A Ranma 1/2 LEMON fanfiction by Ron Hino

Lemon means porn, x-rated, adult, etc.  Do not read this unless you are over
18 years of age.  And if you aren't and you do anyway... don't tell me.
That way I'm not liable.  To be perfectly honest, that's the end of my
concern in the matter.  ^_^

By the way, just thought I'd warn you that this isn't one of those 'it's all
in good fun' guilt-free sex stories.  It's a story with heavy plot with some
heavy sex in it, not the other way round.  If that doesn't float your boat,
go read something else.

This story also involves sisterly incest, so if that makes you
uncomfortable, you might want to pass this one by.
 

"Stress is when you wake up screaming and realize you haven't fallen asleep
yet."  -anonymous

________________________________________________________________________________
 

Mariko sighed as she scrubbed the table of the rather sleazy bar where she
held her job as a waitress, thankful as always that they were finally
closed.  Though she was a good employee, and worked hard, it was really no
secret that she wasn't happy here.  She was a smart, intelligent young woman
(if not possessing the confidence to actually say so out loud).  Someone
like her should be employed in more respectable surroundings.

The bar was not a brothel, nor even a sex club (technically) though she knew
very well that some of the other waitresses made extra money on the side by
privately accepting propositions from the customers.  It was really more of
a cabaret.  Her work uniform consisted of a showgirl-style bunny suit,
complete with long ears on a headband and a little cotton tail on her behind
(strategically placed just high enough that the shape of said behind was
clearly visible through the thin material).

Both the proprietor and the other waitresses knew her whole story, and were
very understanding about her wish not to volunteer herself for any 'extra
services'.  They were quick to inform any customer that asked that she was
off-limits for that sort of thing.  This didn't stop many customers, who
hadn't yet heard (or had ignored) her wishes in the matter, from asking her
anyway, often impolitely.  Every time they asked, Mariko felt a burning
shame at even the suggestion that she might do something of that nature for
any reason even a fraction less than true love, to say nothing of a measly
5000 yen.

She'd always been rather modest of her good looks when she was younger,
feeling embarrassed (yet secretly complimented) when they were remarked on
during her high school years.  These days, she actually despised the fact
that she was so pretty.  Her sweet, innocent face brought her nothing but
trouble in this environment.

The bartender/owner, a kind-hearted if somewhat gruff man, had even had to
rescue her a few times from particularly pushy customers.  One time, that
had meant cracking a baseball bat across the customer's head.  Mariko knew
that the owner hated to do that, particularly since the man had previously
been a good customer; a frequent visitor who always paid his tab on time.
Incidents like that one were bad for business, and though the kind owner had
never said as much, she was sure he would rather she were a little more
open-minded about that sort of thing, if only for the sake of the cabaret's
reputation.  They ran an honest business here, and as respectable a business
as possible in this type of field.  The owner took great pride in the place.
  Mariko often felt guilty over forcing him to choose her desires over the
paying customers'.  He was a good man, and she knew that he would never ask
her to go to the back rooms with a customer, unless she expressly told him
that she had changed her firm position on not sleeping with the clientele.

All the same, he was a businessman first, and she knew that if the presence
of a beautiful, but untouchable waitress ever began to cost him more money
than it made, he would reluctantly ask her to seek another place to work.
She dreaded that day.  Without any higher education, there wasn't much
available between a respectable job her reputation denied her, and outright
prostitution.  If she lost this job, she might well starve to death for want
of money to buy food.

There was, actually, another option open to her.  Her one true and
everlasting friend, Kasumi Tendou, had once offered her a place to live in
her house.  Mariko was grateful for the offer, but she couldn't do that to
Kasumi.  Having a girl with her horrible reputation living in her house
would shame Kasumi's entire family.  Kasumi had been her friend when
everyone else had abandoned her.  Mariko would happily die before dragging
that sweet girl's good name down to her level.

"Mariko-chan?"  The owner called.  "Could I see you for a moment?"

Her blood went cold at the tone in his voice.  He wasn't angry; he never
became angry with her, but the grim tone in his voice was unmistakable.  It
was the tone of a man condemned to being the bearer of bad news.  The day
she'd always feared had finally come; he was going to have to let her go.

Trembling, she followed him behind the bar, into his office.  This was
certainly bad.  Usually, anything he had to tell her could freely be said
out in the bar, though if it were a private matter, they would lower their
voices.  They had just closed, and there was no one here except a few of the
other waitresses, but he was still opting for the greater privacy afforded
by his office.  Mariko couldn't remember ever being in here even once since
the day he'd hired her, more than a year ago.

The kindly man sat in his chair, indicating the only other one in the tiny
office.  As she sat down, he noted her anxious expression.

"Calm down, Mariko-chan.  You're not in trouble."  He reassured her.  "The
bad news I have for you is of a more personal nature."

Mariko blinked in confusion even as her sense of dread escalated.  "A...
personal nature?"

He nodded solemnly.  "Yes.  It's about your friend, Kasumi."

Mariko felt her heart drop into her stomach.  Her boss didn't know Kasumi.
All he knew of her was what Mariko herself had told him in conversation.
What could this terrible news be except...

"Is... is she dead?"  She whispered, her lip trembling.

He shook his head even as he avoided looking her in the eye.  He saw this
unfortunate girl almost like a daughter.  Telling her something like this
was almost more than he could bear.  "No, I'm afraid it's much worse than
that.  Your... friend... has recently starred in a certain video, in which
she spoke for a while about you.  One of our regulars saw the video,
recognized you by how she described you, and felt you should know about it.
He also didn't feel up to telling you to your face, which is how I got
drafted into this.  I hunted down the video and bought it, just so I could
confirm what he'd told me."

He took a deep breath to steel himself.  "Mariko-chan... I'm afraid your
so-called friend has been keeping secrets from you, rather important
secrets.  What I'm trying to say is... you see, she... Aw hell!  I can't
even say it!"

Mariko was on the edge of her chair.  "What?  What is it?  What kind of
secret would she keep from me?  She always told me that I was her best and
dearest friend!"

He closed his eyes and let some of his considerable anger slip into his
voice.  "She lied."

Mariko flinched back.  There was more hatred in those two words than
anything she'd ever heard him say.  She swallowed the lump in her throat.
"I... I don't believe you."

He sighed again, rubbing his face in his hands.  "I thought you might not.
I didn't really want to show this to you, but I guess I'll have to."  He
stood from his desk and walked over to the counter where the security system
for the club was set up.  He made a few adjustments and then came back to
her.  He solemnly handed her a videotape.  "Here.  You can use the VCR over
there to watch it."

Mariko hesitantly took the tape from his hands.  She looked at the label.
"'Sisterly Love'?  Is this an... an *adult* video?  Kasumi-chan was in a
porno movie?  I don't believe it!  She's not that type of girl!"  She cried.
  "Even if she did, she would have told me!"

"I think... it might be the first time she's ever done a video like this,
but that's not the worst thing about it.  You'll see what I mean when you
watch it."  He averted his eyes in shame once more, as he put a comforting
hand on her shoulder.  "Mariko-chan... just promise me you'll watch the
whole thing, if only so you'll understand what kind of girl that Kasumi
really is."

Then he silently left his office, leaving her to discover the horrible truth
in private.

Mariko sat there alone for several minutes, not sure she wanted to see what
was on the video.  The way he had talked, she could probably assume she'd be
much happier not knowing.

Eventually, motivated by morbid curiosity, she stood and pushed the tape
into the VCR.  One of the security monitors (the only one with colour and
sound) went blank for a moment, then the video's title and opening credits
filled the tiny screen.

Mariko sat, clasping her hands tightly together so hard it brought her pain,
as she saw the scene fade in.  There was her dear friend Kasumi Tendou,
sitting on a bed with another girl who was wearing a bathrobe.  After a
moment, Mariko recognized her as little Akane-chan, whom she had met a few
times.  She had grown quite a bit in the last two years.

The sisters were talking, and Mariko had to get up again to turn up the
volume.  Then she sat down again, feeling a little queasy as she recalled
both the nature of the video, and its unfortunate title.  Surely Kasumi
wasn't going to... Oh no!  Bad enough that she was in a video like this, but
with her own baby sister?  Mariko just couldn't accept that!  Not until she
saw it with her own eyes!

It wasn't that long before the subject of the sisters' conversation blew
away all thoughts of crimes against nature from Mariko's mind.  With morbid
fascination, she listened as Kasumi described her campaign to utterly
destroy her friend's life.  She heard the regret and shame Kasumi spoke of
as well, but those words couldn't penetrate the feeling of sheer shock and
devastation Mariko felt.

