Innocence of Mine Chapter 14 Coming to Grips, a ranma fanfic

Innocence of Mine

By Douglas Helm and "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl

Those characters that are original and the story "Innocence of Mine" are copyrighted ©2006 ShoujoFiction .com by Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Ranma ½ characters are copyrighted by Rumiko Takahashi.

This story and our many other stories reside at our Shoujo Fiction dot com domain. Comments are welcomed and encouraged.

Chapter 14 - Coming to Grips

As the alarm clock burred noisily in the darkness of the bedroom, a teenager's hand emerged from beneath the covers on the bed, felt around, found the offensive object, and flung it away. The clock in question though had the gall to continue to ring.

Grumbling imprecations on the clock's ancestry, Nabiki Tendo struggled into a kneeling position on her bed, staggered from under the sheets, and over to the alarm clock. She kicked it and when the contraption didn't take the hint, she bent down, shut the alarm off, and dropped it mercilessly back to the floor.

Nabiki shuffled over to the bed, flopped down face first on it, and made a motion as if drawing a pillow towards her. Finding none, the middle Tendo sister rolled to her side, sighed heavily, and put a forearm over her eyes.

"I hate mornings," the seventeen year old declared to the room in general. As the memory of Kasumi waking her up came back, she grumbled, "I can't believe Kasumi-onee is so bright and chipper in the morning... It's not natural." She rolled to her side again, pulled her legs up onto the bed, and thought, 'At least, Akane has the right idea. She knows when to sleep in.' Nabiki grimaced. 'You'd think a girl that sleeps as soundly as she does would be nicer... especially to Ranma-kun.' This was in marked contrast to little Akane-oneechan who awoke with the chickens to train every day.

Suddenly, the young woman sat up. She looked wildly around and felt herself blushing despite the cold as her eyes lit on a children's book. With forefinger and thumb, Nabiki picked the book up and blushed even more when she saw the suggested age range printed on it. "Oh no, I had Ranma-kun read this to me?" she asked herself in a terrified squeak.

A tapping at the door startled her, "Nabiki-chan?"

"Ju-Just a minute!" Nabiki shouted apprehensively. Looking wildly around, she stuffed the book under the covers and for good measure, just to make sure it wouldn't get the idea of crawling out from under the covers, sat on it. "C-Come in, Onee-chan!" the seventeen year old called. "Ohayo!"

When her door opened, Kasumi stepped into the bedroom. "Ohayo! Good, you're up." Kasumi smiled. "Want to help me with breakfast, Na-chan?"

"Iie, not today..." Nabiki replied. She hated turning her down after Ranma praised her culinary creation the prior day. 'I gotta dump the kiddy book!' "Maybe tomorrow, ne?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea, Na-chan," the elder sister agreed cheerily and gave her a hug, "In that case, come down soon and you can help me set the table."

This was the last thing in the world that Nabiki wanted to do. She was bound to meet Ranma and the rest of her family. "I need to do something, Onee-chan," she fibbed. When Kasumi looked politely puzzled, Nabiki squirmed then whispered, "It's private."

"All right. You can help me tomorrow, ne?"

Nabiki nodded. 'Maybe I was dreaming...' Her older sister was about to leave when Nabiki called out, "Onee-chan?" Kasumi paused. "Ne, can I ask you something?"

"Certainly?" When her younger sister motioned her into the room further, Kasumi did so closing the door and looking concerned. "Are you all right, Na-chan? You don't have a fever?"

"Please tell me I didn't flash Ranma-kun yesterday," Nabiki asked in a pained tone.

"I'm afraid you did, young lady. I hope you don't plan on repeating it," Kasumi stated seriously. "I must admit that Ranma-kun did handle it well though."

When Kasumi left, the embarrassed young woman flopped back onto her bed, covered her crimson face with her hands, and sighed deeply. 'A little kid's bedtime story and Ranma-kun saw my... my...' she whined to herself, 'And I took a bubblebath too! Everyone must think I'm a baby!'

Reluctantly, she got up and donned her robe and slippers. 'Although it was fun to bathe with Onee-chan... Even Akane when she stopped acting all offended.' Minutes later, she was just opening her door and was taken aback when she heard Ranma's voice. Blushing, Nabiki hid behind her partially open door and prayed to the Kami to be invisible. 'I don't think I can face Ranma-kun. He'll be so angry with me! What can I say to him? Maybe if...' Nabiki wanted to cry but she decided to wait instead.

# # # # #

Ranma Saotome, in girl form, paused in her food consumption that morning as she felt a new pair of eyes upon her. The redhead was a little puzzled because the most obvious source, Akane, was pointedly ignoring her. She glanced down at her, formerly his, still wet shirt and frowned. The youngest Tendo daughter knew very well how icy cold water found its way to Ranma that morning. 'I'm a guy! Akane didn't have to go get all huffy about my chest; it wasn't even showing this time.' She glanced at Akane again. 'But if she's so ticked off with me, why's she sitting next to me?' she complained to herself as she scanned the room. Genma, in panda form, was eating and was eyeing his son's food. Soun was reading a newspaper. 'Kasumi... Well if she starts eyeing me, it's time to leave.' She doubted that she'd survive Akane's fury. No, it was none of them. Yet the feeling remained.

