Nabiki was in pretty high spirits at the moment. The dragon inside her was swooping around in celebration. Akane had tried to take Ranma back, but hadn't been able to. Ranma was still engaged to her, and he had smiled when she had been put on the spot to say in front of everyone that she had feelings for him.
I did it, I did it, I did it! She thought happily to herself as she turned from her dresser to look at herself in her bedroom mirror and smiled a small, proud smile. She hugged her pajamas tightly to her chest as she looked at herself in the cold of her room. I look stressed out, for sure. But, otherwise, I think I'm holding up pretty damn well. She thought as she assessed the wear on herself she was accumulating from carrying around all of the extra stress from the last few days. She smiled to herself as she headed to the door.
Now, I just have to get through another night with Ranma and th—
Her thoughts dropped off a cliff as she opened her door. Ranma and Akane were down the hall together, standing very close and talking quietly. They were holding hands, and he was nodding while Akane did most of the talking. She could tell that Akane was upset, because there were tears in her eyes, but Akane was also smiling and sending a very strong message of desire to Ranma.
She doubted Ranma was fully aware of what Akane was doing, but she could tell. Akane was standing as close to him as she could without actually touching him. She had one of her hips angled forward and tilted down as she stood so that she was partially in profile to him. She was holding his hands in hers down below her waist and she had her hands pressed together with his, which enhanced her bust in profile. Akane was also constantly smiling and shifting her eyes from his eyes to his mouth and back again, a classic signal.
She knew Ranma would be aware that Akane was showing that she wanted to be nice to him. But she doubted that he would know that Akane was trying to tell him non-verbally what she hadn't been able to say at dinner. He might be picking up on some of her signals but—
Oop, then again, maybe he might know. She thought in surprise as Akane lunged forward and hugged him tightly and buried her face in his chest. He tensed up at first, then relaxed and returned her hug. He didn't pick her up off her feet as he returned her hug. He just leaned down and hugged her. She didn't know why, but that detail mattered to her.
However, she was now immediately uncomfortable standing there watching them. She wanted to clear her throat or otherwise interrupt them. But she had promised him that she wouldn't interfere with what he did with Akane during the week of their promise. Because I am an idiot. She scolded herself. But, a promise was a promise, so she wanted to get away from them. She didn't want to retreat to her room, though, as it was cold in there. So, she quietly closed her door and stepped softly across the hall. She watched Ranma out of the corner of her eye as she crept towards the bathroom. His back was to her, but she could see by the small twitch of his head that he heard her. Well, there wasn't anything she could do about that. She had promised not to interfere, she hadn't promised to flee if she saw him doing something with Akane, or creep around the house silent as a ninja.
She quietly opened the door to the bathroom, and closed it behind herself without looking back, mercifully blocking off any view of them. She just stood there as moment after moment passed, hugging her clothes to her chest and breathing shallowly.
To occupy the time, she set her clothes on one of the shelves and washed her face and brushed her teeth. She didn't want to change her clothes yet, because she still had to go outside and bring Doctor Tofu in. After a suitable period of time had passed, she figured Ranma and Akane couldn't still be standing in the hallway hugging anymore. Even if they were, she couldn't just stay in the bathroom pacing all night. If they were still out there, she would just quietly slip by them and go bring the Doctor inside.
She reached her hand out to the door handle and held it there for a moment as she gathered her courage. Come on, girl, it's not like they were stripping down and going at it, Akane was only hugging him. Snap out of it. She chided herself. She nodded and took a deep breath and pulled the door open slowly.
Ranma was standing there facing the door, looking sheepish with his hand raised to knock. His arm wasn't swinging though, so who knew how long he had been standing there like that. Even so, it took every gram of her self control to keep from yelping in surprise. Her hands did dart to her mouth though, she couldn't control the reflex.
Ranma looked at her with mixed feelings in his eyes as he lowered his hand and tried to explain. "So ... about that."
Oh, no no no no no, don't want the details! She thought in a semi-panic as she immediately held up a finger to shush him. "Listen, Ranma, I told you, I want you to date her. I want you to see who feels best with you and make a decision. I wasn't naive enough to make that promise with you and think that you wouldn't try kissing her or hugging her, or whatever. But ... I don't really want to hear about it, all right? I am understanding ... but only to a point." She said in a tone that she could tell he noticed was strained with a bit of ... negativity. The dragon inside her was staring out of her eyes with its own decidedly green eyes.
He threw an arm behind his head in embarrassment and looked down as he jerked his head up and down in an apologetic nod.
