Disclaimer: All characters in this story are property of Rumiko Takahashi, not me. This is a work of fanfiction and is not in any way to be used for personal gain. Nor is it intended for classroom applications ;) --------------------------------------------- This is the first story of my short "Self Study" series. The stories are connected, but each one is intended to be self-contained, so they can be read separately. ---------------------------------------------- Self Study - The Fiance Dilemma A Ranma 1/2 Fanfiction by Paradox The young man appeared thoughtful and diligent. He was hunched over a desk; his head tilted slightly as it rested in his palm and his pen positioned micrometers above a piece of paper that already appeared to be covered in several thousand formulas, diagrams, and other unintelligible markings thrown down at random. Anyone who saw him would've instantly known he was on the verge of sudden comprehension. Then, as soon the student was recognized, that conclusion would be reevaluated. "...but should they cooperate, or will they escape anyway? If X is the potential gain, then why is Ryoga so dumb? And why does the warden even care? ... " Ranma muttered to himself. It was no use. Close examination of his paper revealed that it was, in fact, only one equation and one diagram that had been written out several thousand times. It just wasn't making any sense. After a few more incomprehensible scribbles, Ranma lost all of his patience. "I GIVE UP! WHY CAN'T THEY JUST FIGHT IT OUT LIKE NORMAL PEOPLE!?" As Ranma dropped his pencil and placed his head completely into his hands in frustration he felt a pair of arms loosely wrap around him from behind. "Having problems Saotome?" a soft voice purred into his ear. Ranma jumped slightly. This brought him closer to the girl behind him, who tightened her arms. A small chuckle escaped her lips - Nabiki liked throwing him off-balance. "Geez Nabiki! Don' sneak up on me like that!" Ranma pushed out of her grasp and stood up, turning to face her. The whole process was not without effort, since he had to be more careful not to injure Nabiki than he had to be when dealing with his usual "opponents." The young lady crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. "Really Ranma, it's not my fault if you weren't paying attention. Besides, it is my room after all." A suppressed sigh was his only immediate reply. With the outrageous "rental" fee he was paying he wasn't likely to forget that it was her room. There weren't many options though. Nabiki's room was just about the only place in the house he could do his homework without pops and Mr. Tendo interrupting to argue about the engagement. Even their parents were too scared of her to enter her room without permission. "Nabiki, I paid you to use it so I wouldn't be disturbed." "I know, I know." She waved her hands dismissively. "I just heard you muttering from the hall and thought you might want some help." Ranma's eyes narrowed. "Sorry, I can't afford it." "Saotome, you wound me," she replied in mock horror. "I never mentioned money." "I won't work it off, or pay you to keep quiet about it, or go on dates for you or..." Nabiki's lips quivered. "Can't I do something nice for you without be questioned like I'm some heartless money-grubbing bitch?" Why did this always happen to him? All of a sudden she was about to cry and it was all his fault. He had to do something to stop it. He had to do whatever she wanted. He had to... remember who he was dealing with. "No," was his stern reply. As Ranma's face went from panic stricken to skeptical in the space of a few heartbeats, Nabiki knew her gambit had failed. Damn, she didn't need him getting harder to manipulate. It was unwise to push him any farther though, or she would risk losing the ability to control him when it was important. Oh well, nothing lasts forever. She slipped back into her usual casual demeanor. "Sorry, I had to try," she said with a smirk. "The truth is I'm bored. Our fathers are playing shogi again, Akane is destroying the practice dummy out in the dojo, and Kasumi is cleaning. I figured you needed help and I could entertain myself for a while up here." Ranma choose to ignore her (accurate) assumption that he couldn't handle his homework on his own. "And make a few more yen in the process?" "I told you I had to try." "So if all you're here for is amusement, how do I know it won't be by leading me the wrong way?" Did he finally find the "on" switch for his brain tonight? Nabiki was slightly flustered - not only was Ranma being much more anticipatory than usual, but it was also a rather good idea that she hadn't thought of first. Best to just stick to the backup plan. "Ok, how about this - I help you with your current assignment, however long it takes, and we work out a payment arrangement for future help if you decide it's worth it." Ranma was silent for a few moments, looking for loopholes. "Sounds good," he said at last. Then with a smile, "you should try being reasonable more often." She scowled. "Don't you dare say such scandalous things about me, Saotome. You'll ruin my reputation." She watched Ranma visibly relax in response to her joke. Maybe being nice had advantages after all. "So what are we studying?" Nabiki asked as she took a seat next to Ranma. Ranma breathed in deeply as he sat back down, preparing himself. