Ranma and Nabiki strolled down the street, arm in arm. Ranma used his free hand to pat Nabiki on her offered arm. “Where should we go first?”
Nabiki smiled as if the sun was being born on her face. “I thought we could walk first, a bit. Talk, see the sights as a couple, be seen as a couple. The usual boyfriend – girlfriend stuff.”
Ranma smiled sheepishly. “I’d like that, though I don’t really know what the usual stuff is.”
Nabiki patted Ranma on his arm. “No worries. I doubt we’ll be having a usual relationship as it is.”
The two drifted down the street, mostly quiet, just soaking in the moment. They had gone several blocks from the dojo when Ranma nudged Nabiki in the ribs. ‘I was distracted before, but now I think someone is watching us. Do you think it is Akane?”
‘I was hoping Kasumi would cow her into behaving. Let’s try to catch her in the act.’
Ranma smiled at the love of his life. ‘Sure!’
The duo acted as nonchalant as they could pull off. Turning the next corner, Ranma scooped Nabiki up, bridal style, and darted into an alley down a ways and across the street. They didn’t have to wait long before their stalker passed by.
Ranma watched in confusion, he didn’t recognize the dark haired girl. Nabiki, however, exuded confidence as she led him out of the alley. “Hey, Chidori,” she called out to the back of the girl.
‘You know her?’ Ranma asked his girlfriend.
Nabiki nodded. ‘She’s a friend.’
The girl quickly stopped and spun around. “Nabiki!”
“Fancy meeting you here. Where you off to?”
Chidori hesitated, a deer-in-headlights expression stole across her face for a fleeting moment. “Just off to visit a friend.” Her eyes swept to Ranma before returning to Nabiki’s face. “Who’s that?”
Nabiki smiled and leaned into Ranma. “This is Ranma, my boyfriend.”
“Boyfriend?!”
Ranma smirked. “Fiancè now, remember?” ‘I bet that blows her mind.’
Nabiki sent amusement back along their link.
“Fiancè?!” Chidori’s voice got even shriller and it looked like all thought processes stopped. “Wait, I never heard of him before. Why is that? Is this your idea of a joke?” Chidori was used to Nabiki’s sense of humor and Nabiki was known to be an occasional prankster.
Nabiki’s smile could be compared to that of a cat that got the cream-filled canary, except no cat ever smiled so smugly. “No joke. This stud-muffin is all mine.”
“Now I feel like a piece of meat,” Ranma joked.
“But – but – but when did this happen?” Chidori couldn’t believe this turn of events.
“Just today,” Nabiki replied.
Ranma nodded. “Our families arranged it.”
Chidori pursed her lips. “An arranged marriage? How barbaric.”
Nabiki chuckled. “Oh, I don’t know. It’s turned out spectacular for me. Well, if you don’t mind, we have to be off. I promised Ranma I’d show him around town. See you in school tomorrow.”
“Why would he need to be shown around town? Where is he from?”
However, Nabiki just smiled mysteriously and stepped by her friend. ‘I can’t wait to hear what rumors float around school tomorrow.’
After leaving Chidori behind, Nabiki directed Ranma to an outdoor café. “I bet you’ll love the ice cream they serve here.”
After ice cream, Nabiki took Ranma on a walk along the streets. It wasn’t long before cold water had found him, but neither cared and continued their hand-in-hand walk. They stopped for some hot tea on their way home, and neither had thought to use it to turn Ranma male again.
When they finally got home, the two stopped on the door step to stare at each other and fall into a kiss. Akane chose that moment to yank the front door open and gagged at the sight of Nabiki kissing Ranma-as-girl.
“Ugh! Quit it you two. Don’t make me have to beat you up, you pervert.”
Ranma and Nabiki broke apart with chuckles and Ranma bowed to Akane with flair. “And a fair night to ye as well. Now I better be off to slumber for tomorrow will be an early day.”
Akane stared, flabbergasted, as Ranma’s form disappeared into the house.
Nabiki flicked Akane’s nose and shot her a steely glare. “Stop staring at my guy.”
“It’s not like that!” Akane sputtered. Then she heatedly retorted, “And that’s no guy.”
Ranma was awaken by his father screaming, “Surprise attack!” as he belly flopped onto the slumbering teen. They soon took the sparring outdoors.
Akane woke up from all the noise and grumbled irately all the way down to the bathroom.
Nabiki was already awake, watching the fight in the backyard from the veranda. “Go Ranma!” she cheered. “Woo! ... Watch out for the – Ouch! That had to hurt.”
Soun had his face buried in his paper. Kasumi was busy preparing breakfast.
By the time Akane was ready, Kasumi was putting the finishing touches on breakfast and Soun was watching the house guests with a fond, nostalgic, far-away look. Genma had Ranma in a headlock using his legs while Ranma had his own feet wedged on his father’s chin.
“What the hell are they doing?” Akane growled to Nabiki.
