Disclaimer:  All characters portrayed in this story are the property of 
Rumiko Takahashi and co.  Please don't sue me.

This story takes place after volume 38 of the manga.  It draws ideas from
both the anime and the manga.  This is a sequel to What Price Love? which
was in turn a sequel to For Love or Money.

C & C welcomed.

The Cost of Loving

By

Donny Cheng

	"Oh, stop it, Ranma.  Come back into the tent already.  I promise
I won't do that again, okay?" Nabiki asked with her lips forming a slight
pout.

	Ranma blushed furiously, still not looking at Nabiki.  How could
he put the words delicately, he wondered.  He gave up trying to think of a
better way to phrase his words and just asked bluntly, "Did you put your
clothes back on?"

	"No.  I really don't know what the big deal was.  I'm not exactly
naked."

	A bra and panties did not count, Ranma thought to himself.  "It
isn't right.  We're not... y'know."

	Married.  Nabiki knew what Ranma wanted to say.  For a guy that
ignored and broke social rules as frequently as Ranma, he sure was a
stickler for some things.  "We've done much more _stuff_ than sleep
together in the same tent without a few restricting clothes in the way,
Ranma."

	Ranma blushed again at the thought of the _stuff_ that they did
do.  Rather, the stuff Nabiki did.  Unlike Shampoo, Nabiki was much more
fragile and harder for Ranma to push away without hurting her.  She, of
course, used this to her full advantage whenever she had the chance.
Ranma sometimes wondered how he had managed to survive with his purity
intact as long as he had.  "That's not the point.  People might get the
wrong idea.  I don't want people to think of you like that."

	Nabiki shook her head in disbelief.  How did he do it?  How could
he say something so grating to her ears one moment and so sweet the next?
While she was happy that he cared so much about her reputation, she wasn't
about to let up on him in the slightest.  "Wrong idea?  What wrong idea
might that be?  That you love me?"

	Ranma, surprisingly, caught the dangerous tilt in Nabiki's voice.
"No.  You know... how I feel."

	"Prove it then.  There aren't any people here to get the 'wrong'
idea.  I've always slept like this and I don't intend to change, simply
because my..," Nabiki thought for a moment, searching for a word,
"fiancé doesn't feel 'right'."  Though, fiance probably wasn't strong
enough a word anymore.

	"You've never slept like that," Ranma said, confused.

	Got him!  "Oh?  How would you know that?  You didn't sneak up and
peep on me back at the dojo did you?  Because that wouldn't be 'right'."

	"Erk!"  Ranam sighed and slumped his shoulders in defeat.  If he
admitted that he sometimes looked in on Nabiki, he had no right to decide
what was right for Nabiki and he had no case.  If he didn't, he had no way
to prove that Nabiki never slept that way and he had no case.  A lose,
lose situation.

	Nabiki hid her smile of triumph by turning and going back into the
tent.  She hadn't wanted to do that to Ranma, but the boy was so backward
she would have had to wait ten years before he might even consider
initiating their intimate encounters.  In truth, she only guessed that he
looked in on her.  It was always her hope that it was true, ever since her
feelings for him grew.  Before they even had a relationship, she knew that
Ranma often crept up to look in on Akane.  She was surprised at herself at
how such a little thing like this could make her so happy.

	Ranma sighed and resisted the urge to look away as Nabiki went
back in toward the tent and the snowy whiteness that covered her parts
disappeared into the darkness within also.  He might as well get used to
seeing that sight as Nabiki was obviously not going to change.  Though, he
had to admit the sight wasn't all that bad.

			* * * * *

	"Ranma, I'm cold!  Let me share your sleeping bag," Nabiki
pleaded.

	Now that was going too far!  "Just put some more clothes on."

	"I told you already.  I don't like to be so restricted when I'm
sleeping.

	Ranma reached for the zipper on the side of the bag and zipped it
all the way over his head, leaving just a little space for air.

	Nabiki frowned at Ranma's stubbornness.  She was sure that he loved
her and did intend to be with her.  They've left the dojo so that they
could be together.  They were for all intent and purposes 'married'.  Did
she actually have to drag him to an altar before she could get anywhere
with him?  No, she knew that was one of the reasons none of Ranma's
suitors ever had much of a chance.  The more you push him the more he
pushes back.

	It looked like she would have to wait until Ranma was asleep again
before she could sneak into his bag.  It was quite easy since Ranma tended
to sleep like a very dead log.  It wasn't something a decent girl would
do, but then the word could hardly be used to describe her.

