Part XIII will reach the FFML in three pieces, possibly four. The next
piece, XIIIB, will be a LEMON. More on that when I ship it. I do not have
particularly high hopes for that section. This part however, should be a lot
of fun to read.
Special thanks to Karaoki for her advice on this section of Part XIII. June
is not one of my regular pre-readers, but I turned to her for help on
certain parts and she has been very generous with her time.
For my pre-readers, again thank you for your hard work. I know that the
longer this thing has gotten, the more difficult it has been for all of us
and believe me, your patience with me is greatly appreciated.
Don Granberry.
Many extra special thanks go to my pre-readers for
helping to improve this piece.
Most of the characters in this piece and the setting
for it were conceived of by Rumiko Takahashi for her Ranma
1/2 series of Manga. All such characters and the setting are
the property of Takahashi-sensei and her licensees. All other
characters, except those noted below, are purely fictional
and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is
purely coincidental.
------------------
Comes the Cold Dragon: Part XIIIA Revision 4
------------------
Tofu looked at Ranma as he walked through the door
with Nabiki, then shook his head in mock disgust.
"I thought Happosai usually left Nabiki-chan alone."
"It wasn't the Old Lecher this time, Doc. This is sort
of my fault."
"Okay, you can explain it all after I've had look at
that ankle, Ranma. Put her down over here."
Kasumi walked into the room, took one look at Nabiki,
and said with gasp, "Nabiki, how did you do that?"
"Our soon-to-be Brother-in-law was meditating."
Tofu laughed out loud at Nabiki's reply.
"What did you blow up, Ranma?"
"A piece of charcoal," Ranma answered, sounding
puzzled. "How did you know I blew anything up?"
"Take a look your shirt, Ranma," Kasumi said. "It's
full of tiny little holes."
"Aw, man! I LIKED this shirt!" Ranma said as he headed
for the bath.
"Get cleaned up while you are in there, Ranma!"
"Yes, Auntie!"
"Auntie?" Nabiki asked, then winced as Tofu gently
manipulated her ankle. Something inside her ankle seemed to
grind.
"Uhmm," Kasumi answered absently. "To-chan, you will
need your kit, yes?"
Tofu nodded his head. "I'll fetch it."
Much to Nabiki's annoyance, Tofu did not settle for
merely wrapping her ankle. He put a cast on it.
"For the next two days, I want you to stay off this
foot altogether. No walking! NONE!"
"Sensei, do you have any idea how many things I have
to get done in the next two days?"
Tofu grinned, then handed her her cellular telephone
and two small tablets.
"What's that?"
"Your cell phone and some painkillers. You aren't
going anywhere for a couple of days," Tofu answered as he
passed her a tumbler of cold water.
Nabiki took the pills, then slid the phone into her
pants pocket. Tofu set her up on a futon so that she could
sit up and read. He handed Nabiki her book on diamonds and
said, "Here, you may as well dream big dreams while you are
relaxing."
Fifteen minutes later, Nabiki forgot all about her to-
do list. She could not ever remember feeling so good, and the
diamonds were so beautiful. She fell asleep with the book
clutched to her breast.
Tofu found Ranma sitting next to Akane and holding her
hand.
"How is she?"
"Sleeping like a baby, now," Ranma answered.
"Think you could spare a few minutes for us to talk?"
"Sure, Doc."
Ranma gently extricated his hand from Akane's powerful
grip, then followed Tofu outside. The sky overhead was
crystalline clear. The sun had settled just below the horizon
in its bed of glowing coals while the stars danced and
twinkled in the darkening sky overhead.
"How's Nabiki's ankle, Doc?"
"It's a very bad sprain, Ranma. She'll be laid up for
at least two days, and I won't remove that cast for at least
a week."
"Jeez! I'm beginning to hate this. Everybody around me
is getting hurt, mostly because of me."
"What happened this afternoon, Ranma?"
"Aw, Doc! All I did was try to meditate for a little
while."
"That's what Nabiki told us," Tofu said with a rueful
grin. "How did you manage to blow up a piece of charcoal?"
"I think it must've been because I thought about the
wrong thing at just the right time, Doc," Ranma said, then
explained as best he could what he had experienced. Tofu
whistled in amazement.
"Ranma, it sounds more to me as though you were a
victim of air pollution."
"Nah, I don't think so, Doc," Ranma said. "I don't
think it woulda happened if I hadn't started worryin' about
ozone in the first place. It's like everything else in the
Art. You just do it and never worry about what might happen
if ya do it wrong."
Tofu stared off into space, looking deeply puzzled.
"You know, Doc, I think we may both be right."
"Could be, Ranma. If so, you need to think well ahead
of yourself before conducting these little experiments."
"Trouble is, I didn't set out to do an experiment this
afternoon."
"Explorations then," Tofu said, giving Ranma a smile.
"You need to try to spot the hazards ahead of time, somehow."
"I'll try, Doc."
"Going off to a place like that old quarry is a good
start, Ranma. I suggest you always let someone know what you
are doing before you go, though."
"That'll hafta be you most times, Doc. I don't think
anyone else could handle it all that well."
"You might be right about that, Ranma, but I think you
might be underestimating Akane a little."
"Doc, you understand why I hafta do these things.
I..."
"Certainly I do! By the way, that was a nice job you
did on Nabiki's ankle."
"Thanks, Doc."
"You have the touch, you know."
"Touch? What touch?"
"The touch it takes to be real doctor, assuming that's
what you want to be. You did a lot more than just cool her
ankle. You actually made it start healing."
Ranma gave his older companion a disbelieving stare.
"Aw, Doc! You know I'll never get that kind of
education!"
"Hmmph! That doesn't sound very much like the Ranma
Saotome I know. The guy I know doesn't back down from
challenges," Tofu said, as he crossed his arms over his
chest. "The Ranma I know relishes the difficult."
"This is a different kinda difficult, Doc."
"So? What are you going to do, wet on my leg about
it?"
"I... it's just that...well...a DOCTOR? Me, a doctor?
Do ya really think so?"
"You should at least think about it, Ranma. A great
many people aspire to become a physician and many get the
education for it, but very few of them actually become
doctors. Only a tiny few of them have a healing touch."
"Gee, I don't know, Doc. I mean the life I'm living
now is hard enough."
"Look at this way, Ranma. What's the worst that can
happen if you try to become a healer and fail? You finish up
with a first-rate education, which is a pretty good level of
success in its own right."
"It'll take a hell of a lot of commitment, Doc. Once
you're a doctor people start countin' on ya."
"What's the first duty of a martial artist, Ranma?"
Ranma took a deep breath before answering.
"If you really think I can do it. I mean if you really
believe in me that much, I hafta at least think about it.
And, I gotta talk to Akane about it, too. It won't be easy
for her, either."
Tofu then startled Ranma by giving him a hug. "That's
all I can ask, Ranma. Let me know what you decide. All right,
little brother?"
"Sure, Doc."
"Say, I'd better get a move on. I've got to get back
to the clinic and get some sleep. I've got a busy day
tomorrow."
