Seeing Ranma crash to the floor in an awkward and painful looking heap, Nabiki put one hand to her forehead and shook her head in disbelief. "heh, Amazing timing as always Saotome. I was just about to ask you to come down."
Hearing some shouts of outrage at Ranma's sudden appearance in a private sleep-over event, Nabiki suddenly knelt beside him with a sugary sweet smile. "How thoughtful of you Ranma-kun, watching over the girls so they don't start any fights and hurt each other. Why that's so sweet of you."
Eyes widening in shock, the pigtailed boy blushed and scowled, responding hotly while looking away, "I wasn't worried or nothing, just uhm...Mom asked me too, yeah."
Of course, there was nothing that proved it to the girls more than his miserable attempt at lying. Even Akane found the sight so pathetic that she completely forgot to start shouting about him being a peeping tom pervert.
Nodding in agreement, Nabiki blithely continued her cheerful stint, though now it was switching to mischievously amused. "Alright Ranma, just have a seat over there. You are our guest of honor after all."
Finally Akane got back into her groove, demanding of Nabiki, "What's this about? Were you planning on having Ranma in this sleepover all along?"
Smirking, Nabiki responded, "Well, as nice as being friends is, this is about Ranma. You guys need to learn how to get along with him too." Seeing they didn't quite believe it and they were preparing inane objections, particularly Akane, she cut them off. "Oh, don't believe me?"
Everyone in the dojo stared as Nabiki pulled her shirt over her head and let it drop to the floor. Unfortunately she could hear trouble brewing behind her, so with a sharp look she turned to the girls, snapping at them. "No fighting, remember? Just sit and watch and you might learn something important!"
Having quieted the girls for the moment, Nabiki made her way towards Ranma, undoing the fly of her shorts. Seeing where this was going and knowing it was trouble, Ranma began crab-walking backwards away from the approaching Tendou girl. Satisfied that her quarry was being corralled, Nabiki let her shorts slip down her legs before kicking them away and continuing her advance.
In short order Ranma was backed into a corner with Nabiki in her lacy underwear blocking a quick escape. Grinning the sly girl held out one hand expectantly. "Alright Saotome, fork over twenty bucks or I'm taking my bra off."
Morosely he fished out his roll of cash and handed it over. Curiously Nabiki counted it, coming up with thirty-two dollars. "What's this Saotome? There's twelve extra here."
Not looking at her or anyone else in the dojo he sullenly answered, "It's all I have, just leave me alone."
Sighing, Nabiki turned around and stood up to face the rather shocked fiancées as they watched one of the strongest fighters around bullied into submission by a girl threatening to show him her body. "Getting along with each other is just the beginning. As much trouble as you girls cause, as serious as destroying his house is, it's Ranma that catches all the shit from you girls. Ranma learned all he knows about girls when he stopped wandering and came to live here and we taught him real well huh? Relationships? Ha! Idiots like Mousse and Ryouga get better treatment from you girls than your own damn fiance."
Running out of steam and a bit surprised with herself, Nabiki bent over and took a breather.
Nonplussed with the accusations, Akane fired off her own. "What in the hell has your panties in a bunch? Why do you care about Ranma? This had better not be another lame scheme to have him as a fiance just so you can use him."
Sighing, Nabiki considered how to salvage the situation, looking for the right words she responded, "Well, it's just not funny anymore. That's all. When Auntie asked me to help out for tonight, I realized it wasn't really worth it, you girls have pretty much ruined things with Ranma anyways. Pretty much any girl given the right situation, and Ranma loves to get into situations, that can treat him nice can win his heart. Heck, Akane could toss something in anger, cause Kasumi to trip down the stairs and Ranma would rescue her. If Kasumi got interested in Ranma it'd pretty much be over for you girls."
With the groundwork laid, Nabiki started steering the night back on track. "Now, if you girls are still interested, I have a game that should help patch things over."
Slipping back on her shirt and shorts, Nabiki turned around and squatted before Ranma. When he didn't look at her, she apologized, "Sorry about that Saotome, just trying to prove a point. Here's your money back."
Hesitant to believe Nabiki, but always willing to give someone a chance, he turned around and took the money, then stared at what he was holding to find his roll of bills stuffed in her folded bra like a pearl in a clamshell. Oddly seeing her little joke and her grin made him relax as he was expecting something from her. Then what she said surprised and puzzled him.
"Consider it proof that I'd like to make-up and be friends."
With everyone fairly off balance, Nabiki grinned and made for the door to the dojo, throwing it open and calling out. "Okay Kasumi, bring in the stuff."
Curiosity took over as Kasumi brought in six boutique bags, three in each hand. Everyone was surprised when Nabiki closed the door behind Kasumi and latched it shut. "Alright then, we have our six players now."
Blinking, Kasumi pointed innocently to herself.
Grinning, Nabiki dragged her over to the other girls, "Just have a seat sis, this'll be fun. I think the girls could use a good role model tonight."
Seeing the calculating looks on the four fiancee's faces assured Nabiki that her innocent suggestion that Kasumi could easily win Ranma away had their attention.