	She smiled as she thought of how brazen she was with him.  Never
in her life had she ever had a boyfriend, before Ranma.  All the boys she
went out with, she dumped after taking all their money, so she never
really had a chance to be intimate with any boy.  She didn't have many
close friends and wasn't even that affectionate with her own family.  It
was funny how love could change all that.  Suddenly she had someone to
care for and all her pent up emotions were released to this one special
person.  She knew she was probably overcompensating for the past, but
Nabiki really didn't give a damn.

			* * * * *

	Ranma woke up and screamed as usual.  However, this was becoming a
common occurrence so the screaming died down after only a few seconds.

	"What's all the noise about?" Nabiki asked, stretching as a yawn
escaped her mouth.

	This did not ease Ranma's discomfort.  He looked away from the
interesting happenings caused by the yawn on Nabiki's chest to her face.
"I thought I told you not to do that anymore?"

	"Huh?  Oh, you mean climbing into you sleeping bag.  I got cold
last night.  I had to keep warm somehow.  You wouldn't want me to freeze,
right?" Nabiki asked with a slight quiver of her lips.

	Ranma wondered how Nabiki managed to twist things around so that
he was the one at fault.  He hated it when she looked like she was about
the cry.  She was faking if of course, Ranma was almost sure of.  He
needed to find a lock for his sleeping bag.  However, he would bet the
Nabiki would still find a way in.  "Never mind.  Anyway, we better get a
move on it.  The training ground is just a little ways further."

	"We?" Nabiki asked as she pulled on her shorts and grabbed a shirt
out of her backpack.  She usually never followed Ranma when he went off to
train.  Sure it was fun to look at that nice body move, but it got boring
after a few hours.  If there was one thing she didn't want to get bored
looking at, it was Ranma's body.

	"Sure.  You never know when we might run into trouble and I don't
want you to get hurt."

	"As sweet as that thought is Ranma, if we run into trouble that
even you can't handle, how do you expect me to fare?"

	"I don't."

	Nabiki did a double take, "Come again.  You just said..."

	"I said that I don't want you to get hurt.  When I get into
trouble I want you to use the Saotome Secret Technique."

	Nabiki narrowed her eyes.  "Uncle Saotome described it to me once.
Isn't that the move where you run away?  More effective than the bowing
and groveling technique I must say though."

	Secret Technique?  Hah!  The way his father blabbed, it was
surprising that only Ryoga out of his multitude of rivals knew about it.  
Ranma grimaced, "No, it's not just running away. It's a decent and
powerful skill when used right.  A master of this technique will be able
to get anywhere they want in the least amount of time by way of analysis
of the terrain and time saving maneuvers."

	"You memorized that out of a book, didn't you?  Basically, you're
telling me when we get into trouble you want me to leave?"

	Ranma ignored the tilt in Nabiki's voice this time.  "Yes.  Like
you said, if I can't handle the problem then we're probably in it deep.
In that case I want you to run as fast and as far away as you possibly
can.  There is _no_ way I am letting you get into any harm."

	Jello, one minute, hard as rock the next.  Will wonders never
cease.  It was true she knew most of what was going on in Ranma's mind
most of the time, but once in awhile he would confound her.
"Okay," Nabiki said, making her voice sound as meek as possible.  It was
best to agree with Ranma when he was this stubborn.  In her heart, she
knew she would just ignore what he said and stay by his side.

	Ranma gave Nabiki a suspicious glance at such a fast acceptance of
how he wanted things to be.  However, she was the picture of innocence.
"Good.  Now, I've seen your ability to get away from trouble before.
That's why I thought this would be the art best suited for you.  If you
can hold _me_ off for a few minutes you can certainly run away from people
as good as Ryoga.  Only this time you won't have a bicycle handy."

	Nabiki nodded grimly as she remembered Ranma chasing after her
after she had tricked him into being her fiancé the first time.  That had
been the first time Nabiki thought she might be wrong about Ranma's
personality.  He had charged after her like a crazed bull and she thought
he would have seriously hurt her.

	That brought a giggle to her lips.  Ranma's 'revenge' ended up
being no more than a declaration of love just so that she couldn't get rid
of him as a fiancé.  A simple revenge, she didn't need him anymore, so he
would force himself on her.  The guy had been ready to spout off the
cheesiest of words back then and now she couldn't even get him to say that
he liked her without stammering.  How things would have been different if
he had caught her and stayed engaged to her.

	Ranma noticed Nabiki's stifled laughing and guessed, correctly,
that she was laughing at him.  Unlike Nabiki, he had absolutely no idea
what she was thinking of.  She baffled him with her unpredictability.  In
someways it was what drew him to her.  It was a constant battle with her.
Her ways against his, much like the relationship he had with another girl.

