Side Story One

Stumbling downstairs for breakfast, Nabiki discovered that she was
the last person to arise. It wasn't surprising, she reflected, since she
lived in a house filled with morning people. She'd have expected that
Ranma and his father would've wanted to rest after spending all that
time on the road, but they were up at dawn every morning to spar.

"Morning, Nabiki."

"Good morning, Ranma." Nabiki nodded politely to her supposed
fiancé. As long as he opposed the engagement, keeping on his good side
couldn't hurt.

"I can see you two have started to get along better. It's good that
you've accepted your responsibility to marry and unite the schools."
Soun Tendo gestured expansively, smiling the smile of the totally
oblivious, unknowingly mirroring the expression of his eldest daughter.

"I ain't marrying anyone," Ranma protested.

"You should be more grateful, boy. She helped you out with Ukyou
didn't she?" Genma asked as he directed a stern gaze at his son.

"Even if we do get married," Nabiki interrupted, "that doesn't mean
we'll carry on the school. We could get a lot of money from selling the
house and dojo," she said, winking at Ranma.

"Wha-what? You can't- I mean..." her father said, stammering in
shock. Ranma wasn't much better at first, but he recovered faster.

"Heh. I wasn't exactly ready to settle down and run a dojo
anyway," Ranma said.

"You could probably make a lot more money in professional sports
anyway," Nabiki suggested, watching her father's face pale and then
redden in rapid succession.

"Akane!" he barked. "It is your duty to accept the engagement and
carry on the school of Anything-Goes martial arts."

"Sorry, Dad. I'm not interested."

"Don't worry, Tendou. A good lawyer can help you with that
situation."

Nabiki's mouth nearly dropped open in shock. She knew Ranma's
father had to be smarter than he looked, but that wasn't saying much.
"You're joking, right?"

"How would you know about something like that, Saotome?"

"Why do you think I haven't sol... I mean I just know."

Nabiki made a mental note to find out just how Genma had discovered
this and then shrugged inwardly. She'd hoped to hold off for a while,
but it looked like the time had come for more extreme methods.

=================

Nabiki stared at her desk glumly. Since she'd resolved to bring an
end to the engagement she'd spent hours trying to find a solution,
without luck. She'd thought of dozens of ways to make money off of
Ranma and embarrass him in the process. Unfortunately, that probably
wouldn't be enough to make Ranma back out of the engagement.

A polite knock on her door caught Nabiki's attention. "Come in."

The door swung open silently and Akane stepped inside, closing the
door behind her. "I just wanted to ask if you know why Ranma's so
upset."

"No idea. I don't really care either." He was probably worrying
about why his beloved childhood friend was still angry with him, Nabiki
thought. She honestly had no idea why something that had happened ten
years ago would matter so much to both Ranma and Ukyou.

"He is your fiancé. Maybe you should do something to cheer him
up. It's a good opportunity for the two of you to grow closer."

Nabiki opened her mouth to reply and then abruptly stopped.

"Nabiki, are you alright?" Akane nervously clasped her hands in
front of her. Nabiki had been acting a bit strange lately.

"Never better. That's actually a great idea. Why don't you just
go downstairs and see if Kasumi needs any help."

"Wha..." A smiling Nabiki ignored Akane's incoherent protest and
gently, but firmly pushed her out of the room.

Hurrying back to her desk, she pulled out a piece of paper and
began to write. She'd been looking at the problem the wrong way. Ranma
was already refusing to marry her, so she just had to get him interested
in someone else. His brand new secret admirer would go a long way to
accomplishing that if she handled it right.

After minutes of feverish work, Nabiki laid down her pen and held
up the newly completed letter to inspect it. "Not bad if I do say so
myself." She could even salvage some of her earlier ideas. After she
was through with him, he'd be really glad to have a girl paying
attention to him.

=================

"Bye, Kasumi." Since her older sister hadn't needed any help,
she'd decided to do a bit of jogging before supper. After all, with
Ranma around she had more reason to improve her skill than ever before.
At least Ukyou took her seriously.

Setting her thoughts aside, Akane increased her pace, enjoying the
feeling of the wind blowing through her hair. However, despite her best
efforts, she found that distractions continued to intrude. Ranma might
be a jerk but it was nice that he and Nabiki were starting to get
along. Maybe she and Ukyou could go on a double date with them
sometime. Not that she and Ukyou were really dating...

With a start, Akane realized that that she'd turned towards Ukyou's
restaurant. With a faint grimace she redirected her footsteps towards
home. Maybe she had more problems than she'd thought.

=================

"Ranma, we need to talk." Walking to school together at least gave
them a chance to talk privately. Although, Nabiki reminded herself as
she glared up at Ranma, they weren't exactly walking together.

"About the engagement right?" Ranma asked, hopping down off the
fence to walk alongside her.

"Yes. I want you to switch the engagement to Akane or Kasumi."

"Are you nuts?" Ranma almost shouted. "If I do that I'll wind up
married inside a week. If it's such a bid deal, you call it off."

