that had malfunctioned, and seemed to follow them. It was then that he noticed Nabiki looking skywards, and his own eyes traced up to see the stormclouds that had suddenly gathered, "Aw, crap..."
With a burst of speed that left Nabiki feeling a bit dazed, Ranma rushed frantically to the main building. By the time she had gained her bearings, they were upon their destination. Ranma allowed Nabiki down from his carry to quickly open the door, and both of them rush in just before the rain hit the ground almost like a sheet.
Looking outside the door, Nabiki had to sigh, perhaps she had taken Ranma's curse for granted. She turned around to address Ranma, from the sight of the redhead who had been drenched by a malfunctioned water faucet nearby...
"Let's get you to a bathroom, so you can change back," Nabiki said with a resigned tone, as Ranma disgustingly peeled her red shirt from sticking to her breasts.
________________________
"Yes, I won't be coming to the office today," Nabiki spoke in a tired voice into her cellphone, "Personal business. Yes, reschedule the Matsuis for later this week, thanks." She hung up, and gave a surrupticious glance towards the other passenger in her car.
Ranma continued to grumble, as Nabiki pulled into her driveway. She stopped the vehicle, and re-locked the doors, just as Ranma attempted to exit. The pigtailed boy paused, and turned an irritated stare towards the woman, before she spoke, "Ranma, I said I was sorry..."
"Not ONLY did you enroll me into a guys only school, it was a Christian School!"
"Okay, so I didn't do all that much research over it," Nabiki retorted, "I was pressed for time, okay?"
"Well, ya shouldn't have bothered."
"You're going to school, Ranma," Nabiki retorted.
"You know what's going to happen if I go there?" Ranma enquired with an arched tone, "I've been accidentally splashed enough times to be able to identify a pervert or two."
"Well, you're the brilliant martial artist, you can defend yourself!"
"oh, I will..." Ranma let his voice trail of, as his face darkened even more. Nabiki got the hint.
"Ah... I guess an all-boys school wouldn't be a good idea then..."
"Neither would a Christian school. I remember the last time someone tried to preach to me about Western religion. Pops nearly blew a fuse!"
"Well, you're 'Pops' isn't here right now."
"Like that's gonna matter. i don't like being preached to, anyways."
"You can be a real jerk sometimes, you know that, Ranma?" Nabiki unlocked the doors, allowing Ranma to finally open it.
"Well, I guess someone as old as you has had experience identifying jerks, huh?"
"DON'T START..." Nabiki exited her car, and slammed her door. She forced herself to calm down before continuing, "Don't start that with me again, Ranma. I'm not in the mood to put up with your smart mouth."
"That makes two of us," Ranma replied, waiting for Nabiki to open her door.
"Then do us both a favor and keep it shut," Nabiki tossed over her shoulder, before she finally entered her home.
"Alright, I..." Ranma stopped, realizing what Nabiki had said, "I mean YOUR smart mouth!"
"Ranma, just... go out back and practice or something," Nabiki tiredly waved Ranma off, as she removed her shoes and put on her house slippers. With a slight pout of irritation, Ranma exited back out the front door, and leapt on top of the house, then to the backyard.
Once Ranma was occupied with something other than annoying her, Nabiki allowed herself to vent, as she made her way to the den. "That insufferable, obnoxious, arrogant, unforgiving little..."
As she was sitting at her desk, she noticed that someone had called for her while she was gone. Before she set to work on deciding another school for Ranma, she checked her answering machine message.
"[Hello, Nabiki? This is Ono. I was hoping that we could meet up sometime to, um, discuss things? I'll be waiting for your reply, bye now.]"
Nabiki sighed in fustration; once again, her ex-brother in law was probably looking to have Nabiki help him get back with Kasumi. Like Ranma, the guy was usually pretty nice, but could easily become irritating if you weren't paying attention. She decided to put off the return call for the time being, and went onto her duties of getting Ranma out of the house for several hours of the day so she could go back to work in peace.
________________________
Ranma didn't all feel much to practicing, so he merely sat on the patio furniture in the back yard. He had merely taken Nabiki's dismissal as a breather from her; the woman was nice and all, but she was almost unbearable a good portion of the time. Even if they were the same age, her attitude would probably turn him off a bit... well, it should, at least.
"Man, Pops, what did you stick me with, this time? And what's really your game?" With a sigh, Ranma leaned onto his hands and elbows on the patio table, considering his situation. He was currently abandoned by his own Dad to some old woman who seemed eager to get him out of her sight. He couldn't understand how one moment she would be so nice to him, and the next treat him like he was a curse or something.
________________________
That line of thought didn't help Ranma any, and he wondered just how long it would be before they finally broke down and were at each other's throats.
Nabiki cursed herself for being so impulsive when she first had been looking for a school for Ranma. She was already aware of Tsurugashima High, and if she had thought more instead of rushing things, Ranma would be there, instead. As she watched her fax machine print out the necessary documentation, she thought more about Ranma.
Sure, he had a reason to be mad, but that wasn't a reason to dwell on it. Her own years of experience had taught her to quickly move on past things, especially if you want to keep a fast pace through out your life; maybe she was asking too much for Ranma to do the same?
