Chapter 8 A peaceful day in Nerima
Saturday dawned as one of those rare occasions in Nerima. It promised to be a bright, sunny day, with just enough breezes to keep the day from being too warm. Kasumi had taken that opportunity to hang some of the laundry out to dry. As she was hanging the sheets out, she noticed Ranma practicing one of his katas over by the koi pond. Because it was such a nice day, apparently, he had taken his shirt off, and was just wearing his black slacks. She stood there lost in bemusement as she watched his muscles ripple across his chest as he exercised. Her face began to show a faint tinge of pink. 'If only he were older,' she thought to herself, 'I really like it when he calls me Kasumi-chan. Oh, my, what am I thinking, what about Tofu?'
Nabiki was sunning herself on the grass outside the dining area. She was wearing one of her bikinis and was reading one of her mangas. If anyone had been watching, however, they would have noticed that she hadn't turned a page in several minutes. She wasn't sure where the sensation she was feeling was coming from, but she did know that she was enjoying the view. 'He really is a hunk, I know he has a lot of rough edges, but maybe,' she thought. If that same someone had still been watching, they would have seen warm, brown eyes in Nabiki's face, instead of her normal ice cold expression.
Akane was sitting upstairs in her room, gazing down into the yard. She was lost in thought, thinking about how much her life had changed since Ranma had come. It hadn't been that long really, only a few weeks, and her life had been turned upside down. Then a sound from outside caught her attention. She looked up and saw Ranma working out. She gazed at him, a feeling of warmth spreading over her body. 'He's not like the boys at school,' she thought, tenderly, 'Why do I feel so warm inside when I'm around him?'
Ranma finished his exercises, and grabbed his shirt and towel and headed toward the house. As he walked past, Nabiki said, "I found out some stuff about your Dad. Why don't you take me out tonight and we can talk about it?"
Ranma thought about it for a while, and then said, "Sure, why not, Nabiki. I'm gonna go clean up, I'm a bit ripe. Can you tell Kasumi we won't be here for dinner?" With that he headed toward the bathroom.
Nabiki went to find Kasumi. "Sis, Ranma and I won't be home for dinner. I have something to do and I needed an escort," Nabiki said.
Kasumi made no reaction for a moment, and then replied, "That's nice, Nabiki. I hope you have a good time." Nabiki thought there was something odd there, but decided not to pursue it. She left to find the phone and call her favorite restaurant to let them know she was coming.
That evening, Nabiki came downstairs. She was wearing one of her sexier evening dresses. Nabiki smirked to herself, as she noticed the slight frost in her sisters' expressions. Ranma took her arm and escorted her out to the waiting cab. The taxi sped off heading to Chez Pierre, one of the more exclusive continental restaurants in Nerima. Ranma and Nabiki sat there in companionable silence, though in a spirit of mischief, Nabiki had captured Ranma's hand and wasn't letting go. She could tell that he was a bit uncomfortable because of that. Once they got to the restaurant, Nabiki went to the hostess. Within moments, they were seated at one of the smaller booths.
"Ranma, let me order the meal, please?" Nabiki asked,
"Sure, Nab-chan, I wouldn't know what was good here anyway," he replied.
'Nab-chan' she thought. The waiter came by, bringing two glasses of wine. Nabiki ordered the meal, and then took a sip of her wine. Then she asked, "Ranma, why was holding hands bothering you? You know that this is a date, don't you?"
Ranma hesitated, rubbing the back of his head in that nervous gesture she loved. He said, "Er, yeah, I kinda knew it was a date. I'm just surprised ya asked me out. As far as ya holding my hand, I'm not sure why it bugged me. Don't take this the wrong way, or anything, but it hasn't been all that long since we met. I don't know if I'm ready for a girlfriend, yet. I like ya and all, but not anymore than I like your sisters." He took a small sip of his wine. He wasn't like his Pop; he had no intention of ever getting drunk
Nabiki smiled at him, albeit a bit sadly. "I'm not sure what I want either, Ranma. You were right about me the first day we met. When Father told us about the engagement, I was excited. I thought maybe that I would have a chance with someone new, someone who didn't know my reputation. I know that I act like a cold, manipulative bitch, but I'm not really like that inside. But it's gotten to be such a habit, that it's kind of hard to break," she said softly.
"Nab-chan, I know that you're not really like that; that it's mostly an act. I've seen what your eyes look like when you think no one is watching. There's a lot of warmth in them, especially when you look at your sisters. I'm impressed with how tough a person you are, that you've had to become to survive," he said.
The meal came at that moment. Nabiki had ordered Tournedos Madeira for both of them. They traded small talk for a while, both glad to be on safer topics. Ranma wasn't sure he was ready for Nabiki to be so open. Finally, she pulled an envelope out of her purse. She opened it, and pulled out several sheets of paper. "Ranma, this is what we've been able to find out so far. It's not a pretty picture. It looks like Gemna is wanted for questioning in several dozen towns in Japan, mostly minor thefts and running out on bills. He was also named in a few breach of promise suits, but those were dismissed apparently," she said, "It's not too bad, though, money wise. It only came to about a hundred thousand yen, if he was involved with all of the thefts. It certainly could have been worse. I'll give you a copy of the report. What do you plan on doing with it?"
"I don't know. If I ever find Mom, I'll give it to her. Otherwise I'll have to decide what needs to happen to remove the stain on our honor. Thanks for digging this stuff up, I owe ya," Ranma said.
Nabiki smirked. "Yes you do. That's one of the reasons we're here tonight. Uh, do you want any dessert?" she asked, "They make a Banana's Foster to die for here."
"What's that, I don't think I've ever heard of it?" Ranma asked.
"It's basically carmalized bananas served over vanilla ice cream. I've only had it a couple of times, but it's really good," she replied.
Ranma smiled, and said, "Sounds good to me." The waiter came over to see if there was anything else. Nabiki ordered the dessert. A few minutes later, the waiter came out wheeling a cart over to their table. Ranma watched in fascination as the waiter prepared the bananas and the sauce, particularly when the waiter flamed the brandy. Once it was ready, the waiter served it over two bowls of vanilla ice cream. Ranma and Nabiki slowly ate it, Ranma savoring each bite. The waiter brought out the bill, Ranma paid for it, raising an eyebrow at how little it actually was.
As they left the restaurant, Ranma reached over and held Nabiki's hand. She blushed in pleasure as they stood there waiting for their taxi. Once it showed up, Ranma opened the door for Nabiki and helped her in. Once he got in the car, he put his arm around her shoulder. She laid her head against his shoulder and relaxed. Once they got home, they got out and walked to the gate. Nabiki stopped him from opening it. She reached up and kissed him on the cheek. Then she looked at him again, and kissed him rather thoroughly on the lips. "Ranma, I really enjoyed this night. I'd like to do it again sometime," she said.
He said, "I enjoyed it too. I'd like that as well." 'I can't believe she kissed me,' he thought, 'What happened to the Ice Queen?' He held her in a brief hug, and then opened the gate. They walked up to the house and opened the door, where her sisters immediately pounced upon Nabiki. They dragged her off, protesting, to the bathroom to soak in the furo. Ranma just shook his head and went upstairs to bed.