Pulling out a deck of cards, Nabiki prepared to announce the game. "Alright, the rules are simple, this will be five cards dealt face down, you get two discards and draws, and the lowest hand or hands loses. Dealer goes one player counter-clockwise each turn. No wild cards."
Blinking, everyone wondered what the catch was, then Nabiki helpfully spoke up after pulling out a clip board. "Alright, now I just need to know what everyone is wearing."
While the girls tried to puzzle that out, Ukyou spoke up, "What the hell for?"
Speaking matter-of-factly, Nabiki indicated her clipboard, "Well to keep a game of strip poker fair, I have to take into account we're wearing different amounts of clothing. I have on three pieces right now after giving Ranma my bra."
Predictably, Akane took offense to that idea, though Ukyou was showing some serious doubts as well. "Strip Poker! Are you nuts? Are you trying to give that pervert a free show or something?"
Unflinchingly, Nabiki looked over her clipboard, then turned a cool gaze upwards to her little sister. "You can quit right now and go sleep in your room. You should watch the pervert stuff and temper though, or Auntie Nodoka is going to drop you as a fiancée."
The neutrality Nabiki spoke with shocked Akane, it seeming so odd to here Nabiki speak without any amusement or even emotion at all in her voice.
Flicking her pen over to the bags, Nabiki continued in a monotone that got everyone's attention as her being serious. "Before you fly off the handle, I went through the trouble of getting six costumes to put on after a girl loses her clothes. Everyone here could loosen up a bit, and the costumes will be a lot of fun for wearing tonight."
Hearing no further complaints, she went with the most cooperative girls. "Okay, it's like this, I have five slots for each girl for clothing. Blank slots count as a free pass. So, I would lose my shorts, pass, my top, pass and then finally my panties. Shampoo, what have you got on?"
Hesitating only to make sure she'd heard right and said it right, the Amazon answered in short order, "Is pants, pass, top, pass, then panties? Suppose is good Shampoo wear pantsuit tonight."
Nodding to the purple haired girl to indicate she was correct, Nabiki marked down the slots then turned to her next victim. "Kodachi?"
Musing over the idea, Kodachi seemed to agree readily, "Six items I'm afraid, should I take my tights off, or may I count my blouse and jacket as one piece?"
Nodding absently, Nabiki made an educated guess. "Top, skirt, tights, leotard and panties, right?"
Getting a curt nod from the gymnast, Nabiki moved on, "Ukyou?"
After another quick glance at her Ranchan, the chef nervously, hesitantly answered, "Kimono, tights, my binding and panties."
Looking at her chart, Nabiki came up with a counter offer. "Lose the bindings and I'll let you go tights kimono panties."
Pausing a moment to consider it, Ukyou reached into her kimono top and loosened up her breast binding, then paused. "Can I just take it off with my kimono?"
Nodding absently, Nabiki answered and moved on, "Sure, seems fair, what about you Kasumi?"
After watching her big sister blush and fidget for over a minute, Nabiki pointed her pen at Ranma. "I'm not letting you quit sis, so either you play or I'll strip you and handcuff you to Ranma. Pretty sure that might cure you both of being so shy. So what's it going to be?"
Wide eyed, Kasumi finally answered with a bit of stutter, "Dr-dress, bra and panties."
Raising an eyebrow, Nabiki turned towards the biggest obstacle to fun in this game, "So Akane, in or out? I'm not about to force you, so you can just go to your room and let us get on with the game."
Frowning in consternation, with obviously great reluctance the final girl ground out, "Dress, bra, panties."
Breathing a sigh of relief at finally having the game underway, Nabiki finally got around to outlining the rest of the rules. "Okay, so when you lose you strip according to the chart. Once you're nude, you next loss means going over and picking out a costume. You then put it on according to the the card in the bag which also have five slots. So lose ten times and you're out."
Raising a finger, she continued, "In addition, there are the harem rules. Girls in the harem should avoid conflict with the other girls with making Ranma happy their top priority. Any girl in harem status essentially belongs to Ranma and must do her best to make him happy. The first loser will be his harem girl for a month. Second to lose will be his for twenty days. Third gets ten days. Fourth only four. Last to lose only has to do it for tonight and the winner doesn't have to at all. The costumes will also serve as harem girl outfits."
Grinning, Nabiki continued, "Of course, that's because this is primarily about getting along with the other girls enough to get along with Ranma."
Ironically, the girl least opposed to strip poker poked a hole in Nabiki's plans as Shampoo spoke up, "Why then sneaky girl and nice sister play?"
Grinning like the cat that got the canary, Nabiki cast a sly look at Kasumi for the benefit of the other four girls. "Consider it incentive to take this seriously and act like big girls, 'cause you're playing with the big girls now."
Meanwhile in his nice safe corner, Ranma stared as hell froze over and was converted into a nice ski park.
"Etna? I don't recall giving permission for you to open a bloody Prinny snow park!"
"Hey, don't look at me, I was just about to chew them out for skipping work when I got hit by a snowball."
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(Posted Tue, 27 Jun 2006 23:05)
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