BattleMage Series

WARNING:  While there will be no actual ‘Lemon’ content contained herein, adult situations, language, violence and acts of a sexual nature are strongly implied.

Disclaimer:  The rights to ‘Ranma 1/2’ are owned by its creator, Rumiko Takahashi.  The rights to ‘Gold Digger’ are owned by its creator, Fred Perry.  The rights to characters from other sources, which are likely to make cameo appearances, are retained by their respective creators.  This story is for entertainment purposes only and written without expectation of monetary or material profit.

Notes:  While drawing primarily from the original ‘Ranma 1/2’ Manga series, some elements and characters from the ‘Ranma 1/2’ Anime series may also be utilized.  This is BOTH a ‘Continuation’ and an ‘Alternate Universe’ fan-fiction in regards to the characters and events of ‘Ranma 1/2’ and ‘Gold Digger’, meaning:  the characters WILL be ‘Out-of-Character’ to one extent or another and that canon events the reader is familiar with may or may not have been altered to a greater or lesser degree.  This fan-fiction is also a ‘Crossover’, combining elements from the two aforementioned sources.  For most of the story, we will attempt to adhere closely to canon, in regards to Fred Perry’s ‘Gold Digger’ series, but at some point, events will diverge from canon and concessions will have to be made for the intermingling of the two base series.

Furthermore, it is ‘presumed’ that the events of the ‘Ranma 1/2’ Manga series take place over more than one year of time, as there is little, if any, real indication of the passage of time in canon.  Therefore, Ranma and Akane are juniors at the time this story begins, while Nabiki and Kuno are seniors.

Timeframe:  Immediately following the failed wedding attempt at the end of the ‘Ranma 1/2’ Manga series; there are several months remaining until the end of the current school year at Furinkan High…  (’Gold Digger’ timeframe will become apparent when introduced into the story.)

Ranma-chan sat up with a groan, one small hand moving to the back of her head to gingerly probe at a good-sized bump.  Determining that the swelling was already going down, she took the time to check the rest of her body and clothes for injury or damage.  Fortunately, aside from numerous bruises and scratches, she seemed relatively uninjured…  The same, however, could not be said for the tuxedo that the ‘Dimwitted Duo’ of Genma and Soun had dressed her in for ‘his’ surprise wedding… it was a total loss, being torn, singed and stained.  Apparently, Happosai’s bomb had blown her completely out of the dojo and into the garden.

Naturally, as seemed to have become the norm for her life, it suddenly began to rain… heavily; adding further insult to what had already been a miserable day for her.

Sighing, she carefully rose to her feet, in case she had sustained an injury that had not been readily apparent, and slowly made her way back into the dojo.  Not surprisingly, the interior of the dojo was an utter shambles, with food and wedding decorations strewn all over, a sizeable hole in the floor where Happosai’s bomb had detonated and, of course, the hole in the wall her own passage through said wall had created.  Ranma-chan had no doubt that she would be blamed for the wedding’s failure, nor that she would be held responsible for cleaning up the mess and repairing the damages.

She paused as she caught sight of the remains of the cask that had contained a supposed cure for her Jusenkyo curse.  While it was true that she had, more or less, resigned herself to spending much of the rest of her life as a girl upon occasion, that did not mean that she would not continue to hope for an eventual cure.  A frown appeared on her face as she recalled why the cask was there in the first place, as well as Soun Tendo’s use of it in an attempt to force her into marrying his youngest daughter, Akane.

Akane…

Ranma-chan realized that she was going to have to reevaluate her feelings towards the youngest Tendo as she began wringing out as much water as she could from her tattered clothing and hair, shuffling her way along the covered walkway and into the house proper.  Before today’s events, Ranma had believed that Akane was different from the other girls chasing her, who seemed willing to use almost any means to trap her into marriage against her will.  Akane, however, had proven that belief to be in error.

Sure, Akane had been willing to marry her, but NOT because she loved her (attempting to get Ranma to admit that she’d already said she loved her, but unwilling to admit any such feeling for her in return), or so that Ranma could be cured of the Jusenkyo curse (Akane hadn’t even mentioned the cask of Nanniichuan being in the house, until she’d indicated that she might not go through with the wedding.  Even then, Akane had revealed its existence in the form of a threat if she DID NOT marry her).  No, Akane had been willing to marry her for one reason and one reason only… to win!  To beat out all the other girls after her by becoming her ‘wife’; so she could flaunt her victory and supposed superiority in the faces of her rivals, just as she’d done during the Super Soba Noodles and the Battle Dogi incidents.

“Oh, Ranma-kun,” Kasumi’s angelic voice exclaimed suddenly, causing Ranma-chan to look up as she entered the house to see the eldest Tendo daughter at the end of the hall.  “You’re soaked to the bone,” Kasumi then said worriedly, as a frown appeared on her face.  “Didn’t Father and Uncle Saotome bring you inside as I asked them to, before they left?”

“Unfortunately they didn’t, Kasumi,” Ranma-chan sighed, undoing the string that held her pigtail in place.  A quick shake of her head and running her fingers through her hair seemed to rid it of most of the remaining water.  Alas, she was still cold, wet, and sore.  A good long soak in a hot furo would do wonders for her mood right now.

Kasumi must have been having similar thoughts, as she handed the smaller girl a large fluffy towel from out of nowhere and said, “I’ll go make sure the furo is still hot enough for use, Ranma-kun.  Why don’t you go on upstairs and get your bathing things.”  And with that, Kasumi headed off to the bathing room leaving Ranma-chan to her thoughts once more.

-=-=-=-

“Ahhh…” Ranma groaned softly, easing himself down into the hot water of the furo, barely noticing the full-body tingle of his return to being male after a cold-water washing of his girl-form.  Leaning back against the side of the furo, he allowed himself to relax and let the hot water begin its work on easing his body’s aches and pains. “At least I can now enjoy my soak this time instead of ‘Fur-ball’ coming in and ruining it.”

As he soaked, Ranma’s thoughts returned to the wedding attempt and the actions of those involved in its failure.  Truthfully, he could not blame Ryouga or Mu Tsu for trying to get the cask of Nanniichuan water once they had seen it.  Nor could he even really blame Happosai for drinking it, as who brings casks of water to a wedding?  His father, on the other hand…  Damn it!  His worthless father KNEW how much he wanted a cure!  He KNEW how the curse jeopardized their lives because of that damned seppuku pledge!  He KNEW how it made him feel like less of a man!  And yet, the worthless bastard hadn’t even given his own son a passing thought as he attempted to take the cask of Nanniichuan water for his own personal use and to hell with anyone else!

And Soun Tendo…  A debt was now owed.  Supposedly, the Jusenkyo Guide had sent the cask of Nanniichuan water in gratitude for Ranma’s assistance in restoring Jusenkyo to working order.  That water had been HIS, and instead of presenting it to Ranma for whom it was intended, Soun had instead held it for ransom.  Akane would not even be alive if not for what Ranma had been forced to do, and that sniveling, backstabbing, cowardly…  He DARED deny him his cure!?  Oh yes, a debt was most definitely owed, and one day Ranma WOULD collect.

Xian Pu and Ukyo, at the very least, were in for a serious talking to.  Explosives!  They had actually been throwing explosives around, without any apparent regard for the safety of others in their attempt to derail the wedding.  Kuno… was going to be visiting the hospital very soon.  He had gone too far this time, bringing bared steel to the wedding attempt, and thinking he had ANY right to interfere in Saotome-Tendo family affairs.  Kodachi…  He shuddered, and decided to just continue avoiding her as best he could for now.

Ranma sank deeper into the water, his thoughts turning to something he had been considering ever since Jusendo… a ’solo’ training trip.  Originally, it had just been a vague idea, something he was thinking of doing at some point in the future, possibly after graduating high school, if he could keep the girls in check that long. There was no way he could marry ANYONE with as screwed up as his life presently was and he needed to give everything SERIOUS thought, without interference or interruption from the others, which was something he couldn’t do in Nerima.  Maybe not even in Japan.

As things stood, he had little to no control of any aspect of his life.  And as for the future…

There was no help for it, as the wedding fiasco had clearly shown, something needed to be done and soon, before someone was seriously hurt or worse.  He was going to have to get away from everyone and all of his problems for a time. He needed to make some decisions and, hopefully, find some solutions.  The only question remaining was how to go about doing so… without having everyone follow him and ruin the very reason for his journey.

-=-=-=-.

Nabiki closed the ledger she had been updating and leaned back in her desk chair, lifting her hands to rub at her temples.  Like it or not, she would have to dip into her own funds to cover some of the remaining costs of repairing the dojo.  Not that she would not regain the funds later from those responsible, but it was always annoying when she had to do so.

To say that the wedding had not gone according to the fathers’ plans would be an understatement.  Of course, her own plans for the wedding’s ‘failure’ had not gone exactly according to plan, either.  Although, Nabiki’s plans had still managed to succeed in their goal… if at a slightly higher cost in damages than expected.  Admittedly, she had grossly underestimated the desperation of those involved to prevent Ranma from marrying her little sister and she had not planned on the presence of the Nanniichuan, which had resulted in the greater severity of the damages, but even so…

Nabiki sighed at the necessity, but there was no avoiding what needed to be done.  Everyone had crossed a line during the wedding fiasco and, this time, there would be consequences… even if those consequences were nothing more than an official record of their own involvement in the fiasco.  Xian Pu and Ukyo had been tossing around explosives almost indiscriminately, as had Happosai, and Kuno-baka had dared to bring bared steel into her home.  What would be next?  Firearms?  Actually filing any legal charges against any of them would not be likely to go anywhere, especially as it was unlikely that any of the overly stubborn and overly prideful members of her own family or the Saotomes would support her efforts.  An official record of the escalating violence and property damage, however, could do wonders in protecting oneself in a court of law later if forced to take drastic measures in protecting one’s family and home.

