'Older'
Nabiki moaned, slowly bringing her hand to her forehead. It wasn't that she had a headache, but she could easily feel the stress she was currently under. Just when she finally decided to do something for herself, something a little selfish, and perhaps not even ethical, she gets punished for it. Of course, it wasn't like she wasn't expecting any repercussions, but karma was going well out of it's way for this one.
"Nabiki?"
At the concerned voice, she started to focus more on her surroundings. She was on her bed, though still fully clothed. The lights were off, and the window displayed that it was well into the night. Often she found herself in this situation after a hard day or just becoming ill during the course of the day.
"Thank the deities, it was just a dream," Nabiki mumbled, as she sat up. Happosai's return, and Shampoo making out with her boyf-... with Ranma weren't real. Another though caught Nabiki unawares, what about what she and Ranma had... was that...?"
"What dream?"
Nabiki turned to the voice, and saw Ranma sitting on the side of her bed, watching her much like a doctor observing a critical patient; a prayer on his mind for their wellbeing. Nabiki sat up, groaning a bit, before addressing the pigtailed boy, "Ranma, what are you doing in my room in the middle of the night?"
Ranma's expression flashed a slight disappointment, before it fell on slightly irritated, "Well, after you fainted earlier, I thought it was the best place to put you. I... thought I should probably stay around and make sure you were okay, or something."
Nabiki shifted herself to the other side of the bed, and put her feet onto the ground while still sitting, she looked out her window, staring out to the part of the sky that wasn't obscured by the building next door, "Fainted?"
"Yeah, and I'll say right now I had no idea of what Shampoo was up to. I still don't know what the heck that was all about!"
Turning to face Ranma with a trepid expression, Nabiki swallowed dryly before speaking, "Shampoo... did propose to you?"
Ranma's eyes widened, before his hands went up in an attempt to waive off any accusations. "NO! I mean I dunno! She just kissed me! That's it!"
"She 'just kissed' you?" Nabiki enquired with a flat tone that spoke of her unamusement.
"Hey! It's not like I wanted it or anything! She just up and locked onto my lips! I mean we were both GIRLS at the time!"
Nabiki sighed heavily, and put her hand to her forhead after turning away from the pigtailed boy, "Ranma, what she said after she kissed you was I'm pretty sure some proposal."
Ranma blinked twice, "Uh, I thought she was giving me the kiss of Death again or something."
"Ranma, she didn't exactly look hostile to you, did she?" Nabiki enquired, as her hope for all of it being some twisted nightmare shattered.
"No, excuse me for being more worried over you," Ranma replied in a droll tone.
Even though he didn't let on, Nabiki could tell she had hurt his feelings. "I'm, I'm sorry, Ranma, this has just been a pretty trying day for me. I mean Happosai of all people, just showing up out of the blue..."
"Geez," Ranma replied, not sure what the fuss over Happosai was all about, "Sure the freak of nature is a perv of the highest order, but he ain't all that bad. I mean, he ran interferance for me while I was bringing you to your room." Ranma gave a wry chuckle. "Man, I didn't think anyone could get under the old Ghoul's skin like he did! She finally just got too ticked to hang around, and said she'd discuss the particulars of me and Shampoo later."
"That's because you haven't really gotten to know him, yet, Ranma-hon," Nabiki groused, "And where is he now?"
"Said something about going to save some silky darlings. That he'd been away from them too long and allowing them to remain captive. Not sure what he meant, but he sounded a few bricks short of a foundation, to me."
Ranma turned around quickly, to see why Nabiki suddenly jumped off the bed. He was then treated to the sight of the middle aged woman quickly rummaging through her drawers, "Ah, Nabiki?"
"Still here, still here, still here..." Nabiki mumbled in mantra, as she continued to ransack her own underwear drawer. She then gulped, and hesitatingly looked into the drawer where she kept her sweats, and sighed in relief when she saw what she was looking for was still there. Her eyes lit up in slight panic again, as she suddenly dove for the underside of her bed, and pulled out what looked like a shoebox. Ranma watched, confused, as he heard her hands rummaging through what sounded like thin wrapping paper.
Nabiki took a deep breath, satisfied that everything she was looking for was still in their place. "Good, Happosai hadn't been in my room, then."
"Nope, I kinda told him it was probably off-limits for the time being, he understood I'm pretty sure." Ranma commented, deciding not to say anything about the 'wink-wink, nudge-nudge' gesture Happosai gave him.
Nabiki trudged back to the bed, this time walking around to sit next to Ranma. He shifted in slight nervousness, before relaxing at the consoling smile Nabiki offered. "Thanks for bringing me in here, I guess things were a bit wild when I was out of it?"
"You don't know the half of it. What's this about Shampoo wanting to marry me?"
Nabiki focused onto her lap, and sighed once again, "Something about her 'undending devotion', I think. She did that in front of her Great Grandmother, so I think she has something to do with Shampoo's sudden change of heart towards you."
Nabiki looked sternly at Ranma, "Now, Ranma, I'm not going to tell you what you should do, and ultimately this is all... this is going to be your decision."
"But we barely put up with each other, so it's not like you have anything to worry about," Ranma replied, understanding what Nabiki was alluding to, "I'm not gonna give you up for Shampoo because she threw herself at me."
Nabiki gave him a sad smile, "Thanks Ranma, I appreciate that. But, I just wanted to make sure you understand that... that if you..." Nabiki took a deep breath, before continuing, "If the two of you do start, well, start appreciating each other, don't feel like you're under any pressure or obligation towards me. As happy as I am with you, I'd be a lot happier if you find what really makes *you* happy."
Ranma scrunched his face slightly, before turning away, and folding his arms into his lap, "Nabiki, I can't say that I got a lot of happiness in life. Pop did the best he could, under the circumstances and being the type of guy he is, but moving around all the time, never setting down roots, and only having a few friends to speak of, I can't say I'm the best guy around to assume his own happiness."
Ranma timidly reached over, and hesitatingly put his hand on the small of Nabiki's back, "But, ya gotta know, that I don't think I've been happier than I have being right here."
"Sure, Ranma, I understand that, but things change."
"Damn it, Nabiki, all you ever do is doubt. Can't you show a little optimism?" Ranma enquired, growing fustrated.
Nabiki fought the urge to simply lean into the pigtailed boy for comfort, "I'm not trying to sabotage us, but you just got to realize there's too much going against us for ever of us to realistically think this can go anywhere."
"Yeah, well even if the odds are stacked against us, I ain't giving up without at least try'n. You gonna work with me on this, Nabiki?"
Nabiki chuckled, before standing up from the bed, "Ranma, I can't promise I would fight as hard as you, but I'm not going to give up that easily. I promise you that."
"Good, so I ain't gonna hear any more about me and some other girl?" Ranma enquired, internally sighing in relief. This was the second time the conversation had come up in one form or another, and it wasn't getting any easier to deal with. He well knew Nabiki liked him a lot, but she was pretty adimant that he was going to leave her eventually.
Nabiki chuckled, "You know, Ranma? Your speech gets rougher whenever you get emotional."
"I ain't getting emotional! I'm just..." Ranma paused, but decided it was too late to correct himself, "I'm just... aw, forget it. I just stayed to make sure you were okay." Ranma got off the bed, and began to approach the door, "I gotta get to bed, myself. Still got school tomorrow." Ranma walked to the door, opened it, and stepped out.
"Ranma,"
The pigtailed boy paused, but didn't turn around. It was still obvious from the way he hung frozen in step that he was paying rapt attention.
"I could..."
After an extensive pause, Ranma urged her to continue, "Yeah?" He heard the woman give a deep exhalation.
"Good night, Ranma, and thank you... again."
It was a few more moments before Ranma spoke, "You're welcome." Ranma closed the door behind him, and Nabiki listened to his retreating footsteps.
"I could use your company, tonight," Nabiki finished,damning herself for her hesitation, before putting her hands on her hips, and looking to her nightclothes laid out earlier by herself.
It looked like she only put off her problems. Happosai would no doubt be returning with a large sackful of stolen unmentionables, which she sincerely didn't want to deal with, and Cologne still had a few details to clear up with her. In any case, it didn't help to worry about them now.
________________
"Morning, Happosai," Nabiki greeted, somewhat suprised to find the old letch up at this time of the morning.
