[soundtrack for this one: Should've Been Us, by Tori Kelly]

Nabiki and Ranma had encountered no further resistance from the Amazons when they had gone to retrieve Akane from her classroom. Instead, they had found Miso standing outside of the door of Akane's classroom when they had arrived. Miso hadn't said a word to them, she'd just winked and walked away with her hands in her pockets while whistling a tuneless song, like she didn't have a care in the world. It occurred to her to ask if Riko and Yui were safe, but she let it go. Based on what she had seen the nurse being capable of doing earlier, she seriously doubted Miso would let any harm fall to her friends, and ... apparently ... Akane.
Regardless, now that her friends we no longer standing right next to her while she was with Ranma, they were mostly likely safe anyway ... she hoped.
Ranma had pulled her into Akane's classroom, and tugged her right along beside him as he walked up to Akane. She'd dragged her feet a bit, but let him do it. She would have preferred to wait in the hall, or near the front of the room. She had even tried to wiggle her hand out of his warm hand to do so. But he'd ignored her signals and kept a solid grip on her. He clearly wasn't taking any more chances with her safety.
It was sweet in its own way, if a little smothering. It was exactly the kind of behavior she had told him over dinner on their date that made her want to throw away everything else and accept what he was and what he represented and to build a life together with him. If there was one thing that was an absolute certainty about Ranma Saotome, it was that he was a guy who would do everything he could to keep his loved ones safe.
I wonder if he'll let me shower alone? She thought as an ... interesting ... idea crossed her mind. She smiled faintly as she entertained the idea while Ranma leaned down and whispered into Akane's ear. She found it easier to ignore the casual intimacy the two of them continued to display, if she had something to focus on.
Akane nodded her head, stood up, grabbed her satchel, and hurried into the aisle to stand next to Ranma. Her little sister had eyes only for him. Akane hadn't even glanced at her so far. She sighed and mentally shrugged. She didn't really blame Akane, she felt the same way as her sister did, after all.
Akane had whispered a quick goodbye to one of her friends, then they had all walked out of the classroom without incident. She had been half expecting to see Miso waiting for them in the hall, or shadowing them on their way out. But, as hard as she looked for the nurse she couldn't catch any sign of her.
That doesn't mean she isn't there though. Lots of Martial Artists can make themselves unseen when they choose to. She thought. She was assuming Miso was some sort of Martial Artist based on what Miso had done earlier. She hadn't actually seen what Miso had done though. For all she knew Miso had just used a stun grenade or something.
She sighed and tried to calm her overly anxious mind. In the state she was in, her jumpy mind had her seeing Amazons in all of the shadows now. She shook her head to clear it of the idle thoughts running through it, and focused on Ranma. She felt the familiar longing inside herself well up as she thought of him, and her desire to be with him. She thought of marrying him and building a life with him. She thought of what that would mean, and kept circling back to the same question.
Am I strong enough? She asked herself. It isn't like the Amazons are going to be attacking us forever, right? This situation will end. I can be strong until it ends, can't I? She argued. Yeah, but what about the next crazy person who wants to prove themselves against him? What about the next tribe he accidentally angers? What about his old rivals who might try to hurt him through me? There is no possible way it is all going to go away forever ... a life with him means accepting that. She answered her own argument and despaired. She was making herself miserable.
What choice do I have? What is love? Don't we need to match up to be in love? We don't match up very well, do we? He matches up better with Akane, when they aren't fighting. They just have to learn to control their mouths and tempers, and they would be a far better match than he and I would be.
You don't really believe that. She accused herself.
Maybe I do. She tried to reassure herself.
You're just scared. Her resolve pushed back. Nabiki Tendo DOES NOT back down from a problem. Her pride added.
This time ... maybe I do ... She told herself timidly as her doubts and fears weighed in stronger than her resolve and pride.
But I love him, don't I? Can I give him up? She asked herself as she glanced at him. Her breath caught as he noticed her looking and looked back at her and smiled.
I don't want to. She told herself reluctantly as she looked away from him. She didn't want him to see the doubt in her eyes. She walked along beside him in silence for the next few blocks. 
Akane eventually spoke up to fill the silence. "How are you feeling, Ranma?"
She didn't look up as Akane started up an easy and casual conversation with him. It seemed Akane was growing more and more bold as the days went by and her younger sister realized that Ranma was someone Akane was willing to fight for. Akane also seemed to be realizing that Ranma returned her younger sister's feelings, at least to some degree. That seemed to be emboldening Akane even more.
As a melancholy mood settled on her, Akane chatted with him about the weather, school, people in their class, and even the fights that had been happening. The Amazons didn't seem to phase Akane nearly as much as they did her. She was sure it was the confidence Akane had in her own Martial prowess, due to her own training, that gave her little sister the ability to ignore the danger the Amazons represented. Not that Akane would last long against an onslaught from the Amazons en masse, but her little sister would certainly last longer than she would.
