The next morning had that sort of odd, surreal feeling for Nabiki. Somehow trying to go to school like everything was normal after the events of the previous day just seemed nonsensical.

In fact, that's the last couple of weeks, isn't it? I've gone from being the girl on the sidelines to having my entire life riding on a mess of concurrent, utterly INSANE challenges. I didn't realize being engaged to Ranma meant BECOMING him, Nabiki thought as she sipped her coffee. She made a face at the bitter taste. Maybe I should ask Kasumi if there's a store that sells Earl Grey? Jiro has ruined me.

"Morning…" Nabiki looked up to see Ranma making his way down the stairs. He had bags under his eyes and looked like he needed caffeine more than she did, which was an accomplishment. He had a towel over his shoulder, so she guessed he had gotten up early for a morning soak.

"Good morning Ranma," she smiled. "You're up early. Especially considering how late you got in."

"Uh… yeah… well…" Ranma rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"How is Ryouga doing?"

Ranma stiffened, and Nabiki saw a blush rise on his cheeks. Her smile shifted into a confident smirk. Ranma, Ranma, Ranma. You may have suckered me into falling for you, but you will never, EVER get one past me.

"Umm… he's fine," Ranma said nervously. "Just uh… just decided to drop by and see how he was. Y'know… after the hospital and all…"

"Uh huh…" Nabiki sauntered over to him, getting right up close into his personal space in that way that seemed so very effective at making him panic. She leaned in close and trailed a nail lightly down his chest, savoring his deer-in-headlights expression. It was nice to know she could still do that to him. "Just don't forget those pictures you promised me."

He blinked, and the blush deepend. "Nothing happened! We were just talking!"

"Mmmhmm…" She purred and slipped her free arm around his neck. "And when something does happen, just make sure I get pictures. That's all. Now… do you need someone to scrub your back?" She leaned in closer, pressing herself against him casually.

She saw the flicker in his eyes underneath the panic and guilt of being caught; The urge to say yes. "I… uhh… I'm just… I gotta rinse off and… umm… change for school… y'know?"

"I know," Nabiki purred and leaned in further, her lips only a few inches from his. "Would you like me to scrub your back?"

Nervously he nodded and swallowed hard.

Before Nabiki could capitalize on her win, she felt something smack the back of her head that nearly caused her to spill her coffee. She released Ranma and whirled on her assailant. "Hey!"

Akane stood there, holding a large fan of folded paper which she smacked into her palm with a scowl. "No seducing Ranma before school!"

"Oh that is not fair, baby sister!" Nabiki stomped up nose to nose with Akane. "How dare you block me for something you did yourself!?"

Akane sniffed and looked away. "We don't have time this morning! Ranma needs to change and I want to walk to school with Ukyou and Shampoo! Have your bathtime fun after school!"

"I don't want two baths in one day!" Nabiki whined. "This was supposed to make first period bearable! I've been looking forward to this all morning, Akane!"

"Then you should have woken him up sooner."

"I tried! Nothing seems to work short of a glass of water!"

"Ask Kasumi to ask him to get up."

"Oh, yes, let's do that! 'Hey, Kasumi, could you wake Ranma so we can have sexy times in the furo before school?'That's not awkward and weird!"

Kasumi poked her head out of the hallway. "Ranma is already awake, Nabiki. I saw him heading for the furo."

"AAAAUUUGH!"

Soun sat unnoticed at the table, his newspaper in his hands and a haunted expression on his face. "At least they're getting along. That's good, right? It's… it's good. This is… a good… ~sniff~ good thing… I'm… I'm sure their mother would understand…"

000

"We're picking up Ryouga?!"

"Volume, dear sister," Nabiki said, rubbing at her ear casually as Akane fumed next to her.

"Since when do we walk Ryouga to school!?"

"Since he enrolled, Akane," Ukyou replied. "You can't expect the poor dope to make it on his own."

"I know but…" Akane wrung her hands. "I'm not ready for this! We still haven't… I mean, the last time I saw him I was so awful and then he…" She covered her face with her hands. "What am I going to do?!"

"Challenge to combat to restore honor," Shampoo suggested. "Win, stain on honor cleared."

"What, if you are crappy to someone you just beat them up and it's all good?" Nabiki asked skeptically.

"If Ryouga lose, was weak and deserved to be treated bad. Needs to get stronger," Shampoo replied.

"That explains your relationship with Mousse so much," Nabiki said, pondering the implications. "Hold on, what if Akane challenges him and loses?"

"Akane become Ryouga's slave."

"I am not fighting Ryouga!"

Ranma was conspicuously silent through all of it.

Eventually they reached Ryouga's house. The exterior continued to show the benefits from his mother's efforts. Not only was the lawn trimmed and the garden beds freshly edged, the walk had been swept and it even seemed that some of the trim had been freshly painted.

"So Ranma should probably be the one to knock, since Ryouga is her boyfriend," Nabiki said as they approached.

"Nabiki, don't even joke about that!" Akane growled.

"I'm not," Nabiki gave Ranma a glance. "Somebody decided to give that to Ryouga's Mom as a cover story!"

"Hey, that was Ryouga's brainwave, not mine!" Ranma protested. "And we didn't specifically say that! He just told her that I'm really a girl and she sort of... inferred it."

"Better than pretending to be his fiancee," Akane muttered.

"No, that was what they told the people at the Hospital," Nabiki corrected her.

"That was Ryouga too!"

"Just go get him before I decide if I should be mad at you or not," Akane gestured for Ranma to be on her way to fetch the Lost Boy.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "Akane, you're going to need to dial it back a bit if you plan on making up with Ryouga."

Akane sighed. "I know, I know! It's just… This is so awkward." She watched as the door opened. Ryouga's mother answered and gave Ranma an immediate hug which Ranma managed to return without too much flailing. "And… I don't know. I don't know what to do with all this anxiety and worry…"

"Talking about it is a good start, sugar," Ukyou chimed in, patting Akane on the back.

"Shampoo know good ways to burn off stress," Shampoo said, popping up into Akane's field of view.

"Shampoo, don't be hentai," Nabiki cautioned.

Shampoo blinked at Nabiki "What?" She turned back to Akane. "Was talking about Tai Chi. Hentai here not Shampoo! You have too too dirty mind, Nabiki Tendo!"

Akane smirked.

"... Though now think about it, sex pretty good way too."

"Shampoo!"

Ranma was returning with Ryouga in tow. The Lost Boy was wearing a Furinkan boy's uniform and tugging at the collar. He had a standard school bag, but had modified it with loops for his umbrella. He also still wore his signature bandanna, which Nabiki suspected was partially fused to his skull at this point.

She rubbed her chin and considered. Complaints about his headwear aside, Ryouga looked surprisingly good in the outfit, filling it out more than most boys his age. He looked a bit goofy and lost now, but combine the uniform with one of his 'brooding loner' expressions and some good lighting… maybe leave the jacket open… no undershirt of course…

She shook herself out of it before she got too far into calculating the optimal per-unit charge. You're not in that business anymore, Nabiki, as much fun as it was. She gave Ryouga another thoughtful once over. Maybe I can get Ranma to sweet talk him into a private set though?

"Uhh… hello, Akane," Ryouga said, eyes darting away from the youngest Tendo as he greeted her, nervously rubbing the back of his head.

"Hey, Ryouga," she said softly and managed a weak smile.

"There! All friends again!" Ranma said brightly. She gave Ryouga a shove in Akane's direction. "Now, you two chat, hash things out, become good friends again and I'm gonna walk up with the others just outside of ki blast range, 'kay?" She beamed her best cutsey smile and bounced over to Nabiki. She managed to hold that smile until she got a few feet away, at which point it cracked and became slightly manic.

"You okay, Ranma?" Nabiki asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No!" Ranma hissed. "This is a stupid idea! This is a terrible idea! One or both of them are going to snap on the way to school and take out three city blocks!"

"This is your idea," Nabiki reminded her.

"I know! Why didn't you talk me out of it?!" Ranma demanded. "I rely on you to counteract my bad ideas!"

Nabiki smiled a bit at that and ruffled her hair. "I know, Ranma, but sometimes bad ideas are also good ideas."

"That makes zero sense…"

"Or at least entertaining ideas."

Ranma made a face. "Okay, that makes more sense but is way less reassuring."

The continued on their way.

000

Akane stared at the pavement as they walked, unconsciously avoiding the cracks as she struggled to think of what to say to the Lost Boy.

What would Ranma say? Something stupid that would make it worse, probably, she thought sourly. What would Nabiki say then? I mean, aside from some kind of blackmail… Ugh… Kasumi? Kasumi would never have gotten into this situation in the first place. She clenched her fists and took a breath. Okay, this is stupid! I'm just gonna start talking and just say the stuff I've said to everyone ELSE about this and hope it helps.

"Ryouga, I…"

"Akane, I…"

They both clammed up, blushed and looked away from each other. Akane sighed, slapped the sides of her face and admonished herself to stop being stupid.

"I'll go first," Akane said. "Ryouga… I am so sorry for how I treated you. Both in how I saw you while you were P-chan and… how I blurted it all out like you weren't even there." She wrung her hands. "I… used your curse as an excuse to make myself more comfortable with using you. I'm sorry."

Ryouga smiled. It wasn't the goofy, lovesick smile she had seen on him in the past; she had the feeling that, even if she succeeded in patching things up with him, he wasn't ever going to see her that way again. It was better. It was genuine.

"I think I deserved it," Ryouga said. "No… scratch that. I know I deserved it. I knew it every moment I played that stupid game. I knew you'd find out. I expected you to hate me, to want me dead, to want me out of your life… Deciding I was just a pet pig instead was probably the kindest way you could have handled it." He sighed. "Nothing you said or did was anything I didn't set myself up for."

Akane cocked her head. "Maybe you're being too hard on yourself?" She smiled. "I mean… when you're P-chan you are a pet pig, right? That's how the curse works."

Ryouga laughed weakly and shook his head. "Well… I think I get now why you think that, if you're basing it all on Ranma. I mean… I didn't get it before… she really does change doesn't she? Mentally, I mean. But… That's a human to human curse. I think those just have a way more profound effect. But when I change it's not like my brain gets swapped out for a piglet's brain. I'm still me in there, not some piglet version of me."

Akane stopped walking.

"I mean… I admit, getting my ears scratched as a piglet does feel pretty good, so there's some kinda bleed over but it's not like I suddenly find pigs attractive or any…" He trailed off as he felt the wash of heat across his back. He stopped and slowly turned.

"What did you say?" Akane asked. Her voice was low and dangerous. Her eyes were covered by her bangs and hidden in shadow, but most disconcerting of all, she was glowing blue.

"Awwww crap…"

000

The walk to school had been remarkably peaceful; Plenty of time, no rivals or strife, and everyone was getting along.

That should have been the first clue that something was about to go horribly wrong.

The second, of course, was Ryouga nearly bowling over Nabiki and Ukyou as he bolted past them, sprinting for the Furinkan gates.

"What was that about?" Ukyou asked.

"RYOUGA HIBIKI, PREPARE TO DIE!"

An enraged Akane sped past and actually spun Ukyou around - and would have knocked her off her feet if Nabiki hadn't caught her.

"Oh," Ukyou said, a little dizzily.

"Oh no," Ranma scowled and took off after them.

"Ranma, wait! You can't get into any fights on school grounds!" Nabiki yelled after her. She cursed under her breath and took off in pursuit, followed by Shampoo and Ukyou.

Ryouga made for the wall and vaulted over it in a single bound. He was well-acquainted with Akane's abilities, having participated in her training in the past, and such an obstacle should be enough to slow her down. With what he knew about her speed and how long it would take her to round the wall, or pull herself over it with her known jumping ability, he should be far enough ahead to discourage her from chasing him further.

Unfortunately for Ryouga, he had absolutely no idea how much Akane had progressed in recent weeks.

As his trajectory peaked, he felt a presence and turned just in time to see Akane right behind him. She'd actually made her leap over the wall more efficiently than he had and cut his lead down to nothing, dropping to the ground a half second before his own feet met the tarmac.

He simply didn't have enough time to react. She made a spinning sweep kick low to the ground and knocked his legs out from under him just as his feet touched and before his weight could even settle onto them. The force was enough to pinwheel him around so he was poised to complete his fall headfirst. But that wasn't sufficient for Akane, who was already reaching back for a haymaker. Ryouga crossed his arms in desperate attempt to block just before the straight punch hit and slammed him back with bone-rattling force, sending skimming the ground upside down.

He caught himself with his hands and used the momentum of the hit to flip himself onto his feet, skidding another couple of yards as he pivoted to face her. His eyes were wide as he tried to reconcile the Akane he knew with the berserker who was bearing down on him.

He wove out of the way of another strike - one that generated enough air pressure to cause his ears to pop. She's almost as fast as Ranma now! He hopped back to re-establish his balance and blocked the next strike, gritting his teeth as he felt the impact through his arm. Stronger, too!

