Michael Gutin

Disclaimer: So apparently…people do read this…ok, so one person does (Go ss4-link!), so that means I actually have to work hard to make this the most thought provoking and entertaining disclaimer that has ever been seen by….you know what? Screw it, I forgot to factor in that I'm lazy as hell, so I'll just say characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi and be done with it.

I wasn't going to do the whole reviewer response thing like I do with Sick of It, but there were a lot of things I did want to answer…so without further ado:

Responses!

(That section of the fic you scroll through.)

Baron Hausenpheffer: (Isn't it spelled Hasenpfeffer?) Well, two things. First, this takes place AFTER the end of the manga, so technically, it can't be an AU. I could even have crime-fighting, time-traveling cheetos from outer space, and it still wouldn't be AU, because AU's diverge at some point BEFORE the end of the manga. So there. Nyah nyah! (Man, childish sound really don't come across very well in writing.) The second thing is, a playa would be someone who gets lots of girls, am I right? While Ranma, despite having three fiancés, has a grand total of…that's right, zero girls. That would make him the opposite of a player, now wouldn't it? Ha!

Babs Yerunkle: A lot of people have mentioned the story "Masks We Must Wear" and as a matter of fact, I have read that fic, and must say that it was part of the inspiration for this one. If you haven't read it yet, you really should, it's a great fic. I don't know the link but you'll probably find it if you google it. Next, I 'd like to thank you for reminding me about Mousse and Ryoga. Sadly enough, I was really focusing on how Ranma would solve the fiancé problem, that I completely forgot about his rivals, but now that I think about it, I definitely have some interesting and rather…well, unusual ideas concerning Ranma's stance on both of them, let's just say, his reason for keeping P-Chan a secret has nothing to do with honor (Which sadly enough, even with this little amount of detail, is already way different than 99 percent of fics out there.) One final thing, you say that Takashi makes "obvious" pairings, yet I disagree with most of them. First, ShampooXMousse/KonatsuXUkyo, with both of these, the guys that you claim will end up with the girls have the exact same relationship as the girls have with Ranma (i.e. Ranma considers Ukyo friend, Ukyo considers Konatsu a friend, Shampoo very forcefully chases Ranma, Mousse very forcefully chases Shampoo.) So the chances of these pairing occurring are about the same as the chances of either of the girls getting with Ranma, and you've already pointed out that Akane is the obvious pairing for Ranma. And as for Nabiki and the money guy, there was not a single bit of romance between them. If you remember, Akane thought Nabiki was sad that the guy left when she really just wished she had asked him for more money. Wow that was long, to the next person!

WonderBee31: I fully agree with you. The one thing I really didn't like about Takahashi's writing is that every single one of her characters were static. Compare the characters core personalities at the end of the final manga, and when they were first introduced. They are exactly the same. Because of this, the only way she could ever get new things to happen, was to introduce more static characters, which is why there were so many in the series.

Aondehafka: I just want to comment on your question "Are you willing to consider multiple girls with Ranma?" I have considered multiple girls with Ranma. However, the scenes that ensue always seem to be of 'R' nature.

…(Great name there.) Do I hate Ranma? Good question. The answer, however, is no. There are two main things you should realize. First, the views of my characters are not my own, this is an assumption I think many people make, and it's simply not true. Though part of what I'm trying to say about every character does come out in what I write, I try to make the characters behave how I think they would based on how they behaved in the manga, not on how I want them to behave. Secondly, the Ranma I have does hate the old Ranma. But it's more of a resentment. If you had to pretend to be someone for two years, and do things you thought were stupid and cruel because it's what he would have done, you would probably hate or at least resent him as well.

On with the story. (Which I have to make significantly longer than this section because otherwise it gives the appearance that I prefer talking about my story over actually writing it. See people? The more you review, the more I have to write.)

Walking a Thin Line

Chapter 4

Impacting

As I thought about my fiancés I felt a familiar twinge of guilt. I really did feel bad whenever I made one of them cry, especially Akane. I had been torturing her so much for two years. Always infuriating her, and then comforting her. Making her love me and hate me at the same time. And soon, she would not only find out the person she loved didn't love her, but that he didn't exist, that he was just an act. I believed from the start it had to be done, I still do.

But that doesn't stop the guilt, nothing does.

