[soundtrack for this one: Let Her Go, by Passenger]

The morning came slowly for Nabiki the next day. She woke groggily to someone shaking her gently on the shoulder.
...can't...
"C'mon Nabiki, time to get up." Someone said
...I can't...
Someone was shaking her gently, but insistently.
...I can't, I...
"Nabiki, you all right?" The person said ... it was Ranma. Ranma was shaking her.
Fear rose up in her and her eyes snapped open as she sat up abruptly. "What's wrong, are the Amazons—" She asked in a panic as she looked around for danger.
"Nothin' ... nothin's wrong. It's just mornin'." Ranma said gently, cutting her off before she really got going.
She looked up at him and frowned. He was standing over her with a worried expression on his face. She glanced around the room and saw that the sun was up, and that her sisters were no longer in the room. She was the last one to wake. "W'hu ... what happened? Where's—"
"Everythin's fine." Ranma said quietly as he stepped forward and sat down right in front of her. She stared at him hard for a moment, and noticed that he seemed fairly well rested. He was even smiling a bit.
"How did it go last night? How hard did they attack?" She asked as her eyes roamed over his body looking for signs of injury.
He smiled at her. "It was weird. They showed themselves a few times at different spots around the house. The old ghoul even showed herself once. She hopped up on top of a roof across the street and stared at us for a few moments before disappearin' again. But they only attacked once, and it wasn't even when I was awake. The 'Doc says they tried to sneak in once around three in the mornin', and he stopped 'em with Pop after only a little bit of a fight, then they ran away again." He said in a voice that she could tell was confident, but also confused.
She smiled at him. She knew what the Amazons were up to. They were playing the psychological game. The idea was to panic the defenders under siege about when the next major attack was coming. Often attackers laying siege will even send in fake peace envoys while doing so, to rile up the citizens who might demand an attempt at peace. All of it was just designed to unnerve the defenders.
Unfortunately for the Amazons, they aren't dealing with a castle full of panicked farmers. They are dealing with some of the best Martial Artists in the world, and people who would never, ever give up.
They aren't going to unnerve any of us. She thought smugly as she stood up and sniffed the air. She could hear the crackling pops of something frying in the kitchen. Whatever Kasumi was cooking smelled wonderful in the cool morning air.
Her spirits were buoying. I CAN do this. I AM strong enough. She said to herself as she reached for his warm hand and started to walk with him towards the stairs. He smiled nervously at her as she nudged him towards the stairs. She smiled back mischievously. He, of course, had no idea what she was intending. Based on her behavior in the recent past, it was fair of him to expect her to try to ... cuddle with him whenever she had him alone to herself. She grinned at him. Patience little bunny, patience, soon we'll—
"Ranma! Front door!" Doctor Tofu's voice shouted from outside, interrupting her thoughts.
"What's wrong?" Ranma yelled back as he turned towards the front door and away from the stairs as he let go of her hand and pivoted into a fighting stance.
"Shampoo!" Doctor Tofu's voice called out.
She exchanged a look with Ranma and nodded as he walked towards the front door. She followed quickly at his heels with anger growing in her strongly. I am getting so tired of these people. She thought as she followed him. She had been happily gearing up to play with Ranma, maybe even tease him a little as she got dressed. And, of course, the Amazons had to show up and interrupt.
Ranma slid the front door open, and there Shampoo was, just like the other day. Shampoo was standing alone in their walkway, holding her hands out to her sides to show she wasn't armed.
This time though, as soon as Shampoo saw Ranma, she started walking towards the house. Doctor Tofu appeared out of nowhere behind Shampoo and snapped a hand out and arrested Shampoo's motion by grabbing her shoulder.
Shampoo stopped and didn't try to fight him. Instead she called out to the house in a plaintive voice. "I just messenger. I not attack. I promise." The young Chinese girl said in an oddly detached voice, almost robotic, as if Shampoo the person had been replaced by someone, or something, just going through the motions.
She shot a quick look at Shampoo's hands and arms, and noticed that they looked worse in the bright light of the day. Shampoo had suffered greatly already trying to stand in the way of what her elder was obviously hell-bent on pursuing. She found her sympathy for Shampoo waning anyway.