This Akane was a legitimate threat.

Her guard was tighter too, but he could till see some of her old signatures. Her tendency to push and charge, to use her momentum to add power to her attacks. It was a staple of the Anything Goes style though Akane was much more of a ground fighter than Ranma.

Ryouga blocked another strike and parried the next, his eyes narrowing. Her style was perfect for someone like Ranma, who could be pushed back easily, or hordes of weaker opponents, but it was at a disadvantage against him. He could take the hits and dish out the punishment for getting close, blunting her ability to use her momentum against him. Sure enough, after seeing a few more of her strikes parried, she hopped back to avoid a counterstrike.

The question was, was Ryouga willing to do that?

He watched her carefully. A few days ago he'd not have even been able to entertain the thought. He had no real compunctions against fighting girls. A martial artist was a martial artist in his eyes and he'd faced enough formidable martial artists of both genders to have had any such notions of chivalry beaten out of him in a rather painful manner. But Akane?

But that was before Akane had revealed how little she thought of him or how much of a fool she had made of him. She had strung him along just because she wanted her little black pet piglet and, now that he had dared to imply that her assumptions about him had been wrong, it was somehow his fault?

Something dark bubbled up within him, something he had once reserved for another but had been forced to give up. The pain twisted within his cracked glass heart and a filter settled over his vision. Akane wasn't Akane anymore. She was his Rival - the one who had caused him pain. And somewhere deep within him a greedy voice whispered that she was the one who held the heart of someone important to him, even as she had hurt them, too. The thoughts were like an old sweater - familiar and comfortable.

A Rival he could fight.

A nasty smile spread across his face. He wasn't totally gone. He knew that, despite her obvious improvement, she was still no real match for him if he pulled out all the stops. He had no real intention of injuring her, but he'd had just about enough of her little temper tantrum. If she wanted to be treated as an equal then it was about time someone showed her what that meant!

She charged in again and again he stood his ground. He let her draw back and throw her punch but this time he caught it with his hand, stopping it dead.

She glared at him, fire flashing in her eyes. "You slept in my room, you watched me change, you lied to me!"

"You knew what I was. You could have called me on it any time. You even knew how I felt. You just decided it was something different because it was more convenient!" he growled back. He released her hand and spun in a high roundhouse kick.

Her eyes widened and she dropped to avoid it, obviously shocked he had made an attack of his own. He didn't hesitate with his second attack, continuing for another full rotation, raising his fist to bring it downward in a smash on top of her.

Akane backflipped out of the way and Ryouga's fist hit the tarmac. There was a deep rumble and the asphalt crumbled under the blow, a small crater forming from the impact.

Akane made a few more flips to get her distance and stopped, eyes wide. "You actually tried to hit me!"

There was a crowd gathering now, watching raptly as another martial arts battle unfolded, this time between two opponents who had never been seen facing off against each other before. Murmurs ran through the crowd. Most recognized Akane and a few even remembered Ryouga from his previous altercations at the school.

Ryouga straightened back up, cracking his knuckles. "What's the matter? Not any fun when they fight back?" he asked, smirking.

Akane's expression shifted into a smirk of her own. "Oh no, exactly the opposite! Now it's just going to be that much more satisfying to wipe that smug look off your face!" She dropped back into a ready stance, tensing.

"Heh… Don't blame me then if this doesn't go the way your ego tells you it will," Ryouga replied, falling easily into his own stance. "You've still got a long way to go before you're at my level and I'm done holding back!"

"Then put your martial arts where your mouth is!" Akane said. Her eyes narrowed as she probed her opponent's defenses and her grin became fiercer.

After a moment's pause they launched towards each other, fists cocked back, set to collide with a force that would likely rock the entire courtyard regardless of the outcome.

Just before impact, their eyes caught a flash of red as it streaked between them.

000

Nabiki huffed as she rounded the gate and entered the courtyard, panting and winded. She wasn't by any means out of shape but she had typically stuck to dancing, aerobics or jogging to stay in shape - not flat out sprinting. She was starting to think that her definition of 'in shape' was going to need to be revised.

She could see the dust clearing from what appeared to be a major altercation. She wondered what had possessed her little sister to take a shot at Ryouga but now it looked like the Lost Boy might have had enough and started to fight back. There were spiderweb cracks all through the tarmac all the way to the gate and a crowd had already gathered though she couldn't yet clearly see the combatants.

Slowly the dust settled and she could make out three figures, seemingly frozen in time. Ryouga and Akane were each poised to deliver a strike to the other in what probably would have been a rather savage cross-counter.

And between them, with her arms covering her face and head, was Ranma - their fists mere inches away.

Both Ryouga and Akane looked horrified.

Good. They BOTH need to learn you can't just haul off and pick a fight without some kind of consequences! Nabiki thought. Before she could consider how she was planning to lecture them both, she saw something that was about to make it all moot; the diminutive frame of the English teacher, Hinako Ninomiya, pulling a coin out of her pocket.

"Oh crap!" Nabiki heard from her right as Ukyou spotted the same thing.

"Ukyou go!" Nabiki ordered, resuming her run. She knew that the okonomiyaki chef was much faster than she was and she hoped that the coin Ms. Hinako had selected was a 5 yen piece and not a 50 yen coin.

Everything seemed to slow except Ukyou. The chef was a dark colored blur as she darted in, scooped up Ranma, then leapt straight up just as Hinako aimed her coin at Ryouga and Akane.

"Happo Five-yen Satsu!"

Ryouga and Akane barely had time to react as their ki was suddenly and brutally drained by an invisible force. They stiffened and started to collapse slowly, no longer possessed of the strength required even to keep themselves upright.

Nabiki managed to reach Akane in time to catch her. Fortunately the five-yen version of Ms. Hinako's ki-stealing trick didn't affect someone not actually actively hostile or emitting ki, which kept it from affecting her as she kept her baby sister from hitting the tarmac. She glanced over and noticed Shampoo had picked up on her cue and caught Ryouga as well. There was less worry about the Lost Boy injuring himself, given his unusual durability of course, but until she knew more about what happened, Nabiki wasn't quite willing to say he deserved an asphalt sandwich and Akane didn't.

Ms. Hinako grew rapidly, from the form of a 12 year old girl to that of a rather stunning and well-developed woman in her late twenties or early thirties. Her loose, shapeless yellow dress grew tighter as she filled it out almost to bursting. "Well, what have we here?" She strode forward, the demeanor of a hyperactive child replaced with a much more mature cool and authoritarian countenance. "Delinquency will not be tolerated on the Furinkan school grounds."

It would be nice if that was ever consistently enforced… Nabiki thought dryly, but wisely kept her mouth shut.

The teacher walked up to them, regarding Akane's temporarily emaciated face. "Akane Tendo. Second year. Such a disappointment. It seems now that your usual targets don't want to play anymore you've taken to venting your aggression on less acceptable victims, hmm?" She glanced over to Ryouga. "And one of our new transfer students. I had a bad feeling about you from your transcripts, Ryouga Hibiki. I'm disappointed to find my concerns so quickly validated. I'll be seeing you both in detention first period." She nodded to Nabiki and Shampoo in acknowledgement. "Thank you for taking care of them. Please make sure they're not late, would you? We wouldn't want to compound their punishment through tardiness."

She turned and started walking back to the school but paused, glancing at Ukyou and Ranma who had managed to get clear of the drain, if only just. "Ranma Saotome." She walked over to her and smiled. "While attempting to stop schoolyard fights is a task best left to teachers, I appreciated that you acted so selflessly and non-violently. That's quite the improvement from your normal behaviour. You've become quite the model student since joining the volleyball team."

"Uh… thanks teach… I guess?" Ranma replied, a little uncertain. Praise was not something she got often from Ms. Hinako, much less from her adult form.

"I'll be watching your game on Wednesday. I'll be expecting quite the performance from you and your team. Don't disappoint me." She winked, turned and strode back towards the school as a number of male students scrambled to escort her inside.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow and propped her sister up a little further. "Just when you think you've seen everything… Ranma Saotome, teacher's pet."

000

By the time the bell rang Akane and Ryouga still hadn't recovered from the ki drain, so they had been propped up unceremoniously in the hallway against the wall. The usual water buckets delinquent students were expected to hold up for the duration were simply left on the floor next to them as it had been enough trouble just getting them to remain standing.

"That… sucked…" Akane said weakly, still somewhat unsteady as she stared blearily at the floor.

"You… get used to it," Ryouga replied, as he'd been the target of Ms. Hinako's drains many times before.

"Really?"

"No. It sucks."

Akane chuckled weakly, more of a wheeze, even though she was gradually recovering. "Too bad she got us. I was really starting to get into that fight." She turned her head and managed a smile. "Thanks for taking me seriously."

Ryouga snorted dismissively. "I don't do charity when it comes to martial arts. I took you seriously because you were a legitimate threat."

Her smile grew. "That means even more coming from a guy like you."

They spent the next few minutes in silence. Feeling and color were slowly returning to their extremities as the effects of the ki drain wore off. Their postures became more relaxed as it became less of a struggle to stand.

"Truce?" Akane suggested, holding up the arm nearest him, fist closed.

Ryouga glanced at her. He closed his eyes then raised his own arm, crossing forearms with her briefly as a sign of respect. "Truce. For Ranma's sake."

"That's something I never thought I'd hear you say," Akane raised an eyebrow. She folded her hands behind her head and leaned against the wall.

"Yeah, well…" Ryouga shrugged. "Stuff has gotten a bit weird lately. Just don't go expecting me to put you on a pedestal anymore. Or play the part of your pet pig."

Akane scowled. "Oh, I'm not shedding any tears, trust me Hibiki." Her expression softened a little and she looked up at the ceiling. "Actually… This could be fun. I've never had a serious rival before."

"I am not your rival, Tendo," Ryouga scoffed, giving her an incredulous look. "Go pester Shampoo or Ukyou for that."

"Mmmm, tried it with Shampoo. Couldn't ever really stay mad at her," Akane said thoughtfully. "Her teasing used to piss me off but I'm starting to think she's actually serious. She's too cute to stay mad at."

Ryouga immediately grabbed at his nose. He pulled off one of his seemingly endless bandannas and used it to staunch the burgeoning nosebleed. "What?!"

Akane smirked at him, an evil glint in her eye. "What, you didn't pick up on that after listening to me tell you all my secrets, P-chan? Why do you think Ranma was the only one I ever had any serious interest in? If the whole school is just gonna assume I'm a pervert anyway, why should I bother to hide it?" She glared at him. "I like girls, Ryouga. And you and I are after the same one."

Ryouga's eyes widened in surprise then narrowed again. "I never said I'm after Ranma. I don't need to own someone to be concerned about their safety! Besides, didn't you learn anything from all this? You can't just define Ranma as a girl because it suits your preferences!"

"Why not? You're doing it."

"I am not!"

"Really? I didn't know you swung that way, Hibiki."

"I don't!"

"Then you're either lying, or you're lying. Which is it?"

"Look, just drop it, Tendo!"

"Fine, fine… I shouldn't have expected honesty from you. I guess if I want to have a conversation with a real man I would probably be better off talking to Ukyou."

"Hey! You leave Ukyou out of this! She didn't do anything to deserve that!"

"Who said it was an insult? She's prettier than I am and she's still manlier than most of the guys in this school. Including you!"

At that moment, the classroom door was flung open and Ukyou herself stomped out. She glared at the both of them furiously.

"U-Ukyou?" Ryouga managed.

"Would the two of you jackasses kindly SHUT UP!?" Ukyou snarled. "We can hear every single word in there!"

Ryouga turned beet red, a panicked look on his face. "You can!?"

"But… Ranma and I used to argue out here all the time and no one said anything!" Akane protested, almost as red in the face herself.

"Yeah, well I wasn't the subject of conversation then, was I?!" Ukyou shot back, trembling with fury and embarrassment.

"Also, it was funny as hell," someone supplied helpfully from within the classroom.

Just then the intercom came on. Good morning students! It's another wonderful day at Furinkan High! It's time for your daily announcements. Before we begin, your Student Council President wishes to extend her congratulations and the congratulations of the Furinkan Student Council to Ranma Saotome and Ryouga Hibiki, whom we recently learned have become engaged! Isn't that exciting?

"WHAT!?" Akane whirled on Ryouga, who's expression was one of rapidly building realization and horror.

"Himura visited us in the hospital! She must have heard about it from the staff! This wasn't my fault!" Ryouga protested frantically.

"Ryouga Hibiki, prepare to DIE!"

"Happo Fifty-yen Satsu!"

"Ack! Teacher, don't drain US! We didn't do anything!"

Ranma buried her head in her arms and wished fervently for the ground to open up and swallow her whole.