She glanced over at them and saw Ranma ducking his head down to whisper something to Akane while Akane laid her hand gently on his arm. It was most likely innocent, but to her it showed a pretty obvious problem. Ranma had feelings for Akane as well. And ... she didn't have a way to deal with that problem that wouldn't tear her family apart.
Akane spoke up a little bit later and addressed her. She didn't catch it at first, but after Akane had repeated her name a few times she snapped out of her reverie and pulled her eyes up off the ground to look at Akane. For some reason just the simple act of looking up seemed difficult to do, like she was carrying an extremely heavy weight around her neck.
"I said, how are you doing, Nabiki?" Akane repeated with what seemed like a mild note of irritation in her voice.
"About as well as can be expected with people trying to kill me, Akane." She replied in a strained voice. She didn't want to fight with Akane, especially not in front of Ranma. She had been deliberately trying to present herself to him as the older, more mature choice. If he saw her fighting childishly with Akane, his belief in that aspect of her would erode immediately.
"Oh, come on, Ranma was with you this time, you weren't in any danger." Akane pressed her. Her younger sister then smiled shyly at Ranma.
Is she ... is she using that as a way to try to make me look bad? She thought in disbelief. She can't be ... can she? She thought as she raised an eyebrow at Akane. "Yes ... that's true ..." She said slowly as her mind worked rapidly to try to figure out how to fight Akane's strategy. The best way to argue against Akane's claims was to point out that Ranma wasn't infallible, and he could be knocked out, or temporarily restrained or overloaded. If that happened, she could be killed. But pointing that out would of course hit Ranma in his pride, which was one of the worst places to hit him.
She glanced at Akane with newfound respect. Her little sister had trapped her in a no-win argument. She either had to claim that she was absolutely safe with Ranma at all times, without reservation, which wasn't true and claiming it was true might obligate her to take further risks later with only Ranma to protect her. Or, she had to say in front of Ranma that she didn't think he was invulnerable. He wasn't mature enough yet to understand nuance like that. He would take it as a slap in the face, especially after all he had done to protect her so far. So, she chose to say nothing, and avoid the trap.
Her answer to Akane was a shrug of the shoulders, and a return to staring at the ground. It did not escape her notice that Akane smiled a faint smile as she did so. Not that she really blamed Akane.
I was the one who told her to fight for him, after all. Because I am an idiot. She's only doing what I advised her to do. I'd be the worst kind of hypocrite to get angry about that. She chastised herself as anger rose up strongly in her, and she stomped it back down under control firmly.
She didn't have long to dwell on it though, as Ranma and Akane abruptly stopped walking, and Akane sucked in a gasp of surprise. She looked up, and smiled her own faint smile, as Ranma turned to her with wide eyes.
"Who ... who're they?" He asked as he nodded his head towards the walls of their house.
"They..." she began as she swept her eyes over the hundreds of young men now swarming the walls and perimeter of their home, "... are the war I promised Shampoo." She said in a remorseless voice as a sense of relief started to grow in her. This was a game changer, the balance of power had shifted in favor of her family now.
They didn't move or say anything for a few moments after that, as both Akane and Ranma stared at the men swarming their property. As they stood there, one of the men raised his hand to them, and started to walk over to them in a brisk cadence.
The man approaching them was a young man, but with an air of authority about him. Ranma tensed as he approached, but she put a hand on his arm to signal to him not to interfere. Ranma glanced at her and nodded reluctantly.
The young man came to a stop in front of them exactly a meter away from her, came to attention, and saluted. "Captain Maki, reporting as ordered." He said while standing to attention.
She returned the salute casually. She and her lieutenants had been saluting each other for so long that it had actually become a habit for her. She'd learned it from watching movies and was glad that the motions she'd copied were more or less correct enough to not offend him.
She smiled grimly at him and nodded. "I think we will be able to find a use for you." She said calmly with the same small, dangerous smile she had used the other day when she defended Ranma from that impostor. When the young man didn't move, she searched her memory for phrases to say, and tried several. "Um ... rest? Relax? At-ease?" She said cautiously.
The young man smiled tightly and nodded as he relaxed his stance to place his feet further apart, as he clasped his hands behind his back. It was a soldier's stance. The same stance she saw Ranma and Doctor Tofu use frequently. She caught Ranma nodding softly to himself out of the corner of her eye as Captain Maki glanced at Ranma as well. One warrior to another sizing each other up.
"Do you have the recognition codes, ma'am? None of the other adults in the household had them. I'm afraid we can't fully deploy and accept the mission without them." The young man said briskly as her refocused on her.
