{These characters are not property of me. I would never attempt to claim them as my own. This story may not be used without my permission, and may not be used to make money in any way, shape or form. Characters and certain situations were created by Rumiko Takahashi, and by Mike Loader and Susan Doenime, so don't try any funny stuff!}

"If you don't want to go back home, that's fine. It wouldn't be the first time."

Nabiki gave a small nod as she looked down at her feet. "I just don't know if I can... I won't be able to pretend. Kasumi... she already knows."

Irina put an arm around her. "Don't worry. We'll take care of you here as long as we have to. You are, after all, family in a way."

Nodding, Nabiki felt uncomfortable with the woman's arm around her, but there was also a sense of security that went along with it. Secure was something she couldn't remember feeling.

"I'll call your sister, you just get to bed." Irina led Nabiki to one of the spare bedrooms and steered her to the bed. "You relax while I get you something to wear." Irina gave Nabiki one last look before hurrying off.

Nabiki sat on the bed, looking around the room blankly, and began to shiver. She wasn't really cold, but her body just wouldn't stop shaking. Hugging herself, Nabiki reclined on the bed and curled up, trying to get herself in as small a space as possible.

She wanted to be at home, but she didn't want to be anywhere near Ranma; she just didn't have a choice. Nabiki closed her eyes tightly and begged whatever higher powers existed to not make her go back.

Irina entered the room after scouring the house for something for their guest to wear. For some reason, she just couldn't let her use any of Nabiki's clothes. It just wouldn't feel right.

She had settled for some of Tatewaki's clothes, the ones without the bloodstains, figuring this Nabiki wouldn't care at the moment. The girl looked positively shell-shocked. The fact that she was even coherent was a miracle in itself.

"I brought you some..." Irina quickly quieted upon seeing Nabiki asleep on the bed. She left the clothing on the empty dresser, then exited the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

Some time later, in the middle of the night, the door opened slowly. Two eyes peered in, glowing very faintly, not situated any higher than knee level. Aichiko entered the room hesitantly, taking slow steps as she approached the bed.

She wasn't supposed to leave her room at night. Those boundaries had been set, and she was fully aware of them, but this was more important to her. She wanted her mother, and even the short time she had been gone was too long. This... replacement would do for the time being.

Grabbing on to the edge of the bed, Aichiko pulled herself up to the top, grunting quietly with the effort. Once she achieved her goal, she crawled across the blanket, over Nabiki's sleeping form, and curled up next to her.

Only a temporary replacement, but she'd do until her _real_ mother got back.

"Aichiko! Where have you run off to? You know you're not supposed to leave your room at night." Tatewaki walked the halls, whispering as loudly as he dared. Wherever Aichiko was, she'd be able to hear him, and he didn't want to wake anyone else.

Reichi in his arms was squirming, trying to escape. He was awake and wanted to play, not look for his sister. She was trouble anyway, always running off. She had even let that fake mother hold her.

His ears laid flat against his head as he thought about that. That person was not his mother, she didn't fool him. He would not treat her like his mother. No matter how much he missed her.

A comforting nuzzle from his father calmed him. As long as someone else knew that his mother was gone...

Aichiko was so good at hiding, seeming to know where she wouldn't be easily found, and Reichi was struggling in his arms, and the whole thing with Nabiki... Tatewaki's nerves were on edge and nothing was doing anything to make it better. He leaned his face down to nuzzle Reichi again, this time growling softly.

Tatewaki had a pretty good idea what was bothering Reichi, and he couldn't really blame the little boy. He was none too happy with it himself, but he forced himself not to get upset. It was very obvious it hadn't been by any effort that things had happened the way they had. There was no need to punish a person who was as much a victim as he was.

"Aichiko, I've found you now. You will find yourself in more trouble than you probably care to ponder," he whispered, spying the open door and finally catching a hint of her scent. He would never know how she managed to disguise it so well.

He entered the room silently and looked at the figures on the bed. Something that felt like a giant stepping all over his heart happened in his chest. Walking over and standing at the foot of the bed, Tatewaki stared at the two.

It wasn't all that unusual, and it shouldn't have caused such a reaction, but it did. It did and he didn't know what to do to make it any better.

Tatewaki moved around and sat on the bed, Reichi thankfully quiet in his arms. He knew it was just the way Reichi was dealing with Nabiki's sudden disappearance, the same way this was Aichiko's, but it just couldn't be healthy... Not for any of them.

He reached down and moved a strand of hair from Nabiki's sleeping face. This was most definitely not a good thing to have her stay at the house. He didn't want to do anything stupid, and already she was tempting him.