"In other announcements…"

000

"So, let's take inventory, shall we?" Nabiki said at lunchtime as they sat around their usual tree. With the size of the group now they had managed to more or less monopolize it. As had become custom, lunches had been spread out potluck-style to be shared between them all. "Akane has managed to out herself… not exactly big news but several rumours have now been confirmed. She's also raised suspicions that Ranma is, in fact, a girl who had a guy curse, a theory which has only been supported by the fact that Ranma hasn't attended school as a guy for weeks, and further reinforced by Himura's having arranged for Ranma and Ryouga's cover story of an engagement to the hospital to be spread around the school. Ukyou is now rumored to actually have a Jusenkyo curse and Hana has placed a fairly sizeable bounty on photographic evidence of Ukyou's 'guy side', most likely to screw with us. Ryouga is either gay, engaged to Ranma, both, or actually Ranma in disguise depending on who you talk to and there is a betting pool going around with fairly decent odds that one of us is going to turn out to be a space alien." She snagged a bit of fried tofu with her chopsticks and popped it in her mouth, pausing to chew and swallow before continuing. "I trust I don't need to explain why it's important to be careful what you say to anyone?"

"It probably wasn't helped by Rin's insistence that Ranma really is a girl," Yuka commented, her arms folded.

"But senpai is a…" Rin started to protest, but the combined glares made her shrink back to pout a little.

"Speaking of 'senpai'..." Sayuri said, shooting Ranma a stern glare. "We are having volleyball practise today after school."

Ranma sighed. She was seated between Ryouga and Akane as she was one of the few things anyone was reasonably sure neither would smash through to get at the other should they start squabbling again. This had also resulted in some sulking from Ukyou and Shampoo. "Assuming everybody present behaves, I think that covers any potential disasters that might…"

"I'm here my darling Shampoo!"

"... Awwww crap. I forgot about Mousse," Ranma sighed, not bothering to look as the blind weaponmaster approached.

"Uh oh…" Riko turned to look at Rin who had gone stiff.

Rin abruptly shuddered, blinked, and, with a glassy, blank look, started to stand. "Oh, the take out delivery is here! I'll go pay."

"Quick! Grab her legs!" Yuka yelped as she made a grab for Rin. But Rin didn't seem to notice; she simply tried to disentangle herself.

"She's going to get away!"

"Tackle her!"

Ranma blinked as the rest of the volleyball team dragged Rin to the ground and piled on to pin her while she calmly yet insistently tried to free herself. "Did… I miss something?"

Ukyou sighed. "Rin apparently has a bit of a mental malfunction around Mousse. I'll go get the ramen." She stood up smoothly to go deal with the delivery.

Nabiki watched the antics, both as the volleyball team attempted to subdue their striker and as Akane recounted to Ranma what happened. Her sour mood eased quickly to give way to an amused contentment.

She felt a nudge at her side and turned to see that Shampoo had snuck over, her expression uncharacteristically subdued… almost bashful.

"Nabiki… make appointment?" She fidgeted a bit and actually blushed.

Nabiki smiled. "Yeah, it's all set for Thursday."

Shampoo nodded. She glanced at the others but they were too engrossed in all the other things going on to pay any attention. "Will hurt?"

"They said it was painless. Just an injection, really. They don't even need anaesthetic. It's tiny. Like a grain of rice." Nabiki gave Shampoo her full attention. "This really has you unsettled, doesn't it?"

"Is… humiliating," Shampoo admitted. "Understand better why Pig-boy have freakout. Not like idea of being helpless like that. Not like impli… implic…" She huffed in frustration. "Not like ideas it give Shampoo about things that could happen."

Nabiki gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry. I'm not exactly proud of having thought of it, but if I did you can bet Himura has. This is the best insurance I can think of… and it's not great. Be extra careful, okay?"

Shampoo nodded then settled next to her. She was silent a moment. "So… Nabiki be one on registration?"

Nabiki nodded, plucking a cherry tomato from one of the bentos with her chopsticks.

"Na shi yin," Shampoo said with a smirk.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow and smiled. "I knew you were going to go there eventually."

"Your Mandarin better than you say," Shampoo folded her arms.

"I never actually said how good my Mandarin was," Nabiki waggled her eyebrows and popped the cherry tomato into Shampoo's mouth. "I also didn't say you were wrong."

000

Somehow the rest of the day managed to pass without further incident. As they'd previously agreed, everyone ended up at the Tendo Dojo after school except Akane and Ukyou, who were working the dinner rush at Ucchan's, and Shampoo, who was needed at the Nekohanten. The idea was to do some volleyball training in preparation for Wednesday's match.

Unfortunately, Genma Saotome had other ideas. He had been waiting when they got to the Dojo and had accosted Ranma as soon as they walked in.

"You're getting too soft, boy!" Genma scoffed, levelling an accusing finger at Ranma, who was still female and dressed in her school uniform. "Look at you, prancing about like a girl and playing women's sports! You're a disgrace to the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts! If your mother knew…!"

"If Mom knew she'd cut both our heads off," Ranma said coldly. "So why don't you go ahead and tell her about it?"

Genma shuddered. "How can you joke about such a serious matter of honor so flippantly, boy? Don't you have any male pride left?!" In truth Genma was a little off balance. He wasn't used to Ranma parrying his veiled threats quite so well.

Ranma smirked. She had learned a few things from Nabiki. "Guess if I'm so girly you should start engaging me to guys instead, huh? Oh... wait! You already have! I wonder what Mom would have to say about that, huh?"

"You ungrateful brat! After all I've done for you, how can you be so disrespectful!?"

"You sold me to a Korean businessman when I was twelve! To a 40 year old guy! That was way before the curse! What's there to respect?!"

"That was training. Any student of the Anything Goes School who couldn't get themselves out of that situation doesn't deserve to be taught!"

"I almost got shipped off to Seoul in a crate! I was a kid!"

"You were far too old then for this much whining and you're certainly far to old for it now! Now change back so I can teach you some manners!"

"I don't have time to kick your ass, old man! I'm supposed to train for the game on Wednesday!"

"So you're just going to stay a girl?! I've heard enough! I'll restore your pride as a man if I have to beat it into you!"

"Hey, leggo! You'll wreck my uniform! At least let me change fir-AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaa!" Ranma squawked as she plunged into the koi pond.

Rin sighed as she watched the two go at it. The enraged redhead popped out of the koi pond soaking wet and furiously attacked the old man. Genma danced back and proceeded to taunt her further about her 'feminine hang ups'.

Nabiki had retreated upstairs to her room and Ryouga had headed off to find the bathroom and gotten himself lost. She could still hear him banging around upstairs, though she was fairly sure the bathroom was on the main floor. Sayuri and the others had already given up and headed to the dojo to try and get in some practice but Rin had declined to join them.

"You're Rin, right?"

Rin looked up to see the eldest Tendo smiling down at her, a tray in her hands. Rin smiled back because it was the polite thing to do but it wasn't something she was really feeling.

"We just got in those uniforms of yours with the changes Nabiki asked to have made. They look very fetching! A little daring for my taste but I suppose that's the style these days." Kasumi sat down across from her and noticed that the girl seemed to be distracted and upset. "Are you feeling all right, dear?"

Rin shrugged. In reality she felt a little sick but it wasn't really a physical thing. She glanced nervously out at the fight going on in the yard. "Senpai's Dad scares me."

Kasumi gave her a sympathetic look. "I can understand that. He is very loud. And violent, sometimes. But he also would never harm an innocent bystander like you. It's mostly just Ranma he's that way with."

"Because he can get away with it," Rin said, hugging herself and ignoring the cup of tea Kasumi placed in front of her.

Kasumi cocked her head. "What do you mean?"

Rin chewed her lower lip. She wasn't entirely sure how much she should say. She had gotten in trouble for this before. These people were being nice to her and it wasn't nice to be judgemental in return but… but…

"You're not nice to each other," Rin said quietly, not looking at the older girl.

Rin had learned early on that not all families were like hers. In fact, most weren't. It meant she was lucky but at the same time it was so frustrating - like somehow they just couldn't see what was happening. "You're nice to me, so you know what nice is. But then you're not nice to senpai." Rin spared a nervous glance at the older girl. Most of the time when Rin pointed these things out people laughed it off. Sometimes they acted confused, like she had given them a riddle that they wanted to understand but they just couldn't see the solution. But there were some where the mask cracked and they got angry and they stopped being nice. Because they knew and they were that way on purpose. Those people were scary. And for some reason, no matter what, people weren't okay with Rin saying these things.

Kasumi looked confused. "I would never say such things to Ranma!"

"He does," Rin nodded in the direction of the ongoing tussle in the yard. She looked down and picked at her shoe. "And you don't say anything." This was the part where they told her she didn't understand, that it was the way things were, that something Rin knew wasn't okay actually was because of something that Rin knew didn't matter.

"I… yes…" Kasumi looked away, that same confused look on her face. The confusion was good sometimes. Sometimes they'd understand later what Rin was trying to say. But more often than not it just meant they had started to laugh it off and would tell her she was being silly. Or worse, they'd start wearing the mask. "It must seem harsh, but… it's not my place to question Mr. Saotome's teaching methods, or how he chooses to raise his son…"

"Who's is it?" Rin asked.

Kasumi trailed off, more confusion clouding her expression. "Pardon me?"

"Who's place is it to question how he does it?" Rin asked. She looked at the older girl again but still only saw confusion. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Why was it so hard to find the words? Why did something that normally made perfect sense suddenly stop making sense just because the jobs had different names? "When a teacher teaches, their students need to get good grades but they also have to do lots of other stuff too, and everyone questions what they do and how they do it - the Principal, the parents, the school board. If they do something wrong they get asked questions and if it's a bad thing they get told to stop. Why isn't anyone telling him to stop? Who's job is it? Who do I tell!?"

Kasumi gaped at her for a moment then looked pensive. She moistened her lips and did what Rin knew she was going to do.

"It's different than with a teacher when it's family. You wouldn't want someone else judging your family if…"

"People do judge my family," Rin said curtly. "A lot. And just because nobody likes it when someone says they're doing something bad doesn't mean someone shouldn't say something! How would you feel if someone robbed your house but no one would do anything because they didn't want the robber to feel like they were judging him?" She gave Kasumi a pleading look. Please… please listen this time! I know SOMEONE has to see it! "He's saying all those terrible things to her about something she can't help!"

Again Kasumi's expression shifted back to surprise, confusion, maybe even a little realization. Rin had a moment of hope, but frustratingly it was buried again. "Mr. Saotome says such things… to harden Ranma against such tactics being used against him by others…"

"That's not why!" Rin cut her off again. "Even I can see he's saying it just to make her mad so she'll fight and he can justify hitting her… and then when he can't hit her he keeps saying them because it's the next best way to hurt her! And the only reason it hurts her is because he made her ashamed of being who she is! That's just bullying!"

Kasumi took a deep breath. "Rin, I know from what my sisters have told me that you have some trouble around Ranma's curse and, even though you've seen it, you're more comfortable thinking of him as female, but…"

"I know about the curse," Rin said. "I know Ranma was born a boy. You don't have to patronize me." She felt her lower lip quiver and clenched her fists in frustration. Why could no one see it? Why couldn't she ever find the words to explain it? "I know… sometimes Ranma is a boy, but…"

"Yes, dear, that's how the curse works," Kasumi said, smiling, seemingly relieved that Rin grasped the idea.

Rin shook her head in exasperation. "I'm not talking about the curse! I am, but… not the way you are! Maybe the curse started it but…" She felt frustrated tears start to blur her vision. "There's something wrong with all this! Nobody sees it, not even senpai, but it's there." She looked up and scowled at Genma as he and Ranma bounced across the yard trading blows. "And he knows. He knows."

"I… don't know what you're talking about, dear," Kasumi said. She followed Rin's gaze and tried to see what Rin was seeing, to see what was upsetting her so much.

Rin shook her head again and stood. "That's okay… nobody does. Just… if you really do care about Ranma, find out whose job it is to ask the questions?" She scooped up a wayward volleyball that had been left by the back door and walked out onto the veranda.

"Rin…?" Kasumi watched her go, wondering what she was doing.

Rin felt the tears starting to flow now. Frustration and helplessness at not being able to find the words to make anyone understand the wrongness she saw - what she knew deep down to be true. She was stuck outside watching people hurt again and she hated it.

"Come on now, girl! I came here to train a man! You're letting that pathetic form get to you, boy! When did I raise such a pathetic, weak woman?" Genma taunted, dodging another swipe.

"I'm a guy, goddamnit!" Ranma snarled, aiming a kick at his midsection.

Rin knew no one else saw the slight dampness at the corners of her eyes, or heard the edge in her voice when she said that - the desperation.

Except him. He was the one who had done this, of that she was sure.

She waited until he turned and caught sight of her. It was the briefest of moments but it was all she needed to lock eyes with him and to make sure he saw her. She felt herself tremble with the frustration and more than a little rage.