"Of course, sorry to keep you waiting. Recognize, Alpha Fox Seven Nine Delta Challenge." She rattled off the challenge code she had been given.
The soldier smiled and nodded as he spoke the counter code. "Authorized Priority Omega Authenticating Whiskey Foxtrot Zero Zero Fiver Charlie Push."
She smiled at him in return. That had been the correct counter code she had been given. "Captain Maki, please execute your mission." She said the phrase that was supposed to trigger the response for the mission code.
"What is my mission code, ma'am?" He asked calmly.
"Mission code is Tendo One Stalwart Zero." She said as officially as she could. She could see Akane gaping at her in shock now out of the corner of her eye. Ranma wasn't making it obvious he was in shock, but he was certainly watching her carefully she could see in her peripheral vision.
"Mission accepted, ma'am. I am assuming you will be the mission commander?" He asked.
She nodded firmly. "Correct, please run all mission related questions by me. If I am incapacitated in any way, please ask Ranma here. If he is incapacitated or unavailable, please ask the man in the dark gray dogi wearing glasses, his name is Doctor Tofu." She said confidently. Ranma's eyes had widened when she indicated him, but otherwise he said nothing.
"Very well, ma'am. Orders, ma'am?" The soldier asked.
"I will give you further orders later, but for the moment, secure my family's lands. Don't let anyone in who isn't myself, my family, or any of the people I will identify later. I will send pictures to you shortly for identification purposes."
"Very well, ma'am. We will secure the perimeter. What, may I ask, are we securing it against? What is the nature of the threat?" He asked in a bit of a strained voice. She was sure he found the mission a bit ridiculous.
"I can't tell you for certain what form the threat will take, but in general you will be guarding against Chinese Amazon warriors. Female soldiers from China." She elaborated as confusion crossed his face.
"Chinese ... Amazons... really?" He asked.
"They are more of a threat than you think they are. That will be all for now, please do as I asked."
The soldier nodded stiffly. "Yes ma'am, we will carry out our orders. Securing the perimeter now. Please send me the identification pictures as soon as you are able." He said as he saluted, pivoted in place, and marched back towards the soldiers swarming their land.
She kept her eyes on the soldier as she waited for Ranma and Akane's reaction. She didn't have to wait long.
"Nabiki ... what is—" Ranma started to ask.
"—what is going on?!" Akane said over him.
She closed her eyes briefly, and smiled as she answered them without opening her eyes, or looking at them. "I said ... if they wanted a war ... I'd give them one." She said softly as she started walking towards the house without looking at either of them. She heard both of them give chase immediately as she opened her eyes and began looking for Doctor Tofu. He wasn't hard to find, he was standing at the top of the roof, watching everything.
She walked into the main gate for their lands and waved him down as Ranma and Akane caught up to her. Both of them opened their mouths to continue asking her questions, but she held up her hand to shush them as Doctor Tofu landed.
"Hey Nabiki ... friends of yours?" He asked in his usual, easygoing voice. There was no clue in his voice or mannerisms of the ... disagreement they'd had earlier. She could see it in his eyes though. He was watching her much more warily than he had in the past.
Well, tough, he's just going to have to deal with it. She thought grimly as she stared into his eyes. "Yes ... friends of mine. Plan thirty nine is in full affect now." She said with a tight smile.
Doctor Tofu returned her smile. "Fair enough. I assume they'll be here for the duration?" He asked.
She nodded, then held a hand up to pause him as he turned to resume his place on the roof. "And, since we now have more than enough people watching the house, I'd like you to do me a favor, please." She said in a voice she tried to make conciliatory, but came out just brisk.
"Oh? What's that?" He replied without turning around.
"I'd like you to go and collect my friends Riko, Yui, Nanami and Chihiro, and bring them here safely, please. Here's their addresses." She said in a firm tone as she handed him a paper with her friend's names and addresses written out on it that she'd prepared earlier.
He looked down at the paper, and then up at her slowly as his easygoing smile slowly faded into a frown.
"I'm sorry, but I can't." He said reluctantly.
She scowled at him. "What do you mean you can't? You owe me, I am calling in one of my favors. Do it, please." She replied with a scowl.
He shook his head softly. "I can't. I can't leave right now."
"But ... you promised." She said heavily, as her disappointment grew, and her faith in him eroded. An oath breaker was the worst kind of traitor.
"I did promise. And, if it was at any other time than now, I would be happy to do it, without you calling in a favor. But I am keeping a much older promise right now. I can't break that promise to keep yours." He said.
"Then how am I supposed to—" She began angrily as heat flushed into her cheeks.
"Don't worry though, I have a ... friend ... who can go get them."
"I don't need your friend to get them, I need you to get them, and keep them safe!"
"Your friends will be safe, on my life I promise you, my friend can get them here safely."
