Chapter 2: ...Interesting Times.
	Kasumi set the last of the plates on the table... she smiled at Nabiki as
the middle Tendo descended from the stairs, already dressed in her uniform,
but not looking particularly happy about it.
	"Oh, Nabiki. Better wake Ranma and Akane up. They're going to be late for
school." Kasumi called up to her.
	Nabiki frowned slightly, (not at Kasumi) as she glanced back up, she
muttered, "Do I have to? Those two freak me out a little Kasumi..."
	Kasumi gave Nabiki an exasperated sigh.
	"Okay, alright... I'll wake them up, okay?" Nabiki grumbled as she stalked
up the steps. She came first to Ranma's door, as indicated by the wooden
sign which said in large English letters 'RANMA'. His room and Akane's
hadn't been touched since they'd left, except for the occasional dusting by
Kasumi. Soun wouldn't allow it.
	She knocked loudly on it, "Hey, Ranma! Get a move on or you're going to be
late!"
	She waited for a few seconds... there was no response. She glared at the
door angrily for a few minutes, then turned the knob to open it... 
	The room was empty. She glanced around, noting the bed and everything else
in it... not only was he not inside, it looked as if it hadn't been slept
in at all.
	Nabiki got a nagging suspicion and quickly moved over to Akane's room. Not
bothering to knock, Nabiki quietly eased the door open and peeked in. At
first glance, there was a single figure on the bed, largely covered by the
sheets. Nabiki could see the rhythmic rise and fall as it breathed... 
	The mound began to stir and Nabiki nearly panicked, half closing the door.
The mound resolved into two sleeping figures, as Akane turned over in her
sleep, moving half out of Ranma's enfolding arms... they both seemed to be
wearing similar tanktops and were still entangled with one another and with
the sheets...
	Nabiki could only stare in shock...
	Ranma blinked his eyes open sleepily and looked at Nabiki, "Mmm? Oh. Hi,
Nabiki... morning already?"
	Nabiki nodded dumbly.
	"S'good," he turned towards Akane, still more than half asleep... for a
moment, Nabiki wondered to herself if he was going to kiss Akane awake.
	"Sis... get up... we got school..." Ranma said softly.
	"Don't wanna," Akane mumbled sleepily, her eyes still closed, "Lemme sleep."
	"C'mon... up and at em, sis."
	"Lemme sleep a little more..." her voice dropped to a husky whisper, "I'll
do anything..."
	"Anything?" Ranma grinned slightly, resting his forehead on hers.
	Nabiki flushed crimson... they couldn't be talking about what I think
they're talking about... are they?
	"Anything..." Akane continued in her sleepy mumble, her arms wrapping
around Ranma's neck.
	"Nabiki's here you know," Ranma replied getting a little nervous as he
glanced at her over his shoulder.
	"So let her watch," Akane mumbled.
	Nabiki managed to stammer, "I'll... um... I'll just go on down ahead, why
don't I? Right. Scuse me..." as she hastily backed out of the room.
	Akane's eyes finally blinked open to the sight of Ranma's earnest face,
"Did we freak her out again?"
	"I think so," he replied.
	She grinned playfully, "She really has GOT to loosen up."
	""I'm wondering what she thinks we were doing..." Ranma said, moving to
roll off of her.
	"Isn't it obvious?" Akane kissed her brother on the cheek, before she
rolled off the bed on the opposite side and the two of them began to change
out of their bedclothes.
	Akane and Ranma rushed down the stairs quickly, dressed once more in their
identical red Chinese shirts, and loose black pants. Kasumi smiled at them,
"Better hurry. Nabiki went on ahead."
	"So how do we get to school?" Akane asked curiously, grabbing at the two
proffered lunchboxes.
	"I'm walking you there." Kodachi said from the door, smiling at the two,
"Hi, Ran-chan, Akane-chan."
	"Ko-chan." Ranma grinned happily.
	Akane rolled her eyes slightly, but smiled as well.
	"Let's hurry or we're going to be late." Kodachi said to the pair,
inclining her head towards the gate.
	"You two have a good day at school!" Kasumi called after the trio as they
left. "Oh my... it's so good that they seem to be getting along so well."
She said to no one in particular.
- - -
	"I'm wondering why Nabiki took off so early..." Akane said, following
Ranma on the fence. The two of them were balancing on it, while holding
hands. Kodachi watched them with a little stab of jealousy.
	"Oh, that's easy... she wants to be done with the boys early." Kodachi
replied.
	"Boys..?" Ranma said thoughtfully. He spared little thought to keeping his
balance... he and Akane did this sort of thing so often it was automatic.
	Akane raised an eyebrow and pushed her glasses back with her free hand,
"Is she that popular? But I thought you said she didn't like boys?"
	Kodachi laughed lightly. A soft, musical laughter that reminded Ranma
favorably of chimes, "Oh, you might say that. But to see is to believe I
suppose."
	"So how have you been Kodachi?" Akane asked after a moment. She gave her
brother a sly look and said, "Ranma was wondering about you most of the way
back home."
	Ranma gave a choked exclamation and whirled around to face Akane, "Hey!"
He was blushing slightly.
	Kodachi brought a hand up to her mouth to hide her smile and the light
blush coming to her cheeks. She looked at Akane, wide-eyed, "Really?"
	Akane nodded suppressing a giggle, "Sure... every night it was 'I wonder
how Ko-chan is?' or 'I wonder if she still remembers me?'..."
	"Stop that!" Ranma roared, taking a jab at Akane's midsection... she
responded by sweeping his thrust to the side and simultaneously responding
with a jab of her own to his head... the two began to fight in earnest,
exchanging rapid blows back and forth, neither one making contact.
	"Well it's true!" Akane laughed, ducking a nasty overhand swipe to her
head to which she replied with a thrust kick to his shin.