Nabiki leaned onto her desk, and fiddled with a pen that was within reach. As much as she didn't like the idea, she was going to have to make some compromises. Ranma was a guest at her home, even if he was unwanted. Getting along with him would be best for everyone involved.
As her first step, she decided while wincing from accidentally kicking her wound against the corner of her desk, that she would no longer walk around the house half naked.
Chapter 2
"Of all the moronic, irresponcible, asinine Things That Daddy's done..." Nabiki grumbled, finding it just too early in the morning to be dealing with an ordeal like this. Ranma on the other hand, was very eager to deal with it, a she was quickly packing his belongings in order to begin his hunt for his father. The middle Tendou sister turned back to the pigtailed boy, as he was gathering what little he had taken out, and grumbling irritably to himself.
"...don't know what type of scheme you're try'n ta pull, Pop, but if you think you can just abandon me like that, you got another thing coming, like a whole world, no a whole GALAXY of hurt! I'm..."
"Ranma..."
"...then, I'm gonna..."
"Ranma."
"No, that'll be too good for ya! I know! I'm..."
"RANMA!"
"Huh?" The pigtailed young man turned to the woman, almost as if noticing her for the first time since he had handed her the letter.
"As upset as you should be," Nabiki began in a calm tone, "I don't think it's wise to just run off half-cocked like this."
"I ain't about to let my Pops get away with something like this!" Ranma argued, before turning back to pack.
"I know how you feel, Ranma," Nabiki continued, "But, firstly, do you even know where our fathers are heading?"
"Ah.. no..."
"So you plan on tracking them down? Do you even have an idea where to begin?"
"Well, I..." Ranma didn't even consider finishing the notion. He knew full well that his Pops was not going to be found if he didn't want to be.
Feeling the advantage, Nabiki continued, ticking off a third point on her fingers, "Even if you did know where to start looking for them, do you even have the funds to do so?"
"I never needed much before!" Ranma retorted.
"That's besides the point," Nabiki argued, "My guess is neither of them are going to want to be located, and will especially be looking out for you.
"I guesss that's true," Ranma replied, hesitantly.
The woman put her hands on Ranma's shoulders, "Listen, Ranma. I think I know how I can find them, but it's still going to take a bit of time."
"How do you think you can do it?" Ranma challenged.
"Does your Dad have that much money?"
"Well, no... he usually just, kinda... took what he needed when we had to. Or he worked a few odd jobs during our training trip."
Nabiki nodded at the confirmation of her suspicions, about Ranma's father's financial status, "Well, Daddy's got a good deal of money to live off of. And as much as he enjoys the romantic idea of being the poor martial artist, I doubt he would tolerate it for too long."
What does that have to do with anything?" Ranma argued further.
"I'm a co-signer on one of his credit cards... in case he ever got into trouble," Nabiki added, "and the one we hold in joint is the one with the largest balance on it."
Ranma tilted his head, somewhat impressed with the idea, "I guess that would probably work. If Pops doesn't have to, he won't live in squawler. But what am I supposed to do in the meantime?"
Nabiki's eyes turned away, before she turned back to him with a mischivous smile, "Well, we *could* use that time to get to... know each other better..."
The woman sighed at the speed Ranma backed against the wall behind him. "I was just kidding. I guess we can put you up at Kasumi's for time being. Better yet, you'll probably stay here, since Kasumi will probably stay to watch over the home while Daddy's gone. That way we can get you enrolled in school."
Ranma's expression contorted, "School? Why do I have to go to school?"
"Because I won't have any fiance of mine without an education!" Nabiki retorted sternly, she was rather enjoying teasing this young man.
Ranma didn't even seem to notice the barb, "Man, this sucks."
With a slight cute pout of dissappointment, Nabiki concluded the subject, "Well, I'm going to go take a bath. It's been a while since I've used the traditional bath here. You just make yourself comfortable, and you're on your own for breakfast." With that, Nabiki turned, and went upstairs to gather supplies.
Once she left, Ranma let out a breath he didn't even realize he was holding.
________________________
"Okay, Ranma, Kasumi's on her way..." Nabiki stopped, and took a sniff of the air, "Ranma, is that you?"
The pigtailed boy in question poked his head out of the kitchen, just as a fully dressed Nabiki made her way there through the tearoom, "Is what me?"
"What are you cooking?" The woman counter-questioned, as she brushed past Ranma through the doorway.
"Ah, it's not really anythin' much. I only got experience with a bit of campfood cooking and instant ramen," Ranma replied, somewhat nervously, "It's not anything complicated, just some rice, some eggs I found in the fridge, some boiled cabbage, and some of the fish in the freezer."
Nabiki sighed, but decided beggers couldn't be choosers, "Need any help with that?"
"Na, I was almost done, anyways. Uh, I made enough if you want some. I'm not the best cook... as Pops was fond of always reminding me..."
"Heh, as long as you aren't on par with my younger sister when she was your age," Nabiki quipped, before grabbing a couple of plates, glasses, and some utensils to eat with. "Did you make any tea?"
"Um... I had a kettle boiling," Ranma replied, though thinking about the fact that it wasn't exactly being prepared for tea. He knew enough for the past two weeks that the curse had a tendicy to activate when he least expected it.
Several minutes later, Ranma walked into the tearoom, and set all four dishes he had prepared on the table. As Nabiki was sitting at the far end of the table, he somewhat self-conciously sat at the other far end. "Kasumi? Which one was that?"
