One line.

Negative.

Nabiki took a shuddering breath. The test fell from her numb fingers, clattering noisily in the sink. Her legs felt like jelly, and she put both hands on the counter to support herself.

She swallowed hard. That… that was impossible. She knew her cycle. She knew it was a dangerous time for that condom to break.

It had to be a false negative. She snatched her bag off the back of the toilet, fumbling inside to find another test. She filled the cup again, and agonizingly waited for another three minutes to pass.

Negative again.

It was real!

Nabiki leapt into the air, punching her fist over and over in celebration. She slapped a hand over her mouth and screamed in excited relief. She didn't know how it happened but she just dodged a huge bullet.

She quickly cleaned up her mess, singing a jaunty tune as she soaked it up with toilet paper. Her life was back on track! She could graduate from high school! Heck, she could probably go to university! Her guidance counselor had been encouraging her to start looking at a math or accounting program at the local college for at least her first year or so. From there, she could probably get a scholarship to go to Tokyo University! Or maybe even go overseas!

She started dancing in the mirror. She wanted to call Daddy up and laugh in his face. He thought he ruined her but he was wrong! Maybe he was snipped? No, if that were the case, he would have said something, considering how desperate he had been for bareback sex.

Even if Daddy was shooting blanks she and Ranma had been having a lot of sex lately. It was honestly–

Ranma…

Nabiki immediately sobered. If she wasn't pregnant, then she didn't really need a fiancé anymore. All of those plans she had made before she met Daddy didn't include a boy following her around. Ranma was definitely intelligent, but he was not booksmart; he was barely going to graduate high school if his test scores were any indication. His future was to run her family's dojo, and nothing more…

…Or was it? Ranma always had a faraway look in his eyes and a smile on his face whenever he talked about traveling all over Japan and China for training. Maybe the wanderlust would take him again and he would leave. If he left, would he expect her to come with him? Would she want to?

She had a lot to think about.

Ranma lay on his futon, tapping his fingers on his chest as he waited. His father's breathing had evened out a little while ago. Any moment now he would start to…

A great snore ripped through the night air as Genma fell into a deeper slumber. Ranma grinned, standing from his futon, and sneaking out of the dojo. There was a slight skip to his step as he made his way into the house and danced up the stairs. He had to adjust himself as his boxers became too tight when her room came into view.

He knocked softly on her door, trying to contain his excitement. Nabiki would tease him endlessly if he showed her just how giddy he was to see her. He smiled. Well, it would be worth it to see that little sideways smile she got when she was balancing between laughing at his antics and feeling embarrassed by them.

The door opened, and Ranma settled his face into something he hoped was flirty. However, it fell as she came into view from behind the door. Instead of her normal robe to hide her nudity, she was wearing pajama pants and a tank top. "H-hey," he said hesitatingly.

Nabiki smirked. "Hey, yourself," she said. She leaned against the door frame, smirking at him. "What's up?"

Ranma laughed nervously. "Oh, you know, just here for bed."

Nabiki grimaced, wrapping her arms around her middle. "Sorry, I'm cramping real bad. Don't think I'm up for that tonight. You know how it is."

Ranma's eyes widened. "Oh! Yeah, of course," he said. "We don't have to do anything, we can just sleep."

Nabiki winced. "Yeah, you're not going to want to be next to me tonight," she said. "I always toss and turn when I have my period. I'd hate for you to be up all night because of me."

"Oh…" Ranma schooled his face to keep from showing his disappointment. She was thinking about him after all. "Sure, no problem. I'll just go back to the dojo, I guess." He paused for a moment, before stepping forward and taking her hand. "Goodnight," he said, giving it an affectionate squeeze.

Nabiki gave him a small nod. "Good night," she said. She released his hand without returning the squeeze.

Ranma hesitated for a moment, nodded, then walked back down the stairs.

Nabiki blew out a long, slow breath. It wasn't a complete lie; she did sleep poorly when her period came. She just needed to think about this situation rationally if she was going to come to a decision. If he came and snuggled her all night, her stupid hormones would get the best of her and she would pick him over her potential fortune.