Ranma watched Tofu go, then looked up at the heavens
and asked, "You guys got any more curves ya wanna throw me
today? If not, I'd appreciate if you let me get in a good
supper and a decent night's sleep."
The answering silence was so deafening that Ranma
shook his head and went inside. Kasumi already had three
places set at the table. Ranma looked around the room, then
opened his mouth to speak, but Kasumi anticipated him.
"Akane is sound asleep and so is Nabiki, Ranma,"
Kasumi told him. "I know you are concerned about Akane's
diet, but To-chan says she needs rest more than she needs
food right now."
Ranma grinned and nodded his head. The three of them
sat down and began to slurp away at their noodles when Nabiki
let out the most extraordinary squeal any of them had ever
heard her utter. She was wriggling from head to foot without
waking up.
"Yeeek!" Nabiki squealed again as she began tearing at
her trousers with both hands. She stopped and wriggled again.
"Yeek!"
Ranma heard a faint buzzing noise coming from Nabiki's
lap and began scratching the back of his head.
"What the hell..."
"Oh, it's her cellular telephone!" Tofu exclaimed.
"She put it in her front pocket earlier this afternoon."
"Aw geez! Ranma exclaimed as began to get up. "That's
gotta be drivin' her nuts. I'll get it."
"Oh, my!" Kasumi exclaimed. "Perhaps it would be best
if you let me get it, Ranma"
Ranma looked over at Tofu, who was now nearly scarlet
in the face.
"Hey, Doc. You look just like I feel."
Tofu snickered as quietly as he could as Kasumi,
having now extracted the phone from the still soundly
sleeping Nabiki's trouser pocket, answered the infernal
buzzing device.
"Hello? Ono-ke."
"Oh, yes Auntie. He's right here. Would you like to
speak with him?"
"Oh, yes, of course! I'll explain it to him. Yes,
Auntie. Good night!"
Ranma and Tofu both looked at Kasumi expectantly.
"That was Auntie Saotome, Ranma. She wanted you to
know that an old friend of yours is coming to see you on
Thursday."
"Old friend?" Ranma asked, feeling himself grow cold
inside. "What old friend?"
"She said it was Prince Haabu. He presented her with a
formal request for an audience with you and Akane."
"A wha...? An audience?"
"Yes. He asked for the privilege of performing a Cha
No Yu for you and Akane. Isn't that sweet?"
Although Ranma was immediately feeling relieved, he
was having a very difficult time with putting the word
"sweet" in the same sentence with the name of Haabu and was
now having serious trouble framing an answer.
"Ah...well...It is good news...in a way. Did she say
what time on Thursday?"
"Oh, I forgot to say, didn't I? She said they settled
on five-thirty because that would be right before sunset."
Tofu was eyeing Ranma steadily and asked, "Are you all
right, Ranma?"
"Yeah, sure, Doc. I knew he was here in Japan
somewhere, but I didn't know why. I was half-afraid he would
be here looking for a fight. Looks like I might have been
wrong."
"Powerful, is he?"
"Way more dangerous than Safuron. I don't ever want to
fight him again if I can help it."
Tofu looked surprised at this.
"Your mother seems quite taken with him, Ranma,"
Kasumi said.
Ranma chuckled dryly before answering, "Mom would be.
I guess he is her type. He's manly and all that."
"Oh, you mean like Ryuu Kumon?" Kasumi asked.
Ranma rolled his eyes at this. "Haabu makes Kumon look
like a pansy."
"He must be quite the warrior for you to be worried
about fighting him, Ranma," Tofu said.
"Doc, he can dig a meter-deep ditch a hundred shaku
long through solid rock with just his ki and never break a
sweat. He goes all out when he fights. He's the scariest son-
of-a-bitch I ever did battle with. Unlike Safuron, Haabu can
take a punch. In fact, he takes a solid punch better than
Ryoga does."
Tofu shuddered at this, alarming Kasumi.
"Ranma are you serious?" Tofu asked.
"As serious as a heart attack. I was dreadin' the day
I'd hafta fight him again. Maybe now I won't have to. If he's
askin' to perform the Cha No Yu for me AND Akane, it's a real
good sign."
"He owes you an apology?" Kasumi asked.
"No, he owes Akane an apology, and that can't be easy
for him to do. Him being Chinese royalty and all."
"He's kin to the Emperor of China? I thought none of
that mattered anymore," Kasumi exclaimed.
"No...well... he might be kin to the old emperor; I
don't know for sure. What I do know is that he has a dragon
or maybe several dragons in his ancestry and that he is the
hereditary ruler of the Musk Dynasty."
"But, Ranma, I thought all of China was ruled from
Peking."
"Yeah, uh-huh! Peking would like for everyone to
believe that, but believe me, Haabu's word is law wherever he
lives. I think the PLA and Peking have sense enough leave him
and his alone. Even the Old Ghoul's tribe is afraid of him."
Ranma suddenly noticed that Tofu was looking at him
with what seemed to be greatly deepened respect.
"Doc?"
"Oh, nothing much, Ranma. It's just that I am
impressed with how much you've grown up."
Ranma pulled a sour face. "Killin' somebody will do
that to ya."
"Ranma?" Kasumi cried out with genuine alarm, "Surely
you didn't actually kill anyone?"
"Believe me, Kasumi. I wish what happened hadn't
happened. But it did. I killed Safuron, and I meant to kill
him when I did. He was reborn a few hours later, but that
don't really change nothin'. I killed him dead'er than a
wedge, and I meant to do it."
"Did you have any other choice, Ranma?" Tofu asked
softly.
"He made me choose between him and Akane," Ranma
answered in a hoarse whisper. "I chose Akane over him."
"Then you did the right thing, didn't you?" Tofu
asked.
"Yeah, I did. I remind myself of that all the time,
but you know what? It doesn't help very much," Ranma said,
fighting the hard lump working its way up into his throat. It
was so hard and tight that it made his jaws ache.
"Ranma, come here," urged Kasumi as she gathered him
into a hug and held him close. She stroked his head as she
would a child's. "My poor, poor baby", she whispered.
And then, Ranma did an extraordinary thing. He wept.
For the first time as man and in front of others, he wept
freely and openly. Tofu got up and went into the kitchen,
then came back with a well warmed flask of sake.
"Here, Ranma. Drink up," Tofu said as he poured sake
into a tiny cup. Kasumi loosened her hold upon Ranma so that
he could see what Tofu was talking about.
"D'ya think that'll do any good, Doc?"
"Not enough, Ranma," Tofu said, "not nearly enough,
but it will help you sleep tonight. And, I think you really
do need some sleep."
Ranma hesitantly reached out and took the cup, then
downed it quickly. Tofu refilled his glass. A short while
later, Kasumi and Tofu laid him down beside his beloved
Akane, and he slept like a rock.
-------------------
Ranma woke up just as Tofu left at around four in
morning on Monday. He sat up and listened as the old
ambulance rattled and banged its way off into the distance
down the dirt road leading from Ono-ke to the highway. He
listened for a moment longer and realized that Kasumi was
still happily stirring about in the grand old kitchen. It
made him smile.
