The Right Side of the Ledger

by Richard Lawson

Comments and criticism welcome!

sterman@sprynet.com


The huntress waited for her prey.  Although not in sight, she could
almost smell him.  The prey knew she was stalking him, and would try
to escape.  A few had tried before.  None had yet succeeded.

She saw him scamper to the top of the wall.  The prey blanched at the
sight of the ten foot drop.  Feh, the huntress thought.  She had 
stalked prey who would leap over that wall without thinking twice.
This prey was definitely weak, in more ways than one.  It didn't
diminish her pleasure in the hunt.

As she watched from the shadows of the alley, her prey swung his feet
over, hung from his hands at the top of the wall, and let himself
drop.  He landed ungracefully but managed to keep his balance; a
small victory.  Quickly, he glanced around and headed down the street.

The huntress knew where he was going.  She scampered down the alley,
across a couple of lawns, and through a garden gate, not even 
acknowledging the old man tending it.  He couldn't touch her; no one
could.

She stood in plain sight under a tree, waiting.  As she had hoped,
the prey was so busy looking over his shoulder that he wasn't really
watching where he was going.  She waited until he drew even with her,
then pounced.

"My, my, finally decided to slink out of school, did we, Akihito?" 
Her tone was light, almost playful, but with a definite menace.

The prey jumped, and his eyes widened in fear.  "Na..Nabiki!"

She shook her head sadly and tsked, her eyes never leaving his.  "Did
you think you could escape me?  Come, come, you should know me better
than that."  She bore her "evil eye" into him, an expression of 
superiority and contempt that she had practiced and applied for years.
Properly used, the subject could do no more than gibber in fear.
"Where is the 10,000 yen you owe me, Akihito?"

To her immense satisfaction, he start gibberring.  "I..I..I was 
g-going to t-t-talk with you before, I mean after, after school.  I
g-got held up b-by Miss Hin-Hinako a-and I was g-g-going to call you
after I got h-home...."  He trailed off miserably.

"Uh huh."  She intensified the evil eye to let him know she wasn't
fooled.  He gasped and took a step back, a reaction she had never
gotten before. It made her feel warm inside. 

Finally she relented.  She glanced down into the pocket of her school 
uniform and pulled out her ledger.  She flipped through several pages
and ran her finger down a list of numbers for affect; she already knew
what they said.  "I let you borrow 7,500 yen at 10% interest for two 
weeks, that interest to increase one percantage point for each day 
beyond that time, up to a maximum of 10,000 yen, at which point the 
full amount must be paid or substantial penalties would apply."  She 
looked up at him, a glint in her eyes.  "Trust me, you don't want to 
know what those penalties are."

He looked very ready to faint.  "R-Ranma?"

She pretended to think it over.  Having one of the most powerful
martial artists on the planet as a houseguest and a future in-law had
some advantages, one of which was the fear he instilled in those who
were in awe of his powers.  With pretended reluctance, she shook her
head.  "No, how would I get my money from you if you were lying in a
broken heap three districts away?"  Akihito flinched.  She grinned 
and continued.  "However, wouldn't your mother be pleased to know you
borrowed 7,500 yen to buy that Nintendo game she had forbidden you to
play?"

At this, his jaw dropped open.  "How...how...?"

She reached over and patted his cheek.  "Akihito, my friend, you 
should learn that there is...nothing...you...can...hide...from...
me."  Especially, she thought to herslef, when your sister is my
classmate.  "So...where's my money?"

He thrust his hands into his pockets and came out with a 1,000 yen
bill.  He thrust it at her.  "H-here."

She looked at it with disdain, refusing to take it.  "That doesn't 
even cover today's interest."

"It's all I have!"  There was desperation in his voice.  "P-please,
I'll give you the rest tomorrow!"

She shook her head slowly.  "That was not our arrangement."

"O-okay...12,000 yen!  Tomorrow!"  He was frantic now, his eyes wild.

She rested her forefinger alongside her cheek, tilted her head, and
made a great show of considering his offer.  She enjoyed watching him
sweat out of the corner of her eye.

When a minute passed and she had said nothing, he blurted "15,000!
Right after school!"

She smiled, took out her pencil, and made a mark in her ledger.  
"Right, 15,000.  Plus this," she said as she snatched the bill from
his slowly falling hand.  "Don't try any more of these childish
escape maneuvers, or I'll let Ranma know about the pictures you 
bought of him a few weeks back."