She couldn't move, couldn't blink, couldn't even scream as the video
progressed past Kasumi's confessions and entered into its intended purpose.
Mariko watched numbly as Kasumi's other sister joined the scene, and the
girl who had betrayed her so completely began engaging in the same
disgusting acts she'd once subversively accused Mariko of being guilty of.

She was still staring at the screen in shock when the tape wound down,
leaving the screen filled with static.  She didn't even notice the tears
pouring down her face.
 

Sitting alone at the bar, the owner poured himself another shot of vodka.
Mariko had been in there over an hour.  The tape should have long-since
finished.  She still hadn't come out.

He spilled liqueur onto the countertop as a scream of pure, unrestrained
agony came from behind his office door, followed by the sound of breaking
glass.  He winced.  That was going to be expensive to replace.

He really couldn't blame her, of course.  He'd been so furious himself when
he'd seen the tape, that he'd nearly put his fist through his own TV.  He'd
often talked with Mariko after close since she started working here.  She'd
told him about her dear friend Kasumi, and how that girl had believed her
when no one else would.  The look of gratitude on Mariko's face when she
spoke of Kasumi was so profound, it gave one cause to wonder if the girl was
some kind of angel descended to earth.  Hmph!  Some angel this Kasumi turned
out to be!

He rose and walked slowly back to his office.  As he'd suspected, Mariko had
smashed the monitor to pieces with the chair.  She now lay curled into a
ball on the floor, sobbing and wailing miserably.

His last thought before he took her into his arms, was that no matter what
he had to do to make it happen, Kasumi Tendou would pay for this!

***

"FIANCÉ?"   All three daughters blurted.

"Yes!"  Soun said eagerly, as if immune to his daughters' flabbergasted
looks.  "The son of my old friend, Genma Saotome, who is head of our sibling
school, the Saotome-ryu Anything Goes Martial Arts.  If one of you were to
marry him, then the future of the Tendou dojo would be assured."

'Funny,' Nabiki thought cynically, 'I thought that's what I was working on.
I wonder why the idea of getting married to fix things never occurred to me?
  Oh!  That's right!  Because it's a FUCKING STUPID IDEA!!!'

"Father, what can you tell us about this boy?  How old is he?  Younger men
are so... young."  Kasumi asked cautiously.  Nabiki had to give her credit;
Kasumi was feeling out the situation before condemning it out of hand.  Then
again, perhaps her older sister hadn't thought quite as far ahead as Nabiki
had.  Either way, she had the right idea in asking for more information.

"Is he at least cute, Daddy?"

Soun scratched his head.  "Ranma and his father have been traveling the
world for years, studying the martial arts of all Asia.  They recently
crossed into China."

Nabiki blinked.  "Well... that's very interesting, Daddy, but you didn't
exactly answer my question, or Kasumi's."

Soun shrugged.  "Sorry, that's all I know about him."

"WHAT?"

"I've never met him."  Soun said simply.

Akane's palms slammed onto the table.  "You're engaging us to some guy
you've never even met?  Where the fuck have you been for the last 150 years?
  Nobody does arranged marriages anymore!"  She snapped.

"Akane, watch your language."  Kasumi scolded.  Her youngest sister had
never really had much of a problem with potty-mouth until recently.  Kasumi
now knew it was due to Nabiki's influence, and her ideas of 'mood-setting'
in those videos.  Kasumi hadn't been at all happy about that, but conceded
that Nabiki would know better than she about what was appropriate when
making inappropriate videos.  She took a firm stance about not swearing
herself, however.  Nabiki had just blinked at her a moment, then smiled.
She said that should just fine; it fit Kasumi's 'camera persona'.

Soun was trying to defend his actions.  "All this has been decided before
any of you were born.  We will join the two halves of the Anything Goes
school through marriage, and thus ensure that our art carries on into the
next generation and beyond.  It's already been decided.  However, the choice
of which of you should best fit Ranma-kun, I leave to you and he."

Akane sat back and scowled silently.  Nabiki mused that it was probably
better for their father's health if she didn't clarify to her younger sister
exactly what he had meant by 'next generation'.  They hadn't even met the
groom yet, and he was already going on about grandchildren...

The Tendous' quiet moment of contemplation was interrupted by a shrill and
angry voice, followed by the sound of their front door opening.

"Put me down y'old fool!"

Soun jumped up with a grin.  "Saotome, my old friend!"

Kasumi sighed and rose with him to greet the guests, as was proper for the
lady of the house.  "I hope he's not younger than me..."

Nabiki reached out and caught her sleeve.  "Just a second, Oneechan."

Kasumi sat back down.  "What is it, Nabiki?  I should go greet them."

Nabiki gave both her sisters a serious look.  "I really don't think we can
allow them to stay here.  We need to find a way to get rid of them."

"Nabiki!  We can't just turn away guests at the door!  Especially
considering why they've come!"  Kasumi chided her.

Nabiki shook her head.  "Think about this.  Regardless of whether or not we
can talk Daddy out of this engagement nonsense, they're probably going to be
moving in here for a while.  Can you see what kind of problems that will
cause, even without the engagement issue?"

Her sisters looked blankly at her.  Nabiki sighed.  "Alright, problem one:
two more mouths to feed."

"Oh my.  That will put a strain on our budget, won't it?"

Nabiki nodded.  "Yes, we'll certainly have to bring in more money, which
brings us to our second problem.  How do we make the lion's share of our
money these days?"  She asked pointedly.

There was a moment of hesitation as they both considered, then Nabiki was
rewarded to see alarm on their faces.  "You see my point?  It's tough enough
to just get Daddy out of the house for a few hours.  It's going to be many
times harder to get all three of them to be off somewhere simultaneously.
We won't be able to make our money with them here.  Then we all starve,
guests included."

"Shit."  Akane muttered.

"Akane, language."  Kasumi scolded automatically.  "Oh my, oh my, oh my..."

Nabiki nodded.  "Now, add back in the engagement problem.  Even more
complications."

"Yes," Kasumi thought, "Whomever of us is chosen will probably feel
obligated not to participate in the... enterprise, out of loyalty to their
fiancé."

"I was thinking more about how hard it would be to keep it a secret than the
loyalty issue, but there's that too.  We might not even be able to
'practice' with them here."

"Aww..." Akane pouted.

Nabiki managed a smirk.  "Suck it up, Akane.  This is serious here."

Akane playfully stuck out her tongue, and Kasumi giggled.

Their older sister had taken to the fun of their 'practice sessions' quite
readily, despite her initial awkwardness.  Nabiki had no doubt Kasumi saw it
as a way to express her affection for her sisters in a much more potent
manner than merely cooking for them.  She could show them how much she cared
for them far more decisively in the bedroom than in any other places, where
the measured formality of Japanese culture prevented her from doing so.  It
was like a door barring her love was unlocked for her.

Nabiki knew that Kasumi loved them both dearly, and now she had a way to
express it that couldn't be mistaken for simple politeness or familial duty.
  She seemed to have adopted the same attitude as Akane; she felt no shame
except when they were forced to share their close relationship in front of
the camera.  Nabiki herself was slowly coming around to the same philosophy,
limited only by the guilty knowledge that it was all her doing that had
forced this situation upon them.  That guilt, added to the fear of the
consequences of discovery (which she never allowed herself to forget for an
instant) restricted her ability to enjoy what they did together.

No, the situation was too serious for her to forget herself in the heat of
the moment, or the joy in their newfound closeness, as her sisters so often
did.  Nabiki had to always be on guard for the slightest slip of the tongue
(from any one of them) which would bring the whole mess down on them in a
colossal shitstorm from which the family might never recover.

"We'll have to think on this some more later."  Kasumi said, getting up.  No
matter what their problems were, that wouldn't excuse her from being rude to
their guests.

Nabiki and Akane sat quietly at the table for a moment, both considering how
this new situation could be contained, but jumped up in alarm at their older
sister's frightened cries.

"Oh no!  Father!  OH MY!"

They dashed down the hall to find their father lying on the floor, out cold,
at the feet of a depressed-looking individual with red hair in a pigtail,
wearing Chinese clothes.  Behind this person was the second reason for
Kasumi's alarm: a 7-foot tall giant panda standing in their entryway.

Kasumi wasted little time ducking behind Akane.  Nabiki hadn't stepped out
in front of their warrior sister to begin with.

"Wh-what did you do to Daddy?"  Akane demanded, trying to sound more
confident than she felt.

"I didn't do nuthin'" The redhead grumbled.  "He just feinted."

With a gigantic furry animal in the house, that sounded plausible.  That
hadn't actually been why he'd feinted, but the individual with the pigtail
wasn't especially eager to clarify matters.

