Too Close For Comfort

A Ranma Fanfic By Seras4545

A/N: Thanks again for all the reviews! Up to 45 now, that is so awesome! To answer the question as to why Ranma couldn't evade Akane's mallet for the second time, he hasn't gotten used to the pace of events yet and had no idea she was going to do that either. How was he supposed to know she was mad at him... um, her, for making out with Nabiki as a girl? He had no idea that she had seen what went on. Please keep reviewing, it really helps me get more chapters out with the quickness.

Chapter One Part Three: The Training Journey, Jusenkyo, and Fiances.

(For all who wonder why CH1 has three parts, I have not even left the first episode of the anime yet!)

Tendo Living Room 7:09 p.m. Nabiki POV

Nabiki watched in slight amusement as Ranma took his father over to the side to explain about his curse. This aught to be interesting, wonder how he would react?

Ranma never got the chance to explain his curse as it was forced upon him by water that was sprayed on him when a cup shattered against the wall. When Ranma turned female Nabiki saw Genma's eyes bug out as he noticed his son gain prominently female features.

"H-how... did... what happened!" Genma finally managed to splutter after recovering slightly, though Nabiki could see him weaving on his feet.

Ranma sighed, apparently relieved a bit about not having to actually explain that he turns into a girl."Well... you remember the amazons right? Remember how angry they had become when I refused to marry that girl?" As Genma nodded to each Nabiki frowned.

Amazons? What's this about marrying some girl of the amazons? Deciding to ask him later she saw Akane walk up to Ranma-chan, looking very angry. As she looked her up and down as if to confirm something she drew her mallet from subspace and raised it while yelling "Y-you! RANMA NO BAKA!" She brought it down on Ranma-chan's head and knocked her out for the second time that day.

It took a moment for Nabiki to recover from her initial surprise. Then she grew angry, far more angry than she had felt in a long time. As Akane put her mallet away, looking pleased with herself, Nabiki walked up to her and punched her square in the jaw.

Akane flew back into the wall and slumped to the ground, too shocked that her sister had just punched her and was stronger than she remembered her being to catch herself. (Guess anger driven strength runs in the family, ne?)

When Akane snapped out of her momentary daze, she glared at Nabiki. "What the hell did you do that for Nabiki! I was only giving the freak his..her...it what it deserved!"

This was a bit much for Nabiki. "What did I do that for? You just smashed a guest with a mallet for no apparent reason! That's why I did it, you bitch!" She put so much venom into her voice that Akane visibly paled. It could also have been the fact that she had just realized that she had seriously pissed off the one person who could easily destroy her life without once touching her.

Akane's POV

During the whole scene Genma still stared into space, oblivious to all around him as he contemplated what will happen to him when Nododka learns what had happened to Ranma. Soun simply cried and wailed that his baby girls were fighting. Kasumi was nowhere to be seen right now, but due to the lack of dishes on the table one could assume that she was washing dishes in the kitchen.

Akane calmed herself down, enough so that she could think clearly. She couldn't blackmail Nabiki with what she had seen earlier, cause then she would know that she had been peeping. She couldn't allow that weapon to fall into her hands. So she forced herself to assume an apologetic demeanor. "Sorry sis, I was just still jealous of how easily he beat me earlier today. I don't know what came over me. It won't happen again, I promise." At least not where you can see me do it.

Nabiki seemed like she thought this over for a bit, then she smiled maliciously. " Alright, but if you ever do it again I will make sure you are married off to Kuno." Akane shivered at the thought, she didn't want to be married off to the maniacal wannabe samurai.

Nabiki POV

Nabiki was proud of herself, she managed to stand up to Akane and not get hit for it. Then she got suspicious, Akane gave up too easily. Maybe she's got a secret I don't know yet. Oh well. So long as it can't hurt me then I'm fine with it so long as it keeps her out of my hair. Better make sure of everything though.

She raised her voice. " Just so everyone knows, I will be Ranma's fiance." She watched as jaws dropped and eyes bugged out. It was understandable, she was the Ice Queen of Furinkan High after all. For her to show this much emotion and make such monumental decisions in so short a time was remarkable to any who did not know her well. Sadly, there aren't any who know the real her, especially her family.

