Tendo Nabiki Enterprises, Incorporated Presents:

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic side-story

Careful Destiny

Part Seven
"One Wrong Step"


by:
Todd Hill


Inspired by the "Ranma 1/2" Manga and Anime by Rumiko Takahashi

*** Warning! This section of the story contains minor lime scenes scattered throughout. Caveat Lector ***

Late Friday Night: Kuno Mansion



Smoke wafted from a small cluster of incense sticks, its cloying odor capable of overpowering anyone that happened to be walking nearby. With his eyes closed and his hands in his lap, Tatewaki Kuno sat seiza amidst the dense smoke in front of a small shrine. He inhaled deeply of the scented air and attempted once again to clear his mind. His attempts at meditation over the past hour had thus far been thwarted by the galling fact that Ranma Saotome had managed to get nothing more than a slap on the wrist for his activities from the night before.

At first Kuno had attempted to exorcise the resulting anger and frustration by enduring a three-hour marathon workout that employed the use of his bokken in various higher-level kendo forms. His effort was rewarded with sore arms and legs, but no solace. Realizing that if he continued on he was only going to wind up exhausted and angry, he abandoned his regimen and sought answers through the more enlightened path of meditation. The Blue Thunder of Furinkan High reasoned that with a clear mind and earnest concentration he could pinpoint the source of his recent misfortunes.

It had all started on the prior week with his defeat at that mongrel's hands. In order to return balance to his life, Kuno had considered issuing a challenge to the whelp a few days later. That had been before things had gone awry at the Tendo home. The bewildering events surrounding the attack as well as the realization that the Tendo and Saotome families had an extensive history together had stayed his hand.

He was then inspired to ruin Saotome's character by planting unfounded rumors at school of the mongrel's subterfuge, including the use of underhanded tactics by his newfound nemesis. By indirectly accusing Saotome of cheating in the fight, the end result should have been the destruction of that bastard's hero status.

The resultant stain on the boy's character should have driven a wedge between Akane's family and that of her would-be suitor's. Furthermore, Kuno had expected that he would come out of it all as the honorable fighter that was victimized and unfairly humbled by an unscrupulous foe. Thus buoyed by the inevitable goodwill from the sympathetic masses, Kuno would've resumed his rightful place as the one true hero of the student populace.

Using an easily duped thug as his means of discrediting Ranma, Kuno began his campaign to reclaim his place at the top early on Monday. Things had indeed been going well all week long until that same foolish thug attempted to rape a female student last night. The ensuing onslaught turned Saotome's would-be accuser into a pariah and had given Ranma a chance to redeem his character.

Employing an unanticipated level of swiftness and savagery, that damnable Saotome had proven himself and wound up saving the day. In short order Kuno found himself scrambling to salvage what was left of his ruined plan. Wasting no time, this morning he had tapped someone else to plant new seeds of doubt around the school about Ranma. That plus a few well-chosen words in the ear of a certain Ms. Kumiko Yoshida before school should have all but assured Saotome's doom.

Then came the unsettling news at the end of the school day that his pig-tailed foe had been absolved of any wrongdoing in the entire affair! Kuno reasoned that such an appalling change of course in his life could only be explained by the intervention of supernatural forces. He growled in frustration at the absolute failure of his plans and wondered what gods he'd angered on his way to self-perfection that caused his current situation.

It hadn't helped matters any that his sister was unavailable during the week and hence unable to assist him with his plan to rewrite history and undermine Saotome. Her absence had, in effect, shown him how little he knew about advanced planning for underhanded dealings. That Kuno needed her help at all with something so personal was vexing. Family or not, he felt that he should be able to take care of his own matters without always having to rely on the cunning of a master ninja.

A light breeze caressed his right ear, snapping him out of his ill-fated meditative state. Opening his eyes, he refrained from turning his head and instead looked directly at the shrine. "Where have you been?" he demanded.

Kodachi discarded her black cloth facemask and sat seiza next to her brother. Ignoring his question, she bowed reverently before the shrine with her hands up before her. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply of the smoky air, an unreadable expression on her face.

"I said, *where* have you been?" Kuno hissed.

"Shh, I'm talking to Mother," Kodachi admonished lightly, never once opening her eyes or breaking from her position of prayer.

The elder Kuno shut his mouth and waited for his sister to finish paying her respects to their dearly departed mother. Once her hands were lowered he cleared his throat. "Now will you answer my question?" he asked curtly.

"I've been doing some rather involved research out of the country," she replied matter-of-factly. "The trip was quite arduous, brother dear. I did not expect things to take as long as they did."

Kuno's eyebrow swept up in surprise. "What was so difficult that it kept you out for four days?"

Kodachi favored her brother with a smile. "I'm afraid that I do not have all the details as of yet. Sufficed to say that there is more to the situation with Ranma Saotome than initially expected."

"Well, what *can* you say about what you have learned so far?"

"The girl that attacked the Tendo home was most certainly Chinese. Additionally she appears to be from a remote and backwoods area of that country. I am still working on finding out further particulars on her as well as what motivated her to attack the Tendo residence." Kodachi paused for a moment, knowing what she had to say next would definitely be surprising.

"More importantly, someone in Saotome's family seems to have financial resources that easily rival our own." She was pleased to note that her brother's eyes widened significantly at that. "I am not sure about the source of those funds yet," she continued. "The ready availability of money on their behalf has forced me to tread a bit more lightly to avoid detection. That is why I have been taking longer than usual."

"Exactly how much money do they have?" he asked urgently, feeling the supernatural weight on his shoulders starting to grow.

"I cannot say for sure because I have not had enough time to properly delve into the matter. Besides, following money trails is not my particular forte, brother dear. That is something you should ask of Miss Nabiki Tendo if you truly want every detail uncovered."

He shot her a withering look, displeased that four days' worth of effort on her part had only netted a handful of information. "Is that all you were able to learn?"

Kodachi caught the look and spared her brother a sympathetic glance. "That is all I can comment on with absolute certainty. Anything else at this point would be mere speculation and would likely lead us in false directions. Be patient, my dear sibling. I will uncover all the information that you will need in order to defeat this individual."

"Are you certain that in your efforts to research that dullard and his family you have not been discovered somehow?" Kuno challenged suddenly.

"Me discovered?" Kodachi gave a haughty laugh at the absurdity of the idea. "How charming of you, brother. I don't provide you with all the information you need so you insult my skills in order to -"

"THAT IS NOT WHY I ASKED!" Kuno shouted, his face suddenly purpling with rage. Kodachi frowned at the interruption but didn't flinch or otherwise move away from him. "I asked you a straightforward question," he continued. "I expect a straightforward answer."

"I have been doing this for many years," she replied, glaring at him coldly. "My craft is impeccable and so are my security measures. I was not followed and I did not compromise any part of this investigation."

"Oh really?" Kuno challenged with a raised eyebrow. "Then perhaps you can explain to me how Ranma Saotome knows that you still exist?" Kuno could tell that he had pierced her usually calm demeanor.

"Oh, come off of it, Tatewaki!" Kodachi shot back. "You know very well that such a thing isn't possible. Why are you lying to me like this? Fee or no, I do have better things to do than bother with you when you're in such a petty mood."

"Am I telling you lies? I think not, my sister," Kuno shot back as he produced a micro cassette recorder from his uwagi. "This is a recording of a phone conversation I had with a school counselor just after I got home today." He pressed the play button and maximized the volume.

"Mr. Kuno, there has been new evidence presented in the case of your alleged drugging by another student," a stern female voice said by way of introduction.

"Alleged? There is nothing even remotely in doubt where that is concerned," Kuno's voice replied sharply. "What is this new evidence that you *allegedly* possess?"

"Allow me to read from the transcript," the woman replied, unruffled. A shuffling of papers was heard in the background along with the juggling of the telephone's handset before she commenced her narrative. " 'You're just making that up,' I said. 'The hell I am! I know what I did and did not do, and I know for a *fact* that wimp Kuno was not drugged,' Mr. Saotome replied. 'Akane and I didn't even talk to each other until *after* the fight was over, so there was no way she could have 'conspired' with me to do anything. Also, I did not tell Akane that I was going to challenge Kuno to break his engagement to her. I never would have put her through that. And even if Kuno *was* drugged, what about that psycho sister of his? I heard she knows her way around a few chemicals and drugs' - "

Kodachi's eyes narrowed dangerously. "*Psycho* sister? Where does that uncouth child get off calling me that?"

Kuno stopped the tape, the clicking sound of the buttons from the tape player echoing loudly in the openness of the training room. "Furthermore, he made mention of you directly to me on the school grounds at lunch when I confronted him on Monday. Based on what he said to me, Saotome seemed to hold you in utter contempt. Also, he acted as if he had rather extensive knowledge of you. Do you have any comments, or better yet an explanation as to why he would know about you?"

Kodachi seethed, ignoring his question. "I can't believe he would attempt to soil my reputation by suggesting that I was unbalanced. He has no cause to judge me!"

"I'm amazed by the fact that he is calling you *anything* at all, much less a psycho. You aren't supposed to exist anymore to those outside of our immediate family."

"And a few people we have done business with," she amended, her anger making her dark eyes burn like hot coals.

Kuno nodded. "This is very true." He pondered the tape deck and the angry look on his sister's usually composed features. "His knowledge of your existence is troublesome on a multitude of levels, sister. Either you've slipped up and been spotted by him, or someone within our employ has made mention of you when they shouldn't have... Or..."

Kodachi had been nodding along with him, a pensive look replacing the irate one that had been there a moment ago. "Or what?" she prodded, urging him to continue his train of thought.

"Or maybe he has resources that we have yet to catalog. Your discovery of his family's financial benefice has introduced the possibility that, like us, he possesses the means to investigate his arch rivals." Kuno placed the recorder on the floor and rested his arms in his lap. "We need to be cautious from now on, Kotchi," he declared in a lower voice, employing his nickname for her to emphasize the seriousness of the situation. "Our foe may indeed be something more than we originally thought."

Kodachi snorted, a cold look returning to her face. "He was simply your foe before this." She picked up the player and held it tightly in her hand. "*Now* he is our foe. I will not have some sniveling wretch with a half-baked notion of martial arts mastery try to impugn my abilities or my rationale." With that she hurled the recorder against a nearby wall, shattering the device into pieces. "For the moment I want to know how he found out about me."

Kuno nodded his approval of her attitude and her course of action. "Commendable, my sister." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "I trust you to find out the source of the information. And if it does reside within our circle of confidence, I expect you will deal with it properly."

"Of that you should have no doubt," she replied, smiling wickedly. Kodachi stood up and smoothed out her ninja uniform, then looked down at him. "I think that I will start my investigation with some of our former informants and progress from there." At his nod, she continued. "And don't worry about this one, my brother. This mission will be handled free-of-charge."

Kuno stood up met his sister's intent gaze. "Keep me informed of what you find, Kotchi. It is now in both of our interests to remain fully up to date." She nodded obediently, knelt down to grab her facemask and then sprinted for the door at the far end of the room. Just as she was about to exit the room Kodachi halted and turned to face her brother.

"I almost forgot. There is a present for you in the guest room. I ran across it when I was out doing a reconnaissance." With that she waved at him and vanished from the doorway.

Kuno smirked, feeling somewhat less burdened by the week's events given that he and his sister had come up with a workable plan. 'I wonder what my little sister picked up for me while she was out and about,' he pondered as he left the training room. He stopped at an intercom long enough to signal a worker to remove the tape recorder debris from the floor of the training room, then headed down to the basement level that contained the 'guest room.'

Opening the door, Kuno stepped into the bare and starkly lit room and was taken aback by what he saw laying on the floor. "My my my," he said with a growing smirk. "Look at what the cat dragged in."



****



The next morning



Morning broke peacefully in the Saotome household. Sunlight streamed in from one of the large windows in the den, its warm rays bathing the Saotome siblings as they slept on one of the overstuffed couches. Ranma was lying on his side, sprawled awkwardly across his sister's legs while Ranko had fallen asleep in a semi-seated position. Sometime during the night she had shifted her position slightly causing her head to rest atop her brother's unclothed torso. Their arms encircled each other in a loose embrace that communicated both protectiveness and trust.

Ranma was the first to awaken. He yawned and stretched, then scratched himself lazily behind his right ear. Blearily his eyes took in their immediate surroundings. As the world came into focus, he recognized the upholstery of the couch, but didn't have any idea what he was doing downstairs in the den. Looking down afforded him a better view of his sister's extremely long raven hair cascading down her body all the way past her hips to her coltish legs.

He smiled as he watched her sleep with her head resting peacefully against his chest. 'What the heck are we doing on the couch together? I guess Ranko must've had a nightmare or something,' he said to himself as he absently ran his fingers through her long tresses. Ranma winced as sharp spikes of pain shot through his fingers, the hand injured by Yutaka taking a moment to remind him that it wasn't fully up to snuff.

Trying not to disturb his sister, Ranma sat up as slowly and gracefully as he could. Afforded a better view of his surroundings and himself, he looked down at his sister as she snoozed peacefully. 'Funny, I don't remember anything after the end of the second movie.' He looked down and verified that his sister was wearing his T-shirt. 'Yup, I remember giving her my shirt and then taking her to her bedroom.' His mind absently noted that the garment fit her petite frame like a tent. 'So when did we both wind up downstairs?' He scratched his head in puzzlement and looked down at his feet.

"YAAAAH!" he yelled as he finally caught a glimpse of his nudity.

"What? What? I'm awake! I'm awake!" Ranko said urgently, sitting upright on the couch. Her head whipped back and forth as her wide eyes instantly scanned the room for potential threats.

Meanwhile Ranma rolled off of her lap and onto the floor. Grabbing a medium-sized cushion along the way, he whipped it down between his legs in record time. "What the *hell* is going on here?" he asked in wide-eyed bewilderment.

"Hey, you're talking like a normal person again," Ranko observed, a relieved expression showing on her sleepy face. At the same time she was doing her best not to look too closely at the well-toned musculature of his exposed chest. "That's a lot better than what you were like last night. You weren't even making human noises then."

"HUH?! What do you mean?" he asked with growing paranoia. "What happened between us last night, Sis?"

Her eyes and her mouth showed the beginnings of a mirthful smile that she just barely managed to keep in check. "We didn't do anything like that, bro. I'm still dressed, see?" He nodded as he remembered that she did indeed have everything between the neck and the hips under wraps. Although he still didn't know what was going on, having that question answered allowed his heartbeat to slow a bit. Until she spoke again, that was.

"But you and Kinuko went at it hard enough last night to wake me up." Her bemused look vanished. "Why you decided to go back to that floozy all of a sudden is beyond me. Also, it's a horrible thing for you to do to Akane to go around her back like that and try to have sex with her worst enemy! Especially after all of the effort that you and I went through to prove that Kinuko wasn't pregnant *and* to show Akane that you were finished with that whore! You must've been really bad off last night to have wanted to sleep around with that bitch again."

"What are you talking about, Ranko?" Ranma asked in complete befuddlement. "I didn't have sex with anyone last night!" he insisted.

"Ranma, I didn't say that you actually had sex with Kinuko. Don't you remember what happened last night? I walked in on the two of you before either of you could get that far." Her voice dripped sarcasm. "I may still be a virgin, but I do know what it looks like when two people are having sex, big brother. What you two were doing looked like some kind of kinky play-acting that was leading up to having sex."

Ranma's eyes widened. "Ranko, I have no idea what you're talking about! I don't remember anything from last night after I put you to bed and I went to my bedroom. After that the only thing I remember is waking up with you on the couch just now. I swear!" He refrained from crossing his heart or raising his right hand in a solemn oath in order to keep from embarrassing both of them. "I have *no* idea why I was naked on the couch with you." Both of them blushed severely as soon as the words left his mouth. "What's all this talk about Kinuko for, anyway?" he asked a moment later. "Is she here?!"

Ranko shook her head then took a moment to stare at her brother's face critically, examining every detail in search of a hint of insincerity. "You're either one of the most accomplished liars I have ever known in my life or you're on the level about not remembering what went on late last night."

"I'm not lyin' to you, sis!" he protested indignantly.

Blowing her breath out in an exasperated sigh, she crossed her arms and regarded him with a wry grin. "Okay, I believe you. I guess you *were* a bit out of it to be rational," she mused. At seeing his paranoia mount, she quickly continued. "Okay, okay! Here is what happened last night, at least as I remember seeing it." Very quickly and with little embellishment, Ranko told her brother about the events that had transpired late the night before. The genuine look of disbelief on his face once she had finished her story brought forth another amused smirk that she couldn't quite conceal.

The sheer asinine nature of the events elicited a hysterical guffaw from him. "I guess I'm still vulnerable to cats," he finally commented after he'd given himself a few moments to digest what he'd been told. He buried his face in his hands and groaned loudly. "I can't believe that something like this would have happened to me here! Of all the things... Someone has to have it out for me. . ." He loosed a long sigh and met his sister's gaze warily. "Is that *everything* that happened last night?" Ranma asked, anticipating worse things to come.

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, after you chased Kinuko out of the house you seemed to calm down. A few minutes later you were curled up in my lap, fast asleep." She giggled as the memory of the extremely cute meow her brother had given her the night before. "Well, that was after you tackled me and started licking my face."

Ranma blushed deeply. "I'm really sorry I did that to you, Sis. I wasn't myself, believe me."

"Oh, I believe you. Come to think of it, the meowing was too real. Also when you were chasing Kinuko out of the house, I never saw hair stand up on a person's head the way yours did last night."

Ranma winced, yet held his tongue.

Ranko regarded him oddly as she mulled over something he'd just said. "Oh, and one other thing. What exactly did you mean just then when you said that you were still vulnerable to cats?"



****



With a gasp Kinuko sat up in her bed. "Where am I?" she croaked to herself, her bleary eyes protesting as she opened them. Sunlight from nearby windows illuminated a large and unfamiliar bedroom and she found herself holding up an arm to block the glare. As her eyes gained their focus and adjusted to the light she took in her surroundings with a mixture of shock and awe. 'Where am I?' she wondered again, although the question went unspoken this time. She yawned deeply and detected a gentle scent in the air. 'Lilacs?' she thought as she stretched her arms and tried to wake herself up.

Kinuko looked down at her chest and found that she wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing. She also noted that her body looked completely void of the paint that she and Ami had spent hours applying to her skin. She didn't remember cleaning herself off before she fell asleep, but it had obviously been done at some point. 'Eww, I can still feel some of the sugar from that paint sticking to me,' she realized as she ran her fingers across her chest. 'This stuff must be harder to wash off than I thought... that is if I was the one that washed it off.'

Her heart jumped for a moment as she realized that Ranma must've washed her while she slept. The thought warmed her and brought a smile to her face just before she remembered that she wasn't at his place. As she wondered where she was for the third time, the events of the previous night flooded back into her low-capacity mind. Joyous thoughts and smiles vanished to be replaced by the beginnings of tears. 'I thought for sure he was going to take me back. Things had started *so* well, after all...' she lamented. 'Why did he do that to me? I've never been so... humiliated in all my life.'

The unsolved mystery of her current location kept her from succumbing totally to depression, and for a moment she felt grateful for that. Kinuko slipped out of the bed and noticed for the first time that the pristine white sheets were of a very sheer satin fabric that flowed across her skin like a gentle caress. She stood up and headed to a nearby dresser and examined herself in the mirror. 'The paint seems like it's completely gone,' she noted as she looked over every inch of her body. 'Every part of me got wiped down. Since it wasn't Ranchan, I wonder who...'

Kinuko squealed and dove for the bed before she could complete the thought as the door to the bedroom opened. A middle-aged man in an expensive butler's uniform stepped in just as she got her legs under the covers. Not having time to pull the covers up to her shoulders, she quickly whipped her hands up to cover her exposed breasts. "Who... Who are you? What do you w-want?" she stammered indignantly.

"Good morning, madam. My name is Kei and I am here to see if you needed anything."

"M- me need anything?" she asked, completely puzzled. "How about telling me where I am and how to get out of here. How did I get here last night?"

He offered her a polite yet apologetic smile. "My employer has asked me not to furnish you with that information as of yet. He has, however, asked me to convey his regrets in regards to your current accommodations. If he had been allowed time to prepare properly for your visit then he would have given you a room more fitting to your needs." He approached the bed and placed a terrycloth robe across her sheets-covered legs. "This is for you to wear until I can find you suitable clothing."

"But I-" she began, then broke off as he regarded her with another apologetic smile.

"I am sorry, madam. I cannot answer your questions at the moment. However you will have the answers you require shortly. Do not worry yourself, madam. You are quite safe here," he assured her. "Furthermore, my employer also wishes to convey his invitation to have you join him for a late breakfast."

Flustered by the sudden turn of events, Kinuko could only nod and stammer. "I- That is, we- Umm, yes. Yes, I guess I will have to join him."

"Very good, madam," Kei replied, finishing off with a polite bow. "I will convey your acceptance to him at this moment." He indicated a second door to her left. "There is a full sized bath and toilet through that door should you need to refresh yourself."

"Thank you," Kinuko replied, still too dazed to say much.

"Madam, about your clothing. What size do you wear?" Kei inquired in a businesslike manner.

"Oh! I'm an 83-57-86," Kinuko replied automatically, rattling off her measurements by rote.

Kei laughed politely. "Of course, madam. I will have a selection of clothing waiting for you in here by the time you complete your bath." With that he turned and left the room.

'Oh, stupid!' Kinuko scolded herself, smacking her head in frustration the moment the door had closed. 'Why did I just give some stranger my measurements? This old guy could be some pervert that likes to take advantage of little girls!' She dismissed her concerns since once realized that the man had probably seen her nudity before she had a chance to cover up completely. 'He could've taken advantage of me right then if that was what he wanted to do.'

She took the terrycloth robe in her hands and ran her fingers across the soft fabric. 'Oh, now that feels very good,' she thought as she stood up and slipped the robe on. Kinuko smiled despite her situation, luxuriating in the wonderful sensation of the plush cloth as it brushed back and forth against her bare skin. She walked to the door indicated by Kei and opened it. She gasped as she stepped in and gazed upon her surroundings.

The floor was tiled in a polished pink granite stone that could only be authentic, and though she thought her feet would be freezing as she stood in the room, the smooth granite tiles felt warm to the touch. Everything hinted at splendid excess; even simple things like the towel racks, door fixtures and sink faucets were all gilded in a highly polished gold.

The glistening objects stood out nicely against the backdrop of authentic gray granite tiling that ran floor to ceiling along the walls as well as the pure white of the porcelain pedestal sink and bathtub. Strategically placed wall sconces of ornately detailed frosted crystal outlined in solid gold bathed the room with a soft bluish-white light. Each sconce bore a different image based on the symbols and ideals of both a warrior's strength and the beauty of nature that were so treasured during the era of the shogunate reign.

Mirrors mounted at the sink and along one wall of the bath were also frosted along the edges with an ornate Chinese-inspired border. On the inside corners of the border stood depictions of a beautiful snow crane in flight, all done in exquisite detail. Traditional Japanese music played softly in the background from speakers embedded in the walls and ceiling. Along with that came the muted sounds of a babbling brook and the gentle chirping of crickets. "Oh, now THIS is something I could get used to," Kinuko purred as she closed the door.

Her predicament temporarily forgotten, she gleefully took off the robe and hung it on a solid gold hook fastened to a wall immediately adjacent to the door. She walked over to the bathing area and sat down on its raised edge to afford her a better look at what splendor awaited her there. Adjacent to the tub was a basket overflowing with a wide variety of highly expensive French scented oils, shampoos and herbal soaps. Further investigation of the tub revealed that it was a Jacuzzi-styled affair with a multitude of jets and a massaging headrest. Kinuko giggled as she began running the water for her bath, knowing that she was going to enjoy availing herself of everything that this place had to offer. 'Whoever my host is, he sure knows how to treat a lady,' she thought with a satisfied smile.



****



Dressed in shorts and a clean T-shirt, Ranma entered the kitchen and loosed an exasperated sigh while he surveyed his options. Pans soon rattled as he decided to make some breakfast. 'Geez, I thought she'd never get out of the den!' he growled mentally, glaring at the staircase his sister had ascended about ten minutes earlier. 'I was getting tired of dodging her questions about the cat-fu shit I went through years ago.' He blushed as a wave of embarrassment hit him.

'Man, I swear she can be really pushy sometimes,' he declared as he pushed the "cook" button on the rice cooker. He then retrieved some miso paste from the fridge and a small canister of dashi from a nearby cupboard. Slapping together a quick and dirty miso soup, he set the pot to simmer and then sat down on a nearby chair.

He turned and looked over his shoulder at the couch in the den that had featured so prominently in the rude awakening he experienced earlier. For one brief moment he felt an unexpected jolt of despair. The feeling was so alien that it caught him off-guard and forced a desperate groan from him. 'Will this crap ever end, or is this kind of stuff going to keep happening to me from now on?' he wondered.

"Argh!" he fairly shouted, slapping his face to try and shake off his gloomy mood. "Damned bitch should have just stayed at home and just played with her paintbrushes."

"You're right about that," Ranko agreed.

"Yikes!" Ranma shouted as he jumped from his chair and whirled around to face her. "When did you get out of the bath?"

Ranko whipped her long, wet hair around, spraying the breakfast room and her brother with small droplets of water. "Just now," she replied with a playful smirk.

Ranma blew his sister a generous raspberry, then stood up and took hold of the tail of her shirt. "I could tell," he quipped before using her shirttail to wipe off his face. He winked at her and then walked to the stove. Ranma checked on the miso soup and nodded in satisfaction as he popped some sanma in the oven directly under the broiler.

"Hey, bro. You didn't have to go to all the trouble. We could've gone out to get some breakfast."

"I know that, sis. I just wanted to cook something for us, is all. Besides, after what happened last night I didn't really feel like going out right away. You know what I mean?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

The scent and sizzle of fish cooking under a broiler caught their attention and set both of their stomachs growling. Ranko patted her stomach and growled. "Damn! To tell you the truth I didn't think that I could be hungry after everything that we ate last night."

"Everything that YOU ate last night, you mean," Ranma quipped, winking playfully at her. "I'm surprised that you didn't lick the dishes clean, Sis."

"Hey!" Ranko shouted in mock indignation. "Cut the crap and dish out the grub!" She sat at the table and eyed him irritably. "I'm skinny and you damn well know it."

"Oh I know," Ranma replied with a smile. "Mean and skinny. Makes you really dangerous when you're also hungry." A click from the rice cooker got his attention.

Ranko blew a raspberry at him while the color rose in her cheeks. "Yeah, whatever," she mumbled as soup, fish and rice were dished out before her.

"Eat up while it's hot," her brother recommended. Ranma took a seat on the opposite side of the table from her and began dishing out some food for himself.

"Wow!" Ranko exclaimed after swallowing a mouthful of soup. "You really do know how to cook!" The look on her face was a study in shock over his culinary ability.

"Yeah well," Ranma replied with a touch of self-consciousness. He held up his chopsticks and eyed the broiled sanma hungrily. Just as he was about to make contact with the fish a knock at the front door stopped him cold.

"Oh shit," Ranko said as she likewise stopped eating and put her soup bowl down. "You expecting any visitors this morning?"

Ranma shook his head. "Sato's supposed to be coming over some time around lunch, but that's the only thing I know of for today." He paused for a second before a frightening thought came to him. "You don't think it's *her*, do you?" he hissed.

"I don't think that she would knock on our door after what you did to her late last night, Ranma," she replied. A second knock caused Ranko to push out of her chair and walk towards the front door. Ranma stood up from the table and walked closer to his sister to watch her back. Ranko looked through the peephole and then smiled. Unlocking and opening the door quickly, she ushered in their guest.

"Hey, Akane! This is a surprise!" Ranko said with a welcoming smile. "Come on in!"

"Hey Ranko, I hope you don't mind a visitor this early," Akane said brightly as she stepped in and closed the front door behind her. Ranma saw her before she noticed him, but before he could step out of the dining area and dash for the stairs, his mind ground to a halt.

Akane was wearing those tight denim jeans again, just like she had the last weekend. The cut of the pants did wonders for her figure, which was what had Ranma's mind bordering on overload. Once again he was struck by the undeniable *femininity* that she possessed. Nothing about her even hinted at defensiveness or extreme bouts of anger that he was used to with her. All he could see was a pretty girl with long hair and a winsome smile.

"Naah, not a problem."

Akane turned to look at Ranma and blushed an instant later. "Umm... Good morning, Ranma," she said as she shifted her gaze to the floor. Ranma looked down at himself and realized how underdressed he was. He choked back a wave of panic as he felt a sudden urge to update his wardrobe.

