Questions, comments, or C&C will be much appreacated.
Will You be my Fiance?
(A Ranma 1/2 Alt History)
By Ammadeau
Roy.Fokker@UNSpacy.org
http://Ammadeau.tripod.com/fanfiction.htm
The next day at Furinkan High, most of the boys had
gathered in the center of the school yard, armed with mostly sports
paraphernalia. They all looked toward the school gate in
anticipation. At another school this may have been an odd sight,
but at Furinkan it was fairly routine.
What had changed was just who they were waiting for.
Kuno had made it quite clear to them yesterday afternoon that all
attacks against Akane must cease immediately. If they persisted,
the 'punishment of the heavens would befall them.' None of the
boys were exactly sure what this meant, but neither were they
willing to challenge the Blue Thunder.
Chapter 3: Three Things to do with a Girl
Kuno was there too, armed with bokken and rose, as
expected. What as not expected was his expression. Usually it
was one of anticipation to see his fierce tigress in battle, soundly
rounding on her foes. He awaited the day when she would
overcome her shyness and freely accept his love. Today however,
his expression was that of anger mixed with disdain, directed at the
waiting mob. His grip on his bokken was so tight that it was
starting to warp the wood. People made way as he strode over to
them. Akane and Ranma had soundly beaten him on several
occasions, but then they were the only ones who could. Anyone
else who faced the kendoist would be in much rougher shape,
especially when his anger was roused, as it obviously was at the
moment.
"What is the meaning of this?!" he shouted at the gathered
boys. "Did I not say that anyone who now wished to face Akane
Tendo would have to face me first? Do you dare challenge the
words of the Blue Thunder?"
"No, no," one of the boys told him. "You've got it all
wrong. We're waiting here to beat up Ranma."
Now that was entirely a different matter to the kendoist.
"Very well, on the eve that he is laid low, the man who defeats him
will be allowed to date Akane Tendo. So says the Blue Thunder of
Furinkan High!" Kuno knew, of course, that only he could defeat
Ranma Saotome, so there was no danger. Besides, it would give
Kuno ample opportunity to study Saotome in action.
Kuno stabbed the air with his bokken while the boys
cheered. In their celebration, they had seemed to forgotten that
Ranma had easily beaten them on his first day at school and Akane
was never likely to listen to who Kuno said she could and couldn't
date.
Akane shrugged when the gathered boys didn't rush out to
attack her. It might be nice to be early to class for once.
Ranma was considerably less pleased when the mob rushed
out to attack him. However, none of them were really skilled and
it wasn't long before all of them had been defeated. Seeing a
familiar kendoist approach, Ranma asked, "Haven't you had
enough yet, Kuno?"
The kendoist waved the accusation away. "I'm not here to
fight you, Saotome."
Ranma nearly fell over in surprise. He hadn't expected
Kuno to give up so easily. Ranma had some experience with
persistent rivals in the past and had guessed Kuno to be the type
that never gave up no matter how many times he was defeated.
"You're not?"
"While to do battle with an opponent such as yourself
would be a noble exercise, I must regretfully admit that it is one
that I would have little chance of winning."
"Huh?" Ranma said, puzzled, and unknowingly echoing the
thoughts of everyone who observed this event. Kuno was actually
admitting that someone was better than him? That had to be one of
the signs of the apocalypse.
"What is worse is that in knowing I am no longer the
greatest martial artist in the world, I must also acknowledge the
small possibility that there may be others whose skill is slightly
greater than my own. Were it just for myself, I could accept this
humbling revelation, but if my skill is no longer the best, how can I
hope to protect my true love Akane Tendo from the evils of the
world?"
While Ranma struggled through the speech to come up with
some sort of answer, Kuno suddenly grabbed him by the shoulders.
Normally, Ranma would have thrown his grip off, but there was
something in the upperclassman's eyes that stopped him. They
were wide, almost panicked, and held the unshed tears of some
complex suffering. Whatever Kuno was going on about, he had
worked himself into a frenzy over it.
"You must aid me in my cause. As a fellow samurai, it is
your duty!"
Ranma decided not to question being called a samurai and
got right to the point. "What do you want, exactly?"
"Long have I thought that I was the perfect master of the
most perfect art, but you have made me painfully aware that there
is some slight flaw in my technique, some hidden fault that I am
blind to. You must show me what it is!"
"Well, for starters kendo isn't the--"
Kuno took what Ranma said as consent. "Very well, we
shall begin before school tomorrow."
"Begin what?"
"Our training sessions. Where you will help me correct the
small flaw in my technique and I in turn will instruct you on the
finer points of kendo. So that we both might better defend Akane
Tendo from harm!"
"Look, I don't want to learn--"
That's when bell rang.
Kuno held his bokken high in the air. "Now that that is
settled, off to class!"
Ranma sighed and followed. Like he didn't have enough to
worry about already.
At the same time, Kyoko sighed, but in relief. "That was a
close one, sempai. I thought for a minute there that Kuno was
going to swear off all fighting. Even charging him double for his
pictures of Akane wouldn't have made up for the loss of the betting
pool."
Kyoko frowned when Nabiki didn't respond. Her frown
deepened when she realized the reason she didn't answer was
because she was looking out the window, staring at Ranma.
"Sempai?"
"I think I'll wear the red dress tonight. I haven't worn it
since I got it in lieu of a loan payment," Nabiki said, still staring
out the window, though Ranma had already gone in inside.
"Huh? What did you say?"
Nabiki turned around with a smile on her lips and twinkle
in her eye that made Kyoko momentarily forget what she had been
thinking about.
"I don't think the other factors need to know, but I can trust
you. Can't I, Kyoko-chan?"
Kyoko nodded immediately.
Nabiki's smile widened a bit. "I have a date tonight."
Kyoko blinked as her warm feeling vanished, only to be
replaced by something heavy in the pit of her stomach. "With
Ranma?" she guessed.
Nabiki nodded. "It came as quite a surprise to me. He's the
brother of a friend of mine. She set the whole thing up."
"I don't know about this, sempai," Kyoko said cautiously,
being careful not to give offense. "I don't think he's the right sort
of person for you."
"Maybe not, but then I never know until I try, do I? I'm not
looking to marry the guy, Kyoko-chan. All I want is a nice meal at
a fancy restaurant. One good night without anything related to
business, but it would be nice to have a boyfriend. Don't you think
so, Kyoko-chan?"
Kyoko frowned. "I'm starting to think your sister is right.
All men are jerks."
Nabiki laughed and patted her factor on the shoulder.
"Don't give up hope yet. You'll find the right guy for you some
day, Kyoko-chan."
After Nabiki had walked away, Kyoko mumbled to herself,
"I doubt it."
"Do you mind if I sit with you?" Akane asked Ranma
nervously.
Ranma wondered why she was asking now, when she just
sat down next to him yesterday. Remembering her near explosion,
he decided not to bring this up. "Sure, go ahead."
Akane nodded and sat down. She took out her lunch and
slowly started on it without a word. Ranma decided to do the
same. They ate for a few minutes in silence, before Akane stopped
and sat still, looking out on the school yard. She wore the same
look she had had before she first spoke to him yesterday. Ranma
decided to stop eating himself, curious as to what was about to
happen, though he did hope that he'd still have enough time to
finish his lunch this time.
"Gomen nasai," Akane whispered so softly that Ranma
wasn't even sure that he had heard it.
"Huh?"
"I'm sorry, for the way I treated you yesterday and the day
before. I treated you badly, even though you hadn't done anything
to deserve it. Gomen."
Ranma wasn't sure on how to take this. None of his rivals
had ever apologized to him before, and even though Akane wasn't
technically a rival, it was still an experience that he wasn't used to.
