Chapter 22 - Consequences
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Kasumi’s eyes blinked open just as the first light of dawn began to infiltrate her tent. Ever since her mother died, she had forced herself to wake up with the sun, and now the habit was second nature. Against her will, her mouth widened in a jaw-cracking yawn, and the eldest Tendo daintily placed a hand in front of it, despite the fact that nobody was there to see.
She then took a few moments to compose herself before sitting up. Almost immediately, Kasumi felt a cramping sensation in lower stomach area. ‘Oh dear,’ she thought. ‘I shouldn’t be experiencing this now, I’m not supposed to have my period for another two weeks.’
Like her sister Nabiki, she had been blessed with a very regular menstrual cycle. Her pre-menstrual symptoms always started exactly a week before her period, and her period was very easy to chart. Also, as was common for women who lived together, their period tended to come within a day of each other; though Akane’s was unfortunately all over the place, likely due to the stress in her life.
‘Maybe that’s why my PMS is starting early; because of the stress of the past few weeks.’ As she started preparing for her day, Kasumi rummaged through her packs and pulled out a container of dong quai, an herb she used to brew tea that was very useful in controlling her symptoms.
Once dressed, she headed outside and began to build a fire that she would use to boil water and make breakfast. When it was at a reasonable level, she took a teakettle and another pot and headed towards the river. As she walked, she reviewed all her actions from the previous day. The reason for this was simple, if she did not start the dong quai tea soon enough, her two primary PMS symptoms, cramps and irritability, were certain to shine through. Normally it would not be an issue, but with her cycle apparently off, she was starting her treatment too late to dull the symptoms completely.
‘Well, last night went well,’ she thought, having reached the river and filling her containers before walking back. ‘I was a little aggravated with Ranma because he wouldn’t share his problems with me, but we worked through it without me losing my temper. The afternoon was fine, and the morning...’ As she contemplated, she remembered her argument with Ranma about the bra, but more importantly, how she had snapped at him when he fumbled over his mentioning of Shampoo’s breasts. In retrospect, it amazed her how silly the whole thing had been.
‘Oh dear. I really shouldn’t have done that. Poor Ranma doesn’t know any better, though I will have to help him learn better etiquette when talking to his fiancée. It’s not like he was purposefully trying to upset me, or even saying that he enjoyed her attention. I guess I should apologize about that, and ask him to try not to do it again.’ Just being aware of her irritability was apparently not enough for her to completely subdue it.
She placed the kettle and pot over the fire using a metal cooking rack. Afterwards, she separated the ingredients for the morning meal and began cutting up a few vegetables. While she was doing that, she heard the zipper of a tent and saw Ranma stepping out into the crisp, morning air.
“Mornin', Kasumi,” he said, his mouth wide open in the middle of a yawn.
Kasumi fought a sigh and decided not to address his manners this morning. “Good morning, Ranma. How are you feeling? Did you get to sleep okay after I left?”
“Uh, yeah,” he said, and she felt amused as his cheeks took on a pink tone. “Um, about kissing ya like that and all, I’m sorry if-”
“Ranma!” Kasumi interrupted, a little more sharply than she meant to. “Don’t you dare apologize. I’ve been waiting for you to take more initiative in our relationship, and I don’t want you thinking it was a bad thing. That is, unless you’re saying you didn’t enjoy kissing me.”
“No! No! Nothin' like that. I just didn’t want ya to be angry with me.”
“Well, I’m not. So please come here and give me a ‘good morning’ kiss.”
It did not take more than a second for a wide smirk to adorn Ranma’s face. “You just can’t resist that Saotome charm, eh?”
Since their engagement, Kasumi had worked to not only loosen Ranma up physically and emotionally, but also tried to get him to joke more. This was obviously an attempt at the latter.
Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she said dramatically, “Of course not! Who could? Now, come and kiss me, my manly man.”
Confidently striding forward, Ranma knelt next to her and planted his lips upon hers. They stayed that way for a few seconds before breaking apart. Kasumi found that she enjoyed the kiss, despite the fact that both of them had bad morning breath.
“That’s better,” she said. “Now, no more attempting to apologize for kissing me. In fact, I would like it if at least once a day you took it upon yourself to initiate a kiss, or at least hold me in some way. Okay?”
Ranma looked unsure for a moment, before finally nodding. “I’ll do my best, Kasumi.”
“Good. Now that that’s out of the way, I wanted to apologize to you about yesterday.”
“Yesterday?” Ranma asked, cocking his head to the side. “What did ya do that would make ya have to apologize?”
“Well, I was a little cranky about the whole bra thing. But more than that, I know you didn’t mean anything when you were talking about Shampoo, but I still reacted badly. So I wanted to say I was sorry, though I would appreciate it if you’re more careful about talking about how other girl’s breasts feel when talking to me.”
“That was acting badly?” Ranma was incredulous. “Kasumi, that’s nothin' compared to what one of the other girls woulda done to me. So ya got nothin' to apologize for.”
“Even if that’s so, it was still something I wasn’t proud of. I don’t like using my monthly visitor as an excuse, so, I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”
“Of course I forgive ya; even though I still don’t think you did anything wrong. And what do ya mean, monthly visitor?”
Kasumi opened her mouth to say something, but quickly closed it. ‘Maybe he’s just not familiar with that term. Surely he knows what a period and PMS are.’
“I was referring to PMS, Ranma. Normally my cycle is very regular, but this month it appears to be off.”
The complete and total befuddled look on Ranma’s face did nothing to reassure Kasumi. “PM-what?” he asked. “What cycle are ya talkin' about?”
‘He’s pulling my leg,’ she thought. ‘He has to be.’ Unfortunately, he was not laughing, not even the slightest trace of a smirk. ‘Must not think bad thoughts about Mr. Saotome and his idiotic means of raising Ranma.’
