Nabiki Tendo woke slowly and painfully, tried to move her hand to touch
her head but discovered that she was bound hand and foot.

"My, but you're much younger than you look."

Nabiki squirmed around to look at Cologne, "Figured that out already and
it's only been half a year?  What do you want, revenge?"

"No child, I am not so petty or vain.  The bloom of my youth is long gone
and I've been insulted by experts."

"Shampoo no know why we capture money-girl then?"

"Patience child.  Nabiki, your behaviour has been most puzzling, but when
you broke up your sister's wedding it became clear."

"Maybe I just don't think they're ready yet?"

"No girl, you want Ranma for yourself."

"What?  I mean, if that was so, wouldn't I have kept the engagement to
him?"

"And exposed yourself to the line of fire?  I think not.  Why has Ranma
been so careful to protect you while exposing your sister to such peril?"

"Hey, I'm just more delicate than Akane."

"You two have been most clever, but when you kept the best pictures of
Ranma's girl and boy halves to yourself and then when I searched Ranma's
things, I found pictures of only one girl,"  Cologne tossed a handful of
photographs of Nabiki in provocative poses and limited costuming to her
feet."

"Shampoo kill!"

"And what would Ranma think, if you killed his true love?"

Shampoo's hand stopped millimeters from Nabiki's throat, "Is no fair
great-grandmother!"

"Wh-what do you intend then?"  Nabiki asked, "To hold me hostage until
Ranma marries Shampoo?"

"No, Ranma is too tricky for that.  He's marrying you."

"Great-grandmother!"

"Nabiki will be your sister child, she's getting adopted into the amazon
tribe.  Be happy for her happiness."

"And what makes you think I'd agree?"  Nabiki raised an eyebrow and
settled back in her bonds.

"The People's Army has been told to divest themselves of their vast
businesses this year, I think there will be something of a sale, but we
need a business manager to handle the deals."

Cologne could see, by the undisguised lust in Nabiki's eyes that she had
her then.  What was it that Ranma saw in such a girl anyway?  Tieing him
to her would be the perfect revenge for all the trouble he'd caused.

	Henry J. Cobb	hcobb@slip.net          http://www.io.com/~hcobb
    Any sufficiently cool technology is indistinguishable from religion.