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad. "Economics. 'The Prisoners' Dilemma'." Nabiki remembered. "Two criminals are accused of a crime. If they both stay silent, they get two years each. If one of them confesses, he gets a reduced sentence of one year while the one who stayed silent gets punished to the fullest and serves ten years. If they both confess, they each serve five years. Right?" "Right. Now, the book says that if both prisoners act rationally, they end up both confessing and serving five years each..." "And you want to know why they can't just agree to cooperate and shorten the time to two years?" This wasn't surprising. Nabiki knew alot of classmates who had problems with this concept. "Partially. I had a couple other questions though." Nabiki paused, trying to imagine what else he could ask. "Such as?" "Well, how can they serve any time if they don't confess? I mean, if the warden can convict them anyway, why does he needa confession?" Perhaps for the first time since she found out about Ranma's curse, Nabiki was caught completely off guard. Her first impulse was to tell him he was being stupid and that it didn't matter. After a brief consideration, she decided that probably wouldn't help him understand it any better. Nor would it increase her chances of remaining his tutor. "The warden can convict them for lesser crimes, but doesn't have any proof about the big crime." Ranma seemed to accept this. Maybe now she could explain the solution. That thought didn't survive very long in the presence of Ranma's next question. "So what's the bigger crime?" he murmured. "WHAT!?" He turned towards Nabiki, puzzled by her loud reaction. "What's the bigger crime?" Nabiki clenched her teeth together. Loosing her patience after seventy-eight seconds was not an option. "Why does it matter?" "Well, if they both confess, shouldn't they both get the maximum sentence? Since they would get only five years instead of ten, I thought it must be some sorta special crime, right?" Nabiki finally understood how someone who was so adept at memorizing fighting techniques could be such a poor student. It wasn't that Ranma was dumb - rather he just couldn't detach himself from the problem. Nabiki reflected on the childhood of the young man in front of her. Always moving from place to place, having to get out of trouble caused by his father. Not to mention struggling to learn martial arts techniques since he could walk. No wonder he was unfamilliar with hypothetical situations - everything he ever had to deal with directly affected his life. Thus Ranma knew nothing beyond what was practical. As a result, when doing school work he was trying to relate to every problem. Nabiki shook her head. That would send him off on so many unimportant tangents he'd never understand the concepts. "Ranma, the set up of the problem isn't really important. You should just accept it as given. The important part is how to solve it." She could see that Ranma was considering her words, but his look of confusion told her it wasn't going to take. "But, what good is the solution if the premise of the problem is faulty?" The surprises just weren't stopping. Not only had Ranma spoke more articulately than Nabiki thought possible, but he actually had a reasonable point. "The idea is to learn the concept first and then apply it to real situations. That's the entire point of school, Ranma." Ranma had never thought about things that way. He was becoming very glad that Nabiki offered her help. Something about the concept was still bothering him though. "So what kind of situation would this problem really help with?" Nabiki sighed. They obviously weren't going to be able to proceed until she came up with an example. A wicked grin slowly covered her face. Uh-oh. Ranma knew that grin. "Uh, Nabiki..." "Hush Saotome. I have an example for you, but you have to promise to let me finish." There was no choice but to ignore the feeling of impending doom. "Ok. Go ahead." If possible, Nabiki's smile grew wider. She cleaned the desk off and pulled out a clean sheet of paper. "Alright, here we go. I present - 'The Fiance Dilemma'!" Ranma facefaulted. He already didn't like the direction this was taking. "Uhm..." "Quiet. You promised. So, we're going to use your economics