Nabiki whooped once before turning to her sister. “Grappling, of course. Indiscriminate grappling is one of the foundations of Anything Goes. Right up there with no-holds-barred psychological warfare and timely misdirection.”
“Psychological warfare? That’s not part of the family style,” Akane groused.
Nabiki smirked. “Insult your enemy ‘til they cry. And Ranma’s the best at it. Also, don’t forget the value of ...
“SNEAK ATTACK,” Nabiki yelled as she launched herself into the fray. She began tickling anything in reach, not really siding with one combatant or the other.
“’Biki! You’re suppose to be helping,” Ranma complained over her laughter.
Genma snorted, “You can’t trust anyone, that’s why we fight alone. Sometimes, you can’t even trust yourself.”
The chaotic, three-way free-for-all came to an abrupt stop when Kasumi called out, in a dulcet tone, “Breakfast is ready!” Then, there was a sudden stampede as two martial artists ran for the table and one giggling girl skipped along behind them.
Akane hung her head. “I am not related to her; Nabiki must be adopted.”
The three of them, Akane, Nabiki, and Ranma, walked into Furinkan as the buzz of conversation fell to a quiet standstill.
Akane didn’t notice, as she was prepping herself for her daily event. Which occurred swiftly as a bunch of guys came tearing out of the school, screaming her name and yelling for dates.
Ranma hung back with Nabiki, aware of the occurrence and amused by it. He turned to his beloved, ‘is it wrong that I am kind of hoping one of them actually beats her? I think she could use a little ego deflating.’
Nabiki shrugged. ‘As much as I love her, I admit she’s been unbearable since yesterday. Do you think she needs to get laid?’ Her quirking lips, and their link, told Ranma she was teasing.
“Maybe that Kuno fellow?”
“I fear his boken is larger than his sword.” Nabiki tried really hard to not laugh, but the expression on Ranma’s face as he tried not to cause her to break, which broke his resolve and the two leaned into each other as they broke out laughing.
Nabiki and some strange boy laughing hysterically as Akane mowed her way through a mob of horny teenagers drew some curious and questioning glances. While Akane mopped up, the two walked into school hand in hand, kick starting the rumor mill. Chidori smirked, preparing to gossip as she pointed out the couple as they crossed the lawn.
Inside, Nabiki and Ranma went to the main office to get him squared away. ‘I wish I could be in your class. But I am Akane’s grade level,’ Ranma sighed.
Nabiki shrugged. “Maybe this way, we won’t be as distracted from work.”
“I don’t know if I want to spend the day with her, though. She’s a tough pill to swallow.”
Nabiki sighed. ‘Maybe she just needs some time.’
‘I hope not too long.’
Nabiki was amused when Kuno got her attention in between periods – after the math teacher had left and the class waited for the history teacher to arrive.
“I have heard rumors that you are engaged to be married. Is that so?”
Nabiki smiled at the boy. “Yeah. It’s an arranged marriage, but I think I got quite lucky with it.” Kuno nodded to himself in thought. “Why, anything wrong?”
Kuno shook his head. “Not at all. I was just pondering that perhaps I been going about this all wrong. Perhaps I ought to arrange an Omai between my parents and yours.”
Nabiki smirked mercilessly. ‘I think it’ll be easier than we thought to set Akane up with the Boy Blunder.’
“Something amuses you?”
Nabiki shot him a wink. “Naw. Just thinking how that could be a good idea. It wouldn’t hurt to try, and I’ll even put in a good word for you with Daddy.”
Kuno bowed. “In that case, I would be in your debt.”
Nabiki remembered, “Hey, isn’t your father out of the country?”
Kuno nodded. “I may retain the service of a matchmaker in his stead.”
As Kuno returned to his seat, Nabiki could feel Ranma’s amusement. ‘I would love to be a fly on the wall during that family meeting,’ he sent over their link.
‘You and me both.’
However, Kuno dropped the ball when he burst into Akane’s classroom to announce that he would defeat her father in honorable combat for the right to marry her.
“ARRGH!” Akane roared as she launched herself at the upperclassman. “Why would I want to be married to a pervert like you?”
“Don’t play coy, my fierce goddess,” Kuno answered as she tackled him in blind rage.
“Akane, show some decorum,” her teacher scolded her. “Such unladylike behavior, and out in public no less.”
Akane grumbled as she had to hold buckets in the hall. “This is all your fault,” she yelled to Ranma on her way out. “Now everyone wants to marry a Tendo.”
Ranma shrugged and paid her no heed. Angered at being ignored she threw a water-filled bucket at his head, triggering his curse. He shrugged again as everyone stared at him. “What, this is the strangest thing you seen all day?”
Which meant that by school’s end, the rumor mill was running wild as people speculated whether or not Nabiki was in an arranged marriage to marry another girl.
This irked Akane the most. “Now the entire school will think we’re a family of perverts,” She accosted the lovebirds. She then stomped off. Nabiki smiled at Ranma, Ranma – still female – shrugged back and the two left to go get ice cream.
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(Posted Fri, 20 Nov 2015 04:45)
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