	"You didn't have to tell her!" Ranma shot back, blushing furiously as he
jumped over the kick and aimed one of his own snap kicks at her shoulder
which she easily blocked... neither had fallen off the narrow fence yet.
Come to that neither had been hit.
	Kodachi could only watch in wonder at the flurry of blows the two were
exchanging. She'd never seen anyone move that fast... or with such
precision. What she'd seen of the Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Art
had only been Nabiki's particular take on the style... which was decidedly
less... elegant.
	"Er... guys... we're going to be late if you keep that up..." Kodachi
pointed out as the pair exchanged what was perhaps their fiftieth series of
blows with no contact.
	Snapped out of their rhythm, the Tendo siblings blinked at Kodachi. Ranma
bounced off the fence, landing next to her, "Honest, it's not like that at
all!" he pleaded.
	Kodachi looked at his earnest worried face and had a hard time keeping
herself from giggling.
	Ranma gulped nervously.
	Akane joined Kodachi's giggling.
	"What?" Ranma asked finally, getting mildly irritated.
	"Oh, Ran-chan... you needn't have worried about it. It's really..." the
blush which still hadn't left her cheeks caught fire again, "It's very
flattering."
	"Told you she wouldn't mind." Akane said with a superior air.
	"You shut up!" Ranma shouted at Akane. It was half bluster, and half laughed.
	"It's really okay?" Ranma asked Kodachi, trying to hide the smile that was
threatening to engulf his face.
	Kodachi nodded, looking down a bit to hide the blush as it spread. "Yes...
really."
	Akane watched the two with a slightly superior smirk, pushing her glasses
up her nose once more. It was so simple... her stupid brother never did
learn how to do things the easy way, she mused.
	"Let's go! I want to see if I can catch the tail end of Nabiki's
performance." Kodachi suddenly said, no doubt attempting to change the
topic. She beckoned them onward, beginning to fall into a run.
	"Performance?" The Tendo siblings said simultaneously as they fell into a
comfortable pace behind Kodachi, Ranma looking up at Akane who was still
running on the fence and looking down at him.
	They were still a good three blocks away from the school when the echoing
sounds of battle, screams of agony and battle cries began to filter towards
them.
	"Sounds like a fight..." Ranma said to no one in particular. 
	"Hey! That sounds like Nabiki's voice!" Akane said, slightly alarmed as
she jumped off the fence finally. Picking up the pace, Ranma matched her
speed, the two of them overtaking Kodachi.
	Kodachi nodded, smiling slightly, "Nothing..." she puffed, a little out of
breath, "She can't handle..!" She was surprised that neither of the two
looked as if they'd so much as broken out into a sweat... and she was
already faltering a little. They easily outdistanced her, running directly
for the noises... she sighed, slowing down a little... well, it wouldn't
hurt to be a little late... she panted heavily.
- - -
	"For the last time you jerks... GET OUT OF MY WAY!!" Nabiki's carried
several blocks as Ranma and Akane turned the corner. They arrived just in
time to see Nabiki drive the heel of her palm into the jaw of an awkward,
hefty fellow in a hockey mask, while simultaneously driving a foot behind
her into the groin of a rotund unfortunate in a sumo outfit.
	Every male within a few meters of this event winced involuntarily. As
Nabiki was in the center of a crowd of boys, she took their momentary
stupefaction to do a roundhouse kick knocking three of the last seven boys
into one another and opening up more room for her to maneuver.
	"What is she doing?" Akane asked curiously, her glasses pushed up once more.
	Ranma blinked, squirming uneasily, "Er... it looks like she's beating the
living daylights out of those guys."
	"I can see that," Akane snapped at him testily.
	"Think we should help her?" Ranma asked Akane.
	"Are you kidding? Look at her!" she replied as Nabiki nimbly dodged a
baseball bat swung by one boy and drove her knee into his midsection,
"We'll jump in if it looks like she needs help.
	Kodachi finally caught up with the pair as Nabiki handily polished off the
last three boys with single strikes as they tried to rush her. Nabiki stood
in the middle of the school courtyard, totally unhurt. A large number of
unconscious and injured boys were scattered all around her as she breathed
heavily through her teeth. "You'd think they'd have all learned by now,"
she seethed as the bell rang. The small crowds of milling students who'd
been watching immediately rushed to the main building, a few shouting,
"We're going to be late!!"
	"Missed it. Pity." Kodachi sagged.
	"What was she doing?" Akane asked Kodachi a little uncertainly.
	Kodachi looked up to answer her, but noticed the school's watch, "Let's
get inside the gate first... Principal's daughter or not, they'd still lock
the me out." Kodachi said prodding them through the gates...
	Akane and Ranma traded uncertain glances as they walked onto the school
grounds. Nabiki stormed off into the building ahead of them, ignoring
everyone else. Overhead the sky began to darken and rumble. Akane gave a
nervous upward glance at the sky. She and Ranma traded a look and they both
ran for the school building just as the first drops began to fall.
- - -
	Nabiki strode confidently into her sophomore classroom. Outside, the brief
squall had stopped and the sun was shining again. A few of the girls, her
friends, smiled at her in congratulations. What few boys were in the class
kept well away from her, and if they weren't cowering in terror, they were
doing a convincing simulation. The rest of course had already been carted
away to the infirmary. Only one boy wasn't shying away, if anything he was
simply sitting distractedly at his desk, jotting something down in a small
bound journal. It was of course, Tatewaki.
	As Nabiki passed she paused to glare at him. Hiding a nervous gulp, he
hurriedly shut the journal, leaving his pen inside to mark his place to
look up at her. A terrorized smile on his face, "Er... Greetings, Nabiki
Tendo... did you have an enjoyable time dispatching those miscreants?"
	Nabiki leaned close, frowning furiously and muttered, "Not a word, Kuno.