Frowning slightly, the pigtailed martial artist turned to look behind her. She was startled to see a set of eyes and a mop of familiar brown hair. The eyes and hair quickly vanished as their owner gave a squeak and retreated away from the doorway. Curious, the busty redhead got up and walked toward the bashful observer. The others at the table looked on. Approaching, she spotted Nabiki standing there in her pajamas and robe.

"R-Ranma-kun..." Nabiki began and then turned a bright red and looked towards the wall.

"Ohayo Nabiki," she greeted her.

"About yesterday... I... I..." the teen started timidly and then halted with her head bowed.

Ranma was concerned; this wasn't like Nabiki at all. "You still feeling weird?" She shook her head. "Then why are you staring at my feet?" Nabiki's head snapped up and she met the gender-changing teen's eyes. Ranma-chan was startled to see her face grow an even deeper shade of red. "Breakfast is out, Nabiki. Ain't you'd better go grab some before Pops steals it all?"

"I will..." Nabiki squirmed a little. "Gomen nasai, Ranma-kun, I'm sorry I flashed you yesterday. I'm so embarrassed." The last was said in a near whisper. 'Why did I do that to him? He must think I'm a baby. He'll never like me now.'

Regardless, the sound of Soun beginning to cry and Akane cracking her knuckles showed that everyone had heard her. 'Why ain't Pops doing anything?' Dismissing it, the young man said, "That's okay, Na-chan. I... uh, I mean you weren't yourself yesterday, ne?"

Ranma-chan might have said more, and likely further provoked Akane in the process, but Nabiki asked optimistically, "So you ain't mad, ne Ranma-kun?"

"Nope! Why should I be?"

Nabiki paused for a moment and smiled. Giggling, she lunged forward and gave Ranma-chan a large hug nearly knocking the redhead off-balance. It was strange that Ranma was smaller than she was. Ranma froze momentarily baffled by the sensation. Before she could say anything however, Nabiki declared in a stage whisper, "I know why Akane-chan's jealous."

"Nani? Why?" the martial artist wondered, knowing it would likely provoke Akane.

"'Cause you're cuddlier!"

"THAT'S IT!" Akane shouted. An instant later, she stormed past the pair of hugging girls and down the hallway.

"Where are you going, Akane-chan?" Kasumi questioned. It was a half-hour before they normally left.

"School!"

The seventeen year old was disappointed when Ranma-chan squirmed free of the hug and ran after Akane. "Hey wait for me!" Ranma-chan protested. "Akane!" Nabiki might have followed but Kasumi appeared.

"Are you all right, Na-chan?" Kasumi asked her sister, "You were upstairs an awfully long time." Before her younger sister could offer an answer, she continued, "Hiding from Ranma isn't any reason to miss breakfast." Fuming, Nabiki stomped to the table and sat down.

# # # # #

After finishing breakfast, Nabiki Tendo retreated upstairs to her room to get ready for school. She opened her closet and stared. One part of her said that these were her clothes, many "borrowed" from Akane. Another part of her felt muddled - it didn't recognize these big girl clothes as hers.

She searched in vain but could not find her orange elementary school uniform anywhere. By the time a knock sounded on her door, half of her wardrobe had been pulled out and strewn about. "Hai!" she called. She reached for a box that had been stuffed right to the back.

"Na-chan, do... Oh my, what are you doing?"

Nabiki paused, glancing over her shoulder. "Gettin' dressed, Onee-chan."

Kasumi stared at all the clothes on the floor before asking, "Looking for anything in particular?"

"My school fuku."

"It's right there, Na-chan," her sister observed, motioning at a hanger holding her winter Furinkan High School uniform. "But Tofu-sensei said you could stay home."

Nabiki grunted, stood up, and commented, "Well, I can't stay in these." She tugged at her night clothing. "I'm going to get dressed, Onee-chan. Did you want something?"

'As long as she's not going to school...' The coed cocked her head and wondered, "Ne, Na-chan, would you like me to help you dress?"

The middle Tendo daughter stared at her older sister for several moments. "Ka-su-mi... How old am I?"

"Seventeen."

"I think that means I can dress myself, ne?"

"But you needed help yesterday, Na-chan," Kasumi argued. She luckily seemed to ignore the burning spots on her little sister's cheeks, as Nabiki was suddenly flooded with shame.

"I wanna try it by myself today, please Onee-chan?" Nabiki asked, trying not to sound upset. She knew that Kasumi had her best interests at heart and she also knew she had to be patient with her sister.