Ranma looked back at her, and she shrugged. Shampoo had yet to participate in the attacks the old ghoul was ordering, and they had actual physical evidence that showed the young Amazon had done all she could to stop the attacks. Shampoo seemed to be determined to stay out of the fighting entirely against the Tendo clan. Of course, that wouldn't stop the young Amazon from marrying Ranma if the opportunity presented itself, but Shampoo seemed to have drawn the line in the sand against attacking his family. She grudgingly respected that, but it was a respect that had limits of endurance.
She opened her mouth to tell Ranma to let her approach, when she heard Daddy's voice from behind her.
"What's all this now, are they finally attacking?" Daddy blustered.
"Nah, it's just Shampoo." Ranma said.
"What's she want?" Akane asked as she stepped into the hall too, followed by Kasumi and Ranma's Dad. The whole family was present now. She closed her mouth, sighed, and let Daddy take control.
He walked past Ranma and stepped through the door and looked Shampoo up and down dismissively. The fighting against the Amazons was the first real fighting Daddy had been involved with in quite a while, and the Tendo clan and its supporters were winning, at least so far. She knew that was going a long way towards bringing Daddy's ego and confidence back up, and it was showing in the cocky way he was strutting around lately.
The head of the Tendo clan head sniffed dismissively at Shampoo and waved her forward. "By all means, deliver your message." He said as he turned his back on her and walked back into the house. It was an insult to turn one's back on a potential enemy. It said that he didn't consider her a threat. She watched the Amazon carefully for a reaction, but saw none. Shampoo the person didn't seem to be present. Shampoo's eyes remained fixed on Ranma, and Shampoo's attention to external details seemed to be almost non-existent.
I don't think this is going to be good news. She thought fatalistically.
As soon as Daddy waved her forward, Shampoo nodded and shook Doctor Tofu's hand off, and walked at a slow pace towards Ranma. Ranma surprised her by backing into the house and standing in the hallway, instead of stepping outside to meet the Amazon.
He's bringing her into his home territory. Does he consider her a threat now? She thought as she stepped back along with Ranma, to give him the room to give Shampoo room to enter their entryway. She shot a look back at her family and found Daddy frowning at the tactic Ranma was employing. Akane had wide eyes and was watching everything carefully. Genma looked bored, and Kasumi looked ... guarded. Her older sister wasn't smiling her usual welcoming smile.
Shampoo stopped once she had gotten to within a meter of Ranma and was standing in the hallway just inside the door from the entryway. The young Amazon stood there sadly with her hands clasped shaking in front of herself. Now that Shampoo was closer she could tell that the young Chinese girl wasn't gone, and she wasn't being robotic — Shampoo's true self was just being repressed. She could tell simply by looking at Shampoo, that the Amazon girl was fighting as hard as possible to keep something inside.
Ranma stood calmly in front of Shampoo, while still keeping his body positioned so that he was blocking Shampoo's path forward to her. "What do ya want, Shampoo?" He asked in a rough voice.
The young Chinese Warrior raised her head slowly with unshed tears in her eyes and just stared at him for a while, like she was seizing a final opportunity to look at him. If anything, Shampoo's hands started to shake worse. It was very clear that Shampoo was barely holding on as the Amazon began to speak in a timid voice.
"Shampoo have to ... Shampoo have to ..." the young Chinese girl tried to say, but had to stop as her voice caught and tears slipped down her cheeks and the Amazon looked down again and sucked in a deep and shuddering breath. The young Amazon obviously was trying to summon enough control to be able to at least speak. They all just stood there and waited for her to continue.
As she watched Shampoo try to say whatever she'd come to say, she was very aware of the cool air she was pulling in through her nose, her hands balled into fists, and the heat of Ranma right in front of her. The smells of Kasumi's wonderful cooking were still spicing the air all around them, but eating was a distant memory at the moment. She was angry, very angry, and the feeling was growing stronger by the moment.
The mere presence of the Amazon has ruined her peaceful morning with Ranma. I am so TIRED of this! She thought as she watched the Amazon gather herself to say whatever she'd come to say.
Shampoo raised her head again and looked at Ranma with tears still streaming down her cheeks. Shampoo's whole body was shaking now. She knew the kind of pain Shampoo was valiantly trying to keep under control — the kind of pain that struck one in their very soul. She didn't know what was affecting Shampoo so strongly, but she knew that Shampoo wouldn't win the fight, just like she herself hadn't. In the past, she might have felt some sympathy for Shampoo, but she didn't any more. Shampoo was one of them, and she wasn't just tired of them, she was starting to hate them!