She narrowed her eyes at him and sighed. "I guess I have no choice. Please see that they get here safely. I will hold you responsible if they don't." She said.
He smiled at her. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it, I promise." He said once again in his usual easy-going voice.
She looked at him with narrowed eyes and frowned. She felt very uneasy.
"I'll go make the call now. My friend can have them here in about an hour." Doctor Tofu said as he walked towards the house.
She sighed as she watched him go, then hardened her gaze and turned to watch the soldiers setting up. She could feel both Ranma and Akane standing behind her, watching her, and wanting to talk to her. She could actually feel their hot gazes on the back of her neck, itching, as her mind raced around chasing itself in circles.
...he promised!...
She felt a sharp jab in her heart as her memory of Ranma holding Akane that morning rose up in her mind. A burning sensation flared inside her chest, and an itching unsettling feeling gripped her body and made her feel like she couldn't hold still, and that she would never relax again.
"Are you all right?" Ranma's voice asked from behind her.
She shook her head. She wasn't all right. Nothing was all right. There was a weight on her chest, and nothing was making it go away. Deep breaths didn't help. Closing her eyes didn't help. NOTHING helped. Things were just wrong, everything was wrong!
She clenched her teeth and spun around to face him as anger grew inside her.
...he promised!...
She found Ranma looking at her with perplexion on his face. Akane was standing next to him watching her quizzically. Her younger sister wasn't touching him at the moment, but she knew Akane wanted to.
She ran her eyes up him and met his eyes with her own anguished ones. She felt a powerful longing inside of herself to run to him, bury her face in his chest, breath in his flowery cedar scent, and let the heat of him sooth her. But she refused it. Something was wrong with her, and she knew it. She wanted him to comfort her, but she also wanted to hide from him, so he wouldn't see her as she lost control. She didn't know why, but she could feel something inside her coming loose.
He tilted his head with concern and took a step towards her. And she almost held her arms open to welcome him in, but at the last moment she clenched her fists and looked away from him. He stopped moving. She closed her eyes and tried breathing deeply again.
What's wrong with me? The soldiers are here ... things are going to be fine, why am I so upset? She asked herself as she looked inside for an answer. All she saw inside of herself was darkness though. She thought of Ranma, and her desire to be with him, and cringed. She wanted to be with him, more than anything, but something was wrong inside of her. There was a burning anger inside her, and it seemed to be growing. She was fighting a very strong urge to hit, to yell, to run around and just DO something. She knew that Ranma wouldn't understand. He dealt with his anger in a very different way.
So she stood and watched the gates, and awaited the arrival of her friends. She knew she wouldn't be able to unclench until she knew her friends were safe, until everyone she loved was safe. After a little while, she felt and heard Akane and Ranma walk quietly away from her, leaving her alone with her thoughts. She didn't look back.

***

Almost exactly an hour later, as Doctor Tofu had promised, she heard the welcome mix of her friends' voices approaching. She smiled tightly to herself as she walked towards the gate and stepped through it on to the street.
Captain Maki turned from his post and raised an eyebrow at her. She nodded. The Captain saluted her, and quickly spoke into a radio while waving hand signals to the soldiers on the walls. Several soldiers with very large, dangerous looking, rifles lowered their rifles from ready positions.
She didn't pay much attention to the soldiers. They were doing their jobs, and she trusted them to do their jobs. What she didn't trust was whoever the random friend Doctor Tofu had recruited to bring her friends to safety.
"—nd that's just the half of it, the next time I—" she heard Riko's voice say from around the corner, happily chatting away.
"—ait wait, you forgot about th—" Yui's voice broke in.
"—iko you should be studi—" Chihiro's voice said.
"—ou'll have to get her away from m—" Nanami's voice added to the cacaphony. 
Well, at least Doctor Tofu's friend had managed to get all of the right people. She was growing increasingly concerned about the noise they were making though. She knew the Amazons were out there, watching the house. She had hoped to have her friends sneaked in quietly, maybe under the cover of darkness. Not walking in the front door while accompanied by a marching band of noise.
"Captain Maki, can you please make sure the four young women approaching the house now make it inside the walls safely?" She asked urgently as she tugged on the sleeve of his uniform nervously to get his attention.
Captain Maki looked back at her and smiled confidently. "Of course." He said as he raised his radio to his lips. "Bravo team, Delta team, ready one. Four targets, female, approaching now. Honor guard. Move!" The Captain ordered.
Two groups of soldiers rounded the walls from opposite ends of their land, and ran quickly towards the front gates. Each group had about twenty soldiers in it. As soon as the groups of soldiers reached the spot in front of the gate, they bolted out in dual lines towards the source of the voices of her friends.
She bit her lip and willed her friends to go faster, and for the soldiers to reach them in time as she watched the rooftops for signs of the Amazons.
