"So, I take it nothing else exciting happened last night?" Nabiki asked Doctor Tofu carefully as she walked with him back towards the house.
He looked around just as carefully, then leaned down and whispered to her. "They tried again later in the night, but I was ready for them and sent them packing."
"Did my daddy or Ranma's see them?" She asked quietly.
"No, I stopped them before they got to within sight of the house the second time."
"All right, we can talk about it in detail later. In the meantime, you could use a rest, and some food." She said as she pulled him into the house. He slowed down and resisted her pull to bring him in.
"Shouldn't I ... stay out there ..." He asked reluctantly as he looked back over his shoulder worriedly at the street. She wondered if he was worried about doing his goofball act around Kasumi, or if he was just worried about there being another attack. Either way, it didn't matter. She knew his thing with Kasumi was just that, an act. As for guarding the house, that would give Daddy and Mister Saotome something productive to do.
"Don't worry about it, Daddy and Mister Saotome can stand guard for a while," she said, then added with a wink, "besides, if you are inside with Kasumi and me, you will be able to protect us just fine." She knew he would have to drop his act around Kasumi in a combat situation. She kind of hoped it would happen, if for no other reason than to show Kasumi that it was an act. Maybe her older sister would take the initiative then and ask him out.
She led him to the dining table and sat him down where Daddy usually sat. Since he was an honored guest, she didn't feel bad about it at all. "Just relax, Doctor. Kasumi will be in soon with breakfast." She said as she sat down at her usual spot at the table. He nodded politely to her. She could tell he wanted to tell her about what had happened last night, but was holding back until they were alone.
Kasumi bustled into the room a moment later carrying several trays of food. Doctor Tofu immediately leaped up and ran to help her, doing his usual goofy act. She was pretty sure Kasumi knew it was an act, but Kasumi never let on. She watched them together as he helped her put the food on the table with his hands shaking nervously, but still miraculously never spilling anything and never letting a drop of food off any of the trays. Kasumi's smile lit up the room when he was in it. Her eyes stayed on him, and real warmth entered her voice when she spoke to him. Not the false maternal warmth she put into her voice when she tried to stand in for their mother for herself and Akane, but real warmth for a man she obviously had feelings for. It was sweet.
The rest of the family trickled down to the table shortly after that. Daddy and Mister Saotome came down together, talking earnestly about their plans for repairing the house and what to do about the Amazons. Ranma came down next and sat in his usual space. He smiled nervously at her, and ... was that guilt on his face? He didn't meet her eyes when she tried to make eye contact. She grew a bit cold with fear at that sign. It's happening already. Akane's fighting for him. She thought sadly.
Akane entered the room a moment later, smiling radiantly. Ranma had obviously asked her out and she had obviously accepted. She watched her younger sister take her usual spot at the table, next to Ranma. She had eyes for only him. She wasn't openly staring at him, but she kept sneaking glances at him. Even with the bruise over her eye, she looked beautiful as she looked at Ranma and glowed with happiness.
The fear tried to grow in her, but she beat it down harshly. She still had a chance. She wasn't going to give up the fight before it even began. She forced herself to plaster a smile on her face and focused on eating. She looked up occasionally and watched Ranma, Akane, and even Doctor Tofu and Kasumi. Kasumi was doing her best to try to pretend that she wasn't giving the Doctor more attention than she gave the rest of the family. Doctor Tofu was eating and keeping his eyes down, trying to eat without looking at Kasumi. Ranma was keeping his head down as well; he seemed to be afraid to look up at her, or Akane. And Akane ... Akane was doing her best to pretend that she wasn't glowing with joy that Ranma had asked her out. She kept sneaking glances at him, and smiling softly to herself. She was actually pretty good at hiding it, but not from her; she knew all of Akane's tricks.
After Ranma finished eating, Akane stood up and put her hand on his shoulder and said eagerly, although she tried to mask it with impatience. "C'mon Ranma, let's get going."
"Okay, how long will it take you to get ready?" He asked as he nodded and stood up.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe a half hour or so." She said cheerfully.
He blinked in surprise at her. "Geez Akane, why so long?"