Breathe one word of the stupid engagement to ANYONE and I'm going to kill
you. Got that?"
	"Absolutely, Miss Tendo."
	She gave him a derisive snort and stomped angrily over to her own table.
The ladies of the class seeing the shaken Kuno began to talk animatedly, if
in hushed tones among themselves.
	"Did you see that?", "Nabiki talked to a boy! Tatewaki no less!", "She's
already got all the boys chasing after her and now she's going after
Tatewaki-sama! Hmph!", "No way.", "Only man with any brains or class in
this place and now she's picking on him...", "She's just plain mean."
	In the interests of peace and tranquility, it was fortunate that this
escaped Nabiki's attention. Her attention totally consumed with rereading a
small, delicately folded piece of stationary. And blushing.
- - -
	Meanwhile in the freshman classroom... 
	The teacher stood at the head of the class and looked over the transcript
he had in hand, "Everyone, these are Akane and Ranma Tendo, they're brother
and sister and they'll be transferring to Furinkan High School for this
term..."
	"Yo," Ranma said giving a quick wave.
	"Hi," Akane with a smile and formal bow, "Nice to meet you all."
	The students in the class looked at one another and the soft whispered
muttering commonly associated with the rumor mills began to turn...
	"Tendo? Are they related to Nabiki?", "No way...", "Cool outfits...", "Are
they twins?", "Whooo... she's almost as cute as Nabiki...", "Shaddup, no
one's as cute as Nabiki!", "Oh yeah?!" "Yeah!", "What about Kodachi?",
"Ranma, huh... not bad, almost as good looking at Kuno-sempai...",
"Cuter!", "No way!"
	Ranma blushed slightly as he noticed Kodachi giving him a small, half
hidden smile from her seat. She could hear the rumors beginning to crop up.
By the looks of things, the new Tendos looked like they would be popular
additions to the Furinkan community.
	"AHEM," the teacher rumbled pointedly, stopping the mutterings, "It seems
that they recently came from China, so let's all give them a warm welcome,
however, that doesn't excuse the fact that they and Kodachi Kuno were late.
So I'm terribly sorry, but you three have to go stand out in the hall."
	As Kodachi rose, there were murmurs of protest from the class, but she
silenced them with a sweet smile and walked out smoothly, following the
Tendos just as the class began.
- - -
	The three found themselves standing in the hallway carrying a pair of
buckets each... For Ranma and Akane it was practically a joke... neither
looked as if they were having any difficulty at all. Kodachi's arms were
already beginning to feel a mild strain.
	Akane glanced at Kodachi, "Boy, this is kind of brutal... I would think
with your dad as the principal, you'd be immune to this sort of thing."
	Kodachi smiled gamely back, "Of course not. Fair is fair. I have to take
my punishment like everyone else."
	Akane shrugged, "I guess. I just would've thought you would've had some
sort of special privilege or something."
	"Well everyone lets me go first at the food line, does that count?"
Kodachi smiled.
	Ranma finally spoke up, "Hey, Ko-chan... what was that fight earlier all
about anyway?"
	"Yeah I was wondering too." Akane said.
	Kodachi chuckled softly, "Oh, that. Well... Nabiki's always been popular
with the boys since she transferred here. She wasn't too happy about it
because there were always these guys underfoot trying to ask her for dates."
	"Nabiki? Really?" Ranma asked in surprise.
	Akane grinned at him, "What's the matter, can't believe good looks run in
the family?"
	"Well... that's true." Ranma replied.
	Kodachi gave a grin and continued, "In any case, she got fed up with it
and last term, she finally told this one really obnoxious guy that the
she'd never date anyone who couldn't beat her."
	The Tendo siblings blinked, "She said that?" they asked simultaneously.
	Kodachi nodded, "She most certainly did. Next thing anyone knew, the boys
had gotten it into their heads that the only way they could get a date out
of Nabiki was if they managed to defeat her in combat. So they've been
attacking her like that every morning for the past term or so. Nabiki's
social calendar to date however remains rather empty."
	"Every morning?" Ranma said.
	"And she always wins?" Akane asked, intrigued.
	"Well, you did see what happened, right?" Kodachi asked with a smile. "the
guys tend to get in one another's way instead of cooperating, and Nabiki IS
pretty good."
	"Why hasn't she just told them off?" Akane asked.
	Kodachi shrugged, "She tried a couple of times, but I guess the boys
didn't listen. Some people think she enjoys beating their heads in,
though." She gave a slight wince as she shifted the buckets.
	Akane gave a slight nervous glance at the buckets and shifted back uneasily.
	"What's wrong Akane?" Kodachi asked, noting her discomfiture.
	"Um... nothing. Just don't want to get my clothes wet," she said weakly.
Her brother gave a relieved sigh.
	"I wonder how this is going to affect their engagement?" Akane mused,
trying to change the topic.
	Kodachi shook her head, bemused, "Well, my brother is well liked by the
girls here, but he's too shy and bookish to do anything about it. He and
Nabiki never did seem to like each other much, even before the engagement.
I'm not sure how people would react to it, but I'd guess it wouldn't be too
good if people found out."
	"How's that?" Ranma asked.
	Akane nodded grasping the situation, "The girls would resent Nabiki... the
boys would resent Tatewaki..."
	"Although not necessarily," Kodachi continued, "You see..."
	They looked up in surprise as chimes sounded on the school's PA system.
	"Good morning, everyone," came Principal Kuno's cultured voice over the
speakers, "I'd just like to take a few moments of your time for a special
announcement..."
	Kodachi and Akane's eyes both widened, "He wouldn't!" they said
simultaneously.
	"Wouldn't what?" Ranma asked baffled.
	"This is to inform everyone of the engagement of my son, Tatewaki Kuno..."