"Hey! G'morning to you too, Nabiki!" Happosai cheerfully greeted, chipper for the wee hours of the morning, "Say, whatever happened to you calling me 'Granpa' all the time?"
"It happened to have gotten lost sometime when I turned... twenty five I think," Nabiki replied, wryly, as she poured her ritual cup of coffee, made herself a dish of the breakfast Ranma had prepared, and sat down at the dining room table across from the old man.
"Ha! You tell'n me you've gotten older? Don't look a day over twenty, sweetheart!"
Nabiki had to smile; there were few things that managed to balance ot Happosai's annoyances. "And you still haven't lost your touch with flattery, I see."
"Feh, at my age, you try to maintain as much 'touching' as possible!"
Those few things just BARELY managed to balance out the old man's less endearing vices, "Touch me, and I let Kasumi handle you."
Happosai visibly baulked at that, before his eyes began to water, "Y... you wouldn't be that cruel to an old man, would you?"
Nabiki's smile turned into a smirk. Their father may have made attempts on Happosai's life, but it was Kasumi that came the closest... consistantly. Nabiki nor Akane themselves were willing to take direct action against the old man, since both felt more obliged than their father to the Grandmaster of their school. Kasumi, on the other hand, didn't avidly practice the art for more than health benefits, and felt no such respect to honor the old pervert. Of course, Nabiki was fairly sure that if Happosai dared lay a hand on her baby sister, Akane would be looking for another School to join, and they would be mouning (or celebrating) the death of their master. It was also positive that Happosai knew this, too.
"That depends on how well you behave," Nabiki quipped, nonchilantly, before favoring the old man with a gracious smile, "Granpa."
Happosai gave a genuine smile, "Heh, can't tell you how much I missed you and your sisters."
"It's not like there aren't plenty of other 'pretty ladies' the world over," Nabiki commented, before sipping on her coffee.
"Heh, but you girls are different, you're family!"
"You got a weird way of treating 'family'," Nabiki retorted, almost idly, "Some would say 'incestuously'." Nabiki took a bite of her breakfast, and nodded; Ranma had definitely gotten better. More than likely for her benefit alone. "And what about father? Isn't he family, too?"
"Feh, Soun could rot, for all I care!" Happosai retorted, before digging into the remainder of his own breakfast. "But you three, even Kasumi whenever she wasn't on the warpath, you girls treated me with respect and kindness. That's all an old man could ask for! Well, that and an abudance of pretty ladies and lacy beauties!"
Nabiki frowned at the reminder, "Ranma told me you went out last night."
"So he did, did he?" Happosai replied, after licking his plate clean, "You know? The boy ain't half bad a cook! And it's nice to see that you're a hit with the youngsters! How long have the two of you been shacking up?"
Nabiki closed her eyes, but decided to go ahead with the sudden conversation change Happosai instated, "We're not shacking up... well... I guess technically we are, but not in the perverted manner you're thinking of, Happosai."
"Hey! I was just starting to get used to 'Granpa'!"
"I only called you that once so far," Nabiki replied drolly.
"Heh, I'm already missing it, though. So that's Genma's boy? Surprised that lazy fool managed to get any woman! Ranma obviously gets his looks from his mother's side of the family!"
Nabiki had to chuckle at that, "Among other things, a few less than flattering."
"What's so funny?"
"Oh, Good morning, Ranma!" Nabiki greeted, already feeling like it's a good day.
"Morn'n," Ranma replied, running his fingers through his still damp hair, and gave a nod of greeting to Happosai, "You guys talk'n about me?"
"Yes, Nabiki was just telling me how much she appreaciates you young men in bed! Glad you can fill her appetite!"
"GRANPA!" Nabiki shouted, scandalized.
"Ah..." was all Ranma could say, before blushing, "We ain't doing anything!"
Happosai guffawed, "You two sure of that? I haven't even seen fruits redder than the pair of you! Anyways, tell Granpa how the two of you got together in the first place!"
"We're not together," Nabiki said factually, with her best poker face.
Happosai didn't bother even looking in her direction, as he observed Ranma's hurt expression, "That isn't what the boy's telling me!"
"Ranma, what did you say to him?" Nabiki demanded, already understanding the whole bluff was over before it started.
"Nothing, at least in words. The boy cares about ya, and it doesn't take a genius to see how much."
"I'm gonna go out and practice some more before I head to school," Ranma quickly interjected, abandoning Nabiki in an embarrasing conversation.
The middle aged woman wasn't about to let him leave her high and dry, "Wait, Ranma, gimme a sec and I'll join you!" With that, Nabiki was up and rushing to her bedroom for some workout clothes. Happosai was left at the table by himself, looking at both retreating people.
"Heh, sounds like this is gonna be an interesting story they have to tell me," the old man mumbled to himself, before pulling out his pipe, lighting it, and taking a puff.
________________
Happosai hopped onto the patio table, and sat down in lotus position to observe the two students of his school. Ranma had already began into a form Happosai had taken from one of the Tibeten internal Kungfu forms, meant for building internal chi. Nabiki walked to stand next to Ranma, offering him a smile, before starting the same form from the beginning.
He could see Nabiki's chi currently dwarfed Ranma, which meant she had indeed kept up with her training, which made him feel more than a little proud. Ranma's wasn't anything to scoff at, though, telling Happosai that Genma at least was doing his job with the boy. Too bad he already promised Akane as his heir, the kid definitely had promise, and promise to spare. But even at nonstop training, Ranma had a ways to go.
"Say, Ranma, Nabiki, why don't the two of you spar a bit? Curious to see how the two of you are," Happosai requested, as he tapped his pipe on his knee.
The two stopped, and looked at each other nervously. "I don't really practice for combat much anymore, master." Nabiki stated, chagrinned. She could handle herself pretty easily, but doubted she was in Ranma's league in true physical ability.
"Ah... I don't... hit girls," Ranma replied, lamely. Nabiki gave him a look, slightly put off by the comment, but let it go.
"Then what happened with Shampoo?" Happosai asked, innocently, "She hit herself and get delusions?"
"Uh, that was different," Ranma argued, "We were both girls at the ti-"
"Shouldn't have said that while he was standing by the waterhose," Nabiki commented, barely managing to jump away from the splashoff.
Ranma stared down at herself, unamused, "Great, now I gotta go change..."
"Not yet, you don't! The two of you, face off!"
That time, Happosai gave a demand, one that neither student could deny. Hesitatingly, they both turned, and bowed to one another. Ranma stood almost upright, with her left foot holding almost all her weight with her hands behind her back.
Nabiki held her arms to the side with her fingers tussled like a crane's feathers, as she rested her weight on her own left leg, as her right was extended before her with the toe touching the ground lightly. For several moments, neither dared to move, and not because of wariness.
Ranma had a deep, intent frown on her face and concern in her eyes, while Nabiki stared back, obviously troubled. "Comon, quit stall'n!"
Happosai wasn't going to simply let this go. With a deep breath, Nabiki decided to make the first move. She stepped in close, and shot her palm forward to Ranma's chest. The pigtailed girl didn't even bother to move until the last second, when she simply leaned out of the way. Instead of retracting her arm, Nabiki swiped the butt of her palm towards the side of Ranma's head, forcing the girl to then twist out of harm.
The second strike was only meant to distract, as Nabiki locked her shin against Ranma's, and force the younger's leg straight by leaning into it. Instead, Ranma dropped back, following the momentum of Nabiki's leg grapple, and kept her leg straight while she was crouched on her other leg.
Nabiki stumbled, as her leg found no perch, allowing Ranma to use her extended leg to swipe Nabiki's base foot from under her. Before she could hit the ground, Ranma had her in her arms.
Happosai was far from impressed, "Bah! If the two of you aren't even going to bother, why are you even practicing the art?" With a disgusted frown, the old martial arts master hopped from the table, "I'm heading over to the dojo to pick up the rest of my stuff. We'll talk about the two of you and your performances later."
Happosai didn't even bother to look back, as he took off to the rooftops. Nabiki and Ranma remained staring at his departure until he was long gone, before Ranma assisted Nabiki to standing.
"Th-thanks," Nabiki mumbled, before heading back into the house. Ranma stared back where Happosai left, and back to Nabiki, before sighing.
