Disclaimer:

The characters in this story aren't mine, they belong to Rumiko Takahashi and other publications… I'm only here so I can practice my writing…lol… I do not own any of the characters and gains no profit from writing this story… so again please don't sue!!!… I already have enough problems managing bill payments…..

I do not intend on making any profit from making this story but only a writer writing about one of her favourite character, namely Nabiki.

Author's Pre-notes:

I'd like to say thanks once again for your kind reviews… (I'm so happy I think I'm gonna cry!)

As for everyone's enquiry about the second chapter, It is indeed a spin off of the first chapter of how it all began!

I thought the chapter title was straight forward enough but then again it's my bad for not explaining, gomen.

The second chapter is virtually how it all began so to speak… Well can't say anything more or I might give away too much… So without further adieu I bring to you the next chapter!

ITALICS- MEANS THOUGHTS

xxxxxxx

"WATCH OUT!" Ranma cried out as he shot away from where he stood, making a quick and hasty shot towards Nabiki's form. Determined to rescue her from her imminent demise!

Various screams where heard as the sound of heavy breaks and the blaring of the cars' horn was heard.

Nabiki watched in morbid fascination as everything around her turned into slow motion. Everything became surreal.

The semi truck driver, seeing a youth dash forward, stepped on the breaks hard. The semi jerked as the rest of its body swerved. Smoke could be smelt from the tires' exhaustion. It also didn't help that because of the sudden movement of the semi the rest of the vehicles behind it did the same thing. Loud crashes, swear words and screeching tires where heard. The passers-by stood there agape. Many screamed as they witnessed the event.

The screams where more for fear about the young youth who stood dumbfounded in the middle of the road. While his supposed to be rescuee, safely stood on the footpath/sidewalk!

The semi driver after regaining his bearings, angrily poked his head out and glared at the impetuous youth!

"WHAT IN THE NAMES OF HELL DO YOU THINK YOUR DOING BOY?!!!" The driver raged as several more drivers voiced out their anger. "DO YOU HAVE A FREAKING DEATH WISH?!!" The driver added as he continued to berate the youth.

Ranma in the other hand stood there dumbfounded. Dumbstruck. He thought for sure Nabiki was going to cross! But in the last minute, she suddenly stopped and quickly side-stepped out of his reach. Unfortunately for him, travelling at such speed meant he couldn't stop as abruptly as she did. Which landed him right smack in the middle of the road!

Nabiki on the other hand was frozen on the spot. She admits that she was preoccupied with her thoughts but that doesn't mean she's stupid enough to cross a busy road. She had seen the immense semi from her peripheral vision and stopped. She also saw something else in her peripheral vision but it was a blur. Rather than wait for an impact, which she was quite sure will end into collision, she quite elegantly sidestepped, being narrowly missed by a humanoid blur. She was quite shock to find out that the humanoid blur was none other than Ranma!

After recovering from the initial shock, Ranma began to apologise to the irate drivers. Soon the cops came to fix the traffic mess he had created. He saw Nabiki shake her head and answered some of the cops inquiries and other witnesses. A few minutes and so on later, the traffic began to run smoothly. Ranma did still get angry glares from the other drivers as they drove past him. Ranma released a huge sigh. This was just not his day. His head bent and muttering slightly, he was caught in surprise when he felt someone placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. The hand that belonged to Nabiki.

"Nice going Saotome." She said sardonically, as she patted him on the back.

Ranma on the other hand felt annoyance build up inside him.

It was her fault! It was her fault that incident happened to begin with and how dare she mock him now! He was about to tell her what he thought of her when he stopped and looked at her eyes.

It wasn't mocking like the timbre of her voice emphasized it would, rather it held a relief look on them. Did this mean she cared what happened to him?

Of course she'll care what happens to me, I'm one of her assets! He thought bitterly.

"Don't look so down Ranma-kun. I was only trying to cheer you up." Nabiki said to him.

Cheer him up?

"Never mind. Forget I said anything." And with that Nabiki turned and walked away from him, making her way home.

"Hey wait up!" Ranma called out. Great now he pissed her off yet again! Smooth Ranma. Real smooth.

The whole walk home was quiet. Ranma could tell Nabiki had a lot in her mind but then again when is it ever empty? He began to study her yet again. He was beginning to become intrigue with her which bothered him a lot. He hasn't really spent this much time with her unless it was one of her money making schemes of hers and even then he was reluctant. Watching her all silent and brooding now was disconcerting to say the least. He never knew what to expect from her which was why he was keeping an eye on her just to be on the safe side.

They finally made it to the Tendo compound and was standing at the foyer, when Nabiki turned to face him.

"Ranma about the incident today. Why did you….." Nabiki was in the process of asking him what drove him to rush in the middle of the road like that when she was interrupted by the sudden opening of the door and her father wailing at the sight of them.

"WAAAH! MY POOR BABY!!" Her father managed to say before engulfing her into a great big hug followed by a stream of water works. Hearing the Tendo patriarch's words the rest of the Tendo residents revealed themselves behind him, wearing worried faces and one in particular was red with anger but then again what else is new?