Her friends rounded the corner just moments before the soldiers reached them. Riko was in the lead, and gasped as she stumbled to a halt and held her arm out to stop the rest of the girls. They all looked back at someone nervously, most likely Doctor Tofu's friend.
The person they were looking for came into view around the corner and winked at the girls. It was Miso, the nurse who'd saved her repeatedly at the school. Miso shooed her friends forward to keep them moving, while the soldiers created two walls around them, to either side, and moved with them. Miso looked around at the soldiers and smiled. The nurse looked ... amused?
Nabiki breathed a little easier as they got closer. She could tell that her friends were astonished by the show of force, but all of them were handling it differently. Predictably, Riko was handling it with flair. Her oldest friend was rattling off orders to the nearest soldier like he was a busboy.
"—cellent service you have here. Could you grab me a soda when you're done with this? There's a good boy." Riko said in increasingly outlandish attempts to get the soldier to pay attention to her. She cracked a small smile at her friend's antics.
Her friends reached the front gate without incident, and the honor guard of soldiers took up an outward defensive position as her friends reached her. She smiled warmly to her friends, and even more warmly to Miso. All of her friends tried to talk over each other and ask her questions, but she ignored them and waved them inside.
"In a moment, get inside where it's safe, please." She said to them.
Miso obviously agreed with her and shooed the girls forward again. They protested but did as they were asked and filed through the gate.
She turned and looked at Miso closely. Doctor Tofu's ... friend... had stopped and was leaning up against the edge of the gate, keeping an eye on her friends, and also on herself. Up close, when she really looked at Miso, she realized that the woman's features didn't seem ... real. Something about Miso seemed like ... an illusion. She couldn't figure out what it was though. She sighed and let it go.
"So ... you're a nurse, huh?" She asked the probing question with a raised eyebrow.
"Well ... I wouldn't say that's my day job, but I can be a nurse when needed." Miso replied with an easy going smile.
"Who the hell are you?" She asked in a bewildered voice.
"Well now, that IS the question, isn't it? It's probably the hardest question anyone will ever have to answer. Let me ask you, Miss Tendo, who are YOU?" Miso asked quietly with a small smile curving her lips upward.
"I ... what do you mean?" She answered, confused.
"We all change, don't we? When we're children, we are play, and laughter, and joy, and sorrow. We are our parents, and we are raw unbridled potential. As we grow older, we redefine ourselves, though, don't we? No longer the child, but our own person. We become scholars, and soldiers, and professionals, and the things we choose to do or excel at. But it doesn't stop there, does it? We get involved with other people, and with groups of people, and we let those people give us titles. We become deacons, boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses, students and teachers, and even parents ourselves. And those titles seem to MATTER, don't they? So, I ask you again, Miss Tendo ... who ARE you? Are you a scholar, a lover, a student, a teacher? Are you knowledge, hate, envy, joy, revenge? What titles have you accepted for yourself?" Miso asked her in a soft voice that was almost lilting like a song. It was mesmerizing. She found herself slipping into a trance just listening to her.
She shook her head to try to clear it, and stammered a response. "I ... I don't know. I'm just ... me." She said in a lame attempt to answer her.
Miso smiled at her. "That is a very wise way of answering, Miss Tendo. I think I shall take that as my answer as well. I am just ... me." Miso said with a wink as she nodded respectfully to herself and the soldiers, and stepped through the gate as well.
She found herself staring absently at the spot Miso had been occupying just a moment before, and trying to figure out what the hell had just happened.
She stepped forward to follow Miso inside the gate, but was stopped by Captain Maki's voice. "Orders, ma'am?" He asked.
She turned around and smiled grimly at him. "Same as before, keep the Amazons away from my friends and family. Everyone is here now. I'll get you the pictures of everyone in just a little bit." She said carefully. The soldier nodded, and saluted, and turned away to give orders to his men. While he was doing that, she slipped inside the gate, and closed it behind her.
Inside the walls to her family's land, she saw her friends clustered under the awning to the front door while Miso stood to the side and chatted softly with Doctor Tofu. As she walked towards them, she saw him do something she had never seen him do before. He bowed at a full ninety degrees to Miso, and held it for several seconds before he raised himself up again. Miso accepted the bow with a polite nod of the head.
Riko rushed out to meet her before she could join everyone and hugged her tightly. She returned her friend's hug and let out a little of the stress she was carrying around. Riko took a step back then and looked into her eyes before looking pointedly around them at the soldiers swarming their walls.
"Holy shit, Nabiki, overreact much?" Riko whispered to her.
"No." She said in a low, dangerous voice.
"But ... why? Aren't your Dad and Ranma and Akane and them enough?"
"Why? ... WHY?! Nobody threatens my family, or goes after my friends, that's why!" She growled with her hands balled into fists at her side. Riko looked at her with wide eyes.
