Akane had tears in her eyes as she looked at her and Ranma sitting on the floor of the dojo together. Her little sister opened her mouth to speak, then closed it, then opened it again. Finally, after several failed attempts, Akane managed to whisper the message she had come to tell them. "Kasumi told me ... to tell you ... that dinner's almost ready." Akane said, despondently.
Before Nabiki could say anything, Akane spun on her heel and ran back towards the house.
"Go after her, Ranma. Talk to her." She said urgently.
"But—" He started to protest.
"You don't have to tell her anything you don't want to, you don't need to promise her anything, you don't need to do anything you don't want to. But, I know she would really like to talk to you. Can you just go and talk to her, and listen to her?" She whispered. When he didn't move after a moment, as emotions warred across his face, she asked him again. "Please?"
He looked at her as he made up his mind, and nodded, then immediately jumped up and ran after Akane.
She stared after him for a moment, then got up on shaky legs to head back to the house. She caught a glimpse of him following Akane out to the courtyard as she walked down the walkway to the house. She deliberately kept walking and didn't linger to watch them. She softly wiped her cheeks with the backs of her hands as she walked. Even though they had been tears of wonder, she didn't want to have to explain them to anyone.
I have to trust him. Akane is going to try to take him back. If he goes back to her ... then it was never meant to be. I just have to ... believe ... that he'll choose me. She thought to herself with stubborn determination that she tried to use to mask her fear.
She wanted Akane to be happy, and she knew Akane was hurting right now. Talking to Ranma might make her sister feel better. Of course, knowing the two of them, and his tendency to put his foot in his mouth, it could make Akane feel worse. She shrugged as she walked. There was only so much she could do to help.
She turned the corner as she entered the house, and almost ran into Kasumi, who was standing in the shadows of the doorway and looking out at the courtyard. She knew without turning around that Kasumi was watching them.
"Hello Kasumi. Akane said you had dinner almost ready?" She said, deliberately trying to ignore what was going on behind her.
Kasumi didn't take her eyes off where she was looking. "It was very kind of you to send Ranma to her." Kasumi said, ignoring what she had said.
"I ... well ... " She stammered.
"Are you sure it was wise, though?" Kasumi asked with an uncharacteristically harder edge in her voice as she kept her gaze on the courtyard.
She shrugged. "They are going to have to talk at some point. It might as well be now." She said as she admitted defeat and talked about it.
Kasumi looked at her then and fixed her with a watery stare that had a lot of pain behind it. "Just ... be careful that you know what you're doing. Let him know that you care, don't play games with him. Don't let him slip away..." Kasumi said softly.
She knew her older sister was talking about Doctor Tofu. "You know, Doctor Tofu is here ... why don't you try to talk to him?" She suggested.
Kasumi smiled a small, one might say bitter, smile. Silence stretched between them for a handful of moments. Finally, Kasumi responded as she turned to head back to the kitchen. "What makes you think I haven't been?" Her older sister said sadly as she walked back to the kitchen. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes."
She stared dumbfounded after Kasumi for a moment, before she shook her head and wandered towards the dining room. The delicious smells from the kitchen were wafting on warm air from the kitchen into the hallway and mixing with the cool air from outside. It was an invigorating tease on her senses. She found herself getting eager to be at the dinner table and enjoying Kasumi's food.
However, before she made it to the dining room, she found Doctor Tofu sitting in the entry way just staring at the front door. The expression on his face snapped her out of her reverie. He looked exhausted and pensive at the same time.
"Waiting for someone?" She asked softly.
He looked up at her and smiled. "Not particularly. Just thinking."
"You can sleep tonight, so can Daddy and Ranma's Dad. The Amazons have called a truce for the next two days. It'll end the morning after tomorrow morning." She said happily.
He nodded. "I thought Shampoo's Elder might do something like that. It's good news, though. I could use a break. We should probably stay on guard though, just in case." He said calmly.
She shrugged. She knew Ranma was going to protect her, even if he had to sleep outside her door, or over her window on the roof to do it. She'd try to stop him, but she knew she wouldn't be able to. She smiled despite herself. Even though she didn't want him suffering for her, she couldn't help feeling flattered and special from his loyalty and devotion. He was a throwback to a different time, when a lot more men behaved like he did. She knew he behaved the way he did, because his dad had trained him to be that way, and the only reason his dad had done so, was because of the promise made to his mom. So, in every way that counted, she had Ranma's mom to thank for how wonderful he could be.
"I'm not worried about it." Was all she said to Doctor Tofu.
