C&C and junk is OK.
lara@emunix.emich.edu
http://nabiki.newberry.edu/lara/
http://www.emich.edu/public/llb/fanfic.html (outdated)




{These characters are not property of me.  I would never attempt to
claim them as my own.  This story may not be used without my
permission, and may not be used to make money in any way, shape or
form.  Characters and certain situations were created by Rumiko
Takahashi, so don't try any funny stuff!}



In the Midst of Dying
by Lara Bartram
with Richard Lawson



	Summer had gone, taking its oppressive humidity with it, 
much to the delight of the majority of the city residents.  The 
air was crisp enough at night to require a warm jacket.  Fires 
were common in the homes that had fireplaces, and much 
snuggling under the bed covers occurred.
	The lights were off in one Tokyo apartment, though the two 
occupants were far from snuggling.  They were each engrossed in 
their thoughts, and none of those were about the sex they were 
currently in the middle of.
	There was none of the emotion Ranma felt when he had been 
with Akane; it was simply something to take his mind off 
things.  This time, it just couldn't keep the memories away.
	"Maybe I should've started drinkin'."
	"What was that, Ranma?"
	Had he said that out loud?  "Nothin'.  Don't worry about it, 
Chizuru."  Though he should have drunk himself into a stupor to 
stop the things that he couldn't change from haunting him.
	He had always thought school was a waste of time; what good 
did it do a martial artist?  After all, he was the master of 
his school, which meant he would teach it to people who wanted 
to learn it.  Who needed calculus and English to do that?
	Even with those reservations, he had somehow finished high 
school, fighting off the pressures from the two fathers, the 
fiancees, the enemies, his own hesitations...
	Then Akane had gone off to college while he had stayed home 
to start teaching.  That had been perfectly fine with him.  
Akane had been genuinely excited to go to college, her hopes of 
independence raised further by the things Nabiki had told her 
about it.
	Her eyes twinkled and she smiled when she spoke of going, 
and Ranma knew that this was something she held very near to 
her heart.  This was one of her dreams.
	The separation had been... tough on him, but every time she 
had returned home, he had been overwhelmed by her smile.  It 
was what kept him going, content with things, knowing in his 
own mind how he wanted to carry out the future.
	When Akane had finally graduated, there was only one thing 
that could top the pride, the tide of emotion he had felt: 
marriage.  It had been beautiful, and during the ceremony, he 
had nearly been moved to tears.
	Shortly after they had settled in, things started to go 
awry.  The first surprise had been Akane's pregnancy.  The 
little girl, Sakumi, had been a pleasant surprise, sure, but 
raising a kid was a full-time job for the both of them.
	Also, he had come to realize that he wasn't really enjoying 
teaching any longer.  Students were eager to learn, but his 
enthusiasm had waned as it became more apparent that his 
teaching methods weren't all that effective.
	Teaching just wasn't something he was any good at, it 
seemed.  Doing, but not teaching.  So when Sakumi's care during 
the day had been dumped on him, it had only made his mood all 
the more volatile.
	Akane's job, so successful and wonderful if he listened to 
her daily stories about this or that happening, made her the 
breadwinner of the family.  Her yearly salary was more than 
anything Ranma had ever earned teaching, more than Soun had.
	Instead of being a martial arts master, passing on the art 
to a new generation, he had been stuck at home, babysitting.  
For years, he was Sakumi's babysitter, he was the mother, and 
resented it terribly.
	Yet, there had been a glimmer of hope: kindergarten.  Once 
Sakumi was off to school, Ranma would have been able to try and 
get his life back on some sort of track.  But that was when 
Akane had gone and gotten pregnant again.
	Something about that had felt like a betrayal, like Akane 
was trying to trap him.  He had never said anything like that 
to her, keeping it all inside; those harsh feelings had 
manifested themselves in other ways.
	His moodiness hadn't sat very well Akane.  And that made him 
even more moody.  Ever since Keo had been born, the marriage 
hadn't been a pleasant experience.
	Ranma rolled over and laid back on the bed.  He was 
breathing somewhat heavily, a thin sheen of sweat on his body.  
Why he did it, he wasn't sure.  He really didn't get any 
satisfaction out of the act, but it was preferable to staying 
home.
	"That's it?"
	"Sorry," he mumbled.
	Chizuru sat up and looked at him.  "That's really it?"
	Ranma's only response was to close his eyes.
	"Oh, for Pete's sake..."  She got out of bed and put on a 
robe.  "I suppose you'll be leaving shortly as well."  It was 
not phrased as a question.
	Putting his arms across his face, he ignored her.  The trip 
home was always the hardest.

