"Married?" Kasumi repeated, more for herself and out of disbelief, then anything else.

Nabiki nodded her head exuberant, and added, "Over six wonderful years ago, too!"

"Six... Years...?" questioned Kasumi, sat down. Unmindful, that she was standing and there was nothing but floor beneath her. She shifted her legs, unconsciously, to adjust her skirt and legs to sit properly.

"Would it help to mention that we thought had been gone for ten years, Oneechan?" Nabiki continued. "Not to mention, having been through a lot together."

Kasumi wanted to asked 'such as what,' but she was not sure she truly wished to know, given Ranma's life that she knew of.

Nabiki seeing that she was not going to get any more sleep, got up, unmindful of the fact that all she had on was that choker around her neck, which Kasumi thought was very cute, and whose gem, she thought, must have special meaning to Nabiki to wear it so much.

Kasumi turned to keep to keep Nabiki in view as she walked around her room to her desk and sat down on her desk chair. She sat in the desk chair in a manner that left her charms visible, her body relaxed, yet ready to move at any sudden notice.

"Nabiki," Kasumi chilled, "put some clothes on!"

Confused, Nabiki replied, "Why?"

"Ranma --" Kasumi began.

"-- Is my Husband," Nabiki interuptted, "and more then the right to see me however he wishs."

"But..."

"Oneechan, I love you," Nabiki explained calmly, "I am a good wife, my Husband wishs for me to be naked, then naked I will remain for him."

Kasumi blushed deeply, unable to reply anything, and looked down. She let up a yelp as she realized that she was sitting on nothing but air.

Nabiki sighed, and added, "Ranma wasn't the only one to learn some new things on our training trip."

Kasumi could only nodded her head and flee out of the room, unsure how to face a married Nabiki.

Nabiki sighed again, turned on her computer, and went through her system. Soon she was lost in memory and updating her files.

A voice cut through her haze commanding, "Nabiki, come back to bed."

Smiling, she got up, walked sensually back to her bed, and replied, "Yes, Master."

Genma and Soun returned from their meeting... their meeting at the local bar, only slightly plastered. Since Ranma and Nabiki had disappeared, they could be found regularly at the bar. Nodoka did not care for it, but the best she could do was limit their drinking to a single drink, per trip. Of course, that just meant they made more trips. But it was better then listening to them wail about the break up of Ranma and Akane, and how the schools would never be joined. Their return was interupted by Nodoka would was standing in their way of getting through the gate.

Concern for his wife sobered Genma up, and he asked, "No-chan, what's a matter?"

A shell-shock Nodoka simply handed over an official looking letter to him. He read it, and he too became shell-shocked.

Soun became worried. Some evil spell on a letter had frozen his best friend and wife. Not knowing what to do, he panicked and began to wail at the injustice of the Universe, for taking such a good friend and his wife away from him.

panda-Genma thrusted the letter into his friend's face to stop the water-works. Dimly, panda-Genma noted his wife was now doing her "happy dance" with fans, and a sweat-drop appeared on his forehead.

Soun stopped his wailing and started to read the letter.

It was a couple's copy of a marriage certificate.

Soun blinked in confused.

Marriage certificate?!?!?!

Panicked he quickly read the groom's name: Ranma Saotome!

Demonhead Soun turned to Genma and started brating him for raising such an worthiless son that could not fulfill Family Honor! He demanded that Genma explain why his son could not do such a simple and noble thing and marry his precious princess Akane! How dare he cheat on his little Akane with some scarlet woman of questionable background!

The sword at his neck stopped Soun, and turned to look, worriedly, at the fiery-looking Nodoka, who simply commanded, "Look at the bride's name..."

panda-Genma's paw on her shoulder stopped her from continuing.

Sword still at his throat, Soun did so, and saw that the bride was: Nabiki... TENDO!!!

Soun's mind went into overdrive... one half bewailing that Akane would never get married, nor the schools joined, and the other half that Nabiki was his daughter was now married and now starting a family of her own, apart from him, and, she got married without him.

Unable to cope, Soun's brain shut down and he fainted, barely missing being cut or beheaded by Nodoka's sword.

Nodoka shook her head at the sight, reshealthed her sword and sighed.

panda-Genma held up a sign to say something in defense of his friend, but seeing the look on Nodoka's face, decided against it. So he just picked up his friend and waddled inside. Once there, he set his friend down on the couch, and got some hot water to change back.

Once back in human form, Nodoka rushed into Genma's arms and started to cry. "What's wrong, No-chan?" Genma asked confused.

"My son got married without me," was her reply. "I missed it!"

"Not exactly, Mother," came a voice from behind them.

Genma spin around, putting Nodoka, defensively behind him, to confront the voice. Not even Happosai could surprise him like that, when his wife was in his arms. There were three things Genma prized in this world above all else, the Art, his wife, and his son, and in that order. The only time Genma had truly confronted his Master was when Happosai would try to grope his wife or put his wife and son in true danger.

Behind them was Ranma, dressed in his usually clothings with a smiling Nabiki dressed in a too-small t-shirt and short-shorts, wearing a choker with a gem around her neck. Genma thought he felt his son's ki coming from the gem, but that was impossible.