Setting Reichi down at the end of the bed with a sharp warning for him to stay there and not move, Tatewaki went about the delicate process of putting Nabiki to bed without waking her. He pulled back the sheet and blanket first and fluffed the pillow. Then came the hard part.

He hovered over her, his hands poised for action, but unmoving. Closing his eyes and swallowing hard, Tatewaki reached down and unbuttoned Nabiki's shirt slowly. It shouldn't have been a big deal, this wasn't anything he hadn't seen before, but it really wasn't right.

Glancing at his son while attempting to get the buttons undone, Tatewaki gave him a stern look then turned back to the task at hand. His hands were trembling, and that didn't make it any easier. He just wanted to be done with it so his hands wouldn't be so close to her...

Finally finished and not a moment too soon, Tatewaki pulled the shirt from Aichiko's hands, breaking her grip of iron, and gently lifted Nabiki. It was such a short distance to move her, but her shirt spilled open, exposing her torso to him.

Again, that exercise of control. Before, it would have been expected that he take gentle advantage of her in such a position. It was an understanding between them. But not here, and he had to watch that carefully.

He managed to get her in the bed without doing anything improper aside from opening her shirt, and covered her with the covers. A quiet whine made him look to where Aichiko was sitting up, blinking slowly.

Nabiki hadn't been roused, but she had. "Go back to sleep, Aiko," Tatewaki said quietly. "I'll put you to bed when I am finished here."

Not waiting for him at all, Aichiko crawled up to the head of the bed and wormed her way under the covers, once again snuggling against Nabiki.

"Aiko, you can't..." Tatewaki tried to pull her away, but she grabbed onto the blanket and had it one of her deathgrips that he was so familiar with. "Stay that way if you must, silly girl," he whispered and leaned down to kiss her cheek.

Aichiko practically purred with the contact and nuzzled Tatewaki's cheek. Things were almost back to normal again.

Tatewaki stood and backed away, a hopeless look on his face. "Come along, Rei. It's time for bed."

Reichi crawled to the edge of the bed and slid off of it. Once on the floor, he toddled over to Tatewaki and latched on to his leg. He didn't want to stay in the room any longer, not with the fake woman.

Tatewaki left the room, Reichi clinging to his leg.

The Nekohanten... It wasn't there. Nabiki stared at the shop that should have been the Nekohanten and didn't know what to do. Cologne had been her first, and possibly best hope to finding out what had happened.

And now...

Shrugging, looking much more nonchalant than she felt, Nabiki walked away, her choices having been reduced to two.

And all she had to do was avoid Ranma. And that meant she couldn't be as soft as she was used to being at home. It wasn't a matter of hunting down Reichi when it was time for bed, or Aichiko when she needed a bath.

This was life or death. Nabiki didn't really plan on it being her death, and she didn't actually want it to be Ranma's death either. Not yet anyway.

Wandering aimlessly through Nerima, Nabiki had plenty of time to think about things. Most of it had to do with self-preservation, some of it had to do with her family, all of it, and a smaller part was giving serious consideration to just giving up.

Well, there was no point in putting it off any longer. Choice number two...

"Dr. Tofu?" The clinic was silent, empty. Something about it didn't feel right, and when Tofu eventually emerged from his office, there wasn't something right about him either.

At least, there was something very different about him as compared to the Dr. Tofu Nabiki was familiar with. This man, he was an almost complete stranger. "Hi. I was wondering..." Now how to broach the subject?

"Yes, Nabiki? Is there something I can do for you?" As he looked down at her, the light reflected off his glasses, hiding his eyes, making him unreadable.

"Well, I kind of have a problem."

Tofu made a tsking noise. "Nabiki, you should have known better. I can't hide something like this from your father."

Nabiki blinked and just stared at Tofu. "What?"

"Your problem. It's not as uncommon nowadays as it used to be, but I simply can't keep this secret. It's detrimental to your own health and the baby's."

"Baby?" Still, she wasn't sure just what was going on. How could Tofu know about... "Oh! No! No babies. I'm not pregnant." No, she had already been through that and was glad it was over with.

It was Tofu's turn to look confused. "You're not? Then what's the problem?"

"No, that's the last of my problems right now. Trust me, no m... no kids for me." Nabiki released a breath. "Can we... go into your office? I don't want anyone walking in while I tell you this."

"Of course, if it's that important to you." He opened the door to his office and allowed Nabiki to enter first. He followed and shut the door behind himself.

"Doc... I don't know how to say this. Do you know who I am?" Nabiki perched herself on the corner of the desk as Tofu sat in one of the chairs meant for patients.

"Of course I know who you are. I've been attending to your family since I moved my practice here. I've been your general practitioner ever since you children were born." Tofu stopped there, suddenly feeling like he had let something slip, but not sure why. "What is this about, Nabiki?"

