Project A-Ko Fan Fiction / Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction / Vampire Hunter (Darkstalkers) Fan Fiction ❯ Nabiki 1/2 (A Very Scary Thought) ❯ For Love and Dojo... ( Chapter 71 )

Nabiki 1/2

(A Very Scary Thought)

Written by Jim Robert Bader

Proofread by Shiva Barnwell

Based Upon the Altered Destinies Storyline

Inspired by the works of such fans as

Wade Tritshler

Richard Lawson

James Jones

And Many Others

Standard Disclaimer: This is inspired by the work of Takahashi Rumiko and is not my original creation. All characters belong to her. This is only a fanfictional work, and is not intended to compromise the rights of the original owners, distributors and publishers of the Ranma series. I have no money to spare and would very much appreciate if no one tries to sue me.

"This is a mistake," Ranma commented from where he leaned against the wall of the dojo.

"What do you mean, Ranchan?" Nabiki asked as she completed her stretching exercises, as did Akane by her side.

"I mean we haven't been back home for an hour yet and already you're challenging those two to a match," Ranma said with a slight edge to his voice, "We're all tired after the trip back home…"

"Hah! I'm not even warmed up yet," Akane snorted, eyeing the pair at the opposite end of the dojo with a determined expression, "We'll take care of those two imposters right enough. You and Ryoga just sit back and watch us do our stuff."

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Akane?" Ryoga asked with even more obvious distress in his features, "Shampoo seems to think those two are pretty good. You ought to study their technique first before starting anything…"

"Is that you arguing caution, Ryoga-kun?" Nabiki eyed him with a playful smirk, "It's sweet that you two boys are so worried about our performance, but I assure you there won't be any problems. Akane and I are going in there to settle a simple question about who is the better martial artist, after which we can get to the bottom of whatever sort of connection there is between these girls and Master Happosai."

"You is being stubborn, Airen," Shampoo said crossly, "It make sense you rest. Remember what happen Shampoo when she no rest between matches?"

"This is a different situation, Sham-chan," Nabiki assured her, "Besides, it's not as if Amazon rules apply with these two. We're just going to see what they know, not to pound each other senseless."

"Unless it comes to that," Akane punched her palm with one fist, "That Natsume could sure stand to be taken down a peg. I don't know about Kurumi, though, she seems like a very nice person."

"Looks can deceive," Ukyo noted from where she stood beside Ranma and Ryoga, "Believe me, I know. Still, you're probably right about Kurumi. I've got the impression she's just doing this to humor her sister."

"Yes," Perfume said from beside Ukyo, "She look like no want to be here, like doing this to please sister. Maybe she no have motivation to fight, not go all out."

"We'll see," Nabiki smiled confidently, getting ready to take her position as she saw that the two sisters were similarly ready.

Less confident about the entire situation was Soun, who all but bit his nails as tears threatened to spill while he bewailed the entire matter.

"Why is this happening?" he cried, "My poor babies! Why must they fight with one another? Where is the sense in this contest?"

"It's fate, Tendo-kun," Genma said grimly at his side, "The destiny of a martial artist is to fight. There can be no avoiding the matter when a question of honor is at stake."

"Yes, but whose honor?" Nodoka said more crossly as she gave Soun and her husband a more studied expression, "We've yet to even determine how those two girls ever got the impression in the first place that you are their father."

"Yes," Hinako agreed just as seriously, "That photograph is not conclusive proof of your guilt, Tendo-san, but the fact remains that someone had to have fathered those two orphans, and whoever taught them their arts did claim to be a master of the Anything Goes school."

"Oh my," said Kasumi as she studied both teams of combatants, "They look so determined. I do hope no one gets injured trying to prove themselves."

"If you want to lay odds, I'll give you two to one against that," said Ryonami more practically, "Sempei looks very determined, and that Natsume character seems to feel that she has something to prove here."

Cologne looked gravely at both pairs of combatants, then raised her staff and said, "Is everyone clear about the rules in this match? First side to concede acknowledges the other the more worthy of inheriting the Anything Goes tradition."

"That will be us, Grandmother," Nabiki said with confidence in her bearing.

"We will see about this," replied Natsume, equally confident in her stance and posture, "Whenever you two are ready, sisters."

Cologne brought her staff down and said, "Hajime!"

Nabiki and Natsume at once assumed near identical stances and studied each other in wary appraisal. Akane, on the other hand, charged forward aiming a punch in Kurumi's direction.

Like a shot, the brown haired girl leaped back and unslung the ribbon in her hair, whipping it out to snare Akane's outstretched arm before she could regain her balance. With a quick motion of her hand, Kurumi sent Akane sprawling, which slightly distracted Nabiki as she had not expected her sister to be taken down in such a casual manner.

Natsume saw her opening and lunged in with an attack that came at Nabiki with such speed, control and power that Nabiki was almost taken unawares. She managed to twist her body out of the way and side-stepped the lunge then whipped her foot out in a kick that should have connected with the other girl, only Natsume seemed to anticipate the maneuver and vaulted over the kick to land lightly two meters beyond Nabiki's reach. She then unslung her rugbeater in one easy motion and pivoted on the balls of her bare feet, making three quick strikes in the air that did not appear to come anywhere near to connecting, but Nabiki still staggered back as though assaulted by the air flow.

"Whoah," Ranma said, looking and sounding impressed.