"If I thought Dad would listen to me I would." Nabiki knew that he
wouldn't force her to marry Ranma, but he wouldn't give up either.
Since she planed to have a social life for her senior year of high
school, a gender shifting fiancé just didn't fit her plans. "You've got
some choices, at least."

"Some choices. I'm gonna find a way out of this without putting my
head in a noose."

"Suit yourself. Just keep your mind open to other options," she
said, increasing her pace. The effect was a bit spoiled when Ranma kept
up easily, once more strolling along the top of the fence.

=================

"Since you like pictures of Akane so much, I have something else
you might be interested in, Kunou." Smiling slightly, Nabiki spread
several photos out on the desk before him.

"Nay! The heart of Tatewaki Kunou is steadfast and will not be
swayed by your blandishments, temptress." He didn't even glance down at
the photos while he ranted.

Nabiki had expected that response, Kunou was a bit obsessive about
her sister for some reason. It was worth a try though; she'd already
sold pictures of Ranma as a girl to all the other guys who'd be
interested.

"Indeed, Akane is a fierce tigress in her beauty, while this
is...is-." Kunou's voice trailed off in confusion as he finally looked
at the pictures.

"Is what, Kunou-baby?

"A delicate and unspoiled flower. I'll take them!"

Two minutes later, Nabiki's appreciation for Kunou had reached a
new low and she was starting to get impatient. Ranma should have found
out about the pictures from someone by now and she couldn't understand
why he hadn't shown up yet.

"Nabiki, we need to talk."

"I think we should speak somewhere private, don't you? You'd
better follow me."

=================

"Care to explain this, Nabiki?" Ranma asked waving a picture in her
face. I was actually a little proud of that one. It was a shot of
Ranma changing out of her clothes right after he'd been splashed.
Getting a decent angle without anyone noticing had been a real
challenge.

"Don't you think that as long as you and your father are staying
with our family, you should help pay your way?"

"Well, yes but..." Ranma stopped in mid-sentence for a moment and
then his expression firmed. "Wait a minute! That doesn't have anything
to do with this.

"It doesn't? I'll have you know that I play a very important role
in the family finances," Nabiki snapped back. She didn't know if Ranma
believed her, but it was true. Someone had to spend the money, after
all.

"You do? Well, you still could've asked or something."

"Aren't you angry?" Nabiki ventured. She'd come up with some
excuses to calm Ranma down a bit, but hadn't expected them to work this
well.

"Nah. A picture of a guy with his shirt off isn't a big deal."

It looked like her idiot fiancé had a little blind spot about his
curse. She wondered just how far it went. That was something she'd
have to explore later though. Maybe when he started working for Ukyo.

=================

As far as Ranma was concerned, the day had gotten off to a bad
start and gone downhill from there. Closing the door to the room he
shared with his father, Ranma hoped things weren't about to get worse.

Ranma frowned at the envelope in his hands and then shrugged and
ripped it open. He had no idea who could have mailed him the letter.
Everyone who'd have known to send it here could have talked to him at
school. Setting that thought aside, he began to read. "If only I could
find the courage to speak of my feelings. Alas, chance and fate
conspire against us. Each night I..." Ranma's eyes skipped ahead
several line and then the letter dropped from his slack grasp.

"Oh man, if Pop sees this he'll flip for sure." It was fortunate
that Kasumi was the one who'd gotten the mail today. With any luck no
one else would find out. Nabiki was still insisting that they weren't
really engaged, but he wasn't sure how she'd feel about him receiving
anonymous love letters.

Frowning thoughtfully, Ranma picked the letter back up and slid it
under the futon, after confirming that it was unsigned. Probably Nabiki
wouldn't mind at all. She seemed to think that being engaged to him was
some enormous disaster. Ranma smiled faintly, as far as he was
concerned, she had it backwards.

=================

"You know, Ranma was just telling me how much he likes your cooking
after all the time he spent on the road with his father." Nabiki
frowned almost imperceptibly, as Kasumi smiled a bit at the second hand
compliment. The rest of the family probably was taking her for granted
Nabiki realized.

"Yes, it's nice cooking for some one who really appreciates it,"
Kasumi replied, moving with an easy rhythm as she finished putting the
dishes form the evenings meal away. "It's good that you and Ranma are
getting along so well."

"I suppose things are going a bit better. We just don't seem to
have much in common though." Nabiki suppressed a twinge of guilt. When
you stopped and looked at it she was actually doing Kasumi a favor. She
needed someone in her life and it wasn't like she ever got out to look.

"I'm sure that if you're both willing to try that everything would
turn out okay. Ranma seems like a nice boy."

"You might be right." As Nabiki walked away, she reviewed the
conversation in her mind. It hadn't gone as well as it might have, but
Kasumi seemed to like Ranma. She'd have to be careful, but it could
work. Her approach with Ranma was a lot less subtle, but anything else
would be wasted on him.