"Ranma is a girl," she said. It was soft enough to miss but that's why she had waited, made sure he had seen her, seen her lips move so he could see the words. And she saw his eyes widen ever so slightly, just a trace of surprise, and she knew that he understood. He was the one with the mask.

Her father had told her not to do this. He had specifically forbade her. She tossed the volleyball in the air with her left hand, still holding Genma's gaze. She knew this was the wrong thing to do but she couldn't find the right thing, no matter how hard she tried. Maybe this would make it stop, if only for a little while.

Every since she had been eight years old she'd had to hold back when she hit the ball. There was a point where it just wasn't productive in a game of volleyball to hit the ball any harder. You just wrecked the ball and sometimes the floor or you could really hurt someone, and that was something Rin absolutely did not want to do. So she held back. Even when she had been showing off for Ranma, wanting to impress her, and had 'killed' the ball, she hadn't been hitting as hard as she could. She had promised she wouldn't.

She didn't hold anything back this time.

It hurt to hit the ball this hard. It made her arm ache for hours afterwards. But this time she didn't mind. She squeezed her eyes shut and screamed as she poured all of her helpless frustration into that ball.

Genma had a half second to realize he might be in trouble.

The impact was like a cannon retort. Genma's body was flung backwards like a ragdoll, curling around the point of impact as his 300 plus pound frame was tossed like a fly swatted by an angry god. He hit the concrete retaining wall around the yard and punched through it to leave him half buried in a pile of rubble on the far side with the shredded remains of a volleyball lying on his chest.

"Rin?! What the Hell!?" Ranma gawked at her. The redhead's eyes were wide, horrified.

Rin stood on the porch rubbing her sore arm. Angry, shameful tears ran down her cheeks, her head bowed she whispered, "I'm sorry, Senpai." She knew this was the part where Ranma would start hating her. She turned and ran back inside the house past a startled Kasumi and out the front door.

It's not right! It's not right! The phrase kept running through her head as she ran through the streets with no real idea of where she was going. I shouldn't have done that and it won't make it better but he did something that isn't right and no one else sees it and it's NOT RIGHT!

000

"Good news, she's at home," Sayuri said, hanging up the phone. "She must have run the whole way. Her Dad is wondering what's got her so upset but he said she wouldn't tell him anything."

Ranma sighed in relief. "I was afraid I was going to have to go out searching. Could have taken hours with the headstart she had and no telling what sort of trouble she could stumble into."

"You should know better than to bring such an unbalanced girl to the dojo. Think of the damage she could have caused!" Genma groused. His ribcage was developing quite the impressive circular bruise and one of the lenses in his glasses was cracked.

"Yes. Because we never have dangerous people causing property damage at the dojo," Nabiki quipped.

"I agree with Saotome," Soun said, folding his arms. "Martial Arts challenges are one thing but this was an unprovoked assault. Ranma, you need to find out what possessed that girl to do such a thing!"

"Errr… That isn't necessary, Tendo. I'm sure it was just a misunderstanding," Genma folded his arms stoically.

"I can guess," Ranma growled. "So what did you do to her, huh Pop?"

"I've never seen that girl before in my life!"

"She was here last week!"

"She actually seemed quite distressed about your treatment of Ranma, Mr. Saotome," Kasumi said quietly.

"What, our training banter? Ha ha!" He laughed and clapped Ranma on the back. "That's just a little back and forth to get us fired up, right boy?"

Ranma scowled at him. "You could tone it back when I've got people over! I mean, we were supposed to train for the volleyball match on Wednesday!"

Genma glared at him. "You don't need to train to smack around a ball with a bunch of girls, Ranma! And you especially shouldn't be neglecting your training in the Art for it! I think maybe you need a good long training journey to get your head straight!"

"Don't you ever listen? This is for the challenge I'm dealing with at school! You know, the whole 'We have to accept all challenges' thing?! I can't just pack up and leave!"

"Hmph! You need to straighten out your priorities, boy!"

"My priority is to not end up with a criminal record!"

"Sacrifices must be made for the Art, boy!"

Ranma finally lost patience with him. She drilled her fist right into his bruised ribs, causing him to double over with a pained wheeze, then grabbed his dogi and shoulder threw him out the door and into the pond.

"Why is it whenever you say that, I'm the one doing the sacrificing?!" she yelled, then sat back down and crossed her arms with a scowl.

"Well, not much point in this without Rin here," Sayuri sighed. "I'll try and call her later and see if I can work out what's got her so riled up." She bowed to Soun. "Thank you for the use of your Hall, Mr. Tendo. We appreciate the hospitality." She picked up the duffle bag that they had packed the new uniforms into and motioned for the other girls to join her. "See you at school tomorrow, Ranma, Nabiki, Ryouga?"

"Maybe next time we should grab Akane from Ucchan's first," Nabiki sighed, eyes flicking towards the pond.

A very damp panda tromped into the house, holding up a sign. Stupid boy! What did you do that for!?

"PMS?" Ranma inquired sweetly, batting her eyes. Soun choked on his tea.

The Panda narrowed his eyes. You joke, but mark my words, you keep this up and it'll be flower arranging and tea ceremonies!

"Yup, that urge for flower arranging is just overwhelming, right Sayuri?" Nabiki snarked.

"And tea ceremonies!" Yuka added. "If I don't get my tea ceremony fix, I get the shakes something terrible!"

Sayuri folded her arms. "It's not like us girls do anything else, right?" She glared at the Panda, who at least had the good sense to look slightly sheepish.

Not that I would know anything about it. Genma flipped his sign quickly.

"You'd think a married man who lived for a year in a house with three and a half girls would have picked up on something by now," Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "Or maybe that's really a note of longing behind this constant harping? Got a secret hankering for lilacs and herbal tea, Mr. Saotome?"

"Nabiki, that's quite enough!" Soun said gruffly.

"Father, I notice you're quite quick to defend Mr. Saotome when he is being taunted," Kasumi commented, sipping at her tea.

"Of course! Saotome is our honored guest, and it's my duty as his host…"

"I've not seen you extend the same courtesy to Ranma. Or our other guests. Particularly when Mr. Saotome is insulting towards our gender," Kasumi finished. She gave her father a searching look.

"I don't expect you to understand, Kasumi, but it's very important for… for…" He started to stammer as her gaze hardened. "I mean… a-a man… It's not intended as…" he withered further. "Ryouga, you're a man, help me out here!"

"Don't look at me, I do girly things like rhythmic gymnastics, remember?" Ryouga sipped his tea.

"Err…" Soun switched his gaze to Ranma. "Ranma!"

Ranma gave him a half-lidded glare and folded her arms across her well-formed chest to make it just that much more obvious how male she currently was not. "Really?"

"You don't actually mind all that banter, right? You and Saotome have been doing it for years! Ha ha… I remember some of the zingers he and I passed back and forth when we were training. Isn't that right, Saotome?" He laughed weakly.

"That's right, Tendo!" Genma chimed in, still steaming from the kettle of hot water he had poured over his head.

"Well, then you and Mr. Saotome shouldn't mind a little friendly ribbing from us then, should you?" Kasumi said.

"Well…" Soun started to sweat as it dawned on him that he'd completely lost control of the situation. "There is the matter of respecting one's elders…"

"Oh? I shall have to ask Elder Cologne if some of what I hear you and Mr. Saotome say about her qualifies. I fear my concept of it might be flawed and it might be good to get a second opinion, don't you think?" She smiled and cocked her head.

Soun swallowed. "... Kasumi, that's blackmail!"

"Then perhaps you should assist Mr. Saotome in cleaning up his language while he's a guest, hadn't you?" Kasumi said, with a truly uncharacteristic, dangerous note in her voice.

Soun looked up to see every female in the room glaring at him. He cleared his throat. "~Ahem~... yes… well… We can discuss it at dinner perhaps."

"Oh? What are we having?" Yuka asked and plunked back down at the table.

"Would it be all right if we stayed, Kasumi?" Sayuri asked. "I've got a sudden craving for your cooking."

"Oh my, that would be wonderful if you don't have any other plans?" Kasumi said, beaming.

Riko plunked down next to Yuka. "Not anymore we don't!"

They all smiled pleasantly at Soun, doing a fair impression of Kasumi's usual serene smile.

"Yes… well… " Soun cleared his throat then suddenly leapt to his feet. "Saotome, I think we should see what Nodoka is making tonight!"

"Capital plan Tendo! Let's…"

"Yes, we should…!"

They glanced at each other then scrambled over each other to evacuate the house.

"Don't stay up too late girls!" Soun called as the front door slammed open then closed behind them.

Yuka peered down the hallway and raised an eyebrow. She slowly sat up, stretched and said, "I don't know about you, but I'm feeling a sleepover."

"I'll call Rin and see if i can coax her into coming back over," Sayuri said as she hopped back up.

Seeing he was in danger of becoming the token male, Ryouga stood. "I… uhh… should probably get home…"

Nabiki reached up, grabbed his shirt and dragged him back down. "Oh no, you're staying too, Ryouga," she said sweetly. "You and I need to have a little chat, after all."

Ryouga swallowed hard.

000

"Ow… ow… ow…"

Ryouga winced as Nabiki dragged him to her room by the earlobe. Normally things like that wouldn't bother him overmuch but she had rather sharp nails and seemed to know a pressure point or two that she was using with ruthless efficiency.

She released him once they were finally inside and closed the door. "All right, Hibiki, have a seat," she motioned him towards the bed as she sat down smoothly on her desk chair and crossed her legs.

With a sigh, Ryouga trudged over to the bed and sat heavily. Western-style mattresses felt so weird to him even if that was the kind of bed he had at home. It was akin to sitting on a marshmallow. "Look, I can guess what this is going to be about."

"Normally, yes, and I'm sure I'd find it hilarious how off-base you were," she smirked. "But tonight we've got guests coming so I'm just going to make this quick. It's time for some ground rules, Hibiki."

"Look, there's nothing…"

"Hush," she said sharply and gave him a warning look. "I'm neither stupid nor my sister. I'm not here to accuse you of trying to seduce Ranma."

"Thank god," Ryouga slumped in relief.

"But I am aware that things are rapidly changing between you two, thanks to that link you've developed."

Ryouga stiffened again. "She told you about that, huh?"

Nabiki nodded then regarded him levelly. "I'm… going to try a different approach with this, Ryouga, and trust me when I tell you that if you breathe a word of any of this to anyone, the local butcher will be selling long pig and not know it." She glared at him until he swallowed nervously and bowed his head.

Nabiki took a deep breath. "All right. You know how I felt about Ranma before. He was a naive, chauvinistic, dumb jock who was good for extorting some pocket money out of. He also, for whatever unknown reason, seemed to make my sister happy when he could stop driving her into a murderous rage, so I tolerated his presence here. But I never liked him much. He was a target, not a person."

Ryouga raised an eyebrow. "What changed?"

Nabiki was thoughtful a moment. She closed her eyes and remembered the beach weekend and everything that happened. She smiled slightly. "I let him be a person for once. It was just to try and keep him in line so I could enjoy my weekend - make him a partner in crime and maybe give him a chance to unwind. I figured he'd stumble over a girl, make an idiot of himself like he normally does, and I'd be there watching from my beach chair as he ran past being chased by a horde of angry boyfriends or something."

"That didn't happen?" Ryouga asked, incredulous.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow, leaning in closer to him. "You know better than that, Hibiki, don't you?"

Ryouga smirked, enjoying having a few cards to show yet. "Maybe, but this is your story, right?"

Nabiki quirked a grin of her own, giving him a nod of respect. "Yes, that's not what happened. Turns out Ranma barely knows the first thing about being sociable, much less meeting girls. So I let him hang around at first. We did the boyfriend/girlfriend cover story to keep the creeps off… which didn't work. Then Ranma... convinced the creeps to back off and it ended up being our ticket to hang out with some college kids, which was exactly what I was looking for. So, Ranma got dragged along and I ended up doing something I had never tried before. I talked to him."

She smiled as the memories filtered through. "It was perhaps the worst thing I could have done. That's what gets you with Ranma - you get a glimpse of what he is past all the machismo and the dumb stereotypes. You realize he's never really had anything… just dribbles and drips. He's had so little human contact outside of his father - a brief friendship every four years or so or a chance to experience something outside the Art. And it makes you want to show him. It reminds you just how amazing something simple like an ice cream cone can be or being able to sit around the campfire with some new people and tell jokes, or what it's like to flirt with someone without it having to be anything more than that. And I watched him… unfold. It's like… seeing an abused dog who has been kicked and beaten and starved and abandoned, and still it wags its tail when it sees you because, after all of that, it's still good and kind and just wants to be loved. And you realize he'll do anything for you if you give him just a little." She laughed and shook her head. "I fell hard. I fell hard and I wanted to run away with him and just never come home. And I'm still not sure that if I could do it again I wouldn't do exactly that."

"Why didn't you?" Ryouga asked. His voice was low, quiet, contemplative.

