From:        Richard Lawson, sterman@sprynet.com

This story was written in response to Sebastian Weinberg's MST3K-style
criticism of Thy Inward Love.  

<Sigh> You're really going to make me do this, aren't you? ^_^ <g,d,r>

In it, he wondered what Ranma and Nabiki
were up to in parts 5 and 6.  I thought it was subtle but obvious;
evidently it was more of the former and less of the latter than I thought.

As a side note, I should say that I didn't have a problem with this; I 
thought it was clear enough in the original story. However, since the 
result was this story, I can hardly complain...

Windir: Indeed. Much as it pains me to admit it -- since, indeed, all 
true artists can recognize and honor subtlety when they see it, and 
detest the needless embellishments tacked on by authors to satisfy the 
churlish demands of the ignoble and undiscerning masses -- this side 
story was, indeed, a more than worthy effort in its own right.

Frito: Aww, come off it, Windy! Ya gotta admit that it ain't just a good 
side-story, it does a better job 'a goin' over Nabs' feelins' about the 
whole thing!

Lyra: <Deadpan look> Even if she *is* partnered up with Kuno in this fic. 

Frito: Ya hadda go and say that, didn't ya?

So, in the space of a couple of hours, I tossed off this story.  I may
incorporate into TIL, although it's hard to find a place to fit it.  I
may just junk it and put in a simple thank you from Ranma to Nabiki for
her help with the ring.  Or I may put it on the web page, marked as a
side story to be read after Part 7.

Lyra: The last'd be my recommendation. Like the author said, it'd be hard 
to fit it into the main story (which is already a bit plot-heavy), and 
it's too good to get junked.

Nabiki frowned at her computer.  It wasn't giving her the answers she wanted
to see.

Windir: This seems to be a common occurrence in Nabiki appearances -- 
showing her with a computer -- but I have grave doubts about whether this 
is justified. Especially when one considers the money troubles that the 
author shows the family in at several points in his version of the Ranma 
Canon. "Heart of the Home" -- not to mention this fic itself -- are 
excellent examples.

Frito: Yeah, but didn't da Boss go inta debt pretty hard ta replace his 
laptop when da old one died?

[Editor's note: "Da Boss?"]

Lyra: Oh, that's relatively mild. You should hear what we call you when 
you're not around.

[Editor's note: I'm not sure I want to.]

Lyra: Very wise. <Grins wickedly>

The Kuno family's loan was considerable, but it had to be spread out over
four years.  Add to that the cost of finding a half-way decent place to live
by NIT, and you didn't have much left over for books, food, and other costs.

Lyra: NIT?

Frito: Nekomi Tech! Rah Rah Rah! Home of da... whatever they are, and dat 
motor club! Hey... does dis mean we getta see Urd in the sequel? Whatta 
babe!

Windir: I rather doubt that was the reference the author had in mind, 
Frito.

Lyra: I can see Nabiki and Urd putting together some really creative 
fund-raising schemes for the club though... with Nabiki getting her cut, 
of course.

Frito: Naah, she swore off dat stuff, remember? <Sighs> Whatta shame...

Lyra: Hentai! <Baps Frito> Get your mind out of the gutter; that was 
*not* what I was thinking of!

Frito: And how'dja know dat was what I was thinkin', anyway?

Lyra blushes.

Windir: We are all thoroughly familiar with your thought patterns, Frito, 
and have no particular need to follow them to predict their eventual 
destination. One may be thankful for small favors.

The greater motivation, though, was that she was going to be on her own.
She had really felt that she had grown beyond the restrictions imposed on her
by her family life.  She wanted to set her own limits, establish her own
hours, run her own household.  No Father to cry when you stepped on his toes,
no Akane to yell at you for no reason whatsoever (well, hardly any reason), 
and no Kasumi to tell you to pick your clothes up off the floor.

Windir: This is a trifle cliche -- 

Lyra: And also very true, which is why it's *become* cliche.

Windir: Which is what I was about to say. <Looks piqued.> Nevertheless, 
it would be a reasonable idea to do something to put a little freshness 
back on the presentation of the concept.

Lyra: I thought the way he brought in the details of Nabiki's situation 
-- particularly the descriptions of Soun and Akane's behavior -- handled 
that quite well, thank you. Though Kasumi's behavior wasn't specified 
very well; nothing directly related to Kasumi in particular, just a 
generic 'mothering' complaint.

Also, she had just begun exploring some exciting things with Tatewaki.  It
would be nice to have a nice private place to explore further.

Frito: Woo, woo!

Windir & Lyra: Hush.

She considered starting up some of her businesses again.  Ranma had been so
profitable.  She had actually achieved international distribution with some
of his pictures transferred onto cloth and other things.  Ranma was as
beautiful as a woman as he was handsome as a man, and some less-than-virtuous
people would pay a lot to see him in less-than-full attire.

Frito: You said it! But why ain't I been able to find 'em, if she managed 
dat?