He was more used to being the one doing the apologizing rather
than receiving it.
"It's okay," he told her.
For a while the sat in silence, until Ranma finally said,
"Um, can I finish my lunch now?"
Akane laughed suddenly, so hard that tears came to her
eyes. "Sure, sure," she said with a chuckle once she had caught her
breath. "Go right ahead."
Ranma shook his head as he started on his lunch again.
Akane was still laughing. He would never understand women.
Never.
Ranma was only a little surprised to find his sister waiting
for him in his room after his second training session and bath of the
day. She had laid out a black tux on his bed, next to a white
carnation in a small plastic box. Ranma looked over the items with
a touch of fear, dating and danger had become synonyms in his
mind.
"Our parents don't know about any of this, do they?"
Ranma asked, worried that this could get worse than it already was.
"Don't worry, I have everything covered. They don't have a
clue that you're going out on a date."
Ranma flinched at the word 'date.' "Good," he replied, but
seemed to lack all conviction.
"I really appreciate you doing this, big brother," Hitomi told
him with a small smile as she tugged at his arm, bringing him
closer to the bed.
"It's not like you left me any choice."
Hitomi rolled her eyes. "We both know there's no way I
could force you to do this if you really didn't want to. Stop being
so stubborn."
Ranma crossed his arms, and tried to pout, but it came out
as more of a half-smile. "I am not stubborn."
"Yes you are, admit it."
"No, I won't, and you can't make me," Ranma replied,
sticking out his tongue for emphasis.
"Really?" Hitomi asked, grinning, as she inched closer to
him.
"Really."
In a flash, Hitomi had somehow knocked Ranma to the
floor and was tickling him for all she was worth. "Come on, admit
you're stubborn!"
"No!" Ranma shouted at first, between bouts of laughter.
Before long, it was too much for him, and nearly out of breath, he
said, "All right, I give. I'm stubborn."
Smirking, Hitomi halted her attack and replied, "You're not
that stubborn. Now get into the tux, I want to see how it fits."
Dressed in his tux and white carnation in hand, even
Hitomi had to admit that her brother made a handsome sight. Not
that she would actually tell him that, however. No reason to add to
his already huge ego.
"Okay, let's go over what I told you one more time," she
told him.
"What? Again?" Ranma whined.
"Are you being stubborn?" Hitomi asked, twitching her
fingers meaningfully.
Ranma backed away in mock-fear, which was spoiled by
his grin. "Me? No, never."
"All right. Now where are you meeting my sensei?"
"Under the lamppost near the entrance to the park."
"And what will she look like?"
"A woman with short, brown hair, wearing a red dress, and
answers to the name of Nabiki."
"Don't describe my sensei like that!" Hitomi shouted,
outraged. "She's not a dog!"
"She better not be," Ranma muttered mostly to himself.
His sister frowned. "I told you before that my sensei is
beautiful. Unfortunately, I sold the few pictures I had of her.
Now, what do you do when you meet her?"
"I introduce myself and give her the carnation."
Hitomi nodded. "And after that?"
"We go to the restaurant."
"No, you just don't 'go to the restaurant.' You take her arm
and escort her to the restaurant!"
Ranma nodded absently. "Right, right. I've got it."
Hitomi took a breath and decided to let it pass. "And you
will remember to eat like a normal human being there and not like
a vacuum cleaner like you normally do. Also, don't ignore my
sensei while you're eating, and don't order everything on the menu.
That place is expensive, you know."
"Geez, I got it already. Quit nagging me," Ranma replied in
irritation.
Hitomi suddenly hugged Ranma, burying her face in his
neck. "I'm sorry, big brother. My sensei really means a lot to me,
so I want this night to be perfect."
Ranma smiled and patted his little sister on the head. "I
know, I understand. I'll try and do my best to make it a night to
remember."
"With you around bro, that's sure to happen," Hitomi
replied with a smirk. "Just go easy on the tux, okay? If you wreck
it, you're the one who's paying for it."
Nabiki rushed into Kasumi's room. She would have to get
ready in a hurry to be at the meeting place on time. Other girls
might plan on being fashionably late, but Nabiki liked to be
punctual for everything. She could have had Ranma pick her at
home, but decided that would be a bad idea with Akane under the
same roof. Nabiki didn't know how her little sister would react,
but it would certainly ruin the date.
"Can I borrow your gold earrings, sis?"
Sitting at her desk, brushing out her hair, Kasumi spun
around to see her sister in a somewhat daring red dress. It wasn't
too revealing, but it was still something she wouldn't have been
able to wear. "Oh my, Nabiki. Are you going out on a date?"
Nabiki blushed faintly. "Yes, but I don't want dad to know
or he'll make a big fuss. So keep it to yourself, okay?"
"All right, I understand." Kasumi smiled and began to
search for the earrings. "Is it someone you met at school?"
Nabiki chuckled a little at that. They went to the same
school, but they had yet to actually meet there. "No, he's the older
brother of this girl I've been helping out. She set it all up."
"You seem awfully eager for a blind date," Kasumi noted.
"Well, we met before, briefly, but I doubt he remembers
me."
Kasumi handed her Nabiki the earrings. "Have a nice
time."
Nabiki grinned. "I hope I will. Thanks, sis."
Ranma was very uncomfortable waiting under a street
lamp. The rental tux would be awkward to fight in, though the
white carnation smelled nice. His pledge of not fighting that night
felt like having one hand tied behind his back. It also made him
doubly cautious and there were just too many hiding places that a
sneak attack could come from. There was also the fact that Hitomi
was going to make him pay for the tux if it got ruined, and he didn't
like the idea of having to give up his allowance for a year.
Ranma was concentrating on so many things at once that
the girl seemed to appear before him like magic. She was in a red
dress and had short, dark hair, so he guessed this was the person he
was waiting for.
"Nabiki, right?"
Nabiki nodded. "Ranma Saotome, I presume."
"Yeah, that's me. This is for you," he told her, handing her
the carnation.
"Thank you," Nabiki replied as she pinned the flower to her
dress. "It smells nice."
"Yeah," he replied a bit nervously. Then he studied her
face closely for a minute. "Hey, haven't I seen you someplace
before?"
Nabiki smirked. "You must say that to all the girls,
Saotome."
"It's not that. I swear I've seen you before, and I'm pretty
good with faces. It's names I have a hard time remembering."
Nabiki was actually flattered for Ranma to have noticed her
when she had stayed a distance from him so far. "Well, we do go
to the same school. You've made quite the impression for a new
student. I'm surprised you've noticed me, though, since I'm a year
ahead of you."
"Hey, I didn't mean to make such a fuss, stuff like that just
happens to me," Ranma responded defensively. "Probably noticed
you because you're distinctive."
"Distinctive?" Nabiki asked, making it clear that she didn't
know whether to take this as a compliment or an insult.
Ranma studied her face again, trying to figure out for
himself what he meant. "I don't know, maybe it's your hair or
something. Most girls wear their hair long."
Nabiki reached up to touch one of her locks. "And how do
you feel about girls having short hair?"
Ranma was feeling a bit uncomfortable under her scrutiny.
His instincts, sharpened from his recent vigil, were telling him that
the wrong answer could lead to disaster, and he knew how
important this date was to his sister.
"I don't know, it's just hair I mean, no big deal. Easier to
fight with shorter hair..."
Ranma saw Nabiki start to frown at his rambling, so he
blurted out, "I like it, it looks good on you!"
"How does it look good?" Nabiki pushed.
"It makes you look older, more mature." Feeling that he
was on shaky ground, Ranma quickly changed the subject. "Can
we go to the restaurant now? We don't want to be late for our
reservations."
"All right."
Ranma turned to go, but noticed that Nabiki hadn't budged
from her spot. "Is something wrong?"