She sighed, climbed into bed, and settled in for a long night

The next morning, Nabiki made her way down to the breakfast table. She hadn't slept most of the night, arguing back and forth with herself about what she should do now that she knew she wasn't pregnant. At around three in the morning, she finally succumbed to sleep, though it was fitful. However, she had come up with a decision, and she was absolutely going to stand by it.

Ranma was not in the plan. No man had been. She was going to find her own fortune, and any boyfriend, fiancé, or husband would just get in the way of that. Maybe she could have one when she was old and decrepit; like when she was forty or so.

That meant her relationship with Ranma was over. No more sex. No more snuggling. No more holding hands on the way to school, or when they were watching TV, or…

She took a deep breath, steeling her resolve. She had been fine without romance or sex before Ranma, and she would be fine without it again.

Eventually…

It would be difficult, but it was necessary. She would pull Ranma aside while they were on their way to school, and tell him it was over. He would probably move on and go back on the road, maybe even go find the cure for his curse. It would be for the best.

She sat at the breakfast table and picked up her chopsticks. She pointedly didn't look at Ranma, focusing her attention on her plate. However, Akane's high-pitched cutesy voice pierced through her walls, drawing her attention.

"Do you want to eat some fish, P-chan? How about an egg?"

The little black pig in her lap "bu-kee'd" enthusiastically, and allowed itself to be fed from Akane's chopsticks.

Ranma rolled his eyes. "He's gonna get fat, Akane."

Akane looked up, sticking her tongue out at him playfully. "He's a pig, Ranma! He's supposed to be fat!"

Ranma grumbled, getting back to his own breakfast.

Nabiki gestured with her chopsticks. "What's with the pig?" she asked.

Akane gave the piglet a squeeze. "Isn't he cute? He came in out of the rain last night! He's so calm and tame, I just had to adopt him!" The piglet cooed, burrowing itself further into her arms.

Ranma grumbled, jamming more and more food into his mouth as if he were trying to keep any words from coming out.

Nabiki blinked. Huh, that was interesting. Was Ranma jealous of Akane's new pet? Did he have a crush on Akane?

A voice inside of her head screamed that he shouldn't even be looking at her sister like that. She strangled that voice.

This actually might be exactly what she needed. If Ranma liked Akane, and Akane seemed to at the very least think of him in friendly terms, then all she needed to do was get him to want to change the engagement over to her.

Sure he told Ryoga that Akane was like his sister during their fight the other day, but that was just because he had to deny his feelings; he was engaged to another woman after all.

Nabiki chuckled to herself. This was a much better plan than just breaking up with him! Just let him be around Akane more so she can learn to like him back. No need to break his heart or make him leave!

She nodded to herself. She would have the arrangement switched to Akane by Friday!

Akane suddenly frowned. "Are you okay, Onee-chan?"

Nabiki looked up. "Huh?"

Akane brushed at her own cheek. "You're crying."

Nabiki wiped at her face, and sure enough, her fingers came away wet. "Oh." She swallowed hard, trying to get herself under control. "It's, uh, just allergies… or something," she said. "My eyes have been itchy since I woke up."

Ranma gave her a concerned look. "I didn't know you had allergies," he said.

Nabiki smirked at him. "I haven't told you everything about me, Saotome," she replied. She grabbed a toast from the plate on the table and stood quickly. "I've got to go in early," she said. "I'll just eat this on the run."

Ranma stood. "I'll come with you," he said.

Nabiki shook her head. "Nah, it's fine. You take your time and eat your breakfast. I'll be okay on my own." She gestured to her sister. "Walk with Akane. You never know when Ryoga is going to show up again, and you might need to defend him from her." Akane gave her a dirty look.

Ranma frowned. "If you're sure…"

Nabiki nodded. "Never been more sure about anything."