"Shampoo is ... Shampoo is, must be saying ... Great Grandmother say me say you, today you last chance. Great Grandmother say ... Grandmother is say mercy been show so far. Tried scare you ... didn't work. Great Grandmother say you is strong opponents, has respect you. Great Grandmother say ... she respect you, I to give message ... Ranma ... " Shampoo had to stop and swallow nervously before she continued. The young Amazon's eyes darted around the room like a cornered animal looking for an escape, then Shampoo continued. "... Ranma is come China with us today, we take him and go. No more fighting. Great Grandmother say ... if ... if Ranma no come, right now ..." Shampoo looked away nervously and bit her lower lip.
The young Amazon's legs were shaking uncontrollably now. Shampoo visibly forced herself to continue in a whisper that shook almost to the point of making what she said next unintelligible. "...iif RRanmma nno ggo rrigght nnoww ... GGreeat GGraanddmotther s-say a-aall T-Tendos .... bbeinng ... k-kiilleeed. I SORRY!" Shampoo added quickly as she sank to her knees once she finished and collapsed down into a bow with her head pressed to the floor and her hands splayed out to either side of her head as she sobbed.
"Enough!" She found herself yelling as the edges of her vision flashed to white and she charged forward past Ranma's guard. She fully intended to throw herself on Shampoo and beat the hell out of her, she woul— oop!
Her forward momentum had been arrested by Ranma's quick moving arms. He'd caught her about the waist and shoulders just as she had been lining up her stance to kick at Shampoo. He yanked her quickly backwards out of range of Shampoo and held on to her strongly.
She struggled in his arms fiercely. "Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!" She was getting angrier by the second. HOW DARE THE AMAZONS ISSUE AN ULTIMATUM LIKE THAT! They're threatening Kasumi now as well? And Akane? My sisters have nothing to do with any of this! She thought angrily as she struggled with Ranma to let her go, and she sucked in deep, angry breaths as the urge to fight took control of her.
"Come on, Kiki, stop, it's not her fault." Ranma whispered into her ear.
"I don't care, I don't care, I DON'T CARE!" She screamed as she fought to get to Shampoo. She was actually fighting him now. She threw elbows back into his solar plexus and up to his chin, she stomped on the instep of his foot, and she tried to heel kick him in the groin. She pulled out every dirty trick she knew to get out of a hold from behind with her arms pinned, that Daddy had ever taught her.
Ranma simply took most of the hits or swayed with her to avoid the worst ones and blocked with different parts of his body than she was trying to hit. She was FURIOUS! "Nobody goes after my family! NOBODY! I'll kill her! I'LL KILL ALL OF THEM!" She screamed. She started twisting left and right in his arms to try to throw elbows to his head. "Let me go! LET ME GO NOW!" She commanded him in a shaking voice. The white at the edges of her vision was growing and clouding what she saw even more. In her peripheral vision, as she fought with him, she could see Daddy, Akane and Kasumi staring at her in shock. She knew her family had never seen her act like she was acting, but she didn't care.
Shampoo was sobbing uncontrollably now and sucking air into her open mouth pitifully as the young Amazon's body shuddered violently. Shampoo was crying like a little girl who had skinned her knee. Shampoo's tears were raw tears, ugly tears. The kind of twisted-face heart-wrenching misery on Shampoo's face was the kind that someone would only let someone else see, if they were very young with no filters yet, or they were someone past the point of caring what others thought. Shampoo had extended herself forward on the ground and was reaching towards Ranma as she cried.
But she didn't think Ranma wasn't even looking at the Amazon. Ranma tightened his grip on her until she couldn't really move any more, and she was forced to just stare forward as she felt the blood surge in her veins, and her body shook from the enraged breaths she was still pulling in.
Shampoo pulled herself into a ball and cried until whatever was inside the young Amazon had calmed down enough to just whimper. Ranma still wasn't paying much attention to Shampoo though, as he was having to use the majority of his energy to hold her back. She was still straining against him as hard as she could, to get him to let her go, so she could get to the Amazon who had threatened her family.
"Kiki, c'mon, please ... that's not our way ... stop ... please?" Ranma whispered to her.
She twisted hard in his arms so she was fully facing him and stared him in the eyes as she clenched her fists and drew her lips into a firm line. "YOUR way isn't always MY way. I WON'T stand for ANYONE threatening my family! I WON'T!" She yelled at him. He held her unflinchingly as she snaked her hands up to his chest and pushed with her elbows against the sensitive spots she knew SHOULD make him let her go. "Now... LET. ME. GO!" She screamed. He looked at her with eyes filled with pity and sadness, and shook his head as he tightened his arms around her.