"Aren't you forgetting something?"
Ranma did a quick mental checklist. Suit, check. Money,
check. Hitomi's sensei, check. Everything was accounted for.
"What?"
"It's only proper to take the arm of a lady when escorting
her to dinner."
Seeing Ranma's confused face, Nabiki released a small sigh
of frustration and put her arm through his. "See? Like this."
"Oh, okay," Ranma said as the began towards the
restaurant, Nabiki now at his side. "Sorry."
"Don't worry about it, Ranma," Nabiki told him, but inside
she found her high hopes for this date had sunk.
Ranma sighed in relief when they had finally reached the
restaurant. The short trip there had been a little tense for him. He
totally forgot to worry about sneak attacks, since there were more
pressing issues, namely Nabiki pressing against his side. That
wasn't as big a problem as the fact that whenever he looked over at
her, he ended up looking right down her dress. That brought on
painful associations of woman throwing buckets and bars of soap,
from when his mother had pretended he was a girl and snuck him
into the women's side of the public onsen.
Nabiki, leaning on his arm, could feel Ranma's tension, and
couldn't help wondering about the cause of it. Hitomi had told her
that he hadn't really been on a date before, but he still shouldn't be
this nervous, especially after the fact that he faced down her sister
so easily. Nabiki was somewhat used to people feeling uneasy
around her, but that was only after they had found out about her
reputation in business.
They were greeted at the door of the restaurant by an
elderly man in a formal kimono. He smiled warmly to the both of
them and said, "Welcome to the Jade Blossom. May I help you?"
After a minute or so, Ranma realized that Nabiki wasn't
going to say anything, so he gathered his thoughts and told the
man, "Yes, we have a reservation."
"Of course," the man replied, nodding. "And what name
would that reservation be listed under?"
Ranma blinked in surprise and admitted, "My sister didn't
tell me that."
The old man said nothing, though his eyes seemed to ask a
question. Nabiki explained with a small chuckle, "His sister
helped us get the reservations. Try looking under Saotome or
Tendo."
The man nodded and studied the book before him. "Ah,
yes, here it is. Saotome, party of two." Grabbing two menus, the
man nodded to Nabiki and Ranma. "Right this way please."
The old man deftly lead them through a dimly lit restaurant
to a small table for two by the bank of high windows that looked
out onto the park below.
As Nabiki started to sit down, something seemed to click in
Ranma's mind. He rushed over to her side of the table and held her
chair out for her.
"Thank you, Ranma," she told him with a smile.
Ranma grinned as he took his own seat, happy to have
finally gotten something right. Perhaps some of his mother's
suggestions weren't quite so useless after all.
The old man handed them each a menu. "A waitress will
be by shortly to take your orders. Please enjoy you meal."
Ranma and Nabiki thanked him, which he accepted with a
bow, and then left the two of them alone, with the light of candles
as their only source of illumination.
Not far from their table, Kyoko frowned. She had used the
skills Nabiki had taught her to track down the restaurant they
would be going to, but she still couldn't get a reservation. The best
she could do was convince one of the waitresses to call in sick and
get a job as a temp for the night. She was lucky that Nabiki and
Ranma weren't at one of her tables. She didn't know how she
could explain this to her boss, who was certain to be suspicious
that her factor had just started work on the same night Nabiki had a
date.
And her boss looked way too content for Kyoko's liking.
She would have thought that Nabiki would be immune to this jerk's
charm, but it seemed that even she had a weakness or two. Kyoko
knew it was her duty to save her from Ranma. There was no way
he was good enough for her.
"Kyoko, go wait on table 16!"
"Hai!" she replied immediately, trying to sound cheerful,
though frowning at the same time. Unfortunately, the job was
keeping her too busy for her to do anything. She'd have to be
clever and find a way to expose what sort of man Ranma really
was. But how to do it?
For a while, they simply studied the menus in silence. It
hadn't taken Ranma long to find what he wanted to order though,
so he began to get impatient. He tried to keep himself focused on
the menu, to decide which dishes he might like to try and prepare
himself sometime, but he just couldn't do it.
Ranma had never been on a date before, but this was not
because no one had ever asked him out. His mother alone had tried
to set him up with a girl almost once a month since he turned six,
though she seemed to have stopped recently for some reason. And
being the good son that Ranma at least sometimes tried to be, he'd
go out with these girls, if only to make his mother happy.
Originally, the problem was with the 'advice' his mother
had given him. Following his mother's instructions on how to be
manly had given Ranma his share of bumps and bruises in the past,
not to mention ending any date before it had gotten started. He
slowly learned that it wasn't such a great idea to follow his mother's
advice, and promptly began ignoring it.
Sometimes the problem was with the girl herself. His mom
had some strange ideas to who would be her son's perfect mate.
They tended to be a little too... aggressive for Ranma, who was
uncomfortable enough around girls to begin with. His mother
seemed to think that the more assertive the girl, the more
opertunities Ranma would have to be manly with her. Worst of all
had been that one who acted all sweet and demure when they first
met, but turned out to be an amateur dominatrix. Ranma hadn't
even known what S&M was at the time, but he did know that any
woman wielding a whip was bad news.
Much more often though, it had nothing to do with the date
itself. Like one time he'd actually asked a nice, normal girl out to
the movies, after his mother's constant prompting. Ranma had
accidentally ran into this guy, who bumped his head and suddenly
thought he was Jackie Chan. And naturally Ranma was his enemy.
Having random things thrown at you was more annoying than
dangerous, but it did kill the date before it had gotten started.
They had made it to the restaurant okay. They were sitting
down, awaiting the waitress as they studied their menus.
Everything had gone fine. Which made Ranma more tense than
anything else. He knew that it was only a matter of time before
everything came crashing down on him, and the longer it took, the
worse it would be.
"Is something wrong, Ranma?" Nabiki asked him.
Ranma's eyes suddenly snapped up to see Nabiki staring at
him. "No, nothing," he said nervously. "Why do you ask?"
"Because you've been staring at the same spot on the menu
for about ten minutes now."
"Have I?" Ranma asked, rubbing the back of his head in
embarrassment. "I must have been thinking of something."
"Must be," Nabiki said, giving Ranma a somewhat
disapproving look.
Ranma was thankful when their waitress took this moment
to appear, using this distraction to get away from Nabiki's gaze by
hiding behind the menu.
The short girl appeared to be Chinese, but had golden hair
tied up in two buns and bright green eyes. She was wearing a red
flower pattern chisogam with a real pale green flower behind one
ear. She looked young at first glance, but a second look told
Nabiki that she was more likely around her age. She was a little
too top-heavy to be just a kid.
"Nihao!" she said to them in a cheery voice. "Welcome to
the Jade Blossom. Would you like to hear our specials?"
Nabiki shook her head. She didn't care about specials when
someone else was paying. "I've already decided. How about you,
Ranma?"
"Ranma?" the waitress repeated, her eyes wide as she
turned to face the person still hidden behind the menu.
"Yeah?" Ranma replied, putting down the menu. Nabiki
didn't sound mad, which was a relief. Maybe he was all worried
over nothing. It was possible he could go out on a date and not run
into any trouble.
With a shout of "Ranma!", the pig-tailed boy found himself
suddenly buried in a bear hug by the waitress, faces cheek to cheek,
who was also babbling at him in now-broken Japanese.
"Argh! What are you doing?" he shouted in panic.
The waitress didn't seem to notice. "This great! Have not
seen for so long! Remember old friend Min-Lin? Yes? Yes?"
Somehow Ranma managed to disengage himself from Min-
Lin. He looked at her and blinked a few times. "Min-Lin, is that
you?" he asked with some disbelief, trying to match up the image
of the woman before him with the little girl he remembered.