Nabiki’s gaze drifted across her bedroom to her chest-of-drawers and down to the hidden space beneath the bottom drawer.  There were other reasons to avoid bringing the authorities into her family’s affairs, if it could be avoided.  Reasons she wished to keep hidden until the time was right.  Too many questions, directed towards the wrong people, at the wrong time, and they could lose everything.

Nabiki’s thoughts then turned to more immediate concerns, or more specifically, they turned towards a certain individual, a guest in her home.  Her mood turned more melancholy as she contemplated what Ranma must have been feeling about now… what his feelings would be towards her and her manipulations of recent events, specifically.  Truthfully, she could privately admit that she’d grown more than a little fond of the naive jerk over the time he’d lived in her home and no longer held any objections to his eventually becoming a ‘real’ member of her family.  She honestly wished that she could tell him the truth, tell him why she continually interfered in his life and why she had taken steps to ensure that he never married her little sister until she deemed the time was right.  However, he had too many factors working against her trusting him with what she knew and suspected of their fathers’ plans for Akane and him.  Moreover, until some of those liabilities could be removed, or minimized, she could not risk telling him what she knew.  As for telling Akane or Kasumi… Nabiki had learned long ago that her little sister could not keep a secret if her life depended on it, never mind the lives of others.  Akane’s volatile temper and lack of emotional control made her all too susceptible to blurting things out that were best left unspoken.  And Kasumi… far too obedient to Soun’s whims and too traditional.  For now at least, Nabiki was on her own.

Still, Ranma had to be dealt with and soon.  The last thing she needed or wanted was for him to finally get fed up with it all and take off for points unknown with no intentions of ever returning.  Nabiki had never been anyone’s fool, she knew that even Ranma’s much-vaunted honor, sense of duty and ability to forgive transgressions against him had limits.  She simply hoped that she had not already surpassed those limits.  She had not missed the fact that since he had returned from his most recent adventure in China that he had been quieter and more withdrawn.  And despite her best efforts, short of blackmail, she had been unable to get any of those involved in that adventure to tell her more than a few spotty details.  Whatever had occurred in China, though, had been sufficiently traumatic enough for Akane to make obvious efforts to get along with her unwanted fiancé, and for Genma to encourage Soun to setup the surprise-wedding attempt in short order.

Recalling having overheard Ranma and Kasumi talking downstairs, followed shortly thereafter by the sounds of Ranma trudging slowly upstairs to his room and then shortly heading back downstairs, Nabiki surmised that Ranma was likely soaking in the furo at present.  Slowly, a lecherous grin spread across Nabiki’s face as she entertained the naughty thought of joining Ranma in the furo.  While it was true that she had no real ‘romantic’ interest in the younger Saotome, she would never made any secret to the fact that she found him physically attractive… in either of his forms, actually.  Yet, despite Ranma’s penchant for running around barely dressed, and on occasion completely naked, in his girl-form…  To Nabiki’s knowledge, only Akane, and possibly Xian Pu with her habit of sneaking in to join Ranma in the furo, had ever seen Ranma’s male-form fully unclothed.  There were numerous girls, and not a few adult women, at Furinkan High that would pay good money to know if Ranma was actually endowed like his namesake.

‘Hmm, let’s see…’ Nabiki thought, giving the idea of joining Ranma in the furo serious consideration.  She had always possessed a slight exhibitionist streak, so exposing herself to Ranma was not any problem, and she was more than a little curious about Ranma’s endowments herself.  ‘Waterworks and Panda-baka headed for the bars shortly after things settled down to drown their sorrows, so they likely won’t be back ’til very late tonight at the earliest.  Happosai’s taken off for parts unknown…  Wonder what ‘drinking’ Jusenkyo water can do to you?  Hmm.  Akane went out with her friends to bury her troubles and anger under a mountain of ice cream and she’ll probably end up staying over at Sayuri or Yuka’s house tonight.  Everyone else, if they possess any intelligence at all, will likely be keeping a low profile for a while, at least around Ranma.  And Kasumi would never walk in on anyone in the furo…’

Nabiki’s grin grew even larger as she began gathering her own bathing things.  A confrontation with Ranma over her involvement in spoiling the wedding attempt was going to happen sooner or later in any case, so she might as well deal with it sooner rather than later.  And joining Ranma, nude, in the furo would allow her to set the pace and tone of their discussion from the outset.  The trick would be to keep him from bolting until she was ready to let him go.

-=-=-=-

Ranma’s thoughts of the things he’d need to gather and do in preparation for his upcoming solo training trip were interrupted by the sound of the bathing room door sliding open, then closed a moment later.  Opening his eyes, Ranma stiffened reflexively as he found himself looking into the amused brown eyes of a smirking, and completely naked, Nabiki.  Despite his best efforts not to, Ranma’s eyes involuntarily traversed down Nabiki’s nude form, noting her full, firm, spherically rounded breasts, which were capped with small dark nipples.  Her breasts were well into the ‘C’-cup range, yet firm enough that she didn’t really require a bra for support, not yet at least, but that would likely change in a few more years.  His gaze descended lower, across her smoothly toned abdomen, to the dark patch of her pubic hair, which he noted she kept neatly trimmed into a small inverted triangle the bottom point of which ended above her smoothly shaved…  Ranma jerked his gaze back to her face and her slightly broader smirk, which had grown almost into a full smile.

“I hope you don’t mind if I join you, Saotome,” Nabiki began before Ranma could say anything, strolling slowly and provocatively over to one of the washing stools, feeling her own arousal heighten as she reveled in his gaze upon her.  Her own glances to take in his nude form were somewhat thwarted by the distortions created by the water in which he sat.  She gave a quick thought of flashing him, bent over at the waist, legs straight and slightly parted, displaying all she had to offer, but decided against it… she only wished to entice and tease, not make an offer she wasn’t willing to go through with.  So instead, she demurely turned to one side as she reached the bathing stool, carefully sitting down side-on to him, setting her rinsing bowl and bathing supplies to one side.  “But after appraising the damages and going over the finances, I felt in need of a good long soak in the furo myself and didn’t feel like waiting for you finish up,” she continued, carefully filling her rinse bowl with lukewarm water from the tap and wetting herself down.  “Besides, I’m sure you have a few things you’d like to say to me about recent events and now would be the best time for us to talk privately, while most everyone’s out or not likely to make an appearance anytime soon.”

Ranma, on his part, was torn between angrily yelling at the girl, vacating the vicinity before anyone caught him in the same room with a naked girl, and… enjoying the view.  Yelling, however, would only get him even further in debt, most likely.  He had asked Kasumi as to the whereabouts of the others after he had retrieved his bathing things and Nabiki was correct in that they were not likely to be disturbed anytime soon, unless it was by Kasumi, which was highly unlikely.  And as for enjoying the view…

Further consideration of the situation, Nabiki’s penchant for stirring up mischief, and the unwillingness of the others to EVER believe him if there was a contradictory explanation that cast him in a bad light, had Ranma coming to a foregone conclusion…  He was likely to end up on the receiving end of a severe beating no matter what he did, stay or go.  So…

A slight smirk of his own became barely visible on Ranma’s face as he decided, for once, that if he was going to end up taking a beating for the actions of another… then by the Kami he was going to get something out of it this time.  Furthermore, it would prove interesting to see if Nabiki was truly as ‘worldly’ and ‘experienced’ as she wished everyone to believe. Despite the mask of sexual naiveté and ignorance he habitually wore since arriving at the Tendos, Ranma had likely witnessed more sexual activity and nudity in pleasure houses and back alleys across much of the world during his training trip with his far-from-celibate father than the entire student body and faculty of Furinkan High School, combined. While it was true that he may not have as much ‘experience’ in the ways of the flesh, as many of his peers believed him to be, in all honestly, it was a minor miracle that he was still a virgin… well, ‘technically’ still a virgin, and hadn’t fallen prey at a very early age to one of the many women of the pleasure houses his father had dragged him into and left in their care while his father took advantage of their services. He was continually on the lookout for the sudden appearance of any half-brothers/sisters to show up as, unless Genma had been shooting ‘blanks’ all those years, it was bound to happen sooner or later.

So, instead of trying to make an attempt to bolt from the room, as he was sure Nabiki was expecting, Ranma just made himself more comfortable in the furo… and didn’t make any effort to maintain his usual strict control over a certain portion of his anatomy, allowing nature to run its course.  Silently watching Nabiki bathe, he had to admit that she was very well built and athletically toned without being overly muscular, like her younger sister.  Akane was probably unaware of it, but as long as she maintained her regimen of lifting weights, jogging and ‘watching her diet’, she would always possess thick thighs and small breasts, unless she gained an understanding of the term ‘body sculpting’.  Idly, Ranma wondered what Nabiki did to keep her figure the way she did, what with the way she appeared to always be snacking and he’d never actually seen her do any kind of ‘real’ exercise regimen, save for a bit of yoga and leg exercises now and then.

