Did everyone get part one? Email me if you didn't.

Sorry for the change in subject headers. "part" and "chapter" are
interchangable before noon, don'cha know?


------------------------------
The Clan - Chapter 5:

Business as Usual

by Chris Jones
------------------------------

Ch 5.	- Business as Usual

	"No, Ranma. *I* own Boardwalk." Nabiki informed the
martial artist. "And Park Place. And two houses on each." She
began counting, as the suddenly poor martial artist hung his
head. Akane, Midori and Hisawa began to giggle at his fortune.
"I belive that comes to 45,000 yen, please."
	"I'm out." Ranma declared. "I ain't even got enough stuff
to mortgage." He threw down both his cards, (The Electric
Company and Baltic Avenue) which Nabiki quickly snapped up.
Within seconds, she had placed hotels on Baltic and
Mediterranean.
	"This is scary," Hisawa noted. "She's even better than
you, Midori!"
	In the hour or two since they arrived at the Tendou Dojo,
Akane had befriended both Midori and Hisawa. Now, with Nabiki,
and formerly Ranma, they were playing Monopoly. While Midori
considered herself quite the tycoon, Nabiki had her beat.
	"She always wins," Ranma explained. "Usually, we just play
for second."
	"Ranma! How could you!?" Akane scolded. 
	"It's true," he stated blandly.
	Nabiki just smirked at the group, arranging her cards in
order of value.
	Just then, Nodoka and Kasumi walked in through the door.
	"They're back!" Akane exclaimed. "What took you so long?"
	"We had a few errands to take care of," Nodoka replied as
they began to climb the stairs. "Nothing important."
	Ranma rolled his eyes, but said nothing.
	Nabiki looked up at her older sister. She caught Kasumi by
the eyes. Almost instantly, the older girl looked away.
	"Take over for me, Ranma," Nabiki commanded.
	"Huh?"
	Nabiki stood and grabbed the martial artist by the
shoulders. She sat him down in front of her pile of cash. Rather
sheepishly, Ranma began to count Nabiki's wealth, still not
really sure if she meant what she said.
	"Try not to lose it all, okay?" 
	Nabiki began to follow Kasumi and Nodoka up the stairs.
	"Nabiki?" Akane asked, concern evident on her face.
	"What ever is the matter, sister-dearest?" Nabiki
responded sarcastically.
	Ranma's expression became worried as well.
	"Just don't do anything..." Akane paused for a second.
"Rash."
	"Do I ever?" Nabiki quipped.
	She bounded up the stairs, just in time to see Nodoka and
Kasumi enter the guest room.
	She skipped a few steps, and walked in just behind them.
	Nodoka knelt and sat on her heels in a traditional manner.
With a guilty expression on her face, Kasumi did the same thing.
Nabiki remained standing, and directed a questioning look at
both women. Not giving them a chance to do what they had come
upstairs for, Nabiki cocked her head to one side and laid a
finger against her chin.
	"That was quite a performance," she said, directing a
stern glance at her sister.
	Kasumi did her best to hold her sisters's gaze. 
	"I'm rather impressed, actually." Nabiki admitted. "I've
never seen a plan come off so cleanly before. It may have just
been the situation, but you've made Ranma a hero, and put the
Dojo in papers again, with *positive* press this time. Neat."
	"It was, rather," Nodoka agreed. "Mother usually found it
best to let a soldier or a policeman take the credit for her
exploits. I've improved on the formula, but it's still a
formula."
	Nabiki raised one eyebrow in surprise. She chuckled
quietly. "So what's the catch?"
	Nodoka directed a questioning look at the girl. Nabiki
stood firmly, not taking her eyes off of either woman.
	"I mean... there's always some horrible price to pay for
these 'gifts'. It's the oldest story in the book."
	"Well... With my sense of smell, it's rather difficult to
stomach Akane-chan's cooking," Nodoka admitted. 
	"Keep going," Nabiki demanded. "It *has* to be worse than
that."
	"I'll outlive anyone I'll ever love by two centuries,"
Kasumi stated quietly.
	Nabiki let the expression fall from her face. 
	"It's different for everyone," Nodoka explained. "For
some, that's just not a problem. There are other concerns. If
your identity is comprised you may have to deal with an angry
mob, or worse, vampire hunters."
	She looked up at the ceiling in wistful remembrance. "When
I was sixteen... heavens, that was a long time ago. When I was
sixteen, I knew a young woman who was having an affair with the
