Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma 1/2, nor claim to.
Key: "Japanese, Chinese, English"
Chapter Twelve: Last Chances:
"I never believed that things, they happen for a reason, and they never go as planned. I wanted to thank you for a vision that was lost that you returned, but you're passed where you understand." Third Eye Blind: Blinded
Keira slowly let her eyes open, as the loud ringing of the alarm clock forced her awake. After a moment, she slammed the button on the top, and the incessant noise ended. Slowly, she sat up, letting the covers slide away from her pajamas. After stretching her arms a bit, she slid to the side and onto the floor of her room. That's when she remembered.
Sauske was coming here today!
She perked up immediately, rushing into her closet. And for the first time since she had overslept several years ago, Keira changed into her school uniform first. Once she was dressed, she gathered her school materials, and jammed them into her bag before bounding down the stairs happily, her skirt trailing around her.
Ukyo smiled as her daughter came around, before stopping still. "Keira, is something wrong?" Keira stopped, blinking at her mother. Ukyo pointed to her clothes.
The girl looked over what she was wearing for a moment, before shaking her head. "Nope, mom, everything is fine. I just thought I'd leave for school early."
The woman dropped the plates she was holding, which crashed onto the floor. "E-e-early?"
Keira looked over at her. "Mom, was that our breakfast?"
"AAAHH!" Ukyo shouted, running to grab a broom and sweep everything up.
Keira paused, thinking things over. "Actually mom, don't worry. I'll get something at school. I have to leave now if I'm going to walk there in time."
Ukyo tripped on . . . something, but stumbled back up, looking back at her daughter like she as a ghost. "W . . . walk?"
Keira walked out the door, smiling happily. Ukyo watched her for a few seconds, before she felt faint. Suddenly, Keira rushed back, bursting in the door. "Oh, Mom, I almost forgot. Is it all right that Sauske-kun comes by after school today?"
Ukyo suddenly regained all her strength, standing up and nodding. Keira smiled. "Thanks mom!" Then, she disappeared out the door.
The woman sighed as her son walked down the stairs. "So, that's what made her so happy . . ."
"Mom?" Haku asked, rubbing his eyes, and still wearing his pajamas. "What was that noise?"
"Huh?" Ukyo asked, still zoned out a bit, before smiling and turning back to Haku. "Keira just surprised me, sugar; that's all."
"Oh. What happened?"
"She walked to school."
Haku stared in disbelief. "And then what happened? Martians invaded?"
- - -
Keira smiled while she sat in class. Getting to school early was great! She got a moment to talk to Sauske, and get him to come bye after school. He was going to meet her at the restaurant and . . . everything was perfect! "There's nothing that can go wrong!" she whispered to herself with glee.
- - -
Aki woke up, quickly shaking drowsiness from her eyes, and glancing at the clock. She only had a few hours to get to Sauske. Her parents were going to stop by the same house they had visited two days ago, and if she didn't beat Sauske by then, it was over.
She would get to him, today.
- - -
Keira sighed. "Yep, nothing can go wrong."
- - -
Akane carried the sandwiches out onto the table. Ranma immediately grabbed one, sitting next to her. "Well, when do you think they're getting' here?" he asked, glancing up at the clock. It was almost noon.
"Probably later. Nabiki said they wanted to eat somewhere else instead of here with us." Akane said with a sigh.
"Hey, Akane?" Ranma asked, looking over innocently.
"Yes, Ranma?"
"Can I have their sandwiches then?"
"All right, Ranma. Take," the plate where the sandwiches were sitting began to roll around, no longer weighed down, "them?" Akane looked over at her husband, who had stacked the last two on top of each other, and was gobbling through them. After a second, they were gone.
Akane was about to sigh, when the door opened. "We're home!" a voice shouted from the front door. After a short pause, a woman wearing a beat up, oversized T-shirt and jeans carrying a pair of bulging suitcases walked into the doorway. Noticing Akane and Ranma eating, she dropped the bags, and walked in. "Hey Ranma, sis."
"Hi Nabiki." Akane said cheerfully, while Ranma just nodded since his mouth was still full. "Where's Brandon?"
"I am just taking my shoes off." A man's voice called from behind the doorway, before there was a thump against the wall. "Whoops."