	Time was truly evil force, yet at the same time his savior.  The
passage of time smothered his passion for one girl and nurtured it for
another.  If he had acted earlier on his feelings, would they have dimmed
so much?  It was a constant worry to him that one day those feelings for
Nabiki would also just fade away, even though the concept was foreign to
him at the moment.

	Nabiki glaced worriedly at Ranma.  His face had taken up a pensive
look.  He was thinking of _her_ again.  Was he truly over her?  First
loves did not just fade away, Nabiki was sure.  "Ranma?  You okay?  I
thought you wanted to get a move on."

	Ranma broke out of his reverie to give Nabiki a reassuring smile.
"Yeah.  Let's start the training right now.  The Saotome Secret Technique
can be practiced anywhere.  Ready?  Good.  The point of the first method
of training is to try and catch me."

	Before Nabiki could say anything, Ranma was off.  She grinned and
quickly ran after him.  She caught him once and she had no doubt that she
would always have him in her grasp.  It was not hard after she took the
time to watch how Ranma 'ran'.  He was running at her speed so that she
could catch up with him.  However, he used little tricks so that he would 
always be ahead of her.  Methods of making sharp turns, finding patches of
hard ground in an area that was wet, and other time saving techniques gave
Ranma an edge.

	Nabiki caught up to him four hours later.

			* * * * *

	Ranma turned on his side away from Nabiki.  She was cheating
again.  This time she lay on top of her sleeping bag instead of inside it.
Again, she slept in the semi-nude.  "So, what do you usually do when I'm
not with you during the day?" Ranma asked before Nabiki could tease him
again.

	Nabiki smiled at the catch in his voice.  So he did get a good
look this time.  Good!  She would break that barrier of his if it was the
last thing she did.  "Oh, not much.  I usually go to the towns and
villages nearby the training grounds.  Sometimes I go down to the local
watering hole for a drink and conversation.  Most of the time, though, I
look for part-time jobs.  I've learned quite a few things this past
month."

	"Jobs?  Oh, I totally forgot about it!  Why didn't you tell me?  I
should help out with that too."  Ranma's face turned red with shame.

	"Heh, I knew you'd figure it out eventually.  It was just that you
looked happy being back on the road doing all the things you did with your
father.  I just wanted you to be as happy as long as possible, before you
get tide down again.  That and I figured that the longer I do this, the
more favors you'll owe me.  I fully intend to collect," Nabiki added
jokingly.  That however had the opposite effect on Ranma.

	"No, it isn't right.  As bad as my father was, he was sometimes
forced to get a job so that we could eat.  He never let me work once 
during our training trip because he wanted me to concentrate solely on the
art.  Even though all that changed when we came to Nerima, I always felt
bad about it.  I want to pull my weight around here.  I can work a few
hours and still get training in."

	Nabiki knew that wasn't entirely true.  The reason he wanted to
work was so that he didn't have to feel guilty about her.  "Ranma, you
know that was one thing I did not want when I came on this journey with
you?  It was that I didn't want to be a burden on you.  If you came alone,
I know you would have survived just as easily without me working."

	Ranma immediately turned back to face Nabiki.  He was getting
better at hearing the change in her tone of voice.  Her back was towards
him as she wasn't looking at him now.  "Where did you get that idea?  I
asked you to come with me.  I needed you to come with me.  I'd probably
have gone crazy if you weren't here."

	"You say that now, but who knows how long before that changes.  A
few months ago you might has said to same thing to... Oh, I'm sorry.  I
didn't mean to say that," Nabiki bit her lip.  Damn, she promised herself
that she would never mention that in Ranma's presence.

	Ranma rocked back as if struck by a blow.  To hear his own fear
escape from Nabiki's mouth made him sick of himself.  "No, you're right.
A few months ago I would have said the same thing to _her_ if I had the
guts to."

	Nabiki turned to face Ranma again, noting that she was looking at
him rather than his back.  "Any day now, some girl might come along and
take a liking to you and you to her.  I will be alone again.  It happened
before, it might happen again.  I just want you to be with you as long as
possible just in case."

	Ranma looked back at Nabiki in frustration.  She was right in
that it did happen.  The thing was that he did not want it to happen
again.  "Is that why, you've been pushing yourself on me," Ranma asked as
it suddenly came to him.

	"No, of course not.  I love you and it's natural for me to want to
do that with you," Nabiki said indignantly.  She then gave the idea a
little more thought and found Ranma was not all wrong.  "You might be
partially right.  I guess being with you in that way would give me another
hold on you."

	"How much more of a hold could you have on me?  You hold my entire
being in your eyes," Ranma said intimately.  He was still new to this
whole expressing of one's feelings thing.  The only thing he could think
of was what Kuno might have said.

