Love Letters from the Edge
A Ranma 1/2 Elseworlds by the Scriviner

Foreword:
 What actually set off this story was an episode
of Kinyo Chui Ho Wapiko-chan, I saw a couple of
months back, where one of the characters hit her head
and had a long elaborate dream sequence where
everyone was acting the opposite of how they normally
acted. I figured it was a great idea for a fic... but
then I figured, it'd be more intriguing to see if I
could make a single change which would result in a
cascade of events which would lead to the resulting
opposite personalities/behavior in people.
    This is it folks, last one for this series. I finally
completed a series at long last. ^^;
 In any case, rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi,
and I wouldn't dream of trying to steal em. C&C
always welcomed. And now... on with the story...


Chapter 10: ...is a crowd.
 The late weekend afternoon was apologetically
edging its way towards evening, at the Tendo dojo.
The sounds of flesh striking flesh, the whipcrack of
fists and feet as they cut through the air in
powerful movements, the grunts of effort and the
trademarked martial arts kiais had finally given way
to a more sedate and lazy silence as Ranma and Akane
had already completed their training for the day and
the cleaning up of the dojo had been done leaving
little else for them to do. But one must remember
something about workouts... they get the blood really
pumping...
 Of course, this did not help Nabiki much, as
she still heard rather odd noises coming from inside
the dojo as she passed by. She needed to speak to
someone and since her problem, (as it were) was not
something she wanted to make the rounds of the
school, she certainly couldn't talk to her usual
friends about it. Hence she was walking towards the
dojo. She needed to talk to Ranma... who knew?
Perhaps a male perspective would help straighten
things out. This was quite a big step to take for a
former man-hater, but then again she still had
trouble thinking of Ranma as a guy, per se... even
granting that by his reputation he'd proved it out
more than several times already. She knew perhaps she
should talk to Akane, but she was still rather
uncomfortable with her sister's attitudes. And
especially when one considered what Nabiki's problem
was and about WHOM, it wasn't entirely prudent to ask
for Akane's opinion on the matter.
 Which all brings us back to where she was,
standing just around the corner of the dojo's door.
She knew she could just walk in and ask Akane if she
could speak with Ranma privately for a while... but
she'd become very leery of walking in on the two of
them. Even before she'd stepped out of the house,
she'd resolved that she would knock first and give
them enough time to get... well... decent. Since she
had no idea what other... things... the two could be
doing behind closed doors. She swore to herself that
the two were utterly shameless, scandalous and it
would serve them right if they got caught. Of course,
there was also the tiny twinge of envy and curiosity,
but she snuffed THAT out rather brutally.
 She admitted to herself that she might be
reading a little too much into what she'd seen, since
Kodachi seemed to know about everything and seemed to
be fine with it. And Kodachi was a pretty straight
laced and traditional girl. Which either meant there
really WAS nothing going on, or that Ranma and Akane
were a lot more persuasive than she gave them credit
for.
 Her thoughts were wandering again, but that was
okay too... she knew she really should knock and let
them know she was going to come in, but just standing
out there let her have time to gather her courage
together... that and the fact that she needed a
little extra time to NOT be affected by the sounds
coming out of the dojo. There were actually two major
sounds... the very soft intermittent grunting, which
she was fairly sure was Ranma... but she couldn't be
very sure because it was mostly getting blocked off
by the faint half sighed moans she could also hear...
definitely louder... and it definitely sounded like
it was Akane... she really should either knock or
move away, she thought ... just standing there
LISTENING to them... she was going to turn into
someone as bad as Akane! They were absolutely
shameless! In the middle of the day and in the dojo
no less! Occasionally she could also make out random
snatches of conversation, but those were even worse
than the grunts and moans...
 "... come on... you can do it harder than
THAT..." that was Akane, Nabiki supplied mentally...
 "Okay, okay..." Ranma's voice filtered out.
 "... Mmm... yesss... that's so nice..." Akane
sighed.
 It went on in that vein for a few more minutes
before Nabiki finally lost her nerve. She turned on
her heel and resolved to speak to Ranma AFTER
dinner... let them have some time for themselves...
yeah that was it... and she needed him coherent,
not... well... worn out. She assumed guys got worn
out...
 Nabiki was halfway to the house when Ukyou and
Kodachi stepped out.
 "Oh, hi, Kodachi... this is a surprise..."
Nabiki said.
 Kodachi smiled back sweetly, "Hi! Ucchan and I
just dropped by to see if we could convince Ran-chan
to join us out to dinner."
 Ukyou smiled a little shyly, "Hello."
 Nabiki nodded, "Sounds good," she glanced over
her shoulder uncomfortably and said vaguely, "Um...
I... uh... think he's... um..." she blushed, "Busy...
with Akane..."
 Ukyou looked slightly disappointed, "Oh..."
 "It's okay, we can drag Akane along too,"
Kodachi said to Ukyou cheerily.
 Ukyou nodded, "Yeah, that sounds okay," she
giggled slightly, "Though he's going to have to divvy
up his attention between the three of us."
 Kodachi joined her giggling, "I'm sure he can
handle it."
 Nabiki glanced at Ukyou curiously and cleared
her throat... "Wow, you two seem to be getting along
really well."
 Kodachi and Ukyou traded glances and smiled,
"Well," Ukyou said, "We decided we both liked him too
much to alarm him by arguing."
 Kodachi nodded in agreement, "Besides, its a
lot easier being friends than rivals."
 "Especially since I'm staying at Ko-chan's
place," Ukyou added fastidiously.
 "Only till Monday though, right," Kodachi
smirked, "After that I get Ranma to myself."
 Ukyou smirked back, "At least until my transfer
clears, then I'm moving here... I've been without him
for a couple of years anyway, I can stand a little
longer... then you're going to have to share."
 Kodachi sniffed slightly, "I guess we'll have
to live with this until we figure out who'd be better
for him."
 Ukyou nodded. There was a definite
understanding between the two of them.
 Nabiki just stared at them, "You two are
strange."
 Ukyou shrugged expressively, "Anything to be
with Ranma."
 "I wouldn't quite have put it that way..."
Kodachi winced slightly, "But it's better than having
to fight over him."
 "What is it about him..?" Nabiki murmured
wonderingly.
 "We'll see you later, Nabiki... we'll look in
on Ranma and Akane..." Kodachi said cheerfully.
 Ukyou looked thoughtful for a moment then said,
"Say, Nabiki, would you like to join us? You look
like you need someone to talk to..."