He smiled at her. "I'm sure you're not, especially with Ranma following you around everywhere." He said kindly. "I'll talk to your dad about what he wants us to do with regard to guarding the house tonight, just in case." He added.
She nodded as she sat down next to him. They sat in companionable silence for a little while. She shot glances at him occasionally as she tried to read him. As per usual, she couldn't read him. It was odd, sometimes when she was around Doctor Tofu, but he didn't know she was there, sometimes she felt like she almost could read him. He definitely let his shields down when he thought he was alone. But, as soon as he knew she or one of sisters was around, he slammed his shields into place quickly. She wondered why he was always so guarded? Was it just around them, or did he just have his shields up whenever he was around people?
She looked over at him, and weirdly felt something in herself straining. Doctor Tofu had always been there for them, since she was a little girl. She had known him when Mom was alive. And, after Mom had died, Doctor Tofu had suddenly been around a lot. For the first few weeks after Mom had died, during the worst of those dark times, he had been there every single day. She was sure of that. Oddly though, she couldn't remember any details from that time. She had a vague sense of that time period, but most of that time was oddly empty in her mind. It was like she had a photograph of that time in her mind, but no video. She had the essence without the substance.
Thinking of those old memories jarred her memory of more recent events into the front of her mind. She tapped her fist into her palm and smiled as she turned to him to ask about Akane's behavior from earlier in the day.
"Doctor Tofu, have you ever blanked out when fighting?"
"What do you mean?" He asked kindly as he smiled and turned to her, and gave her his full attention.
"Ranma had to hold Akane back today, to keep her from hitting an opponent after she'd won."
He frowned at that. "How so?"
"Well, Ranma could probably explain it much better than I can, but from what I saw, when Akane ran to help me when I was attacked today, she lost ... herself. She was fighting on instinct I think. Even after she'd won the fight, she kept fighting. I don't know what she would have done, if Ranma hadn't stopped her." She said quietly.
"But Ranma was in control?" He asked.
She nodded. "Yeah, Ranma was his usual self. Akane was gone, though. I could see in her eyes that she wasn't there. I don't know where she went, but she was checked out. It almost seemed like her body was on autopilot." She said as she tried to explain something that she had experienced mostly as a series of emotions, and filtered through her own very strong emotions she'd been experiencing at the time.
He nodded. "What you are describing is not ... uncommon. It isn't common either. But it isn't anything to be particularly worried about, I don't think. I will talk to Akane about it though, and see if I can help her understand it a little better, so she can maybe stay in better control the next time she is feeling like that." He said with quiet confidence.
"So, what was it?" She asked, curious.
"There isn't really an official name for it. Martial Artists, Soldiers, Police Officers, Paramedics, and others who regularly experience adrenaline and intense, high pressure situations that spike stress levels and push the body to the limits, all can sometimes experience what you are describing. My own Master refers to it as whiting out." He said quietly.
"Wait ... you have a Master?" She asked, wide eyed.
"Of course I do, a very good one." He said with a smile.
She didn't know why, but it had never occurred to her that Doctor Tofu would have his own Master. In some ways, that kind of ruined the perception she had of him. In other ways, though, it made her feel better about him. It was creepy how good he was at so much stuff. She was happy that there were at least some things that even the mighty Doctor Tofu needed help with.
"Well ... why does your Master call it that?" She asked as she dragged her mind back to the topic at hand.
"I don't know why it is called that. I don't even know if my Master is the one who named it that. But, what you were describing sounds like a white out to me."
"Not a black out?" She asked.
"No, when one blacks out, one tends to lose consciousness. Not always, but usually. A white out is different. You will still be in full control of your body, you won't lose consciousness, but the part of your mind that controls your higher order functions, such as reasoning and inhibitions will be suppressed under the strong emotions causing the white out."
"Strong emotions?" She asked, confused.
He nodded. "Yes, white outs are usually triggered by an intense amount of fear or anger coupled with adrenaline. It has to be one of the primal instinct emotions that will trigger the fight-or-flight instinct, and it has to cause an adrenaline dump, and all of it has to be strong. The run of the mill bouts of anger or fear from a fight or something similar won't do it. The person in question has to feel like if they don't act, something terrible will happen, or they have to be reliving past trauma. Soldiers who have been in combat can sometimes white out under the right conditions, so can victims of past traumas of a more mundane nature. The conditions are different for every person, but if they happen, then a white out could be triggered." He finished calmly.
"Is it ... dangerous?" She asked, worried.
