(Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or any of the characters and stories associated with it.)

Of Swords and Kuno

Nodoka and Nabiki made there way through the streets of Nerima towards the Kuno estate. Along the way, Nodoka began to lightly question her potential daughter in-law.

"Nabiki? I have a question I would like to ask of you, if I may."

Nabiki looked over at the older woman and smiled, "Certainly. As long as it doesn't concern grandchildren or marriage, I'm open to anything."

Nodoka pouted, "You're no fun."

Nabiki smiled, "It's like I said earlier, Auntie, I'm not quite ready to talk about that with anyone, except for maybe Ranma. Pushing marriage and grandchildren on him is exactly the sort of thing that caused so much friction between him and Akane. I will say this Auntie, I care for him a lot and I don't want to see him hurt like that again."

Nodoka thought about what the younger woman had said for a moment, "I'll let you in on little secret, Nabiki. After my first visit to your home, I asked around the neighborhood about you and your family."

"Oh really?"

"Indeed. I was concerned that my son might have been paired with the wrong girl after seeing her early outbursts. Later, as I chatted with the neighbors, I found that she was quite abusive of my son and was prone to hitting him quite often."

"Yes, she did to that quite a bit."

"Because I knew of the Tendo/Saotome agreement as well, I looked into the possibility of other matches."

Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean, Auntie?"

"Well, I knew that Kasumi considered Ranma to be a bit too young for her. Although she is very kind, forcing him onto her would have caused problems. It was also only recently I found out that she had feelings for Dr. Tofu."

Nabiki smirked, "Yeah, the doc has had a crush on big sis for a long time. Nobody was as surprised as I was to find out they had suddenly come together. It looks like it's doing some real good too. I've never seen Kasumi so happy. Not the spaced out happy she puts on all the time, but truly happy."

Nodoka smiled, "Yes, they certainly do make a cute couple. Which brings me to you, my dear. When I first met your family, you seemed to dislike my son quite a bit. You used him for monetary gains and put him into embarrassing predicaments. When I talked with others and brought you up into the conversation, most people seemed to be afraid to discuss you. And yet, the Nabiki I am talking to today seems far and away different from the young woman I first met. Why the change?"

Nabiki walked in silence for a minute before answering, "He grew on me, Auntie. It's true that when he first showed up, I didn't care for him. Sure, he was handsome and well built, but he also lacked social graces and was flat broke."

"Is money that important to you, dearie?"

Nabiki ignored the question and continued, "I was selling photos of my sister while she was working out with her martial arts to some of the guys in school. They fetched a good price and it allowed me to not only make a bit more money, but to help Kasumi with the groceries. When Ranma showed up, it changed the whole playing field. Not only did his constant fights in school allow me to set up betting pools, but some people were willing to pay large sums of money for photos of his cursed form. One boy in particular was willing to pay thousands of yen for each photo."

"Are you still selling photos of my son?"

Nabiki sighed, "No Auntie, something happened a few months ago. I hadn't realized it, but it snuck up on me before I could take any action against it."

The older woman smiled, "You began to fall in love with him, didn't you?"

Nabiki slowly shook her head, "Yeah, that about sums it up. I didn't plan on it but Ranma has a way of growing on you. He never holds a grudge against anyone and likes to help people when they're in need. One day I was going over the account books for the dojo. We were going to be short quite a bit of money and I was trying to figure out how to make up the difference. He walked into the room and asked me what was wrong. At first I didn't answer, but eventually I told him we were going to be short that month and I needed to come up with more cash for the bills. Out of the blue he offered to let me photograph his female form if it would bring in enough money."

Nodoka smiled warmly to herself as Nabiki continued, "We did a few photos and made enough money to pay off the bills. After that he would come by once a month and check to make sure we had enough. I didn't realize it back then, but I was falling for him. Ranma continued to get himself into potentially bad situations in school, and I started to help him out of them, for a small fee of course. Originally, it was cash, but one day Ranma offered to pay for the dept in ice cream."