“Well, Ranma,” Kasumi said, trying to think of tactful way to respond to his question, or even begin for that matter. “Hmm. Obviously you’re aware of the physical difference between men and women, probably more than most.”
“Oh yeah,” Ranma replied with a snort.
She gestured toward his waist with one hand. “When in your female form, have you ever bled down there?”
Ranma’s eyes moved to where she was pointing, and he began blushing. “Umm, bled? Whadda ya mean?”
“Your vagina, Ranma,” Kasumi said, her irritability and embarrassment over the situation overriding her patience. “Have you ever noticed blood coming from there?”
The question seemed to blow a gasket in Ranma’s mind, since he simply stood there blinking at her. He opened his mouth a few times, but nothing came out. Finally, just before she was about to give in to her irritation and snap at him, he cocked his head to the side. His expression became more introspective, though the blush never left his face.
“Uh, well,” he finally began, rubbing his hand on the back of his neck, “there was one time a few days after I got my curse. I was doin' a really complex kata involving kicks and then I felt this sharp pain... umm... down there. I worked through it, but not too much later I had ta go to the bathroom and I noticed blood there. That’s the only time I can think of.”
‘He must’ve broken his hymen. Maybe his transformation isn’t as complete as everyone thinks. Or maybe his cycle resets every time he turns into a girl.’
“Ranma,” she said, “what’s the longest you’ve ever stayed a girl?”
“That’s easy,” he replied instantly. “It was when the old ghoul used that Phoenix pressure point on me.”
“And how long was that? It was about three weeks, wasn’t it?”
“Yeah, something like that. I’m really glad I was able to change back, because I started getting these awful cramps the last two days. But ya know me; I can work through any pain. It was just really annoying.”
“I see,” Kasumi replied. ‘Yes, it sounds like he was just starting to experience the first signs of PMS when he was cured. If it had lasted another week, it sounds like he certainly would have gotten his period. It’s almost too bad that he didn’t. I doubt he’d make comments about girls being weaker if he knew what they had to go through every month.’
“So, uh, how does that tie in ta what we were talkin' about earlier?” he asked.
“Well, it’s like this, Ranma,” she said, before cutting off as she heard a zipper opening and saw Mousse getting out of his tent. She looked back to her fiancé. ‘He’ll be terribly embarrassed to talk about this in front of one of the others.’
“Let’s talk about it later, Ranma,” Kasumi said. “I’ll tell you about it this evening.”
“Uh, sure, if that’s what ya want. Well, I’m gonna get my run in before breakfast.” With that, he headed towards the washing barrel to take it down to the river to fill up.
“Okay,” she replied, while internally dreading the conversation she was going to have with him later that night. Kasumi looked down at the container she had brought out of her tent.
‘I think I’ll need to get a double dose of dong quai tea today.’
As Ranma sparred with Mousse, her mind kept going back to her earlier discussion with Kasumi. ‘I still don’t think she’s got anything to apologize for, but I ain’t really gonna complain.’ She jumped back as Mousse snapped a kick her direction, and set herself in a defensive position.
‘Still, I ain’t too sure about that other discussion she wanted ta have,’ she thought, parrying two quick strikes Mousse made with the clubs he was wielding, before attempting a kick of her own against the Amazon.
‘After all, she wants to talk about what happens... down there.’ That line of thought caused Ranma to blush slightly, but also had the unfortunate effect of breaking her concentration momentarily. This allowed Mousse to connect a solid blow to the side of the pigtailed youth’s head.
The hit caused Ranma to stagger somewhat, but she quickly recovered and jumped back to gain some distance. This allowed her a few seconds to clear her head while she waited for Mousse to press his advantage. The Amazon wasted no time and rushed Ranma.
A complex set of motions nearly caused Ranma to get hit again, but she managed to dodge or deflect them all before retaliating with her Chestnut Fist technique. Another thing that Ranma had been practicing was keeping herself from calling out her techniques when using them. When first learning any new technique, this was necessary to help focus chi correctly. But once she had mastered a technique, she really did not need to call it out anymore. In fact, against a worthy opponent, it was almost as bad as telegraphing your moves.
Obviously, Mousse had still not gotten used to the speed of the attack, or perhaps she had not expected it because Ranma did not call out the name. Regardless of the reason, at least fifty of the punches made it through his defenses and caused the young man to fall back on his butt.
Ranma could have pressed the attack like Mousse had done to her, but instead she backed off and waited. If this had been the real fight with Shampoo, she would not have let up until the other girl was unconscious. But here, she did not want one of her sparring partners to be out cold for the rest of the day.
While she took a moment to breathe, she berated himself for getting distracted earlier. ‘Sure it’ll probably be as embarrassing as hell ta talk with Kasumi later, but that’s later. Right now I gotta focus or one of them might get a serious hit in.’ The pain such a hit might cause meant almost nothing to Ranma. However she would be pissed if she lost almost a days training because of carelessness.
Therefore Ranma pushed thoughts of her upcoming conversation out of her mind and focused all her attention on Mousse. Once the other boy rose and got into a defensive position, Ranma shot forward and began a series of attacks.
 |
It was early evening as Akane walked towards her home with Yuka and Sayuri. The three girls had gone shopping, as well as just hanging out, and were now heading towards the Tendo residence to study together. There was a test coming up in several days that they decided to get ready for. ‘Well, that was a bust,’ Akane thought. She was really grateful that her two friends had taken her out in an attempt to cheer her up, but unfortunately there had been a lot of couples at the mall that day. Every time she had seen one with their arms around each other, or holding hands, or even just smiling at one another, she had felt a pain well up in her chest. ‘That should be me and Ranma,’ she thought bitterly. The bitterness, unfortunately, was directed within. ‘Of course Ranma could be a jerk a lot of the time, but he didn’t deserve to get beaten by me because of it.’ As she imagined Ranma and herself walking around, holding hands and chatting together, she couldn’t help but wince when the dream inevitably led to Ranma |
Then her traitorous brain supplied images of Ranma and Kasumi walking around. First they started by holding hands, and then Kasumi leaned in and said something to Ranma that caused a smile. Her sister then maintained that closeness and soon Ranma wrapped one arm around her shoulders while Kasumi’s arms encircled his waist. Then the two looked into one another’s eyes, and Akane wasn’t sure who initiated it, but their bodies began leaning forward until their lips-
“Akane!”