"Umm, excuse me," Ranma said as he headed out of the kitchen and up to his room.

"He'll be back down in a minute," Ranko explained, giggling. "You hungry? We were just about to eat some breakfast."

Akane looked mortified. "Oh, I'm sorry, Ranko! I didn't mean to come over while you two were eating!"

Ranko waved off the apology with her hand. "Like I said before, Akane. It's not a problem. Here, have some soup before it gets cold." She offered Ranma's seat to Akane while she resumed her own.

Akane took the bowl in her hand and sipped. "Yum! I like it! Especially since it's got all the green onions in it. Very tasty soup, Ranko." She nodded to her friend. "You did a good job on it."

Ranko laughed. "I'd normally thank you, Akane but I didn't cook any of this."

Akane's eyes widened slightly. "You mean that Ranma cooked all of this?"

"Bingo!" Ranko wolfed down a large chopstickful of rice before continuing. "I tellya, my brother can find a way to amaze even me sometimes." She slurped some soup while eyeing her sanma hungrily. "Yummy!" she proclaimed after she put her soup bowl down.

Akane took another longer, slower taste of the soup and let its savory taste linger for a bit before swallowing. 'I have to admit, it does have the right balance of flavors to it. Not too much broth and not too much miso paste either,' she thought as her chef's training kicked into gear. Using her chopsticks, Akane took a piece of sanma and held it up to her lips. 'The fish looks fantastic and smells that way, too.' "Wow!" she opined as she nibbled on the broiled seafood. "That *is* good."

"I toldja," Ranko replied with a smirk.

"Did your mom teach him to cook like this?"

"No. I taught myself," Ranma answered as he returned from his room with a pair of baggy workout pants replacing the too-short shorts he had been wearing moments earlier. "I felt that it would be somethin' I'd have to learn if I was ever alone somewhere." Having taken note of where Akane was sitting, he stepped up to the stove and dished out some food for himself in new bowls.

Akane nodded at his explanation and regarded her meal. "Well, regardless of wherever you learned it, this all tastes really good."

"Yeah, it does, bro," Ranko chimed in as she polished off the last remnants of her breakfast.

Ranma smiled nervously. "Uhh, thanks, you two." He sat down next to his sister at the table and began eating his food.

Seeing that her brother wasn't going to ask the obvious question, Ranko piped up. "Well, what brings you here this early, Akane?"

Akane put her chopsticks down. "Well, after everything that happened this week with Yutaka... I just ... I needed to hear it all directly from you and Ranma. I mean, I know you two didn't cause any of this, but still. You two know more about this than anyone else at school. Anyone that I would trust, anyway."

Ranko smiled at that. "Well, I'm glad that you trust us, Akane. That's good to hear."

Ranma had watched the two as they talked but was too distracted to contribute to the conversation. 'God, I hope she doesn't ask anything about Kinuko. I'm not sure how she'd handle what Ranko told me. I'm not sure I could explain it.' He was mulling that very thing around in his head when he realized that his sister was speaking to him. "Uh, what?"

"I said, why don't we go upstairs to the attic where it's more comfortable?" Ranko repeated with a raised voice. "You awake in there, bro?" she asked playfully. Akane giggled at the two of them.

His face colored at that. "Yeah, that sounds like a plan to me, sis," he replied absently. Ranma polished off his breakfast in record time as the two girls stood from the table and gathered their dishes. Once the table was cleaned off and the dishes stowed, the three made their way up to the attic.

"I've never seen anyone lounge around in their attic before, Ranko," Akane commented as they rounded the stairs of the second floor and made for the attic door. "I remember you saying something about watching anime in your attic, but I guess it didn't register at the time."

"Well, prepare to be wowed," Ranko proclaimed as the three made their way up the stairs.



****



Tatewaki Kuno greeted the morning in far better spirits than he expected given the events from yesterday. Kodachi noted her brother's good humor as he walked towards her. "I see that my gift was much appreciated, brother dear." she commented dryly from her seat at the breakfast table.

"Most certainly," Kuno replied with a naughty smirk. "Surely you knew that such a precious little item would brighten my spirits." He bent down and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Your consideration for my happiness is most appreciated, my sister."

"However?"

Kuno laughed through his nose. "However, I do wonder how you were able to *legally* procure someone as fetching as Miss Amagi for my personal entertainment. Not only that, but how did you manage to get her so realistically painted as a tigress? You didn't need to go through all of that trouble merely to apologize for the troubles you've had with Saotome-"

"Enough of that, brother," Kodachi replied crisply, interrupting him before he ruined the moment. "It was nothing of an apology. I literally ran into her last night and she was just as you saw her. I did nothing but bring her to our home."

His eyes widened. "Really? Assuming that this actually happened, what would've possessed her to do such a daring thing, sister? It's hard to believe that this young girl was simply jogging around the town with her naked body on display for all to see."

"Quite so. It happened last night while I was surveilling the Saotome residence in an attempt to uncover more information about him and his family."

Kuno's surprise was genuine. "Saotome's house? That boy seems to have a really firm grasp on that girl's heart if she was there despite his recent acquisition of Akane Tendo's attentions."

"So it would seem," she concurred. "Based on a lead I had obtained earlier that day, I had decided to stake out Saotome's residence. I arrived late in the evening and had been watching the house for an hour. Oddly, I had seen no lights on anywhere in the residence except for the attic window. Then about five minutes after I arrived I saw Miss Amagi approach the home wearing a long black coat. The surprising part was that the front door had been locked yet she had no difficulty in entering his residence. And before you ask; she was not let in by anyone."

"She had a key to the house!" Kuno concluded, snapping his fingers. He smiled triumphantly as he realized the implications of this revelation were far-reaching and could be quite damaging to his foe's reputation.

"Indeed. After her effortless entry, I saw no further activity until the lights went out in the attic. Their house is unusually quiet, by the way," Kodachi commented with a flicker of irritation gracing her features. "It seems to have been rather extensively soundproofed during its construction since it repelled all methods of eavesdropping that I tried. Granted such methods are rudimentary at best since I didn't bring any serious equipment with me, but they usually work on any average neighborhood home. My patience wore thin after about forty minutes of waiting and, lacking the necessary devices at the time, I decided to walk up to the residence and look into some of the windows."

"I drew closer to the house and was just inside the property line when I heard the front door to his residence open. Thinking that I had been spotted somehow, I crouched down at a stone fence along the bounds of the lot and did just catch a glimpse of Miss Amagi as she ran out of the house. She was waving her arms and screaming like a madwoman about being attacked by some kind of rabid cat."

Kodachi paused, blushing slightly. Kuno smirked as the color rose in her cheeks and guessed that something had gone wrong at that point. "So how did you manage to enter Miss Amagi's life?"

Kodachi's cheeks grew redder. "Well, I could tell that she was running straight at me but that she couldn't see me, so I moved to avoid being detected."

"And?"

"And... " She cleared her throat. "Apparently she runs faster than I thought because as I was turning around she..."

"Yes? She..." Kuno prompted, his smirk growing larger.

"She ran into me as I was turning to move," the master ninja of the Kuno clan ground out.

"You were rear-ended by a naked girl while you were on a surveillance job?" Kuno asked in disbelief.

"Yes," Kodachi growled.

Kuno sank down in a chair next to his sister and howled with laughter. "Oh, that is definitely a treat for the eyes!"

"Rule number one, brother dear. Don't visualize," Kodachi warned darkly. Her words only served to fuel his laughter however. Bent over and red-faced, her brother laughed with abandon at the images conjured in his mind.

"Oh, get me out of your sick little fantasies!" she insisted, her face wearing a look that personified disgust. Seeing that he wasn't going to let up, the raven-haired ninja continued her tale. "ANYWAY, Miss Amagi bumped into me and then fell backwards. Her head hit the pavement, the impact of which knocked her out cod. After that I turned around again to see Ranko Saotome look outside and then close the door."

Kuno's laughter subsided at the mention of Ranko's name. He nodded as he wiped tears of laughter from his cheeks and composed himself. "I am assuming that she did not see you outside." Kodachi nodded firmly. "And after that happened that you brought that wayward kitten to our abode?"

"Yes. I figured that we had a lot to learn from her."

"You are quite correct, my dear sister. That is quite a bit of information that you uncovered. In fact, you seem to have learned a lot more than you alluded to in our conversation from last night."

"Not quite, Tatewaki. Last night I had told you all of the things that I felt I was certain about. Others I had refrained from commenting on because of the lack of confirmation. You know I don't like to report on things that are substantiated by only one witness whose veracity I cannot prove."

Kuno nodded sagely. "Point taken, sister. It seems to me that Miss Amagi is indeed an untapped resource."

"Exploit her well, brother dear," Kodachi said with a knowing smirk. She looked down the hall and saw their head butler walking towards them. She stood from her chair. "And it is time for me to play my part."

Kuno watched as his sister stood and smoothed her outfit. "A maid?!" he asked in a hushed voice, taken aback by the appearance of her dressed in a traditional maid's uniform.

"Yes. She did not see me last night and it would not serve for her to know my relation to you. If I am to learn more from her, it will have to be by hiding in plain sight," she said in a whisper while she adjusted the black short-skirted affair she was wearing. She composed her features, trying to look as demure as possible. "Your breakfast will be ready momentarily, sir. Will that be all?" she asked in a louder voice, standing a respectful distance from him.

Momentarily shaken by the change in her demeanor, it took Kuno a half-second to catch up to what she was doing. "Err, yes. Yes, that will be all for now. Please bring our meals once my guest is ready for breakfasting."

"Very good, Mr. Kuno." Kodachi bowed slightly to him, now fully in the role of a maid. She cleaned the table of the dishes from her own breakfast and walked towards the servants' entrance for the kitchen.

"M'lord," Kei said with a bow. "Might I present Miss Kinuko Amagi?" The head butler made a flourish of pulling a chair back for her.

"Ohmigod! You?!" Kinuko said, startled as she looked up and caught her first glimpse of her host. She self-consciously reached up and touched her short yet smartly coiffed hair with her fingers, aware that she was without her wig in front of one of the most popular guys in the whole school. Despair warred with awe as she composed herself and bowed formally. "I am honored, Upperclassman Kuno."

Kuno stood and smiled warmly to her, then dismissed Kei. "Such honorifics are unnecessary here, Kinuko. We are not at school."

'Oops, Dummy!' Kinuko thought in a panic as she bent her head down. "I- I'm sorry, -" she caught herself before she again proffered the honorific to him.

"You can call me Tatewaki if you wish. I am no more than a humble man," he said with an almost innocent charm as he pulled out a chair for her. "Please have a seat. Surely you would like something to eat?" As she sat down and he pushed her chair in with a flourish Kodachi returned to the table to wait on Kinuko.

"Yes, please. Whatever you have would be nice, thank you," Kinuko replied tentatively. "Oh, and may I have some coffee also?"

Kodachi smiled at the girl. "Of course, madam."

Kuno sat down and ordered a continental breakfast for both of them and then dismissed Kei and Kodachi. He reclined slightly in his chair and squared away his shoulders, wanting to project an air of confidence as he studied his guest. His posture attempted to reflect the very definition of strength tempered by the wisdom of a practiced martial artisan. "I want you to know that you are welcome here as my guest for as long as you like, Kinuko," he said a moment later, breaking the awkward silence that had gathered around the table once the help had departed for the kitchen.

"I- I don't know what to say," Kinuko said with a blank look on her face. "I apologize if I seem ungrateful or rude. It is just that I am a bit overwhelmed at the moment." Feeling as if she were about to swoon, Kinuko placed her hands on the table to steady herself

Kuno showed her a knowing and patient smile. "I understand your predicament, milady." He leaned forward and looked directly at her. "Please understand that I am not insulted or upset by you in any way. Your beauteous presence here, regardless of whatever circumstance it was that brought you to my door, is a very welcome change in this stuffy old household of mine. I appreciate the opportunity that has been afforded me this day as it will allow me to get to know you better."

Kinuko's eyes were the size of saucers and she was quite sure that she'd gasped rather sharply. "What?! You - You want to get to know *me* better?" Her mind was a runaway train of jumbled thoughts. 'But I'm not even wearing any real makeup or anything. And GOD, my hair must look like mangled steel wool! And I don't have one of my push-ups on, either. How could be possibly think I look beautiful when I'm in such bad shape?' Her heart threatened to pound its way out of her chest as her nervousness grew.

"Indeed, milady. I would find it to be a very rewarding experience for myself, as I hope it would be for you as well."

Before she could even begin to stammer a response, the wait staff returned with trays of food, freshly cut fruits and two urns of coffee, all on highly polished sterling silver service. 'I can't believe this! Upperclassman Kuno has been curious about me? This just can't be real. No Way! NO WAY! No girl on the whole PLANET could ever be this lucky!' She studied Kuno carefully, looking for any hint of insincerity or that he knew about EVERYTHING that had happened to her the night before.

However, try as she might, all she could see was the air of confidence and unflappable calm that he always seemed to exude. 'Ohmigod! Could he truly be serious about all of this?' There wasn't even a momentary acknowledgement of any of her faults, flaws or scandals in his features. Despite the craziness of the situation, Kinuko could feel her hopes actually starting to grow. 'But WHY is he doing this for me? He has never even spoken to me before today, no matter how hard I tried!' She was distracted from her thoughts as the maid placed a china teacup before her and poured in some of the best smelling coffee that she had ever experienced.

"Cream and sugar?" Kodachi asked.

"Yes please," Kinuko said with a nod as she turned her attention to what the help was doing. Kodachi placed a cream decanter and a small urn of sugar next to Kinuko's coffee and then served the rest of the food in silence.

Once Kei and Kodachi had returned to the kitchen, Kuno regarded his guest. "So, what would you like to do today, milady?"

"Do? I- I'm not sure." Kinuko felt the color rise in her cheeks again. "What do you usually do on the weekends?"

Kuno laughed politely. "Well, even though it is bad form to speak ill of the absent, I must admit that this is the first time in many a week where I have a chance to enjoy being with someone without having to worry about trying to please an impatient and thankless fiancée in the process." He took a sip of his coffee and regarded her seriously. "We can do whatever you like, for as long as you like. If you want to go out on the ocean, we can do that. The yacht's mooring is not a far drive from here. We could also tour the small sake facility that my family owns out in the country. It makes a very nice daiginjyo sake that we reserve for in-house use only."

Kinuko staggered mentally at the implication of sheer wealth that came from those two suggestions. 'They have a YACHT? They have a country farm where they make their own premium sake?' "They both sound very nice, Tatewaki."

"Splendid! We will do both!" he decided triumphantly. "As soon as we have breakfasted I will see to it that you have the proper attire for a trip to the sea. Today we will go out on the yacht for as long as the weather permits and then if you have not yet tired of my company we can go to the country tomorrow and spend the entire day up there."

Kinuko beamed. "That sounds truly wonderful, Tatewaki," she agreed, a giggle working its way out of her. 'This is going to be the best time EVER!' The prior evening's debacle all but forgotten, Kinuko embraced her current situation with both arms and prepared herself to do nothing less than totally enjoy her weekend.



****



"When I hear the word 'attic' I usually think of a stuffy little room with lots of dust, spiderwebs, and it's always unbearably hot."

"Spiders? Ugh. Now THAT'S a nice thought."

"I don't think I'd be up here if this place wasn't kept as clean and comfortable as Ranma likes to make it."

Ranma nodded his agreement with his sister's conclusion. All three of the teens headed for the beanbag pile and sat down on it facing the blank projection wall. Ranma had automatically sat down next to his sister, then turned to see Akane sit down on his other side. Both girls looked at him intently. In the ensuing silence Ranma felt himself start to sweat a bit as he favored both Akane and Ranko with a nervous grin.

"Well?" Akane said expectantly.

"Uh- Well what?" he replied anxiously, looking to his sister for help. Ranko merely shrugged at him, a playful smile of her own tugging at her lips.

"What did the school wind up doing to you yesterday?" Akane clarified. "I know most of what happened to Motoko, but I don't know what happened to you and Sato."

"Oh! That." Ranma said with visible relief. For the moment he pushed aside his worries of an inquisition about Kinuko and updated Akane on what Mrs. "Dragon Lady" Yoshida had decided.

"Wow. That's not nearly as bad as I expected it to be," Akane commented idly.

Ranma's eyes widened at the implication that he deserved a harsher punishment of some sort. But before he could open his mouth to respond, his sister beat him to the punch. "Bad?" Ranko spluttered indignantly. "As far as I'm concerned my brother didn't do anything wrong at all! I saw what that monster did to Motoko, and if anything, that bastard only got half of what he deserved! Ranma shouldn't be punished at all. *I* think he should be given a medal!"

Akane recoiled slightly at the vehemence of Ranko's response and fought her inclination to respond in kind. "I didn't mean that your brother *deserves* to get punished, Ranko. I'm just saying that based on how badly Yutaka was injured, I'm surprised that the school didn't react to that as well."

Ranma heard his sister gathering another lungful and momentarily held up a hand in front of Ranko's face to forestall her rant. "I think I understand what you're sayin', Akane. I did beat the crap out of that punk," he admitted rather coolly. "Have you seen Motoko since Thursday? Or any pictures of her since Friday morning?" Akane shook her head.

Ranko reached across her brother and grasped Akane's shoulder, favoring her with an intense gaze. "When we get to the hospital you'll understand why my brother had to do what he did, Akane. She could use some friends right now."

Akane's hand found its way atop Ranko's, but her eyes locked onto Ranma's as she spoke. "I didn't mean to make it sound like you were a bad person, Ranma. I know you're not. Honest!" She smiled at him, hoping to clear things up before she found herself ushered out the door.

Ranko relented a bit. "Well, okay. Besides, when Sato gets here I'm sure he'll be able to fill you in on things better than Ranma or I could. He was the first one at the scene that night."

Akane's face tightened at the mention of Sato's name. She sat up suddenly, jerking her hand away from Ranko's as she turned her gaze towards the floor. "Oh! I didn't even know that part. Sato..." Standing up, she turned to face both Ranma and Ranko directly, then sat seiza on the floor. "I- I don't know what I'm going to be able to say to him when he gets here." Akane directed a nervous glance at Ranma. "I swear that if I knew that Nabiki was going to do something like that to him I would have warned you about it, Ranma. You have to believe me!" The glimmerings of unshed tears showed around her eyes, taking both Saotomes aback.

Ranma concealed his sudden discomfort at Akane's angst by shifting his posture on his beanbag. "I know you wouldn't, Akane. I don't think you woulda let somethin' like that happen if you did know she'd act like that."

"Exactly!" Akane exclaimed. "I never, ever saw her behave that in public before!" She wiped her eyes with a hand and continued. "I hate to talk ill of my older sister, but in this case *someone* has find out why she did what she's done. It used to be that whenever Nabiki wanted to hurt someone, she always did it behind the scenes. She usually wound up making it be something very private, very painful and long lasting. Nabiki's not someone who would make such an embarrassing scene in public. Sis looked like she was completely out of control yesterday."

"You think the attack on your house by Sh- uhh... that girl with the purple hair really could'a messed with Nabiki that much?" Ranma mused

Akane nodded, albeit reluctantly. "Nabiki has had absolutely no real training in martial arts, and her mind just isn't that of a physical fighter. Daddy taught me martial arts starting from a very young age, so I used that to help me deal with the attack. Kasumi, meanwhile... She is more mature than either Nabiki, or me and is basically a source of strength for everyone in the family. So despite the fact that Kasumi hasn't fought or even sparred in over a decade, she has managed to hold together a lot better than Nabiki."

Ranma nodded. "From what Sato was tellin' me, him and Nabiki were both right there when Sh-e punched through the wall. If you never had any martial arts experience at all and suddenly a wall explodes in front of you-"

"That might make her a basket case, bro, but it doesn't excuse how she treated Sato," Ranko interjected. "She's branded him for life as *the* school loser just because he wanted to be nice to her. Same way that neither of you deserved punishment for what happened to Yutaka. Sato definitely didn't deserve the verbal beating that Nabiki gave him."

"I agree with you totally, Ranko," Akane said as she balled her hands into fists. "I don't want to have to, but since she's not here and Sato will be here soon, *I* will have to apologize for her."

Ranko gasped. "Akane, no! It's not your fault that she did what she did to Sato. You shouldn't be taking responsibility for her!"

"But I need to, Ranko. I was there when she blew up in front of him at school yesterday and I remember every single word she said to him. Nabiki shamed him for no good cause and in doing so she shamed my whole family." Akane gave them a wan smile. "I know it won't do much to heal his heart, but I have to at least set things right between him and my family."

The sound of a ringing doorbell caught everyone's attention. Ranko looked over at the clock on the nearby VCR and winced. "Well, you may get your chance to apologize to him right now, Akane."

"WHAT? You're kidding!" Akane shouted, her eyes wide. "Already? But I was thinking it wouldn't be so soon-"

"I'm sorry, Akane. I can tell him to come back later if you like," Ranma offered.

Akane firmed her resolve. "No, don't do that, Ranma! I'm ready to talk to him if he wants."

Ranma nodded in concert with his sister, both of them satisfied with Akane's response. "I'll go answer the door, so you two just stay up here until I get back, okay?" he asked as he stood up and headed down the attic stairs.

Akane watched with wide eyes as Ranma quickly descended the stairs. Before she could even formulate what she was going to say, Ranma returned with Sato in tow. "Hey man!" Ranko said with a smile to match her exuberant tone. She quickly bounded to her feet, only favoring her injured ankle slightly as she hurried over to him and enveloped him in a warm hug.

"Hi, Ranko," Sato said somewhat shyly as he accepted the hug from his best friend's sister. "Sorry I'm late, but..." His voice trailed off as he caught his first glimpse of Akane sitting on the beanbag pile. Sato went stiff in Ranko's arms as his voice failed him. He pulled out of her embrace and stood back at the edge of the stairs.

Sato quickly dropped his gaze to the floor and swallowed to find his voice. "Why didn't you tell me she was here, Ranma?"

"I didn't think it would be a problem, Sato," Ranma replied somewhat defensively.

"Well, I didn't mean to interrupt you three, so I'll just go and let you get back to what you were doing." Without waiting for a response, Sato mechanically headed down the stairs and closed the attic door behind him.

Ranko held her hand out in a halfhearted attempt to stop him. "Dammit," she growled angrily as soon as the door closed behind Sato. "I didn't think he'd react like that."

Akane, her mouth open in shock, watched wordlessly as Ranma quickly trotted down the attic stairs to catch up with Sato.



****



An incessant rapping at the door roused Nabiki from her slumber. "What'zit?" she slurred.

"Nabiki, are you alright?" Kasumi's voice called from the other end of the door.

Nabiki sat up and put a hand up to her head, trying to block the wave of nausea that hit her following her sudden movement. She carefully turned her head and glanced at her alarm clock, squinting. 'Shit! It's after noon!' she thought urgently as she pushed away her bedcovers and sat on the edge of her bed. "Yes, Kasumi. I'm okay," she shouted out. Nabiki winced as pain shot through her head. 'Not so loud next time,' she scolded herself.

"You really shouldn't be sleeping so late. It's not healthy," Kasumi nagged.

"Okay, sis," Nabiki said mechanically as she slowly stood up from her bedding and staggered towards the window. She flinched as soon as she pulled open the curtains, the glare of the morning sunlight too much for her. Muttering an oath, Nabiki quickly closed the curtains again and ran her fingers through the unruly mass of hair on her head as she tried in vain to will away the ache that persisted at the back of her skull.

Nabiki jumped as her bedroom door flew open. "I think I deserve more than just an 'okay, sis' from you after last night," Kasumi chided as she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

The middle sister of the Tendo three blanched as her elder sister confronted her in a very non-Kasumi manner. "What are you talking about?" Nabiki tried to smile lightly, but it bent into a pained grimace despite her best efforts.

"I'm talking about you coming in at two in the morning without even saying a word to anyone of us. That and you never called to tell me that you were going to be late in the first place!" Hands on her hips and a concerned look on her face, Kasumi regarded her younger sister worriedly. "What's gotten into you, Nabiki?"

"Nothing's gotten into me, Kasumi," Nabiki said, waving her hand dismissively. "I just lost track of time last night, that's all. I was very involved in some research and all of a sudden it was early in the morning."

"Research?" Kasumi's eyebrows knit as she regarded her sister with suspicion. "What could possibly be so important to you that you have to devote yourself to it so heavily?" Kasumi reached her hand up and brushed a lock of wild hair away from Nabiki's forehead. "This obviously isn't doing you much good."

Nabiki adopted a chastened look and nodded her head. "I know it isn't, sis. Also, I apologize for not letting you know where I was last night. It's just that I've really had a lot on my mind lately."

Kasumi's frown deepened. "To be honest, you've been hard on yourself like this for the past couple of weeks and it has me very worried. Also, why is Akane so mad at you? She left the house early this morning saying that she was going to try to fix something that you broke after school yesterday. I haven't seen her that angry about anything in over a year. What could you have possibly done to-"

Nabiki felt her stomach tighten into knots as she realized where her older sister was headed with this conversation. "Can we not talk about this right now, Kasumi?" she asked abruptly, interrupting her sister before she could complete the question. "I need to take a bath and get something to eat before I head out today, so I'm kinda pressed for time."

Kasumi relented, albeit reluctantly and put her hands to her sides. "Okay, I guess." With a hurt look on her face, the elder Tendo sister opened the door and stepped into the hallway. "If you ever need to talk ... you know, about what happened with the attack last weekend, you let me know, okay?"

Nabiki flinched involuntarily at the mention of the attack on the family home. "Okay, okay. I will, I promise!" she said hurriedly as she stepped past Kasumi and ran down the stairs.

Kasumi watched her younger sister go, surprised with the speed at which she descended the stairs. "That girl needs help, badly," she said quietly to herself. Mulling the situation over as she closed Nabiki's bedroom door, Kasumi made her decision and hurried down the stairs, her hand reaching out for the phone.



****





Ranma caught up to Sato before his friend could open the front door. "Hey!" he called out urgently. "What's wrong with you, man? Why did you bug out on us like that?" He clamped a hand on Sato's shoulder to keep him from moving for the door again.

Sato shrugged off Ranma's hand. "I- I just don't want to be a bother. Also, I'm not sure I'm ready to deal with all that stuff right now. Not in front of her, anyway."

For several moments Ranma pondered what he could do to help out his best friend in this life. "Well... you wanna to go out to the training hall instead?" he finally offered.

"You'd rather hang out with me than be with your girlfriend?" Sato snorted at that, a bitter look clouding his expression.

Like countless times before, Ranma's breath caught in his throat at the mention of Akane being his girlfriend. "Hey! You leave that ... that girlfriend stuff alone! Right now I'm worried about you just walkin' out all angry and stuff. It's not healthy, man."

Sato sighed and wordlessly followed Ranma as he led him out to the training hall. They sparred in silence with Ranma spending the time watching his friend intently. It wasn't until Sato performed a flawless block against a low kick that his expression brightened. "Wow! I've never been able to do that before!" he exclaimed as he came to a halt.

Ranma smiled at his friend. "I know."

Sato shrugged, adopted a neutral stance on the floor and bowed to Ranma, then trotted over to the far end of the hall to get his towel. "Yeah, I guess it was a pretty good move, after all," Sato admitted as he returned with another towel in hand for his friend. "I only hope I can do it again," he added with a smirk.

"Oh, I think you'd be able to," Ranma affirmed confidently. "Once you get somethin' right, all ya have to do is keep doin' it that way and you'll have it nailed." His expression turned serious a moment. "So, you think you've worn yourself out enough to stop avoiding tellin' me why you walked out of the attic?"

Sato's face fell a bit, but he nodded. "Well, I was telling you the truth earlier about why I left. I saw Akane there and figured I had interrupted you."

"But that ain't all, is it?" Ranma challenged, not buying Sato's explanation at all.

"Well, I don't wanna have to talk to Akane about her sister. It's too soon for me to deal with what happened yesterday, okay?" Sato shot back irritably.

"You can't let that stuff get to you so bad," Ranma lectured. "Sure she was a bitch to you yesterday, but Akane ain't like Nabiki. I can promise you that right now. I swear that she won't treat you like that." He dropped his towel on the floor and ran his fingers through his hair. "Nabiki's not the only girl in the world, you know."

"Well, it's easy for you to say that since you've already been with someone like Kinuko." Sato snorted derisively. "Geez, now I'm invoking Kinuko's name like it's a good thing. You know, as desperate as it sounds, I would've loved to have spent just a week with that girl."