problem to figure out why Akane's still alive." "WHAT!?" A single glare silence further protests. "As I was saying, consider a young man, who we shall call Ranma. Ranma has three fiancees, who we shall call Akane, Shampoo, and Ukyo." "What a shocking coincidence," Ranma muttered. Nabiki ignored him. "Now consider, Ranma obviously likes Akane best, and would be extremely upset if anything happened to her." She noticed his deep blush but withheld comment. "Both Ukyo and Shampoo know this. They want to get Akane out of their way, but can't risk having Ranma be upset with them. Are you with me so far?" Ranma was struggling to push down the embarrassment from using his life as a homework problem and focus on what she was saying. So far, so good. "Yes." "So they each have two options - leave Akane alone or get rid of her. If they both leave Akane alone..." "Why don't they just give up?" he interrupted. "Huh?" "If it's obvious that I ... I mean that Ranma likes Akane best, why don't they just give up?" Nabiki gritted her teeth again. "Because you... Ranma hasn't officially accepted Akane and they still think they have a chance." She should have know this wasn't going to be any easier. "But that doesn't make any sense. You said it was obvious." "Look, Ranma..." ******* "NO! IF THEY GET RID OF HER SHE'S GONE! NOT COMING BACK! PERIOD!" Nabiki's calm demeanor was gone. After two hours Ranma was still coming up with holes to poke in her set up. Why couldn't he focus on the SOLUTION?! This was the only way she could relate it to him though. She would not give up. Besides, it was becoming a matter of pride. Just like Ranma, Nabiki didn't back done from a challenge once it began. Ranma was getting nervous. Why was Nabiki so upset? He was trying really hard to understand, but this process was so new to him. He was also feeling rather ashamed. Even though he was still confused she had helped a great deal so far and all he was doing was upsetting her. "I'm sorry Nabiki. I don' mean to make you angry or nothin'. I guess I'm just no good at this stuff." Ranma's apology brought Nabiki's temper back under control. She placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It's ok Ranma. You just need to accept that there are things that can't be proven sometimes." Sudden inspiration struck her. "It's kind of like your curse." "My curse?" "Yeah. You don't know what causes the change, right? It's just something you accept. Sometimes you have to apply that blind faith to other things." "Like trusting someone who starts being nice out of the blue?" Ranma smirked, pleased at finally getting the upper hand in an exchange with Nabiki. Nabiki blushed, and turned away from Ranma to hide it. Nabiki only knew that the subject of gaining Ranma's trust was making her uncomfortable. "I don't know what you're talking about Saotome. I'm here on business, remember? So... let's go over it again." Ranma accepted the change in subject without argument. "Ok, if both Shampoo and Ukyo leave Akane alone then they each have very small chances of Ranma choosing them, right?" Nabiki turned back to face him, the color gone from her cheeks. "Right." "And if they conspire together to get rid of Akane then they each have a fifty-fifty chance of being chosen." "Right." Nabiki felt some hope stir. He had been listening after all. "But if one gets rid of Akane and the other tells me than that person gets me for sure since I wouldn't speak to the one who hurt Akane." "'Ranma', not you. But correct." "Right, 'Ranma'. So then what you're saying is that if they're both rational then Akane stays around even though they would each be better off if they cooperated?" "Yes. Remember rational means that they act in their own best interests. Consider their actions individually. If Ukyo thinks Shampoo will leave Akane alone, what should she do?" "Well, she should leave Akane alone, since then she'll have a small chance instead of no chance. " "And if she thinks Shampoo will get rid of Akane?" "Hmmm... then she should also leave Akane alone, since she'll have Ranma for sure instead of a fifty-fifty chance." Nabiki began to smile again. "Right! So no matter what Shampoo does, Ukyo should leave Akane alone. Now what about Shampoo? What should she do?" "Well, since her situation is the same as Ukyo's, the same logic will apply, right? So I guess she should leave Akane alone too." "Ranma! You got it!" Ranma felt relieved - not only was he finally making progress on his homework, but Nabiki seemed happier. "Ok, so because in each case Ukyo and Shampoo want to the best they possibly can, they end up both leaving Akane alone even when they could both be better off if they decided to work together to get rid of her?" "Right!" Finally! While she was annoyed that she had just spent so much time (at no charge) on one problem, it