RaeMowse@aol.com wrote:

Had to rewrite the last two chapters, as the ending's changed up, so y'all  
can stop sending me emails wondering what the hell was I thinking with Chapter  
6 (I rushed, I admit it :D).
 
Ranma 1/2 and all related characters are property of Rumiko  Takahashi.  No 
disrespect intended for this simple fanfic.
 
For Better or For Worst-Case Scenario
Chapter 5: Missing in  Reaction
 
"A lazy Sunday afternoon," Nabiki said aloud as she laid across her bed on  
her back.  Dressed in cutoff jean shorts and a loose tee shirt, the sleeves  
rolled up, 

Tee shirts don't have long sleeves in the first place.  What is she 
going for, the muscle shirt look?  She doesn't have the biceps to pull 
it off.


she lazily stretched and sat up.  Her eyes focused in on Ranma,  who

was sitting in the corner on the opposite side of the room reading a thick  
comic book.  "Don't you agree, honey?"
 
He seemed to not have heard her, but Nabiki knew he had - she long since  
learned to recognize that almost imperceptible tensing around his neck.  It  only 
occurred when an embarrassing topic threatens to rear its head and he  wished 
to not have anything to do with it.  She sometimes wondered if he  was even 
aware of it.  Nabiki didn't think so; otherwise, she felt Ranma  would have 
learned to stop doing it.  At least in her vicinity.
 
Nabiki supposed to herself she could take advantage of it and tease Ranma  in 
some sort of way or fashion, but she decided against it; better to remain  
unpredictable, to make sure he didn't become numb to her wiles.  Besides,  it 
had been almost a week since the videotape incident, when she finally  accepted 
her marital situation and started using it in a whole new way to keep  boredom 
and the humdrum at bay.  Plus it was a Sunday - no school, no  pressing 
family engagements, and no visitors.  Let Ranma have a break from  her antics.
 
She flopped back onto her bed, faintly smiling.  I'm really salt  of the 
earth here.
 
For his part, Ranma looked over his comic to eye his wife.  Funny, I  thought 
she'd do something by now.  He let himself wind down after a few  moments 
more of covertly watching his significant other's inaction, then tried  resuming 
his reading pleasure.  However, he shook his head and put down the  volume - 
the story and action had been going downhill since halfway through the  fourth 
volume, turning more melodramatic, inane, and sometimes downright silly.  It 
was like a martial arts soap opera, or perhaps better worded as a marital  arts 
soap opera, based on the actions of the younger sister.  At one point,  Ranma 
could have sympathized with the main character, as he, too, got an  unwanted 
girl wanting to marry him, but now that he went and admitted feelings  for the 
girl's older sister… He shook his head, promising himself to skim over  the 
next volume before buying it.
 
He stood up, stretching his legs and back, feeling muscles loosen and  creak. 
 Popping his neck twice, he started to leave the room.
 
"Going out?" Nabiki asked, looking over in his direction.
 
"Yeah.  Gonna take a walk."
 
"Anyplace special?"
 
"Hadn't thought about it."
 
She sat up.  "Well, give me a minute to change."
 
He looked over his shoulder.  "You wanna come with me?"
 
"Sure.  It seems too nice a day to spend it indoors."
 
"Well… okay.  I'll be downstairs."  He slipped out of the room,  leaving 
Nabiki to her own devices.
 
In truth, going through a few katas was forefront in his mind.   However, the 
dojo had been locked up since Thursday afternoon, though why was  beyond 
him.. When he asked Mr. Tendo about it, the curt answer was that it was  under 
repair and would be off-limits until sometime after Tuesday.  He  brought it up 
with Nabiki later on, who vowed to do some investigating herself.  She turned 
up nothing; every entrance point was locked, and the windows were  covered with 
heavy cloth. Also, the key to the building was not in its usual  place.  
Whether she did more investigating after that, Ranma did not  know.  He just 
decided to not worry about it and practice out in the  backyard.
 