"No fair!" Ryoga cried out, "They're using weapons! Akane and Nabiki are unarmed!"

"Anything goes style means precisely that," Natsume replied, "Anything is legal. However, should you wish to use weapons of your own, sisters, Kurumi and I will permit you time to select them."

Nabiki was examining some marks that had appeared as if by magic on her forearms, but her expression hardened as she balled her hands into fists and assumed a new fighting crouch, "No thanks, that won't be necessary. What about you, Akane-chan? Akane-chan?"

Akane was nursing the arm that had made contact with the ribbon, her expression pained, but she grit her teeth and said, "That ribbon may burn a little, but I don't need a weapon to beat you!"

With that she lunged to her feet again, careful not to commit herself too soon while Kurumi--who had tied the ribbon back into her hair during this brief lull--moved to meet Akane half-way bare-handed. Fists and feet began to fly like a blur, but it was clear from the outset that Akane was overmatched and wounded up sailing backwards from one of the other girl's side-kicks. Unfortunately, the direction she was headed in was presently occupied by some exercise equipment.

"Akane!" Soun cried out in horror, but he need not have bothered to panic.

Like a shot Kurumi had her ribbon in her hand once more and it whipped out to snare Akane by her waist, stopping her momentum at the last possible second.

Meanwhile, Nabiki and Natsume were trading furious blows of their own, only Nabiki was clearly on the defensive as the rugbeater in the other girl's hand was proving too formidable to by-pass. More to the point, Natsume's weapon was kicking up an icy wind that connected even with a clear miss, forcing Nabiki to be even more evasive in her maneuvers while finding no openings to exploit for a counter-offensive.

When Nabiki heard Soun call out Akane's name, however, it caused her to glance her way with a reflexive start, which gave Natsume the opening she needed. Nabiki barely had time to recover as the beater came within a hair's breadth of her face, but that attack proved to be a feint and left her middle area exposed so that Natsume had only to reverse her momentum and bring her arms up in a slice and suddenly Nabiki was picked up off her heals and sent flying.

"Nabiki!" cried Soun, Ranma and Kasumi together.

"Airen!" cried Shampoo almost simultaneously while Ukyo and Perfume tensed, checking their natural impulse to go to the aid of their companion.

Nabiki landed heavily, but reflexes honed over ten long years came into play as she rolled back to her feet, only slightly winded. Akane was just then staggering back to her feet, looking no less badly shaken. Seeing the advantage near to hand, Natsume turned to her sister and cried, "Kurumi, let's finish this now."

"Hai," Kurumi agreed, whipping out her ribbon once again to create a spiral effect worthy of Kodachi. Natsume began to make sweeping motions with her beater, and then a focused wind of Ki energy erupted, passing through the ribbon-vortex effect, which intensified it immensely. The resulting beam came straight at the unprepared Nabiki and Akane, who barely had time to brace themselves before the impact flung them back to the far end of the dojo.

"Akane!" Ryoga cried, already in motion as Ranma beat him by a fraction to the side of Nabiki, who was slumped across the floor where she and her sister had fallen.

Shampoo had to move more slowly and carefully around to join them while Natsume put up her rug beater and Kurumi tied her ribbon back into place.

"I used low power on my attack," Natsume assured them, "They should recover consciousness soon enough and be in no real danger. What matters is that we have proven ourselves the superior…"

"That…was your mistake," Nabiki groaned, shaking off Ranma's attempts to help her, "Should have made sure you finished me off…now…I'm really going to pound you…"

"Nab-chan?" Ranma asked in surprise, seeing the look of determination on his iinazuke's face as she made the effort to sit upright.

"Akane," Ryoga urged tightly, "Don't try to move, you might be hurt…"

"The sentiments are appreciated," Akane assured him in a voice that was no more steady than she appeared to be at the moment, "But it takes more than that to finish me."

"Can you both continue?" Cologne asked as she perched upon her staff, "I noticed that you took the brunt of the force for the both of you, Daughter, and even using Chi-deflection a blast such as that can be disabling, not to mention draining. There would be no dishonor in conceding this match."

"Yes there is, Grandmother," Nabiki said as she fought her way into a standing position, "The honor of this dojo is at stake…and there's no way I'm conceding."

"Oneechan?" Akane looked at her sister, recalling belatedly how Nabiki had thrown herself in the way of the blast headed at Akane in the last possible second.

"But you can barely remain on your feet," Ranma said as he got up beside her, "Let me and Ryoga handle things for a while…"

"You?" Nabiki almost scoffed, but her tone softened immediately when she saw his expression, "That's very sweet of you, Ranchan, but I can't let you fight this battle for me. Besides…are you two really prepared to go all out against them?"

Ranma had to reluctantly concede the point with his expression, knowing his reluctance to fight against women was an obvious hindrance, but he squared his shoulders and said, "We fought against Lao and she was a lot tougher. Besides, we don't want you to get hurt, right Ryoga?"

"Please," Ryoga turned to Akane, "Let me fight for you, I know I can beat her."

Akane had to favor him with her own fond expression, laying a hand to the boy's shoulder as she said, "I know you can, Ryo-chan, and there's nobody I'd like better to represent me, but I have to do this. My honor as a Tendo depends on my fighting my own battles."