"Well, yes and no. The physical aspects of the condition aren't dangerous to the person experiencing them, if that is what you mean. But a person under the influence of a white out has lost their capacity to reason and they are acting on instinct and training. Whatever their trigger was, will need to be dealt with, before they will come out of it on their own. If they don't come out of it on their own, then only being knocked unconscious will stop them, or being allowed to lose consciousness on their own, if that is a possibility. A person who is whited out won't have any regard for their own safety, either. I have heard about it happening to people like Fire Fighters who go charging into a burning building to save just one more person, and they end up dying as well. In that respect, it is very dangerous. When humans are operating on their base and primal instincts, they can accomplish incredible things, but they can also be a danger to themselves and others." He said quietly.
"Akane was ... protecting me ... when it happened." She whispered. "Would that be enough?" She asked.
He looked at her without the usual mirth on his face, and nodded.
She didn't know what to say to that, so she just sat and thought silently for a few moments. He resumed looking at the door absently. Since she was already sitting and talking with him, she decided to see if she could plant some of the seeds needed to get him to resolve whatever issues he and Kasumi had.
"Doctor Tofu..." She hesitated, she wanted to help, but at the same time she wanted to leave it alone. She felt that, based on Kasumi's behavior, the topic she was about to touch on, was sensitive, to say the least.
"Yes, Nabiki?" He said, without looking back at her. He had resumed using his cheerful voice, though.
"You ... you like Kasumi, don't you?" She asked carefully. Kasumi wouldn't thank her for driving him further away, she needed to be very delicate with this.
"Of course I do, I like all of you." He said warmly.
"No, I mean really like her... you know?"
"Nabiki ..." He said in a tone that could either be a warning, or sadness.
"If you like her, why aren't you with her? Did something happen between you two?"
He popped up to his feet and his glasses shimmered as he assumed the absurd poise he usually used in his act around Kasumi. "I'd love to keep talking, Nabiki. But I need to get the fish out of the bookcase before the mailman gets here." He stuttered with a goofy smile on his face.
She stared at him open mouthed, in shock.
"Talk to you later, Nabiki, keep in touch!" He said cheerfully as he wandered out of the room while randomly staring at the walls and talking to houseplants.
She had always assumed his act was because of shyness. He had only ever done it around Kasumi, whom everyone knew he was attracted to. It had never occurred to her that his act might be a defense. Could it be that he did the goofy act whenever he didn't want to think or talk about his past with Kasumi?
If he's defending himself against me now, just for bringing it up ... what the hell happened between them? She thought in consternation as she watched him leave with her jaw hanging open in shock.
With a sigh, she got up and made her way into the dining room. It didn't surprise her that Doctor Tofu wasn't there. He had probably slipped away somewhere to reset as soon as he had been out of her sight.
She wandered past the patio doors on her way to sit at the table. The doors were only partially closed, and she realized she could hear a voice on the other side of the doors. It was Ranma's voice.
"—it was nice, Akane. I did have fun ... our dat—"
She stepped closer to the door to listen. She knew she shouldn't, but she couldn't help herself. This was an opportunity to find out how serious he was about Akane.
She could tell that Akane was talking to him, but her sister's voice was too quiet for her to hear. Ranma's was just loud enough for her to hear most of what he was saying.
"Yes ... we're goin' out a little later this week." Ranma said.
"—t about us?" She heard Akane say, a little louder.
"What —bout us? All —v'r done ... fight." Ranma said softly.
There was a pause then. She seriously considered backing away from the door at that point, in case they were walking towards the dining room. Then she head Akane again.
"—e don't have ... fight ... —ould ...—rt over..."
"Akane..." Ranma said seriously. She couldn't hear Akane's response, but he continued a moment later.
"—just us, not ... Dads anym— ... —can't say ... forced us—"
"Okay." She heard Akane say weakly.
"—you sayin'... —ave feelins' for—" Ranma asked.
"N-no ... —ust wanted..." Akane stammered.
"What? ... —o back ... —ay things were?" He asked in a neutral voice.
"Y-yes." Akane said in a longing voice.
"—on't know if ... can—" He said.
"...—aying? Would you ... —tay with Nabiki?" Akane said in a small voice.
"I ... —on't know." Ranma said in an equally small voice.
"Ranma?" Akane said urgently.
There was another pause, she couldn't hear his response. She didn't care if she got caught anymore, she had to hear the rest.
"—ou have feeli—... me?" Akane asked in a shaking voice.
Despite the fact that Akane might very well be in the process of taking him from her, she silently applauded her little sister. Damned if she didn't do exactly what I told her to do. She thought with a mixture of pride and dread.
"—asked ... —irst." Ranma replied in a voice that was both happy and tired at the same time.
"Can't you—" Akane started to say.