That turned to be more distracting than anything else.  He normally  didn't 
think about it, but the first time he looked over his shoulder to taunt  his 
old man and remembered he didn't live at the Tendo residence anymore, the  
realization of why splashed him with the strength and numbness of icy  water.

Not having a sparring partner is going to hurt Ranma some day.

 
He and Nabiki were married.
 
Ever since then, whenever he'd step into the backyard to practice, his mind  
would suddenly cloud up with all the annoying, puzzling, difficult thoughts 
and  questions, running and bouncing around in his head so rapidly, he sometimes 
 misremembered the next step of the kata, though his body hadn't.  The  

Must be anime continuity.  Manga Ranma don't do no steenkin' kata.

 
A thousand arguments, persuasions, and coercions came to mind. Nabiki had  
plenty of ammo to spit back. However, the hand that should have pulled the  
trigger became relaxed by a warm tingling feeling flooding throughout her body.  
Her heartbeat came in faster, electricity danced all over and under her skin,  
heightening her sensitivity, and her body felt a lot hotter. The room seemed  
smaller, she and Ranma so much nearer. Her eyes widened a little as she 
absently  licked her suddenly-dry lips.

She's having a John Norman moment.

Nabiki  grabbed his head and kissed him hard, cursing herself only after 
breaking the  intimate connection. "Get out," she said breathlessly, releasing 
him. "Go sleep  on the roof or something for the next few days. Hurry up before I 
act on…  something naughty."

before I do something crazy."

* * * * *
Kasumi had awakened early, as usual. A quick bath and a change  of clothes 
later, she was making her way to the kitchen, when an unusual sight  greeted 
her. Her brows furrowed in concern. "Little brother…?"
 
A shirtless Ranma was sitting on the floor of the kitchen, his body slumped  
over. He smelled of cool, stale exertion, as if he had been working out 
earlier.  A small line of drool had crept from the corner of his mouth and down his 
chin.  In one hand, a half-eaten piece of fruit threatened to escape his 
nonexistent  grasp.
 
Carefully approaching, Kasumi knelt down and lightly touched his hand.  "Lit-"
 
Before she could finish the word, Ranma's eyes flew open. "No!" he shouted,  
his hand cresting upwards quick as a flash.
 
=CRACK 
The sound seems to reverberate through the kitchen like thunder, shaking  
Ranma out of his dream state. He gaped in horror as the entire world went into  
slow motion. Like a rubber doll, Kasumi's upper half had stretched for the 
wall,  

Ranma punched out Kasumi?  Ranma punched out Kasumi!  Well ok then.  I'm 
everyone would forgive that.

Twisted though it seemed, Nabiki actually smiled at the idea of her  
meddlesome sister getting her comeuppance. Serves her right for her invasive  actions 
at Nabiki's wedding. Then she frowned, remembering last night. If  someone 
like Kasumi got hit with karmic payback - no pun intended, she amended  to 
herself - what kind of retribution could Nabiki expect? Was she already in  the 
midst of the cashing in that paycheck?

You're married to Ranma.  Don't get much worse than that.

He had to cock an eyebrow. "For what?"
 
She sucked on her lower lip now, then made the words come out. "For being  
nosy."

And for shaking you down for money while you were being chased by a 
maniac with a lethal weapon, and the nudie pictures of you, and making 
you think you wet the bed...

Nabiki, being nosy is the least of your crimes.  I guess she's starting 
small.

Nabiki looked at Ranma sideways for a moment. "Believe it or not, I do care  
about things other than myself. Maybe I don't show it often enough, but it  
doesn't make it any less true."

While that may be true, I'm not sure how its relevant.

 
"Yeah, I was thinking about all of that last night, after I left. I know us  
getting married ain't no picnic, and not something we would've chose to do if 
we  could repeat the last two weeks, but-"
 
Nabiki cut him off in midsentence. "Hey, Ranma?"
 
"Huh? What?"
 
"Let's go see your friend, Ukyo. After school."
 
