A fog rolled through the Shaolin Temple grounds as was typical for the early morning in the Nerima Ward of Tokyo. What was untypical, however, was that as it passed over a torii, two people where there, when before the fog, there was none.
A young man, early to mid-twenties, wore kung-fu slippers, black kung-fu pants with shin-guards, a red Chinese Silk shirt with wrist-guards, and a sword strapped to his back, with its hilt visible over his right shoulder. His hair was in a loose pig-tail that seem to fall all the way to his behind. He had the pose and grace of a seasoned Warrior, and his blue-grey eyes seem to hold the power of Nature within. He took a step forward, closed his blue-grey eyes, and concentrated on his surrounding.
Next to the young man was a young woman, mid to late-twenties. She wore black high-heels, a very short, black skirt with red trimmings which showed off her long, atheletic legs, a shealthed long-dagger could be seen on her right hip, a form-fitting, red Chinese Silk short-sleeve shirt, a black silk-ribbon choker with a small, blue-grey gem center-piece that matched the eye color of the young man, and her right hand held a long, wooden staff topped with an orb of the same color as the gem on the choker. The staff gave her the look of a sorceress. A dark cape fell from her shoulders down to mid-thighs, completed her outfit. She took in the immedidate area, including the young man, whom she favored with a slight smile on her face as she knew she could feel his senses searching out the area.
After a few moments of silence, the young woman turned to the man and asked, "Anything, Ran-kun?"
The young man, Ranma, turned to his companion and remarked, "No active magical scans nor any active points of power moving towards us, Na-chan."
"So no one knows we're here nor anyone of power coming to get us?" Nabiki questioned in a surprise voice.
"Discounting any Seers or //muggle// satelite surveillance that would note we weren't here just a few moments ago, or doing any passive scans from space, then, no, no one should know we're here," Ranma replied.
"You're not going to let that go, are you, my Husband?" she commented in a tired, yet loving voice, knowing the answer before she asked, yet hoping for a different one.
Ranma smirked, "Of course not, Nabs-chan."
Nabiki Saotome signed in that way of wives who put up with their husbands and their wounded pride. Collecting herself, she inquired, "Any sign of activity within the ether-stream, Dragonlines, or the Force?"
"None," was the reply with a frown. "I did detect two powerful ki's over in that direction, roughly on par with Cologne and Happosai, and another in keeping with my father's level. And the planet's Chi does feel like home."
"Home," it was a word she longed for, yet dreaded. She blinked and asked with surprise in her voice, "No Magic-Girls, Sorcerers, Aes Sedai, Wizards, Demonesses, Orges, Goddesses, and so on... around?"
"You're the only sorceress within my passive scan range, my love," he replied. "Nor do I detect any supernatural entities in the area as well. Although, there is some natural interference over towards the Juuban, that's common."
"Of course, they could be shielded," Nabiki remarked, not quite believing what her own senses were telling her.
Ranma just shrugged and said, "Only one way to find out..."
Nabiki nodded and placed her staff into her subspace pocket.
They both jumped up to the roof of the nearby building and processed towards where the Tendo Dojo should be via the "Nermian Express Route" or more commonly refer to as "roof-hopping."
Ranma and Nabiki Saotome looked down upon the Tendo compound with a look of longing and worry. At Nabiki's nod, they walked through the gate and up the walkway to the front door. Both noting that everything felt right. Yet, it had been a very long jounrey to get to where they were, and they had felt disappointment when they had been misled by familiar settings before. Neither felt any what they would assume would be counterparts nor any misalignment with their surroundings.
With some reservations, Nabiki kocked on the front door. After a short moment the door opened revealing a young Kasumi Tendo, nineteen, and just as they recalled her when they left their home dimension so long ago. In surprise, Nabiki exclaimed, "Kasumi?"
Kasumi looked at Nabiki and gasped, "Mother?" With that, she fainted.
Nabiki looked to Ranma, who shrugged and caught Kasumi before she hit the ground. Nabiki held open the door as Ranma carried Kasumi inside.
Ranma placed Kasumi on the couch in the living room, and gently examined her with his ki senses. When he didn't find anything wrong, Nabiki placed her cape over her, covering from her stomach to her feet, and got the first aid kit. From which, she took the smelling-salt and a cold-compress, and handed them to him. He placed the cold-compress upon Kasumi's forehead, motioned for Nabiki to step out of Kasumi's line of sight, and placed the smelling-salt under her nose.
Kasumi came around, see looked at Ranma and remarked, "What a strange dream.... Oh my! Welcome back, Ranma-kun. How did your training trip go?"
Ranma blinked and inquired, "Training trip?"
"That's what Grandfather Happosai told everyone," Kasumi stated, "that you were going on a month-long training trip. It was nice of you to take Nabiki with you."