She forced herself to cram her feelings of jealousy down as far as she could push them into the basement of her mind, and she kicked the door closed behind them, locking them away for now. He wasn't going to respect her if she didn't keep her promise to him. She needed to keep things under control.
He was still just standing there, looking guilty, so she sighed and pushed him gently on his chest. "I have stuff to do, Saotome, so move it. I'm not mad at you."
He looked up at her hopefully. "Really?" He asked quietly.
She nodded and made herself smile at him. "Really. Now, I am going to go bring Doctor Tofu inside for his own good, if you want to use the bathroom." She knew he could see through her fake smile, but it was the best she could give him at the moment. It was a delicate game they were playing, and people were going to get hurt. But she couldn't back out now. She had committed to play, and she played to win.
Ranma nodded at her again, still hanging his head down guiltily. She rolled her eyes and stepped towards him and lightly reached out for his chin. She lifted his head up gently as she ducked down to look into his eyes while pulling him backwards into the bathroom with her. Once she had pulled him all the way inside, she looked at the door, and he absently reached backwards and closed it. Then, she pulled him upright while she continued to stare into into his eyes, took a deep breath, and tried to ease his fears. She leaned very close to him to put her mouth next to his ear. She saw out of the corner of her eye that he briefly raised his arms like he was going to hug her, before he realized what she was doing and put them back down nervously. That made her happy.
"I promised you that I wouldn't interfere, Ranma. I also promised that I would be honest with you. So, listen to me, I mean it when I say I am all right. You are keeping your promise, and I am keeping mine. You have a full week to make your decision. I appreciate your concern for my feelings, and I appreciate your concern for Akane's feelings. But, you need to make your choice, and that means these kinds of things are going to happen. It's okay." She whispered into his ear. Even in the relative privacy of the bathroom, she had to be careful saying things like that in the house. She could feel the heat of him standing so close to him, and it was affecting her, making her want to ... do things ... with him. So she took a step back and took another deep breath and looked at him. Something about him seemed ... off ... to her senses, but she couldn't put her finger on it at the moment.
He seemed much more calm now. He nodded to show that he understood her, in a less panicked way. His eyes still looked guilty, but his body language was warming up. She smiled at him. "All right, well, now I really do need to go bring the Doctor inside. I will see you in a few minutes." She didn't wait for him to reply as she dodged around him, pulled the door open quickly, and almost jogged down the hall.
That is getting ... harder to do. She thought to herself as she headed down the stairs. She forced herself to put her mixed emotions on hold while she gathered herself to look for Doctor Tofu. She hoped he would be close enough that she could signal him and bring him in quickly. She didn't want to be outside in the cold long. But, if she was really being honest, she didn't want to leave Ranma upstairs alone with Akane for long, either. She bit her lower lip guiltily as she acknowledged her bias, at least to herself.
Once she was down the stairs, she immediately headed out the front door to look for Doctor Tofu. She didn't have to go far. He was standing just behind the gates to their property with his hands clasped behind his back — like a soldier. She shuddered a bit thinking of him like that, and hurried over to him.
She knew he had to hear her coming, but he didn't make any indication that he did until she was about a half-meter away from him and she slowed to a walk.
"Hello, Nabiki." He said in that peaceful tone he almost always used.
"I swear, Doctor, one of these days I am going to figure out how you do that without looking." She groused at him with familiar warmth in her voice.
He turned and looked at her and smiled kindly. "I'm sure you will." He said warmly before he turned back to staring out of their gates.
She reached over and grabbed his upper arm gently. "Come on, come inside. There's no reason for you to stand out here in the cold again all night. As long as you're in the house, they won't attack again."
"What if they do?" He asked quietly without turning around.
"If they do, then you and Ranma and Daddy and Mister Saotome will beat the ever living crap out of them." She said with a grin.
He turned around again and looked at her with a look that tried to be stern, but fell apart into a huge smile almost immediately as he laughed. "You do have a way of phrasing things, Nabiki." He said happily.
"I know, Daddy tells me I get it from mom." She said proudly.
He nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yes! Yes indeed! You are very much like her in that way. She had the same sense of humor and fast mouth as you, Nabiki, no doubt about that." He said as his eyes unfocused as he thought about her mother. She smiled tightly at that. She missed Mom terribly, but she loved that so many people had loved her.