Nabiki was gathering her frightened wits.  She took in the fact that this
person was calmly standing there, apparently not in the least bit concerned
with the wild animal standing just behind.   The panda itself was not making
any threatening moves either (and did bears usually stand on their hind
legs?)  "Is... Is that animal dangerous?"

The redhead snorted.  "Not unless you consider eating you out of house and
home threatening."

As a matter of fact, Nabiki did, but at the moment she was more concerned
with being eaten by the panda than feeding it.

"E-excuse me, but who are you?"  Kasumi asked as politely as possible.

"I'm... Ranma Saotome.  Sorry about this."  The embarrassed person hung
their head.

Kasumi blinked, recovering her friendly demeanor.  "Oh!  You must be our new
fiancé then.  Please come in and have some tea."

"Thanks."

Nabiki gave the new arrival another look.  "Well," she said wryly, "at least
he's cute, right?"  The redhead blushed a bit as Nabiki stepped forward,
giving her supposed betrothed an even closer look.  "And... busty?!?"

Akane blinked, then came forward as well, staring at the embarrassed
redhead's chest.  Then, to confirm what her eyes were telling her, she
stretched forth a hand and gently squeezed a breast, rubbing the nipple
through the material with her thumb.  "You're a... girl?"

"Looks that way, don't it?  And... could you stop that?"  Ranma whimpered,
her face scarlet.  Akane's practiced hand was making her feel very strange.

Akane yanked back her hand, embarrassed at her own gaff.  "Oops!  Sorry!
Force of habit. Heh!"

Nabiki smacked her younger sister on the back of the head, even as Kasumi
winced.  Fortunately, it seemed Ranma was either too distracted or too slow
on the uptake to start asking Akane about her so-called habits.

The panda, however, was looking at the girl a little strangely.

"Perhaps we should put Father somewhere more comfortable until he wakes up?"
  Kasumi suggested, changing the subject as quickly as possible.

"Right, I'll grab this end."  Akane said quickly, taking her unconscious
father by the shoulders.

"I'll get his legs."  Ranma said, waving away Kasumi, who was about to do
just that.  "Partly my fault anyway, I guess."  She added to silence the
older girl's protests.

Kasumi smiled at Ranma's consideration, and walked off ahead of them to
fetch down a spare futon into the living room.

Nabiki smiled as she sat down next to the new girl at the table a minute
later.  Not a boy = not a fiancé = not a long-term guest.  She could afford
to be polite in this case.  As long as they were gone before they had to do
the next video a few weeks from now, the only problem these newcomers
represented was the extra mouths to feed, and since the sales from Kasumi's
debut video were doing so well, they could afford that... for a little
while, at least.

"Well, I have to admit, Ranma-chan, you're not exactly the fiancé we were
expecting.  Sorry about that.  Daddy must have gotten confused.  How long do
you think you'll be staying?"

"No idea."  Ranma muttered.  She wondered if she should say something about
the fiancé thing, but she was too embarrassed about it to bring it up.  She
supposed she should just be grateful that this Soun Tendou didn't have any
sons.  They might try to go ahead with the engagement regardless in that
case.  Brrrr!

The girls were not blind to the cute blue-eyed girl's awkwardness.

"Hi, I'm Akane.  Sorry about before."  The so-named girl bowed slightly,
smiling.  "You do martial arts right?"

"Um... A little."  The redhead smiled shyly.

"Want to go spar for a bit?  We have a dojo out back."

"Uh... sure... I guess."   Ranma's smile grew a bit, and Akane felt
gratified to see her coming out of her shy funk.

The two girls rose and left the living room.  Akane waved the redhead ahead
of her, though it might have had less to do with good manners and more with
the opportunity it gave Akane to run her eyes over the girl's shapely
behind.

This did not escape Nabiki's notice.  'Oh shit.  I don't believe this!
Akane's hot for that girl!'  The middle Tendou daughter thought to herself.
This was something she'd hoped wouldn't happen.  She'd turned her sister
into a lesbian!

Maybe she was overreacting, jumping to conclusions.  Or maybe she was right,
and this sort of thing was merely unavoidable.  She'd hoped that when the
day came that the sisters could afford to stop making videos, all three of
them would be able to get on with their normal lives; get married, have
kids, etc.  Now it seemed she'd ruined her younger sister's chances in that
regard.  Damn!

Still, it was hard to really blame Akane.  That redheaded girl was gorgeous,
with a fit, trim body that cried out to be held, and those breasts?  They
looked only slightly smaller than Kasumi's, and considering that Ranma was
at least a foot shorter, they really stood out.

Nabiki smacked herself in the forehead for her thoughts.  She decided that
next time she was online, she'd check out some of those gay sites to confirm
that she was still sexually attracted to men.  Maybe she should print off a
couple pictures, just so she could show them to Akane and ask her the same
question.

'Why me?'  Nabiki mentally groaned.  'Like I don't have enough things to
worry about!'
 
 

Nabiki had followed after the pair of girls who went out to the dojo.  She
was treated to a rare display of martial arts skill.  Ranma-chan far
outstripped Akane in terms of speed, skill and agility, and had the redhead
been of a mind to do Akane some harm, there was no doubt in Nabiki's mind
that Akane would be laid out on the floor right now.

Akane had been surprised, but had laughed it off with a ready smile.  Nabiki
cynically wondered if Akane would have taken her loss so graciously had her
opponent not been such a babe.  The redhead didn't seem to notice anything
untoward about Akane's friendliness, but to Nabiki, her younger sister's
attraction to Ranma-chan was blatantly obvious.

Trouble ahead.

They all came inside, and Ranma-chan picked up her pack and followed Kasumi
upstairs as she showed their guest her room.

Nabiki wondered where the panda had gotten off to.  It wasn't the sort of
animal she felt comfortable letting run around unsupervised.  She looked
around the house for it, but didn't find it.  A pity she never thought to
look in the bath, but she had made the mistaken (yet quite understandable)
assumption that the panda wasn't intelligent enough to open doors.  At any
rate, she was checking upstairs and caught the tail end of the conversation
wherein Kasumi convinced Ranma-chan to go take a bath.

After the redhead had passed Nabiki down the stairs, Kasumi walked up to her
sister.

"Nabiki-chan, would you go tell Akane she can take her bath now?"

Nabiki blinked.  "At the same time as Ranma-chan?"

"Why not?"

"Why not indeed."  Nabiki murmured.  'Why not give Akane a chance to ogle
Ranma-chan's naked body so she can get firmly stuck on her, therefor making
it much harder for me to get the girl and her panda to leave?'  No, Nabiki
would have to do something to avoid that.

She came downstairs and found Akane back in the dojo doing some cool-down
stretches.

"Hey, Akane?  I'm going to take my bath now.  You can go after me in
about... 20 minutes.  That alright?"

"Sure.  No problem."  Akane said, unsuspecting.  "I was going to go in a
minute, but I don't mind waiting... unless you'd like some... company?"  She
smirked at her older sister.

Nabiki shook a scolding finger at her.  "The house is not exactly empty at
the moment, Akane-chan.  Mind what you say.  Why don't you try and find out
where that panda went instead.  It seems to have wandered off somewhere.  We
wouldn't want it eating Kasumi's flowers or something."

Akane sighed.  "Fine."

Nabiki nodded and headed for the bath.  She didn't really need one now, but
she had a cover story to keep up.

Besides, taking a bath with their cute guest wasn't the most horrible thing
she could imagine.
 
 

Ranma-chan entered the changeroom, passing a very human Genma Saotome on his
way out.

"My turn, I guess."  Ranma-chan muttered.  "You wanna go and warn them about
me before they freak out?"

"Well... I can certainly *try*."  Genma smirked wryly.

"Gee thanks."  Ranma-chan growled at her departing father.  She sighed and
began to strip down...
 
 

Nabiki passed through the living room, spotting her father deep in
conversation with a strange man she'd never seen before.  Kasumi had no idea
who he was either, but she was dutifully preparing tea for the men
nonetheless.  Nabiki shook her head at the new mystery and headed for the
bath.

As she suspected, Ranma-chan's clothes were in the basket.  Nabiki fought
down the urge to grin as she stripped off her own.  She'd been worried about
Akane getting to attached to the beautiful redhead, but perhaps she should
guard her own feelings more closely as well.

Oh well, no harm in just looking, right?

Picking up a small towel, Nabiki smiled and opened the door to the bath.

The smile froze on her face as she noted the healthy-looking young man just
now stepping out of the bath, facing towards her, with one leg raised to
step over the side, no less.  Had she been behind a camera, Nabiki would
have considered that a perfect shot.  His presently limp masculine
endowments were hanging out in plain sight.

