Based on the characters and situations so well created by Rumiko Takahashi and owned by Rumiko Takahashi, Viz Communications and others I have no doubt. Please don't sue me! Let me know what you think at john@compqna.com, and visit my webpage at http://www.compqna.com/fanfics This follows he events of my story "A Deft Touch" and will not make much sense if you are not familiar with those events. ******** ******** ******** Nabiki's Diary (Part 1) By John Morales ******** ******** ******** *Day 1* Okay, first things first. And first of all is that I don't believe in this. I know what everyone says about self-examination. I know that some huge percentage of the "successful" people is supposed to keep a journal. I really do understand all of that. The thing is, in my experience, it's best not to have documented proof of every little thing you do. The only reason I'm doing this is that my fiancé has been giving me a hard time lately about getting as much as possible out of my classes - all my classes - not just Econ and Accounting. Ranma - of all people. If not for him, why would I bother with a psych assignment that doesn't even have to be turned in? Of course, it does help to know that no one else will ever read this - AND THAT INCLUDES YOU, RANMA! So having said that, I guess I should get on to actually chronicling my thoughts... Well, most of my thoughts of late have been about college. That should be normal for a first-year college student. Come to think of it, that's probably the only "normal" thing about my life. While my classmates are living in the dorms, or their first apartment, or at least at home with their family, I've been living with my fiancé's family for the last month. Speaking of which, while others are flirting and casually dating with all these college guys, I have a fiancé. Mind you I'm not complaining - I chose my life, crazy as that sounds. I knew about the insanity that surrounds Ranma long before he became my fiancé, and when it came right down to it, I asked him to marry me, not the other way around. Do I make it sound like all the weirdness in my life is Ranma's fault? I don't mean to. It's not his fault, it just all stems from him. Ranma had a year or so of peace, and I kinda thought he had gotten past all the challenges, the fights that seem to grow from nothing, the curses - at least the new ones. He came back to Nerima for a few weeks, and it all started up again. Happosai showed up on moving day, as Ranma was helping me pack. The perv actually GROPED ME! Hmm, reading back over that, maybe I should clarify: Happosai groped me, not Ranma. (Well, at least not that day. Well, at least not -- Oh, I'll come back to that later!) I have to admit, as much as I try to keep Ranma out of trouble - I do so, I don't care what Kuno says! At least I do now. Anyway, as much as I try to keep him out of trouble, I had no problem with him fighting Happosai that afternoon. Then there was Kuno. He's going to U of T with me. He had a problem with some of his sister's drugs, though I never figured out if the problem was something he took or something he stopped taking. Anyway, he went nuts one day and started chasing this Chinese student around campus. He kept calling him a vile sorcerer, and splashing him with buckets of water. I didn't think the guy looked all that much like Ranma, personally. He wasn't even wearing clothes like Ranma, though he did have a pigtail. I guess that's what set off Kuno's drug-flashback, or whatever it was. I called Ranma and got him to show up before Kuno could finish his interminable threats. Sometimes I thank the powers that be for Kuno's long-winded style. So all of a sudden, there's Ranma, and I think Tatewaki thought he was seeing double for a while. Then he pulled out a bokken, and attacked... but it was the wrong Ranma. The poor guy didn't know what to do. He wasn't a martial artist, but all of a sudden, a world-class kendoist was attacking him. Then Ranma was there and Kuno had no more trouble with seeing double - all he could see was concrete. I don't think all the weirdness is Ranma's fault, but it does seem an odd coincidence that all this started up again after Ranma started coming back to Nerima again. Maybe that's it. Maybe this stuff only happens to Ranma in Nerima. I'll have to give that some more thought. Okay, that is waaay too much for tonight... I'll write more tomorrow. I can't believe I'm supposed to write in this thing for a month. *Day 4* Okay, so I missed a day or two. It was bound to happen. Remember what I was saying about Ranma's weirdness only happening in Nerima? Well, we can throw out that theory. All right, it was kinda weak already with the way Kuno has been acting right here in Bunkyo, but something else happened. Ryoga showed up. It should have been a good thing. Nodoka has actually been looking for both him and Mousse lately, ever