"My eldest sister," Nabiki replied.
"The one not married?"
Nabiki nodded, serving herself, "Yeah, but try not to bring that up when she gets here. It's a pretty sore spot with her."
"Ah," Ranma quietly started on his meal, just before Nabiki. The middle Tendou sister dug into the cabbage first, and paused after the first bite.
"Um..." Nabiki started with a tight voice, "Not, not bad." She quickly took a chug of the glass of water before her, which didn't go unnoticed by Ranma.
"Yeah, the rice balances out the cabbage... I kind of like a lot of flavor in my food."
Nabiki estimated she had to have tasted about half a bottle of soy sauce in that bite, though she was sure it was an exaduration, "It's alright, everyone has their preference. Um..."
"I usually don't spice the fish much, got accustomed to how it usually tastes."
Nabiki cheerfully nodded at the answer, and took a bite. Not bad, it flaked pretty well, and not a hint of over-softness or toughness. "You cook often?"
"Not really, just when we couldn't afford a lot, or... scrounge up much."
"I see," Nabiki decided to let that subject slide, "Anyways, you'll be staying here with Kasumi, just as soon as I tell her."
"How come you didn't just tell her when you called her?" Ranma enquired.
"Well, you see... heh heh...." Nabiki quickly took a bite of the eggs, and frowned as she bit into a piece of shell, "It was probably best to wait until she got here. Don't want to run up the phone bill, you know?"
"Right..." Ranma replied, sceptically. "When can you get to work on locating my Pops and yours?"
"Right away, though I have to wait for him to use his card, so we will probably have a wait. I can't believe Daddy would do something so irresponcible!"
"Well, I can believe my Pop would, and probably was all his idea."
Nabiki smiled, and nodded, "I guess, I couldn't fathom my father doing something like this on his own accord."
"You say."
"Pardon me?" Nabiki replied back with a bit of an arched tone.
The change in demeanor didn't slide by Ranma, "I mean, you know your Pops more than I do! I mean, my Pops most likely instigated the whole thing!"
Nabiki relaxed a bit, before turning down to her meal, "I apologise about that. I didn't quite catch what you had meant."
"N-no problem," Ranma replied, visibly sagging. He thought about it, and realized it probably did sound a bit accusing on his behalf.
________________________
"No."
"Kasumi, you're being unreasonable," Nabiki counted, rubbing her temples.
Kasumi took a slow drag of her cigerette, but her gaze never waivered, "No."
"Kasumi, it's just until I find Daddy! You're already going to be staying here until he gets back, so why can't you just take Ranma, too?"
"Because I already have two kids of my own to take care of," the eldest Tendou daughter flicked her ashed tip off the porch into the grass, "He's your fiance, after all."
"He CAN'T stay with me!" Nabiki retorted. Her older sister cut her off before she could respond.
"And why not?"
"It... it would be ackward! That's why! Besides, I don't have that much room!"
"I've seen your place, it's almost as big as here."
"I mean for him to practice! At least here he has a dojo!"
Kasumi remained unfettered, "Your backyard's big enough for a good workout."
"Come on, Kasumi!"
"Don't whine, it's unbecoming a woman your age."
"SO IS HAVING A YOUNG MAN HALF MY AGE AS A FIANCE!"
Undaunted, Kasumi took another puff of her cigerette, turned away, and exhaled, "No."
Nabiki's head drooped, "Why are you being so stubborn."
"Why are you?"
Nabiki tossed her hands into the air. Kasumi was her only hope, and Akane already said she was going to be leaving within the next couple of days, "Alright, alright. I guess he's going to have to stay with me."
"I'm glad you're accepting your wifely duties," Kasumi said with a straight face. Nabiki nodded, and turned away, before pausing, and turning back to glare at the wicked smile on Kasumi's face.
________________________
"Are you sure this is wise, Saotome?"
"Of course, Tendou!" the stout man in a very ill-fitting blue business suit replied, as he shifted uncomfortable in his coach-class seat, "If we just give them time alone with one another, they'll grow together!"
"I'm not quite so sure of this plan, my friend," the man wearing the olive brown business suit replied, while adjusting his seatbelt for the umpteenth time, "They both did seem adimant about their ages..."
"Not to worry, Tendou! Why, just remember that love conquers all, including age!"
"You're right, Saotome! Right indeed!"
"And you made sure that your daughter Nabiki will be stuck with my son?"
Soun frowned, "I think Kasumi went along with it, mainly for the humor factor if it, but she gave her word to comply with my wishes."
"Good!" Genma replied, before nervously turning a quick glance out the window, "Then nothing can go wrong! Ah... right?"
"Saotome, honestly. Have you never been on a plane before?" Genma's nervous smile, and finger indentures into the armrests easily answered the question.
________________________
Ranma was irritated.
It wasn't that he minded carrying Nabiki's rather light luggage, or that he had to walk two blocks while doing it. Only a wuss would complain about stupid things like that, and dear Ranma was far from a wuss. So then, why was he irritated?
Because Nabiki was irritated.
As any war-weary male will tell you, a woman's irritability is contagious. Like an overbearing fog of tension, anyone within its radius will be reduced to an inexcusing, obnoxious, intolerant miserable being capable of producing great despair upon those around them. As luck would have it, usually the ones around are the ones also suffering from the same affects.
