Hello, once again!

        A very special thanks to everybody who responded to my previous 
submission, especially Jerico Mele, who really is a visionary, Lucres 
Annuiteas, who didn't even mind having his name misspelt last time, and 
Andrew (last name unknown), who set the world speed record for responses.
        This is my third submission, and YES it's another Kuno/Nabs WAFF. In 
my opinion, it's a rather good one. If you read Kuno's Choice or Nabiki's 
Move, you'll probably get more out of it, but don't let that stop you (and 
PLEASE send C&C! I live off of it!) ^_^


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-- Name   : kunos_keeper.txt
                          KUNO'S KEEPER
             by Morgan Hudson (dataraven_659@hotmail.com)

OBLIGATORY DISCLAIMER : As if you didn't know, Ranma 1/2 is the 
creation of Rumiko Takahashi. It is currently owned by Viz Video 
and Viz Comics, as well as Kitty Video in Japan. All of the 
characters here are copyrighted, trademarked, and completely 
NOT MINE. I am protected only by the fact that Takahashi-sama is 
FAR too nice a person to sue me.  ^_^


	Nabiki idled into her little sister�s room, hands behind 
her back. Akane looked up from her work and set down her pencil. 
>From the look on Nabiki�s face, English could wait. 
	"What is it, Nabiki?"
	"Akane, I think we need to have a little talk about 
Ranma... and Kuno." Nabiki hesitantly took another step forward, 
hands still clasped behind her. 
	"What are you talking about?" 
	"Well, Kuno has been chasing you for almost a year now. 
Maybe it�s time you let him know how you really feel." Nabiki 
stepped forward again and leaned closer to her sister. "You DO 
know how you really feel about him, don�t you?" 
	"Yes, I do." Akane grit her teeth. Nabiki wasn�t 
suggesting she LIKED that dolt, was she? "That Kuno... is an 
IDIOT! He�s an annoying, overdramatic blowhard and I�d be 
perfectly happy if I never saw him again! He�s so stupid, he 
can�t even get it through his thick skull that the pig-tailed 
girl is really Ranma!" Igoring her sister�s shocked expression and 
frantic gestures, Akane continued. "I don�t care about Kuno, and 
I never will. In fact... I HATE HIM!!!"
	"Oh Akane," Nabiki said forlornly, "you really shouldn�t 
have said that." Slowly and sadly, Nabiki showed her sister the 
microphone she had been hiding behind her back. With a shocked gasp, 
Akane tore open the door to her room and ran into the hallway...
	Where Ranma Saotome and Tatewaki Kuno stood like statues, 
the headphones from Nabiki�s stereo still hanging from their necks. 
They both stared at her like she had kicked them in the head. 
	"Akane Tendo," Kuno said far too calmly as he removed the 
headphones from around his neck, "I do protest. Villain am I 
none : therefore farewell." The headphones clattered to the floor 
as he dropped them. "I see you know me not."
	Halfway down the stairs he turned and looked over his 
shoulder at them. "Fear not, fair Tendos. The shadow of Kuno 
Tatewaki shall never darken your doorway again." That said, he left 
as if he had never been there.
	"Wow," Ranma said softly, "that was pretty harsh, Akane. 
Nobody deserved that, not even Kuno." He looked strangely downcast.
	"Not EVEN Kuno?" Nabiki turned on her friends, looking 
almost as if she might cry. "Are you people even LISTENING to 
yourselves? He�s a PERSON, not a block of wood!" She wiped her eyes 
with the back of on hand and glared at her sister. "You know what, 
Akane? I�m GLAD you don�t want Kuno. He�s WASTED on you!" Spinning on 
one heel, she stumbled down the stairs and out the door, chasing 
after Kuno-chan. 
	Ranma and Akane stared at each other in dumb astonishment.
	"Man," Ranma muttered, "what�s gotten into HER?" 
**********
	Nabiki Tendo cursed as she ran down the dark and deserted 
streets. It wasn�t supposed to be this way. Akane was supposed to 
profess her love for Ranma, and Kuno was supposed to gracefully bow 
out, leaving him free to pursue other options. Leaving him free to 
notice her, at last. 
	But now, her little plan had backfired. She had never meant 
to hurt him, never wanted to break his heart. Break HER heart : for 
what was the difference?
	Where WAS he?
**********
	Tatewaki hung his head in shame. "I am a fool, Father."
	The statue didn�t answer, as Tatewaki kneeled before it. 
"Of course, you always knew that, didn�t you? Your son the fool, 
trapped in the past. Chasing after legends. Chasing after love."
	He sighed deeply. "I gave you my love, and you abandoned me. 
I gave Kodachi my love, and she used me. I gave Akane Tendo and the 
pig-tailed... and Ranma... my love, and they reviled me."
	Nabiki paused by the tree she stood behind, hiding and 
watching as Kuno reached into his pocket and drew out a piece of 
folded paper. 
	"I gave my love... to... to Mother, and she..." Kuno�s voice 
trailed off as he stared at the paper clutched in his hands. "Tell me, 
Father! Dare I proffess my love to another? How often must I have my 
advances spurned, my love refused?" He looked again at the paper. 
"I could not stand to face HER rejection, methinks."
	"Shall I be doomed to wander this world alone? Or..." Kuno 
drew out another object, and Nabiki gasped as she saw moonlight glint 