He actually let out a little sob.  Slowly, he backed away, as if 
afraid to leave without her express permission.  When it became clear
she was going to let him go, he turned and ran down the street.

The thrill of the hunt accomplished filled Nabiki.  She had pummelled
him nearly into uncosciousness, without ever laying a finger on him.
Ranma could never do that, she thought with tremendous satisfaction.

She walked home, still full of her victory.  Her technique had been
flawless; the thought of not paying her the money he owed would not
occur to him again.  A few other students had tried similar ploys,
and had been punished appropriately, until the word had gotten around
that Nabiki was not one to be crossed.  Some, though, still needed to
learn the hard way.

She slipped off her shoes as she entered the house.  Hearing the rest
of the family in the dining room, she padded down the hall and joined
them.  

Kasumi had just sat down after placing the dinner dishes on the table.
She looked over at Nabiki.  "We were worried about you Nabiki-chan.
I'm so glad you made it home in time for dinner.  Did you wash your 
hands?"

Nabiki glowered at her; sometimes Kasumi carried the mothering thing
a bit too far.  Still, the smile and slightly vacuous expression on
her face took the sting out of Kasumi's words.  Grumbling, Nabiki 
went into the kitchen, washed her hands, and rejoined the table.

"Daughter, why were you late?"  Father had a stern look on his face.
"Your sister works so hard to make you a delicious dinner, the least
you can do is to be home in time to enjoy it."

Nabiki knew that look was all bluff; Father had no backbone at all.
She put the slightest bit of irritation into her tone.  "I wasn't 
late, Daddy.  I'm here now, eating.  No need to yell at me."

As she predicted, his stern look fell off his face. "I...I was only
trying to...."  He trailed off, a vaguely hurt look on his face.

At least he's not crying, Nabiki thought to herself.  He could be such
a baby sometimes.  She concentrated on her dinner, which *was* 
delicious.  Kasumi certainly did know how to cook them.

After dinner Nabiki left Kasumi to the dishes, Ranma and Akane to 
their fighting, and Father and Uncle to their game of shogi.  She
went upstairs and turned on her computer.  She waited while the blue
clouds went by, then started up her spreadsheet program.  She scrolled
through the list of spreadsheets until she found the one marked
"Debts to be collected - personal".  She opened it up, found Akihito's
name, and began entering the details of the day's business.

She went on to do her homework, balance the family books, and work out
a little to the sound of music pounding from her CD.  Panting a 
little, she went back to her spreadsheets just for fun.  She opened 
up the "Debts to be Collected - family" list, and scrolled through the
names of the dojo students.  Everyone was more or less up to date, 
she was disappointed to notice.  Half the fun of the job was the 
collections.  

She amused herself by using her abacus to confirm the computer's 
totals.  Her skills on her abacus were second to noone in this day
and age.  Her fingers flew effortlessly over the tokens, flipping them
to and fro and confirming that the computer had, indeed, gotten it
right.  She smiled; if there had been a discrepancy, she would have
begun by doubting the computer.

She leaned back in her chair, put her hands behind her head, and
closed her eyes.  She was extremely gratified with the day's events.  
She replayed the scene with Akihito in her mind over and over again, 
savoring his reactions, his obvious fear of the power she held over 
him.

She smiled, exultant. She was Tendo Nabiki.  No one could touch her.

"Nabiki-chan?"

Nabiki looked over her shoulder.  "Hi, Mother."  She frowned; 
Mother didn't look right.  Her face was a little blurry, and she had
her long hair tied in a pony tail and hung over her shoulder.  When
had she grown all that har?  Nabiki couldn't remember.

"Nabiki, beloved, be warned."

Warned about what?  Nabiki looked back over at the spreadsheets, at 
the wonderful job she had done with the finances.  The family wasn't
exactly rolling in money, but they were a far sight better off than
a few months ago, when they didn't have the money to buy food.
Nabiki had guided them through that storm and was well prepared for
another, should it arise.

"Are you sure about all your spreadsheets, Nabiki-chan?"

Nabiki frowned, opening up the list again and scrolling through it.
She stopped about halfway down; there in the list was a spreadsheet
she had never seen before.  It was called "NABIKI".  The letters of 
the name seemed to glow brighter than the other spreadsheet names.
Hesitantly, Nabiki double-clicked on her name.