Some minutes later, Nabiki came downstairs glowing with pride after dressing in her school uniform all by herself. She was sporting her tiny pigtails. She had initially been sad that her cute elementary school uniform was nowhere to be found but she knew Na-chan would be proud to be wearing a Furinkan High School uniform. It was just as well; Nabiki figured she was too big now to fit in her other one. It made her feel grownup.

Nabiki's newfound pride was quickly being replaced with frustration as her patience with her older sister was tested. The young woman was restraining her temper with great effort. "Onee-chan," she whined as she pulled on her boots, "I'm okay. I can go to school!"

"But, Nabiki, do you really think you should? Tofu-sensei said that he'd excuse you."

"I'll be fine," Nabiki assured her sister, "I'm a big girl." 'I ain't a baby. I can't have Ranma thinking I am.' Kasumi looked worried testing her resolve. "I mean it, Kasumi. I know where the school is. Akane and Ranma-kun are there and everything. Do you honestly think either one of them would let anybody hurt me?"

"Iie," the nineteen year old said, "Maybe we should check with Tofu-sensei first though just to be safe."

"That'd just make me tardy, Onee-chan. I don't want sensei mad at me." Nabiki stood and pulled her jacket on. "I'll be safe."

"I don't suppose you'd let me or Otou-san walk..." Kasumi trailed off as her younger sister gave her an annoyed look, the same look Nabiki had given her at the age of seven when she had wanted to walk her little sister to school holding her hand.

"Look, if I have problems, I'll come home or go to Tofu-sensei, whichever is closer," Nabiki promised and before Kasumi could protest anymore, she dashed out of the house. She felt vaguely guilty about running off from her older sister but she couldn't miss school; it would be a real pain to catch up. 'I can't believe I flashed Ranma-kun!' It was more than a little mortifying. 'He must think I'm like Shampoo! A floozy!' She wasn't sure what that was but Akane often called Shampoo that when the Amazon was fawning over Ranma.

Frowning, she allowed her feet to carry her to school. Most of her concentration was spent on what she needed to do in the next days. 'I need to pin Akane down on those mushrooms that she told me about before. I'm sure glad that I didn't bring them up yesterday.' She chewed her lip in thought. 'I should go see if I can track Kaji down too. I gotta know what made him do this.' She rounded a corner dodging a dozing cat. 'I need to find out where Happosai-ojiisan went too...' That thought brought another one to mind. 'I need to talk to Ranma-kun about 'The Art'.'

That was if Ranma was willing to talk to her. She still couldn't believe her juvenile antics of the day before. 'Why do I care what Ranma-kun thinks?' She did though and couldn't help but despair at the size of the mountain that she needed to overcome for Ranma to really like her.

The teenager suddenly wished that she hadn't been so upset with Kasumi. 'I couldn't let Onee-chan walk me to school like a baby!' It was bad enough that her sister had helped her dress the day before. 'Why couldn't Ranma-kun and Akane wait for me?' After a little thought, she sighed. 'Well, it ain't their fault. I normally don't walk with them.' She felt very lonely all of a sudden. 'I should've...'

She was just trying to think of a way to apologize to Kasumi without losing face when her train of thought was derailed by a familiar voice coming from just around a corner. "Are you okay, Minako-chan?"

Hurrying, she was at first confused by the appearance of a little girl, staring at a pair of legs sticking out of a trashcan. "Ruri-chan?" Nabiki asked. 'Gosh! Ruri's so little... And why is she headed towards Furinkan?' The little girl gave a start and turned wide round eyes on the strange teenage girl. "Where's Minako?" Ruri just pointed.

"Get me out!" wailed the pair of legs.

Nabiki moved forward and lifted her small friend out of the trashcan. While brushing the litter off the seven year old's school uniform, Nabiki questioned, "You okay?"

"Un..." Minako commented, sniffled, and glanced around.

"Ne, who did this?"

"Nobody," Ruri answered.

"Nobody, ne? I bet it was Naomi!" Nabiki stated, looking around for the bully. 'That was mean. I'll stuff her into a trashcan!' Almost immediately, she felt guilty about that thought. 'Okay, I won't. I'll let Akane do it.' Besides, just because she was bigger than Naomi was now was no reason to be mean. Maybe they could be friends now.

"Arigato oba-san," Minako said while pulling a gum wrapper out of her long blond hair and straightening her red ribbon.

"Oba-san? Hey, I'm not that old," the teen protested.

"We should go, Minako-chan," Ruri prodded. "We don't wanna be tardy for that test. Arigato, onee-san." She quickly bowed to her friend's benefactor.

Before Nabiki could comment, Minako turned back to Nabiki and asked bashfully, "Onee-chan, would you stuff me back in there?"

"Didn't study, ne Minako-chan?" the teenager kneeled down and asked with a small smirk. The little blonde shook her head sadly. Ruri wondered how this girl could know her friend so well.