 Nabiki shifted uncomfortably, "Um... I
dunno...no, I think not. Thanks though."
 Kodachi gave a small concerned smile as she
passed Nabiki, "If you're sure. Just let us grab your
brother and we'll be out of here."
 Nabiki's face seemed panicked, "Do you think
you should... um... interrupt them?!"
 Kodachi shrugged and smiled at Nabiki, "Well,
judging from what I can hear from here, it's nothing
they wouldn't mind us stepping in on."
 Nabiki blanched.
 Ukyou looked curiously at Kodachi, "What ARE
they doing?"
 Kodachi took Ukyou's arm, "You'll see for
yourself," and pulled the other girl the rest of the
way.
 Nabiki recoiled slightly, "I'll... um..."
 "Nabiki? There's a call for you on the phone."
Kasumi's gentle voice filtered out to the back yard.
 "Uh... 'scuse me..." Nabiki said apologetically
as she beat a hasty retreat into the house, thanking
Kasumi quietly the whole while.
- - -
 Akane had her eyes closed, and her face had the
warm flush of a vigorous workout. Her lips were
parted slightly, and an expression of pure bliss was
on her face as Ukyou and Kodachi entered the dojo.
Akane obviously took no notice of them, she was too
deeply engrossed in what Ranma was doing to her.
Ranma however who was right behind Akane, did notice
them.
 "Hi, Ko-chan... hi, Ucchan," Ranma smiled,
continuing what he was doing.
 "Hi, Ran-chan," the two girls chorused. Kodachi
smirked slightly and Ukyou gave the Tendo siblings an
odd look, "What're you doing?" she said.
 Akane's eyes fluttered open after a moment,
"Mmm... oh... hi guys..."
 Kodachi crossed her arms, "Another of those
famous Ranma Tendo treatments, hmmm?"
 Ranma blushed slightly, "Er... yeah."
 "Pure heaven," Akane murmured, as her brother
continued to knead the last of the tension from her
shoulders.
 Ukyou looked curiously, "Really?"
 Kodachi turned to her and said
enthusiastically, "Yeah. He usually gives me one
after my rhythmic gymnastics training."
 Akane smirked, "Yeah... you get them from him
free and I have to bargain for one... mmmm... a
little harder, bro..."
 Ranma harumphed quietly, "That's because she's
nicer about asking for them."
 Noticing the expression on Ukyou's face, she
glanced speculatively at Ranma, "Say... why not give
Ukyou one? Let her see what she's been missing."
 "Hmm?" Ranma looked up, "Would you like a
backrub, Ukyou? I'm nearly done with Akane, would you
like a turn?"
 "I don't know..." Ukyou smiled hesitantly.
 Kodachi pulled Ukyou further into the dojo,
"Come on, you'll love it!"
- - -
 Nabiki caught the tail end of their
conversation as she stepped into the house. She had
to revise her estimate somewhat... apparently Ukyou
hadn't been introduced to... whatever it was that
Ranma did to Akane and Kodachi... and now thy were
introducing her to whatever perversion that was...
she shuddered... wondering to herself how warped her
siblings were... and yet she couldn't help but feel a
little jealous at how close the two of them were... a
lot closer than she was with Kasumi, that was for
sure. But she was also sure she wasn't going to do
any of THAT for bonding's sake. She shuddered
slightly as she reached the phone.
 "Hello, this is Nabiki."
 "Nabiki, it's Tatewaki... are you busy?"
 "Not really..." she said tentatively. She
wasn't entirely enthusiastic about talking to
Tatewaki... she already saw him too often at school
for comfort sometimes. While she would admit he was
okay company, all of the speculation regarding their
engagement was really starting to wear thin.
 "Well... there's a new bookstore at the mall...
and... um... well, I'm rather bored here. Would you
like to join me?"
 "I don't know..." Nabiki began to reply, but
there was a sudden beeping, "Um... that's the call
waiting, Tatewaki, hold, okay?"
 "Sure."
 BEEP
 "Hello, Tendo Dojo," Nabiki said.
 "Hello? Yes... Nabiki? It's Dr. Toufuu..."
 "Oh, Hello, Doctor. Is anything the matter?"
 "I just wanted to confirm with Kasumi that I'll
be dropping by for dinner," the mild mannered voice
of the doctor returned, "She invited me."
 "Oh," Nabiki nodded, "I'll... uh... should I
give her the phone?" she asked worriedly.
 "No need. If you could just pass the message
on. I can't stay on the phone long, I have another
patient coming in."
 "Sure, no problem," Nabiki replied. She waited
until she heard the click of the doctor putting the
phone down and hurriedly jabbed the button to return
the line to Tatewaki, "Okay, I'm joining you. It's
not going to be safe to have dinner at home," she
said hurriedly.
 "Not safe?" Kuno's voice asked.
 "Doctor Toufuu's dropping by."
 "Ah. Well, I'll pick you up in..."
 "No, I'll meet you at the mall."
 "But Satsuke's driving, it's no trouble..."
 Nabiki frowned, "Look I can get there on my
own, okay?!"
 "Sure, sure... no problem. See you in a while."
 Nabiki put the phone down. Well... out with
Kuno again... of course, it would be a great deal
safer being with him than here... with the doctor and
her sister in the same place.
 She peeked into the kitchen where Kasumi was
finishing straightening up and said, "Kasumi? Dr.
Toufuu just called..."
 Kasumi whirled suddenly, facing Nabiki, her
face was as impassively cheerful as always, but her
eyes were wide open and sparkling eagerly, "He did?"
she asked in her mellow voice, but there was an odd
edge to it.
 Nabiki gulped nervously, "He said he'd be
dropping by for dinner?"
 Kasumi's face brightened immediately, "That's
wonderful!!" she declared, the plate in her grasp
slipping and smashing onto the floor. Nabiki could
almost swear she heard strains of violin music
playing in the background.
 "Yeah... um... I'm going out for dinner... and
so are Ranma and Akane I think..."
 Kasumi smiled brightly at her, "Alright! Oh, I
have so much to prepare!" as she bustled around the
kitchen, her feet crunching on the shattered plate as
she moved around. Practically stumbling on her own
two feet as she eagerly rooted through the cupboards,
"I know the good china's in here somewhere..." she
murmured.
