"You don't think I am a pervert, do you?" Akane later asked Little Ashes when she was escorting her to the gym.
"Of course not, Miss Akane. Don't worry about Sister Holle," Ashes was quick to reassure her, "she says such things about everyone. You are no more a pervert than I am."
Akane reflect that this would have been far more reassuring if it hadn't come from someone who walked around in a very minimal near-transparent uniform all day.
During gym and against her better judgement Akane breached the same topic with Mistress Severa.
Between exercises when Akane was for a short time not tied, bolted or weighed down she asked her trainer if she thought that Akane was a pervert. Mistress laughed.
She grabbed her shoulders and turned her towards the mirror covering one of the walls in the gym.
"Look at that Akane," she told her, "and tell me what you see."
Akane saw a girl wearing nothing but shackles and a collar with another one clad in skintight black leather standing behind her. In short she saw two perverts, but she decided not to give voice to that observation.
Severa answered for her: "I see a beautiful young woman. who has nothing to be ashamed of. You are desirable, you are sexy and there is nothing wrong with going out and making people realize that. There is nothing wrong with taking it as a compliment when people fight over you. And for all that other crap about you wanting to be beaten. You would not be here training to become a better fighter if you wanted the prince to beat you, would you?"
Akane relaxed. That made sense, she hoped. At least she was not going to question it to closely as long as it meant that Sister Holle's accusations were completely unfounded.
"Except perhaps," Mistress slowly continued, "if you did not want to have just anyone beat you. Perhaps that boy who would not acknowledge your beauty, who has shown that he would be capable of taking you if he wanted, who has won you in uncounted challenges where you were the price, but never claimed what was rightfully his, perhaps you would not mind so much loosing to him?"
Akane blushed deeply. She wanted to deny this ridiculous theory.
"But that wouldn't make you a bad person either, would it? If that was what you really wanted and what he wanted — and let's be frank here, how could he not want you — then there would be nothing really wrong with this, would there?. Don't let others tell you what is right for you, it is none of their business. Understood, little one?"
Akane took a slap on her bare behind as her cue to dutifully answer: "Yes, Mistress."
What had she expected from someone like Mistress Severa? She was a pervert after all and had the same sort of perverted ideas about her relationship with Ranma as Sister Holle.
Only she did not condemn her for them, but instead cheered her on. And again she could not put the record straight, just this time it wasn't because of a gag blocking her mouth, but because she had no idea how to put into words how she really felt about Ranma.
The worst part was that the two of them had now put those perverted images and ideas into Akane's head which had most certainly not been there before.
That night Akane dreamed about Ranma fighting Prince Wildpferd for her. She would watch from the sidelines chained naked between two posts as Ranma's clothes got shredded during the fight. And then when he had finally won and beaten the prince, Severa would hand over the key to Akane's chains to Ranma. He would go to her but instead of freeing her he would pocket the key and smile.
And Akane would also smile.
While Akane was dreaming of Ranma claiming his prize, Kodachi was staying up late in her room, brooding.
They had not called her. The others must surely have started to organize a rescue for the Tendo girl by now. But nobody had thought to invite her.
She had intercepted Sasuke delivering some intelligence to her brother and had now a hint where to look for Akane.
She could just go there tomorrow and join the gang if she spied the others. If they asked her why she would want to help a rival for her Ranma's affection she could always make up some excuse.
But what if they did not want her to tag along? What if it had not just been an oversight not to invite her but a deliberate snubbing? Could she risk the public rejection and humiliation?
Was it not perhaps best to give up on those silly dreams and become a normal respectable girl with a normal and traditional future.
Her sanity was not yet as far gone as her brother's and she could still turn around, become a sociable schoolgirl with normal friends, get good grades and not question or poison her teachers, go to a prestigious university befitting her wealth and intellect, End up a traditional and respectable housewife like million others.
Was that what she wanted, a live more ordinary?
What did she want?
She wanted her knight in shining armor.
She wanted a handsome prince and a majestic man-eating dragon.
She wanted to be a femme fatal and a damsel in distress.
She wanted to take that kitchen drudge to the ball and put that castle to sleep under a thicket of roses.
She wanted to save her kingdom and risk her life by trusting on her abilities in the bedroom and the powers of a thousand cliffhangers.
She wanted to launch a thousand ships and seduce Ceasar and Mark Antony.
She wanted to reach out from her lake to the rightful king with Excalibur and she wanted to crush that harlot Guinevere for sleeping around on her half-brother.
She wanted to voyage to distant worlds and pilot Tellurian warships.
She wanted to go from rural Toulouse to become a favorite of the king at Versailles. She wanted to be captured by pirates and be sold to the sultan's harem.
She wanted to tame the beasts of Barsoom and to tempt the lord of the jungle into her temple of Opar.
She wanted revenge herself on the King of Bohemia and to taunt the great detective.
She wanted the feeling of romance and the sense of wonder she had known as a kid. She wanted the world to be what they had promised her it was going to be — instead of the tawdry, lousy, fouled-up mess it was.
She had one chance tomorrow and she would not let it slip away.
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Sat, 13 Nov 2004 18:20)
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.