husband of one of my best friends. No one knew of course; they
were very discreet. I only found out because I could smell them
on each other. If I told, though, I would have ruined three
lives. I might even have given away my abilities, if I had had
to prove my knowledge. So I kept the secret from my best friend,
watching her husband grow further and further from her, watching
her grow more and more distressed, simply because it would be
worse for her *and* me if I told her."
	"Doctor Tofuu may not even like vampires," Kasumi added
quietly.
	"I *doubt* that will be a problem," Nabiki responded.
	"People fear what they don't understand, Nabiki," Nodoka
explained. "You know that."
	"...And when you drink someone's blood, it makes you
excited. Even if you don't want to be."
	"That's a bad thing?" Nabiki quipped. Then she realized
what must have happened... "You drank Hisawa's blood."
	The almost imperceptible blush deepened to a dark red on
Kasumi's face. 
	"You didn't!" Nabiki pressed incredulously. "Is *that*
what took you so long? What was it? A soap-land? A love-
hotel?!?! You didn't go see Doctor Tofuu did you?"
	Kasumi buried her face in her hands, moaning in
frustration and embarrassment.
	"Stop teasing your sister, Nabiki," Nodoka commanded.
"She's having a very difficult time with the feelings her new
abilities are giving her. *That's* the 'horrible' price she's
having to pay."
	"Kasumi, Kasumi, Kasumi..." Nabiki did her best to keep
from laughing. "If it helps, I've got some videos..."
	"STOP IT!" Kasumi yelled.
	Nabiki jerked back in surprise. It was the first time in
years she had heard Kasumi raise her voice.
	"Gee... I was just kidding..."
	With her jaw clenched, Kasumi stood and faced her sister. 
	"My... *sexuality*," she forced the word out, "is my own
business. When... or with whom I choose to... exercise it with
is a private matter, and I'll thank you to not bother me about
it!"
	"I'm sorry," Nabiki responded quietly. "But that's it? No
horrible craving for destruction? No rash? No hidden fees?
Drinking blood makes you horny?"
	Kasumi's blush deepened, but she nodded. "It may not seem
like a bad thing to you..."
	"No, I can understand why it upsets you. I just can't
belive it's so simple, though."
	"It is by no means simple, Nabiki," Nodoka replied. "You
will find your own trials. They may be simple, or they may be
difficult. It all depends on you."
	"So... If I wanted what Kasumi has, what would I have to
go through?" Nabiki asked.
	"You would have to drink my blood," Nodoka explained. "Or
Kasumi's. You would be weak and lightheaded for a few hours, but
after that, your new abilities would start to manifest."
	"That's it?"
	"There's one other thing," Nodoka cautioned. "If we give
this to you, it's a freely given thing. I would expect the same
behavior from you, were you to accept this gift."
	Nabiki shook her head. "I don't understand," she admitted.
	"You must never take blood from someone who doesn't give
it to you freely. You must never bargain for or sell your
abilities. If you give the gift to someone else, you must make
sure that they will behave in the same manner."
	"I think I understand."
	"Power corrupts, Nabiki," Kasumi cautioned. "How do you
think someone like Grandfather Happosai would use powers like
this?"
	Nabiki raised her eyes in dreadful speculation. "I get the
point."
	"I take it then, that you are considering taking what I
have to give you?" Nodoka asked.
	"Considered, actually." Nabiki flashed Nodoka and her
sister an evil grin. "I just don't like to go into a new
situation without having read all the fine print, you
understand."
	"Are you sure, Nabiki-chan?" Kasumi asked, all the heat
having fade from her words.
	"Yeah. It's just like any other deal, I think. The ability
to defend myself from all the loonies who live around here,
rather than wait for Ranma or Daddy to do it, in exchange for
*some* responsibility and secrecy, centuries of youth and some
cool powers, and..." she looked slyly at Kasumi, "*Having* to
get wet every time I drink somebody's blood."
	She shrugged as if it should be obvious to the two women.
"The pros *definitely* outweigh the cons here. Where do we
start?"
	Nodoka chuckled at the girl's outspokenness. "Do you think
you are up to it again, Kasumi?"
	"I... suppose."
	"I've got some pictures of Doctor Tofuu out for his
morning jog if you're interested." Nabiki offered seriously.
	She was rather shocked when Kasumi nodded shyly.