Akane's smile slipped and a hard glint entered her eyes as she replied with a smile still on her face but with an edge in her voice. "What are you trying to say, Ranma."
She couldn't help herself, she smiled at that. They were falling into their old pattern. She watched them bicker out of the room and thought, they just can't seem to help themselves, can they? Ranma paused for half a second and looked back at her for just a moment with wide eyes, and she winked at him. Yes, I still have a chance.
She stood up from the table after they left and caught Doctor Tofu's eye. He nodded and stood up as well. Kasumi made noises to feed him more, but she put her hand on Kasumi's shoulder silently asking her to wait a bit and led the Doctor out of the room before Kasumi could protest more. They walked together silently and headed out of the house and into the dojo. She shut the door behind her and went and sat down in the middle of the floor, and patted the floor next to her.
She knew that in the dojo and away from Kasumi, he would be free to be himself. Oh, he wouldn't drop his act, but he wouldn't act goofy either. He smiled and stood across from her for a moment, then crouched down lightly on the balls of his feet. She wasn't surprised that he didn't want to sit down. Even now, she was sure that he wanted to stay ready to spring into combat if needed.
She smiled at him. Aside from Ranma recently, Doctor Tofu was the only person whom she had ever just been herself with. He'd known her when she was a little girl. He had helped raise her and her sisters, and he had stepped in and been the rock she needed after Mom had died and Daddy had fallen apart.
That didn't mean that she was always dead serious with him, of course. She liked to tease and play with people, that was just who she was. She was only serious when she had to be. He just crouched across from her and smiled, forcing her to speak first. It was kind of a ritual with them. Unless she had been in danger, Tofu had always made her say what was on her mind, and to ask for help before he would help. He didn't just step in and try to solve her problems for her without being asked. That was one of the things she loved about him. So, she took a deep steadying breath and began. "So, what happened last night?"
He looked down and a brief flash of shame crossed his face before he looked back up at her as he spoke. "They hit faster than I thought they would."
"Who was it?"
"Shampoo and Mousse."
"So, he distracted you while she hit the house?"
"Yes, basically. Sorry about that. As soon as I realized what they were doing I rushed to the house and pulled her out."
"Did they hurt you?" She asked angrily.
He looked at her and blinked in surprise before he shook his head softly and smiled. She smiled back, he was so modest.
"Did you hurt them?" She asked hopefully.
He looked at her reproachfully for a moment before he answered. "Of course not, Nabiki. I'm a Doctor. I took an oath to do no harm."
"Of course, of course." She said with a hand wave, then added, "Did you at least make it difficult for them to attack again for a while?"
He smiled faintly and nodded. "I triggered a pressure point in the young man which will take about five to eight days to wear off. He won't be able to walk until it does."
She raised her eyebrows at that, it was unlike him to use such a strong technique on a weaker opponent.
He shrugged as he explained. "I was worried about Shampoo attacking the house. I didn't know where you or Akane were in the house, and she had broken through to your room. I had to neutralize her as fast as possible."
She smiled softly at him. "You did great, thank you."
He looked at her with a melancholy grimace that spoke volumes about his opinion of how he had done last night.
She looked over at the door and towards the front of the house briefly before looking back to Doctor Tofu. She was wondering if Ranma had left on his date with Akane yet. She saw the Doctor notice, but he didn't say anything. So she asked another question. "If you put Mousse out of action in their first attack, did the old lady come for the second one?"
He nodded. She could tell he was being serious, but he still didn't drop his mask with the little half-smile he almost always wore.
She smiled with respect at hearing that he had faced the old woman. Ranma had such trouble with her and the old lecher, they both outclassed him, at least for now. She had to ask. "Did you fight her?"
He shook his head no.
"So, you only fought Shampoo again?"
"Yes."
"Did you disable her too?"
"No, there was no immediate threat to anyone, so I just stood in her path and prevented her from going any further. Her grandmother was watching her fight me, so I didn't want to tip off the style I was using, or what I knew, so I kept it simple. I did tap a couple of points on her wrists though, her arms should be feeling a little heavy today."