Has that thought occurred to you yet, I wonder? she thought. "Because I was in denial. Because he was making everything I believed about myself out to be a lie. And because I found out why the fiancee mess has never been resolved."

"There's a reason?"

"Ranma didn't quite grasp it consciously, but… what happens if one girl wins him?"

Ryouga scoffed. "She goes back to China, or works as an Okonomiyaki waitress, or inherits the Tendo Dojo."

Nabiki wagged a finger at him. "You're making the same mistake everyone else does. You're thinking about the winners. But for every winner there's going to be at least two losers. A girl who gave up her identity and gender and was shunned by everyone to finally find someone she could love, only to have him taken away. A girl who can never return to her own people, her future forsaken and her honor in tatters. A girl who will be left fighting the world alone without someone who understands her."

"A girl who goes through life as a mercenary?" He asked. It wasn't a quip, there was something in his eyes that told her he understood, at least a little.

"I think I could have survived without him at that point. Akane… Akane figures I was already lost by then." She smiled a little, remembering that conversation with her little sister. "But I saw right away what Ranma was doing. If he picked a winner, two others lost. If he didn't pick a winner things would stay the same and he'd suffer. So… he suffered." She folded her arms across her chest. "I don't think it was altruism, really… it was instinctive. He was trying to protect them."

"So… you organized them into a harem for him?" Ryouga asked skeptically.

Nabiki chuckled. "No, I just tried to map out a way to defuse their bad ends so he could actually pick one. Apparently Shampoo had a similar idea before me and the harem was her solution. And before I could think of anything better, Himura made a united front seem like a good idea."

"And you're okay with that? And the rest are too?" Ryouga scowled. "No weird Amazon potions or magic trinkets involved?"

"Fair question. None that I've discovered. I think the other girls were sensing what Ranma was sensing about their situation and there had been a year for the animosity to wear thin and for them to realize they had more in common than not. If it wasn't for Ranma getting between them they'd have become the best of friends ages ago, just because they're three of a kind in so many ways. Well… that and Shampoo is apparently a bit pervy and this isn't really Ranma's harem, he just gets to be part of it."

Ryouga blinked, parsed that, then quickly accepted the box of tissues Nabiki had already held out to him, stuffing a wad of tissues into his nose.

"You're going to die of blood loss at this rate, Hibiki," Nabiki noted playfully.

"So what about you?" Ryouga asked. "I thought you weren't that invested? Why are you in this mess?"

"Maybe Ranma just pulled me in that fast," Nabiki gave him a wry smile. "And maybe you should be very careful yourself. Or maybe that's a good reason to be reckless?" She winked, making Ryouga wince and reach for more tissues as he started to overwhelm his current handful. "But… it's more than that. Nerima is a huge, chaotic mess. The fact it's still standing…well, mostly standing… is no small miracle. Each individual here has such incredible potential. The more I look the more I find, even among those I always pegged as ordinary students." She let a little of her enthusiasm show through. "Something like this… getting all of these people together on the same page? It means something. It's important. I don't know why or how yet, but… I want this to work." She gave him a searching look. "I love Ranma. I would do… I think I really would do anything for him right now. But I'm not doing this for him - not just for him. I'm doing this because this is the ground floor of something amazing."

"That's still… I mean… you're okay with sharing him?" he seemed skeptical, though he had his reaction to the concept under enough control to ask.

"I went into this knowing I pretty much had no hope of getting him all to myself," Nabiki admitted. "I'd already fallen for him and I was ready to give him up - just to try and make things better. Because I knew that if I didn't, I'd never be able to live with myself. Ranma Saotome cursed me with a conscience." She laughed dryly. "Yes. I'm okay with this. I'm even starting to look forward to what it might be. Something in me likes doing things in a way everyone says will fail, just because they assume it must." She looked over at him. "Which brings us to you, I guess."

"Because I'm threatening to screw all that up," Ryouga said quietly, lowering the tissues and sniffling a bit.

"I don't know. Are you?" Nabiki asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No!" Ryouga said fiercely. "I don't…" He took a deep breath. "I've… when Ranma talks about you… you and Akane in particular… It's… her feelings about you are blinding. It's hard to begrudge someone who feels something like that for someone else. It's impossible to hate them."

"Easy to love them though?" Nabiki asked softly.

"I'm not in love with Ranma Saotome," Ryouga said firmly.

"But how you feel has changed radically over the past weekend, just because of the link," Nabiki continued. "And you need the link and Ranma to cure your directional curse. How much more are your feelings going to change?" Her eyes narrowed. "Don't think I haven't noticed you have exclusively referred to Ranma as female since then, 'Ryo'."

Ryouga winced but Nabiki noticed he didn't look guilty. In fact his jaw seemed to tighten. Was that a conscious choice?

Nabiki sighed then steepled her fingers. "I'm not going to push, Ryouga. I'm not going to assume I know where things are going with you and Ranma. I don't want to make this just another version of all the conflict that screwed things up so much before. I also don't want this to crash and burn, because…" He closed her eyes. "... I've got that feeling again. That this is important. Do you understand?"

The tightness of Ryouga's jaw eased, replaced with mild confusion. "Important?"

Nabiki looked down. "You're… tapped into something in Ranma that none of us knew was there. You have a connection with Ranma that… that I wish I had. But instead of being jealous and possessive and destructive about this I'm trying very hard to make this work too. I need to know that you'll meet me halfway. That if… if something happens, that you'll come to me and let me know? That you'll tell me if there is something from us that he… she… needs."

Ryouga was silent a moment. He wrung his hands slowly in his lap, deep in thought. "I didn't intend for this to happen," He said finally.

"I know," Nabiki smiled gently.

"I don't intend for it to go further. I just… want to get my life back on track and leave Ranma to hers."

"I know," Nabiki replied again, more softly.

Ryouga's jaw muscles twitched. "This isn't like what happened to you."

"It's confusing and frustrating and embarrassing and it's messing with all your safe preconceptions and it involves Ranma, who you used to not like very much." She 'tch'd' and shrugged. "Seems pretty similar to me." She held out her hand. "Truce?"

He looked at her hand skeptically. "We were never at war."

"Allies in trying to get through this nonsense sane then."

He chuckled a bit at that. He hesitated, then took her hand and shook it. "All right. Allies in a hopeless cause then."

"Good." She paused a moment, considering something. "Speaking of tea ceremonies, remind me to show you a little tea shop I found. I think you might find it pleasant…"

000

With the fathers having evacuated, Kasumi and most of the other girls split up on various tasks. Now that Kasumi had a much larger group to feed, a trip to the grocery store was in order. Riko was insistent on picking up snacks as well. Sayuri had already departed to fetch Rin (who had reluctantly agreed to return) and both the Ucchan's and Nekohanten had been called to offer invites.

Ranma had changed into her usual chinese shirt and pants and was cleaning up the worst of the rubble from the broken wall when she noticed a mop of dirty blonde hair peek around the edge of the hole, wide green eyes staring.

"Did I do that…?" She asked in a tiny, terrified voice.

Ranma smiled and put down the broom. "Yeah. Pretty cool, huh?"

Rin jumped through the hole and then dropped to her hands and knees, bowing her head. "I'msosorryIdidn'tmeantohititthathardwellIdidbutIdidn'tknowitwoulddoTHISandI'llpaytofixitIswearandPLEASEFORGIVEME!"

Sayuri poked her head through the wall, smiled and nodded. "I'll… uhh, go around to the door and leave you two to talk," she said.

Ranma nodded then knelt down. "Rin? You can stand up, Rin. You're not in trouble."

Rin hunched a little more. "But I knew it was wrong!"

"Yeah, well, I do that all the time. I also knock the old man through the wall all the time," she patted the top of Rin's head.

Rin looked up and sniffled. "Really?"

Ranma helped the girl to her feet and immediately found herself the victim of a fierce hug.

"H-hey…" Ranma said a little nervously though she patted Rin's head affectionately again. "Careful with that. People get the wrong idea about that sort of thing."

"Not into girls," Rin replied, muffled in Ranma's shirt.

"Yeah, you might have said that, but a lot of people don't see me as a girl," Ranma replied.

Rin sniffed and stepped away, her head still bowed. "I… I know that probably makes you upset, senpai," she said softly. "How I keep saying that you're a girl…"

Ranma looked away thoughtfully and considered that. A year ago? Six months ago? She'd have been howling that she was 100% guy. Even after she started to use her girl form to scam sweets or manipulate Ryouga or otherwise try and play the girl to trick her opponents or get into a place she couldn't normally go, it was a mantra that she repeated in her head constantly, like a vaccine.

Until Jusendo, she thought. Seeing the training grounds flooded like that, all of the springs ruined along with any chance of a cure, just drove home the fact that… she didn't really care. The idea of curing the curse - of not being a girl sometimes - had become abstract and alien.

And then… what about Akane? Akane loved her as a female, even if she had accepted her male side.

And then… Ryouga? She shivered a bit. She still wasn't quite ready to process that, but the fact it was there meant…

Maybe this wasn't something she could win by fighting.

"Nah," Ranma said finally. She turned back to Rin and gave her a small smile. "I think… I'm gonna have to accept that. If I'm gonna choose to live like this." She gestured at herself. "I gotta learn it's okay that for some people I'm a girl with a guy curse. Maybe… even that that's not really so wrong, anyway."

Rin fidgeted. "I… didn't see it as a choice. It's just how senpai is."

Ranma gave her a confused look.

Rin sighed. "It's hard to put it in words. But my Dad said it's never okay to judge people for what they are or where they were born or the things they can't control about themselves. You have to judge them by their choices." She bit her lower lip. "Senpai doesn't have a choice about what she is. That's… that's why your Dad being so mean to you about it made me mad."

Ranma shrugged. "That's just Pops. He's been doing that since before the curse. Part of trying to make sure I grew up into a 'manly man'."

"It's still wrong!" Rin said firmly, her jaw setting with surprising determination. "And if I see him do it again I'm… I'm gonna thunderbolt him again!" She stomped her foot and folded her arms.

"I can take it, Rin," Ranma winked and flexed her arm. "I'm pretty strong."

Rin nodded. "Senpai is the strongest person I know. Not just the martial arts, either! You… you don't give up, ever! That's why you're senpai. That's why… that's why I want to be like you! But… that doesn't make it okay. Senpai wouldn't stand for someone bullying someone else and so I won't either!" She ducked her head nervously. "B-besides… just because senpai is strong doesn't mean senpai can't be hurt. Nobody should choose to hurt someone they care about like he does."

Ranma smirked. "You know what? You feel the need to Thunderbolt Pops, do it. It's not like he hasn't pretty much always got it coming for something."

Rin nodded once brightly then looked hesitant again as she glanced at the house. "Is… is it okay for me to be here? I mean… I know senpai's Dad was a friend of Mr. Tendo and I made a hole in the wall and… and I was kinda mean to Kasumi even though she was nice…"

Ranma patted her on the shoulder. "You're fine, Rin. I think you actually kinda inspired Kasumi. Lemme tell you about what happened after you left." She gently steered the girl back towards the house.

000

People started to trickle back for the impromptu party. Rin apologized tearfully to Kasumi when the older girl returned which led to Kasumi hugging her and a lot of reassurance back and forth, including Kasumi thanking Rin for waking her up to a growing problem in the household. Eventually Rin settled happily into helping in the kitchen and bestowing the title of 'Oneechan' on Kasumi, which the eldest Tendo seemed more than happy to accept. Akane and Ukyou arrived at about the same time and Akane excitedly presented some of her early attempts at Okonomiyaki. After proudly proving they were non-toxic by tasting one herself, the others tried them in turn and declared them surprisingly edible if not quite up to Ucchan's standards.

"They're not sellable yet, Akane," Ukyou qualified, trying to take the sting out of the judgement. "But your prep is spot on and you've even got your pour down. It's just a matter of technique now."

Ranma simply stared at the plate like it was some kind of incomprehensible matrix in non-euclidean geometry. "How…?"

"I know I've got a long way to go, but… I'm pretty proud of it, actually," Akane said shyly.

"It's actually pretty good!" Riko said.

"Maybe we should kick out our home ec teacher and get Ukyou to run the class," Sayuri joked, chewing thoughtfully.

"Maybe we should kick out our home ec teacher because she's a headcase," Yuka replied. "All she does in class is talk about how we have to make ourselves 'in tune with the feelings of the food' and then pop valium when she doesn't think we're looking."

"How…?" Ranma repeated, staring at the plate dumbfounded.

"Ranma, you don't have to exaggerate that much," Akane groused.

"You are being kind of dramatic, Ranma," Ryouga said, leaning against the wall a few feet away. He had been staying to the edge of the conversation for the most part.

"I don't need you defending me anymore, Hibiki," Akane growled at him.

Ryouga shot her a smirk. "Wouldn't dream of it, Tendo."