"No. If I let you fight Shampoo the way you are now, and the way she is now, you'll get killed." He whispered to her.
"I will not! LET ME GO!"
"It's over, she's leaving." Akane's voice sounded softly from right next to her. She darted her eyes over to Akane who was looking at her with a very startled expression, then she twisted violently in Ranma's arms again to face outward. Sure enough, Shampoo had picked herself up and was walking slowly towards their gates without a backwards glance. Tofu twitched as she walked past, but let her go untouched.
She screamed after the Amazon in a voice even she knew sounded hysterical. "THIS ISN'T OVER! YOU WANT A WAR? I'LL GIVE YOU ONE!" She screamed at Shampoo's slowly retreating back as Ranma held on to her frantically twisting body as she continued to struggle to break free.
Once Shampoo disappeared through the gates, Daddy spoke up. "Nabiki, that's enough. It's good you're rediscovering your fighting spirit, but there is a time and a place. A wise Martial Artist chooses their fights carefully under conditions to give them the greatest chance at success. It is the foolish Martial Artist who rushes headlong into any fight, at any time, without a plan." He said softly as he placed a hand at the back of her head and stroked gently downward to press her hair into her neck to calm her down.
She shuddered as she released some of her anger, and nodded a moment later as the white around the edges of her vision slowly receded and the white-hot ball of rage inside her cooled a little bit. "All right ... all right, I'm fine, let me go." She said in a calmer voice. Inside she wasn't all that much calmer, but she wasn't stupid enough to go racing outside the walls trying to catch Shampoo to fight her. The heat of the moment had passed.
Ranma looked over at Daddy for a moment, then nodded and relaxed his hold on her. She slid down to fully stand on her own two feet again, and closed her eyes briefly as she tried to center herself. It wasn't working. There was a bright hot ball of rage inside her chest now, and it wasn't going away.
She opened her eyes and looked up into Ranma's eyes... he looked devastated. "I ... I'm sorry ... I had no choice ... I couldn't let you fight her..." He said in a voice that sounded ashamed. She knew he was afraid that he had ruined his chances with her. She had to admit that a part of her wanted to punish him for holding her back. But she was wise enough to know that she wasn't in the best state of mind at the moment. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but she knew it wasn't just simple anger at the situation she found herself in. So she nodded slowly at him and held his gaze. In her eyes she put a message of acceptance tinged with annoyance. She would talk to him later about not interfering with her decisions. But now wasn't the time. Now was the time for a different kind of action.
"I need to make some calls." She said as she turned from Ranma.
"I'll go help Doctor Tofu watch the house." Akane said earnestly as her younger sister moved to exit the front door.
She moved without thinking and reversed her steps as she surged in front of Akane and slapped the wall in front of Akane to block her sister's path. "NO! YOU WON'T! YOU STAY INSIDE! Let Doctor Tofu do what he is best at! I want you away from the fighting. I am your elder sister, and that's an order, little sister!" She yelled at Akane.
Akane's eyes hardened, and her younger sister opened her mouth to argue with her, but she cut her off before Akane could even begin. "These people are dangerous, Akane! They aren't looking to beat you up. They want to kill you!" She said in a rising voice. "Only Daddy, Ranma and his Dad, and Doctor Tofu are strong enough to fight them. The rest of us will just get in their way."
Akane opened her mouth to argue with her, but Daddy and Kasumi stepped in quickly.
"It would ... probably be best if you stayed close to Kasumi to protect her, while Saotome and I help Doctor Tofu protect the family, baby." Daddy said as he put a hand on Akane's shoulder.
"Will you ... come up to my room and help me make it more secure?" Kasumi asked Akane in a blatant attempt to placate her.
Akane kept her eyes locked defiantly on her own for another handful of heartbeats, then looked away and closed her mouth on the argument she had obviously been about to make. Akane bowed to the pressure from the family and nodded as she let Kasumi pull her away. Akane shifted her eyes to Ranma and kept them locked on him in a silent plea for him to call her back to help defend the family. He kept his gaze stubbornly on the floor as Akane was led away. Akane didn't stop looking to him to support her, until Kasumi finally pulled her out of sight.
With the issue of Akane fighting settled, she slipped out of the entryway and rushed into the kitchen for the phone extension there. She ran into the kitchen so fast that she actually slammed into the wall next to the phone and bounced back from the wall as she stumbled to catch her footing. As she did so she accidentally knocked the phone off its stand, and it clattered to the kitchen tiles.