"Besides," Nabiki said more calmly, "Remember what's at stake here? I'm the heir to this dojo, and our engagement rests on the promise of our fathers to unite our families. I won't back down and lose you…"

"You won't lose me," Ranma said, "I don't care if you're the heir or not, I just want you…"

"Look on the bright side, Ranchan," Nabiki flashed a glance to the side where the others were gathered and stage-whispered, "If I bow out of the engagement, then Ukyo wins you by default," she raised her voice even though the others could plainly hear her last comment and added, "You want to win that way, Ucchan? Ranchan would be all yours, and I'd still have Shampoo."

"What kind of crazy talk is that?" Ukyo straightened out, only to see the wicked gleam in Nabiki's eyes and she understood at once the nature of the joke Nabiki was using to psyche herself up.

"I won't lose, Ranchan," Nabiki said with greater firmness, facing Natsume, who remained at the other end of the dojo with a look of studied patience, "Even thought I know you'd never desert me, there is no way I'm letting that cow win this battle."

"Stubborn," Shampoo shook her head slowly, "You always so stubborn," but she was smiling as she said this.

"Whatever you decide," Natsume said in mild exasperation, "Whoever wants to fight us, Kurumi and I stand ready to face you."

Cologne nodded sagely, "So be it. Seconds out of the combat area. This round will be fought until it is honorably concluded. Should you fall again, daughter, it will be an automatic concession."

"I understand," Nabiki turned and said, "Ready, Akane?"

"Hai, Oneechan," Akane nodded firmly, assuming a fighting crouch as she stared resolutely at Kurumi and said, "I won't fail us again."

"Just wait for my signal," Nabiki said, "I've got a few surprise moves left to deal with those sisters."

Cologne raised her staff once again as Ranma, Ryoga and Shampoo moved back to the side where they had started. Ryonami, who had watched these exchanges anxiously from the side of an unusually tense Kasumi, suddenly cupped her face and called out, "Kick them in the ass, Sempei! We're all rooting for you!"

Nabiki smiled before allowing her body to relax as she confronted Natsume, having a better grasp now of the other girl's potential. Akane did not charge to attack this time as she faced off with Kurumi, searching the wary eyes of the other girl, who had acted on impulse to save her, and finding no real malice there. It made it easier to focus, having gained a new respect for her opponent.

Inwardly, Nabiki was recalling the wind that had all but defeated her and came to the realization that Natsume's attack generated intense waves of cold, while Akane's idle comment from before suggested that Kurumi's ribbon attack generated heat in abundance. The combination of their attacks had been very much like the Ascending Dragon Punch, generating a clash of temperatures to intensify its power. That gave her an immediate idea on how to counter such a formidable assault and she smiled inwardly while continuing to circle her opponent.

Akane was the first to break the impasse, moving to attack with a modified form of the Amaguriken punch, only to find to her dismay that Kurumi had no problems in evading her punches. The girl moved like lightning and flowed with each attack while searching for an opening to exploit in Akane's defenses. It did not take her long, and as Akane gasped in dismay she felt her wrist get seized as Kurumi fell backwards and planted a foot in Akane's abdomen, throwing her completely over on the strength of her own lunge. Once Akane hit the floor, Kurumi wrapped powerful legs about her and held her in a headlock. Akane could find no purchase to break the hold as Kurumi tightened it slightly, threatening to cut off her air supply and induce unconsciousness within seconds.

Nabiki was finding no easier time using her speed to counter Natsume's formidable skill with the rugbeater. This girl was vastly superior to Kuno's Kendo skills and did not so heavily rely upon her weapon that she seemed totally dependent on it. Instead, it was more like an extension of her own arms and played a significant part in her defensive guard. Every time Nabiki thought she had found an opening the weapon was there to intercept her. All Nabiki could do was press her attack to give the other girl no chance to employ her other skills, fighting to keep her on the defensive while she tried to come up with a better strategy to penetrate her guard.

"No good," Ukyo heard Perfume murmur, "She just tire herself out that way. No have training in Ki absorption like Perfume. She keep this up, she lose to other girl."

"You don't want her to lose either, huh?" Ukyo smiled at her companion.

"No more than you," Perfume replied, "We family, right? You and boy, Nabiki and Cousin?"

"A family," Ukyo nodded, then cupped her hands and cried out, "Stop dancing around and kick her ass already! You want her to win by default?"

Ukyo's words were felt on the periphery of Nabiki's awareness, but their meaning penetrated to the core and gave her a boost of confidence that was better than adrenaline. She suddenly knew with crystal clarity what she was doing wrong in this match and shifted her attacks from linear to elemental.

Akane, meanwhile, was fighting to remain conscious as Kurumi gently applied more pressure. There was no way of using leverage in her position, but Akane had never relied on leverage to win most of her battles. Brute force was more her solution to situations such as this, and strength was something she had in great abundance. She used her hands to grip Kurumi's thighs to take some of the pressure off her neck then began to arch her body, using her legs to thrust back as Kurumi was not prepared to counter this maneuver. Akane managed to roll them both over, and then while Kurumi was recovering she got her head free from the vice and managed to regain her footing in time to meet the other girl as she rose to her feet to renew her assault, only this time with the added edge of her full fighting fury.

Natsume was surprised when the opening she thought she saw appear suddenly closed on her as Nabiki wrapped both hands around the wooden handle of the rug-beater and snatched it out of her grasp. With both hands clutching empty air she was left exposed to a double punch as Nabiki reversed the direction of her fists, tossing the weapon aside to deal a solid blow that caught Natsume in her solar plexus and staggered her backwards.