He looked at her queerly. "Why'd you want to do that?"
 
"I want to clear the air between us and your ex-fiancées. Make sure they  
know that our marriage isn't a trick of some sort, and that you are off the  
market. No confusion. No nonsense. Just upfront honesty."
 
"Huh…" Ranma slowly nodded his head. "All right, I guess. Your plan,  though."
 
"No problem. I'll have some strategy prepared for you by lunch. Which  
reminds me…" She handed him his packaged lunch.
 
Ranma took the proffered bag without complaint. "Well, see you at  lunch."
 
"Later, Ranma."
 
The married couple reached school momentarily and branched off to their  
respective classes. 
 
* * * * *
How did one deal with a broken heart? 

How can a loser ever win?



Akane thought  to herself, as she gazed

out the classroom window. The substitute homeroom  teacher hadn't arrived to 
class yet; the regular one, Mr. Tawakichi, was out.  She didn't know what the 
real story was, but rumor had it that he split up with  his wife of seventeen 
years to get married to a seventeen-year-old former  student of his whom he 
had been having an affair with last year. Not that she  believed such creepy, 
outlandish rumors - this was Japan, not America, after all  

Er...that's not all that outlandish in Japan, home of lolicon.


- but the thought of

it gave her something to think about. Assuming everything  was, in fact, 
true, how would Mrs. Tawakichi deal with the sudden breakup? Was  she deeply in 
love with her husband? Were they merely brought together through  an arranged 
marriage? Would she have faulted the girl, or would she be able to  find the 
strength and compassion to forgive him and not hold it against him?  Maybe she 
would get rip roaringly drunk, find a gun, and shoot him and his young  
sweet-tart lover while they were in the middle of-
 
Akane shook her head on the last thought. Again, this was Japan - no one  
gets shot here. 

True.  She'd poison them.


A different story in America -

Why is Akane on this America kick?  Is she thinking of emigrating?

The substitute teacher frowned a little, then re-read the seating chart.  
"Hmm. Yes, it was a few days ago. However, Ms. Kuonji has resigned from Furinken  
High School Friday, so it may be given to another student."
 
Resigned? Akane mouthed the word in surprise. Why would she  leave Furinken? 

Gosh.  Why would she leave Furinken?  Why are you thinking about going 
to America?

Unconsciously, her eyes shifted over to Ranma. He was  sitting rigidly alert 
now, his brows pinched together. Because of  Ranma?
 
* * * * *
Lunchtime rolled around midday. Some students made their way  to the 
cafeteria to purchase a meal and snack, while others who brought homemade  food 
elected to eat inside their class room, or head outside and enjoy Mother  Nature's 
company. Nabiki normally fell underneath the category of the latter;  today was 
no different, as she made her way down the stairs to meet Ranma. Two  of her 
friends flanked her, talking amiably among each other, and directing  various 
questions to Nabiki. The subject of late: Nabiki's marriage.
 
"It's just sooo romantic, the way you two just got married like that!" the  
one girl with long dark hair commented half-dreamily.
 
"Kind of underhanded, though, even for Nabiki," the other girl with the  
sun-kissed skin and nearly-blonde hair trimmed short akin to Akane's hairstyle  
said matter-of-factly.
 
"Aww, Mariko, you're just jealous Jiro isn't sweeping you off your feet  like 
that."
 
Mariko rolled her eyes. "Oh, please, Junko. Like I was ever attracted to  
him. Besides, I'm friends with his girlfriend."
 
"Akane is Nabiki's sister, and that didn't stop her from finding true love  
with Ranma, now, did it?" Junko said, more to the subject in question.
 
Nabiki had to suppress the urge to sigh. While it was a joy to have female  
friends that did not, in fact, conform to societal norms of Japanese culture,  
she sometimes wished they would at least not be so willing to discuss more  
discreet issues out in the open. 

Oh phooey.  Have you noticed how Takahashi writes that group of high 
school girls in Inuyasha?  Teenage girls are teenage girls.