"I don't see why I have to go to your place. Did you have to live so far?" Ranma grumbled, looking out the window of Nabiki's BMW.
"For the last time, shut UP!" Nabiki retorted, "and it's not like i WANT you there, but until we come up with something else, i'm stuck with you."
"Oh great, I'm stuck at an old woman's house. Pop is *so* gonna feel the pain for thi-OW!"
"You call me an old woman ONE more time, and I swear I'm going to hit you!"
"You ALREADY hit me! Do women get more violent as they get older or something?"
"No, they only get more violent when they're stuck in traffic with obnoxious, bratty punks!"
"I ain't a brat! If you don't want me around, then just let me get my stuff and go after Pops!"
"And have you running all over on some wild goose chase? I don't think so, Ranma."
"What do you care?"
Nabiki readied another comment, before she realised herself. With a deep sigh, she brought her temper under control, "Ranma, please, let's just get through this right now, one step at a time, alright? If you're coming to stay with me, the least we can do is be civil to one another."
"Yeah, well you started it."
"WELL I'M FINISHING IT!" Nabiki turned and shouted, feeling her already frayed temper beginning to snap.
"LOOK OUT!!!"
Nabiki turned, and screeched on the breaks, just in time to keep herself from rear-ending a taxi... at least severely.
The driver got out, and looked at his bumper to inspect the damage, while Nabiki banged her head against the steering wheel. This, is what she was getting herself into with Ranma. Feel the joy radiate from her being.
________________________
"I mean, I couldn't even touch him, Dad! I've never seen anyone that good!"
"That's impressive, son. Could you hand me that beaker, please?"
"Auntie Akane says that he's supposed to practice Anything Goes, but that didn't look anything like Grandfather's style!"
"I see... the beaker, son?"
"Oh, sorry Dad. I wonder if he can show me how he got so fast? I mean, it was like he knew my moves almost a day ahead of me doing them! Dad, Dad?"
"Right, day ahead, very fast."
Kaoru sighed, and slumped his back against the counter, "Mom's right, you barely pay attention to us."
Dr. Tofu stopped short, before turning a concerned eye towards his son, "What? Why do you think that?"
Kaoru celebrated internally at his victory. He knew his father's weakspot was always bringing up something about Mom, "I've been trying to talk to you, and you're barely paying attention!"
"Well, that's because I'm busy with something important, son. I try to keep up with you best I can, but I can only divide my attention so much from this."
That internal victory turned into a hollow one, "So, you're work's more important than me?"
With an irritated sigh, Ono ceased what he was doing, "Look, I love you, but this is extremely important to the people I'm doing this for. Don't you think that you're being a bit unfair?"
"I guess..."
Tofu patted his son on the back, "I'll tell you what? How about we call the Tendou home in a few minutes when I'm done? You can take me then to meet this illustrious Ranma who managed to defeat my own son in a sparring match, alright?"
A slight smile crept across the younger Tofu's face, "Okay, thanks, Dad."
Tofu turned back to his work, "No problem, son, but let me concentrate on this for the time being so I can get the done faster."
________________________
Ranma walked in after Nabiki unlocked the door, still shuddering from witholding his laughter. Nabiki grumbled quietly to herself, as she made her way into her home, towards the kitchen.
Once she was gone, Ranma managed to control himself long enough to look around. It wasn't anywhere near as big as the Tendou home, but it was spacious for one or two people, big enough for a small family. the mother of pearl wallpaper and pale brown carpeting was asthetically pleasing, to say the least, and the pigtailed martial artist found himself a lot more relaxed than prior, of course that could be the fact that he was out of Nabiki's vicinity for the moment.
And the memory of Nabiki kissing up to the taxi driver to let it slide was definitely lifting his mood.
"Heh, 'look way too young to have a son that old,' Ranma mocked, as he made his way over to what he presumed was a western living room, or at least some sort of den. The blush couch that was lightly hued with baige, white, and a pale pink faced a fifty-two inch flat screen TV. He was rather surprised to find a Dreamcast and Playstation 2 attached to it, and wondered if Nabiki babysat often.
"Ranma, I'm making us some tea, so go ahead and get comfortable."
"Alright." Ranma looked around, somewhat disorientated, "Um... how?"
Nabiki paused from deciding what flavor of tea she was interested in at the moment. Did he just ask 'how'? "Why don't you put on some music or turn on the TV. The CDs and DVDs are in the cabinet to the left of the TV. I use the PS2 as my DVD player."
Ranma frowned slightly. He wasn't much of the movie watcher, at least he didn't have to stay still while listening to music. His frown got deeper, as he skimmed through nabiki's music collection.
"Bonnie Pink... John Denver... Earth Wind and Fire... Ken Hirai... Keiko Matsui... Pizzicato Five... Ryuchi Sakamoto... Sting... uh, do you have anything... um... good?"
"They're *all* good, Ranma," Nabiki quipped from the kitchen, "if you want to go get them, I have some Hikaru Utada cds out in my car."
"Ah, no thanks," Ranma declined, choosing to look around at the portrait landscape pictures hung around neatly.
"What's a matter, Ranma? The great and mighty martial artist too lazy to walk to the garage?"