 "Um... Kasumi... that's where you keep the
detergent..." Nabiki said cautiously
 "Oh my... that's right! Silly me!" Kasumi
giggled happily and then tromped over to the sink,
peering at it closely, "Maybe they're here?"
 Nabiki rolled her eyes and slipped away
unnoticed by Kasumi, who had once again entered her
own world. It was pointless to try and talk to her
when she was in this state. There were times when
Nabiki would swear that she was probably the only
normal one in the family. Now THAT was a scary
though.
- - -
 Nabiki looked up from the magazine she was
reading right into Tatewaki's smiling, bespectacled
face, "Got what you wanted?" she asked idly.
 Tatewaki nodded, "Yup. Zen and the Art of
Motorcycle repair. I once had a copy, but I believe
my sister may have misplaced it."
 "Can't see why you'd need it. It's not like
you've got a motorcycle."
 "Ah, but you miss the point, it is simply using
the vehicle, as it were of motorcycle repair as a
metaphor for explaining the more obscure truths
regarding..."
 Nabiki nodded wearily, not really in the mood
for a long winded explanation, "Right, right... let's
get going. I'm starved."
 Kuno nodded at her interruption then glanced at
the magazine she was reading, "Vogue?"
 Nabiki glared at him, "What?"
 "Oh... nothing," Tatewaki stammered, "It's
just... well, I didn't expect you to be reading
something like... I mean... I assumed you were
reading the Martial arts magazines..."
 Nabiki's frown deepened, "Are you trying to say
something, Tatewaki?" she growled, leaning close to
him.
 "No. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Not a word,"
He replied hurriedly, trying to pacify her quickly.
 "You probably don't think a tomboy like me
should be reading something like this?" she said in
tones of low menace.
 "That's not what I meant and you know it!"
Tatewaki replied sharper than he'd intended.
 "Well what did you mean?!"
 "It's just that you simply did not strike me as
someone who'd be reading a fashion magazine," he
attempted to explain rationally.
 "And why NOT?!" her voice was decidedly furious
other people in the book store were already glancing
in their direction.
 "Because you never wear make up, you always
dress nicely. I mean it didn't seem at all as if you
need to read that sort of thing," Tatewaki answered
soothingly.
 Nabiki deflated slightly. The was an irked look
on her face, but deep inside she felt somewhat
mollified and flattered despite herself, "Don't think
flattery's going to save you," she grumbled, "We're
going to get something to eat first and if I still
feel like flattening you afterwards, I will."
 "Looking forward to it," Tatewaki murmured in a
deadpan voice as he led the way to the food court.
 The two teens ambled easily through the mall
with that patented swagger one so often sees among
members of the mall subculture engaged in the
activity known as 'hanging out'. It's not so much a
walk as a very leisurely undirected amble designed to
take one in no particular direction, but serves more
to eat up time rather than save it. As they walked
there was the occasional sally of conversation from
one or the other. Which was more often than not
politely, or in Tatewaki's case, less than politely,
shot down by the other.
 From a goodly distance it was even possible to
imagine that the two of them were a pleasant young
couple just out for a leisurely stroll through the
mall. Closer, however, Tatewaki's relaxed air
could've easily been taken for boredom or well hidden
tension. While Nabiki's entire stance seemed to be
that of someone just itching for a fight at the
slightest provocation. Every so often she shot
Tatewaki a glance which was more puzzled than
anything else. As though asking herself what she was
doing here with him.
 "Hey, Tatewaki," Nabiki said suddenly after a
long uncomfortable silence.
 "Yes?"
 "Have you talked to your dad about the
engagement recently? Any luck getting him to call it
off?"
 "I've had some luck," Tatewaki replied
smoothly, "All of it bad. He refuses to budge on the
matter. I can only assume you have not fared any
better?"
 "Nope," Nabiki said, "He saw you walking me
home the other day and he was ready to rent out the
wedding hall right then and there."
 "Oh."
 Nabiki smirked slightly, "I'm almost tempted to
continue on with Akane's plan... have some girl
pretend to fall for you so that our parents can see
we're no meant to be."
 "Oh no. Not again. Once is enough." Tatewaki
said firmly.
 Nabiki raised an eyebrow, "What's the matter?"
her voice took a nasty edge to it, "I thought you
enjoyed the attention."
 He gulped nervously, "That is not the point,
your sister already has a boyfriend who I might add
is a psychopathic miscreant quite given towards
physical violence."
 "Well, you can't blame him," Nabiki said
somewhat amused, "He thought you were making time
with Akane."
 "Which I would like to point out," Tatewaki
added primly, "I was NOT doing."
 "Well... why not some other girl?" Nabiki said
thoughtfully, "I mean I've seen how some of our
classmates look at you. I'm sure they'd probably
enjoy it."
 Tatewaki blinked at her, "Whatever do you
mean?"
 "What I mean, dimbulb," she said to him slowly,
"Is that I know for a fact at least half the girls in
our class have crushes on you."
 "Surely you're joking," he looked mildly
disturbed by the thought.
 "No, I'm not... and don't call me Shirley,"
Nabiki grinned, "And I can't see why you'd deny it, I
mean its blatantly obvious."
 "Not to me it isn't," he denied, "I have
noticed no such thing."
 Nabiki rolled her eyes, "Are you really that
clueless? Come on! Geez, Let's see... Kimiko stares
at you nearly all day in class, Miko would probably
faint if you so much as said hello to her. Yohko
already put together the Tatewaki Kuno fan club...
they think you're a hot property."
 "I did not realize..." he seemed mildly
intrigued a the idea.
 "Any one of those girls would probably be more
than willing to help us out of this engagement thing,
because it'd mean you would be on the market again,"
Nabiki explained.
 "And yourself?" Kuno asked with a playful
smirk, "What do you think of all of this?"
 She glared at him through hooded lids, "Don't
flatter yourself. I think you're tolerable as guys
go, but that's not that much of a step up. You are
most definitely NOT my type. Now, about you and the
other ladies," she shifted the topic back gleefully.
 "I... I don't know. This does not sit well with
me. Did we not give up on Akane's entire scheme to
begin with simply because it was unpleasantly...
well... deceitful? Should we lower ourselves to those
base depths, even if it is to free ourselves from our
suffering?"
 Nabiki's eyes narrowed slightly, "Are you
calling this engagement suffering?"
 Tatewaki returned her gaze, "Can you honestly
say you are enjoying yourself?"