Damn it, damn it, DAMN IT! She swore to herself as the hot ball of rage inside her flared up again, and she kicked the wall repeatedly in mindless anger. A few moments later she stopped kicking and moved to slam her fist into the wall instead as she swore at anything and nothing in a combination of mindless rage, frustration, fear, and shame. She knew she wasn't handling things well at all, but she didn't have any other tools at her disposal to deal with how she was feeling.
She bit her lower lip and forced herself to stop hitting the wall. She turned around and leaned against it for a moment before she let out a shuddering breath and allowed herself to slide down the wall and to sink into a sitting position.
Once she had her breathing under control, she reached over and yanked the phone's handset to herself by the cord. She pressed the reset button to stop the handset-off-cradle tone, and waited for the dial tone. Then she dialed a long and complicated number from memory.
"Hello. This is Nabiki Tendo calling for Nagai."
She waited in silence as various people routed her call to the correct person. Once he answered she continued.
"Hello. Yes, it's time. I'm calling in the debt." There was only one debt she could be calling him for, and they both knew what it was.
She listened to his response and smiled a small smile. Just hearing his voice was calming her down.
"The best you have." She answered him. "As fast as you can." She added to his followup question. He spoke for a little bit longer, and she memorized everything he told her, especially the codes her gave her. When he finished, she smiled. "Thank you, I'll be waiting." She said as her spirits lifted.
As soon as she hung up the phone, she immediately started calling another number. She had a few more friends and business contacts to call. She was done playing the victim with the Amazons. She could be extremely dangerous when she wanted to. And by God, I WANT TO. She growled to herself.

***

When she was done making calls she slipped upstairs unseen by her family and quickly went through her usual morning routine. By the time she walked back down the stairs, she was feeling very refreshed, and much more like her usual self.
It's amazing what taking action can do for one's outlook on life when faced with a serious problem. She thought happily as she looked for Ranma. She couldn't find him. She wandered into the dining room and sat down to eat. Kasumi was there doing her usual thing, in addition to carefully watching Doctor Tofu through the open porch doors.
She sat down at the table and ate quickly. She wanted to get back up and find Ranma and apologize to him for losing control. As soon as she was done she stood up quickly and took a step away from the table. Kasumi's voice stopped her.
"He went on a quick walk with Akane. He'll be back in a minute." Kasumi said softly.
She swung her eyes back to her sister in a panic. "A walk? What, they're out for a stroll with those crazy Amazons out there?!" She demanded.
Kasumi shrugged. "I think it was Ranma's way of making up for not supporting Akane wanting to help fight. Father said it was all right for them to make a quick check around the outside of the walls, to make sure nothing was wrong with the walls." Kasumi said in a neutral voice.
She could tell Kasumi didn't believe that story any more than she did.
Have I lost him? Is it over? Is he slipping back to Akane? She thought dejectedly as she swung her gaze out the doors and walked numbly to the porch. She sat down and just stared at the walls, lost in her fears.
Ranma's voice brought her back out of her reverie. She didn't know how long she had been lost in thought, but she did know that Ranma's voice sounded worried.
"—o me, Akane!" She heard Ranma yell again.
Her head snapped up. A moment later, Ranma jumped over the wall with his arm around Akane. He landed and pulled Akane quickly behind himself.
Akane was clutching her shoulder and leaning heavily on one side, as if she couldn't put weight on the other side.
"What—" She started to say.
"Down!" Doctor Tofu interrupted her. He appeared out of nowhere and tackled her and rolled off the porch with her quickly as something impacted where she had been sitting.
When she could see again, her breath caught in her throat. Amazons were pouring over the wall. There were dozens of them.
Ranma had his arms out protectively as he stood in front of Akane and backed up with her. Doctor Tofu was on his feet doing the same thing with her. She looked back into the dining room quickly, but didn't see Kasumi. She didn't have much time to wonder where Kasumi had gone though, as she realized that some of the Amazons were ignoring Ranma and Akane and were heading straight towards her.
"Father!" She heard Kasumi yell further into the house. A moment later she heard heavy male footsteps running towards Kasumi in the house.
"Pops, get out here!" Ranma yelled as he continued to back up towards the house. Ranma had to be worried if he was calling for his dad. She knew how much he disliked Genma.