Ranma flinched internally at the mention of Kinuko and fought hard to forget everything that Ranko had told him about last night's activities. "Hey, I was lucky to get away from Kinuko, Sato. I don't think any sane guy would ever want to be with that dingbat, regardless of what she looks like."

"Why not?" Sato asked sullenly. "At least I'll have been with someone, then."

"What do you mean?" Ranma asked with mild confusion.

Sato's face flushed angrily, surprising the young martial artist. "Ranma, stop teasing me about that!" He clenched his hands into fists angrily. "You know damned good and well that I've never *really* been close to a girl before. Hell, I've never even had sex with a girl!"

Ranma refrained from shaking his head at Sato. While he had no way of knowing about Sato's past, that didn't necessarily mean that his "predecessor" had been equally unaware. Instead, he apologized. "Didn't mean it like that, man. Sorry."

"It's okay, Ranma. It's not like I'm allowed to be lucky with girls anyway," Sato commented glumly. "Nabiki kinda proved that."

"Well..." Ranma said with a wince.



****



"Mr. Murakami, you have a vis-" a secretary managed to get out before a steely-eyed woman pushed open the office door and stepped past the flustered office worker. She came to a stop at Murakami's desk and shot the secretary an irritated glare. Eyes widening slightly, the secretary bowed to Murakami and then closed and locked the door behind him.

Quickly pasting a smile on his face, the young bureaucrat from the Minister of Justice's office stood from his chair and drank in the view of the beautiful young woman that stood before him. Wearing a black jacket and short skirt, she possessed an air of absolute professionalism and power. But the harsh businesslike edge was tempered somewhat by the definite feminine charm that she exuded as well as by the long, slender legs that were on display from mid-thigh on down. "Good Afternoon, Kodachi-sama. What do I owe the honor of your visit on this Saturday?"

"I've been trying to reach you since yesterday, Haruki," Kodachi said directly. "I have a few questions that I need answered and *you* are the person who can answer them." She sat down in a chair on the opposite side of his desk, her eyes never leaving his. With a whisper of black nylon hosiery she crossed her shapely legs and awaited his response.

Haruki began to sweat under the intensity of her glare. "I apologize for not being available on the phone, my dear lady. I have been busy compiling memoranda for my boss to go through before he briefs the Minister. The cabinet's meeting with the PM on Monday and you know how important those meetings are."

"But I thought you liked me," Kodachi said with a touch of a pout to her lips. She ran her fingers through her long hair and sighed sadly. "I was almost afraid that you didn't want to talk to me anymore," she added.

Haruki's face looked ashen. "I never!" He stepped around the desk and knelt before her chair. "I could never feel that way about you, Kodachi-sama. You are the best thing that's ever happened to me!" he proclaimed earnestly.

Kodachi smiled and bent over to put her hand on his shoulder. "I'm *very* glad to hear that. I would hate to think that our relationship had soured." She favored him with a smoldering gaze that had him suddenly sweating for an entirely different reason. "So about those questions that I have for you."

"Yes, milady?" Haruki answered in a giddy voice.

"I need to know..." she began, then slid out of her seat to stand on her knees next to him, their faces scant inches apart as she resumed in a lower voice. "I need to know if you have been mentioning our little 'meetings' to anyone." She traced the outline of his jaw with her index finger.

Haruki's breathing grew shallower. "Of course not, Kodachi. I know better than to risk our relationship like that." He returned the gesture by tentatively caressing the silky-smooth skin of her cheek.

"Good," Kodachi purred, smiling in reaction to his touch. She put her hands on his shoulders and playfully pushed him down on his behind. She straddled his legs and sat atop him as he propped up on his elbows. "Very good. Now I need to know one more thing." She tugged at the top of her jacket, loosening it to expose things a bit.

"A- Anything you want," he stammered. Haruki's heart pounded loudly in his chest and his expression plainly showed how pleased he was at the sudden turn of events. His hands brushed against her rump, his fingers tracing the outline of her garter straps through the fabric of her skirt.

She bent down over him and put her lips to his right ear. Kodachi's warm breath teased at his neck, causing his own breathing to quicken. She smelled like fresh cut roses and the warmth of her face and neck felt like fire against his cheek. "I need to know if you have mentioned me personally to anyone. Either by description or by name."

"NO! No, I didn't- wouldn't do that," he blurted out. "I know you want your privacy, Kodachi. Even when I was tempted to tell my mom about you, I didn't."

Kodachi sat back up, her eyebrow arched inquisitively. "You would tell your mother about me?" she asked with genuine surprise.

Haruki nodded hesitantly. "Yeah. I wanted to tell her what a wonderful woman I'd met-"

Kodachi's expression and voice took on a hard edge. "And did you?"

"Of course not! I wouldn't-"

"You're damned right you wouldn't." Kodachi's playful demeanor vanished completely. Roughly she shoved his back to the carpeted floor and quickly placed her hands around his throat. "And if you did, you would quickly find yourself on the way to your eternal rest." She squeezed her hands to emphasize her point. "Do you understand me?"

His voice came out in a rasp. "Yes. Yes, I understand you!" Haruki's face began to redden as the pressure of her hands on his throat increased.

"Are you sure?" she demanded.

Haruki nodded frantically, his inability to breathe causing his vision to blur.

"I am relieved to hear that, Haruki. We have a perfectly good working relationship between the two of us," Kodachi said as she released her grip on him. "But do not for an instant assume that you are my only potential resource. Should you displease me, I can always go to someone else. You do *fully* understand the consequences of this, correct?" She glared at him, awaiting his response.

Haruki nodded wordlessly and watched as she stood up. He lay flat on his back and massaged his violated neck with his hands while she buttoned her business jacket closed. "I promise you, Kodachi!" he rasped as soon as he was able to speak. "Your relationship with me has never been compromised by myself or by any of my subordinates."

"None of your subordinates know my name, I trust."

"None," he affirmed nervously.

Satisfied that he had not exposed her to anyone, she smoothed out her suit and assumed a businesslike demeanor. "Good lad. I will be talking to you again soon, Haruki-kun," she told him with a wink. Kodachi slowly stepped over him and opened the office door.

Haruki propped up on his elbows again to watch her walk away, then lay back down to stare at the ceiling. "No panties," he said aloud in a semi-breathless voice. "She wasn't wearing any panties!" He calmed his breathing and sat up again, propping himself up on one of his chairs. "God, she's a hottie," he declared.

"Hot, yes. Dangerous, yes," came the affirmative from behind him. He turned to see his secretary regarding him archly from the doorway. "And apparently she was also in a hurry."

Haruki looked his secretary squarely in the eye as he stood up. "If you want to do yourself a favor, forget that you ever saw that one here."

"You don't need to tell me that!" the young man snorted as he turned and left the office.

"Me either," Haruki readily agreed.



****



"I guess my losing streak began when I was seven years old," Sato began. He crossed his arms over his chest and began pacing the length of the training hall. "Her name was Meiko."

Ranma sat back against one of the walls of the training hall and nodded along as Sato spun his tale. "Was she in the same class as you?"

"Yep. Sat in the next row. All I had to do was look to my left and see her sitting there and I was lost for an hour or so," Sato chuckled. "The things I remember most about her now were that she always wore her hair in a pony tail and she loved to play with the boys instead of other girls. She and I were great playmates until we were both eleven years old."

Ranma smiled at that, recalling when he and a kid named Ukyou played around in the rough and tumble way of childhood. He immediately felt a quick pang of loss at not having her around anymore, but pressed on with the conversation before he became maudlin. "What happened then, Sato?"

"Well, I started feeling more than just chummy whenever I was with her. We were always close but suddenly I noticed that she had something more than just a great leg for kickball."

"Eleven's a bit young to start gettin' the hots for someone, isn't it?" Ranma queried.

Sato shrugged. "It's probably different for everyone. I just noticed her being something besides my pal on the playground. That's when she and I stopped hanging around."

"I don't understand, Sato. Why'd you stop hanging around with her?"

"Oh, I didn't stop hanging around with her," Sato corrected. "She stopped hanging around with me."

"Okay, I guess I'm not gettin' something. Why?"

Sato blushed slightly. "Well, it's a bit embarrassing, Ranma. All I did was ask her if she wanted to be my girlfriend. She looked at me kind of funny and told me that I was already her friend. So I told her that I meant that I wanted to be her boyfriend, like we were in love and stuff." His blush deepened and he had to fight off the sudden urge to change the subject

"I'm guessin' that she didn't understand what you were saying, right?"

"Naah. She understood me completely. We were out on the grounds during recess when I'd asked her to be my girlfriend. I had been kind of quiet about it because I didn't want to draw a lot of attention. But when I asked her the second time, she stood up and-" He gritted his teeth and forced himself to continue. "She stood up and yelled at the top of her lungs 'Hey everybody! Sato wants me to be his girlfriend!' out to the whole school."

Ranma winced. "Ouch."

Sato released his clenched fists. "I was so shocked that I just stood there in front of her while everyone pointed and laughed at me. When Meiko joined in with them I started crying. Then they all started laughing louder, so I turned and ran into the school."

Ranma shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He couldn't deny that the girl had treated his friend badly on that day. 'But they were just kids then, right?' he asked himself.

Sato pressed on. "She stopped talking to me after that day. She never explained why, either." He started pacing back and forth again. "After that it became more difficult for me to ask girls out. In fact, I still have some trouble with it."

Ranma held his hand up. "But just because that kid gave you a hard time years ago doesn't mean that you gave up on girls completely, does it?"

Sato snorted. "This is true. I don't drool openly like Hikaru does, but I get just as excited about a sexy girl as he does."

Ranma snorted. "Well, there's somethin' at least."

Sato snorted as well. "In the eighth grade I tried again. I met a very special girl that was standing in line in front of me the day we were getting our pictures taken. I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing and walked right into her." Sato laughed at the memory. "I wound up hitting her hard enough to knock her book bag off of her shoulder and almost pushed her to the floor. I grabbed hold of her to keep her from falling. Then she turned around so fast that her ponytail hit me in the face. I remember trying to apologize to her while not sneezing. The smile she gave me afterwards absolutely blew me away. Braces and all."

Ranma laughed at that. "Hey, at least she didn't knock your head off or somethin' like that."

"Ain't that the truth?"

"What was her name, anyway?" Ranma queried.

Sato's face lost some of its good humor. "Oh, hadn't you guessed? That was when I first met Motoko."

Ranma's jaw hit the floor. "You and her? She was your- I mean, you two were-"

Sato nodded. "Yeah. We were an item for a while."

"What happened?" Ranma asked, now fully invested in Sato's tale.

Sato looked at his friend and then sat down on the floor, facing Ranma. "You know, it's amazing to me that I'm telling you this. No offense here, but six months ago I wouldn't have trusted you to hear any of this, despite the fact that you've been my best friend for the past three years. I keep this stuff to myself usually and don't like to share it with anyone. Secrets like these can lead to lots of humiliation. For her as well as me."

"I don't know what to say, man. You know that some things have changed with me since I told everybody that I was a martial artist. I'm glad you can trust me, though."

Sato nodded. "Hey, I'm not complaining or anything. I'm just saying that I think I can trust you now more than I ever could've before." He smiled at his friend to underscore his sincerity. "Anyway, to answer your question, Motoko and I had gone out to the movies and stuff and enjoyed being around each other for a few months. We even kissed a few times." Sato put his fingertips to his bruised and cut lips, remembering the angel-soft feeling of her lips against his. "I really enjoyed those times, too."

"But then a new guy from all the way out in Osaka showed up at our school a couple of months later. Maru and Motoko hit it off almost immediately and soon it was obvious that she was very much in love with the guy. It hurt me *a lot* to watch them walking around after school holding hands and embracing. It hurt even more whenever I would see them kissing." Sato sighed, his eyes starting to mist. "I couldn't be angry at the guy either. Maru turned out to be really cool and a good friend to me while we were attending the same school. He also treated Motoko like she was the most important thing to him, and that's something I respected about him."

Ranma couldn't quite relate, having only had extremely violent confrontations with any of the rival "suitors" for his multitude of supposed love interests. "You're a classier guy than I am, Sato. I don't know if I could 'a been friends with a guy that stole my girl away."

"Well, I was headed that way before Motoko talked to me one day. She can be, as you know, very blunt and very direct. She told me that she knew that I was in love with her but that she had never really loved me. She said that she liked me a lot and valued my friendship and hoped that her relationship with Maru wouldn't ruin that."

"I have to say that I was mad. I was really pissed off at her for telling me that. In fact I wanted to hurt her so much for hurting me, but the only thing my stupid, honorable mind could say was 'let me think about it, Motoko.'"

Sato smiled sadly. "So eventually we made up. I took about two weeks to stew in my own anger and think about the whole thing; especially since she told me that I would never be anything but a friend to her. Then I decided that losing her completely was worse than being just a friend to her. So by the end of the eighth grade we were close pals again."

"It's good that you were there for her Thursday night when she needed you most."

Sato's look darkened. "Yeah. Thank God I was there for her then. I don't know what I would've done if-" Despite his attempts to control it, he couldn't stem the flow of tears. He opened his hands and gaped at them as if they were foreign objects. "I almost killed him, Ranma. And if that son of a bitch had really hurt her worse or kil- while he was... was raping her... I don't know what I would've done then."

Ranma sat up straighter but didn't move from his spot. "Hey, Sato. Listen to me. You did the right thing by not killing him. If you had killed that asshole then you would've gone to jail, probably for life or somethin' close to that. Don't forget that you stopped him from doing anything really bad to her. *Never* forget that. You were strong for Motoko when she needed it. She'll always remember what you did for her."

Sato nodded, a smile working its way onto his face through the tears. "Yeah, I guess so." His gaze shot past Ranma's shoulder to the open double doors of the training hall. "I haven't even talked to her since I admitted her to the hospital."

"Neither have we. In fact, we all talked about going to the hospital at some point today and checking in on her." Ranma regarded his friend. "You can go with us if you like, Sato."

"Yeah, I'd really like that, man." Sato stood up and dusted off his pants. "I wonder if anyone's told Maru what happened yet. He's been in Australia on some kind of exchange program for the last two months."

"Huh? She's still seeing that guy?"

Sato nodded. "Yeah, even though he wound up attending another school this year because of his folks moving again. He and Motoko still wanted to see each other."

Ranma's shock was evident. "That's hard to believe, Sato. It's not normal to see people stick together like that when they're in different schools."

"It's unusual, I agree. Still, they've been going strong for over two years now. In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if they get married after they both finish high school." Sato's expression clouded over again. "Assuming she'll be wanting anything like that after being raped by Yutaka."

"Motoko's a strong girl, Sato. If she doesn't let the attack bury her spirit, she'll be okay."

"Yeah, I guess I have to agree with you there. She is a fighter, so there's a good chance that she will wind up marrying Maru and having a litter of kids with him. Unlike me, of course..." Sato's emotions took another dip. "After what happened yesterday I don't think I'll ever be getting married."

Ranma immediately went on the offensive. "Hey! I toldja Nabiki wasn't actin' normal yesterday! You could tell that by how she was yellin' and stuff. Akane and I were talking about it before you got here and-"

"I'm not really sure that I want to hear about it, Ranma," Sato declared flatly, holding a hand up to forestall further comment from his friend. Ranma, frustrated at the interruption, clammed up and watched as his friend resumed his anxious pacing through the training hall. "You know... I'm just about fed up with all of it. Fuck having a relationship if it's always going to wind up being this nasty!"

"Oh, not this shit again! Stop talking this 'I quit' crap! Things aren't always -"

Sato continued on, ignoring Ranma's outburst. "It's not just Motoko and Meiko. There have been a few others to a lesser extent over last couple of years. I can't seem to win for losing! Whenever I've tried to go out with someone, I'm always shot down. Regardless of if it's because I screw up when trying to ask someone out or if it's because of something beyond my control, I always, ALWAYS fuck up! But you know why I've kept trying to go out with a girl?"

Ranma shook his head but kept his mouth shut, knowing that Sato wouldn't have heard him anyway.

"It's because until now I'd believed that being alone would hurt even worse than being rejected all the time. During those years I've been alone while other guys are walking around with a girl, even the guys that look like they're the worst kind of losers manage to find someone, I've only been able to guess at what it's like to be in their place. It hurts me to watch all of those guys walking around with a girl smiling at them, talking to them, kissing and holding them, and simply *wanting* to be with them. I have no idea what that's like at all, Ranma. It's completely alien to me."

Ranma shrugged helplessly. "It's not somethin' I really help you with. I'm not some kind of love doctor or nothin' like that. I guess it's not as important to me to be in a relationship as it is for you. I don't know what else I can say."

"There's nothing anyone can do," Sato snorted derisively. "Not a Goddamned thing!"

"Then why do you keep talkin' about it?" Ranma shot back impatiently.

"Because I don't want you to end up being as pathetic as I am!" Sato spat. "You know that I've been through a lot of hurtful shit, both with all the bullying at school as well as with all the crap I've gone through over the years trying to get into a relationship. When you get right down to it, my life's nothing but a cruel joke, and I don't want you to have to go through the same things that I have!"

Consumed by his dark emotions, Sato stood in front of Ranma and pointed at the center of his chest with a finger. "All those stupid-ass songwriters and poets say that this is the center of joy, love and happiness." Tears raced unbidden from Sato's eyes and rolled down his cheeks. "But for me, the heart is nothing more than a nasty, empty pit. Pain, loneliness and rejection are the only things that I've ever known when it comes to girls."

"Does that include Ranko?" Ranma shot back testily.

"Oh, come on! That's not what I meant and you know it!" Sato looked his friend in the eyes with a mournful gaze that stabbed Ranma in the heart. "Don't you see what I'm trying to say? Don't you get it? I've become some kind of Zen-like example for others. You know, like how you can't appreciate wealth without poverty, or a good meal without experiencing starvation. In the same way, you can't know love and happiness unless you've seen what it's like if you were never loved and never happy." Sato pointed at himself again. "That's me! I'm that example! Beware the wretched lonely geek!"

He took a breath and calmed himself somewhat before resuming. "You have a *really* good chance to be with Akane," he declared, holding up his hand when he saw his friend about to protest. "Don't try to deny it again! I saw it in her eyes when she talked to you last weekend and I could tell by how she looked at you in the attic just now. Akane's a good person; a much better person than Kinuko ever hopes to be. So if you *really* love Akane, don't let yourself screw up and become like me! You already lost one girl. Don't lose this one too." Sato leaned against the doorframe of the training hall and stared out into the distance. "If I can't make myself happy with Nabiki or anyone else, I can at least help you be happy with Akane."

"Aw, come off it, man!" Ranma complained loudly. "Not you too!" He clenched his fists in frustration. "I don't need *another* person tryin' to tell me how to run my love life."

Sato looked at him in surprise. "Back up a second! I'm not trying to tell you what to do. I'm trying to tell you what you *shouldn't* do." He held his arms out in a hopeless gesture. "Try to understand me. If you follow my example with girls, you're guaranteed to fail. I'm only trying to help, here."

"Well I don't need anybody's help!" Ranma shot back. "I've had enough of people pushin' me into goin' out with someone *they* like. Do I really look so stupid that I can't think for myself?"

"Sorry, man. I didn't realize... Dammit, I just keep screwing stuff up for everybody. I am such a fucking loser-"

"Oh, come off it! That's a bunch of whiny shit." Ranma's face was flushed with fury. "You're better than that and you know it. Feelin' sorry for yourself by actin' like you're some kind of failure ain't helping you any. All it does is make you look like a complete fool and pushes people away. I've watched how you handled yourself this week, so we both know you're no loser. Lookin' for sympathy won't work with me at all, so just drop it."

Sato shrugged his shoulders in defeat. "Well..."

"*Well*, all *you* gotta do is get off this 'I hate myself' kick, be strong and just keep on doin' what you've been doin'. Oh, and stop handin' out dating advice," Ranma added.

A minute of silence passed between the two before Sato looked over at his friend. "Damn, you're so different from the pacifist geek I knew just a month ago." He smirked reluctantly. "I'm not complaining, though. In fact, I'd love to have half the confidence you have now," Sato mumbled.

"You keep training the way you have been and you will have it, I promise."

"You really think so, huh?"

"Duh! It helped me change my life, didn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess you have a point there." Sato stretched and exhaled loudly, then wiped the moisture of fallen tears from his face. "Well, I'm not gonna beat myself up over it anymore."

"You sure about that?"

"Yeah, I guess so. I think I just needed to get it out of my system. Thanks for listening to me bitch and moan."

"No pro-" Ranma broke off as he looked out the door of the training hall just in time to see Hikaru Gosunkugi walking in their direction with Ranko in tow. "Looks like we got company."

"Akane?" Sato guessed.

"Nope, it's Ranko and Gos," Ranma replied, then winced as he caught himself using the old name for his former nemesis. "I mean, Hikaru."

Entering on cue, Hikaru walked in and high-fived Sato. "How's it goin', guys?"

"Hey," Ranma replied distantly.

"What's wrong with you, man? Everything okay up there?" Hikaru asked, eyeing Ranma closely.

Ranma fought down the urge to smack Gosunkugi upside the head. "Nothin's wrong. I'm just tired from the workout."

"Ah, I gotcha. Have to stay in shape after all those fights last week, huh?"

"Something like that, man," Sato answered with a smirk. "They keep on dishing it out and we keep shoving it right back down their throats."

Ranko snickered at that. "That's a good way of putting it, Sato."

Ranma nodded. "Yep, and if they can't take a hint, well that's fine too. We can always use the extra training." Everyone laughed at that, and the mood in the room lightened significantly.

Hikaru put his arm around Ranko's shoulders. "Well, I'm not much of a fighter as you all well know, but I do what I can to keep myself alive and breathing."

Ranma fought back a grimace at watching Gosunkugi put his arm on his sister and subsequently place a kiss on the top of her head. 'What the hell does she like about him, anyway?' he groused. Unwilling to witness the spectacle anymore, he stared out the door instead. "Where's Akane?" he asked suddenly.

"She's upstairs in the attic learning how to work the Remote Commander," Ranko quipped.

Ranma blanched at that, recalling how frustrated the 'original' Akane usually got around strange or unfamiliar things. "How long has it been since you left her alone up there, Sis?"

"It's not a problem, man," Hikaru answered. "Akane Tendo's old enough to take care of herself. Besides, Ranko-chan invited me in only a couple of minutes ago, so it ain't been *that* long."

"Well, I think I should get upstairs and talk to her now," Sato offered. "Thanks for the workout and the talk, Ranma." Sato held out his arm to Ranma, who clasped it firmly.

"Anytime, man. I'll be right behind you," Ranma replied with a knowing smile for his friend. "I just have to clean up before I can close the training hall doors and head on in."

"Hikaru, you go ahead with Sato. I'm gonna help Ranma clean up the training area. It won't take us long."

"Fine with me," Hikaru replied jovially as he disengaged from Ranko and followed Sato out of the training hall.

As soon as they disappeared from view, Ranko walked over to her brother and hugged him close. "You're a good friend to Sato. He looks a lot better than he did when he first saw Akane in the attic." She stood back from him. "I didn't think it would take you an hour to get him over his mood, though."

Ranma's eyes widened. "An hour? Geez, we've been in here that long?" He flushed guiltily. "Damn, I didn't mean to let time get away from me like that." He looked up towards the house, focusing his attention on \ the peak of the roof. "Is Akane mad at me?"

"No, she was very understanding, bro. I think she needed the time to think about what she was going to say to Sato anyway, so it's all good. She and I spent the time talking, so it's not like she was bored out of her skull or anything." Ranko blushed slightly as she looked up into her brother's eyes. "I also want to thank you for not saying anything to Hikaru just now. I could tell that you weren't comfortable with him being here."

Ranma blew his breath out in a frustrated 'woosh.' "I'm sorry. I'd thought it wouldn't be noticeable."

"I don't think he noticed, anyway," Ranko said with a smirk. "He was too busy thinking about me."

Ranma grimaced again, and this time didn't attempt to hide it. "Ergh... I'm sorry, sis. I just don't like him hanging on you like that."

"Why? You sure you're not jealous?" Ranko replied, sticking out her tongue.

Ranma blushed at the insinuation and spent a couple of moments studying his feet. "What can I say? I love you, sis. I know we've talked about Gos before, but it still makes me feel weird every time I see him being so close to you. It just ain't right."

Ranko shook her head. "I love you, too. But I'm going to ask you again to respect my wishes and let me make my own choices, okay?"

Reluctantly he nodded his agreement. "Okay, if I can say that to Sato, then it's only right that you can say that to me."

"Oh? What all did you wind up talking about out here anyway? I figured you two spent most of your time sparring out here, not talking about your dating habits."

Ranma shook his head. "Not even close. Sato went on about all the times he failed at dating. It got really creepy to hear all those stories of girls that dumped on him." He went on to detail the highlights of his conversation with Sato, although he wasn't sure he got all of the names right.

Ranko socked her brother in the arm. "And you let him keep on going like that?! Damn, bro, why didn't you stop him?"

Ranma rubbed his now-sore arm and shrugged his shoulders. "He said he just wanted to vent, Ranko! Sato kept on talkin' and talkin' about the girls that did him wrong over the years. He acted like he had been fighting a war or somethin'. I you wanna know what I think, he takes all this girl stuff too hard. If he gets taunted by one of them he thinks it's the end of the world."

"But what Nabiki did to him on Friday was more than just taunting, Ranma! From what you and Akane told me, that girl did everything to Sato but shoot him in the heart with a gun."

"I'm not just talkin' about Nabiki, sis. While Sato was goin' on about that girl that he knew back in the fourth grade or somethin' like that, he acted like it was the worst moment of his life. In fact, accordin' to him, every time a girl dumped him or told him no it was like it was the end of the world or somethin'." Ranma shook his head. "As far as I'm concerned, the only things he can honestly gripe about are what Nabiki did to him yesterday and the crap that Yutaka did to Motoko Thursday night. Everything else is old news."

Ranko shook her head. "I thought you'd know better than that, bro. Sato may be picking up more confidence because we're teaching him how to defend himself, but inside he's still a very sensitive guy."

"He's over-sensitive if you ask me. He's holding on to his pain and old wounds like they're some kind of trophy. All that does is make him vulnerable to the same kind of thing in the future."

"Well *I* think it's sweet that he treasures a girl's memory so deeply. Those sad puppy-dog eyes of his had my heart aching to help him. You say it's a weakness, *I* say it's cute." Ranko shrugged. "It's what makes Sato the person he is. Come to think of it, until you made your wish, you were exactly like Sato."

Ranma pondered that. "Well...I've never been like that. You say the other me was like that, but that's in the past. I can't hide who I am now."

Ranko shrugged and decided to let the issue drop. "Let's just get this stuff cleaned up and get back up there. I'm sure Sato and Akane have had enough time to talk things out by now."

"I hope so. He's got to move on with his life and stop living in the past."

"Oh, and speaking of the past, there's something else I meant to ask you about this morning."

"What's that?"

"Why did you let Kinuko in last night?"

"What?!" Ranma spluttered. "I didn't do nothin' like that, Ranko! Why do you think I did, anyhow?"

"*I* didn't let her in the house, and I know all of the doors and windows were locked tight. *Someone* had to let her in."

"But I didn't do it!"

Ranko gnawed on her lower lip. "I had a feeling that was the case, but I needed to make sure."

"What're you getting at?" Ranma demanded, suddenly paranoid. "You didn't go tellin' Akane what you told me about last night, did you?"

"Oh, of course not! I didn't mention it to her at all, Ranma. I was asking you because that ditz got into our house somehow." Ranko crossed her arms and looked at him severely. "And if she can get in without us knowing, that has me worried."

"Yikes! I never even thought of that," Ranma replied soberly. "You have a point there, sis." He put a hand on her shoulder and pondered what she'd said. "Any suggestions?"

"Well, we obviously can't tell mom and dad that someone broke into our house without actually breaking any locks or anything." She gnawed her lower lip again. "I'm sure we locked everything down before we went into the attic last night, so I think she was either already in the house before we locked it down or she somehow found a way in that we don't know about. Either way, I wouldn't tell the folks about it. At least not until we know for sure how she got in."

Ranma's grip on his sister's shoulder tightened. "Damn, sis. What if she was able to watch us as I rubbed your... I mean, when I ... you know, held those in my hands?" he asked, pointing down at her chest.

Ranko looked up at her brother and hugged him, tightly. "I won't worry about that. She's enough of a freak that people would think she's crazy if she even said you and I were fooling around. Besides, you and I both know we didn't do anything anyway, so as far as I'm concerned it's not a problem."

Ranma heaved a sigh of relief. "That's good at least. I guess what we can do is make sure the doors and windows are secure after we've locked them."