***

	Ranma winced slightly when he noticed the lights were still 
on.  It was always the same thing when he got home, just like 
it had always been the same thing before he had gotten married.
	Sighing, he went up the walk to the door and opened it 
quietly.  Hopefully, Akane would be preoccupied with something 
else and wouldn't...
	"Ranma?"
	Grimacing slightly, he answered, "Yeah, it's me."
	"Daddy!"  Sakumi came running to greet him, throwing her 
arms around him.
	He patted her on the head, grunting, and pried her loose.  
Not seeing the hurt look in his daughter's eyes, he headed 
right for the bath.
	Akane intercepted him, little Keo in her arms.  "Where have 
you been for the past four hours?  I've been waiting for..."
	"Ah, Akane, I told ya I was just going..."
	"I know what you told me, but I want to know where you've 
really been!  Who were you with?"  There was a look of 
unrestrained fury and terrible sadness on her face.
	Rolling his eyes, Ranma looked over at the window.  "Do we 
have to go through this again?  I told you I was out..."
	"But what you didn't say was that you were with some woman!  
Please don't lie to me like I'm just your mother!" Akane 
yelled, the fury overwhelming her disappointment.
	Sakumi couldn't take it any longer.  It was the worst fight 
she'd seen her parents have, and she just knew it was the end.  
"Daddy," she said plaintively.
	Ranma was now looking right into Akane's eyes, matching her 
anger.  "Don't even bring her into this!  This is between you 
and me, and nobody else!  Once you get that through your thick 
skull, then maybe you'll see why I go out every night!"
	Crying at the shouting, at the way both of her parents were 
ignoring her, the little girl ran up to her room.  They would 
not come to check on her; they never did.  Even with her head 
buried under the pillow, she could hear them yelling.
	"Oh, so maybe you're more like your father then!" Akane shot 
back, not giving an inch.  "Running away from your 
responsibilities, your children!  Unlike you, I've been 
faithful, and these are _yours_!"
	Keo started wailing then as the shouting got to be too much 
for her.
	"And now look what you've done!  She's only two, Ranma!  How 
do you think this is going to affect her for the next fifteen 
years?"
	Ranma just snorted and rolled his eyes.  "Why are you so 
melodramatic?"
	Staring in disbelief for a moment, Akane had no answer for 
what she was hearing.  "You are definitely not the person I 
married," she managed to say quietly before thrusting Keo into 
his arms.  "I'm leaving.  Do whatever the hell you want to.  
You do anyway."
	Marching for the door, she grabbed her coat and slipped it 
on.  Without a glance back, the crying of her baby stabbing at 
her more than her husband's infidelity, Akane practically ran 
out of the house.

***

	Nabiki leaned back in her chair and removed her delicate 
frameless glasses.  Rubbing her eyes and yawning, she stretched 
a bit.  She was working late, as usual, but she didn't really 
mind so much.  The house was quiet, the lights low, a cold beer 
awaited her in little bar set in the opposite wall, the chair 
was comfortable enough to fall asleep in...
	Putting her glasses back on, she looked at the monitor again 
and began to type.  Just a little bit more and the report would 
be done, and then she could relax.  A good book in the bath, 
along with her drink before bed sounded ideal.
	Finishing her annual performance reviews always took more 
time than she had, but once it was done, it was nice to know 
the riff-raff was being weeded out of the company.
	Laughing a little at her own silliness, she saved her files 
and shut the machine down.  This time, her glasses came off for 
the rest of the night, and it was time for that drink.
	She wasn't sure how her shift from money management to 
people management affected her salary, but the very short time 
she had spent in finance assured her that her stress levels 
were at a much more tolerable level.
	Firing a likable co-worker, even possibly a friend, was 
hard, but the pressure to not lose hundreds of thousands, 
possibly millions, of someone else's yen was unbearable.
	Heck, she had learned to admit it to herself: she just 
wasn't that good at managing other people's money.  That had 
been a painful realization, though not as painful as being let 
go...  Something she always thought she had a talent for was 
just a pipe dream, a fantasy.
	The absolute worst had been thinking she was a failure for 
more than a month before she got a new job.  Even after proving 
her ability at her position as lower-middle management, it had 
been a hard pill to swallow.
	Those nights of self-doubt and just a tad of pity had been 
the worst thing she had ever gone through.  One thing had 
carried her through the experience, shown her that she had 
other talents to put to use, and that it was perfectly fine to 
fail.  Just as long as she didn't let it get her down.
	Yet, she had grown into the position, and after she had 
gotten the hang of managing other _people_ instead of their 
money, she had found it even more enjoyable.  There was 
something sinfully amusing about getting paid so well to order 
people around.
	The door of the study opened as she finished pouring herself 
a bottle of Asahi into a tall glass.  "Have you finished yet?"
	"Sure enough.  Ready to get myself a bath and soak for a 
while.  What are you up to?"  She took a long drink from her 
glass.
	"Today went very well.  I was curious if you were interested 
in having a sort of celebration with me."
	"Oh, no celebrations for me.  After all those performance 
reviews, a bath and then some sleep is all I'm up for tonight.  
I appreciate the offer though."
	"Ah.  Then a raincheck, perhaps?"
	"I'll take you up on that, Tate-chan.  So you got the 
account?"
	"Verily.  Earnings are predicted to increase 30% this 
quarter because of it.  I am in a most celebratory mood."
	"Yes, I'm sure you are, but I'm not.  This will have to wait 
until another day."  Nabiki drained the glass and set it down 
on the bar.  "I'm going for my bath."
	Tatewaki followed her out of the study and down the hall.  
"I don't wish to pressure you, but..."
	Nabiki rolled her eyes.  It figured.  Celebratory.  A stupid 
little game.  "Don't start this, please.  I don't want to get 
into this now."
	"I know this bothers you, yet I continue to hope that one 
day you will realize that this is something I want 
desperately."  He walked a little faster as Nabiki picked up 
her pace.
	"I know.  You've told me that plenty of times, but I just 
don't want to.  You know this isn't anything about you.  I just 
don't want things to change now; they're perfect," she said, 
glancing back at him so he could see that she was serious.
	"In an incomplete way, they are perfect.  So why should we 
not extend this happiness to�"
	"To a crying, puking kid that takes up all our time, so we 
can't relax at the end of the day, have to wake up in the 
middle of the night..."
	"You are being too harsh."
	"No, I'm being realistic.  You're being blinded."  Stopping 
in the middle of the hall, Nabiki turned, not angry, but very 
serious about the whole thing.  Taking a breath before 
continuing, knowing she could easily get angry at the repeat of 
the conversation it felt like they had had a hundred times 
before.
	"Kids are a bigger burden than I want to deal with.  They're 
bigger than you think they are.  I bet you think they're just 
going to take care of themselves and then we'll be some happy 
family?"  She shook her head.  "It doesn't work that way."
	"I am not so na�ve.  Yet, I have a duty to my ancestors, to 
continue the Kuno family name, and I realize that you do not 
see how important that is to me."  The intensity in Tatewaki's 
eyes bored into Nabiki's.
	"That is so typically medieval of you," she replied, 
unaffected by his sense of duty.  "I'm sorry, but your 
ancestors are just going to have to deal with the fact that I'm 
not going to have any kids."
	Tatewaki asked, shocked, "Have you no sense of duty?"
	"Yes.  My duty is to take care of my family, not appease 
your ancestors, who, if you hadn't noticed, are _dead_!"  
Nabiki poked him in the chest for emphasis.  "No kids.  No 
arguments."
	She spun on her heel and continued on to her bath, but 
realized her mood had been completely ruined.  Not only could 
she not relax, but she couldn't stand to be in the house at the 
moment.
	"The Kuno name..."
	"Is out of luck.  And I'm going for a walk," Nabiki answered 
back, very annoyed.  "I'll be back when you get your head out 
of your ancestor's graves and into the present."  She marched 
off for the front door, telling herself she was done with 
Tatewaki and all his pseudo-new age garbage.
	Paying respects to her mother was one thing, but pumping out 
kid after kid for her was something completely different.  If 
that was what he wanted, he didn't want her.
	At the closet, she put on her shoes, tying them far too 
tight, but not caring, then put on a jacket almost violently.  
If he was going to be that insensitive to her needs, then...
	Nabiki opened the door and walked out, slamming the door 
behind her.