A tense moment later, it occurred to Nabiki that the strange boy wasn't the
only person on display here.  The little towel she carried in one hand was
only meant to rest on her forehead to absorb sweat as she took a long soak
in the hot bathwater.  Held the way it presently was, it barely covered her
pubic area.  All else was completely vulnerable to his eyes.

After a long, awkward pause, the sight of his manhood beginning to stir
snapped Nabiki out of her trance.  She stepped back and quietly closed the
door behind her, leaning her back against it as she gathered her thoughts.

Okay, so he was hot.  That didn't mean she should have just stood there with
her goodies on display so he could take a good long look himself!  What was
wrong with her?  And what the hell was this guy doing in their bath anyway!
She felt slightly violated that he had seen as much of her as he had, but
that confused her even more.  Didn't she regularly allow hundreds of men to
see her in far more compromising positions than that?  Why did this bother
her?

Well, there was the fact that she went into those videos with full knowledge
of being on display.  This little encounter had sort of startled her.  Then
there was the fact that she felt far more vulnerable being naked right in
front of a guy who was physically there, as opposed to guys separated by a
camera, VCR, several kilometres and several days from the actual event.  She
was in no danger of being raped doing the videos (a little rough play with
Akane notwithstanding).

There was one more thing that bothered her about this.  What was it exactly?
  Oh yes!  The boy in the bath had gotten a free show.

Nabiki knocked on the thin door separating them.

"Uh... yeah?"

"Hear this, asshole.  Nobody gets to look at me in the nude for free.
You're going to pay for this later, whoever you are.  The price is 3000¥.
Payment due before you leave."  She said coldly, before finally getting
dressed and leaving.

She could have easily charged more, but she couldn't forget that she'd
gotten quite a good look herself, and he was pretty hot, as a matter of
fact.  That made her feel a bit better, as it confirmed in her own mind that
she was without a doubt still attracted to men.

One last thought tickled her brain, almost lost amid her confusion over this
odd encounter: Where exactly had Ranma-chan gotten off to?
 

Ranma had been standing in the bathroom for some time, having noticed the
girl's silhouette through the frosted glass of the door, and not able to get
out and dress himself.  Hearing her parting words, he winced.  It hadn't
been his fault!  She'd walked in on him!  And why should he owe her money if
she'd gotten just as good a look at him too, better even!

If he'd thought quickly enough, he probably could have said as much to her,
but she was already gone.  Sighing, he left the bathroom proper and changed
back into his clothes.  He'd worry about this later.  First he had to go and
explain his curse to everybody; a task he was definitely not looking forward
to, especially given this most recent development.

Why couldn't something go right for a change?
 
 

"Akane, there's some pervert boy in the bathroom.  Do you think you could
beat the crap out of him for me?"  Nabiki sighed wearily.

Akane blinked.  This wasn't the sort of request she got every day.  "A
pervert... in *our* bathroom?"

"That's what I said.  He was waiting there for me in the buff, and he got to
see a free show from me as well."  Nabiki scowled.

Akane shrugged and stood.  "Well, alright.  How'd the asshole sneak in
anyway?"

"Akane, please watch your language."  Kasumi reminded gently.

"No idea, Akane, but he's there now."  Nabiki answered.  "Give him a bit
longer to get his pants on, then go let him have it."

"Right."

"Um... if you could hold off on that for a minute..."  The strange man
wearing a headscarf sighed.  "There's a very reasonable explanation for all
this."

Nabiki gave the man sitting beside her father a cold glance.  "Oh?  You have
something to do with this peeper?"

"Er... yes.  He's not a peeper.  He's my son."  The man winced.

"He saw Oneechan naked.  That makes him a peeper, no matter whose son he
is."  Akane said firmly.  "Excuse me while I go pound some manners into
him."

"Oh my..."  Kasumi fretted.

"Akane, wait a moment."  Their father said.

"Why?"

"Well... it's kind of hard to explain..." Soun hedged.

"We can have a demonstration if you cool your heels for a minute."  The man
in the headscarf said.

Further debate over whether or not Akane should go pervert bashing was
interrupted by the arrival of the alleged pervert.

"Um... excuse me..."

Akane turned to see a boy about her own age wearing clothes just like
Ranma-chan's.  He stood meekly in the doorway.

Akane cracked her knuckles.  "This the guy, Oneechan?"

"Yup.  Once you're done, check him for a wallet.  He owes me 3000¥ in
viewing fees too."  Nabiki smirked.

"I ain't got it.  Pop has all our money."  The boy scowled.

"Excuse me, but just who are you?"  Kasumi asked as politely as possible.

"I'm... Ranma Saotome.  Sorry about this."  The boy muttered, hanging his
head in shame.

All three girls blinked, simultaneously.
 
 

That audacious claim made by this *boy* to the cute redhead's name put
everyone off balance long enough to get an explanation in.  Genma Saotome
proceeded to demonstrate that the girl and the boy were one in the same, by
throwing said boy into the koi pond.  What emerged was a rather irritated
and busty redhead, who then grabbed a bucket and showed Nabiki where the
panda had ended up.  The redheaded girl and the panda then proceeded to vent
their frustrations on each other, and only the arrival of a boiling hot
kettle managed to interrupt them.

The panda became Genma Saotome once more, but the redheaded Ranma-chan
dodged the painful stream of water and retained her girlish figure.

Soun ignored the 'girl's' protest at nearly being scalded, and put an arm
around her shoulder, turning her to face the stunned Tendou girls.

"Ha ha ha!  Well, your problem's not so bad after all.  This is my oldest
daughter Kasumi, age 19; my middle daughter Nabiki, age 17; and my youngest
daughter Akane, age 16.  Pick any one you want, and she will be your wife!"
He said grandly, pointing out each of his lovely daughters in turn.

"Wait a minute!  You want me to pick who I marry right now?  I hardly know
any of them!"  Ranma-chan protested.

"Well, you can start now."  Soun chuckled easily.  "So which one is it,
son?"

The daughters of Soun Tendou were mixed in their reactions, though each
chose to remain silent for the moment.

Akane glared at the boy who, apparently, had used his strange curse to peep
on her older sister.  She also felt slightly betrayed that the cute girl
she'd met an hour ago turned out to be this pervert in disguise.  If he
thought he wanted her, she would be more than happy to change his mind for
him by way of her Fists of Death!  Her eyes clearly sent her message to the
nervous redhead.

Nabiki, for her part, was starting to reconsider the benefits of having this
boy stay with him.  Sure, it would cause some financial problems, but those
could be worked around somehow, she was certain.  She had been attracted to
the girl, then the boy, and here he turned out to be all in one hot package!
  Of course, he would have to be put in his place right off; Nabiki wasn't
about to let him think that just because he had seen her naked that he would
be calling the shots in their relationship.  For that same reason, she was
sure that he would choose her.  After all, he'd seen how hot she was under
her clothes.  He'd certainly want a better look, and maybe a touch or two.
She could string him along easily, and then he'd do whatever she wanted.
For starters, she could make him get a part-time job, to offset the costs of
feeding him and his father.  Nabiki continued eyeing the boy-turned-girl
with a confidant smirk as the redhead twiddled her fingers awkwardly.

Kasumi was a little surprised at the way things had turned out with this
fiancé business.  Poor Ranma-chan... er... Ranma-kun, must have had a very
hard time, what with being cursed like he was.   She hoped that whichever of
her younger sisters he picked, she would make him happy, and ease some of
the burden Kasumi could clearly see he carried on his only 16-year-old
shoulders.  She smiled reassuringly at the shy boy in the girl's body.

Ranma-chan looked from one girl to the other, taking in their expressions.
This didn't look good.  Why did she have to make a choice like this?  She'd
only known them for an hour at most, and she was supposed to choose which
one would make her the best wife?  She glanced at her father, then
Tendou-san, both of whom were staring at her with serious looks.  Everybody
was quietly waiting for her answer.  Man... talk about pressure!

"I choose... um... Kasumi."  She mumbled.

All three daughters looked utterly shocked, for various reasons.

Both Akane and Nabiki had been sure he would pick them, though their
reasoning was as different as their desires.

Akane knew all the stupid boys liked her.  That was the way things went at
school, after all.  She hadn't *wanted* him to pick her, but she'd expected
it.  What the heck was with this guy?  Was she going to have to protect her
sweet older sister from this pervert?

Nabiki's reasons were a little more narcissistic.  Wasn't she the best catch
of the family?  Wasn't she smart, beautiful and intelligent?  Why wouldn't
he pick her?  He'd even seen her naked and he still wasn't interested?  What
the hell was happening here!