"You know," Nabiki said to the voice behind the wall, "it helps if you untie your shoes before taking them off."
"I'll do it my way, thank you very much."
After a moment, a tall, lean American male stepped into the doorway, reaching his arm around Nabiki. He had light, dirty-blond hair, cut short with thin white-blond highlights along his bangs. He had a thin, pleasant smile, accentuated by his light blue eyes and relaxed body language. There was absolutely nothing threatening about him; he seemed as innocent as a young child.
Akane and Ranma knew better, though, and immediately began taking exact notice of everything visible. Brandon already had them on their toes. The only thing that worried them more was that he was starting to rub off on Nabiki.
"Hi Brandon!" Ranma said, finally swallowing the last bits of the double-decker sandwiches.
Akane smiled too. "How was the trip?"
"Oh, it was not that bad." Brandon replied, as they walked over to the table. "Do you want anything ta drink?" he asked Nabiki.
"No, thank you." Nabiki replied, smiling to her husband as she sat down, and he walked past the table and into the kitchen.
"Ranma, Akane, do you want anything to drink?" Brandon continued.
Both of them perked up, before smiling again. "No, I'm good." Ranma said quickly.
"Me too." Akane followed, before turning back to her sister. "So, how was lunch?"
Nabiki smiled. "Oh, we just got something quick at the airport."
"We?" came Brandon's voice from the kitchen. "You mean you."
"Well, fine, I guess it was just me, but I offered it, didn't I?"
"You should have known how much your sister loves to cook, so I was waiting to eat here. After all, she can make some really good sandwiches."
"Sorry Brandon, but we thought you were going to eat somewhere else, so we already finished lunch. I would give you one, but I already ate the last one just now." Ranma relied, sighing.
"Oh." Brandon replied. There was the sound of running water as he filled his glass with water, before returning to the table. He placed the glass down on the table, before thinking. "Well, I do have that can of peanuts." He muttered to himself, before walking back to his bag. Ranma and Akane perked up again, but didn't settle completely this time.
"So, Akane, what's this I hear about Sauske being engaged?" Nabiki began, which let Ranma and Akane relax a bit.
"Well, Shampoo and Mousse have returned, and are now living here in Nerima, along with all of their children." Akane began.
"Is that a bad thing?" Brandon asked, returning to the table and carrying a small can labeled "Peanuts".
"Well, no, that ain't the bad thing." Ranma replied, sighing. "The bad thing is that when they came to visit, Sauske ended up fightin' their older daughter, and now they're engaged."
"Supposedly." Akane added.
"What does that mean?" Nabiki asked as Brandon forcefully pulled off the lid of the can with a loud POP! She forced herself to keep from smiling when both Ranma and Akane jumped at the sound.
"Well, Aki, their daughter," Akane continued as Brandon stuffed a handful of peanuts into his mouth, an began chewing quietly, "went back home and said that the two of them never fought. So, now, nobody knows if they're really engaged or not."
"Want some, Nabiki?" Brandon asked, swallowing hard, and handing the can over to his wife. She nodded, and took a handful herself. "Now, these are the Chinese Amazon people, correct? The ones with the unusual laws and everything?"
"Yeah, that's them." Ranma replied. "But it ain't so bad for me anymore."
"No." Akane replied to her husband. "But our son is pretty much screwed."
Brandon, his face not even shifting, blinked at her. "And that is wrong how?" Akane choked back, glaring at him, as Ranma stared at him in horror and Nabiki's mouth twitched a small smile. "It is about time he learned some more responsibility." He capped the peanut can, and turned to Nabiki. "So, do you want to go shopping for wedding presents?"
"Wedding?" Akane asked, for the first time realizing what could really come of this. "You don't really think . . ."
"Akane, let's think about this realistically." Nabiki added, now back to being serious. Brandon nodded, turning the can in his hands slowly. "What's the worst thing that could happen?"
Akane sat, really thinking this over fully for the first time. "I don't know, maybe he'll get married to her."
"Akane, it's simple. One, they fall in love, and marry and live happily ever after and all that crap. Two, they hate each other, and they break the engagement the same way Ranma and Shampoo did. Three, Sauske falls in love with her, but she doesn't, and they break up. Sauske's not the type to force someone to like him, so he'll probably let it drop pretty quick. And four, she loves him, and he doesn't, and . . ." Nabiki's voice trailed off.