She didn't hear the rest of what they said, because she heard footsteps coming into the dining room. She had heard enough to know that she at least still had a fighting chance. She hurried away from the doors and made her way to her usual spot at the table.
Kasumi entered the room a moment later and busied herself setting plates and utensils on the table. They both smiled strained smiles at each other but didn't say anything over the clink of the utensils being laid out.
The doors to the patio slid open a moment later, and Ranma entered the room first and took a seat next to her. Akane followed him a few moments later. Her little sister looked both happy, and sad. Akane sat down across from him at the table.
Daddy did not join them for dinner, neither did Ranma's dad. Doctor Tofu did enter the room a little while after Akane had, and he sat at the opposite end of the table from Daddy's spot, leaving Daddy's spot open.
She looked at him, and he smiled at her in his usual way, but he in no way acknowledged the awkwardness between them from earlier. She also noticed that he was doing all he could to not interact with Kasumi. It seemed that as his contact with Kasumi increased over time, he went from doing his act whenever she was around, to only when he had to interact with her. She really felt that she needed to talk to Kasumi about what had happened, if for no other reason that to satisfy her curiosity.
A few moments later everyone was seated and eating. Ranma was still sneaking glances at her. She noticed that Akane was sneaking glances at Ranma as well. Ranma did a good job of hiding it, but she caught him at least once looking in Akane's direction as well. She felt a coldness building up inside herself, but she ignored it. The dragon inside her was snorting nervously and trying to get her to do something more aggressive to take him back. She ignored it.
She had promised not to interfere, and she was going to do her best to keep that promise. If Ranma went back to Akane, then she would just have to find a way to live with that. The dragon inside her rolled its eyes at her. She sighed and continued to eat. It helped that Kasumi's food was so good. There was nothing like a home-cooked hot meal, it was one of the greatest things on Earth.
When they had all finished and thanked Kasumi for the meal, Doctor Tofu surprised her by clearing his throat and drawing attention to himself. He smiled at all of them gently.
"As I am sure you know, your father finished repairing the walls for the bedrooms today. Your father asked me to tell Nabiki and Akane that they are free to sleep in their own rooms again tonight." He announced softly.
She had known in the back of her mind that it was coming, but it still stung to hear it. She didn't know how she had managed to get so attached to sleeping with Ranma in such a short amount of time, but she had. It felt really ... bad ... to think of going to sleep alone in her bed, by herself in her room ... alone.
She looked over at him and found him looking at her as well. She couldn't read his expression, though. He could be feeling sad or relieved not to be burdened with her any more. He—
"Additionally..." Doctor Tofu interrupted her thoughts. "Additionally ... your father asked me to remind Ranma that he is still responsible for guarding Nabiki during the night, as her fiancé." Doctor Tofu's tone made it clear that he didn't approve of the order he was relaying from Daddy.
Her center immediately warmed with happiness. Ranma was going to sleep with her, in her room! She wouldn't be alone after—
Akane interrupted her thoughts as she looked up sharply at Doctor Tofu and shook her head rapidly. "No ... no! That's not right!" Akane protested as she slapped the table in frustration. Her little sister's hair had come out from behind her ears and was splashed across her face in disarray. She could almost feel how distressed Akane was. On a certain level, she could sympathize with Akane. She would be just as upset if Ranma was being ordered to sleep in Akane's room.
Ranma looked at her and seemed to shrink into himself. He was deliberately hunching himself over and trying to get as small as possible. She smiled at him. She knew that he didn't want to hurt Akane or herself, and so he would just try to avoid the issue entirely. As for herself, she put on her best impassive mask, and just waited and watched.
Akane was doing her best to stare Doctor Tofu down, as he was the de facto authority figure in the house with both Daddy and Ranma's dad out of action. Doctor Tofu just shrugged and accepted Akane's hard stare impassively as he tried to calm her down. "I am just telling you what your father asked me to tell you all. It ... is not my place ... to question his orders in his own home. I am not going to force anyone to do anything, though. You are all old enough to handle this yourselves. If you want to argue the orders, you will have to take it up with your father." 
"Maybe I will." Akane said as she stood up from the table.
"Akane ... please sit down." Kasumi said in a quiet voice. To an outsider, it would seem like a simple request from an older sister. In their family though, coming from Kasumi, a request like that was an irrefusable order.
Akane collapsed on shaky legs and meekly took her place back at the table.
As for herself, she watched her older sister warily with a raised eyebrow. Akane was still young enough to obey Kasumi like she would have obeyed Mom. For herself, she was more or less willing to go along with Kasumi heading their household as well, but when it came to her love life, she wasn't just going to blindly obey Kasumi just because her older sister had taken on the maternal role in their family in Mom's absence.