"You've had your fun," Nabiki said simply as she advanced on her winded opponent, who was a bit slow to raise her arms in her own defense as Nabiki lashed out with a kick that solidly connected. Natsume rolled with the kick but it plainly staggered her back several paces while Nabiki continued to press her attack. Nabiki came on relentlessly, forcing Natsume to retreat to regain her wind back.

Meanwhile, the standoff between Akane and Kurumi was leading to a momentary pause in which both girls backed off to recover their breath while taking stock of their opponent. A wary but healthy respect had long since replaced any actual antagonism between them and all that was left was two martial artists seeking a fair resolution to the question of which one of them was the better fighter.

However, Kurumi had been mindful to keep one eye out for her older sister during the match and so became aware during this pause that Natsume was in serious trouble. Risking a glance to the side, she backed away from Akane and undid her ribbon as she vaulted into the air, twirling it once again as Akane braced herself to counter yet another attack.

To her surprise the ribbon snaked out towards Nabiki. Akane barely had time to call out a warning before the pink ribbon snared one of Nabiki's arms and pulled her off balance. Natsume took advantage of this momentary distraction to leap past Nabiki as she rolled across the floor to where her weapon had been discarded and regaining it along with her footing.

"Hey!" Ukyo cried out in protest.

"No fair!" Ryoga also voiced in outrage.

"What happened to fighting one-on-one?" Ranma wanted to know.

"Kurumi and I are of one mind and body," Natsume called out, seeming to have recovered her breath along with her weapon, striking a pose that was an open challenge, "We fight together as a team to prove that we are the heirs to the Anything Goes school!"

"What a coincidence," Nabiki said as she at last managed to free herself from the ribbon, "I was going to say the same thing about us, right Akane-chan?"

"Hai, Oneechan," Akane said as the two squared off once more against the other two sisters. Akane favored Nabiki with a faint gleam of sisterly pride, unaware that the same was being returned her way in the thoughts of her older sibling.

"When I give the word do exactly as I say," Nabiki murmured at the level of a whisper, then the two of them braced themselves for the next encounter.

Natsume called to Kurumi and launched a new assault, the younger girl bending down and exposing her back as her older sister, who vaulted onto it with a leap and launched herself airborne. Once in the air she once again made sweeping arc with her rugbeater, kicking up a fierce wind that blew like an arctic chill, forcing Akane and Nabiki to brace themselves against a blast of cold that threatened to freeze them to their very morrow.

But Nabiki had a counter for this and brought her hands together, concentrating on the invisible lines of force that she could feel in the space all around them, tapping into those forces as she drew her ki into her hands and created a glow of life energy, which she held in those hands for several seconds before releasing. It shot up like a ball of energy to strike at Natsume, who warded the attack with her weapon while her wind attack was instantly disrupted.

Natsume alighted down on the floor next to her sister and studied her opponent with renewed respect before saying, "Impressive, no one has ever done that to my attacks before. You are a credit to this school, even if Kurumi and I are the better fighters."

"We'll see about that," Nabiki flexed her arms and assumed a defensive crouch, "Take your best shot and we'll send you two imposters packing!"

"Very well," Natsume bowed her head in respect, "Since you have requested it, I will honor your challenge. Kurumi!"

Again, the smaller girl whipped out her ribbon and formed a spiral in the air. Natsume once more went into a pirouette while sweeping the air in preparation for releasing her ki attack once again.

"Now Akane," Nabiki called to her side, "Charge directly into the spiral!"

"But…" Akane blinked, already feeling the competing waves of heat and cold, only to realize in the next second what her sister was up to, and she nodded resolutely, "Hai."

She launched herself into an assault even as Natsume completed her motions and cried out, "Wave of the Dragon Fang Attack!"

Almost a fraction of a second behind this Akane heard Nabiki cry, "Dragon Ascension Wave modified, Horizontal Thrust!"

Almost immediately, an icy white fire exploded before Akane, threatening to pulverize her into the next century. Just before it struck, however, she felt another wave crest erupt behind her, picking her up off her feet and carrying her forward as it met the wave ahead of her and cancelled it out. Akane was airborne and still in motion as the two waves of equal force fought each other to a standstill, leaving her hurtling towards the two astonished sisters, who were quite unprepared for such a physical assault in the middle of their ki-wave.

Arcing her body just right she lashed out with a double kick and cried out her kiia, catching both Kurumi and Natsume with the force of her kick intensified by the blast wave. Both sisters went sprawling while Akane tumbled clear and managed to land on her feet, turning about in time to strike the far wall with her back, absorbing what was left of her momentum.

The conflicting winds of hot and cold that briefly warred for dominance before at last expending their energies in a draw had buffeted everyone in the room. They watched expectantly as silence replaced this howling torment. Nabiki collapsed to her knees, feeling drained by her exertions as she drew in deep breaths of air, then very faintly murmured, "It's over…we won."

"Indeed," Cologne's voice answered at her side, "And well fought. You continue to surprise me with the progress that you are making, Daughter-in-law. That was a very clever strategy turning their own attack against them in that manner. Your sister also performed most adequately, and I dare say your opponents also acquitted themselves with honor."

"That was incredible," Ranma said more succinctly as he and Shampoo joined them, while Ryoga rushed to the side of Akane.