"Hai!" she shouted, giggling happily.
"Is this a friend of yours, Ranma?" Nabiki asked with a
sarcastic edge that was completely lost on Ranma at the moment.
Min-Lin immediately turned to face Nabiki, a wide smile
on her face. "Great-grandfather train Ranma's father in martial
arts! Me stay at Ranma's house many, many times when young!
Me and Ranma have much fun together! Good memories!"
"Right," Nabiki said, frowning at the girl's over-enthusiasm.
"I hate to get in the way of this charming reunion, but do you think
you could take our orders now so we can at least eat while you
reminisce?"
Min-Lin nodded seriously, disengaging herself from Ranma
and standing up straight again. "What will you be having, miss?"
Nabiki told her her order and added, "And the name is
Tendo, Nabiki Tendo."
Min-Lin nodded quickly and spun around to face Ranma.
"And for you, Ranma?" she asked, leaning over with a smile, so
their faces were only inches apart.
Ranma nervously backed up a little and pointed out what he
wanted on the menu.
"Right!" Min-Lin declared and collected up the menus. "Be
back soon, Ranma!"
"Ah, okay."
Min-Lin nodded to him, still smiling, and practically
bounced off in the direction of the kitchen.
Kyoko had to stifle a giggle or two when she saw what had
just happened at her boss's table. Nabiki was pretty good at
concealing her emotions when she wanted to, but Kyoko could tell
that she was seriously ticked about the waitress getting too friendly
with her date.
*Now you see he's just like any other man, sempai,* she
thought. *Ready to put the moves on a cute girl when she comes
along.*
Still, irritation wasn't enough for Kyoko. She wanted
Nabiki to storm out of the restaurant, leaving Ranma behind. It
would take a lot for her boss to leave a free meal, though. Then
she realized they had just placed their orders.
*Maybe I should help out a little in the kitchen,* Kyoko
thought with a smirk.
Once Min-Lin was gone, Ranma sighed and put his head in
his hands. *Why did she have so show up now?* he wondered.
Just when everything was going so well. Okay, so Ranma could
admit to himself that things were hardly perfect before she had
appeared, but they were certainly worse now.
Case in point, Nabiki was definitely frowning at him from
the other side of the table. "What was that all about?" she asked,
not sounding at all pleased.
Ranma took a breath and explained, "Her great-grandfather
is the founder of Anything Goes Martial Arts, the school my father
and I practice. Supposedly, he had finished training my father
before I was born, but when I was around three, he came to stay
with us for a while. He had added some improvements on the
school that he was going around and teaching to all of his former
students. Min-Lin and her parents were traveling with him,
probably because her father was also one of his students.
"Since there weren't any kids in the neighborhood my age, I
ended up spending a lot of time playing with Min-Lin. In fact,
because of the house being so crowded, we had to share a futon."
When he saw Nabiki's frown deepen, Ranma realized that
he should have kept that detail to himself.
"Sounds like you two were very close," Nabiki noted
almost casually, but there was a definite edge to her voice.
"No, no, not really," Ranma replied, waving his hand in
denial. "She makes it sound like more than it was. We weren't that
close at all."
"Ranma is being too modest," Min-Lin added in as she
pulled up a chair next to him and sat down. "We were inseparable
when little. Always do everything together; play, eat, sleep. We
even took baths together."
"Oh, really?" Nabiki said with a detectable trace of anger in
her voice.
"It was all perfectly innocent!" Ranma explained, trying to
avert this disaster. "We were only little kids."
Min-Lin went on as if she hadn't noticed Nabiki's tone or
what Ranma had said. "Yes, we would cry whenever separated. I
remember how much I cried when our parents separated us for
three days when they caught us playing doctor--"
"So, Min-Lin," Ranma interrupted quickly. "I thought you
were in China. When did you get back to Japan?"
Min-Lin accepted the change in subject without a blink.
"Only return to Japan a week ago. Living with parents once more.
They enroll me in St. Herbreke all-girls school to help me learn to
be more Japanese. But school expensive, so I work here to help
pay. Great-grandmother know owner so get job easy. She want
me to work and not slack off in training either."
"Hey, that's the same school my sister goes to," Ranma said
suddenly. "Pops works his tail off to pay for it."
Min-Lin blinked at him in surprise, reminding Ranma once
again how close they were sitting to each other. "Ranma has sister
now? What her name?"
"Hitomi," he replied after a moment.
"Oh, must meet her soon!" Min-Lin enthused, "Bet she cute
like brother!"
Nabiki interrupted, "So I guess the reason you couldn't stay
with Ranma here was having to go to China, right?"
Min-Lin nodded. "Yes, it was a sad, sad day when I had to
leave for China. Not want to leave parents, and especially Ranma,
but have no choice. Great-grandmother decided that I should be
heir to her school of martial arts and training had to begin
immediately. Then things happen in village that make great-
grandmother decide to suspend training for a while so she can go
and search for great-grandfather."
Min-Lin nearly jumped out of her chair for no apparent
reason. She pulled unclipped a small, black box from her belt and
explained, "Is beeper. Don't think I'll ever get used to this thing.
Your food must be ready."
She stood up and straightened out her dress. "Will return
soon Ranma, Ms. Tendo," she said and left.
Ranma held his head in his hands again as soon as Min-Lin
left. "Why does this always happen to me?" he muttered. "I must
be cursed or something."
"What was that?" Nabiki asked, though she sounded more
confused than angry now.
Ranma looked up at Nabiki as if he had forgotten she was
there. "I'm really sorry about all this," he told her sincerely.
The edge was back in Nabiki's voice when she spoke. "No,
it's me who's sorry to be in the way of such a touching reunion.
Who knows how much closer you two could be if I wasn't here.
Perhaps I should leave now?"
Ranma sighed. "Maybe it would be better if you did leave."
"What was that?" This wasn't the response Nabiki had
been expecting. She had expected him to beg, or at least ask, her
to stay. Not tell her to go, especially when there was a vengeful
sister involved.
Ranma thought for a moment before replying. "What are
the odds of me running into an old friend like this, who I thought
was in another country, especially at the worst possible moment?"
Nabiki considered this. Setting odds was one of her
specialties. "Depends on how many childhood girlfriends you've
had, Saotome."
"Just one, her, and we were never more than just friends."
"Hmm, I'd say those would be pretty steep odds. You must
be one lucky guy."
"But that's just it!" Ranma shouted suddenly, standing up.
"These things happen to me all the time! I must have the worst
luck in the world!"
Nabiki smirked. "Your luck is only going to get worse if
you keep shouting."
Ranma sat back down quickly, embarrassed. He took a sip
of his tea, trying to ignore the looks of the people at the nearby
tables, though his hands, Nabiki noticed, were shaking slightly.
"Hey, relax," she told him. "I'm not mad at you or
anything."
"You're not?" Ranma asked, surprise clear in his voice.
Nabiki smiled and shook her head. "Okay, maybe I was a
little at first, but it was more over being surprised and kept off
balance like that. I shouldn't really blame you for something that
really isn't your fault."
Ranma sighed in relief. "Thank you for being so
understanding about this."
"At least things won't be boring with you around, Ranma."
Kyoko accidentally snapped a chopstick in half in irritation.
Her boss was smiling, smiling at Ranma. He, of all people, didn't
deserve one of her smiles. This was not good. What Kyoko had
done to their meal might not be enough. She would have to find
some other way of breaking them up.
On the surface, Nabiki was calm and smiling, but
underneath she was seething. She had come to a well-known
restaurant with what was obviously her date and the waitress
openly flirted with him not once, but twice! And what was worse,
Nabiki had sat by and done nothing!