The rest of the day at school, Nabiki avoided Ranma whenever possible. Where they normally ate lunch together in the cafeteria, Nabiki ate at her desk. When Ryoga interrupted their gym class, Nabiki didn't take bets on the battle that ensued. After the final bell rang, Nabiki was nowhere to be found when Ranma and Akane were ready to walk home. They even waited for her for twenty minutes, but she never showed up.

Ranma kept looking over his shoulder as he and Akane made their way back home, expecting his fiancée to be running down the road to catch up.

Akane noticed his behavior. "Everything okay, Ranma?"

Ranma sighed. "Just keeping an eye out for Nabiki," he said.

Akane shrugged. "I'm sure she just had to talk to a teacher or stay late to clean or something," she said, reassuringly.

Ranma grunted. "Probably," he acknowledged, "but she's been acting weird since last night."

"Oh? How so?"

"I'm not entirely sure," he admitted. "The only thing that was different from usual was her period starting, but–"

"Oh, well there's your problem," Akane said with a chuckle. "She's probably PMSing."

Ranma turned a curious look on her. "What's that?"

"Oh, you know. When a girl is on her period her hormones get all messed up and it can affect her mood. She'll be back to normal in a few days." Suddenly her eyes widened. "Say, do you get periods in your girl form?"

Ranma winced. Sure he had told Nabiki, but he was supposed to marry her. Telling Akane was different. "Uhh…"

Akane stepped in front of him, blocking his escape. She looked up at him with wide, excited eyes. "Oh come on! You can tell me! I won't tell anyone! How deep does the curse go?"

Ranma backed up slightly, but Akane maintained their distance. He was about to flip over her head and take off down the road when a little old lady wetting down her sidewalk hit Ranma with her spray up his back. "Yeeeeeeeee! That's cold!" she yelled.

Akane marveled as the change occurred directly in front of her. It was especially interesting to hear Ranma's voice change pitch mid-scream. "Come on, Ranma!" she said with a teasing smile. "It's just us girls, here. Tell me!"

Ranma growled. She was about to snap at Akane to back off when they heard yelling coming from an empty lot nearby. Their argument forgotten, they raced off together to see what was going on.

In the middle of the lot, a girl was surrounded by three people wrapped up like mummies. The attackers all carried clubs or ribbons, one even had a hoop. Before either girl could do anything, the girl at the center pulled out her own ribbon and completely destroyed her attackers.

Ranma and Akane shared a look, then leapt to save the mummies.

Nabiki wandered over to the dojo, trying to stay out of sight while she observed her sister training inside. It had been a few days since the battle between Kodachi Kuno and Akane Tendo in Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics was announced, and Nabiki was trying to figure out what kind of odds to give her sister in the upcoming fight.

Of course, Ranma had been hanging out with Akane in the dojo, watching her train and throwing out alternatingly useful and teasing comments. Nabiki had successfully avoided spending too much time around him since the negative test, forcing him to interact more with Akane instead. The last thing she wanted was to interrupt their budding relationship.

She yawned. She hadn't been sleeping that well for the last few nights. For some reason, she was having a hard time staying warm under the covers, even when she wore pajamas.

Some of the shoji doors were open to let a breeze into the dojo. She peeked through the gap but wasn't able to see much. Akane was off in a corner getting instructions on how to properly use the ribbon in a battle. Nabiki rummaged around in her pocket, pulling out her tape recorder, and setting it to record.

"Spying on your sister, Nabiki? I hope you're not going to sell that information to Kodachi."

Nabiki let out an "Eeep!" and jumped. She whipped around, taking up a defensive pose barely remembered from her training years ago.

Ranma smirked at her, leaning against the practice dummy planted in the ground outside of the dojo. "Your form isn't bad, but you should raise that left arm higher to protect your jaw."

Nabiki stood from her stance, gritting her teeth at him. "Fuck, Saotome! Don't scare me like that!"

Ranma's smirk fell slightly. "Seriously though, you're not selling information to Kodachi, are you?"

Nabiki glared. "No, I'm doing my own research for bookmaking. I thought you knew me better than that."

Ranma shrugged. "So did I."

An awkward silence hung over the pair for a moment. "How are things going between you and Akane?" Nabiki asked.