	Nabiki headed down the sidewalk, walking quickly to no place 
in particular.  The chill air was helping to settle her down a 
bit.  Why did he have to get like that?  Why did it have to be 
such a big deal?
	If he wouldn't be such a stubborn fathead about things, it 
wouldn't have been a problem at all, but it always had to be 
about his ancestors and duty and carrying on the family name.
	Of course he'd always pretend he was over it later, that it 
wasn't that big a deal, but she could tell, and that annoyed 
her even more.  She preferred a fight to his almost motherly 
lectures about family and all that other stuff.
	When she was ready for a family, though she probably 
wouldn't ever be, she'd let him know.  Until then...
	She turned the corner and was almost run down by her little 
sister.  They briefly bumped into each other, muttering 
apologies, but when Nabiki got a good look at Akane...
	Akane wasn't one for crying, not that Nabiki had ever seen, 
but this time...  Akane looked ready to burst into tears at any 
moment.  "Akane?"
	"I need to talk.  He might as well have admitted it, even 
though I knew...  He...  Please!" Akane begged, the tears still 
stubbornly refusing to fall.
	"Fine.  I was out for a walk anyway.  We can talk now."  As 
she started walking, Akane walked beside her, looking like a 
walking earthquake, she was shaking so much.  "So what is it?"
	"Well..."  Akane glanced at her sister, who did not appear 
to be in all that great of a mood herself.  "Okay, well, when I 
was in college, I just kinda realized that, you know, I 
just..."
	"Yeah, yeah.  You loved Ranma.  So what's _really_ the 
problem?"
	Frowning a little, Akane pushed on.  "I wanted to marry him.  
I really wanted to because I just couldn't stand being away 
from him for so long.  I knew it had to be love."  The look on 
her face grew troubled.  "But... after a while, I could tell 
there was something wrong.  I mean, he just seemed like 
everything was great at first, then..."
	Nabiki nodded in understanding.
	"Then he just kind of lost interest.  I could tell he wasn't 
really happy, and I was just kind of worried..."  Akane rubbed 
her cheek with one shaking hand.  "The classes weren't going 
well, and he started getting all moody..
	"Let me guess," Nabiki interjected, "you yelled at him."
	Akane emphatically shook her head.  "No.  I was really mad, 
but I was sure he was going to leave me, so I knew I couldn't 
yell at him.  Instead, I..."  She shrugged.  "We didn't plan 
it, but it just sort of happened, and I got pregnant."
	"Whoops."
	"I wasn't worried though!  I thought he'd start taking 
things more seriously then.  It was his _daughter_, he had to!  
If he had to take care of her, he wouldn't get bored, he'd have 
something to do, and he'd enjoy it.  I knew he didn't want to 
be like his father; I knew he'd want to take care of her."  
Akane was speaking in a panicked voice, desperately wanting 
Nabiki to agree with her reasoning.
	"That sounds like a pretty lame reason to have a kid, Akane.  
There's more to it than just that; even you should know that."
	Again, Akane shrugged, looking a bit guilty.  "Like I said, 
it wasn't just that.  I wanted to show him that I wasn't going 
to quit, that I was taking the marriage seriously.  It doesn't 
get any more serious than a child.  I did it all for us!"
	"I'm sure you did.  Did you ever talk to Ranma about 
anything?"
	"No, but he should have known!  He just got... angrier.  He 
never yelled or anything, but it was plain to see he wasn't 
happy with having to do most of the work to care for Sakumi."  
Akane looked down at her feet then, and spoke more in a mumble.
	"I didn't know what to do, and I started to yell at him.  
More than I wanted to though.  I loved him more than I was 
really upset, but I just didn't know what to do."
	Wiping her eyes on the back of her arm and sniffling, Akane 
continued.  "And then Keo.  When I took the test and it came 
out positive, I was so scared.  We were having a hard enough 
time with Sakumi, I didn't want Keo to grow up in what Sakumi 
did."  She looked at Nabiki then, a hard glint in her eyes.  
"It was all crumbling around me.  Ranma wasn't happy with me, 
Sakumi, teaching, though he had quit by the time Keo was born, 
the house...  He was never happy."
	"Are you sure?" Nabiki asked.
	"Of course I'm sure!  It's been two years, and why we're 
still together I don't know!  What I _do_ know is that he's out 
more than he's at home.  He takes no interest in the kids at 
all, no interest in me anymore...  I know he's out seeing some 
other woman!  He has the nerve to lie to me though, like I 
can't tell!  He's a terrible liar!
	"He doesn't even have the nerve to tell me the truth!  He 
can't even tell me that he wants a divorce!  He's a coward!  I 
hate being in this marriage, and I hate him!" Akane finished, 
yelling into the night.
	She punctuated it with a quiet sob though, and whispered, "I 
just don't know what to do any longer."
	Looking at her sister critically, Nabiki didn't say anything 
for a moment.  Eventually she said, "Okay, Akane.  I don't 
really know what you want me to say because I'm not a 
counselor.  What is it you want to hear?"
	Akane looked at her, shocked, maybe a little horrified.  
Teetering on the brink of screaming at Nabiki, Akane calmed 
herself before speaking.  "I... I don't know what to do, but 
you have such a good marriage.  When I look at Ranma, I only 
see how much he's changed, how disappointed he is, but when I 
watch you and Ku... Tatewaki...  You love each other."