Especially with sore spots, such as Junko's

last comment. "Now, now… that was not my fault. I've been conspired against by  
the gods, and for now, I'm just staying with things as is. Nothing's  changed."
 
The girls nodded, and they took several more steps.
 
"Bet they do it three times a night," Junko whispered to Mariko.
 
However, Nabiki managed to overhear the remark. She colored significantly  in 
response. "Junko…" she said with an edge of promised death in her  voice.
 
"Speaking of lovers, there's yours Nabiki," Mariko quickly said, pointing  at 
Ranma, who was pacing under the location of their meeting place.
 
"Oooh! Bet he's been dying to see you all-"
 
Junko and Mariko both blinked as a sudden blast of wind whipped their  
uniform skirts around.
 
"What was that?" Mariko said, looking around.
 
"More importantly, where's Nabiki?" Junko chimed in.
 
"What?"
 
"She's… gone! And so is Ranma!"
 
"Where did they go?"
 
The two scanned the area in confusion, then stood there silent.
 
"…Bet they ran off to have a quickie on the roof."
 
"…Junko, you really need to get yourself a boyfriend…"
 
* * * * *
"Dammit, Ranma!" Nabiki shrieked as she clung tightly to her  husband's neck 
as he went sailing though the air, carrying her in his arms.  "What the hell's 
your probl-" She shrieked again as he vaulted over Furinken's  outer wall and 
bolted down the sidewalk.
 
He gave a quick explanation about Ukyo as he took the shortest route from  
school to Ucchan's Okonomiyaki Restaurant - a straight line. He hopped, ducked,  
dodged, slid, and swung from trees, walls, fences, people, pet, houses, and 
cars  without breaking stride.
 
"Gods, couldn't you have waited till after school?!"
 
"No, I can't!" He somersaulted over a small pond at the last second, his  
feet finding purchase on the nearby house's roof. "This gotta be done n-"
 
The roof suddenly caved in under the shock of Ranma and Nabiki's combined  

weight. In hindsight, it was probably already weakened from where the home owner 
 did not see fit to guard it from the elements, and as a result, the 
structure  beneath had rotted away. However, that did not stop the pair from falling  
through and crashing into the home owner's bedroom in a tangled heap.

And nobody's having some afternoon delight to interrupt?  How 
disappointing.  Also maybe pointless.  Why did you do that?

 
Ranma moaned in pain before he spoke. "You okay, Nabiki?"
 
"Yeah… I'm fine," she said, slowly uncurling from the fetal position Ranma  
had tucked her into to prevent her from getting injured. "Don't think that'll  
make up for this dumb idea of a field trip."
 
"Yeah, yeah…" He couldn't help but smile at her admonishment.
 
She tried to be cool, though she felt just the opposite. "We're taking the  
long route back to school, so you know in advance."
 
Once the couple composed themselves, they left through the front door and  
trekked the rest of the way to Ukyo's restaurant on the ground.
 
Once they were near their destination, Nabiki pulled Ranma to the side.  "You 
wait here."
 
"Huh? Why do I-"
 
"Trust me on this. Just wait here. I'm going to go talk to her  first."
 
"What? But-"
 
She pressed her fingers to his lips. "Trust me, I know what I'm  doing."
 
He looked at her, searched her eyes. Slowly he nodded in agreement, and she  
let her fingers slide away from his lips. On impulse, he caught the tip of one 
 between his lips for a second, then let it go. They both blushed at the  
action.
 
"Um… hurry up. Don't wanna be late for your next class."
 
"Y, yeah…" She turned away and padded over to the shop.
 
What brought that on?  they wondered as one.
 
As expected, the restaurant was still closed from Sunday. Nabiki peered  
through one of the windows. The dining area played host to several cardboard  
boxes, many of them filled with packing straw and objects. The walls were bared  
of advertisements and prices. There was no sign of anyone in the store, though. 
 Withdrawing from her viewpoint, she moved towards the store doors and  
knocked.
 