Them being old friends being reunited again allowed for
some affection between them, but Min-Lin had far overstepped
those bounds. Whether the girl was ignorant of these rules or only
pretended to be, Nabiki didn't know. The result was the same.
Their feelings for Ranma were also mainly irrelevant. This was
contest between her and Min-Lin, and it was obvious to Nabiki that
she was losing. And if there was one thing Nabiki hated, it was to
lose.
The problem was Min-Lin had a number of advantages.
She knew Ranma better, didn't mind being overly-affectionate in
public, and had the whole super-cute thing going for her. The only
real advantage Nabiki had was her superior intellect. Still, she
wasn't going to give in without a fight.
So it was with a somewhat brittle smile that Nabiki greeted
the return of Min-Lin, now carrying a heavy platter laden with her
and Ranma's meals casually in one hand. Nabiki noted that years
of martial arts training had made the Chinese girl strong, possibly
as strong as Akane.
Min-Lin carefully set the meals down before Ranma and
Nabiki, though the whole time most of her attention was directed at
the former. She also re-filled their near-empty tea cups.
"Please enjoy the meal," she told them. "I have to wait on
other customers, but will be back soon."
Nabiki breathed a small sigh of relief as the waitress left
and absently started in on her meal. He eyes immediately bulged
out.
"Nabiki, what's wrong?" Ranma asked with some concern
as he started on his own food, remembering to eat slowly.
"Hot," she explained quickly as she lunged for the tea, only
to spit it out.
"What's going on here?" Nabiki nearly shouted in anger.
"This food is loaded with spices and the tea tastes like dirt."
Ranma shrugged. "Maybe they screwed up your order,
mine tastes fine..."
Ranma suddenly shot out of his seat and made to leave.
"Where are you going?" Nabiki asked, bewildered, standing
up herself.
Ranma was about to explain when he tripped over the foot
of a passing waitress and collided with Nabiki, knocking them both
to the floor.
"Get off of me!" Nabiki yelled at Ranma, smacking him in
the head with her heavy purse for good measure.
Ranma mumbled apologies as he stood and sprinted off in
the direction of the rest rooms.
Kyoko surpressed more laughter as she saw the faces of
Ranma and Nabiki, though she did feel sorry for doing that to her
boss. She knew how much Nabiki hated spicy food or people
invading her personal space. Still, no price was too high to save
her boss from that fiend.
Nabiki knew now that the sabotaged meals were no
accident. Her food alone getting messed up by mistake was
believable, but not hers, Ranma's, and the tea. Someone was
deliberately trying to ruin her date and Nabiki had only one
possible suspect: Min-Lin. Apparently, the bubbly innocent girl
routine was just an act. She must have seen Nabiki come in with
her old friend and decided that she wanted to keep Ranma for
herself. It was even possible that Min-Lin had somehow found out
about the date beforehand and gotten a job there for the sole
purpose of ruining this evening. That was a little more believable
than Ranma's constant bad luck.
Nabiki was openly stern with her arms crossed when Min-
Lin came back to the table. "Is there something wrong, Ms.
Tendo?" the waitress asked. "Where's Ranma?"
*As if you didn't know,* Nabiki thought as she sized up her
enemy. She had underestimated Min-Lin before, but she wouldn't
make that mistake again. Any woman who would do such a thing
to the man she wanted was liable to try anything.
"He ran off without explaining, though I think something in
his food disagreed with him."
"Really?" Min-Lin replied with wide, innocent eyes as she
looked down at Ranma's meal.
Nabiki nodded. "But that comes as no surprise to me, since
there seems to be something wrong with my meal as well. Here,
why don't you taste it?"
Min-Lin only hesitated for a moment before eating from the
portion Nabiki offered her with her chopsticks. "Ayiah! This too,
too spicy!"
"Why don't you try some of the tea then?" Nabiki said,
offering her cup to the waitress.
Min-Lin hesitated a little longer before taking a cautious
sip, which she spit out almost immediately. "Tea taste awful too!"
Min-Lin quickly collected up the meals and tea onto the
platter she carried and told Nabiki, "I much, much sorry for this.
Will make sure cook no make same mistake twice when he remake
your meals quick. Will even taste self before serving. Please
apologize to Ranma for me when he come back, okay?"
Nabiki nodded and watched her go. She had won that
battle, but she was far away from winning the war.
Ranma couldn't help noticing Nabiki's expression when he
returned. Her eyes were flat, her mouth a thin line. He realized
that his sister's disapproving glare was an imitation of this and
Hitomi's paled against the original. Ranma tried to apologize
again, but the words caught in his throat under Nabiki's look.
"Min-Lin told me to tell you she was sorry about the food,"
Nabiki said after a minute or so of silence. Her voice was a
monotone.
Ranma laughed uncomfortably, trying in vain to break up
the serious mood. "Well, it isn't really her fault. All she did was
serve the messed up food. One of the cooks is the one who
screwed up."
"Was it?" Nabiki asked with one raised eyebrow.
Not understanding what Nabiki meant, nor able to think of
anything else to say, Ranma didn't reply.
They sat there in silence for some time, until their meals
were placed in front of them once again. Ranma looked up to see
that it wasn't Min-Lin, but a Chinese man in his mid thirties
dressed in a cook's uniform.
He bowed deeply to the both of them and said, "On behalf
of the management and myself I apologize for what happened to
your meal. It seems that a box of spices was accidentally knocked
into one of the meals by someone, and we're still unsure about
what happened to the other and the tea. There will be, of course,
no charge for this evening."
He bowed to the both of them once more. "Once again, I
am sorry," he said and left them to their meal.
Ranma ate in silence, slowly without really thinking about
it. He felt almost afraid to attract Nabiki's attention and have her
disapproving glare directed at him once again. The quiet meal was
tense and uncomfortable, but it didn't remind him of how big a
screw up he had made quite as often as her gaze did. Nabiki, at
least, seemed perfectly content to concentrate on her meal and not
say a word.
Ranma was about half-way through his meal when Min-Lin
returned. Whether it was over the past incident or catching the
mood of the table, she seemed subdued as well. She walked slowly
over to him.
"I'm sorry, Ranma," she told him. "I didn't mean to serve
you a bad food."
Ranma wasn't mad at her. He knew it wasn't her mistake,
besides, he couldn't stand to see a girl sad. "It wasn't your fault,"
her replied. "You didn't do anything wrong. You have nothing to
apologize for."
Min-Lin smiled gratefully. "Thank--"
She was interrupted by the sudden snap of a pair of
chopsticks being broken in two. Min-Lin and Ranma both turned
to face Nabiki, who was staring at the remains of her chopsticks
with an expression that was half puzzled and half amused.
"Now how did that happen?" Nabiki asked herself out loud
as she brought her stare over to Ranma and Min-Lin. "I must not
know my own strength."
"I'll get you another pair right away," Min-Lin said and
went off in search of them.
"Um, Nabiki?" Ranma struggled to say.
Nabiki stared at him, though there was a smile on her lips
now, her eyes were still flat. "Yes, Saotome?"
"Nothing."
Kyoko couldn't hold it in anymore. She ran into the ladies
room and started to laugh and laugh until tears came to her eyes.
Things had gone even better than she had expected, and she had
found something that she hadn't counted on either; it was fun doing
that. Being the one in charge for a change, making the decisions
herself, manipulating people's lives, having control. She would
have to find a way to do this sort of thing again.
Tonight though, she was spent, and deciding that she did
not want to wait on tables for the next hour or so, she changed and
left. So what if they never paid her? She had gotten all she had
wanted and more out of the evening.
Min-Lin returned with a new pair of chopsticks, but was
called away almost immediately. It seemed that a new waitress had
disappeared suddenly and she had to take most of her tables.