The blue-haired girl in question stopped short, jerked her head up, and looked at her companions. “What!” she snapped.
Both girls took a step back and Akane let her shoulders slump a bit. “Sorry,” she muttered. “What’s up?”
“Um,” Sayuri said, “you were doing that weird, glowy thing and looked really pissed.”
“Yeah!” Yuka piped in. “And you were clenching your fists so tight they were starting to turn white.”
The youngest Tendo looked down and noticed that her fists were still balled up. She sighed and let her hands relax, and she felt them tingle a bit as the blood rushed back in.
“Sorry,” she repeated, giving a rather weak smile to her friends. “I was just thinking about...”
“We get the idea,” Yuka said, waving off the apology. “You don’t have to tell us. What can we do to take your mind off him?”
“Probably nothing,” Akane replied. “Let’s just get to my house and get studying.”
As they continued walking, Akane allowed her mind to drift to a fantasy that she had thought up a few days ago. In it, Ranma decided that Kasumi was too domestic for him, and that he found her to be more like a sister or mother figure. Then, having dealt with all other engagements, and since Nabiki was obviously not interested, Akane would take her rightful place by his side and the two would live happily ever after.
Of course, the dream had too many irregularities that she could not reconcile. First and foremost, she could not see Ranma, or any sane and rational man, not falling in love with Kasumi. Her older sister was a womanly ideal that Akane herself had striven towards for years. Kasumi’s serenity, and amazing skills around the house were things that she had always secretly envied. Naturally she did not want to be exactly like Kasumi, since she wanted her martial arts and possibly a career, but the core of her ultimate goal was based off her sister.
In addition, even if Ranma made such a decision, the agreement that he and Kasumi had struck with their fathers meant that he was under no obligation to become her fiancé. Oh, she had no doubt that the fathers would try to trap him into it somehow, but he now had an honorable way out of the agreement.
‘That means I’d have to compete against every freaking girl in the ward, and probably beyond,’ she thought bitterly. ‘And most of them wouldn’t try to beat him if he said something stupid or did something perverted.’ That thought made her wince. ‘Now that I can think about it more calmly, I know that Ranma wouldn’t do anything other than what would be expected of people dating or engaged. There’s nothing perverted about it at all. I really need to stop thinking that way.’
Lastly, her dream of living happily ever after with him almost made her laugh bitterly. ‘Even if I did manage to get engaged to him, I have a hard time believing it would magically become smooth sailing.’
The concept of magic made her think about Ranma’s curse, and what expectations he might have regarding intimacy when in that form. That was a topic that Akane still had a really hard time thinking about, and she sighed in relief as her house came into sight.
‘Well, I can always think about it later.’
As Akane entered the house, she called out that she was home and proceeded to take her shoes off. She received no response, which seemed a little strange, but she paid it no mind. After her friends had removed their shoes as well, the three made their way into the family room.
“Surprise!”
Akane literally jumped, as eight girls seemed to pop out of nowhere and yelled their greeting.
“Wh-What’s going on?” she asked, once her heart had settled down.
Nabiki stepped forward and gave her best ‘cat that got the canary’ grin. “Well, sis, we know things have been rough for you lately, and none of us seemed to be able to break you out of your funk. So we decided that a party with your friends from school might be the best way to help out.”
The youngest Tendo looked around at all her friends, and then back at Yuka and Sayuri who both gave her a big smile. “Thanks you guys,” she said to everyone. “I really appreciate it.”
“Well, come on,” Nabiki said. She came and stood behind Akane, leading her towards the dining room. “We’ve got a lot of food and drinks, and lots of party games to play. Let’s get to it.”
“Sure,” Akane replied, feeling some of the tension from the past few weeks lift off her as she joined in the festivities.
Ukyo shifted her weight slightly to help adjust the food containers she was carrying towards the Tendo home. As she walked, she noticed that the sun was setting and it was beginning to get darker out. Being in school, she never kept her restaurant open past the evening dinner rush, so she had time to study, as well as chase after Ranma.
‘Well, not anymore,’ she thought bitterly. She was still angry; at Ranma, at herself, at the whole world. Fortunately, her anger had lessened somewhat and now it felt more like a dull ache that refused to go away.
As she continued towards the party, she could not help but feel a bit of gratitude towards Nabiki. ‘I’m glad she invited me. It’ll be hard seeing Akane, since she’s just one more reminder of Ran-chan, but at least she and I won’t have to fight about it anymore. Maybe we can even be friends now. Perhaps start the ‘Ex-fiancées’ club or something.’ She snorted in derision as her destination came into view. Pushing all negative thoughts aside, Ukyo kept walking.
It only took her a minute to reach the front door, and once she did Ukyo knocked and waited patiently. In a few moments, the person who had been kind enough to invite her opened the door.
“Heya, Nabiki,” Ukyo said.
“Hi, Ukyo. I’m glad you could make it. Oh, it looks like you brought some extra food as well.”
“Yeah, I had some extra ingredients that I didn’t feel like sealing back up, so I figured I’d make some quick okonomiyaki in case anyone was hungry.”