A few minutes later, Nabiki returned to Ranma. "Nobody's home," she said  
simply. "Let's try again after school."
 
Sighing, he agreed, and they returned to school. However, the situation was  
the same as before, only the boxes that were their previously were now gone. A 
 white moving truck stood on display across the street. "It's like she didn't 
 want anyone to know she was leaving," Ranma commented glumly as they 
followed  the course home.
 
"Or maybe she's avoiding you."
 
"Maybe…" He was silent for a few moments. "I've been a shitty friend," he  
said, more to himself.
 
Nabiki perked an eyebrow in surprise, but didn't say anything.
 
Soon, they arrived home. "We're home."
 
Akane had greeted them, then turned to Ranma. "You have some  visitors."
 
He furrowed his brows. "I do?"
 
"Yes, both of them are on the porch."
 
Curious, he went to see who had came around to see him. Mom and dad maybe?  
As he neared, he could hear snatches of conversation.
 
"So it's agreed."
 
"…yes, it's agreed."
 
"…and remember, no backing out…"
 
"Understood."
 
Ranma opened to door. The two people looked at him as one.
 
"Hello, boy."
 
"Hey, Ranchan."
 
He looked from his dirty, disheveled-looking father to a somewhat  
disheveled, stern-but-beaming Ukyo. "Hey to you, too. What's going on?"
 
"Nothing important," Genma said tersely, getting up. "Now if you excuse  me…" 
He pushed past Ranma and disappeared around the corner.
 
"You beat him up again?" he asked, looking at Ukyo.
 
"No. I just happened upon him that way. Though I would have used aggressive  
negotiations if need be."
 
"Okay…" He sat down on the porch.
 
"I bet you already heard. I dropped out of Furinken High School."
 
"Yeah. Found out this morning."
 
"I talked to my dad last week and told him about everything that's happened  
here. He felt that I should come back home."
 
"Oh?"
 
"Yeah. I was going to, too."
 
He looked at her a little strangely.
 
"I had some time to think about things, and maybe I was being too hard on  
you.  It was quite a shock, finding out that you had married Nabiki, of all  
people! Akane, I guess I could understand, but Nabiki? What were you thinking?  
Then, I kinda sat back and thought, well, maybe you got tricked into it or  
something - much as I hate to admit it, you are kinda gullible."
 
"Hey!"
 
"I was all set to come save you from a life of unhappiness." She gave him a  
small grin. "But then, I talked to Akane, and I don't think she realized it, 
but  she said some things that put everything in perspective."
 
"Really? Like what?"
 
She looked away, touching her index fingers together. "Mmm… Girl stuff. You  
wouldn't understand."
 
"Since I left China, I spend half my time as a girl. I think I  would."
 
She colored slightly. "It, it's not important…! You're getting me off  track! 
Shut up and let me finish, Jackass!"
 
"Fine, finish then! Damn!"
 
"Look, the important thing is that you're a married guy, now. That's  
something I have to respect. If things were reversed and we were married…" She  
paused and looked at him quietly. "I would want other people to respect our  
situation. There's no shame in that, so it'd be stupid to try and run away from  the 
fact. Besides, as we all know, running away doesn't make the problem go  
away."
 
"Huh…" Ranma closed his eyes in thought. "Yeah, that's true. Thanks to pop,  
everything got so complicated."
 
"Don't worry about him. I already squared things away with your  father."
 
He opened his eyes and looked at his friend. "How so?"
 
"He'll be repaying for the cart he stole all those years ago in free  
advertisement and labor for the next year."
 
"You're gonna have pop work for you?"
 
"Mm hmm. As a panda bear. With our combined cuteness factors, Ucchan's will  
become the biggest hit in the entire Nerima Ward. That the real reason I 
dropped  out of Furinken. To focus on the business."
 
His eyebrows arched in surprise. "Really?"
 
"Mm hmm. I'll be staying around until I branch off another chain and get  
someone to mange Ucchan's here." 

manage


She looked at him slyly. "Maybe you and Nabiki

would be interested…?"
 