Ranma quirked an eyebrow. "Uhh, fine? I guess? Why?"

Nabiki shrugged. "Just looking out for my baby sister. You two seemed close."

"I guess…" Ranma replied, not understanding where she was going.

"I bet she'll want to celebrate with you once she wins," she said, giving him a knowing wink. "You know, for coaching her."

"I mean, I'm not her coach," he said, shrugging.

Nabiki blinked curiously. "Eh? Then who is?"

Ranma stood up straighter, looking through the door himself. Akane was in view now, balancing on her toes while juggling clubs above her head. "Apparently, Ryoga knows how to fight using this style. Don't ask me where or why he learned it."

Nabiki looked surprised. "Akane forgave him for the whole haircut thing?"

Ranma chuckled. "She made him grovel first. Did that whole 'Ice Queen Stare' thing at him? It was so cold you could see her breath."

Nabiki joined in the laughter. "Atta girl." She was about to comment further when she noticed his sour expression. "What is it?"

Ranma winced. "It's nothing," he said quickly.

Nabiki shook her head. "Come on, I know something is wrong."

Ranma sighed mightily. "I can't say. I promised."

Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, Saotome! You can tell me. You told me about your period!"

Ranma set his mouth in a thin line. Finally, he made a decision, continuing in a low voice. "Ryoga followed me and Pops to Jusenkyo. That's all I can say."

Nabiki considered that for a moment before her eyes widened as the answer came to her. "You have to tell her."

"I can't," Ranma stressed. "I made a promise."

"A promise to what?" Nabiki whisper-yelled.

"I don't exactly want people to know about my curse," Ranma replied. "It wouldn't be fair of me to go blabbing about his, now would it?"

Nabiki grumbled. It wasn't a terrible excuse. "Well you'd better find a loophole in that promise real fast, Saotome, or I'm going to tell her myself."

Ranma sighed. "I know, I know." He ran his hands over his face. "Gimme until after the fight. I don't wanna mess with her head."

Nabiki sighed. "Fine. Don't chicken out. I won't save you from the consequences if I have to tell her."

Another silence settled over them as they watched Akane train. Nabiki was about to walk away, but Ranma spoke up. "Say, Nabiki," he said softly.

Nabiki turned to respond, but before she could there was a cry of pain from inside the dojo. Both rushed in to respond, only to find Akane on the ground clutching her ankle. "I think I sprained it!" she said through gritted teeth.

"I'll go call Doctor Tofu!" Nabiki said quickly. She rushed back towards the house. "And distract Kasumi so there aren't any other injuries!" she called over her shoulder.

Ranma turned to Ryoga. "What happened?"

Ryoga shrugged. "She was doing so well! Then she did this jump, and landed wrong on the ball."

Ranma reached down and picked Akane up to carry her into the house. "Come on, I'll take you to your room. We'll get some ice on that until the doc can take a look."

Akane winced as she was moved, but nodded. She was struggling to put on a brave face, but Ranma could tell she was in a lot of pain. Ranma rushed up the stairs and laid her on her bed. He was about to run down to the kitchen to get an ice pack when she grabbed his arm. "You have to take my place," she said firmly.

Ranma turned white as a sheet. "Huh? No!"

Akane gave him a determined look. "We can't let Kodachi win! Not after everything she's done! You can turn into a girl, and take my place!"

"But I don't know how to do Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics!" he protested.

A heavy hand landed on his shoulder. Ranma turned to see Ryoga standing there, looking stern. "Leave that to me," said Ryoga.

Ranma groaned. The things he did for his in-laws…

Ranma collapsed to the floor after he was declared a winner by ring out. Kodachi had pulled every trick in the book–along with some she made up on the fly–to win the match, but Ranma still came out on top. Exhausted, she lifted a fist over her head in triumph.

Akane, who had been in her corner and saved her bacon a couple of times, limped over as quickly as she could, before tackling the other girl. "You did it!" she yelled. "Congratulations."

