Too late for Nabiki to be with Ranma and he himself has not taken any step to get to know her either for himself, its always Nabiki leading him and he just follow her like a paid bodyguard, he still remained ignorant and oblivious, fluctuation between Akane and Nabiki, hoping that problems fix itself.

Nabiki is too intelligent for someone like Ranma and even if she trained, which is already too late as she has not trained from early like Ranma or Xian Pu. Nabiki did not even have to continuity like Akane did, but she still got her high intellect. Ranma is better fit with Akane and Akane is a bit more intellectual than Ranma even if her pride and ego gets in the way.

The title of the story rings true being a question on their pairup.."Hand-Me-Down Ranma - A Good Fit?"

Ranma is too damn oblivious, its always Nabiki having to spoon feed him, he has not even tried to get to know her and all their talks is martial arts stuff, which is the only thing Ranma is interested in LOL.

Anyway...nice chap!

-Meech

Well, at least I couldn't predict this chapter out like your previous twelve or so. Good on your for that, interesting character development for Nabiki here. Still I feel as if you're purposely dragging this out now, and I find myself beginning to lose interest more and more. If I didn't check my email when I woke up and saw the notification before my run, chances are I wouldn't have read it.

MAGNIFICENT.

One simple thing, an event so well-known that it's simply background information as it is in canon, and there's JUST enough added to that one moment in the Tendo's lives that it shines new light on Nabiki's character and clarifies just WHY promises are so important to her, WHY she's so closed off, and WHY she's been spiraling out of control. There's also new light on the dynamics between Kasumi and Tofu.
Awesome.

There's still some mystery here, like just what it was that Kasumi was trying to get through to Nabiki about RIGHT before she loses it and goes after Akane, as well as how much of what happened between Nabiki and Ranma was born of the psychological and emotional pressure that heralded her meltdown and how much is her true feelings and the idea that a life with Ranma wouldn't be worth all the stress and insanity.

With what we find out here, Nabiki's interactions with Ranma become much more clear.
On the one hand, she WANTS to believe in the kind of promises he's making, especially and including the promise that it will all turn out alright. But on the other...
She's lived through the lie of EXACTLY that promise, and the part of she's been keeping buried refuses to be disappointed in that way again. Despite Ranma's lack of tools and knowledge to give her what she needs in that moment, she still throws a "test" at him in the desperate hope he can somehow come up with the perfect answer that she can then use to patch over the gaping hole in her own heart.

And Ranma... poor Ranma.
This whole journey has had him going out on a limb in terms of interpersonal relationships, fighting to overcome his lack of social skills and conditioning at the hands of Genma and Akane, and JUST when he's coming along and opening up, Nabiki jams him up and tells him it's over. She may well have done SERIOUS damage to all the progress he's made, if not flat-out undone it.

A good exchange between Nabiki and Akane comes out of this. Even with the events at the very beginning of the chapter, Nabiki DOES still seem to care for Ranma, and she makes an excellent point about having the courage to be true to her feelings and pursue him; something Akane STILL can't bring herself to do.

In many ways this is a climax to the story, if not THE climax. There IS still the situation with the Amazons to resolve, however NABIKI'S story has reached it's critical stage. No matter what else happens, THIS moment is the one that most irrevocably changes her moving forward. Without this moment, even if things didn't work out with Ranma or the Amazons won, she would probably revert back to her old self, more or less.
NOW, though, the old Nabiki is gone forever. Who she becomes is still questionable, but she can no longer be the Nabiki she used to be.

This chapter makes it a good point to go back and re-read the story from the beginning. Knowing what we know now, a whole new importance is given to the seemingly simple act of Ranma saving Nabiki, and how that drives everything forward until we come full circle.

One constructive criticism, however: During Nabiki's tirade, there's a line about her awareness that everyone can hear her yelling at Akane. One of the people mentioned are mercenaries. However, in the previous chapter it's only mentioned that there are SOLDIERS present.
I get the impression that the use of "mercenaries" stems from the fact that this was the first piece of material written and that the intention to use both soldiers AND mercenaries was lost along the way as the story was built up and fleshed out. Admittedly a nitpick, but also an easy fix one way or another; simply something for the author to be mindful of.