Nabiki gave her a friendly smile, something that surprised Ukyo greatly. The chef was used to smirks coming from the other girl, not anything that resembled warmth and kindness.
“Thanks,” Nabiki said as she stepped back to let Ukyo into the house. “We have plenty of food, but I know how much everyone enjoys your okonomiyaki, so it’ll be a nice treat.”
Ukyo stepped into the home and took off her shoes, doing her best to keep from making any kind of sarcastic comment lest it cause Nabiki to revert back to her normal self. Once her footwear was removed, the two made their way into the living room. In it, there were two girls sitting together on the couch watching a romance movie and bawling their eyes out. The chef shook her head and snickered as she and Nabiki continued into the dining room.
On the table, Ukyo saw all kinds of different foods and drinks. She also noticed various groups of girls standing around and talking. Apparently they were all aware that she was coming, because they simply gave her a wave or a verbal greeting, and none of them seemed surprised in the least.
Well, except one.
The moment that Akane laid eyes on her, the youngest Tendo appeared to freeze in place. After a good thirty seconds of being stared at, Ukyo was getting a little flustered, so she placed her food containers on the table and walked over to her one-time rival.
“Hey, Akane,” she said in greeting, while also giving a nod to the two girls that Akane had been talking to. The two girls greeted her in return, and then politely excused themselves. Ukyo was aware that even though the conversations were continuing in the background, all eyes in the room were likely on the two of them.
Another minute passed without Akane saying anything, but Ukyo was able to see a variety of emotions flashing across her face. Confusion, anger, and sadness were the predominant ones she could make out. Finally, the okonomiyaki chef could not take it anymore and spoke.
“Look Akane. I know the pain you’re going through; better than anyone else, in fact. I had kinda hoped we could, you know, put all the crap of the past behind us and maybe even be friends. It doesn’t look like you’re ready though, so I’ll just head out.”
As she turned to leave, she felt a hand on her shoulder. Turning, she saw the hand was connected to Akane. Ukyo did not say anything, but merely tilted her head to the side in question as the girl brought her arm down.
“Please don’t go,” Akane said in a slightly pleading tone. “I’m sorry. Seeing you just brought it all back too fast. I didn’t mean to ignore you.”
“No problem,” Ukyo said with a small, sad smile. “I know what you mean. Sometimes, someone will say something, or I’ll just see something, and it will all come crashing down on me. It’s slowly getting better, but it still hurts a lot.”
“I know what you mean.”
Akane looked past her, causing Ukyo to turn. When the rest of the room was caught staring, they immediately found other things to focus on.
“Come on,” Akane said, placing her hand on Ukyo’s shoulder again. “Let’s get some food and then we can find a place to talk quietly.”
A few minutes later, both girls were sitting in a corner with plates full of different types of food.
“Umm,” Akane said with a satisfied groan, “have I mentioned how much I love your okonomiyaki?”
“No, but since you always ate it when Ran-chan was around, I can assume why you didn’t say anything.”
Ukyo watched the other girl flinch slightly and decided to speak to it. “Look Akane, the only way we’re ever gonna get over this is to face it head on. I know you love him, and don’t try to give me one of your pat answers, so I understand completely how difficult it is. Besides, it’s not like you still don’t have a chance.”
“What?” Akane asked, shocked. “What are you talking about?”
“As far as I understand it, you broke the engagement to him, not the other way around. It’s not like me, where he basically told me I had a zero percent chance; that he’d rather kill himself than be forced into marriage with me. Being able to look back on things now, I’ve been able to see that he really cared about you more than the rest of his fiancées. So, once he’s back, you still have a chance.”
“I... I don’t think it’s that simple. Yes, I broke the engagement, but one of the conditions Kasumi set when she took it up was that if they decided not to get married, that Ranma would be free of the agreement. So no matter what, he’ll either end up with Kasumi or he’ll be able to look for someone else... someone he actually cares about.” It was hard to see the pain on the other girls face, and Ukyo figured it looked much the same as hers when she said the part about Ranma committing seppuku instead of marrying her.
“Akane,” Ukyo said, placing one of her hands on the other girls. “He does care about you. I know he does. You know, whenever he would come over to get something to eat, he would always go on about you. Usually it was about what he thought you were doing wrong, or that you were being unfair to him about something or another, but his concern was always what he could do to fix things up between you two. It always pissed me off, but it certainly sounds like he cared about you, and I doubt that’s changed.”
“I... I guess,” the other girl said as she wiped away a few tears that were developing. “Thanks. You might be right, but that doesn’t change the fact that I still have to compete with Kasumi over him. She’s taking the engagement seriously, which is something I never really bothered to do. I honestly don’t think I have a chance against her.”
"Well, I won’t lie and say it’ll be easy. But who knows what might happen. They might decide they don’t like each other that way, or any other number of possibilities. But if you give up in advance, then you’ll lose no matter what.”
“You’re right,” Akane said, her eye looking determined again. “I still have a shot. But,” her eyes dimmed a little, “I’ll still be prepared for the worst. I don’t really want to set myself up for full heartbreak again.”
“Sounds like a good plan,” Ukyo said.
“By the way, I know what Ranma did to you hurt a lot, Ukyo, but I think it was more about Kasumi than it was about you.”
The okonomiyaki chef sighed. “Yeah, I kinda figured that out already. But did he really think I would’ve done something to her?”
“I doubt it. He was probably more worried about you getting caught up in some stupid plan that Shampoo or that bastard Ryoga set up. All of us fell into those damn schemes at one time or another.”
“True,” Ukyo agreed, though she was not really mollified that much. “Speaking of the bastard, has he dared to show his face around here?” She knew from the letter that Ranma sent her that Ryoga was supposed to be training with him, but who knew whether or not the boy got lost and ended up back in Nerima?
“No,” Akane growled, “and he better not. I’ll castrate the pig if I see him again.”