"And what?" Ranma asked, a little pale.
"Well, that's difficult to figure out. I can't really say, I've never met the girl. We'll just have to see how things turn out, won't we? But, I think Shampoo's actions from before give us a pretty good base for what could happen." Nabiki replied, a hint of authority in her voice.
Ranma paled, remembering much of the hell that was his first years here in Nerima. Akane sighed, drifting off into thought again, leaning down onto her elbows and zoning out. Brandon sighed, and leaned across the table, holding out the can of peanuts to her. "Do you want some, Akane?" Akane shook out her thoughts, smiled, nodded, and took the can. Pulling it over to herself, she placed her hand on the lid and pulled. It didn't come off. Taking the can in a better grip, she pulled the lid off with all her strength. And after a second, it came off suddenly.
BANG! "AAAAAAAAAAGH!" Akane screamed as the can exploded, spraying rainbow confetti everywhere. Ranma jumped back several feet. Brandon looked on without any change in expression, while Nabiki covered her mouth with her hand, shocked. Although, her hand was there to hide the smile behind it.
"Akane, next time, warn me before blowing up the peanuts. All right?"
She just glared back at him.
- - -
Sauske sat calmly at the base of the tree, smiling a bit. The boy was finally feeling really happy with his life right now. No more being grounded, he would now get to spend his afternoon with his best friend. Sauske should have known that it wouldn't last. "Hey, Sauske!" Hojo shouted a bit louder than necessary. "What's with the smile, and the zoning out, and everything?"
"Oh, just thinking about meeting a friend." He replied, half absent-mindedly.
"Who?" Mayu asked, blinking at him.
Sauske was still in dreamland when he replied, "Keira." Big mistake.
When people break the sound barrier, there is a sonic boom, a loud explosion of sound caused by the object moving so quickly. Apparently, when breaking the speed of light, that sound disappeared. Because Sauske was instantly smothered by his friends faces. And there was no luminescent boom.
"You're really meeting her?!"
"Where are you going?!"
"Is this a date?!"
"Are you going to ask her out on one?!"
"Are you going to kiss her?!"
"You two really are more than friends, aren't you?!"
"Can I come?!"
"Me too!"
"I want to go to!"
"So, can we go?!" they chorused together. Then, the chant began, slowly quickening. "Can we?! Can we?! Can we?! Can we?! Can we?! Can we?! Can we?! Can we?! Can we?! Can we?! Can we?! Can we?! Can we?! Can we?! Canwecanwecanwecanwecanwecanwecanweanwecanwecanwe?!"
The chant was finally broken by Hojo getting a small rock to the back of the skull. Except this one had an exceptional amount of force, hurling the boy several feet beyond the tree. Mayu and Ganko, leaning back, saw a very, very angry and flustered Keira standing up in the field, holding several more rocks, staring directly at them.
Sauske knew he screwed up. Then, inspiration hit. He began talking, much louder than he needed to. "Well, uh, we're going to the ice cream shop on Main Street." He could see Keira about to hurl a rock towards his head, when she stopped. Then, she really caught on.
Sauske ducked to avoid the pebble, which bounced off the tree, and then Mayu's shoulder, before coming to rest on the ground several feet away. Ganko and Mayu immediately looked back to Keira, who looked hurt, sad, and much calmer, as she dropped back to the ground, sending angry looks at the trio. As Ganko and Mayu returned to their old spots, Mayu rubbing her shoulder, they sighed.
"Sorry Sauske." Ganko began.
"Yeah, sorry. We didn't mean to mess things up." Mayu added. "We just wanted to know."
"It's all right." Sauske added slowly. "I'll talk to her after school. I'm sure she'll understand. Just forget about it."
- - -
Sauske slowly walked to the gate, glancing around for his friend. Suddenly, Keira appeared next to him. "Smart move, Sauske-kun." Keira said, smiling.
"Thanks." He replied, smiling back.
"Do you think they bought it? And are going to follow up on it?"
"My friends? Of course they are." Sauske replied with a satisfied nod. Then, his expression turned calmer. "Oh, Keira, I have to check something with one of my teachers, so I might be a bit late. I'll meet you there."