It was like hours to Ranma, but it actually wasn't too long
before he and Nabiki had finished eating.
Frowning, Nabiki threw down her napkin and said, "Let's
get out of here."
"But I haven't had the chance to say good-bye to Min-Lin
yet," Ranma protested immediately.
Nabiki's frown deepened, as did the edge to her voice. "I'm
going now. You can either leave with me, or wait until your old
girlfriend is done with her shift. It's up to you."
Nabiki moved to leave, not waiting for a response.
"Wait!" Ranma called after her. "I'm going with you."
Nabiki paused just long enough for him to catch up.
Ranma and Nabiki left the restaurant side by side, but not
as closely as they had entered. Nabiki made no move to take his
arm, and Ranma wasn't sure if she should take hers. He could tell
that she was more distant now then when they had first met, and
Ranma couldn't blame her. He knew he had made a fool of himself
in the restaurant.
Only a block from the restaurant and the walk home was
getting to be more uncomfortable than Ranma could bare. They
hadn't said anything at all since leaving, and while Ranma
struggled to find something to say, he couldn't think of a thing. He
just wished that something, anything would happen to break this
silence between them.
"There you are!" shouted a woman from some distance
behind them. "I've found you at last!"
Ranma frowned at the familiar voice as he slowly turned
around. The woman who spoke looked to be about eighteen, tall,
with page-boy style brown hair, and wearing a somewhat revealing
karate gi, which she filled out well, especially around the chest.
She was surrounded by over a dozen boys, all dressed in gis.
"Friends of yours?" Nabiki asked.
Ranma shook his head, his frown deepening. He should
have known better than to wish for something. His eternally bad
luck had struck again.
The woman brushed her fingers through her hair and
declared, "At last, the noble and beautiful Karate Queen has been
reunited with he one true love, the Karate King!"
"So I guess that's you, Mr. martial artist?" Nabiki asked
Ranma with a smirk.
The Karate Queen seemed to notice Nabiki for the first
time, and spoke again before Ranma could say anything. Her voice
was filled with outrage. "And who is this? What woman would
dare consider herself worthy enough to stand so near the destined
companion of the Karate Queen?"
Nabiki brought herself up straight and looked the Karate
Queen right in the eyes. She shouted back, "Nabiki Tendo, and
your king and I have just been on a date!"
"What?!" KQ yelled, her face red with rage.
Nabiki suddenly grabbed of Ranma's arm, holding him
close. "And we had a good time too! Didn't we, my king?" Nabiki
asked Ranma, fluttering her eyelashes at him.
Ranma gulped. He couldn't help noticing that Nabiki's
smile never quite reached her eyes, which were flat with
determination, like she was in the middle of a important martial
arts match. He had a feeling that refuting her would not be a good
idea.
"Yeah," Ranma replied somewhat hesitantly. "We had a
great time."
The Karate Queen was practically spitting in anger, but
then she drew herself up and calmed down immediately. Her eyes
were narrowed and a smile played at the corner of her lips. "It
seems that you and I are rivals, Nabiki Tendo, but the Karate
Queen knows how to deal with rivals."
KQ turned to the boys around her and told them. "My loyal
minions, capture the girl and my beloved, and bring them both to
me!"
The boys shouted back in unison. "Yes! We live to serve
her highness, the Karate Queen!" Then they rushed towards
Ranma and Nabiki.
Ranma was about to launch an attack when he remembered
his promises to his sister. He had promised to show Nabiki a good
time and no fighting, even if someone attack him. Having
blundered on the first one, he was determined to keep the second.
"Aren't you going to do something?" Nabiki asked, a trace
of panic in her voice.
"Right," Ranma said, nodding. Then he raised his hand in
the air and shouted, "Saotome School of Anything Goes Martial
Arts Secret Technique!"
The minions all paused and dropped into battle stances,
readying themselves for whatever Ranma would throw at them.
"Run away!" Ranma used this time to pick up Nabiki and
run as fast as he could in the opposite direction.
The minions only stared after him in shock, until the Karate
Queen shouted, "After them, fools!"
Even for someone as unshakable as Nabiki, suddenly
finding herself riding in Ranma's arms, held close to his chest, was
quite a shock. It was some time before she was able to say, "I can't
help but notice that we're running away. Why didn't you try
fighting them? They didn't look that tough to me."
Ranma, frantically searching for avenues of escape, quickly
responded, "Can't. Promised Hitomi no fighting."
Nabiki smirked, feeling her old confidence starting to
return, despite her current situation. "I think she'd understand in
this case, Saotome."
Ranma shook his head as he ducked into a side street.
"You don't know my sister. She'd make me do something for my
'breach of contract.' Running away is a small price to pay."
*I _do_ know your sister,* Nabiki thought, smiling. *I'm
the one who taught her that.*
Deciding that being carried in Ranma's arms wasn't quite so
bad, especially when he didn't look ready to tire any time soon,
Nabiki changed the subject. "So what's the deal with you and her
royal highness back there?"
Ranma sighed. He knew he'd have to explain sooner or
later. "It all started about a year and a half ago. My pop usually
takes me on martial arts training trips all over Japan during school
vacation. The summer before last he took me to a small town
known for karate masters.
"We happened to arrive the week when they were holding
the yearly town festival. The main event was two karate
tournaments, one for men and the other for women. The winners
of each would be crowned the king and queen of karate for a year.
When my pop found out that the winners would be the guests of
honor at a banquet later, he entered me immediately. It looked like
fun, and I didn't think much of the competition, so I went along
with it."
"Let me guess, big mistake, right?" Nabiki said.
Ranma nodded. "What I didn't know at the time was that
the same people had been winning year after year, so that people
just called them the Karate Queen and the Karate King, rather than
their real names. They both have legions of fans, who are also
trained in karate and make up most of the remaining competitors.
"I blew through nearly all of the challengers like they were
nothing. They were okay martial artists, but they just weren't at my
level."
"Modesty is a virtue," Nabiki said with a smirk.
Ranma blushed faintly in embarrassment. "Yeah, well, it
was the final match between me and the Karate King. The Karate
Queen had already won her title yet again and most people just
wanted my match to be over with. It's weird, everyone saw how
good I was against the other competitors, but they still expected me
to lose, including the Karate King."
"How good was this King anyway?"
Ranma shrugged. "Okay, I guess. About equal to Kuno,
but he wasted a lot of time posing and paying more attention to his
fans than the fight."
"Why do I have the feeling that this was a short match?"
"It was. I got sick of waiting around with all his posing,
people cheering for him, so I walked right over to him and punched
him in the face, just to get his attention."
Noticing Ranma's frown, Nabiki asked, "What happened?"
"The guy went down and didn't get back up again. Think
he had a glass jaw or something. One of the dumbest fights I ever
had."
Nabiki suddenly burst out laughing. "What an idiot!"
Seeing Ranma's embarrassed look, Nabiki patted him on
the cheek and said, "Not you, Ranma. I mean that Karate King
moron. I didn't think there was anyone who could make Kuno look
intelligent. Still, it doesn't explain why queeny is chasing after you
now."
"It gets worse."
"How?"
"Another thing I didn't know was the reason there were so
many competitors is that the Karate Queen declared that on her
18th birthday she would marry whoever was the Karate King."
"Which was you, but they must have had another festival
and elected another karate king since then."
Ranma shook his head. "Apparently, the Karate Queen was
so moved by my prowess that she declared that no one but me was
worthy of her. So, according to her, I'm still the karate king until
someone is able to defeat me and win the title."
"Ranma Saotome, always popular with the ladies," Nabiki
said with a laugh.
"I wish I wasn't," Ranma muttered in reply.
"Hey, I recognize this place," Nabiki said suddenly, looking
around from her resting place in Ranma's arms. "Take the next
right."