________________
Nabiki strolled to the doors of the Cat Cafe, and halted for a moment. She steeled herself for what she suspected was to come, before hesitatingly bringing her hand up to open the door. At the current time of day, there would be little, if any patrons in the restaurant, which was what the middle-aged woman was hoping for. As she entered, it came as equal surprise to find Cologne sitting at one of the tables, smoking a pipe and reaching a Chinese paper, appearing to currently be the sole occupant of the restaurant other than Nabiki.
The old woman looked up in greeting, instead of giving the usual generic welcoming to the Cat Cafe, "Ah, Nabiki Tendou, I hadn't been expecting you today. I trust you're feeling better? You gave us all quite a scare yesterday."
Cologne motioned the woman to the seat across from her, signalling to Nabiki that the old woman well knew she wasn't there for the fine quizine. The middle aged woman nodded, "Thanks for your concern, it's just that I had more than a few.... surprises that day."
Cologne nodded, as she continued to read her paper, "Yes, I believe that chauvenistic idiot of a decrepid geriatric lout had arrived that day. My condolences."
Nabiki had to chuckle at the old woman's opinion of Happosai, "He isn't *all* that bad, as long as you remain in his good graces."
"Well, being *mostly* that bad is enough to warrent remaining out of his good graces," Cologne commented, flatly, before folding her paper up, and favoring Nabiki with a pleasant smile, "I believe you've probably come to enquire as to the events between my Great Granddaughter and your houseguest, Ranma?"
Quick to the chase, "Yes, forgive me if I'm in error, but I believe Shampoo proposed to Ranma?"
"Indeed, you are in error," Cologne stated. But before Nabiki could sigh in relief, she continued, "She informed Ranma that they were already married."
"E... excuse me?" Nabiki sputtered, before fixing her expression into a flat look.
"Oh, my, it's been a while since my Grandson departed, I wonder what is taking him so long?"
Nabiki shrugged, a bit confused as to what brought that up.
"I apologise if this seems a bit peculiar to you," Cologne began, "This is one of the laws of our people. I believe you are aware of the situation that had occured between Shampoo and Ranma back in our home village?" Nabiki nodded, and urged the old woman to continue. "It was by mistake that Shampoo had given her the kiss of death. Had Ranma revealed his true gender, we could have clarified things, and avoided a great deal of incident."
"You mean her chasing him halfway around the world to kill him?" Nabiki enquired, before mentally chiding herself for the poke.
"Yes, that would be the one," Cologne responded with a mirthful cackle. "As it was, I thank you for your intervention, preventing Shampoo from making a grievous error. Since Ranma is truthfully male, she was required to give him the kiss of marraige. Fortunately, no harm has been done due to her wrecklessness."
"I was informed by your Great Granddaughter that the kiss of death was still valid, since Ranma was still a girl at the time. Actually being a guy had no bearing on that," Nabiki countered, barely able to keep the hostility out of her voice.
"I am gravely sorry for how you were mislead," Cologne replied, seeming deeply chagrinned, "I've attempted to raise her with a just mind, though she is still greatly prone to imbellishing the facts. It appears that my Great Granddaughter was in error. Once again I apologise, this time for the confusion," the Amazon matriarch shook her head apparently at her heir's actions.
"And if Ranma opposes this marraige? If I recall, Shampoo herself wasn't all too enthuesiastic about a relationship with Ranma, either."
"Ah, yes, as children tend to be these days, Shampoo remains defiant against regulations and rules," Cologne said, tiredly, "In time, she will accept her husband, as I'm sure Ranma would accept her. He is a healthy young boy, and I'm positive you would agree that my Great Granddaughter would be quite a catch?"
"Shampoo is charming," Nabiki replied, waiving the fact off with her hand flippantly, "but the decision is still Ranma's. Also, you'ld have to take into account Ranma's mother."
Cologne tilted her head, curious, "Oh? And about son-in-law's mother?"
Nabiki gritted her teeth, both at the 'son-in-law', and having to talk about Nodoka, "She's what you would find as a traditional type in this country. I doubt she would take too well to her son marrying a foreigner." Nabiki was pretty much positive that Nodoka would intervine on this. She could recall a couple of moments the woman had considered that Shampoo would make a fine 'concubine'.
"Hmmm," Cologne seemed to muse over this point. "Yes, it's saddening to see such prejudice. I believe, given the circumstances, she may find herself not entirely objective to the proposition."
"That's a pretty lofty assumption you're making," Nabiki commented, "I somehow don't think she'll be as open to the idea as you're suspecting."
"Oh, forgive my manners! Would you like some tea?" Cologne suddenly enquired, as she gestured to the pot of tea she had on the table with a single cup for herself, "I could go get you a cup, it wouldn't take me long."
"Thank you, but no," Nabiki graciously replied, finding some of her hostility vanishing after the gesture, yet becoming more irritated by the constant distration from the main topic..
"I understand," Cologne replied, continuing with the previous conversation, "after all, you would know the woman better than me. Perhaps you could put in the good word for my Great Granddaughter? I'm sure she would take it into consideration if it was proposed to her by a family friend."
"Why you audatious old..." Nabiki thought to herself, before saying out loud, "I'll... give her my opinion on the matter." Nabiki checked her watch, "I'm afraid I have to make my leave. I still have another apointment to make in a few short minutes. Sorry for cutting this visit short."
"Oh, that's quite alright," Cologne responded with a gracious nod, "At least I thank you for keeping an old woman company."
Nabiki nodded, and without another word, left the Cat Cafe. The old woman was prepared for her, that was for sure. She avoided any words that would associate her with Ranma romantically, in an attempt to feign obliviousness to their relationship. Nabiki was more than sure Shampoo had already informed the matriarch of the situation. Also, at any time it seemed Nabiki was close to reaching hostile, the old woman suddenly derailed the conversation, taking the heat off the topic.
Nabiki contemplated the conversation in her head, almost failing to avoid the bags of groceries she nearly collided with. Fortunately, she wasn't without some martial ability, as she swerved and spun, just in time to pull out of the path of the hapless person juggling full arms of supplies.
"Oh? Forgive me, I should be more careful, and should know much better than this."
Nabiki reached over to help the man steady his groceries, even if it appeared he had them under control, "No, I wasn't paying attention. I should be the one apologising." Nabiki took a deep breath to calm herself; this incident would not have come close to occuring if she hadn't let the old woman get under her skin.
"Hmm? I believe I am familiar with you..." the man set one of his bags carefully onto the ground to reveal his own handsome face, "You are the Nabiki Tendou, am I correct? My daughter is to be staying within your home?"
Nabiki shook herself out of her subtle appraisal, without his dark wire rim glasses and skull cap, he was a great deal more attractive than she had realized before, "Oh? So you're Mr... um... Xian?" Nabiki used the western universal greeting of a handshake, "Yes, I saw you at the Cat Cafe for the little time you were out of the kitchen. I never got the opportunity to congradulate you on your exellent culinary skills."
"Ah, my thanks for your gracious compliment. I have humbly studied throughout the world, much to my Grandmother's chagrin." He paused in thought, "Of course, I would suppose that is why she steadfastly requested my presence here."
"I guess Cologne was footing the bill for you're little globe hop?" Nabiki enquired, falling into an old habit of guaging how much people were worth.
Mr. Xian chuckled, "It was not that, being what upset my Grandmother, but that I chose not to fully embrace a path of martial arts. If I was to have, I would be her heir. As it is, my daughter had come to gain that honor."
"I see," Nabiki replied. What she also saw was even if the man didn't zealously follow the art, he did at least keep himself in shape, "Anyways, I apologise for almost running into you, and holding you up."
"It was no bother. A respite with a lovely lady is never a hinderance."
Nabiki smiled slightly at the compliment, "How flattering of you." The man shrugged, as if his comment were the most obvious thing that could be said, yet needed to be stated for intellectual purposes. Nabiki snorted softly, "Well, I guess I'll see you whenever I'm at the Cat Cafe."
"Then I will await your presence until then. When we meet next time, Nabiki Tendou."
Nabiki gave a slight bow, before heading past the man. Shampoo's father turned to watch her leave, before picking up his second bag of quickly needed supplies, and headed towards the side entrance of the restuarant. Neither of them saw the old woman perched on the roof, holding a cup of tea in one hand, while using the other hand to hold her pipe.