Keira sighed, before smiling again and nodding. "Well, then, Sauske-kun, I'll meet you at the 'ice cream store'."
- - -
Sakura smiled as she lifted the helmet up. Sliding it gently over her head, she knew she was ready. She was already wearing her chest armor, Kendo clothing, and reed-wood sword; the helmet just finished the appearance. She began walking quickly to the gym, where the match would officially begin.
Unfortunately, she noticed something that bothered her on the way. The helmet was definitely used. There were the smells of hundreds of people's sweat, many of them faint, but together the smell was almost overwhelming. Sakura scowled; that meant she would have to stick to traditional methods to track her opponent. Not that that was going to be a problem, as she opened the door, and stepped defiantly inside.
- - -
"Keira, you might want to step back. You're scaring the customers, hon', and you need to clean off the face print you're going to leave when you pull yourself off the glass." Ukyo chided.
Immediately, Keira leaned back off the glass, turning and smiling back at her mother. "Heh, um, sorry. I'll get the rag." She went back to the washroom, and grabbed a rag from the rack on the backside of the door, before returning to wipe off her face print from the front window.
"Keira, word of advice." Ukyo said, walking up to the grill to begin the next few okonomiyakis for her customers. "Don't get over eager, hon'. It definitely doesn't make you look good."
Keira blushed a bit as she wiped away the mark from the window, before going back and putting the rag away. "Heh, right." She replied, rubbing the back of her head. She brushed her shirt, before looking up at her. "What do you think?" she asked her mother, waving towards what she was wearing.
The mother looked at her daughter, wearing a loose fitting, light green T-shirt, and a pair of plain blue jeans. There was a small ribbon in her hair, right near the back of her head, similar to the one Ukyo used to wear, except it was also light green. And, of course, her hair was still tied in a braid, with the small white bow at the end.
Ukyo sighed, then walked over to her daughter. She placed her hands on her shoulder. "Keira, take a deep breath in," the daughter breathed in slowly, "breath out," the girl followed by slowly breathing out, "and relax. You look fine, sugar."
Keira smiled, nodding, and blushing more. "I'm just nervous, that's all, Mom."
"Why?" Ukyo asked, not sarcastically, but pleasantly. "Sauske is your friend. No matter what happens, he's going to be glad he came here, because he gets to spend time with you. Don't worry about impressing him or anything. Just have fun."
Keira nodded, smiling, then went to wash her hands.
- - -
Aki was glad Sauske was walking this time. As soon as he reached the alleyway, she stepped out in front of him, blocking his path menacingly. He was obviously surprised to see her, as he stuttered out "A-Aki-san?! What are you doing here?!"
Aki took out a folded piece of paper, and shoved it into his hands. "Meet me here . . . in ten minutes."
Sauske obviously looked like it was the last thing in the world he wanted to deal with. "Is it really that important?"
"Vital." Aki replied. "This . . . must be settled now." Sauske glanced back at her, sighing. "You had better be there . . . in ten minutes." She finished in a threatening tone, before walking past him and down a different alley. She would leave his imagination to think of a suitable thing for her to do if he didn't show.
- - -
Naruto was about to jump out, when he stopped. He hadn't recognized that girl, but it was obvious she said something that made his rival get on edge. Sauske was reading some note, before he sighed, and said, "She's not even trying to hide what this is. And it's at least halfway across the district. Ten minuets? It could take . . . might as well get it over with. Maybe it can be done fast enough to get back to Ucchan's in time." Then, he crumpled the note, and tossed it into the alleyway.
Naruto watched him walk back towards him, turning into the alley that girl had gone into, and disappeared. He waited for a moment, just in case Sauske reappeared, then, when nothing happened, slipped out and hurried over to the alleyway where the note was tossed. "It shouldn't be too hard to find a piece of crumpled paper." Naruto thought. He glanced into the alleyway.
And found seven big trashcans.
- - -
Sakura stood in the center of the gym, inside the area designated to her trial. Across the room, a middle aged man, the Kendo club coach, and a girl a year younger than Sakura, the team's assistant and equipment manager, stood watching her. "Saotome Sakura!" the man shouted, to which Sakura bowed. "I'm glad you came. We have a special test set up for you."