Nabiki tilted her head to the side a little and peered at Tofu. There was something odd about what he had said. His words were like pieces of a puzzle that all fit together, but ended up looking wrong. "Doctor, I'm not who you think I am. I shouldn't be here. And I think Ranma's going to try to kill me."

Tofu stared. Nabiki stared back. Tofu started laughing. "That's very funny, Nabiki. You're such a funny girl."

"Doctor, do I look like I'm kidding?"

Tofu adjusted his glasses and took a hard look at Nabiki. "No, I must admit that you don't." He tilted his head down a little so he was looking at her from over the tops of his glasses. Her eyes glowed ever so faintly, and her aura, previously light blue with taints of yellow and black, was now a dark and pulsing orange that seemed to cycle between red and yellow.

Tofu removed his glasses and cleaned the slowly. "Then if you are telling the truth, what can I do?" he asked, eyes on the methodical slowness he was cleaning the lenses with.

"I don't know. That was something I was hoping you could tell me." Nabiki licked her lips unconsciously, the conversation seeming not as... innocent as she had planned.

Tofu put his glasses back on. "I honestly don't know what to tell you. Yes, I believe you, but there's not much I can do. I know medicine, I know chiropracty, I know acupuncture, I know spices and herbs, I know shiatsu and a smattering of other things. Dimensional portals is something I most assuredly do not know."

Nabiki sighed. She couldn't blame him. She didn't have any idea what had happened beyond the obvious so she had nothing for him to even investigate. "Yeah, I'm not really surprised or anything. I was just hoping..."

"About Ranma..."

"What about him?" Nabiki slid off the corner of the desk, her eyes locked on Tofu. "I don't expect you to save me or guard me. If there's no way back, I'll just have to take care of things on my own."

Tofu escorted her to the front door of the clinic. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he warned cheerfully as she stepped outside.

Nabiki looked at him strangely for a moment then nodded. "I won't. Thanks for your help anyway... Doctor." She waved half-heartedly as Tofu closed the door.

If and when she got back home, she would have a very long talk with the good doctor. There was something about him that Nabiki didn't like at all, but it was more of a general distaste than an actual dislike.

Oh well. Another dead-end, and a possible liability in the doctor. Time for her third and final choice. This was something she wasn't looking forward to, but Nabiki at least knew she could defend herself properly.

She headed back home.

Taking a very roundabout way, eventually ending up approaching the house from the opposite direction, Nabiki stopped and waited. Ranma probably should have been at school with Akane, but she wasn't about to make any assumptions with him.

Her stomach suddenly growled, startling her. Breakfast, and she had forgotten. The whole thing with Cologne had shaken her, made her lose track of what she had been doing. It was almost a guarantee that there wouldn't be anything in the house that would be satisfying, and there wasn't really any time to go back out and get something...

Unless... Looking around to make sure no one was obviously watching, Nabiki took off running. Not a jog, not her regular run, but she _ran_. It would probably be best to head to one of the big supermarkets instead of the usual store they shopped at; no strange looks that way when she bought the largest hunk of meat she could afford.

Breathing heavily at her destination, drained by her lack of food, Nabiki sat on a bench and rested. This would teach her to forget about eating, especially after the night she had had.

She wasn't in as good a shape as Kuno, and was still carrying around a few extra pounds. Those would melt off soon enough, at least she hoped so as she had been saying that for the last three months, and then she'd be back to her regular shape.

But after her late night activity and not eating breakfast, she was feeling run into the ground and got tired even after only a few minutes of running. Her legs felt like rubber and she was sweating. This would definitely teach her not to put off eating again.

Nabiki stood and with practiced ease, wandered to the nearest market, looking completely unflappable. She checked her pocket to see just how much money she had with her, and seeing less than she would have liked, but more than adequate, she headed to the meat refrigerators.

She looked at the selection critically. It wasn't all that appetizing looking, not all that fresh really, but that was one of the problems with living so far away from Tokyo proper. If she had wanted, heading there would have gotten her something a bit better, but she had things to do and didn't have time for that.

Though... She snagged herself some ham steaks, a pair of steaks that would set her back a wad, and made her way back to get some eggs too.

The eggs were her weakness. That's what kept her from losing those extra pounds. There was just something about their texture, their taste, the way they just slid down her throat... She always stole one whenever Kasumi was making breakfast.

Nabiki paid for her items and left, immediately looking for a place she could safely eat in private. The best place would be home, of course, but that meant she had to go all the way back and...

Bah, to hell with it. She started out at a jog, trying not to jar the eggs too severely, looking like an average teenager hurrying home with some groceries. Whenever she had the chance, whenever the people thinned out, she chewed up the distance with a short burst of speed.