"Well, even if I had planned that, it could not have made for a better introduction," Cologne said to herself, before sipping her tea.
________________
Nabiki picked up her cell phone, and hit the third speed dial. Just as she was pulling back onto the highway, the other end picked up.
"[Hello, Tendou residence.]"
"Hey sis," Nabiki greeted, imagining the cheerful butter-won't-melt expession her sister wore when she was being polite drop like a irritating habit.
"[Nabiki, hello, any particular reason you're calling?]"
"What? I can't be conversational every once in a while?" Nabiki equired, smirking.
"[And exactly *how* often do you call, dear sister?]"
Nabiki shrugged, even if it couldn't be seen on the other end, "I guess you got me there. I did call for a particular reason."
"[And that is?]"
Nabiki held for dramatic pause, "Happosai."
Kasumi returned the pause, before replying, "[I'll go get his will, I think father kept it in his room. So he died in Jamaica, or was he killed?]"
"None of us won the bet, Kasumi," Nabiki replied, chuckling, "He decided to cut the trip short, and return home. We should be expecting a refund soon."
Once again, Kasumi took her time to respond,
"[I DON'T WANT A REFUND, I WANT HIM GONE!!!]"
"Deities, sis, calm down!" Nabiki commanded, having to pull the phone away from her ear, "I don't need you screaming at me while I'm driving!"
"[Come over, now. We'll discuss this in person.]"
"That's a bit out of my way, Kasumi," Nabiki dry-toned, "That's the reason I'm using this rather convenient device called a 'phone'."
"[Cute, now come over so we can talk about what we're going to do about this. Besides, with your recent driving record, you should be putting that phone down and paying attention to the damn road.]"
Nabiki grumbled at the snipe, but relented. It wasn't so much that Kasumi had even a tiny point, but that her sister was now agitated at the news that was just given. "Fine, I didn't have anything important to do, anyhow."
"[Good, I'll wait, then.]" After the curt response, the line went dead at the other end.
Nabiki sighed, and put up her own phone, "Gee, love you too, Sis."
________________
"Northern Siberia..."
Nabiki rubbed her temples, realizing she should have seen this coming, "Kasumi, you're being irrational."
"Look! There's an expedition through Antarctica! I'm sure he'll enjoy that!"
Nabiki started to pick up the travel brochure with interest, before abruptly stopping herself, "Kasumi, no. Just live with it. He's back for the time being." Even if it was irritating her, Nabiki understood Kasumi's hysterics. She did go through the same process when the old letch announced his presence, exept hers didn't last nearly as long.
Kasumi pressed her palms to her eyes, "Great, just wonderful." She looked up at Nabiki with a sharp glare, "Why couldn't you have told me this when I hadn't run out of cigerettes?"
Nabiki shrugged, "You could have just asked me to pick you up a pack."
Kasumi leaned back from the tea table, sighing heavily, "He's staying with you again?"
Nabiki nodded, resignedly, "I have the big screen TV, remember?"
Kasumi gave her younger sister a smirk, "Told you it was a bad investment."
"Whatever. You know? When you said you wanted to talk about this, I presumed it wasn't to go over more plots to hoist Gramps off on another extended trip."
"Sorry... sorry," Kasumi apologised, playing with her apron in place of keeping her hands busy, as the artificial security of a cigerette was absent from them. "I just wasn't... expecting this."
"Neither was I, sis. We'll just have to live with it, I suppose." Nabiki replied, picking up her cup of tea, and sipping it. "Well, I would consider this a wasted trip, if it wasn't so humorous watching you freak out. But to add some validity to this social visit, anything else you have to talk about?"
"What did Nodoka have to say about you offering to give Ranma back to her?" Kasumi enquired in an almost too entirely conversational tone.
Nabiki paused with her cup to her mouth, and looked over the rim at her sister, before speaking, "I didn't make any offer." Granted, she *had*, but that was during different circumstances, and Kasumi didn't need to know that anyways.
"Oh? How come?" Kasumi enquired, looking at her sister curiously.
"Ranma's welcomed to stay as long as he likes. If he wants to go live with his mother again, he's welcomed to approach her on the subject," Nabiki replied diplomatically, although there was a bit of heat in her voice.
"Well, I know you have no problems supporting yourself, Ranma, and Happosai, but do you really care to keep such unnecessary expences?"
"Shampoo's staying, too," Nabiki commented, setting her cup down, and getting prepared for a conversation she knew one of them was going to regret later.
"So you see, you have three guests... don't you only have two guest rooms?"
"I'm pretty sure Happosai wouldn't mind staying with Shampoo," Nabiki commented with a straight face. Nabiki hid her own humor well, as she saw Kasumi's face twitch for a second. The comment wasn't meant for humor, but to put her sister off-balance, if only for an instant.
"He'll probably just stay with Ranma. And if anything goes awry with that, he can sleep on the couch. As for Ranma himself, Nodoka's not exactly the wealthiest of women, though she does live comfortably. After what Daddy and Genma did, think of it as a debt of honor that I'm letting him stay with me for a while. On top of all that, it's just more convenient, since then he wouldn't have to change schools or anything. If it REALLY concerns you, I'll give him until the end of the school year, or until we track down Daddy and his little friend. Fair enough?"
"I'm not thinking about what's 'fair' for me, Nabiki, but for you. I'm only concerned about your privacy," Kasumi replied, now that the ball was back on her side of the court. "We both know you're a rather private person, and having a young man around may pose more than a few problems."
"No more than Happosai, and Ranma's would be less difficult to contend with," Nabiki counter-argued. Of course, if Ranma did pose those sort of problems, it wasn't like she would sway him from those urges... unless he began grabbing onto any available female or developed a taste for an abundance of female undergarments.
"Nabiki, I'm just not sure you've thought this through fully," Kasumi began again, "I understand things seem harmless now, but sometimes they get out of hand."
"Sorry, sis, but this conversation's not going anywhere," Nabiki stated with as much finality as possible, "I should probably head back to make sure Happosai's behaving himself. It was nice meeting with you, Kasumi."
Kasumi had started to get up to walk her sister to the door, but from Nabiki's tone, it wouldn't be appreciated. For several long minutes, Kasumi considered where she went wrong in the conversation, long after Nabiki had left. Sighing in fustration, Kasumi stood up, and removed her apron, deciding she really needed a cigerette.
She walked out to the dojo where her son was practicing, and drippinga lot more sweat than she usually saw him do," Kaoru, watch your little brother for me, I'm going out for a few minutes to pick up some... a few things."
Kaoru paused his rigerous workout to respond, "Alright Mom."
"Kaoru... you're practicing a lot harder than usual."
Kaoru held stance, before starting up again, "If I want to be one of the best, I can't slack like I have been. I need to become much more serious."
"Hmm, sounds a great deal like your grandfather talking," Kasumi commented, "Though he didn't always follow through." Kasumi turned to leave, "Well, it's nice to know that you're trying harder. I'll return in a bit."
Kaoru didn't hear what his mother had said, as he was lost in his own thoughts.
"Just you wait, Ranma..."
________________
Nabiki was glad to have escaped before things got too heated. Kasumi was definitely pushing, but trying not to seem too obvious about it. Her eldest sister most assuradly had to be kept in the dark about what was going on between her and Ranma, because things would get realllly messy if she caught wind of it.
Nabiki pulled into her driveway, happy to be home, and eager to see Ranma again. It wasn't any of Kasumi's business anyhow, if Kasumi really did care about this, she should have been happy for Nabiki to even have the prospect of a boyfriend.
Okay, so Nabiki was attempting to rationalize things, but nonetheless she knew how she felt, she knew how Ranma felt, and that was all that really matted. Unfortnately, now that they were together, fate seemed very eager to bomb their chances to oblivion. Between Cologne and Kasumi, it hadn't been the best of days.
Nabiki stepped in the door, and stopped abruptly, as she spied Happosai, sitting peacefully on a comatose Ranma in girl form, surrounded by some Nabiki's more favored lingerie.
"Ah... Nabiki... welcome home!" Happosai replied with a somewhat nervous voice.
Nabiki sighed in resignation. For some reason, she could see a whole slew of days like this in the future.