- - -
	Every eye in the room turned to look at Tatewaki as the announcement
continued. His face was horror stricken and utterly mortified as he
listened helplessly to his father's... his IDIOT father's announcement.
	Nabiki's face held an entirely different expression... a mixture of
bewildered embarrassment and righteous fury as she heard the principal's
voice continue. Her hands grasped the table so tightly it was cracking
under her fingers...
	"No, no, no..." Tatewaki murmured to himself like a prayer of
protection... because he knew he'd be needing one very soon.
	"... to Nabiki Tendo..."
	Too late! Tatewaki leapt to his feet, clutching his journal worriedly as
he made a mad dash for the door. Everyone looked about in confusion asking
each other, asking Nabiki everyone looking for confirmation. A few heavily
bandaged boys struggled to their feet determined to catch up with him.
Nabiki roared, "Come back here you wimp!" as she dashed off after Kuno.
	"...I'd like everyone to help congratulate the happy couple!" the
principal's voice continued, but no one was listening anymore as people
streamed out of the class room, some wanting to know what was going on,
some intent on protecting Kuno from Nabiki, some intent on killing Kuno,
others just intent on Nabiki. The teacher simply stood dumbfounded as his
class emptied into the halls.
- - -
	"He did it. I don't believe my father could be that foolish..." Kodachi
sighed.
	"Well, I guess we get to see what happens now," Akane shrugged, grinning a
little.
	Ranma perked up a little, "What's that rumbling noise?"
	Almost without warning the windows to the classroom behind them burst
open, the entire class crowding forward each trying to make themselves
heard over the confused babble of voices.
	"Kodachi, is it true?!", "Hey, are you guys related to Nabiki?!", "Is
Tatewaki really going to be married to Nabiki?", "Kodachi! What was your
brother thinking?", "Say are you available for a date later, cutie?", "Why
didn't you tell us?", "Is it true?", "How long has your brother been seeing
Nabiki secretly?", "C'mon you can tell us!", "Did Nabiki really force
herself onto your brother and she's now preggers?"
	Akane stepped closer to her brother without thinking, the two of them
moving into a defensive stance automatically. Ranma meanwhile smiled
sheepishly at the crowd, as Kodachi crowded against him.
	"It's not what you think guys..." Kodachi smiled uneasily at the crowd.
	The cries of "Kodachi, tell us what's going on!" were picking up steam
even as the teacher inside the classroom tried desperately to regain control.
	Akane grinned, thinking quick... she stepped towards the other wall of the
hallway and said to the class at large, "I am now hereby accepting wagers
as to how long the Tatewaki Kuno, Nabiki Tendo engagement will last! Place
your bets folks!" Akane pulled out a small pad and a pen.
	The class gave a roar of approval and the cries shifted from ones of
curiosity to ones of greed as people called out wagers. Of course this
conflicted with the noise already produced by those people who were STILL
curious.
	Ranma sighed and rolled his eyes, moving himself protectively close to
Kodachi. She didn't seem to notice Ranma's proximity. Kodachi was too busy
being... she wasn't sure WHAT the right emotion was... probably being
astonished... at Akane, "What?! What are you doing Akane?!"
	Akane muttered in a soft voice to Kodachi, continuing to smile the whole
while, "Getting their focus off of you..." she nodded to Ranma who nodded
back.
	Ranma scooped Kodachi up in his arms and had ducked down the hallway
before their confused classmates could register the fact... Akane accepted
the class' bets and did her best to explain away the situation as her
brother and Kodachi rounded the corner.
	"You didn't need to do that!" Kodachi sputtered from Ranma's arms, "I
could easily have answered the questions, this wasn't necessary."
	"Yeah, maybe," Ranma replied, "On the other hand, sis wants a chance to
check the field... and I think she was trying to get me alone with you," he
blushed slightly.
	Kodachi also blushed as she was carried further down the hall, "You can
stop and let me down already you know..." she said after a few seconds of
quiet running had passed.
	Ranma slowed to a stop, gently letting Kodachi back onto her feet. She was
smiling awkwardly at Ranma who was also giving the same smile back. Kodachi
frowned slightly then asked, "What do you mean Akane wanted to check the
field?"
	"Er..." Ranma hesitated for a moment. He glanced back, but they were far
enough away that the noise from the class was merely a dull chattering,
"She likes to size up every new school we go to for possible ways to make
more money."
	"She does that?" Kodachi asked.
	"Yeah... stuff like her taking bets, making friends with the right
people..." then he added in a grumble, "Renting me out to the varsity teams
on a per hour basis... whatever we had to do to survive."
	"I guess life on the road must've been pretty difficult for you?"
	Ranma smiled gamely back, "Well, a bit, but it was fun too. And we had
each other so that made things a lot easier." 
	Kodachi didn't know what to make of that statement, but an odd twinge of
jealousy made its presence known. She merely nodded quietly.
	The awkward silence stretched out for a painfully long time. They both
moved as if to speak, but there was an interruption as Tatewaki came
barreling down the stairwell, slamming the door shut behind him. In his
panic and terror, he did not spot them immediately and ran back into the
direction where Ranma and Kodachi had come from...
	With a powerful scream of rage Nabiki burst through the stairwell door as
well, splintering the wooden door to matchsticks. "Kuno! You are dead!"
	Ranma and Kodachi stood rooted in surprise. Kodachi looked as if she were
about to call out to the Tendo sister, but Ranma could see she was utterly
furious. Over the Principal's announcement, no doubt, so he reasoned it was
a fairly safe assumption that his elder sister would not be particularly
happy with ANY Kuno at this point. So he didn't waste time thinking or
reasoning with Nabiki. He scooped up Kodachi, and dashed off after
Tatewaki, rounding the corner with impressive speed. Nabiki caught the
movement, but not who it was... but there was only one person hiding from
her, wasn't there? Nabiki snarled as she ran down the hall. Behind her, the
rest of her class came pouring out of the stairwell, all still shouting
questions.