Kasumi, in her complete absence of self-centered thinking, had been certain
the Ranma would pick either Akane or Nabiki.  Wasn't she too old for him?

Ranma-chan took in their stunned expressions, and hung her head.  "No go,
huh?  Oh well."

Kasumi blinked, even as her cheeks turned pink.  Did Ranma think she was
rejecting him?

"I... I haven't said I'd be unwilling... Ranma-kun... but... would you mind
if I asked you why you chose me?"  Kasumi said meekly.

Ranma-chan nodded.  "Well... like I said, I hardly know any of you, so it
ain't fair to make me choose right now, but... you're the only one who's
been nice to me..." she glanced at Akane, "consistently, at least."

Akane bridled at the implied accusation.  "Well ex-CUSE me for getting a
little upset that you lied about being a girl, and for peeping at my
sister!"

"I didn't lie, or at least I didn't mean to."  Ranma-chan snapped back, "and
I didn't peep at Nabiki either!  She walked in on me!  Plus she had that
towel in front of her waist!  I didn't!  If anybody owes any money, then
she's the one who owes me!"

"It's different when a boy looks at a girl!"  Akane growled, getting to her
feet.

"How?"  Ranma-chan asked simply.

Akane's face twisted in frustrated confusion.  "It... It just IS!"

Nabiki snorted.  "Forget it, Akane.  Not even I'd buy an argument like
that."  She turned her level gaze to the redhead.  "Fine, Ranma-kun.  I'll
wave your fee, but you still owe me a favour."  'You've got some nerve
passing me up, buddy, especially after seeing all I've got to offer!  You
think you're too good for me, you weird little transsexual?'  She thought
testily.

Ranma-chan looked at the girl warily.  That still didn't sound quite right,
but it was probably the best she'd get.  "Fine."

Soun walked up to his oldest daughter and put a fatherly arm around her
shoulder.  "Congratulations, Kasumi-chan!  You've found yourself a fine
young man!"

"Oh my..." Kasumi blinked, her face still red.  "I... suppose so."

"You better not even think of trying to take advantage of my older sister,
Saotome!"  Akane growled at the redhead.

"Geez!  I'd never do nothin' like that!"  Ranma-chan protested, though
admittedly, she wasn't completely sure what Akane was referring to.  She
just objected on principle.

"Oh my..."  Kasumi fretted.  This sounded like it was going to get
complicated.  Nabiki looked... like she was trying very hard not to look
jealous, and Akane was just angry about the whole situation.  As the lady of
the house, Kasumi had to fix this somehow.

"Father, just a moment."  She said softly, yet firmly.

"Eh?"  Soun felt the tone of her voice subtly break his celebratory mood.
She hadn't sounded angry, harsh, rude or anything of the sort.  Someday,
he'd have to figure out how she did that.  Surely, her dearly departed
mother hadn't had time to teach her how.  They were the only two women in
the world who Soun knew had mastered this strange 'knock-it-off-right-now...
Dear' technique.

Kasumi assumed a thoughtful expression.  "I believe when you told us about
this a little while ago, you said: 'the choice of which of you should best
fit Ranma-kun, I leave to you and he'.  Did I get that right, Father?"

Soun looked uncomfortable.  "Er... I suppose I might have said something to
that effect, yes."

"And yet it doesn't seem as though you meant it.  I mean, you never once
asked any of us if we might want to marry Ranma-kun, and though you told him
he had the choice, you didn't really give him time to choose, did you?  You
forced him to make a decision right this minute."  Kasumi said sweetly, her
tone and expression much kinder than her words.

Soun looked distressed, which is one way of saying that tears were gathering
in the corners of his eyes and just waiting for an excuse to burst forth
like a broken fire hydrant.  "Kasumi... are you... are you rejecting this
marriage?"

Kasumi hesitated only long enough to see Ranma-chan's head fall, sensing
imminent rejection.  "No Father, most certainly not.  I'm just concerned
that you may not be following through on your promise.  You said the choice
would be left to us four, and not made or pushed by either you or Mr.
Saotome.  At the same time, you have said that the honor of both our
families rides on Ranma marrying one of us, so one of us will certainly have
to marry him then."

"So what's the problem?"  Genma grunted.

"My problem is the same problem Ranma-kun mentioned.  We've only just met.
He thinks more time should be taken before we all decide who he should
marry.  That was what he chose; to take more time before rushing into a
marriage without knowing anything about the person; that this is far too
important a decision to base only on first impressions.  I feel the same
way, and I'm sure my sisters would agree."  Kasumi said, and Akane and
Nabiki nodded.

"So... you're not rejecting my son as a perspective husband?"  Genma asked,
trying to keep up.

Kasumi looked startled.  "Oh my, no!  That would hardly be fair of me
either, and it would certainly be very rude.  I don't know Ranma-kun well
enough to say that I wouldn't want to marry him.  For all I know, he may be
everything I'm looking for in a man.  He might be kind, gentle, sweet,
patient, and honorable, but I haven't had anywhere near the amount of time
I'd need to learn these things about him, and I would much rather know these
things before my wedding than after.  Does that sound fair to you, Father,
Mr. Saotome?"  She asked sweetly.  She'd seen Ranma-chan lift her head as
she sung 'his' potential praises.  She smiled at Kasumi now, shyly.  Kasumi
smiled back; one fragile ego repaired.

"Well... I suppose so, but how long do you think we'll have to wait?"  Soun
asked hesitantly, wilting slightly under the power of Kasumi's sweet smile.

Genma, being a little wiser, was not looking Kasumi directly in the eye.
"Yes.  Soun and I are quite eager to see our families joined and the future
of our respective schools assured."

Kasumi put a finger to her lip in thought.  "It takes quite some time to put
together a proper wedding, and we shouldn't even begin until this question
is answered.  I suppose we could have the wedding in... one year.  That
should give us all a little time to get to know one another before we have
to decide what size the wedding gown should be.  Would that be alright with
the two of you, Father, Mr. Saotome?"

Genma and Soun looked at each other.

"Seems a bit long..."  Genma said.

"Mmm."  Soun agreed.

Nabiki, though very impressed with her sister's work thus far, decided she
could use a hand.  "For a marriage of this significance, seeing as it's not
only the joining of two people, but of two clans and two school of Martial
Arts, the wedding ought to be pretty memorable.  I'd say it'd take us at
least six months to throw together something like that, maybe more.  That's
simply how long planning the wedding will probably take, Father, and there's
no way to speed it up.  That means it'll only be a six month wait (probably
less) until we can finalize the engagement to one particular girl.  Then you
can throw the engagement party and drink yourselves stupid.  Sound good?"
She asked wryly.

Soun and Genma again looked at each other.  "I guess that's good enough."
"Yes, that would be acceptable to me."

Akane smacked the table loudly with her hands as she jumped up angrily.
"NEITHER OF YOU TWO CLOWNS ARE THE ONES GETTING MARRIED!"  She thundered.

Soun winced.  "Well, of course not.  I'm the Father of the Bride.  It's much
tougher on me.  All one of you girls have to do is walk down the aisle and
kiss him."

Akane stared numbly into her father's eyes, and glanced beside him to see
the equally clueless look in Genma's eyes.  "I give up."  She muttered as
she rose and left the table.

"Akane, please try to speak a little more respectfully to our Father in the
future."  Kasumi said softly.

"Any other day, Oneechan, and I'd agree with you, but today is the day Daddy
tried to engage me to a guy who'd look better in the wedding dress than I
would."  Akane muttered darkly.

"HEY!"  Ranma-chan cried.

***

It had only been three days since the Saotomes had arrived, and already
Nabiki knew she was in trouble.

That first night, at dinner, the Tendous had all watched in shock (and
Nabiki in horror) as the Saotomes vacuumed up more food than all four
Tendous combined!  It seemed impossible for a human being to put away that
much food!  It wasn't until she saw them training the next morning that it
started to make sense.  Ranma and Genma had fought with each other
vigorously for a solid hour, not stopping even once to catch their breath
(unless one counted the few moments time they required to pick themselves
out of the koi pond... repeatedly).  All told, Nabiki estimated that they'd
both remained in near-constant motion for 55 minutes out of the hour.  Such
rigorous activity must consume a ridiculous amount of calories.

When they finally finished, they plopped themselves down and inhaled another
mountain of food that the Tendou sisters had earned with their own sweat
(and other fluids).

This threw all Nabiki's calculations about how long their money would last
out the window.  Instead of adding 50% to their food expenses, the Saotomes'
presence was more than doubling the cost of their grocery bills.

Something needed to be done, immediately!