 "Point taken," Nabiki conceded, "On the other
hand... if you could meet one of those girls and
really do end up liking her... I mean, where's the
deceit there? It's perfect! You go and date around,
find yourself someone who you'd like and we can have
our end of the entire engagement thing cancelled
because your heart would belong to someone else
already!"
 Tatewaki blinked at her, "I can see that
scheming apparently runs in the family," she frowned
at him, as he continued, "Notwithstanding your
masterful ploy, the gaping holes in it seem to be as
follows... first... would be the fact that for all
practical purposes I am marked territory. Yours, if
rumor is correct. No girl would risk your wrath by
going out with me, nor would informing them of this
be of any use to us, for such information would
surely reach my father's ears, and we would be most
assuredly caught. Second, I am not interested in any
of the other girls in our class. Third, it would
surely be decidedly awkward. And the most important
fourth, is the fact that I have NEVER asked a girl
out on a date! I would not have the faintest idea of
what to do, how to act, what to say..." he shuddered
nervously at the mere thought, "It would be a
disaster! It would be horrible."
 Nabiki shared at him, "Geez, lighten up,
Tatewaki. It's not like I asked you to defuse a
nuclear bomb or anything, you just ask a girl out. I
mean, I know you're shy and all, but that's too
much."
 "Well... I ask you out, don't I?" he said
tentatively.
 Nabiki's eyes narrowed, "Of course, this isn't
a date."
 "Of course. We don't date," Tatewaki babbled
nervously at her, "We never date... we just... hang
out... yes..."
 "Good," Nabiki said, "You better remember
that."
 "Perhaps the other way around?" he said idly
after a moment, "We have already established that the
entirety of the male student body is attracted to
you... with a few exceptions..."
 "What?" she laughed, "Me? Date the guys from
our school? No, thank you. Not interested." She said
flatly.
 The expression which passed across Tatewaki's
face could've been perhaps relief or nonchalance or
perhaps even a tired resignation, but it was
difficult to tell, "Well, then it would appear that
we remain stuck."
 But Nabiki had failed to notice him as her
attention had been caught by the display window of
the jewelry store they passed, "Oh my... look at
that," she murmured breathlessly.
 Tatewaki moved over to stand next to her,
looking curiously at the display. It was a tiny
katana, gilt in delicate gold trim. On the display
next to it was a similarly tine sheath, which was
attached to a gold charm bracelet.
 "Lovely... some sort of letter opener, I
imagine," Tatewaki replied.
 Nabiki smiled sadly, "Wish I could buy it. But
it looks kinda pricey."
 "Rather," Tatewaki nodded.
 "Hey, what're you guys doing here?" a familiar
voice called out from behind them.
 Tatewaki and Nabiki turned to find Ryouga and
Akane arm in arm looking at the both of them.
 Akane's voice was bright and cheerful but there
was a slight edge to it, "So you guys are here on a
date?"
 "We are NOT dating!!" Nabiki snapped and Kuno
said calmly, "It's not a date."
 Akane nodded slowly, "Right."
 "I thought you were going with Ranma, Ukyou and
Kodachi for dinner or something?" Nabiki asked.
 "I was going to, but Ryouga showed up," Akane
replied giggling slightly as she entwined her arm
with Ryouga's. Ryouga smiled happily back at her and
they exchanged pecks on the cheek.
 "So we're on a date," Akane finished.
 Kuno looked at the happy couple, then glanced
at Nabiki for a moment, then back to Akane... be
couldn't be certain why, but a small pang of envy
stabbed at his heart.
 Ryouga noticed Kuno's expression and his face
shifted to a dark frown, "What're you looking at,
Kuno?"
 Kuno surprised at Ryouga's tone glanced at him,
only now remembering who this person was... Akane had
explained to him about Ryouga's poor sense of
direction and how the entire bathroom incident was an
accident, but it didn't exactly help him warm up to
the fellow. Not to mention his rather heavy handed
treatment of Akane, at least from what Tatewaki had
seen... despite himself, he felt his own temper
rising, "Do you have a problem with me, Hibiki?!"
 Ryouga stepped past Akane, glowering at
Tatewaki, "Damn right, I've got a problem with you
and your wandering eye! You've already got a fianc�,
so stop looking at my girlfriend!"
 Tatewaki took a step forward as well, until he
and Ryouga were practically nose to nose, "Akane
Tendo happens to be a good friend of mine, and I see
no reason why I should not look at her or speak to
her if I so choose! If you are too insecure to deal
with that then perhaps you should seek counseling!"
 Ryouga was already in the process of rolling up
his sleeve, "Insecure?! You're calling ME insecure?!
You are DEAD!"
 Tatewaki stood his ground, dropping to a
stance.
 The Tendo sisters meanwhile were frantically
trying to stop them this whole while.
 "Guys! We're in public! This is so
embarrassing!" Nabiki muttered, trying to pull at
Tatewaki's arm.
 "Ryouga, it's not worth it! Come on, just walk
away!" Akane pleaded.
 Both men ignored them, as they dropped into
ready stances, feeling out one another's defenses.
 Nabiki snapped at Akane, "This wouldn't have
happened if you'd kept your boyfriend on a shorter
leash!"
 "My boyfriend?!" Akane snapped back, her temper
fraying, "Well if you'd ever bothered being more
interested in him, maybe Tatewaki wouldn't be so
interested in looking at me!"
 "So you're saying this is MY fault?!" Nabiki
shot back.
 "Well think about it, he's got to be the best
catch in the whole school and you treat him like
dirt!"
 "I do NOT treat him like dirt!" Nabiki
protested.
 "If he were my fiance--" Akane began to say but
Nabiki cut her off.
 "So you ARE still interested in him!"
 "I am NOT interested, I have a boyfriend
already! You're lucky Tatewaki-kun even sticks around
you! I'm surprised he hasn't gone off already!"
 By this time a small crowd had gathered to
watch the row between the two women. Also by this
time, Ryouga and Tatewaki's little argument had
fallen to the wayside as the full blown ripsnorter
Akane and Nabiki were cooking up roared out in full
force.
 "Um... ladies?" Tatewaki tried.
 "Akane-chan?" Ryouga said meekly, "Nabiki?"
 "We aren't fighting anymore..." Tatewaki said,
smiling weakly.
 "Yeah, look, everything's hunky-dory,
sweetie... we're buddies now, see?" Ryouga tried with
forced cheeriness his arm around Kuno's shoulders and
Kuno's arm around his.
 "Shut up!" Akane snapped at him, turning back
to glare at Nabiki.