=================

Ranma surreptitiously glanced over at Nabiki as he walked alongside
her to Furinkan High. He hadn't known her for long, but she'd always
seemed cold and a bit remote to him. Now, for some reason she wore a
smile that would have seemed more at home on Kasumi's face. It made her
look almost cute.

"What are you looking at, Saotome?"

"Nothing," Ranma quickly replied, fixing his eyes on the scenery
ahead of him.

"And here I thought you might be staring at me." Nabiki was still
smiling, but for some reason it made Ranma uneasy.

"No! I mean I wouldn't..."

"Don't you like how I look?" Nabiki interrupted.

"That isn't what I said!"

"Honestly, Ranma, sometimes you're just too easy."

His whole body bristling with indignation, Ranma decided to ignore
Nabiki. At least he could be sure she hadn't sent that letter.

=================

As he unpacked his lunch, Ranma wondered once more who had been
responsible for the letter he received. He'd tried to put it out of his
min, but the realization that writer was probably the same class as him
made it difficult.

"Here." Startled, Ranma looked up to see a stuffed panda being
thrust towards him.

While silently berating himself for being surprised so easily,
Ranma identified the source of the interruption. It was the tall
annoying upperclassman that was always bothering Akane and Ukyo. Ranma
thought his name was Kunou something.

"What exactly is that?" Ranma asked. He had no idea why someone
would give him a stuffed animal, but it definitely felt wrong.

"In truth it is simply a token of my love for..."

In a single horrifying moment, realization struck Ranma and he
sprang to his feet, dashing the panda to the floor. "Pervert! Keep
away from me."

"You refuse this gift? Base varlet, you shall not stand in the
path of love's fulfillment!" Kunou shouted.

Without hesitation, Ranma turned away from Kunou and sprinted out
of the classroom.

=================

Loitering outside Ranma's class, Nabiki wondered how things would
go for Kunou. Ranma's reaction would provide some useful information
about how he reacted to his curse.

"Out of my way!"

"Cease thy flight knave!"

Nabiki raised an eyebrow as Ranma sprinted out of the class with
Kunou following closely and the rest of the class streaming out behind
them. Even as she watched, Ranma leapt out of a conveniently open
window. "I certainly didn't expect that. Doesn't that idiot know we're
on the third floor?" Her lips twitched upwards as Kunou followed. That
wasn't a surprise.

"Don't worry. The pool will break their fall," a girl Nabiki
vaguely recognized as one of Akane's friends advised.

"Idiot." Leaving the other girl, Nabiki hurried off to find some
hot water. She couldn't afford to lose control of the situation after
all.

=================

Ranma's smile froze on his face as he looked at the pool below
him. A three-story fall didn't mean anything, but the water would
reveal his curse to the entire school.

As he slammed into the waters surface, Ranma decided that the
simplest solution was the best. Someone else could worry about the
pervert; he'd just swim under water to the edge of the pool and then get
out of sight as fast as possible.

Floating nearby, Kunou raised his head out of the water just in
time to see a sylph-like form jump out of the water and then vault over
the nearby fence.

"My love I follow!" Not questioning his luck, Kunou struck out for
shore, secure in the knowledge that his destiny awaited.

=================

Life, Ranma reflected, just hadn't been the same since she'd been
cursed. After giving her pants a final twist to dry them out as much as
possible, she pulled them back on. Now all she needed to do was find
some hot water. Unfortunately, that was some thing the grove of trees
behind Furinkan seemed to lack.

"Ranma!" Nabiki careful scanned the grove. If she had been right
about Ranma heading this way it should be easy to find him. So far she
hadn't had any luck though.

"Up here."

As Nabiki turned, Ranma jumped of the branch she'd been perched on
and dropped softly to the ground beside the shorthaired girl. "You
brought a kettle. That's great." Smiling, Ranma stretched out her hand
to take the kettle, only to have Nabiki snatch it back.

"Not so fast. The price is three hundred yen."

"Wha... I'm a bit short. Do ya think I can just owe you." Ranma
directed her most winning smile at her fiancée, hoping to soften the
mercenary's heart.

"Since I know where you live, I guess it's all right."

Moving quickly in case Nabiki changed her mind, Ranma snatched the
kettle away and raised it over her head. Just as she was about to pour,
the noise of someone crashing through the undergrowth made her hesitate.

"Pig-tailed girl! At last I have found you."

Ranma stiffened as she felt herself engulfed in a crushing embrace,
the movement sending hot water from the kettle cascading over her head.
Ranma didn't waste time using the greater strength of his male form,
prying Kunou loose, he sent the kendoist flying into a nearby tree.
"Jerk. I ain't that way. Wait a second. Did he say pig-tailed girl?"

At Nabiki's nod, Ranma let out a sigh of relief. "That's good."

"Why? What did you think?"

"Trust me you don't want to know."

"Well, then we'd better get back inside before the break's over."
Without waiting for a response, Nabiki turned at started to walk towards
the school. She wasn't sure why, but it felt like she'd just suffered a
setback. She'd just have to be more careful in the future

End Side Story One.