Nabiki scrutinized the two little girls. They were still cute. That hadn't changed. In fact, both appeared exactly the same save two things: 1) They were no longer bigger than she was by a long shot and 2) They were wearing completely different school uniforms. Not the bright orange version of Na-chan but the same red and white style as Nabiki remembered wearing when she was small. "Come on, I'll walk the both of you to school."

"That's okay... It's just behind the wall, onee-san," Ruri commented, pointing.

"Eh?" Nabiki asked. It was then she realized that she hadn't headed for Furinkan High School at all but Oizumi Elementary School. The one that Kaji had made her go to as Na-chan and she herself attended as a child. 'Nabiki no baka!' "Well come on, girls, or you'll be tardy. 'Sides, I need to head that way anyway."

"Onee-san," Ruri began as they started down the sidewalk. "How do you know Naomi-sempai?" 'And us,' she wanted to add.

"She and I had a little run in at the ice rink last week."

"Honto? Is Naomi baka?" Minako asked, staring in disbelief. She hasn't realized Naomi was that bold.

"I don't think so, Minako-chan," Nabiki replied as they reached the entrance to the elementary school.

She hadn't taken more than a few steps inside when Ruri brought her up short by inquiring, "Are you lookin' for somebody, onee-san?" This girl might be a classmate's older sister.

"Oh! Gomen!" the high-schooler grinned. "I guess I wanted to come here again, Ruri-chan. I used to go here when I was little. It's lots more fun than high school."

"I don't ever want to grow up then," Minako grumbled and then as a sudden thought struck her, she amended, "I wish I was an adult!"

"Why?" Ruri and Nabiki asked at the same time.

"'Cause that way, when Mommy finds out I flunked this test, she won't spank me."

Nabiki chuckled then gave a sad wave good-bye to the two little girls that were Na-chan's best friends. She turned heading for Furinkan High.

# # # # #

Kasumi left the Tendo home, bundled against the cold, and started the walk towards Furinkan High School. 'I'll just check real quick to make sure that Nabiki's there. If she is, I'll go home.'

It had been hard for Kasumi trying to raise her younger sisters after the death of their mother. She'd thrown her entire being into it, burying her grief under housework, caretaking, and schoolwork, trying desperately to keep her family together like her mother would want.

'Nabiki has changed and I hope Kami-sama will let her be better.' Kasumi sighed as she walked. 'Otou-san never saw. Maybe if he had...' The coed felt guilty about blaming her father but it had been hard to chastise her sisters, especially sisters only a few years younger than herself. 'Maybe if I had tried with Akane... but she seemed so angry.' The youngest Tendo daughter had been unwilling to listen and was resentful whenever Kasumi had tried to correct her errant behavior. Akane would always say that Kasumi wasn't her mommy. One time, when Akane had injured a boy who'd been teasing her, Kasumi had been quite upset. Her youngest sister's response was to lash out in anger, an anger accusing Kasumi of killing their mother. 'I slapped her...' Kasumi remembered sadly as she turned a corner, 'We went our separate ways then.'

Nabiki, on the other hand, had retreated into herself and simply stopped responding to correction. 'I didn't do much better, ne Kasumi?' she asked herself. The eldest of the Tendo sisters had wanted to provoke some reaction in Nabiki. Instead, her little sister had simply stood there, blank-faced except for the little scowl on her forehead. Eventually, Kasumi had to give up and concentrated on the running their home. As far as her sisters, all she could do was sit back and hope for the best.

She had come to rely on her Nabiki's natural gifts at finance. She wasn't sure the dojo would have made without her. But there was more to life than that Kasumi knew. 'Now she's showing more emotion, don't crush it!' she told herself. She was not naive about one thing - she wanted to hold on tight to what was flowering within Nabiki.

She spent the rest of the walk to the high school she had graduated from more than a year before mulling over how she was going to keep Nabiki away from the dojo. She certainly did not want her sister knowing about the match between Akane and Ranma scheduled that afternoon. She wasn't sure what Nabiki would do in her current childlike state.

As she entered the grounds to Furinkan, she spotted Ranma, back in boy form, sitting in a tree gloomily looking at the school building. "Ranma-kun?" He turned and blinked, his eyes widening as he recognized Kasumi. "What are you doing up there?"

"Hidin'," Ranma commented. "Shampoo showed up this morning wantin' to take me on a date. Akane couldn't keep quiet and told Shampoo that I was busy this afternoon and why." 'Why couldn't she forget about our match?'

Kasumi frowned slightly. "What did Shampoo do, Ranma?"

Ranma gave a lopsided grin. "Nearly killed herself laughing. She said she'd be by to watch the quickest fight in history."

"That wasn't very nice," the coed said and then after a moment added, "But Ranma... I want you to promise me you'll give Akane a real match." He blinked. "Let her fight Ranma Saotome... not Ranko." He scowled, jumped gracefully from the tree doing a full flip in the process, and walked to stand in front of Kasumi.