	Akane, meanwhile, was busy with the beginnings of getting to know everyone
better. She bantered easily with her classmates, accepting the bets, giving
out slips, chatting and gathering gossip... it was a good start.
	Just as she accepted a ridiculously large bet on 'tomorrow', Tatewaki Kuno
barreled down the hall at high speed. The crowd's attention suddenly
shifted to him. The crowd,, which had by this point surrounded Akane, moved
with surprising speed to surround Kuno to badger him with their questions.
	Tatewaki had run to this particular hall in hopes of finding assistance
from his sister. Preferably in hiding him... he gave an alarmed cry as the
crowd surged towards him, thinking that the crowd which had been chasing
him had somehow managed to get ahead of him.
	Akane on the other hand was not too happy at losing the attention of her
new classmates. But she could also see Kuno's obvious distress and panic.
She felt a momentary sympathy for the poor boy as he stood rooted in mortal
terror. Tatewaki's eyes constantly scanning the crowd for signs of Nabiki.
Akane sighed sympathetically and jumped over the crowd. She flipped easily
over them landing next to Tatewaki before the mob could.
	"Where's my sister?! She must help me! Nabiki's going to kill me!!" Kuno
said quickly.
	An anonymous wit in the audience called out a wager on the order of 'one
hour'.
	"She went down that hallway," Akane replied, "Didn't you pass her?"
	Tatewaki was about to say 'No' when a number of things occurred
simultaneously. The crowd managed to surround the two of them, pinning them
next to the windows. Ranma, also somewhat panicked and still carrying the
struggling Kodachi, careened down the hall weaving in and out of the crowd,
and occasionally jumping on people's heads just to get past. 
	"Outta my way! Coming through, one side!! Coming through!" Ranma cried out
as he passed.
	Neither of the two couples noticed each other due to the mob... however
what happened next got everyone's attention.
	Nabiki skidded to a halt at the corner, noticing the crowd with Tatewaki
at the very center of it all. She managed to roar out, "KUNO!!! You are a
DEAD MAN!" before the OTHER crowd... barreled into her.
	In response, Akane grabbed Tatewaki by the collar and pulled him with her
out the window, "Time for a quick escape Kuno-sempai..." she called out to
him.
	Tatewaki screamed, "But we're on the third floor!"
	"It's no problem sempai, really! This is nothing..." Akane replied
confidently, shifting him so that she had him cradled in her arms. It was
difficult as she was much smaller than he was, but he was certainly in no
position to resist.
	Tatewaki clung on for dear life, remarking as they passed the second
floor, "At least the pool should cushion our fall..."
	Akane cried out in alarm. "Water! Why does it always have to be water?!"
as her horrified gaze took in the sight of the placid filled pool.
	Simultaneous with Akane's leap, Nabiki's bellow sent portions of both
crowds running off in various directions... except for those who were
watching in horrified fascination as Akane and Kuno jumped out the window.
Various screams, cries for help and terrorized calls were made and
somewhere along the line, someone must've pulled a fire alarm, perhaps by
accident, perhaps not, sending people from ALL the classrooms streaming
out, adding to the milling confusion already existing.
	Ranma didn't notice this at all as he carried the younger Kuno off well
ahead of the first crowd, the second crowd, or the new and much larger
crowd which was being formed by the fire alarm.
	And as Ranma ran down the stairs, everyone else was too confused or
distant, (or in Tatewaki Kuno's case unconscious from the impact) to notice
the soaking wet figure, with the face and form of Ranma, easily lift Kuno
out of the pool, and bear him off somewhere safer.
- - -
	Ranma stopped running by the time they'd reached the rear of the gym. He
hardly looked winded as he spared a backward glance him, "I think we lost
her."
	Kodachi gave him a rather sardonic look, "I think we lost everyone. Why
did you pick me up? I've got two perfectly good legs you know," she lifted
first one dainty foot then the other, as if to illustrate the point.
	Ranma paused a moment to admire them as her skirt hiked up a little.
"Erhm... no argument," he said after a moment. He caught himself staring
after a moment and tore his gaze away to meet hers, "Er... um... I wanted
to make sure we got away from Nabiki... she looked really ticked."
	"True enough," Kodachi sighed, "I didn't realize she'd be this angry about
the engagement. Poor Tatchi."
	"Yeah," Ranma sighed in agreement.
	They were silent for several long moments. Ranma's thoughts, what could be
discussed of them, were mostly a confused jumble, but uppermost was the
thought of how light Kodachi seemed in his arms... and so warm. Kodachi's
thoughts, in addition to her annoyance at her father, not to mention worry
for both her brother and Nabiki, were constantly being interrupted by how
comfortable Ranma's arms felt... how nice it was...
	Kodachi chanced to glance at Ranma who was staring off quietly into the
distance, to notice a slight blush beginning to develop on his cheeks. She
was unaware that her own face was developing a similar blush.
	"Ahh..." Kodachi said softly after a few moments, "Maybe you should put me
down."
	Ranma blinked in surprise, glancing at her. He smiled sheepishly, "Um...
Er... yeah... I guess I ought to," he said a little regretfully.
	"Yes." Kodachi said, also a little reluctant... she could definitely get
used to this.
	"Uh-huh," Ranma agreed. Glancing off into the distance once more... he was
certain he could probably hold her like this for days...
	The two once more lapsed into silence.
	Kodachi bit back a giggle, "Any time now, Ranma."
	"Oh," Ranma said, shaken out of his stupor once more, "You meant now?"
	"Yes," she said unable to keep the amusement out of her voice anymore,
"Not that I don't... you know..." she blushed more, "Enjoy, you holding me
in your arms like this, but people will talk."