After being herded in by Kasumi. Kasumi explained to both of them that they had just saw the news of the traffic incident on TV. Kasumi trying to calm their father down as he held on to a very irate Nabiki. Kasumi was quite glad that her sister was fine and looked at a concerned glance at Ranma. He looked fine as well to her relief. She had already form an attachment to the youth. She treated him more like a little brother since her youngest sister was engaged to him.

"Honestly daddy I'm fine! So please let go already!" Nabiki angrily pointed out which only made their father worst.

"WAAAH! MY DAUGHTER DOESN'T LOVE ME ANYMORE!" Then proceeded to cry once again. Nabiki gave out a loud sigh of dismay. Why me? She asked herself as she tried to calm their father yet again.

Meanwhile the rest of the residents, weren't too happy. Genma was reproaching Ranma of being careless, while Akane accused Ranma of being an idiot and was cheating on her with his other fiancées again. Ranma by now had learned how to drown out their words and looked at Nabiki to see if she was doing any better. Apparently she was not doing as well as him looking at her crestfallen expression as she soothed her father and Kasumi. For some reason that made him smile.

So things do get to her, He decided. He was too engrossed in studying her that he didn't hear Akane's question.

"What are you smiling at?" She asked, anger still imminent in her voice. Akane's imagination went to overdrive as yet again she jumped into conclusions.

"YOUR THINKING ABOUT YOUR OTHER FIANCEES ARENT YOU!" She shouted at him.

"Nani?" Ranma seemed confuse as to why Akane was shouting at him once again, snapping him back to reality. Too late though as he saw the tell-tale battle aura.

"RANMA NO BAKAAA!" She shouted in rage as she punted him yet again to LEO (Lower Earth Orbit) via Mallet-sama.

Nabiki watched as Ranma created another hole on the roof. Maybe she should think about having a sky light?

It will be a lot more cheaper and economical, she wondered but then again that's too many skylights when you think about it. She just has to keep in mind to remind her sister Kasumi to call the roof repairs yet again the next day. One of these days she will have to teach her younger sister Akane about the value of money.

It was already late and everyone has retired to bed early. Nabiki in the other hand with the excitement from earlier, was wide awake. The excitement hasn't really gone down for her. She tried reading to distract herself but the words never made sense and she realised she has been reading the same paragraph for the 5th time now!

Finally admitting defeat, she laid back on the bed with both hands behind her head. She felt restless. She then decided to do her leg lifts to keep her occupied but there were certain thoughts that kept pushing in her mind. She found it annoying. She wondered why Ranma would do such a thing? What drove him to run like a maniac in the middle of the road? Then a thought came to her.

"HE WOULDN'T DARE!" She exclaimed rather loudly.

"HEY QUIET OVER THERE! SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO SLEEP!" Akane yelled from her room.

But Nabiki didn't heed Akane's warning. Instead, she quickly shot out of bed and began pacing around her room. It's quite logical when you think about it. It was perfect. Ingenious even! None will be the wiser right?

Nabiki had always thought there was something more to Ranma than meets the eye and that there would be some attempt on her life because of the things she did but she had to admit, she never expected this. She tried to put herself in Ranma's place in the same way of thinking. Trying to figure out his diabolical plans.

Ranma was out for revenge against her for all the things she had done to him. That's the only reason she knew that could explain what drove him to do what he did this afternoon!

Her exhausted and excited mind began to jump from one conclusion to another. The looks he had been giving her and her sudden awareness of him suddenly fell into place. She wasn't falling for Ranma. She wasn't falling for his charms and his nice guy attitude.

No.

It was something more sinister. The reason why she had been more aware of him was the fact that he was trying to kill her!

Her sudden awareness of him was her danger senses telling her something was not right and she was right!

Wait a minute danger senses? She had to be kidding. Note to self stop reading Spiderman comics! She told herself. But it fit well right?

There's no other explanation why she would be aware of him right? She had to admit she never expected Ranma to be so diabolical. He had manage to locate her sanctuary which explained his presence today. Manage to disconcert her when he "supposedly" accidentally collided into her and then the whole traffic incident! He was going to push her into the ongoing traffic! All the while pretending to save her and would get away scot-free, Since no one in their right minds would accuse him, after all this is Ranma Saotome all around jock and nice guy! He would never do such a thing right?

Unbeknownst to her, the object of her paranoid thoughts was standing outside her window. Ranma had been studying her from quite sometime now, watching her pace around her room restlessly. Something must really be up. He said to himself.

He was on his way in, back from wherever Akane had managed to punt him into, but found out that the door was already locked. He didn't have the heart to wake up Kasumi to let him in and he didn't want to disturb the rest of the household. He resigned himself to sleep on the rooftop for the night but instead found the light in the middle Tendo's room still on. He decided to ask her if she could let him in, hoping she was still awake and he was right!

He saw her pace around her room angrily and muttering to herself.

Maybe this wasn't such a great idea, He thought to himself but he didn't like the idea to just simply sleep on the roof top. Though it is quite peaceful, with the stars above providing the perfect ambience and serenity to inspire sleep, most of the time though it was occupied by the roof hopping/travelling martial artists like himself. And him being caught sleeping will be caught off guard and will be prone to be drugged, tortured and etc.