The spreadsheet that opened up was simple enough.  It had two columns.
The left had normal, black letters that somehow seemed darker than
usual.  The right column had silvery letters.

Nabiki tried to focus on the column headings.  The right seemed to say 
"Good Things Nabiki Has Done".  The left said "Bad Things Nabiki Has
Done."

She concentrated on the entries under each heading.  They seemed to be
more images than words.  Under the right side, she could see herself
working on the family bills; sitting by Kasumi's side while she was
sick; helping Ranma buy Akane a Christmas present.  On the left side
she could see herself selling pictures of Ranma; teasing Akane about
her engagement; forcing Ranma to spend time alone with Ukyyo, Kodachi,
and Shampoo while Nabiki collected fees from them.  The last entry on
the left side seemed to be of Akihito sobbing as he ran.

Suddenly the entries of the spreadsheet changed.  The black entries
shaped themselves into hulking, frightening, growling wolves.  The 
silver entries turned into little samurai carrying fearsome swords.  
The two sides attacked each other, each side fighting ferociously.
The wolves pounced and snapped and howled.  The samurai fought 
valiantly and skillfully.

Unfortunately, it was soon apparent that the wolves outnumbered the
samurai.  Although the samurai never gave up and dispatched a large
number of the wolves, they were eventually overwhelmed.  The last 
samurai fell, still hacking with his sword as a wolf consumed him.

The remaining wolves flowed together, forming one giant wolf.  It
turned to stare with red, glowing eyes at Nabiki.  Nabiki shook in
her chair, trying to get up but somehow unable to move. The wolf's 
face filled the screen, its tongue hanging out over its long sharp
teeth.  It lifted its chin and howled.

Terror filled Nabiki.  She tried to reach over and shut off the 
computer, but her hand wouldn't move.  

The wolf seemed to sense her helplessness.  She could sense its 
amusement over her fear.  It slowly came out of the screen, its body 
growing as it emerged.  Its huge front paws came down squarely on her 
chest, making it impossible for her to breathe.  It panted over her, 
its hot breath filling her nose and mouth.

Nabiki wanted to scream, to run, to move, to close her eyes so she 
wouldn't see the wolf laughing at her.  All she could do was stare at
the wolf as terror filled her.

The wolf gave one final howl, this one so full of hate and triumph 
that what remained of Nabiki's sanity fled.  It bent down and grabbed
her neck in its jaws and started tearing and the teeth were in her and
its breath was in her and it was killing her and she screamed and 
thrashed but it was no good the wolf had her and she fell out of her
chair and screamed and tried to fend it off and screamed again and the
woman with the long pony tail was there and was trying to talk to her 
and she shouted "Mother!" and hugged the woman tightly and sobbed and 
the woman rocked her gently and comforted her and the wolf was gone.

Rationality returned gradually to Nabiki.  She slowed her sobbing and 
let Kasumi continue to rock her while she considered what had 
happened. She must have dozed off in front of the computer and had 
a dream.  More than a dream; the worst nightmare she had ever had.  
She must have screamed at the end and Kasumi had heard and been there
as she woke up.  Thankfully.

She stopped Kasumi's rocking and slowly brought herself into a 
kneeling position.  She was sniffling uncontrollably, and found a box
of tissue thrust in front of her face.  She looked up to see Akane
looking scared and worried, and that was somehow comforting.  She took
the tissue and blew her nose and dried her tears.  After a few moments
she was relatively clean and she gave Akane a weak smile.

Everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.  Nabiki looked around,
aware for the first time that the whole family was in her room.  They
all had expressions of worry on their faces.  Father looked almost as
terrified as Nabiki had been moments ago.  She reached out, took
his hand and gave it a little shake, giving him a stronger smile to
let him know she was all right.

"What happened, Nabiki?"  Ranma was wet, and Nabiki wondered what 
could have caused Ranma to assume her current form.  Any number of
things, Nabiki knew, Akane being the most likely source.

"I just had a bad dream."  Nabiki's voice sounded much too tremulous
for her tastes, and she forced herself to continue in a stronger
voice.  "I'm okay, it's over, everyone out of my room.  Especially
you, Ranma, you're dripping all over my things."

At the return of her normal acerbity, the worry went out of most of
their faces.  Father gave her hand a quick squeeze, more to reassure
himself than her, before he joined the others in shuffling out of her
room.