Nabiki moaned, slowly bringing her hand to her forehead. It wasn't that she had a headache, but she could easily feel the stress she was currently under. Just when she finally decided to do something for herself, something a little selfish, and perhaps not even ethical, she gets punished for it. Of course, it wasn't like she wasn't expecting any repercussions, but karma was going well out of it's way for this one.
"Nabiki?"
At the concerned voice, she started to focus more on her surroundings. She was on her bed, though still fully clothed. The lights were off, and the window displayed that it was well into the night. Often she found herself in this situation after a hard day or just becoming ill during the course of the day.
"Thank the deities, it was just a dream," Nabiki mumbled, as she sat up. Happosai's return, and Shampoo making out with her boyf-... with Ranma weren't real. Another though caught Nabiki unawares, what about what she and Ranma had... was that...?"
"What dream?"
Nabiki turned to the voice, and saw Ranma sitting on the side of her bed, watching her much like a doctor observing a critical patient; a prayer on his mind for their wellbeing. Nabiki sat up, groaning a bit, before addressing the pigtailed boy, "Ranma, what are you doing in my room in the middle of the night?"
Ranma's expression flashed a slight disappointment, before it fell on slightly irritated, "Well, after you fainted earlier, I thought it was the best place to put you. I... thought I should probably stay around and make sure you were okay, or something."
Nabiki shifted herself to the other side of the bed, and put her feet onto the ground while still sitting, she looked out her window, staring out to the part of the sky that wasn't obscured by the building next door, "Fainted?"
"Yeah, and I'll say right now I had no idea of what Shampoo was up to. I still don't know what the heck that was all about!"
Turning to face Ranma with a trepid expression, Nabiki swallowed dryly before speaking, "Shampoo... did propose to you?"
Ranma's eyes widened, before his hands went up in an attempt to waive off any accusations. "NO! I mean I dunno! She just kissed me! That's it!"
"She 'just kissed' you?" Nabiki enquired with a flat tone that spoke of her unamusement.
"Hey! It's not like I wanted it or anything! She just up and locked onto my lips! I mean we were both GIRLS at the time!"
Nabiki sighed heavily, and put her hand to her forhead after turning away from the pigtailed boy, "Ranma, what she said after she kissed you was I'm pretty sure some proposal."
Ranma blinked twice, "Uh, I thought she was giving me the kiss of Death again or something."
"Ranma, she didn't exactly look hostile to you, did she?" Nabiki enquired, as her hope for all of it being some twisted nightmare shattered.
"No, excuse me for being more worried over you," Ranma replied in a droll tone.
Even though he didn't let on, Nabiki could tell she had hurt his feelings. "I'm, I'm sorry, Ranma, this has just been a pretty trying day for me. I mean Happosai of all people, just showing up out of the blue..."
"Geez," Ranma replied, not sure what the fuss over Happosai was all about, "Sure the freak of nature is a perv of the highest order, but he ain't all that bad. I mean, he ran interferance for me while I was bringing you to your room." Ranma gave a wry chuckle. "Man, I didn't think anyone could get under the old Ghoul's skin like he did! She finally just got too ticked to hang around, and said she'd discuss the particulars of me and Shampoo later."
"That's because you haven't really gotten to know him, yet, Ranma-hon," Nabiki groused, "And where is he now?"
"Said something about going to save some silky darlings. That he'd been away from them too long and allowing them to remain captive. Not sure what he meant, but he sounded a few bricks short of a foundation, to me."
Ranma turned around quickly, to see why Nabiki suddenly jumped off the bed. He was then treated to the sight of the middle aged woman quickly rummaging through her drawers, "Ah, Nabiki?"
"Still here, still here, still here..." Nabiki mumbled in mantra, as she continued to ransack her own underwear drawer. She then gulped, and hesitatingly looked into the drawer where she kept her sweats, and sighed in relief when she saw what she was looking for was still there. Her eyes lit up in slight panic again, as she suddenly dove for the underside of her bed, and pulled out what looked like a shoebox. Ranma watched, confused, as he heard her hands rummaging through what sounded like thin wrapping paper.
Nabiki took a deep breath, satisfied that everything she was looking for was still in their place. "Good, Happosai hadn't been in my room, then."
"Nope, I kinda told him it was probably off-limits for the time being, he understood I'm pretty sure." Ranma commented, deciding not to say anything about the 'wink-wink, nudge-nudge' gesture Happosai gave him.
Nabiki trudged back to the bed, this time walking around to sit next to Ranma. He shifted in slight nervousness, before relaxing at the consoling smile Nabiki offered. "Thanks for bringing me in here, I guess things were a bit wild when I was out of it?"
"You don't know the half of it. What's this about Shampoo wanting to marry me?"
Nabiki focused onto her lap, and sighed once again, "Something about her 'undending devotion', I think. She did that in front of her Great Grandmother, so I think she has something to do with Shampoo's sudden change of heart towards you."
Nabiki looked sternly at Ranma, "Now, Ranma, I'm not going to tell you what you should do, and ultimately this is all... this is going to be your decision."
"But we barely put up with each other, so it's not like you have anything to worry about," Ranma replied, understanding what Nabiki was alluding to, "I'm not gonna give you up for Shampoo because she threw herself at me."
Nabiki gave him a sad smile, "Thanks Ranma, I appreciate that. But, I just wanted to make sure you understand that... that if you..." Nabiki took a deep breath, before continuing, "If the two of you do start, well, start appreciating each other, don't feel like you're under any pressure or obligation towards me. As happy as I am with you, I'd be a lot happier if you find what really makes *you* happy."
Ranma scrunched his face slightly, before turning away, and folding his arms into his lap, "Nabiki, I can't say that I got a lot of happiness in life. Pop did the best he could, under the circumstances and being the type of guy he is, but moving around all the time, never setting down roots, and only having a few friends to speak of, I can't say I'm the best guy around to assume his own happiness."
Ranma timidly reached over, and hesitatingly put his hand on the small of Nabiki's back, "But, ya gotta know, that I don't think I've been happier than I have being right here."
"Sure, Ranma, I understand that, but things change."
"Damn it, Nabiki, all you ever do is doubt. Can't you show a little optimism?" Ranma enquired, growing fustrated.
Nabiki fought the urge to simply lean into the pigtailed boy for comfort, "I'm not trying to sabotage us, but you just got to realize there's too much going against us for ever of us to realistically think this can go anywhere."
"Yeah, well even if the odds are stacked against us, I ain't giving up without at least try'n. You gonna work with me on this, Nabiki?"
Nabiki chuckled, before standing up from the bed, "Ranma, I can't promise I would fight as hard as you, but I'm not going to give up that easily. I promise you that."
"Good, so I ain't gonna hear any more about me and some other girl?" Ranma enquired, internally sighing in relief. This was the second time the conversation had come up in one form or another, and it wasn't getting any easier to deal with. He well knew Nabiki liked him a lot, but she was pretty adimant that he was going to leave her eventually.
Nabiki chuckled, "You know, Ranma? Your speech gets rougher whenever you get emotional."
"I ain't getting emotional! I'm just..." Ranma paused, but decided it was too late to correct himself, "I'm just... aw, forget it. I just stayed to make sure you were okay." Ranma got off the bed, and began to approach the door, "I gotta get to bed, myself. Still got school tomorrow." Ranma walked to the door, opened it, and stepped out.
"Ranma,"
The pigtailed boy paused, but didn't turn around. It was still obvious from the way he hung frozen in step that he was paying rapt attention.
"I could..."
After an extensive pause, Ranma urged her to continue, "Yeah?" He heard the woman give a deep exhalation.
"Good night, Ranma, and thank you... again."
It was a few more moments before Ranma spoke, "You're welcome." Ranma closed the door behind him, and Nabiki listened to his retreating footsteps.
"I could use your company, tonight," Nabiki finished,damning herself for her hesitation, before putting her hands on her hips, and looking to her nightclothes laid out earlier by herself.
It looked like she only put off her problems. Happosai would no doubt be returning with a large sackful of stolen unmentionables, which she sincerely didn't want to deal with, and Cologne still had a few details to clear up with her. In any case, it didn't help to worry about them now.
________________
"Morning, Happosai," Nabiki greeted, somewhat suprised to find the old letch up at this time of the morning.