	She made a face and shook her head.  "You would never think 
that if you looked at me and Ranma.  And you get along so well, 
you always say nice things to each other.  Every time I see 
you, you're smiling or talking to each other...  Ranma and I 
never talk.  It's always yelling."
	Pouting, resisting grabbing Nabiki's hand and crushing it in 
hopes of getting some advice, Akane continued.  "That's all I 
want at this point, to have a civil conversation with him.  I 
want to go back to the way it was, I want our marriage to be 
more like yours, so desperately.
	"How do you do it?  You've been married longer than we have 
and I've never seen you even get annoyed at him!  How have you 
kept it going for so long?"
	Nabiki smirked.  "Well, it's not all perfection, but I'll 
tell you one thing: no kids."
	Akane gaped before saying, "No!  We both love the girls!  
It's got nothing to do with that!  It's just that...  It's like 
he'd rather be a grandparent than a parent.  He wants all the 
good times with them, but doesn't want to deal with any of the 
responsibility."
	Nabiki thought about it for a moment.  "You haven't talked 
to him about it at all?"
	Akane shook her head.
	"You have to know how he feels about being put into a 
situation like that.  Think about your 'man among men' and how 
he feels about taking care of his two daughters while you're at 
work.  Maybe you should try to spend more time at home and give 
him a break from it," Nabiki offered.
	"I don't see why it should be such a big deal to him though.  
Even though I know he loves them, sometimes he acts like he 
doesn't want anything to do with them.  And he's upset at me 
when..."
	Nabiki held up a hand.  "Hold it.  Have you forgotten who 
you're married to?" she asked pointedly.  "This is Ranma, the 
guy who turns into a girl and had a death threat hanging over 
him if he wasn't manly enough.  Think about all the times he 
called you a tomboy and how upset you got."
	She looked at the troubled face of her younger sister.  
"Now, think about Ranma, all the trouble he went through with 
his curse, and how much he hates anything he considers womanly.  
What is he being forced to do now?"
	Looking at Nabiki, then back at her feet Akane shrugged.  
"But they're his chil..."
	"That's just your excuse.  You already said he loves them; 
he just hates being put into the role of the mother while you 
go off and make all the money and support the family.  I can't 
say I blame him all that much."
	"But he would never take a full-time job!  He would ne..."
	"Stop."
	Akane shut her mouth like Nabiki had it on remote control.
	"This isn't about swapping places with Ranma.  This is about 
you making time to help Ranma.  He's having a rough time, and 
it sure doesn't sound like he's getting any support from you.  
So why don't you take a little time off, spend some time at 
home...  You could try tele-commuting.  I know it saved my 
life."
	Immediately, Akane shook her head.  "I can't do that.  If 
I'm not at work, it won't get me fired, but I won't be getting 
any sort of promotions.  The others who _are_ there will have 
an advantage..."
	"Akane, do you want to make your marriage work or not?  
Because if you do, a promotion might be something you'll have 
to sacrifice to keep your family together."
	The look Nabiki was giving her prompted Akane to hold back 
her reply and think over things a bit more.
	The things Nabiki was saying made sense, but Akane wasn't 
sure if she was really strong enough to do it all.  Though, 
with her marriage at stake, she didn't see how she _couldn't_.
	"Okay, so I spend more time at home and deal with the kids," 
Akane continued, "but still...  What about _me_?"
	"What about you?"
	"Ranma barely sleeps in the same bed as me.  The only reason 
he does I think is that...  I'm not even sure.  I can't even 
remember the last time he's... touched me.  He looks at me like 
I'm a skinless cat hanging in a window!"
	Nabiki looked a bit green for a moment.  "Please, Akane, no 
more descriptions."
	"Sorry, but he's not interested in me."  She looked down at 
herself, wearing a shapeless coat, a frumpy dress, square-toed 
shoes...  "There's nothing wrong with me; I haven't gained a 
lot of weight or anything.  So what do you do to... keep 
Tatewaki interested?"
	"Excuse me?" Nabiki asked, throwing a disbelieving look her 
sister's way.
	"It's been ten years; you still..."  Akane shrugged and made 
very vague hand gestures.  "Don't you?"
	"If it were any of your business, I'd say yes, but it's not 
so I'm not answering.  Besides, I'm not some toy that he pulls 
off the shelf when he feels like it.  We... do it together, and 
not just because it feels good.  Though that's certainly a 
plus."
	It was Akane's turn to blush as she listened to Nabiki.  
"That's not what I meant."
	"It doesn't matter what you meant.  We're not playthings for 
each other.  It's give and take," Nabiki snapped, annoyed at 
what she considered a rather idiotic line of questioning.
	"That's my point!  Ranma's having an _affair_!  He's not 
interested in me anymore!  So what's wrong with me?  What am I 
doing wrong that he has to go to some other woman?" she 
pleaded, hoping Nabiki would see something in her that she 
could change.  "I like to think we were interested in each 
almost from the start, and you..."
	"I what?"  The strained note in Nabiki's voice was warning 
that the conversation was heading someplace unpleasant.
	"He's never cheated on you.  You've never cheated on him.  