 Nabiki shouted at the two men, "Keep out of
this, family argument."
 Tatewaki and Ryouga both cowered, clinging to
each other under the intensity of the Tendo sister's
glares, "We're shutting up now," the two said in
uniformly small voices.
 It took a while, but eventually, the argument
did wind down with no significant damage done to
anyone. But not before mall security had been called
in to handle the matter. All in all, a rather bang up
ending to a date... or to a session of hanging out.
- - -
 Nabiki sighed as she reclined into the plush
seats of the Kuno family limo. She had protested when
Tatewaki had insisted on having her ride the car
home, but not too much. She certainly didn't feel
like walking. Another argument with Akane, and this
one in public no less... how embarrassing. Tatewaki
himself had not decided to ride the car, which might
have actually been part of what convinced Nabiki to
accept the ride. He seemed pretty upset. More at
himself than at anything else. She knew he didn't
often loose his temper and he didn't like it when he
did. Especially considering that he nearly got into a
fight, which would NOT sit well at all with his
mother. So instead she and Akane had gotten into a
fight.
 Nabiki ran the argument over in her head once
more, she wasn't even certain WHY they had been
fighting or precisely over what. On reflection what
seemed to have been the major issues was that Akane
still seemed to like Tatewaki, and for the life of
her, Nabiki didn't know why this upset her so much,
except possibly because of her boyfriend... not to
mention her entire relationship with Ranma... another
may have been Nabiki's treatment of Tatewaki. That
one really hit home. Was she being unfair to him? All
things considered? He was a pretty nice guy, he
deserved someone who would take good care of him...
instead of me. Then there was the fact that Tatewaki
DID seem to like Akane also, but she couldn't
understand it entirely... it seemed more as if he was
worried that Ryouga wasn't good enough for her. She
would ask herself why he would care, but then when
she thought about it the answer was simple. It was
just the kind of guy he was, she guessed.
 But the part she kept turning over in her mind
was what she should do with Tatewaki. They were
certainly getting along... much better than she'd
ever expected, but that wasn't enough to make a
marriage work, was it? Especially when she was in
love with someone else. Someone whose name she didn't
even know. Someone who she knew only through his
letters... his beautiful letters. It wasn't fair to
anyone, she decided, but she had no idea what to do
about it. The situation certainly wasn't fair, she
knew that much. And her mysterious secret admirer had
already dropped some fairly broad hints these past
couple of weeks about her having 'someone else'.
There was nothing between her and Tatewaki... nothing
at all. She knew perhaps it was well past time she
wrote him back, but she had no idea HOW to do it. He
always slipped his letters into her locker through
the slats. She certainly couldn't tape a note outside
her locker. Who knew who'd open that? And somewhere
deep inside she knew, she didn't WANT to know who he
was. It would change things. It would complicate
things.
 "Ahem," came the driver's fastidious voice from
his seat, "Is something the matter, Mistress Nabiki?"
 Nabiki's attention was brought back to reality
as she tried to catch the driver's eyes in the mirror
(she couldn't he was too short), "Er... sorry...
yes?"
 He reached a hand back holding a box of
tissues, "I thought perhaps you could use this."
 "What?" Nabiki blinked and only then realized
that she had been crying. She hadn't noticed at all.
She accepted the proffered box and did her best to
smile, "Thank you, Satsuke."
 "A pleasure, Mistress Nabiki," he replied.
 She dabbed at her eyes lightly and glanced up
again, "You know... its kind of funny... how come
you're the only member of the Kuno's staff anyone
ever sees? I know the family has got maids and
servants and stuff, but you're the only one who seems
to ever be around."
 The driver gave a sly smile adjusting his hood
slightly, "Ahh... that, Mistress Nabiki is because we
are the Kuno family servants. We are Ninja. Do no
expect to see us."
 Nabiki bit back a laugh, "Really?"
 "Yes, really," he said with mock severity in
his voice, "I'm actually the worst of them all at
hiding, so they gave me this job. It certainly would
not do to have the car driven by an unseen driver."
 Nabiki chuckled despite himself, "I suppose
not."
 Satsuke smiled over his shoulder, "Are you
feeling better yet, Mistress Nabiki?"
 "Yes, I guess," Nabiki conceded smiling a
little, "And just call me Nabiki, if you don't mind."
 "Certainly, Mistress Nabiki."
 Nabiki sighed and tried to bury herself deeper
into the car's soft seats, "I just wish it were all
different..." she murmured softly.
 "Do you mean between the young Master Kuno and
yourself?" the driver asked softly.
 "Oh? Um... yes, I guess I do." Nabiki mumbled
back in reply.
 "I know it is not my place, Mistress, but if
there is anything a ninja is good at, it is keeping a
secret. Would you like to talk about it? Rest assured
not a word will reach another's ears..."
 "Ahh... I don't know, Satsuke... I wouldn't
want to burden you..." Nabiki started to say.
 "It is no burden at all, Mistress Nabiki...
ahh, the things the young master has confided in me
would surprise you," Satsuke said matter of factly.
 "Really? Like what?" Nabiki asked, curious
despite herself.
 "Oh, no... do not seek to trick me into
revealing his confidences, Mistress Nabiki," Satsuke
replied with a playful grin.
 She chuckled, "Alright... I suppose, you are
good at keeping secrets. Well... you know the entire
fianc� situation don't you?"
 "Quite," Satsuke replied, "It was quite the
talk of the members of the household help when we
first heard of it. Neither you nor the young master
seemed overly pleased with the arrangement."
 "Yeah, not overly pleased is putting it too
lightly," Nabiki answered, "But its not him who's the
problem. It's me... I mean practically every other
girl I know would probably be overjoyed to have
Tatewaki as their fiance."
 "And yet you are not similarly overjoyed?"
Satsuke continued for her, "Forgive me for prying,
mistress, but I am getting the distinct impression
that perhaps there is someone else involved in this
problem?"
 Nabiki looked at Satsuke, "You're sharper than
you look."
 "I'm not just a pretty face, Mistress," he said
with a self-deprecating little smile, "Come to that,
I'm not even a pretty face, but pray continue."
 "That's basically it... I can't marry Tatewaki
or even keep up this entire engagement thing when I'm
already in love with someone else."
 "Ahh..." Satsuke nodded, "This is true. Have
you informed the young master?"
 "No, I haven't," she admitted, "It's... its not
exactly so easy to do it, because the circumstances
between me and the other guy are kind of... strange."