"Ranma?" Akane murmured.
"Yeah, Akane?"
"Are ve goingu do vork oud doday?"
"Nope. You need another day of rest."
Akane reached up and grabbed his shoulder, then pulled
him back down onto the bed. She snuggled up close to him
before speaking again.
"Den vhy are you ubp?" she asked.
"Habit, I guess."
"Mmmm..." Akane noised rubbing up against her fiance.
"Uh, Akane?"
"Hmmm?"
"I thought I'd take a long walk this morning."
"Ogay. How long?"
"Might be most of the day."
"Vhat are you ub do, Ranma?"
"I'm not sure, but if I can pull this off, a lot of
our problems might be solved."
"Vhich brobremz?" Akane asked
"Most of the ones that take money."
"Has Nabigi but you up do someding sdubid?"
"No. This is one of my own ideas."
"Vhere vill you be goingu?"
"The limestone quarry. Nabiki and Doc Tofu both know
where it is."
"Ogay, Ranma. Be gareful."
"I will, don't worry."
"Bromizz?"
"Yeah, I promise."
"Giss me."
"No problem."
Ranma got up and made his way to the kitchen.
"Good morning, Ranma."
"Mornin', Kasumi."
"Are you going back out to the quarry to meditate?"
Ranma nodded his head.
"To-chan said you probably would, so I made up a bento
for you," Kasumi said as she handed Ranma a heavy box.
"Whoa! It must be loaded."
"There's enough in there for breakfast and lunch,"
Kasumi said with a smile. "I thought perhaps you might be
wanting to get an early start."
"Kasumi...You're the greatest!"
"Why thank you, Nephew."
"Later, Auntie."
"Ranma?"
"Yes, Kasumi?"
"Try not to blow anything up, okay? We don't want to
upset the neighbors if we can help it. Some of them are
pretty old."
Ranma grinned at her before answering. "I'll do my
best, Auntie."
Kasumi shook a finger at him as she spoke with mock
severity, "See that you do!"
"Yes, ma'am! Bye, Auntie!"
"Be good!"
"Yes, ma'am."
Ranma found the grass outside covered with a fuzzy
jacket of frost. The sky was still clear, and he could see
the first faint signs of dawn in the east. He wasted no time
in reaching the quarry, reveling in the fact that cold like
this no longer troubled him. Once at the quarry, he began
searching for another large piece of charcoal.
(Wow, Saotome! Look at that!)
(Yeah, no shit, Red. They must've been makin' charcoal
here at one time.)
(That must have been what all that rotted firewood was
for. They were making charcoal with it as well as fueling
their boilers.)
(Just makes sense, I guess. None of this is gonna be
any good for fuel, though. It's been out in the weather too
long.)
(Probably not, but it might do for what we have in
mind.)
(Well, we'll give it a try and see, Red. Just don't go
thinkin' about no ozone, okay?)
(Think you could get us inside the charcoal this time,
Saotome?)
(Huh? Oh, I get it. Sure, we'll give that a try.)
{{We will need to be very calm for this to work.
Perhaps we should eat first.}}
(Guys and their stomachs!)
(Hey! I ain't ever seen you turn down any of Kasumi's
cookin'!)
(You have a point there, Saotome. Let's eat first.)
-------------------
The day wore on around Ono-ke in Ranma's absence.
Akane did a few light stretches before breakfast while Nabiki
made a series of telephone calls.
They ate. Akane practiced her kata in slow motion while
Nabiki made more telephone calls.
Kasumi dusted the house with Akane's help until she finally
ordered Akane to go study. Akane studied while Nabiki made
yet more telephone calls.
Kasumi made the beds and started a load of laundry, then
began work on lunch. The three of them ate. Akane and Nabiki
studied, or rather, Akane studied. Nabiki tried to study, but
had to answer numerous phone calls.
The telephone traffic died down considerably by three and
Nabiki finally settled in to study mode, but her ankle had
begun to hurt. Kasumi gave her a half-tablet of painkiller
and the three of them broke for tea. Akane and Nabiki studied
for another hour or so and then Akane decided she'd take a
nap.
Ranma returned to Ono-ke shortly after Akane went to sleep.
He was grinning from ear to ear.
"Here, Nabiki," Ranma said as he set his bento box
down in Nabiki's lap. His devilish grin seemed to broaden to
the point that the corners of his mouth were pushing his ears
up the side of his head. Nabiki eyed the box suspiciously,
then Ranma, then the box.
"What's this, Ranma? Leftovers?"
"Only in a matter of speaking, Nabiki."
Nabiki slowly opened the box. Her eyes grew to the
size of dinner plates once she saw what was inside the bento.
"Yeeeek!" Nabiki squealed, then wriggled from head to
foot.
"I thought you'd kinda like 'em."
"Yeeek!" Nabiki squealed, then wriggled even more
vigorously.
Akane came stamping down the hall.
"RANMAAA! Whad are you doing do my zisder?"
"Yeeek!" Nabiki said, then wriggled, which caused the
box to rattle. The rattling noise got Akane's attention, and
she looked to see what was inside the box.
"Are doze...?" Akane asked as she picked one of the
objects up.
"EEEEEEK!" Akane squealed, then wriggled from head to
foot. "Dey are! EEEEEEK!"
"YEEEEK!" Nabiki squealed, then wriggled some more.
Kasumi came walking into the room drying her hands
with a dish towel, took one look at what was in the box and
dropped the towel.
"OOOOH, MYYYYY GOODNESSS!" Kasumi squealed, then
demonstrated the true meaning of the word jiggle, Ranma
blinked twice and shook his head in response. The power of
Kasumi's performance was overwhelming. "Are those...are
those...Are they?"
Nabiki, unable to speak coherently, silently nodded
her head in affirmation of Kasumi's suspicions.
"YEEEEEK!" The girls chorused, then the three of them
wriggled from head to foot. Ranma's nose began to redden
dangerously. The girls began giggling as they let the
contents of the box dribble through their fingers.
{{You know, Saotome. I don't think it is the color,
clarity and cut of diamonds that matter all that much to us
males.}}
(Ya got that right, Scales)
(Saotome...)
{{Indeed, I think it is more the squeal and giggle-
wriggle factor that matters to us.}}
(This ain't fair, Saotome!)
(Ya got that right, Scales!)
(SAOTOME!)
(What?)
(THIS AIN'T FAIR!)
(What ain't fair?)
(Have you ever wanted to squeal and giggle-wriggle,
but couldn't?)
Ranma suddenly found himself being kissed by three
girls all at one and the same time.
"EEEEEEEK!" Ranma squealed, then wriggled from head to
foot.
(SAOTOME IF YOU DON'T GO GIRL RIGHT NOW WE'RE GONNA
GET GANG-BANGED!)
(Okay, okay! Jeez!)
"Uh, watch your eyes, ladies," Ranma said. In a flash
he became Onna-Ranma.
"Aw!" Akane said, sounding deeply disappointed.
