These are the words of Hung Nguyen. I just have permission to post. Just want to help give this story the recognition it deserves.

Disclaimer: Hey don't look at me. I write 'em, you read 'em.

italics: Thoughts

Chapter 10

Part 3

The Deal

"Hey!" Nabiki cried out as Ranma easily snatched up her camera and took out the film. He then entered her room from his upside-down perch and handed her camera back to her while frowning.

"It seems that you share the same problems with your sisters." Ranma said coldly.

"What are you talking about? We had a deal!" Nabiki couldn't believe that she had just lost a grand opportunity to make major yen notes. For those photos, Kuno would have shelled out enough money to put the Tendo household in the black for at least a month.

"As I recall, the deal was for ME to help you in earning some money for your family. I did not include my sister Amazons. And as I said before, you have the same problems as your sisters."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nabiki asked with suspicions.

"Not thinking about the consequences of your actions." Ranma stated as he stood with crossed arms. "Do you realize what kind of havoc you would cause if perverts like Kuno got a hold of these photos?" Ranma held up the film before using his ki to cause it to crumble into powder. "I especially don't want that wannabe samurai to get these. As twisted as he is, he might think that these photos were some kind of sign that Shampoo and the others might actually like him! I didn't go through all that trouble of dislocating his shoulders in front of those other idiots, just so you could cause them to have a raging hormone attack and stir up more headaches!"

Nabiki winced as she remembered back to the time when Kuno had decreed that no one could date the Amazons unless they were defeated in battle. Ranma had made short work of that by causing Kuno's shoulders to wrench from their sockets. Since then, the Amazons were treated with the utmost of respect and any lurid fantasies about them were kept in private.

"But-" Nabiki began.

"Stuff it, Nabiki." Ranma growled, cutting her off. "I don't want to hear about it. Shampoo, Perfume, and Lilac showing off their bodies of their own accord is one thing, but sneaking pictures of them to sell to perverts without their permission is something else entirely. You're just lucky that I was the one to catch you instead of one of the girls."

"What do you mean?"

"Akane may let you get away with selling pictures of her, because you're her sister, but Shampoo, Lilac, and Perfume wouldn't be as merciful. Take it from me, any profits you would have made from those photos wouldn't even begin to cover the cost of your hospital stay, provided that you survived at all."

"They wouldn't..."

"Oh yes they would, and I'm very tempted to tell them about it. You're no martial artist, Nabiki Tendo, and you wouldn't stand a chance against them. Take it from someone who knows. Back in the village, I've had to patch up dozens of peeping toms. Many of them were martial artists and those three girls alone put them into traction for months!"

"But the deal-"

"The deal was that I help out in a few of your ventures to raise money for your family in exchange for the use of your dojo. However, I recall that you said that we are not to be put in any situation that might be harmful to us. Those pictures you took would have caused some serious damage and I will not allow for it."

Nabiki didn't like the tone that Ranma was using on her, though she couldn't argue that she did tell him that no one would be hurt. She reluctantly nodded. "All right, I remember that I did say that, but you must understand me. I have to do what it takes to keep this family afloat. As I told you before, Daddy doesn't have any regular income and Kasumi is too busy taking care of the household. This is what I do, and you're going to accept that about me. I'm not doing these things out of enjoyment. It's for my family."

Ranma was silent for a moment. He then said, "That's not all true, and you know it."

"What?"

Ranma's mouth became a firm, straight line. "One benefit to being blind is that I'm not distracted by false fronts and appearances. My abilities can smell a lie. You may be doing this in part to keep your family going, but I also sense you do enjoy the power and control that you exert over others. From what I'm reading, you have been seeking control for a long time. Something traumatic must have happened to you that caused you to erect this wall around you and you're just trying to hide your own insecurities by making others feel intimidated. Once you found that you had control, you began getting used to the power it gave you and never considered the harm you were intentionally or unintentionally causing to others. And even when you did see the damage you had caused, you only saw it as more ways to further exert your control." Ranma paused for a moment, then said, "Well, am I right?"

Nabiki was absolutely unnerved by this boy. His words had struck her to the core. Is he some kind of psychic? His guesses were dead on. Ever since her mother had died when she was nine, Nabiki had felt the need to take control and never feel the helplessness she had experienced when Kimiko Tendo had passed away. The loss of one parent and the self-despair of the other had caused the family to begin collapsing. Kasumi was forced to take on the burden of cleaning, cooking, and caring for the other members of the Tendo Clan. Akane had thrown herself into her training as her anger and frustration built up over the years. As for Nabiki, she had begun looking for ways to earn income to pay for the bills, since her father had proven to be unsuitable to continue training students. However, a girl of her age couldn't get a job, so Nabiki had to resort to other means to earn money. She already had a talent for numbers and figures, so when opportunity appeared for a scam, Nabiki did so without hesitation. She had steadfastly maintained that it was all for her family's sake, but now after Ranma's accusations, she wasn't so sure as she was a few minutes ago.

