“Good, I’ll be by to pick them up tonight. You said you’d be home by seven?” Nabiki said into her cell phone. “Thanks so much, Auntie Nodoka, I’m sure the books will be a big help in figuring out more about what Ranko is ... Right, just Nodoka, I guess ‘Auntie’ isn’t quite appropriate any more ... Yes, Ranma and I will be by Saturday morning, say around ten? ... Great, see you tonight, and thanks again.”
Nabiki closed up the phone and put it in her bag, with a happy smile, in spite of her splitting headache — the visit to Ranma’s mother last night had been even more fruitful than she’d hoped. Then, when a spike of pain hit her with Ranma’s shouted greeting, she sighed and rubbed her head as Ranma sat down next to her under the tree and handed her a bento. “Here ya go,” the pigtailed boy said, then looked closer at his fiancée’s pinched expression. “Somethin’ wrong?” he asked concernedly.
“No, not really,” Nabiki replied even as she felt herself relaxing and the pain beginning to fade under the soothing caress of Ranma’s love and concern. “I’m just learning that there’s a downside to being an empath when nobody likes you much. Don’t worry, now that you’re here the headache’s already fading.” Then she frowned at Ranma’s spike of fear and regret at her words. “Okay, Ranma, it’s my turn to ask what’s wrong — you don’t regret me becoming an empath, do you?”
“No!” Ranma quickly insisted. “It’s just — what if you’re becoming like me? Ranko, I mean,” he hastily corrected, glancing around to make sure nobody could hear him.
“Don’t worry, I’d know if anyone was close enough to listen. And for me becoming a succubus, not likely,” Nabiki replied. “I’ll know more soon, but I suspect that isn’t how succubae reproduce. Speaking of Ranko, you weren’t in my dreams last night, but you were still next to me when I woke up this morning. Did you spend the entire night awake?”
“Nah,” Ranma said, “I was there. I just ... kept myself outa the picture — watched from the side.”
Nabiki raised an eyebrow at that. “Hmm, that’s new. Did you choose to do that, or did it just happen?”
“I chose to stay out,” Ranma said, and Nabiki smiled.
“Good, your control is getting better.”
“Yup,” Ranma replied with a satisfied smile, and leaned back against the tree and stiffly put an arm around Nabiki’s shoulder only to relax when she leaned into him.
“Why so stiff?” Nabiki asked, her head against his shoulder, and Ranma grimaced.
“I ... I wasn’t sure you’d want me to — in front a’ everybody, I mean. I miss not bein’ able ta feel people’s emotions when I’m human,” he admitted. “It’s like losin’ yer eyesight with a splash a’ water.”
Nabiki frowned. That’s not all you’re missing, is it, love? she realized as she thought over what she’d picked up from Ranma that day, and what she was feeling now. Or rather, wasn’t feeling now — not a hint of lust in Ranma’s emotional mix. She thought back over what she’d picked up from the other boys she’d encountered that day, and her frown deepened. I’m not a raving beauty, but I’m not bad-looking, either — even the boys that hate my guts had at least a tinge of lust when they looked at me, but nothing from Ranma at all. This could be bad. Nabiki found her mind racing in all directions, coming up with multiple half-baked plans to change that, and sternly brought her mind to heel. Relax, girl, you still have a week and a half before it’ll become obvious to Ranma, so you have some time to work things out.
Missing Nabiki’s concern, Ranma just sat for a few minutes enjoying the moment, then said, “I think I have an answer to our problem.”
“Which problem?” Nabiki asked with a chuckle, and Ranma grinned.
“I shoulda said Akane’s problem — the Hentai Horde an’ Kuno.”
“You do?” Nabiki asked, sitting up. “Well, don’t just sit there, spill it!”
“I train her after school, an’ join her in fightin’ the Horde and Kuno,” Ranma said with a grin. “Should be fun.”
“And how do you think this will solve Akane’s problem?”
Ranma shrugged. “Half her problem is she’s fightin’ alone. Sure, she’s better than all a’ those perverts put together, but what if somebody gets lucky one day? And goin’ against Kuno is even worse — I’ll bet she knows Kuno’s holdin’ back, he could beat her whenever he wants. What if one day he decides to stop holdin’ back? But if I’m fightin’ with her, even if one a’ the Horde gets lucky I got her back, and I can take Kuno any day a’ the week.”
“Hmm.” Nabiki leaned back against Ranma and stared thoughtfully up at the leaves blocking her view of the sky. “You know, that just might work. The hard part will be convincing Akane to go along, but if she does the Hentai Horde just might give it up, even if Kuno doesn’t.” And if it doesn’t, there’s always my video camera. I don’t want to press charges, but I will if I have to.
The bell rang, calling students back to class, and Ranma sighed as he stood up. He offered a hand to Nabiki, but she shook her head with a smile. “I have something I need to take care of, you go ahead. I’ll see you after school, okay?”
“Ya sure ya don’t need any help?” Ranma asked hopefully, and Nabiki laughed.
“Forget it, Ranma, I can afford to miss a few classes, you can’t — not yet.”
Ranma pouted, but nodded and headed for the school. Nabiki watched him go with a fond expression, then, as her fiancé disappeared into the school, looked up into the leaves above her. “You might as well come on down,” she said, it’ll be easier to talk the way.”
For a long moment nothing happened, then the leaves above her stirred and a slightly younger purple-haired teenager dropped down beside where Nabiki sat. “Aiyah, how girl know Shampoo there?” the newcomer asked, and Nabiki smirked.
“Actually, I’ve known about you following us and haunting the dojo for awhile, and so has Ranma,” she said, and patted the ground beside her. It’s a little difficult to hide from someone able to see through walls, especially when you don’t know she can. “So why don’t you sit down and tell me why you’re hanging around?” Nabiki invited, and Xian Pu gazed at her for a moment, then nodded and sat down.
A long explanation later, Nabiki sighed and shook her head. “Girl, if you didn’t have bad luck you’d have no luck at all — Genma may be a fantastic fighter, but he’s no prize.”
Xian Pu nodded sadly in agreement. “Shampoo know, but law is law, and panda is Airen.”
“So why are you following Ranma?” Nabiki asked with a sharp look. “You aren’t thinking of him as a replacement for his father, are you?”
“No,” Xian Pu said with a shake of her head. “Shampoo be happy with Spirit Boy, but law not allow because of curse.”
Carefully hiding her relief, Nabiki studied Xian Pu for a time, then smiled. It was obvious that Xian Pu had tried to keep clean, but she’d failed to stay neat — her hair was stringy, her clothes dingy, and she faintly smelled. Perfect. “So, Shampoo, while you’re waiting for the husband hunting party to show up, how’d you like to get to know your future in-laws, by marriage at least? It would be a chance to get really clean.” And a chance to play with Genma, she added to herself with a hidden smirk.
Xian Pu looked down at herself, took a surreptitious sniff, grimaced, and finally nodded. “Shampoo like to get clean again — dirt itches!”
“Great, it’s settled!” Nabiki said, standing up. “Let’s head back to the dojo — you’ll love Kasumi, everybody does.”
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(Posted Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:23)
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