"Thanks, Ranma-kun," Nabiki smiled his way, feeling the warmth of his praise--and his presence--like fine tonic to bolster her spirits after the drain of defeating the sisters.

"Airen still best fighter in Nerima," Shampoo declared proudly, kneeling beside Nabiki as she added softly, "But no scare Shampoo like that. You no have to prove you good all time."

"I know," Nabiki endured her wife's scolding with a fond expression that helped reassure Shampoo that she would recover, "But this one time was special. There's only thing that bothers me about all this, though," she said as she got slowly back to her feet while both her beloveds hovered close by, ready to offer their assistance. She waited until she felt confident on her feet before turning a look towards the fallen Natsume before saying, "Those two have definitely been trained in the Anything Goes system. Their moves were much too perfect, their Kempo is Master Level. Whoever taught them their basics must have insured that they would turn out this way, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't my father."

"Do you believe me then, Nabiki-chan?" Soun asked as he and the others got up from their sidelines to join them.

"I've always believed in you, Daddy," Nabiki favored her father with a filial smile before turning a harder look towards Genma, "In fact if I had to look anywhere for the guilty party you would never have been my first choice anyway."

"Huh?" Genma blinked, seeing the hostile looks that were now being turned his way, "Why is everybody looking at me like that? What am I supposed to have done this time?"

Meanwhile, Akane had recovered enough of her strength to assure Ryoga that she was all right, then at once she moved to the side of Kurumi to check and see if the girl was all right, while Kasumi and Ryonami did the same with Natsume. Both girls were only mildly stunned and showed clear evidence of a swift recovery. The fact that both girls had been beaten, however, soon proved more difficult to recover from as Natsume sat up first and softly murmured, "We lost."

"Not necessarily," Akane said reassuringly, relieved at seeing that the other girl would be all right, "You and your sister fought well, you're a credit to this school, even if I don't think you are Tendos. Kurumi also saved me earlier from possible injury, and I owe you for that. I would be proud if you were my sister, but…"

That was when they first began to take notice of the fact that it was raining in the dojo…or, to be more precise, raining underwear as panties and bras began to trickle in through a hole that the Dragon waves had punched in the ceiling.

"Oh my," Kasumi said as she gently caught a drifting piece of frilly white silk, "I believe this is one of mine…but how did it get here?"

"Gee," Ryonami murmured dryly, "I wonder?"

"Huh?" Natsume's recovery to full awareness was greatly speeded by the recognition that some of her things were also among the items drifting down from the gap in the roof. Her attention really became focused, however, when she caught sight of a tiny gi that looked somehow familiar…

"What is the meaning of this?" Master Happosai cried out as he, too, dropped through the ceiling, taking in the entire scene with a very puzzled expression, "Have I been missing something?"

"Indeed you have," Cologne said dryly, "For most of your misspent life, if I judge matters rightly. I take it the challenge match has interrupted you in drying out your private collection?"

"Challenge match?" the little man suddenly looked stunned and ignored Cologne's question, "Who was challenging who here?"

"Me and Akane," Nabiki replied with a narrowed look of suspicion, "Against Natsume and Kurumi to determine which of us are the better heirs to the Anything Goes school."

"You challenged them without consulting me?" Happosai sounded more dismayed than angry at the implied slight, "How dare you? I never would have allowed this!"

"Oh?" Nabiki asked with a droll smile, "Why is that, master?" she put a special emphasis on the question.

"Because…" Happosai began to say, then caught himself before looking more evasive, "Just because is all, I don't need to explain to you my reasons!"

"Master," Soun said as he picked up the gi from the floor and held it up with the logo exposed reading "Anything Goes School" in plain kanji, "Would you mind explaining this? It's in your size, I notice."

"Yes," Genma agreed, relieved that the spotlight had been turned away from him before matters with Nodoka could get ugly, "Isn't it the gi you wore during your early years as a wandering student of the art? You used to wear it while telling us about your many travels while Tendo-kun and I were studying with you. It also looks like the gi someone wore in a certain picture…"

"I think I get it," Ranma growled as he looked at the old man, "You're the one who rescued these girls from the bear, then told them you were Soun Tendo and promised they would inherit the Anything Goes school!"

"You took advantage of two young girls in their innocence like that?" Ryoga was equally outraged, "How dare you, old man! You should be ashamed of practicing that kind of deception!"

"What insults!" Happosai declared hotly, "So what if I used Soun's name and pretended to be their father? These girls needed someone around to show them how to take care of themselves while you two useless students were busy playing husbands with your own families! Have pity for a pair of orphans…"

"You deceived us?" Natsume sat up in outrage, "You made Kurumi and me believe a lie? All of these years that we have been seeking for our father and all along it was for nothing?!"

"No!" Happosai protested at once, "It wasn't like that at all! You weren't just a pair a helpless young girls in that orphanage I found you in, you…uh…" he looked away with a deeply troubled expression.

"I see," Cologne frowned, "There appears to be more to this story than meets with appearances. Your meeting with them was not an accident, I take it?"

"No," Happosai eyed the Amazon Elder warily, "The truth is that I was watching them grow up, had been for many years, ever since their mother died…" he sighed before adding, "I couldn't raise them by myself, and their real father vanished before they were old enough to talk. It's…complicated…"

"You knew our mother?" Kurumi said as she leaned forward, dropping to her knees with her hands on her thighs and her expression full of pleading and longing, "Tell us, honored sir…who was she?"