"I don't hit girls, Kasumi. You know that."

"A very gallant thought but baka in a challenge match." She smiled as he gaped at her in disbelief. "Let me be frank... Despite what most men would like to think, not all women are helpless damsels. We have our own weapons." When the young man before her got a stubborn look on his face, she explained, "Ranma-kun, if you don't fight Akane properly, you'll disgrace her. Do you want to do that?"

Ranma looked pained for a moment and then stared towards the ground. "Iie but..." He glanced up.

"Ranma," the eldest Tendo interrupted, "You train a lot, ne?" He nodded. "Especially with Saotome-ojisan." Another nod. "I dislike saying this as I'm not an expert, but Akane's training until you came consisted mostly of schoolyard brawls. None of them was martial artists. Kuno did not make Akane stretch because he loves her."

"True..." the young martial artist agreed.

"Unfortunately, Otou-san couldn't help her after a certain point. Akane earned a black belt like you although not your degree." 'And she wasn't about to accept Happosai's instruction to advance.' "By taking her challenge seriously, you might show her that strength does not equal experience." He appeared unconvinced. Kasumi sighed. After a moment, she said, "Ranma-kun, I had to raise both my imouto after Okaa-san died. I wasn't a parent but I got books. In one of the old books, translated from English, there was a saying."

When she didn't continue, Ranma prodded, "Ne, what did it say?"

"It said, 'Sometimes the quickest way to a kid's brain is his bottom.'" She smiled slightly as he gaped at her. "Avoiding Akane in battle is like nagging a child, they eventually become quite adept at tuning you out. Just ask Nabiki."

"Well, Na-chan's coming up the street, Kasumi, so I guess I could."

Kasumi whipped around, eyes wide with alarm. "Oh my! She can't find me here!" And in a move worthy of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts, the eldest Tendo daughter vanished behind the tree Ranma had been sitting in moments before.

# # # # #

Dr. Tofu Ono looked out into the waiting room of his clinic as the door opened. He was concerned to see Akane leading a worried and rather distressed Nabiki.

"What happened?"

"She's using her little kid act to get out of school, Tofu-sensei," Akane growled. "She showed up during break and asked me to bring her here."

"I couldn't ask Ranma-kun, Akane-chan... Gomen... I just couldn't," Nabiki sobbed miserably.

"Nabiki-chan, why don't you go wait in the next room? I want to talk to your imouto." Nabiki nodded, stepped from her school shoes, and shuffled into the room. Dr. Tofu waited until the door was closed before turning back to Akane.

Before he could say anything though, Akane huffed, "Phone Kasumi when she's done, Sensei. I need to run to get back to school in time." 'Nabiki no baka!' And with that, the youngest Tendo daughter was out the door and rapidly vanishing from sight.

Tofu sighed. He stepped into one of his examination rooms and over to the examination table where his patient Nabiki was sitting. Pulling over a metal stool, he sat down and asked, "How are you feeling now, Nabiki-chan?"

"Silly, Tofu-sensei," Nabiki answered, sounding embarrassed. "Did Akane-chan run back off to school?" When the man nodded, the seventeen year old grumbled, "She could've at least stayed." 'Akane-oneechan would've. She was the bestest.'

"I phoned Kasumi-chan..." When Nabiki gave him an alarmed look, he quickly added, "I told her that when you were feeling up to it, I'd walk you home."

"Arigato, Sensei."

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"Well, I got to school although I took a bit of detour." He gave her a politely curious look but she didn't go into any details. "So Yuriko-onee... I mean Yuri-chan and some of the other girls were waiting for me. We talked and stuff."

"Indeed... How did that go?"

"Okay I think, Sensei, they thought I had a cold or something 'cause I wasn't saying much. I really didn't understand all the stuff they were saying. Stuff about odds and payoffs and..." She shrugged.

Tofu nodded. "So then what happened, Nabiki-chan?"

Nabiki grimaced. "Homeroom went okay... but for some reason, I wound up feeling sorry for Kuno-sempai. I had this weird urge to go over and hug him when he started complaining about my on... imouto avoiding him." Here the young doctor laughed and somehow that made his patient smile.

"So when did you start to feel stressed?"

Nabiki shifted a little and closed her eyes. "First period. I got called on and all I could do was act like a fish." Here the young lady grimaced in thought. "Things started to get real weird after that, Tofu-sensei. I could hear what my sensei was saying but it just wasn't sticking. It was like my brain was in a thick fog or something. The other kids laughed and stuff." The kids never laughed at her before even though she remembered laughing at them occasionally. 'It was my fault for being mean to them.'

"And so at break time, you went and got Akane who brought you here, ne Nabiki-chan?"

She nodded. "I couldn't ask Ranma-kun."

"Why?"

