"Mornin', Kasumi." Ranma responded, wondering about the weird reaction, as Kasumi wasn't usually one to blush. Of course, there was a faint blush on his own face at the moment as he vividly recalled yesterdays playtime with Kasumi-chan.
What he didn't know, was that Kasumi had awakened this morning after a night of very weird dreams, at least for her. Dreams of Ranma was nothing new, as he had became such a big part of her life. But she'd never dreamt about him as her own fiancee before, except for the first couple of nights after the Saotome's arrival, when the possibility of him having become her fianceee was still fresh in her mind. After a week or two, that had mostly passed and though he occationally figured in her dreams, she hadn't dreamt of him being romantically involved with her for quite some time now.
This night however, had been a mishmash of vivid imagery of epic adventures, passionate romance and tall tales worthy of the trashy romance novellas and mangas Kasumi had a secret passion for, with herself and Ranma as the main characters. Just the memory of some of the less lurid scenes in them, made her blush. She didn't want to know, what the more lurid ones would do to her, so she made very certain to beat down any such thoughts before they had a chance to form.
"You feelin' okay, Kasumi?" Ranma inquried, looking at her with concern.
"I'm fine, Ranma-kun." Kasumi assured him, with a reassuring smile. "Thank you for asking, though."
"No problem, Kasumi." Ranma told her, seating himself.
"You're up early, aren't you?" Kasumi asked.
"I slept really well, without disturbances, so I woke up earlier then usual." Ranma replied, never mentioning that this was mostly due to the wonderful time he had with her last evening. He hadn't felt that relaxed and satisfied in a long time.
"Well, there's nothing finished yet, or I'd offer you a small snack before breakfast." Kasumi said. "Do you want a cup of tea while you wait?" she offered.
"That's okay, I'll..." Ranma started, then trailed off as a notion struck him. "I'll make us a cup each, I found some more of the herbs I needed for that special brew during my walk back home last evening." he said and got up, heading for the guest room he shared with his father while muttering to himself about violent tomboys. He quickly retreived the ingredients he needed and hurried down, as he knew that he only had twenty minutes before Akane would get up and go for her jog.
Not enough for anything extreme, but it would allow him to do some prepatory work and build up a foundation for some later experimentation. As he returned, he found that Kasumi had put a kettle of water on the stove and flashed her a greatful smile, which oddly enough caused her to blush again. Soon enough, he put a cup beside the cutting board she was working at and deftly snatched the knife away from her, flashing her another dazzling smile.
"You sit down and take a breather, I'll handle this." Ranma offered and deftly started slicing daikon and dicing carrot. Kasumi seemed reluctant at first, but soon gave in and brought the cup with her to the table.
"Thank you, Ranma-kun." Kasumi said, taking a sip from her cup. "The smell isn't quite as bad this time..." she mumbled to herself.
"It's nice, isn't it? So calming, so relaxing... As you sip from your cup, drinking it all down, you can just feel all your worries floating away, relaxing you further and making you feel so drowsy, so tired. Your head is growing heavier, wanting to fall down towards your chest. Your eyelids are slowly creeping downwards and you feel yourself slowly loosing yourself, succumbing to a deep, deep sleep." Ranma calmly intoned in a soothing voice.
He glanced aside from his work, smiling faintly as he saw Kasumi sitting slumped forward, the empty cup clasped between her hands in her lap.
"Your eyes will open, but you will still remain asleep, hearing Nothing but my voice. And such a nice voice it is! The voice is relaxing you further, easing all fears and removing all your worries. It is such a nice voice, isn't it?" Ranma continued.
"Yes, very nice..." Kasumi agreed.
"Of course it is. A very nice voice, a voice speaking not only to your ears, but also your heart, mind, body and soul. Such a nice voice, such a nice and relaxing voice. You aren't just hearing it, you are feeling it with your entire being. The voice calms and relaxes you. You are feeling calm and relaxed, aren't you?" he continued.
"Yes, I am calm and relaxed..." Kasumi confirmed.
"Yes, you are very calm and relaxed. The voice is calming and relaxing you. This nice voice which you are listening so attentively to. You are listening attentively to it, are you not?" he reinforced.
"Yes..." Kasumi mumbled drowsily.
"Good, very good. Because the nice voice has many important things to tell you. It is important that you listen carefully to the nice voice, so important. This nice, calming and relaxing voice. Listening carefully to the nice voice has made you feel very good, so calm, so relaxed. It is a trustworthy voice, a voice that makes you feel very good, calm and relaxed. The important things the voice says, are heard by your ears, mind, heart, body and soul. Such an important voice, such a trustworthy voice, such a nice voice. You have done as the voice told you, haven't you? The voice told you to be calm and relaxed, and you are, aren't you?" Ranma asked.
"Yes, so very relaxed..." Kasumi affirmed.