Ranma finally overcame her stunned paralysis and grabbed Ukyou by the shoulders. "Ukyou, don't you understand what you've done!? This is food! You allowed Akane in a kitchen, and she came out with food on the plate! Actual, edible food! You've broken the curse! I could kiss you!"

Ukyou raised an eyebrow and blushed a little. "No one's stopping you, sugar."

Ranma blinked, considered then grabbed both sides of Ukyou's face and pulled her in for a sudden, deep and very passionate kiss.

"Hey!" Akane stomped as Ukyou got rewarded for her hard work.

There was a heavy ~thump~ from Ryouga's direction, like a body hitting the ground.

Ukyou, for her part, was not objecting as she recovered from her surprise. She did seem to wobble a bit as Ranma released her and her eyes were a bit glassy. "Oh…" she managed to say, though language was something that eluded her for the moment.

"Ranma, that's not fair!" Akane continued to complain and turned to glare at the redhead, ready to chew her out thoroughly for giving Ukyou all the credit.

Naturally her defences were completely down when Ranma chose to give her an equally enthusiastic kiss.

"Mmmph!?" Akane initially protested when Ranma cupped her face and claimed her lips. But very quickly her eyes glazed over and then slid shut as she melted into the kiss.

Ranma pulled back then excitedly snatched up the plate with the half-eaten okonomiyaki. "I gotta show this to Kasumi! She's gonna be so proud of you guys!" She gave them each a final peck on the cheek and bounded into the kitchen.

Sayuri and Riko blinked owlishly.

"So…" Sayuri said, still trying to reconcile what she had just seen with what her brain insisted should have happened. "That happened…"

"I guess things really are different now," Riko said. "At least… Ranma's not bashful about it?"

"Ryouga's dead," Yuka called casually from the back of the group, nudging the body of the unconscious Lost Boy with her foot.

Ranma ended up getting conscripted for kitchen duty. Akane and Ukyou seemed very eager to cook as well but there simply wasn't room in the small kitchen and so they were left to move the TV and stand into the dojo, the only place large enough to ensure they had enough room. Nabiki took pity on Ryouga and dragged him off to an out-of-the-way corner of the room and helped clean him up. This put her in a position to answer the door when there was a knock.

"I guess Shampoo has finally figured out this 'door' thing," Nabiki said as she walked to the front door and slid it open. But instead of the bubbly Chinese Amazon, she was greeted by the faces of Hiroshi and Daisuke.

"Hey boss. Sorry for the in-person visit," Hiroshi said, holding up a hand in greeting. "But this seemed like something you'd want to know about ASAP."

"Himura's up to something new?" Nabiki asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not Himura. Far as we can tell she's not even aware of this one yet," Daisuke said. "This one has to do with Kodachi Kuno."

"We figured she'd qualify for your 'persons of interest' list, even if she isn't technically on it yet," Hiroshi finished.

"Kodachi is up to something?" Nabiki sighed. Stupid stupid STUPID! I should have expected her to start scheming after this weekend! "What have you got?"

Daisuke opened his mouth to answer but was interrupted by the ringing of a bicycle bell. From above.

Hiroshi hopped back as Shampoo's bike plowed Daisuke into the ground. Shampoo blinked and peered at the crumpled form under her tires. "Why boy get in way of Shampoo's bike?"

Nabiki sighed. "It would happen less if you kept your bike on the ground, Shampoo."

"Why do that? Not be able to use rooftops." Shampoo hopped off her bike and immediately glomped Nabiki. It had become the Amazon's habit to glomp whichever of the fiancees she spotted first. Of course Nabiki was the first to figure out the best way to escape a glomp was simply to return it and she immediately hugged back. It wasn't exactly unpleasant after all. Shampoo smelled nice and she had a talent for fitting herself against someone and squirming in just such a way that it made Nabiki wonder if her heterosexuality being fatally compromised wasn't just Ranma's fault.

The look of profound envy on Hiroshi's face was pretty amusing as well.

"Thank you for inviting Shampoo," the Amazon purred. She noticed even after Shampoo relaxed the deathgrip her hugs were getting steadily longer. "Airen inside?"

"Yup. She's helping Kasumi in the kitchen," Nabiki raised an eyebrow. Is she actually… purring?

"Good. Should go. Stupid Mousse follow, should get inside before…"

"I'm coming my Darling Shampoo!"

"Tā mā de," Shampoo muttered. She looked up at Nabiki, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. "Nabiki forgive Shampoo, yes?"

Nabiki quirked an eyebrow. "Forgive you? For what?"

"This." She slid her arms around Nabiki's neck, leaned up and kissed her full on the mouth.

There was a loud crash as Mousse's graceful, almost swanlike landing was instantly transformed into a graceless, albatross-like faceplant.

Nabiki immediately realized what Shampoo was doing. She could have played along. She could have shot Shampoo out of the water. But she didn't really want to do either of those things. What she decided to do was to educate Shampoo that if she was going to do something like this, she had better mean it.

She slid her arms around her, one slipping to the small of her back, the other moving to tangle in the Amazon's hair. Shampoo had already subtly started to lean back to break the kiss, likely to admonish Mousse, and was unprepared when Nabiki began kissing her back, tangling her up in her arms. The Amazon made a small, unintentionally cute squeak and her eyes opened in surprise.

And then… she surrendered to the kiss. Her initial squeak was replaced with a small, delectable moan, short and muffled as she seemed to melt in against Nabiki, offering no resistance. If Nabiki had been thinking rationally she would have realized this was the ideal time to break the kiss - to leave Shampoo wanting more - but something had been flipped on for her as well and suddenly power plays and shows of dominance were the furthest things from her mind. Instead, occupying her thoughts were those little moans and sighs and how best to elicit more of them as her hands started to roam. Shampoo was different from Ranma's female form… her feel... her smell... her taste… soft but with iron beneath. Shampoo could snap her like a twig but was submitting to her willingly and even eagerly. The mix was intoxicating.

If they hadn't needed to pause to breathe it would have gone further, Nabiki was certain. As they parted just enough for air it was enough to break whatever spell had formed and for a little sanity and situational awareness to seep back in. They stared into each other's eyes for a moment, wide-eyed and stunned, almost afraid to move.

"W-wǒ shǔyú nǐ…" Shampoo said, almost too softly to hear. Her eyes were still glassy and unfocused, her lips slightly parted in invitation, her chest heaving and causing some very distracting sensations against Nabiki's own.

Nabiki wanted to kiss her again. Nabiki wanted to pick her up, carry her to her room and do things that she hadn't even done with Ranma yet, and that she knew neither of them was ready for. She took a slow, shuddering breath, tried to get her heart-rate under control and to keep her hormones from overwhelming her better judgement. She closed her eyes and took one final, deep breath. "Maybe when we're ready for that, kitten…" she replied softly.

Shampoo shuddered in her arms as her eyes cleared. She blushed a little and her arms loosened but she didn't pull away. Nabiki followed suit. It was so hard to pull back. She was absolutely certain her dreams that night were going to be vivid and entirely focused around the Amazon - possibly for several nights.

"S-stupid Mousse!" Shampoo turned shakily to pick up her original plan. "No should interrupt bonding between…" she trailed off as she noticed that all three of the males, Mousse, Hiroshi and Daisuke were out cold. Though, to be fair, Daisuke was likely that way before the kiss. Mousse and Hiroshi, however, showed plenty of evidence that their condition was caused by blood loss. "... Sisters?"

"We should probably bring them inside," Nabiki sighed. "The neighbors complain when we leave bodies on the front porch."

000

After learning of the boys' plight, Kasumi insisted that they stay for dinner as well - an offer none of them were inclined to argue. Hiroshi and Mousse were still a little pale, with tissues jammed in each nostril, and Daisuke had an ice pack to his head.

"... You should have woken me up," Daisuke said finally.

"You were out cold!" Hiroshi protested.

"You should have tried!"

"I kind of had other things occupying my attention!"

Yuka bapped them both across the back of their heads with a paper fan. "Stop being perverts. We're not here for you to leer at."

"No one is leering at you, Yuka," Daisuke muttered, earning another bap.

Mousse and Ryouga were both stoically silent. Mousse was watching Shampoo in quiet misery while Ryouga was trying his best not to look too long at anyone.

Shampoo was uncharacteristically subdued, as was Nabiki. Shampoo had chosen to sit next to Nabiki rather than Ranma and the two of them occasionally snuck glances at each other, until the one would notice the other looking and suddenly the wood grain of the table or the patterns on the ceiling became fascinating.

Ranma was sandwiched between Ukyou and Akane, who were both in tremendously good moods thanks to the okonomiyaki success, and were working in surprising harmony to feed morsels to Ranma with such enthusiasm that Ranma had been forced to simply put down her chopsticks and let them feed her, blushing the whole time.

Sayuri and Riko were in an animated discussion about which of the movies they had brought to play first. Yuka was peripherally part of the conversation but seemed distracted by the need to admonish the boys. Rin was sitting very still, flushed and seemed to be trying very hard not to get caught looking in the direction of a certain Chinese Amazon weaponmaster. She seemed oddly torn, her expression shifting from goofy glee to concern and back as she wrestled with some internal dilemma.

"I notice that Mousse has you somewhat distracted, Rin," Kasumi said softly as she leaned over towards the younger girl.

"Yes! No! Maybe?" Rin mumbled, fidgeting and blushing harder when she realized she'd been caught. When she spoke again the words came tumbling out so fast that Kasumi could barely keep up. "He'ssoprettyandIknowit'swrongtobaseanopiniononsomeonejustonlooksbutIcan'thelpitbuthe'salsonicetooandhe'sfromthecircusandhedoesmartialartsandeverytimeItalkwithhimmybrainfallsoutsoIwasjustgonnalookbutheseemssoSADandIwannahughimbutthenI'djustDIEand…"

"Rin… Rin," Kasumi gently shook her by the shoulder. "Breathe. One thought at a time."

Rin whimpered. "I get this way when I get too excited," she sniffed. "He's… I've never met anyone like him. Not even senpai. And he's nice and I wanna talk to him, but…" She squirmed. "I get overloaded and kind of shut down and go on autopilot and I never say the stuff I want to. And… and now he's sad and I want to ask why, but…"

Kasumi patted her hand. "I think I might have something that could help you. I'll give it to you after dinner, all right?"

Rin blinked. "I… really, I wouldn't feel right involving you in my problem Oneechan…"

Kasumi raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you ask me to find out who's job it was to ask the questions when something was wrong?" She squeezed the girl's hand. "Thank you for reminding me. And now that I know the answer, I'm asking for you. Do you want help with this?"

Rin ducked her head and blushed. "Yes, please," she said in a very small voice.

000

Sheepishly, Rin followed Kasumi upstairs to the eldest Tendo's room. There was always that awkwardness that came from being in someone else's house and Rin got the impression that that even family members seldom entered Kasumi's room. It had an aura of serenity that didn't seem to be found anywhere else on the grounds.

Kasumi walked over to a small jewelry box on the dresser and opened it. She pulled out a smooth, flattish stone, oval and the perfect size to sit comfortably in the crook of the thumb and forefinger. Rin thought it might be an amethyst from the deep purple hues shown as the light played across its translucent surface. Kasumi walked back to Rin with a smile and placed the stone in her hand.

"This is my Worry Stone," Kasumi said. "When I was little my mother gave this to me as it was given to her. It originally came from America and she was told that it was very old, from a time even before the European settlers had arrived. Whenever things became too hard to handle, I would hold it in my hand, rub my thumb against it gently, and it would give me the peace to help deal with my problems."

Rin examined the stone curiously. One side was slightly indented, making a place her thumb could rest comfortably, and it was perfectly smooth; weathered that way rather than by artificial grinding. The other side bore an engraved symbol - some sort of bird above a round icon that she assumed to be the sun. "I… I can't accept this! It's precious!"

Kasumi took her hand and closed it around the stone. "I don't need it anymore. My mother told me that this stone is not a keepsake, but is to be passed to someone who needs it when I feel the time is right and I am to tell them they are to pass it along when they no longer need it. Until then it will always find its way back to you." She smiled. "I used to carry it in my pocket when I was in school. I lost it so many times, but somehow it was always there after, so… perhaps there is some truth to that? Keep it and pass it on when you no longer need it. That's what keeps the magic alive."

"R-really?" Rin stared at the stone incredulously.

"That's what she told me, and that's what she said the man who gave it to her told her. And it's always made me feel better so I hope it does the same for you." Kasumi smiled and gave the diminutive blond a reassuring pat. "Take good care of it for me."

Rin touched the stone reverently then nodded. "I-I will, Oneechan!"

Kasumi's smile widened and she ruffled Rin's hair. "I know you will. You always take such good care of others. But remember - that stone is for taking care of you."

Rin nodded and turned to head out of the room, still fondling the stone. She rubbed it between her fingers, deep in thought. It felt nice - smooth but not slippery - and was slightly cool to the touch. She held it in the crook of her finger and thumb and slid her thumb against the smooth indentation. She could feel the carving on the other side, pressed against her fingers.

