At 08:14 AM 5/13/1997 +0100, Marisa Price wrote:

A Lesson in Love Chapter XV: Obsessions

give over to it, my love. After all, it is not as if I have not paid well for 
your affections."
	All color drained from Nabiki's face and she stood there, frozen,
realizing that he had just branded her a whore, saying that she was 
selling her love to the highest bidder.
	"HOW DARE YOU INSINUATE THAT I AM SOME SORT
OF PROSTITUTE!!" She screamed.
	Kuno shrugged. "A rose is a rose is a rose. . ."
	Calling on skills which she had forgotten that she still possessed,
Nabiki struck out, striking Kuno simultaneously in the windpipe and the
groin, and he fell to the ground gasping with shock and pain.
	"You BASTARD. You stupid, horny, malicious, BOY-LOVING
bastard!! How DARE you!!"
	"Foul woman, you wound and insult me! I will have vengeance for
this," Kuno ground out between clenched teeth, his body hunched.
	She continued to rail at his pain-wracked form, "You, the one who
was obsessed with another man to the point of insanity, presume to judge
ME? I saved you! I salvaged your pitiful honor! That's the ONLY
reimbursement you are EVER going to get from me."
	"Bitch." He said it quietly, trying to stand.
	She froze.
	"That's right Kuno. I'm a bitch. But this bitch owes you NOTHING."
	Nabiki turned, summoning her dignity, and strode out toward the 

Why the long speech bla bla bla?  Maybe Nabiki could just throw some money 
at Kuno and yell "Fuck this" or something instead.  It's worked before (in 
real life, maybe not in R 1/2).

gate to the outside of the mansion, waiting until she reached the street before
she dared to break into a run.

* * * * *

	"Did you see Ryouga?" Ukyou asked, handing a cup of punch to 
Akane as she walked up to their table in the corner of the crowded room.
	"Nope, not him OR Ranma." Akane answered, taking a sip of the
bright red punch and grimacing slightly.
	Ukyou shook her head. "I was hoping that they might have come
back or at least stopped to check in by now. I mean, how long does it 
take for two GUYS to go to the bathroom? Guys usually are so quick, you
know?"

Usually this means the guys are smoking.  Or smoking marijuana.  Or dealing 
marijuana.  Or sneaking outside to harvest marijuana.  At least, it would 
have if they were anything like the guys at my junior prom.

	"I heard that Kuno took Nabiki out into the garden and dumped her!"
	"Yeah, I guess she took it so hard that she ran off."
	"Well, she WAS stringing him along. . ."
	"What are you talking about, HE'S the JERK!"
	"He is not!"
	"He liked Nakoto anyway I hear."
	"He is too!"
	Akane's voice finally broke through. "ENOUGH!!!! Where is my
sister?!"
	The girls, surprised by Akane's outburst, tittered to a stop. Maia,
one of Akane's friends, said, "I heard she went home and that she was really
upset. I guess Kuno chewed her out for manipulating him."
	Naomi added, "And he went to Nakoto afterward and told her that
he'd really liked her all along."
	"I see," Akane said quietly. "That bastard. And she wasn't manipulating
him. She loved him."
	Naomi shrugged. "Well, if you say so, Akane. It's sure always seemed
to me like the only thing Nabiki loves is herself. And money, of course."

Meanwhile, what if it turns out that Kuno is doing the same "I paid so much 
for this party for you bla bla bla" to Nakoto?