Ranma shrugged and did as he was told. Any direction was
okay with him, as long as it was away from the Karate Queen and
her minions.
"Wait, stop right here." Nabiki sprang out of his arms and
made towards the house they had halted in front of.
Glancing back, Ranma said, "Are you sure about this? I
managed to put some distance between us, but they should catch up
quickly. They don't give up easily."
Nabiki smiled. "Trust me. I'll be just a minute, and then
we won't have to worry about those guys anymore."
Ranma was puzzled, but nodded anyway. "All right, but
I'm not going to just stand here and let them capture me."
Nabiki quickly took off her heels and raced inside the
Tendo compound.
"How was your date, Nabiki?" Kasumi asked as her sister
ran by.
"Pretty boring at first," Nabiki replied, not slowing down,
"but it picked up quickly. It's not quite over yet."
At the door to the dojo, Nabiki took a breath and composed
herself. Then, with an air of casualness despite how she was
dressed, she leaned on the doorway and told her youngest sister,
who was inside practicing, "Akane, some boys are here to beat you
up in order to date you."
Akane blinked at the sudden appearance of her sister,
though her eyes narrowed when the message sunk in. "Where are
they?"
"On their way here now, they should be outside any
moment. They're all wearing white gis so you can't miss them."
Akane nodded and casually smashed a cinderblock to dust
with a single blow.
Nabiki raced out of the house and leapt back into Ranma's
arms. Holding her by instinct, Ranma looked at her with
confusion.
"Go!" Nabiki shouted, pointing down the street.
Ranma ran.
The Karate Queen's minions raced down the street, only to
find they had lost sight of their quarry. They all stopped all looked
around in confusion.
"Which way you think they went?" one asked.
Another shrugged. There were three possible directions
they could have gone, not counting ducking into one of the houses.
"Maybe we should split up?"
"But then we won't be able to attack them in force when we
find them," yet another pointed out.
A few nodded in agreement.
While the minions were debating their next course of
action, Akane strode out of the Tendo compound, wearing a pale
yellow gi, an expression of disdain on her face. "There you are!"
she shouted to the group of gi-wearing boys in the middle of the
street.
They turned around to face her in surprise. "Does she mean
us?" one asked.
"I'll teach you all a lesson!" Akane shouted as she ran up to
them, her fists raised threateningly.
Ranma suddenly heard the sounds of a battle going on
somewhere behind him as he ran through the streets, Nabiki in his
arms.
"What was that?" he asked after the sound of something
striking the concrete was heard.
"A distraction I arranged for us," Nabiki replied with a
smile. "You can stop running now, we won't have to worry about
those minions any more tonight."
Ranma slowed down and gradually stopped. "How did you
manage that?"
Nabiki looked down at herself and up at the boy who still
held her. "You can put me down now, Ranma," she pointed out.
Ranma blinked in surprise and immediate set Nabiki on her
feet. "Sorry about that."
Nabiki's smile widened as she slipped her arm around his
waist and leaned onto his side. "You've done nothing you need to
apologize for."
Ranma was starting to feel very uncomfortable, so in order
to distract himself from certain things his mother once told him, he
asked her again, "How did you manage to stop all those guys?"
"Oh, it was pretty easy. All those guys chasing after us
reminded me of --"
"You may have escaped my minions, but you haven't
escaped me!" shouted the Karate Queen as she emerged from a
side-street, hands on hips, face red with anger. She pointed right at
Nabiki and yelled, "Nabiki Tendo, how dare you take my rightful
place in my love's arms?"
Nabiki smirked and held Ranma a little closer, "Sorry to
break this to, your highness, but this king is all mine. Why don't
you find a mate closer to your station? I'd suggest trying the
pound."
The Karate Queen looked ready to explode. "I challenge
you!" she screeched. "Nabiki Tendo, the Karate Queen challenges
you for the hand of Ranma Saotome! In that way we can prove
who is more worthy of his affections!"
Nabiki let go of Ranma and slowly cracked her knuckles.
"All right, I accept your challenge."
"You're a martial artist?" Ranma whispered to her in
surprise. "From the way you move, I would have never guessed.
You must be really good."
With a big smile, Nabiki whispered back, "I've never taken
a lesson in my life. My father always wanted me to, but I could
never get into it."
"What?! Why are you doing this then? The Karate Queen
will cream you."
"Concerned for me already, Saotome?" Nabiki teased.
"And it's only our first date. You do move fast."
"I just don't want anyone getting hurt because of me,"
Ranma told her seriously. "Look, why don't we try running away
again? I doubt she'll be able to catch us this time."
Nabiki shook her head. "A Tendo never backs down from
a challenge, that's one lesson I did accept from my father. Besides,
I have a plan. Trust me, okay?" she said with a wink.
"All right," Ranma replied reluctantly, "but I'm breaking
this up before you get seriously hurt."
Nabiki chuckled. "She won't even lay a hand on me."
"So are you finally ready?" the Karate Queen asked, making
a theatrical show of boredom. "I want to get this over with quickly
so my love and I can watch the sunrise together."
Instead of replying, Nabiki dropped into a stance she had
seen her sister use before.
"Very well," KQ declared, then charged towards her
opponent, "Prepare to die, Nabiki Tendo!"
Just before KQ reached her, Nabiki suddenly pointed and
shouted, "Look! Isn't that the Karate King behind you!?"
The Karate Queen halted in mid-lunge and spun around, her
expression suddenly fearful. "Where?"
Nabiki swung her heavy purse, knocking KQ on the head
and into unconsciousness. Then she started laughing so hard that
she had to hold her sides.
"That wasn't exactly fair," Ranma told her with a frown.
"Hey, you're the one with the secret technique of running
away. Still, can you believe she actually fell for that? I thought
she was stupid before."
"Fell for what?" Ranma asked her in honest confusion.
Nabiki frowned. "You don't think I actually saw the Karate
King, do you?"
"Why not? He's right where you pointed."
Nabiki spun around and blinked in confusion to see a man
in a black gi staring at her in shock. He was surrounded by a dozen
or so female ninjas.
"How dare you?!" the Karate King bellowed. "How dare
you harm one hair on the head of my beloved queen? Minions,
destroy them!"
Nabiki leapt right into Ranma's arms. "Saotome Secret
Technique!" they both shouted, and when the minions paused, they
ran away in the other direction.
Seeing the mass of unconscious boys in white gis lying all
around before the Tendo home, Nabiki told Ranma to stop again.
She raced inside, told Akane, "Akane, there's a bunch of girls
dressed as ninjas out here that say you're fat!" And then raced out
again, right into Ranma's arms.
"One of these days you're going to have to tell me how you
manage that," Ranma told her as he heard the sounds of violence
from somewhere behind him.
"A girl has to have some secrets," Nabiki replied with a
smile.
"You could walk on your own now," Ranma pointed out,
"since no one is chasing us."
"Why would I want to do that when I'm so comfortable
where I am?" Nabiki said with a grin as she snuggled closer to her
date.
Finding that he couldn't easily escape a girl he was carrying,
Ranma had a bit of problem, though the bigger problem was the
fact that he wasn't sure if he wanted to escape this time.
Finally, they arrived under the street lamp by the park,
where the date had begun and Nabiki had decided where it should
end. They were alone once more, but it was far later into the night
than either of them had realized.
"I'm sorry," Ranma told her.
"About what?" Nabiki asked in surprise.
"About the dinner, the chase, everything," Ranma replied,
waving his hands in the air.
Nabiki put her finger to his lips and smiled at his surprised
expression. "I don't want to hear any more apologies from you,
Ranma-chan, because I for one had a great time."