She didn't notice that she had reached the bottom of the stairs until she ran out of steps and almost stumbled. She looked up and walked around to the main room where everyone was still cleaning up after the meal.

Well, most of them. A few people were missing, either helping to set up the dojo, helping out elsewhere, or perhaps had snuck off to avoid extra work. Rin blushed slightly, realizing she technically qualified for the latter. She'd opened her mouth to offer to help when she looked past the table, through the doors and outside, at the solitary figure sitting on a rock next to the koi pond.

She swallowed mightily. She almost turned away to offer to help with cleanup again, but her fingers curled more tightly around the worry stone. She stared at it for a moment, then slipped it into her pocket and walked slowly out the sliding doors into the yard.

Mousse was sitting in a lotus position on the rock, arms tucked into the sleeves of his robe, glasses pushed up on top of his head, his eyes closed. His face was still, but there was subtle play of emotions across his features, hinting that he was wrestling with something emotionally. Rin crept closer, curiosity overcoming her hesitation and shyness.

Mousse sighed, causing her to freeze. For a moment, she thought it was just an involuntary reaction, but then he spoke.

"You thought you could sneak up on me, didn't you Saotome?" Mousse said, eyes still closed, his posture unchanged. "But your footfalls are distinctive because they're lighter than anyone else's here. I don't know why you've chosen to try a sneak attack, but I guarantee you're about to regret it."

Rin stammered but she couldn't make her lungs work to draw in air to tell him she wasn't Ranma. The best she could manage was a strangled whimper.

"I say again, and for the last time… Ranma Saotome prepare to die!" Mousse suddenly spun, claws popping out of the sleeves of his robes as he coiled to leap at his foe, aquamarine eyes flashing with rage.

Then he paused, sensing something wasn't right. He reached up and flicked his glasses down, then leaned in and peered. "Wait…"

Rin made another strangled whimper.

Mousse's eyes widened. "Oh! Ms. Rin! I forgot you were here! I didn't account for that, I'm sorry!" The claws snapped back into hiding and he stepped back, looking mortified.

Rin trembled, swallowed and clutched the worry stone in her pocket so tightly she was afraid it might snap in two. She hiccuped a few times, trying to draw in the breath for a scream, but by the time she could the moment had passed. She considered it anyway.

Mousse could see the panic in her eyes and he gestured frantically, looking about in panic. "I didn't mean…! I… ummm…!" Desperate, he decided to fall back on his old circus training. He extended his hand and performed one of the first magic tricks he'd learned, making a bouquet of paper flowers appear in his hand with a puff of pink smoke.

Rin blinked owlishly at the bouquet then at him. Then, mercifully, she giggled.

Mousse smiled in relief, shoulders sagging.

Rin clutched her worry stone and rubbed her thumb against it, feeling the tension bleed away. It really did work. "That's an amazing trick! Did you learn that in the circus?" She accepted the bouquet and blushed as she noticed the flowers were all quite intricately made.

Mousse had been saving that bouquet for Shampoo but he considered it a fair penalty for his hasty actions. He reminded himself that he needed to be more careful around so many non martial artists. "Yes. I developed my art from the things I learned in the circus. Sleight-of-hand, blindfolded knife throwing, strong man lifting, cotton candy making…"

"Cotton candy making…?"

"You would be astonished how many applications I've found for that," he smiled again. He wasn't usually much of one for smiling but this girl was genuinely pleasant. Not many people took an interest in him or his skills unless it was to make fun of them. He was reminded of some of the happier days with the circus when people used to be enthralled by his tricks. "Is there something I can help you with?"

Rin blushed. She hugged the bouquet a little tighter, tucking her head and hiding her face behind it. "I… I… You just… You…" She swallowed, gripped her worry stone tighter and blurted it out. "YoulookedsadandIwantedtohelp!"

Mousse blinked. "Oh." In truth, he had been pondering what he had always been pondering; the Shampoo Problem. He typically spent many hours in quiet contemplation of that, trying to come up with the correct thing to say or do. It rarely mattered since as soon as he was in her presence he got so flustered that he typically regressed to jabbering idiocy or irrational rage towards his perceived rivals. He hadn't realized his emotions had been so plainly visible, though.

Of course today was worse than usual, Mousse thought glumly. "It's… it's nothing new. I'm sure anyone could tell you about it. Thank you for your concern," he bowed slightly then returned to his rock and settled back down to close his eyes.

The Ranma problem was easy. Ranma was loud, brash, arrogant and an Outsider. Mousse had always operated assuming that Shampoo's devotion to him was a mix of devotion to the laws of their people and some kind of odd infatuation with the boy because he was so different from anyone else in the village. Mousse just needed to show Shampoo that Ranma was unworthy of her. What better way than for him, someone Shampoo had no respect for, to defeat him? No law was absolute and if Shampoo decided that Ranma was truly unworthy, Cologne could undoubtedly find a way to get her out of the Kiss of Marriage.

Not that Mousse had much love for Amazon laws or traditions. They were the very same things that had threatened to crush him his entire life. But maybe… maybe she'd understand. Maybe if she was forced to see someone else in a way other than what the law dictated she could start to do the same for him.

But now?

Bonding between Sisters was nothing new to the Amazons. It forged strong connections between warriors and blunted the natural rivalries between them. It provided a more positive outlet for the natural passions and drives of Joketsuzoku women that the more passive males typically couldn't. It was a deeply ingrained part of their society and not one any male would ever deign to interfere in, even one so rebellious as Mousse.

But… to take an Outsider as a Sister? Not just to invite them into the tribe, but… to seek those kinds of bonds with them? And to do so with one who wasn't even a warrior, like Nabiki Tendo?

He had been wrong. Shampoo was already beyond what the laws dictated. If she had chosen Nabiki… and from the rather devastating feeling the two had shown in that kiss he had no reason to doubt that… Then Shampoo was already beyond the laws.

If Shampoo was following the dictates of her heart and not the laws, if she would do something so far outside of what their culture normally accepted, if she had formed such strong bonds with these Outsiders and still showed him nothing but contempt… the thought was unbearable!

He realized then that Rin Ito was still there. He glanced too see her still looking uncertain. Was he really so intimidating to Outsiders who weren't martial artists? "Is… something wrong?"

Rin closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Could… could I hear it from you?" Within the confines of her pocket she was rubbing the worry stone frantically.

"Hear what?" He cocked his head.

"Iwanttohearyourstoryfromyou!"

Moussed blinked, momentarily unsure how to respond.

"I… I could hear your story from s-someone else but then… then it wouldn't be y-your story." She squirmed a bit, unable to look directly at him. Her agitation and nervousness only increased as the moments passed.

Finally she lost her nerve. "I-I… I'll just go and stop disturbing you…" Red in the face she turned to bolt for the relative safety of the house.

"All right," Mousse said.

"Hiii!?" Rin squeaked as she turned back stiffly.

Mouse smiled and pushed his glasses back up on his nose. After a moment's fiddling, he gave up and just pushed the uncomfortable things back up onto his forehead. He didn't need to be able to see for this anyway. "I'm not much of a storyteller and I fear that my story isn't all that interesting, but I'll tell you, if you really want to know."

Rin swallowed. She slowly walked back over to the edge of the pond, found a stone to sit on and clutched the bouquet in her lap.

"My story starts in China, in the village of the Joketsuzoku, or what most here call 'Chinese Amazons'. In my village, unlike the rest of China or even Japan, women are dominant and men are subservient. The elders say this is just proof of how backwards the rest of the world is. I don't particularly see the difference; the strong rule the weak. It's just that in our village the women are the strong ones. But even among the men of our village I was considered pathetic. My eyesight made me clumsy, slow and made it hard to learn things. None of the usual herbal remedies or traditional medicines worked so my parents had to rely on Outsider medicine to allow me to see." He tapped his glasses. "It worked, but… it marked me. I was either the clumsy boy who squinted and mistook people or the boy who wore Outsider contrivances on his face. Neither made me very popular."

"I grew up with Shampoo, and… she was everything I admired. Strong… confident… skillful. I desperately wanted her to accept me. I think… she was the tribe to me. Of course… she wanted nothing to do with me. I was pathetic." He slumped a little at the memory. "After a time I couldn't deal with it anymore and ran away from home. I couldn't imagine living my life with no hope of ever being anything more to Shampoo… or anyone else. So I ran… not to get away, but to find something that would make me worthwhile and then to return."

"I had started training to fight even though it's forbidden for Joketsuzoku men. When they demanded that I stop, I fled. I eventually fell in with a travelling circus." He smiled a bit. "The ringmaster was Korean, named Byungchul, and had gathered performers from all over Asia and even beyond. Some were misfits like me, some were born into performing and others were just travellers who were on the same road. At first I thought I'd stay with them a short while to earn my way somewhere I could train. But I quickly realized there was more I could learn from them than I could from any martial arts master."

"It was… hard at first. Circus folk do not trust outsiders easily. I had to prove that I was willing to work and was dedicated to my tasks. But… they treated me fairly and when they did accept me, I was accepted as family. That was… that was new for me. My own parents had always been kind… my mother still writes me and they supported me even when I chose to go against tradition. But to have a whole community behind me felt… It felt nice. Several of their star performers took me under their wings, including a magician from Britain who taught me the art of magic, concealment, manipulation and sleight-of-hand, and a blind knife thrower from Vietnam who taught me that marksmanship is not something that comes from good eyesight. I felt… accepted. But…" He shook his head. "I never really belonged, though not from lack of trying on their parts. So… when I heard that Shampoo was in Japan, once our tour brought us here, I left to seek her out."

He laughed bitterly. "I thought… I had this fantasy of impressing her. That I would show up, cool, confident and skillful. I would show her how much I had grown since we were children - show her that I was worthwhile." He shook his head. "But nothing had changed. She had found someone to lavish her attentions on. And when I challenged him to prove that I was better in a way I thought she might at least respect… she helped him cheat to win. A narcissistic Outsider with no real grasp of honor or fair play and who spent more time in dresses than Shampoo did was so much greater in her eyes than me that she'd set aside her own honor for him."

"I couldn't bring myself to give up, though. I… she still had a power over me that overrode all reason. For the last year I've debased myself, grovelled, begged… for any scrap of attention. There was always a glimmer there, a spark of hope that kept me trying. I thought… I thought I could prove myself to her. On Togenkyo Island I got my wish. I fought a powerful foe for her and she sided with me against him - and she was afraid for me. When I collapsed afterwards she tended to my wounds tenderly, but…" he squeezed his eyes shut. "All she said, over and over, was, 'Mousse, you no need to'. At first I didn't understand."

"It wasn't until I actually had the chance to get what I wanted. Shampoo had been afflicted by something that would make her love and obey the first thing she saw. Ranma himself encouraged me to take the opportunity. And… I realized… she would never love me like I hoped she someday might - that if the choice was to have her by enslaving her heart or seeing her free in the arms of another… there was no choice. Instead I gave her a mirror so the one she would love and obey would be herself."

"I don't know why I stayed after that. Despite my epiphany I think I still hoped that… that my gesture would move her - still sought to be rewarded for merely refraining from doing the wrong thing, I suppose." He shook his head at his own foolishness. "Even now she has such power over me. I would do anything for her… anything for even the smallest praise or acknowledgement - even scorn… as long as I knew that she saw me - that she acknowledged I was here. But… It's become increasingly clear to me I have no place in her life. She has filled it with others and left no room for me."

He blinked away a bit of haze in his eyes and flipped his glasses back down to look at the odd girl. "Is that what you wanted?"

She swallowed. Her eyes were wide, attentive, and the wavering in her pose had ceased. She seemed to have forgotten whatever trepidation had plagued her.

"Why do you stay, then?" she asked finally. "Isn't it hard working with her every day?"

"It's torment," he said simply. "I am… just left with nothing else to do. Nowhere else to go. No one else to be. So I suppose I will simply continue to play the buffoon in her life until she no longer tolerates me."

"Why not go back home to your parents?" she asked. "Or to the circus where you were at least accepted?"

"I've considered both. I have broken the laws of the Joketsuzoku, however. Even if I was accepted back I would be a pariah and my parents would be pariahs for harboring me. I have no place there. And as for the circus? I don't even know where to begin looking for them. They travel the world; It could be decades before they visit Japan again. Even then… would I be any less the buffoon if I am doing it for the amusement of others rather than their annoyance?"

"You'd be loved. Accepted," Rin said.

"That's not enough," Mousse shook his head. He'd come to a realization - a final understanding of what had been holding him in this place. He stood slowly.

"Then what is?" Rin asked, standing with him.