Windir: Undoubtedly the author was merely exaggerating for humorous 
effect. This is fairly common in fanfics, especially Ranma fanfics, where 
she is frequently portrayed as being able to do almost *anything* 
involving money; I fully expect to see a fanfic one day where she travels 
to the U.S. and buys Rockefeller Center from Sony, or whichever Japanese 
company owns it at this time. However, in a relatively 'realistic' 
fanfic, such as this one, suggesting that she has achieved international 
distribution of Ranma NonLicenced Material is rather straining the bounds 
of credulity.

Lyra: Not to mention the sentence structure is kinda clunky there. "Some 
of his pictures transferred onto cloth and other things?" Why didn't she 
just say "She'd actually managed to make some international sales of 
Ranma t-shirts, phonecards, and other things."? 

Frito: Hey, Nabs can do anythin' she wants! Even talk like Wind-bag, if 
it makes her happy!

Nabiki drew in a deep breath, held it a moment, than let it out.  She had
recently come to understand that there were certain things you didn't do,
no matter how profitable they were.  Taking advantage of Ranma's 
attractiveness
by packaging it and selling it to the hentai crowd was not an acceptable way
of making money.  Not anymore.

Lyra: I like this reference to the events in "The Right Side of the 
Ledger" -- especially since he made it skillfully enough that the people 
who haven't read the earlier fic won't feel like they're missing 
anything. In My Humble Opinion, of course. <Grins wryly>

She looked at the spreadsheet again.  Ranma himself had taken out a lot of
loans.  In fact, he owed her a considerable sum of money.  Of course, since
he had no income of his own, these debts were likely to reamin on her ledger
for some time.  She continued to use the knowledge of his indebtedness to 
make him do things for her.  She had no qualms about doing this; it was the 

very

least he could do, given how much he owed.

Still, she thought to herself, the gravy train ends here, Ranma.  She had no
money left to indulge him with.  In fact, she had less than no money.

Windir: This is a less than subtle piece of foreshadowing. Admittedly, we 
all had rather more than an intimation of what will happen here, given 
the events in the main story... but this comes across as too blunt a 
reference, in spite of that. Or perhaps *because* of that.

Lyra: What do you mean? Of *course* it was because of that! <Mutters 
something almost indecipherable, except for the words 'can't see the 
bloody obvious'.>

Frito: Ahhh... it did seem kinda funny.

Lyra: <Looking dubious> Funny 'ha ha', or funny 'ho ho'?

Frito: <Leering at Lyra> Funny 'uh-oh'! <Tips Lyra's Mountain Dew over 
into her lap.>

Lyra: HEY! <She jumps up and tries to brush the ice off the front of her 
jumpsuit.> Why, you-- <She grabs her bag of jelly babies and throws it at 
Frito, who ducks.>

Frito: <Cackling> FOOD FIGHT! <He digs into his barrel of 
warehouse-variety popcorn and tosses handfuls at her. She retaliates in 
kind. Windir sits in the middle, looking horrified, until a cream pie 
catches him in the face.>

She mulled over the ethics of the situation.  Left to her own devices, she'd
probably just go ahead and invest the money, and not bother checking with
the accountants.  However, she probably wouldn't be able to hide it from
Tatewaki.  If he found out, he would be very disappointed.

Nabiki picked up a pencil from her desk and tapped it against her lips.  This
relationship with Tatewaki was affecting her more than she thought.  He had
already told her that she was keeping him from descending into the madness of
temptation.  She had just discovered that his highly developed sense of honor
was keeping her from performing slightly unethical acts.  They were either
good for each other or keeping each other from exploring the extremes of 
their respective characters.

Lyra climbs out of the pile of thrown food, and rubs fruitlessly at a 
stain on her jumpsuit.

Lyra: Nice bit of character building, here. <She turns at a noise from 
another part of the pile, and gives the emerging Frito a narrow-eyed 
look.>

The door opened and Ranma came in.  He had a sheepish look on his face, 
tinged with fear.  It could only mean one thing:  he wanted money.

She scowled at him.  He was not going to get it.

He looked at her and his eyes widened.  Already he could see that she knew 
what he wanted and that the answer was no.  His face hardened; he was going 
to ask anyway.

Nabiki took her pencil and, without her eyes leaving Ranma's face, tapped it
against the computer.  Ranma looked, and saw the spreadsheet she had up, and
the column she was tapping on.  Ranma's loans, doled out over the past year,
with little collected in return.  Ranma winced, but looked back at her 
steadily; he still intended to ask.

Nabiki decided to bring the non-verbal communication to a close.  

[Editor's note: And very effective non-verbal communication it was, too.]

Frito: Hey, butt out! You ain't supposed ta be participatin'!

Nabiki felt real anger coming on.  "Yes!  Me, Tendo Nabiki, who has money
flowing in from all around, who can touch anything and turn it into gold, who
goes around dating rich guys so she can get access to their wealth.  Me!"
She tapped her pencil against her chest to emphasize her words.  "I have no
money!"

Windir: Another effective example of the way the author takes many of the 
standard Ranma cliches -- nay, *legends* -- and brings a touch of realism 
to them.