So what's your secret?"
	Looking at Akane flatly, Nabiki couldn't believe what she 
was hearing.  "Akane, if he ever cheated on me, I'd have all 
his money and a little souvenir in a jar on the mantle.  He 
knows it."
	"So you threaten him?  That doesn't work with Ranma."  Her 
next comment was mumbled.  "I know, I've tried."
	Ready to snap at her for suggesting such a thing, Nabiki 
held it back at the last moment, her hard glare softening.  She 
sighed and rubbed her forehead.  "No.  I don't threaten him.  I 
trust him enough to believe that he wouldn't cheat.  And I like 
to believe I know him well enough, and that he wouldn't do 
that.  He just wouldn't."  It was very uncomfortable for her to 
consider and question her feelings the way Akane was making 
her.
	"The simple truth is that I trust Tatewaki.  You don't trust 
Ranma.  You never have, even when he really was innocent.  If 
you don't trust Ranma when he's innocent, why should he care if 
you trust him at all?  If he doesn't care if you trust him or 
not, why should he bother to _be_ trustworthy?"  Nabiki looked 
at Akane sternly.  "Do you see where this is going?"
	"So what you're saying is that this is all my fault?" Akane 
asked, her teeth tightly clenched in an effort to control her 
anger.
	Nabiki stuffed her hands in the pockets of her jacket, 
avoiding answering right away.
	Anger quickly draining away, Akane asked again, fearfully, 
"This isn't really all my fault, is it?"
	Eventually, with Akane hanging on the next words out of her 
mouth, Nabiki shook her head.  "No.  It's not all your fault; 
Ranma's as much to blame as you, though in a different way."
	Akane released a shaky breath and gave a small nod.
	"He's not a kid anymore.  He's an adult, and he needs to act 
like it.  He seems to think that he's still in high school, and 
that working a few hours each week at the Nekohanten is all the 
responsibility he needs to worry about," Nabiki explained, 
mentally ticking off each point as she spoke.  "He learned too 
much from his father; he runs at the first sign of a problem he 
can't beat up, and that's not how you get through life, not how 
you get along in a marriage."
	"I... I suppose, but he won't listen to me.  I can't say any 
of this to him and expect him to believe it."  He really didn't 
trust her, and that was why he never listened, and that hurt 
her more than she had imagined it could.  "What can I do?" she 
asked.  "What can _we_ do?"
	"I'll have Tatewaki talk to him.  I think Ranma needs an 
opinion that isn't from his wife, his wife's sister, or any 
female in general," Nabiki said casually, thinking things over.
	"_Kuno_!?" Akane asked, stunned and amazed and baffled.
	Nabiki shot her a dirty look.  "Excuse me?  For as long as 
I've been with him, Tatewaki's been more mature than I've 
_ever_ seen Ranma act.  Don't forget who's asking for advice 
here," she said angrily.
	Not really sounding sorry at all, Akane apologized, though 
it was more under her breath than anything.
	"Yeah, whatever."  Nabiki let her anger simmer down before 
she attempted to make more conversation.  "So why did you come 
to me with this?  Why not Kasumi?"
	The look on Akane's face was the first thing that made 
Nabiki laugh all day.  "I see you have a strong opinion about 
this, Akane."
	"I know she's been married longer than either of us, has 
three kids, and she and Tofu seem happier than anyone I've ever 
seen, but..."  Akane shrugged with distaste on her face.  "If 
someone ever asked me to tell them what 'ignorance is bliss' 
meant, I'd tell them to ask to my sister.  I love her, but she 
acts like a servant.  Doing all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, 
taking care of the kids...  She does everything Tofu wants her 
to, and she doesn't mind at all.  She doesn't really go out, no 
job except housework, and I've never seen any of her friends 
that aren't mothers with multiple kids...  I'd go stir crazy."
	Akane glanced at Nabiki to see that she was nodding.  "I 
love Kasumi, and I think Tofu's a really nice guy, and he 
treats her very well considering she'd do anything he asked of 
her, but I'm not going to pretend that the world is fine 
outside my little bubble."
	"That's very eloquent of you, Akane.  I agree 
wholeheartedly."  Nabiki let out a big sigh and stifled the 
following yawn.  "I think it's time to call it a night for me.  
The day starts early tomorrow."
	"I suppose it does," Akane agreed, but there was a sadness 
in her voice.  Returning home was not something she was looking 
forward to at all.  Especially if Ranma was still up.
	"Look, I'll do you one favor," Nabiki said as the house came 
into view.  "I'll get Ranma's little thing on the side out of 
the way.  Then you have to do everything else yourself.  Don't 
blow this chance.  You're getting a second chance, but you 
won't get a third."
	"What are you going to do?" Akane asked, wide-eyed.  
"Nothing... violent..."
	"Of course not.  There are much easier ways to go about this 
than physical violence."  Nabiki pointed her finger in the air, 
in the manner of a sage.  "You just don't worry about it.  
Concentrate on patching things up with Ranma."  They stopped at 
the gate and looked at each.  Nabiki had a small, confident 
smile on her face.  "The less you know, the better."
	Akane looked torn between agreeing with her sister and 
protesting, but after a few moments, she smiled as well.  
"Thanks, Nabiki.  For everything."
	"Just don't waste it.  I'll see you some other time."  She 
waved and walked off.