 "You don't say?"
 "We've never actually met face to face... and I
don't even know his name... but he writes to me...
and... this sounds really weird, I know..."
 "Not at all, Mistress. It merely seems to me
that if he has been writing to you from the heart,
then it is a good thing. For you love him without
caring for his appearance or name or any other matter
which may interfere..."
 "Yes," Nabiki nodded, "You do understand."
 "Quite. Nevertheless, you know so little about
this other person... that can be a difficult thing to
overcome."
 "I know. And to make matters worse, I think
he's starting to get jealous of me and Tatewaki...
and I know... or I think Tatewaki knows something
too, but he's not saying anything..." she sighed.
 "The young master is quite private about his
thoughts and feelings," Satsuke said, "Only someone
who's known him well could even begin to be able to
notice how happy he's been these past few weeks..."
 "What do you mean?"
 "Merely that I've noticed he does seem
considerably more relaxed and happy after having
spent time with you," Satsuke continued idly, "But
that could be discounted I suppose, as being glad to
have a friend to be with."
 "I don't understand."
 "Well, the young master..." Satsuke hesitated a
moment as though unsure whether he should continue,
"He... despite appearances, he is very lonely.
Perhaps only you... or Mistress Akane... has spent so
much time with him before. I think he is very glad
for it."
 "Oh," she sighed again, "You know Satsuke, that
doesn't help me very much... it sort of makes it seem
all the worse if I tell him I won't be spending as
much time with him..."
 "Was that what you'd decided on?" the driver
asked, his voice seemed to feign ignorance.
 "I was thinking about it... I mean, Tatewaki's
a nice guy. He deserves to spend time with someone
who'll can appreciate him properly. And it's not me.
I feel jumpy all the time I'm with him, wondering if
my secret admirer is watching us..." Nabiki continued
miserably.
 "Well, it is your decision mistress, and I
believe I can sympathize... the young master would
sooner have you apart and still a friend, than to be
the cause of a break-up between you and your admirer,
and have you hate him."
 Nabiki thought about that...
 "Well, here we are Mistress... the Tendo dojo.
Please take care."
 "Thank you, Satsuke," Nabiki smiled gently at
him. She hadn't even noticed that they'd arrived.
 "It was my pleasure, ma'am."
- - -
 Nabiki picked idly at the lunch Kasumi had
packed for her that day. Admittedly it wasn't up to
Kasumi's usual high standards, but that was
understandable. She was still a little nuts from her
left over Dr. Toufuu high. So practically everything
had been sliced into little hearts. Which wouldn't be
so bad, but she'd packed sushi for Nabiki. She hadn't
seen either Akane, Ranma or Kodachi all day... and
was wondering...
 Tatewaki ate his lunch quietly in the seat next
to hers. This had become standard practice in
Furinkan high school. Whatever table Nabiki selected
for her use was left empty by everyone else save him.
The rest of the crowd occasionally shot jealous
glances in their direction. Nabiki sighed.
 "What seems to be troubling you?" Tatewaki
asked in a worried tone.
 "We need to talk," Nabiki said to him in a
level tone.
 "This sounds serious," he replied.
 "It is."
 "Look, Tatewaki... um... I don't think we
should see each other too much... anymore..." Before
she even finished saying it Nabiki knew she'd chosen
her words wrong.
 "I beg your pardon?" Tatewaki looked at her
mildly baffled.
 Nevertheless she pressed on, "It's like this
Tatewaki... there's someone else who... I like... and
who likes me."
 Tatewaki nodded, "Yes..?"
 "And... well, he knows about the engagement and
he knows that its just our parents forcing us into
it... and he knows there's nothing really going on
between us, so I suppose I shouldn't have said
'seeing each other', because we're not really seeing
each other, cause that makes us sound like we're
dating or something, but maybe I guess I should say
hanging out together... in any case..." Nabiki
rattled off.
 "You're babbling," Kuno said to her.
 "I know, I know," she took a deep breath trying
to collect herself, she looked him straight in the
eye, her stare hard and unflinching, "Engagement or
no engagement, we really should stop... you know...
being together so much. I think it's making the guy I
like jealous, even if he doesn't say so in so many
words... it's... I'm sorry..."
 Kuno's mouth almost quirked, "So... you're
trying to tell me that we shouldn't be seeing each
other anymore because there's someone else? If I
didn't know better it really would sound like we're
really dating."
 Those at the tables closest to theirs looked at
one another in surprise. Now this... THIS was juicy!
 "Is it anyone I know?" Kuno asked after a
moment.
 "I don't think so," Nabiki replied slowly.
 "I see."
 Nabiki tried to smile a little, "Yeah. Well, no
hard feelings, huh? I know it sounds weird, but maybe
if we tell our dads this it'll make breaking up the
engagement easier."
 Kuno chuckled, "Somehow I think not. Well... in
any case, I should perhaps move tables then. It would
not do to have the other man get the wrong idea," and
with that he got up and quietly stalked towards
another table. The students seated there saw the
expression on his face and without a word exchanged
vacated it.
 Nabiki watched him leave, feeling numb. She
took a long glance at the table of which she was the
sole occupant just as she would likely be for the
forseeable future. For a brief moment she felt that
she should call him back... to tell him that it had
all been a bad joke... but she simply sighed softly,
her eyes still on him as he sat, before she turned to
one side and looked quietly off into the distance.
 It seemed for a brief moment as if the world
had been divided into three. The part where Nabiki
sat alone at her table... the one where Tatewaki sat
alone at his... and the rest of the world, who
watched in mute testimony.
- - -
 Nabiki opened her locker with some degree of
trepidation. There was no possible way her secret
admirer could have missed the scene at the cafeteria.
As the light entered her opened locker the glittering
inside made her breath catch momentarily. She reached
in eagerly, her eyes wide in wonder... inside was the
katana charm bracelet she had so recently been
admiring.
 She held it in her hand, breathless with
surprise. How could he have known? Did he follow her
to the mall with Tatewaki? Or perhaps he heard it
from Akane? Or did he simply know her that well?
 She looked at what it had been sitting on.
Today's letter. With trembling fingers she reached
for it, opening it slowly, lest she tear the paper.

Dearest Nabiki,
 My beloved, you know my heart better than
anyone ever has. For it is yours and yours alone. I
love you too much to ever be able to bear to hurt
you. I would sooner take the pain myself than allow
such a thing to happen. Because of this, I understand
that I can no longer be a part of your life. I have
seen your eyes and I know that you love another. I
will not force myself upon you and I can see so
clearly that you have made your choice.
