But he knew that she was all for him. Her lips would only kiss his, and no matter if she dressed to show off her curves, he was the only guy that she would want to press up against. That wasn't to say that it didn't bother him to see her get close to someone else, but he knew that he could trust her to never betray him.
At the moment though, he had to wonder about just how long she was willing to keep on holding on to him.
"Ya seem ta be enjoyin' this," he muttered as the gate to the Tendo home came into sight.
His wife favored him with a bright smile. "Why shouldn't I enjoy what's mine?"
"Maybe because it's a bit much?" Akane asked, coming up next to them. "I mean, you held onto his arm the whole way home."
"Oh, really. Bothered by that, hmm, sis?"
"For his sake, Nabiki. You've been treating him like a piece of luggage."
"Is that so?"
The younger girl leaned in and gave her sister a droll look. "Are you trying to look like one of those girls who's got a crush on some guy or another?"
"You have a point," Nabiki admitted, loosening her grip on her husband.
"Glad to hear it. Now, are you going to let him go?"
"Are you telling me to?"
"You can hang onto him for the rest of your life, for all that I care. But that might be a problem," the blue haired girl sniffed.
"Damn. The world must be ending. Akane has two correct comments in one conversation."
"HEY!"
Letting go of her spouse, the married girl twirled about to face her companions. "But it was fun to be able to do that."
"Yeah, but could ya find some better way of doin' it," Ranma groused.
"What? I thought that you liked having me snuggle up to you...."
"I do! It's just that...."
"I cause you problems?"
"We'll get stiff if we don't shift position every once in a while."
"I suppose. But even if you get all tense, I'll make certain to get you nice and relaxed afterwards," his wife purred as she pecked him on the lips.
The pigtailed boy just went bright red, clearly unable to say anything despite several tries.
"Glad that my idea appeals to you. Until later then."
"Nabiki," Akane called out as her sister led them in. "Where are you going in such a hurry?"
"I've got to take care of something important."
"'Important'?" Like what?"
"You'll see."
Both the short haired girl's husband and sister just stood there in confusion at her behavior.
Planning was part of a warrior's duties, especially one of the nobility, and Tatewaki Kuno knew that. A keen strategy could mean the divide between utter success, or complete defeat. And since he wanted to win over the black hearted manipulations of Nabiki Tendo, it was only natural that he had to be particularly careful to not make a mistake.
Unfortunately, this was not a battle that he could win that easily. Direct combat would not work on the wench herself, as she was certainly no warrior. On the other hand, the poor wretch that she had ensnared was, and that meant that defense might be needed. The question was how to approach this, as merely trying to expose the ills of that sly woman would do little if he did not have the trust and respect of the one that he desired to aid.
"I did not know that you played with paints, my dear brother," murmured an annoyingly familiar voice.
Jerking slightly, Tatewaki turned to glare at the interloper who dared to bother him during such intense deliberations. "Why have you come to intrude on my private moment alone, sister?"
"Why should I not want to see my most beloved sibling?"<> "I am your only sibling."
"Semantics, brother dear," Kodachi said airily, slinking over to lean her lithe body against his table. "How cute. Playing little games of pretend, now are we?"
"I'll have you know that this is a serious matter, on which much will be riding on."
"Oh? And what could you be doing that is so important?"
"If you must know, I am working out a plan of attack so that I might aid one who needs my help," growled the would be samurai.
"Ah, seeking to aid your dear Akane...."
"No. I am looking to free a noble warrior from the clutches of her greedy sister, Nabiki."
"Oh, ho.... But is that girl not the one who provides you with those tasteless photgraphs that you leer over?" his sister asked.
"I do not see how that is here or there."
"You wouldn't. However, that is of no matter."
"Then you will leave me to do my work in peace?"
"I might even stop in to see what sort of person it is that would warrant your protection," Kodachi admitted, and started to stroll away. "Should be an interesting sort."
Pressing his lips together, Tatewaki glared at her departing presence, hoping that she would not damage what he was working so hard to defend.
"Damn it," Nabiki growled as she leaned back in her chair and looked at the pad of paper that sat on her desk.
It wasn't that she didn't know what she wanted to do, but the problem was that there was a difference between making a plan, and actually getting it started. No matter how one came up with an idea, it took time to actually get it working. Most of them could be done on the fly, but this actually had to be as perfect as possible. If there was a mistake, that could give someone a chance to mess things up, and she wasn't about to let that happen.
This was too important to her to let get messed up. If that were to happen, then she was going to be royally screwed, and she was damned well going to do her best to prevent it. Fortunately, the basics of what she wanted were already in place, since she was married to Ranma. Being his wife was the most important thing to her, and she rather liked the idea of having no blocks to her ability to just enjoy married life.
However, most people didn't know about her marital status as of yet, and she wanted to make it as easy as possible for them to accept it. In doing that, then she could be able to stay with her husband, without anyone trying to stick in their two yen into her business. Well, people were going to do that anyway, but if they found out that she'd already been a married woman for months, all sorts of questions would pop up that would terribly bother her when she didn't need that sort of mess.
She wanted to keep things simple... and if that was the case, that was what she had to write. All that she really needed was a statement that reaffirmed the fathers' long held desire for Ranma to marry a Tendo daughter. Mentioning herself by name would be too leading, but seeing as she had been born as Soun Tendo's child, there was no conflict in that regard.
Grinning to herself, she began to let her pen fly over the page, knowing that she'd come up with something workable, perfectly believable, and utterly misleading.
That would work for her, and she already started to consider what she'd tell her father and father in law.
"Nabiki Tendo has a boyfriend," Hiroshi muttered, kicking a can down the street.