Unconsciously, Ranma began comparing the various girls he knew with Nabiki’s body.  Xian Pu certainly had larger, fuller breasts and slightly wider hips, with an overall softer appearance due to an excess of body fat over her strongly muscled frame.  He strongly suspected that if it were not for her martial training and excessively energetic behavior, Xian Pu would likely become a rather plump woman in short order, instead of presently possessing a face and figure that practically screamed, ‘Cuddle me!’  Ukyo, if he remembered correctly, possessed breasts a bit smaller than Nabiki’s, but more conical in shape and not quite as firm in appearance (although, it had been quite some time since he’d last seen them exposed, so they may have grown larger since then) and while their waists and hips were about the same, they both possessed exceptionally eye-catching backsides, with Nabiki’s being just a bit rounder and higher set.  Kodachi he had never seen in the nude, although her habitual leotards often left virtually nothing to the imagination, but he knew she possessed small, but firm breasts and her gymnastics practice had graced her with long, powerful legs and a shapely firm backside.

Nabiki shivered a bit as she rinsed herself off with cold water from the tap, grateful for the fact that her body’s reaction to the cold water easily masked just how aroused she actually was.  She had been rather surprised when Ranma had made no effort to escape the room, instead leaning back more comfortably in the furo and watching her bathe.  And for a time, she’d actually slipped into a fantasy where she’d been a slave girl preparing herself to please her new master in the bath and, as a result, she’d paid a bit more attention to ‘cleaning’ her breasts and nether regions than she normally would have under her ‘master’s’ watchful gaze.  Forcing her fantasy to the back of her mind for later retrieval and use, and sighing wistfully at the fact that Ranma was unlikely to ever have the courage to treat any girl as a sex-slave, least of all herself, she quickly finished rinsing the remaining soap from her body.  Then, firmly settling her expression into her usual knowing smirk, she rose from the bathing stool and slowly walked to the opposite end of the furo from where Ranma sat, ensuring that he received a good look of her softly swaying backside, before turning to face him and step forward to the edge of the furo.  To her surprise, Nabiki found Ranma wearing a virtually identical smirk to her own, which unsettled and puzzled her more than a little, as it was not an expression she could ever recall him as having worn before.  Then her gaze, driven by her insatiable curiosity, dropped down to his crotch and…  ‘No FREAKIN’ way!’ Nabiki mentally screamed as she took in the sight of the monolith rising up from the juncture of Ranma’s thighs.

Ranma’s smirk had grown when he noted how Nabiki’s eyes widened in astonishment after dropping to his crotch.  On the one hand, Ranma was exceedingly proud of his well above average endowment, which easily dwarfed all the others he’d ever seen save for a few guys in some of the hentai mags Hiroshi and Daisuke were continually showing up with… and even then, those guys were almost exclusively gaijin.  On the other hand, and especially since acquiring his Jusenkyo curse, he was all too aware of how intimidating his large endowment could be from a girl’s point of view.  It was, in fact, for that very reason that he had never teased Akane about how she had screamed after walking in on him in the furo that first time.  He had not been fully erect, as he was now, but he had not been entirely flaccid either.  He would have likely screamed as well, if the same situation had occurred to him while in his cursed form and he had had no more knowledge of boys or sex than Akane seemed to possess.

Ranma’s eyes widened to nearly the same proportions as Nabiki’s own, however, when in her astonished daze Nabiki’s leading foot caught on the lip of the furo and she lurched forward, clearly about to suffer a rather painful fall into the furo with him.  Sliding forward in the furo as best he could, Ranma lifted his arms intending to catch her and break her fall as she fell forward.  Unfortunately, his hands were wet, as was her own skin, and his hands slipped off Nabiki’s sides her fall only coming to a halt when her torso slammed into his own pushing him back nearly beneath the surface of the water with a great deal of splashing and a loud cry on Nabiki’s part.

Quickly regaining an upright position, Ranma became aware of several sensations all at once.  First was that Nabiki was now all but sitting in his lap, her arms and legs wrapped tightly about him, and her full bosom was pressed firmly against his chest.  Second, was the fact that his erect member was trapped between them and pressing firmly against Nabiki’s abdomen.  Finally, was that his hands had dropped down beneath the surface of the water and were presently cupping Nabiki’s firm and shapely bottom.

‘Any moment now,’ Ranma thought, fully expecting Nabiki to start screaming and hitting him, or for someone to burst into the bathing room and catch him in such a compromising position with the middle Tendo daughter.  ‘Have to admit though, this feels nice,’ he thought, and despite his better judgment began to hesitantly knead and caress Nabiki’s bottom.  ‘Very nice.’

For her own part, Nabiki was recovering from the adrenaline surge of her near painful fall and just becoming aware of her present position.  Her breasts pillowed against Ranma’s firmly masculine chest.  His long and thick shaft pressing firmly against her tummy, throbbing gently with his heartbeat.  The feel of his scrotum rubbing against the labia of her own sex.  And the soothing caress of his hands upon her bottom.  ‘Oooh, that feels nice,’ she thought and unconsciously ground her sex against his, eliciting even greater sensations of pleasure, before ruthlessly slapping her libido down and pulling away from Ranma to meet his gaze.  Before she could say anything, however…

“Really, Nabiki, you don’t have to be so forward,” he said with a smirk that reminded Nabiki far too much of her own whenever she caught Ranma in a compromising position.  “If you really want to take up the engagement again, all you had to do was ask.  You don’t have to throw yourself at me.  But I do have to warn you…  I’m an ‘ass man’.  And you’ve certainly got a better one than your younger sister.”  Ranma emphasized his final statement with a firm squeeze of her butt cheeks, before teasingly beginning to explore the territory in between with his fingertips.

“Ranma!” Nabiki barked warningly, pulling her upper body further away from him to glare at him, but surprisingly reluctant to fully extract herself from his reach.  His hands felt REALLY good on her bottom.  “Don’t you–” she began, only to be interrupted as the door to the changing room was thrown open and a concerned Kasumi stuck her head in.

“Ranma?!  Are you alri–” Kasumi began, only to go wide-eyed at the scene before her.  “Nabiki?!”

Ranma could not help himself, he was on a roll and he had to ruthlessly suppress the urge to grin madly as he said, “She’s caught us, Koi.  Although, if we hurry, we can probably get in a quickie before she tells our fathers and they can arrange another wedding.  Of course, this is the perfect opportunity for that ‘threesome’ idea you’ve been hinting at.  How ’bout it, Kasu-chan?  Wanna join us for some hot sex in the furo?”

Nabiki was speechless, for once being caught in a highly embarrassing situation that was controlled by another.  If it had been anyone else, other than Ranma, she would likely have recovered control of the situation faster, but as it was, she could only gape at him.  Then gape at Kasumi, as while she blushed scarlet in embarrassment, she actually seemed to give the idea of a ‘threesome’ some thought.

“Umm… uhhh… M-maybe… another t-time, Ranma-kun.  N-Nabiki… we’ll… t-talk later, after you’ve…  Oh dear…  Uhh..  P-please be sure to clean the furo after you’ve…  Oh my!”  And with that, Kasumi quickly closed the door and left them alone.

“So…” Ranma began, after a few moments of silence, waggling his eyebrows and adopting the most lecherous grin he could manage, “still wanna try for the quickie, Nabs?”

That question, combined with Ranma’s continued fondling of her bottom and his expression, finally kicked Nabiki’s thoughts back on track and she forcibly pushed herself away from him, moving as far from him as she could without actually vacating the furo.

“All right, who are you, and where’s Ranma?” she demanded, glaring at the boy across from her.  It was not a silly question either, considering such individuals as Copycat Ken.

“I’m right here, Nabiki,” Ranma sighed, moving to sit back against the side of the furo directly across from her. While it was fun to poke a hole in Nabiki’s armor, he knew that if push-come-to-shove Nabiki could find a way to make it look like he instigated the whole thing and find ways to humiliate him as he just did with her.

“Bull!  The REAL Ranma doesn’t have the balls or experience to pull off what you just did,” Nabiki growled.

“You’ve never met the ‘real’ Ranma,” he replied, his own voice carrying a hint of anger.  “No one in Nerima really has.  No one’s even tried ta look beneath the surface, ta look past their own selfish wants and desires and discover who I REALLY am!” His rough accent seemed to explode with his increasing anger at the thought that the middle Tendo daughter believed she knew everything that there was about him, “Maybe it’s the fact that no one would like the way I would truly wish to show myself.”

“Alright then, who are you really?”

“And why should I tell you?” Ranma snapped back.  “What makes you think that you’re any different from everyone else?  To Akane, I’m a perverted freak of nature that was forced upon her by her own family,  To your father, I’m the ’son’ he never had.  To my own father, I’m his ticket to an early retirement and a life of relative ease without responsibilities.  To my mother, I’m a means of getting grandchildren that she can raise into her twisted ideals of how men and women should behave, And to you…

“You see me as a source of cheap entertainment and a means of making a few quick yen, while satisfying your own sadistic need to embarrass and humiliate others to make yourself feel superior,” Ranma growled.  “So tell me, Tendo-san…  Just why the hell do you think I should tell you anything?  Why should I give you even more things to use against me, when you’re willing to endanger the life of your own SISTER to get your jollies?!”