"Ice cream?"

Nabiki chuckled, "Yes. You wouldn't believe how much he loves the stuff. Anyway, we would sit and chat about what happened in school and about the madness at home. Over time, we started to build up a bond. I only thought of him as a friend though, someone I could chat with and share some time."

"So what changed?"

"Last week is what changed. Yeah sure, I'm supposed to be the Ice Queen with no emotional feelings at all, but when I saw him bleeding to death in that shop, it felt as if my heart had been wrenched out. The last time I felt so much hurt was when mother had died years ago. I realized that I had been lying to myself all along and that I had been ignoring what my heart was telling me. I realized that I loved him."

Nodoka nodded, "Sometimes it takes a tragedy or near tragedy to make us realize our true feelings. It would appear, daughter, that you have been given a second chance."

Nabiki's eyes widened, "Daughter?"

"Does that bother you, dear?"

"No, but it feels strange. The last time anyone called me that was Mom."

"Would you mind too much if I called you that when we were alone, like now?

Nabiki thought about it for a moment, "No, not really. It's kind of nice actually, but for now, let's keep that a bit to ourselves. I'm not ready for it to be announced to the world quite yet."

Nodoka allowed herself a small smirk, "Alright…daughter."

Nabiki shook her head and chuckled to herself at her future mother in law's antics.

They walked in somewhat silence the rest of the way to the Kuno estate making short comments on the sights along the way. When they reached the entrance to the estate, Nabiki rang the bell by the gate. Moments later a very small man dressed in black appeared at the gate.

"Yes, what can I do for you"

Nabiki smiled, "Hello Sasuke. We would like to see Tatewaki. You can tell him that it concerns Akane and is very important."

The little man bowed and was gone in an instant. Nodoka raised an eyebrow, "Was that a Ninja?"

"Yes. He is the servant for the house and takes care of the Kuno family. He is very loyal to the family, but at the same time, reluctant to cause outsiders harm."

The little ninja appeared again, "The master will see you now, Miss Tendo. Follow me please."

The path leading up the main house was short, but visible on both sides were the immaculate gardens of the estate. Sasuke led them through the main doors and into a waiting room. He bowed to them both, "The master will be with you shortly."

Nabiki whispered, "I should warn you, Tatewaki likes to speak in poetry and use ancient phrases."

Nodoka nodded as their host approached. Wearing the flowing robes of the ancient samurai, Tatewaki Kuno attempted to present himself as a man of considerable importance. He spread his arms apart as he spoke, "Nabiki Tendo. To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"

The two women bowed to the young man and Nabiki spoke, "We have-."

She was interrupted, "My apologies, it was rude of me to ignore the presence of such a lovely woman."

Tatewaki bowed, "My name is Tatewaki Kuno, at your service."

Nodoka's eyes narrowed as she bowed slightly, "A pleasure to meet you. My name is Saotome. Mrs. Nodoka Saotome."

Kuno seemed to have missed the connection and motioned towards a set of comfortable chairs, "Please have a seat. We can discuss what it is you require while Sasuke brings us some refreshments."

The three took a seat around an ornately carved table and after the little ninja served some tea, Nabiki began, "Kuno, we have come to you because we have a problem. It's Akane."

"Ah, your sister, the fair and beautiful Akane Tendo."

Nabiki continued, "Yes. She is in grave danger, Kuno. A demon of great evil now has control over her and is planning to do her great harm. I need you to help us find her before it's too late."

Kuno blinked, "A demon you say? I was under the impression that you had already freed her from that foul sorcerer."

"Kuno, that's not-."

He interrupted, "You ended that foul demon's engagement to the fair Akane Tendo. No longer is she bound by that vile, honorless bastard, Ranma Saotome.