	Nabiki blushed bright red.  She found herself strangely shy after
hearing something she thought she would never hear.  "Saotome Ranma, is
that you talking?"

	Seeing Nabiki caught off guard like that pushed Ranma on.  It was
funny how he could say even the most embarrassing of things when he
treated a situation like it were a battle.  When that happened, he could
announce love for a stranger, date Shampoo, date Ukyo, or any number of
the things he had done because he could not take defeat.  And that is how
he saw this situation.  He would not lose Nabiki.  "I will tell you right
now.  If I ever lose what I feel for you, then I am truly a fool or a dead
man.  Because that is what would have to happen for me not to love you."

	"What did you say?" Nabiki asked suddenly.

	"I said..."  It then dawned on Ranma exactly what he said.  He had
no doubt that he did, but it had always been hard for him to say it.  "I
love you," he said it again, testing out the sentence and found it did not
cause the world to explode or anything so drastic.

	The redness returned to Nabiki's cheeks.  "I love you too, Ranma,"
Nabiki said demurely.

	Ranma didn't know why, but it seemed as if that one admission put
to rest his fears and he guessed Nabiki's as well.  "Well I'm glad that's
settled with."

	Nabiki had been outrageous with her affections with Ranma, yet
whenever he lavished it on her it reduced her to a simpering puppy.  She
guessed it was the same reason she overly playful when she dealt with
Ranma.  Never having anyone saying such things to her left her with no way
to deal with them.  She decided that as much as she liked the feeling, she
liked control much better.

	Ranma stared as Nabiki got up off of her sleeping bag and closed
the distance between them.  Quite calmly she reached over to the zipper on
his bag and unzipped it so that she could slip in.  She moved around until
she got comfortable.  This caused various interesting parts of her body
to touch his very interested body in many interesting ways.

	Noticing that Ranma was still slack jawed, Nabiki decided to move
quickly before he could stop her.  "I'm going to sneak in like this
anyway.  So why don't I just do it right now so that I can actually get a
decent nights sleep in.  It's hard staying up all night waiting for you
to sleep."

	It felt strange having another body beside him.  It was not like
it never happened before.  But that time with Shampoo didn't end very well
as she ended up attacking his girl form right after.  This was the first
time he was actually awake to the experience.  Different, but not in the
least bit uncomfortable.  Very nice actually, now that he thought about
it.  Gently he put his arm around Nabiki and found it felt even nicer.  So
what were they supposed to do now?  "Well, now that we know you are _not_ 
going to be a burden on me, what now?  I don't want you working all the 
time.  I want you to have as much fun as I'm having in this."

	"Silly, I am having fun," Nabiki murmured.  It felt nice lying
close to him like this.  He made a wonderful bed.

	"I didn't mean that," Ranma said blushing slightly still not used
to this new sleeping arrangement.  "I know you gave up a lot coming with me.
I feel a little guilty taking you away.  Right now, you'd probably be in
university, on you way to a life of luxury."

	Nabiki punched Ranma in the stomach lightly.  Being this close
also had it's advantages in that she had easy reach to bop him when he was
being stupid.  "I wanted this, remember?"

	"I always thought you wanted money and to retire young.  Living
like this is hardly that," Ranma said, not believing Nabiki.

	"You know what was the first thing I thought of when I heard you
were coming to Nerima?  I thought of a dashing young man coming in and
sweeping me off my feet to take me to exotic places like China.  When I
learned you were a girl, I was angry with you.  Probably why I never gave
you a chance when you turned out to be a boy."  Nabiki patted the area she
hit Ranma.  She knew that her punch did not have any affect on him but it
made her feel better anyway.

	"Then came your little quirk.  Your ability to draw trouble.  You
gave me the most fun I had ever had since my mother died even if you
didn't know it.  I guess during the year I came to care about the mischief
I could cause to you almost as much as I did about the bottom line.  I've
always liked excitement and if it meant no boring desk job, who cares?  I
wanted to leave with you and don't you ever doubt it."

	"I always wondered why you made life hard for me.  You were in
love with me even back then," Ranma teased her.

	"In your dreams," Nabiki murmured sleepily.  The day's exertions
and lack of sleep in previous nights finally took their toll.  "Oh and
Ranma?  I think you should seriously think about sleeping in just your
boxers.  Very comfortable."

	Ranma tensed as Nabiki started to move around again.  He let out a
breath as she finally stopped and soon he heard the sound of her even
breathing.  She was asleep.  Ranma thought about what Nabiki just said.
He didn't sleep a wink that night.

			* * * * *

The End. (maybe)

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