“If you want, Sugar, I’ll hold him down for you.”
Ukyo imagined herself holding down Ryoga while Akane used a mallet to ensure his inability to ever procreate again. Looking at the youngest Tendo, it was easy to see she was thinking along the same lines. When their eyes met, they both broke out into grins and could not stop the giggles that followed.
| Kodachi stiffened as she heard the siren of a police car. She was hiding in a tree about a block from the Tendo home, waiting for the opportune time to strike. Thankfully, the sound was disappearing into the distance, and she allowed herself to relax slightly. She had been observing the house for nearly half an hour. Apparently, there was some kind of party happening within. ‘They are probably celebrating my incarceration,’ she thought venomously. ‘I should go in and kill them all!’ It was tempting, oh so tempting. When she had snuck towards the house earlier to cut the phone lines, she had overheard that the Tendo and Saotome patriarchs were gone for the evening. Though both men were old fools in her mind, she also knew they were both formidable opponents. Their absence would make things much easier. |
 |
Actually killing the girl was going to be much easier than she imagined; mentally at least. The fact that she had already taken two lives that evening while making her escape from the mental hospital, and felt absolutely no regrets whatsoever, only emboldened her.
First had been that orderly who had dared to lay his filthy hands upon her noble personage. He had visited her that night, just as he promised. It was obvious that he still didn’t trust her, because he had not removed her hands from their restraints, only her legs. After he had then removed her panties and started to place his face towards that special region that belonged to Ranma alone, she had struck.
Faster than most could follow, her legs snapped up and her feet grabbed the man’s head. One quick and powerful twist later, and he had a broken neck. Then, using the flexibility and dexterity developed through years of intense Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics, she was able to use her feet to remove the keys from his belt and unlock the restraints.
Once free, she stripped the man of part of his uniform to give herself better covering. Then, she used the keys again to let herself out of the room. Unfortunately there was no easy way to get off the floor, so she had to wait for the security guard to come around. As the orderly expected, the man had taken a much longer break than was normal, so Kodachi had been very impatient when he finally arrived.
She positioned herself in the rafters above the security door, and the moment the man began to walk through she dropped on him. It took only a moment for her to repeat the process of killing, the only exception being she used her hands to break the man’s neck instead of her legs. Once he was down, she grabbed his electronic keycard, his keys, as well as the stun gun he had been carrying, before dragging his body into her room and locking it in there with the orderly.
Her escape afterward had been without incident. She had then made he way to her house, where she had taken her brother, father, and their servant Sasuke by surprise. She did not kill them, merely used a paralysis power she obtained from her greenhouse and made sure the men were tied up securely. Then, she made her way to the Tendo’s.
Now, she was simply waiting for the perfect chance to strike. With the phone line cut, no news of the breakout would reach the household, so they would have no warning that she was coming.
Kodachi reviewed her plan one more time. ‘I’ll wait until the party is over and everyone goes to bed. Then, I’ll sneak up to the house, place paralysis powder into each of the rooms upstairs through the windows, since I know that’s where the three lowborn bitches sleep, and after I’m sure they’re out I will sneak in and kill the oldest harridan, and probably the youngest as well. Then I will find my darling Ranma, who will want to thank me profusely for saving him, and he might even try to...’
A blush found its way onto her face as she imagined all the perverted things he would do to her. However, she pulled herself out of the fantasy. ‘Alas, I will need to ask him to be patient while we make our escape. Then, we will have to make our way to a nice hotel where we can hide and... express our love, and wait for my family’s lawyers to clear up the whole mess. After all, I am a Kuno and the lives of these lowborn commoners means nothing. It will all blow over soon, and then my dearest Ranma and I can get married and live happily ever after.’
The young woman lost herself in erotic fantasies while she waited for the party to break up.
If Ranma had a mirror handy, he was sure that looking into it would reveal a face as red as the hair of his girl form; especially if the full-body blush on Kasumi was any indicator. His caring fiancée had been quite generous in sharing all she knew about periods and PMS, and how they affected things like a girl’s fertility.
It was easy to tell how embarrassing it was for her. For him, well, he felt like crawling under a rock somewhere. Fortunately, Mousse and Ryoga were in one of the tents playing a card game, and he and Kasumi had been speaking quietly, so the other boys would not know about his embarrassment.
‘And thank the kami Kasumi isn’t the kind of girl ta tease about stuff like this,’ he thought. ‘I don’t think I’d deal with that very well.’
“So, Ranma,” she asked, “did you have any questions?”
“Uh, no,” he said as he grabbed his pigtail and pulled on it. “I think you covered that real good.” Ranma then paused for a minute. “Um, actually, I do have one question. You say you think my, uh, hymen was it? You said you think it broke early on because of my training. Does that mean... I’m not a... v-virgin anymore?” It was at this point that his mortification exploded even more and it was all he could do to keep himself from fleeing the scene.
“No,” Kasumi said gently. “It doesn’t mean that at all. The only way to lose your virginity is to have sex. Nothing more, nothing less. And we both know you will never have sex in your girl form, at least not with a man.”
“Hell no!” Ranma yelled, before he clamped a hand over his mouth. He really did not need either of his sparring partners coming out at this point. He then lowered his voice and said, “There ain’t no way in hell that’s gonna happen.”
“Language, Ranma,” Kasumi admonished. It was easy to tell she was still somewhat irritable, but it was still a far cry from the pigtailed youth normally dealt with when it came to the other females in his life. In fact, Ranma almost found it somewhat refreshing to be on slightly familiar ground, and not having Kasumi be so totally passive.
“Sorry,” Ranma muttered, though he honestly was not too repentant. “It’s just that, the thought of doing that with a guy...” He shuttered involuntarily.
