When school was over, Nabiki followed Akane home. Or, at least she thought Akane would head home. She hadn't bothered waiting for Ranma, because she knew he would be busy with the teams she had rented him to.
She figured she may as well try to make peace with Akane. She didn't want Ranma to come between them after all. As she followed behind her little sister, she realized that Akane was deliberately avoiding going home as her little sister wandered into one of the shopping districts near the school.
She probably doesn't want to be around Ranma while he is engaged to me. She mused thoughtfully as she watched Akane window shopping from across the street. Her little sister's steps were getting shorter, and whenever she could catch a glimpse of her sister's face, she could tell that Akane was on the verge of tears.
Well, fine, she may as well get it over with. As Akane leaned against the wall of one of the shops she had been looking in, she walked up behind her and announced her presence. "Akane?"
Akane stiffened in surprise and immediately stood up straight as she turned around to face her and replied. "Nabiki?"
Poor Akane. Just from looking at her face, it was clear Akane was miserable. But, it wasn't like this whole situation hadn't been caused by Akane, so her sympathy for her sister was limited, at best. She tried to lighten the mood anyway. "What's with the end-of-the-world face?" She tilted her head and waited for an answer from her overly serious sister.
Akane looked back at her with her unspoken answer on her lips, but her sister was still too proud or childish to say she wanted Ranma back.
Fine, she would give her another chance to take him back. She smiled. "Oh-ho! You actually want him back, don't you?" She asked as she held up two fingers and leaned closer to her. "For two thousand Yen, he's all yours."
There. She'd said it. As she had promised herself the night Akane switched the engagement, she wasn't just going to give him back. She had her own pride after all, and Akane needed to learn her lesson. Ranma was a person, not a toy to fight over. Akane couldn't just throw his engagement around to any of the Tendo sisters whenever the mood struck her. She would have to pay the price for her casual dismissal of her engagement to Ranma.
And, if she was being honest with herself, she also wanted Akane to pay the price for involving her in this as well. She was sure Akane was unaware of how she really felt about Ranma, but that wasn't the point.
Akane looked at her sadly, but didn't respond. She was getting tired of Akane's stubbornness. If Akane was this bad with her, she could only imagine how her sister was with Ranma. After waiting a few more moments for Akane to respond, she pressed her.
"Well? Do you want him back, or not? If you don't want him back, fine, but don't come crying to me later." She ended up saying that a lot more forcefully than she had meant to. Inwardly, she wondered if it was just sibling rivalry, her distaste for Akane's attitude, or if she really did want to keep Ranma? She'd probably never know, because Akane was sure to break down soon and take him back. She watched her expectantly. When Akane didn't say anything after a few moments more, she rolled her eyes and started to walk away.
Finally, Akane called out after her with a shaky voice. "B-but I'm... I'm not like you, Nabiki." Akane said as she looked down at the ground.
She turned back and listened to her but didn't say anything. She wondered how her self-righteous sister thought she wasn't like herself.
Akane continued as she balled her hands into fists and tears of frustration sprang into her eyes. "I can't ... I can't say it! So why should I even care?!"
Oh, ... Akane ... she thought as she walked over and silently put her arm around her dopey sister. "Let's talk." She said kindly as she pulled Akane to start walking with her, and her sister cried quietly into her shoulder.
She walked them down a few doors to a nearby snack shop and pulled her sniffling sister in the door after her. The shopkeeper greeted them warmly and when he saw it was two young ladies, one of whom was crying, he quietly pointed to a nice sunny table by the window to the one who wasn't crying. She nodded her understanding and steered Akane towards the indicated table.
She sat her down at the table, and pulled a chair up next to her and let her little sister lean on her for a while and just let it out. A minute later Akane was pulling herself upright and wiping her eyes on the backs of her hands. Nabiki made eye contact with the owner, and held up two fingers. He nodded and hurried over with two menus as Akane finished getting herself sorted out. While Akane was doing that, she reseated herself across the table from her.
Once they had both ordered, she sat back in her chair and watched her sister curiously. She wondered if Akane would be able to speak honestly about Ranma after that outburst.
After the owner brought their food and drinks, she paid him and then waited a bit while Akane ate. Once Akane slowed down, she asked her sister the most pressing question she had on her mind. "When you said you weren't like me, because you couldn't 'say it' — what did you mean?"
Akane looked down at the table, and blushed as she responded. "You told him you loved him, I heard you."
She raised an eyebrow at that. Akane continued in a rush. "Your room is right next to mine, you know. And you weren't exactly whispering when you said it. You were practically yelling."
Well, she had to give her sister that one. When she was in her dramatic mode, she tended to get a little ... overly theatrical. "All right, so what if I did tell him that? I'm telling you now, I am willing to sell him back to you and end this whole thing, right here and now." She said. Akane didn't say anything, she just looked at her sadly.
She sighed and put on her business face complete with a fake smile and forced herself to laugh as she decided to make it a little easier on Akane. "Come on Akane, snap out of it, I was just joking when I said I loved Ranma."
Akane scowled at her across the table, then let her scowl fall back to the sad frown she had been wearing since she had walked up to her. Akane looked back up at her and sighed sadly. "You don't have to lie to me, Nabiki. I know you can be cold ... heartless ... and manipulative..."
She kept her fake smile on her face, but she let it slip a little bit as Akane called her names. She would deal with that stuff later. She wasn't all that amused that Akane was calling her cold and heartless after she'd let her cry on her, and paid for her meal.
She tuned back in to what Akane was saying when her little sister's voice raised as she made her point. "But even you can't say something like that and not mean it!"
She felt like she had just been stabbed straight though her core with a icicle. It was one of those rare moments she had from time to time when the clarity of a moment was surreal, like glass was shattering all around oneself as realization broke through. With a determined bite on her lower lip she suppressed everything and continued to try to give Akane the chance to take him back.
Akane was still talking, she tuned back in as Akane finished up her little rant. "—Don't kid around when it comes to Ranma!"
She eyed her sister over the rim of the glass she was drinking from, and seriously considered getting up from the table and walking away. She had made it clear when Akane switched the engagement that she intended to keep him. She had now offered him back to her twice. She only had so much patience for this. She cared about her sister and didn't want her to suffer, but she didn't have it in her to give Akane too many more chances. She figured she would try a couple more times now and lower the price as she did so. Maybe if Akane thought she was wearing her down, she would pay the price, everyone could keep their honor, and she could wash her hands of all of ... this, whatever this was. If Akane didn't take him back today, she honestly didn't know how many more chances she would give her.
She leaned closer to Akane. "What if ... I cut my price and let you have him for fifteen hundred Yen?" She asked softly.
"You don't have to put on an act for me." Akane replied quietly.
"Okay, final offer, nine hundred Yen." She responded a bit louder as she leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. She had gone as far as she was willing to go.
"I said, it's okay. You're in love with Ranma. You're the one who's not being honest about your feelings." Akane whispered.
"Listen ... Akane—" She started to say.
But Akane cut her off. "It doesn't matter any more."
"Oh ... is that so?" She wondered what Ranma would think of that? Regardless, she was done with this for now. She stood up smoothly and tossed a couple hundred Yen on the table for the nice owner, grabbed her bag, and headed for the door.
Akane watched her go, but didn't say anything else. She looked back at her and thought to herself, Okay, have it your way then, but you are going to be sorry.
She looked at her watch on her way out and realized with a shock that she needed to get home soon. Ranma should be finishing up with the sports teams in less than an hour, and she wanted to be ready to greet him when he got home.
She set off at a fast walk for home. As she thought of seeing Ranma again, she hummed to herself cheerfully as she made her way home.