	"Well, maybe it'd get the heat off of Tatewaki-sempai and sis." Ranma
replied thoughtfully.
	"Oh, you want to make that sacrifice for them do you?" she asked coyly.
	Ranma stammered, the blush on his own face deepening, "Well... you know...
it's... we... I mean if they don't... we do, right? So we get... you
know... get along... okay, right?"
	Kodachi nodded slowly, "I... I guess. By the looks of things now, they
look like they won't last a week much less a year."
	Ranma said shyly, "Well... you know... honor of both schools at stake and
everything... Guess we have to keep them from killing each other." He
finished weakly.
	She nodded in agreement a little reluctant, "We'd better talk to them."
	"Yup."
	"I'm glad we understand each other."
	"And if they still don't..."
	"I wouldn't really mind. If they broke up... I mean..." Kodachi said after
a moment, returning his smile.
	Ranma gulped nervously, "Really?"
	"Yes, really," Kodachi replied, her arms around his neck tightening slightly.
	Ranma smiled weakly, looking into her eyes, "Me neither."
	There was another long silence as they exchanged glances, broken only by
the distant clamor of the fire alarm and the milling students who had only
now come out of the building.
	Kodachi said finally as a gust of wind blew past, "You really should put
me down, though."
- - -
	Akane... no... she or rather HE was Akaru at the moment... sighed. He laid
Kuno down gently against the tree, his face sleeping peacefully, despite
the fact that he'd managed to get himself knocked unconscious when they'd
hit the pool together. The bump was minor, and wasn't likely to be very
serious, but he wanted to make sure. The infirmary would've been the best
place to take him, only Akaru had no idea which way it was... and even
worse, the building was in the process of being evacuated, making looking
for the infirmary all the more difficult.
	He gave a disgusted snort, rubbing his chest lightly. "Stupid curse," he
muttered before giving Kuno a second look.
	They'd both managed to loose their glasses in the pool, but Akaru had
managed to grab them both before they'd gotten too far. Kuno's face was
very aristocratic. And handsome, he admitted to himself. Tatewaki was quite
handsome. His curly hair tousled and damp from their immersion in the pool,
he still managed to look charmingly disheveled rather than messy. Kuno's
uniform, like his own clothes were soaked. But that would dry out easily
enough, once the clouds cleared up again. And the body underneath was
surprisingly well muscled. Interestingly enough, unconsciousness
notwithstanding, Kuno had managed to keep a death grip on his journal. It
was fortunate that the leather outer casing was on it, otherwise, the paper
would've been reduced to runny pulp.
	Akaru reached a hand down to take the journal out of Kuno's grasp...
nominally to allow it to dry, actually out of curiosity. But the
unconscious boy's grip was surprisingly strong, and Akaru was forced to
give up. Before he could really stop to think about it... he reached a hand
up, lightly caressing Tatewaki's face... causing him to stir. 
	Panicked and embarrassed, Akaru leapt to his feet as Tatewaki blinked his
eyes groggily awake, "Uh... what happened..." he looked up at Akaru who was
towering over him. His eyes were of course blurry enough for lacking their
glasses. It was made all the worse by the fact that Akaru stood backlit by
the glare of the sky...
	Tatewaki groaned softly, "Oww my head... Ranma? Is that you?"
	"Er... yes, Kuno-sempai..." Akaru lied.
	"Where did my glasses... what happened?"
	"Nabiki chased us... I... er... Akane pulled you out of the crowd. Oh and
here's your glasses..." Akaru added, handing over one pair of spectacles.
	"Akane did that? Well, I must remember to thank her then," Kuno replied
easily. He squinted at Akaru's hand offering the glasses. As he accepted
them, Akaru immediately bolted, oddly flustered and self-conscious.
	As Kuno looked up again, several things weren't quite right. First of all,
Ranma or who he thought was Ranma had disappeared. There wasn't anyone
nearby. Second the glasses not only didn't fit right, his vision was STILL
blurry. And worse, his glasses were expensive wire frame aviator glasses...
these were cheap black plastic hornrims... he took the glasses off to get a
better look at them... if anything they reminded him of Akane's glasses...
- - -
	Nabiki grumbled angrily at the end of the day, it had been bad it had been
lousy it had been terrible. She wanted nothing more than to get home, back
to the dojo and take her stress out on some bricks as soon as possible. She
opened her shoe locker just as she was getting to leave. She closed her
eyes before reaching in. She hoped there would be one today. There was
always one, sometimes no more than a few hastily jotted down words instead
of his usual eloquence, but he never forgot. Never. But she was always
worried that whoever it was would stop. Considering the day's events, she
couldn't blame him... she lowered her hands onto her shoes, her eyes still
closed. Then she felt the texture of paper and gave a relieved sigh. He
hadn't forgotten.
	She pulled the sheet of paper out, it's outer edges slightly wrinkled and
watermarked. Handwritten on it, in beautifully rendered brushstrokes was:

Dearest Nabiki,

	You have been busy. 
	I will be thinking of you. 
	Do not forget me.

	As always, it was unsigned, but she knew the handwriting so well that
there was no need. For a brief moment, the scowl on her face vanished,
replaced by a relieved, happy smile as she held the paper close to her
heart. Before anyone else could see, she refolded the paper carefully,
slipping it into her pocket.
- - -
	Akane and Ranma walked morosely into the Tendo household, followed closely
by a simmering Nabiki.
	All three called out at the same time, "We're home!"
	Kasumi peeked out of the kitchen, wearing her usual sunny smile, "Oh,
welcome home. How was school?"
	"Lousy," Nabiki said.
	"Could've been worse," Ranma and Akane said together.
	"I'm going to the dojo..." Nabiki said and stalked off before anyone else
could say anything.
	"Oh my..." Kasumi murmured, "So how did your first day turn out? What
happened?"