"I mean, I always knew you could do it, but holy shit, seeing it actually happening is kinda terrifying." Riko said in a small voice.
"That's the general idea." She said.
"Okay, but ... isn't this the same kind of stuff that Ranma and them are always dealing with? Why bring them in?" Riko asked while nodding towards the soldiers on the wall.
"No, it isn't the same ... the Amazons threatened to kill all of us this morning." She said quietly.
"But, haven't other people made threats like that in the past when going up against Ranma and them?" Riko persisted.
"Yeah ... I guess, maybe, I don't know. What does it matter?" She asked with rising irritation.
"It matters, because you seem to be losing touch with reality a little bit, Kiki-chan." Riko said gently while laying a hand on her shoulder.
She sighed. She knew Riko was probably right, but the damage was already done. The favor had been called in, there was no undoing that. Besides, she felt safer and more calm with the soldiers watching the walls. With only four people watching the house, if one had been injured, it was a problem, if two were injured it was an emergency. But with the military watching the walls, if one or two or even dozens were sidelined, there were hundreds more to take their place.
Besides, now Ranma can stay inside and sleep at night. She thought with determination.
"Who are they, where are they from?" Riko asked after a few moments of uneasy silence passed between them.
"That's not the kind of question smart girls ask, Riko." She said with a small smile.
"I'm asking anyway. Who are they?" Riko persisted.
"Fine, you are looking at the First B.N.C Weapon Defense Company, from the First Division, Eastern Army, of the Ground Self-Defense Force under the command of Captain Maki. Headquartered right here in town at Camp Nerima."
"Wait, the real Army? How did you get the real Army to come out to protect your home? I thought they were just well-dressed mercenaries."
"General Nagai owes the Tendo clan a family debt of honor." She said simply.
"Holy crap, Nabiki ... there's like two or three hundred of them." Riko whispered.
"About two fifty or so." She confirmed with a nod.
"How long are they going to stay?"
"Until this is finished."
"What's B.N.C Weapon Defense?" Riko asked as she turned around in place and gawked at the soldiers.
"Biological. Nuclear. Chemical." She said simply.
"Special Forces?"
"Yup."
"Why?" Riko asked in a confused tone.
"Who knows what other nonsense the Amazons are going to pull. If they try something nasty, I wanted the experts on the ground to deal with it." She said vehemently.
"Holy crap, Nabiki." Riko repeated again in a hushed voice.
In reply, she laced her arm around Riko's shoulders and pulled her friend in tight. Riko laid her head down on her shoulder and sighed. Riko wasn't warm like Ranma was, but Riko was also much smaller and easier to cuddle, so it kind of balanced out.
"It's going to be okay. I'm going to finish this one way or another, and then it will be all over. In the meantime, you can stay here with the family, and be safe."
"But I'm not fa—"
"Yes you are." She interrupted sternly. Riko nodded hesitantly and allowed her to steer them towards the rest of their friends, who were still standing under the entryway awning.
Doctor Tofu was speaking with Miso.

"—ank you again for getting them." Doctor Tofu was saying.
"—f course. They are non-combatants, I agree that they need to be kept safe while this gets sorted out." Miso replied in a calm voice.

As they spoke, she let go of Riko and sidled up to Chihiro, and whispered to her in a low voice. "Do you have your photo book with you?" She asked.
"You know I never leave home without it." Chihiro said with a wink as she dug into her bag for it.

"—t shouldn't be too much longer now, they've issued death threats on the Tendos, there isn't much further to take this." Doctor Tofu said to Miso.
"—agree. You're completely surrounded, you know." Miso replied casually.

"Here you go." Chihiro said to her as she handed her the photo book.
She grabbed it and opened it to the back. "Do you mind if I borrow some prints of all of you to hand out, so the soldiers know who not to shoot?" She asked as she grabbed several recent photos of each of her friends, and some of her family members, Ranma, and Doctor Tofu as well, for good measure.
"Well now, that sounds like an extremely good cause. Why don't you take extra, just in case." Chihiro said with a wide smile.
"Thanks, I'll get them back for you once this is all over." She said.
"Don't worry about it, I have the negatives, I can always just make more prints." Chihiro said with a wink.
She smiled and turned towards Miso and Doctor Tofu as she tuned in again to what they were saying.

"—I've been watching them slowly increase their numbers at night. That was why I asked you to bring the girls in, I knew they'd be safe with you." Doctor Tofu replied to Miso in an unworried voice.
Miso smiled at that, but said nothing in response. Instead the nurse changed the topic. "I think they would be even more safe if they just stayed with me until this is over. I don't think they should stay here." Miso said.
