Fortunes Told, Fortunes Made

AN: Decades. Literally decades. I'm not talking about how long it's been since I posted something, although it may feel like it. I'm talking about the the time between the original Ranma 1/2 and the remake that finally gives me a new source of inspiration for writing!

Now, some of you may read the first couple chapters of this story and go, 'Wait a minute, this seems familiar...' And you would be right! I realized that I had used some ideas in one story that would also work great in another. Rather than just using the same couple plot points in both, I had the further realization of 'Why not just fuse the stories entirely?' And so, here we are.

In short, the first several chapters will bring together the plots of 'Yearning' and 'Matchmaking' into a work that will hopefully far surpass the sum of its parts... as well as receiving some much needed editing, heh.

Spoiler warnings for those new to the series: This story takes place after the end of the original series/manga. If you have only seen the remake, it may contain many spoilers and characters/events that have yet to be introduced. I highly recommend reading the manga first. If you decide to proceed regardless, you have been warned.

Without further ado, enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Problem

Nabiki liked money. In Nerima, this was not so much an opinion, as an accepted statement of fact. Most people thought Nabiki dealt with bets and blackmail so much because it was fast, easy money. What they failed to realize, however, was that the amount of time and effort Nabiki put into her endeavors was what allowed her to be so successful.

Nabiki enjoyed the money she made, but she also enjoyed the satisfaction of knowing she had properly balanced the odds she gave so that she always came out ahead when offering bets. She liked the money, but cared more about the thrill she got from manipulating someone with a well placed threat and a few photos. Nabiki was surrounded by martial artists that could break all the bones in her body without even breaking a sweat, but none of them dared touch her. It was not because she had money, it was because she was the Ice Queen who could ruin the life of anyone who crossed her.

Nabiki liked the money, but she LOVED the power, and the reputation that came with it, too.

Although, sometimes money was, in fact, the more pressing concern. Nabiki usually had more than one 'operation' going on at a time, and she spent a lot of time going over the details of the betting pools and any ongoing or potential blackmail she was running. It was this scrutiny, combined with the luck that had been with her all her life, that had kept Nabiki from making any significantly losing bets, or pushing someone too far with blackmail.

Such was how Nabiki spent one afternoon, shortly after the failed wedding between her younger sister and the younger of their freeloading house guests. With that event in recent memory, she had decided to review all standing bets in regards to whom Ranma would end up marrying. The results were not surprising, but nor were they pleasant either.

"Dammit Akane..." Nabiki mumbled. She rarely swore out loud, but her sisters could frustrate her to no end, at times. Mainly it was Akane that did so, but Kasumi could be trying in her own way. After all, she was the one person Nabiki could never bring herself to directly include in her schemes.

Akane was another issue entirely. She was Nabiki's sister, so she would not blackmail her directly, just like she knew Akane would never attack her. However, her younger sister's temper had worn away most of her patience long ago, so she did not mind including Akane in her schemes peripherally, or taking bets involving her.

She knew Akane did care for Ranma, so she was hesitant to interfere in their relationship. True, she had done so once before, temporarily becoming Ranma's fiancée, but that was before she was sure of her sister's feelings. Even so, numbers did not lie. With a frown, Nabiki turned from her thoughts back to the notebook in her hands.

She double-checked the numbers, but the result was the same. Adding the new bets since the wedding attempt, if Ranma and Akane did end up together, the amount of money she would get from bets on others would not be enough to covers the losses of paying out the bets in favor of her sister. "I can't lose money," Nabiki grumbled. "I NEVER lose money..."

Nabiki turned her head to glare at the wall between her and Akane's rooms. 'I didn't interfere sooner because you were my sister, but you dragged this on too far...' Nabiki thought. Looking back at her notebook, she spoke aloud. "The gloves come off now, Akane. NOBODY makes me lose money!"

Closing the notebook with a snap, Nabiki got ready for bed. Tomorrow would be the first day of figuring out how to turn the situation around. This would take careful planning and set-up, but those were things Nabiki excelled at.

"Get back here, Ranma!"

Ranma Saotome had a number of reasons to ignore that shout as he leapt down from the rooftops and kept running. Half those reasons were engaged to him, and the other half wanted the girls that were engaged to him. What had started as an an argument with Akane as school ended had turned into a chase across Nerima involving at least half a dozen people. It might be more or less by now, but he was not going to stop and take a head count.

Heading into local park, Ranma ran down one of the twisting paths before leaping up into the branches of a tree and hiding among the leaves. Moments later, the Kuno siblings passed underneath, Tatewaki and Kodachi always eager to chase after him for one reason or another, depending on whether he was in his cursed form or not. Shortly after them came Shampoo and Ukyo, likely thinking they had a chance to make a good impression somehow if they could reach him first. 'I wish they'd just take a hint one of these days,' Ranma thought as he watched them run past. 'I really don't want ta marry anyone, these days...'