However, that's the only MINOR flaw in what's otherwise and AMAZING chapter and a fantastic payoff for the development of Nabiki's character. Well done.

Sorry for the late review, been a little busy. Another great chapter, once again.

Nabiki is getting more unhinged with each chapter, it seems. If she keeps this up, I would fear that she would lose Ranma just on trust or morality. Stupid amazons, they can't take a hint.

I'm worried about the orders she gave to those soldiers though. Shooting anyone who tries to enter would include usually minor inconveniences like Kuno and Ryoga, or possible friends even. Things can go wrong pretty quickly.

Once again, I can't help thinking what is in Ranma's head. He does remember he can only choose one, doesn't he? I wonder if he has just been testing Nabiki, while conspiring with Akane. It would be quite the twist.

What's up with Nabiki? Something's not quite right there. Pressure sucks, yeah. That's true. Still, even though your version of Nabiki is not quite canon, something seems off.

Nice chapter, however. VERY nice chapter. Looks like things are getting close to exploding in ways no one wants them to explode. And that includes the Amazons. Hopefully the Amazons will get their backsides handed to them.

Looking forward to the next chapter. Take care and thanks for sharing.

Wonderful two chapters in my opinion

... What is happening?

Yup. That was good. I was extremely curious as to see what Nabiki had called in. This certainly seems excessive, but, in all likelihood, it probably won't be enough. What really caught my attention, though, is that Nabiki said she had called in more than just the military. That's... scary. Lastly, this is quite the escalation, and it's starting to seem like death is unavoidable at this point. Not necessarily by Ranma's hands, thank God, but people are likely going to die. On another note, I love the ironic dichotomy between the plot and Nabiki's feelings. Outwardly, she's completely in control, and showing her capabilities in full force. For all intents and purposes, she is secure and ready for action. Inside, she's a hot mess that's only getting worse as the situation goes on. I love how the contrast highlights just how troubled Nabiki is by everything. One of the best additions of depth to her character so far. Great chapter, and I look forward to the next one.

WOW... that's SOME pull Kiki has...
Sadly, I don't think she's thought things through... another sign of her "diminished capacity" from the situation in general and her roller-coaster emotions.

A brief constructive criticism, when the soldiers are introduced it's unclear whether they're in uniform and whether they're armed in any way. It takes until Maki is introduced as a Captain and the leader of his unit that it's made apparent that these are soldiers.
By the same token, their presence seems to be taken remarkably in stride by everyone else there; given the 'discomfort' -to say the least- that Japanese have with firearms, this becomes all the more glaring if the soldiers ARE indeed fully armed.

Now, on to my reactions:
Realistically, soldiers -even special forces as these seem to be- are at BEST cannon fodder to warriors of the Amazon's level. At worst, they're more bodies to throw at the defenders through judicious use of the Xi Fa Xiang Gao to turn their loyalties. Not to mention they're either unarmed and therefore at even more of a disadvantage, or fully loaded and thus guaranteed to create a SERIOUS incident as soon as the first shot is fired(the author is not clear upon the soldier's introduction whether they're in uniform or visibly armed). Also, the fact that 250 soldiers have been pulled from a nearby base INDEFINITELY raises some eyebrows.
Rather than the deterrent or even checkmate Nabiki seems to believe this move represents, it feels more like the final nail in the coffin for any possibility of things returning to the status quo after everything is settled.

Nabiki's anxiety and feelings of being unsettled seem to be coming from some kind of underlying issue rather than being a direct response to anything actually happening between her and Ranma or Ranma and Akane. Also, despite her own feelings and the warning from Kasumi, poor Nabs is still trying to "play fair". Her doubts about a life with Ranma are gaining traction as well, and aside from the "fair play", it all strikes me as coming from some deeper place.

All in all, this is still a great journey that the author is taking us on. Although the last station is on the horizon, there's plenty of thrills left on this train ride.