Nabiki sighed, opened her eyes, and gave the young man a serious look. "Because I acted like a little girl... I should've been in diapers."

"Oh?" Dr. Tofu prompted. Miserably, Nabiki told him of the events form the day before after he had left. "Well, I want to run a few tests but do you feel better now?"

"Sorta fuzzy, Sensei," she admitted then yawned. "Can you give me something like yesterday?"

"I'll use a pressure point this time. I don't want to another sedative unless I have to. Yesterday, I wanted to make sure that you would sleep undisturbed." The physician adjusted his glasses. "Given the Tendo Dojo's record for creating rather sizeable distractions, I thought medication was the best course. You go ahead and rest for a while, Nabiki-chan."

# # # # #

"Well Sensei?" Nabiki inquired about two hours later in the examination room of Dr. Tofu's clinic. 'That pressure point stuff sure worked!' "Am I nuts?"

"I wouldn't diagnose it as that, Nabiki-chan," the doctor explained as he settled himself on a stool. "Physically, you're just as you were yesterday when I examined you."

"Mentally?"

Dr. Tofu grinned. "Well, you've matured since then. At least, you aren't perceiving things like an eight year old child anymore." He didn't go on to say that she didn't perceive things like a seventeen year old either - probably preteen level.

"That's good, ne Sensei?"

"Quite good, Nabiki-chan, and if you continue to settle back into your normal perceptions, things should return to a more even balance." He rubbed his chin for a moment. "I don't think you should go back to school until next Monday at the earliest." He noticed her frown. "What's the matter?"

"I haven't been the nicest person around, Sensei," his teenage patient told him. 'And even so, Ranma and Kasumi have been nice.' "I need to try and work on being good girl to make everyone proud."

The young physician rubbed his chin and then gave his patient a long look. "It sounds like you desire to make some changes in your life, Nabiki-chan." She nodded. "That can be difficult sometimes. People may not be accepting of such changes especially at first."

"Hai, Akane for one," the teenager grumbled.

"In the end, you must do what's best for you... I think," Dr. Tofu decided. "But you need to get your spirit back in balance first." It was as if Nabiki had two auras slowly merging. "Small steps are best." The young woman gave him a puzzled look. "Think about it this way, Nabiki-chan, a driver suddenly notices that he is drifting to the right because he wasn't paying attention. To properly correct this problem, he should gently turn the wheel to the left until he regains the center." Nabiki nodded following the example in her head. "What if the driver yanks the wheel hard to the left?"

"He'd go past the center line and could get into an accident. He might never recover."

"So you're saying little steps, ne Tofu-sensei?"

The young man tilted his head slightly. "Either that or leave time for people to get used to the idea." He stood then and announced, "I'll walk you home and have another talk with Kasumi-chan."

The young woman gave him an evil grin. "You're just sweet on my onee."

That completely ruffled him. "Iie... I mean of course, Ka-Kasumi-chan is a very nice..." He coughed and regained his composure. "Nabiki-chan, I wanted to inform your onee that you have progressed well BUT you should remain home for the rest of this week. I'll inform your principal that you'll return to school on Monday."

"Sounds boring, Sensei," she complained. "But I guess after this, Kasumi-oneechan won't let me out of her sight." 'I wasn't very nice leaving her like that though.'

# # # # #

Soun Tendo was reading the newspaper and sipping tea that afternoon when Nabiki came to him. He smiled seeing that she seemed in better spirits. When Dr. Tofu Ono had come home with her, he'd been concerned but by lunchtime, Nabiki seemed to be in a fairly upbeat mood.

"Daddy?"

"Hai Nabiki?"

Nabiki shifted a little and asked, "Did you like being married?"

Soun Tendo laid his newspaper down and considered his middle daughter's question for a few moments. "I loved your mother dearly and by marrying her, I showed her that I was committed to her happiness for the rest of our lives." He gave a rueful grin then. "That was tested when we got under each other's skin."

"You and Okaa-san fought then?"

"I was vocal, your mother strategic." Nabiki blinked so Soun explained, "Instead of arguing about it, your okaa-san would submit to my viewpoint, say, 'Of course, husband, as you say,' and then just wait."

"Nani? Wait?"

Soun chuckled. "Hai, wait. She'd sit there and be polite and go on as if we hadn't had a difference of opinion at all." His daughter looked dubious. "Eventually this made me feel guilty, and I gave in and took over her viewpoint."

Nabiki giggled. "Otou-san! Did Okaa-san always win like that?" The seventeen year old doubted that she could do something like that.

"Only the important things, Musume... I was too wrapped up in 'The Art'." 'I should've been there more for my girls.' He gave her a long look. "Nabiki-chan, you said you were going to marry Ranma." Nabiki dropped her face into her hands and blushed. "I won't force you to. You weren't yourself yesterday and..."

Wanting to change the subject in a hurry, she interjected, "Daddy... Have you thought about taking on students?"