Daisuke glanced over at his friend and frowned. "You sound bothered by that."
"No, not really. It's just... surprising, you know."
"Other than the fact that she really seems to like the guy?"
"Yeah," the light brown haired boy agreed, and gave a short laugh. "I mean, it's always been possible to get a date from her...."
"And who wouldn't? Not only is she hot, but she's got that 'older woman' vibe going on. Plus that 'sexy babe' aspect she seems to enjoy showing off.
"Exactly. But no one seems to last. She gets a bit of fun out of a guy, and she tosses him aside. At least, that's been the way until after summer break last year."
"And now she has this new guy that she seems to positively adore," the dark haired boy murmured.
"It makes you wonder...."
"How'd he manage it. Because if we knew that...."
"We could get a babe of our own," Hiroshi sighed. "Even Akane!"
"Just what I was thinking."
"Oh, Daddy dear," came a voice that echoed down from the hall.
Soun Tendo stopped in middle of sipping his tea to gaze in surprise at where his middle daughter was entering the room. Oh, he had no doubt that she loved him, but she had never been one for great shows of affection. Rather, she was either a 'straight talker', or a 'teasing joker'. To have her come to him like this when he was relaxing with his old friend was kind of... different.
"Glad to catch you, Daddy," Nabiki told him, coming to sit down at the table. "I needed to talk to you."
"Of course. I'm always willing to hear my little girls out."
"Well, not so little any more. But that's neither here nor there. This is about family business."
"Ah... I see."
"Should I stay or go for this, Tendo?" Genma asked, picking up his own tea cup.
Nabiki spared a glance at the bulky man. "You stay here."
"You're making that decision for your father?"
"It's your business too."
"That sounds like trouble," the Saotome Patriarch grumbled.
"Not at all. In fact, even a big clod like you should be happy about it."
Huffing slightly, Genma crossed his arms over his chest. "Is that so?"
"Yes, if you still want to have me be married to your son."
"Of course I want that."
"We both do, Nabiki," Soun confirmed, and leaned in towards his daughter. "Now, what is the problem?"
"Not a 'problem'. A 'solution'. This," she told them, slapping a paper on the table.
"And what is it?"
"Testimony, if you will."
"We didn't do anything wrong," Genma protested.
"How can I want to associate with this sort of...." Nabiki muttered under her breath, and then took a couple of deep sighs. "Okay, this is the way that it is. This will help secure your promise."
"It will? How?"
"By putting it in writing that the two of you want a Tendo girl to marry Ranma. This way, anyone who wants to question your facts can be pointed to this document, and read that you've wanted this for years."
"And that would mean...."
"The government would need confirmation that you give your permission to the marriage. Any troublemakers would have a problem causing chaos if they discovered that you had already locked it up in that way. And Ranma and I can be secure in the knowledge that you have firmly stated your intentions."
The man in the white gi tried to hide his excitement, but his self satisfied smile gave him away. "Then you won't balk at marrying my son?"
"Stupid. I'm actively trying to make sure that I can be married to him. I'm helping out!"
"Oh, right...."
"You really shouldn't insult your future father in law," her own father admonished.
"I suppose...." Nabiki commented dismissively.
"Still, what do we do to make this usable?"
"Just sign, date, and stamp it."
"That is all?"
She gave both men a reassuring grin. "That is enough."
"If you say so...." Soun allowed, reaching over for the pen.
Genma leaned in towards the paper as his friend finished signing and reached for his inkpad. "And this will work?"
"Most likely," Nabiki told him. "If nothing else, it'll hedge the bet."
"That's good anyway."
"I'm glad that you agree."
"I'll do more than that," Genma said, reaching over to sign his own name.
"Good. Good. And just to make certain.... Kasumi? Would you come here?"
"What do we need her for?"
"Insurance," Nabiki revealed simply.
"Eh?"
"Yes?" the eldest of the Tendo daughters called out as she came in from the kitchen. "Did you need something, Nabiki?"
"A signature, sis," the younger girl said.
"Oh? But why would you need mine?"
"For a witness. We need to be sure that everyone will know that Daddy and Mister Saotome willingly signed this paper."
"If it will help...."
"Thanks, sis."
Kasumi knelt down to sign her name and pressed her own stamp to the paper. "Will that do?"
"But of course. And now to take it away."
"Hmmm?"
"Where are you rushing off to with such an important paper?" Genma growled.
"Got to get it all settled," Nabiki revealed. "Have to have it all set up, copied, and registered into the family papers."
"Then what?"
"Then no one can question if it's been altered or faked."
"Ah, right."
"Glad that you agree. In the mean time... Ranma!" Nabiki yelled.
"Eh? Huh?" grunted the pigtailed boy as he stuck his head into the room. "What's up, Nabiki?"
"It's time for us to go."
"'Go'? 'Go' where? We just got home."
"To the government offices. We have to be there before they close so that this document is safe in their hands," the middle Tendo daughter stated firmly.
"Ah, if ya say so."
"I do. And afterwards...."
"Yeah?"
Nabiki looped the arm not busy with the document around one of his arms. "You can take me to a nice cafe."
"Uh... okay...."
"Come on, let's go."
"Have a nice time," Kasumi told the couple, waving at them as they departed.
"See, Tendo?" Genma smugly murmured. "Everything is working out properly."
"They don't seem to need any pressure from us," Soun allowed.
"True, but they are looking to us for guidance."
"You may be right, but...."
"Don't worry about it, Tendo. Our plans will work out fine."
Soun just went back to sipping his tea, while:
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(Posted Mon, 29 Dec 2008 23:57)
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