Ranma chose (correctly) not to reply to the quip. "Who took these pictures?"
"I did," Nabiki answered behind Ranma, as she handed him a cup of tea, "Don't spill any on the couch or rug, please."
"Sure." Ranma watched Nabiki sit down on the couch, and almost daintily, but authoritively, drape one leg over the other one, while reclining into the back.
Nabiki took a deep breath of relaxation, before lifting her head to take a sip of her apple and allspice tea with cream and liberal amounts of honey. After several moments, she noticed Ranma just standing there, before he quickly turned his head back to the blown up photographs.
Nabiki chuckled, before setting her beverage down on the coffee table, and patting the seat beside her, "Relax, Ranma, I'm not going to bite."
Almost cautiously, Ranma sat down next to Nabiki, albeit with distance between them. "What's that one from?"
Nabiki looked to where he was pointing, which depicted a tall castle overlooking a large crystal lake, and took a quick sip of her tea before setting it back down with both hands, "Ludveig's Castle in Germany. I was their during my tour through Europe."
"Oh, and that?"
"Company vacation seminar in Cancun. The one next to it was a beach in Northern California in the U.S."
"You mean America?"
Nabiki smirked lightly, "Yeah, that's what I mean."
"The only place I've been abroad was China," Ranma replied, looking at the last picture.
"What was it like?" Nabiki enquired, leaning a bit closer to Ranma in interest.
"I guess it was nice... up until Pop got me cursed."
"You know? That's the first time since I met you last night that you mentioned your curse."
Ranma paused, realizing she was right, "Hmm, haven't thought about it since. Guess it's because I hadn't gotten splashed since yesterday."
"Maybe," Nabiki answered, "Listen, I'm going to finish up my tea, and then go set up the guest room for you. You're putting up your own clothes, though, and you're going to be handling your own laundary."
"Never had to have anyone else do it for me since I was eight," Ranma replied, almost sounding irritated at the insinuation.
"Good, because I barely like doing my own laundary," Nabiki joked. She brought herself to standing, and pat Ranma on his shoulder, "Excuse me a sec, ladies room..."
After Nabiki left, Ranma gave a slight hum of approval. Maybe staying with Nabiki wouldn't be all that bad after all...
________________________
"I'm not so sure about this," Akane commented in English, folding laundary she had just done to go back into the suitcase.
Her husband calmly packed them back into the luggage, as his wife handed them to him, "It's their business. It's not like there's going to be anything that comes out of this."
"It's just not right for Dad to mess with Nabiki like this. Sometimes I swear, even if he does love us, he's so inconsiderate of our feelings."
"Hmm?" Thomas raised an eyebrow to his wife, "I remember a few comments from you on Nabiki's behalf."
"Jerk..." Akane grumbled, as she began to fold the clothes a bit roughly. The Native American knew his wife's sudden attitude shift wasn't going to be for the better, but fortunately knew how to counter it.
"But I'm your jerk, right?" He put his arms around the outside of Akane's shoulders, and rocked her side to side gently.
"Mmmm, no fair when I was about to get mad at you!"
"I prefer my wife happy, and me without the headaches... particularly from concussive blows."
"I'm not THAT bad!" Akane replied with a chuckle, "But you know? I can make me happier..."
"But the clothes..."
"We can refold them later," Akane replied, suggestively. Just before their lips met for a gentle kiss, the bed in the next room began to hammer against the wall.
With a growl, Akane jerked herself from her husband's arms, "BRUCE, STEVEN, I SWEAR IF YOU DON'T STOP JUMPING ON THE BED IN THERE..." Akane quickly got up, and left their hotel room to go into the next, leaving Thomas to chuckle, and sigh to himself. After a quick consideration, he decided to make a call back to the Tendou home to see how everything was going the morning after.
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Kasumi was in no rush to get to the phone. A great portion of her life was spent waiting on others, so she had decided in her latter years that people could wait for her every so often. Almost hesitatingly, she picked up the phone in the hall, "Tendou Residence... Good day, Thomas. Are you and Akane leaving already? Yeah, I wish you would, it would be nice to see you for more than a day, especially after four years. No, they're not here..."
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Thomas blinked in surprise, "I... see... if you would, tell Nabiki that I and Akane apologise for such a short visit, and tell Ranma.... um... to behave himself. We'll call before we leave. Good day to you, too, Kasumi."
"That was Kasumi?" Akane asked, walking back into the room, still somewhat irritated, and looking for something to take her mind off of her unminding children.
"Yeah," Thomas replied, turning to look at his wife, "She's at your father's right now."
"How is she? And how's Nabiki and Dad?"
"Your father went on a training trip," the Native American said, easily, before he turned away, and somewhat muffled his voice, "And Nabiki went back to her place with Ranma..."
Akane stopped abruptly, "What?"
"Nabiki took Ranma back to her place until their fathers returned."
Akane remained staring at her husband, unblinking for several moments, as she suddenly snapped out of whatever trance she was in. Suddenly, Akane was quickly unpacking luggage, and seperating her clothes from her husband's, "I think I'm going to remain here for a few more days. You go ahead and take the kids back home, and check up on things."
"Honey..."
"If any jobs call in for me, tell them I'll get back to them as soon as possible."
"Dear..."