Nabiki's eyes narrowed and lightning could be see coming out of her eyes at the mention of Happosai's name, she silently mouthed the keywords they had just learned, 'Happosai', 'Training Trip', and 'Month.' It was because of Happosai that they had been on their long 'training trip' through the Multiverse occured in the first place.
"Are you okay, Oneesan?" Nabiki asked in a slightly worried voice.
Nodding her head, Kasumi dislodged the cold-compress, and tried to sit up, but Ranma's gentle yet firm hand on her chest prevented that.
Nabiki noted the blush on Kasumi's cheeks, the look she was sending to Ranma, and sighed. She knew that look, for she had seen it upon her own face and several others. She absent-mindedly caressed her choker and its gem, softly.
"I'm home!" Akane screamed as she walked through the door. She spotted Ranma immediately and demanded, "Where have you been, baka?"
Ranma blinked and just replied softly, "On a training trip."
Akane got angrier, and exclaimed, "You were off just womazing, you pervert! With one of your hussies!"
"I am not a hussy, Imotosan," Nabiki said with a bit of coldness in her voice. "Ranma was with me."
Akane blinked and looked between Ranma and Nabiki. With a smirk on her face, "Righttttt...... Like you would go on a 'training trip'..."
"I go where ever Ranam goes," Nabiki stated simply, as if it was obvious.
Akane laughed, thought a moment, came to the wrong conclusion and proclaimed, "Ranma is my fiancee."
Ranma and Nabiki blinked, Ranma looked towards Nabiki, who got an evil smirk on her face and disappeared into thin air, before Ranma, Akane and Kasumi. Kasumi gasped and Akane had a puzzled look on her face.
After a few moments, Nabiki reappeared with a trimiuphed smile on her face and a piece of paper in her hand. She thrusted it out towards Akane and in a overly-sweet voice inquired, "Remember this?"
Akane blinked and opened her mouth, but Kasumi took the paper from Nabiki's hand and read it.
"Oh my," Kasumi finished with. "Akane... Ranma-kun isn't some toy to be traded... like when you were little."
"But," Akane begin, but stopped upon seeing the look on Kasumi's face.
"Father will be disappointed," Kasumi interrupted.
With a smirk, Nabiki stated as she handed to Kasumi another piece of paper, this one was very aged, "But Mother will be thrilled."
With trembling hands, Kasumi took the piece of paper as if it was a page of the Holy Bible, and read its sacred words, looking for meaning within the kanji. Kasumi pressed the piece of paper to her chest and held it with all her worth. After a moment, her brain caught up with her and whispered, "Oh my. Nabiki.... Nabiki-chan... Imoto-chan... Where... Where did you find this?"
Nabiki blinked as did Ranma. Nabiki simply replied, "In the attic..."
Akane, Nabiki, and Ranma watched the after-images of Kasumi leaving the room. Ranma turned to Nabiki and shrugged.
Akane blinked as she tried to figure out what just happened.
Both Ranma and Nabiki noted, with humor, that Kasumi did not return the piece of paper.
Akane turned to Nabiki, puzzled, she asked, "What was on that piece of paper?"
"Mother's promised that *I* would marry Ran-kun, when we were both born," Nabiki smugly stated.
Akane blinked.
Akane blinked again.
Akane blinked once more.
Akane blinked some more.
In a voice filled with horror, Akane exclaimed, "Mother... You... Marry... That... That.... Pervert!?!?!?" With that, Akane fainted.
Nabiki giggled, "And more." She smiled at Ranma, who shrugged but returned her smile.
Nabiki moved against Ranma, melting her body against his, and lightly caresses him with love. "We're home."
"Yep," Ranma replied, kissing his wife. "And it seems only a month passed here."
Nabiki and Ranma giggled as their heard Kasumi's scream of truimph when she found her mother's diary in the attic. Knowing that Kasumi and Akane would be a while, Nabiki lead Ranma up to her room.
Kasumi hugged her mother's diary to her chest lovely with a true smile on her face, yet a bit of worry touched her eyes. She wanted to put the diary someplace safe, but afraid that if she did, she would never again see it. Unsure of what to do, she sought Nabiki out. She was slightly amused to find Nabiki napping naked, save her choker with the gem, in her bed. She was startled to see that Ranma was with her in bed, completely nude, as well. Nabiki was using Ranma's shoulder as a pillow. It was a scene straight out of one her romance novels. "NABIKI!?!" she exclaimed.
"Fiv' mor' min..." came the reply from the bed. Which of the two had said it, Kasumi couldn't tell.
"NABIKI", Kasumi exasperated. "That isn't proper!"
Nabiki raised her head to look puzzled at her sister and wondered, "What's //improper// with sleeping with my husband?"
"Husband?" Kasumi echoed confused.
An exuberant nod answered and a bit of glow from the gem on Nabiki's choker could be seen. "It was a wonderful and very, very traditional wedding, Oneechan."
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