"That's right, you have done as the nice voice told you. There is nothing wrong with doing as the voice tells you. Such a nice voice, calming and relaxing you as you obey it. You are obeying the voice and it relaxes you. Your worries disappear as you obey the voice, making you calm, relaxed and obedient as you listen to the voice. Obeying the voice has made you calm, relaxed and obedient, haven't it? What are you?" he wondered.
"Yes. I am calm, relaxed and obedient..." Kasumi responded.
"It's good that the voice makes you calm, relaxed and obedient. It is important to do exactly as the nice voice tells you, it is important to obey the instructions the nice voice gives you. As you obey the voice, you grow even more relaxed, obedient and calm, slipping ever deeper into your sleep. The more you relax, the better you obey. The more you obey, the more you relax. Raise your right arm, Kasumi. Hold your right hand against your forehead." Ranma continued and glanced aside, only to see Kasumi lifting her right hand, placing it gently against her forehead.
"You obeyed and you feel so calm, relaxed and obedient. Doing as the voice told you, feels very good. So very good. The more you obey, the easier it gets. Put the cup down on the table." Ranma said and smiled as he saw his instruction being followed. "Good girl. Every time you follow an instruction the nice voice gives you, it makes you feel calm, relaxed, obedient and happy. Doing as the voice tells you, makes you happy. You want to be happy, Kasumi. The voice tells you to be happy, so it must be very important to be happy, right?" he asked, moving over towards Kasumi.
"Yes, important... Happy..." Kasumi said, nodding her head.
"Obeying the voice makes you happy. You want to be happy. The voice tells you to be happy. You must obey the voice, the voice that tells you to be happy. You want to be happy. The voice orders you to be happy. What you want and what the voice orders, are the same. Obeying the voice makes you calm, relaxed, obedient and happy. Exactly what you want to be. What you want, is what the voice orders. Whatever the voice tells you, is what you want to do. The voice tells you to be happy. You want to be happy. One and the same..." Ranma continued.
"One and the same... Happy..." Kasumi agreed.
"The voice, the very nice voice, belongs to Saotome Ranma. The voice that tells you to be happy belongs to Saotome Ranma, Saotome Ranma wants you to be happy. You want to be happy. You become happy, as well as calm, relaxed and obedient, by doing what Saotome Ranma tells you to do. You are obedient, calm, relaxed and happy. Saotome Ranma makes you calm, relaxed, happy and obedient. So very obedient., because you want to be happy and you become happy by following whatever orders Saotome Ranma gives you with that nice voice of his."
"Ranma... Nice voice... Happy." Kasumi mumbled and Ranma glanced aside at the kitchen clock. He didn't have much more time, so he would have to wrap this up pretty soon. The book had given him plenty of pointers and he'd taken them to heart, but there was one thing left to do, which he hadn't gotten around to before. It was probably for the best to take care of that first.
"You're feeling calm, relaxed, happy and obedient right now. Ranma sometimes want you to feel just as relaxed, calm, happy and obedient as you do right now. You want to be happy and you become happy by doing as Ranma tells you to do. When Ranma wants you to be as happy, calm, relaxed and obedient as you are now, he will say 'Time for a nap, Kasumi'. Whenever Ranma says 'Time for a nap, Kasumi', you will feel just as happy, relaxed, calm and obedient as you do now. You want to be happy and you become happy by doing as Ranma tells you to do. When Ranma says 'Time for a nap, Kasumi', what will you do then?" Ranma instructed her, finishing with a question.
"Become as happy, relaxed, calm and obedient as I am now." Kasumi responded without hesitation.
"That is good, Kasumi. You are doing as Ranma tells you and this makes you even more obedient, even more happy, even more calm and even more relaxed then you already are. Every time Ranma says 'Time for a nap, Kasumi', you will become calm, relaxed, happy and obedient. Every time Ranma says 'Time for a nap, Kasumi', you will become even more calm, even more relaxed, even more happy and even more obedient then the last time Ranma said 'Time for a nap, Kasumi' and you became calm, relaxed, happy and obedient. This makes you happy and you want to be happy. Ranma wants you to be happy. So every time Ranma says 'Time for a nap, Kasumi', you become obedient, calm, relaxed and oh so happy." Ranma instructed her, glanced at the clock again and decided to add one more thing he'd read about.
"Whenever Ranma touches your right shoulder and speaks with that nice voice of his, he has something important to tell you. Something so important, that it must be done. Doing as Ranma tells you, makes you happy and you want to be happy. So whenever Ranma touches your right shoulder and tells you to do something, it's important that you do so. So important, in fact, that you can't allow yourself to think about what you are doing or why you are doing it. Whenever Ranma touches your right shoulder and tells you something, you must do it, but without thinking about what you are doing or why you are doing it. Doing as Ranma tells you makes you happy and you want to be happy, but if Ranma touches your right shoulder and tells you what to do, you must not think about it." Ranma said, taking a deep breath.