"Why'd you do that, Saotome?" Nabiki asked.
"Hey, I just wanted in on some of the fun," Onna-Ranma
said in his most girlish voice. "I like shiny rocks, too, ya
know."
Akane tousled Onna-Ranma's coppery locks. Nabiki
smirked at him while Kasumi beamed.
"Where'd you find these, Saotome? Surely not at that
limestone quarry," Nabiki said.
"I made 'em."
The girls' jaws sagged in unison.
"You what?" they chorused.
"I made 'em! From charcoal."
"Was this what you were trying to do yesterday?"
Nabiki asked, barely remembering to close her mouth.
"Nah, I was just meditatin' yesterday. I didn't think
of trying' to make these until your telephone rang last
night."
"My telephone?" Nabiki asked.
Kasumi giggled.
"You were pretty far gone from the painkillers,
Nabiki. You never woke up, but when it rang we all looked at
you, and you were holding this," Kasumi said, holding up
Nabiki's book on diamonds.
"Oh," Nabiki said, "so then Saotome here decides to
just go out and make a few diamonds. Ranma do you have any
idea how much heat and pressure are required to make
diamonds? Big companies have been trying to do that in
profitable way for years now."
"So what?" Onna-Ranma said. "Heat and pressure ain't
the key. All that does is get the carbon into solution,
right? I mean, you force the carbon into a solution of melted
iron or somethin', then percipitate it back out into
crystalline form, right? The whole trick is to get the carbon
into its lowest energy state."
The three girls gave Onna-Ranma a long, silent stare.
"Ranma, vhy is id all of zudden you know zo many big
vords?" Akane asked.
"Hey, I reveal in my dumb-jock image, okay?"
"Phew! I was beginning do vorry vor a minnud," Akane
said.
"Go ahead and worry, baby sister, worry a lot," Nabiki
said. "I still don't get it, Ranma. How did you do this?"
"Easy, I just used my ki to reduce the carbon in the
charcoal to its lowest energy state."
"Just like that, huh?" Nabiki asked, sounding
skeptical. "You may as well have said 'I just wave my hand,
and these nasty black rocks turn into diamonds.'"
"Well, it ain't easy or everybody would do it,
Nabiki," Onna-Ranma said, sounding vaguely irritated. "It'd
be easier ta show ya if you could follow me while I
meditate."
"No one can do that, Ranma," Nabiki said. "They would
have to be psychic. So why don't you try to explain? What did
you do? Freeze the charcoal?"
"Naw, that don't work. Ya hafta jerk the carbon atoms
around a little, then they start losin' energy and begin to
crystallize...at least I think that's what I must've done. I
had ta soak up lot's of heat to keep it happenin'."
The three girls gave Onna-Ranma another long, silent
stare. Then Nabiki stirred the stones in the bento with the
forefinger of her right hand.
"Yeeek!" the four of them chorused, then jiggled in
time with one another. "Diamonds!"
"Oh, man! I been wantin' to do that all day!" Onna-
Ranma said with a relieved gasp. Akane cuffed him gently on
the back of the head.
"Baga!"
"Well, I really have!" Onna-Ranma said.
"This is so cool!" Nabiki said.
"Id's de end of our money brobrems, isn'd id, Nabigi?"
Akane asked.
"Only sort-of," Nabiki said. "We still haven't found a
buyer for these. And we'll need to be careful. We can't let
word about where these came from get out."
"Why not?" Ranma and Akane chorused, but Kasumi
gravely nodded her head in agreement.
"If word gets out that you can make diamonds, Ranma,
it will cause you no end of trouble."
"You got that right, Sis," Nabiki said, sounding
deadly serious. "This little trick of yours, Ranma, will
attract more hoodlums and sharks in grey flannel than you can
even imagine, Ranma. We have gotta keep it secret."
Ranma suddenly sobered up.
"We especially gotta keep this secret from my old
man."
"Hmmph! Think of thousands of guys like your dad,
coming to bother you about this, Ranma," Nabiki said. "We
can't let anybody know you have figured out how to make
diamonds using your ki."
"Whad aboud Docdor Dofu, Gazumi?" Akane asked.
"Hmm, what To-chan doesn't know, he can't reveal, not
even by accident, Akane. Besides, I don't think money is a
problem for him...er ...us, I mean. Besides, if we do tell
him, he will keep it to himself. That's just the way doctors
are, you know."
"But money is going to be a problem for us," Nabiki
said.
"What?" Onna-Ranma and Akane chorused.
"Too much money can be as hard to deal with as not
having enough," Nabiki said. "You have to explain to Internal
Revenue where the money came from. You don't dare just sell
these and never declare the income. They will catch that
sooner or later. Usually sooner."
"So?" Onna-Ranma asked. "Why not tell them the truth?
Tell them you sold a box full of diamonds and then pay the
taxes. No big deal."
"Because then they'll want to know where the diamonds
came from and why didn't we have to pay for them, Ranma. The
next thing you know, you'll have some rogue agent and several
of his buddies breathing down your neck. I'll have to find a
way to sell these, declare the income as having come from
something else and then pay the tax bill as though we were
being stupidly honest."
"Vill dhad vorgk?" Akane asked.
"If I do it right, yes. I've been playing the stupidly
honest taxpayer now for about six years for Dad. We have been
audited twice, and they haven't caught on. I don't think they
ever will."
"Nabiki! You've been cheating on Dad's taxes?" Kasumi
asked, sounding alarmed.
"No, just making sure he didn't pay single yen more
than he had to, Kasumi. They could never make a case against
him for evasion. During this last audit all they ever looked
at was my main ledger. The trick is to never get them started
looking very hard. The hard part of this deal is going to be
finding a buyer that can keep his mouth shut."
"Aw, I don't know, Nabiki," Onna-Ranma said, sounding
dubious. "Maybe I should just take these and throw them into
the river. Then we wouldn't..."
"BITE YOUR TONGUE!" The Tendo daughters chorused.
Onna-Ranma grinned.
"Kasumi, is there something around here that is just
super, super white?" Nabiki asked.
"My new cutting board. It's one of those new plastic
ones," Kasumi answered.
"That would be perfect," Nabiki said, picking up a
handful of stones from the bento. Kasumi fetched the cutting
board and set it on top of the bento. Nabiki carefully spread
her handful of stones out across its shiny white surface,
then gasped.
"Oh this is perfect!"
"Vhad do you mean, Nabigi?" Akane asked. "None of dem
are perfegdly whide."
"Yeah, I know. I was havin' a hard time keepin' the
nitrogen out of 'em." Onna-Ranma said, sounding sad.
"Don't worry, Ranma," Nabiki said. "If they had been
extremely transparent, it would have made them harder to
sell."
"I thought clearer was better," Ranma said.
"It is," Nabiki said, "but if they were too perfect,
we would get too many questions. This will look like a run of
the mill batch of rough to a buyer. You can worry about
perfection next time, Ranma."
"You vand do picg oud de dargest ones virsd, Nabigi?"
Akane asked.
"Yes, we may as well cull first."