Frito: More like knocks 'em on their ear!

Nabiki was forced to admit that she wasn't so keen on the idea herself.  Like
Tatewaki, Nabiki was fighting an addiction: using everyone and everything
around her to make money.  Even if Ranma was willing, she couldn't use him as
an object like that, to be paraded in front of the world, just so that she
could afford an apartment in college.  It was demeaning to them both.

Frito: That ain't Nabs!

Lyra: This *is* a little too preachy, in the way it uses pop psychology 
-- if that's what it's called... Windir?

Windir: I am eminently unqualified to respond.

Frito: Great, da one time ya *want* him ta know somethin'...

Lyra: Anyway, the sentiment is in character, especially as the author has 
developed Nabiki --

Frito: Yah, right, some 'development'! She's turned into a wimp!

Lyra: Funny you should say that now... I read what you said in the review 
of "The Sting," after all, and this isn't that different. As I was 
saying, the sentiment is in character, but the way it's shown needs a 
little work. 

Nabiki felt a smile coming on, and didn't try to stop it.  "Well, it's about
damn time, Saotome."  Happiness filled her.  After so long, Ranma and Akane
were finally beginning to work things out.  Nabiki knew that an engagement
ring would make Akane very, very happy.

Nabiki thought for a little bit.  Suddenly it didn't matter so much that she
had to live at home.  "Okay, Ranma-kun, I'll lend you the money.  On the 
condition that you let me help you pick the ring."

Windir: "Happiness filled her" is a bit trite... but again, a nice piece 
of character development.

Nabiki turned back to her computer.  Her forehead creased ever so slightly
at the sight of the spreadsheets.  She closed them all down.  They were a
concern for another day.  For now, she had to concentrate on keeping a
neutral expression whenever she saw Akane.

Lyra: He, hee!

Frito: Alright, alright! I gotta see this.

"Mother gave it to Kasumi.  We had it fitted for her, but she hasn't ever
worn it.  I think she's saving it for her own wedding."  Nabiki thought
back to the day in the hospital, when Mother had slowly taken off her ring
and put it into a trembling Kasumi's hands.  It brought a lump to Nabiki's
throat; she hadn't thought of that moment in years.  She looked down;
every so often, the memories of her mother's death would crash over her.  
It happened less and less often, but it was still painful when it occurred.

Frito: Awww... <He reaches out to try and pat Nabiki's shoulder, and 
bangs up against the screen.>

Ranma responded in the same calm, quiet manner.  "That's not it, of course.
Listen, this has got to tell Akane something, something important.  But it
doesn't have to blare its message, or be showy.  That's not like me or
Akane."  

Nabiki considered this, and nodded.  "This one time only, Ranma, you are
right and I am wrong."  She looked him in the eye.  "Don't worry, it'll
never happen again."

Frito: There he goes again!

Windir: Eh?

Frito: Da author keeps tryin' ta make 'em into sensible people, and it 
ain't right!

Windir: How so?

Lyra: It is good to see them calming down a little, growing up. After 
all, a mark of good fiction is the way characters grow and develop.

Ranma held the box in his hands as they made their way back to the house.
His face had reacquired some of the fear.  Nabiki felt the smile coming 
again.  It actually came on so strong that it turned into a quiet laugh.

Ranma glared at her.  "What's so funny?"

She shook her head.  "I've never had a brother before.  I think you'll be
a good one."

Ranma blinked at her.  He clearly hadn't considered that.  "Sister-in-law."
He looked at her, a strange, thoughtful look on his face.

Lyra: Nice thought. 

The smile still plastered on her face, Nabiki began skipping like she hadn't
since Mother had died.  She came up to the Kuno front gate, and prepared to
inflict as much happiness on Tatewaki as he could stand.  Even if Akane was 
the first Tendo sister to find love, Nabiki planned on being a close second.

Lyra: Good ending, too. No histronics, no 'profound and meaningful 
statements'... <She shoots a look over at Windir> Just a neatly-done hint 
at her emotions, and a nicely ironic bit of humor. "Inflict as much 
happiness..." <Chuckles>

Frito: Yeah, 'cept he got da facts wrong. Ain't Kasumi da first one ta 
find love?

Lyra: Oh. <Looks lost for a moment> I'd forgot about that.

Windir: <Frowning> And how, pray tell, did *you* remember this, Frito? 
Was there any particular *reason* to be following the Tendo family's love 
lives?

Frito blushes.

Windir: <Relenting> In any event, I agree, this side-story is too good to 
allow to drift away into the ether. I sincerely hope the author keeps it.

Frito: Yeah, I gotta admit it was pretty good. 



Travis Butler
(The Professor, formerly of Myth and Magick!, Lawrence, KS;
 tbutler@tfs.net, now from the Wandering Powerbook;
 <http://www.tfs.net/personal/tbutler/>;
 Mac page <http://www.tfs.net/business/tbutler/>)

...Cats are the proof of a higher purpose to the universe.