felt surprising good to have helped Ranma past this hurdle. She wondered what was next on the agenda. "Anything else?" Ranma over at her, somewhat nervously. "I kinda had one more question on this, if it's ok?" Remembering all his earlier questions, Nabiki paused. This could be trouble, but they were doing so well right now she pushed the apprehension away. "Sure Ranma. What is it?" "What about you?" Once again, Nabiki was speechless. "W-what?" she stammered. "Well, what if Ranma would choose to marry someone else with Akane out of the picture? Then Ukyo and Shampoo wouldn't nece- nesara- be sure to improve their chances." Nabiki thought. "Ranma that's silly, you would never choose me over one of them." A puzzled Ranma turned towards her again. He had finally detached himself from the problem, and it wasn't registering that the conversation was taking a potentially dangerous turn. "Why not?" "W-w-why would you?" Nabiki's stammering made Ranma realize what he had said. "Er! - I mean.. I didn't mean! uhm..." There was no way she would let him leave it at that. "Uh-uh, Saotome. Finish your thought." He looked down at the desk. "Well, I mean... you're smart and stuff..." "Stuff?" Nabiki prompted, interested despite herself. Ranma exhaled loudly. How did he get himself into this. "Uhm... you're also pretty... I guess... when you're being nice that is..." he stammered. An unsure Ranma was more familiar territory. Nabiki started to process the last few moments. Could Ranma actually care for her? If he did, was she capable of returning the feelings? He was strong, handsome and loyal, but was he her type? Was he worth all the trouble he'd cause her? These were all important questions, but inexplicably the only one on Nabiki's mind was whether he would even believe her capable of caring for him after what happened during their brief engagement. After all, she had just treated him like a way to make some money and upset Akane. Akane... damn. No matter what, she couldn't do that to her younger sister. She needed to derail this line of conversation, fast. "Why can't you stay focused on the problem as it's presented!?" she nearly screamed at Ranma. Ranma, already thrown off by what he had inadvertently admitted to the middle Tendo daughter, found this sudden change in her attitude too much to take. She was upset with him AGAIN. "What? You're the one who just said..." "I know what I said! Just ignore what I said!" "Ignore what you said then or what you said just now?" "DANM IT! YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!" Annoyed and confused, Ranma yelled back at her. "NO I DON'T! I ASKED A SIMPLE QUESTION AND THEN THINGS GOT ALL WEIRD! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME!?" Nabiki didn't really think she should answer that last question. "IT WAS NOT JUST A SIMPLE QUESTION!" "YES IT WAS! ALL I ASKED WAS WHAT IF I WANTED TO MARRY YOU!?" They both jumped as the door flew open. Soun had his fists wrapped up in Ranma's shirt instantly, holding him off the ground. Genma-Panda was also now in the room. Scribbling on a sign. They had been listening at the door since the raised voices started. "RANMA! HOW COULD YOU!? WHAT ABOUT MY DARLING AKANE!?" "WAIT! Mr. Tendo! It ain't like that... I can explain!" "Daddy, stop it!" Nabiki scolded. Soun was about to erupt into his usually fountain of tears when Genma wapped him over the head with a sign and carried him into the closet. Nabiki chose to ignore their father's invasion of her privacy (as well as the shock of the interruption) and instead concentrated on the room's other occupant. He was staring blankly at the closet door, trying to make out the whispers heard from within. But he shifted his focus when he realized Nabiki wanted his attention. "Ranma..I..." "I'm sorry Nabiki," Ranma cut her off. He scratched the back of his head in his usual nervous gesture as he looked downward, diliberately avoiding her eyes. "Don't worry or nothin'. I'll straighten 'em out." "'Straighten them out?'" Nabiki centered her gaze on his face, trying to measure his reactions. "Yeah... you shouldn't hafta deal with their crazy schemes..." Nabiki shook her head and sighed. In the middle of the storm, and he was worried about dragging her in. How could he always be so openly concerned about others? "But why should you then?" If Ranma had an answer, it was left unspoken as the fathers burst back into the room. Now Soun was crying, but with him no one could even guess at the cause. The master of the Tendo dojo gathered his middle daughter into his arms, lifting her off the ground. "Oh Nabiki, you make your father so proud!" "Daddy! What are you talking about?!" Nabiki shouted as she sqirmed out of his grip. On the floor in the closet she could just make out part of a panda sign. Her father didn't seemed to notice