As an aside -and this is pure wild speculation on my part- I get this vibe that maybe this is all a mind-trip of some kind. Like either Nabiki's dreaming of how a more serious engagement to Ranma might go/have gone, or maybe she's already under the effects of the Xi Fa Xiang Gao and is fighting out of it. Just thinking out loud.

You did it again. You've caught me by surprise. Both with Nabiki's move and Ranma nailing exactly what prompted it (at least I think he did, and that Nabiki herself doesn't fully realize yet). But I don't think it will have much of a effect, unless the Amazons DO use poisons and similar or Nab's allies go to the offensive and burn down the Neko Hanten (they still have flamethrowers).

Well, now we know who Nabiki called in. So the Japanese military is indirectly involved. And if Tofu has one friend, I'm guessing he has more than one friend. Nabiki certainly does not know what resources Tofu has at hand. Is it a coincidence I am reminded of the half-Kitsune Tofu from another fanfic series? :D

Nabiki's growing anger, though, is worrisome. I've said for a while Nabiki and Akane have more in common, as sisters, than we have seen in the canon, and she certainly seems to have lost control of that part of herself. For all her faults, Akane is a trained martial artist, and is able to channel her anger in order to release it. Presumably, all this time Nabiki has been channeling her anger into selfishness and cruelty. Now that she has put that mask aside, she needs another way to get rid of it.

That assumes that it isn't already too late. We'll have to see in the next chapter if her misunderstanding his last line doesn't lead to her threatening their relationship.

Definitely an interesting scene and chapter once again you manage to create an unique plot!

something is wrong with Nabs and it's a lot more than just stress...

Well, that was dark. Not depressing, but dark nonetheless. Have I praised your action scenes yet? (checks review history) I haven't? Well, it's time to fix that. Your action scenes use a unique style that I haven't really seen anywhere else. It feels like they alternate between slow and fast motion. What I mean by that is that there will be times when you narrate each move in great detail, and other times where it speeds up to the point that the moves blur together (which creates some fascinating mental images for me). The net effect is that I can feel the speed of the fights in the fast motion, but also the weight of them when they go into the slow motion. The impact is fascinating, but I do feel that some of the slow motion parts can drag if left going for too long. As to the plot developments, it's scary to see Ranma coming so close to losing control. If this keeps up like this, someone is GOING to die. Now, as happy as I would be to see these Amazons meet brutal death at Ranma's fists, I don't want to see Ranma carry that kind of weight. Between his curse, fiance problems, worthless father, and now-constant Amazon attacks, the guy has enough on his plate. He does not need death there as well. Good chapter, and I look forward to the next one.

Well, I'm a little late to the party, aren't I? Heck two whole chapters came out since the last time I reviewed. I was planning to review both at once, but this one gave me plenty of material to work with. For one, I loved the opening. Kasumi's role is so understated in the manga that its easy to forget what it is that she does for the family, and seeing her open up kind of brings that back into the focus, and added depth to her character; a recurring theme of this story. But I also loved how Nabiki pretty much immediately moved to remedy the situation. It reminded me of the various mentions of the favors that Nabiki had done for her closest friends. If they were anywhere near the level of what Nabiki had done for Kasumi, then her friends' loyalty seems all the more genuine. And, you also gave us a tonal break from the bleak and depressing chapters by bringing Riko back swinging. This character is utterly hilarious with her over-the-top antics and the exaggerations/lies/half-truths that are constantly coming out of her mouth. Despite all that, though, Riko still seems genuine, like she's not faking anything for anyone. Needless to say, I laughed my butt off at Riko's antics. Lastly, and somewhat unrelatedly, a thought occurred to me, and I haven't been able to get rid of it. You've deepened many aspects of Ranma 1/2 for this story, but you haven't really touched on Ranma's curse much. I feel like there's a lot of potential there. Especially since Ranma has only half-accepted his curse at this point in time. It wouldn't necessarily be a good idea to go into it now, with all the other stuff going on, but it's interesting to think about. Anyway, I feel that I've gone on long enough for this one. Now, to go read the next chapter.