* * *

	After Akane and Midori had slowly and carefully stripped
Ranma of every last cent and piece of property, and called the
game a draw, the physically and emotionally exhausted Hisawa and
Midori went to bed in Akane's room.
	After taking up the portable television, just in case the
girls had trouble sleeping after their ordeal, Akane came back
down to the living room proper to find Ranma staring at the
Monopoly board in apparent shock.
	"It's not the first time you've lost at Monopoly, Ranma,"
Akane chided. "You should be used to it by now."
	"Huh?" Ranma's expression as he lifted his face from the
game board indicated that it wasn't his loss of Boardwalk that
was bothering him.
	"What's wrong?" Akane asked.
	"You gonna let my mom turn you into a vampire?" Ranma
asked bluntly.
	"I..." Akane shook her head. "I certainly don't have any
plans that way."
	"Yeah, and that's what Nabiki said. Now where is she?" he
replied sardonically.
	"I don't understand, Ranma. What are you talking
about?"	
	"She's been upstairs with my mom and Kasumi for better
than an hour, Akane. You tell me what's happening."
	Akane shuddered. "I guess... Nabiki must have decided that
she wanted to."
	"Or was persuaded." Ranma stated calmly.
	"Your not implying..."
	"Yeah. I am," he answered in an accusatory tone. "This is
all just a little too convenient for my taste. First, Kasumi
just jumps into mom's little vampire group and now Nabiki. It's
like... It's like a disease. Or... it's some plot! I know it's
gotta be."
	"Of course it isn't, Ranma," Nabiki said from right next
to him.
	Both he and Akane did their best imitation of skeletons
jumping out of their skins.
	"Neat trick, huh?" Nabiki asked. "And it's so simple to
do. I'll tell you Ranma, Kasumi tried to persuade me not to do
it, but I just couldn't resist."
	"N-n-n-n-abiki?" Akane quivered in her pants. Her sister's
skin was extraordinarily pale, and she had a nasty black bruise
on her neck, like the ones that had just faded from Midori and
Hisawa's shoulders.
	"So, do I look like a vampire?" Nabiki queried. "Pity. I
don't seem to have fangs yet. Maybe by morning... "
	"Ranma," a stern voice came from the back of the room. It
was his fathers.
	Genma strode forward, something hidden in his immense
hands. He held them out to Ranma, who just barely caught the
object as it fell.
	It was a wooden stake.
	"What is this?" he asked.
	"What does it look like, ingrate?" Genma responded.
	"You know the stories, Ranma," another voice called out.
Nodoka strode forward to her son. She unwrapped her katana and
drew it out of the scabbard. She thrust it into his free hand
hilt first.
	Ranma began to tremble.
	"Do you trust your mother so little, boy?" Genma asked.
"What a poor excuse for a man I've raised."
	"Do what you must, son, to quell your fears." Nodoka
pulled the front of her kimono open, baring her chest. 
	Trembling, yet not daring to turn away from her naked
breasts, Ranma's hands clenched around the stake and the katana.
	"You know how it works boy," Genma prompted coldly. "Stake
through the heart, and then you lob their head off. At least
that's the way it works in the movies, isn't it?"
	Nodoka stared directly at her son. "Do you trust me,
Ranma, or will you take my life?"
	Several seconds passed.
	Ranma opened his hands, allowing the stake and the katana
to drop to the floor. Wordlessly, expressionlessly, he turned
and jumped out the open shoji, and headed for the dojo, where he
would spend the night.
	Nabiki and Akane looked on in shock as Nodoka began to
shake, and weep into her hands.
	Genma wrapped his arms around her and patted her
shoulders. "He'll come around, dear. You'll see..."
	"C'mon Akane," Nabiki prompted, pulling her younger sister
away. "Let's go to bed. I'm exhausted like you wouldn't belive." 


* * *
Chris Jones - hamster@arn.net 

The Ranma 1/2 Gallery: http://cyberwheel.simplenet.com/ranma