	"Principal Kuno announced Nabiki and Tatewaki's engagement to the whole
school," Ranma explained, "Next thing we know, there's a riot... then the
fire alarm went off, and about three fourths of the male student body of
the school is out hunting Tatewaki. On the upshot all of our morning
classes got cancelled, and no one showed up for the afternoon classes."
	"That's nice," Kasumi replied happily, "Well, I need to get back to my
cooking..."
	As Kasumi stepped back into the kitchen, humming merrily, Akane turned to
her brother, "You know... nobody can be that cheerful... is she on
medication, you think?"
	Ranma gave Akane a disapproving glance and she grinned playfully at him,
sticking her tongue out.
	"Come on... let's join Nabiki in the dojo... she really looks like she
needs to talk," Akane said.
	Ranma gave her a worried glance, "You've got another scheme again..."
	"Trust me! Everything will be fine. I promise," Akane smiled brightly at him.
	"Yeah, but there's usually a catch somewhere," Ranma shrugged as she
tugged him towards the dojo, he muttered darkly, "I still remember your
scheme with Azusa..."	
	"It worked didn't it?" Akane asked with an enigmatic grin.
	"Yeah, but I ended up in twice as much trouble because of it!"
	"But I got you out, didn't I?" Akane smirked.
	"Well... yeah..."
	"See? It'll work out great trust me!"
	"Alright already. Hey, what happened to your glasses?"
	"Er... must've lost them somewhere..." Akane said vaguely.
	The two found Nabiki who had since changed into her gi in the process of
shattering five stacked hollow blocks. Bare handed. With a single strike. 
	"Wow." Ranma muttered.
	Akane nodded slowly and moved her mental assessment of Nabiki upward by
another notch or so.
	Nabiki dusted her hands then whirled around suddenly, facing the two, eyes
furious, "What do you two want?!"
	Akane approached slowly, "Well... we thought you might like to talk..?"
she said smiling placatingly.
	Ranma, a bit more timid, took a step back... whooo boy she was really
ticked...
	Nabiki glared at the two for a long moment then seemed to suddenly
deflate... as if all the anger had been suddenly let out of her. She
straightened up, chuckling wryly, "I guess this isn't exactly the
homecoming you two were expecting, huh?"
	Akane smiled at her, "No... not at all."
	Ranma shook his head.
	Nabiki smiles sadly, "Sorry... I know I haven't exactly been acting like
the best big sister in the world... a bit like an insane raving madwoman,
hmmm?"
	"Erhm... I wouldn't say that..." Ranma began to say.
	Akane kept a diplomatic silence.
	Nabiki grinned at her two younger siblings, "Okay... enough of this... I
need to relax and you two can help me."
	Ranma and Akane traded glances, "You want to take a bath with us?" they
asked incredulously.
	Nabiki blushed crimson, "No! That's not it!" She went down into a combat
stance, "Let's spar."
	"But there's two of us..." Ranma started to say.
	"And I fight fifty guys everyday, come on... Fight me!"
	The two glanced at one another then back to Nabiki. They shared a shrug
and also went down into defensive stances side by side.
	Nabiki dropped to a very low crouch, whirling her leg out to sweep her two
siblings, but Akane and Ranma picked up on the move very quickly, both
leaping straight up into the air to avoid the leg.
	Nabiki glanced up, watching in surprise as Akane leapt to a height of
about six feet, somehow kicking out and flipping over onto Ranma's
shoulders just as he landed. Before Nabiki could reposition herself, Akane
had launched herself from a crouch on her brother's shoulders into a flying
shoulder tackle right at Nabiki's head.
	Thinking fast, Nabiki rolled backwards as Akane sailed over her. Her bare
feet catching Akane in the stomach, but Akane's forward motion and her own
backward roll combined to keep either of them from getting hurt. Akane
touched ground lightly, rolling quickly back to her feet as Nabiki kicked
back up.
	Ranma wasted no time as Nabiki regained her feet and sent a roundhouse
kick at her. Nabiki ducked under it, rising back into a vicious uppercut as
Ranma's leg cut the air above her. Ranma, managing to retain his balance,
despite the awkward position, leaned back just far enough to avoid Nabiki's
punch.
	"Ahem," Akane said distinctly, sending her own leg around in a low sweep
for her sister's legs. Nabiki barely managed to see the attack coming. She
leapt out and sidewards, trying to keep herself from being boxed in by her
two siblings. She grinned. She hadn't fought anyone this good in a long
time. The three whirled to face one another, returning to their ready stances.
	Nabiki grinned, "Hey, you two are really good."
	"Thanks," Akane returned the grin.
	Nabiki gave a battle cry and suddenly rushed towards them, fist raised for
a thrust strike. She lashed out at Akane as she came within range. The
younger girl whirled around and sidestepped, intending to deliver a blow to
Nabiki's back while she was still unbalanced from the strike. With perfect
timing, Ranma dropped to the ground, whirling his own leg out into a low
sweep. They attacked  Nabiki simultaneously from above and below, moving in
opposite directions.
	Nabiki moved automatically, snapping her rear leg straight, she sprang
forward, narrowly avoiding both attacks. She rolled back to her feet
lunging back at both of them with a series of combination kicks and
punches. This sort of maneuver always worked well on the guys who attacked
her in the mornings... but she was amazed to find Ranma and Akane easily
ducking and weaving between each strike, but even more amazing was that
neither got in the other's way. They spread out on either side of her,
forcing her to divide her attentions between the two, her every strike
avoided.
	Akane and Ranma both watched Nabiki's furious attack. It was an all out
assault, but she left surprisingly few openings in her defense... the two
waited until they found a particularly large gap in Nabiki's defenses...
then, the two, without a word exchanged between them reached out suddenly.
Akane touched a finger to the middle of Nabiki's chest and Ranma touched
his own finger to Nabiki's back, along her spine.