She picked up Ranma's unconscious form with a grunt. Wow, she is much heavier than I thought she would be. Well, muscle is around ten times more dense than fat.

As she passed Akane, who still stood in shock, she whispered in the coldest voice she could. "Maybe to both Kunos, and while I'm at it I'll let the chemistry club have you for their 'experiments'. So stay out of my way and I'll forget about all of this." Nabiki had a hunch and she was determined to use the time as she could without Akane bothering her.

She got up to her room without incident and laid Ranma down on her bed. She watched him for awhile and then grabbed her laptop. She walked over to a corner and opened a hidden compartment. She pulled a cord out and plugged it in the computer. She booted it up and logged into the security system and accessed the camera in front of the changing room to the furo.

She opened the file and fast forwarded to the point where Ranma had gotten cursed. She watched as She and Kasumi ran in when Ranma screamed as he learned he had turned into a girl. Kasumi eventually left in a hurry and for a moment everything was still. Then Akane walked up and spied the open furo door. She approached the door and seemed intent on something inside. Ah. So that is what she was so worked up for! Well, now I understand. So she was peakin' in on my business huh? Well, can't really blame her, must have been a really strange scene to see. She must think Ranma is really perverted now. Oh well, suits me just fine, means she wont try and take him from me.

She then remembered that she had Ranma in her room and she smiled. This is a really good opportunity. She shouldn't mind me making money to pay for her and her pops to stay. She walked over to the bed and took out her camera. She took some pictures of her sleeping and slowly and carefully eased off her shirt and repositioned her several times, taking photos as she went.

When she was finished she put her shirt back on and went over to the computer and uploaded the pictures and then deleted them from the camera and shut down the computer. As she put everything away She heard Ranma groan. She went over to her watched as she slowly woke up.

Nabiki's Room 7:37 p.m. Ranma's POV

Ranma woke up slowly, groaning in pain at the massive headache she had developed. Wait a minute! When did I change? Then she remembered what had happened. Groaning once again, she levered herself up, then nearly fell unconscious again as she cracked her head against someone elses.

"Ow..." Ranma mumbled as she got up from where she was laying down. She noticed that she was in someones room and looked around. She spotted Nabiki who was smiling at her while rubbing her forehead. Realizing that she was the one who she hit her head on she immediately began to apologize.

Nabiki raised her hand, stopping him in middle of her apology. "No problem Ranma, it didn't hurt that bad and it was my fault for hovering over you. Just so you know though, you have a really hard head."

Ranma began to laugh nervously and soon Nabiki joined her and they began laughing in earnest.

Once he regained her composure she noticed that the room was spartanly furnished. There was a desk with a lamp and laptop and some papers, probably homework. Then a closet with a modest selection of clothes and a dresser with some pictures on top. There was also a bookcase full of mostly manga. Wow, guess she is really into that stuff. She thought as she noticed that there must be a few hundred volumes. Otherwise there was nothing besides the bed she was sitting on.

She glanced back at Nabiki and noticed that she had a dreamy look in her eyes. She called her name a couple of times before she snapped out of it.

"Huh.. What? Oh, sorry Ranma, I was just thinking about some things. What did you want?"

Not wanting to know exactly what she was thinking about that could make her drool and not notice, Ranma asked a question that had been bugging her.

"Um.. What exactly happened after Akane hit me? How did I end up here?"

Nabiki smiled, seeming very satisfied with something.

"Well... Me and Akane got into a fight about why she had hit you and I won."

Ranma blinked at this. Nabiki won against Akane? Wow, I must have underestimated her. Viewing her with more respect he noticed she had more to say so he stayed silent.

"Not entirely physically of course. Most of it was up here." She tapped her forehead. "Anyway, after that I threatened to marry her off if she ever did it again and that shut her up. Oh, and I resolved the issue of who was going to be your fiance by claiming you myself."