Up until that point, the two had been sitting near the fire, facing one another. Now, Kasumi had him turn to face the fire, moved behind him, and proceeded to wrap her arms around him while wrapping their customary blanket around both.
Ranma enjoyed the warm comfort his fiancée was providing, as his mind sought to banish thoughts of perverts like Kuno getting their hands on his girl side. While doing so, his mind strayed to a comment made earlier by the girl holding him.
“Uh, Kasumi,” he said quietly. “I have a question. You said somethin' about me not having sex in my girl form, but said somethin' like ‘at least not with a guy’. What did ya mean by that?”
He felt her stiffen behind him, and after a few moments she relaxed slightly. She did not answer right away, so Ranma was not sure if he had said something wrong. However, rather than panic like he would have not too long ago, he took Kasumi’s lessons to heart and simply waited for her to respond in her own time. After a minute or so, she finally spoke.
“Ranma, I’ll be frank with you. You know how I’ve kissed you in your girl form several times to help you understand my acceptance of it?” He nodded. “Well, it’s not unheard of that two girls might have... sex... together.”
It took over a minute for Ranma’s mind to wrap itself around the concept. He remembered a few hentai magazines that the guys at school had shown him, and his blush returned full force. “That would make them... uh, lesbians, I guess. Right?”
“That, or bi-sexual,” Kasumi answered calmly, though he could tell her voice was straining a bit. When he tilted his head to the side, she explained further. “Someone who is bi-sexual doesn’t care whether they have sex with males or females.”
“Ah, okay. I guess I get it,” Ranma said. “I still don’t understand what that has ta do with me.”
Kasumi let out a sigh, the kind that Ranma was beginning to associate with her when she was quickly becoming exasperated.
“Ranma, someday you will marry a woman. That woman might be me, or someone else you choose. People who are married get... intimate. You have a curse that turns you into a female. Your wife will be a female. So there are times when you and her might...” She trailed off suggestively.
It barely took a second for Ranma to finally understand the implications, and when he did, it was all he could do to keep himself from fainting on the spot. Then, as if his traitorous mind was working against him, he started envisioning himself, or rather herself in his mind’s eye, performing various acts of lewdness with Kasumi. The moment he pictured their naked breasts mashed together, it was finally too much and his brain shut itself down.
“...ma. Ranma. Ranma!” The pigtailed youth in question slowly came to senses, and realized he was no longer sitting up and facing the fire. As his vision became less blurry, he realized he was lying on his back, and it appeared his head was in Kasumi’s lap. Looking up, he first noticed her beautiful eyes, but then his eyes strayed to her chest, and he felt himself overheating again.
Any chance of him losing consciousness again dissipated when he felt a light slap on his cheek. It was not painful, nor was it meant to be, it was obviously an attempt to keep him awake.
“Don’t faint on me again,” Kasumi said dryly. Ranma bristled slightly at the comment, but managed not to snap considering whom he was talking to.
“By the way,” his fiancée continued offhandedly, “were you thinking naughty things about me a moment ago?”
An overpowering survival instinct kicked in, and before he could even consider what he was doing, or whom he was doing it to, Ranma was off her lap in a flash and kneeling before her in the “Crouch of the Wild Tiger”.
“I’m sorry!” he repeated over and over, with his forehead pressed against the ground. The musical laugh that followed caused him to lift his head and glance at the smiling face of Kasumi. He was relieved to not see any anger there, and mentally berated himself.
‘Idiot, she’s been trying to get you to open up and be honest, so of course she’s not gonna get too pissed if you tell her the truth.’ It was a tough concept for Ranma, but he knew he was slowly making progress.
“Well, I guess your reaction is all the answer I need,” Kasumi said. Her laugh had trickled down to a giggle, and her eyes shone with a mischievous gleam.
“Um,” Ranma said, getting back into a sitting position and facing her, “so does that mean yer not mad or nothin'?”
The brown-haired girl reached forward with both hands and placed them on his cheeks. Ranma felt damn proud that he did not flinch. A week ago he would have, but the constant reinforcement by Kasumi was weaning him away from that reflex. All he had to do was focus on the person touching him; in this case, the gentlest person he knew.
“Of course I’m not angry,” Kasumi said tenderly. “First and foremost, I’m the one who provided details on the topic that I’m sure you were thinking about,” this caused Ranma to redden again, “so I can’t very well expect you not to imagine what I was saying. Second, even though neither of us is anywhere near ready to progress our relationship to that level, it’s perfectly common to have fantasies about the person you’re dating or engaged to.”
“Really?” Ranma asked. He was quite skeptical since he had always been yelled at or hit whenever it was even suggested he might be thinking about something intimate. “You don’t think it’s... perverted or nothin'?”
Kasumi leaned forward and gave him a light kiss on the lips. “No, Ranma, I don’t. In fact, if you didn’t have such thoughts occasionally, I would be worried about you. Just don’t let them rule your life, because then it probably would be perverted.”
“O-Okay,” Ranma replied, still unsure about the topic. “But... what about, ya know, what we were talkin' about a minute ago.”
“You mean about us both being girls when things happen?” Kasumi asked.
Ranma nodded and watched as she reached over to the canteen sitting next to them. She proceeded to open it and pour the water over Ranma’s head. Then, after setting it aside, she slowly moved forward, her eyes gazing into Ranma’s the entire time. Kasumi then kissed her with an intense passion, squeezing the, now, redhead as close to her as possible, and Ranma felt their breasts force together like they had in the quick daydream that knocked her out.
The only thing keeping her awake now was the feeling of Kasumi’s tongue sliding into her mouth. It was another first in their relationship, and Ranma could not begin to even process how intense it made her feel. The redhead was also aware of how her silk shirt was rubbing against her nipples as the two rocked gently during their fervent make-out session, and how indescribably wonderful the sensation felt.