Riko and the others looked up at that and looked first at Miso, then at herself. She didn't know why, but she suddenly felt like a little girl playacting at being an adult. Listening to the calm way Miso was suggesting taking control of the safety of her friends left her with no doubt that she had a lot to learn about being an adult and handling problems.
She spoke up as she bowed politely to Miso again. "I would prefer it if my friends stayed here where they will be protected by the soldiers."
Miso raised an eyebrow at her. "Soldiers die in war, Miss Tendo. If one side kills enough of them, they win the war. Are you sure your soldiers are up to the task before them?"
"The Amazons haven't killed anyone yet. I think they're bluffing. I don't think they want to take things that far. Besides, if they killed anyone, this whole thing could escalate to an international incident. They wouldn't want their government focusing on them, or ours out for revenge." She said in as confident a tone as she could muster.
Miso smiled sadly at her. "I don't think the Amazons are afraid of the Chinese government, or our government, my dear. I wouldn't count on that fear to keep this from escalating. I also wouldn't count on them bluffing, either. Amazons are known to try guile and deceit and outright bullying, but if they are stymied long enough, they will resort to wanton violence as well.
"I have more than—" She began to say.
"Miss Tendo, there are people approaching the gate saying you called for them." A soldier announced as he stepped through the gate and waved at her.
She nodded. "Be right there." She called out as she turned back to look at Miso. "Like I was saying, I have more than just the soldiers in play." She said as she turned towards the gate.
"Riko, come with me, please. The rest of you, can you please start setting up the dining room as a command and control center?" She asked her friends. They smiled and nodded, and ducked into the front door as she walked towards the front gate with Riko in tow.
Riko joined her and stood next to her silently as she spoke briefly with Captain Maki and let the rest of the people in. There were about twenty of them, and their skill sets ranged widely, but all of them would be incredibly useful.
She waved them in to the interior of the walls then turned to face Captain Maki as he raised an eyebrow at her. She smiled tightly at him. "I don't expect you to accommodate them, Captain. Just please don't get in their way." She said.
"I ... will do what I can. You are the mission commander, so it is your prerogative to set the mission parameters ... ma'am." He said in a strained voice.
"They are just here to back you up. They will stay in the shadows for the most part. I will be placing them under the command of my friend Riko here, who will be directing my team. She's worked with all of them before." She said as confidently as she could.
Riko nodded next to her and smiled easily at Captain Maki. "Don't worry, I won't let them get underfoot. If they do their thing like they normally do, you won't even know they're around." Riko said with a wink.
"Very well, I will inform my men of their presence, and give out their general descriptions. As long as they are inside the walls, if my men see them, they won't shoot. I can't make any guarantees if they surprise them outside the walls though." He said hesitantly.
"Hopefully it won't be an issue. But I will let them know that those are the rules." Riko said confidently as both of them turned to leave.
"Orders, ma'am?" Captain Maki asked persistently. She smiled tightly and turned back around. She could tell he thought that his assignment was rather ridiculous, and that he also thought it would be easy. But he was still taking it seriously, like a professional soldier would be expected to behave. She had intended to wait until later to give him his full set of orders, but since he wanted them now, she would do it in front of Riko.
"Here are pictures of my friends, and family, and Doctor Tofu. Please show them to your soldiers, and have them memorize everyone's faces." She said as she handed over the stack of photos.
"Yes, ma'am. Every soldier in this company will be familiarized with what your family members and friends look like in short order. And each platoon and squad commander will be given copies of the pictures to keep for continuing reference."
"Perfect, then your orders are simple. Stop anyone trying to get past those walls who isn't myself, Ranma, or one of the people in those photos ... with as much force as possible." She said coldly.
"We would prefer to try to capture when we can, ma'am, especially in civilian areas like this." Captain Maki said with disapproval evident in his voice.
She leaned in towards him and locked eyes with him. "That would be a bad idea. The people threatening my family are fast, powerful, and deadly. You may only get one chance at stopping them. If you fail, and my family is harmed. I will be ... unpleasant, and I will hold you personally responsible. If anyone in my family is killed, including my friends, then ... even if it is the last thing I do, I will make you and your soldiers pay for that failure in the worst way possible. General Nagai gave me his word that you and your men would be up to the job. I will personally help the General execute you if you fail. Do I make myself clear?" She growled at him. She saw Riko look at her with wide, shocked eyes, but she ignored her friend.
Captain Maki snapped to attention, saluted, and yelled out an agreement in parade ground cadence and volume. "Ma'am, yes ma'am! Rules of engagement will be to shoot to kill, no questions asked, no warning given on sight of unauthorized persons attempting to breach the security perimeter! You have my word, your family will be safe, or we will die trying!"
She held his gaze for a moment, then nodded in satisfaction and returned his salute. She could see in his eyes both a mixture of fear and blazing hot anger at being threatened by her. She didn't care. She was so far past caring about such things that it scared even herself a little bit. She was absolutely, one hundred percent, willing to do anything to keep her family safe.