First and foremost she needed to assess the sort of people she was now
living with; just how flexible were their morals when it came to making
money?

A few idle questions to Ranma about how they'd managed to eat during their
long training journey told her that she had some room to maneuver, ethically
speaking.  It seemed that Genma was of a mind that morality was all well and
good... after you filled your stomach.  His son hadn't been in the habit
turning down food acquired by questionable means either.

The first step was Genma, the one old enough to get a real job.  She
discreetly pulled him into her room on Day Three AAFP (After Arrival of the
Food Pits).

"What can I do for you, Nabiki-chan?"  Genma said easily.  He was in a good
mood.  After years of their difficult journey, he could finally relax, play
Shogi, and eat to his heart's content.  Nabiki wasn't long in draining his
enthusiasm.

"Well, Mr. Saotome, I'm afraid we have a rather large problem."

"Oh?"

Nabiki nodded.  "I don't know if you'd noticed, but this dojo doesn't
actually teach classes."

Genma frowned and rubbed his chin.  "I was wondering about that."

"You see, after our mother died, Father couldn't make himself teach any
more.  That was ten years ago.  I've had to take odd jobs, pull a few scams
at school, basically do anything I could in order to keep myself and my
family fed.  You understand what that's like, don't you?"

Genma cleared his throat nervously.  Obviously, there were a number of
things he'd done in the past that he didn't feel like mentioning.  "I
suppose I might."

Nabiki smirked.  "Yes, well... here's the thing: I've only barely been able
to keep food on the table for just the four of us before now.  With you and
your son here, there's more mouths to feed than I can handle, especially
with the way you two eat.  Daddy would never approve of me asking guests to
help out financially, but I'm afraid someone in my position has to be more
practical than polite."

Genma looked very uncomfortable.  "What exactly are you asking?  I don't
really have an income myself."

Nabiki had known that very well.  "The way things are going now, not only
will we never be able to save up enough money for the wedding, but we'll all
be eating toothpaste for dinner in a month."  Actually, with the way their
guests ate, it would probably be a lot sooner than that, but Nabiki didn't
want to admit to him just how badly off her family was.

Genma wilted.  The meals he'd eaten here were *heavenly* after the meager
repasts he'd been forced to put up with on his journey.  Kasumi was a
marvelous cook, but even she couldn't do much with no ingredients.

"I... see.  What can I do?"  He sighed.

Nabiki smiled.  She'd managed to convince him that if he wanted to keep
eating, some effort on his part was required.  "The way I see it, you have
two options.  One: reopen the dojo.  You can do that either by convincing
Daddy to teach again (something we haven't been successful at for the last
ten years) or by teaching the classes yourself.  Two: you can get some other
job, but it would have to be full-time; something that can bring in a fair
bit of money."

Genma hung his head.  "I haven't had a real job in 15 years!"

Nabiki rolled her eyes.  From the way Genma lazed about her house, she
believed it.  "Then I'd go with reopening the dojo.  Try to see if you can
get Daddy involved at some level.  Sitting around all day isn't good for
him.  You're one of his oldest friends.  Maybe you can think of some way to
reawaken his youthful pride in himself."

"I'll try."  Genma muttered.  He wasn't looking forward to working, even at
something he loved as much as martial arts.  Training his son was one thing,
but running a dojo was actually a *job*!  It was the concept as much as
anything that he disapproved of.  Still, it was that or starve, not to
mention he needed money to see his son married.

That thought brightened him a bit.  Once Ranma was married, the dojo became
his inheritance.  He could make the boy do the work of running it then, and
take the early retirement (retirement from what, another person might have
wondered) that he'd been dreaming of when he since he first decided it was
time to bring Ranma here.

With a determined nod, Genma stood and left Nabiki's room.

"One more thing, Mr. Saotome."  Nabiki prodded.

He turned expectantly.

"I'm going to keep up my... somewhat questionable activities in the
meantime, so that we don't starve while you're working to make our dojo into
the huge success it was years ago.  I may have to ask you to vacate the
house now and then, and take Daddy with you.  If you stuck around, I'd have
to get you involved."  'As if!' Nabiki thought.  "Which I doubt you'd like.
You strike me as the kind of man who doesn't mind too much looking the other
way if it keeps him out of trouble.  Can I count on you to keep Daddy
distracted while I secretly earn food for you to eat?"  Best to reinforce
what mattered most to him, Nabiki thought.

Genma nodded solemnly.

"Good.  Thank you for your cooperation."

The middle Tendou daughter smiled to herself as the elder Saotome left her
room.

One down.

***

"Hey Ranma-kun, can I talk to you for a minute?"  Nabiki asked as she
approached him in their backyard.

Ranma stopped punching the rope-wrapped board and nodded.  "Sure."

Nabiki innocently held her arms behind her back, leaning forward in a cute
pose that had the added benefit of showing off a bit of her cleavage through
her loose top.

Ranma's eyes slid down from her face.  He swallowed, then anxiously jerked
his gaze back to her mischievous brown eyes.

Nabiki smirked internally, savoring a private victory.  'Okay Nabs, enough
fooling around!  Down to business.'  She briefly scolded herself.  "You like
my sister's cooking, don't you?"

Ranma gave his head a brief shake to clear it, the nodded enthusiastically.
"Oh yeah!  It's way better than the crap we'd have to eat when me an' Pop
were running around the woods.  Half the time we didn't even have rice, an'
catching rabbits was a pain."

Nabiki's face fell.  "I see.  That's too bad then."

Ranma blinked.  "Huh?  What do you mean?"

Nabiki looked away.  "I don't really like to admit this, Ranma-kun, but we
Tendous are actually pretty poor."

Ranma frowned and looked around.  "Really?  You've got a pretty nice house
for poor folks."

Nabiki nodded. "And we'd sort of like to keep it.  It's been in the family
for generations, along with the dojo.  The problem is, we don't run classes
any more, so we don't have a real income.  I have to work pretty hard at...
odd jobs just to keep enough food on the table.  We barely scrape by.  Now
that you and your father are here though, we can't manage any more.
Kasumi's going to have to start serving meals of just rice pretty soon, and
not much rice either.  In two or three weeks, you'll be lucky to get one
half-full bowl for breakfast and dinner."

Ranma looked worried.  That was good, Nabiki thought.  "What about lunch?"

Nabiki laughed without humor.  "Lunch?  Lunch is going to be a forgotten
memory in less than a week.  We won't be able to afford it.  We desperately
need money!"

Ranma looked very unhappy to hear that, but his face quickly took on a look
of fierce determination.  "What can I do to help?"

Nabiki blinked.  That had been easy.  She began reevaluating her opinion of
the boy.  He seemed to be a measure more responsible than his father.  There
was none of the reluctance in his expression that she had seen on his
father's

"Well... the thing is, I really shouldn't be telling you any of this.
Daddy'd be mad at me if he knew.  You two are guests here, and so as your
hosts, we're obligated to provide for you.  The fact that we can't would be
a great loss of face to our family.  At the same time, as our guest, it's
possible you might feel obligated to help out here, especially if you're
going to be staying a long time.  But if you did, it would embarrass Daddy
that he needed your help.  He would never ask you, no matter how bad things
were.  He's real traditional that way."

Nabiki winked at the serious-faced boy.  "Me though, I'm more practical than
traditional.  I'm the one who takes care of the family's money.  I couldn't
ask you to get a part-time job without embarrassing Daddy, but if you were
to do so of your own accord, and maybe slip the lion's share of your
paycheck under my door each week, then we can all go on enjoying Oneechan's
great cooking... hopefully."

Ranma chewed his lip for a minute in thought.  Nabiki fought down the urge
to sigh.  One could almost hear the squeak of rusty, rarely used gears
turning slowly in the boy's head.

Eventually, Ranma smiled at her.  "You know Nabiki, I was just thinking; now
that I'm sorta settling down in one place, not living out of a tent no more
and such, maybe I should find me some kinda part-time job so I can have a
little spending money.  Whatcha think?"

Nabiki grinned.  Okay, so he wasn't the fastest thinker around, but at least
his brain worked well, if not quickly.  "I think that sounds like a great
idea, Ranma-kun."

"Thought you might.  Anyway, I got no idea how to go about getting a job
around here.  I ain't really had to work before.  We always managed to get
by with what we could hunt or ste- um... find."  He winced.  "So, you got
any thoughts on that?"

Nabiki cocked her head.  "I might have a few.  Some businesses around here
will hire teenagers to do part-time work after school, even if it's not
really allowed.  I could help you look for a place like that.  It won't be
fun work, but it'll put food on the table... or should I say money on your
pocket, since spending money is your reason for getting the job, right?"
She winked at him.