She tried to prod him to move again. "Come inside out of the cold, eat your dinner that Kasumi has waiting for you, and just be in the house. That will be good enough for tonight with Daddy guarding Akane and Kasumi and Ranma guarding me." She said as she pulled him to start walking with her inside. It was like pulling on a tree. He didn't seem that big or strong, but if he wanted to be rooted to the ground, she couldn't move him. He looked at her and drew his eyebrows together in concern for a moment, then smiled and nodded. And just like that, she was able to move him, and they started walking back towards the house together.
"What's this about Ranma guarding you?" He asked.
"Don't worry about it." She replied glibly.
"What should I tell your father about why I am here?"
"Tell him the truth, you are worried about the family, and want to help. He'll set you up in any room in the house you like, and tell you that just having you there as an honored guest will be more than enough. It won't matter. As long as you are in the house, it should be fine."
He nodded in agreement with her. She walked with him to the dining area, and left him there with Kasumi. She smiled as she listened to Kasumi fuss over him happily to serve him dinner while he did his usual nervous and stuttering act. Those two had their own delicate game they were playing, just like her and Ranma.
With that thought, she headed upstairs to resume playing the game. The door to the bathroom was closed when she got upstairs, so she wandered into the guest room looking for Ranma. He wasn't in there either. So it must be him in the bathroom. She walked back into the hall and stared at Akane's closed door. She was probably in her room changing or getting clothes to change into in Kasumi's room, same as she had done a little while ago. She seriously considered going in and talking to her. She wondered how Akane was feeling at the moment. But she had a feeling her younger sister wasn't going to be too receptive to her presence right now. She couldn't really blame her.
Her thoughts were interrupted by the bathroom door opening and Ranma walking out into the hallway. His eyes locked onto her and he smiled as he walked over to her. As he got closer something in her mind told her something was wrong again. He stopped in front of her and put his hand behind his head to ask how things had gone outside. She replied with a simple answer as she put her brain on autopilot while she tried to figure out what was making her uncomfortable. A moment later it hit her when he reached his hand up and waved it in her face trying to get her attention.
"Hello. Nabiki. You all right?" He asked.
With his hand in her face, she finally could put her finger on what was wrong. She leaned back away from him and frowned.
He let his hand drop sheepishly. "What's the matter, Nabiki?"
"It's just ... you still smell like her..." She said quietly as she leaned back to a neutral position. "You smell like Akane's perfume." She added when the light didn't immediately go on in his eyes.
"Oh ... oh!" He said as realization hit him. He sniffed the air around himself, but clearly didn't smell anything. He shrugged. "I was gonna take a shower anyway before I changed into a girl tonight, that should fix it, right?"
"Not a cold shower, I hope?" She joked. She felt bad making it clear to him that she didn't like him smelling like Akane, but if she had to sleep next to him ... it wasn't an unreasonable request, was it? Of course not. Akane would be the same way if the situation was reversed, I'm sure of it. She reassured herself.
He shook his head no, and smiled. She returned his smile. "Well, before you start, let me go grab my pajamas and I will change in the guest room while you do that." She said with more cheer in her voice.
He nodded and stepped to the side, still sheepishly holding his hand behind his head. She dashed into the bathroom and grabbed her clothes, and winked at him as she headed to the guest room. "Don't take too long, Ranma, I get lonely." She said as she closed the door to the guest room, leaving him alone in the hall.
Once she was behind the closed door, she leaned her forehead on the frame and berated herself. What was that?! Is that not interfering? Get yourself under control! She grimaced and lightly tapped the side of her head with her fist.
She sighed and turned away from the door and started to change. She slipped into the pajama bottoms first, then slid her top off and was just sliding the pajama top down when she heard the door open behind her. The door shut again quickly and she heard a hesitant knock from outside the door. She smiled as she finished slipping the top on and turned around and walked over to the door and opened it.
Ranma couldn't even look at her. He had his eyes on the ground and immediately launched into an apology. "Sorry. I ... sorry ... I'm so used to staying in this room, I ... I was wasn't thinking. I was gonna tell you something and I just ... forgot. I didn't see anything, I swear! Your back was to the door, I promise!" He bowed formally to her and held the bow until she said something.
She sighed. Patience, girl, patience. She encouraged herself. "Ranma..." when he didn't look up, she touched his shoulder and said his name a bit more strongly. He looked up at her then, but still didn't rise from the bow. She could see the wince on his face as he waited for his punishment. She sighed again.