Ranma laughed. "Me? Running a business? Nah… Might be up Nabiki's alley,  
though. Put it to her sometime; she'd probably jump on it."
 
"I'll do that."
 
There was a knock coming from the inside. Ranma turned in its direction.  
"Yeah?"
 
Nabiki opened the shutters. "Hey, your dad wants to see you." There were  
traces of annoyance in her face, though she kept her features neutral as she  
went on. "In the dojo."
 
"What? The dojo's open now? Thought it wouldn't be open for another few  
days."
 
"Hey, go ahead and see your father," Ukyo said. "I'll talk to Nabiki about  
that proposition, then let myself out."
 
"You sure?"
 
"Positive. You can visit me anytime at the restaurant."
 
"Okay. Cool. Well, see you later, Ucchan!"
 
"Bye, Ranchan!"
 
He disappeared into the house, a smile gracing his lips. "Wow, worked out  
better than I thought!" he whispered excitedly to Nabiki as he passed by.
 
"Glad for you," she smiled back. She watched him disappear into the next  
room, then redirected her attention to Ranma's ex-fiancée. Her back was to  
Nabiki, staring out across the yard.
 
"Nabiki…" she said without turning around.
 
"The business idea sounds interesting, though I'm not one for cooking.  Let's 
see what'll happen in the next few years first before anything  else."
 
"Understood."
 
"Anything else you wish to talk about?"
 
Ukyo didn't reply. Nabiki gave her a minute, then started to close the  door.
 
"Nabiki."
 
She paused. "Yes?"
 
"Be good to him."
 
Nabiki noted the slight trembling in Ranma's friend's shoulders. "I will.  
Take as much time as you need. No one will disturb you."
 
"…Thank you."
 
Nabiki closed the shutter firmly and made good her word, standing guard for  
the whole of 15 minutes. The silence from the other side of the shutter 
answered  that Ukyo Kuonji had left the premises.
 
* * * * *
"Sleeping in the dojo tonight?" Nabiki asked as Ranma rolled  up his bed mat.
 
"Yeah," he responded, scooping that and his backpack up. "Pop thinks I'm  
being stupid, but hey, I haven't been able to spar with anyone without worry  
about something for a week. 

I don't understand that sentence.


And it's not like he can tell me what to do now; I

bet mom's keeping him pretty busy back home."
 
In more ways that one, I bet. Nabiki shook her head, trying to  dispel the 
mood her thoughts were already venturing into. "Don't injure  anything."
 
"Hah. I could go all night," he replied, hoisting his sack onto his  shoulder.
 
Nabiki tried hard to keep that line in context with his activity. The dojo  
finally freed up - the mystery behind its lock-up will go unsolved now - Ranma  
was bursting to do what he loves most - martial arts without inhibition. It 
was  fortunate that he had an outlet for his pent up desires that he had 
demonstrated  at least once already. Nabiki, on the other hand, didn't have an 
effective one.  The half-sketched drawings and half-baked stories she had done in 
those times  fitted nicely in a shoebox under her bed, though by all rights she 
should set  the lot of them on fire and pretend they never existed. However 
the means, their  separate activities kept them from being alone together for 
too long, which  would result in some sort of passionate, tragic coupling, and

What gives her the idea it will be tragic?  I mean, more than being 
married to Ranma and NOT having good sex?

Later on, he would admit that he couldn't even remember moving, let alone  
acknowledging the presence of the other family members and his own father, but  
almost instantly he was there beside Nabiki, tossing off the cold steel 
holding  his wife hostage and cradling her to his body. It took a few moments for 
her to  recognize what had happened to her, but once her mind made the 
connection, all  she could do was cry into his body, trembling all over. He tried his 
best to  calm her down, while one thought echoed in his mind, growing hotter 
and hotter  until it erupted into an inferno.
 
Shampoo…

She wuz framed I tell ya!  Framed!

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