"I'm ready for anything you've got!" Sakura shouted, waving her sword in the air.
"Well, then, let me explain the rules. You will be fighting one of our accepted members. First to three hits to the head, torso, arms, or back will be declared the winner!" the man shouted, holding out the thumbs up sign. "Just so you know, Sakura, you don't have to win; we would like to see your best effort, though. Do not hold back, if you're serious about joining the Kendo club."
"Don't worry, I'll win." Sakura said defiantly.
The man smiled, before nodding. "Well, then, if you're sure, we'll bring in your opponent." He muttered some words to the girl next to him, who then went and opened the door. Stepping back, another figure entered the room. Sakura guessed the person was a male by the way he walked and his body structure, but it was possible for it to go either way. He was dressed in full kendo gear, including armor and helmet already in place, so Sakura couldn't make out his face either. He held a reed-wood sword, gripping the leather handle tightly, and walked into a position opposite her.
On some unseen cue, they both bowed to each other. After a moment, both stood up again, raising the swords to each other. There was a pause, as they waited for their cue from the coach.
He smiled widely, as the girl picked up a clipboard, watching them carefully, especially Sakura. "Ready?!" the man shouted, before holding out the thumbs up sign again. "GO!"
- - -
Sauske wandered into the abandoned lot. Aki was here somewhere. With nobody around, it was a bit eerie to be standing alone in a field, waiting for someone to arrive. "All right, Aki. I'm here." Sauske said to nobody. There was no response. "What is this about?"
"Simple." A voice sounded behind him, which caused Sauske to turn back and gasp a little in surprise. "We have fought . . . once before, Brick-boy. I wish . . . to fight you again . . . here and now."
"Look. Can this wit until tomorrow? I already have plans this afternoon, but I can . . ." Sauske was cut off by the Chinese girl.
"NO!" Aki shouted, clutching at the bundle behind her back. "It has . . . to be right now."
Sauske watched her. She was wearing a tight, sleeveless red shirt, similar to the one his father always wore, that fit the contours of her body perfectly. She wore long, black pants that were loose everywhere but her ankles and waist, where a belt locked the waistband tightly along the space just above her hips. She had pulled the bandanna from her hair, but a small piece of blue string, tied just behind the black streaks in her hair by her ears, kept the separation between the hair on her head and the long blue trail that flowed down her back. Her two blue bandannas, tied to her arms between her elbow and shoulder, however, were still there.
Aki pulled the bundle out in front of herself, watching Sauske carefully. He was still wearing his school uniform, and his school bag hung limply from his shoulder. His black hair was still an absolute mess, like yesterday, when she last saw him, waved slightly in the breeze. Pulling the cloth back, she revealed the contents of the bundle.
Sauske's eyes grew wide.
- - -
Keira smiled as the food simmered on the grill. It faded, however, when she looked up to the doorway as it opened. Not Sauske again. She sighed audibly, which brought her mother's eyes up. "Maybe he's not coming." Keira mumbled to herself.
Ukyo sighed, scooting a little closer to her daughter to speak clearly to her without being overheard in the slightly crowded restaurant. "Keira, if I know anything about the Saotomes, it's that they love okonomiyaki. And you make some of the best." She smiled to her, an all-knowing smile. "Besides, I know teenage boys. They love food too. Trust me, Sauske will be here, hon'."
Keira smiled, and was about to respond, when they heard a crash from outside. "What was that?!" Keira asked immediately, to which her mother shook her head.
"Probably that stupid raccoon I saw a few days ago again. Let me get my flashlight, and we'll go check it out." Ukyo replied, running into the washroom, and returning with a large flashlight. Clicking it on and off to make sure it worked, the mother-daughter team raced outside and into the alley about twenty feet down the block. That's where most of the businesses on this street dropped their trash, so lots of animals got in there. Ukyo's, and the other business owners, rule was you hear it, you go fix it.
The two slid to a stop in front of the alley, and Ukyo clicked on the flashlight. Two trash cans had been overturned, and most of the garbage had spilled out. Ukyo looked around the alleyway, until a pair of eyes appeared in the light.
- - -
Naruto stared back into the light from the street, his thin blond whiskers twitching nervously under his nose. He stared for a moment, when a voice spoke up. "Naruto?!"