The unmistakable sound of drawn steel filled the air followed by the flash of a blade in the light. Tatewaki Kuno had no question in his mind as to what was causing the sharp, painful sensation just below his jaw. He could clearly see the blade and its owner. The woman before him now bore no resemblance to the quiet and very polite woman he had been talking with. Her soft features, now hardened into a mask of silent rage, glared at the young man with eyes that nearly burned.

"Do not even twitch, boy. I have to but move my hand a millimeter and this blade will slit your neck open."

Kuno croaked in a raspy voice, "What…what have I done to deserve this?"

The woman looked at Kuno with a deadly stare, "I am Nodoka Saotome, Matriarch head of the Saotome clan, and grandmaster of the Saotome art of the katana. I am also the mother of Ranma Saotome."

Kuno squeaked, "Ra-Ranma?"

"Yes, boy. Not only have you insulted my honor as a mother and grandmaster, you have insulted my clan as well. I could kill you now and be well within my rights to preserve my family's honor."

Nabiki was really scared. This was not the way she wanted things to go at all. She knew it might be a chance bringing Nodoka here, but she didn't think for a moment the Saotome matriarch would already be willing to kill him. She really needed the help of Kuno and she needed him alive. Nabiki walked forward and placed her hand gently on the angry woman's arm. "Mom! Please don't do this. We need him."

Nodoka turned her head slightly, "Mom?"

Nabiki was looking at her with pleading eyes. The older woman turned her head back to the young man and pulled the honor blade away from his neck, "This is your lucky day, boy. Know that the only reason why your blood is not flowing on these floors is because my daughter here wishes for you to live. You now owe me a debt of honor, you can pay that debt by helping us locate her sister."

Tatewaki Kuno nearly collapsed to his knees when the blade was pulled away. He quickly ran his hand up to his neck and sighed in relief. Taking a deep breath, he turned towards the two women and bowed, "My humble apologies for offending you. I will do what ever I can to assist."

Nabiki looked from the elder Kuno to Nodoka and back. She raised an eyebrow, "Look Kuno, my sister Akane is missing. A demon of unspeakable evil has possessed her and we need to find her before tomorrow night. If we do not, it will kill her."

Kuno's eyes widened, "We must make haste then. We must find your fair sister and rescue her!"

Nabiki grabbed Kuno by the arm, "Listen to me carefully, Kuno-baby. This is not a game. My sister is in deep trouble. I need you to use your 'resources' to help us locate her. Understand?"

He nodded, "I understand. I will get to work on it immediately."

Nodoka bowed, "Thank you. I trust you will keep us up to date on anything you find."

Nabiki smiled, "Listen Kuno. I know we aren't on the best of terms, but you can bet that any help you can give us to find my sister will be greatly appreciated by me and her family."

Kuno smiled, "Nabiki Tendo. I have another reason for helping you."

"What's that?"

"You are now engaged to Ranma, are you not?"

Nabiki nodded in understanding, "Just make sure she is willing. We will not tolerate any more declarations or school boys forcing themselves on her again. If she says no, it means no."

Nodoka stepped forward, "We must be going. If you could show us to the door, we will be leaving."

The two said their good-byes and were led to the door by Sasuke. When they were once again on the street, Nabiki asked her future mother in law, "Auntie, I need to know something."

Nodoka smiled, "Yes dear?"

"You weren't really going to kill him, were you?"

"I have had to deal with big talkers before. Some learn fast and others…they need a shock to bring them around. This young friend of yours needed a shock to bring him back to reality."

"Would you have killed him?"

She turned towards Nabiki, "Only as an extreme last resort. I am not in the habit of killing anyone, but honor demanded I respond in some way to his accusations. He must learn there are conciquences to be paid for his actions."

"I hope you don't mind me telling you this, but you nearly scared me to death back there. I was certain you were going to kill him."

Nodoka nodded, "That was entirely up to him, daughter. So tell me, where to now?"

"Ukyo is next."