Akane repacked the suitcase with her husband's stuff, "Don't worry about the rest of my clothing, I'll pick up a few things here for the time being. I'll also be staying at my Dad's..."
"Akaaaaaannnnnneeeeee...."
"I'll call you as soon as you're back in the U.S. okay?" Akane leaned over, and kissed her husband on the cheek, "Let me go tell the boys what's going on, and to mind you while I'm-"
As Akane was turning away, Thomas grabbed her arm, and firmly pulled her back towards him, "No."
"No? No what?" Akane asked with an obliviously confused stare.
"You're about to interfere with something that's none of your business."
"I WAS JOKING!" Akane shouted, sitting on the bed next to her husband with a perplexed expression, "They weren't supposed to take me seriously!"
"No, you weren't. You were going to go interfere with your sister and Ranma."
"I mean about THEM, THEM as a couple!" Akane exclaimed in exasperation, "I can't let them do this!"
"Honey, it isn't any of our business, and besides-"
"But he's so... so..."
Thomas gave a wry grin at being cut off, "Young?"
"EXACTLY!" Akane shouted, "I have to stop this, it's not right! Nabiki should KNOW better! She-"
"She does, dear..." Thomas interjected, finally getting a word in against his wife.
"But-"
His hand clamped over her mouth, keeping her from finishing her counter-argument. "Nabiki took Ranma because Kasumi was too busy to watch another boy, while your father's gone. That's all, okay?"
Once he was sure his wife understood what he was saying, he removed his hand from her mouth. "Are you sure?" Akane asked, not sounding to positive, herself.
"Like you said, your sister should know better..."
Akane slumped, "I guess you're right, but I'm still concerned..."
Thomas enveloped Akane into an affectionate hug, "Don't worry about it. Nabiki's a grown woman with a good head on her shoulders. She doesn't need her younger sister playing the part of the protective martial artist against some young man... even if she did want protecting..."
"What are you trying to insinuate?" Akane asked in an arched toned, turning her head towards her husband in displeasure.
Thomas sighed at his wife's temper, "Nothing, just that Nabiki will ask for help if she needs it, and she isn't planning to rob the cradle. You heard her last night."
"Yeah," Akane replied, chagrinned, "I guess I better pack my things again."
"Yes, we still have to be out of the hotel and to the airport in two hours." Akane nodded, gave her husband a kiss on the nose, before re-opening his suitcase.
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Kasumi grumbled, just as she was about to turn away from the phone. "Hello, Tendou Residence... Ono..."
________________________
Dr. Tofu flinched at the way his ex-wife seemed to say his name almost as curse. He still loved her dearly, but apparently she was still feeling a bit... well... inhospitable towards him. With a deep breath, he kept his tone as pleasant as possible, "Hello, Kasumi. I heard you had a guest there that made an impression on our son last night..."
Tofu's expression went neutral at what Kasumi tersely told him. Covering the phonepiece, he turned towards Kaoru, "How old did you say Ranma was?"
"I think just a little older than me," Kaoru replied, "Why?"
The doctor's eyebrows climbed to his forehead, before he turned back to the phone with a strained smile, "Fiance, you say... Nabiki must feel very... fortunate..."
________________________
Nabiki walked out of her den, adjusting her nightclothes that had bunched up a bit from sitting. She completed Ranma's paperwork for school rather quickly, having had the necessary documents required faxed to her.
She went out to the back yard, where Ranma had been practicing almost non-stop since earlier, "Ranma, I'm going to bed, so I need you to come in so I can activate the alarm."
After pausing, and wiping the sweat from his brow, Ranma nodded, and walked inside, being careful not to brush into Nabiki. With a slight grimace, Nabiki spoke again, "The bathing room's on the left down the hall, try not to be too long in it, okay?"
Not catching the veiled allusion to his current 'aroma', Ranma nodded again, "Thanks, shouldn't take me too long to wash up."
"I'm also going to be taking you to school tomorrow, so don't stay up too late." Expecting possibly some sort of argument, Nabiki was surprised at Ranma's easy agreement, before he made his way up the wire spiral staircase and to his temporary room to gather some bath supplies plus a change of clothes.
"I guess he isn't a bad kid, after all..." Nabiki mumbled softly to herself. Nabiki made her way to her own room, stripped out of pants of her silk pajamas, and retired under her covers with a novelette, before finally going to sleep about an hour or so later.
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Nabiki awoke to the obnoxious sound of her alarm clock. She dearly hated the thing, and couldn't even remember why she had set it. Of course, being far from a morning person as she could be, there wasn't much she remembered during the earliest hours of the day.
The limited capacity she was alloted focused on the need for caffinated stimulant, so that it could at least regain half her true mental capabilities. Druggedly, her feet shuffled against the thick carpet, as she scratched her ruffled hair. Barely even paying attention to her surroundings, she made her way around the stairway, and towards the kitchen, before she stopped just before running into an unrecalled obstacle.
Looking up sleepily, Nabiki opened her eyes a bit wider, to assist with identifying the young man that was currently standing in front of her, unmoving from a martial arts posture.
Suddenly, without the assistance of coffee, the lights fully came on upstairs, as Nabiki recalled Ranma staying at her house. As an after-thought, she looked down towards herself. That woke her right up.