And finally home, she walked slowly around the outside of the property, observing things closely. After determining that it was fairly safe, she entered the yard. Now to sneak past Kasumi. Her older sister was oblivious, but not _that_ oblivious.

With light footsteps, she entered the house, thanking her luck that the door was quiet and Kasumi was in the kitchen washing dishes. Upstairs she hurried and into her bedroom, shutting the door quickly and quietly.

Nabiki almost collapsed on her bed, getting her wind back. That lasted about ten seconds before she opened her bag and pulled out her purchases. She stopped, listening closely for any strange noise, and, not hearing any, did the quickest thing she could think of to eat: she changed, but only her head.

First thing down was the entire package of ham, not bothering with any sort of chewing. Then half the eggs, popping them whole into her mouth, enjoying the feel of cracking the shell between her teeth and swallowing it just like that. One steak, bone snapped like matchsticks, ground up and swallowed, then more eggs, and the other steak.

It was better than any dessert. No ice cream, candy, anything could top the once living embryo in her mouth, savoring the taste of it...

A knocking on her door snapped her from her enjoyment of her meal. "grrraahhJust a second," she said, quickly changing back to herself once again, her throat burning from trying to talk before she was able.

She hid all evidence of her meal before making sure she was suitably normal in appearance and then opened the door. "Hi, Kasumi. What's up?"

"Why don't you tell me that," Kasumi said, sitting on Nabiki's bed.

This was the night. She decided it was the only thing for her to do. It hadn't been an easy choice; she didn't want to do it, but there was nothing else she could think of. It was either this or just exist in a state of waiting until she was sent back.

This way, they wouldn't want her to go. She would have a connection, and they wouldn't make her go. She didn't want to go back and have to deal with things. It was so much easier to just let them take care of her in this fake world, thinking she was so frail and damaged...

She wasn't damaged. She was just fine. Going back... it was just something she didn't want to do. To face Ranma again... She wouldn't do it. No, better to let them cater to her every need, take care of her.

Nabiki swallowed and stood, looking in the mirror. The reflection of herself was not something she liked to look at. It didn't look like her. It wasn't really her, not with that fear in her eyes. But this was something she had to do.

Glancing back at the window, she saw how the light was fading outside. Dark. At least it would be dark. In the light, she didn't know if she'd be able to handle. At least she could pretend she was somewhere, someone else.

Nabiki removed the shirt she was wearing and let it fall to the floor. Next it was her bra, which landed on top of her discarded shirt. It was then that her eyes closed and she could no longer look at herself.

She slid the sweatpants down her legs and removed her feet from them. Kicking them to the side, she shivered slightly in the cool air of the room. Doubts could not be allowed to make her change her mind. She just couldn't let that happen. Off came the panties, new ones they had bought for her.

They hadn't let her wear any of her counterparts clothing, and really, she couldn't blame them. That would be going too far, making the role too much her own. She would make it hers only as much as she needed to; she would not be a replacement.

Naked, Nabiki opened her eyes again and looked at the shirt she had laid out. It was one of Kuno's school shirts. It was perfectly white, pressed neatly, and it almost hurt her eyes to look at it. It was long, made to tuck into a pair of pants comfortably, and she knew how large it would be on her.

Shuddering, stopping herself from throwing it to the floor like she wanted, Nabiki slowly slipped the shirt on. She buttoned it up, but left the top two undone, knowing that it revealed an adequate amount of bare skin. Too much for her, but again, it was something she had to do. It was self-preservation.

This time, it was the self-doubt that echoed in her mind. What if it didn't work? What if he kicked her out? But... what if it did work? She... hadn't ever done any of what she was about to attempt.

Nabiki stopped herself from shivering and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked tired, just a girl in an oversized shirt. She gave herself a small, tentative smile that seemed to work. Again, she smiled, this time wider, going to something a little... less innocent.

It would work, whether she wanted it to or not. It _had_ to work.

Tatewaki trudged through the house. No person he had talked to over the past days seemed to be able to tell him anything about how such a thing might happen. None had ever heard of such a thing as complete mental and physical swap, slip in reality like he had explained.

Spiritualists, mentalists, fortune tellers, creepy old women, mysterious antique shop owners... Nothing. Even the ones he knew were frauds, he had visited anyway. The straws he had been grasping at had all slipped through his fingers, and now he had nothing to go on.

For the night, he had only the darkness to comfort him. In a way, he preferred it. No one could see his despair that way, see just how hopeless he thought it all was.