On an unspoken signal, the Amazons charged to attack at the same time. She had just managed to get to her feet and put her hands up into a fighting stance, and tapped into her own battle aura like Ranma had shown her. But she didn't need to. Doctor Tofu was like a wall in front of her. It was the first time she had ever seen him fight up-close.
Ranma was extremely good.
Doctor Tofu was dramatically better.
Amazons approached him, and then simply weren't there any more. Most of them he just dropped to his feet by disabling them with various pressure points. Some he sent flying to crash into the wall when they rushed him in greater numbers.
She looked over at Ranma and focused, and saw him with a large yellow battle aura dancing across his skin as he protected Akane. Her little sister was still on her feet, and she could tell Akane wanted to help, but Ranma was totally focused on fighting, and not letting anything through to Akane. His face was rapidly changing into the same scary one he had used yesterday when dealing with the ambush. His eyes were darkening as she watched.
Ranma's father burst out of the house at that point and centered himself between Ranma and Doctor Tofu, and took the heat off of both of them. The older Saotome looked annoyed, but he fought very well.
Ranma was fighting as hard as she had ever seen him fight. It was very clear he was determined to keep the Amazons from touching Akane. Every time Akane moved a bit to try to take on one of the Amazons, Ranma simply shifted his stance, and pushed or pulled the battle with him to get back in front of Akane.
Tears sprang into her eyes to see him fighting so hard for them. Even though he wasn't being hurt, she still shook from the emotion of watching him risk his life for them. He really didn't owe them anything. He was doing it because he wanted to. Because he loved them. She didn't know if he loved Akane more than her, but she knew he loved them. She knew, she absolutely knew that Ranma would die before he let them be harmed. Just like she knew Doctor Tofu and Daddy felt the same way.
The fight was over in under a minute. Ranma and Doctor Tofu hadn't let a single attacker through to either Akane or herself, and Genma had cleaned up the rest of them. Doctor Tofu excused himself as soon as it was done and nodded to Genma who nodded back and stepped in front of her. Doctor Tofu was most likely on his way to go check on Kasumi.
She stayed in place and watched Ranma with longing in her heart. She opened her mouth to say something to him, but closed it again softly as he leaned down and put his hand on Akane's shoulder and whispered something to her little sister. Akane nodded her head shakily. He smiled and stood up straight as he held his hand down for Akane to grab. Akane did so and he pulled her little sister to her feet. Then he kept pulling and swept Akane into a hug that brought Akane's feet off the ground.
He's picking Akane up! She thought in shock as her muscles seized up, and her breath froze in her throat. Akane stiffened in his arms for a moment, then relaxed and sank into the hug as she laid her head onto his shoulder. She could tell they were whispering to each other as Ranma held her little sister.
The dragon inside of her had fallen out of the sky and lay paralyzed on the ground, near death. He wasn't just slipping away from her. It seemed that she'd lost him. She turned around quickly so he wouldn't be able to see her cry as she hurried away from them. She suddenly felt like she was intruding on a very private moment. She heard Genma make a noise like he was about to call her back, but then he silenced himself wisely.
She rounded the corner of the house and opened their front door as she tried to get away from what she'd just seen. She wasn't really looking where she was going. She was close to hyperventilating as she tried to keep herself from crying until she got to someplace private. She ran through the entryway towards the stairs and ran headfirst into Kasumi in the hallway.
She rebounded off Kasumi and looked at her big sister in confusion. Her mind was shutting down. She couldn't operate on a polite personal level right now. She ducked her head down so Kasumi couldn't see her face and mumbled an apology as she tried to dart around her sister for the stairs.
Kasumi surprised her by slapping her hand hard into the wall and blocking her path — just like she herself had done to Akane earlier. She looked up at Kasumi with a mixture of anger and bewilderment. Kasumi met her angry gaze with a peaceful and loving look. "It's not too late, Nabiki. Don't give up. Don't let him slip away. Don't make the same mistake I made." Kasumi whispered to her fiercely.
"What mistake?! You keep hinting at this thing that happened to you, but you never talk about it! WHAT IS THIS GRAND LESSON YOU WANT ME TO LEARN?!" She whispered back in a voice that teetered on the edge of hysteria. She was almost out of control.
Kasumi smiled sadly at her and reached her hand out for hers. She allowed her older sister to take her hand. Kasumi immediately pulled on her hand and started to lead her upstairs. "Let's talk." Kasumi said softly over her shoulder in a voice heavy with emotion.