Ranma gave her a tired smile. "It was in the bag the whole time." Akane slapped Ranma on the shoulder, but she was still smiling. "Heh, yeah, yeah. I couldn't have done it without you," Ranma admitted.

Akane's smile widened. "Thanks for saying that," she said. She wrapped her arms around the shorter girl. "And thanks for taking over for me."

Up in the gallery, Nabiki looked down at Ranma and Akane hugging on the gym floor. A satisfied smile appeared on her face. Good. All going to plan.

Her nose started to run and she sniffed. She wiped at watery eyes. "Damned allergies," she muttered. Then she turned away from the scene and walked out of the gym.

Ranma had a spring in his step as he climbed the steps up to his fiancée's room. It had been a long week between getting Akane ready for her fight, then learning how to do it himself, but it was worth it to get the win in the end.

The other exciting thing was that Nabiki's period should be over, and he figured she might be up for some company in bed. Yeah, sex was great and he was looking forward to getting intimate with his fiancée again, but he never knew just how much better he would sleep when he was sharing the bed with her. Not just because he didn't need to ignore his father's snoring.

He reached her door, softly knocking, then stood back. It wasn't long before Nabiki answered the door, but he frowned when he saw her once again wearing pajamas rather than her robe.

Nabiki looked at him expectantly. "Well? What can I do for you?"

Ranma tried not to let his frustration show. It wouldn't be right to get angry at her. "Are you feeling okay?" he asked.

Nabiki shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. Why?"

Ranma looked pointedly past her at the bed. "Are you going to let me in? I was hoping we could celebrate my win tonight, but we don't have to if you're not up to it."

Nabiki shook her head. "Sorry. I need to get up early tomorrow. Gotta do some studying for a test. I need my sleep."

Ranma rolled his eyes. "I was up at five the first night we slept together, remember?" he said. "Waking up early is no problem for me."

Nabiki sighed. He just couldn't take a hint. "Look, Saotome, I don't know what to tell you, but–"

"Ranma," he interrupted.

Nabiki blinked. "Huh?"

"You've been calling me 'Saotome' for like a week now," he replied. "We used to be on a given-name basis."

Nabiki growled in frustration. "What difference does it make?"

Ranma quirked an eyebrow. "Shouldn't you call your fiancé by his given name?"

Nabiki sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Look, I need to get up early tomorrow, and I need my sleep." She looked up at him pointedly.

Ranma folded his arms, considering her seriously. Finally, he nodded. "Okay, Tendo. Whatever you want."

Nabiki felt like she had been stabbed. She schooled her face so he wouldn't notice, but inside her guts were wrenching. She refused to react. This was exactly what she wanted.

Ranma looked like he wanted to say something else, but held his tongue. Without saying another word, he walked away.

Nabiki shut her door firmly, and made her way to her bed. Sleep was long in coming that night.

Kasumi cheerfully hummed to herself as she made breakfast. She had gotten up extra early today, wanting to make something special for Ranma in celebration of his victory the day before. Souffle pancakes took time to prepare, but they would be worth it.

She had just put the kettle on to make tea and assist with transformations when she heard someone come in behind her. She turned to see Ranma, already dressed for the day, but still rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Oh! Good morning, Ranma!" She said pleasantly. "Did you sleep well?"

Ranma merely grunted, standing by the kettle with his cup to make tea. He looked like death warmed over.

Kasumi decided to leave him be; if she pressed, he would just clam up. "I hope you're hungry! I'm making pancakes to go with breakfast!"

Ranma sighed. He turned to Kasumi and gave her a wan smile. "Thanks, Kasumi," he said sincerely. "Your cooking is honestly one of the best things that have happened to me since I got here."

Kasumi's smile faltered. Her cooking was the best thing to happen to him? Was something wrong with Nabiki? "Thank you for the kind compliment," she said. Ranma nodded in acknowledgment, and walked out into the living room to sit at the table.

Kasumi turned back to her work, cutting some vegetables to pickle. Cooking always relaxed her and helped her to think. She was just considering talking to Akane again when her sister entered the kitchen as if summoned. "Good morning, Akane," she said. "Sleep well?"