They continued on for some time, neither really caring how long. When they finally broke apart, both were quite flushed and had large grins on their faces.
“Now,” Kasumi said, once she regained her bearings, “I realize that wasn’t fully what we were talking about, but I hope that if I do things like this often enough, you’ll understand that it’s you I care about, and what’s in here.”
She placed a hand over Ranma’s heart, and the redhead felt a little lightheaded by the fact that it was so close to her, now, very sensitive breasts.
“I’m not a lesbian, Ranma,” Kasumi said. “I don’t even really consider myself bi-sexual; because in all honesty I could never do things like this with another girl. You, however, are not a boy or a girl to me. You are Ranma Saotome, the person I’m slowly coming to love more each day, and I don’t care what form you happen to take.”
“I...” Ranma started, but any further words were choked off as she let out a sob. She felt tears coming to her eyes, and instead of falling into old patterns and fighting them off, she allowed them to come. Kasumi had told her repeatedly that it wasn’t unmanly to express your emotions, even to cry; and her statement just now, one of total acceptance regarding her curse, was something that Ranma had long hoped for from someone. Anyone.
Ranma lurched forward and buried her face into the crook of Kasumi’s shoulder, and also wrapped her arms around the older girl. She began to let out small sobs that quickly increased in intensity. Kasumi pulled her up into her lap, and managed to wrap the blanket around both of them. One of her arms was wrapped around the redhead, while the other was running through her hair.
“Shh,” the eldest Tendo daughter said soothingly. “It’s okay. Just let it all out.”
And let it out she did. All the pain from the rejection she had received in her life and the self-loathing over a curse she never wanted. The regret and fear she felt at having to hide from her mother. Everything came out in a rush. For the first time in as long as she could remember, Ranma Saotome, man among men, cried himself, herself, to sleep.
 |
Nabiki waited patiently in the living room as she sat with Akane and Ukyo. Earlier, when the party had still been going on, she had suddenly gotten a bad feeling; something just was not right. Now, being one of the foremost businesswomen of her generation, Nabiki knew that her gut feelings were almost always spot on. When she went to call a few of her people to see ifganything in general was happening around town and discovered the phone to be dead, she knew without a shadow of a doubt that there was going to be trouble, and she guessed that it was going to take place right at their house. As surreptitiously as she could, she had gone to Akane and Ukyo and told them what was happening. She did not have any proof, but they both knew it would be wise to heed her warning. They didn’t want anyone to panic, so Nabiki calmly took one of the girls aside on the pretense that she was being sent out to pick something up. Sakura only lived a few blocks away, so she was the easiest choice. |
After the girl was gone, Nabiki began to slowly wind down the party. If something was going to happen, she did not want all these innocent bystanders to get caught in the crossfire. So, as the girls began leaving in groups of twos and threes, Akane and Ukyo quietly walked around the house to see if anything was amiss.
Now, all the other girls were gone, and the three remaining could only hope that their message had made it to the fathers. ‘They may be wastes of skin most of the time,’ Nabiki thought wryly, ‘but Mr. Saotome is damn powerful when he wants to be, and when Daddy is in full protective mode, he can be pretty scary.’
Several minutes before, the three girls had gone up to the upstairs bedrooms and made it seem like they were turning in for the night. Nabiki wanted to lull anyone who might be watching into a false sense of security. So, after rummaging around in the rooms a bit with the lights on and the curtains closed, they shut the lights off and snuck back downstairs. They also made sure all the doors were locked, though none of them expected that to really stop anyone who would dare to attack the home in the first place.
The three sat there, hardly even bothering to whisper. Instead, they strained their ears in the hopes of catching any noise that seemed out of place. Ukyo was holding her battle spatula loosely in her hands, and when Akane was upstairs, she had changed into a gi, her preferred clothing to fight in.
After nearly half an hour of waiting, both Akane and Ukyo were fidgeting. ‘They probably think I’m wrong,’ Nabiki thought. ‘I’m not though. My gut feeling is getting worse.’
Then they all heard it, a light scraping sound on the roof. The two fighters of the group immediately straightened up. They all listened and could only occasionally make out very faint sounds that barely registered as being out of place.
“Whoever they are, they’re good,” Ukyo whispered. Both other girls nodded.
For another minute, nothing happened, until suddenly something came crashing through the patio door. It took Nabiki a second to recognize what it was, a large rock with a flower bouquet attached to it. Unfortunately, that second of inaction cost them all.
“Gas!” she screamed, as a white, powdery substance came shooting out of the flowers. They all covered their mouths and tried to jump away, but each inhaled some to a degree. Nabiki, being the slowest, inhaled the most and found herself suddenly paralyzed. She fell face forward onto the ground.
Akane and Ukyo each only faired slightly better. They breathed in less, but it was still enough to slow down their movements considerably. The dust quickly settled, and Kodachi imperiously strode through the door she had thrown the rock through.
Nabiki, who only had a functioning head and neck at the moment, looked up at the girl in horror. The fact that she was here, and the manic glee in her eyes, led Nabiki to a frightening conclusion. ‘If she escaped, that means she probably... Oh kami! This whole thing has finally sent her completely and totally off the deep end.’ She strained to turn her head towards her two allies, and was dismayed at their condition. ‘We’re so dead.’
“Did you bitches think you could fool me with such a cheap trick?” Kodachi snarled. “You ignorant peasants obviously don’t know who you are dealing with.” Her screeching laugh filled the air.
‘Even her laugh sounds crazier,’ Nabiki thought desperately. ‘There’s gotta be something we can do.’ At the moment, the only thing she could do was stall the girl while she tried to come up with a plan.
“Well, it was worth a shot,” the middle Tendo said as dryly as she could. She was trying to maintain her calm and aloof demeanor in an attempt to keep the insane girl off balance. It did not seem to be working though.