He smirked back.  "Right."

"Another thought I had, is that you could help your father reopen this dojo,
teach classes, and so forth.  I don't think you're really needed there,
though.  If he pulls it off, a lot of the students are going to be older
than you, so it might be awkward trying to teach them.  Better to let him do
it."

Ranma sighed.  "Guess so."

Nabiki looked away and bit her lip.  Did she dare try and pull this off?
Was she being reckless in asking?  Just the tiniest miscalculation and
asking Ranma this could wreck everything!  Did she dare?

She took a deep breath.  Looks like she did.

"I had one more thought, Ranma-kun.  My sisters and I have sort of a...
secret project.  It's something we do now and then to raise a lot of money
in a hurry if we're having a bad month.  If you wanted to... to help us with
that, we could probably make a lot more than usually.  The thing is... it's
kind of a... private project, so you could never tell anyone about it, even
if you decided not to help once you found out what it was.  If it got out
what we're doing... well, it's possible it might embarrass our family a lot
worse than just having houseguests pay half our bills."

Ranma gave her a suspicious look.  "It ain't nothing illegal, is it?"

Nabiki thought about how to answer that.  "Not quite as illegal as
stealing."

He frowned at her.  "I think you're gonna have to explain that a little
better."

Nabiki sighed.  She had to lead into this gradually so as not to shock him.
"Well... we produce a product that we then sell.  There are other products
similar to ours that are perfectly legal, but we make ours a little less
than legal so that we can sell it for a lot more money."

Ranma's frown grew.  "You growin' drugs under the house or something?"

Nabiki's eyes widened.  "No!  Nothing like that!  Um... how can I explain
without telling you straight out...  How about this; if we got caught at it,
nobody would end up going to jail for it.  There'd be an expensive fine, and
that's it.  It's not such a big deal really, except with money as tight as
it is, we'd never be able to pay the fine if we did get caught.  That's why
I need you to promise to keep it a secret."

Ranma nodded slowly, trying to absorb all that.  "What you're doin' don't
hurt nobody, does it?"

Nabiki shook her head.  "Not at all.  Look, you know how nice and proper
Kasumi is, right?  She's involved in it too, and even *she* doesn't think
there's any harm in it.  If there was, she'd never let Akane and me get away
with it."

Ranma nodded more readily this time.  Having Kasumi's vote of confidence in
this 'secret project' counted for a lot.  He didn't know her too well yet,
but already he couldn't imagine her getting involved in anything shady.

"Okay, I guess that's alright then.  So, if I helped you with this...
project, what would I have to do?"

Nabiki thought about that.  She wasn't sure he was quite reeled in yet.
Better to tread cautiously, step by step, until she knew he wasn't going to
betray them.  "Well, for one thing, I think you'd have to do most of it in
your girl form, at the beginning, at least."

"WHAT!"

Nabiki was unprepared for the vehemence of his reaction.  She hadn't even
told him what he'd be *doing* yet!  Then again, she smirked internally, he
was a guy; he should like that part of it.

"I ain't spending no more time in my girl body than I gotta!  I'm a guy,
dammit!"  He yelled.

Nabiki glanced towards the house.  Kasumi poked her head out the living room
door, wondering what the commotion was all about.  Nabiki waved that
everything was fine, then took Ranma by the arm and pulled him around to the
far side of the dojo.  "Don't raise your voice, Ranma-kun.  Remember what I
said about how this could totally ruin my family's reputation?"

Ranma scowled.  The fact that she'd previously used much softer words
slipped by him.  His mind was fully occupied with another subject entirely.
"Look, I don't wanna be a girl, alright?"

Nabiki sighed.  How to get around this kind of hang up?  "What if, while you
were in your female form, you were doing something much more manly, macho
even?"

Ranma looked confused.  "Wouldn't that seem kinda weird?"

Nabiki's mouth quirked in a wry smirk.  "You'd think so, but that's actually
what our customers are looking to buy."

Ranma's confusion was increasing exponentially.  "They wanna buy girls who
act like guys?  Wait a minute!  You can't sell me, or your sisters or
yourself.  What exactly is it you're selling anyway?"

"Videotapes."  Nabiki said flatly, wondering if that would be the final clue
that helped him piece it all together.

Judging from the confused frown that still marred his handsome features,
apparently not.  "Videotapes... of girls acting like guys?  That's weird!
Who'd wanna buy that?"

Nabiki cocked her head in thought.  "They're not so much acting like guys,
as doing to each other what guys would like to do to them."

Nabiki watched his face carefully.  Surely, now he'd get it.

He didn't (and don't call me Shirley :P).

"Girls... doing to other girls... what guys want to do to girls..." There
was no light coming on upstairs for Ranma.

Nabiki rubbed the bridge of her nose wearily.  This was getting sad.
"Ranma-kun, haven't you ever seen any pornography?"

"Any what?"

Nabiki facefaulted.  "You're kidding me!"

"I don't know what you're talking about."  Ranma insisted.

"Growing up on the road sure has left you bereft of the finer things in
life, hasn't it?"

"Ber-what?"

"Do you at least know what SEX is?"

Ranma's face turned red.  "Um... yeah... at least I think I do."

"You *think*?"

"That's where kids come from, right?"  Ranma muttered.

"That's the 3rd-grade answer."  Nabiki shook her head tiredly.  "By your age
you should have a better idea of the details.  At least there's no need to
ask if you're a virgin."

"Hey!"

"Oh, so you actually know what a virgin is?"  Nabiki asked, raising an
eyebrow.

Ranma opened his mouth to answer... but stopped when he realized he didn't.
It was a word he'd heard sometimes when he'd gone to all-boys schools.  He
didn't really have a clear idea of what one was, just that other guys
usually made fun of you if you were.  He hung his head in red-faced
embarrassment.

Nabiki sighed and took pity on him.  "Look, there's nothing really
embarrassing about a guy your age not having had sex yet; being a virgin.
I'm kind of surprised at how little you *know* about sex, but not that you
haven't done it.  Don't feel to bad about it."

Ranma sat down on the grass, leaning back against one of the raised dojo's
supports, and sulked.

Nabiki sat herself down in front of him.  "I guess I may as well start
teaching you the things you need to know.  We *certainly* can't have you
getting married not knowing them!  I really don't know what's going through
your father's head."

Ranma said nothing, continuing to look away with a scowl on his face.

She raised an eyebrow.  "Are you listening to me, Ranma-kun?  I'm willing to
help you out so you don't embarrass yourself in front of other people with
how much you don't know, but if you're just going to pout like a little kid
I won't bother.  I'm trying to be nice here."

Ranma sighed and turned his head to face her.  "Fine.  So teach me all about
sex then."

Nabiki giggled.  "Boy, are you ever lucky you're not having this
conversation with Akane!  She'd have smashed you flat for that one."

"Huh?"

She grinned.  "Never mind.  Let's start with what do you know.  You know a
bit about how babies are made, right?  Do you know how two people actually
go about it?"

"I think so."  Ranma mumbled.

"Just 'I think so' isn't enough."  Nabiki said patiently.  She needed (or at
least wanted) this boy's help.  She couldn't afford to be too nice.  "Tell
me what you do know, and then I'll fill in the blanks for you."

So, hesitantly, and with a very red face, Ranma repeated back what he's
managed to remember from a health class he'd once taken in school.  His
rendition was remarkably simplistic, and he didn't seem to know the proper
names for the internal anatomy of either boys or girls.  Nabiki counted her
blessings that he didn't bring up a stork at any point.  She was trying her
best to keep a straight face here.

"... So the guy sticks his thing in the girl, an' then I think some stuff's
supposed to come out of his thing, and then she's pregnant.  Then she gets
fat and cranky and nine months later a baby comes out."

Apparently, Genma had at some point made an attempt to explain this much to
Ranma as well.  Some of that sounded like what an insensitive, fat, bald man
would have said.  Nabiki was hard pressed to decide if Genma's teachings had
been of much help to his son.

She rubbed the bridge of her nose again.  "Okay then.  You've kind of
skipped over the rather important fact that sex feels really good, assuming
you do it right.  That's the reason most people do it together.  Having kids
is just the reason married people do it, and sometimes they don't even want
to have them.  Sex is fun.  That's the key point that needs to be made here.
  That's why a lot of people like to do it, and like to watch other people
do it.

"Now pornography is either pictures, videos, or even books or short stories,
of people having sex.  There is a huge market for selling pornography,
mostly made up of men, for some reason.  Akane would say that's because all
men are perverts, but I think it's mostly a cultural thing.  Girls are
raised to be polite, and most fathers tell their daughters that sex is
dirty, or wrong, so that they don't go off and have sex before they're
married, and accidentally ending up pregnant without a husband."