"Respect," Mousse said. "If I can't have Shampoo's love… I want to earn that, at least. And I can't do that by continuing to act the buffoon." He turned to her. "Thank you, Rin Ito. You've helped me understand something." He glanced past Rin, through the doors and into the house, where Shampoo sat clinging to Ranma's arm, uncaring about her form or the reactions of others. He felt an ache in his heart - an old longing. He knew he needed to leave now, before it led him to indulge in his old ways. "I should go."

"Wait…" Rin said. Shyly, she held out the bouquet of paper flowers to him. "You made this for her, right? These flowers are… are beautiful and they were meant to mean much more than just a simple trick. S-so… you should take them back so you can give them to the person they're m-meant for."

He studied her face for a moment. He thought he saw something familiar in her eyes but couldn't place it. He realized she was older than he had initially thought from her small frame. Has Saotome cursed this one as well? He felt a pang of sympathy and another of jealousy. You are ever unworthy, Ranma Saotome. "Keep them," he said finally. "I've made dozens like them and they've all ended up in the trash or ground under her heel. Better they should be in the hands of someone who can at least appreciate them." He turned and leapt up onto the compound wall then over it and into the night.

000

"I don't wanna watch a chick flick!"

They were all gathered in the dojo proper. Blankets, pillows and futons had been gathered and piled up into a kind of impromptu mound to lounge on in front of the TV. Popcorn had been made and everyone was discussing which movie to watch. Since it was a school night Kasumi had decreed only one before bed.

Akane narrowed her eyes in annoyance at Ranma's protests. "Every time we let you pick it's always a martial arts flick, Ranma."

"Well, duh!" Ranma sniffed. "Those're the only things worth watching!"

"Ranma, you live a kung fu movie. Don't you want to maybe watch something else as a way to escape?" Yuka said, scowling.

"Like what?" Ranma asked, quirking an eyebrow skeptically.

Nabiki smiled and sidled up to her, slipped her arm through the redhead's and leaned against her. "Maybe something about two lovers who meet on a beach? They both live crazy lives and get away for a weekend of normalcy. They start out pretending to be a couple as a cover but at the end they wind up falling for each other for real?"

Ranma completely missed the reference. "Nah, too far fetched," she said after a moment of consideration.

Nabiki huffed and released her arm.

"I could go for a good sci fi flick, actually," Daisuke said.

"Or a comedy," Hiroshi added.

"Don't worry, I think I've got you all covered," Riko said with a grin as she pulled out a DVD case.

Everyone leaned in to peer at the title.

"'My Girlfriend is a Cyborg'?" Ranma read off the title and gave Riko a skeptical look.

Yuka plucked the case from Riko's grasp. "Guy falls in love with a cyborg girl from the future. Yeah, there's no way this could possibly be good."

Daisuke shrugged. "I'm willing to give it a shot. Heckling a bad movie is almost as good as watching a good one."

Yuka smirked. "Oh, I can't wait to see what an amatuer like you comes up with for heckling. All right, I'm in." She handed the case back to Riko.

000

Two hours later Yuka and Daisuke were huddled together around a thoughtfully provided box of tissues, bawling their eyes out. In other circumstances they might have gotten mocked but there was a distinct lack of dry eyes all around.

"That was… that was actually quite good," Kasumi dabbed at her eyes.

Most of the group had gravitated together as the story progressed. Watching the first tragedy that crippled the protagonist, that led him to spend his whole life recreating the girl he had met but once so he could send the android back to try and prevent his own tragedy - but he only managed to set off a cascade of time loops that conspired to keep them apart.

"But… it's sad," Rin said. "He found the original girl in the end, but… what about the android? She finally understood his feelings and could love him back but she was never able to be with him and only woke up again in time to see him die."

"And what about all the other versions of Jiro?" Ranma asked. "Do they… just stop existing?"

"It's all alternate timelines," Hiroshi said. "You can't change your own past. Every time you go back you just create an alternate timeline. For every version of your story that had a happy ending there are three where things ended badly. And sometimes for one person to have a happy ending, someone else has to make sacrifices."

"Everybody deserves a happy ending," Rin said softly, cradling the bouquet of paper flowers in her lap.

"Sometimes you gotta earn it, I guess," Sayuri said. "And it's not like you get a 'Happily Ever After'. Life is a whole string of endings, happy and otherwise. Not all of them are going to be happy."

Most of them were silent at that, lost in thought.

"Well, I should get this mess cleared away," Kasumi said, finally breaking the reverie. "You should all get your bedrolls set up. You have school tomorrow after all." She stood and started collecting half-empty bowls of popcorn and other debris from the party.

"Here… uhh… let me help, Kasumi," Ranma said, getting up quickly.

000

Helping Kasumi clean up had been a convenient excuse. The truth was that Ranma felt the need to be a guy again, if only for a bit, so he could ponder things as himself. And even though there were other guys present he felt oddly awkward about being around them as a guy himself.

Sayuri, Yuka, Riko and Rin… they're my girl-side's friends, he thought. And then there's Ryouga… I still haven't really figured that out with him. Is that even possible? To have different relationships depending on which form I'm in? Or am I being an idiot?

He had hopped up on the roof of the dojo and settled back for a little stargazing before bed. The stars in the city were weak; light pollution washed out the night sky to inky blackness with but a few bright pinpricks. It was nothing compared to the awe-inspiring canvases that he had seen while travelling the wilds, far away from the lights of civilization. But it was still soothing to look up when the sky was clear.

Something about the movie was sticking with him. It was supposed to be a happy ending but the characters had gone through so many bad endings to get there. It had taken so much just for two people to be happy and even then it had almost not happened at all.

"I thought you might be up here."

Ranma sat up a little and looked to see Nabiki's head poking over the edge of the roof. He got up, walked over and offered her a hand up.

"I've learned to keep a ladder handy if I wanted to talk to you," Nabiki winked. As he pulled her up onto the roof, she revealed she was carrying a blanket with her.

"Cold?" He asked.

"You may be okay with lying on filthy roof tiles, but not all of us were raised in the woods," she said with a smile. "And… while it is getting colder, keeping me warm is your job."

He blushed a bit as she spread out the blanket. He lay down on it next to her and she quickly scooted over to rest her head on his shoulder. He curled his arm around her shoulders and relaxed again. "So, what made you think I'd be up here?"

"You never offer to help clean up," Nabiki said, poking him in the chest. "I figured you needed some alone time."

"And yet you're up here," Ranma said. He immediately regretted it, but it was hard to get out of his old blunt habits.

With Akane that would have triggered a fight but Nabiki just smiled, accustomed to navigating his social gaffes. "Yes, well, I need some reassurance and love from my boyfriend."

Ranma shifted his hand, threading his fingers lightly through her hair. It had been a while since he had seen her by starlight and it was bringing back memories. "Oh? What's on your mind?"

She huddled a little closer, closed her eyes and enjoyed the casual attention of his fingers. "Just… thinking about this crazy thing we're trying to do."

"You too?"

She smiled a bit. "Nice to know i'm not alone." She took a deep breath. "Promise not to get mad?"

"Uhhh… sure? About what?"

"I kissed Shampoo."

Ranma laughed. "I heard about that. Daisuke wouldn't shut up about it! Shampoo was just trying to get Mousse to lay off."

Nabiki was quiet a moment. "That's why she did it. But… I don't think what she intended was what happened." She shivered against him slightly. "It… I don't know, it woke something up in me and now I don't know what to do with it."

Ranma continued to run his fingers through her hair. He had started to learn when it was best for him to just be quiet and let her talk.

"I… I knew stuff like this was going to happen in this crazy mess. Shampoo and Ukyou have already been on again off again and then there's that mess between you, Ryouga and Akane… I knew that if we were all together and replacing our old ways of competing for your attention and with each other in general that things were going to change between us all. I've been focused on trying to keep things from getting too conflicted or making sure that a certain lavender-haired hedonist didn't push things too far too fast for Akane to be comfortable with, but…"

"You forgot to add yourself in to your figuring again, didn't you?" Ranma asked softly.

Nabiki sighed. "I'm… not used to having my own feelings complicate my plans." She rolled onto her side and curled against him. "Shampoo even called me on it. I'm not used to making sense of my own mess. I didn't used to have a mess! I stuck to money and just figuring everyone else out got me that much. Now… Now…" she huffed.

"You're confused?" Ranma suggested helpfully.

"Yeah," Nabiki said softly. "I wasn't into girls before this. I don't think? Ugh, I know attraction isn't a binary thing but… this… this isn't physical. Well, it is, but…" She buried her face in his shoulder. "Arrrgh!"

"Yeah, you're confused," Ranma chuckled softly.

"Oh, I bet you're loving this!" Nabiki growled, slightly muffled.

He hugged her a little tighter, trying to comfort her. "It's kinda reassuring, yeah. It's nice to know I'm not the only one having trouble with lines getting blurry."

"You've got an excuse. A few actually," Nabiki muttered. "Trying to cram sixteen years of social development into one, having to deal with your actual preferences changing with the temperature of the water and now you're an empath."

"Just with Ryouga," Ranma said.

"Yes, well, Ryouga has about six people's worth of issues, so…" she trailed off. "I'm actually kinda jealous."

"You wanna read people's emotions?" Ranma asked.

She raised her head, her big brown eyes reflecting starlight. It was so easy for him to lose himself in them at times like this.

"No. Just yours," she replied.

"Maybe I'll figure out how it works before all of this is done," Ranma said. He thought back to the movie and the android's struggle to comprehend Jiro's feelings and Jiro's frustration. "You can always ask me."

She smiled a little. "Maybe I just like the idea of being able to listen." She rested her chin on his chest and continued to gaze at him. "I like how your mind works."

"How my mind works?" Ranma smirked. "I woulda figured you'd be the first to say it doesn't work."

"You were just lacking a framework to process things. You're not dumb. You can't be and be the martial artist you are." She cocked her head slightly. "I like… that look you get in your eye when something clicks - when you figure out some crazy way to approach a problem that no one else would think of. I think that's what got me."

"You fell in love with me for my brain?" Ranma was incredulous.

"Yes. Your brilliant, feral, uneducated brain," she reached out and ruffled his hair. Her hand fell back to indulge in her habit of playing with his pigtail. "Everyone has a different reason why they fell for you. That's mine."

Ranma considered that. He thought about his own 'moment'. There wasn't any one thunderbolt he could think of for any of them - it was a series of little things that added up. But they all tended to have some quality - each of them was different, and all of them something he lacked himself.

"You're the brilliant one," He said softly. "All of the problems I solve… They're simple. Straightforward. But the stuff you tackle... I wasn't lying when I said you were a grandmaster of your Art. You take all of these threads, and you… you weave them. It's all a chaotic mess to me then you make somethin' out of it. But… at the same time… you're good at making me feel needed, an' important. I wanna follow where you lead just 'cuz I wanna see where you go with it." He closed his eyes a moment as he reached a decision. "You remember why you call me your boyfriend and not your fiance?"

"Because it was what we decided - on our own. Not because of the engagement," Nabiki said softly.

"H-how do people…" he swallowed, suddenly nervous. "How do people… normal people… ask someone to marry them? Not… not on TV or nuthin'... I mean… I mean I know there's supposed to be a ring…"

Nabiki reached out, took his hand and wove her fingers with his. She was smiling and her eyes were shining… crying? Maybe. Hard to tell. "Forget the ring. Just ask."

Ranma nodded. "I know… it's supposed to be a special moment. And… I couldn't seem to find one. Then… there's what Sayuri said tonight, about there being no such thing as a Happy Ending, just happy endings… and how you gotta work for 'em. And I realized I gotta make the moment." He closed his eyes. "I'm… a mess. I know I am and I'm gonna do stuff wrong and you get that and you help me fix it, which is why…I know we're still young and we wanted to figure it out first but I don't think I can do this without you and there's Amazon law and the engagements but… forget that." He opened his eyes. "Nabiki Tendo, would you marry me?"

Nabiki squeezed his hand. She was beaming and he could see the reflection of starlight in the tears running down her cheeks and the stars themselves reflected in her eyes and he had never in his life been so absolutely sure he had made the right decision.

She nodded, sniffed and threw her arms around his neck hugging him. "Yes… Yes I will, Ranma Saotome." She pulled back a bit and let out a little laugh that was half a sob, but her smile was wider and brighter than he had ever seen. "And for the record… that was perfect." She leaned in and kissed him, hard enough to drive away the chill of the night air and all of the remaining doubts he had.

000

For the record, the 'Jiro' from 'My Girlfriend is a Cybro' is of no relation to Jiro from Clara's Leaf.

Yes, 'My Girlfriend is a Cyborg' is a real movie.

Since I gave a warning about RanxRyo last time, I figured it's entirely fair I give a similar warning here. If NabikixShampoo is a deal breaker for you, stop reading here. We're going there. I know that's a little moot now with the Harem already established, but fair warning regardless.

I am having more fun with a Ryouga/Akane rivalry than I thought. I was trying to decide how Akane would continue to develop her skills. I think this should cover it.