Ranma watched the woman, dressed in nothing but her panties and a short-cut silk pajamma top, attempt to rush back to her room, while swearing obscenities about her idiocy. The swearing further escalated, as she clipped her bare leg against the spiral stairway.
With a sigh, Ranma stopped his morning exercises to see if she was okay.
________________________
"Why were you doing them in the middle of my house?" Nabiki demanded, while shifting uncomfortably in the chair Ranma had carried her to and set her in.
The pigtailed boy returned from the bathroom, after raiding the medicine cabinet and the lennon closet for some disinfectant and a washcloth. "I couldn't go out to the backyard because you had your alarm set!" Ranma retorted, kneeling before Nabiki to inspect her leg.
Nabiki shifted again, but for other reasons than her pain. She never made it to her room, so she was still in her panties, with Ranma tenderly feeling around the wound in her leg. She resisted the urge to tense her leg, as Ranma gingerly cradled her well toned but supple calf with his let hand, while preparing to apply the antiseptic with his right. She was well aware of her situation; being half naked while a rather handsome, but much younger man attended her, but she concentrated on the reality of Ranma's rather professional attitude while he tended to her.
"Luckily you just skinned it," Ranma commented, as he delicately dabbed the sterilizing fluid on the washcloth onto her leg. Undaunted by the slight hiss Nabiki made at the contact, he cleaned up the thinly peeled skin that had been torn to the side, "You coulda caught it on one of the stair corners, you know?"
Nabiki's expression darkened at Ranma's unwitting admonishment. "Did you have to use my good linen for this?" She retorted, quickly trying to find fault with Ranma's cartaking, "It's not easy washing blood out, you know?"
"Hey! I coulda just let you bleed all over your rug, if that makes you happy!" Ranma shot back, staring up at her with irritated slate gray eyes.
"Excuse me, sorry," the woman placated, turning away, and bunching her shoulders closer to her neck in discomfort, causing her whole chest to rise.
Ranma nodded, before turning back to concentrate on his hostess's wound, and continued. "You have any ace bandages? A bandaid won't work on an abbraision this big..."
"Under your bathroom's sink," Nabiki answered, still not looking down at Ranma. The pigtailed boy got up, and went back to the bathroom. Once he was out of Nabiki's line of sight, he frowned slightly, before taking a deep breath. After several moments, he went under the sink, and retrieved a roll of bandage. He hesitated a few moments, before he gathered himself, and went back to Nabiki.
________________________
The morning continued it's ackward silence between Nabiki and Ranma. The pigtailed boy stared intently out the car window, trying not to turn his attention to Nabiki. Nabiki herself seemed to focused on her driving, so much that she was extremely tight lipped, regardless of all she wanted to say.
She wanted to say something to alleviate the ackward tension that hung between her and Ranma. This unwanted and somewhat disturbing feeling she was internally throwing fits over. A woman like her, getting a crush on a younger man just because he took care of a wound she clumbsily caused herself.
No, it wasn't a crush, Nabiki told herself sternly. She knew she was a lonely woman, and she had a ticking biological clock, that she didn't really think she would do anything about, badgering her on an instinctual level. With a refirmed resolve, Nabiki decided that the matter was settled, and there was nothing to discuss. After all, what would she say, anyways?
________________________
The students awaiting their morning classed paid very little mind to the apparently new student that had just happened upon St. Paul's high school campus. That, Ranma would have found a small blessing. Unfortunately, the woman currently walking in front of him was attracting their attention.
Ranma shifted his eyes around, observing the students, and with a wide-eyed realization, came to a conclusion. He wondered if Nabiki had realized it, so he thought it would be best to bring it up. "Ah, Nabiki?"
"Yes, Ranma?" the woman replied with a somewhat distant tone.
Not sure what to think about Nabiki's peculiar distancing, Ranma continued, "There's no girls here..."
"I know, it's an all boy school. Obviously there wouldn't be any girls here..."
Ranma groaned, but Nabiki ignored it, thinking Ranma's hormones were sounding disappointed. Ranma clarified his problem to her, "Nabiki, maybe you forgot about a certain water-triggered CURSE..."
Nabiki paused, before turning back to Ranma with an irritated expression. "Try not to get wet while you're here, then."
"It's NOT like I have control over when it gets triggered most times, you know?" Ranma argued back.
Nabiki was unphased, "You haven't changed once since yesterday, Ranma. You obviously have some control over it..."
Ranma's eyes went wide with fear, when he realized he hadn't changed since he was at the Tendous, "We have to get inside... NOW!"
"Look, Ranma, I may be a bit tolerant about what I let you get away with, but commanding your elders is some-HEY!"
Ranma had scooped up Nabiki, and leapt, just before the sprinkler system for the lawn came on. "QUICK, WHERE WE HEADING?"
"Uh, that building with the tower-" she was cut off, as Ranma jolted her with his second leap, just avoiding a broken waterhose. Nabiki blinked as it suddenly got darker, and looked up. Blinking a couple of times, her eyes settled into a hooded glare upwards, "I don't believe this..."
Ranma yelped, and dodged him and Nabiki away from wild sprinkler that had malfunctioned, and seemed to follow them. It was then that he noticed Nabiki looking skywards, and his own eyes traced up to see the stormclouds that had suddenly gathered, "Aw, crap..."