Happosai looked into the girl's large brown eyes and was utterly helpless against their power. A determined lecher that he was, even he could not resist the entreaties of so kawaii looking a young girl as he turned to her and said, "I knew your mother…very well. She was the closest thing to a child that I have ever actually had. I was her godfather and a friend to her parents and I took great care of her until she was old enough to look after herself. Then I got involved with these two," he nodded towards Soun and Genma, "And that took most of my time, so I lost track for her for a while, only to catch up with her when she was on her death bed. Her last request to me was that I look after you, and in my own way I have tried to live up to that promise."

"Who was she, sir?" Natsume joined Kurumi on her knees with a look of pleading, "And why did you make us believe that you were Soun Tendo and our father?"

"Yes, Master," Soun said soberly, "Why did you give them my name instead of your own?"

"On the off chance they might find their way here," Happosai favored his student with a studied expression as he cupped his hands behind his back and added, "Where they have every right to be. After all, their mother was Mariko Tendo, Soun my boy… your younger sister."

Stunned silence filled the room to which a pin dropping would have been like a shotgun.

"M-M-Mariko…?" Soun was literally staggered by the news, "I-I don't believe you, Master! There must be some mistake, I was never informed that she had children!"

"After her husband deserted her, Mariko fell on bad times," Happosai said gravely, "She didn't want anyone to know what had happened to her, and she swore me to silence. In spite of what some of you may think about me, I do have some personal integrity, you know. I wouldn't even be telling you this now if it hadn't been for this pointless challenge match you girls foolishly got into."

"We have an aunt named Mariko?" Kasumi asked with no little surprise.

"Had, Oneechan," Nabiki said more gravely, "As in past tense, and why haven't we heard about it either?"

"I-I don't really know," Soun said, still trying to cope with these revelations, "She ran away with a man she claimed to love when you were all so little…"

"I remember that," Genma nodded sagely, "It was a big scandal with our families at the time, so no one much wanted to talk about it. I'd almost forgotten the whole thing myself until…this happened."

"Then…" Akane turned to look in wonder at Kurumi, "You're really my cousin and not my sister?"

"But…" Ranma hesitated before resuming, "Who was their father then?"

"Yeah," Ryoga said more darkly, "What kind of man would dare to abandon two helpless young girls like these and leave them orphans for all of these years?"

"It doesn't matter now," Happosai said curtly, "All that matters is that these two are indeed Tendos and have a legitimate right to reside within this dojo. In addition to this, they are the daughters of my own beloved Goddaughter, and as such, I expect them to be respected while they reside here…"

"No," Natsume said, drawing everyone's attention towards her as she looked sadly at the ground, "We don't have a right to be here. We were looking for our father, now it seems our search was fruitless. Kurumi and I have trained all of our lives to be worthy of a legacy that we thought ourselves entitled to, only we have failed to live up to our potential. This match proves that we are not the best and so must train again until we can bring only honor to this House and not the shame of two abandoned orphans…"

"You're being a little hard on yourselves, don't you think?" Ukyo asked her, "That fight was pretty spectacular, and believe me, we're in a position to know talent. I'd say that any school would be honored to have the both of you, even if you do fight dirty."

"Yes," Soun said, moving forward until he stood over the miserable looking girls, "Please stay. You are all that I have left of my youngest sister, who has been lost to me all of these years. I want the chance to get to know the both of you much better…and as your uncle I demand it."

"We…wouldn't want to be any burden," Natsume's voice trembled with emotions as she fought hard against crying, looking up into the soft brown eyes of the man she had thought was her father.

"Are you kidding me?" Akane had to smile at last, looking from Kurumi to her sister, "The way the two of you were looking after Dad and Uncle Saotome? All right, so I was a little resentful of all the attention you guys were paying them, but it's obvious even to me that you got way lots more domestic talent than I'll ever have."

"They have been helping a lot around the house," Nodoka noted, arching her voice slightly as she added, "But giving my husband and Soun backrubs in the bathroom is going a bit too far in my opinion. You girls obviously need to be shown more modesty, which can only be done in a proper home environment."

"Yes," Hinako spoke brightly, "And what is more, you two should be attending regular school, which can hardly be the case if all you two have ever done is travel. When was the last time either one of you saw the insides of a classroom?"

"Ah…" Kurumi exchanged looks with her sister, who reluctantly nodded and said, "She is right. I have done what I can to educate us both, but our lives have been spent in endless training and we have not had enough time to master other subjects."

"Then it's settled," Kasumi said brightly, "You can stay here and attend class at Furinkan along with Akane, Nabiki, Ryoga and Ranma."

"Yes," Cologne added with a studious expression, "And while we are on the subject of training, the pair of you have impressed me as worthy of some special training that I can give you…"

"You, old woman?" Happosai glared her way.

"And who else is fit to teach them Amazon techniques to make them worthy of this school and its traditions?" Cologne replied with equal challenge, "A sex-crazed, lecherous dolt like yourself? I think not…"

"Are you forgetting something, Great-Grandmother?" Shampoo asked with a meaningful lilt in her voice.

"Yeah," Ryonami picked up on the hint at once and said, "Isn't the decision to let them stay supposed to belong with the true heir of the Anything Goes school?"