"Ranma, stand up." Once he had done so, she gestured for him to enter the room, then closed the door behind him once he had stepped inside. He still smelled like Akane, but one thing at a time. She pushed her left hip out and rested her hand on it as she smiled sternly at him. It was hard to look imposing while wearing pajamas, but she could do it if she wanted to. Instead, she settled for impatient. She wanted him to see by her body language that she didn't like this. She kept a smile on her face though.
"Ranma, there's no reason to apologize and bow and shrink away from me like you're afraid of me. You're right, this is your room. I should have locked the door, and anyway, like you said, my back was to the door. Big whoop. And frankly, if you had walked in on me stark naked by accident, sure I would have been embarrassed, but it wouldn't be a major incident. I mean, yeah, if you keep accidentally walking in on me naked, then we are going to have to have a talk, but a sincere accident? No big deal. All right?" She asked him in a tone that made it clear she wasn't asking. She loved her little sister, but she had her own set of rules she used for dealing with guys. Akane was welcome to her own rules, but that didn't mean Ranma had to follow those rules with her.
He nodded his head rapidly with a look of relief on his face.
"So, now that that is out of the way, what's up?" She asked as she leaned back against the doorway.
"Oh ... oh yeah, um, Kasumi came up and told me that the hot water isn't workin' in the bathroom, so I can't take a bath or a hot shower. So I just wanted to let you know it's gonna take me a bit longer to get ready."
"Oh, well, in that case, you don't need to worry about smelling like Akane tonight, Ranma." She said with a false smile on her face. She, in fact, really didn't like him smelling like Akane, but it would be unreasonable of her to ask him to go bathe in cold water just because of that.
He smiled and shook his head no. "Well, I mean, I did fight with Ryoga earlier, I don't really want to go to bed all sweaty and stuff. It's fine, I'll put a tea kettle on the stove and I'll splash myself warm as I wash. I've done that sort of thing before in the woods with Pop while trainin'. Just wanted to let you know it would take longer because I'll have to wait for the kettle to heat." He smiled self-consciously and jogged out the door before she could respond to that.
She closed the door behind him and thought to herself. I wonder if Kasumi ... no. She has Doctor Tofu here right now, I'm sure she doesn't have her mind on what Ranma and I are up to.
She walked slowly away from the door and sat on the soft bedding laid out on the floor. She had kind of unofficially claimed the bed closest to the door, which was Ranma's bed. Not only did it feel right to her to be in his bed, she really didn't want to sleep in his father's bed ... ever. As a matter of fact, she was pretty sure she wanted to burn his father's bedding if he ever left.
The bedding in the guest room was great stuff, just as good as the western-style beds she and her sisters used. As the bedding warmed under her from her body heat, she gathered her courage to talk to him about the other thing on her mind. In addition to their plans about the rest of the girls, she actually did have something more to talk with him about. Daddy's talk at dinner tonight had planted the seed of it in her mind, and she couldn't just leave it alone now. It wasn't going to be an easy talk, but ... since she had been put on the spot tonight, it seemed only fair that he share that with her, at least a little.
She could hear Ranma run the water in the bathroom a little while later, and she could tell by the change in pitch of the water, when he was stepping in and out of it to splash himself with his tea kettle. She smiled at the thought of him doing that. It was such a silly thing to be doing.
Many minutes later, she heard him turn the water off. She gathered her courage and put it on like a suit of armor. Any moment he would come in the door and she had to talk to him. It might actually help that he would be a girl while she did it. She smiled despite herself. He was cute and little when he was a girl. She knew he wouldn't appreciate being thought of as cuddly, but he was when he was female.
She heard him open the bathroom door. He didn't come right to the guest room. Instead, she heard him yelp in surprise in the hallway as he greeted someone.
"Hey there, oh, Kasumi — oop, look out!" That was followed by a clatter of something dropping to the floor, a startled little scream from Kasumi, and the clank and splash of what sounded like a tea kettle hitting the floor.
She jumped to her feet and ran and yanked the door open. There in the hallway was Ranma. He was holding Kasumi in his arms just centimeters from the floor, like he had just caught her before she fell. He was soaking wet in his pajamas, and male. His tea kettle was indeed on the floor behind him. And, behind Kasumi, there was a stack of books.
Before she could say anything, Akane yanked her own door open with her eyes wide in panic. She had obviously been in the middle of changing, because only the bottom button of her pajama top was buttoned. She was still wearing a bra, so it wasn't a huge deal, but she could still see Akane flush with embarrassment when she saw Ranma looking at her. Then she flushed a deeper shade of red when she processed that Ranma had Kasumi in his arms.