Doctor Tofu looked down at the table and, like Ranma, did his best to disappear from the conversation. She knew that he disapproved of the entire situation. She knew he would indeed say something against the idea of Ranma sleeping in any of their rooms, if they had been in his clinic. She smiled at that.
Kasumi looked around the table calmly, and finally rested her gaze on Ranma. Ranma flinched away from it. Kasumi pressed him anyway. "Ranma, what do you think should be done?"
Poor Ranma. She thought as she watched him wilt under Kasumi's steady gaze. Putting him under the spotlight was a very direct way of solving the problem, but she knew Ranma wasn't ready to make a choice yet. He was more likely to run for it than to openly choose Akane or herself in front of the other right now.
"I ... um ... I..." He stammered.
Kasumi simply stared at him, and waited.
Sheesh, she's being pretty brutal with him. She thought as she gathered herself to come to his defense. It wasn't fair for all of this to be put on him. She opened her mouth to speak, when he surprised her.
"I ... I think that Nabiki does need to be guarded at night." Ranma said softly.
Akane looked up at him with betrayal written all over her face. Kasumi smiled softly but didn't say anything. Doctor Tofu continued looking down at the table and pretending like he wasn't there. And she did her best to try to keep her happiness off of her face. She didn't dare look at Akane right now. She knew she wasn't doing the best job of hiding her happiness. He had chosen her! He'd chosen her in front of everyone, he—
"—but I don't have to guard her in her room. I can stand guard outside her door, or I can sit up on the roof and watch her room." He said in a slightly stronger voice.
Way to kill the party, Ranma. She thought sourly to herself. She knew he was just doing his best to be diplomatic and to not hurt Akane, but it still ... distressed her ... to think of not sleeping with him again. She didn't know why she felt so strongly about it, but she did, and she couldn't help it.
"No Ranma, you're not sleeping on the roof. That's out of the question. You don't need to suffer just to do your duty." She said gently. "If you insist on being noble, the hallway will suffice." She said firmly. She wasn't going to stand for Ranma being made to suffer just to satisfy people's honor and frankly their own selfishness.
He looked over at her and flashed her a grateful smile before he turned to look back at Kasumi again, and shrugged. "I guess that will work." He said agreeably.
"And what about Akane?" Kasumi asked gently.
She looked at her older sister with wide eyes. What was Kasumi doing? Was she deliberately agitating the situation out of spite, or was she trying to push Ranma to a resolution of some sort?
"Doesn't Akane need to be guarded too?" Kasumi pressed.
"I can take care of you and Akane." Doctor Tofu spoke up without looking up. She could tell that he hated the whole situation. She was sure if he had his way, they would all camp out together in the dining room and he would just watch over all of them. That was probably the most logical way of handling the situation, but it wasn't the way she wanted the situation handled. She knew it was selfish, but she didn't want to share Ranma with ... anyone. 
Doctor Tofu's offer of protection for Akane was an honorable way out for everyone. She sighed with relief. If Doctor Tofu was offering to protect Akane, then Akane no longer had much of a leg to stand on. She looked at Akane and waited.
"I ... I guess that ..." Akane struggled to say. She could tell Akane was desperately trying to figure out a way to force the situation to resolve in her favor.
"What if Akane slept in Nabiki's room with them?" Kasumi suggested softly.
She looked up sharply at Kasumi with an audible gasp as Akane did the same thing. Ranma had gone back to trying to be invisible.
"Wait a minute, let's not get—" She started to say.
"—Yes!" Akane cut her off as her little sister agreed to Kasumi's proposal enthusiastically.
She clamped her jaw shut in shock. She knew that Akane was doing her best to get him back, but she never would have expected Akane to agree to such an idea. She locked her eyes on Akane in open surprise, but Akane was staring determinedly at Ranma.
"Ranma, can you protect both of them?" Kasumi asked sweetly.
"I don't need him to protect me." Akane said indignantly.
"Then why do you—" She started to ask.
"—you know why." Akane said in as agreeable a tone as she was sure her little sister could pull off at the moment. Akane was fighting for him, hard.
"Ranma?" Kasumi pressed him as she and Akane locked eyes and tried to stare each other down.
She didn't want to get into a fight with Akane, but she wasn't willing to back down over Ranma, either. It was clear that Akane was gearing up to play for keeps. She sighed inside, she really had herself to blame for the whole thing, at least partially. She broke the staring contest first and refocused on Ranma as he stammered and tried to answer Kasumi without openly picking either of them.