"How?"

"I'll think of somethin', sis. Right now we should get upstairs before everybody comes back down lookin' for us."

Ranko nodded her agreement as she knelt down and quickly began picking up sparring gloves and pads and putting them away. Minutes later the two were done and were a blur as they dashed for the house.

As the siblings got to the top of the attic stairs, they found Sato sitting next to Akane in front of the beanbag pile. The two of them seemed to be engaged in a hushed but rather involved conversation. Ranma kept his place at the staircase while his sister walked over to the DVD rack where Hikaru seemed to be pondering their entertainment choices.

"Hey, sweetie," Ranko said with a smile as she put her arm around Hikaru's waist. "You see anything you like?"

Hikaru looked her over and gave her a sly grin. "Oh yeah."

Ranko blushed severely and had to work hard to keep a stream of nervous giggles from working free. "I mean on the DVD shelf, silly!"

"Oh! Well, we never did get around to watching Evangelion last time," he commented as he held up the DVDs for the most recently released episodes. "This one's supposed to have a really cool fight scene in it."

"They all have fight scenes in them, don't they?" Ranko commented, rolling her eyes.

"Well, that's why the series kicks ass!" Hikaru enthused.

"What about Excel Saga?" Ranko suggested as she began cataloging the extensive collection of anime titles on the shelf. Hikaru shrugged and joined her in their search for entertainment. "Since we've got the whole day to watch, why don't we get a few different titles so everyone will enjoy themselves."

"Sounds like a winner to me, Ranko-chan."

Ranko hugged Hikaru tighter and, after verifying that Ranma wasn't looking in their direction, placed a quick kiss on his lips. "Cool! I'll pick three and you pick three."

Ranma, who had indeed been watching, tried hard not to both throw up and shove Gosunkugi down the attic staircase at the same time. After calming himself down, he turned back just in time to see Akane stand up and head his way.

"Hey Akane, I-" He didn't get any farther as he found himself wrapped up in a warm hug with her. With only a slight amount of reluctance he returned the favor. "You okay?" he asked her softly.

"Yeah, I am now that I've had a chance to talk to Sato," Akane said with a smile.

Ranma looked over at Ranko and saw her positively beaming at him while Hikaru was nodding and showing him an encouraging thumbs-up. The ensuing embarrassment at being caught in a tender moment caused him to hide his face, which he did by holding Akane closer such that her long black hair hid his flushed cheeks. "Well, um... I'm glad I could, like, help you and all," he stammered.

Akane stepped back from the hug and smiled at him. "I appreciate it, and I'm sure Sato does too. You're a good friend to him," she commented as she led him by the hand to where Sato was sitting.

"Hey man, long time no see," Sato quipped with a smile.

"Yeah, been like a year or somethin' hasn't it?" Ranma laughed nervously, as he was very aware of the fact that everyone could see Akane holding his hand.

"Everything's cool now," Sato added. "Sit down and take a load off."

Ranma looked at Akane, who nodded her agreement. He was about to ask Sato for more info when Hikaru and Ranko approached them. "DVD's loaded man, it's SHOWTIME!" Hikaru announced enthusiastically. With that Gosunkugi handed the Remote Commander to Ranma. "Do your stuff, dude."

Ranma let go of Akane's hand and took hold of the remote. "Ranko, I'll let you lead tonight. I'm going to just kick back and relax, if that's okay with you."

"Wow, Mister 'Never touch my stuff' is gonna let his sister use the remote instead?" Hikaru looked at Ranma with genuine surprise. "You have changed!"

Ranko giggled as she took hold of the remote and assumed her place up high on the beanbag pile with Hikaru right beside her. "Okay, here's what we're going to watch," she began as she rattled off the list of items that they'd chosen. She pressed the pre-programmed button that turned off the lights and everyone was engulfed in darkness.

"Oh, neat!" Akane said as soon as the lights turned off. "Everything in this room is controlled by remote."

"Yeah, this is the ultimate lazy room," Sato quipped as he reclined against the pile.

Akane moved over and sat down so that Ranma would be between her and Sato. Not really caring about what they were going to watch, he availed himself of the comfy surroundings so that he could take a much-needed nap. The opening credits were barely done when he felt an arm drape over his belly. Quickly he turned to his right just in time to see Akane rest her head against his chest as she gazed up at the illuminated projection wall.

Hoping no one else would notice, Ranma quietly wrapped his right arm around Akane's back and rested his hand on her flank. He winced slightly as he waited for her to punch him through the attic wall, but a contented sigh was the only thing that he got from her. Ranma bit back a relieved sigh of his own after realizing that he wasn't in any danger, but his tension never diminished as Akane's close contact had his heart racing. He focused his attention on the wall and hoped like crazy that she wouldn't notice.

'Holy crap! Ranma's heart's beating like crazy!' Akane thought as her head rested atop his right pectoral muscle. 'It sounds like a jackhammer going off in there!' Curious if she was the cause, Akane decided to try something. Moving as if she were shifting her position slightly, she ran her hand softly across his chest and then back to where it started. 'Wow, his heart's going even faster!' She was tempted to run her fingers around his chest again but held back at the last moment. 'I really shouldn't be treating him like a lab rat,' she thought, chiding herself for being so forward.

'Damn, if she does that again I'm going to have to cross my legs!' Ranma thought urgently after Akane stopped moving her arm around on his chest. 'She probably doesn't even know what she's doing to me when she does that, but it's driving me nuts.' Suspicious, he looked down at her face to see if there was any hint that she knew what effect she was having on him. From his angle it was difficult to tell since half of her face was resting on his chest, but he erred on the side of ignorance. Ranma turned his head slightly to get a better look and wound up burying his nose in her hair instead. 'Mmm, she smells nice,' he thought as he inhaled deeply.

'Oh, that's so sweet!' Akane thought happily. 'He's resting his head against mine. I had wondered if he had a softer side to him.' A slight electrical thrill ran through her body, causing her to flex her toes and gave another contented sigh. 'I guess I now know,' she thought with satisfaction.

Ranma closed his eyes and tried to will his heartbeat to slow, but to his frustration it kept its strident march regardless of what he did. Before he realized it, Ranma had tightened his grip on Akane's flank. Quickly he loosened his fingers and rubbed her flank as he issued a whispered apology to her. "That fight scene got a little intense," he offered by way of explanation.

Akane turned her face up to look him in the eyes. "It's okay, Ranma. I thought it was intense too." She reached back and patted his hand. "You didn't hurt me, though, so don't worry."

He smiled down at her and returned his attention to the screen while trying to calm himself down. It was awhile before he'd gotten used to having Akane laying against him, yet eventually his heartbeat had slowed to more normal levels. Soon afterwards, despite the fact that what was showing on the screen was an absolute rip-snorter of a battle between EVAs and an Angel, Ranma felt his eyelids start to grow heavy. Five minutes later he was sound asleep.

Ranko, meanwhile was wide awake and rather active. What had started out as a wonderful tease and smooch session with her boyfriend had turned into a "Legend of the Overfiend"-style evasion of hands, lips and overactive tongue. Several times she'd had to employ her Kenpo reflexes and training to snag Hikaru's arms and wrists and restrain him to the point of pain. 'Damn, he's horny today!' she groused. She had to settle for him leaving his hands resting on her ribs just below her bra. 'Did I open a pandora's box with him or what?' she wondered sourly. In mere moments Hikaru was walking his fingers up her left bra cup, a playful glint in his eyes and a smile once again on his face.

"Not now!" Ranko mouthed intently, although she did not try to stop his hand. She pointed down at her brother. "Not in front of him," she hissed urgently.

"He's asleep," Hikaru replied triumphantly.

Ranko arched her neck to stare down at the bottom of the pile. "Damn, he is asleep!" she muttered softly to herself. "That guy can fall asleep at the drop of a hat." She turned her head back and gasped slightly at finding herself staring directly into Hikaru's eyes.

"Hi beautiful," he whispered as he brushed his lips against her cheek.

Ranko smiled and blushed, despite herself. 'Hi there," she replied timidly. Her breath grew shallow as she anticipated what was going to happen next. 'Not my boobs again,' she lamented. 'It was fun for the first half-hour, but geez can't he find another area to touch? They're going to go numb if he starts rubbing them again... agggh!' She flinched the moment both of his hands squeezed her firm breasts. "NOT NOW" she hissed insistently.

Hikaru pulled his hands back instantly as Ranko's hissed rejoinder had caught Sato's attention. He waited for Sato to return to watching the end of the EVA episode before he responded to Ranko. "What's the matter, sweetie. I thought I was doing it right."

"It isn't a matter of doing it right. It's because you're trying to do it right now and I don't want you to!" she hissed, her anger replacing any lustful feelings she'd harbored for him. As soon as the feature ended, Ranko sat up and eased herself off of the beanbag pile. "Hey guys!" she said softly. "I'm going downstairs to get something to drink. You or Akane want anything while I'm down there?"

Sato shook his head and Akane never responded. Ranko nodded and headed for the door. Hikaru slid off of the beanbag pile and followed her down the attic stairs. He closed the attic door behind him and walked in silence beside her until they arrived in the kitchen. Ranko saw it coming the moment she closed the fridge door and ducked his attempted hug. "We need to get something straight," she announced firmly.

Hikaru looked at her expectantly. "I love you, Ranko-chan. You know that."

"Yeah," she admitted unsurely.

"So why are you treating me so bad?"

"Because if I kept letting you do that to me we would've gotten caught."

"So? We're all teens in there. It's not like Ranma and Akane aren't thinking of doing the same thing."

"You said it yourself that my brother's asleep," Ranko countered. "It'd be hard for him to grope Akane while he was asleep, wouldn't it?"

"Exactly! Since Ranma's asleep we can do what we like and he won't hear or see any of it." Hikaru stepped closer to her. "What you did to me last time was a fucking blast, Ranko-chan." He took her hands in his. "You were my first time, you know."

Ranko pulled her hands out of his, her emotions a swirl of confused feelings and strong urges. "We didn't do anything," she reminded him nervously. "So how could it be your first time, Hikaru?"

"Well, we can fix that now, can't we?" Hikaru's heart pounded in his chest as he stood close enough to her for their bodies to touch. The heat from each teen was like a blast furnace against the skin of the other, despite the fact that both of them were still fully clothed. He bent his head down to whisper in her ear. "Everyone else is in the attic, so you and I can go up to your room right now and finish what we started." He placed a small kiss on her forehead. "I want to make love to you, my Ranko-chan."

Ranko's heart was threatening to erupt from her chest. Her lust warred with her propriety as she tried to make the right decision. Standing before her was the perfect opportunity she'd been looking for. Right now she could lose her virginity to someone she loved and transition from a young girl to something more. Well, she thought she loved Hikaru anyway. And... well... *maybe* she was ready to lose her virginity.

She felt herself tingle all over at the very notion of sharing her heart and her body with her boyfriend on her bed in her bedroom with no chance of being discovered or interrupted. Ranko drew in a shuddering breath, which turned into a sharp gasp as Hikaru's hands slipped underneath the waistband of her pants and panties to rest on the sensitive skin of her rump.

In that moment of physical contact a decision crystallized in her mind. What had been a speculative venture was now turning into hard reality, and as a result Ranko quickly spun around and out of Gosunkugi's groping hands to stand at the opposite end of the kitchen. "I'm not ready," she said flatly, putting a hand to her chest. "I'm too young to lose my virginity, Hikaru." Ranko looked him in the eye, but moved no closer to him. "I'm sorry, but I won't be having sex with you."

"But why?!" Hikaru protested. :"I thought you loved me!"

'So did I,' she kept to herself. 'Now I'm not so sure.' Ranko crossed her arms beneath her breasts and maintained a level gaze with him. "Love is more than just sex, Hikaru. Sure it was fun to feel around like we did last time, but I'm just not ready to go any farther. If you really *truly* love me, you would understand that and respect what I want."

"I don't understand, though. How can you just slam on the brakes like that?" He nervously scrubbed his face with both hands, hoping to salvage the situation. "Ranko-chan, I can tell you were enjoying it. You still look like you are!" Hikaru insisted as he pointed to her erect nipples poking through the fabric of her shirt. "Those don't lie! I can tell that you want me as bad as I want you. *Please* let me do this to you," he begged. "I promise you that I won't hurt you at all. I know it'll feel good because everyone says it does!"

Ranko shook her head and pulled her hands up to cover her 'incriminating evidence.' "They don't just get stiff when I get excited, Hikaru. I could be cold for all you know," she retorted weakly.

"Oh, come on!" Hikaru despaired as the situation continued to deteriorate before him. He considered unzipping his pants and simply whipping it out in front of her, thinking that the sight of his erection would spur her to action. But with all the knives available to her in the kitchen, he erred on the side of caution. "We don't have to have sex right now, okay?"

Ranko breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you see-"

"But we can at least go down on each other," Hikaru added brightly.

Ranko groaned in disgust. "All I am to you is a pair of walking tits, aren't I?" She glared at him angrily as that truth dawned on her fully. "I thought you were a better person than that."

"I am better than that, Ranko-chan."

"Don't try that on me. Understand me clearly, you won't be screwing Ranko Saotome at all today."

"What?!"

Ranko looked at him challengingly. "Think about what you've done so far today. Two of your best friends were beaten up badly day before yesterday. Sato could've gotten himself killed, and both he and Ranma could've wound up going to jail for defending Motoko. And despite all of that, the only thing you've been concerned about since you got here is getting between my legs. It's like you only live to screw me. Isn't that the *real* reason you're here, Hikaru?"

"I- No! No, of course not! It's just that you're so pretty and sexy and hot that I have a hard time controlling myself whenever I'm around you."

Ranko sighed sadly. "Well, since I'm such a distraction to you, why don't you leave for awhile and come back some other time when you can control your urges."

Hikaru's jaw went slack as he realized that she was kicking him out of the house. "What the hell did I do?"

"You stopped thinking with your head and started thinking with your dick," she stated bluntly. "I liked you better when you looked at what was above my neck as well as everything below it." Ranko pointed to the front door. "Go home, Hikaru. I'll talk to you later."

"I-"

"Go. Please."

"Shit!" Hikaru growled as he stomped out of the kitchen. He grabbed the doorknob and yanked the front door open, then gave Ranko a withering look. 'Bitch ruined my whole day,' he thought spitefully. No words were exchanged before he stepped outside and slammed the door shut. Mindful of a return visit, Ranko dashed to the door and threw the deadbolt, then checked all the other locks on the ground floor to make sure that the house was secure.

"Damn that was close," she muttered to herself as she leaned against the wall next to the staircase and put a hand to her heart, which was still beating wildly. Something that she couldn't quite put a finger on was telling her that she had just made a very wise decision. Knowing that made kicking him out of the house easier to take. 'I probably should be more upset over him being gone,' she mused.

Ranko put her original drink back in the refrigerator and grabbed a colder one, then headed back upstairs. Sato turned around as he heard the door close softly behind him. Immediately he noticed that she was alone. "Where's Hikaru?" he mouthed.

Ranko stepped over to him quickly and knelt down at Sato's side. "Oh, he had to hurry back home. He forgot about something that he had to work on for school." Ranko shrugged nonchalantly. "He probably won't be back today," she added as she sat down on the floor.

Sato "oh"ed and went back to watching the rest of the second EVA episode. Meanwhile, Ranko smiled as she looked over at her brother and noted that he had turned in his sleep. Ranma was now lying face-to-face with Akane and both of them were sound asleep in each other's arms. 'Why couldn't Hikaru and I have been doing something like that?' Ranko asked herself wryly.

"Cute, isn't it?" Sato whispered as he too noted the closeness of Akane and Ranma with more than a touch of envy.

Ranko nodded. "Yeah, it is. Those are the kinds of moments that girls treasure, you know. Girls like me do, anyways," she whispered back.

Sato thought he saw a slight misting in her eyes and wondered just what had happened between her and Hikaru downstairs. "You okay, Ranko?" he asked suddenly.

She smiled at him, grateful for the concern. "Yeah, I am now, Sato."

Sato smiled back and tentatively put an arm around her shoulders. "I'm glad."

Ranko stiffened slightly at the loose embrace and had to remind herself that Sato wasn't anything like Hikaru had been only a short time ago. Accepting the friendly affection for what it was, she put her own arm around Sato and handed him the remote. "Here you go. I can't drink and remote at the same time," she quipped.

Sato snickered at her. "Not a problem, Ranko. We've got two more episodes to go on this DVD. Since Hikaru is gone, do you wanna keep on watching EVA or do you want to switch to something else?"

Ranko answered his question by getting up and hitting 'eject' on the DVD player. She swapped out EVA for the first DVD of Excel Saga and closed the DVD tray. "I could use some humor right about now. What do you say?"

"I agree," Sato replied. "I feel like watching something light and- how do I say this?"

"Something stupid?" Ranko said with a laugh.

"Yeah, that about sums it up." Much to his surprise, Ranko sat right back down beside him and put her arm around his shoulders. He reciprocated while with his free hand he aimed the remote at the equipment rack. "Let the anime acid trip begin!"

Ranko giggled and turned her attention to the wall as the opening credits began. A companionable silence took hold between Ranko and Sato as they watched the wall, although every now and again a sudden guffaw from one or both of them would break up the monotony. Sato looked over at Ranko for a moment and felt glad to have friends around him who cared enough to support him when he was down. 'I guess some parts of my life aren't so bad after all,' he thought with a smirk.

Some time later as an episode from the Excel Saga DVD was coming to an end, noise from Menchi singing during the closing credits awoke Akane. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the bright light washing over the projection wall, but when she could finally see she gasped in alarm. 'We were sleeping together again?' she asked herself after she realized just how close she was to Ranma. 'I didn't even realize- Wait a minute! Was this his idea?' she wondered, a hint of suspicion playing across her features. She scrutinized his face, which was difficult given the odd lighting, but in the end she could see that he was neither faking sleep nor had he even moved from the spot where he had been when they started watching DVDs.

Akane also realized that her arm was draped over his waist and their legs were loosely intertwined. Rather, his legs were trapped between hers. 'Oh geez! *I* did this, not him!' Mortified, she couldn't believe the situation in which she found herself. 'Laying my head on his chest was one thing, but this is a lot more serious! If he wakes up and sees us like this he might get the wrong idea about me!' Panic seized her as she attempted to sit up and scoot away from Ranma. Their twined limbs made it difficult for her, especially given that her jeans restricted the movement of her legs.

She cringed as Ranma stirred. 'I can't let him see me this way,' she thought urgently as she roughly pulled her right leg off of both of his and sat up quickly. Smoothing out her white T-shirt with the "Japanese Girly-girl" stencil on the front, she looked down at Ranma once again and saw that he still slept. 'That was close!' she sighed, relieved. Stretching her arms, she looked over and saw that Sato and Ranko were sitting together, fully absorbed in what they were watching.

'Someone's missing,' she noted as she looked up at the beanbag pile. She was about to ask Ranko where Hikaru was when suddenly her wristwatch chimed. She hit the Indiglo button and gasped audibly.

"Something wrong, Akane?" Ranko inquired.

"I can't believe it's already two-thirty!"

"Yeah it's right at half-past two, Akane," Sato confirmed as he checked his own watch. "You and Ranma slept for a good while."

Akane colored deeply at that. "I hope you don't think that- I mean, I didn't mean to- That is..`." Embarrassed, she fell silent and cast her gaze to the floor.

"We didn't think anything was wrong, Akane. Don't worry, you're among friends." Ranko smiled at her encouragingly. "Friends that won't make bad assumptions or gossip about you."

"You have to admit, those are pretty good benefits," Sato chimed in.

Both Ranko and Akane laughed at that. "Well, as long as you two believe me." Akane cast her gaze down to Ranma. "Does he always sleep this soundly?"

Ranko nodded. "He has a bad habit of doing that."

"Should I wake him?"

"I would. He hasn't had anything to eat since breakfast. He'll probably be starving."

Sato sat up a bit and hit the pause button on the DVD player. He squeezed Ranko's shoulder gently to get her attention and then handed her the remote. "Come to think of it, I haven't had anything since breakfast either."

"Go ahead and wake him, Akane. Trust me, he'll thank you for it."

Akane nodded and timidly laid both of her hands on Ranma's shoulder. Giving him a small shake did nothing to wake him. She pushed harder and the only thing she accomplished that time was to push him over so that he was lying on his back. Ranko and Sato laughed at the spectacle.

"Maybe you should set off a firecracker next to his ear," Sato quipped.

"Oh, I couldn't do that!" Akane replied with a playful grin on her face. She shoved him again, yet still she got no response at all. "He is only sleeping, isn't he?" she asked with growing concern. Not waiting for an answer from the peanut gallery, she straddled Ranma at the waist and put her ear to his chest. "He's alive and breathing. Boy, he's a difficult one to wake up." Akane gave it one more try. Still straddling him, she took hold of both his shoulders and shook again. This time he did respond.

Ranma's arms came up and enfolded Akane's torso. Seconds later she found herself laying atop him, the victim of a sleeping boy's hug. Her face was directly over his, bringing them nose-to-nose while her legs remained against Ranma's sides. His hands rested firmly against her lower back, just above her jeans. Akane could feel the heat of embarrassment radiating from her cheeks.

The air pressure in the room dropped a bit as Sato, Akane and Ranko gasped at the same time. Akane squirmed for a bit, but to no avail. "Well, I only have myself to blame," she deadpanned to light laughter from her friends.

"Hey, Ranma. Wake up!" Ranko said in a loud voice, a playful smirk on her face.

"No! Don't wake him up yet!" Akane hissed urgently.

"Huh? What yawant, sis?" he slurred as he slowly came-to.

'Oh damn...' Akane thought. With no way to get out of her situation, she did the only thing she could think of; she put on a happy face. As his eyes opened she pulled her long hair away from her eyes and waved at him halfheartedly with one of her hands. "Uhh, hi Ranma," she said timidly.



****



A young boy wearing a bandanna on his head and carrying a gym bag with a long cloth-wrapped bundle tied to the straps made his way along the sidewalk. His pace increased as he neared his destination, a faded-brick building with a small sign hanging from the front that read "Marty Jenkin's Boy's Town Gymnasium" in both Katakana and English. Marty, otherwise known as Lance Corporal Martin W Jenkins, five years retired from the Marine Corps, founded the gym as a way to give local kids a sense of direction, and failing that it served as a way to keep them off of the streets and out of trouble.

"Hey Marty!" the boy said as he tossed his burden on the worn countertop and reached for the sign-in clipboard.

"Afternoon, Kenji! What's it going to be today?"

"More Kendo today."

"Kendo again? You've been in here for the past three days straight, Kenji. Don't you have to do some other kind of training to keep yourself in shape?"

"Well, I do run after school," Kenji confessed.

"Why all the intense Kendo training, son?"

"Upperclassman Kuno was displeased with the whole Kendo clubs' performance this past week and has ordered us to double our training."

"Tatewaki Kuno's making you do this?"

"Well, yeah. He's our leader and our inspiration, Marty. If he says we need more training, then we do," Kenji replied simply.

"He may be the best member of your kendo club, but he's no leader. He's a punk, if you ask me."

"Marty!" Kenji shot back indignantly. "He's the best kendoist I've ever seen. We'd do anything for him!"

"Kenji, something you have to keep in mind about that boy is that his ego is what drives him. He strikes me as the kind of guy who would sacrifice his subordinates to save his own skin."

"Marty, please! I cannot say anything bad about Upperclassman Kuno."

"Fair enough, Kenji. Just you mark my words. That boy will cause you trouble someday." Marty flexed his muscular arms, still toned and lethal despite his fifty-five years. "If he ever does give you trouble, you just bring him to me. I'll be glad to teach him who's the man and who's still a little boy."

Kenji smiled at Marty's display of bravado. "Sure thing, Marty."

"You go in and have some fun, okay?"

Kenji Kurosawa nodded and took his things with him into the gym. He took off his rising-sun headband to reveal his head, which now sported a severe crew cut. Two brownish-patches of skin visible on his scalp marked the places where Ranko Saotome had forcibly yanked his hair out during a brawl almost two weeks ago. Kenji had taken inspiration from those wounds and had intensified his workouts. He had also used that inspiration as a driving force to encourage the kendo club initiates to repeatedly attack Ranma Saotome and that dweeb friend of his, Sato.

'Those bastards are the reason I'm here today,' Kenji thought sullenly. 'If only our guys had been able to fight equally against those two, then we would've beaten their asses. Ranma's got some nerve drugging people like that!' He took off his jacket and nodded to his sparring partner as he unsheathed his practice sword and stepped onto the mat. 'I'll get them both for this!' he thought angrily as he lunged forward, their bokkens meeting with a loud 'CRACK!'

The sparring went on for some time, with Kenji wincing but not stopping every time a blow landed against him. "You know, this might be more constructive if you wore your pads, Kenji," his sparring partner chided.

"Don't worry about me," Kenji growled. 'This is my penance to Upperclassman Kuno,' he kept to himself. 'If I don't' do it this way, he'll kick me off of the Kendo team for sure.' He winced as another blow fell against his unprotected ribs. 'How he knew to ask me about those attacks is beyond me, but I couldn't lie to him.' He allowed himself a small smile despite the pain. 'Upperclassman Kuno did say that if I had lied to him about it, he would've beaten me senseless with his bokken and then kicked me off of the team. As it was, my honesty spared me from both of those fates.' "Ow!" he said as an unexpected strike landed against his kneecap.

"Sorry, man! You want me to stop?"

Kenji looked at the clock. "No, I have another thirty minutes to go," he replied firmly. Kenji assumed the proper stance once again and resumed sparring. 'Upperclassman Kuno is supposed to be a harsh but fair taskmaster most times. Still, I can't believe he ordered me to practice sparring for two weeks in just my street clothes. These strikes hurt like hell!' Another blow landed home, this time against the small of his back. Kenji folded like a chair, landing on his face on the mats.

"You alright, man?"

Kenji waved off the offer of assistance and got back up under his own power. 'Ranko's whole shitty family is the reason I'm suffering like this right now,' he seethed. 'I'll give just about anything to see her and her brother get what's coming to them, with interest.' He stoically endured the relentless pounding on his slight frame until his hour was up. Panting, he nodded thanks to his sparring partner and favored him with a thumbs-up. "Thanks! I'll see you again on Monday, right?"

"Yeah, and next time you should consider bringing your pads with you."

Kenji snorted. "Yeah, like I have a choice." He pulled off his 'Ninja High School' t-shirt and looked at himself in the mirror. His body was covered in long, slender bruises earned during the last three days' worth of sparring. Fear of retribution from Kuno and the other upperclassmen is what kept Kenji moving despite the constant pain. 'I won't fail!' he swore defiantly.

Putting his shirt back on, Kenji bagged his gear and made for the exit. "Seeya later, Marty!" he shouted as he signed out.

"Have a good weekend, Kenji!" Marty, currently sitting at his desk, shouted in reply.

Kenji stepped out of the building and pointed himself back towards his home. He was barely twenty feet away from the gym when a large black car pulled up alongside him and a seriously large guy with sunglasses stepped out of the front passenger door. "Hey kid, someone in here wants to talk to you."

Fear and trepidation ruling him, Kenji stepped back from the car. "Who are you?"

"We've got a common problem, kid. We both have something against a certain Ranma Saotome."

"What?" Kenji stammered. "How do you know about me and Ranma Saotome?"

The guy with the sunglasses opened the back passenger door of the car and an important-looking man in a business suit stepped out and onto the sidewalk. "We know a lot of things, Mr. Kurosawa."

"Who are you?"

The man in the suit smiled. "Who we are is best left unknown right now. Just consider me a friend seeking the same thing as you."

"Oh, and what would that be?" Kenji replied in a voice that sounded timid despite the fact that he was trying to put on a brave face.

"Please accept my offer to drive you home, Mr. Kurosawa. I promise you that you will not be harmed in any way. I merely have a proposition for you. One which I assure you will be to your liking."

Kenji looked back at Marty's place, wondering if he'd be safer in there. But something about the guy's tone and the fact that he had problems with Ranma as well made the offer seem tempting. After another moment of deliberation, Kenji shrugged his shoulders and stepped into the back of the limo. The two men got in the car with him and soon it sped off towards his home.

"You and Ranma have a short, but extremely violent history," the businessman stated as he pulled out a couple of folders that contained papers with the Furinkan High letterhead on them.

"Are you part of the faculty or something?" Kenji asked nervously as he eyed the paperwork. "How'd you get those anyway?"

"Let's just say that I have friends in high places," the man said patiently as he closed the folder. He looked at Kenji and smiled. "Do you want to repay Ranma Saotome for everything you've had to endure thusfar?"