since Ukyo refused to go out with Kuno, the local Sumo champ, and several other men Nodoka has tried to set her up with. So in theory, I should have been glad to see him. And maybe I would have been, if I had seen Ryoga. Ryoga... Ryoga Hibiki... is a pig! No, literally. A little black one. Ryoga is P-Chan! I can't say I ever really paid much attention to Akane's pet, but it still seems like quite a shock. Okay, from the beginning... Ranma and I were walking across the campus last night, cutting through the baseball field, which was still all lit-up from the game that had ended a short while ago. I have a late class a couple of nights a week, and Ranma usually meets me to walk me home. All of a sudden, here comes this flash of yellow and black, jumping over the fence, and screaming incoherently. Before I even realize who it is, Ranma gets between us, and slides into a defensive stance. I didn't know what was coming at us, but I knew my best bet was to stay behind Ranma. It put him in a bad spot, because he couldn't dodge and still protect me, but I also know he has a much better chance of absorbing or blocking whatever it is than I do. Besides, he gets off on being protective. I figure I take care of him in other ways - it all balances out in the end. Anyway, I'm there behind Ranma. We're both braced for whatever's coming, but it never does. It takes me a moment to realize I'm all wet. I also realize my eyes are closed and I'm holding my breath. As I relax and look around, I see the sprinklers have turned on, and the body I'm hiding behind is now smaller than I am. I look over Ranma's shoulder and see him holding a small black piglet. Ranma doesn't seem surprised by the pig. In fact, he holds the animal rather casually as he looks around the field, and I realize what he's looking for - witnesses. My boyfriend is one of the bravest people I know, but my school scares him, though he'd never admit it. He's always worried that some prof from the Physics or Bio department is going to find out about his curse, and he'll spend the rest of his life as an experiment. It makes him very cautious around the school, and he tries hard not to change anywhere nearby. In fact, he tends to avoid the campus entirely most of the time. Doesn't stop him from walking me home from class, though - and some people wonder what I see in Ranma... Finally, not having seen anyone, he lifts the pig by the collar and looks him in the eye. Something seems to pass between them, but all he says is, "C'mon. Let's get home and dry off." Now I had several questions on the tip of my tongue. 'What was that thing?' 'Where did it go?' 'Where did the pig come from?' All of these came to mind. But Ranma seemed rather preoccupied, and rather down, all of a sudden. Hitting him with a bunch of questions, and more importantly, forcing him to talk about something before he is ready, is not the way to bring Ranma out of a funk. On the way home, I notice the pig keeps looking back and forth between Ranma and me. The look on its face seems almost intelligent. Ranma noticed also. He lifted the pig to eye-level again. "Don't get ANY ideas, P-chan. If you need to share someone's room, it'll be mine. Got it?" "P-chan? Akane's P-chan? Are you sure?" I wonder out loud. "The same," he replies with a tired voice. He still seemed too somber. Best do something about that. "Well, if you were referring to my bed, you were right. I don't think I care for the idea of sharing my bed with a pig. I mean, yeah, all men are pigs, but..." I trailed off. "Hey! Who you calling a pig?" Ranma replied quickly. I turned to him and put on my best innocent expression. "Men, but not you..." I said, making a production of pointing at him, then slowly sank my finger into his large breast and finished, "Ranko!" He chased me the rest of the way home, or pretended to - he could have caught me anytime he chose to, of course. There was a time Ranma would have died of embarrassment over a joke like that, but he knows the curse doesn't bother me, and that seems to lighten his own mood about it. It didn't happen overnight. It took a few months of kissing him in both forms, holding hands, no matter how he looked, things like that. I glanced back as we ran under a street lamp, to see the sparkle of his smile. Like I said, I take care of him in my own ways. It all balances out. As we walked in the door, we were mostly dry, but not quite. Nodoka clucked her tongue as she looked us over. "Aren't you three a little old to be playing in the water? Why don't the two of you get out of those clothes and into something dry? Ranma, drop your friend in the bath." At this point I was a little confused about what she was saying. 