"I ... I, yeah, sure, Kasumi. I can protect 'em both." He said in as confident a tone as he could. She could tell he was extremely uncomfortable though.
"Akane, is that what you want?" Doctor Tofu spoke up quietly.
"I, um ... well ... I guess?" Akane said in a tone that struggled to match Doctor Tofu's calm tone.
Doctor Tofu looked up then, but he didn't look at herself or Akane, he looked at Kasumi. "Just make sure, that you know what you want, and you are being honest with yourself. Nobody is forcing you to do anything." He said quietly.
She gasped quietly as she realized what was going on. This was a battle. Kasumi and Doctor Tofu were using the situation as a proxy war for whatever had happened between them. She ... didn't approve of that ... at all, if it was true. She narrowed her eyes and alternated between staring at Kasumi and Doctor Tofu, but neither of them would meet her gaze.
Finally, Kasumi stood up in her usual serene way, and ended it. "All right, well then it's settled. If Akane wants to, she may sleep in Nabiki's room with Ranma and Nabiki. Otherwise, Akane will be protected during the night by Doctor Tofu. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have things to take care of." Kasumi glided out of the room before anyone could respond to that.
Doctor Tofu hopped up a moment later and started collecting dishes and utensils to bring to the kitchen. That left the three of them, alone in the dining room, sitting uncomfortably together.
She spoke up first and tried to resume control of the situation. "Ranma, meet me up in my room in a few minutes?" She asked in a tense voice. He nodded without looking up.
"I'll see you in a few minutes too, Ranma, save space on the floor for me, all right?" Akane spoke up as well. Her little sister wasn't backing down. Ranma again nodded mutely.
All three of them stood up and stood awkwardly together for another handful of moments, before Ranma finally turned around and started walking slowly towards the stairs. He never looked up once. She really, really wanted to get him alone before Akane joined them in the room so she darted after him without saying anything to Akane.
By the time she rounded the corner though, he was already gone. Damn, that boy can move fast when he wants to. She thought in mild irritation coupled with amusement as she stood on the cold wooden floor in her bare feet and tried to decide what to do next. He was probably hiding, so hunting for him wouldn't do much good. The best she could do would be to go wait in her room and hope she could get at least a small talk in with him alone. She really wanted to know how he was feeling.
With a sigh, she trudged up the stairs and quickly took care of her nighttime ablutions in the bathroom before she hopped across the hall and into her room. She then quickly changed into her pajamas and sat on her bed and waited.
She didn't have to wait long. There was a small knock on her door a moment later as the door opened. It was Ranma. She smiled at him as invitingly as she could, and waved him inside. He nodded and his head ducked out of the door then her door opened wide as he entered carrying his futon set from the guest room.
She popped up from the bed and moved quickly to shut the door behind him as he busied himself setting up his bed on her floor. She noted that he had chosen to set his bed next to her bed. That made her happy.
She leaned her back on her door and waited for him to finish. When he did, he sat on top of his futon and looked up at her with slightly panicked eyes. She knew he had to be uncomfortable about this.
"Ranma are you—" She started to ask, then three sharp raps on her door signaled the arrival of most likely Akane.
She reached behind herself and locked her door. A moment later the handle jiggled and she sighed.
She tried again quickly. "Ranma, are you sure you're—"
"—Nabiki? Your door's locked." Akane said from the other side of the door in a voice that was trying to be innocent, but was clearly accusatory. She sighed and unlocked the door and stepped away from it as Ranma looked down at his bed. She moved back to her bed and sat on it before she called out to Akane.
"It's open now, sorry." She said in a voice she tried to keep even, but she knew had some anger seeping into it.
Her door opened slowly, and Akane entered her room with her eyes on the floor. Her little sister knew she didn't belong there.
She wasn't proud of it, but she was glad Akane felt that way. She knew it wasn't fair, but she thought of Ranma as hers now. Especially at night. There was something about the darkness that did something to people. They wanted to be close to their loved ones. They wanted to be held. They wanted to whisper to their partners in the darkness ... preferably without their little sisters in the room.
She sighed and tried to be nice. "Would you like the bed, Akane?"
Akane shook her head and pointed out the door. "No, I brought the other futon set from the guest room. I'll just set it up ... next to Ranma's." Akane said quietly but determinedly. She could see that Akane was blushing.
It would have been funny to her that Akane had pushed for this situation to happen in the first place, considering her little sister's issues with boys in general, and Ranma in specific, especially in a sleeping situation. But it wasn't funny now that it was happening.