-=-=-=-

Kasumi’s thoughts ran rampant as she walked quickly away from the furo, going from one extreme to the next.  ‘Was Ranma serious about inviting me to join himself and Nabiki?  What about Akane?  Does he find me of interest sexually, or was he offering to let me join in out of sympathy?  What about Nabiki?  How long has she been having an affair with Little Brother?  Does Akane know?’  Stepping back into her kitchen, Kasumi began pulling various ingredients out of the refrigerator and cabinets.  ‘Ranma referred to Nabiki so intimately… and she looked so comfortable in his embrace.  Could they have gotten married secretly?  Is that why Nabiki invited the others to the wedding?  To make certain Little Brother didn’t marry Akane, because he is already married?’

Kasumi was far from being the oblivious little housewife she often portrayed herself as and was fully aware of the chaos that could erupt if word got out that Ranma had married anyone before certain problems had been dealt with, let alone Nabiki.  Still, she had always prided herself on being very observant of her surroundings and her family in particularly…  How could she have missed how close Ranma and Nabiki had obviously become?

As Kasumi began unconsciously going through the motions of tossing the various ingredients together and making a light snack for herself, as well as the two in the furo as they would likely need to replenish their energy afterwards, she began to recall the scene she would just witnessed in the furo.  She had to admit that Ranma was certainly maturing into a very handsome man, much like a certain doctor that occasionally visited her in her dreams.  Idly, Kasumi’s imagination placed her in the furo with Ranma and her sister, between them in fact, her fingers tracing the prominent curvature of his well-defined pectorals, which looked much sexier wet than dry, as she could almost feel Nabiki’s full breasts pressing against her own back in a soft caress.

‘When was the last time I could be so open with others?’ Kasumi suddenly asked herself, interrupting her fantasy of how things might have gone if she had accepted Ranma’s offer.  ‘When was the last time someone pleasured me, with no other goal than to have that pleasure returned in kind?’

Kasumi was hardly surprised at her thoughts, as they were recurring ones that she often experienced while she was out shopping or running errands.  Seeing couples out and about, having fun and expressing their closeness to each other in subtle, and not so subtle ways, laughing, holding hands, or gently caressing some portion of their partner’s body surreptitiously.  In addition, while it was true that she had her ‘toys’ to aide her on those nights when her needs grew too strong to ignore… they were never as satisfying as the touch of another human being.  Nabiki was SO lucky to be able to share herself with Ranma in the furo right now and, judging by how Ranma intimated that Nabiki wanted another girl to join them… ‘Oh my, is Nabiki…’  Kasumi’s mind promptly brought forth an image of Ranma’s female form, nude of course.  ‘If Nabiki has been intimate with Ranma for a while now, then surely she’s… with Ranma-chan…  Little Brother must be a ‘highly’ skilled lover by now, knowing how best to please a woman from ‘experience’…  And I all but ran away?!  KASUMI NO BAKA!’

-=-=-=-

Nabiki did NOT like her present situation, not in the least, and the anger Ranma was directing at her ruined any enjoyment she might have taken over ogling his nude form.  Ranma had her at a severe disadvantage and there was little she could say to defend her past actions, or change his opinion of her, without revealing more than she was willing to at this point in time.  Truthfully, she was guilty of all that he had accused her of.  She HAD taken pride, and some pleasure, in her ability to manipulate those around her and make some profit in the process, BUT… there were several mitigating factors Ranma was unaware of, without which she would have never treated Ranma the way she had.  Or at least, she would have treated him in a manner that would have been more conducive to their becoming friends instead of opponents… almost enemies, after the most recent events.  Unfortunately, she could not risk telling him what was really going on, why she treated him the way she did…  Or could she?

“I’m waiting, Tendo-san,” Ranma growled, his gaze boring into her own.  “What possible ‘excuse’ can you think up to explain your actions?  What ‘justification’ could you possibly have for endangering your sister’s LIFE?!”

“I… I can’t tell you all of it, Saotome.  Not yet,” Nabiki finally responded, grimacing.  ‘Great, now he KNOWS something’s going on behind the scenes!  Smooth move, Nabiki!  Real smooth!’ she thought deprecatingly.

“Then what CAN you tell me, Tendo-san?” Ranma asked angrily.  “What possible reason could you have for making my life a living hell?”

“It wasn’t my idea, Ranma,” she stated, hoping that he would respond in kind.  His addressing her in such an impersonal and cold manner unsettling to her, causing her to shiver despite the warmth of the furo.  She idly wondered if this was the way others felt when they had seriously pissed her off enough.  “Kasumi and I were TOLD to push you and Akane together… and to make ourselves… less appealing…”

“That doesn’t make any sense!” Ranma said, recalling the day he had arrived at the Dojo.  “The day I first got here, Kasumi didn’t appear all that interested in me, but YOU definitely were!  Then, when you all found out about my curse, you and Kasumi all but threw Akane and me together!  Why would anyone TELL you to push us together and make yourselves ‘less appealing’, when it was obvious that neither of you wanted anything to do with me?”

“Opinions can change over time, Ranma, and you have the annoying habit of growing on people,” Nabiki said, sighing wistfully.  “I can’t speak for Kasumi, but your curse scared me… at first.  I’ve often wondered if your arrival to our home, in your cursed form, had been ‘arranged’ for exactly that purpose.  To throw us all off balance, so that Akane could be pushed forward as the fiancée of choice.  Once that happened… Kasumi and I were basically told to make sure it stayed that way.”

“And who told you that?” Ranma asked, continuing to question the middle Tendo sister.  The answer was obvious, of course, but Ranma felt compelled to ask it in any case.  Nabiki, albeit grudgingly, appeared to be willing to provide information for once, without charging for it, so he intended to push it for all he could get.

“Daddy told us,” Nabiki sighed, confirming Ranma’s suspicion.  “It even made an odd kind of sense, at the time, what with Akane’s attitude towards boys and all.”  Come to think of it, Ranma’s curse was almost TOO convenient, considering her family’s concerns of Akane’s ‘preferences’.  Concerns, which had been growing for quite some time prior to the Saotomes arrival at their home.  Moreover, considering Ranma’s upbringing by his misogynistic father…  Could Ranma’s becoming cursed to be a girl have been yet another part of the father’s plans?  It was certainly worth thinking about, Nabiki decided.

“Okay, so my curse makes me the ‘perfect’ fiancé for your sister,” Ranma growled, not liking the implications one bit.  “And your father told you and Kasumi to keep us together…  What I don’t understand, though, is if that’s case… why the HELL do you keep interfering between Akane and me?  Every time Akane and I SEEM to be getting closer, YOU do something that forces us apart!  WHY!?”

It was a question that Nabiki had known would be asked, eventually, and HAD been asked in the past.  Unfortunately, with all that had happened recently and with what little had already been revealed, she could not just flippantly brush the question aside or answer with some inane bullshit.  Yet, she could not fully explain it to him without all her hard work being tossed out the window because she brought Ranma in on the truth, which she now began to realize that she did not really know or understand.  “I…  I can’t tell you…  Not yet.  But I can’t let you marry Akane until you’re of legal adult age, at the earliest.”

“And why the hell can’t I marry anyone before I’m of age?”

“Not just ‘anyone’, but Akane specifically,” Nabiki clarified, believing that she was regaining some control over their discussion.  “You could marry any of your other fiancées, whenever you chose, and I wouldn’t do anything to stop you.  Not that our fathers wouldn’t, of course, as they’re dead-set on you marrying Akane and no other.”

Ranma relaxed back against the side of the furo, thinking over what Nabiki had told him… as well as what she was not telling him.  Obviously, their fathers had a specific reason for trying to get him and Akane married BEFORE they were legally adults and Nabiki knew, or at least strongly suspected, what that reason was.  And since Nabiki appeared to be highly reluctant to tell him the exact reason or her suspicions… she was afraid that it would cause a reaction in him that would upset her own plans, or that he would do something that would cause their fathers to change their own plans in an unfavorable way.  So what could their fathers hope to gain by forcing a marriage between himself and Akane before they were of age?  What did his own father hope to gain?  What were his schemes usually aimed at acquiring?

Ranma grunted and rolled his eyes indignantly.  The answer was blatantly obvious.  Still, why Akane?  Why not Kasumi, or Nabiki?  Why tell them to make themselves ‘less appealing’?

“Why would our fathers be opposed to my marrying you or Kasumi?” he finally asked.  “You’re both Tendos, and ‘technically’ the agreement between our fathers could be fulfilled with either of you, as easily as with Akane.”

“They MIGHT consider letting you marry Kasumi, if Akane, for whatever reason, became completely unsuitable or unavailable, as Daddy’s always been able to get her to be the ‘dutiful and obedient daughter’,” Nabiki admitted.  Then huffed, despairingly, before saying, “Me?  Only as a last resort.  And even then, I wouldn’t favor my odds of surviving the first year of marriage before I had some kind of fatal ‘accident’.”

Ranma just stared at her.  There was no mistaking that Nabiki believed their fathers capable of ‘murder’ to get what they were after.  Ranma did not want to believe his own father capable of such a thing, and yet, had not he and Soun attempted exactly that with Happosai over a decade ago?  Weren’t they still prepared to do so if such an opportunity arose again?