"Well, yeah I do," Kenji said hotly. "That bastard and his bitchy little sister are the reason I've got all these bruises."

"Do you want to hurt them?"

"Yes, badly!" he opined quickly.

"How badly?"

Kenji balled his hands into fists as he steeped in his own rage and indignation. "Bad enough that he bleeds from every orifice and she's bald-headed and broken from head to toe."

"My, that is bad," the guy in the business suit commented with raised eyebrows. "Have you given any thought as to how you would do this?"

Kenji's anger deflated somewhat. "Well, I can't do anything right now. Our Kendo team leader has ordered us not to do anything that would get the team into more trouble than it's already in." He looked up to the guy and shrugged. "What's all this to you, anyway?"

The man in the business suit snorted. " That family has run afoul of me just as they have you. And also like you, I intend to get my pound of flesh from them."

"How?"

"Well, that is where my business proposal begins. If you're interested, I need someone to keep me informed of Ranma Saotome's whereabouts and habits for the next few days."

"That's all I have to do? Just keep an eye on him for you?"

"Yes, possibly only for the next day or so."

"And you'll get 'em?"

"Of that you can be assured, Mr. Kurosawa."

"Deal!" Kenji said, smiling nastily. 'Bitch's family will finally get what they deserve.' "So what do I have to do?"

The man in the business suit opened his briefcase and pulled out a fairly expensive camera cell phone, a charger unit and a piece of paper. "Just take pictures of Ranma Saotome throughout the week and send them to the email address listed on this paper. Take special note of anything unusual or peculiar and take multiple pictures of those events as warranted."

"All I have to do is take pictures of him?" Kenji asked, puzzled.

"Yes, and be sure to send them to that address as frequently as possible." The man held up a hand. "Ah, before I forget. Do not tell anyone what you are doing, and do not make it obvious that you are taking pictures of Ranma Saotome. Do you understand?"

"Yes, I understand. Take pictures, send email, be sneaky."

"Precisely, Mr. Kurosawa." He looked at the boy. "Are we agreed?"

"Absolutely." At that a large envelope landed in Kenji's lap, tossed from the man sitting in the driver's seat. "What's this?" the boy asked, puzzled.

"Compensation for your services," the guy in the business suit responded smoothly. "This is the first installment. You will get a great deal more once everything has been accomplished."

"What's going to happen?" Kenji asked, slack jawed as he tried to guess at the amount of money stuffed in the large envelope.

"Best that you not know some details, Mr. Kurosawa. Just take comfort in the knowledge that those pictures will go a long way in helping us to hurt Ranma Saotome." At a signal from the businessman, the car came to a stop. "We're about a block from your house, Mr. Kurosawa. I would think it wise if we were not be seen together, especially so close to your home"

Kenji nodded and stepped out of the car. "Thank you, whoever you are."

"No, it is I who must thank you, Mr. Kurosawa. You are far more help to me than you realize."

Kenji watched as the black car sped away, leaving him standing in the middle of the road. Quickly he walked over to the sidewalk and headed towards his house. As he walked, he tucked the cell phone in his gym bag and pulled open the envelope. His eyes goggled at the large denominations of each of the bills. 'Shit, there's a whole lot of bills in here!' Kenji thought, drooling. 'There must be at least a hundred thousand yen in here!' Paranoid, he closed the envelope and tucked it into the gym bag, then hurried the rest of the way home. 'This guy must want Ranma, bad! I hope he gets the asshole, too!' Kenji thought with a sneer.



****



"Hello, this is Kasumi Tendo" Kasumi said as the other line picked up.

"Oh, hi Kasumi!" Ranko said into the phone cheerfully. "It was good to see you last weekend."

Kasumi smiled at that. "It was good to meet you and see your mom again. All of you will have to come over again someday."

"I'd like that a lot, Kasumi."

"So would I," Kasumi replied warmly. "Is there any chance that Akane is there with you? I have been calling all over the place and haven't been able to find her."

"Oh, sure. She's right here. Hold on a moment." The sound of the receiver being handed over occupied the speaker a moment before Akane spoke.

"Hello?"

"Akane, there you are! I've been worried sick about you!" Kasumi chided. "First you walk out without telling me where you were going and then Nabiki goes out and does the same thing."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you where I was going, Kasumi. I was in a rush and forgot." Akane paused a moment before adding. "Wait! Nabiki left the house again? What's gotten into that girl, sis?"

"I don't know," Kasumi responded with an exasperated sigh. "It's like you and she have become completely different people. Frankly, I'm having a hard time keeping track of all of the changes."

Akane blushed. "I'm sorry, sis. I don't mean to be a burden to you."

"You're not a burden, you're my baby sister," Kasumi said gently. "I just wish you two would take greater care to let me know what's going on. I do worry, after all."

Akane winced. "I won't let it happen again, sis. I promise! Did you want me to come home?"

"No, there's no need to do that. Just keep me informed as to where you are and I'll be happy."

"Is daddy mad at me for leaving so early?" Akane asked hesitantly.

"No, daddy is outside making repairs to the wall as a matter of fact. I haven't seen him so *happy* in a long time, even though he is having to pay to replace our broken wall."

"Well, daddy's got me as a student again. I think he's probably happy about that," Akane surmised.

"That's likely part of it. Anyway, I'd better get off of the phone now that I know you're okay. Besides, I have to go find out where Nabiki ran off to."

"I wish I could tell you, sis. I didn't even hear her come in last night."

Kasumi sighed over the line. "You just take care of yourself, okay? I'll worry about Nabiki."

"Okay, sis. Oh, by the way, I may stay late here at Ranma and Ranko's place. We've been watching anime for awhile and are about to get something to eat."

"Be sure you call me if you decide to spend the night again," Kasumi replied.

"Will do, Kasumi. I love you, sis," Akane said brightly.

"I love you too, baby sister." Kasumi said with a smile. "Enjoy your day."

Kasumi hung up the phone and breathed another sigh. "Sometimes I wonder how mommy managed." She walked outside to where her father was affecting repairs on the wall. "Daddy, I got in touch with Akane. She's over at the Saotome's house."

Soun nodded thoughtfully as he worked with a plumb bob to make a straight line at the center of the hole in the wall. "Thank you, Kasumi. I think she'll be in good hands over there."

"Seems like you've made some progress, daddy."

"You mean with the Saotomes or with the wall?"

Kasumi laughed. "Both, actually."

"Well, mending this wall may turn out to be harder than it was to mend the ties with Genma." Soun looked up at the afternoon sun as it beat down on him. "Your daddy was a bullheaded fool, Kasumi. You don't know how grateful I am that his son intervened and brought Genma and I back together."

"Really, daddy? You weren't just being polite out of any kind of obligation to Ranma?" Kasumi chanced asking.

"Daddy didn't raise no dummies," Soun quipped as he stepped away from the wall. "No, I'm telling you the truth, Kasumi. I am honestly grateful to him. When Genma appeared here last weekend, it was like all the years of anger and difficulty disappeared. It was just like old times again, and it felt really good."

Kasumi, who was still coming to grips with the sudden reconciliation of her father and Genma Saotome, offered him a smile. "If you say so daddy, I'm happy for you."

"That's my girl." Soun enthused. He turned back to look at the wall. "Have you found Nabiki yet? She'd insisted on playing a part in getting this wall fixed, but I have seen neither hide nor hare of her since last weekend."

"I don't think Nabiki is taking the attack well, daddy."

Soun nodded soberly. "She was right here when the wall was blown apart," he said as he pointed to the ground. Most of the rubble and other debris from the attack had already been carted off. In fact, except for some dust and the hole in the wall, things appeared normal. "Nabiki has never been one for combat, so I should've realized that she wasn't dealing well with what happened."

"I'm worried about her, daddy. She's not herself anymore."

"I'll talk to her tonight."

"If she's here, that is," Kasumi added dryly.

"What do you mean?" he asked as a flicker of concern shone in Soun's eyes.

"She claims that she's been doing a lot of research on a project, daddy." Kasumi clasped her hands together as she debated telling him about her younger sister's very late arrival last night. "It's been consuming a lot of her time."

Soun breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh? Is that all? That sounds like our Nabiki. She's probably just working her butt off trying to gather the funds needed to fix this wall."

"Maybe," Kasumi replied, although she lacked the conviction of her father.

"Everything will be alright, Kasumi. If your sister is doing research, then maybe that is how she's coping with what she witnessed last weekend. That to me sounds like a typical Nabiki reaction."

"If you say so, daddy."

"You're a good daughter, Kasumi. I'm glad that you're so concerned for your sisters." He grabbed a trowel and pan and started mixing together some mortar. "Now I need to get this done while the weather is clear. I'll be in after I'm done laying the next few courses, okay sweetie?"

Kasumi nodded obediently. "Yes daddy. Did you need me to bring you something to eat?"

Soun mopped his brow before resuming his stirring of the mortar. "Just some water for now will suffice, dear." Kasumi nodded to him and headed to the kitchen. Soun smiled as he resumed work on the wall. 'This hole in the wall is a small price to pay for resuming my friendship with Genma.' "This wall isn't going to repair itself, Tendo," he told himself as he dipped the trowel into the mortar pan and resumed mending his fence.



****



As soon as Akane hung up the phone, she walked back to the group as they sat in a circle in front of the beanbag pile. She blushed slightly as she sat next to Ranma.

"Everything okay?" Ranko asked.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Akane replied, plastering a smile on her face.

"Someone mentioned food earlier," Sato chimed in with an embarrassed smile as his stomach growled loudly.

Ranma snickered. "I know I sure could use some. How about you, Akane?"

"Yeah, I haven't eaten since you served me breakfast this morning." As soon as the words left her mouth she looked up to see Sato favoring them both with an amused look and an arched eyebrow. Akane lived up to her name as she blushed scarlet once more.

"Ranma and I had Inakaya last night, so we're probably not going to get that again today," Ranko added.

"Aww, I was just about to suggest them," Sato groused.

"How about some Korean take-out instead? We can have a late lunch/early dinner."

"Ooo. I haven't had Korean food in awhile!" Akane said, nodding her assent.

"You want me to get some mints to go with that?" Ranko asked with a conspiratorial wink.

"What for?" Akane replied, puzzled.

"'Cos no one likes to kiss someone with kimchee breath," Ranko replied matter-of-factly. Akane's scandalized look threatened to cause Ranko to erupt in laughter. As it was, she was having trouble keeping her snickering to herself.

"Are you gonna waste our time or are you gonna order the food, sis?" Ranma said with a touch of indignation, having followed the entire conversation with more than a passing interest. "We do need to hurry if we're going to make it to the hospital before visiting hours are over."

Ranko nodded, chastened. "You're right, I forgot about that." She quickly got everyone's order down, then picked up the phone and dialed the New Seoul Korean Restaurant. "They'll be here in twenty minutes." Ranko announced after hanging up the phone, then she made for the stairs. "I'm going downstairs to wait on the delivery guy."

Sato jumped to his feet. "Hold on! I'll go with you, Ranko," he said as he made a beeline for the attic stairs.

Ranma held his hand out to stop Sato, but the two of them were down the stairs so fast he barely had time to speak. The closing of the attic door echoed loudly in the large space, and it quickly dawned on both Akane and Ranma that they had been left alone, together.

A minute of silence passed between the two as they sat side-by-side on the floor. Akane broke the silence with a nervous laugh. "Uhh, Ranma?"

"Yeah, Akane. What's up?" he asked with hint of nervousness in his voice.

Akane blushed and turned her gaze to the floor. "I- I just wanted to apologize to you for embarrassing you earlier."

Ranma shook his head and waved his hand dismissively. "You didn't embarrass me, Akane. I'm sorry I grabbed you like that. I was still half-asleep and didn't know what I was doin'. I probably wound up embarrassin' you, though."

"Nonono!" Akane countered. "You didn't." She stopped as she struggled with what she was trying to tell him. She turned slightly so that they were face to face. "Once I understood that you weren't trying to take advantage of me or hurt me, that's when I didn't mind it, Ranma. "

Ranma blushed a deep scarlet. "Oh, well- That's good to hear." He favored Akane with a sheepish grin. "I'm just glad you're not mad at me."

"After all you've done for me over the past couple of weeks? I could never be mad at you, Ranma!" Akane wasn't sure she could even list all of the things that he'd done for her and her family. She did know, however, that by treating her with respect and by simply listening to her when she needed someone to talk to he'd given her the best possible gift she could've asked for; someone who genuinely cared about her without any hint of betrayal nor expecting something in return.

Her heart swelled with emotion and an impulse that only moments ago had been nothing more than mere whimsy quickened within Akane until she could resist it no longer. "In fact-" She wrapped her arms around Ranma and tackled him, her momentum pushing them both to the floor with her lying atop him. Faster than he could react, Akane bent her head down, closed her eyes, and placed a fervent kiss on Ranma's lips.

His eyes widened in shock as he felt the kiss not just on his lips, but along every inch of his body. His heart went into overdrive as it registered in his mind that her body was pressed firmly against his, and Ranma swore that he could feel Akane's heartbeat thumping against his chest despite the fact that both of them were clothed. Less than a second's hesitation turned into acceptance as he wrapped his arms around her slender body and did his best to return the kiss.

After the initial shock wore off, the pace of their kiss slowed a bit, yet it did not yield as they remained locked in their embrace for a good five minutes. Ranma's hands roamed across her back and the body heat she was giving off felt so intense that it was as if he was touching her bare skin. That simple revelation was enough to kick his heart into even higher gear and spurred him to deepen the kiss.

Akane felt Goosebumps rise all along her arms the moment his hands caressed her back. She could feel Ranma's heart pounding stridently as she lay atop him and rejoiced in the knowledge that he was as excited as she felt. Her own heart was doing its level best to beat in time with his and she suddenly found herself having a hard time breathing.

When their lips eventually parted, Akane raised her head to take a much-needed gasp of air. "As first kisses go," she said once she caught her breath. "That was the best one I've ever had." She smiled at him. "You're not mad at me for just pouncing on you like that, are you?" Akane traced her index finger along the outside of his lips as she awaited his answer.

Ranma shook his head. His body was still quite enervated from the kiss and the masculine aspect of his lower brain was absolutely screaming at him to roll Akane over and take her right there on the floor. The part of his conscience that favored going out with Akane was quite sure that she'd let him take her if he were to merely suggest it. Another part of him, still wary of relationships in general and of a relationship with Akane specifically, wanted him to back away and forget touching her ever again. He squelched his doubts, fears and more lustful desires and instead returned her caress. "I'm not mad at you, although you did catch me by surprise, Akane." He smiled at her. "I have to say, though, that this was the best kiss I've ever had," he said honestly. Kisses from Shampoo and others within his original life notwithstanding, along with the near-kiss he had with Akane during that play a lifetime ago, he was very sure that she'd just given him the best one to date.

"So, what now?" Akane asked with a smile as she gazed into his blue eyes.

"Umm..." He thought about it for a moment before cupping her face in his hands. "It's gonna be another few minutes before the food gets here, so... you wanna see if second kisses can be just as good as first ones?" he asked with a smirk.

Akane's only response was a playful giggle as she closed the distance between their mouths. This time the kiss was less passionate yet far more affectionate. The two of them relaxed in each other's embrace and let the kiss linger. For both of them, the meeting of each other's lips was an unparalleled journey of joy and ecstasy, trust and intimacy.

For Ranma, it was an experience that he never wanted to have end. The power of the moment was indescribable, yet it was something so natural and so wonderful that he couldn't figure out why he'd resisted it for so long. There was something that just felt *right* about having her laying atop him, their arms around each other while they kissed each other deeply.

Another five minutes of silent kissing ensued before the sound of the attic door opening snapped the two back to reality and, with great reluctance, their lips parted. Akane rolled off of him and laid down on the floor at his side with both of their heads propped on the same beanbag. Ranma winked at her as each of them tried to catch their breath. Akane smiled and took his hand in hers. "We'll have to pick up where we left off sometime," she whispered.

"Deal," Ranma whispered back right before Sato crested the stairs with bags of food in hand.

Akane let go of Ranma's hand and sat up. "Wow, Sato. That smells really good!" she said with a smile. Giddy from the kisses shared with Ranma, she nearly quivered with nervous energy.

Ranma could sympathize with her as his own body shivered as if electrified. He quickly sat up to avoid having a certain item showing that could completely embarrass him. To be sure, he crossed his hands over his lap and hoped that he'd calm himself down enough so that things wouldn't be so obvious when it came time for him to reach for his dinner.

Ranko bounded up the stairs with a six-pack of drinks and a wad of napkins in-hand. "You guys ready to eat?" she asked pleasantly.

Ranma and Akane nodded together. "Yeah, I'm starved!" he told his sister.

With that the four sat on the floor and tore into the delivery bags. Soon bowls of Kimchee, Kalbi, Bul Go Ghi, and a searing-hot pile of Yakimandoo were being passed around. Everyone ate in silence, although occasionally Ranma would see his sister favoring him with a sly grin. Not wanting to add fuel to the fire, he ignored her and concentrated on his meal, lest a telltale sign of embarrassment show on his face.

"Oh, that was so good!" Akane said moments later as she put down her chopsticks and patted her belly.

"That's it, I'm done!" Sato added as he placed a lid on his bul go ghi and neatly placed his chopsticks on top of the bowl.

Ranma and Ranko each looked down at their empty dishes and snorted with laughter. "Guess we were both *really* hungry, huh sis?" Ranma chortled.

This time it was Ranko with the red cheeks as she placed her chopsticks and all of her empty dishes into one of the bags. "You don't need to tell the whole neighborhood, bro," she said before sticking out her tongue. Everyone laughed at that, then followed Ranko's lead and began cleaning up the place. Sato hauled the leftovers and the trash downstairs while Ranko passed around some gum. "Here, all joking aside, we'll need this. That kimchee was good, but man was it strong!"

Akane nodded her agreement with Ranko's assessment and gratefully took two pieces of the deodorizing gum. Ranma regarded his sister suspiciously, looking for any hint that she knew what had happened earlier between he and Akane, then took two pieces of gum for himself.

"I'm going to go get my jacket," Ranko said as she held up the rest of the gum. "Plus Sato's probably going to need some of this."

Akane and Ranma watched as Ranko sprinted down the stairs. "Shall we go?" Akane asked with a smile.

"Sure," Ranma replied, taking hold of her hand and leading her towards the stairs.

"Wait!" Akane said suddenly, stopping just shy of the staircase.

"What's wrong?" Ranma asked her. Akane smiled and reached her arms around his shoulders until their bodies were close enough to touch. She then kissed him quickly on the lips. When she pulled back, she winked at him. "Had to make sure the gum was working."

Both of them suddenly had a hard time containing their laughter as they headed down the stairs.



****



Late Saturday evening



Nabiki scanned the length of the darkened avenue for signs of foot or vehicle traffic and once she was sure no one was around; she prized a key out of her sweatpants pocket. Squinting in the dull glow of the moonlight, she furtively approached a wrought-iron gate. The entry protected by the gate was just wide enough for a person to walk through and, given the height of the wall surrounding the property, it was her only way in to the site.

Delicately she adjusted the burden of her bookbag to avoid making noise as she reached out to take hold of the gate. Unable to see the lock due to the shadowing of the high walls, she had to feel her way around the gate to locate the keyhole. The metal bolt for the lock clanged back and forth loudly against the receiver despite the ginger way in which she touched the gate. A moment of paranoia swept over her as the noise echoed loudly across the street, causing her to press herself flat against the wall in the event that any people were nearby.

Nabiki heaved a sigh of relief a full two minutes later when no one approached her and, relocating the keyhole with less noise than before, she rapidly inserted the key and unlocked the gate. She grit her teeth again as the bolt disengaged from the receiver with a loud CLANG, causing her to quickly open the gate and step inside. Not wasting any more time, and foregoing any further attempt at maintaining silence, she quickly closed the gate and locked it from the other side.

She eyed the grassy expanse of open lawn before her and made a desperate dash for a tall tree in the distance. Sitting down beneath it, she took several deep breaths as she looked, wide-eyed, across the surrounding landscape. 'How no-one managed to hear me after all that is unbelievable. I swear I made enough noise to wake up deaf people,' Nabiki groused mentally.

Taking time to let her racing heart calm down, Nabiki leaned back against the tall tree and looked up into the dark sky. Thin wisps of cirrus clouds hung high in the atmosphere, filtering the light from the full moon to cast a dull white, almost pallid illumination across everything. With the grounds easier to navigate courtesy of the natural light, she walked towards her intended target.

Sitting down in a clear grassy spot amidst a group of shoulder-high bushes at the far end of the lot, she took off her bookbag and settled it on the ground. "I have been waiting for this all day!" Nabiki whispered to herself victoriously.

"What have you been waiting for?" an inquisitive male voice called from the other side of the bushes.

"YAAAAAAAAAH!" Nabiki cried hysterically, clutching the bookbag to her breast desperately as she shot to her feet.

"Hey, calm down!" the voice hissed irritably as the silhouette of a young man appeared from the other side of the bushes. "You keep yellin' like that and the cops will hear you."

"Who- Who are you?" Nabiki asked, barely able to keep her voice straight given how violently she was trembling.

"I guess you don't remember me from last weekend, but I'm Hikaru Gosunkugi. I helped out with the rebuilding of your family's dojo last Saturday," he explained as he stepped out of the shadow and faced her directly. He held up his hand to show a key dangling from a long cord. "Apparently I'm not the only one with a key to this place."

Nabiki put her bookbag back on the ground as she shot him a withering glare. "I remember who you are. You're one of Ranma Saotome's friends." She sat down next to her bookbag, but kept her eyes on the sudden interloper. "You didn't have to scare the hell out of my like that, you know," she growled.

Hikaru took her action as an invitation to sit down. Laughing nervously, he ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, I didn't expect anyone to be here. I usually come to this place when I want to be alone. Still, I'm sorry I scared you like that, Nabiki."

She eyed him suspiciously. "What makes you think you know me well enough to call me by my first name? Just because you helped out last weekend doesn't make you a family member."

Hikaru shrugged nonchalantly. "Even before last weekend I'd seen you around often enough at school to know who you are. I'm just one of the few guys who doesn't owe you any money." He favored her with a roguish grin as he held out a hand to her. "For what it's worth, I honestly apologize for scaring you earlier. It wasn't intentional or nothin' like that."

Nabiki looked at the hand skeptically before eventually taking it in a businesslike handshake. "Apology accepted." She hurriedly disengaged his hand and unzipped her bookbag. She stopped halfway when she realized that he was still sitting next to her and sat her bookbag on the ground. "I'm sorry, but I wasn't expecting to see anyone here either, so if you don't mind..." Nabiki stopped talking the moment she realized that her bookbag had tipped forward, revealing a tall bottle and a glass tumbler tucked inside.

Hikaru's inquisitiveness got the best of him as he reach out and, before she could stop him, he took hold of the bottle. Pulling it out of the bookbag, he held it up close to his face and squinted in the dim evening light to read the label. "Whoa! Otokoyama! That's some expensive shit." Hikaru eyed Nabiki cautiously as if reassessing her. "I never knew you drank."

Nabiki's eyebrow arched. "What do you know about sake?" she asked doubtfully, ignoring the rest of what he said.

"Oh, I know a good bit about it. Ranma's dad stocks a lot of sake at his house. A whole bunch of different types, in fact. Every now and again I'd pinch a bottle from the cellar when no one was around. It's difficult to sneak it out of their house because his mom is really paranoid and stuff. Still, I always managed to get away with it. Otokoyama is really smooth, so it's worth the risk."

Nabiki grimaced at his explanation. "Well, for a small time crook you do have pretty good taste. And you're right that it is smooth.."

"Crook!?" he hissed indignantly. "Hey, I'm not the *only* one who broke into the school grounds tonight. At least I wasn't coming here to get myself drunk." Hikaru shot her an accusatory look. "That is why you're here, isn't it?"

Nabiki leaned forward and grabbed the bottle from him irritably. "It's not what you think. I just felt like ... Never mind, that's none of your business! Why are *you* here, anyway? You just like to sit on the grass and stare at the clouds?" she snapped.

Hikaru's façade slipped somewhat. "No, I had a bad argument with my girlfriend a few hours ago and I needed a place to go so I could think about stuff." He gestured to his surroundings. "This place is a nice hidey-hole and is great for hanging out when you don't want to be bothered, even during school hours." He looked squarely at her. "I didn't think anyone else knew about this little bald spot in the bushes."

Nabiki leveled a knowing look at him. "Sweetie-pie, there isn't much about this school that I *don't* know. However..." She paused, eyeing him up and down, then continued. "However, and don't get offended, but you don't look like the type of person who would have a girlfriend in the first place. So pardon me if I don't believe everything you told me."

Hikaru favored her with a sour expression. "I guess Miss Ice Princess doesn't know as much as she'd like to, then," he shot back acidly.

Nabiki's expression hardened. "No, I guess not. So what kind of girl do you imagine going out with anyway?"

Hikaru's chest puffed out. "Ranma's sister, Ranko Saotome!" he declared proudly, despite the setback she'd handed him at her home a mere five hours before.

Unable to control herself, Nabiki laughed derisively. "*You* think you're good enough to go out with a girl as good looking and athletic as Ranko Saotome? Hahahahahaha!"

"Fuck you, Nabiki! I came here to think about my problems, not to take shit from the person who dug Sato's heart out with a tuning fork and then shoved it up his ass in front of the whole world yesterday."

Nabiki flinched at the mention of Sato's name. "I didn't mean it that way," she said defensively. "He caught me by surprise, is all! He, I... Sato..." Nabiki became withdrawn as she ground to a halt, unable to meet Hikaru's eyes.

The change in demeanor caught Hikaru off guard. Unable to sustain his ire, he proffered yet another apology to cover his sudden discomfort. "Hey, look. We've both been through a lot of weird shit lately and I'm just trying to get it all straight in my head. Since you look like you're here for the same reason I am, let's forget the last five minutes ever happened." Again he offered her his hand. "Deal?"

Nabiki hesitated for a moment, then nodded her assent as they once again shook hands. "Okay, deal." She peeled the top off of the bottle and uncorked it. Pouring a full glass of the premium sake, she held it up to eye level as she faced Hikaru. "I've only got the one glass, I'm afraid. If it helps, I don't have any germs that I know of." She held the glass out to him with a wan smile. "Misery loves company, you know. Wanna share?"

Hikaru nodded and took the proffered glass in hand. "Kanpai, Nabiki-san," he said as he raised the glass to her, then took a big gulp. Quickly he shoved the glass back in her direction as the power of the alcohol content caught in the back of his throat, taking away his breath. "Here!" he croaked as he forced the glass into her hands. "I took *cough* too big a swallow."

"I saw," Nabiki replied dryly as she sipped from the glass. "I thought you said you knew how to drink this stuff." She took another sip as she awaited his answer.

Hikaru pounded his chest and cleared his throat a couple of times before answering her. "I know what it tastes like, but I've never drank it out of a glass this big before. Usually it was in one of those little sake cups you see at the corner ramen shop."

"They only serve the cheap stuff in those little ones," Nabiki taunted playfully, glad that the sake was finally starting to make her mellow out. "This sake is served in bigger glasses than those thimbles."

"They usually serve it in glasses that big?" Hikaru asked incredulously, pointing at the glass tumbler she was nursing.

Nabiki shook her head, feeling quite relaxed and chatty after having slowly downed about half of the glass. "No, not usually this big," she admitted. She passed the glass back to him. "Here, try it again. Take small sips of it and *try* to taste it this time," she said in a mocking tone.

Hikaru took the glass from her, then stuck out his tongue. He smirked as she giggled at the spectacle he was making of himself in the moonlight. Taking a sip, he rolled it around his tongue before swallowing. "It definitely doesn't taste like warm sake."

Nabiki stretched her arms out as she nodded. "We have a winner!' she declared. "That warm sake is only good for washing your feet."

Hikaru laughed into the glass. "Washing your feet? Where the hell did you get that from?"

"I overheard it at the store where I buy the sake for the house. The store owner is a rather colorful guy, so that's how," she explained.

"Oh," he said as he took another couple of sips from the glass. Holding the bottom of the glass up to eye-level, he swished the remains around noisily in the glass. "Hey, there's not much sake left in here."

"Looks like someone's been enjoying my sake," Nabiki replied with a slight giggle. "I wonder who that could be."

Hikaru, enjoying the silly mood, pointed at her and swished the glass again. "Hey, my glass is empty! It's not going to fill itself, Nabiki."

"It's my glass, and yes it *is* empty, okay?" she said with a laugh. She held the bottle out and refilled the glass, then placed the half-empty bottle back on the ground and stoppered it shut. "You happy now?"