Akane nodded. "Yes, and that's kind of the problem," she said. "I think there's something going on between them."

Kasumi grimaced. Ever since her last conversation with Akane, she had been making little plans in a notebook for a Christmas wedding. Ranma's behavior this morning was starting to make her think her plans were premature. Unfortunately, Akane seemed to agree. "What's happened?" she asked.

Akane shook her head. "I don't know for sure," she admitted. "Ranma wouldn't talk to me about it, but he hasn't visited Nabiki at night for at least a week now, and this morning he was kind of avoiding her gaze as if they'd had a fight."

Kasumi frowned. "What about Nabiki?"

Akane shrugged. "I've barely even seen her all week. She doesn't even walk to school with us anymore." She folded her arms. "He said she was maybe on her period days ago, but mine just started and we're usually pretty well synced."

Kasumi chewed on her thumb as she considered. What would cause Nabiki to withdraw from her relationship like that?

Her eyes widened. She remembered back when her old friend Michiko suddenly withdrew from everyone, including her boyfriend. It was because she was scared.

"I think I know what might be the problem," Kasumi said. "I'm going to need your help to prove it, though."

Akane nodded. "Sure, anything."

Nabiki didn't look up from her magazine when she heard the thunk of a glass being put on the table in front of her. "Thanks, Kasumi, but I already have some tea," she said.

"It's not a drink," Kasumi said coldly.

Nabiki set her magazine down and looked up at her sister. Kasumi and Akane were staring down at her with their coldest looks. Nabiki felt a shiver of fear run down her spine. Geeze, maybe Ranma was right and it was a technique. If so, Kasumi was the master at performing it.

She looked down at the cup that had been set in front of her. The glass contained no liquid, but a strip of paper could be seen within.

A pregnancy test.

Nabiki scoffed and turned back to her magazine. "I'm not pregnant." She took a drink from her tea. "You'd better get rid of that before Dad sees and gets any weird ideas."

"Father and the Saotomes have gone out to a movie, and shouldn't be home for hours," Kasumi replied.

Akane snatched the magazine away, forcing Nabiki to look up again. "Indulge us," she said firmly. "Take the test."

Nabiki frowned at her, then shrugged. "Fine, fine. If it will make you happy." She picked up the cup, stood from the table, and walked towards the bathroom. She stopped suddenly when she realized her sisters were following. "Uhhh..?"

"Indulge us," Akane repeated.

Nabiki frowned but said nothing. She walked to the bathroom, her sisters trailing behind. When she tried to close the door behind her for privacy, her sisters pushed through, standing there watching her with arms crossed.

Nabiki rolled her eyes. "What, do you think I have a condom full of urine hidden in here so I can pass a pee test?" she asked sarcastically.

Neither sister said anything.

"Fine!" Nabiki huffed. She grumbled as she unbuttoned her shorts, yanked her clothes down to her ankles, and sat on the toilet. She put the cup between her legs, and a moment later set it on the counter, filled. "There, happy?"

Kasumi plucked the cup from the counter, then exited the bathroom without another word, Akane close on her heels.

Nabiki rolled her eyes at her sisters' antics. She finished up in the bathroom and stomped off to confront them.

Akane and Kasumi were seated at the table in the living room, the cup between them. A stopwatch sat next to the cup, ticking away the seconds until the test could be read. Nabiki decided to wait until the results were ready before she laid into them and took her place at the table.

The three sat in silence as they waited, all of them staring intently at the cup. Finally, Kasumi lifted the stopwatch to check the time, then pulled out the strip and read the results.

"Negative."

Nabiki looked smug. "See? I told you." She picked up her magazine and got back to reading.

"That can't be right!" Akane said.

Kasumi shrugged. "We watched her to make sure she couldn't fake it, so it must be."

"But it was the only explanation!"

Nabiki growled at being talked about as if she wasn't next to them. "Only explanation for what, dear sister?"