With a grin on her face, Nabiki said, "We're back!"

Nodoka ran to Ranma and hugged him tightly, too tightly.

"Mother, Ranma needs to breate," Nabiki remarked calmly. "I don't wish my husband to die of suffocation." She had a smile on her face.

Nodoka reluctantly released her son, whom she missed the past month, more then ever before. She looked seriously at him and questioned, "What do you mean 'not exactly,' young man?"

"Na-chan, you're show," Ranma replied.

Nabiki nodded and moved towards the television set. From her pocket, she pulled out a large empty, cloth bag. She folded over the opening, and set the bag up. She reached into the seemly empty bag and pulled out a VCR, some cables, and a VHS tape, she seem all put on the ground in front of the television, to the amazement of the parents. She returend the still empty bag to her pocket. She then set the VCR on top of the television, processed to attach the cables to the VCR, and then to the television. Once completed, she returned back to the parents and her Husband with a smile, and curtsied saying, "Ta-da."

After her curtsy, she noted her father on the couch, and waved her hand towards the floor before it, where she conjured some chairs.

Ranma grinned that Nabiki had only conjured three chairs, knowing full well, where she was going to sit, his lap. And after directly, his parents to their chairs, he took Nabiki into his arms, sat down and settled her into his lap. His gesture and familiarity wasn't lost upon his parents. Nodoka seeing the smile on Nabiki's face, abandoned her chair and sat on Genma's lap as well.

"Oops," Nabiki exclaimed after she realized that she forgot to put the VHS Tape into the VCR. "And I'm so comfy too." She sighed.

"This once, my Nabs," Ranma replied. He raised his hand, and the tape rose with it. He made a pushing gesture with his hand, and the tape was pushed into the VCR. He made a button-pushing gesture with his finger, and the VCR started to play.

Both Nodoka and Genma looked upon their son with awe. Nodoka, in all her time with martial artists, never heard of such a technique. And Genma did not feel any ki with Ranma's actions. Both had questioned, but a voice, again, interuptted them.

It was a voice that had not been heard in some time, it was the voice of the late, great Mrs. Izumi Tendo saying, "Soun TENDO! Get up this instant!"

Soun bolted upright on the couch and automated said, "Yes, dear!" He looked around puzzled. He noticed the new chairs that Genma and Ranma were sitting on and that Nodoka and his Nabiki were sitting, very comfortable, on Ranma and Genma. Then he saw the television, not understanding what a VCR was, but seeing the image of his dead wife on the screen, seemly looking straight at him. He began to cry about how he missed his wife and that she was taken too soon.

The image of Mrs. Tendo sighed, seemly able to see Soun and the others and gently said, "Stop crying, Soun-chan."

Soun's tears ended and looked with a bit of awe at the television.

Towards Nabiki, her mother said, "He's so predictable."

They watched as Nabiki, dressed in a traditional Shinto kimono of the Tendo Clan, being walked down the aisle with both her parents at her side. At the end of the aisle was Ranma, dressed in the traditional Shinto kimono of the Saotome Clan with both his parents present, standing before a statue made of jade.

Nodoka sitting in Genma's lap and the Nodoka on the screen both gave a surprised squeels when the jade statue moved and began the Shinto wedding cermony. The Genmas sitting and in the video both placed a hand on Nodoka's shoulders calming her down.

The five watched the video of the long Shinto cermony, Genma enjoyed the skill Ranma showed, Nodoka and Soun enjoyed the beauty and calm that Nabiki showed. The parents were surprised when what they knew of the cermony should have ended, it continued with Nabiki disrobing out of the Tendo Clan kimono, wearing nothing but her facial makeup, a fine white power over her entire body, and touchs of rogue given her a blossom appearance, and then walking in front of Ranma, where she kneeled before him. There, the language of the cermony switched from modern Japanese to ancient Japanese that the parents could not follow, on screen or off. The jade statue then questioned Nabiki, listened to her answer, and then nodded to Ranma. Ranma pulled out a natural white silk ribbon and wrapped it around her neck. The jade statue presented a clear stone to Ranma, who took it, placed it in his left palm, where his ki was flowing and gathered more ki into his finger, which he then pressed into the stone. He then held up the stone to the jade statue, who nodded as the gemstone took on a blue-greyish color. He then placed the ends of the silk ribbon to the back of the gem. The ribbon seemed to shrink until it was snug fit around Nabiki neck, with the gem in front.

Once the choker was in place, Ranma opened his kimono and took Nabiki within, completing the cermony and the symbolism of her leaving the Tendo Clan behind and being taken into the Saotome Clan. Ranma then proceeded to carry his new wife off-screen. The tape faded to black.

Genma, Nodoka, and Soun just sat there, stunned. Before they saw the tape, they had thought they had not been there... but now..., it felt as if they were there, but it was a dream. A dream that was now true.

Ranma was going to say something when the television came back to live and a voice could be heard shouting, "Yomigaeru Aiyan Sheffu!"

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