She said the last as if it wasn't very important but it hit Ranma like a ton of bricks (According to his view of weight, so probably like two or three tons:) He was stunned into silence for a while and Nabiki just smiled at him.

"You what? Why?" He asked simply, wanting to know the true reason.

Nabiki looked at him strangely. "Did that last hit to your head cause some memory loss or something? I told you before, I don't hate you and I view your curse as a gift. From my point of view, we are the perfect match. So before our fathers could force us to choose, I chose for both of us." Now she looked apologetic. "Sorry if it was a bit inconsiderate of me, I just thought maybe we could find a way to make it work."

Ranma fazed out a bit, considering the options left to her. She didn't like it when people made decisions about her without her consent. Then again, she was unconscious at the time, and from the way she was acting earlier, Nabiki seemed to have quite the crush on her.

Ranma was in a dilemma. She couldn't refuse her for fear of dishonoring both their families, though she hated the fact that she was being forced into this kind of decision.

She hated this feeling, of being undecided and having no real choice in the matter.

Ranma sighed, this kind of thing seems to happen everywhere she goes, especially if it had anything to do with pops.

"Alright, guess we kinda have no choice. Though I hope you know that I would have chosen you anyway. Akane is too stuck up and tomboyish and lets her anger control her. Also, while another martial artist would be helpful, I really have no need of one."

Seeing Nabiki's questioning look, Ranma elaborated. " A martial artist would be helpful for teaching, but who I really need is someone who can run it, who can calculate the finances required for running a dojo. That person is you Nabiki. Not only that but I sense that you can become quite a capable martial artist yourself. So you would be able to fulfill both roles with ease.:

Ranma was gratified to see the beaming smile upon Nabiki's face when she heard her praise.

" What about Kasumi? What is wrong with her?" Nabiki asked nonchalantly, as if already knowing the answer.

Ranma thought on this, trying to figure out a tactful answer, then decided on a straight answer.

" Well… It's not only because she doesn't seem to be interested in me, it is more of it is obvious she had her heart set on another person. Who am I to decide she has to be with me? I decided that choosing her would lead only to ruin eventually. Same with Akane, though more because she has a complex with men and our personalities are more alike than I am proud to admit. We would constantly clash with other and probably end in one of our deaths. So the most logical and best choice would be you, and I have absolutely no problem with that."

Nabiki seemed slightly angry over something but her face soon smoothed over, probably an inner argument or something along those lines.

She smiled at him, very happy that she had offered no argument and had not rebuked her for making the choice for her.

"Thanks Ranma, you have no idea how much this means to me." She said, and Ranma noted that her smile seemed to waver for a second.

Maybe one day I will, I hope. If we survive that long, that is. Ranma thought ruefully, knowing that his life here would be very interesting, as strange shit just always seems to find it's way to him.

" C'mon, lets go announce our decision together so that no one will have any doubts. I also still owe you an your family a recounting of our recent travels, so I will tell you all at once, so as not to have to repeat myself. Also so that pops doesn't twist it around."

Living Room 7:53p.m. General POV

Ranma and Nabiki made their way downstairs, grabbing some hot water on their way to change him back to a guy. As soon as they got downstairs however, they were instantly ambushed by their fathers and, against their protests, they were placed opposite from each other and Nabiki joined the linup among her sisters.

"Alright boy, make your choice. Who will be your fiancé?" Genma asked in a gruff and serious voice.

Ranma pretended to study each of them once again. Kasumi was nervous and tense, Nabiki was expectant and hopeful, and Akane was seething, looking about ready to blow her top any second.

Soun, believing this pause to be indecisiveness, decided to help Ranma out. "Your problem isn't so bad son. Please take a pick. Kasumi is my eldest, she's 19. Nabiki is my second daughter, she's 17. Akane is my youngest, she's 16. Pick any one of them and she will be your new fiancé."

Ranma bristled at this. Didn't Nabiki already tell them that we are getting engaged! To think that they would disregard her word so easily.

" Didn't Nabiki already tell you?" Seeing their blank looks he guessed that they really hadn't believed her.