Ranma's thoughts drifted off as he saw the source of the original argument. Akane Tendo might not be able to keep up with the more extreme martial artists, but she seemed to less determined to catch him, today. 'All I did was be honest about my odds of survival if I ate that things she called a bento,' Ranma thought. His feelings about the rest of the group were pretty set after everything that had happened since he came to Nerima about three years ago, but Akane was another story. He cared for the girl. Even if he would never admit it out loud, it was true. And yet, when their parents had tried to force a wedding on them recently, Ranma had been relieved when it got interrupted. He just could not imagine a future with her beyond being friends, and even that was a stretch sometimes. He had never had a sibling, but Ranma imagined how he felt for Akane was closer to an annoying sister than someone he wanted to get intimate with. A shudder ran through Ranma as his thought process reached that point. He knew some of his classmates would love to be in his place, having multiple cute girls throwing themselves at him. Ranma, however, just wanted to live in peace and practice his Art. Most of the time, he would rather spend his time fighting his so-called Rivals than with his fiancées.

Looking around to see if the coast was clear, he saw Mousse harassing a tree, clearly not having his glasses on. Ranma chuckled at that. If it were not for Shampoo, Ranma thought he might actually get along with the Hidden Weapon master. Well enough to train with him without having to worry about 'accidents', at least. 'Kinda glad Ryoga hasn't been in town lately. He definitely would have been harder to shake off.' Ranma grinned as he thought about his oldest friend/rival. It had been a couple months since the Lost Boy had last left town, so he was bound to turn back up any day.

Seeing his current pursuers disappearing from sight, Ranma began to hop from tree to tree back the way he came. "I hope this ain't gonna make me late for dinner. I'm starving- GAH!" Ranma started to say to himself before a branch gave way beneath him with a sharp crack. The teenage martial artist twisted to land on the ground, only to see the roof of a tent coming up to greet him, instead. For a split second, Ranma world was the tearing of cloth and the flapping of loose fabric before he plunged through and hit something hard that shattered beneath his weight. Gathering his bearings, Ranma found himself in a fortune teller's tent, complete with crystal ball... or at least it was. Now he was laying on the remains of a broken table, with the crystal ball laying in two jagged halves on the ground nearby.

Alerted by the sound, the front flap of the tent was thrown open by a hunched old woman. She looked at him in confusion for several seconds before she noticed the broken crystal. "What have ye done!?" She shrieked.

Realizing that her shouting could attract unwanted attention, Ranma hopped to his feet, saying, "Real sorry, but it was an accident. Anyway, I gotta go!" With that said, he leaped out the hole in the roof of the tent, determined to make it back to the Tendo Dojo without further incident.

As Ranma fled the scene, however, he heard the old woman shout after him, "May ye be cursed with the visions ye've stolen from me!"

Ranma thought nothing of it in the moment, but would come to regret his hasty retreat in the days to come. The first few visions Ranma was able to convince himself were nothing but daydreams or strange nightmares. However, one afternoon a few days later, Ranma had his first vision while wide awake. Returning to the doo after school, Ranma passed through the-

-front gate, reduced to dragging the remains of the umbrella due to its weight.

Stepping out from the front door, Nabiki called out to the martial artist. "I take it that that's the rest of Ryoga's umbrella?"

Looking up in surprise, Ranma stood up straight and stretched her back, letting the heavy object fall to the ground. "Yeah, I'd been planning ta give it back ta Ryoga the same way he gave it ta me; by dropping it on his thick skull. But it's way heavier than the last time I picked it up, so I'm gonna wait 'til later on that." Rubbing her spine, Ranma mumbled, "What's up with my back? Better see Dr. Tofu, and make sure nothing's wrong."

Nabiki grinned at Ranma and said, "Good thing you brought it back. It'll save you a trip."

"Huh, what d'ya mean?" Ranma asked, realizing Nabiki must want her to do something else.

"I mean I would have sent you back to get it if you had left it." Nabiki said. Before Ranma could say more, she went on. "Let's just say, things may go better for me if Ryoga has his umbrella later this month, and wouldn't he be happy if someone got his umbrella repaired as a gift for his birthday tomorrow?"

Ranma nodded, thinking, 'That makes sense. I didn't know it was his birthday, though.' To Nabiki, she said, "So d'ya want me to get it fixed so ya can give it ta him?"

Nabiki shook her head. "No, I want you to get it repaired, and then you give it to him. He'd get suspicious if it was a gift from me."

"Alright, but-

-what the Hell was that?" Ranma said as he staggered, trying to process what he had just seen. Akane had stayed after school to help one of the clubs, so Ranma was fortunate enough to be alone at the moment. Heading inside, Ranma could feel an impending sense of dread, as new magic was rarely a good thing in his life...

AN: And there is chapter one. Some Old, Some New, and hopefully the best of both worlds by the time I am done! It's good to be back writing!

How will Nabiki turn things around? What else will Ranma see in these visions? Find out in future chapters of Fortunes Told, Fortunes Made!