Was she actually enjoying the control that her position as the Ice Queen and Mercenary was giving her? Did she actually enjoy the pain and misery she caused to others because it helped her forget the heartache she felt when Kimiko died? Did she really not think about the consequences of her actions? She had always made certain that any scheme she had hatched up would never get her into trouble or put her in a position of weakness. However, she had never really thought about what damage she was causing to others. The situation with Akane and Kuno was a prime example. Nabiki had thought she had netted a rich pigeon when the insane kendoist had become smitten with her sister. The wannabe samurai was willing to spend outrageous amounts of yen for photos or any information concerning about his so-called true love. When Kuno had made that stupid decree about defeating Akane, every boy in school had gone after her and Nabiki's profit margins reached new heights with her betting odds and photos. Even though Akane's sister had found out that getting a date for the weekend became almost impossible afterwards, Nabiki simply took it in stride and continued on with her mercenary work, not realizing that she was escalating the problem.

Now that she thought about it, the middle daughter saw that she didn't help matters much by her plans and moneymaking operations. Her sister would always come home fuming and shouting out about what a jerk Kuno was. And what she did she do? Did she try to console her sister? No, she had simply let it go on because it was too profitable. She had put the value of the yen over her family to help her family. She had to shake her head at that conflicting conclusion.

It was at that time that the rest of Ranma's words came back to haunt her, especially the words, 'even when you did see the damage you caused, you only saw it as more ways to exert your control.' I don't do that! As soon as that thought was in her mind, she knew that she was in denial. Of course she did that. She was heavily into blackmail and extortion. Many of her schemes had uncovered secrets about other students, which she used to keep them in line. Many students would pay much to learn about the secrets of others and on the other hand, many would pay for her not to reveal those bits of information. No wonder the boys avoided her, other than the fact they were all chasing Akane.

Nabiki gazed at the blind boy in front of her and wondered just how could a sightless person like him be so insightful. With just a few words, Ranma had made her reexamine and question herself; something she had not done in a long time, because she was sure that she had been following the correct path. Ranma had a certain quality that Nabiki found both frightening, yet fascinating. He could not be lied to and the strange abilities he possessed had rendered most of Nabiki's savvy and fancy twisting of words useless.

And yet, it was that same quality that interested Nabiki so much about Ranma. Was it because she had met her match in a person who would not back down against her? Was it because he wouldn't bow down Akane? Or was it because of something more? Nabiki had already seen the look in Kasumi concerning Ranma and it was clear to her that her older sister had fallen hard for him. Why else was Kasumi so insistent that she not hurt him when she told her about his blindness. And when Ranma seemed to become very cold against her later on, she could see the tears in Kasumi's eyes and how his hostility toward her tore at her heart. Later on that night, Nabiki had noticed that her elder sibling had regained a bit of light in her face and assumed that Ranma must have forgiven her for her blunder.

What kind of person is he to instill such intense feelings toward others? She had seen the reactions of the Amazons and other girls at school whenever Ranma was near. His music had caused the entire school to be moved and his techniques in the Unseen Light never failed to amaze spectators. The fact that he was handsome, tall, and well formed was not lost on her, but he seemed to radiate a kind of inner beauty and empathy that made her feel sad whenever he felt sad. Whenever he smiled, she would feel good. And whenever he laughed, she would feel...

It was at that point that Nabiki realized something shocking. She could now understand why Kasumi had fallen for him. It was because she was also falling under his spell. Just being with him for this short amount of time and thinking about what he had said about her was making her understand why he disapproved of her recent actions. Without even trying, Ranma had stripped the emotional barriers that she had spent years in erecting, and made her question her true self. And she didn't like what she found. If always being in control and hurting others to maintain that control also meant being alone, then it wasn't worth it.

With that in mind, Nabiki slowly nodded and said, "You're right, Ranma. You're absolutely right. I had no business in taking those pictures without asking for those girls' permission. I'm... (Takes a deep swallow) sorry."

Ranma considered her words as he probed her feelings. Finding the results as satisfactory, he nodded and said, "Apology accepted. Now that we got that out of the way, I must return to train the others. We'll discuss arrangements to repay the use of the dojo at school tomorrow."

"All right." Nabiki replied as Ranma leapt out of her bedroom and headed back toward the dojo. As she watched his fine form enter the dojo, Nabiki let off a forlorn sigh. Ranma was indeed a special character and she found that she was looking forward to getting to know him better. Whenever she was around him, she found that her normal Ice Queen routine did not work with him and the only way she could feel comfortable is to let go of that iron-grip control she had on her emotions. Though the prospect of losing control scared her, she had discovered that with Ranma, the prospect didn't seem all that bad.

Since there was no other reason for her to be up and it was getting late in the evening, Nabiki went about preparing for bed. As she laid done to sleep, her last thoughts were about a certain sightless boy who had made her open her own eyes and truly see herself in a long time. She then realized that she was going to spend a lot of time with him and she was looking very forward to it. She drifted off to sleep with a smile on her face. It wasn't the same grin of avarice that she usually carried but one of serenity.

In the dojo, the Amazons pushed themselves even harder as they trained for the upcoming battle.

To be continued...

Author's notes

Sorry that it took so long to get this one out, but I was having a bit of trouble of how to write Ranma's discussion with Nabiki. I thought this was an excellent opportunity to get in some insight on Nabiki's character and to show her that Ranma is far more perceptive than even she realized. I also apologize that this part of chapter 10 was so short because I couldn't think of anything else to add to it. In the next chapter, Ranma begins tutoring the Amazons in a few techniques of the Unseen Light and one of them will come as close as a sighted person could to gaining a seventh sense! The Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics is about to get underway!

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