Ranma just sat on his bed and didn't look at either of them. She really wished that she could have gotten him alone for a little while to talk. But she hadn't been able to make it happen. So, she had no idea how he felt about the situation he now found himself in. She knew from what she had overheard of his talk with Akane, that he wasn't over Akane. And she knew from her experiences with him the last few days, that he had feelings for her as well. He had to be feeling, at the very least, a little trapped.
Some guys would be ecstatic to be in the situation Ranma was in. Sleeping in the same room alone with two girls who were interested in him, with no parental supervision? They'd be tripping over themselves to sign-up. Of course, the very fact that a guy would be drooling over a situation like that, was precisely why most girls would never agree to such a situation.
Ranma was ... different. Part of it was that he was shy, but another part was that she knew that he genuinely didn't want to hurt her or her sister. It was because of that, that she was willing to have him sleep with her alone, and she was willing to share the room with him with Akane present, instead of making him sleep on the roof or outside her door to guard her. She wanted him nearby. She felt that if she didn't keep him as close to her as possible, that somehow he was going to slip away from her. She was determined to not let that happen ... even to Akane.
She eyed her little sister without any mirth, as Akane setup her bedding next to his. At least Akane had enough restraint to keep from laying out her bedding right next to his. Akane had included a little walkway between them of about half a meter. Ranma's bedding was already laid out on the ground next to her bed, with a tiny walkway between his futon and her bed. She was sure he had set it up that way in case either of them needed to get up during the night.
"Well, shall we get to sleep?" Akane asked quietly once she was done setting up her bedding. It was clear that the reality of what Akane had thrown herself into, wasn't as ideal as what her little sister had probably been imagining at the dinner table. Akane seemed very uncomfortable. She couldn't help but think that it served Akane right, she was uncomfortable too because of it.
Ranma nodded, still without looking up. She nodded as well. "Hit the lights?" She asked Akane, who was the only one still standing. Akane locked eyes with her for a moment, then nodded. She hadn't been able to read Akane's expression very well, but Akane had seemed ... peaceful. She had to admit that made her feel a bit nervous.
Akane shut off the lights, and the room plunged into darkness. While she was still light-blind, she heard the rustling of both Ranma and Akane settling into their bedding. She continued to sit on her bed. Once her eyes had adjusted to the darkness with the little bit of light coming in from the window, she eyed the two of them and sighed.
Ranma was laying perfectly straight on top of his bed. He was clearly trying to not provoke either one of them. Akane was buried in her bedding, and had her head turned so her eyes were looking away from both of them and towards the door. She could smell Akane's perfume. It wasn't an unpleasant scent, and it was barely there, but to her, it was a sign of an invasion. She frowned as she warred with herself over her desire for Ranma against her distaste for Akane suffering. She was in uncharted waters and didn't really know which way to go next.
She sighed and spent a minute trying to get Ranma to look at her, mostly by staring at him and willing him to look at her. Sometimes that worked, especially on people like Ranma. But he either wouldn't look at her, or didn't realize she was trying to get his attention. So, she eventually gave up and laid back down on her bed and sighed again. She wasn't that used to sleeping with him, so she was sure she would get used to his absence next to her as quickly as she had gotten used to his presence.
"Goodnight, Ranma." She said sweetly. She didn't say anything to Akane. Ranma mumbled something that sounded like 'night.
There were a couple of moments of silence after that, then Akane spoke up. "Goodnight, big sister. Night, Ranma." Akane said in her own sweet voice. Ranma again replied with a mumbled reply. He was either very sleepy and already drifting off, or he was deliberately being vague to avoid getting into anything while sandwiched between them.
Smart boy. She thought with a smile to herself in the dark. It hadn't escaped her notice that Akane had said goodnight to her as well, and that her little sister had listed her first. In some ways it made her look bad, but she didn't care right now. She was still irritated that she didn't get to sleep with Ranma alone tonight. She wasn't sure why she felt so possessive of him, and why she was feeling the emotions she was feeling so strongly, but she couldn't help it. It was like the events that had been set into motion the last few days had let something loose inside her. Every passing day seemed to make those feelings grow stronger. Already she was feeling terrible laying alone on her bed without him. Her body was fine, but emotionally she needed him to be with her. She had no rational explanation for it. Logically, it didn't make sense.
She lay on top of the blankets on her bed, not moving, for a long while. Eventually, she got under the blankets and curled up into a ball. The bed under her was soft and warm with smooth, clean sheets. Her blanket was heavy and warm and slightly rougher than her sheets. Normally she loved being in her bed. But right now, she didn't feel right. She felt off, not just off her center, but unbalanced, like a critical part of her was missing. She felt his absence very keenly. She wanted him in bed with her. She thought very seriously about just reaching down and grabbing him and pulling him up to her. But she knew without a doubt that Akane would notice that, and there would be ... an incident.