In his room, it was nothing but an assault of painful memories. He had disposed of his simple futon and replaced it with a queen-sized bed that was alive with muted elegance. It had been at Nabiki's gentle request, and it had been comfortable to a point he wouldn't have ever imagined. But now, it was large and painfully empty, with him knowing that she wouldn't be there again for a period of time he couldn't predict.

Sighing heavily, Tatewaki began to get ready for bed. He just wanted to fall into the bed and not wake up for three days. It all felt just that awful.

He slipped on his yukata and got into bed. The exhaustion he felt didn't seem to help him sleep though. His eyes remained open in the darkness as he tried to will himself to sleep. Unfortunately, it wasn't working. Breathing deeply, Tatewaki closed his eyes and attempted to release all of his negative emotion.

"Kuno-chan."

His eyes opened slowly to see the door to his room partially open.

"Kuno-chan," she repeated, her silhouette in the doorway.

"Nabiki?" he asked, wondering if he was dreaming.

She opened the door the rest of the way, allowing just enough light in so that he could make her out. "It's me."

Tatewaki sat up in bed and stared. It was her, and she was dressed in little more than one of his uniform shirts. It hung generously low, maintaining her modesty, but the top buttons were undone. "What are you..."

"Don't talk," she commanded softly and closed the door, plunging the room into darkness once more.

Even in the dark, he watched her cross the room to the end of the bed. But this wasn't her, not really. He couldn't let himself forget that. "You shouldn't be here," he whispered. "This isn't right."

Nabiki tried to seal her nervousness off and not let it affect her. It wasn't working so well. Instead of speaking and betraying her feelings, she got on top of the bed on her hands and knees. She forced herself to move, to crawl up the bed so she was next to Tatewaki.

"You should go. This is wrong," Tatewaki whispered, seeing her face hovering far too close to his own. He could smell her fear, but that didn't seem to be stopping her, or helping him at all.

"Why? It's just me. Haven't you... missed me?" The words coming from her mouth felt so very wrong, but... She had to tune those feelings out, had to forget just what she was doing and just do it.

Nabiki found his hand in the darkness and lifted it. "It's... only me." She placed his hand, on the outside of the shirt, on her breast. Her eyes closed tightly at the feeling, as she held his hand there. If she was calculating this right, and he was the same old Kuno she knew, then he shouldn't be able to resist. A small part of her was hoping he would.

The moment stretched, the only sound in the room their breathing.

Nabiki gasped against her will when she felt Kuno squeeze lightly. She resisted pulling away from his touch, knowing it had to be done. Whatever happened, she had to distance herself from it, if only to preserve her sanity.

Before she even had a chance to react, she was suddenly in his arms and his lips were pressed against hers. It was a thankfully brief moment, a moment in which she wondered if she should attempt to reciprocate. In fact, she had just about been parting her lips when he broke the contact.

His mouth moved down to her neck while his hands roamed all over her back. A sliver of pleasure and horror threatened to destroy her bubble of oblivion, to pierce the shell she had attempted to erect. His mouth on her neck, kissing his way down to the hollow of her throat, then back up to her ear... It was almost too much for her to take.

Again, he acted and she had no choice in the matter. Nabiki was pushed down and on to her back. She forced herself not to cry out in fright, not to try to push him off of her. He was going to do it and she was going to let him because it was the only way in her mind.

One of his hands settled on her thigh, which caused her to try to jerk away, but with his weight on her, she could do very little to escape his touch. The hand traveled up her leg to her hip, continuing its path under the shirt. As he hand moved up, his head moved down into the very open front of the shirt, working toward one partially bared breast.

Inhaling sharply when she realized what he was doing, Nabiki put her arms around his neck and pulled him back up. Forcing herself, she engaged him in a wet, open-mouth kiss, keeping her arms locked tightly around his neck to stop him from going any lower again.

The hand under her shirt retreated, and instead, she could feel him moving against her, fumbling with something. It was the moment she had feared; it was about to happen. Something in her stomach lurched, her bubble of control weakening. His body pressed against hers and she could feel what she had roused in him.

Nabiki pulled her head away from his, breaking the kiss she hadn't even been feeling. For a moment, she saw his face, saw what she really feared: he knew. He knew, but he couldn't help himself and was doing it anyway. Was he that insane, or was he that desperate? She closed her eyes.

Maybe he was just responding to her desperation, and she had initiated this. There was no stopping now, no time for rationalization, no time... for anything.

The sudden pain made her snap her eyes open and stifle a cry. His breath was warm, moist on her neck as she stared into the darkness, trying to force the pain to stop. The tears started then, running freely down her cheeks, as her body was forced.

The entire experience was so incredibly surreal, and only increased when Kuno actually started growling. That did it, that finally destroyed her shell. She clutched him tightly, the tears falling faster, sobbing quietly. She could only hope that when he bit her shoulder that meant he was almost done.