“Okay… what about AFTER we’re of age?  You still going to keep Akane and me from getting married?” he asked.

Nabiki sighed heavily and sank lower into the water.  Like it or not she was going to have to tell him a bit more or run the risk of his facing down their fathers for his answers, which wouldn’t do at all.  Still, if he really was as intelligent as she was beginning to suspect he might be… he might try and finally do something about a major weakness of his rather than ignore it as he had been doing.  “If our fathers are still alive, and you’re still affected by the Neko-ken… then the answer’s probably ‘yes’.  In some ways, Akane’s easier to manipulate than you are and while not as ‘obedient’ as Kasumi, she’s far easier to trick into agreeing to things she doesn’t fully understand.”  Nabiki had never felt the furo water cool so rapidly before and realized that Ranma had begun using the ‘Soul of Ice’ technique for some reason.  In fact, she noticed that the other occupant of the furo had already switched genders and the water was getting even colder.  “Do you mind, Ranma?  I don’t really want to become a popsicle today.”

Realizing that she had automatically begun using the ‘Soul of Ice’ technique at the mention of the Neko-ken, Ranma-chan chuckled lightly, easing up on the technique.  Quickly draining a portion of the now cold water from the furo, she turned on the hot water tap to refill the furo and return it to a more comfortable temperature, switching back to the male gender in the process.  “Sorry,” he apologized.  Then, once the furo was refilled and comfortable once more, “Nabiki… what has the Neko-ken got to do with anything?”

“Technically, the Neko-ken’s a form of insanity…” Nabiki began.  “At any time, your father could have you legally declared ‘mentally incompetent’, and set himself up as being the only one allowed to make any legally binding agreements in your name, regardless of your age.  Provided, of course, he keeps the truth of how your insanity came about from the authorities.  And failing that, he could have someone else HE can control or manipulate be placed as your legal guardian; either your wife, which he intends to be Akane, or Daddy.”

An expression of dawning realization began to appear on Ranma’s face as he considered what Nabiki was telling him.  Adding in other discrepancies of his upbringing and training by his father, his repeatedly stated goal of having Ranma take over the Tendo Dojo, and a very disturbing picture began to form in Ranma’s mind.  “Could that have been his intentions all along?” he softly whispered.  Apparently, he had spoken a bit louder than he had intended as he noticed the middle Tendo sister nodding in apparent agreement.

“Most likely,” Nabiki stated, agreeing with his unintentionally voiced question.  “Seeing as the Neko-ken, while powerful and dangerous, is easily circumvented, a fact NOT noted in that so-called ‘training manual’ he supposedly got it from, AND that the only two results of the training, again as stated in said manual, are permanent insanity or death…  I can’t see how anyone, even your father, could have mistaken it for an actual ‘technique’,” Nabiki explained.  Then, frowning, she added, “Unless there’s more to the training than what we’ve been told or what’s been written in that manual of his…”

Ranma DID have some hazy and confusing memories of some kind of training his father had been giving him just prior to his Neko-ken training… something to do with meditation and finding his ‘inner self’, and mentally picturing it as a tiger or something similar… but then his father had seemed to dismiss that training as a ‘waste of time’, just as Ranma had begun to think he was making actual progress in learning the stuff, to begin training him in this new ‘unbeatable’ technique he’d discovered.  Could that ‘mental’ training have actually been a part of preparing him in some way to learn the Neko-ken?  Some method of preventing him from descending into ‘permanent’ insanity, but leaving him susceptible to bouts of ‘temporary’ insanity under the right conditions?  Could there have been more ‘mental’ training that a ‘trainee’ in the Neko-ken was supposed to complete in order to bring the Neko-ken under conscious control?  Nabiki was correct, in a way, in that unless the Neko-ken could be brought under the conscious control of the victim, or ‘trainee’, it was utterly worthless as a martial arts ‘technique’.  Yet, there had been no mention, whatsoever, in Genma’s manual of such a thing even being possible.  In fact, as it was written, such a thing as the Neko-ken should not have even appeared in ANY manual relating to ‘martial arts’ techniques, except as a footnote regarding ‘failed’ ideas.  So logically, there HAD to be more to the training than they presently knew.

Shelving those thoughts for later consideration, Ranma forced his mind back to the main focus of his discussion with Nabiki… namely, the disrupted wedding and Nabiki’s reasons for seeing that he and Akane did not become married.  Nabiki had already hinted that their fathers intended to gain something from his marriage to Akane, something they might even be willing to ‘kill’ for…

“So… how much money are we talking about here?”

Nabiki’s head snapped upright and her eyes locked onto Ranma’s in surprise, and some fear he noted.  “Who said anything about money, Ranma?”

Believing that he knew how his father thought, if only now beginning to suspect the actual lengths to which Genma would go to obtain something he truly desired, Ranma explained his reasoning.  “If Pops would be willing to have me declared insane, then there would have to be a source of money aside from the Dojo, since no one’s going to study under a young, inexperienced in teaching and INSANE sensei,” he stated.  He paused a moment for thought, then continued, “Even Pops would know that selling the Dojo wouldn’t provide enough money for him to realize his dreams of ‘retirement’; not with his habits, at least.  So, the money he ‘truly’ intends to retire on has to come from another source, not directly related to the Dojo itself.”  Nabiki was staring at him, wide-eyed, and she lifted a hand in an apparent gesture to get him to stop, but he ignored it.  “It would also have to be a rather large sum of money, if BOTH our fathers are planning to retire on it.  And since you stated that I couldn’t marry Akane before I was of legal age, that implies that this money would become known to us once we do, so it’s probably some kinda inheritance or something.  Correct?”

“Ranma… Please…  Don’t ask, or say, anything more about that,” Nabiki pleaded as she leaned towards him.  “I won’t confirm or deny what you’ve just said, but… DON’T do or say anything to anyone else!  And ESPECIALLY don’t even hint about such things to either of our fathers!  There’s no telling what they might do, then.”  She cocked her head to one side in thought as her gaze bore into him, unintentionally making herself look incredibly cute in the process, despite her serious demeanor.  “Or Akane,” she continued.  “She’s even worse about rushing into things than you are.”

“Now there’s an understatement,” Ranma huffed indignantly, rolling his eyes at the sheer number of times he’d had to rescue Akane or been hurt due to her apparent eagerness to rush into things before finding out what was actually going on.

“And just when did you become so damned smart?” Nabiki pressed, narrowing her eyes in suspicion. Her suspicions were showing more and more as Ranma continued to discuss the problem Nabiki tried to evade from talking,  “Even with everything I’ve said, the Ranma I know shouldn’t have been able to figure all that out.”

“Now that… is a secret,” he said with his eyes closed and smiling, mimicking a certain anime character from one of his favorite shows, expecting to hear Nabiki’s jaw, at least, splashing into the water of the furo from her face-fault.  When no such sound occurred, however, he opened his eyes to look at her and… cringed back away from the girl.  Nabiki was looking back at him with a grin that would have done Dr. Seuss’ Grinch proud.  And then she uttered the words that would haunt him for years to come…

“I LOVE uncovering secrets, Ran-ma-kun,” she purred seductively, emphasizing each syllable of his name.  Inwardly, she was giggling hysterically at the expression on his face.

Ranma actually paled as Nabiki moved onto all fours, submerged up to her chin in the water, as if she was a stalking cat… and she was stalking HIM.  He really should have known better than to use THAT phrase with the middle Tendo sister, as she happened to be very good at uncovering secrets, as he well knew.  Then, his eyes were involuntarily drawn to her bare bottom sticking up out of the water as she sensuously rolled her hips.

“You need to ‘loosen up’, Ranma,” Nabiki said with a grin, noting the resurrection of a certain portion of his anatomy which had subsided considerably during the course of their talking.  ‘And so do I,’ she thought.  ‘He could really hurt a girl with that thing… or make her EXTREMELY happy.  Still, it would probably be more trouble than it’s worth.  Teasing him is so much fun, though.’

Ranma forced his gaze back to her face, fully aware that she was aware of the effect she was having on him, and swallowed nervously.  The LAST thing he needed right now was for Nabiki to actually want to get… physical.  “Wh-what would you recommend I do?” he asked nervously, silently praying that she would not… and would… make the obvious suggestion.  He was not COMPLETELY without a libido, after all, and Nabiki was making herself extremely tempting at the moment.

“How good are you at… dancing?” Nabiki asked with a broad grin.

“Huh?”

-=-=-=-

The wedding attempt had been horrible, at least in the mind of Akane Tendo.  “And it’s all that baka’s fault too,” she grumbled spitefully to herself, loud enough for her friends, Yuka and Sayuri, to easily hear while they were all, with one noticeable exception, enjoying some ice cream at their favorite ice cream parlor.

Yuka watched her long time friend as Akane brutally attacked her triple-chocolate sundae, as if it had somehow offended her, stabbing her spoon deep into the frozen treat before viciously shoveling it into her scowling countenance.  It was likely that the only reason she wasn’t experiencing any pain as she chewed and swallowed her treat, was because she would pause between bites to stab her spoon into her bowl a few times before placing the next into her mouth.