This did not take long. The tricky part was grouping
the remaining stones. Two out of the first handful were near
white. The rest had a slight to easily visible yellow tint to
them. Kasumi brought some heavy paper in and Nabiki, to no
one's surprise, showed them how to make a diamond dealer's
envelope from it. She made several such and loaded the
different rough grades into different envelopes. The stones
were small, averaging about a carat to two carats each.
"There's two big ones down in that box somewhere,
Nabiki," Onna-Ranma said.
"Big?" Nabiki asked.
"How big?" Akane asked.
Kasumi began to squeeze Onna-Ranma's arm with both
hands, surprising him with the strength of her grip.
"Ah, well, one of 'em is about the size of my guy-
half's thumb, but it's real dark. The other one is about
twice that size, and it's bright yellow with a reddish tinge
in the center."
"Yeeek!" Nabiki squealed, with an involuntary jiggle.
"It's a fancy!"
Akane snatched the cutting board away. Kasumi and
Nabiki immediately began pawing through the stones in the
box. Kasumi came up with a bright yellow stone about the size
of a guinea's egg.
"Yeeeeeeek!" the girls chorused, then jiggled and
wriggled in unison. Onna-Ranma missed out on the squeal, but
got in on the jiggle-wiggle. He couldn't remember ever having
so much fun. The stones really did not mean that much to him,
but the girls' excitement thrilled him to death.
"Oh, my, oh, my, oh, my, oh, MY!" Kasumi whispered
reverently.
"Id's...id's...id's sooo big!" Akane exclaimed.
"Yeah, lucky you," Nabiki said out of the corner of
her mouth. Akane glared at her sister. Onna-Ranma blushed.
"How vould you know, Nabigi?"
"I'm looking at it, silly."
Having been brought up short, Akane merely blinked in
response.
"D'ya think its worth all that much, Nabiki," Ranma
asked. "I didn't think this color would be all that good."
"Are you kidding, Ranma?" Nabiki asked. "This one is
worth a fortune all by itself. It's what they call a canary.
The damned thing is worth millions, billions even."
Onna-Ranma stopped breathing.
Kasumi's hand began to shake uncontrollably. She
tightened her grip on the stone until her knuckles turned
white.
Akane and Nabiki both took long deep breaths.
"Yeeeeeeek!" the four of the squealed together, then
Onna-Ranma fell over on his side laughing.
"Vhat's so vunny, Ranma?" Akane asked.
"You know, I don't care if we never make a single yen
off of these," Ranma said as he wiped a tear from his eye.
"I'll never forget how much fun this has been."
The Tendo sisters stared at him with soft; goo-goo
type eyes.
"You kiss him first, Akane," Nabiki said. "He's your
fiance."
Akane was on him before he could even flinch. As soon
as she let him up for air, Nabiki had him by the ears and was
giving a truly serious kiss. She held it until Akane
harumphed the second time, then let him catch a breath.
When it was Kasumi's turn, Ranma thought at first she
would give it a pass because she hesitated and blushed, but
then she threw her hands up in the air.
"Oh, foo!" Kasumi cried with a little stamp of her
foot. She seized Onna-Ranma by his ears and said. "Just this
once won't hurt!"
Kasumi's kiss did not last long, but she gave the
matter her full attention.
(HOLY SHIT! TOFU, YOU LUCKY BASTARD!)
{{I say, Saotome. Do you suppose we could buy her
back? I don't think this is one of her serious kisses.}}
(No way, Scales. No man in his right mind would ever
let that go.)
The girls looked at the stunned Onna-Ranma, giggled at
his dazed stupor, then the three of them had another nice
long squeal together. With the excess excitement of the
moment thus bled off, they began happily sorting stones
again. Onna-Ranma just sat and watched them, a warm happy
glow suffusing his entire being. He could not remember ever
making anyone this happy before, and he felt better about it
than anything else he had ever done. It would be a day long
remembered by all concerned, but especially by Ranma Saotome,
the ragtag son and sometime daughter of an itinerant martial
artist.
-------------------
Monday evening was surprisingly peaceful. Tofu
arrived at around eight. He and Kasumi helped Nabiki into the
wheelchair he brought back from town. They had a late supper,
then Tofu examined both Akane and Nabiki. He gave Akane the
nod for a full workout the next morning, provided she did not
do any high jumps or risk contact to her face. He reiterated
his orders for Nabiki to stay off of her injured ankle, then
handed out their assignments from school. Ranma chortled when
he saw his and Akane's assignments.
"What's so funny, Ranma?" Tofu asked.
"Aw nothin' that funny, it's just that Akane and I
have finally caught up with our schoolwork."
"Well, congratulations, Ranma and Akane," Tofu said
with a huge smile. Ranma and Akane beamed back at him.
"Oh, by the way, Ranma," Tofu said. "I nearly forgot
to tell you. Your appointment with Doctor Takahashi is
Wednesday afternoon at three. I'll be here to pick you up at
two."
Ranma rolled his eyes at this.
The Tendo girls gave each other knowing glances and
giggled.
"Don'd vorry, Ranma," Akane said sweetly. "I'll go
vish you."
"Thanks, Akane."
Tofu looked around the room and saw that the girls
were making goo-goo eyes at Ranma, as though they might at
any moment begin kissing him. He scratched the back of his
head, wondering what was going on. Ranma looked very nervous.
"I think I'll go run through a few kata before going
to bed," Ranma said.
"Mind if I join you, Ranma?" Tofu asked.
"Hey! I'd love to have ya, Doc."
"Well then let's go!" Tofu said with a happy smile.
Once in the potting shed, it took Ranma very little
time to run through his stretches and warm ups. Tofu, being
both older and having less time to practice, needed more time
to stretch. He continued to warm up while Ranma ran through
one of his school's more advanced kata. The form required
Ranma to fall and roll on three different occasions. Tofu
knew that he had never seen this particular kata before, but
it still seemed vaguely familiar.
"Ranma?"
"Yeah, Doc?"
"Would you mind performing that one again?"
"Looks familiar, don't it?"
"Yes, it does."
Ranma grinned at his older friend then spoke, "Every
advanced artist I have ever done that one in front of says
the same thing, but none of 'em ever figure much of it out.
I'll do it slower this time."
Ranma was as good as his word. Tofu sank into a
Chinese split to watch. This was hardly the most comfortable
thing to do, but he needed to stretch anyway and could not
think of a better way to maximize the use of his time. Before
Ranma finished running through the form, Tofu was certain he
recognized parts of it, especially several of the blocks. He
was also equally certain that the kata was intended to defend
and counterattack a most unusual kind of threat, but of what
sort, he could not discern. He had a sudden insight.
"Ranma, are you sure of what this kata is for?"
"Not entirely, Doc. I understand more of it now than I
ever did before, but several of these moves have never made
sense to me and still don't."
"You know, this may strike you as being very odd,
Ranma, but I'm pretty sure I know at least part of this
form's complement."
"Ya really think so, Doc? The last guy that thought so
got hurt when we tried it."