His body stiffened against hers momentarily, and then all movement stopped.

Nabiki found herself trembling, her entire body numb from what had just happened. She wanted to ask him to get off of her, but she was afraid to speak, afraid to ruin whatever she had put into motion.

There was pain in her shoulder as Kuno removed his mouth from her flesh. The pain subsided to a dull ache and Nabiki wondered if he had broken the skin. Not that it was the only thing he had broken on her.

She relaxed her arms, releasing the hold she had on his neck and allowed him to pull away from her. As he sat up slowly, she closed her eyes again, wanting to be immediately asleep, unconscious, unaware of what had just happened.

"This... was a mistake," Tatewaki whispered, looking down at her, the shirt bunched up around her chest. "I... I... should not..." Without another word, he got out of the bed, tied his yukata and retreated to the bathroom.

Nabiki stayed in the bed, completely motionless. Maybe it was all just a dream. Maybe in the morning, she'd wake up from the nightmare her life had become.

~~ ~~

"Kasumi, you shouldn't..."

Kasumi frowned ever so slightly. "I know there's something... not right going on. Things haven't been the same since Mr. Saotome and Ranma arrived, and I..." Kasumi paused and looked down at her hands. "I know you think I'm not all here, but..."

She lifted her head to look at Nabiki. "Just tell me what it is. Don't hide it from me. That's all I'm asking."

Nabiki stared back at her sister with something between horror and pity. "Kasumi, I can't... I just don't..." She couldn't do it. She couldn't see her sister, who she had seen at her absolute worst, who had jumped Dr. Tofu, who had, as she had been told, ripped Gosunkugi to shreds in the person who was sitting on her bed.

"I can't do it. You... you're not my sister. You're not the Kasumi I know." Her voice was soft, but without remorse. More pity than anything was what she expressed.

"How..."

"Nabiki shook her head. "I don't know. But I will tell you this: Ranma is not to be trusted. I don't care what he says, what you think about him... He is... not right. I can see Akane's pretty much been fooled by whatever he's said or done, but the next time he touches me, I'm going to put my fist through his guts."

She regarded Kasumi passively. "Don't think I won't, I... I've been through worse than what he was trying, but I will _not_ go through it again."

Kasumi suddenly looked like nothing more than a child. "Touched you?" she asked in a very small voice.

Nabiki arched an eyebrow. "Oh yeah. It seemed like I was on the receiving end of a sexual assault along with attempted murder. Not something I deal very well with."

Kasumi looked horrified at this point and put her hand over her mouth. "You mean, out in the yard?"

Her answer was Nabiki's simple nod.

"How? I don't..." How her sister could ever do something like that to a martial artist like Ranma. She had never been all that interested in such things.

"Let's just say I have my own troubles and be done with it. All I want is to get back home, where I belong. I... I have family I want to see again."

The tears Nabiki saw in Kasumi's eyes almost made her say something soothing, something hollowly reassuring. At the last moment, she stopped herself, snapping her mouth shut. "Look," she said softly, "I won't lie. I'm not staying here. I want to go back home, and staying here will be my absolute last option."

Still, she could see that questioning look in Kasumi's eyes. "If he gives me reason to, I will kill him." Nabiki's voice lowered until it was barely audible. "I've done it before."

"But what should I do?" Kasumi asked pitifully. She had expected to walk into Nabiki's room and find out why she wasn't at school, why she had such a problem with Ranma when Akane liked him so much.

"Kasumi, I don't care. Just don't let him fool you. Look at him, try and find out what he's really about. And watch Akane. Don't let her do anything stupid." Nabiki slumped a little a sighed. "I can't do it all the time; he knows and he doesn't trust me. As surely as I would... take care of him, he would do the same to me."

Something in Kasumi seemed to solidify, seemed to clarify. The gentle trembling that had possessed her before ceased and she stood. She carefully smoothed her dress, making sure her apron was in place. "I just want my sister back. I... I don't care about Ranma," she said, looking down at her efforts.

"Great. I want my sisters back, my kids back, my worthless 'husband' back, my father back, and my... my foster mother back. You just make sure you don't lose Akane in the process of all this." Nabiki looked hard at Kasumi, not sure what to make of her. She wasn't an ally, but she was someone she could at least trust. And Tofu. Two small comforts.

Kasumi nodded once, more for herself than anything, then left the room. This was something to think about, more than she ever had before. And maybe it was time to take a stand in this arranged marriage thing.