Riko looked at her with very wide eyes as they turned back around and walked back through the gate and shut it behind themselves. They walked a little ways back towards the front door, then stopped and turned to watch the soldiers. Doctor Tofu and Miso were nowhere to be seen. They were alone for the moment. She was feeling increasingly chaotic inside, so it was probably a good thing that they were alone.
Riko opened her mouth to say something, but froze when Ranma rounded the corner of the house, and called out to her. "Nabiki, there you are, I've been looking for you." He said earnestly. He jogged up to them, and seemed to notice Riko for the first time. "Oh, hey, Riko." He said before he turned back to her. "Nabiki, can I talk ta ya?" He asked.
Riko smiled and backed away from her. "How quickly they forget the girls they make out with at school...I'll leave you two alone." Riko said in a cheerful voice as her friend quickly backed away from them and headed to the front door.
She looked at Ranma and felt the immediate resurgence of her desire to be with him, and the weird aching inside of her that seemed to get worse whenever he was around. There was something really wrong with her.
He smiled nervously at her and stepped a little bit closer to her and reached for her hand. She allowed him to take it and waited and watched him. She didn't know what he wanted to say, and it wasn't the best time for him to be trying to chat with her.
...he promised...
"So ... why is the Army here?" He asked softly.
She smiled at him softly. In a way she was relieved he didn't want to talk about their relationship. "I told Shampoo I'd give her a war... I couldn't very well say that and not follow through, now could I?" She answered him flippantly, hoping to at least get a smile out of him. Instead, he frowned, which actually hurt her more than she could explain. At least Riko had been impressed with the resources she could wield to protect her family.
...he promised...
"Yeah ... but ... Nabiki ... nobody says stuff like that an' means it..." He said hesitantly.
She shrugged in response. He should know by now that she wasn't like most other people.
He sighed and tried again. "It's just ... I don't understand..." He said carefully as he cast his eyes downward.
"What don't you understand?" She asked him in a voice she was trying to keep friendly and welcoming. She didn't want to fight with him, especially not while she was fighting with herself.
"It's ... I don't ... don't you trust me?" He whispered.
She looked at him and blinked in surprise. "Of course I trust you. I think I trust you more than anyone now, Ranma." She said gently as she squeezed his hand.
"You trust me ... but you didn't think I could protect you?" He whispered.
Her smile faltered as her heart rate increased. "It's not like that, Ranma. I do trust you. But it's getting really serious now, and I had to be absolutely sure that my sisters would be protected. You and Daddy and Doctor Tofu are strong, but nobody can fight and stand watch all night, every night, for days on end, forever. The soldiers can, Ranma. Hopefully, they will be the end of this. I have enough pull with the Military to keep the soldiers here literally for years if necessary. Hopefully the Amazons will see them, and decide that they don't want to fight anymore, and they'll just go away." She said stubbornly.
She could feel the burning, itchy feeling starting up again inside herself like she had felt that morning. The feeling was heavy in her chest. She felt oddly angry that she was having to justify saving the lives of her sisters. No price was too high to pay for that, including people's pride. She couldn't trust anyone else to do it, she had to make sure that it was done, and done right, and that meant she had to do it herself.
...he promised...
...alone...
Ranma stepped closer to her and took her other hand in his and pulled her to him in a loose hug. His warmth enveloped her, as did the subtle but always present scent of cedar wood and flowers. Something about the flowers reminded her of something. She didn't know what it was, but it was pulling on her memory strongly.
"I think I understand what yer sayin' ... I just ... I don't know what ta do now." He said quietly to her.
She put her head down against his chest and sighed. "You could just go inside, and have a normal dinner, and a normal night at home. You could maybe think about planning more dates to take me on. Or we could just talk about stuff. We could shift our lives back from constantly talking about life and death stuff, and fighting, and fear and anger, and we could just talk about ... I don't know, movies and books or something. You know, normal stuff." She said in a rising tone.
She couldn't help it. She was annoyed. She didn't know why, but she just felt ... so ... angry lately. And the fact that he didn't seem to know what to do with himself if he wasn't standing guard over her, bothered her.
This ... just isn't going to work, is it? We're just too different. She thought sadly as she looked up at him.
He misread her body language and pulled her in to a tighter hug. "Don't worry, Kiki. Nobody's gonna hurt you or your family. Even if they get through the soldiers, they won't get through me." He said confidently.
"Ranma, I—" She tried to protest.
"It's going to be all right, I promise." He said.
She gasped a stepped back from him sharply as she shrugged out of his hug and pulled her arms around herself tightly. The words he'd said were echoing around in her mind like shrapnel. "What?!" She whispered in shock.