"Hey! G'morning to you too, Nabiki!" Happosai cheerfully greeted, chipper for the wee hours of the morning, "Say, whatever happened to you calling me 'Granpa' all the time?"
"It happened to have gotten lost sometime when I turned... twenty five I think," Nabiki replied, wryly, as she poured her ritual cup of coffee, made herself a dish of the breakfast Ranma had prepared, and sat down at the dining room table across from the old man.
"Ha! You tell'n me you've gotten older? Don't look a day over twenty, sweetheart!"
Nabiki had to smile; there were few things that managed to balance ot Happosai's annoyances. "And you still haven't lost your touch with flattery, I see."
"Feh, at my age, you try to maintain as much 'touching' as possible!"
Those few things just BARELY managed to balance out the old man's less endearing vices, "Touch me, and I let Kasumi handle you."
Happosai visibly baulked at that, before his eyes began to water, "Y... you wouldn't be that cruel to an old man, would you?"
Nabiki's smile turned into a smirk. Their father may have made attempts on Happosai's life, but it was Kasumi that came the closest... consistantly. Nabiki nor Akane themselves were willing to take direct action against the old man, since both felt more obliged than their father to the Grandmaster of their school. Kasumi, on the other hand, didn't avidly practice the art for more than health benefits, and felt no such respect to honor the old pervert. Of course, Nabiki was fairly sure that if Happosai dared lay a hand on her baby sister, Akane would be looking for another School to join, and they would be mouning (or celebrating) the death of their master. It was also positive that Happosai knew this, too.
"That depends on how well you behave," Nabiki quipped, nonchilantly, before favoring the old man with a gracious smile, "Granpa."
Happosai gave a genuine smile, "Heh, can't tell you how much I missed you and your sisters."
"It's not like there aren't plenty of other 'pretty ladies' the world over," Nabiki commented, before sipping on her coffee.
"Heh, but you girls are different, you're family!"
"You got a weird way of treating 'family'," Nabiki retorted, almost idly, "Some would say 'incestuously'." Nabiki took a bite of her breakfast, and nodded; Ranma had definitely gotten better. More than likely for her benefit alone. "And what about father? Isn't he family, too?"
"Feh, Soun could rot, for all I care!" Happosai retorted, before digging into the remainder of his own breakfast. "But you three, even Kasumi whenever she wasn't on the warpath, you girls treated me with respect and kindness. That's all an old man could ask for! Well, that and an abudance of pretty ladies and lacy beauties!"
Nabiki frowned at the reminder, "Ranma told me you went out last night."
"So he did, did he?" Happosai replied, after licking his plate clean, "You know? The boy ain't half bad a cook! And it's nice to see that you're a hit with the youngsters! How long have the two of you been shacking up?"
Nabiki closed her eyes, but decided to go ahead with the sudden conversation change Happosai instated, "We're not shacking up... well... I guess technically we are, but not in the perverted manner you're thinking of, Happosai."
"Hey! I was just starting to get used to 'Granpa'!"
"I only called you that once so far," Nabiki replied drolly.
"Heh, I'm already missing it, though. So that's Genma's boy? Surprised that lazy fool managed to get any woman! Ranma obviously gets his looks from his mother's side of the family!"
Nabiki had to chuckle at that, "Among other things, a few less than flattering."
"What's so funny?"
"Oh, Good morning, Ranma!" Nabiki greeted, already feeling like it's a good day.
"Morn'n," Ranma replied, running his fingers through his still damp hair, and gave a nod of greeting to Happosai, "You guys talk'n about me?"
"Yes, Nabiki was just telling me how much she appreaciates you young men in bed! Glad you can fill her appetite!"
"GRANPA!" Nabiki shouted, scandalized.
"Ah..." was all Ranma could say, before blushing, "We ain't doing anything!"
Happosai guffawed, "You two sure of that? I haven't even seen fruits redder than the pair of you! Anyways, tell Granpa how the two of you got together in the first place!"
"We're not together," Nabiki said factually, with her best poker face.
Happosai didn't bother even looking in her direction, as he observed Ranma's hurt expression, "That isn't what the boy's telling me!"
"Ranma, what did you say to him?" Nabiki demanded, already understanding the whole bluff was over before it started.
"Nothing, at least in words. The boy cares about ya, and it doesn't take a genius to see how much."
"I'm gonna go out and practice some more before I head to school," Ranma quickly interjected, abandoning Nabiki in an embarrasing conversation.
The middle aged woman wasn't about to let him leave her high and dry, "Wait, Ranma, gimme a sec and I'll join you!" With that, Nabiki was up and rushing to her bedroom for some workout clothes. Happosai was left at the table by himself, looking at both retreating people.
"Heh, sounds like this is gonna be an interesting story they have to tell me," the old man mumbled to himself, before pulling out his pipe, lighting it, and taking a puff.
________________
Happosai hopped onto the patio table, and sat down in lotus position to observe the two students of his school. Ranma had already began into a form Happosai had taken from one of the Tibeten internal Kungfu forms, meant for building internal chi. Nabiki walked to stand next to Ranma, offering him a smile, before starting the same form from the beginning.
He could see Nabiki's chi currently dwarfed Ranma, which meant she had indeed kept up with her training, which made him feel more than a little proud. Ranma's wasn't anything to scoff at, though, telling Happosai that Genma at least was doing his job with the boy. Too bad he already promised Akane as his heir, the kid definitely had promise, and promise to spare. But even at nonstop training, Ranma had a ways to go.
"Say, Ranma, Nabiki, why don't the two of you spar a bit? Curious to see how the two of you are," Happosai requested, as he tapped his pipe on his knee.
The two stopped, and looked at each other nervously. "I don't really practice for combat much anymore, master." Nabiki stated, chagrinned. She could handle herself pretty easily, but doubted she was in Ranma's league in true physical ability.
"Ah... I don't... hit girls," Ranma replied, lamely. Nabiki gave him a look, slightly put off by the comment, but let it go.
"Then what happened with Shampoo?" Happosai asked, innocently, "She hit herself and get delusions?"
"Uh, that was different," Ranma argued, "We were both girls at the ti-"
"Shouldn't have said that while he was standing by the waterhose," Nabiki commented, barely managing to jump away from the splashoff.
Ranma stared down at herself, unamused, "Great, now I gotta go change..."
"Not yet, you don't! The two of you, face off!"
That time, Happosai gave a demand, one that neither student could deny. Hesitatingly, they both turned, and bowed to one another. Ranma stood almost upright, with her left foot holding almost all her weight with her hands behind her back.
Nabiki held her arms to the side with her fingers tussled like a crane's feathers, as she rested her weight on her own left leg, as her right was extended before her with the toe touching the ground lightly. For several moments, neither dared to move, and not because of wariness.
Ranma had a deep, intent frown on her face and concern in her eyes, while Nabiki stared back, obviously troubled. "Comon, quit stall'n!"
Happosai wasn't going to simply let this go. With a deep breath, Nabiki decided to make the first move. She stepped in close, and shot her palm forward to Ranma's chest. The pigtailed girl didn't even bother to move until the last second, when she simply leaned out of the way. Instead of retracting her arm, Nabiki swiped the butt of her palm towards the side of Ranma's head, forcing the girl to then twist out of harm.
The second strike was only meant to distract, as Nabiki locked her shin against Ranma's, and force the younger's leg straight by leaning into it. Instead, Ranma dropped back, following the momentum of Nabiki's leg grapple, and kept her leg straight while she was crouched on her other leg.
Nabiki stumbled, as her leg found no perch, allowing Ranma to use her extended leg to swipe Nabiki's base foot from under her. Before she could hit the ground, Ranma had her in her arms.
Happosai was far from impressed, "Bah! If the two of you aren't even going to bother, why are you even practicing the art?" With a disgusted frown, the old martial arts master hopped from the table, "I'm heading over to the dojo to pick up the rest of my stuff. We'll talk about the two of you and your performances later."
Happosai didn't even bother to look back, as he took off to the rooftops. Nabiki and Ranma remained staring at his departure until he was long gone, before Ranma assisted Nabiki to standing.
"Th-thanks," Nabiki mumbled, before heading back into the house. Ranma stared back where Happosai left, and back to Nabiki, before sighing.