After Kasumi had gone, Nabiki sprawled on her bed and released the breath it felt like she had been holding for a month. That had been a gamble, a huge gamble, but it had paid off. There had been that light of understanding in Kasumi's eyes, a light that hadn't been there before. It put the tiniest bit of hope in her that this thing with Ranma could be worked out, or... prevented.

And there was still the matter of that person that had been observing the house. That was something she couldn't just forget about. And while Ranma seemed... capable, she didn't think he knew about the watcher.

Or maybe he did. Maybe they were working together. On what, she had no idea, but after her introduction to Ranma, she wouldn't put anything past him or below him.

Nabiki stared up at the ceiling, thoughts swirling chaotically around her mind. At least after eating, she felt mentally sharp again. If Kasumi had busted in before she had eaten, she probably would have come across looking like an utter fool. Even if Kasumi couldn't help her, it was one less person she had to worry about fooling.

So now all she had to do was find a way...

Nabiki snapped her fingers. She had forgotten what she had been meaning to do. Now if she could just put up with the little perv, she'd be set.

Checking her clock to see how much time before school let out, Nabiki figured she had about two hours until she needed to make herself scarce.

To the guest room she went and knocked lightly before opening the door. She peeked in, expecting to see some huge pile of lingerie there, but the room was empty.

"Hey, Kasumi," she said, walking back to the kitchen, "where's the little pervert?"

Kasumi looked back, obviously confused. "Little pervert? Who would that be?"

"You... don't know?" Nabiki asked, staring.

"Not at all."

"You don't know Happosai?"

Kasumi thought for a moment. "The name doesn't sound familiar."

There was no way Kasumi could be _that_ oblivious. "Wait, how long has Ranma been living here?" Nabiki asked.

"Not very long. Why?"

Nabiki tapped her chin with her forefinger. "Hrm. I was going on the idea that the times are the same..." she said idly. Not that it made much of a difference, though that explained the absence of the Nekohanten.

She could also predict some other things as well... sort of. Assuming they followed any sort of similar timeline. "How was Ranma's first day at school?" she asked seemingly out of the blue.

"I think it went well. Apparently there was an accident with that Kuno boy that Akane's always complaining about, but she and Ranma both came home fine," Kasumi answered not seeing the grimace on Nabiki's face.

This shouldn't have bothered her, but it did, and it annoyed her that it did. "Oh," she said meekly. "Was it bad?"

Kasumi looked back again. "They didn't say. Is there something wrong?"

Nabiki was looking out the window and not paying much attention to Kasumi. "No, not really," she answered absently.

~~ ~~

Dawn broke far too early for Nabiki. She woke up almost painfully, curled up in bed, totally covered by a blanket. She peeled back the covering and blinked at the bright sunlight streaming through the window.

She drew in a shaky breath and shivered. Sitting up was a chore she could have done without, especially when she realized she was still wearing the shirt from the previous night.

The previous night. Gods, how she just wanted to curl up and die, or maybe she already had and this was her punishment. That would actually explain things, however unpleasantly. She had never shifted realities. She had simply... passed on. Ranma had done it. He had killed her, and she had just fallen unconscious beforehand so she didn't realize that she had died.

This was hell. This was her punishment for everything she had done. For a moment, she thought that maybe it served her right. And if this was her punishment, she didn't have much choice in the matter. It was either deal with it or don't deal with it; either way, it wouldn't change the fact that she was stuck with it.

Nabiki's mind ground to a halt. Deal with it... She couldn't deal with it, couldn't deal with anything any longer. That would just mean she had... with Kuno for no reason, and that was something she did not want to deal with.

Nabiki got out of bed, zombie-like, and headed to the attached bathroom with the blanket drawn around her shoulders. What horrors would be waiting her there? Probably well-deserved ones.

At first, she had been consumed with self-preservation and fear, but now, after her terrible realization, she felt only despair. An eternity of a strange half-life, where she was herself, but not really, and everyone around her looked like people she knew, but were strangers.

She shed the blanket while she stood at the remarkably plain sink and looked in the mirror. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the huge purpling bruise on her shoulder. There was even some dried blood around it where he _had_ broken the skin.

Nabiki could only stare at the ugly mark. The bite itself was horrible enough, but a sense of dread was filling her, and she wasn't sure why.

"It will happen to you now." Tatewaki stood behind her, looking blankly at the mark on her shoulder. "I warned you, but you would not listen. Maybe you will be able to resist, but not forever." He reached out to touch the wound gently. "It has already begun, though it will take longer. I warned you."

"Resist?"

"Oh yes. Some things you've heard are true. I've bitten you, a harmless gesture between Na..." He stopped, snarling a little. "Because you did such a stupid thing, now in time, you shall change as well."

"Change?" The words just weren't registering, she couldn't understand what he was trying to say.