I think…that's why I'm willing to end this at any cost, including my own life. Not because it's the selfless thing to do, but because it's selfish. I feel bad enough as it is, if this screws up any of their lives permanently I…I'd choose death of living with the guilt.

No. I can't think like that. Not yet. Not while there's a chance to fix everything. A chance that rests solely on Nabiki, my…my savior.

The irony isn't lost on me.

Oh, I had finished eating. Now what to do? Neither Mr. Tendo nor my father were here, Akane was probably mad at me now; she wouldn't bother me for a while. Sounded like an excellent time for some more planning with Nabiki.

I went up the stairs and entered her room. She seemed very absorbed at something on her desk. I don't know what possessed me to do this, but I decided to be as quiet as possible. I carefully walked over until I was next to her, and whispered into here ear "Gotcha!"

Hmm. Didn't know she could jump that high. "What was that for Saotome?"

"Hey, it's not my fault you were so focused on what you where doing. I've never seen you so focused in my life…must have been a lot of money." I replied.

"Ha ha, very funny, I'll have you know I was actually thinking about ways to deal with your fiancés."

Now that was interesting. At first I had to convince her to help me. But now she seemed willing to do it. Like she wanted to help me out. Like she actually cared about me…

She seemed to have caught my rapid change in expression. "Don't flatter yourself Saotome; I'm doing this because it's a challenge." She gave me a feral grin. "And I love challenges."

"Another thing we have in common…" I muttered.

"Oh?" she said inquisitively.

"You know" I said "the acting, I'm not the only one who has to cover up how the feel Nabiki. I know it, because I've seen glimpses of the real Nabiki, in these last couple of days…to tell you the truth, I'd like to see more."

I noticed she was blushing. Why? It was then I noticed how close we were, as I had spoken, I had unconsciously lowered my head down, until it was almost touching Nabiki's. I could feel her breath on my neck. Could smell her. Damn that smelled nice. I was so close I could see the sweat coming down her neck, until it disappeared between the small bit of cleavage that could be seen above the 'V' of her collar. As I became aware of our closeness I began to sweat as well, and turned my head to gaze into her eyes.

Brown. Such a lovely brown. They held so much emotion…but they hid just as much. But what? I wanted to know, needed to know. I was captivated by them. The conversation completely forgotten as I stared at her. I found myself moving my head even closer.

But then she turned away, breaking the spell. I suddenly felt very conscious, and moved my head away as fast as I could. I noticed I was sweating, and judging by the heat on my face, blushing. I looked back over at Nabiki and noticed she was blushing as well.

Had we just…did we almost…

It hit me, we almost had. I had wanted to, gods I had wanted to. Of all the girls, the one I wanted to kiss was Nabiki…and she, had she wanted to as well?

No, it can't be…it was Nabiki we were talking about.

But she had been blushing as well…could she…could we…

There could never be a 'we'. The thought struck me, and with it came a despair like I had never known. It wouldn't work. The fiancés…it was hard enough…me and her, it would be impossible. Too many obstacles, too many people in the way. I wouldn't walk out of this with the woman I wanted.

But I had known that from the start. I had come to grips with it. Accepted it. Even…been comforted by it, because as soon as I realized I would not be married because of love, I realized it really didn't matter to me who I did marry.

So why now? Why does this fact now make me sick to my stomach?

And Nabiki…what does she think of all this? Does she…could she? No, it wouldn't make sense. She had known the old me for two years, and the new me for two days. She couldn't possibly through away all things she had come to learn about Old Ranma, and come to full accept the real me that quickly.

Why is she just sitting there. Staring at her desk. Why won't she say something? Is she thinking too? About us?

Gotta stop thinking like that. There is no 'us'. Because there can't be an 'us'. Not now, not ever.

The plan. That's what I have to focus on. The other things…are just stupid dreams…

"Nabiki…" I said softly. She turned her head up to look at me, but I couldn't look her in the eyes, I just couldn't. So I turned my head away "I just wanted to know if you figured out anything new."

"Oh." She sounded disappointed. No, it's probably just wishful thinking. "Well, I was thinking, if we told Akane about the plan…"

"WHAT?" I practically screamed at her.

"Calm down Ranma, not the entire thing, just a small part."

"Huh?" was all I could utter in response.