All but Kasumi, who was still kneeling on the floor with Nabiki.  The
look of worry was still on her face.  That scared Nabiki a little; she
hadn't realized how much she depended on Kasumi's constant smile and
seeming obliviousness.  Now there was no trace of either; rather, 
Kasumi looked sad and concerned.

"Nabiki, tell me.  What happened?"  There was a tone of command there
that Nabiki hadn't heard since her mother had died.

Nabiki assumed a tactic which had always worked with Mother, which 
was to assume a sober expression and stare Kasumi in the eye.  "It
was just a bad dream.  It scared me and I screamed, but it's over and
I'll be fine."

Slowly, reluctantly, Kasumi nodded and stood up.  After a long, 
probing look at Nabiki, she turned towards the door.

"Older sister,"  Nabiki blurted out.  Kasumi turned her head back
towards Nabiki.  "Thank you."

Kasumi's smile returned.  Giving a slight bow of her head and 
shoulders, Kasumi left the room.

Nabiki stood up, glad that Kasumi wouldn't seen how much her legs were
shaking.  She straightened the chair.  Without looking at the compuer,
she shut it off without waiting for its permission.  Cross-linked 
files be damned; she just couldn't deal with it right now.

Nabiki took off her clothes, put on her pajamas, turned out the 
lights, and got into bed.  After a few seconds, she turned on her 
desk lamp.

It didn't help.  Nabiki spent all night staring at the ceiling.

***

Nabiki sat under a tree, the lunch Kasumi had made resting by her 
side.  It didn't particularly interest her.  Her normal lunchmates 
had fled her presence after she made it pointedly clear how unwelcome 
their company would be.

Her thoughts were a complete mess.  She couldn't bring any order to
them, and that troubled her deeply.  She didn't remember a thing that
her teacher had said that morning.  She couldn't seem to recall what
Kasumi had made her for lunch, even though she had opened the tin a
minute ago.  She stared at the statue of the prinicpal in front of
her, its laughing face seeming to taunt her.  She watched it closely
to see if it would grow fangs.

A shadow fell over her.  Annoyed, she looked up, ready to bite 
someone's head off.  She was in no mood for any conversation.

Her annoyance grew when she saw it was Tatewaki, holding his bokken as
always.  Yet, somehow, the scathing tirade she had prepared died on 
her lips.  She scowled at him; he looked down at her, bemused.  That 
made her angrier.  "What do you want, Kuno?" she growled.

It didn't ruffle him.  He could go from one emotional extreme to the
next, but it often took a lot for him to change.  Most of the world
seemed to flow by him, and he chose what was significant and what 
was to be ignored.  Nabiki had always envied and admired that quality.

"I believe, Tendo Nabiki-san, that you were to obtain for me some
more pictures of my beloved pig-tail goddess?"

Damn, Nabiki thought, I forgot about the property taxes.  Gotta pay
that by the end of the week.  Yet, she couldn't bring herself to
worry about it too much.  If necessary, she could cover the expense
out of her own earnings, and she wasn't particularly inclined to deal
with Tatewaki right now.

"Sorry, Kuno, I don't have them.  Lost them, sorry.  I'll let you
know when I have more."

She could see the confusion on his face.  The very concept of her 
losing anything seemed alien to him.  Her fault, she supposed, for
building a reputation for ruthless efficiency.

To her absolute shock and irritation, Tatewaki sat down beside her.
He put his bokken across his legs and sat facing her.  "Something
troubles you deeply, Nabiki-san.  Others have mentioned this also.
If I can be of service, please command me."

She regarded him skeptically.  She tried to form the evil eye but it
got lost somewhere in his stern features and even expression.

She opened her mouth to 'command' him to go jump into the pool.  
"Kuno, have you ever needed money?"

The words hung there and she couldn't take them back.

His expression remained even, but he took a while to answer.  "Does
it bother you that I have so much to spend, while you have much less?"

"Yes!"  The vehemence surprised her, but she rushed on before she 
could stop herself.  "Our family used to be well off.  Not rich, but
never wanting.  Father had a good practice and a steady income. Then 
Mother got sick, and all our money disappeared.  I took over the 
finances because Father couldn't function and Kasumi had too much else 
to do.  And I was good!"  She grabbed her ledger from her uniform and
shook it at Tatewaki.  "We survived even though most of Father's 
students left.  We had food and clothes, but not much else.  I 
scraped together what I could, and I soon found other ways to raise 
money."