"Change. And you have only yourself to blame. I will help you when it happens, if you are still here, but it will be your responsibility to watch how you..."

"Change?" Nabiki asked again, turning around finally. "Change how?" She stared up at him, almost innocently.

"Listen to what I am saying. I will not tolerate denial in this matter!" Tatewaki growled and lowered his head slightly.

It was no longer innocence in Nabiki's eyes, but fear. "I don't understand..." She took a step back.

With horrible fascination, she watched his lip twitch, revealing his teeth and how long they had grown. The tendons in his neck strained dangerously as his eyes blossomed in shades of fire.

"You want... to know..." His voice was deep, guttural, and saliva dripped from his mouth as he tried to talk. He turned his head to the side slightly as he changed. His eyes followed Nabiki as she fled from the room.

Moments later, fully changed, he followed her, determined to make her understand just what she done to herself. There was so much anger, bitterness, jealousy in him that he simply refused to take any responsibility for what had happened to her. She had played off his weakness, seduced him, and now this?

He would make her understand under any circumstance.

Nabiki ran. That had been her proof that she was being punished. And suddenly finding herself lost in the maze of the Kuno home was making it all that more obvious. Lost and being chased, being told... lies that she would do it too... And those monstrous little children...

Everything was wrong, upside down, and maybe it would be easiest just to end it for herself, hurl herself through an upper level window, take one of Kodachi's concoctions to overdose, anything.

She risked a look behind her and almost screamed. He was following her, easily, not even running. Nabiki tried to run faster, but the strange, dream-like experience of things got to her and her legs felt like they were trapped in deep snow. "Please..." she begged to anyone who could hear her.

But it wasn't a dream. It couldn't be when she could hear his footsteps so clearly, hear his breathing, hear her own heart hammering in her chest... Finally, she did scream out of complete and utter terror and horror. Her bare foot tripped over something that she had even seen, just like a dream, a nightmare, and she fell to the floor.

Tatewaki loped up behind her and gently lifted her from the floor, where she was futilely trying to drag herself away from him. He engulfed her in his arms, where she struggled and cried, pounding on him with her fists. She made incoherent noises and whipped her head back and forth with her eyes tightly shut, refusing to look at him.

Her reaction hurt him more than any physical damage she was causing, his sour feelings diminished by her obviously terrified reaction. Even more than terrified, but positively insane with fear.

Tatewaki held her closely to him, cradling her, leaning his chin on her shoulder. His tongue snaked out to caress the injury on her shoulder. What else could he do? How else could he comfort her when she just didn't want to be.

Nabiki's cries slowly changed into frantic pleading, and instead of fighting him, she was holding him, clutching his fur tightly in her hands. "I want to go home... I'm not dead. I'm sorry, I never meant it. Send me home. Kill me. Please..."

Her face was buried in his chest and she was crying heavily, her body shaking uncontrollably as he rocked her. What had happened? What had he done?

~~ ~~

Oh no. She had missed it. Too busy avoiding Ranma and not paying enough attention to Akane, it had happened. And now, she blamed herself more than anyone. Even Ranma couldn't have predicted it.

And she should have _known_.

Sitting at the table, hearing Ranma talk about the note, throwing glares her way periodically, Nabiki knew that she should have stopped this. Akane was her responsibility to look after, not to avoid the problem the entire day.

Or if she had told someone about whoever it was watching the house that night. She knew that was him, could smell him all over the note and the knife. And that blood, it was indeed Akane's, but a relatively small amount, hardly life threatening.

"You know this building?" he asked her, the threat very clear in his voice. His eyes seemed to try to pierce her, rip her apart, but no, even he wasn't that good.

Nabiki looked at the note he was holding, the word scrawled on it. "The Ichishi building... It sounds familiar," she answered quite honestly.

Ranma's eyes closed to slits. "That better not mean what I think it does," he hissed at her.

"What? That it sounds familiar? Ranma, if you think you're..." Nabiki stopped speaking, knowing she couldn't openly accuse him of anything. "If you think you can do this alone, you're wrong," she said instead.

His expression did not change as Nabiki kept hers carefully neutral. "I'm sure I can find some plans for it someplace. It might take a couple days, but..."

"No. I'm not waiting for you. Tonight. I'm not going to let her hurt Akane." Ranma's hand clenched into a fist, crumpling the note.

Nabiki arched an eyebrow. Ranma knew it was a her? That was interesting. The note had the scent of that man all over it, not a woman. And it had been unsigned, but this was obviously not a random act, Nabiki could tell that, and it was well-directed. Focusing on Akane instead of Ranma would maybe dig into him, work at a weakness of his.

Nabiki looked at the naked fury on Ranma's face. Or maybe not.