"You did? Really? How?" Ranma asked once Nabiki had
removed her finger, even more confused now. "I mean, dinner was
a disaster and I put you in danger several times."
"Remember this flower you gave me?" Nabiki asked,
pointing at the carnation pinned to her dress.
Ranma nodded, still baffled.
"In all the excitement we had tonight, not a single petal was
lost. It was neither crushed nor bruised. It had nothing to fear
tonight for the same reason I did: you protected us from harm. It
was sort of like a carnival, I got all of the thrills without any of the
danger. So I had fun, okay?" Nabiki explained with a grin.
"I guess so," Ranma replied, not really understanding what
Nabiki had just said. "It's pretty late now, so we should probably
call it a night. At least before those guys recover."
Nabiki nodded. "Good night, Ranma."
"Good night, Nabiki."
Ranma was shocked when Nabiki suddenly threw her arms
around him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "We'll have to do
this again soon, okay?" she said with a wink.
"Um, yeah," was all that Ranma could manage to say at the
moment.
Nabiki giggled and walked away, leaving Ranma standing
dazed under the street lamp, who was currently giving up on ever
understanding women.
Ranma very slowly opened the window to his room and
crept inside, the dim moonlight not revealing much of it's dim
exterior, though having lived there all his life, he found it easy to
avoid its obstacles on the way to the light switch.
"Hello, son. How was your date?"
Ranma very slowly turned around to see his mother sitting
calmly on his bed. He wouldn't have been surprised if she had
been waiting for hours for him to come home.
"I wasn't on any date," Ranma replied immediately with a
laugh as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.
Nodoka looked him up and down. "Why were you out so
late dressed like that then?"
"Like this?" Ranma said as he looked down at himself and
nearly jumped, having forgotten he was wearing a tuxedo. He tried
his best to think of a quick explanation. "I had to dress like this for
a challenge."
"What sort of challenge, son?" Nodoka asked, her tone
making it clear she wasn't buying his excuse.
"Um... Martial Arts Ballroom Dancing. I accidentally
stepped on this guy's toes a month ago, so he challenged me to a
match set for today. I didn't want to do it, but you know how pop
says that a martial artist has to accept all challengers."
"It's not very manly to lie to your mother, my son," Nodoka
stated firmly. "I remember you had that match three months ago."
Ranma 'eeped' and took a step back. His mother could be
very intimidating when she wanted to be, even when she didn't
carry around the family sword. He hung his head and came clean.
"All right, I was on a date. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to
you to make a big fuss out of if."
Before Ranma could blink, his mother had hugged him,
picked him up, and sat him down on his bed next to her. "Now I
want you to tell me all the details," Nodoka told him with a smile.
Ranma took a breath and began to tell his mother some
very edited highlights of his night. There was a lot that he knew he
had to leave out, or at least trim severely. He didn't mention that
Hitomi had set the whole thing up because he knew his mother
would use her daughter to set up in the future. He also didn't
mention how friendly Min-Lin had been or the reason the Karate
Queen had been chasing him, but the way Nodoka reacted, he
probably should have left them out entirely. She jumped to the
ridiculous conclusion that he had dated three women that night
instead of just one.
"You make you mother proud with you manliness, son,"
Nodoka told him when he was finished, giving him a hug with
tears in her eyes.
Then she wiped her tears away and stood up. "I'll let you
rest now. You've had a very busy night."
"Night, mom."
"Good night, Ranma," she replied, shutting off the light and
shutting the door behind her.
Genma groaned and sat up as he wife got back into bed.
"What's going on?" he asked softly.
Nodoka smiled. "Nothing, dear. Just go back to sleep."
"Why are you smiling then?"
"Oh, if you must know our son just got back from a date
with three girls," she told him in glee. "He's so manly."
"That's nice dear," Gemna replied, turning over and
pretending to go back to sleep. As he slipped an arm around his
wife, he frowned and thought, *What a gigolo I've raised.*
Nabiki slipped back in the Tendo compound, grateful that
everyone else had gone to sleep as she crept up to her room,
changed out of her dress, and got into her bed. Sleep wouldn't
come easily for her, though. Too many thoughts about her evening
swirled around in her head.
It had been confusing, strange, dangerous, and wonderful.
It might not have been the best night of her life, but it probably
came close. She certainly couldn't remember the last time she had
as much excitement, or as much fun.
The dinner had been mostly a disaster, but a comic one to
her now, especially with the way the rest of the evening went. It
appeared that Ranma was being honest about his abysmal luck.
Whatever Nabiki had lost against Min-Lin, she had more than
made up with her short war with the Karate Queen. Perhaps she
should add that to her list of titles? After all, she did defeat queeny
in that match.
Nabiki shook her head. Being queen of Furikan High was
enough for her, at least for now.
And Ranma was... well, Ramna. She couldn't find any easy
way to describe him. He certainly wasn't like any guy she had met
before. A powerful martial artist that let his sister bully him.
Someone who immediately protected her, yet seemed almost afraid
of her when they were alone. With almost no social graces, but at
the core a nice guy. Did she confuse him as much as he confused
her?
Probably.
Eventually, Nabiki threw off the covers and switched on
her computer. She had a student to thank.
Ranma laid down on his bed and closed his eyes. Just
when he was about to drift off to sleep again, the light switched
back on, startling him awake. He sprang out of bed to see Hitomi
closing his door behind her. She was dressed in light blue
pajamas, her long auburn hair tied back by a dark blue ribbon.
"I thought you said mom wouldn't find out about this,"
Ranma said testily, though more from being awakened than his
mother's surprise visit.
Hitomi looked down in shame as she slowly made her way
over to her brother's bed. "I'm sorry, Ranma. I really don't know
how she found out. I thought I had everything covered, but I guess
I missed something."
"It's okay," Ranma told her. He didn't like seeing his
normally positive sister feel bad. "I think it's impossible to keep
this sort of thing from mom anyway. When it comes to things
affecting my 'manliness,' she psychic."
Hitomi smiled gratefully as she hopped up onto his bed. "I
hope you don't plan in sleeping in the tux. I've got to bring it back
tomorrow morning."
"I was going to change, I was only resting a bit first,"
Ranma explained defensively.
"Sure you were," Hitomi teased. "So... how was the date?"
"Well, it was good."
Hitomi poked her brother in the stomach. "Just 'good'
doesn't cut it with me, brother dear. I want details, details. And
don't leave anything out like you did with mom."
"You were easedropping?" Ranma asked in surprise.
Hitomi shook her head. "I didn't have to. I know there had
to be some things you wouldn't tell mom. There always are. So
how was meeting my sensei? Wasn't she as beautiful as I said?"
"She was... pretty," Ranma admitted after a moment.
"And?" Hitomi asked with an exaggerated show of
impatience.
"And... nice."
Hitomi sighed. "Am I going to have to pull every single
detail from you, or do you need some encouragement?" she asked
as she twitched her fingers, preparing for another tickle attack.
"All right, I give. I'll tell you everything, just stop
threatening me."
"Okay," Hitomi said with a smile as she put her hands
down. "Talk."
Ranma tried to tell the story in the order that things
happened, but he kept forgetting things and having to go back and
explain them. Despite this, Hitomi sat and listened patiently, never
raising a word of complaint.
"And then she kissed me on the cheek and now I don't
know what to think," Ranma finished, blushing in embarrassment.
Hitomi snored in response.
Ranma smiled as he looked down to see his sister curled up
asleep in his bed. It was no wonder she didn't complain, then it
was way past her bedtime. Ranma yawned, realizing it was way
passed his bed time as well.
Gently he picked up his still sleeping sister and carried her
to her bed, tucking her in for the night. Ranma made it back to his
room, took off and carefully folded up the tuxedo. Too tired to
think about anything, he fell on his bed and went to sleep.