________________
Nabiki strolled to the doors of the Cat Cafe, and halted for a moment. She steeled herself for what she suspected was to come, before hesitatingly bringing her hand up to open the door. At the current time of day, there would be little, if any patrons in the restaurant, which was what the middle-aged woman was hoping for. As she entered, it came as equal surprise to find Cologne sitting at one of the tables, smoking a pipe and reaching a Chinese paper, appearing to currently be the sole occupant of the restaurant other than Nabiki.
The old woman looked up in greeting, instead of giving the usual generic welcoming to the Cat Cafe, "Ah, Nabiki Tendou, I hadn't been expecting you today. I trust you're feeling better? You gave us all quite a scare yesterday."
Cologne motioned the woman to the seat across from her, signalling to Nabiki that the old woman well knew she wasn't there for the fine quizine. The middle aged woman nodded, "Thanks for your concern, it's just that I had more than a few.... surprises that day."
Cologne nodded, as she continued to read her paper, "Yes, I believe that chauvenistic idiot of a decrepid geriatric lout had arrived that day. My condolences."
Nabiki had to chuckle at the old woman's opinion of Happosai, "He isn't *all* that bad, as long as you remain in his good graces."
"Well, being *mostly* that bad is enough to warrent remaining out of his good graces," Cologne commented, flatly, before folding her paper up, and favoring Nabiki with a pleasant smile, "I believe you've probably come to enquire as to the events between my Great Granddaughter and your houseguest, Ranma?"
Quick to the chase, "Yes, forgive me if I'm in error, but I believe Shampoo proposed to Ranma?"
"Indeed, you are in error," Cologne stated. But before Nabiki could sigh in relief, she continued, "She informed Ranma that they were already married."
"E... excuse me?" Nabiki sputtered, before fixing her expression into a flat look.
"Oh, my, it's been a while since my Grandson departed, I wonder what is taking him so long?"
Nabiki shrugged, a bit confused as to what brought that up.
"I apologise if this seems a bit peculiar to you," Cologne began, "This is one of the laws of our people. I believe you are aware of the situation that had occured between Shampoo and Ranma back in our home village?" Nabiki nodded, and urged the old woman to continue. "It was by mistake that Shampoo had given her the kiss of death. Had Ranma revealed his true gender, we could have clarified things, and avoided a great deal of incident."
"You mean her chasing him halfway around the world to kill him?" Nabiki enquired, before mentally chiding herself for the poke.
"Yes, that would be the one," Cologne responded with a mirthful cackle. "As it was, I thank you for your intervention, preventing Shampoo from making a grievous error. Since Ranma is truthfully male, she was required to give him the kiss of marraige. Fortunately, no harm has been done due to her wrecklessness."
"I was informed by your Great Granddaughter that the kiss of death was still valid, since Ranma was still a girl at the time. Actually being a guy had no bearing on that," Nabiki countered, barely able to keep the hostility out of her voice.
"I am gravely sorry for how you were mislead," Cologne replied, seeming deeply chagrinned, "I've attempted to raise her with a just mind, though she is still greatly prone to imbellishing the facts. It appears that my Great Granddaughter was in error. Once again I apologise, this time for the confusion," the Amazon matriarch shook her head apparently at her heir's actions.
"And if Ranma opposes this marraige? If I recall, Shampoo herself wasn't all too enthuesiastic about a relationship with Ranma, either."
"Ah, yes, as children tend to be these days, Shampoo remains defiant against regulations and rules," Cologne said, tiredly, "In time, she will accept her husband, as I'm sure Ranma would accept her. He is a healthy young boy, and I'm positive you would agree that my Great Granddaughter would be quite a catch?"
"Shampoo is charming," Nabiki replied, waiving the fact off with her hand flippantly, "but the decision is still Ranma's. Also, you'ld have to take into account Ranma's mother."
Cologne tilted her head, curious, "Oh? And about son-in-law's mother?"
Nabiki gritted her teeth, both at the 'son-in-law', and having to talk about Nodoka, "She's what you would find as a traditional type in this country. I doubt she would take too well to her son marrying a foreigner." Nabiki was pretty much positive that Nodoka would intervine on this. She could recall a couple of moments the woman had considered that Shampoo would make a fine 'concubine'.
"Hmmm," Cologne seemed to muse over this point. "Yes, it's saddening to see such prejudice. I believe, given the circumstances, she may find herself not entirely objective to the proposition."
"That's a pretty lofty assumption you're making," Nabiki commented, "I somehow don't think she'll be as open to the idea as you're suspecting."
"Oh, forgive my manners! Would you like some tea?" Cologne suddenly enquired, as she gestured to the pot of tea she had on the table with a single cup for herself, "I could go get you a cup, it wouldn't take me long."
"Thank you, but no," Nabiki graciously replied, finding some of her hostility vanishing after the gesture, yet becoming more irritated by the constant distration from the main topic..
"I understand," Cologne replied, continuing with the previous conversation, "after all, you would know the woman better than me. Perhaps you could put in the good word for my Great Granddaughter? I'm sure she would take it into consideration if it was proposed to her by a family friend."
"Why you audatious old..." Nabiki thought to herself, before saying out loud, "I'll... give her my opinion on the matter." Nabiki checked her watch, "I'm afraid I have to make my leave. I still have another apointment to make in a few short minutes. Sorry for cutting this visit short."
"Oh, that's quite alright," Cologne responded with a gracious nod, "At least I thank you for keeping an old woman company."
Nabiki nodded, and without another word, left the Cat Cafe. The old woman was prepared for her, that was for sure. She avoided any words that would associate her with Ranma romantically, in an attempt to feign obliviousness to their relationship. Nabiki was more than sure Shampoo had already informed the matriarch of the situation. Also, at any time it seemed Nabiki was close to reaching hostile, the old woman suddenly derailed the conversation, taking the heat off the topic.
Nabiki contemplated the conversation in her head, almost failing to avoid the bags of groceries she nearly collided with. Fortunately, she wasn't without some martial ability, as she swerved and spun, just in time to pull out of the path of the hapless person juggling full arms of supplies.
"Oh? Forgive me, I should be more careful, and should know much better than this."
Nabiki reached over to help the man steady his groceries, even if it appeared he had them under control, "No, I wasn't paying attention. I should be the one apologising." Nabiki took a deep breath to calm herself; this incident would not have come close to occuring if she hadn't let the old woman get under her skin.
"Hmm? I believe I am familiar with you..." the man set one of his bags carefully onto the ground to reveal his own handsome face, "You are the Nabiki Tendou, am I correct? My daughter is to be staying within your home?"
Nabiki shook herself out of her subtle appraisal, without his dark wire rim glasses and skull cap, he was a great deal more attractive than she had realized before, "Oh? So you're Mr... um... Xian?" Nabiki used the western universal greeting of a handshake, "Yes, I saw you at the Cat Cafe for the little time you were out of the kitchen. I never got the opportunity to congradulate you on your exellent culinary skills."
"Ah, my thanks for your gracious compliment. I have humbly studied throughout the world, much to my Grandmother's chagrin." He paused in thought, "Of course, I would suppose that is why she steadfastly requested my presence here."
"I guess Cologne was footing the bill for you're little globe hop?" Nabiki enquired, falling into an old habit of guaging how much people were worth.
Mr. Xian chuckled, "It was not that, being what upset my Grandmother, but that I chose not to fully embrace a path of martial arts. If I was to have, I would be her heir. As it is, my daughter had come to gain that honor."
"I see," Nabiki replied. What she also saw was even if the man didn't zealously follow the art, he did at least keep himself in shape, "Anyways, I apologise for almost running into you, and holding you up."
"It was no bother. A respite with a lovely lady is never a hinderance."
Nabiki smiled slightly at the compliment, "How flattering of you." The man shrugged, as if his comment were the most obvious thing that could be said, yet needed to be stated for intellectual purposes. Nabiki snorted softly, "Well, I guess I'll see you whenever I'm at the Cat Cafe."
"Then I will await your presence until then. When we meet next time, Nabiki Tendou."
Nabiki gave a slight bow, before heading past the man. Shampoo's father turned to watch her leave, before picking up his second bag of quickly needed supplies, and headed towards the side entrance of the restuarant. Neither of them saw the old woman perched on the roof, holding a cup of tea in one hand, while using the other hand to hold her pipe.