“I don’t think that Ranma really meant for things to happen as they did, Akane,” Yuka carefully offered, immediately drawing back as far as she could in the booth they all occupied as Akane’s burning gaze snapped towards her.  “Well..  What I mean to say is…  Wasn’t it because of the others that the wedding attempt failed?”

“If that baka had just told those hussies to go away when they first showed up around here, they wouldn’t have been here to interrupt my wedding in the first place!” Akane snapped.  “They haven’t any right to chase after him anyway!  He was given to me before either of us was even born!  He’s mine and those hussies can’t have him!  Not that I want the perverted jerk, anyway.  He’s more trouble than he’s worth!”

Akane returned her attention to her ice cream, while inwardly wincing at how her outburst made her look as if she viewed Ranma as a possession rather than as a person.  She didn’t, not really, but what else could she do?  There were times when she really liked Ranma and wouldn’t mind being married to him, despite his perverted curse.  But then, there were also times, more often than she cared to contemplate, when she absolutely couldn’t stand having him even in the same house with her.  If asked, she would not have been able to explain why she had even agreed to try to marry the jerk in the first place when her father had approached her that morning with the idea.  Consciously, she told herself that it had been so that Ranma could finally be rid of his curse, while never questioning why she hadn’t insisted on her father just giving the Jusenkyo water to Ranma, or why she had resisted informing Ranma of its existence until he’d balked at going through with the wedding.  Subconsciously, she would have delighted in showing up all the other girls pursuing Ranma for marriage by claiming him as HER husband.

Akane sighed.  Truthfully, she wasn’t ready for marriage.  To anyone, let alone Ranma.  There were so many things yet that she wanted to do and see, before settling down to raise a family and run her dojo.  And Ranma would be ideal in that capacity; with his talent and abilities in the Art, she would have students coming from all over to study at her dojo.  But if she married him too soon, she would have to give up so many of the things she wanted to do and see.  Best to delay the marriage until she was ready to settle down and raise a family, but their fathers did not want to wait and, thanks to Genma, there were far too many other girls trying to steal Ranma away from her.  And Ranma was still just a perverted boy, all too eager to jump at the chance to ’sow his oats’ at the first opportunity, and probably would too if she didn’t maintain a close watch on him and keep him in line.  When she was ready, they would marry, and not before.  Until then, however, she had to keep the perverted jerk from falling into the traps laid by the other girls after him.

Akane shook her head in frustration at the monumental task of keeping Ranma single, and ‘inexperienced’, until she was ready to marry him and settle down herself.  Keeping him single was not all that difficult really, considering his own unwillingness to make any commitments, but keeping him inexperienced was proving to be a full time endeavor.  Oh sure, some girls often commented on the advantages of having ‘experienced’ lovers for boyfriends and such, but Akane didn’t want to have to deal with having to live up to those past experiences.  No, when the time finally came for Ranma and her to ’share intimacies’, he would have no unreasonable expectations from previous ‘encounters’ and be satisfied with whatever she allowed him to do with her and accept it.  There would be no ‘well, such-and-such would do this’, or ‘this girl would let me do that to her’ that she would be expected to agree to and allow.

Nope, if she was going to have to do perverted things, once she and Ranma were married, for the sake of producing an heir, then SHE was going to be the one to say what will and will not be allowed.  Even if she had to tie him down to the bed, gag him, and use a whip on him.  No one would ever be allowed to think that she did such perverted things as to ‘give head’, or let her husband use her ‘back door’, and she’d beat him to within an inch of his life if he ever even hinted that she shared intimacies with his cursed form to any others… not that she would ever even consider doing so, in any case.  She was no pervert.

Akane stared down at her empty bowl and lamented the disappearance of her treat.  She never seemed to get enough of the sweet, creamy substance, and it always disappeared far faster than she would have preferred.  She glanced over at the nearly empty bowls of her friends, before looking about the interior of the ice cream shop, contemplating placing an order for more ice cream, but she didn’t really have the money to do so, since she might need it for other things.  She thought momentarily of asking her friends to lend her some, but they’d previously mentioned a lack of great funds upon placing their own original orders, going for single scoops of their preferred ice cream instead of extravagant sundaes such as she’d ordered.  ‘Humph, Ranma never has a problem getting all the ice cream she can eat,’ she mused, a scowl appearing on her face as she recalled how Ranma-chan would shamelessly flirt with the attendants to get extra portions for free.  ‘The pervert!’  Of course, it didn’t help her mood any to realize that this particular shop was the one to which she and Ranma had often come to in order to sate their desires for the creamy treats.  ‘I don’t want to think of that jerk right now,’ she thought, feeling the urge to leave.

Then Akane belatedly realized that her friends had stopped whispering to each other and had asked her a question.  “What?”

“We asked if you’d like to go clubbing with us.  Maybe take your mind off of the wedding and everything that happened?” Yuka asked again, hoping that Akane would at least get out and talk to other boys their age.  Maybe this would be the time she could see that not every boy was a pervert like Kuno and those boys that had attacked her every morning at the beginning of the school year.

Akane shook her head and pushed her empty bowl away from her.  “I don’t feel like dealing with ANY boys today, Yuka.”  Akane knew that her friend was only trying to help ease her mind away from the failed wedding, and Ranma, but Yuka’s ideas on the best ways of diverting her own thoughts from any problems she was having often involved dealing with boys in some manner.  And going dancing was her preferred method, as it was a socially acceptable method of being able to ‘feel up’ boys as well as be ‘felt up’ without leaving one open to accusations of doing anything wrong or perverted.  The fact that the one and only time Akane HAD gone ‘clubbing’ with her friends in the past had resulted in their expulsion from said club shortly after Akane had decked several of the boys dancing nearby for touching her, spoke well of the lengths to which her friends would go in helping her.  Akane was still of the opinion that those boys had been trying to cop feels of her body, under the ‘excuse’ of the dance floor being crowded and despite the fact that they’d been dancing with other girls at the time.  “How about we go ice skating, instead?” she asked.  It was an activity Akane usually enjoyed and there was little risk of being groped by some pervert.

Yuka and Sayuri nodded at the idea and quickly finished off their own servings of ice cream, although Yuka mentally added yet another failed tally on her ‘Get Akane to loosen up’ chart.  Yuka was beginning to think her friend would never grow up and learn that boys had more pleasurable uses than convenient punching bags.  More than once, the thought had crossed Yuka’s mind that Akane needed a good hard ‘fucking’ to get her priorities straight and to get rid of the near constant tension she always seemed to have.  As far as her friends knew, Akane had never even masturbated before, quickly growing agitated and angry whenever they’d tried to bring the topic up, so they’d eventually stopped doing so.  It was safer that way… for them.

It was a short trip to the skating rink, with the three passing the time with small talk about inane topics and deliberately avoiding mention of the wedding attempt or Ranma.  Shortly after their arrival and the subsequent rental of three pairs of ice skates, they were all out on the ice, gliding about and trying to look as graceful as possible or simply doing their best to avoid collisions with other skaters.

“Akane,” Yuka said after a time, finding herself unusually reluctant to completely drop the subject, “I still think you’re blaming too much on Ranma.”  In truth, like many of the girls at Furinkan, Yuka had more than a passing crush on the handsome young martial artist.  If Akane had not been a long time friend, or been so violent in marking him as ‘her’ property, Yuka would have jumped at the chance of gaining him as a boyfriend.  “From what you told us, he didn’t even know about the wedding until he got home, so he couldn’t have invited anyone to something he didn’t even know about.”

Akane shot her friend a betrayed look for bringing the subject back up, but couldn’t find a way to refute Yuka’s statement.  At least, not in any way that made sense.  So okay, maybe Ranma was not ‘directly’ involved in ruining her wedding day, but… “I still say it’s his fault,” she finally responded with some heat in her voice.  “Maybe not directly, but by refusing to get rid of the other girls, once and for all, he all but gives them an open invitation to interfere in our lives whenever it suits them.”

“Can he ‘get rid of the other girls’, Akane?” Yuka pressed.  “As I understand it, his father took Ukyo’s dowry and Shampoo is already married to him under her laws.  Kodachi probably wouldn’t listen to him, even if he told her point blank that he wasn’t interested in her, as crazy as she is.”

“None of that matters,” Akane stated with conviction.  “He was given to me before either of us was even born.  My family supports the engagement and Ranma’s family supports it.  They should just give up, go home, and leave us alone!  It’s a matter of family honor that Ranma and I marry, and those hussies have no right to continue interfering!”

Yuka knew when to give up on trying to change Akane’s views about Ranma and the mess that their parents had created.  Akane could not take her frustrations out on the ones responsible, namely the fathers, so she directed her frustrations and anger towards Ranma, and ignored or twisted the facts to justify her actions and thoughts where he was concerned.  So the fact that the Saotome-Tendo agreement actually carried no more weight than any of the other ‘engagements’ that involved Ranma was not worth mentioning.  It was Akane’s ‘family honor’ that was involved; therefore, IT held prominence over all others, regardless of circumstance or consequence.  The problem was… all of the other involved parties were of the same opinion and none was willing to even consider compromise.

“Say,” Yuka began, trying to change the subject slightly, as she noticed something, “isn’t this the same rink that you brought Ranma to learn how to skate?”