All eyes turned to Nabiki, who had been silently watching these exchanges. She smiled sardonically at being recognized by her wife and friend, but now she turned a serious look towards the anxious sisters and replied, "Why not? It's a pleasure to have you on board…Cousins."

A large sigh seemed to echo through the chamber, then Natsume found that she could barely hold back her tears as she replied, "Arigato…Cousin. But still…it is not proper that we put a further strain on the family finances. Kurumi and I eat more than our share…"

"No problem there," Ukyo replied, "You guys can come to work for me in my restaurant. I could use the help now that Moose is away on an extended cruise vacation."

Perfume could not help snickering at that, then assumed a sober pose and eyed the two girls with an appraisal, making her own mental notes of their potential with an eye to furthering their training.

"Thank you everybody!" Kurumi suddenly burst out, unable to contain her enthusiasm as she rushed to embrace Soun with a hug as she added, "Ojisama!"

Soun returned the hug, having no problem with shedding his tears as Nodoka looked on fondly and Genma found himself looking elsewhere.

"I guess that means we're going to be family," Ranma turned to Natsume, "On behalf of everybody, welcome to our House."

"Thank you, Saotome-kun," Natsume replied, "Kurumi and I will try and be worthy of that honor."

"And this also means you can continue to be close to Tatawaki Kuno," Kasumi noted with a sparkle in her eyes, "Ranma is his best friend and often visits the Kuno mansion."

"Indeed," Natsume looked to Ranma with renewed interest, unaware of the angry glare that Kurumi turned in their direction.

Nabiki continued to study everything with a curious detachment, finding her feelings were mixed at the sudden increase in the size of their family, even though she did not regret welcoming the sisters. She did, however, take notice of the fact that Master Happosai was trying to sneak away while everyone else was distracted and came to an abrupt conclusion of her own, murmuring her apologies to Shampoo before slipping out the other exit.

Happosai was therefore quite surprised at finding Nabiki had reached the roof of the dojo ahead of him and paused with a wary look before saying, "What do you want now, Student?"

"Master," Nabiki said as respectfully as she could manage, "You didn't tell us the whole story back there, did you?"

Rather than angrily denounce the implied accusation the old man looked away before speaking, "I have a very good reason not to share everything I know. Now, if you will excuse me…"

"The father of these sisters," Nabiki continued, "What is his relationship to Uncle Genma?"

Happosai tensed again, then carefully said, "Why, is it important?"

"It is to me," Nabiki sighed, "I never have liked unsolved mysteries. It's always been a weakness with me that any time I see a challenge I just have to try and solve it. Doesn't matter if it's a Rubix cube or a crossword puzzle, give me any problem or riddle and I just have to puzzle it out until it makes sense or I can resolve it into some kind of order. It's a weakness I know, curiosity killing the…whatever, I know, but there you have it."

"I see," the old man eyed her warily, "And what do you make of this particular puzzle?"

"From little hints and clues I can imply a lot," Nabiki said earnestly, "Like the fact that Ojisama never mentioned any of this to me before, and he's usually such a gossip. In ten long years of being together he never once mentioned that my father had a sister named Mariko. The only relative he ever told me about on my father side of the family was a cousin of his named Achika, who married a man named Nobuyuki…"

"Well, what's so special about that?" Happosai asked, "Your uncle isn't totally insensitive to something like a family scandal, you know."

"Aunt Nodoka didn't seem surprised about it either," Nabiki continued, "And given the dagger-looks she's been shooting at my father all afternoon I'd rather think she would have had more of a reaction if she didn't already know about it. But that brings me to another point…my father and Uncle Genma were contemporaries going way back, and they used to hang out together the same way I do with my friends…"

"They used to be real scalawags," Happosai said fondly, "That old gang of theirs, with that charming Amazon who used to…"

"Amazon?" Nabiki blinked, "They used to hang out with an Amazon?"

"Ah?" Happosai sounded both surprised and embarrassed by his own gaff, "Did I say Amazon? I meant they once took a trip up the Amazon back when they used to go on adventures…"

"It's interesting," Nabiki stroked her chin, "Back when the tour guide was leading us to a village called Joketsuzoku I noticed Uncle Genma--in panda form at the time--seemed to react to the name as if it meant something. This was before he learned 'sign'-language, of course, so he couldn't really tell me what he was so excited about, but if he'd known an Amazon before…it all makes sense now. You wouldn't happen to know what her name was, by the way?"

"It's…been a long time, and I'm an old man," Happosai said evasively, "I tend to be forgetful…"

Nabiki snapped her fingers, "Silk."

"Eh?" Happosai was even more startled than before, "How could you possibly know…"

"I didn't until now," Nabiki grinned, "It's just a name I once heard Genma use, almost like an epitaph. I take it they didn't get along very well?'

"No," Genma replied, "You definitely could say that."

Nabiki stiffened, "How long have you been listening, old man?"

"Not long," Genma replied, "And I didn't have to hear much to get the gist of the conversation. I know you quite well, Niece, and it wasn't hard to figure out where you were going when I saw you slip away. Ranma will be looking for you before too long, and Shampoo too, so I guess I'd better make this quick because you two will be here until next year if the Master continues being so evasive."

Happosai glared at his former student and said, "I was looking out for your interests too, you know."

"I know," Genma replied with a sigh, "I'm not here to fight about that. It's just that Nabiki-chan deserves to know something before her engagement to my son can go ahead as planned. I respect her too much to keep the truth hidden for very much longer…"

"That you have a brother, Ojisan?" Nabiki asked.