It was a familiar voice, female, older . . . "Kuonji-san?" Naruto asked, trying to see through the bright light. "Is that you?"
"Naruto! What the hell are you doing to the garbage?!" Ukyo shouted. Keira nodded in assent.
"I . . . I saw Sauske talking to some girl when I was following him. She stuffed some note in his hand, telling him to meet him there in five minutes, and walked off. Sauske read it, crumpled it up, said something about coming back when he finished whatever he had to take care of, then threw the note in here. I was just trying to find it." Naruto explained.
"Some girl?" Keira asked quietly, a twinge of jealousy in her voice.
Ukyo, however, was much louder. "So, you dump all the trash on the ground?!" Naruto shook his head.
"That's not it at all. It spilled itself!"
"Spilled itself?!" Ukyo shouted back, a vein beginning to appear on her forehead, her free hand clenching into a fist.
As they began arguing, Keira noticed a crumpled, white ball of paper at her feet. Picking it up, she opened it up, and began to read it. She had to force herself to breathe by the end. "A challenge?!" she murmured to herself. "With some girl?" Something about this bothered Keira. She would have to investigate.
When she suddenly ran back into the house, Ukyo and Naruto stopped arguing. They were both about to follow, when Ukyo turned back to him. "Stay here!"
Ukyo walked back through the door, picking up a familiar tool resting by the door, when Keira came racing down the stairs from the small apartment area upstairs. The woman blinked at her daughter, already changed. Keira had on her black jogging undershirt, her dark-blue shinobi pants, and her black forearm liner on her left arm. The girl was also carrying several kunai, her sword, her shuriken pouch, and the bracer that she had just designed.
"Hey, Keira, what's going on?!" Ukyo shouted after her daughter as she ran out he door.
"I'm going to check on Sauske-kun! Be back later!" Keira shouted already racing down the street.
Ukyo walked back out, walking back to the alleyway. "What about your okonomiyaki?!"
"Give it to Naruto!"
Naruto suddenly perked up, smiling hungrily. He loved Keira's cooking! Nothing was more delicious than food from her! He walked towards the restaurant, when a large spatula appeared in front of him.
Ukyo, pointing her famous combat spatula in front of Naruto, shook her head. "You eat when the garbage is picked up."
- - -
Sauske was worried now. Aki was holding a large Chinese great sword in front of her, held in a larger leather sheath. It would make a katana seem like a toothpick. It was a good four and a half feet long, at least three times as wide as a samurai sword, and when Aki pulled it out of the sheath, even from thirty feet away, he could see the polished, and extremely sharp, sword. The edge was perfectly even, with no nicks or discoloration. The sword looked to be brand new, exceptionally made, and sharpened just before using.
Aki finished pulling the double-edged sword out, before tossing the scabbard away and behind her. Hefting the blade up, she spun it around in her hand, before making several clean, quick slashes with the blade to warm up. It had been a while since she had used this, so Aki felt a bit rusty.
Sauske felt himself sweat just a little bit. Sure, Sakura was much better handling a katana than Aki was swinging that sword, but the sword was so much bigger. And Aki was swinging it like a toy.
He was in trouble.
Next Chapter: Double trouble begins, as two Saotome's battle for their future against a pair of swords.
Well, that's the end of chapter twelve. I feel a lot better about this one than my last few, and I made it a bit long because there was a lot to get through. Well, a lot longer. Some of it is a bit rushed, I think, but I'm pretty sure it turned out well.
Anyway, on with the reviews:
The Liz: Good, I'm glad I redid the lynx scene. As for the curses, Naruto will appear eventually, and Sakura will be soon. I haven't figured out yet. But other characters are coming up.
White Fox 612: I'm glad you like it. Kuno and Kodachi will be back soon too.
Thanks for the reviews, see you next time.
Tendo Nabiki:
Age: 40
Occupation: Financial Consultant
Strength: 1
Stamina: 1
Speed: 1
Ki: 1
Aura: 1
Special Techniques: 0
(Note: Nabiki does not actively practice any martial arts.)
Nabiki is the most mobile person of the original cast of Ranma ½, ending up in another country for several years, and still travels to other countries. She has changed little about her appearance, keeping her short brown hair the same length and color since the beginning. She still has the same body proportions as well, having gotten through her growth before Ranma first arrived.