She stopped to wipe her sleeves across her eyes.  "I discovered that I 
could sell things. I could lend money to people and make them pay me 
more back.  I found out information that was embarrassing to people, 
and used that knowledge to make them give me money.  I found out what 
people desired, and became a way of fulfilling that desire, at a 
cost."

She stopped, realizing what she had just said, wondering if he would 
be offended.  When he said nothing, when he did nothing but continue
to look at her, she went on.

"It...it became a fun thing to do.  I was good at it, and was soon
making almost as much money as Father.  Making money became the most
important thing in the world to me.  More, though, I found that I
enjoyed dealing with people when I was making money.  I enjoyed 
making them happy...."  She trailed off, unwilling to say the next
part out loud.  But she had to, she needed this out of her.  "I 
enjoyed making them afraid, too.  I liked seeing them suffer because
they didn't have money.  It was nice to see someone scrabbling for
money like our family always was."

She got up on her knees, turned towards Tatewaki and leaned forward 
to look into his eyes.  "Is that wrong?  Our family needs the money!  
We'd have lost the dojo and been living in a small apartment if it 
weren't for me.  We'd never have been able to take in the Saotome's, 
and they might have bumped into Auntie Saotome too soon and been 
forced to kill themselves."  Tears were flowing from her eyes now, 
but that was less important to her than getting an answer from 
Tatewaki.  "Is it wrong?  If I made money for the family and kept 
Ranma and his father alive, does it matter what methods I used to get 
the money?"

Tatewaki looked up from her eyes and stared at something off to the 
side.  Following his eyes, she saw that he was staring at the statue
of the principal.  His father, Nabiki remembered with a start.  It was
still difficult to accept that they were from the same family.

"My father was a businessman,"  Tatewaki said with an even tone, his
words less flowerly than usual.  "A very good one.  He spent all his
time on the business and made for the family a substantial sum of 
money.  My sister and I grew up never knowing him.  Our mother was 
very unhappy and she took out that unhappiness on us."

Tatewaki paused, the pain of some memory evident in his eyes.  "It
was almost a relief when she...died.  Father took time off from his
business to take care of the family.  It was his duty."  For the first
time Nabiki could recall, the word "duty" sounded like an epitath on
his lips.  

"He discovered a house full of strangers.  We didn't know him and 
didn't want to know him.  My sister and I were barely civil to each 
other.  She found her solace in horticulture and raising dangerous 
animals."  He grabbed his bokken in one hand and gripped it tightly.  
"I found this...and the Bard."  His hand relaxed, and his tone took 
on a softer, almost wistful tone.

"Thou hidest a thousand daggers in thy thoughts,
 Which thou hast whetted on thy stony heart,
 To stab at half an hour of my life.
 What! canst thou not forbear me half an hour?
 Then get thee gone and dig my grave thyself,
 And bid the merry bells ring to thine ear
 That thou art crowned, not that I am dead."

Nabiki gasped.  Tatewaki nodded and continued.

"My father could not handle the death of my mother and the uncaring
of his children.  He provided for us, left us servants and money, quit
his business, and disappeared.  It made little difference to Kodachi 
and I; we had gotten along very well without his presence before.  We
preferred his absence to his presence. He eventually returned and 
he...was different.

"The body's delicate: the tempest in my mind
Doth from my senses take all feeling else
Save what beats there. Filial ingratitude!
Is it not as this mouth should tear this hand
For lifting food to't? But I will punish home:
No, I will weep no more. In such a night
To shut me out! Pour on; I will endure.
In such a night as this! O Regan, Goneril!
Your old kind father, whose frank heart gave all,--
O, that way madness lies; let me shun that;
No more of that."

Tatewaki turned his head back to face Nabiki, and his eyes bored 
into hers.  "I would give all the money I had, Tendo Nabiki-san, to 
be in a family such as yours."

The tears returned to Nabiki's eyes.  She had lived all her life in
a loving, supporting family.  To hear that others didn't know such 
love shocked her to the core of her being.  She had thought Tatewaki 
obsessive and Kodachi deranged; she now saw that it was not so simple 
as that.

She looked down at the ledger, and a sudden loathing filled her.  She
got up, anger filling her, and grabbed the ledger in both hands,
preparing to rip it in half.