The Tendo patriarch frowned. "I have, Na-chan. The difficulty is most students only wish to learn a specific style such as aikido or karate as quick as they can." He took in a long breath and let it out. "I did teach when your dear mother was alive. After she passed away though, I... I found it very difficult to be patient with new students."

"I guess Saotome-ojisan would be the same, ne Daddy?"

"His training methods are not for the person looking to learn a single style or who isn't willing to dedicate their time either."

Nabiki nodded, cocked her head, and asked after a moment in a thoughtful tone, "Ne, could Ranma-kun?"

"Teach?" Soun asked. Nabiki nodded. He hummed slightly, stroking his mustache for a moment, and shook his head. "He could but the Master would have to approve." When his daughter snorted, he looked nervously around. "Nabiki, the Master is the founder of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts. He has the right to say who will and will not teach the school's precepts."

Nabiki glared. "Daddy... Happosai-ojiisan is really old and does need an heir." She sadly concluded that it would not be her father or Genma. "I'm sure I can convince him..." Nabiki paused thinking that maybe she could ask Kaji for help. "I'm worried though."

"About what, Nabiki-chan," he asked her. He looked up as Kasumi came into the room with more tea. By the look on her face, she'd been eavesdropping. "Do you know what this is all about, Kasumi-chan?"

"I do, Otou-san," Kasumi said, pursing her lips. "Nabiki was asking me about... Well, how we might encourage new students to join the dojo."

"I thought maybe Akane could teach," Nabiki commented to Soun.

"Do we need students?" Soun asked, sounding worried. Both his daughters noted the absence of a response to Akane's name.

"Daddy, unless you know of the imminent departure of the Saotomes, it is my responsibility to ensure that the household is well supplied for. That unfortunately takes money." 'Wow! Where did that come from?'

"And we don't have any?" asked the father of three. He wasn't used to having Nabiki and Kasumi double-team him.

"We have some money, Otou-san," Kasumi said. "I do think however that there might be a reduction in our current sources. We need to find other ones to replace them. We are a dojo; we should teach, ne?"

"And what has this got to do with young Saotome teaching?"

"Otou-san, you told me once that when one has a black belt, one does not go to the novice for instruction but seeks out another black belt of a higher rank," Kasumi stated.

"We're talking about Akane now, ne?"

Kasumi raised an eyebrow in surprise. "I was merely speaking in abstracts, Otou-san."

"Ne, Onee-chan," Nabiki asked before her father could reply, "What's an 'abstract'?"

# # # # #

Later in the afternoon at Kasumi's request, Nabiki Tendo and Ranma Saotome left the Tendo home heading for the local market to pick up some items to use in that night's meal.

"Ranma-kun, what was Akane talking about before?" Nabiki asked suspiciously. She was still wearing her high school uniform under her jacket.

"Um... She's training," Ranma replied. He said it in a tone which indicated that he didn't want to talk about it so, so the seventeen year old didn't pursue the matter.

Nabiki moved to join him on the sidewalk after they stepped through the gate of the Tendo property. As the pair began walking down the sidewalk together, the young woman looked around and whistled softly. "It looks like all the buildings are coated with icing."

"I never thought of it that way, Na-chan, gomen I mean Nabiki," Ranma admitted. "It is kinda pretty though."

"Na-chan is fine, Ranma-kun." She almost swooned. They then walked in silence for a few moments. "Ne... um..."

"Nani?" the young man asked.

"Do you like Akane?" After a span of seconds, Ranma jerkily nodded his head. "Anything in particular?" Nabiki felt safe asking this last part since Akane was safe at home.

"Um... She did have a nice smile, especially when she had long hair."

'Grow!' Nabiki suddenly pleaded to her hair, 'Grow!' It occurred to her then that she was practically mooning over Ranma like his other supposed fiancées did. She was so preoccupied with this thought that she completely missed what Ranma had said next. "Nani?"

Ranma took a breath, let it out, and repeated, "Akane thinks I like to chase all these girls... or have 'em chasing me. It ain't my fault. I thought she'd get it but she don't!"

"Get what?" she asked in bafflement.

"Before I showed up with Pops, Akane had every guy at school chasing after her. That nutcase Kuno still chases after her but none of the others does. I would've thought..." He abruptly stopped apparently remembering with whom he was talking to. 'Nabiki's so nice now. It ain't natural.' Before the naive teenager could prompt him to go on, he frowned. "I think we passed our corner."

"Oh!" Nabiki blushed and giggled. Backtracking, they continued their walk. As they walked along, she realized that she was holding Ranma's hand. She suppressed the urge to squeal with delight.

# # # # #

Later, as the duo walked home from the market, Nabiki hummed to herself tunelessly. In her left hand, she was carrying a plastic bag containing their purchases; her right hand was occupied with Ranma's left. It should have made her feel like a little kid holding hands but instead, it made her feel content even joyful. "You... seem better, Na-chan."