Hikaru took another sip from the glass and nodded, a giddy look on his face. "I didn't know you were this cool until now, Nabiki," he declared with authority.

Nabiki waved her hands in front of her face. "Yeah, I know. I'm a gal of many talents." The waving grew more intense as her cheeks flushed from the effects of the alcohol, causing her face to grow warmer. "Whew! It's getting toasty out here!" she declared loudly.

"Shhhh!' Hikaru hissed. "Don't get too loud," he added around another sip of sake. "We don't need party crashers."

"Oops!" Nabiki said with an embarrassed grin. She put a hand to her face to cover a small burp. "I didn't mean to be so loud. It's just that I'm getting really warm in this thing." Without hesitating, Nabiki peeled off her sweatshirt, revealing a clingy A-shape undershirt that was dotted with small spots of wetness. "I was starting to sweat under that," she added, pointing to the discarded garment.

"Duh!" Hikaru said with a snicker. "It is a sweatshirt after all." He looked her over once again and, thanks to the dim light from above, he noted that she wasn't wearing a bra underneath the sheer fabric of her A-shirt. What he could see of her had him staring openly.

"Yup," Nabiki tittered, unaware of his ogling as she stretching her arms and wiggled her fingers. "And I'm too much of a lady to sweat like that."

Hikaru snorted. "A lady? You're the first one I've talked to today." He raised the glass to her again in a toast. "So here's to you, Lady Nabiki."

Nabiki took the glass from his hand with a bow. "Why, thank you!" she purred as she took a big sip from the glass and swallowed it down with relish. Taking another sip, she smiled at him and raised the glass to him in a return toast. "To the guy who shares my drinks and makes me laugh."

Both of them broke down in a fit of silly laughter. Hikaru stood up and moved to sit next to Nabiki. Taking the glass from her, he placed his other hand on the ground behind her to brace himself upright as he looked at her. "I'm glad I can make someone laugh tonight, Nabiki." He took a big sip from the glass and smacked his lips with gusto. "Good shit!"

Nabiki giggled again as she commandeered the glass and took another sip from it, bringing the glass back down to near empty. "Well, I guess I needed the company more than I thought, so thank you." She looked him in the eyes and squinted to bring him back into focus. "So what happened tonight anyway? You said you had an argument or something with Ranko Saotome?"

Hikaru nodded, his expression clouding a bit. "Yeah, she didn't want to play around with me like I was hopin'. In fact, she got mad at me for trying, so she kicked me out of her house and told me to come back later when I calmed down." He snorted derisively. "Calm down my ass. She was hot and ready for it when we first started watching videos."

Nabiki's eyebrows cocked inquisitively. "Really?" she asked, handing the cup back to him and reaching for the bottle. "I wonder what changed her mind." She poured more sake into the glass and then placed the bottle back in its resting place as he mulled the question.

"I dunno, Nabiki. I thought I was doin' it the right way for Ranko." He paused to take another sip from the glass. "I mean, when I was playing with her tits the last time you would'a thought I was giving her the time of her life. The way she was all 'ooh' and 'aah' every time I rubbed 'em made it sound like I was doing it right. At least she gave as good as she got last time."

Nabiki looked at him oddly. "She felt your tits too?" she asked with a snicker.

Hikaru laughed at the silly notion. "No, not there," he corrected stridently, pointing down at his crotch. "Down there," he said with a conspiratorial wink.

"Oh!" Nabiki said in mute revelation. "She didn't..." she hesitated a moment before pointing to her lips.

"Shit no! I wish she had, though." He took a big sip from the glass, then continued. "She used her hand, which was good enough to get me going that night."

Nabiki's face colored as she imagined the goings on between Hikaru and Ranko, but she couldn't get the doubt out of her mind. "You're making this up because I'm drunk, aren't you?" she declared.

Hikaru set the glass down opposite him and looked Nabiki in the eyes. "No way! I wouldn't make somethin' like that up. Ranko would beat me up if I spread lies about her."

"She might beat you up anyway for just talking about her."

Hikaru paled slightly at that, then giggled at her. "Hey, you won't tell anybody, will you?" he asked in a whisper, winking at her.

Nabiki smiled slyly at him. "Oh, I think I might be able to keep my mouth shut about this whenever I see her."

"Honest?"

Nabiki nodded, and for a long while the two sat together sharing sake in companionable silence. Eventually Hikaru refilled the glass and took another big sip, then leaned back to look at the sky. Feeling a strong buzz start to take hold of him, he turned to look at Nabiki as he handed her the glass. When their eyes met, Nabiki smiled and took a big sip of her own, then picked up the conversation where they left off. "You know... I still wonder how much of what you're telling me is true and how much of it is boyish exaggeration."

"I'm tellin' you the truth here," he declared, putting an arm around her shoulders. He held his other hand up in front of her face and crossed his index and middle fingers. "Honest!" Both of them giggled at his crossed fingers before he realized what he was doing and instead spread them into a "V" for victory.

Nabiki shrugged his arm off and turned to face him, their noses only a few inches apart. "Really? So, you can tell me how big her tits were, right?"

"What?" Hikaru shot back, puzzled.

"I mean, if you really saw her tits, you could tell me how big they were and what they looked like, right?"

"Well," Hikaru squirmed. "How would *you* know what they looked like?" he challenged.

Nabiki smiled at him and whispered. "I've seen them. In fact, I've seen *every inch* of her body."

"Bullshit!" he retorted in a drunken shout. "You saw Ranko naked?"

Nabiki nodded, a haughty smirk gracing her lips. "Oh yeah. She had to take a bath at my place after the first night working on repairing the Dojo. I got to sit right next to her in the bath, too." She giggled again and pointed at him. "Now 'fess up! Have you seen her tits or were you just saying that to impress me?"

"Well, I never really saw them-" he began glumly.

"I thought so!" Nabiki crowed triumphantly, interrupting him. "You *were* bullshitting me!"

"I was not! I said I'd touched them. My hand was under her shirt that night and I had those puppies sitting right here." He held his hands in front of her face again. "And I swear I'm not shittin' you. If she didn't have her shirt on while I was doing her that night, you bet I would have seen 'em." He squeezed his fingers closed, not quite making a fist. "They felt really soft, too. And I would've been feelin' 'em again today if she hadn't chickened out on me," Hikaru groused.

In a surprisingly deft motion given how much sake she'd consumed, Nabiki pulled her undershirt off. Her bared breasts swayed tantalizingly with every movement of her arms. Placing the small A-shirt atop her sweatshirt, she planted her fists atop her thighs and looked at him challengingly once again. "So do you think mine are as big as hers?"

Hikaru's jaw hit the ground as he stared at the very nice looking breasts on display in front of him. "I - Huh, wha?" he stammered as his eyes followed her every movement.

"I said," she began, then reached out and before he could object she took hold of his left arm and placed his palm against her right breast. "Are mine as big as hers?"

His hand closed around the plump mammary, causing both of them to moan in pleasure. "I- I can't believe you're letting me do this!" he said with drunken incredulity. "Damn!" he whispered, rapt.

"You still haven't answered my question," Nabiki reiterated, leaning forward to press her breast deeper into his hand. "Are my tits as big as Ranko Saotome's?" she whispered huskily into his ear.

"I- Well... To be honest, I- I have to say yours feel bigger than hers," he declared as he took the other one in his free hand and began a lazy caress of both. "Wow! They really are bigger!" Hikaru stretched his fingers of both hands out as far as he could in an attempt to encompass the full mass of each breast.

"Woohoo! Someone finally thinks I've got bigger ones than another girl!" she cheered. "I guess I should be glad that some guy's actually noticed that I have some to begin with," she added sarcastically. "Ranma saw them last weekend, but he didn't really play with them the way you are now." Nabiki put a hand over her mouth. "Oops! I don't think I was supposed to say anything about that," she said softly, then both of them burst out in a fit of drunken laughter.

Hikaru thought to ask her about Ranma's involvement in her boobs, but was enjoying himself too much to stray from his primary train of thought.

"Hey, it feels like you have some experience doing this," she assessed, enjoying his attentive fingers. Nabiki cooed and giggled, the combination of sounds coming out rather weirdly. "Well, anyway I am a couple of years older than Ranko is, so that may be why I'm bigger than her," she concluded logically.

"Uh, yeah," Hikaru agreed, too distracted to really follow what she was saying.

The drink-enhanced sensations she was feeling overrode her sensibilities, causing Nabiki to act on impulse. Leaning forward, she placed a quick kiss on Hikaru's lips. "Damn, did I just kiss you, Gos?" she asked in genuine surprise. "Man, I must be drunker than I thought," she declared with another giggle as she sat back, but not outside of the reach of his constantly stroking hands.

His wide-eyed expression gave way to indignation. "Yeah, you did kiss me just then. And don't call me Gos. I've never liked that nickname."

Nabiki looked down the nearly empty glass of sake and then back at Hikaru active hands. "Oh, who cares? No one can hear us anyway," she slurred before reaching around him to pick up the glass tumbler. Draining it dry, she looked at Hikaru with a playful smirk as she put the glass back on the ground. "You really like these, don't you?" she cooed, pointing at her breasts.

"Absolutely!" he said with a goofy grin. He eyed Nabiki's erect nipples wantonly and soon was holding them securely between his thumbs and forefingers. He looked down at his crotch, which sported a slightly noticeable bulge. "Looks like something else is likin' 'em too," he added with a triumphant smirk.

"Well, you remember what you told me a little bit ago?" Nabiki asked in a playful voice, a slight pout forming on her lower lip as she regarded his suddenly lumpy jeans.

"A little bit ago?" Hikaru asked, puzzled.

Nabiki nodded, drawing in a shuddering breath. "Yeah, a little itty bitty bit ago." She giggled, holding her hand up with her fingers barely parted in an effort to show him just how small an 'itty bitty bit' was, then leaned deeper into his hands again. "You told me that you wanted to fuck me," she said accusingly, wagging a finger at him. "Remember? Those were the words you used."

"Oh, that," Hikaru said, crestfallen at the possibility of a good evening coming to an abrupt end. "Sorry... I didn't mean it that way."

"Yes." Nabiki giggled again and placed her hands over his, urging him to squeeze her breasts more intently.

"Uhh, what? I don't understand."

"I'm telling you yes! Go ahead and do me!" Nabiki clarified in a lustful shudder of a voice. "C'mere, Gos. It's your lucky day," she announced as she grabbed hold of his shoulders and pulled him down on top of her. "I mean, it's your lucky night," Nabiki purred drunkenly before placing a deep kiss on his lips and wrapping her legs around his waist.



****



An uncomfortable silence descended upon the group of four teens as soon as they had left the hospital. Ranma placed a supportive arm around Akane's shoulders which she accepted gratefully. The two walked ahead of Sato and Ranko, who were lost in their own thoughts. "She seemed happy to see us," Akane murmured.

Ranma drew in a deep breath and nodded his agreement as he blew his breath out in a rush. "I can't believe they've already got her up and walking around, though. She looked exhausted when we arrived."

"I think they do that to keep her legs from getting weak," Akane guessed. "I know I'd get restless laying in bed for that long."

"Yeah," Ranma agreed. The two looked at each other and suddenly words were no longer necessary. Akane slipped her arm around Ranma's waist and rested her head against his shoulder. She felt safe his presence, which is something she treasured dearly during a time in which she felt far too vulnerable.

Akane shuddered to think of what Motoko had gone through on that horrible Thursday night. She recognized the look in Motoko's eyes as she sat by her in the hospital room. It was the same look that Akane had seen in the mirror every morning for the past few months, until recently that is. Her heart went out to the girl and she could only hope that Sato's friend would heal soon and get on with her life again.

Sato, meanwhile, was drowning in guilt. He winced as if he'd been struck every time he recalled the badly bruised and battered face of his good friend and couldn't help but blame himself for her present condition. He sighed forlornly, prompting Ranko to place a supportive arm around his shoulders. "Hey, you okay Sato?" she asked softly.

Sato and Ranko stopped walking, neither of them realizing that Ranma and Akane had kept on going. "I swear I didn't remember her looking that bad when I brought her to the hospital, Ranko." Unable to contain it any more, he wept softly. "It's not fair what happened to her. I should've gotten there sooner! I should've been able to do *more* for her. I should've-" He broke off suddenly as he tried to get a rein on his emotions. Searching for solace, he enveloped Ranko in a desperate hug.

Ranko, who had fought her own tears the entire time she was visiting with Motoko, broke down the moment Sato embraced her. "I know, Sato," she sniffled. "That bastard Yutaka had no right to treat her like that." She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and pulled back from his desperate embrace. "But you should take heart, you understand? She's looking better than when I saw her late on Friday, and I know her well enough to know that she will survive." Ranko put her hands on his shoulders and stared at him intently. "Don't forget that you're the reason she will survive. All of us have to be strong for her, okay? If we don't keep our spirits high when we're around her, we will only make it more difficult for her. Focus on the good, Sato."

Sato nodded, agreeing with Ranko's advice. "I know, Ranko. I just- I just didn't realize just how much damage had been done to her until tonight." He put his hands atop hers. "I'm glad you were there, Ranko. I appreciated the company and I'm sure she did too."

" She needed to know that we were there for her so I was damned glad to do it," Ranko confided. "Come to think of it, Motoko will probably want someone to visit her again tomorrow."

"I won't be there."

"Why not?"

Sato looked down the road and saw that Ranma and Akane had walked so far ahead of them that they were almost beyond view. He nudged Ranko along and soon they were walking arm-in-arm back to her house. "Well, I think she needs some time to be with her parents and with Maru," Sato continued.

"Who's Maru?" Ranko asked, puzzled.

"Did you see that tall guy with the black leather jacket and the messed-up hair when we were leaving Motoko's room?"

Ranko nodded. "Yeah. The one you were talking to in the hallway, right?"

"Yep, that guy. He's Motoko's boyfriend. When Maru and I were talking earlier he told me that he barely managed to catch a flight out of Australia in time. That's why he was looking so rough. I doubt he's had any sleep since he found out what happened to Motoko two days ago."

Ranko oh'ed. "I didn't even know that she was seeing someone."

"She keeps that part of her life to herself. I only know about it because of the long friendship I have with her." Sato smiled again. "Maru admitted that he was surprised but very grateful that I was the one who had come to Motoko's aid." He sighed again and looked up into the starry night sky. "He also told me that he was planning to ask her at Christmas if she would marry him once she'd graduated high school."

"Really?" Ranko asked in a stunned voice.

"Yes, it's true," Sato said in a voice thick with emotion. He clenched his jaw in an attempt to force himself to stop crying. "I think he'll still ask her, and I bet she'll still say yes. It's just going to take a little bit longer than he expected before he's able to ask the question."

The two walked in silence for the remainder of the journey, although their pace quickened in order to catch up to Ranma and Akane. The four were reunited just shy of the front door of the Saotome residence where Ranma had unlocked it and was ushering everyone inside.

After Ranma had stepped inside and locked the door behind him, he saw that everyone had already taken seats on the two couches in the living room area. A pall had once again descended on the entire group and it was all he could do to avoid getting sucked into the same glum feelings as those around him. Still, given how much things had changed between he and Akane over the course of the day, he couldn't resist the urge to sit down next to her.

"Hi," Akane said with a weak smile as she reached for a tissue and made room for him on the couch. "You okay?"

"I was about to ask you the same question." Ranma looked across the coffee table to where Ranko and Sato were sitting. "How about you two?"

"Sato and I talked about it on the way back. We're bummed about her condition, but we both know she's going to pull through."

"Yeah, Ranko's right," Sato agreed. "It was a bit of a shock seeing her like that, but I know she'll be feeling better eventually."

Akane, uncaring of who saw, kissed Ranma on the cheek. "I'm okay, now. I'm glad you were there with me. You and Sato did a very brave thing and I'm proud of both of you for being so selfless."

Ranma cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably under his sister's and Sato's scrutiny. "Well, it was the least I could do."

Ranko, tired of the glum tone that was bringing everyone down, switched gears. "So what did you and the Dragon Lady talk about, bro?"

"Who? Oh! You mean Ms. Yoshida?"

"Yeah, that one. Was she giving you any more crap about what happened last week?"

Ranma shook his head. "Naah. I think she's finally figured out what the truth is. You saw the cops standing at the door to Motoko's room, after all. She wouldn't have put them there unless she believed me about the guy with the knife." He shrugged his shoulders. "I think she just wanted to let me know what she'd found out since the interviews on Friday, that's all."

Sato became more animated now that the focus of the conversation had shifted. "Yeah, when I talked to her she told me that she'd found out who the owner of the knife was. Said that the cops had matched a print from the knife to a student with a previous conviction for assault."

"Hah! I figured that knife was going to be important!" Ranma said with a proud smirk.

"Ranma, you didn't tell me she was the one who had interrogated you on Friday," Akane said with a touch of ire. "If I'd known that I would've gone over there and slapped her."

"Well, I'm kinda glad you didn't, Akane," Ranko replied. "If you had then we would've had to take all the rest of our food money and bail you out of jail."

Everyone laughed at that and the mood in the room lightened somewhat. "I guess you have a point there, Ranko. Still it would've felt *so* good to give it to her," Akane confessed, rubbing her hands together thoughtfully.

Sato looked over at the clock. "Well, it's almost eight o'clock. How late are we planning on staying up tonight?"

"It's only Saturday, Sato," Ranma replied. "We don't really have anything important waiting for us and we definitely don't have to go to school tomorrow."

"Hallelujah!" Akane cheered. "I don't even want to think about school right now."

"You're welcome to stay here overnight if you like," Ranko offered. "Both of you."

"Thanks, Ranko. I think I will crash here. I could use some time among friends."

Ranko nodded to him and then turned to look at Akane. "How about you, girl?" she said with a sly smirk.

Akane blushed at the look Ranko was giving her. "Well, I'd love to stay the night, but I think I'm going to be needed by Kasumi and daddy tomorrow morning."

"I hope you're able to get through to her," Sato said softly, knowing exactly what Akane was talking about.

"Thanks, Sato. I know you're as worried about her as I am. We'll get to the bottom of all of this even if we have to chain Nabiki to the floor to do it."

Ranma rubbed Akane's back tentatively, unsure if she would welcome the calming gesture or not. Based on the smile that she aimed at him, he relaxed and put a little more effort into what he was doing. "So does this mean you're leaving already?" he asked her in a voice tinged with regret.

"Yes, I think it's best if I get home before it gets to be too late." Akane stood up from the couch. "I'm really glad I came over today." Ranma quickly stood up next to her and followed her to the front door.

"You think you'll be coming over tomorrow?" Ranko asked as she too stood up and followed them to the door. Sato, noticing he was quickly being left behind, stood up and joined them.

"I dunno right now, Ranko. It'll depend on how things go tomorrow morning." Akane looked over at Ranma before continuing. "I'm pretty sure I'll be coming over tomorrow, but I won't know for how long. I'll be sure to call you before I head out, though."

"That's fine," Ranko said with a smile before she wrapped her friend up in a warm hug. "You take care of yourself on the way home."

Ranma, who was thinking along the same lines as Ranko, offered to walk Akane home. "I think we'd all feel better if we knew you arrived safe at home, especially after what we just talked about."

"Oh! Well, okay. If you think it'll be necessary." She snapped her fingers as she suddenly remembered something. "Rats, I almost forgot! I need to call Kasumi-chan and let her know I'm heading home."

Ranko shook her head. "Don't worry about it Akane. You and Ranma go on and I'll call your sister for you, okay?"

Sato thought to offer his services as an additional escort until he caught a glimpse of the way Akane was looking at Ranma. 'Whoa! That's a look I've never seen her give him before.' Understanding the implications of what he was witnessing, he kept his mouth shut and stepped back a bit from the crowd. "Have a good night, Akane."

"Thanks Sato," Akane said with a big smile. "For everything."

Sato nodded, then looked over at his friend. "You up for more videos when you get back, man?"

"Yeah, I might even stay awake for it this time," Ranma replied with a laugh.

Ranko and Sato both snorted at that one. "That'll be a surprise given your record over the past couple of weeks, bro."

"Ha ha..." At that Ranma opened the door and escorted Akane out. "I'll probably be gone about twenty minutes."

'Take your time' Ranko mouthed while Akane's back was to both of them. She winked conspiratorially before answering him. "Okeydoke, bro. We'll probably be up in the attic when you get back." Ranma blushed severely and fought down the urge to smack her behind in retaliation for her antics.

"Take care, Ranko," Akane said as she turned and waved to her friend.

"I will," Ranko answered as she waved in kind, then closed the front door.

"Shall we?" Akane asked as she took his hand in hers and led him down the sidewalk.

"Sure," Ranma stammered unsurely. Once again he was very aware of the fact that it was just he and Akane, and that they were walking hand-in-hand. That reminded him of the kiss that she'd planted on him a couple of hours ago, and that had his stomach tightening both in anticipation and trepidation.

Akane caught the uncertain tone of his voice and stopped in her tracks. "Are you upset with me, Ranma?"

"What? No way, Akane!" he assured her.

She studied his face as closely as she could in the muted glow of distant street lamps. 'Geez, I hope I didn't push things too far with him today,' Akane worried to herself. 'While he's nothing like Kuno was, thank God, he does seem very reluctant for some reason. Have I been reading him wrong somehow?' She gnawed on her lower lip as she pondered this. "Are you sure I didn't make you angry when we... you know... kissed earlier?"

Ranma felt his cheeks heat up and was grateful that the darkness of night obscured the signs of his discomfort. "No, Akane. I'm not mad at you at all, honest!"

"Okay, well it just seems like you didn't - mmmf!"

That last part due to the fact that suddenly Ranma pulled her close to him and kissed her forcefully on the lips. Akane moaned contentedly as she once again basked in the delirious sensations of the sweet and tender moment. She ran her hands across the toned muscles of his back before she guided them up into his thick black hair where she wantonly entangled her fingers. A minute later the couple parted, both of them short of breath yet smiling at one another. "Does that answer your question?" Ranma asked playfully.

"Yeah," Akane said sheepishly as she released her hold on his hair. "It sure does."

"What were you worrying about anyway?" Ranma asked as he put an arm around her shoulders and resumed walking towards the Tendo compound.

"I was afraid that I might've been going too fast for you," Akane confessed. "It's been awhile since I've been close to someone and I wanted to make sure that I wasn't being pushy."

Ranma nodded his understanding. Part of him was quickly getting used to kissing her and was enjoying it more every time it happened. The other part of him, the one that was forever suspicious of any kindness directed towards him by Akane, feared that he was heading straight for a trap. A very painful trap at that. "Like I said before, I was surprised the first time you kissed me up in the attic," Ranma confided softly. "I wasn't looking for it to happen, but I'm glad it did."

"Really?"

"Oh yeah..."

"But?" she prodded.

"Well, I don't usually say this but- that was one of the most beautiful moments I've ever known." 'Where the hell did *that* come from?' Ranma asked himself, startled by the words the moment they'd left his mouth.

"Oh, that's so sweet!" Akane planted a loud kiss on his cheek and hugged him close to her.

Ranma swallowed nervously before continuing. "I think I need to tell you that I- I wasn't sure about asking you out... like in a date. This quickly, I mean. That's why I was completely surprised when you kissed me."

"Oh? So why didn't you ask me out?" Akane asked, her smile slipping a bit.

"Well, after I got you out from that engagement, I wasn't sure if you would be interested in dating anyone for awhile. I mean, from what you've told me and from what I heard around school, you didn't sound happy at all when you were with him."

Her smile disappeared completely. "It may have been an engagement, but it definitely wasn't anything like going out on a date, Ranma."

"I'm sorry!" Ranma was quick to say. "I didn't mean to upset you, Akane."

"No, it's okay. I'm glad you brought this up, because if you and I continue to get closer, it's best if we were honest with each other." She sighed softly. "So in the spirit of honesty I'll confess this to you. Ever since the day I saw you and your family arrive at my house to help us repair the dojo, I believed that you were interested in me." Akane favored him with a playful grin. "Am I right?"

"Well..." Ranma answered uncomfortably, his suspicious side throwing out alarms everywhere it could. "You're right. I didn't think it was that uhh... obvious."

"Are you nervous?" Akane asked with a giggle.

"A little bit," he admitted.

Giggles turned into outright laughter. "You have nothing to worry about, Ranma. I'm not going to hurt you or anything like that."

"I know you won't, Akane. It's-" He hesitated as he tried to find the right words. "This is the first time I've ever kissed someone. I mean, a real kiss and all."

Akane made a sound of surprise. "You and Kinuko never kissed?" she asked, honestly curious.

Ranma just barely did manage to mask a sharp intake of breath at her mention of Kinuko. The alarm bells from earlier suddenly graduated to fog horns, air raid sirens, fire alarms and the sounds of incoming artillery shells. Grappling with a sudden wave of panic, Ranma hesitated a moment too long.

"Is that too personal a question?" Akane asked concernedly.

"No! It's just that... Well, she doesn't count in my mind," he answered quickly. 'After all, she only tried to have sex with me last night,' he added to himself sarcastically. 'That shouldn't count, right?'

"Really?" Akane asked with a smile on her face. She was glad that the darkness obscured her expression because she really didn't want Ranma thinking that she was gloating over such good news. Oh, she was gloating alright, but she didn't want that to sour their conversation.

"That girl has to have been the worst mistake I've ever made in my life," Ranma muttered, more to himself than for Akane's benefit. He knew it wasn't *his* mistake, but still someone who had previously owned this body had made the boneheaded decision to bed down Kinuko and he was forever saddled with the consequences of that decision, including Ranko's horror story about what happened last night. "It's like I was a completely different person back then, Akane," he admitted quite truthfully. "If I could erase my entire history with that nutbar, believe me I would!"

"That bad, huh?" Akane asked him, nearly giddy over the way he was bashing her rival.

Ranma chewed on his lower lip as he debated the wisdom of telling her about last night. 'Shit, I'm not going to tell her that!' he decided. 'According to Ranko I didn't really do anything *major* with that ditz anyway, so there's really nothin' to confess.' Still, he understood that he was going to have to answer for the past deeds of his other self. "Akane, there are some things in my past that I'm not proud of, especially about Kinuko. If you hear somethin' around school about me and her, I hope you'll remember that I'm not that kind of guy now. I'm a better person than that."

Akane nodded. "I understand Ranma and I believe you." Her stomach tied itself into knots as she realized where this conversation was headed. She hated that she had to confess the most painful moments of her past so early in her friendship, relationship, whatever the heck it was turning out to be with Ranma. Still, she told herself that it *had to* be done since he was being so open with her. Hesitantly, she continued. "I- I think I can trust you enough to- Well, the same thing you were talking about just now happened between me and Kuno." She loosed a relieved sigh at having gotten past the initial confession with her emotions intact. "I'm not proud of what happened and I hope you're able to look past it," Akane completed in a rush. She looked at him anxiously, hoping for a positive reply.

Ranma's heart fell into his shoes. 'Oh my God! She's not a virgin? That means that Kuno had sex with-' He was so enraged by the idea that he couldn't even complete the thought. 'That BASTARD dared to do *that* to her and then he turns around and treats her like trash? I'll beat the shit out of him!' His gaze turned white hot and despite his best efforts, his grip on her shoulder tightened.

"Ranma!" Akane said with a start, flinching as his fingers squeezed her shoulder roughly. She shot him a wounded look and suddenly felt like digging a hole deep in the ground and hiding inside.

"Sorry, Akane!" Ranma replied, flummoxed. He quickly released his grip on her and rubbed her violated shoulder tenderly. "I swear I'm not mad at you. It's just..." He sighed in disappointment. "Dammit... I thought I'd managed to break your engagement to him before somethin' like that could happen." He stopped directly underneath a street lamp so that she could see his face clearly. "Did he hurt you?" Ranma asked, his eyes full of concern and guilt.

Akane's eyes glistened with tears as she nodded. "First times almost always hurt for girls, Ranma," she admitted. "In my case I won't go into all the details; it just wouldn't be right. But I will tell you that I felt more like part of a circus freakshow while I was with him." With that, Akane could control her emotions no longer and broke down into tears.

For a moment Ranma was unsure of what he should do. It hurt him to see Akane in such pain, but he wasn't sure that he could do anything for her. Realizing how vulnerable she was and how badly she needed someone, Ranma swallowed his discomfort. "It's gonna be okay, Akane," he whispered in her ear as he wrapped her up in his arms and rubbed her head softly.

Akane held onto him desperately, afraid that if she let go of him he would suddenly disappear. "Kuno treated me like property from the very first day, Ranma," she confessed through her tears.