Nabiki's movement nor her question. Instead, he turned towards Ranma, who was staring at Nabiki, hoping she would clue him in to what planet they had suddenly been transported to. "You were right Saotome! The engagement will go much easier this way! They're obviously crazy for each other... and the boy and Akane never really did get along anyway..." read the panda's new sign. "DADDY! WHAT EXACTLY IS GOING ON?!" As Nabiki screamed at her father Ranma found himself occupied by a dancing panda. Briefly he wondered what his father had told Mr. Tendo and how the other man even read the stupid signs in the dark closet. "Why Nabiki, we've agreed to your acceptance of Ranma's engagement, of course!" Ranma broke out of his own father's embrace and threw the panda against the wall. "Now wait a minute!" Soun turned towards the boy's outburst. "Don't worry Ranma, we'll let you two handle your own wedding preparations..." "THAT AIN'T WHAT I MEANT!" "Oh my, what's all the commotion about?" Kasumi peeked her head around the corner of Nabiki's open door. "Kasumi!" cried Soun. "Isn't it wonderful?!" "Isn't what wonderful, father?" "Ranma has chosen Nabiki as his bride!" Kasumi blinked for a second. The entire room went eerily quiet as they waited for her to speak. Suddenly she smiled. "How nice! I'm sure she'll make him very happy. And just think of what we'll save on doctor's bills without Akane beating him up all the time." Nabiki and Ranma just shook their heads despite the shock of the whole situation. That was Kasumi, all right. Soun and Genma resumed dancing in joy. "HEY-" Ranma started to yell, but he was cut off as Nabiki placed a finger across his lips. His brain shut down as he looked at her smiling face. Nabiki had done alot of thinking in the last few moments. She was taking a crazy chance, and would probably end up hurting her sister, but opportunities don't fall from the sky very often. It was time to do something for herself. "Ranma, would it really be that bad? I promise to be good." She said with a wink. Ranma couldn't believe it. She WANTED to be engaged to him?! How did he know it wasn't just a scam? Would she be trying to sell him back to Akane in a week? Or maybe his other fiancees? Could he really trust her? What about - The questions in his mind ended as she gently kissed him. After a brief shock Ranma responded. Ranma just wasn't having good luck completing thoughts, because that's when a new voice echoed through the room. "WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!" Ranma turned white and spun his head towards Akane. She was staring right at him... and he had just been... "RanmaandNabikiaregettingmarriedisntitgreatAkane!?" Soun sobbed. Akane slowly parsed her father's speech. She glowed red. "OH REALLY?!" Ranma backed up. This would hurt. "Now waita sec..." "YOU PERVERT!" Akane's amazing sledgehammer appeared from nowhere and knocked Ranma through the wall. With a loud splash he landed in the koi pond. The thought was purely reflexive. Somehow, Nabiki wasn't really concerned about money at the moment. As Akane retreated to her own room and slammed the door shut her father paused his ranting just long enough to comment "I wonder what's wrong with Akane. Oh well, I'm sure she'll work it out. Come Saotome! A celebratory drink is in order." "Right as always, Tendo!" said the panda's sign. Nabiki, left alone in her room, sat on the bed and reviewed the last half-hour of her life. After a few minutes she had convinced herself that she was not dreaming, and since she was still thinking about the kiss she gave Ranma and smiling she concluded it had been a good day afterall. Her reflective mood was interrupted by Kasumi peeking around her doorframe again. "Nabiki?" Nabiki shook off her daze. "Yes Kasumi?" "You might want to go get your fiance out of the pond. I think he's unconscious and we wouldn't want him to drown, right?" Kasumi recited with her usual aloofness. "Uhm, yeah. I'll get him right now Kasumi." "Oh good." Kasumi smiled and left. Nabiki paused only to scribble something on the desk before running off to rescue her new fiance. she chuckled to herself. The piece of paper on her desk read simply - "Fiance Dilemma - SOLVED:)" -------- Author's notes: Yes, I know, I need help. This is what happens when anime characters start infiltrating one's mind while studying. Anyway, this crazy idea popped into my head a couple years ago - when I jokingly remarked to a friend that Ranma's sitiation reminder me of the "Prisoner's Dilemma." This started mostly as a cure for writer's block, but slowly it's turned into something I'm fairly pleased with. Rewrite notes: Just a clean-up, really. I expanded a few scenes I found lacking and tried to smooth out the writing style a bit. C&C appreciated. Please send to Paradox-7@excite.com Thanx. Paradox.