With a burst of speed that left Nabiki feeling a bit dazed, Ranma rushed frantically to the main building. By the time she had gained her bearings, they were upon their destination. Ranma allowed Nabiki down from his carry to quickly open the door, and both of them rush in just before the rain hit the ground almost like a sheet.
Looking outside the door, Nabiki had to sigh, perhaps she had taken Ranma's curse for granted. She turned around to address Ranma, from the sight of the redhead who had been drenched by a malfunctioned water faucet nearby...
"Let's get you to a bathroom, so you can change back," Nabiki said with a resigned tone, as Ranma disgustingly peeled her red shirt from sticking to her breasts.
________________________
"Yes, I won't be coming to the office today," Nabiki spoke in a tired voice into her cellphone, "Personal business. Yes, reschedule the Matsuis for later this week, thanks." She hung up, and gave a surrupticious glance towards the other passenger in her car.
Ranma continued to grumble, as Nabiki pulled into her driveway. She stopped the vehicle, and re-locked the doors, just as Ranma attempted to exit. The pigtailed boy paused, and turned an irritated stare towards the woman, before she spoke, "Ranma, I said I was sorry..."
"Not ONLY did you enroll me into a guys only school, it was a Christian School!"
"Okay, so I didn't do all that much research over it," Nabiki retorted, "I was pressed for time, okay?"
"Well, ya shouldn't have bothered."
"You're going to school, Ranma," Nabiki retorted.
"You know what's going to happen if I go there?" Ranma enquired with an arched tone, "I've been accidentally splashed enough times to be able to identify a pervert or two."
"Well, you're the brilliant martial artist, you can defend yourself!"
"oh, I will..." Ranma let his voice trail of, as his face darkened even more. Nabiki got the hint.
"Ah... I guess an all-boys school wouldn't be a good idea then..."
"Neither would a Christian school. I remember the last time someone tried to preach to me about Western religion. Pops nearly blew a fuse!"
"Well, you're 'Pops' isn't here right now."
"Like that's gonna matter. i don't like being preached to, anyways."
"You can be a real jerk sometimes, you know that, Ranma?" Nabiki unlocked the doors, allowing Ranma to finally open it.
"Well, I guess someone as old as you has had experience identifying jerks, huh?"
"DON'T START..." Nabiki exited her car, and slammed her door. She forced herself to calm down before continuing, "Don't start that with me again, Ranma. I'm not in the mood to put up with your smart mouth."
"That makes two of us," Ranma replied, waiting for Nabiki to open her door.
"Then do us both a favor and keep it shut," Nabiki tossed over her shoulder, before she finally entered her home.
"Alright, I..." Ranma stopped, realizing what Nabiki had said, "I mean YOUR smart mouth!"
"Ranma, just... go out back and practice or something," Nabiki tiredly waved Ranma off, as she removed her shoes and put on her house slippers. With a slight pout of irritation, Ranma exited back out the front door, and leapt on top of the house, then to the backyard.
Once Ranma was occupied with something other than annoying her, Nabiki allowed herself to vent, as she made her way to the den. "That insufferable, obnoxious, arrogant, unforgiving little..."
As she was sitting at her desk, she noticed that someone had called for her while she was gone. Before she set to work on deciding another school for Ranma, she checked her answering machine message.
"[Hello, Nabiki? This is Ono. I was hoping that we could meet up sometime to, um, discuss things? I'll be waiting for your reply, bye now.]"
Nabiki sighed in fustration; once again, her ex-brother in law was probably looking to have Nabiki help him get back with Kasumi. Like Ranma, the guy was usually pretty nice, but could easily become irritating if you weren't paying attention. She decided to put off the return call for the time being, and went onto her duties of getting Ranma out of the house for several hours of the day so she could go back to work in peace.
________________________
Ranma didn't all feel much to practicing, so he merely sat on the patio furniture in the back yard. He had merely taken Nabiki's dismissal as a breather from her; the woman was nice and all, but she was almost unbearable a good portion of the time. Even if they were the same age, her attitude would probably turn him off a bit... well, it should, at least.
"Man, Pops, what did you stick me with, this time? And what's really your game?" With a sigh, Ranma leaned onto his hands and elbows on the patio table, considering his situation. He was currently abandoned by his own Dad to some old woman who seemed eager to get him out of her sight. He couldn't understand how one moment she would be so nice to him, and the next treat him like he was a curse or something.
________________________
That line of thought didn't help Ranma any, and he wondered just how long it would be before they finally broke down and were at each other's throats.
Nabiki cursed herself for being so impulsive when she first had been looking for a school for Ranma. She was already aware of Tsurugashima High, and if she had thought more instead of rushing things, Ranma would be there, instead. As she watched her fax machine print out the necessary documentation, she thought more about Ranma.
Sure, he had a reason to be mad, but that wasn't a reason to dwell on it. Her own years of experience had taught her to quickly move on past things, especially if you want to keep a fast pace through out your life; maybe she was asking too much for Ranma to do the same?
Nabiki leaned onto her desk, and fiddled with a pen that was within reach. As much as she didn't like the idea, she was going to have to make some compromises. Ranma was a guest at her home, even if he was unwanted. Getting along with him would be best for everyone involved.
As her first step, she decided while wincing from accidentally kicking her wound against the corner of her desk, that she would no longer walk around the house half naked.