Ranma was thinking.  "So... guys having sex is okay... as long as no one
gets pregnant.  You're only supposed to have kids if you're married.  Is
that right?"

Nabiki smirked at him.  "Personally, I think it's more than okay for girls
to have sex without being married first too.  After all, it's kind of hard
for a guy to have sex without a girl being involved too... unless he's gay,
of course.  It's sort of a double standard that a lot of modern girls don't
think is very fair.  If it's okay for guys to sleep around, why not girls
too?  I do agree that it's important not to have kids without being married
first though.  That's something that can cause a lot of trouble."

"So... is there a way to have sex for fun... and not accidentally get
pregnant?"

Nabiki smiled.  She could see his brain working again.  He wasn't really
stupid, just amazingly ignorant.  "A very good question.  There are things
called contraceptives, which lower the risk of getting pregnant when you
have sex.  There's a pill that girls can take that tricks the body into
thinking it's already pregnant, so they won't have kids.  It doesn't always
work though.  That pill is illegal in Japan, anyway.  There's also a more
common solution called a condom.  That's sort of like a thin rubber... bag,
I guess you'd call it, that fits tightly over a boy's penis so that the
semen (the stuff that comes out and makes the baby) doesn't escape into the
girl's body.  That works pretty well, unless it happens to break, so that's
not a perfect solution either."

"Is there a perfect solution?"  Ranma asked.

Nabiki nodded.  "There's two, although one isn't really a solution.  The
first is to not have sex in the first place.  Then no one can get pregnant.
The second is to remove one gender from the equation.  If two girls have sex
together, then no one's going to get pregnant.  Same if it's two guys,
though that's not really relevant to us here."

Ranma frowned.  "How can you have sex if it's not a girl and a guy?  Don't
you need one of each?"

Nabiki grinned.  "Not necessarily.  There's an awful lot of fun two girls
can have together, or three or four, as a matter of fact."

"But how do you..."

"Ranma-kun, until you see it for yourself, I don't think you'll understand.
Just take my word for it that two girls can have sex, and enjoy it, without
a guy around."

Ranma blinked.  "Uh... okay."

Nabiki realized that she had about exhausted the subject in general.  Now
she had to explain why it was relevant.  This was the risky part.

"What my sisters and I have been doing, Ranma, is having sex with each other
in front of a video camera.  Then we sell the video tapes to horny guys for
lots of money."

Ranma blinked.  "Okay... so, what do the guys want them for anyway?"

Nabiki was almost insulted, then she remembered that she hadn't explained
that part yet.  "They use them to masturbate."

"What's masturbate?"

Nabiki paused for a moment as she thought how to explain it.  She never
thought she'd meet a guy older than ten who didn't already know.
"Masturbating... is having sex by yourself, using your hands.  It's sort of
like tricking your body into thinking that it's having sex.  It still feels
good, but it's not quite as exciting without someone else helping you.
That's why the videos sell.  The guys who buy them take them home and
pretend that they're having sex with us, while they use their hands to
stroke their penises until they have an orgasm.  Before you ask, an orgasm
is when the white stuff comes out of the end of your penis."

Ranma blinked.  "White stuff comes out?  Not just yellow?"

Nabiki sighed.  "Yes Ranma.  The white stuff is the semen, the stuff that
makes a baby if you shoot it out inside of a girl's vagina."

Ranma nodded slowly, as if absorbing that.  "Soooo... what's this got to do
with me?"

'Here we go, finally.'  Nabiki thought.  "I was going to ask if you wanted
to have sex with me and maybe my sisters, on camera, so that we can sell the
videos of it."

Ranma frowned.  "But wouldn't someone get pregnant?  Then we'd be in
trouble."

Nabiki smiled slyly.  "Not if you're a girl at the time."

Ranma squirmed.  "Would I really have to do it as a girl?  I hate being a
girl!"

Nabiki smirked.  "I think after we show you what having sex as a girl is
like, you won't mind it so much."

Ranma's eyes widened.  "That's even worse!  I don't wanna *like* being a
girl!"

Nabiki sighed.  This hang-up of his was likely going to make things
difficult.  "Look at it this way Ranma-kun: You may not like being a girl,
but you'll definitely like having sex.  Having sex with girls is very manly.
  You want to be manly, right?"

"Well... yeah."

"However, if you have sex with us as a guy, one of us might end up pregnant,
and that means big trouble, because we're not married yet.  If you had sex
with us as a girl, there'd be no trouble.  You could be doing something
manly even when you're a girl.  I think that's pretty impressive,
personally."

Ranma's eyebrows went up.  "You think so?"

Nabiki nodded.  "Your father would probably approve, except you can't tell
him about it.  He'd probably like it even more if you were having sex with
girls as a guy, but that's just too dangerous.  This is the next best
thing."

Ranma was nodding now.  "Okay, I think I get it.  Hang on, isn't it manly
for you and your sisters to want to have sex with girls?"

Nabiki made a face.  "I guess some people might see it that way, but I
certainly don't think so.  I guess it's manly for you because you're a man.
For us it's just... I guess I don't know how to explain that.  We do it in
part to make money, but mostly it's because we love each other.  We like
making each other feel good."

"I see."

"Really?"

"Well... maybe not."  Ranma admitted.

Nabiki laughed.  "I guess that's okay.  If you *really* understood how all
of us feel, you might be a girl for real."

Ranma snorted.  "Then I *definitely* don't understand."

Nabiki smirked.  "That's fine.  So, let's recap: sex is a lot of fun!  We
can make a lot of money having sex in front of a video camera and selling
the tapes.  Do you want to have a lot of fun with us, and help us make a lot
of money at the same time?"

Ranma shrugged.  "Sure, why not."

Nabiki sighed.  "Not quite the ringing endorsement I was hoping for."

"Huh?"

"Never mind.  I haven't really discussed this with my sisters yet.  Before I
tell you that you can, I have to get their permission.  If they don't want
to let you, then it would only be you and me, or maybe not at all.  It's
possible that I've wasted my time telling you all this, but if they don't
want to, then you have to promise to keep this a secret nonetheless, okay?"

"Okay."

Nabiki smiled.  "Good.  I'm glad I can trust you.  A real man keeps his
word, after all."  She stood up and dusted the grass from her slacks.

"Hey, Nabiki?"  Ranma asked suddenly.

"Yes Ranma-kun?"

"You said it was more manly to have sex with girls if I'm a guy.  Will I
ever be able to do that?"

Nabiki cocked her head, thinking back to the time she'd seen him naked in
the bath, and the feelings that sight had aroused in her.  "Well, if you
marry one of us, then you can have sex as a guy with that one girl whenever
you like.  Once you're married, though, you're not really allowed to have
sex with any other girls."  She blushed a bit, grateful she managed not to
use herself as a personal example.  "If we decide later that we want you to
be in the videos as a guy, then you can't put your penis in anyone's vagina.
  That would risk someone getting pregnant.  There's lots of other fun
things we could do though.  We'll have to see how it goes."

Ranma nodded.  "Okay."

"We'll talk about this again later.  In the meantime, remember that all this
about us having sex, and me and my sisters having sex, is a big, big secret.
  Don't mention it to anyone, okay?"

"Got it."

She smirked.  "If this works out, you're going to be one lucky, guy,
Ranma-kun!"

He blinked at her, not understanding.

She chose not to explain it to him, and walked back to the house.

Ranma shrugged and went back to his training.
 

Inside the dojo, with its large round ear against the back wall, a panda
bear sat down again, thinking about all he'd just heard...

________________________________________________________________________________

End Chapter Three.

Seeing as how this is nearly 30 pages already, I'm going to cut it off right
here.  No sex in this part folks.  Sorry.  It took this long just to write a
plausible set-up for there to be sex in the next one, and there's still a
bit more to do first before the other Tendou sisters are willing to accept
Ranma-chan as a new playmate.

On the plus side, I now know what I'm going to do next, so hopefully it
shouldn't take too long until the next part comes out.

You know, it's kind of hard for a writer with a broad and thorough education
(relatively speaking, at least :P) to write an extraordinarily ignorant
character like Ranma.  I hope I managed to make him believable.

In the next part:
-Nabiki argues for a fourth girl joining their fun and games.
-Ranma discovers what he's unwittingly agreed to, and freaks.
-Mariko's boss comes by the Tendou dojo in a fatherly rage!
 

I found a quote that instantly made me think of Akane.  I thought I'd share
it:

"If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a
nail."
- Abraham Maslow
 

Ja na
-Ron Hino

C&C to hinoron1@hotmail.com