"Wait! You mean that... that he made you do it on the first date?" Ranma asked in disbelief. Akane nodded to him once again, her lower lip trembling uncontrollably. His fury over Kuno's callous treatment of her mounted to ever higher levels, yet at the same time he was feeling a goodly amount of disappointment over not having done a *lot* more damage to the pompous ass than he did on that fateful day. Ranma hugged her protectively as guilt hammered his conscience. 'I can't believe that my wish caused all of this. I am such a piece of shit.' "I'm so sorry, Akane. God, I'm so sorry."

Akane hugged him back with equal fervor. "You have nothing to apologize for, Ranma. From Kuno's point of view the engagement made me his wife automatically," she explained through a cascade of sniffles. "He acted like the wedding itself would be a formality in his eyes. I pretty much HAD to obey him, Ranma. As he would say, 'The dutiful wife always obeys her husband,'" Akane recited bitterly. "That's why I was worried about pushing you too far too quickly. You see, I didn't want to wind up being just as bad a person to you as Kuno was to me."

Ranma ached to tell her about the wish, and another small part of him pondered using the brooch to set things right for her. But before he could think more on it, Roarke's admonition about reserving the wish for a return home had asserted itself and he quickly abandoned the idea. "I'm so sorry, Akane," he apologized again. "I could've done something, if only I'd known!"

"You're such a sweet guy, Ranma. You don't need be punishing yourself over this on my account and you don't need to be feeling guilty over a decision that I made almost a year before," Akane insisted, her tears finally starting to abate.

With difficulty Ranma released the hold he had on his guilt and instead basked in the comfort of Akane's embrace. The glow from the street lamp gave them both a clear view of each other's face. Hers, streaked with tears, was smiling at him despite the anguish caused by her confession. His was the epitome of guilt. His conscience damned him for making that wish and causing her all this pain. "I'm sorry, Akane. I can't help it. Like I said before, I shoulda' been able to stop things before he- he could do 'it' to you."

"You- You don't hate me, do you?" she asked in a small voice, standing away from him suddenly. Akane feared the answer, but she had to know.

"I don't hate you, Akane. I couldn't hate you. I'd be a hypocrite if I did. I just feel like I let you down somehow." Ranma looked into Akane's eyes and finally saw all of the pain and regret that had been festering inside her. 'I am responsible for this,' he concluded. 'I'm going to have to do everything I can to make it up to her.' She smiled at him as he gave her a tentative squeeze of her shoulder. "Akane, I still feel guilty about -"

"Don't, Ranma. I mean it!" Akane said firmly. "I don't feel guilty about it anymore. Knowing that I am with friends who are caring people that won't judge me over my past is very gratifying, so I'm willing to let the past go." Akane gave him a look that clearly said that she wouldn't allow any more argument over it. "Okay?"

He nodded. "Fair enough, Akane. If you're okay with it, then I won't beat myself up over it."

"That's a good thing because I've seen how well you fight," she quipped.

Ranma laughed despite himself. Akane laughed as well, the sight and sound of which made him feel a little bit better. He found himself staring at her as she smiled up at him. "Wow. You really are pretty when you smile, Akane," he said in a soft voice.

Akane blushed at the compliment. "Thank you, Ranma." She ran her fingers through his hair again and looked deep into his eyes, her gaze communicating something entirely different now. Ranma never realized until this moment the power that a simple look could have as Akane's expression immediately sent a host of butterflies loose in his stomach.

"So I guess we understand each other a little better than we did this morning, huh?" she asked him softly.

"That's for sure," Ranma answered truthfully. "I think I've learned more about you today than I could'a learned in a year of just hangin' around with you."

"You think?"

"Oh, I'm pretty sure. Are you okay?" Ranma asked as he noticed tears filling her eyes once again.

"Yeah, I am," she said as she reached up and wiped her eyes with a hand. "I'm glad you don't hate me because I'm not a virgin."

"Akane, I'm not one either." 'Well, I'm technically not one, anyways,' he kept to himself. "So if you can respect me after hearing that, then I don't have a problem doin' the same for you."

Akane realized that she'd been holding her breath while awaiting his answer. She let her breath out in a relieved sigh and hugged him close. "Thank you," she told him in a whispery voice. "I promise I won't try to rush you or anything like that, okay?" she asked, looking up at him.

The small suspicious part of Ranma's conscience sighed relief. "That'll okay with me, Akane." He took her hand in his and resumed their trek towards her house. "I was just thinkin' about what we could do this week. My parents are supposed to be gone until Tuesday, so I'm probably gonna to have to stick around with Sato and Ranko until the folks get back from their cruise. That means I won't have a lot of time to spend away from home."

He looked at her as they walked side-by-side. "But after my folks get back, you wanna go out on a date with me?" He was surprised that, given everything the two had confessed as well as all of the affection shared between them since this afternoon, his stomach was suddenly doing gold-medal worthy somersaults.

"A real date, huh?" she asked with a shy smile on her face.

"Yeah," he said nervously. "A real date."

"Yes. I'd love that, Ranma."

Ranma let go of her hand and slipped his arm around her waist. Inside he was positively jubilant and wondered how much of it showed on his face. He got an answer to his question a moment later when he heard her laugh.

"You have got the *biggest* grin on your face, Ranma," she said, tittering while pointing at his mouth.

"Well, I don't know what to say," he said, shrugging his shoulders to cover his embarrassment. "I'm happy you said yes."

"So am I," Akane replied as she came to a halt.

"What's wrong?" he asked her the moment she stopped walking.

"Nothing's wrong, Ranma. We're here," Akane replied as she pointed straight ahead.

Ranma looked straight ahead and quite clearly saw the massive doors of the property boundary wall looming over the both of them. "Oh, duh!" He looked back to her even though the only part of her that he could discern in the darkness was her silhouette. "I guess my mind was on something else," he said, laughing nervously.

Akane wrapped her arms around his neck. "Probably the same thing my mind was on," she said as she kissed him deeply.

Ranma put his hands on her hips and pulled her closer to him, then happily absorbed himself in the simple act of a kiss. Akane caressed his face as their lips parted, eliciting a contented smile from him. "I'd better let you get inside before it gets too late," he told her in a soft voice.

"Thank you for escorting me home, Ranma. And for listening to me."

"See you tomorrow?" he asked hopefully

"Count on it," she said as they let go of each other. Reaching out for the handle, Akane pushed her way through the property wall doors and walked towards the house. Once she was on the porch she turned and waved playfully to him, then blew him another kiss. Ranma laughed at the spectacle she made of herself and waved back, then quickly turned and walked home.

The return trip took far less time than the trip there, with his mind warring between two states all the while. On one hand he was absolutely giddy that he had, from all appearances, a girlfriend who only wanted to go out with him. Not someone he was forced to marry out of familial obligation, just simply *a* girlfriend with no other fiancés bothering him and no jealous guys crowding him for Akane's affections. All in all it made for a very nice change of pace.

The other state of mind, however, was centered on him remaining mad at himself for causing her obviously painful situation. 'I will have to make sure Kuno pays for his part in that,' he vowed, while at the same time his conscience was recommending penalties that he needed to be meting out for himself for giving Kuno the opportunity in the first place.

'I need to talk to Ranko about this. I can't just keep this bottled up; it's too much for me to deal with,' Ranma admitted grudgingly. "But not when Sato's around. If I don't respect Akane's privacy completely, then I need to at least keep it between me and my sister.'



****



Sunday Morning:



Nabiki, lying nude on the grass of the Furinkan High campus, smiled drunkenly as she basked in the soft glow of the white moonlit night. She stretched her arms languorously and gave a very satisfied sigh. She looked over to her left and saw that Gosunkugi was also lying on his back, completely naked and staring up at the stars. Her head still buzzed from the effects of the nearly two liters of sake she'd shared with him, yet she realized that part of that buzz was coming from the aftereffects of what she and Hikaru had finished doing earlier.

Her mind was almost lucid enough for her to understand the implications of what she'd done and whom she'd done it with, but fortunately for her she wasn't aware enough yet to freak out over it. Instead she calmly reached over to her book bag and picked up her watch. Squinting, she hit the illumination button and saw what time it was. "Holy shit, Hikaru. Can you believe that we had sex for almost *four* hours?" The mere mention of the word "sex" prompted certain urgings in her to return.

She turned on her side and placed her hand on his limp appendage, a hungry look in her eyes. "It'll be morning in about six hours, Gos. *Hic!* You wanna do it one more time before we have to go home?" She scowled when she got neither a verbal nor a physical response from him and decided to up the stakes by shaking his flaccid length roughly. "You awake, Gos?" she yelled, giggling loudly at her mischief.

She waited a few moments before deciding that he wasn't going to answer her. She felt a fleeting moment of concern for him before noticing that his chest was rising and falling rhythmically. "Oh... It looks like you passed out," she sighed, letting him go and wiping her hands on the grass. A cool early-morning breeze caressed her bare skin, eliciting a delighted moan from her. "Well, since you're not gonna party with me anymore, I guess I'm gonna take my things and go home," she announced with a pout worthy of an intoxicated seductress.

Laughing, she stood up and stretched her arms and legs, then winced as a dull pain emanated from her midsection. "Ouch! I'm starting to feel sore down there!" she announced. Nabiki stretched again, much less energetically than she did last time and sighed in relief. She looked to her left and saw that the moon was creating a rather striking silhouette of her body in profile on the grass. 'Damn! I must be dreaming! Either that or maybe I should learn to go out naked more often if I'm gonna look *that* good! Nice bod, Nabiki,' she told herself, then laughed heartily.

'Guess I'd better get my stuff and go.' She bent down and started gathering her clothes. Once she'd finished piling them on the ground next to her book bag, she surveyed her surroundings. Hikaru was still naked and passed out on the ground at her feet. Her glass and the empty bottle of Otokoyama sat on the ground next to him.

"Thanks for the diversion, I guess, Gos," Nabiki muttered while she collected the remainder her things. 'I need to toss this bottle away,' she thought as she packed it away in her book bag. She pulled her satchel over her shoulder, then cradled the drinking glass and her clothes in her arms as she walked naked across the campus lawn. She fought dizziness as she made her way across the quad, stumbling a couple of times before reaching a bench with an adjacent trashcan. Leaning against the trashcan, she tossed her glass away and dusted her hands off with satisfaction.

Gosunkugi completely forgotten, she smiled to herself and sat down on the bench. "Wow, that metal's cold on my hiney!" she slurred as she squirmed in her seat. Placing her book bag and clothes next to her, she leaned back and rested her arms on the back of the bench and stared up at the moon.

"So pretty," she said in an awestruck voice. She closed her eyes and moaned appreciatively as another breeze blew over her sensitive skin. "I could get used to this," she confessed to no one in particular. Her body had soon grown comfortable with the feeling of the cold metal from the bench touching her bare skin, so despite the awkwardness of sitting on the bench in a very unladylike position and her head canted back to look upwards at the sky, Nabiki had no trouble falling asleep.

A beeping noise from nearby roused her from her slumber a couple of hours later. Her mind in a fog and her body shivering, Nabiki reached for her watch and put it on. She squinted in the darkness as she fumbled for the illumination button. 'Damn it's late,' she said as she blinked the sleep out of her eyes and stared at her watch again to make sure she got the time right. She was still tipsy from her earlier binge drinking, and to make matters worse she couldn't remember how she got to the school or how she managed to be naked. Standing up, she staggered a bit and had to steady herself against the back of the bench.

Nabiki reached down and picked up her clothes then started dressing. She absently noted as she was putting on her sweatshirt that her panties felt a bit loose and her undershirt was missing, but shrugged it off. 'Screw it. Unless I take my shirt off in front of someone, they won't know my tits are hanging loose,' she reasoned. Once she had put everything on that she could find and had finished fighting with her shoelaces, she headed for the same gate she'd used to get onto the grounds hours earlier.

Despite her intoxicated state, or maybe because of it, she smoothly and quietly unlocked the gate and stepped through then locked it back. Nabiki hummed to herself as she started the journey back to her house, taking her time walking so she could formulate a plan. During the long walk her mind started to regain some focus and the activities from earlier took on an even more dreamlike quality. Also, the more aware she became of her surroundings, the more urgent the need became for her to fabricate some kind of evidence to back up her cover story.

About a block away from the doors of the boundary wall for her home, she stopped beneath a street lamp and reached into her book bag to pull out her research notebook and something with which to write. Writing random investigative and technical phrases on both sides of the first two blank pages, including circles and underlines, she hoped that it would be enough to fool anyone that happened to question her about where she'd been. As she stuffed the notebook and pencil back in her bag, she wondered idly if she'd managed to keep her writing straight enough to look normal.

Shrugging, she walked towards the doors, stepped quietly through and then snuck into the house. Nabiki divested herself of her shoes and tiptoed up the stairs. 'I'm home free!' she exulted as she opened the door to her room. She stepped inside and, leaving the lights off, dropped her book bag on the floor. She reached down to pull back her comforter and screamed when the bed moved.

"I was wondering when you'd get home, Nabiki," Kasumi said irritably as she sat up and turned on the bedside lamp. Nabiki put a hand to her chest to try to calm her racing heart and slow her breathing. The scare had sobered her up quite a bit, but she still wasn't steady on her feet.

"You look AWFUL!" the eldest Tendo sister gasped. Kasumi quickly looked at the clock and gasped again. "Three in the morning! You've been out until three in the morning?" She shot to her feet and all but glared at her younger sister. "What have you been doing all this time?"

'Oh shit,' Nabiki growled mentally. "I told you already that I've been involved in some really serious research, sis. I've got my notebook right here if you need proof," she said as she pointed at her book bag. "By the way, what are you doing in my room, Kasumi?"

"Waiting on you," she replied sharply. "I got tired of sitting downstairs looking out for you to get home safe. Since you never called me or told me where you were going in the first place, the only thing I could do was stay up and wait on you. Once I got too tired to do that, I decided to come in here and lay down. I knew if you came home you'd head to your room first." Kasumi reached out and pulled a few blades of grass from Nabiki's hair. "My goodness! You look like you've been rolling around in someone's yard!"

'Grass on my head?' Nabiki's mind wondered as she scrambled to come up with a good cover story, despite the fact that her head was starting to ache. "I still have grass on me?" she asked her sister quizzically. She reached out and took one of the blades of grass from Kasumi's outstretched hand and squinted at it closely. A half-formed alibi started to take shape in her mind as she 'examined' Kasumi's evidence. "I was going to tell you this tomorrow at a normal time, but since you're here I'll just tell you now. I tripped over something in the dark as I was heading towards the house just now. I tried to catch myself but I still wound up falling down in our yard. I landed on my side and my head hit the ground kinda hard. I thought I'd managed to brush off all of the grass after I stood back up but I guess I didn't get all of it out of my hair," Nabiki said sheepishly. For added effect she began to rub the left side of her head, which *was* starting to throb a little bit.

"Oh, you poor dear! I had no idea! Did you hurt yourself?" Kasumi asked, full of concern as she looked her sister over carefully.

"My head hurts a bit, but that's about it," Nabiki answered quite honestly.

"Can I get you something?"

Nabiki nodded. "Just a glass of water and some aspirin, please." She rubbed her temples vigorously and tried to will away her growing headache. Also, the soreness she'd felt between her legs earlier was returning with a vengeance and it made her wonder what the hell she'd done to herself on that bench to make it hurt like that. "Right now I just want to take a bath and get some rest."

Kasumi patted her younger sister's shoulder gently. "Okay, I'll have the glass water and some aspirin waiting for you in here." She looked at her sister worriedly. "Do you need me to help you in the bath?"

Nabiki shook her head, which did nothing to help her mounting headache. "No, sis. I didn't hit my head that hard. I think I'll be able to manage on my own."

Kasumi nodded and pulled out a pair of pajamas for her. "Don't worry about the dirty clothes, Nabiki. Just leave them in the bathroom and I'll get to them in the morning."

Nabiki nodded obediently and hugged her sister. "I'm sorry I made you worry like that, Kasumi. I promise you I'll call and check in next time."

Kasumi returned the embrace affectionately but she couldn't help but wrinkle her nose at the odd aroma her sister was giving off. She'd smelled something like it before, but wasn't able to place the scent. "Okay, get a bath and be quick about it," she said after a moment's thought. "I don't want you falling asleep in there."

"Okay, Kasumi," Nabiki answered as she took the proffered pajamas in her arms and followed her sister out of her room. She headed towards the bathroom mechanically, the throbbing in her head now resembling a full Kodo rehearsal with concert amplification thrown in for effect. Her eyes almost blurring with the pain from her headache, Nabiki slid the door closed, placed her pajamas on a shelf and quickly stripped.

Picking up all of the dirty clothes in a tight bundle, she tossed them into the hamper and then looked at herself in the mirror. She squinted at a discolored patch of skin that showed rather proudly on her right breast just above the nipple. 'Oh, shit! Is that a *hickey?*' she wondered urgently as she looked closer at the mirror. 'How the hell did *that* happen?' Suddenly afraid, she put her hands down between her legs and reached inside where the soreness was at its worst. Wincing, she pulled her hand away and saw that her fingers were absolutely soaked with a sticky whitish substance. Nabiki made a disgusted noise as she wiped her soiled fingers against her bare thigh. 'Ohmigod!' she thought urgently as comprehension dawned on her. 'It wasn't just a nightmare...' Her stomach started to roil as panic enveloped her. 'I really did have sex with- with....' The color drained from her face entirely and her stomach started to rebel.

Nabiki sprinted for the shower controls as fast as she could and quickly reached out to turn both knobs on full. Sure that the noise was sufficiently loud to hide what she was about to do; Nabiki dropped the shower head on the floor, got on her hands and knees above the shower drain and threw up. For a full forty-five seconds her body convulsed violently as her stomach heaved again and again, purging as much of the remaining alcohol from her system as it could. Then once her stomach was empty she suffered through another few moments of dry heaving, with each movement more painful than the last. She held the shower wand up to her face and tried to wash her mouth out and swallow some of the warm water, but it came back up immediately. Not wanting to toss her cookies any longer, Nabiki settled for turning off the hot water and sitting on the tile with only the cold water washing over her body.

With her stomach somewhat calmer, Nabiki moved to the corner of the shower area and held the showerhead against her crotch. She shivered under the chilly stream but was too desperate to wash away any and all evidence of her sexual romp to care about feeling cold. Meanwhile she cried mournfully over the unintended loss of her virginity. "I can't believe I let that loser fuck me," she whimpered. "I know he's going to talk about it to everybody, too. Soon the whole school's gonna know that I lost my virginity to the campus weirdo." Her spirit crushed, Nabiki wept miserably. She no longer felt the cold water splashing against her sore privates since both her body and her mind had gone numb from shock and anguish.

"My cycle ended last week," she muttered to herself. "So maybe there's a chance I'm okay." Her nerves shattered, Nabiki stared blankly at the shower wall as she fretted over her potential motherhood. She prayed that she was not pregnant and hoped that somewhere her request was heard and answered. Suddenly able to feel the cold water spraying her crotch and belly once more, she lifted up her head and blinked her eyes to clear her vision. Nabiki's return to lucidity caused her to realize that a lot of time had gone by since she had gotten in the shower. Fearing that Kasumi might walk in on her and see the blighted spot of skin on her breast and start asking questions, Nabiki immediately stood up and turned the hot water back on.

Aiming the showerhead at the floor, she quickly washed the tiles clean. Once everything looked normal, she slathered some shampoo in her hair and on her crotch, desperately cleaning off what she could. Rinsing away the suds, she still felt unclean so she washed her privates repeatedly, each cleansing more thorough than the last. Nabiki didn't stop her "lather, rinse, repeat" cycles until she was once again quite sore between her legs. Finally deciding that enough was enough, she turned off the water and walked back to the changing area. Frowning at not having brought any panties with her, Nabiki reached for a towel and dried herself off, hissing in pain as she dried her privates with the unusually coarse-feeling fabric, then slipped on her pajamas.

Ignoring the spikes of pain that still persisted inside her head, Nabiki went to her room as fast as she could manage. Waiting for her on her nightstand was the glass of water, some aspirin and... some antacid? Not sure why Kasumi had added the third to her list, Nabiki nevertheless gratefully downed the antacid first and then the water and aspirin. She sat down on the edge of her bed and waited a good ten minutes before deciding that her stomach was done for the night. Lying down, she pulled the covers over her yet despite the warmth of her comforter Nabiki shivered uncontrollably. Unsure of what else she'd done that night; she closed her eyes and prayed again to the gods of non-pregnant teenage girls to keep her from becoming a mom all too early.



****



Barely awake and wondering what the hell she was doing up so early, Ranko shambled into the kitchen wearing a ratty t-shirt and her oldest pair of sweatpants. Despite the fact that her long hair was tied back in a ponytail it still looked like an unruly mass. "I thought I heard noise down here," she murmured as she approached her brother who was busy preparing breakfast. She rubbed her eyes and yawned loudly. "It's five-thirty in the morning, bro. What're you doing up already?"

At the sound of her voice, Ranma placed the pot of miso soup on the stove and turned around. "Morning, sis," he said with a forced smile. "I couldn't sleep, so I decided to come on down and make some breakfast."

"Did you get any sleep at all?"

He shook his head reluctantly. "No, not really."

"You wanna talk about it?" she asked.

Ranma eyed the doorway to the kitchen. "Is Sato still asleep?"

"I think so. He fell asleep in the attic before the last movie was over, so I just put a blanket over him and left him there. When I passed by the attic door before I came downstairs it was still shut." Ranko pulled a chair over from the breakfast table and sat down on it. "This sounds serious," she commented as she examined the distant expression on her brother's face

"It is," Ranma affirmed. "I knew you wanted to ask me about last night, but I didn't want tell you about it when we were in the attic because I didn't want Sato hearing me."

Ranko's brow furrowed in obvious concern for her friend's well being. "Does this have to do with him and Nabiki?"

"No, it's about me and Akane."

"Oh, well I don't see the need to be all 'ninja-sekrit' about you two now. She kinda let the cat out of the bag yesterday when she kissed you on the couch in front of us."

Ranma looked down at the floor to avoid meeting his sister's gaze. "Well, there's more to it than that."

Ranko's eyes widened. "Wait- you and she didn't... you know?" she hissed.

"No, we didn't!" He shot back quickly, emphasizing the point by shaking his head vigorously. "All I did was walk her to her house and then come back home. We didn't have time to do anything except talk to each other, sis."

"Then what's the big deal?" Ranko pressed.

"Well..." Ranma looked around to make sure that they were alone. "Things have changed between me and Akane."

"I could tell," Ranko quipped with a playful smirk. "She had eyes for you like nothing I've ever seen before."

Ranma smiled despite the seriousness of the situation. "Well I was clueless about that until she pounced me in the attic and kissed me."

Ranko's eyes widened. "Holy crap! When did she find the time to do that?! We were all together in the attic just about all day long yesterday."

"It happened when you and Sato went downstairs to wait on the delivery guy." Ranma had a goofy grin on his face. "It was my first real kiss, Ranko."

Ranko thought to remind him of the kiss they had shared not too long ago but let it go. "You didn't want Sato to know that you and Akane were necking upstairs yesterday?"

"Hold on, I'm still getting to the serious stuff." Ranma grabbed a nearby glass of water and took a long pull from it. He sat it back on the counter, wiped his mouth and then relayed the high points of his conversation with Akane.

"Whoa! That's some serious shit, bro." Ranko put a finger to her lips as she thought about it. "You gonna mess Kuno up for that?"

"I've thought about it," he told her with flinty look in his eyes. "Bastard deserves it, that's for sure."

Ranko sighed sadly. "All the girls at school kinda guessed that this had happened to her after the engagement had been announced. It was an unusual situation to begin with, bro. I mean, how often does someone plan to get married while they're still in high school these days?"

"Heh. I was in that same boat before ... before I changed my life," he corrected, paranoid more about the wish being uncovered by someone than having Akane's past aired openly.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot about that... Anyway, since neither of you are virgins it doesn't really matter, does it?"

"Well, it does and it doesn't matter to me."

"Ranma, that's not fair!" Ranko protested. "Just because she's missing her hymen doesn't make her a bad person."

"It's not that part. It's how she lost her virginity that's bothering me."

"She couldn't help that part," Ranko countered angrily. "I can't believe you'd be so childish about this."

"I'm not being childish," Ranma hissed. "And keep your voice down. I don't want you waking up Sato."

"Oh, sorry," Ranko whispered, chastened. "Still," she continued in a lower voice. "You don't need to be walking away from Akane just because Kuno got to her first. She's still a good girl, bro."

"I know she's a good person, Ranko. She's sweeter than I could've imagined. Last night Akane showed me another side of herself that I didn't even know was there. The girl I kissed last night is the kind of girl I'd really like being involved with." Ranma paused quickly to take another drink of water. "She did have to start things off, though. This Akane is a lot more pushy about this than the other one ever was. She really knows what she wants and goes after it."

Ranko snickered. "I think the word you're looking for is 'assertive,' bro." She looked up at him quizzically. "I don't understand, though. If you like Akane as much as you say, and it's obvious that she *really* likes you, what's the big deal about her virginity?"

Ranma showed her a hangdog look. "It's my fault that she lost hers the way she did. That's why I'm so upset about it, sis."

"What? How could you possibly- ?" She stopped short as she realized what he was talking about. "You're saying the *wish* caused this?" she hissed.

"Yeah, it did," Ranma replied guiltily. "In my original life Akane had never been taken by Kuno, or anyone else that I know of. Not that she didn't have plenty of chances for it to happen," he added with a hint of jealously. "But because of my wish," he said that word very softly, "I caused Akane to basically be raped by that jackass."

Ranko pondered the situation to no avail. She had no frame of reference and couldn't give her brother any good advice. "What are you going to do, bro? That's some really heavy shit to be carrying around on your conscience all the time."

Ranma shrugged. "I dunno what I'm gonna do, Ranko. I'm really confused about it. I never told Akane the truth about me, even though I wanted to. Also, while we were walking back to her home she told me that I shouldn't feel guilty about what happened to her. Akane said that it was a decision she and her pop had made and that she's gotten over it."

"Then I don't see what the problem is, bro," Ranko said simply. "If she's fine with it, then don't bring any of it up."

"But what about-"

"No 'buts'!" Ranko admonished. "She just gave you a free pass and I strongly suggest you take it. Besides, you told me just now that she tackled you, laid on *top* of you, and then kissed you. If she's willing to do all that to you in your own home, then she's not got a problem being romantic with you at all." Ranko felt an unusual amount of jealousy flare up as she recounted the details of his kiss. Try as she might to ignore it, the green-eyed monster kept nagging her about her rival for Ranma's affections. 'That's insane, though!' she told herself. 'She loves him in a different way from me, right?' Her only answer was silence, along with the continued heat from that little flame.

"Well, I guess," Ranma said unsurely.

"You guess?" Ranko eyed him close. Stomping angrily on that nagging bit of jealousy, she focused her attention on her brother. "You screw this up and you'll be hating yourself for the rest of your life. You don't want that, do ya?"

Ranma blanched slightly and held up his hands defensively. "Okay, okay! I get the idea. Sheesh..." He polished off the last of his water and placed the glass in the sink. "So, let me change the subject while I have you here."

"Uh oh, what kind of subject change are we talking about here?" She eyed her brother warily as he propped himself up against the side of the counter and looked down at her.

"I'm talking about what happened to Gos yesterday. I may have been asleep when he left, but I did notice that he was gone when Akane woke me up."

"Oh, that?" she muttered, avoiding her brother's eyes. "Nothing really happened. He just had to go home."

"What happened, Ranko?" Ranma asked as he cupped her chin in his hand and stared at her. "The way you two were playing all kissy-face yesterday, he wouldn't have just left that easy." His face clearly communicated the level of distaste he felt about his sister being 'kissy-face' with the former voodoo freak of Furinkan High.

"Well," Ranko hesitated for a moment, but continued when her brother gave her a hard look. "I don't want you to get mad, but-" and she went on to catalog what had happened between she and Hikaru over the past couple of weeks.

Ranma was completely livid. "He touched you there?"

"Bro, he touched me *everywhere*," Ranko deadpanned.

"I'm gonna kill him," Ranma swore as he cast about for pain-dealing implements. He espied a frying pan sitting on the countertop and took hold of it. "I'm gonna find that little piece of shit and break off his hands!" Ranko quickly took hold of his other hand to keep him from walking out of the kitchen.

"No you won't, Ranma," she said firmly.

"But he touched you!"

"That's because I asked him to touch me, bro!" Ranko said a touch louder than she'd intended.