" Alright, if you really need me to choose now…" Ranma sighed inwardly at their overenthusiastic nods. "My choice will be and always will be Nabiki."

Ranma watched as jaws dropped except Nabiki's who was smiling for all she was worth, as if Christmas had come early.

She even went so far as to go up and hug him and give hi a quick kiss on the cheek. Ranma could feel the heat rising to his cheeks as he blushed at such a public display so early in their relationship.

Soun and Genma actually began to celebrate and began to arrange for a 'wedding'.

Ranma decided to stomp on this before it got out of hand.

"Whoa whoa. No one said anything 'bout a wedding so soon! I don't even know her that well yet! No pops, sorry, but there aint gonna be no wedding till me and Nabiki agree on it!"

The two began to protest but Nabiki put her foot down this time.

"No mean no! I agree with Ranma. We need to get to know each other better and we also need to graduate highschool at least before we marry. I'll write up a contract later on with the terms of the engagement. We will be able to marry whenever we so wish, but we also can postpone it till after college as well."

The two were about to protest once again until they saw how determined and dead set on this they were. They also gave up easily so they would still be able to 'encourage' the wedding to progress sooner than they expected.

Ranma, satisfied now, looked at Genma. "Well pops, we have a story to tell. We owe them at least an explanation about Jusenkyo and the Amazons."

Genma nodded his agreement. "Well, as you know, I am cursed to turn into a panda and Ranma is cursed to turn into a g-g-girl." Genma's voice quavered on the last word.

Seeing that they understood he continued. "Well, the curse is water based, cold water triggers it, while hot water reversed it temporarily. These curses are locked into the springs of a famous training ground, Jusenkyo, whose true horror is finally known."

Genma proceeded to tell the story, embellishing only a few times, with Ranma correcting him and filling in details he couldn't know.

Ranma told them of the extra year he had coerced his father into allowing him, where he had visited many temples and dojos, often revisiting ones he had been to before. He had gained his education during this time, learning to treat his brain as any other muscle in his body. He learned quickly, and continued to seek more knowledge. He even went so far as to learn Chinese so that he may understand the natives better and therefore learn what he wanted to easier.

He detailed how they had arrived at Jusenkyo and Ranma understood the guide there, allowing him to have his father cursed while narrowly avoiding being cursed himself. Ranma had figured it was a just punishment for what the old man had put him through.

He told of their visit to the Amazons on search of a cure. Not only had they not found a cure, but Genma had decided to chow down on the prize food, forcing him to duel the granddaughter of the elder for it.

Once he had defeated her, Ranma had received the kiss of marriage, and the Amazons attempted to recruit him into the Amazons.

Ranma had trouble and couldn't stand how grabby and clutching the girl was, so he and pops ran.

Ranma concluded with the parts of the story that ended here with the Amazons somehow catching up with him and even laying a trap for him to become cursed so that he could join without any strings attached, except for the temporary loss of his manhood that is.

Nabiki was laughing inwardly when Ranma recounted the event with the Amazons. Though it was a reminder that they had to go slow, and that she had to be careful so that she won't push Ranma away.

Nabiki noted that Ranma seemed to avoid some things, especially what had happened with them in the furo.

I wonder what he is hiding, and why. Hope he will tell me later, it will help me understand what he has gone through and how to deal with it as it came up.

The story done, the weary family decided to call it quits for the night and dispersed to go to sleep.

Ranma discovered that a pallet for him had been placed in Nabiki's room and nearly panicked. Nabiki said that it didn't bother her however so he merely shrugged it off. It worked in his favor as it got him away from pop's snoring.

Ranma and Nabiki wished each other a good night and they turned out the lights.

It was a while before they could sleep however as thoughts raced through their minds, both of what had happened and what could happen in the future.

Eventually though sleep claimed them.

Ranma had no idea that tomorrow held many surprises, one of which he was not likely to enjoy.

But that is for next time!

A/N: How did you like it? Please keep reviewing! The more reviews, the faster I can get the next chapter out! Please make suggestions as you see fit. They are greatly appreciated.

Seras out. Till next time!