Genma only showed marginal surprise before nodding in confirmation, "I never mentioned him to you for a reason, the same reason I won't tell Ranma this unless you decide to tell him. The day your father and I decided to engage our children together was the day my son was born, the happiest day of my life, or so I thought at the time. I was so proud that Soun and I got thoroughly drunk and made that pledge to unite our families in order to repair the family honor."

"Repair?" Nabiki raised both eyebrows.

Genma nodded, "My brother disgraced us all, although in his defense he did have what he thought were legitimate reasons. He and Mariko were very much in love, but our families objected, and the Master…had his own reasons not to permit it," he turned and gave Happosai a studied look, "Will you tell her or must I say it?"

Happosai folded his arms over his diminutive chest but closed his eyes as he sighed, "I know what everyone thinks about me, that I'm just some dried up old prune who couldn't attract a woman if my life depended on it. Believe it or not I once cared a great deal about Cologne, and in her day she was every bit the beauty Shampoo now is…maybe even more beautiful, but that's just my opinion. I loved her but she didn't love me back the same way. It frustrated me to no end, so I took to satisfying myself any way I could find, which is why I began collecting pretty things from the ladies as tokens in lieu of their actual affections."

"In other words you couldn't find anyone in Joketsuzoku who wanted you," Nabiki said softly, "You were small and not very handsome, and at the time they were all too good for you to beat them in combat."

Happosai surprised her by not denying this statement, "Cologne was the best of her generation, and she's the only one I really wanted. When we first knew each other she was as kind-hearted and considerate as Kasumi, but after a while my continual attempts at being friendly wore her down and she started reacting violently, about the way that fellow Mousse is turning that cute chef into an angry and bitter woman with his hitting on her pussy…"

"Master!" Genma chided.

"Hey, I'm trying to find the right word for Nabiki's sake here," Happosai insisted, "Anyway, my failure to win Cologne's heart made me resolve to travel the world and learn to become the best martial artist the world has ever seen. I meant to return one day and win her honorably…I just got kind of sidetracked after a while. The world turned out to be an awfully big place with lots of cuties in it…"

"Get to the point," Nabiki urged, "Ojisama's right about the others missing me if I stay here much longer."

"I was just getting to the point," Happosai said testily, "The point being that I never thought I'd find any woman that I could care about as much as I did Cologne. Three hundred years is a lot of time to look, however, and look I did, and what I found was a woman every bit as beautiful and spirited as the old bag in her heyday. Her name was Chandra…and she was your great grandmother."

"My…" even though she had been mentally prepared for this the revelation left Nabiki staggered. If the old man had sired a child with a woman…if he was capable of such a thing…then that would imply…

"I think we'd better call it quits about this point," Genma replied, "We've given you enough to think about already, isn't that right…Grandfather?"

Happosai snorted, "I told you never to call me that, as if I'd be proud to acknowledge a lazy, useless lout like you as my kin."

Genma stood up and gave Nabiki a sympathetic look, "First cousins can marry under some circumstances, but it's usually not approved of. Second cousins, on the other hand…well, nobody thinks too much about it either way, especially in these times. Saotome Hikaru disgraced himself and was disowned by our parents long before even Kasumi was born, but it was Soun and my belief that having one of you marry my son would heal the rift between our families, which is why we have been so insistent that a Tendo marry a Saotome. Now tell me, Niece, is this the sort of thing you wish to have burden Ranma?"

"I don't really know," Nabiki said, "There aren't a lot of secrets between me and Ranchan…and I'm pretty determined that we're going to be a lot closer in the future. Maybe I'd better see how he feels about it before I tell him."

"Could always be worse," Happosai said with a twinkle in his eyes, "Shampoo could have been my great-granddaughter too. You wouldn't think that was incest, would you?"

"I guess not," Nabiki turned to one side as she heard her name being called, "Guess that's my cue to go join the clan in welcoming the prodigal daughters into our fold. Just one other nagging question that's been bothering me for quite a while. Ryoga-kun…"

"Ah," Genma exchanged looks with Happosai, then said, "Let's just deal with one revelation at a time, shall we?"

"No problem there," Nabiki smiled as she turned away, "But I'd love to see the expression on their faces if it ever turns out that Ranma and Ryoga are related. See you both at dinner, I hear it's going to be quite a feast these girls are preparing."

"Are you going to tell them the truth about Kaneda?" Happosai asked before she could leap out of earshot.

"I think they deserve to know the truth if they'll be staying around here," Nabiki called back, wondering privately just how she was going to explain it to her newfound cousins…

"Well," Derek smiled as he looked up from the monitor, "Does that satisfy your curiosity? It seems this girl really does make a difference on her timeline."

"Obviously so," Serena replied, "She does seem to be coping rather well with all the pressure she's under."

"The resolution with the Tiger lady shows that she's going places," Derek nodded thoughtfully, "She might very well be the one we're after. Time will tell, of course," he sighed, "Meanwhile there is that problem in the other sectors…"

"What are you going to do about that?" Serena asked him, "Those troublemakers have certainly stirred up a hornet's nest, and the consequences to those timelines…"

"Yes, I know," Derek stroked his chin and smiled, "How would Nabiki-kun handle things, I wonder? Perhaps some day I may take the chance and ask her…"

Continued

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