off of cold steel. "Or... should I end my foolishness here, by the 
father who abandoned me, and the school where no friends care for me?" 
Tatewaki closed his eyes and lifted the blade. "Ay, there�s the rub..."
	He opened his eyes as he felt another pair of hands wrap 
around his own, and saw the stern and stoic face of Nabiki Tendo. His 
angel of mercy, here to save him one last time... he had never been 
more in love with her.
	"Do not try to stop me, Nabiki Tendo."
	"I wouldn�t dream of it, Kuno-chan." Nabiki was speaking 
very softly, putting lethal emphasis on every word. "I can�t. You�d 
just try again, if you really wanted to." She lowered her head and 
looked at the tanto blade in their hands. "But the way I see it, you 
have two choices here. You can either leave this schoolyard... or 
leave this world." She looked back into his eyes, and slowly turned 
the blade to face her. "But either way, Tatewaki Kuno : you are NOT 
going ANYWHERE without me."
	They locked gazes for an eternity. Finally, Tatewaki released 
the blade and slumped back against the base of the statue. "Why," he 
asked, sounding more like a lonely child than a grown man, "doesn�t 
anybody love me?"
	Nabiki felt her heart freeze. Here it was : her perfect 
opening. It couldn�t have been better if she planned it herself. Three 
simple words, and yet... she couldn�t seem to spit them out. Instead, 
by the statue of the father who abandoned him, and the school where no 
friend cared for him, she kissed Tatewaki Kuno.
	It was nothing like their first kiss, which had been in so 
many ways the cause of all this trouble. It was nothing like any of 
the kisses they had each dreamed of since. It was a gentle kiss, a 
comforting kiss, with very little passion. It was a very long kiss.
**********
	Another figure lurked, hidden in the shadows of the trees 
surrounding them. He had watched as Nabiki tried so valiantly to save 
the Kuno boy from his inner demons, and he had watched them as they 
kissed. He knew he should go down there, interrupt the proceedings and 
take the girl away.
	But Soun Tendo had once been that Kuno boy, and he remembered 
all too well the goddess who had saved him. He dried his eyes on the 
sleeve of his tunic. Never had he been so happy for his daughter. 
Never had she reminded him so much of her mother. He had raised a fine 
young woman, and he knew Kuno was an honorable boy. He would trust 
them to themselves, this once.
	He needed to visit with his wife.
**********
	After several minutes, their lips parted. This, decided Kuno, 
wasn�t nearly as pleasant, so they began kissing again. After that, 
Nabiki buried her face in his chest. It felt like she was blushing, 
and that wouldn�t do. Nabiki Tendo did NOT blush. She realised that 
she could hear his heartbeat as he put one arm around her shoulders. 
He kissed the top of her head, and that was nice.
	They didn�t speak, didn�t even move, just sat against the 
statue of Furinkan�s principal with Nabiki cuddling up against Kuno. 
They closed their eyes, and listened to each other breathe, and that 
was also nice. Peaceful, even. Somewhere during that time, the sun 
rose. It was then that Kuno spoke. 
	"Domo arigato, Tendo Nabiki." Nabiki smiled. He always sounded 
so serious. "This night I feel you have saved my life, my sanity, and 
indeed my very soul."
	"Yeah, well..." she was definitely blushing again. Nabiki 
Tendo may not blush, she figured, but Nabiki Tendo didn�t get to 
snuggle with a kawaii guy like Kuno the last time she checked. Maybe 
it was all right NOT to be Nabiki Tendo, for now. "I couldn�t very 
well let my favorite pidgeon fly the coop with all those favours he 
still owed me."
	"I am just now beginning to realise how indebted to you I am, 
Tendo-sama." Kuno gently combed his fingers through her hair, and 
that, she decided, was nicest of all. "I wonder if I shall ever repay 
you."
	"Not with MY interest rates..." Nabiki trailed off. "What 
should I call you, Tatewaki? Kuno-chan doesn�t feel right anymore."
	"Call me..." Kuno thought for a moment. "Tacchi."
	"All right." Nabiki looked up at him. "Call me Nabi-chan, if 
you want. Call me Nabsy, and you die." Kuno simply nodded as she 
changed the topic. "Anyway, I have an idea how you can start that 
repayment..."
	Kuno stared at her blankly and Nabiki rolled her eyes. "We�re 
going to have to work out some kind of code... Tacchi. That was my way 
of telling you to kiss me again."
	"Oh..." he said, and eagerly complied.
**********
  	Hiroshi shouldered his bookbag as he walked into the 
schoolyard. He and Daisuki had arranged a few extra hours in the lab. 
All they had to do was mention pineapples a couple of times... 
	Suddenly he stopped and turned to his friend. "Daisuki, do 
you see that couple making out over by the statue of the principal?"
	Daisuki turned and looked. "Yes... what about them?"
	"Is it just me, or are they not Tatewaki Kuno and 
Nabiki Tendo?"
	Daisuki squinted a little. Yes, it was Blue Thunder and the 
Nerima Ice Queen, the two most feared members of the student body, 
kissing rather passionately. "It is. And you know what THAT means, 
old friend..."
	Hiroshi nodded. "We�re all in a LOT of trouble..."

 				- FIN-