***

	"Saotome."
	Ranma looked up from the kata he was in the middle of and 
scowled.  "Kuno.  What do _you_ want?"  From the way he was 
dressed, Ranma would have guessed a kick in the face.  "What're 
you wearing that get-up for?"
	"I merely wish to spar.  Would you do me the honor?"  He 
bounced his bokken lightly on his shoulder.
	"You want your butt kicked?  No problem."  Ranma didn't even 
bother getting into a stance, knowing he could take care of 
Kuno easily.
	Taking his place in the dojo, Tatewaki bowed.
	This took Ranma by surprise, who bowed stiffly in return 
after a second of staring.  He was not taken by surprise as 
Kuno attacked though, and blocked the first strikes easily.
	He was ready to deliver a swift kick to the point of Kuno's 
chin when he felt a sharp pain in his side.  Swearing to 
himself, Ranma dodged out of the way of the next strike, 
careful to not let it get close enough to hurt him with the air 
pressure.
	Somehow, in a manner Ranma couldn't really believe, Kuno 
blocked his next series of attacks a bit awkwardly, but not one 
made contact.
	Scowling to himself, Ranma started to take the fight a 
little more seriously.  He spun away from a thrust, feeling the 
sting across his back, following through with his fist and 
hitting Kuno across the left cheek.
	Kuno staggered for a moment before renewing his attack.  
This time, Ranma waited for his attack, then brought his hand 
up and struck the bokken with heel of his palm.  There was a 
snapping noise as the end of the weapon broke off and fell to 
the floor.
	Ranma was ready to deliver a knockout strike, but Kuno was 
holding up his hand.
	"I concede."
	Backing off, relaxing just slightly, Ranma watched Kuno pick 
up the busted piece of wood.  "You'll still never beat me, 
Kuno."
	Tatewaki regarded him for a moment, then took the piece of 
wood and fit it against the point it had broken off.  He shook 
his head at the destruction of a perfectly good bokken.
	"Why are ya even trying?  That thing's broken; you can't fix 
it," Ranma said, thinking Kuno was an even bigger moron than he 
had been in high school.
	"Is that so?"
	"Yeah.  It's busted in two."
	Shrugging, Tatewaki looked from his busted weapon to Ranma.  
"Yes, but then that is often the result when one attempts to 
solve a dilemma by destroying the thing that is bothering one."
	"It always worked for me," Ranma said, not embarrassed at 
all by the fact.
	"Yes, but when the honor of your family is at stake, it is 
not so easy."
	Scowling, Ranma didn't immediately kick Kuno in the face 
against his better judgement.
	"The way you treat the fair Akane is shameful, not only for 
her husband, but for a man in general.  You are less than a man 
for your disgraceful actions, and I am unable to fathom why she 
has not done something to rectify this situation yet," Tatewaki 
scolded.  "She deserves a better man than you to..."
	Ranma grabbed him finally, and threw him up against the 
wall.  With his forearm across Kuno's throat, Ranma growled, 
"Come on.  Keep talkin'."
	Seemingly unaffected, which made Ranma even angrier, 
Tatewaki said, "Ah yes.  Will you now break me in two?"
	"Are you offerin'?"
	"If you do, then you should also make efforts to break 
Nabiki in two as well.  She was the one who asked me to come 
here today."
	"Yeah, it would serve her right for everything she put me 
through," Ranma said, nodding to himself.
	"It was Akane who asked Nabiki for assistance; would you 
like to break your wife in two?  This would most certainly 
solve all your problems by your reasoning," Tatewaki stated 
simply.
	Still scowling, Ranma considered pounding the stuffing out 
of Kuno before he finally let him go.  "Get out of here.  I 
don't need to listen to your lectures."
	Straightening his gi, Tatewaki looked impassively at Ranma.  
"Akane is concerned about your duty to the family, as well as 
her own.  The honor of your family is directly affected by 
your... unfit actions," he whispered as if it were a secret 
between them.
	"_My_ unfit actions?" Ranma said, stunned.  Compared to how 
Kuno used to act, Ranma was a friggin' saint!
	Chasin' after Akane and his female form all the time, 
copping quick feels, and trying to kiss 'em...    Even going as 
far to have brief things for Shampoo and Nabiki...  Well, 
Nabiki very briefly before he went back to chasing two people 
that couldn't stand him.  "So where was all your honor and duty 
when you chased Akane and the pig-tailed girl?"
	Ranma watched Kuno go rigid for a long moment.  "Yeah, 
that's what I thought.  So much for your honor and any reason I 
have to listen to you."
	"You... you are correct.  In high school, I was... ignorant.  
My scholastic grades were perfectly acceptable, but the 
knowledge I lacked had nothing to do with that.  After 
graduation, I admit that I floundered; my lack of social skills 
made it quite impossible to get along."  He got a wry smile on 
his lips.  
	"You would have enjoyed it, I am sure.  I suffered a great 
deal for my foolishness, even after I realized my inadequacies 
and tried to rectify them.  I had nothing, absolutely nothing, 
for even I could not survive without friendly contact."
	"You had friends in high school?" muttered Ranma.
	"Perhaps not, but they were teammates, and even that was 
enough for me."
	"And Nabiki," Ranma offered, smirking a little.
	Tatewaki's eyes narrowed.  "I would suggest you watch what 
you say about my wife," he warned.
	"Yeah, she probably pays you pretty well to defend her 
honor, eh?"
	"Nothing of the sort.  She was the only one who found any 
compassion for me.  It was because of her that I learned 
contact with other people did not always need to be a battle 
for supremacy."  Tatewaki released an uneven breath, as if he 
was reliving an unpleasant memory.  "She showed me how to not 
drive people away, and for that, I will always be in her debt, 
no matter what may happen between us."
	Ranma shook his head.  "Then what you're sayin' about honor 
is a buncha nothin'.  You didn't have any, and then Nabiki 
gives you some?  I don't think it works that way."
	"It does not, but her assistance helped me find that peace 
within myself, and from there I began to realize how deficient 
my personal and moral character was, and how tainted my honor 
was."  Tatewaki had never really spoken to anyone of it, but 
recounting things to Ranma was having a profound effect on him.
	"Without her, I would have been lost, and that is something 
I am loathe to even think on.  All that time, she was my world 
because she was the only one who tried to help, made an effort 
to understand."  His voice was thick with emotion and he had to 
stop speaking.
	"I... I think that was when I fell in love with her."
	"Right," Ranma sneered, covering up the envy he felt.  "And 
now I bet you've got the perfect, little fantasy life with 
Nabiki where nothing ever goes wrong.  Is Akane and the pig-
tailed girl included in that?"
	Tatewaki's mouth twitched, ready to explode in anger, but he 
held it back.  Slowly, he shook his head instead.  "No, things 
are far from perfect.  We have our share of trials, and 
sometimes those trials are too great for us to overcome.
	"You have no idea how fortunate you are to have two 
wonderful children.  It may sound strange to hear me say that I 
am envious of what you have, as I am left wanting.  Simply 
seeing them often causes me physical pain, knowing that I shall 
never know the joy that children can bring."
	"Cut the garbage.  If Akane wanted to make a point, then she 
shoulda..."
	"It is not garbage!  You take all the good things in your 
life for granted!" Tatewaki barked.  "Nabiki does not wish to 
have children, and I respect that.  It hurts, and I do not why, 
but she is even more determined to not have them than I am to 
have them."  He furrowed his brow and clenched his fist.  "Yet, 
it is something I accept because it is so important to her.
	"I accept it when I do not wish to because I love her.  That 
is what makes the acceptance not hurt as much.  That is what 
makes it easier to take."  Tatewaki ended with a small nod, 
affirming his feelings to himself.
	Ranma stared at the man that he had always considered his 
adversary, the sneer having melted away.  The things he had 
said made a surprising amount of sense to him, more than he 
could have predicted.
	"I think I shall depart now.  I only hope that you will 
consider the things I have said.  They are only meant to help 
people that are indeed family."  Tatewaki tossed the shaft of 
the bokken to the floor of the dojo at Ranma's feet.  "Consider 
what your family means to you, as a father, a husband, and as a 
man.
	"Your wife, what does she mean to you?  And what do you 
think you mean to her?  I know your concept of love and 
marriage has been... tainted by your experiences, but I can 
assure you, it is not as terrible as you believe."
	Ranma looked at Tatewaki and shook his head.  "You put on a 
pretty good show, but you don't know what you're talkin' 
about."
	"I do.  I understand the sacrifices that must be made, large 
and small.  There is much more to marriage than pledging your 
love, and unless you understand that, you will never know just 
what it means to be married.  Love will not solve everything, 
children will not hold things together, and infidelity only 
proves that you are as immature as ever."  Tatewaki paused, 
swallowing and taking a big breath.
	"You assumed it would be an easy thing, and in the process, 
allowed those little things to slip past you.  The things that 
the foundation of your marriage is built on."  He saw the sour 
look Ranma was giving him and sighed deeply again, this time 
with sadness.
	"Listen to me this one time.  Marriage is not so simple as 
an everlasting love.  It is all the things you never wanted to 
do, along with things you never thought you would.  Good and 
bad."  He held his hands out, palms up.  "If you are willing to 
deal with your problems in a direct manner, if you are willing 
to make certain concessions, then you will see how good things 
can truly be."
	"Aw, Kuno, will you just..."
	Tatewaki wasn't quite done yet.  "A sense of internal peace 
and balance, an understanding of your partner, a harmonious 
home...  Love is not the difference between happiness and 
misery; these things are."
	Waiting for a moment, Tatewaki lifted his hand in farewell, 
and then exited the dojo.
	Ranma was left alone, a puzzled frown on his face, to think 
things over.