“Hey, you’re right!” Sayuri piped in, and then giggled.  “I’ll never forget the way Mikado ’saved’ Ranma-chan from a bad spill and took a kiss from her in payment.  Boy, was she pissed!  Of course, I’d never let a guy to that to me, no matter how handsome the boy is.”

This brought Akane to a near standstill.  She slowed to a stop and grumbled at the memories that assaulted her.  Ranma allowing himself to be kissed by another guy.  Then embarrassing her by trying to show off at the start of the skating match.  And finally, claiming her as HIS fiancée and threatening to kill Mikado if he touched her, in front of a large audience…  While it had been somewhat romantic, it had placed her in the spotlight far more than she would have liked.  Akane looked up and about the skating rink as the memories kept coming.  ‘Isn’t there any place that I can go and not be reminded of that jerk every five minutes?’

“I’m not in the mood to skate anymore, guys,” Akane sighed, pushing off and making her way out of the rink, her friends following.

“Akane?” Sayuri and Yuka both asked in concerned, quickly joining their friend in removing their skates and returning them to the rental counter before heading out onto the street.

“I just can’t seem to get the jerk out of my head,” Akane grumbled after a bit of aimless walking, her friends silently walking beside her.  “It’s almost as if I never had a life before he showed up.  But I know that isn’t true.  And yet, everywhere I go, there he is!”

They continued walking, Sayuri and Yuka remaining silent, as Akane continued to grumble softly, allowing their friend to vent her frustrations freely.  Eventually they came upon a park and Sayuri and Yuka guided their friend into it in the hopes that the tranquil beauty of nature would lighten her mood.  Unfortunately, their hopes were in vain, as Akane came to an abrupt stop before a large series of hedges that had been shaped into a maze.

Akane stared at the living maze, memories of the time that Nabiki was temporarily Ranma’s fiancée and the fiasco that had been assaulting her senses.  That time had been an emotional roller-coaster for Akane.  Anger at Ranma and Nabiki for picking on her.  The sense of betrayal that Ranma had saved her sister from injury, while leaving her, his fiancée at the time, to fend for herself.  Overhearing Nabiki’s declaration of love for Ranma and coming to believe that it was true.  Frustration as her sister continually tried to sell Ranma back to her.  Surprise and… pleasure, when Nabiki had informed her that Ranma wanted to take her on a ‘date’.  Depression, after discovering that Ranma had actually asked Nabiki out on the date, not her, so that he could declare his love for Nabiki in some asinine ploy at revenge and had merely caught her by mistake.  And even the ‘date’ they had had afterwards had been something of a letdown, consisting of a mere walk through the park and a quick, cheap meal from a ramen vendor before they had returned to the Dojo.

Sayuri and Yuka had been puzzled, at first, by Akane’s abrupt stop before the maze, but then they recalled the story Akane had told them about a maze… and Ranma.  Uh-oh.

“Damn it!” Akane softly growled, before lifting her gaze to the heavens and shaking a clenched fist.  “DAMN YOU, RANMA!  Can’t I go anyplace and not have you bothering me!?”

“Akane,” Sayuri began carefully, gently placing a hand on her friends shoulder and trying to ignore the gazes of the other park visitors that were now looking in their direction.  “Why don’t you come over to my place for night?  If Yuka’s parents don’t mind, we could have a sleepover, order in some American food or something, and play a few games.  Get our minds off of recent events and just relax, like we used to.”

“I… I think I’d like that,” Akane said softly, considering the idea.  She’d stayed over at Sayuri or Yuka’s houses before and always had a fun time, plus it was an activity that Ranma had no association with, so maybe she could finally get him out of her thoughts.

-=-=-=-

Ranma stood in line with Nabiki as they waited for their turn to enter the club. It wasn’t that the line was long that made Ranma began to doubt his decision to go to the dance club with Nabiki, it was the fact that she had to drag him to the club in the first place. While he didn’t mind going out with the middle sister, he was more worried about his fiancées arriving and spoiling the moment.

“Don’t worry, Saotome.” Nabiki placed a hand upon his arm as she noticed him tensing his muscles for an eventual attack from her peripheral vision, “Your here to relax and not worry about your rivals or fiancées tonight.” She had explained to him, before they left, that this would be the perfect time to get out and do something different because all of the rivals and fiancées would be trying to lay low and away from him. It seemed to calm him down as they were admitted into the club. Once inside, Nabiki tugged his arm in the direction of  the dance floor to get them started on their night of relaxation, “In fact, all I want you to think about right now is me, the dance floor and maybe talking about anything else but what happened the last few weeks.” and with the end of their ‘discussion’ for the moment, Nabiki began to grind her bottom against Ranma, who slowly began to start dancing as he watched Nabiki and a few other dancers to make sure he was getting the movements right. Once he began dancing the way Nabiki wanted him to, she looked over her shoulder at him before giving the same grin he caught her with in the furo before they left, “And I bet I can dance better then you can.”

“Is that right, Tendo?” Ranma stated as he worked himself into a good rhythm from the beat of the music. It could be told, from Ranma’s perspective, that his dance was more of a kata of slow movements and hard beats. The sounds of the drums dictated where Ranma’s body moved and the rifts of the different instruments directed the movements of his hands over Nabiki’s shoulders and arms. ‘This is nice,’ Ranma’s thoughts ran as he continued to dance with a very active Nabiki, ‘and I don’t have to be the ‘playboy’ here that everyone else thinks I am.’ His thoughts turned away from a certain fiancée to enjoy the music and feel of the pert ass that he felt up earlier in the furo.

Nabiki knew she had Ranma’s full attention on her at the moment, but she also wanted to enjoy herself and relax as well. As Ranma began dancing with her fully, she turned to face him, placing her arms over his shoulders. He began to tense up in her arms before relaxing back into the beat of the music. ‘Ranma definitely needs to relax more often. I hope he’s willing to go out again.’ It didn’t take long for the song to end and a new song began. ‘I hope that this new Ranma will be willing to dance with a few other girls that have been eyeing him.’ At that moment, one of the admirers began to gravitate towards the dancing couple.

“Hey there, Handsome. Feel like dancing with someone new?” the voice was sultry and would appease any male that heard it long enough to forget their date. Ranma, however, looked at Nabiki with a questioning glance.

“Go on, Ranma-kun.” Nabiki smiled, allowing him to try and get into the atmosphere with the club while she did the same, “Just remember who you came with on this ‘date’.” She slid away from Ranma’s grasp, swaying her hips to keep the pig-tailed boy’s attention before her hips left his eyesight in favor of the shorter woman that turned him around.

“A date huh?” The woman responded to the unasked question, “Maybe I should leave you to her tender care?”

Ranma shook his head as he began to dance with the woman, “It’s not really a date.” He said, leaning close to the woman’s ear to talk to her, “We’re just trying to relax tonight.” The woman gave the pig-tailed boy a sensual smile before grinding against his body like Nabiki was doing earlier. Having figured out the best way to follow the dance steps of this particular dancing, Ranma began to go with the flow as the first few dances of the evening was given to the slender woman with brown hair.

It wasn’t long after Nabiki left Ranma that she found her own dance partner. However this partner didn’t follow the same high sense of honor that Ranma did. While it was good that she was getting advances from the male that seeked her out for a few dances his hands were, however, roaming into forbidden territory once too often. Nabiki began to pull away from the man to find another dance partner when she was pulled back roughly against the man, “Look I’m not interested in dancing with you any more.” Nabiki’s voice began to grow colder as she spoke with the man.

“Listen babe, you wanted to dance, so I’m givin’ you a dance to remember me by.” the resonating voice of the man echoed across her ears as she began to pull away from him again, “You were enjoying it with that other guy.”

“That other guy was kind enough to buy me a better drink. Now if you’ll excuse me.” Nabiki finished, leaving the man to disappear into the crowd towards her escort for the evening. The man fumed before turning to find a different woman to coerce into going back to his place for the evening.

The middle Tendo sister found her pig-tailed escort dacing with the brunette she left him with earlier, but also a black haired woman as well, making him the meat to the grind sandwich, ‘If they only knew the size of said meat, they would have him in the back doing all sorts of things.’ She grinned to herself before deciding she wanted to talk to Ranma. While living with the martial artist for a year, she hardly knew much about him and this new, seemingly intelligent Ranma began to intrigued her. She figured that while they were out, they could exchange pleasantries and get to know each other a bit more, ‘Of course a girl has to keep a few secrets herself.’ Nabiki slipped her way through the crowd once more just as the song was finishing, “You don’t mind if I borrow him for a while do you ladies?”  Her predatory smile echoed the one she gave him in the furo earlier that evening, “I wont keep him for too long.” With the reassurance that they would still be able to dance with the stud of a man, the two women left, giving Ranma a quick kiss to the cheek in appreciation for the company he gave them. Nabiki began to laugh quietly and the reddening face Ranma was sporting as she dragged him away from the dance floor towards a secluded booth.

“Now why did you have to go and do that Nabiki?” Ranma responded as he sat across from Nabiki. Her grin she was giving him started to unnerve him.

“Well, since we’re on a date, we might as well act like we’re on a date.” She gave him a patient smile, knowing that he would probably start freaking out sometime soon if she kept up her attitude towards him. “Pretty much we just talk for a bit, dance some more and keep doing it until we’re tired.”

