Ranma came downstairs to find Nabiki yelling into a phone. There was an irritated frown on her face, showing that negotiations weren’t going so well. Finally, a smirk flew past it, and she nodded, hung up the phone, nodded to Ranma, and then called someone else.
Ranma couldn’t help but become wary at this.
Moving into the kitchen, he found Setsuna lounging in a chair, reading the newspaper. “I wouldn’t worry about breakfast today, Ranma-kun; Makoto will be down in a bit to cook it. By the way, thank you for being so kind to Hotaru last night.”
Ranma blinked at this, “Uh, well, no problem, I guess…”
Setsuna motioned for the boy to sit down next to her. “She’s lived a hard life, and both of her birth parents are dead now. Your Aunt Haruka and her lover adopted her a while back, and as I lived with them for a time, I consider her to be like my own daughter. She has many sister figures, and they are always good for comforting her in a crisis, but I feel that she could really use a good big brother figure. I’m just glad she found one I can trust…”
“Huh?”
“Sometimes, family can be brought together by more than ties of blood. She has always been fairly weak and a little sickly, and a lot of kids have teased her over it in the past. You are technically her cousin, and she has an innate sense of judgment. I was just telling Nabiki earlier about how Hotaru seems to look at you as an older brother now. As she is far too young for anything of a more… sexual nature to occur, we both believe that she is safe with you.”
Ranma blinked at this. He was used to girls wanting to date him and do other stuff along those lines. A girl looking up to him as an older brother, however… that was new. “And what did Nabiki have to say about that?”
Setsuna smiled mysteriously, “She was rather surprised when she realized who else was bedding with you two, but she’s quite used to how siblings act, I believe, to read anything else into it at this time. In fact, I believe an older sister like Nabiki… might help her mature into a fine woman.”
Ranma balked, “Nabiki, an older… you do remember what I told you about her, right?”
“You mean after we sat down for a cup of coffee to calm my nerves? I do recall, but what you must understand is that sometimes, bad things can be done for good reasons. After we departed from each other, I decided to take a look at your home life… you do recall me telling you of my gift, correct?”
“You mean your ability to see into the future? Yeah…”
“It tends to help me research things like this. Do you know that Tendo Soun’s monthly income is barely enough to pay off a few loans put in his name? From an early age, Nabiki has taken it upon herself to ensure that her family is well fed and housed. There is even a small bank account in her name that the mortgage comes out of, and as of several weeks ago, it has enough money to pay it off for several years to come. She has been planning on going to college for a while now, and has aptly prepared not only herself, but her family as well.”
Ranma stared at the green haired woman, “I… I never knew that…”
Setsuna smiled, “What your father never taught you is that sometimes, you must look deeper into one’s mind and personality before you can find what really motivates them. Every cent Nabiki has ever made has gone into either taking care of her family, financing her ‘business,’ or creating college funds for herself and her sisters. The hardships in her life have taught her never to show weakness, and to never miss an opportunity to make money. She may seem like a greedy bitch to some, but to be honest, from what I’ve seen and from what I’ve ‘seen,’ I couldn’t trust anyone else to look after Hotaru more than you and Nabiki.”
Ranma nodded at this, thinking.
Setsuna got up from the table, “Before I leave, let me leave you with a bit of advice: Not everybody acts like your fiancés, even if they do like you in that manner. Nabiki has a shrewd mind and a thrifty wallet, but would never double-cross anyone she deals with without a good cause… even then, you don’t have anything to worry about her in that regards. In fact, if I were you, I’d speak to Nabiki about the best way to clue the other guests into your curse, or else you might be forced to explain it when it activates itself later.”
“Activates itself?”
“You have noticed how it tends to draw water to you when you’ve been male too long, correct?”
Ranma nodded dumbly at that, so Setsuna went on, “I would tell Hotaru, Haruka, and Usagi first; they are more understanding of such things, and would side with you when the inevitable confrontation starts. Also, you may want to ask Nabiki for financial lessons; you will have to run the books in whatever Dojo you teach at, and a good familiarity with your finances is always a good thing.” She then walked towards the door, but not without leaving a parting shot, “Also, there are always two or more sides to every story. Don’t be like Akane: consider these sides before acting upon what you see or hear.”
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(Posted Mon, 13 Dec 2010 18:17)
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