***

	"Yes, this is she."
	"Then I've got some things to ask you.  Specifically about a 
gentleman by the name of Saotome."
	Chizuru's mouth worked, but no sound came out for a moment.  
"I don't know who you mean." She managed finally.
	"Oh, I know you do.  And his wife knows you do.  You're 
lucky his kids don't know or then things would get serious."
	Chizuru listened to the woman's voice on the phone, not sure 
how to respond.  "What do you mean?" she whispered.
	"What I mean is that you need to keep your paws off of 
Saotome.  He's married and he's not taking any mistresses.  His 
wife doesn't find that... acceptable."
	Worry gave way to anger.  "What gives you the right to tell 
me what to do?  And if he's married, then it's his wife's fault 
for not keeping him interested.  So you can just keep your 
threats!"
	"I thought I might hear that from you.  Then what do you 
think all your co-workers would say about you if they knew?"
	"It's none of their business.  They wouldn't care."  Chizuru 
was feeling an inordinate amount bravery about this threatening 
phone call.
	"Oh, but I think they might.  The other women might not feel 
so generous knowing that you could be the one to steal their 
husbands out from underneath them.  Though I'm quite sure the 
men would be very pleased to know about your... hobby."
	Grimacing, Chizuru could hear the grin the woman on the 
other end of the phone was wearing.  "You can't do this to me."
	"I can, and I am.  Forget you ever knew Saotome.  He's more 
trouble than you know, and if you continue with this little 
fling, you'll be in more trouble than you can imagine."
	The line went dead in Chizuru's ear, and she stared at the 
handset.  Her first instinct was to laugh it off, wishing she 
had time to tell whoever it was to go jump off a bridge.
	Her heart was beating unnaturally fast to take it simply as 
a joke though.  Instinct was taking over, letting her know that 
this was something not be taken lightly.
	Maybe it was better to just forget him anyway.  He was good-
looking, but not much else.  Always in such a mood...  Yes, it 
was definitely better to just move on.