"So, if you didn't fight the old lady, and you didn't disable Shampoo, how did you end the fight?"
"I didn't. Shampoo just stopped trying to get past me after a minute or so, jumped back to stand next to her grandmother, and then they both just turned and walked away without a word."
"You know that isn't actually her grandmother, don't you? She's just one of her tribe's elders."
"Of course." He said with a smile.
"Do you think you can take the old lady in a fight if she's being serious?"
He nodded.
"Do you think you could take her and Shampoo together?" She asked, worried.
He blinked at her and then shrugged. "I don't know, possibly. It would depend on what the fight was about, and what was at stake. I would rather not have to split my focus if I had to get into it with the grandmother, though. She's ... formidable." He said simply as he put a hand behind his head in embarrassment.
"All right, well, it sounds like we need to put plans thirty eight and nine into action now as well." She said seriously as she changed the topic.
"I knew you would say that." He said with a smile.
She smiled back with a glint of mischief in her eye. "And I also think you should put plan alpha into effect as well, as soon as possible."
He looked at her blankly and blinked with surprise. "I ... I don't remember that one..."
"That's because I just came up with it." She said with a grin. 
"Oh, well, what is it?" He asked with a patient smile.
"It's simple, you need to get started with Kasumi. Ask her out before she gets bored and starts hitting the bars looking for sailors."
He actually lost his balance for a minute and had to catch himself by moving a foot forward. Once he stabilized himself, he asked in a strangled voice, "w-what?!" She smiled at him sweetly, and he scowled at her as he realized she was teasing him. He narrowed his eyes and hissed. "Oh, low blow, Nabiki. I'll have to pay you back for that one."
She smiled and stuck her tongue out at him.
"Speaking of getting oneself into gear ... what's going on with you and Ranma?" He asked kindly.
She had known this was coming. She knew he was really asking, and not trying to get her back yet. That wasn't his style. She hugged her knees to her chest and didn't say anything at first. After a moment she decided to try to get away with not getting into the subject. "Nothing, I've just been teasing him lately." No way he'll buy that. She thought grimly.
"Nabiki..." He said in disbelief.
Knew it. She tried again with a bit more of the truth. "All right, well, the short version is, Akane told Ranma she was breaking their engagement because she was mad at him, and gave him to me. I accepted." She looked down after she said it and blushed.
"Are you just playing with him ... or, do you have feelings for him?" He asked kindly.
"Y-yes." She said carefully. She didn't like to lie to him, so she generally didn't, but she didn't want to tell him everything, either.
"Yes ... what?" He pressed her.
Damn he was good. Most people wouldn't have picked up that she could have been answering either question he'd asked, or both of them. "Both," she answered softly with a small smile, "I do like playing with him, but yes, I do have ... feelings for him."
"Oh, Nabiki, I'm so happy for you." He said warmly as he reached over and put his hand over her hands as she continued to clutch her knees to her chest.
She nodded briskly, not trusting her voice at the moment.
"So ... if he's engaged to you now ... what was going on with him and Akane earlier?" He asked with genuine confusion.
"M-My idea..." she said in a shaky voice. She took a deep breath, then looked up and said in a more controlled tone, "I ... I didn't want to keep the engagement, unless it was for real ... you know? I didn't want him to just treat me like he has been treating Akane, like it wasn't real. So ... I made him promise me to make a choice at the end of a week ... and to end things with everyone else." She whispered.
"Oh ... Nabiki ... " he said quietly as he broke his stance and came to sit next to her. "Are your feelings for him that strong?" He asked softly.
She nodded fiercely, again not trusting her voice.
"Does he know?"
She shook her head slowly, then stopped and nodded once. "Well, yes and no I guess. I don't think he knows just how serious, but he knows I have feelings for him." She said in a shaky voice as she fought the urge to cry. Why the hell do I want to cry all the time now? What the hell is the matter with me?! Pull yourself together, girl! She berated herself.
"So ... why was it your idea for him to be going out with Akane?" He asked.