 Know that I love you and will always love you,
but I will not stand in the way of your happiness.
Follow your heart. Let this be my final token to you.
My last missive. Think of me sometimes and perhaps
smile fondly at these humble loving words I've given
you. Farewell.

 As always, it was unsigned. Her fingers numb as
the tears began to flow, the bracelet slipped out of
her grasp to clatter softly onto the floor. He'd seen
it in her eyes? How? Unless he meant the way I'd
watched Tatewaki leave? How could he have mistaken
that for love?! How?! Why was this happening?!!
 Her mind raged at the loss... at the unfairness
of it all... and with a furious cry, she crumpled the
letter into her fist and smashed that fist into the
locker next to hers, denting the metal deeply, before
she ran...
- - -
 Nabiki awoke slowly to voices. Her eyes stung a
little, she knew that had been from crying herself to
sleep... she'd run straight home and locked herself
in her room, unable to do anything but cry
miserably...
 She wiped her eyes across her forearm and stood
up, feeling a little weak-kneed and woozy. She felt a
little better, but not by much. Her mind was still a
confused jumble of anger, of pain, of loss... the
humiliating loss... she glanced at the clock, seeing
it was only a quarter to six... still fairly early.
 She could hear voices... Akane's... and
Tatewaki's..?
 "So she dumped you?" that was Akane...
 "Well, I don't think dumped is the appropriate
term... I'm not sure what is. It's not as if we
actually had any sort of relationship..." that was
Tatewaki.
 Despite herself, Nabiki curiously put an ear to
her wall.
 "Something about someone else..." his voice
filtered through.
 "Her loss. I don't know how she could think
anyone could compete with you," Akane replied, and
Nabiki could almost swear she could hear Tatewaki
blushing, "It's kind of weird actually... Kasumi said
she saw Nabiki run home early and she looked like
she'd been crying."
 "Certainly not over me," Tatewaki's voice said
firmly. There was tension there, as if he were
controlling himself strictly.
 "Well, Ranma's seeing Ukyou off at the train
station with Kodachi... Ryouga's lost again since
last night... and I don't think you're here to see
Nabiki after that brush off... so what can I do for
you?" Akane asked cheerfully. Perhaps a little too
cheerfully, thought Nabiki to herself.
 "Ahh... well, someone said they saw Nabiki drop
this... a little before she'd turned one of the
lockers into so much scrap," Tatewaki said.
 Nabiki's eyes widened as she realized. The
bracelet! She'd left the bracelet behind!
 "Oh," Akane's voice came back, but Nabiki was
no longer there to hear it. As she'd rushed out her
door and ran for Akane's room.
 Nabiki didn't bother to knock on her sister's
door. It was slightly ajar anyway as she pushed it
open the rest of the way. Inside Akane was sitting
cross legged on her bed and Tatewaki was seated on
her desk chair, moved close to the bed. She caught
sight of them just as Tatewaki was speaking, "And
these are for..." he was handing over a small sheaf
of papers to Akane and was stopped just as Nabiki
burst in.
 Akane looked up at Nabiki in surprise, "You
know, you could knock first?" she said sourly, the
katana charm bracelet dangling off of one finger. She
raised the bracelet up to eye level, "I believe," she
said with a knowing smile, "This is yours, Nabiki."
 Nabiki strode forward, her face grim as she
extended a hand stiffly, "Thank you."
 "Oh, don't thank me. If it weren't for
Tatewaki-kun you'd probably have lost this," Akane
said somewhat pointedly, as she dropped the bracelet
into her sister's hand, "You have any idea how much
it cost?"
 Nabiki blinked at Akane, wondering what brought
THAT statement on... but before she could think about
that, something else caught her attention. The
papers. In Tatewaki's hand. That familiar
stationery... the penmanship... she caught the first
few words on the top sheet... 'My dearest love'...
she stared.
 "Are you okay, Nabiki..?" Akane asked
worriedly.
 Tatewaki looked back at her, then realized what
she was staring at and hurriedly hid the papers
behind his back. A futile gesture at best as he gave
her a small sickly little smile.
 "WHAT ARE THOSE?!" Nabiki roared at Tatewaki,
snatching for the papers. Tatewaki stunned and
simultaneously trying to dodge, rise from his seat
and keep the papers away from her failed miserably at
all three, his legs entangled with the chair legs, as
he stumbled out of the chair, onto his back. Nabiki
landed on top of him, straddling his chest and
struggling like a wildcat until she'd managed to pin
his wrists with one hand and grab the now crumpled
papers with another.
 Akane made a face at the scene and murmured to
herself, "And she accuses me of being kinky..." she
hid a chuckle.
 Nabiki moved up a bit, putting her knees on
Tatewaki's shoulders to hold him down, while she read
the first paper... it was a love letter alright...
she dug into her pocket pulling out the one she'd
received earlier and held them up for comparison. The
same paper... the same penmanship... sentence
structure... They were written by the same person.
She glared down at Tatewaki, grabbing his collar with
one hand and pulling him up. Which when combined with
the fact that she had his shoulders pinned with her
knees made for a very painful position, "It was
you!?! This whole time?!"
 "Wh-wha-what're you t-ta-talking about
Nabiki?!" Tatewaki sputtered.
 "My secret admirer! The one who's been sending
me love letters every day for the past year!?!"
 "I can explain!" Tatewaki protested.
 "Explain?! Explain how we're not apart for more
than six hours and you're already giving love letters
to my sister?! And face to face no less, where are
your guts?! Or have you been giving these to her the
whole time while you were with me too?! Well?! Answer
me!!!" she screamed in his face, shaking her fist at
him.
 "Nabiki, would you mind not manhandling my
merchandise?" Akane said sharply.
 "What?!" Nabiki said, turning to look at Akane.
 Akane pointed at the crumpled paper in her
sister's hand, "I still have to distribute those to
my clients you know."
 "Clients..?" Nabiki asked weakly, blinking in
confusion.
 Akane said slowly, as though explaining to a
child, "I sell love letters to the guys at school,
since most of them wouldn't know how to write one
anyway, or they've got lousy handwriting. I pay
Tatewaki to write them for me and I distribute them
to the people who commissioned them, unsigned of
course, so they can put their own names on it. What
they do with the letters afterwards is their
business. He was just giving me today's shipment."