"What?" Ranma asked, so stunned that he dropped the frying pan on his foot. "Ow SHIT!" he shouted as he jumped around on the kitchen floor. Propping himself up against the countertop while cradling his abused foot in his hands, he shot Ranko a reproving look. "I'd thought he forced himself on you, sis." He regarded his sister as if she were a stranger. "Why did you let him?"

Ranko shrugged nonchalantly. "What can I say, bro? I was a horny little girl that night and my hormones took over."

"I can't believe you let him touch your body," Ranma said hollowly.

"Hey, it's not like my body is your property or anything like that, bro. You and I may touch each other in a friendly way now and again, but that doesn't mean you get to say who else can put their hands on me." Ranko pointed at her chest. "This is mine, don't forget that." Despite her bravado, it touched her that he was exhibiting the same kind of jealousy over Hikaru that she herself was feeling about Akane.

"I know, it's just... You know how I feel about him, sis."

Ranko deflated at that. "I know you do, bro. And after yesterday I understand why. I never thought he had such a one-track mind."

"I can't believe how close you came to - doing it with him," Ranma shuddered, nauseated by the very thought. "I am *so* glad you stopped him, sis!"

"So am I, now. Right after I kicked him out of the house I wasn't so sure, though." She looked up to her brother and held his hand in both of hers. "In fact if it weren't for you and Sato treating me all normal and stuff after you got back from Akane's, I'd probably still be having doubts right now," Ranko confessed as she rested her cheek against the back of his hand.

"Sato has learned a lot from us and pop. He respects you, sis and so do I."

"I'm starting to respect him, too. Not two minutes after I came back upstairs from kicking Hikaru out of the house Sato had figured out that Hikaru and I had just split up, yet he didn't make a move on me. He just sat there and kept me company all night long. We had a great time just being friends."

"So does this mean you and Gos have really split up?"

Ranko nodded, a little misty eyed. "Yeah, I think so unless he manages to figure out that my whole body doesn't exist inside my bra."

Ranma laughed at that. "It's big enough to hold most of your body," he quipped, winking at her.

Ranko primped her hair with an outstretched hand in a fashion similar to that of a Hollywood starlet. "Well, I'm glad *someone* noticed," she said in a theatrically husky voice.

Peals of laughter from both Saotome siblings shook the kitchen. "You're a nut, you know that?" Ranma asked in mid-guffaw.

"Yeah, it runs in the family," she said with a wink.

"Oh man, that's a lot off of my mind. Well, a lot *on* my mind thanks to you and then off of it again. Anyway, thanks for talking with me, sis. I feel better about Akane now."

"No problem, mister. You just take your time like she suggests. Also, you gonna leave Hikaru alone? I'm a big girl and can take care of my own problems."

"Yeah," he said reluctantly. "I'll let you beat him up instead." Ranma reached out and tugged his sister up from the chair. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her gently on the top of her head. "You know, it's good having a sister who is also my best friend in the world."

"Aww shux," Ranko said with a blush to her cheeks.

"I love you, little sister."

"I love you too, big brother."



****



Hikaru Gosunkugi muttered an oath as he awakened to the glare of an intense overhead light. "Damn, that shit's bright!" he grumbled as he snapped his eyes shut once more. He sat up and shook his head to try and clear it. "Ow, big mistake," he groaned as he placed a hand on his temple. "Oh, I have got a *really* bad hangover." He held his current upright position on the bed and tried not to move a single muscle. After a couple of minutes his head stopped throbbing and he chanced moving his arms.

Putting his hand down on the bed, he attempted to swing his legs over the side so he could stand up. Problem was, he couldn't find the edge of the mattress. "Either I fell out of my bed or I'm not at home," Hikaru said uncertainly. He opened his eyes again and promptly freaked out. "Shit! I'm at the school!"

Trembling, Hikaru looked down at himself and saw his penis pointing straight ahead. "HOLY SHIT, I'M NAKED!!" he shrieked. Too shocked to even consider covering himself, Hikaru scrambled about on the grass until he located his watch and quickly put it on. "Oh, DAMN!" he groaned as he saw what time it was. "It's nine in the morning. My folks are gonna KILL me!"

"Okay, just- just get a hold of your self, Hikaru!" he told himself urgently, forcing himself to calm down. "We gotta fix this somehow." He looked around the immediate area of the hidey-hole and saw his clothes strewn about. He got on his knees and carefully peered over the top of the shrubs. Seeing that no one was around, he stood up and stretched. "Damn, that grass was hard on my back!" He looked down and saw that his 'lesser half' was still out front and rigid. "Damn, fella, you're awful happy for some reason," Hikaru groused. Then his bladder clued him in as to why.

Pointing himself in the direction of the nearest tree, Hikaru relieved himself with a very satisfied sigh. "Oh man, I needed that!" he exclaimed as he walked away from the tree and back to where his clothes were. He picked his shirt up first since it was nearest to him and went to put it on. As his 'aiming hand' moved past his face he caught a whiff of something unusual. "What the hell?" he asked, wrinkling his nose at the smell. He dropped the shirt and put his hand close to his nose again.

The potent odor triggered something in his mind and suddenly all the cobwebs cleared away. "Holy shit. I lost my virginity last night!" he shouted in disbelief. Then his mind delivered the killing blow. "Wait a minute! I lost my virginity to Nabiki Tendo?" Slack jawed, Hikaru felt himself about to faint. "What the hell am I gonna do now?" he asked himself with mounting panic. "Ranko's gonna kill me!"

He put his shirt on and bent down to look for his underwear. Several minutes went by before he realized that his underwear was missing. In its place was a pair of white cotton panties and an A-frame undershirt that was far too small for him. "Man, I don't believe it. Nabiki took a fucking souvenir..." He picked up his jeans and put them on. "I hate going commando!" he groused as he zipped up, taking care not to nick his 'lesser half' in the process. Tucking Nabiki's undies in his front pants pocket, he sat on the ground and put on his socks and shoes. Before getting up again, he carefully scanned the grounds again to make sure that he hadn't missed anything, then sprinted for the gate. Grateful that security wasn't operating on the weekends, he exited the campus without notice and locked the gate tight.

He walked away from the school at a leisurely pace while he tried to figure out the best way to explain his overnight absence to his family. He snapped his fingers as the answer came to him in a flash. "Ranma should be able to give me an alibi," he thought triumphantly. "Besides, he owes me. Now all I have to do is figure out how to keep Nabiki from talking to Ranko." Hikaru thought about that as he ran the remaining distance from the school to the Saotome home. Out of breath when he arrived at Ranko's home, he pounded on the door and then leaned against the doorjamb, panting heavily. His expression brightened as the door opened and Ranma stepped outside.

The moment that Ranma realized who it was standing at the front door of his house, he checked the impulse to take a swing at him. Instead he eyed Hikaru coolly and kept his clenched fists at his sides. 'I promised Ranko that I wouldn't beat the shit out of him. Dammit...' "You've got some nerve coming here today," Ranma began menacingly. "Ranko told me what you tried to do to her yesterday."

Hikaru blanched as he suddenly realized that Ranko's brother might not see him in the most favorable light at the moment. "Hey, man. There's no reason to get hostile. I- that is we didn't do anything! Just ask her!"

"I know. She told me she kicked you out before you could."

"Yes she did, and I'm really really sorry about that. Honest! But that's not why I'm here." Ranma scowled at him, causing Hikaru to speed up a bit. "I need your help man! This is serious!"

"My help?" Ranma spat.

"Something happened to me last night and I never made it home. I'm in real trouble, dude!"

Curiosity getting the better of him, Ranma let go of his anger and listened. "Okay, what happened?"

"I was so upset about what happened yesterday that I went to the hidey-hole at the school to think about things for awhile. I stayed so late that I wound up falling asleep there and woke up just now!" He looked at Ranma imploringly. "Come on, you know what my parents are like. I need you to tell them I crashed at your place so that they won't ground me for life. They'd kill me if they knew I'd broken into the school and slept there."

Ranma looked at him sourly and wondered how this guy had ever managed to capture Ranko's interest. He was about to tell Hikaru "no" when he spotted a pair of girls' panties dangling out of one of Gosunkugi's pants pockets. Quickly he reached down and snagged the cotton panties free and held them up in front of Gosunkugi's nose. "Did you take this from Ranko's bedroom?" he demanded angrily.

Mortified, Hikaru snatched the panties back from Ranma and tucked them securely in his jeans pocket again. "No, they're not hers.

Disbelief was plain on Ranma's face. "Whose are they?"

"I can't-"

"I said, if they're not my sister's panties, then whose are they?" Ranma snarled, standing closer to Hikaru until he was looming over the trembling boy.

"Don't make me say it, dude," Hikaru pleaded.

Ranma's eyebrows swept up in surprise at Gosunkugi's reluctance to answer, yet his anger grew. "How the hell did you get them?"

"How do you think I got them?" Hikaru growled defiantly.

"I'm not sure. Why don't you tell me?"

"Oh, come on, man!" Gosunkugi blustered. "Don't be doing this to me now!"

"I told you to tell me where you got them. NOW!" Ranma shouted, his patience at an end.

"Okay, they're Nabiki Tendo's panties! She was with me last night at the school, so we both took a big bottle of expensive sake and got stone drunk together. After that I fucked Nabiki's brains out at the hidey-hole, but only because she asked me to. You satisfied? Is that what you wanted hear? Okay, I fucked her silly until I passed out." Hikaru seethed. "So now you know the truth about everything, alright? *Now* will you help me deal with my folks so I don't have to listen to them bitch at me all day?"

Ranma's jaw hit the floor. Thunderstruck, he had absolutely no words to say. 'How the hell did he manage to have sex with Nabiki?' he asked himself. 'Did he take advantage of her while she was passed out or something?'

"YOU DID WHAT?" came a livid voice from behind the door. Suddenly Ranma found himself trying to keep his balance on the front stoop as a hand shoved him roughly out of the way. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?" Sato yelled at the top of his lungs as he stood nose-to-nose with Hikaru. "WHAT THE HELL KIND OF FRIEND ARE YOU?" Tears streamed down his face as he looked at his would-be friend. "You fucking asshole," Sato ground out, his whole body quivering with rage. Without even thinking about it, his body moved into an offensive stance. "You *knew* I was interested in Nabiki, you bastard. You KNEW and then you FUCKED her behind my back! How COULD YOU?"

Hikaru stepped back from his enraged friend and looked to Ranma helplessly. "Dude, you gotta do something about this. He's gonna hit me."

"I know," Ranma said with a satisfied grin.

Sato moved to punch Hikaru's lights out when he felt a hand close on his shoulder. "Don't," Ranko said in a dead monotone as she stepped around him. All three boys blinked at the sound of her voice and watched in silence as she moved to stand in front of Hikaru. "You two wait inside for me," Ranko commanded as she pointed to the front door. "I mean it Ranma. You and Sato get your asses inside now." She glared at both of them to underscore her words.

"Okay, sis. You let me know if you need me," Ranma said as he shot a warning glare at Hikaru.

"Wait!" Gosunkugi said in vain, watching as his two friends turned and walked away from him wordlessly. He gulped hard as the door closed with a disturbing finality.

Ranko folded her arms beneath her breasts and glared at him. "So, since I told you I wasn't going to give you any you decided to get back at me AND hurt Sato at the same time by getting Nabiki drunk and banging her, huh?"

"Ranko, it's not like that!" Hikaru protested.

"I don't really care." Ranko turned a cold, stark glare at him. "You and I are through, permanently."

"Ranko, no!" Hikaru said helplessly. He put his hands up, practically begging her to trust him. "Please believe me. Nabiki doesn't mean anything to me! You-"

"You know, that is a good enough reason right there to have said 'no' to you yesterday. I probably wouldn't have meant anything to you either once you'd finished using me." Ranko snorted derisively. "You and Nabiki really deserve each other."

"But-"

"Leave, Hikaru. Just walk away and never come back."

Gosunkugi opened his mouth to argue with her again, but instead expelled his breath in a sudden woosh! as Ranko landed a powerful blow to his abdomen. The force of the strike was such that he staggered backwards five steps before collapsing on his back, groaning loudly.

With a bittersweet smile, Ranko calmly walked over to him and spat on the ground near his head. "You disgust me, Gos." Then she turned and walked into the house, locking the door behind her. The moment Ranko closed the door she broke down into tears. "Fucking asshole," she swore softly as she wept in the foyer. Arms closed around her in a tender embrace that she accepted gratefully. She looked up to see Sato's tear-filled eyes looking down into hers as he held her close. Seeing that he was suffering as badly as she was, Ranko returned his embrace with interest and the two cried softly on each other's shoulders without saying a word.

Ranma, meanwhile, watched Gosunkugi from one of the front windows of the house. He'd cheered silently when his sister had delivered the haymaker that had knocked Hikaru on his ass and had been waiting ever since to see if the fool would get on his feet. It took far longer than he expected, but Gosunkugi eventually got up on his feet and shambled away. Ranma couldn't be sure, but it looked as if Gos had been crying before he turned away from the house and walked off. With the cause of the morning's commotion now gone, he turned his attention to his heartbroken friend and his angry sister. Sitting down on a chair at the breakfast table, he hoped that he could figure out a way to help them both get over this before his parents got back.



****



A hand stroking her hair soothingly roused Nabiki from a deep sleep. She moaned appreciatively and assumed it was Kasumi caring after her so she kept her eyes shut and gratefully accepted the tender caress from her older sister. Nabiki smiled and was about to thank Kasumi for being so kind until she remembered everything that she'd done with Gosunkugi the night before. She gasped as the weight of all that she'd done crashed down on her and paranoia reasserted itself. She was about to sit up and explain her outburst to her sister when the other party finally spoke.

"You know, you look so innocent when you're asleep, Nabiki Tendo," a familiar voice from the past purred as the hand moved down from Nabiki's hair to caress her cheek.

Opening her eyes slowly, Nabiki recoiled in shock when she saw whom it was that was standing next to her bed and touching her cheek. "How did you get in here, Kodachi?" she demanded in a rough voice, a tinge of panic tainting it. "Couldn't this wait anyway? I had a really rough night last night."

Kodachi, dressed in her standard ninja garb, pulled her facemask down and sat on the side of the bed. She reached out and placed the back of her right hand against Nabiki's forehead. "I was wondering if you were feeling well," she said with genuine concern as she pulled her hand away. "Well, you don't have a fever at least. Still, I don't think I've ever known you to sleep this late."

Nabiki looked at her clock and stifled a gasp at seeing that it was well after nine in the morning. "I didn't realize that you knew me that well," she countered with a scowl. She sat up and propped herself against the headboard, using the time to try and get her bearings. "What are you doing here? You know you're risking a lot by showing yourself like this."

"Funny you should mention that," Kodachi said lightly as she folded her arms beneath her breasts. "Do you recall taking the oath of secrecy two years ago?"

"Of course I did. You were there after all," Nabiki answered testily. "I've kept your secret since that day."

"So you haven't told a soul about me, hmmm?" Kodachi asked, her eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Don't insult my intelligence, Kodachi. You know better than that. As far as everyone is concerned, you died years ago. You know I don't take such risks with my business partners. That's bad for the bottom line." Nabiki suddenly realized what Kodachi was after. "I guess this means that someone found out about you, hmm? Why else would you be asking?" she inquired with a smug grin.

"You'd better wipe that grin off of your face or I'll do it for you," Kodachi snapped, balling her hands into fists angrily.

Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Drop the tough-chick act, Kodachi. You know your brother won't let you hurt me. Especially since he asked me to do some new investigative work for him."

Kodachi growled, yet relaxed her stance and placed her hands on her thighs. "Your current project is the reason I'm here, Nabiki Tendo," she said simply, although anger was still evident in her tone.

"I've been working hard on it from the very moment he hired me," Nabiki insisted defensively. "I've got half a notebook full of information."

"A bit mercenary, isn't it? After all, he was engaged to your sister until the day before he solicited you to learn more about Ranko Saotome." Kodachi couldn't help but dig a little bit at Nabiki following her little display of insolence.

"Anything to help keep your brother away from my sister," Nabiki retorted with a Cheshire Cat grin.

"Well," Kodachi sniffed. "Be that as it may, my brother asked me to tell you to stop investigating Ranko Saotome for now."

Nabiki looked at her visitor askance. "Stop? But why? I've already invested a lot of time in this project."

Kodachi dismissed her questions with a wave of her hand. "Something more important has come up. You can hold onto that information for now as it may become useful down the road. For the moment however there are things that *I* have uncovered recently which have caused a great deal of concern for both me and my brother." Kodachi pointed to a thick stack of long manila envelopes that were currently sitting on Nabiki's desk. "All of that paperwork involves monetary figures that relate to my investigation."

Nabiki's eyes widened. "That's a lot of paper, Kodachi. Just how big is this thing you're investigating?"

"That's where you come in, Nabiki Tendo. My brother and I know that you're better equipped than either of us to deal with all of those boring financial documents. We need you to sift through them and find out just how much this particular target is worth."

Nabiki looked at the stack of papers again. "I'll do what I can," she promised, her earlier irritation at Kodachi's presence all but gone. "Looks like a better challenge than the last one, anyway." She sighed inwardly, somehow grateful that she no longer had to be spying on Ranma's little sister.

Kodachi smiled. "Good, I knew we could count on your assistance. By the way, since this project is replacing your investigation of Ranko Saotome, you needn't worry about returning my brother's earlier payment to you." She tossed another manila envelope in Nabiki's lap. "In fact, consider that a bonus for helping us to solve this little dilemma."

Nabiki bent down and picked up the large envelope and gasped at its weight, realizing that there was a whole lot of money inside. "A commission this big must mean serious business, Kodachi."

Kodachi, meanwhile, had gotten an unintentional eyeful of Nabiki's breasts as the girl had bent down to pick up the money packet. Before Nabiki could sit back up, Kodachi leaned over and tugged the loose pajama top open. The sides fluttered open and the shirt draped loosely over Nabiki's shoulders, exposing her bosom. "I thought that's what that was!" Kodachi said quickly as she gingerly touched the area directly above Nabiki's right nipple. "That's a hickey, isn't it?" she said with a smirk as she tapped the reddened splotch on Nabiki's skin with a dainty fingertip. "Nabiki Tendo, you naughty little devil!" Kodachi practically squealed with girlish delight.

Nabiki suddenly felt very small and quite ashamed as she pulled her pajama top closed again. "Don't do that, Kodachi. I don't need you touching it!" she hissed, her cheeks coloring furiously.

Kodachi's eyebrows swept up in surprise. "Frankly I didn't know you had it in you."

"What do you mean- Oh, I'd rather not talk about it!" she huffed.

"Oh?" Kodachi asked curiously. "What's wrong? Was he a poor performer?"

Nabiki grit her teeth. She looked up at the ninja hatefully, tears streaming from her eyes. "No, he wasn't a poor performer, Kodachi." She despised the fact that she couldn't stop crying, especially in front of Kuno's sister. Worse, she knew she couldn't lie to Kodachi since the girl would eventually find out the truth. "Best that I can remember, I was with the guy for at least four hours. He's one of the geekiest guys from school, too. I absolutely *hate* myself for letting it happen." Nabiki cast her eyes down in shame. "Even worse, I remember enough of what happened to know that I enjoyed doing 'it'."

Kodachi was puzzled by Nabiki's reaction. After all, she never had any reason to complain about any of the enjoyable encounters she's had thus far. "So what's the problem? Did he force himself on you?" she wondered.

"No. I weigh almost as much as he does and I could easily beat him up," Nabiki said sarcastically. "It was just a stupid mistake on my part, Kodachi and now I'm going to be the laughingstock of the entire school because of it."

"Not that I ever expected to discuss such things with you, but take some advice from a girl that's been there once or twice. Dalliances like these are supposed to be fun, Nabiki Tendo. It's nothing more than simple escapism, really. I have to admit that it can be a *very* rewarding experience in certain circumstances." Kodachi playfully nudged Nabiki with her hip. "Didn't you at least have a little fun while you were doing it with him?"

Nabiki glared at her unwanted visitor. "I had a lot of fun last night. That's what bothers me. If I hadn't been drinking anything then I wouldn't have even let him touch me because the guy's a freak!" she hissed angrily. "Besides, I'm too worried right now to think about how much 'fun' it was."

"Oh? What has you so distraught, Nabiki Tendo?"

"We didn't-" Nabiki disliked being so *vulnerable* around someone she wasn't even sure she trusted. "We didn't use any protection, okay? I think he- went off inside me."

"'Went off' is it?" Kodachi repeated with a smirk. "Well, is that all you're worried about?" Kodachi reached into one of her many pouches and fished out a blister pack of pills. Popping out two of them, she handed one to Nabiki and then placed the other on the nearby nightstand. "This momentous event of yours took place last night, correct?" she asked with a touch of sarcasm.

Mad at herself for even having the conversation in the first place, Nabiki nevertheless looked at the clock on her bed stand and then nodded. "Yes, it was about eleven hours ago."

Kodachi pointed at the nearly empty glass of water. "Then take that pill immediately! It should prevent you from having any additional family members before you're ready for them. You should take the other one tomorrow morning, just to be sure."

"Why would someone like you need to be carrying these around?" Nabiki asked the ninja curiously as she popped the pill in her mouth and swallowed it down with the rest of her water. "When does a ninja find the time to do that sort of thing anyway?"

"Didn't I just say that I've done on multiple occasions what you and that boy did just last night? A girl's got to have fun too, you know," she fanned herself and favored Nabiki with a naughty grin. "Besides, it pays to be prepared," Kodachi said in an almost catty way as she replaced the blister pack in her pouch and patted it affectionately.

"Aren't you worried about catching something?" Nabiki shot back.

Kodachi smiled. "I don't worry much about that, love. After all, I am a very choosy person and don't let just anyone get their hands beneath this uniform." Her smile slipped a little bit. "Still, I do get tested regularly." She pointed at Nabiki, her expression suddenly quite serious. "Perhaps you should get tested as well."

"I'm pretty sure that we were both virgins until last night, Kodachi. I don't think it's necessary for me to get tested," Nabiki said with a dismissive wave of her hand. Still, she knew that she'd had a lingering doubt about her health that had gnawed at her conscience since she'd got out of the shower last night. That unanswered question only served to add further to her paranoia.

"It doesn't matter. Go to your doctor and have the test done. I can tell you're a nervous wreck." Kodachi wagged her finger in Nabiki's face, which earned her another scowl. "My brother and I simply cannot have our finance expert so worried about her own personal affairs, pardon the pun, that she can't concentrate on what she's doing for us."

Nabiki nodded in understanding. "I was wondering why you were acting so concerned about my welfare."

"Right now your welfare affects our welfare, so don't sweat the small stuff, Nabiki Tendo." She stood up from the bed and donned her mask. "I'm sure that you're right about being clean, but having a doctor tell you so will give you peace of mind. Also, don't take any more risks like that. At least, not until you've finished working on this case that is. If you need to, buy some good quality condoms and keep them in your purse for the next time."

"There won't be a next time. Not with him, anyway," Nabiki swore angrily. "I don't care how good it felt, he's not getting inside me again."

"I'm sure," Kodachi said dismissively. "Remember what they say about a girl's first time." She winked at Nabiki and climbed out the window. "Ta!" she said as she made her way up to the roof and quickly vanished from sight.

'How dare-' Nabiki cut her thoughts short as the sound of footsteps coming from down the hallway drew closer. Quickly she stashed the additional morning-after pill in the drawer of her nightstand and buttoned up her pajama top. She barely got the last button done when the footsteps stopped at her door. Nabiki held her breath and sat motionless on her bed, hoping that Kasumi or whoever else it was would stay out of her room. She sighed relief a moment later when the footsteps retreated back down the hallway.

Nabiki waited an additional minute before she even chanced getting out of the bed. She made a beeline for her desk and the looming stack of papers that Kodachi had left for her there. "Damn, that's a lot of stuff to sort through." She opened up her book bag and pulled out her notebook. While she was in there she looked around for her drinking glass. 'I probably left it at the school,' she groused as she zipped the bag closed and placed her notebook on the desk.

She snorted the moment she opened it and caught a glimpse of the notes she'd forged early in the morning. 'That chicken scratch is barely readable.' She ripped out the pages quietly and tossed them in the garbage. Smoothing out the remaining paper, she picked up a pen and started to write a project title on it. 'You know, Kodachi never even told me who or what she was investigating. That's probably the real reason she focused on my tits instead of my questions. The master ninja and her skills of deception,' Nabiki thought darkly as she put down the pen and reached for the top folder in the stack.

Mindful about keeping quiet, she gingerly peeled back the seal on the envelope and fished out a heavy stack of legal-sized paperwork that had been bound together with paperclips in groups of various sizes. Nabiki flipped through the first few pages, then stopped cold when she finally spotted something important. 'I don't know who this person is, but whoever it is, he or she has a lot of impressive resources at hand.' she thought, intrigued as she flipped through the rest of the first paperclip-bound report. Page after page flew through her hands, each of which detailed monetary holdings that had her absolutely drooling. A few minutes later Nabiki gave a perfect summation of the situation once she'd read the holdings summation on the property-holder's personal details page.

"Holy shit!"


****


Author's notes:


(12/9/03):


Began writing Part Seven. I had to take a bit of a break after writing Part Six because it was rather intense. I've gotten complaints about the delays that this pause is creating, but I'm not going to rush myself. This story is still not giving up its secrets to me willingly.


(8/5/05):


Epiphany strikes! After a year and a half of personal tragedies and overwork (not to mention buying a house! Check the "Author's Bio" link on my website for details...) I have finally gotten past a major case of writer's block. I had to make some hard decisions about the course of this story, but I finally decided that the way I've been writing it is proper and the events that transpire in this chapter, as distasteful as some of them may be to some readers, must happen. I admit that there is an abundance of romance in this one, but again, for future events to happen as planned, this is to be expected.



Two thirds of the way done so far. Here's hoping I finish the rest soon now that I'm on a roll...



(8/11/05):


I submitted the first beta for pre-reading consideration last night. Pre-readers are hard to find nowadays because this series (as well as the original Ranma series) is quite old. People are likely going to have to go back and re-read earlier parts in order to catch up on the current one.

This brings to mind an author that I only recently became aware of. Robert Jordan, who incidentally is also a resident of South Carolina, turns out books with about the same regularity as I do parts of Careful Destiny. The only difference is that the sheer volume of work that goes into just one of his novels completely dwarfs everything that I've ever written to date.

I could go on some Fred Gallagher-inspired self-effacement rant here, but I won't. Life happened to me between parts six and seven and when you get right down to it, you deal with the emergencies first and then get back to things like writing once you have the time. For those who have been following my online biography/pseudo-blog, you understand exactly what I'm talking about. If you don't know where to find that, here's the link:

http://www.nabiki.com/todd/whois_history.asp

To all the readers that have peppered me over the past two years with questions about the release of part seven, I didn't want to use the Jordan answer of "It'll be released just as soon as I'm done with it" or words to that effect. For a long time I couldn't make Careful Destiny my priority, but now that's changed and I'm able to put some more attention to it. My apologies for the delay, and I hope that you all enjoy this little bit of chaos and mayhem. :)


(8/21/05):

Pre-readership availability isn't as abundant as it used to be, but despite that I am quite grateful for those on #fanfic who volunteered to comb through this part and point out the errors in syntax and continuity. I am releasing this part to my website and announcing it on the FFML today in hopes of garnering further C&C on this part. Any errors that I may have missed will be applied to this part as I get them and corrected versions of part seven will be placed on the website in short order. I humbly ask that those who read this and want to comment on it please do so either through email or on the comment sheet link for part seven.


Again I want to thank the fans that have persevered through delays. I'll cross my fingers in hopes that this was worth the wait.



Acknowledgments:


Bert Van Vliet. You're the one who gave me the writing bug . Prior to picking up my first BubbleGum Zone printout, I was clueless as to the ways of writing fanfic. What a difference a year makes. You're a good friend, and I thank you for the support. Hail SkyKnight! ^_^


Robert Jordan, aka James Oliver Rigney. His Wheel of Time series has helped to re-ignite my own interest in writing and maybe even will help me a little bit with my structure problems and lack of diversity in my vocabulary. I hope he manages to conquer his own deadline demons and gets Book Eleven out by the stated time of October 11, 2005.

I know there's a very small chance that he'll read this, but if he does he may find it interesting that I bumped into him a long time ago at Northwoods Mall while I was walking through as a teen. I wouldn't have even remembered the incident if it weren't for the distinctive beard and shock of hair that he was sporting.


Thank You for continuing to tolerate my unusual style of writing. I'll get better, I promise ^_^