"Hai!" she squeaked and then blushing thought, 'I can't believe it... Maybe I can ask Ranma to get me those age-changing mushrooms.' A mental image of little Na-chan being cuddled by Daddy Ranma appeared to her then and she smiled. 'Akane wouldn't be mad at me then, ne?' "Ra-Ranma-kun?"

"Hmmm?"

Nabiki's lips parted but nothing came out for a moment before she asked in a shy yet rushed voice, "Canwebefriends?" She had been careful not to utter the word "girlfriend" since she knew quite well that the young man beside her had too many unwanted ones already.

"Sure, Na-chan," he remarked and then gave her hand a squeeze.

The brunette teen was so startled that she stopped dead in her tracks and blushed so hard that it was almost painful. Then with a squeal, she started dancing about Ranma with the bag in her hand bouncing along with her. Ranma for his part wasn't quite sure how to respond and allowed himself to be spun around by the frolicking teen holding his hand.

'Stop it!' Nabiki pleaded with herself. She was completely mortified by how she was acting. He didn't need a baby for a friend! Nearly dizzy from blushing so much, she disengaged her hand from the pigtailed martial artist's and tried walking again. She only managed a couple steps before she tripped over her feet, lost her balance, and fell toward the sidewalk. Her arms started to windmill instinctively causing the plastic bag to slip from her grip. It toppled to the ground spilling its contents.

Meanwhile, Nabiki's yelp of surprise was cut short though when she was suddenly jerked back to her feet. "Na-chan. You okay?" Ranma asked while holding the young woman in his arms. Concern tinged his voice. The pair completely missed the figure who had turned onto the street.

"Hai..." Nabiki wanted to cry, which made her blush. "Gomen nasai, Ranma-kun." She knelt down and started gathering the spilt contents back into the bag.

He was completely baffled. "Why are you apologizing, Na-chan? It was an accident, ne?" The martial artist knelt down next to Nabiki to help. He was alarmed to see her eyes beginning to mist over. Meanwhile, the shadow moved silently closer behind a large vending machine and listened.

They herded the last item (a radish) into the bag and stood up. "Ranma-kun, I'm... I'm just acting really silly," the teen whined. She quickly wiped her eyes. "Look at me crying like a baby." She scuffed the toe of one of her shoes while bowing her head. "Gosh, I must be so embarrassing to be around." She raised her head to regard Ranma and tried to smile but she couldn't.

Ranma was stymied for an answer. After several seconds of silence, in which the young woman before him squirmed, he began, "Well, to be honest, Na-chan..."

"Nani?"

"I kinda like you this way actually."

"Honto?" Nabiki offered shyly, peeking from under her damp eyelashes. The young man before nodded slowly. 'SUGOI!' Giggling like a little girl, and hating herself for it, Nabiki Tendo moved closer then gave Ranma a hug and a peck on the cheek. "You're really nice." 'Why didn't I ever see it before? Akane no baka.'

Not wanting to embarrass herself further, Nabiki held onto the wayward bag with both hands this time. As they started walking home again, he mused, "Wish Akane thought I was nice." He sighed, rubbed his head, and then shook it despondently.

"Well, there's Shampoo-onee... I mean Shampoo." 'She's got pretty LONG hair... How can I compete?'

"Are you nuts?" Ranma demanded. "Shampoo cooks ramen real good and all but I don't love her. She don't get that though. The old ghoul's just as bad." He kicked a stone on the ground that sent it sailing off. "Akane thinks that I'm just after Shampoo's body!" He blushed. "If I was interested in big breasts, I'd spend my time as a girl!"

Nabiki stared down at herself and then at him. "So you don't think she's kawaii?" 'I think so even if she's really scary sometimes.'

"Only when she's not groping me or stuffing me with some potion." Ranma frowned. "Her c-c-c-c-cat form is a complete write off." He shuddered.

"She seems interested in you though, Ranma-kun."

"It's one-sided, Na-chan, but A-KA-NE," he grounded the words out, "Won't listen. First, Shampoo gives me the 'Kiss of Death' and then she says I'm her fiancé. Why can't she just go back home to China? That village and Shampoo have caused me nothing but trouble."

"Like our family, ne?" his companion wondered softly. 'And me in particular.'

What Ranma said next startled Nabiki into immobility. "I've made my choice." The seventeen year old stared with wide eyes at the young man next to her. "Tomorrow, I'll tell our dads."

Before Nabiki Tendo could gather any words, a shrieking purplish form rushed from the shadows. The form materialized into Shampoo. Both her hands were wrapped around a large katana whilst the fires of hell were raging in the Amazonian warrior's eyes.

"HUSBAND ONLY BELONG SHAMPOO!"

End of Chapter 14

Coming next in Chapter 15 - Breaking and Mending Fences