 "My... he..." she looked from Akane to
Tatewaki, "Did you write this?!" shaking her letter
under his nose.
 "Ahh... I... I believe so. Yes," Tatewaki
confirmed, "That seems to be my handiwork."
 A confused mixture of emotions ran through
Nabiki. There was the remainder of her simmering
violent rage at how she'd been duped. The sense of
betrayal... how could she have believed the words of
someone had come from their heart if there was
another hand directing the pen writing them. The
overwhelming sense of disbelief. There was relief
too, that it wasn't Tatewaki... and yet... a twinge
of regret to that it wasn't... but how? The name
wasn't important. Nor the face... nor anything else
but who would've wanted to send her the letters...
and there was the bracelet? How could he have known
unless...
 "Who's been commissioning you two to send those
letters?!"
 "Sis, you know my records are confidential,"
Akane told her calmly.
 "Fine," she muttered, deep inside her she still
didn't really want to know. She didn't want to ruin
the mystery... even now when he'd written his last
word to her, she still couldn't stand the thought of
knowing who it was. Especially not now... it would be
too painful.
 Nabiki pushed the bracelet towards Tatewaki's
face, "Did you send me this? What do you know about
it getting into my locker?!"
 "I... I... that's the bracelet you wanted from
the mall isn't it?" Tatewaki managed to say.
 "Answer the question!" Nabiki thundered at him.
 "I sent that to you, Nabiki." Akane answered
calmly.
 "You what?!" the elder Tendo sister turned to
look at her.
 "It was my way of apologizing for our argument
the other day... I saw you looking at it... and,
well... I know Ryouga and I spoiled your da... the
time you were spending with Tatewaki."
 "I don't believe it," Nabiki said flatly.
 "Pull it out of the sheath," Akane prodded.
 Baffled, Nabiki unsheathed the tiny sword and a
small piece of delicately folded rice paper fell out.
She caught it in one hand, opening it carefully as
she read, the words.

Nabiki,

I'm sorry.

Akane

 Nabiki could only stare. She seemed to deflate,
as if the fight had suddenly been sucked out of her,
"So it wasn't from him," she murmured softly. She
looked down at the prone Tatewaki and her thoughts
were little more than a confused jumble. She spoke
hesitantly, "Tatewaki... do... do they tell you what
the letters should say? Or do you come up with it on
your own?"
 "I... um... I usually come up with it myself...
occasionally they will request certain phrases or
thoughts be conveyed... but the wording and style are
mine more often than not."
 "I see," she said, her eyes focusing on him
clearly. And she saw him clearly for perhaps only the
second time since their staged fight. She saw him
clearly for what he was. And she knew. She knew and
it didn't matter anymore. They were his words. In
that moment of perfect clarity she knew it beyond any
shadow of doubt and beyond the power of mere words to
explain. He wasn't speaking for anyone else. Those
were his words. To her. They had always been. It had
always been him.
 "Nabiki..." his voice came to her gently, "Are
you alright?"
 She nodded, now calm and a small smile
beginning to form at the corners of her eyes, "Yes. I
guess I am. I didn't mean to be a bother."
 "No bother at all," he smiled back weakly.
 She asked hesitantly, "Do... do you hate me?"
 "Course not," he answered honestly, "But the
circulation in my arms is beginning to be cut off...
would you mind standing?"
 "Sorry," she said meekly, "Will you walk me to
school tomorrow?" she asked.
 He blinked at her in surprise for a moment,
"Certainly. If that is your wish," he answered
finally.
 "Good," she smiled warmly at him, "I'll see you
then."
 She turned to look at Akane who was sitting in
a contemplative silence for the past few moments,
"Akane, I'm sorry too. Thank you for the gift,"
Nabiki said, bowing low to her.
 Akane was taken by surprise, but not so much
that she wasn't able to recover quickly, "It's
alright. No trouble," she returned the bow.
 Nabiki flashed her a playful grin, "I'll do my
best to curb my temper a bit," she raised up her
wrist as she set the bracelet into place, "I think
this'll help remind me."
 Akane chuckled back, "And if you don't at least
you can give someone a nasty little cut with that."
 The two of them laughed. Tatewaki stood
silently, not wishing to interrupt.
 Nabiki walked back to the doorway before
looking over her shoulder and flashing Kuno that
grin, "Remember, Tatewaki... we aren't dating..."
 "I have not forgotten," he said smiling back.
 And with that, she stepped out and closed the
door.
 Tatewaki collapsed weakly into the chair once
more. Akane looked at him thoughtfully, "Was that
what Gosunkugi had on you?"
 "I beg your pardon?"
 "I know Gosunkugi's records back to front, and
I know for a fact that no one's ever commissioned a
letter for Nabiki. Was the fact that you were sending
Nabiki love letters what he was blackmailing you
with?"
 "I... I don't know what you are speaking of,"
Tatewaki replied, "Gosunkugi was having me write
those letters on his behalf."
 Akane's eyes widened in surprise, "Whoa."
 Tatewaki nodded, "Quite."
 "But no one's heard from him in months," Akane
replied, "Not since I got rid of him. You haven't
been seeing him on the side have you?" an eyebrow
raised, "I'd be very unhappy if you did."
 "Well... he commission the first few letters...
but after that he got bored... and I... well..."
 Akane smiled, "I see. No need to mention that
to anyone else, I suppose. Well, you'd better get
going home. You don't want to stay out too late."
 "Yes. Yes, I suppose not. Thank you, Akane,"
Tatewaki nodded as he made his way out of the room.
 "Tatewaki?" she called out just as he was about
to shut the door.
 "Yes?" he turned.
 "I think you two make a good couple," she said
to him seriously.
 He smiled briefly, "Thank you," and with that,
he left.
 She stared at the door for long moments after
he'd gone, then turned her glance to the picture of
Ryouga on the nightstand, "Yes... a good couple..."
she murmured to herself, a very small, sad smile on
her face, as she gently pushed her regrets to the
back of her mind.
- - -
 Nabiki slept easily. In her dreams she read the
loving words within the letters she'd received these
many months. The letters she'd saved and hidden and
kept and reread every so often. But for a change...
there was a voice to the words as they were whispered
softly within her dreams... a voice that wasn't
hers... and it was Tatewaki's voice that spoke to
her, reading the words softly to her.
 She turned in her sleep, a restful, happy smile
on her face.

The End