"Look, we have to convince Ukyo and Shampoo that you don't love Akane, but to do that, you would have to really tell her off. I mean brutally, you would have to leave her in tears."

"But I don't…"

"I know, you don't want to hurt Akane."

"Or anyone…" I muttered.

"Exactly, so what we do is warn Akane about what you're going to do, you can tell her off in front of the two girls and that's the end of that."

"You think it'll work?"

"Sure, Akane's a pretty good actor, and with her in the know, it'll make the set-up a lot easier. But…"

"There's always a but…" I sighed.

"Hey, no plan's perfect Saotome."

"Not even the great Nabiki's?"

"Not even mine."

"I'm disappointed in you Nabiki Tendo."

"Now you're just trying to distract me, aren't you?"

"It's working, isn't it?" It was so strange. How much I enjoyed the teasing. It was so…so light-hearted. Nothing serious was said. We both knew we were just joking…it was just…fun. But you can't have fun forever. I noticed Nabiki's face grow serious again.

"The hardest part of this, Ranma, is getting Akane to go along with it."

I nodded. This entire plan made me…uneasy. Working with Akane was like working with a bomb. She could make things a lot easier if we played things right, but one wrong move and BOOM!

But I trusted Nabiki, if she said this would work, it would.

"Now Ranma, it would look way too suspicious if I asked her to do this, so it'll have be you."

"You think she'll do it?"

"It depends, the old you will get a mallet to the head, that I know, but the question is, do you think the new you could convince her?"

Good question. Could I? This is one time when Old Ranma could really screw me over. If I acted too much like him, we would just fight again. But if I acted too different from him, Akane would get suspicious. But, I think I can do it, if I really try. So I nodded to her, and turned to leave the room.

"Good luck." She told me as I stepped out of the room.

"I'll need it…" I muttered, hopefully not loud enough for her to hear.

I took in a deep breath and let it out. Calm. I had to be calm. This was a pivotal point. The first real step in the plan. If I screwed this very first time, how well could the rest of it go? No. Don't think about that. That'll just make me nervous.

Akane was in her room doing homework. She didn't look to into it. That's good. She's probably bored. She'll be glad that I interrupted her. Won't she? Please?

"Um…Akane…" I said nervously. She turned around.

"What is it?" she asked, no trace of anger in her voice.

Yes! I had chosen correctly, looked like she was in a mood to talk.

"I need to talk to you about…my fiancés." I braced myself.

Her face darkened, that familiar scowl made it's presence known, but she was silent.

I let out the breath I didn't know I had been holding. "Well, I…I have to make sure that nothing like the wedding happens again…you…people, could have been killed…"

She nodded. I continued, "I…I need your help…"

"YOU need MY help?" she asked. Great, she was suspicious, let's see, what would Old Ranma do? Instances of me yelling 'uncute' and 'tomboy' flashed through my head. No…besides that…Oh, I got it!

"Fine, don't help me! I just thought you cared, that's all…" There we go. Sounds like something he would say, and Akane can't refuse when I put it like that.

"No! That's not what I meant, I'll help you out." She said before I could even turn around.

I had to keep myself from grinning. That was easier than I thought.

"I'll tell you about it later 'Kane." I said as I walked out of the room.

It had been quite around the house lately, no rivals bursting in, no fiancés offering me dinner, it was nice, but at the same time almost…boring. Oh well.

I trained a bit in the dojo, ate some dinner, and went to my room to sleep.

I looked over at my backpack, where most of my stuff was kept. I noticed a book peeking out of the top. I walked over to my backpack and picked it up.

Romeo and Juliet.

I smiled to myself, I remembered it was one of the few books I got to read, under the guise that I was rehearsing for the play. I still remembered that play, wow, if Shakespeare had been around to see it he would have wept at how much we butchered it. But it was one of the few times I had fun.

But I have no time for plays now. I'm already in one. The play that is my life. The stage has been set for two years now. The players are almost ready. Soon all that will be left is to watch.

I sure hope it doesn't end up a tragedy…

A/N: Another chapter done. I think I did pretty well, but that's not the point. The point is if you readers think I did really well so, C & C, especially about the romantic portions of my story. This would be the first even slightly romantic story I've ever written, so any feedback besides "you suck, go home" would be really appreciated.