"I gather the two of you went at it full tilt, then."
"Yeah, well, it was what he wanted to do. I decked him
on the second move."
"I just imagine," Tofu said with a heartfelt grimace.
"I'm not so foolish as all that. Would you mind testing it in
slow motion against what I know?"
"Hell no, Doc! I'd love to. Who knows, I might figure
out the whole thing if we do."
"Good! If it works, maybe then I'll find out what the
kata I learned was for."
Tofu's sharp ears picked up a giggle coming from
outside the potting shed, and he turned his head towards the
sound. Ranma, he noticed, did the same thing at the same
time.
"Your hearing has improved, hasn't it, Ranma?"
"All my senses have improved, Doc. Well, everything
but my sense of touch. I think I've lost a little there."
"Oh, really? Is the loss very great?"
"Not bad, really. My girl side noticed it first. My
guy side barely notices it at all."
"Now, that is interesting."
The door to the potting shed opened and Nabiki rolled
in, closely followed by Akane and Kasumi.
"We thought we'd come watch the show," Nabiki said
cheerfully. "You guys don't mind do you?"
Ranma caught Tofu's eye and barely, almost
imperceptibly shook his head.
"Well, I don't mind, if Ranma doesn't."
"I don't mind, Doc. Whaddaya say we stick to the
basics tonight, though? I don't think I'm up to the advanced
stuff today."
Tofu grinned outwardly and inwardly. He must not want
Akane to see that particular kata for some reason, he thought
to himself. He's probably afraid it might tip her off to
something he is about to spring on her.
"I have an idea, Ranma. Why don't we spar, just using
the basics."
The brought Ranma up short and he had to think about
it for a moment. Tofu again grinned inwardly to himself,
knowing full well that he had just asked his young friend to
cede a major advantage.
Ranma's face suddenly brightened with the devilish
smile he got when faced with a truly interesting challenge.
"Okay, Doc, but you gotta promise me you can still
remember all that stuff, and you gotta promise me you won't
throw me too hard. Otherwise, we'll spend all day tomorrow
patching this shed."
Tofu chuckled, then answered, "Done and done, Ranma.
You lead."
Ranma threw a whistling overhand right at Tofu's head.
Tofu stepped back with his right foot, simultaneously
twisting his upper body to the right and leaning backwards.
As Ranma's fist approached, Tofu tapped Ranma's forearm with
the heel of his left hand. Tofu was gratified that his timing
was still quite accurate. Ranma's fist dived towards the
floor, forcing the younger man's shoulder to dip as his body
began to spin clockwise.
Tofu was not the least bit surprised when Ranma's left
heel came up and around in a spinning back-kick that promised
to tear a telephone pole in two if it connected. Tofu dove
for the floor and smacked the center of Ranma's left shin
with the sole of his left foot. This accelerated the rate of
Ranma's spin. Tofu briefly worried that he might have
overdone it, but Ranma had obviously expected this counter.
The boy, Tofu realized as soon as he saw that Ranma's right
foot was no longer in contact with the floor, had not only
expected the counter, but had in fact laid plans for it.
Ranma had kicked up with his right foot, tucked into a tight
ball, which changed the axis of his spin and slowed him down
considerably, then killed his spin altogether by splaying out
his arms and legs while in mid air.
Tofu had no choice but to spring to his feet and take
a ready position as Ranma lightly touched down on the far
side of the shed. The girls gasped in amazement, then
applauded.
"That was beautiful, Ranma," Tofu said.
"Thanks to you, Doc. It's nice sparring with a pro for
a change instead of a brawler," Ranma said as he launched a
hapkido kick at Tofu's chin. Tofu pointed his chin at the
ceiling, allowing the ball of Ranma's foot go by, then helped
it upwards by striking Ranma's heel with the heel of his
right hand. Ranma responded by kicking upwards with his off
foot, then doing a half-twist in midair. This, of course,
brought Ranma's formidable fists into play and Tofu was
suddenly glad that the boy was not striking at full speed. He
blocked off both elements of Ranma's left-right combination,
then suddenly remembered that Ramma's legs were overhead. He
barely blocked the left-right, inverted snap kick combination
in time. Ranma caught his weight on his hands, collapsed into
a ball and rolled across the floor away from Tofu.
This performance earned them another round of applause
from the girls as Ranma came up onto the balls of his feet
and dropped back into the cat-fighting stance.
"Pretty formidable combinations for basic stuff,
Ranma," Tofu said with a grin and a couple of gasps for air.
He could feel adrenaline pouring into his system now. He had
forgotten what a pleasant rush it could be.
"I figgered you'd catch it in time, Doc," Ranma said,
grinning back unabashedly. "You're a hell of a lot better
than you let on."
It went on for another half-hour. Ranma testing Tofu's
ability to ward off attacks, while Tofu presented Ranma with
ever more difficult problems in recovering from successfully
executed counter-moves. At the end of it, both of them were
dripping wet with sweat and panting, Tofu quite a bit more so
than Ranma. He held his hand up for a break and Ranma relaxed
from his ready stance.
"Damn, Doc! That was beautiful!" Ranma exclaimed, then
gave the older man a curt bow.
"Thank you, Ranma," Tofu said, returning the younger
man's bow. "I need to do this more often. I have been letting
myself get out of shape."
"You still got the touch, Doc."
Much to Tofu's envy, a mere glance told him that
Ranma's breathing and heart rate was almost completely
recovered. He knew his would remain elevated for another
three minutes or so and would not become fully normal for at
least another ten.
"Perhaps so, but I can tell that I will be feeling
this in the morning."
"Kinda makes ya wonder how my old man does it, huh?"
"Indeed so, Ranma. I don't carry near as much weight
as your father does."
"The secret is regularity."
"Regularity?" Tofu asked, momentarily confused.
"Yeah, practicin' every day instead of just a few
times a month."
"Oh!" Tofu said, then laughed. "I thought you were
talking about something else."
"So did I," Nabiki snickered. "Saotome, we have got to
get you into some sort of speech class."
"Hey, I talk just fine."
"Besides, Nabigi," Akane chimed in, "he reveals in his
dumb-jock image, remember?"
"Damn straight!" Ranma added.
Tofu wanted very badly to laugh out loud, but he was
short of breath and Kasumi was drying his face off with a
towel. He let his shoulders shake instead.
"You were magnificent, To-chan," Kasumi whispered.
"Thank you, Kasumi," Tofu whispered back, then in a
louder voice he asked. "How much of that is an act, Ranma?"
"Some secrets I never revel, Doc."
"Ooh, Anything Goes Martial Arts Malapropisms," Tofu
said with a grin.
"Malapontentates? What'er those?" Ranma asked.
"I suppose there probably are few of them still lying
around from World War Two," Tofu said with a shake of his
head. "I think I'm about ready for a bath and a hot soak."
"Mind if I join ya?" Ranma asked as handed his towel
back to Akane.
"Not at all, Otouto-san."
Ranma snickered at being called "Mr. Little Brother."
He opened the door to the potting shed and said with a grand
sweep of his arm, "After you, Isha-san."