“I don’t like having my time wasted,” Kodachi said, narrowing her eyes. The girl pulled a ribbon from behind her. “Now, after I incapacitate these two whores, you’re going to tell me where your other whore sister is, as well as the redheaded slut and my Ranma darling.”
Quicker than lightning, her ribbon struck out twice. Nabiki watched in horror as it first sailed towards Ukyo, where it sliced right through the handle of her battle spatula and then connected with her chest. The girl fell backwards with a big red stain spreading on the front of her clothing. Then the ribbon retracted and sailed towards Akane, where it hit her in the stomach, also causing a red stain to appear on her pristine, white gi. The youngest Tendo managed to stand for a few moments, clutching at the wound, before she too dropped to the floor. Both girls were still conscious, but Nabiki did not think they would last long in their current state.
“Now,” Kodachi said as she strode forward, her voice eerily calm, “you will tell me what I want to know.”
“Why should I?” Nabiki snapped, fearing for her life for the first time ever. “You’re just going to kill me anyway.”
“Oh no, my dear mercenary. You were one of the few I did not plan to kill. You never really stood in my way when it came to getting my Ranma, so I was going to let you live. However...” The girl knelt down right in front of her and placed a hand on Nabiki’s cheek. “I certainly wouldn’t want to have to damage that pretty face of yours. Imagine what kind of jobs would be open to you if I simply left you in a deformed state?”
‘Shit! What am I going to do?’ Nabiki was growing panicked beyond her wildest imagination. ‘I can just tell her part of the truth. It’s not like she would be able to find Kasumi and Ranma out in the wilderness. Then maybe I can bargain with her.’
“If I tell you,” Nabiki said, using her ‘business-only’ tone, “will you guarantee to leave the rest of us alone?”
“Why should I do that?” Kodachi asked. “It’s not like you have any real bargaining power. I know I will manage to drag the information out of you whether you want to give it to me or not. Maybe you do not think I am serious. Perhaps we need to remedy that.”
Once again reaching behind her, Kodachi pulled forward a sack that Nabiki had not seen yet. From it, the gymnast pulled one of the clubs she used for her martial arts. She pressed a button on the bottom, and Nabiki watched in horror as spikes jutted out from the head of the instrument.
“Well, to show you how sincere I am,” Kodachi said patiently, “I think I will start by leaving really nice scars on your chest. It will not affect your ability to have a career, though I think if you ever even try to have a love-life it will be hampered. It’s just too bad you cannot feel pain below the neck right now.” The girl actually pouted at the thought, and Nabiki closed her eyes as she was rolled over onto her back by Kodachi, and prepared for the worst as the club was drawn back.
Abruptly, Kodachi was no longer standing there and Nabiki heard a crash against the wall. She tilted her head back and found her father and Mr. Saotome standing there panting. The former had his fist extended, and was glaring menacingly in the direction it was pointing. Nabiki looked that way and found Kodachi imbedded in the wall, apparently unconscious. Then her father exploded into action.
“Saotome, go make sure that bitch is out and then tie her up using one of the master’s techniques so she doesn’t escape. Then tend to the Kuonji girl while I look after my babies.”
Nabiki was surprised to see the heavier man obey without question, and the look of anger on his face made him look every bit the formidable martial artist she knew he could be. As he extracted her from the wall, he was none to gentle and Nabiki thought she heard some bones breaking in the process. ‘Good.’
“Are you alright, daughter?” her father asked, where he was hovering above her. The look of concern on his face, and the fact that he saved her, almost made her cry.
“I’m fine daddy, I just can’t move at the moment because she used some kind of gas on us. You really need to bandage up Akane though, she’s got a stomach wound that’s bleeding.”
“Okay,” the man replied gravely, as he made his way over to the youngest Tendo.
‘He... he actually came to me first.’ Ever since their mother died, Nabiki had been the most neglected of the Tendo sisters. Her father always fretted over Akane, or paid attention to Kasumi. At times, it did not even seem like she existed to him. For him to check her first...
‘I will not cry,’ she told herself firmly. And she did not. Though it was a close thing.
Shortly thereafter, Akane and Ukyo were bandaged and Mr. Saotome had gone to one of the neighbor’s houses to call the police and an ambulance. He also said something about getting Dr. Tofu. Her father was worriedly checking back and forth between her and Akane, and even paying attention to Ukyo’s condition. The other two girls were currently unconscious.
“Are they going to be okay, Daddy?”
“Yes, they’ll be fine. Saotome and I know a lot of first aid from our time under the master. They just lost some blood and their bodies are coping with it now. They’ll be okay.”
“What happened?” he asked. “We got the call and rushed here as quick as we could, but we didn’t know anything. How did that... girl get here.”
Nabiki told him everything she knew. The man absorbed it all, and surprisingly did not cry once. This person, her father, was finally turning into the man she always wanted him to be.
“Daddy,” she said hesitantly.
“Yes, Nabiki-chan?” he replied warmly. That finally broke the dam and tears began streaming down her face as the stress of the night, as well as her emotions regarding her father exploded within her.
“I... I love you,” she said, her voice barely about a whisper.
He looked surprised for a moment, and then she saw his eyes began to water as well. However, they were not the famous crocodile tears he was infamous for, but rather genuine tears of happiness.
“I love you too, sweetheart,” Soun said as he scooped her limp form up into his arms.
The two stayed that way until Dr. Tofu and Mr. Saotome arrived back, followed shortly thereafter by the police and an ambulance.
Thank you for taking the time to read Aijou & Aitou. I hope you have enjoyed yourself. I would love to hear all feedback, positive or negative (as long as it’s constructive). Please take the time to leave a review on fanfiction.net or send me an email letting me know your opinion. Thanks.