Kuno, with a single, graceful movement, rose and gently put his bokken
in between her arms in such a manner that she couldn't complete her 
ripping motion.  "She that wants for money, means and content is 
without three good friends.  It is not the search for money, 
Nabiki-san, that condemns thee, but rather the manner you use to 
obtain it.

"Though you and all the kings of Christendom
Are led so grossly by this meddling priest,
Dreading the curse that money may buy out;
And by the merit of vile gold, dross, dust,
Purchase corrupted pardon of a man,
Who in that sale sells pardon from himself,
Though you and all the rest so grossly led
This juggling witchcraft with revenue cherish,
Yet I alone, alone do me oppose."

She stood there, trying to work it out, Shakespeare not her specialty.
Tatewaki saw the puzzlement on her face, and smiled.  "Do you make
money, Nabiki-san, because you feel a guilt that you believe money
will assuage, or do you make money so that others will not be 
wanting?"

She stood there, trying to let the answer bubble forth.  It came in a
form she did not expect.  "I love my family."

Tatewaki extracted his bokken.  "Then do not deprive them of your
labors.  Instead, make certain the labors do not become a means unto
themselves.  She who hunts to feed her family is a better person than
she who hunts for the pleasure of the kill."

Nabiki stared at her ledger, then slowly put it back into her uniform.
She looked over at Tatewaki, who for once didn't look stern, or 
superior, obsessive, or angry; rather, he seemed pleased, relieved, 
and almost happy.

Nabiki sat down next to her lunch.  All of a sudden, she was famished.
She took her chopsticks and lifted some sushi from her box.  She 
paused and looked up at Tatewaki.  "C'mon, Kuno-baby, siddown."

He looked a little surprised at this, but sat down across from her.
She waggled the sushi in front of him.  "You want some?  Kasumi makes
the best."

He looked around.  "I did not bring my chopsticks, Nabiki-san."

She smiled.  "Open."

He looked almost amused at her tone.  He leaned forward and allowed 
her to put the sushi in his mouth.  He chewed and nodded his
appreciation.

Nabiki took a bite herself.  "Tomorrow," she said after swallowing,
"I'll ask Kasumi to make you a lunch as well.  I'm sure she would 
love to."

Tatewaki looked over at her, a strange look on his face.  "I would 
like that very much, Tendo Nabiki-san."

They finished lunch together in comfortable silence.

***

Nabiki watched as Akihito looked nervously around the front of the
school.  To his credit, he wasn't trying to escape her this time.
She grimaced; she had certainly scared him enough to make sure he 
wouldn't.

He saw her and approached with extreme trepidation.  He reached a
trembling arm into his pocket and pulled out some bills.  "I-I could
only come up with 8,000 yen."  He flinched, as if expecting she'd
hit him.  "Just g-give me a little more time and I'll g-get the
rest."

He looked so desparate and afraid; Nabiki wondered how she could ever
have found this fun.  She ignored his handful of yen and reached into
her pocket.  She held out a 1,000 yen bill towards him.

He looked at her, confused.

Nabiki snorted.  "I had a computer glitch last night.  My files were
damaged; I lost all records of your loan.  All I had on the ledger 
was the 1,000 yen you loaned me."  She took his hand and pressed the
1,000 yen bill in with the rest he was holding.  "I always repay my
debts."

Akihito stated at her, not daring to believe what he was hearing.
"B-but I borrowed 7,500 yen...."

Nabiki gave him the evil eye.  "If you believe you owe me anything,
Akihito-kun, repay me by never disobeying your mother again as long
as you live in her house."

Slowly, a smile came over his face.  He put the bills back in his
pocket.  He walked backwards, bowing deeply.  "Thank you very much,
Nabiki-san.  Yes, certainly, I'll obey.  I'm very sorry to have 
troubled you, Nabiki-san.  Thank you."

He was babbling.  With a mischievous smile and a playful air, she
shouted "Get out of here!  Go home!"

Akihito started, smiled, and ran off, slowing once to wave at her
over his shoulder.

Nabiki continued to smile after him.  Now *this* felt good.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out her ledger. She opened it
and turned to a newly-created balance sheet towards the back.

With her pencil, she moved one entry from the left side to the 
right side.

Spying Akane and Ranma walking together in the distance, she ran to 
join them on the way home.