Akane pointed an accusatory finger at Nabiki. "You've been giving Ranma the cold shoulder for over a week now, despite the fact that you obviously love him. We thought it was because you wound up pregnant and were scared, so you were pushing him away."

Nabiki stared at them coldly. "I do not love Ranma," she spat. "And not that it's any of your business, but I'm still a virgin."

Both of her sisters stared at her, each raising an eyebrow skeptically.

Nabiki shrugged. "Worth a shot."

"We know you and Ranma were having sex," Kasumi said firmly. "You forget who washes your sheets."

Nabiki winced. She hadn't thought about that.

"And we know you haven't been using condoms," Akane accused. She shuddered. "I did not need to hear you telling Ranma that you 'like to feel the splash'."

Nabiki rolled her eyes. "So I was horny and wanted to have a little fun with my new fiancé. So what?" she crossed her arms. "Is that not appropriate behavior for a bride-to-be?"

"If you two had been dating for a while before you were engaged, I might agree with you," Kasumi countered. "But you've had him in your bed ever since he arrived!"

"Why did you volunteer to be his fiancée anyway?" asked Akane.

"Why? Would you rather be his fiancée?" Nabiki countered. "You would be better suited to help him 'carry on the dojo' than me. Just say the word, and we'll transfer the engagement."

Akane blanched. Sure, she and Ranma got along fine, but she had to admit that was because she saw him as a brother, not a boy who wanted to do… things… to her.

"Whatever your reasons," Kasumi said, barrelling forward, "we were concerned about your behavior of late. Maybe this all started because you wanted to have a sexual encounter that wouldn't get you into trouble with Father if you got caught, but then you both started to feel more for each other. The odd thing is that despite how hot the flames of passion burned at the start of your relationship with Ranma, they seem to be extinguished now."

"You've been reading too many trashy romance novels," Nabiki accused. She felt smug satisfaction when Kasumi blushed. "Maybe I just got bored! Ever think of that? It's happened before! 'Ice Queen Nabiki' remember?"

"Ranma is hurt," Akane said, "because you are bored?" She sputtered, trying to find the right words. "He… He loves you!"

Nabiki rolled her eyes. "He has never once said that. And I never let him believe that I loved him."

"You need to talk to Ranma," Kasumi said as if she knew Nabiki was wrong. "You need to have a long conversation and tell him how you feel. If not, I'm afraid he may leave."

Nabiki sighed, standing from the table. "Look, Ranma told me all about his past. He and his father are wanderers; they've never lived in one place for more than a few months, and they've been here for a while now. It wouldn't surprise me if we woke up someday soon, and the Saotomes were just gone without saying a word." She turned to leave. "He's not the only one with a heart that needs protecting," she said softly. Without another glance back, she retreated up to her room.

Akane and Kasumi looked at each other uncomfortably. "Do you think that's the reason she's being cold to him?" Akane asked. "To get him to leave before she develops feelings for him?"

"I'm not sure," Kasumi admitted. "I do know that if Nabiki thinks she's protecting her heart by making him leave, then she is very mistaken."

Nabiki shut the door to her room a little more firmly than she intended, then leaned against it. Tears burned in her eyes, but she willed them back. "It's for the best," she said quietly to herself. "Eventually he'll either see that Akane is the better choice, or he'll just leave, and things can get back to normal."

Taking a deep breath to compose herself, Nabiki turned towards her bed, only to stop when her Hermès purse came into view on her desk. A lump formed in her throat, and her chin started to wobble. She grabbed the bag, slammed her closet open, and shoved it inside, not caring if she scuffed the leather. Then she threw herself into her bed and cried harder than she had since her mother died.

Author's Notes: In case any feathers were ruffled, please note that I, in fact, am 40 years old. I still think the joke was funny.

I'm having a blast writing this story! Ithseven taken alife of its own and grown longer than I expected! I hope you're all enjoying reading it as much as I am writing it!

Want some more ways to interact with me? Find me on bluesky at docebrown.bsky.social or on discord on The Warehouse Fanfic Server (gJRpMfMEhu).