"Well, even if I had planned that, it could not have made for a better introduction," Cologne said to herself, before sipping her tea.
________________
Nabiki picked up her cell phone, and hit the third speed dial. Just as she was pulling back onto the highway, the other end picked up.
"[Hello, Tendou residence.]"
"Hey sis," Nabiki greeted, imagining the cheerful butter-won't-melt expession her sister wore when she was being polite drop like a irritating habit.
"[Nabiki, hello, any particular reason you're calling?]"
"What? I can't be conversational every once in a while?" Nabiki equired, smirking.
"[And exactly *how* often do you call, dear sister?]"
Nabiki shrugged, even if it couldn't be seen on the other end, "I guess you got me there. I did call for a particular reason."
"[And that is?]"
Nabiki held for dramatic pause, "Happosai."
Kasumi returned the pause, before replying, "[I'll go get his will, I think father kept it in his room. So he died in Jamaica, or was he killed?]"
"None of us won the bet, Kasumi," Nabiki replied, chuckling, "He decided to cut the trip short, and return home. We should be expecting a refund soon."
Once again, Kasumi took her time to respond,
"[I DON'T WANT A REFUND, I WANT HIM GONE!!!]"
"Deities, sis, calm down!" Nabiki commanded, having to pull the phone away from her ear, "I don't need you screaming at me while I'm driving!"
"[Come over, now. We'll discuss this in person.]"
"That's a bit out of my way, Kasumi," Nabiki dry-toned, "That's the reason I'm using this rather convenient device called a 'phone'."
"[Cute, now come over so we can talk about what we're going to do about this. Besides, with your recent driving record, you should be putting that phone down and paying attention to the damn road.]"
Nabiki grumbled at the snipe, but relented. It wasn't so much that Kasumi had even a tiny point, but that her sister was now agitated at the news that was just given. "Fine, I didn't have anything important to do, anyhow."
"[Good, I'll wait, then.]" After the curt response, the line went dead at the other end.
Nabiki sighed, and put up her own phone, "Gee, love you too, Sis."
________________
"Northern Siberia..."
Nabiki rubbed her temples, realizing she should have seen this coming, "Kasumi, you're being irrational."
"Look! There's an expedition through Antarctica! I'm sure he'll enjoy that!"
Nabiki started to pick up the travel brochure with interest, before abruptly stopping herself, "Kasumi, no. Just live with it. He's back for the time being." Even if it was irritating her, Nabiki understood Kasumi's hysterics. She did go through the same process when the old letch announced his presence, exept hers didn't last nearly as long.
Kasumi pressed her palms to her eyes, "Great, just wonderful." She looked up at Nabiki with a sharp glare, "Why couldn't you have told me this when I hadn't run out of cigerettes?"
Nabiki shrugged, "You could have just asked me to pick you up a pack."
Kasumi leaned back from the tea table, sighing heavily, "He's staying with you again?"
Nabiki nodded, resignedly, "I have the big screen TV, remember?"
Kasumi gave her younger sister a smirk, "Told you it was a bad investment."
"Whatever. You know? When you said you wanted to talk about this, I presumed it wasn't to go over more plots to hoist Gramps off on another extended trip."
"Sorry... sorry," Kasumi apologised, playing with her apron in place of keeping her hands busy, as the artificial security of a cigerette was absent from them. "I just wasn't... expecting this."
"Neither was I, sis. We'll just have to live with it, I suppose." Nabiki replied, picking up her cup of tea, and sipping it. "Well, I would consider this a wasted trip, if it wasn't so humorous watching you freak out. But to add some validity to this social visit, anything else you have to talk about?"
"What did Nodoka have to say about you offering to give Ranma back to her?" Kasumi enquired in an almost too entirely conversational tone.
Nabiki paused with her cup to her mouth, and looked over the rim at her sister, before speaking, "I didn't make any offer." Granted, she *had*, but that was during different circumstances, and Kasumi didn't need to know that anyways.
"Oh? How come?" Kasumi enquired, looking at her sister curiously.
"Ranma's welcomed to stay as long as he likes. If he wants to go live with his mother again, he's welcomed to approach her on the subject," Nabiki replied diplomatically, although there was a bit of heat in her voice.
"Well, I know you have no problems supporting yourself, Ranma, and Happosai, but do you really care to keep such unnecessary expences?"
"Shampoo's staying, too," Nabiki commented, setting her cup down, and getting prepared for a conversation she knew one of them was going to regret later.
"So you see, you have three guests... don't you only have two guest rooms?"
"I'm pretty sure Happosai wouldn't mind staying with Shampoo," Nabiki commented with a straight face. Nabiki hid her own humor well, as she saw Kasumi's face twitch for a second. The comment wasn't meant for humor, but to put her sister off-balance, if only for an instant.
"He'll probably just stay with Ranma. And if anything goes awry with that, he can sleep on the couch. As for Ranma himself, Nodoka's not exactly the wealthiest of women, though she does live comfortably. After what Daddy and Genma did, think of it as a debt of honor that I'm letting him stay with me for a while. On top of all that, it's just more convenient, since then he wouldn't have to change schools or anything. If it REALLY concerns you, I'll give him until the end of the school year, or until we track down Daddy and his little friend. Fair enough?"
"I'm not thinking about what's 'fair' for me, Nabiki, but for you. I'm only concerned about your privacy," Kasumi replied, now that the ball was back on her side of the court. "We both know you're a rather private person, and having a young man around may pose more than a few problems."
"No more than Happosai, and Ranma's would be less difficult to contend with," Nabiki counter-argued. Of course, if Ranma did pose those sort of problems, it wasn't like she would sway him from those urges... unless he began grabbing onto any available female or developed a taste for an abundance of female undergarments.
"Nabiki, I'm just not sure you've thought this through fully," Kasumi began again, "I understand things seem harmless now, but sometimes they get out of hand."
"Sorry, sis, but this conversation's not going anywhere," Nabiki stated with as much finality as possible, "I should probably head back to make sure Happosai's behaving himself. It was nice meeting with you, Kasumi."
Kasumi had started to get up to walk her sister to the door, but from Nabiki's tone, it wouldn't be appreciated. For several long minutes, Kasumi considered where she went wrong in the conversation, long after Nabiki had left. Sighing in fustration, Kasumi stood up, and removed her apron, deciding she really needed a cigerette.
She walked out to the dojo where her son was practicing, and drippinga lot more sweat than she usually saw him do," Kaoru, watch your little brother for me, I'm going out for a few minutes to pick up some... a few things."
Kaoru paused his rigerous workout to respond, "Alright Mom."
"Kaoru... you're practicing a lot harder than usual."
Kaoru held stance, before starting up again, "If I want to be one of the best, I can't slack like I have been. I need to become much more serious."
"Hmm, sounds a great deal like your grandfather talking," Kasumi commented, "Though he didn't always follow through." Kasumi turned to leave, "Well, it's nice to know that you're trying harder. I'll return in a bit."
Kaoru didn't hear what his mother had said, as he was lost in his own thoughts.
"Just you wait, Ranma..."
________________
Nabiki was glad to have escaped before things got too heated. Kasumi was definitely pushing, but trying not to seem too obvious about it. Her eldest sister most assuradly had to be kept in the dark about what was going on between her and Ranma, because things would get realllly messy if she caught wind of it.
Nabiki pulled into her driveway, happy to be home, and eager to see Ranma again. It wasn't any of Kasumi's business anyhow, if Kasumi really did care about this, she should have been happy for Nabiki to even have the prospect of a boyfriend.
Okay, so Nabiki was attempting to rationalize things, but nonetheless she knew how she felt, she knew how Ranma felt, and that was all that really matted. Unfortnately, now that they were together, fate seemed very eager to bomb their chances to oblivion. Between Cologne and Kasumi, it hadn't been the best of days.
Nabiki stepped in the door, and stopped abruptly, as she spied Happosai, sitting peacefully on a comatose Ranma in girl form, surrounded by some Nabiki's more favored lingerie.
"Ah... Nabiki... welcome home!" Happosai replied with a somewhat nervous voice.
Nabiki sighed in resignation. For some reason, she could see a whole slew of days like this in the future.