"Your mind will not pay any attention to it, but you remember how the nice voice is heard not only by your mind, but also your body, heart and soul? The mind will not hear, will not know, but your body, heart and soul will hear, hear and obey. You want to be happy, doing as Ranma tells you to do makes you happy. Happy, calm, relaxed and obedient. So when Ranma touches your right shoulder and tells you to do something, you are feeling calm, relaxed, happy and obedient, but will not be aware that you are doing as Ranma tells you. In fact, you will not even hear what Ranma tells you to do, nor remember it. You will still do as Ranma tells you, because doing as Ranma tells you to do makes you happy, but you will not remember doing it or hearing Ranma telling you what to do." Ranma continued and smiled.
"The voice, Ranma's voice, is telling you not to remember what the voice says whenever Ranma touches your shoulder. Doing as Ranma tells you to do, makes you calm, happy, relaxed and obedient. You want to be happy and you become happy by doing as the voice tells you to do. And the voice tells you to not remember what you are told when Ranma touches your shoulder, but still to do as you are told, which will make you happy. And if Ranma says 'Time for a nap, Kasumi', you become just as calm, relaxed, obedient and happy as you are now." Ranma said, then decided to add a generic wake-up call as well, as the one for her child trigger was a little too specific for general use.
"If you are feeling calm, relaxed, obedient and happy and I clap my hands and then say the phrase 'Wakie-wakie, Kasumi-chan', you will close your eyes and count to five. As you count to five, you will forget everything that happened when you were feeling calm, relaxed, obedient and happy. Your body, soul and heart will remember it for you and if there is something the voice has told you to do, your body, heart and soul will make sure that you do it, without the mind having to remember it. By the time you have counted to five, your mind has forgotten everything that happened when you were obedient, relaxed, calm and happy. When you have counted to five, you will open your eyes and awaken, feeling refreshed, remembering nothing of what happened when you were obedient, happy, calm and relaxed. Whenever I say clap my hands, say 'Wakie-wakie, Kasumi-chan', you will close your eyes, count to five, forget and then awaken, feeling refreshed." Ranma ordered.
"In a few moments, I will clap my hands and say 'Wakie-wakie, Kasumi-chan'. You will then close your eyes, count to five, forget and awaken. You will remember nothing of what happened or what I said after I said 'It's nice, isn't it?'. You will remember only sipping calmly from your tea, as I went ahead with breakfast preparations." Ranma finished, then took a deep breath and clapped his hands. "Wakie-wakie, Kasumi-chan." he said and turned away from her, washing the knife under the sink as Kasumi reached five and opened her eyes.
"Oh, I'm done already." Kasumi commented after a few seconds and Ranma turned around, observing Kasumi staring in surprise at her empty cup. "Oh, and you've done so much already! I must have dozed off for a few seconds." Kasumi exclaimed as she stood up and walked over to the sink with her cup, becomming surprised as she saw how much Ranma had done during the time she was out.
"The Roasting Chestnut technique can be used for more then bashing somebody's head in." Ranma commented with a faint smile, put the knife out to dry along with the cutting board and everything else that had been dirtied during the preparations. The tea kettle had been scrubbed extra carefully, he didn't want anyone imbibing the slightest trace of this drug accidentally. He wiped his hands on a towel, then looked towards the exit. "Well, I guess I'll meditate until breakfast or until pops wakes up." Ranma announced.
"Thanks for your help, Ranma-kun. ... And for the tea." Kasumi said.
"No problem, Kasumi." Ranma said, patting her shoulder, her right shoulder, as he walked past her on his way to the exit. "Scratch your ass, now." he said, holding his hand still on her shoulder during the time it took him to say those four words. He glanced back over his shoulder on the way to the exit and smirked as he saw Kasumi surreptiously scratching her right butt-cheek, snatching the hand away in a hurry as she saw his slightly turned head.
It worked!
Ranma seated himself in the garden and relaxed himself, only to grunt with annoyment as he heard Akane's alarm go off upstairs after only half a minute, breaking his focus. Oh well, he was too damned pleased with himself to be really annoyed at her right now. After all, it seemed as if the techniques he had used from the book actually worked. He didn't really think that Kasumi was just humoring him any longer. And if she was, it would be a very simple matter to unveil her deception. Just order her to do something she'd never do, not in a million years, then see what she'd do.
But, he was pretty sure that it was working. He didn't really belive that Kasumi would go this far and besides, what possible reason would she have for doing so? She wasn't one to pull these sort of jokes, was she? No, it had worked, he was certain... Or, pretty sure, at least.
By the time breakfast had rolled around, Ranma was still pondering weather or not it had worked and what he should do.
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Sun, 07 Nov 2004 19:23)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.