"I ... it's just ... Akane only gave him up because she was throwing a temper tantrum, you know? She didn't really mean it. Even though I told her when she did it that I would keep him, and even though I gave her a few chances to take him back and she still wouldn't take him back ... I ... I don't want her to suffer. She's suffered enough." She said hesitantly. She only told Doctor Tofu these things. She felt incredibly vulnerable when she did, but he was the only one she trusted with this kind of thing.
"But ... Nabiki ... aren't you suffering?" He asked carefully.
She looked over at him quickly as her breath caught and a lump formed in her throat. She shook her head emphatically and looked away again before she answered. "I-I'm all right. I'm strong. I can be patient and wait a week for him to make a choice." She said with no real conviction in her voice.
He didn't say anything in response to that, just sat in silence with her and put his arm around her. She leaned in to him and successfully fought the tears away. She breathed deeply in through her nose and out through her mouth like Daddy had taught her all those years ago. When she had herself under control, she let out a sigh and let her legs go and stretched them out in front of her.
Doctor Tofu got up and crouched in front of her again. He looked at her and waited for her to look up. "You sure you're all right?" He asked when she finally gave in and looked up.
She nodded hesitantly. "So ... any advice?" She asked hopefully.
He shook his head slowly. "I have no right to give anyone advice about their love life, Nabiki. If I did give you advice, I'd probably just make things worse for everyone. You are way smarter than I am on that subject." He said morosely.
She looked up at him sadly and her heart went out to him. She knew that he loved Kasumi, but for whatever reason, he couldn't seem to make himself act on those feelings. Not that she judged him, as she was finding out, acting on one's feelings was ... complicated.
She smiled at him and said as she stood up. "Well, thank you again for protecting us. You should rest and let my daddy and Ranma's watch the house for a while. We'll need you out there again tonight."
He mirrored her and stood up as well. "That should be all right. I can rest downstairs in the dining room. If you stay near that room, I will be able to respond if something happens."
They walked back towards the house together in unspoken agreement. "That should be fine. I just need to sit and think for a while anyway, I can do that anywhere. Are you going to be able to sleep all right in there? I can bring you a futon."
"Oh, I won't sleep. I'll just do a little meditation." He said with a serene smile.
She looked over at him in disbelief, but let it go. Who am I to question him on how he handles all this? She thought to herself as she again considered restarting her own training in the Art. If Doctor Tofu knew some way to use meditation to substitute for sleep that could come in really handy sometimes.
As fortune would have it, or misfortune — depending on one's point of view — she managed to settle down back in the dining room just as Ranma and Akane ran by towards the front door to go on their date. Akane yelled back happily to Ranma as he chased after her. "C'mon, Ranma, I want to see the—" and then they were out of earshot as well as eyesight as they turned the corner and were gone.
She pulled her knees up to her chest again and closed her eyes tightly. She knew Doctor Tofu was watching her sympathetically. She wanted to show him how strong she was, so after a moment of self pity, she forced her legs back down, and opened her eyes. They were watery, but she wasn't crying. There was a lump in her throat, but she ignored it and yanked her note book off the table. She had dozens of them lying around the house.
She buried herself into making detailed plans for what to do about Kodachi, Ukyo, the crazy Amazons, and ... Akane. For the page she had marked for Akane with just a small あ ... she just drew a sad face. She had ... absolutely no plan for dealing with Akane.
Mostly that was because she didn't really believe Ranma would pick her over Akane if Akane in any way fought for him. The smaller reason was that she honestly had no idea what she would do to help Ranma let Akane down easily if, by some miracle, he did pick her over Akane. She knew she had promised to help him do that, and she would ... I will, she corrected herself ... if — if I have to. But, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. If ... if I come to it. She corrected herself again sadly.
She set the notebook down and stared out into their yard and watched the koi pond as the sun climbed in the sky and waited for Ranma to come back. She forced herself to go over the plans she had decided on for dealing with the Amazons. She wanted to have them ready to go to present to Ranma when he got home. Even if she hadn't made the promises with him, she still would have helped him with them — they were too dangerous to leave running around town for any longer. They needed to be dealt with.
She shivered and thought with no small amount of dread, I just hope ... I am strong enough for this.