***

	Ranma kept one eye on Keo.  For only being two, the little 
girl could manage to get herself in more trouble than even he 
could imagine.
	"Daddy!"  Sakumi jumped up and tried to grab the tonfa that 
her father was holding high in the air.  "Give it to me!"
	"Come on, Sakumi-chan.  I know you can jump higher than 
that," he urged, smiling at her.  He lowered the tonfa enough 
to lure Sakumi into jumping again, then lifted it just out of 
her reach.  "I bet Ke-chan can jump higher than that."
	Keo, who was content to sit and watch her father make a fool 
out of her older sister, clapped her hands and smiled at the 
display.
	Watching sadly, out of sight, Akane couldn't help but wonder 
where everything had gone wrong.  Ranma was so good with the 
kids most of the time...  So why did they have such a hard time 
relating to each other?
	It hurt to know that the children were not helping the 
marriage, and when the fights got too bad, the two girls were 
front row witnesses.  Akane couldn't control her temper at 
those times, and Ranma didn't seem to care what it was all 
really doing to them.
	"Mommy!  Daddy's being mean!" Sakumi cried, finally seeing 
her mother.
	Ranma met Akane's gaze for a moment, in which time the 
things Kuno had said to him replayed in his mind.  "Sakumi, 
take Keo inside and get her cleaned up for dinner," he said, 
his voice somber.
	"But Daddy!"
	"No buts.  Go on."  He looked at her, and that was enough to 
get the girl moving.
	"Come on," she said, pouting, and taking Keo's hand.  The 
two children exited the dojo, leaving Ranma and Akane alone.
	Akane entered and stood in the middle, facing Ranma.  She 
couldn't help but bite her lip in anticipation.  Whether it 
would be another fight or something different for once, she was 
going to stick this one out.  No more running.
	"Akane, we need to talk."
	"Yes, Ranma, I think we do."

***

	Tatewaki watched the gently dancing flames, mesmerized by 
their rhythm.  It was a display that invariably would send him 
quickly to sleep if he allowed it.
	It seemed to be having the same affect on Nabiki as she 
groaned quietly and moved into a more comfortable position in 
his arms.
	She had worked so hard though, at her job, with Akane and 
Ranma's little thing on the side...  She deserved it this time, 
and he found himself unable to deny her these few moments of 
quiet happiness.
	Lowering his head a little, Tatewaki touched his lips and 
nose to the top of her head, inhaling deeply before kissing 
her.  "Nabiki-chan," he whispered.
	"Hm?"  She didn't stir, only exerting herself enough to get 
the single syllable out.
	"What do you think will become of Akane and Ranma?" he asked 
quietly, tightening his arms slightly around her.
	"No idea."  Nabiki was ready to simply let it drop at that, 
but it was obvious that her husband expected a bit more than 
that.  Closing her eyes, she sighed.  "They're going to do 
whatever they think they have to.
	"They're both adults, even if they don't act like it.  No 
one, not me, not you, not Kasumi, not Dad, is going to make 
them do anything they don't want to.  No one is going to make 
them stay married."  She turned so she was on her back and 
looking up at the ceiling.
	"Yes, but..."
	Nabiki shook her head.  "I did what I could to help.  And 
you too.  Right now, they have to do things by themselves, and 
they'll either work it out, or..."
	She turned to look in Tatewaki's eyes.  "That's just the way 
life works."
	Taking a big breath and releasing it slowly, he nodded.  "Of 
course, but it seems that they simply..."
	"Simply nothing.  Think about who you're talking about."
	"I suppose."  Tatewaki turned his gaze back to the fire.  
"Some things are not so easily resolved, no matter how much one 
wishes them to be."
	For a moment, she continued to look at him, well aware of 
what he was implying.  Wetting her lips and quietly clearing 
her throat, Nabiki reached down into a pocket of her slacks.  
Pulling out the object, she held it up to be silhouetted by the 
fire's light for Tatewaki.
	She heard him draw quick breath as she examined the case 
idly.  This had been a daily ritual of hers for over ten years, 
almost a security blanket.  "You know what these are."  She 
held it directly in front of him.
	"I do."
	"I thought, and maybe it wasn't the only reason, that I had 
seen what children could do to a marriage and I didn't want 
that to happen to us.  I didn't want what happened to Ranma and 
Akane to happen to us."  Her voice was calm and held no tone of 
bitterness or anger like she might have expected.
	Looking back at him, Nabiki asked, "You never thought about 
that, did you?"
	Tatewaki shook his head, staring at the pills as if they 
were a high-powered explosives.
	Nabiki smiled just a touch then.  "I didn't either really.  
It was a lot easier just to say that they were too big of cramp 
on my life, _our_ lives.  Why change when things are so nice, 
when they're _good_ and we're both happy?"  The smile faded as 
she looked back at what she was holding.
	"I saw something ugly though, something that I hadn't seen 
before, in my sister's marriage.  It wasn't those kids; it was 
the only thing they agreed on: they both love them."  Tears 
started to form in her eyes, but did not fall.  "I don't see in 
us what I saw in them."
	Tatewaki waited for her continue, but she did not.  
Collecting his thoughts, he considered what to say in response.  
"I think that... you were not wrong to have your misgivings, 
especially under such circumstances.  Though I wish you would 
have considered speaking to me of them."
	He ran his fingertips up her raised arm to caress her hand.  
"Children can most certainly be a trial, but I believe that the 
positive aspects far outweigh the negative.  I remember, as I 
am sure you do, the day our niece spoke her first word, and the 
joy and pride with which Akane and Ranma both spoke of it.
	"That is something I would very much like to feel, to share.  
With you.  What is more important to me than anything is your 
happiness, and if you think that will change because of 
anything, I say that it will not."
	Placing his hand on her chin, he turned her head so that he 
could look directly into her eyes.  "In fact, would you believe 
me if I said that not only would our happiness not decrease 
with the addition of a child, but increase?"
	Nabiki looked at him, not quite blankly, but passively, 
absorbing his words, just listening to him speak.  He believed 
everything he had just said with all of his being.  She 
believed him too.
	"Do you know what these are?" she asked, looking away from 
him and back at the case of pills in her hand.
	"I believe so," Tatewaki answered, a bit confused.
	Nabiki smiled up at him before tossing the entire thing into 
the fireplace.
	Tatewaki still wasn't sure what had just happened or why she 
had asked him those things.  To hide this confusion and his 
surprise, he asked, "Do you realize how difficult that will be 
to clean?" 
	"Do you care?" she countered before leaning up and kissing 
him passionately.

END