She sighed and grabbed her pillow from behind her head and clutched it to her chest. It was a poor substitute for him, but it was all she had. It didn't help that she could hear him breathing in her room, and she could smell his usual flowery-cedar smell, albeit from a distance. She could feel herself drifting off to sleep. She knew it wouldn't be a restful sleep.

***

She woke up with a sudden sharp and cold feeling that something was wrong. It was still nighttime. She reached out for Ranma but there was nobody in bed with her. She felt cold inside, empty. The pillow she had been holding earlier was still in her arms, clutched there tightly. Her body was warm and wrapped in her own blanket in her own bed, but it wasn't the same as having him with her. Nothing would be. She opened her eyes partially and there he was.
He was standing near the window at the foot of her bed, with his hands clasped behind his back, like a sentry. Just like he had tried to do the first night they had spent together. He had turned his shoulder from the window and was looking over it at her. She immediately felt better just seeing him. She darted a quick glance over at Akane, and saw only her sister's back. Akane was rolled onto her side and seemed to be asleep. She looked back at him and almost whimpered out loud.
She ached to have him hold her. She knew he couldn't with Akane in the room but, oh God, she wanted him to anyway! He raised his eyebrows at her in a silent question, so she waved him over. He nodded and stepped silently over to her bedside.
As soon as he reached the side of her bed, she reached her hand out of the blanket for his. He took her hand gently in his warm and somewhat rougher hands. She pulled him down so he was leaning right over her. His breath was warm on her neck. It sent shivers up and down her spine to feel it.
"What's wrong?" He whispered softly with his lips right next to her ear, so softly even she could barely hear it.
"Lonely." She whispered back, just as softly.
He didn't say anything to that. He did reach his other hand up gently and stroke her hair though. His touch made her arch her back with happiness, and she sighed contentedly as she closed her eyes.
"... Akane ..." he said nervously.
"I know." She whispered with only a touch of disappointment in her voice. She then pulled harder on his other hand until he was basically laying on her. She could feel him straining with his arm muscles to keep his full weight off her though.
"What're you—" He whispered urgently.
"Miss you." She replied in her own urgent whisper. She didn't know why she was being so aggressive, she just knew that she wanted him to be with her. She couldn't help it, she was addicted to being held now.
He shook his head gently as he pushed himself off her slowly. She was sure he was trying to avoid making noise as much as he was trying not to hurt her. "I ... um ... Akane..." He whispered.
She sighed and nodded. Then she pulled on him again insistently. She wasn't strong enough to force him to fall back down towards her if he didn't want to, but after a moment he relented and leaned his head back down towards her. As soon as he was close enough she whispered to him. "Sleep. Don't stand guard all night. I seriously doubt the Amazons will break the truce, and even if they do, Doctor Tofu is watching the house, and it isn't like Akane and I would be silent if we were being attacked."
"Yeah, but—" He started to protest.
"Sleep. You can't protect us as well during the day if you are exhausted from standing guard all night." She insisted. She knew invoking what he thought of as his duty would get him to comply, even though she thought of it as him doing them a favor, and not his duty.
"Okay, I'll sleep." He said grudgingly.
"Promise me, Ranma. Swear on your honor that you'll actually sleep, all night, and not just for an hour or something." She insisted.
"How did you know I—" He started to say with an incredulous tone.
"You forget who you're speaking to, Saotome." She said with a smirk she knew he couldn't see. "Now, promise me." She insisted.
"I ... all right, Nabiki, I promise, I swear." He said in a resigned tone.
The urge to kiss him rose up in her so strongly that she had to bite her lip to keep herself from acting on it. His scent was swimming around her strong enough that she could taste it, and the heat of his body was seeping into her. She wanted him so badly she could barely stand it. She could feel him pause as well as he struggled with whatever was going on in his head. After a tense few seconds he finally straightened up again and looked down at her with eyes that spoke of his own longing. He stepped back from her slowly.
She let one of her hands slide off his, but her hand closest to him to held on tightly with. He smiled at her and sank slowly down into his bed. She had his left hand clutched tightly in her right hand. She scooted over to the edge of her bed so she could keep her grip on his hand as he lay all the way down.
He rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb and squeezed her hand reassuringly as he settled down to sleep. He kept his grip on her hand as well. She smiled and started to drift off to sleep as well. She was okay. Ranma was holding her.