'Three?' If I was confused then, that was nothing compared to what I felt as she walked out of the room and tossed a parting comment over her shoulder. "Ryoga, you're welcome to stay for dinner, of course. I think we still have some of your clothes from your last visit." I turned slowly to look at Ranma, and that pig. It's kind of funny to think about it now. They each had their head bowed in silent defeat. As I looked at Ranma, he slowly lifted his head and returned my look. "So, I guess you have some questions, huh?" "Do I even have to ASK?" I challenged him. To Ranma's credit, he did not make me ask, but I still can't believe what he told me. Imagine that jerk sleeping with Akane all that time? Imagine her not knowing, and Ranma not telling her. Though I have to admit, he sure tried to stop it, and all he got for his trouble was a couple of good whacks from Akane. Ryoga couldn't look me in the eye all evening. Apparently he's come by a few times in the last year, challenging Ranma. Their first fight was pretty serious, with each still upset about Akane, but Nodoka quickly put an end to that with her katana. Now the Saotome home is considered neutral ground, no fighting allowed - a rule Nodoka has enforced several times. Too bad we couldn't do something like that back at the dojo. I wanted to talk to Ryoga after dinner, but unfortunately, somehow we lost him before Nodoka could even serve the tea. I think he did it on purpose, but just wait - next time he's mine. Nodoka and I talked for a bit after he left. I was wondering how she could honorably set Ukyo up with such a pervert. Nodoka didn't see it that way. Now I've always known this was a fairly old- fashioned woman, but she doesn't blame Ryoga at all for sleeping with Akane. Acts like it was the most natural thing in the world. If anything, she seems to think it was mostly Akane's fault for allowing it to happen, though she admits she can't really blame Akane since all she saw was her pet. Nodoka and I have rarely even disagreed, but I was actually pissed at her after we talked. Makes me wonder, though. What would she say if Ranma and I were to sleep together? *Day 6* Going home this evening - the dojo, not the Saotomes' place. Reminder to self: Tell Kasumi P-chan is not welcome anymore. *Day 7* She's gotta be wrong, right? She can't be right. I mean, I know Kasumi is not as clueless as she tries to pretend, but she's got to be wrong on this one. Wait a minute, even I can't figure out what that means, and I just wrote it. Okay, Ranma and I spent the last day or so at the dojo. Kasumi and Tofu had not been out on a real date for a while, and she feels better going out when I'm there to look after daddy. On the other hand, if it's just daddy and me at the house, who's gonna to cook? So Ranma had to come also. Oh, all right. I just wanted to spend a weekend with him. What's your point? Well, while Kasumi was getting ready for her date, we were catching up on things. I told her about my busted theory about the weirdness happening whenever Ranma comes to Nerima. She got really serious, though. "It's not Nerima, it's you," she said in a quiet voice. I couldn't even respond. I was speechless. "Well, not you specifically. You and Ranma, together," she corrected herself. "What are you talking about?" I finally asked. "This stuff doesn't normally happen to me! And that whole year he was here, most of the really weird stuff didn't involve me at all." "Well, no but it did involve Akane, for the most part." I looked at her reflection in the mirror as she applied some light lipstick. "Are you even trying to make sense?" She calmly finished her task, including blotting, before she turned around to answer me. "Look, I'm not saying Ranma doesn't have... well, a weird life, as you put it. He does, I don't think anyone could deny that." "Yes! And Jusenkyo, Shampoo, the engagement to Ukyo, Ryoga - all those things happened before he even came here." "Yes, lots of unusual things have happened to him over the years, many before he came here. But think about it. Before he got here, even with all the things that happened, that was spread over a ten- year period, right? At least, I don't think too much happened before he left home." "No, probably not," I had to admit. "That means he probably had two, maybe three really weird things happen each year. Now try to count the number of unusual things that happened in the one year he was here." "The mind reels!" I joked. "So, I don't get it. Are you saying it happens because Ranma is in a relationship? Or just with us? A Ranma-Tendo daughter curse?" I smiled. "Not a Ranma-Tendo curse. A Saotome-Tendo curse. Though I think curse may be too strong a word." She turned back to the mirror and reached for her hairbrush. "Think about all the trouble daddy got into with Uncle Saotome, like when they were training under... well, when they were training together." Could that be it? Is there some kind of joint family curse? You know, I was supposed to get away from this stuff when I left for college. What happened?