She has, however, grown in the sense of family. Once Akane and Ranma's engagement was consummated in marriage, Nabiki began to let off on the blackmailing of both of them, and soon most others. She was happy for them; then again, to say she was jealous would be the greatest understatement of the year. To see Akane marry Ranma, and Kasumi and Dr. Tofu marry soon after, drove her absolutely insane. Then Kasumi got pregnant, and two years later Akane got pregnant, and Nabiki was already feeling left out and alone. It was after Ukyo and Konatsu tied the knot that things began to change.
During this time, Nabiki had recently finished college, receiving a degree in business and economics. She had already started her one woman investing firm, which had made tremendous growth in the few years since its official creation. It was during this time that a large investing firm in the United States, located in New York City, NY, became interested in her, especially when at least half of their dealings with small businesses in Tokyo was influenced by her. A meeting was set up between her and one of their representatives in order to discuss some opportunities the two parties could offer the other.
Nabiki, planning on making good of this new possibility, was happy to meet the representative, an American, one of the family members of the founder Jonathan Reynolds, named Brandon Reynolds. Sensing opportunity, she brought up the idea of taking one of the lucrative positions in the company here in Japan, and to get more time to discuss this, met Brandon for dinner the next night. To make a long story short, Nabiki had an enjoyable date and got a nice job in Japan. It earned her plenty to keep her satisfied, help out any family in trouble, and pay off lingering debts caused by the Nerima Wrecking Crew.
That, however, was not the end of dealings with Brandon. Since the company required several trips to New York, the two spent several weeks working together over the first year. And spent their vacations visit the other. While Nabiki fended off the now prying eyes of her younger sister and brother in law, working through two jobs, and helping take care of her niece and new nephew, she continued spending as much time she could get with Brandon. Long story short again, they were soon engaged, and quickly married.
Presented with a tough decision, Nabiki transferred to the New York branch, closed down much of her investing business, and moved with her new husband to New York City. Moving into a nice apartment in the center of the city, Nabiki began a thoroughly enjoyable life. It was difficult learning to live in a foreign country, but she was happy.
Soon, she had her first child, a son named Joseph, which brought much of her family to America for the first time in their lives (Dr. Tofu had been to California once before), and it was only a few months later when the roles reversed. Nabiki, Brandon, and Joseph went to visit her family on a special trip when Auska was born, and after a few months, the pattern repeated itself when Nabiki gave birth to her daughter, Amy.
Life was different for several years, since Nabiki was only able to see her family usually once or twice a year, she was living in another country in the middle of the largest city, and was now a wife and mother. But her kids gave her plenty to do, watching over them as they grew. She was happy to see she had two smart, loving children. There were problems with Joseph, but he nowhere near as bad as they are now. It was when Joseph was ten and Amy was eight that another big change occurred.
Due to some shifts in the company, Nabiki and Brandon were asked, although it was like they were almost ordered, to transfer to the Japanese branch, set in Tokyo. She wanted to go back, be with her family, who were going through some problems, but she didn't want to leave New York and drag everyone away with her. After a long discussion, having to decide between going on almost constant trips and having much less time together with each other and their children or uproot and move to Japan, Nabiki and Brandon finally settled on returning back to Japan. And after some remodeling and adding several more rooms to Ranma and Akane's home, they moved into Nabiki's old house.
Japan was not full of happiness either. Joseph began to drop in school, Amy was pretty cheerless for a while having left all her friends behind, and the work was much more constant in Japan than in America. But, after four years, everything has improved. Amy has made new friends, and constantly writes her old friends. Brandon has gotten used to living in Japan. The work has become more manageable, with a few business trips here and there. The four often go on trips to meet with Brandon's family and old friends in New York City. Joseph is the only problem still left, as Nabiki and her son often get into calm arguments over all sorts of things.
All in all, Nabiki has gone through much to end up back where she started. She went between New York City and Tokyo, before ending up in the very same house she lived in as a child. She's still around watching over her younger sister. And she's still babysitting someone who can't ever get along with her, has problems at school, and can annoy the hell out of almost any human being. But this time, instead of never trying, Nabiki is never going to give up on him.