Nabiki growled a bit, before swallowing the rage she felt, as she finished changing for bed.
Nine damn girls were already living here. Okay, she expected that. Granted, nine was a bit more than she planned for, but it was okay.
It wasn’t even the repairs that was upsetting her. She was owed several favors by the Furinkan Science Teams. As such, she could have them up here tomorrow before the building supplies arrived, and have them fix the wiring and plumbing—probably install a satellite TV and an Ethernet hub as well—before nightfall.
It wasn’t even the number of empty rooms that they would need to fill to pull something resembling a profit from this place. She knew at least seven girls in her graduating class alone who would love the area. What more, they were going to schools closer to here than Todai was. She could even get Kasumi to move in, since the eldest Tendo still had several active scholarships to attend Tokyo University. And since Kasumi would insist on some form of rent, surely helping out with the chores would qualify.
She wasn’t even worried about the empty tea house at the bottom of the hill. After all, there were two restaurants who would be seeking that space soon. And if she played her cards right, they’d be too busy competing against each other for that one space—or if she worded the contracts right, working in that one space—to interfere with her plans.
No, what was bothering her was a certain red eyed, green haired woman named Setsuna, who was standing between her and a certain stud.
Not that she believed the girl was a credible threat for her attempts to gain Ranma. But while the woman definitely had less history, she also had less ‘bad’ incidents with the boy.
Sure, Nabiki regretted it. Hindsight was 20/20 after all. How was she to know he’d actually show potential to be more than a one-trick pony. Hell, she wouldn’t even know about this place to begin with had she not heard Auntie talking about it a month ago with Grandmother Hina.
But in her defense, he seemed to be perfect for Akane ... if the girl could ever get a clue. And while Ranma was hot—in either form, as it was required that if you loved Ranma-kun, you had to love Ranma-chan as well—she needed someone who could stimulate her mind as well as her body. This is why she was not attracted to him to begin with. After all, he was barely able to hold his own in school, how would he support any family with what he had as skills for a dojo sensei.
Add to that some other scenes in the past where he had stirred the beginnings of interest in him ... and we have the second Tendo sister who lo...liked him. And unlike Akane, she’d admit it.
“Why are you in my room again?” asked Ranma, as he entered after finishing his nighttime bath.
Well, she’d admit it as soon as he was likely to believe him.
Ranma sat across from her, looking her in the eyes, as he didn’t want to take a chance of being accused of trying to look up her nightshirt to see her panties. “Explain this to me again.”
Nodding, Nabiki explained it ... for the third time. “I’m in here with you for two reasons. The first is that it’ll help prove to the other girls that you are far from being a pervert if you can spend the night with a girl and not ‘be a pervert’ as it were.”
“And the second?”
Nabiki smirked. “None of the other rooms are up to being livable yet. And since I don’t trust the other girls to stay with them, I’m staying with you.”
Ranma sighed. Yep, it was true.
“Besides, you’re warmer and cheaper than an electric blanket.”
And it just got worse. “And why is there only one floor mat?”
Nabiki shrugged. “I checked, all the other ones smell like moldy basement. I take it your grandmother wasn’t too big on spring cleaning?”
“Well, she has been gone for a while,” Ranma replied, scratching his head.
“Listen, Ranma,” she said, getting safely closer to him without setting off the anti-fiancée alerts. “This is just for one night. I trust you to be your usual self and not take advantage of little old me. Tomorrow, we can get the repairs out of the way, look over some new tenant applications I received from some of my classmates, and finish getting this place set so it can run smoothly while you’re studying for Todai.”
Ranma slowly nodded.
“Then turn off the light so we can get some sleep. We both have big days ahead of us for tomorrow, and I for one would like to get as much shut-eye as I can.”
As they settled on the one bed mat, Ranma tried not to cringe in utmost terror as Nabiki nestled into his side.
Oh yeah, sleep she says. Like I’ll be able to sleep with her doing that!
“And Saotome, try to keep the snoring to a minimum. You don’t have to out-snore your father here.”
Ranma found himself almost wanting to cry. Even two hours away from Tokyo, and he still wasn’t safe.
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(Posted Tue, 03 Oct 2006 10:17)
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