"Might as well get this over and done with." He muttered to himself as he took a deep breath and knocked softly at Nabiki's bedroom window.

But he failed right? She had spoiled his plans. Does that mean he won't try again? She thought. She jumped out of fright when she heard a soft knocking on her bedroom window.

"What in the name of……" But she never finished her sentence when she caught sight who it was outside. It was Ranma. Her killer!

She stared at him. Frozen in fear. Is he going to do her in? He wouldn't dare! She would scream bloody murder and alert everyone in the house! The whole neighbourhood even!

Ranma looked at her concernedly. Why the heck is she looking at him like he was a ghost or something?

"Nabiki could you please let me in? I've seemed to be locked out." He explained to her.

A million things rushed inside Nabiki's head. None of them pleasant.

"Please Nabiki, Its freezing out here." Ranma begged her.

Nabiki thought she must be out of her mind when she found herself heading towards the window and unlocking the latch and moved aside to let him in. She tried to rationalise that if Ranma tried anything she would scream. Besides her curiosity got the better of her, she wanted to figure out what drove this killer tendencies in Ranma. Her sister Akane perhaps?

"Domo Arigatou, Tendo-san." He thanked her as he climbed in.

Nabiki watched him like a hawk her eyes narrowing.

Ranma caught her look. Oh yeah, that's right she's still pissed at me. He said to himself.

"Listen Nabiki about this afternoon…." He began to explain, ready to apologise for ticking her off at the library and inadvertantly making another hole on their roof which was actually more of Akane's fault than his anyway.

"Save it for someone who cares Saotome." She said coldly, cutting him off from his explanation.

Ranma was dumbstruck. Why on earth is she so angry about? Is it about the hole on the roof again? He can fix it the next day!

"You must think you're so smart Ranma but I'm onto your little schemes," Nabiki told him pointedly as she began to poke his chest for emphasis.

"What schemes?" He asked confused. What the heck is wrong with her? and did she really have to poke him?

"Don't play dumb Ranma. I'm on to you and I'll be watching you." She warned him as she narrowed her eyes on him as she continued to advance closer to him. Trying to intimidate him

"Alright then?," He replied not really knowing what else to say as he found himself leaning back slightly. He then remembered the book he read at the library about the pod people. He should go back and borrow it.

"Just tell me one thing Ranma," Her gaze at him unwaveringl,. "What made you do it?" She asked him in full seriousness.

"Do what?" He asked her. He really didn't know what was going on.

"You know about the incident this afternoon." She spat out. Anger dripping from her voice trying to maintain her composure.

Is that why she was angry? She was angry because he tried to rescue her is that it? He thought of her as weak? Had he injured her pride?

"I was just doing my duty as a martial artist. It was like instinct you know. I saw you and the truck and then my instinct just took over." He replied back in full seriousness. He was doing his duty as a martial artist. Protecting the weak. It was ingrained in his brain now and he just did what was natural to him. His instinct was to rescue and protect. Unfortunately, Nabiki didn't see it as he did.

For the love of Kami! His instinct was to kill her! He viewed her as an enemy to be annihilated! She thought. HE saw the truck and he couldn't let the opportunity to pass to do her in!

"Get out." She said to him with much venom in her voice.

"But…." For some reason Nabiki's reaction wasn't what he thought he would get. He thought at least she would be grateful that he put his life on the line on for her, not the anger he felt from her.

"I said get out Ranma." She said with barely controlled anger and a twinge of fear. How does one protect herself from a powerful martial artist?

As Ranma was about to head out of her room, he was surprised by her parting phrase.

"It's a pity you took this road Saotome. Maybe I have been unfair to you in the past but clearly you could see why I did it? If it weren't for that I would have think you and I could have been friends. But if you continue to pursue this road then I'm afraid I will fight you all the way. You might just find out I'm also your worst enemy combined." She warned him before closing her door to a very bewildered Ranma.

"What the Heck was that all about? I definitely should have checked out that pod people book." he told himself as he made his way towards the guest room.

Meanwhile in Nabiki's room. Nabiki was leaning against her door. She had said what she had needed to say. It's up to Ranma to make the first move hopefully he wasn't too far gone and wouldn't think of trying for her life. But did she really mean it? What she said to Ranma about her being friends? Only time will tell and hopefully her little speech was enough to dissuade Ranma from trying to kill her.

Author's notes:

Lol. I know I'm evil. I was feeling rather hyperactive when I wrote this. That and High on Caffeine!

I mean you can't expect to get them to hit it off so soon, I mean come on. Where's the excitement in that?

Try to see things from Nabiki's side. I know its OOC for her to be paranoid but her impending awareness of Ranma threw her of her rockers! If you know what I mean (wink wink!) if you still accept that blame it on her near death experience!

She's suppose to be logical and the epitome of an ICE QUEEN persona she prides herself in, so the matter of attraction will be a bit different for her to comprehend.

Hope you like it. Please review! Also read my other stories!

I've also noticed that this story made it to Nabiki and Ranma Relationship Archive! (I'm so happy)

Well that's all for now!

Please review!

Ja Ne,

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