Tofu grinned at being called "Mr. Doctor," and walked
through the door with an exagerated strut. As he and Ranma
made their way back towards the house, Ranma asked, "Yo, Doc!
What's a malaprostate, anyway?"
Tofu's shoulders shook with silent mirth as he
answered, "Let's just hope neither one of us ever has to find
out about that firsthand, Ranma. I always try to leave that
to the specialists."
"Oh, yeah?
"Yes."
"That isn't something gynecolumnists do, is it?"
"Ah, well, I don't think that any of them would admit
it if they did."
"Oh, good."
Kasumi and Akane watched Tofu and Ranma leave, glowing
with more than a little pride. Nabiki stared after the
departing men, listening to their banter and snorted.
"Ranma, you dirty little sneak," she muttered under
her breath. "You really have been holding back on us."
"Oh, weren't they magnificent?" Kasumi suddenly
exclaimed.
"Dey zure vere, Gazumi," Akane said. "I had no idea
Docdor Dofu was so fasd."
"He's got a cute butt, too," Nabiki opined.
"Nabiki!" Kasumi and Akane chorused.
"It's almost as cute as Ranma's," Nabiki said with a
sly smirk. "Cuter maybe, if you like older men."
"You know, Akane, our sister is just begging for
another good tickling."
"Oh, believe me, Sis!" Nabiki said with more than a
little emphasis. "After watching what just went on in here
tonight, I could definitely use a good dickling."
"I dink a code bath zeems do be more in order,
Gazumi," Akane offered, unable to stop herself from grinning.
"Exactly!" Nabiki said. "Let's go right now!"
"Yeek!" the three girls squealed in unison.
"Nabiki, you are so naughty sometimes!" Kasumi said.
"Ve have definidely god do vind her a boyvriend,"
Akane said.
Nabiki reached over to her right wrist with her left
hand and turned the bracelet Tetsugo had given her. Noting
that neither of her sisters saw the bracelet, she said, "I
think one will probably find me."
"Well, let's get you in out of this cold, Nabiki,"
Kasumi said. Pointing at Nabiki's cast she added, "Your toes
are turning blue."
"Hang on, Gazumi," Akane said. "I'll help you ged her
tdrough de door vrom oudside."
"Can I have a whole painkiller this time, Kasumi?"
Nabiki asked. "I just KNOW I'm going to have a hard time
getting any sleep tonight."
"Oh, my! Look, Akane! Nabiki's turning green around
the gills!"
"Oh, not really," Nabiki said with another of her
trademark smirks. "So far, I've been getting all the
entertainment value out of things without the bother of
ownership."
"Hmmph! Nabigi, you are ingorrigible!" Akane said,
sounding exasperated.
"And don't you ever forget it, baby sister!"
"You acdually enjoy being naughdy, don'd you?" Akane
asked, as she lifted the front of Nabiki's wheelchair through
the doorway.
"Yes, I do," Nabiki said. "Oh, that reminds me. I had
some things picked up for you in Shibuya the other day. I'd
better show them to you while the guys are still bathing."
"Vhad kinds of dhings?" Akane asked, sounding vaguely
alarmed as she gently set the chair down.
"It's probably best that I just show them to you,
Akane," Nabiki said with a positively evil grin. "You'll
understand the second you see them."
Akane glanced at Kasumi. Her oldest sister's face had
turned bright red, and she was refusing to look Akane in the
eye.
"Yes, Kasumi," Nabiki said with a knowing smirk. "It's
about what we discussed the other day."
"Vhad?" Akane demanded.
"Ranma's girl-half, silly."
Akane turned bright red.
"We need to hurry," Nabiki said. "We won't have more
than twenty minutes or so. Tofu's tired and he'll be wanting
to go to bed soon."
"So?" Akane squeaked out.
"So, you've got lots to do before bedtime, little
sister," Nabiki said with a smirk.
-------------------
"So how did things go today, Ranma?" Tofu asked as he
gratefully slid into the steaming furo. "Did you visit the
quarry again today?"
"Yeah, I did, Doc," Ranma said. "No explosions this
time."
"Ah, that's good," Tofu said. "The meditation seems to
be helping you out a lot. You're much calmer."
"Yeah," Ranma said, scratching the back of his head.
He sat down in the furo, looking as though he wanted to say
something, but was being reluctant for some reason.
"What is it, Ranma?" Tofu asked. "I'm your doctor,
remember? I won't tell anyone else."
"I made a box full of diamonds today, Doc," Ranma
blurted out.
Tofu shook his head as though to clear it.
"I'm sorry, Ranma. I didn't quite catch that."
"I said, I made a box full of diamonds today."
This was followed by a prolonged silence.
"Okay," Tofu said. "I thought that's what I heard you
say the first time and didn't believe it. You haven't told
anyone else about this, have you?"
"The girls know," Ranma said. "You shoulda seen their
faces when they opened that bento."
"A bento?"
"Yeah, that big green one Kasumi likes to pack for
picnics."
Tofu looked for a moment as though he might pass out.
"I can just imagine their faces," Tofu said after a
moment. "That must have been one hell of a show."
"Yeah, it was," Ranma said sounding ashamed of
himself. "I shoulda waited until you got here, but I was
kinda excited myself."
Tofu chuckled, then he laughed, then he roared until
tears came out of his eyes.
"It's a mess, ain't it, Doc."
Tofu forced himself to sober up a bit and answer.
"Yes, but you must admit, Ranma. It is a rather
pleasant mess to have."
"You know what really worries me, Doc? All the rich
people I have ever met were complete fruitcakes."
"Oh, how so?"
"Well, you know the Kuno bunch, right?"
"Ranma, not all rich people are like the Kuno-clan,"
Tofu said. "I'm reasonably sure their problems are
congenital."
"Oh, I KNOW there's somethin' wrong with their
genitals," Ranma said with great emphasis. "They're outta
control!"
Tofu roared again.
"That wasn't quite what I meant, Ranma. What I meant
was is that their mental problems are inherited, just like
their money."
"Oh," Ranma said, "but there's been others! There was
that family that had that damned mirror and ..."
"Mirror?" Tofu asked.
"Yeah, that was so weird I never tell anybody about
it. Then there was this Yohiyo guy that owned an island. He
fell in love with my girl half because I stepped on his head
and stole his lunch. And, then there was that lady with that
spoiled brat. He had his mom thinkin' he was sick all the
time and ..."
"Whoa! Wait a minute, Ranma," Tofu said, trying to
control his laughter. "You have a bad run of luck, that's
all. Most rich people are a little extra sane, not the other
way around."
"Well, Doc, it don't look that way to me."
Tofu laughed and shook his head.
"Well, given what you've been through I think I can
understand your alarm, but you strike me as being the sort
who is rather immune to money."
"My old man sure ain't immune to it. He'll go
completely nutzoid over a hundred yen. Just thinkin' of what
he might do if he finds about this diamond business scares
the hell out of me."
Tofu sighed.
"I guess you're right in a way. Money does drive some
people crazy, but usually just the people that have never had
any."