	Stunned Nabiki glanced at one... then the other... then back, "I can't
believe you both got me at the same time," she said weakly and breathlessly.
	Akane and Ranma both said suddenly, glancing at each other, "We did?"
	They both peered over Nabiki's shoulders to look at what the other had done.
	There was a moment's pause before all three suddenly burst into laughter.
	Nabiki grinned when they'd managed to recover their breath, "I'm just glad
it was you two who beat me."
	Akane looked thoughtfully at Nabiki, "Instead of those guys at school right?"
	Nabiki flushed slightly, "A bunch of raving idiots."
	"Don't you get tired of it all, Nabiki?" Akane asked slowly. Ranma knew
she was baiting the hook... he just hoped he didn't get too badly caught up
in the fallout this time.
	"Of course I'm tired of it," Nabiki said with a sigh, "Every single day...
I mean, get real. The training is good and all, but they're getting really
tiresome about it."
	Akane grinned, "Well, I think I can rid you of that problem easily... and
at the same time quiet down the rumors in school... if you're willing to
consider it."
	Nabiki looked up at her sister in surprise and disbelief, "Really?"
	Ranma shook his head and sighed.
	Nabiki glanced at him, "You mean she can't?"
	"Erhm... no... no..." Ranma said hastily as Akane whirled to glare at him,
"If she says she can do it, she can probably do it..."
	Nabiki looked somewhat suspiciously at Akane, then sighed, "If you think
you can, I'd really appreciate it."
	"Well, you'll have to cooperate and do exactly as I say, Nabiki, alright?"
Akane smiled thoughtfully, "And we'll have to talk to Kuno-sempai too..."
	Nabiki's eyes narrowed, "Tatewaki? Why do you have to talk to him for?"
	Akane smiled slyly, "He's an important part of the plan..."
	Soun stepped into the dojo beaming happily at the three of them, "Ahh...
so good to see my beloved children practicing together."
	A chorus of greeting came from the three.
	"Oh, Nabiki... your fianc� is here." Soun said gravely, but the wink and
the distinct impression of a leer in his voice ruined the effect.
	Nabiki gave a low growl, her fist clenching.
	Tatewaki peeked nervously around the doorway and caught sight of the
simmering Nabiki, then looked at Soun, "Uncle Tendo, I told you not to say
that..." he said in a quavering voice.
	Nabiki's face was absolutely furious... and if someone had managed to put
a coal in her hand at that point, it would no doubt have been crushed to
diamond.
	"I'm here too!" smiled Kodachi cheerfully from the door. 
	Ranma's face immediately brightened up as he moved to the door to meet
her, "Hi, Ko-chan."
	"Hi, Ran-chan." Kodachi moved closer smiling happily at him.
	Soun raised an eyebrow, glancing at the happy couple of Ranma and
Kodachi... then at the decidedly less than happy couple of the simmering
Nabiki and the cowering Tatewaki... well life wasn't perfect, he shrugged. 
	"I'll leave you kids here." Soun said giving the impression of nodding
approvingly to Tatewaki, clapping the young man on the shoulder, "Take good
care of my little girl, alright? You have my permission to take her out
tonight, but bring her home at a decent hour."
	"But..!" Tatewaki began to protest. However it was too late, Soun had
already made his way back to the house.
	Akane smirked, catching Tatewaki's arm, and pulling him into the dojo,
"Ahh... just the man I was looking for..."
	"I beg your pardon..?" Tatewaki asked half in shock.
	"So you're here to take Nabiki out?" Akane grinned, "It certainly makes
things easier all around..."
	Nabiki gave a derisive snort, "I wouldn't go out with him if his life
depended on it."
	"Actually it does, Nabiki..." Akane said slowly, "If your admirers catch
up to him, he's dead meat."
	Tatewaki managed to continue in a small voice, "Actually, I'm just here to
ask Ranma if he saw my glasses when he pulled me out of the pool."
	Ranma on hearing his name called managed to tear himself away from Kodachi
for a moment, "Um... pool... what..?"
	"Did you see my spectacles when you rescued me from the pool? You gave me
someone else's pair... they must've fallen..." Kuno held up the pair of
black hornrims.
	Akane squinted, "Hey... those're mine..." she gave a faint blush, "Oh
yes... Ranma did find your glasses Kuno-sempai..." she shot him a look and
he returned a confused glance, but nodded, "He gave them to me for safe
keeping," as she pulled Tatewaki's wireframes from her pocket.
	The two traded glasses and put them on, looking much more comfortable as
they smiled at each other... 
	"Er... yeah... right... safekeeping." Ranma said after a while. Kodachi
shot him a puzzled glance, but he smiled nervously and nodded to her.
	"Well, you got what you came for, now go away, Tatewaki." Nabiki snapped.
	"Wait... wait!" Akane said, standing in the middle of their small
gathering, "Hear me out everybody. If everyone will just please cooperate,
we will not only be able to get rid of Nabiki's unwelcome suitors, keep
Kuno-sempai safe from her admirers, keep our family honor, and still allow
the two of you to spend as little time together as you want." She grinned.
	All four stared incredulously at Akane.
	"It's really perfectly simple..." Akane grinned as she outlined her plan.
- - -


=====
TimeRunner's Page:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/7482

icq: 7153134 (Keiichi)
=====

"The story grew in the most convoluted way, as many people will be
surprised to learn. Writing episodically meant that when I finished one
episode I had no idea about what the next one would contain. When, in the
twists and turns of the plot, some event su
ddenly seemed to illuminate things that had gone before, I was as surprised
as anyone else."

--- Douglas Adams, "A Guide to the Guide"

"Mos people who want to be writers don't really want to be writers. They
want to HAVE BEEN  writers."

--- James A. Michener