Ranma gave the middle sister a questioning look before he thought about it, ‘Maybe it was time to talk to someone else other than Kasumi.’ The echoing thoughts of what to talk about with Nabiki kept him from deciding that he would talk to her about most, if not all, of the problems he faced under Genma’s supervision. “So, what in particular are your interests?” He thought the simple question would throw a curve ball to Nabiki’s perspective of him, he had been doing it most of the night and he might as well make the most of it.

“Ooh. Using a bit more vocabulary Ranma-kun?” Nabiki gave a quiet laugh at the face Ranma was displaying after her own rhetorical question, “I think I’ll give you that one for free, just because your cute that way.” She playfully placed her finger on her chin, having all ready decided what hobbies she would put out to him for the moment. “Photography is one interest I excel at, considering the shots that I have taken.”

“With or without being a voyeur?” Ranma pointed out jokingly. He knew that was one of her hobbies she used to help with some of the payments. This caused Nabiki to laugh at the lewd images she did take a few times that almost caused her to be called a voyeur.

“Without. Those action shots of you and Ryouga are prime examples of some shots I’ve done.” Nabiki chuckled for a moment before throwing the question back at him, “So what about the ‘Wild Horse’ of Nerima? What are your interests? And don’t mention martial arts, that’s a given.”

“Are ya planning on selling this information to anyone, anytime soon?” Ranma’s brow raised, much in the same way Nabiki would do as certain information was passed to her.

“Moi?” Nabiki’s hand dropped from her chin and rested on her chest, “Now really Ranma-kun, you don’t expect me to not try and make something out of this ‘date’ now do you?”

Ranma leaned on the table with his elbow resting on the table top and his hand holding his head up, “I figured that a woman, such as yourself, would figure out that a date means you can ‘gossip’ afterwards with your girlfriends.” he waved his free hand nonchalantly, as if to indicate he didn’t care for the question, “But if you must know, I do enjoy a reasonable amount of other things besides martial arts.”

The middle sister rolled her eyes at the way Ranma was exaggerating the question and trying to keep her in suspense. Not in a very good job, but it might be worth it to at least help him see the errors of his ways, “Just spit it out Saotome. It’s not polite to keep a girl guessing.”

The pigtailed man gave his charming grin to the woman sitting across from him before he began to talk, “Of course it isn’t. I should know.” He gave her a teasing wink as he continued, “But I like a good meal… sleeping in when I can…” his thoughts took him to his training trip with Genma as he thought of his own interests, “seeing new places… succeeding at something challenging… and peace and quiet.” There were others but he felt that was enough to ‘wet’ the appetite for the middle sister.

This didn’t please Nabiki very much, as shown by the frown that she displayed. Of course the succeeding at a challenge was nothing new to her in regards to him but the other things that she took for granted, he may not have even had such a chance to explore. Genma, from her perspective, wasn’t one who would take the time to treat his child to a good meal or give him the peace and quiet he wished for. ‘Such is the way of the martial artist.’ seemed to come to mind when thinking about what Ranma had to endure along his trip.

“So the simple pleasures in life grab your attention hmm?” Nabiki mentioned, deciding that taking the martial artist out more often to experience such pleasures would keep him close to the household.

Ranma’s shoulders rose and fell for a moment as he leaned back into his chair, “I guess. Maybe to you they’d be simple pleasures. And they are, but they seem to come and go around me.” a wistful sigh escaped before he straightened himself out, ‘This is going to be one such pleasure I may not have in the near future.’ his thoughts focused on the fact, “Any other interests yourself?”

“Lots of them, and not just photography,” This caused Ranma to roll his eyes as she continued, “I like to collect manga, dancing, motorcycles, flying…”

They continued for a while longer, discussing some of the unexpected things about the other and finding that some desires were some that the other enjoyed. As they got up from their table to dance once more, a woman in a pair of tight-fitted jeans and tucked in t-shirt approached their table. Nabiki and Ranma both turned to look at the newcomer. Both noticed that while the woman was very attractive, keeping a figure most would women would die for, they also saw that she appeared older than most of the occupants in the club. The wrinkles near her eyes betrayed her age, in a limited fashion, while her white hair fell past her shoulders. “Excuse me,” the woman spoke, directing her attention to Ranma, “You wouldn’t mind if this old woman asks you for a dance, now would you?”

“’Course not, Mrs…” Ranma began, with a little ‘reminder’ from Nabiki’s foot under the table.

“Miss, and my name isn’t quite that important.” The woman gave a comforting smile to Ranma, “Just a few dances with a young stud, such as yourself, to make me feel a bit younger.” She gave Nabiki a wink, before continuing, “Don’t worry, Dearie, I wont wear him out before you get your chances with him.” Nabiki gave the older woman a smile, and pushed Ranma towards the floor.

“That’s fine with me, Miss.” Nabiki stated, before leaning in close to Ranma, “Just show her a good time.” she patted him on the shoulder and headed towards the bar, leaving the two alone, before the woman took Ranma’s hand and lead him towards the dance floor.

Once on the dance floor, the woman began to show Ranma several other dance steps that followed the beat of the music better than some of his earlier attempts at dancing. This brought her body very close to his as he felt her shapely body press more up against him. In comparison to the other women he had a chance to dance with, this woman was very toned. His eyes wandered across her body, over her peaked breasts that looked like she wasn’t wearing any support, down to her worked out abs, and past her almost sculptured thighs. One could see she worked out often, or kept a strict diet that allowed her to keep her figure. She was almost exactly how Nabiki’s body faired, aside a few dimensions that would put the middle Tendo sister on the thinner side. His eyes reverted back to the woman’s face to see a smirk that reminded him of said sister that he escorted.

“Enjoy what you see?” Her smirk grew into a smile as Ranma gave a hesitant nod, “Don’t worry. You seem like a wonderful man. And dancing with you brings back memories of a time when I did things on breaks. You catch on pretty quickly with your steps.”

Ranma gave her a smile of his own, enjoying the complements that she was giving. In his relaxing state, his ‘other’ self, began to rise with each compliment that was received, “I had some patient teachers tonight.”

“First time dancing?” The woman’s grin nearly reached her eyes as she felt the response she was having on him. Ranma nodded to her question and she continued the small talk, “Then you should thank your teachers for the opportunity. Though you don’t have to be that far from me to enjoy dancing.” This caused the Saotome heir to blush as the woman gave a quiet laugh behind her hand, “It’s all right dear. I’m actually quite flattered that you  find me arousing. But even if you are very well-endowed, energetic and enthusiastic about such things, I require a bit more… experience in a partner of that nature.” the woman pushed her body up against his and gave him a quick kiss to his cheek in appreciation, “Though you could be a bit more forward, and maybe ask a few of these other women to dance with you instead of waiting for them to approach.”

“If I had a chance ta go and approach them, I would.” Ranma returned the grin she sent to him and followed up on the dances she was teaching him, “Besides, I’m still not that good a dancing.”

“Maybe you fear of making mistakes while dancing.” the woman’s hand came up and lightly caressed down his arm, “I know that sometimes the fear of embarrassing yourself in front of others can be detrimental to one’s self-esteem. But you endure your embarrassment well.” She leaned in closer as if to kiss his cheek once again, “And that shows the mark of a ‘real’ man, the conquering of ones fear.” As the song finished, and a new one was about to be played, the blue-eyed woman pulled away from her dance partner with a pleasant smile, “Thank you for the dance.”

“Sure.” Ranma hastily replied before he was swept up by his previous dance partners that caught sight of him. He continued to dance and make small talk with the two women, even getting a few more dances with his ‘date’ for the night. Nabiki also found other dance partners that she enjoyed being with, while engaging in several intellectual discussions with some of her partners and Ranma. When they left, their pockets contained several slips of paper with phone numbers, and some excuses to give said numbers a call in the future.

As they exited the train station and walked down the street towards the Tendo-ke, Nabiki decided to lean heavily against Ranma for the support of her tired legs. She knew that Ranma wouldn’t take advantage of her tired condition (unlike most of the men in the club) and he would make sure that she was able to get to the Tendo household. It was almost perfect for Nabiki, she would definitely be taking the ‘Wild Horse’ out for more. They stood outside of the gate momentarily as she debated a quiet thought that popped into her head.

“I had a good time tonight, Ranma-kun.” She whispered quietly, turning to face him, “I think you deserve something to remember the night by.” She pulled his head towards her and gave him a chaste kiss on his lips.

Ranma stood there as Nabiki started walking up to the gate, wondering what the middle sister was thinking with that kiss. Remembering that she took him out to relax he felt she deserve some type of response to her kiss, “Thanks Nabiki… for the night out.”

“Your welcome, Ranma-kun.” She teased, walking past the threshold of the gate, “Maybe the next time we go out, you might take me for a ‘ride’.” She headed towards the door, her thoughts taken over by the reason for the chaste kiss, ‘I think I’ll enjoy ‘teaching’ him a few more if he ’s willing.’

‘Did she just say, what I think she said?’ the pigtailed man questioned in his mind. Sure he was joking while in the furo of having a ‘quickie’ and her body pressed up against his felt very good. Was she joking as well? He shook himself out of his stupor when the sliding door opened and shut and he noticed he was left alone in the front area of the Tendo-ke, ‘She must be joking.’ His thoughts continued, those same thoughts would keep him very much awake, to figure out what plan the middle sister was trying to accomplish.