"I ain't never had none, Doc."
"Well, tonight is the end of that problem, Ranma,"
Tofu said with an impish smile as he rolled his eyes. "I can
tell you will lose some sleep over this."
"That's 'cause it opens a whole new can of worms!"
"Yes, but you'll manage. You have Nabiki helping you
out with it, right?"
"She is really scary, Doc."
"Handling money is her art, Ranma, just as fighting is
yours."
"Yeah, I figured that out about her a long time ago.
You know, she nearly got me indejured in Hong Kong once over
money."
"Indejured? Oh, you mean indentured!"
"Yeah, that's it. Indentured. I wondered how you was
supposed to say that word. I thought I was gonna be waiting
tables in Hong Kong for the next hundred years after she
pulled that little stunt."
"What did you do? Resort to hot water?"
"Nah, I just ran like hell away from the place."
"You know, Ranma, your biographer will make a mint
from your life's story."
This brought Ranma up short. "D'ya think so?"
"I know so. Look, you aren't a particularly money-
hungry sort of person, Ranma, so money isn't likely to cause
you that much trouble. Akane has never shown any signs of
being inordinately greedy and Kasumi, well you know Kasumi.
"You didn't see their faces, Doc."
"They were staring at what? Two, maybe three kilograms
of diamonds? Girls have a really big soft spot for diamonds,
Ranma. Diamonds do things for them that money and flowers
can't. I'm surprised Nabiki would even talk about selling
them."
Ranma relaxed somewhat, then smiled.
"Watchin' 'em paw through that box was so much fun,
Doc. I sure wish I'd a waited for you to be here."
Tofu chuckled.
"Well don't worry, Ranma. I won't hold it against you.
But, you do realize that you MUST keep this talent of yours
an absolute secret."
"Oh, yeah. I figured that out as soon as I thought of
how Pop would act if he found out."
"Good. Now, let's take this up again, say...day after
tomorrow."
"Why not tomorrow?"
"Because you will not be in any shape to think clearly
tomorrow, Ranma," Tofu said with a grin as he got out of the
furo and began pulling on his pants.
"How d'ya know that, Doc?"
Tofu gave Ranma an enigmatic smile for an answer.
"You'll find out."
"Oh, man! I still remember the last time you told me
that."
Tofu laughed, pulled on his shirt and left.
Ranma was not far behind him.
-------------------
They found the three girls gathered around the table
enjoying tea and rice cakes. All three of them had changed
into yukata.
"You guys come have some tea and cakes," Nabiki said,
"I want one last look at you before my sisters drown me in
the furo."
"We aren't going to drown you, Nabiki," Kasumi said
sweetly.
"No, bud I am going do hode her head under de vhader
undil she durns a nice shade of burble," Akane said, with
mock severity as she walked around behind Nabiki's chair.
"See?" Nabiki said as she melodramatically threw her
left forearm across her eyes. "This will be our farewell tea,
boys."
Ranma snorted. "What'd you do, Nabiki?"
"Pay her no mind, Ranma," Kasumi said. "She's merely
making a play for sympathy she doesn't deserve."
"Yeah," Akane said. "Dere's nodding wrong vid her dad
a liddle code vhader and a good dickling von'd gure, right,
Nabigi?"
"I'll try to remind you of that just as I draw my last
breath, Akane," Nabiki said, still playing at the forlorn and
forgotten heroine of a silent movie. Akane shook her head in
mock disgust as she began rolling the wheelchair towards the
bath. Kasumi followed them.
"Fare thee well, cruel world!" Nabiki called from the
hallway. "Remember me!" The other two girls tittered.
"Well, they seem to be quite giddy," Tofu said with a
grin. "I suppose I have you to thank for that."
"Well...you're welcome, Doc...I think."
"Would you like some tea, Ranma?"
"Not really, Doc. It's gettin' late. I think I'll turn
in."
"You know, that sounds like a good idea to me as
well," Tofu said. "I'll turn in right after I remove Akane's
bandages. See you in the morning, Ranma."
"G'night, Doc."
Ranma made his way to his and Akane's room, stripped
down to his boxers and tank top, then crawled under the
blankets. Tired from his workout and preoccupied with the
trouble he had inadvertently created for himself, he
neglected to change forms before falling asleep. He would
have certainly remembered had Akane already been in the bed,
or had simply been in the room at the time, but she was not
there and he forgot.
Just as Ranma's breathing became deep and regular, the
shoji to his and Akane's room slid back. Akane had opened the
door in the properly formal manner by setting everything down
as she kneeled by the door, then gently sliding the door
back. She was still wearing her yukata, but the bandages on
her nose were gone. Nabiki had helped her cover the remaining
bruises around her eyes with makeup. She got up from the
floor with a lit paper lantern in her hand and softly stepped
into the room. She set the lantern down in a corner well away
from the futons, then stepped back out into the hall,
returning with a deep pan covered over with a towel. Steam
curled up from around the edges of the towel. She set the pan
down near the lantern, then carefully slid the shoji shut.
Akane turned and looked down upon her sleeping fiance. She
took a moment to drink in the sight of him.
"Ranma?" Akane called out softly. Ranma stirred, but
did not wake. Akane smiled.
"Raa-nmaa!" Akane called out again, putting a few
faint notes of distress in her voice. Ranma's eyes snapped
open as he quickly sat up.
"Are you awake now?" Akane asked in a sultry voice.
"Uh, yeah, Akane. What's wrong?"
"Nothing. I just wanted you to see this," Akane said
with a wicked smile as she loosened the obi of her yukata.
She gave a little shrug of her shoulders, and the flimsy
cotton garment began to fall away from her naked body.
Ranma's eyes widened with surprise as his body stiffened. The
yukata slowly settled to the floor with the soft sibilant
sigh of falling leaves. Ranma gulped.
"Don't you dare change on me, Ranma."
"Akane..."
"Don't you even think about it!"
"Ah...okay?"
-------------------
Nabiki lay back on her futon, wishing she had asked
for another half-tablet of painkiller. The one she had taken
was working, and she was feeling very relaxed, but that was
not helping her sleep any.
"The Ice Queen and the Cold Dragon," Nabiki muttered
to herself. "What a strange kind of uncouple we make, Ranma."
Restlessly, Nabiki reached behind her head and beneath
her pillow, withdrawing a small drawstring bag. It contained
one of the larger diamonds Ranma had made. The diamond was
one of the two that were too large to put into the paper
envelopes. This was not what she had been reaching for, but
Nabiki smiled, then opened the bag and examined the stone
within. It was the smaller and darker of the two stones Ranma
had fabricated. She held up so that light from the hallway
would shine through it and gasped.
"BLUE!" she cried out. "It's a smoky blue, just like
the Hope!"
Nabiki carefully placed the stone between her breasts
in a way that her nightgown would hold it, then strained her
eyes trying to look at it.
"I think I'll have this one cushion cut and keep it,"
Nabiki said to herself with a grin, "then the four of us can
take turns wearing it."
-------------------
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