"Hello, Ranma-kun. Have you finished your inspection of the grounds?"
Ranma nodded as he slipped off his shoes before he stepped out of the genkan and into a warmed pair of indoor shoes placed there for him by Ami. "Hai, Ami-san. Everything looks good. I have to admire the man who designed this place. He knew what he..."
"She."
The mamluk jolted. "Eh?!"
"It was a woman who designed Hana-jou," Ami explained. "Specifically, it was Kimaenowakai-sama." A knowing smile then crossed her face. "Though she did do it with the help of defensive experts brought in from America and Europe, plus several feng-shui masters from Korea."
Hearing that, Ranma blinked several times. "Really?"
"Really," Ami assured him before waving him through the reception room to the doors leading to the main study of Marie's personal residence. "In the meantime, she's waiting for you." With that, she opened the door, calling out, "Marie, it's Ranma-kun."
"Ah, Ranma-kun!" the marchioness called out as she looked up from her papers. "Here, make yourself comfortable. That'll be all, Ami."
"Hai," the personal assistant called back with a bow before she closed the door to grant her mistress and the mamluk privacy.
Ranma took a moment to glance around the main study. It was a fair-sized space lacking any of the usual Western amenities such as chairs or high tables. There were shelving units to both sides of the room, all chock full of books. Mostly political and government tomes, the mamluk realized on reading some of the titles. Several tapestries, both Korean and Japanese in origin, hung on the end walls to both sides of the doors leading in and out of the study. If Marie's residence was anything like Shirayuki's, the doors behind the marchioness would lead to her private bedroom and bathroom. Noting everything here, he then nodded before walking over to sit in front of the low table.
"No hidden traps?" Marie asked, an amused smile crossing her face.
"Except for the ceiling," Ranma replied with an equal smile as he pointed up.
Marie smirked. The ceiling overhead had two well-hidden doors, which would allow someone a place to hide himself as a "special surprise" in case someone believed to be hostile was invited into the marchioness' residence. The floors, like all the buildings Ranma had visited in his personal tour of Hana-jou, were fitted with the ondol, the Korean floor-pipe heating system that had, in the years since the Dual Empires was founded, become commonplace in Japan as well, thus eliminating the need for Western-style central heating systems in private homes. The walls, roofs and ceilings had Western-style fibreglass insulation though, which ensured that the heat generated by the ondol would stay inside the residences and thus negate the need for either kotatsu-style space heaters or lots of blankets (Rishiri-tou was an island located very close to Siberia, where the winters got quite harsh). "So, everything meets your standards?" she then asked.
"Very much so," he replied. "There're some improvements I'd want to work into the place. I'll have something drafted up for your appraisal as soon as I can." A shrug then rolled his shoulders. "But that'll have to wait until I move my things into my own quarters."
"Business before relaxation," she mused. "Well, I'll try not to keep you here too long, then. Even if you're dedicated to your job, you also need time to relax and unwind. You're as human as the rest of us, Ranma-kun. So, then..." With that, she pulled out a sheet of paper to hand to the mamluk. "This is the first draft of the...!" A shrug. "Well, let's just say a more 'proper' contract between us for the next five years. Yotsuba-chan just finished it a half-hour ago. Please take a look at it."
Ranma accepted the paper with a nod, and then he scanned the words printed there. He knew from speaking to both Osamu Shirayuki and Kino Makoto that "Yotsuba" was the Lady Yotsuba Nemain Dunn, sixth of Hana Nagaiwakai's granddaughters and the only one of the Sisters of Hana who possessed citizenship in the Dual Empires and the British Empire (hence the fact that her name was always spoken of in Western "family name-last" order instead of Oriental "family name-first" format, even in Japanese or Korean). He didn't know much about her except that she was sixteen years old; she lived in the west wing of Hana-jou with the seventh of the sisters, Hatoyama Rinrin; that she had been raised in London all her life; and that she had been training herself in civil, common and criminal law since she was old enough to read.
He sighed as he took in the details of the new contract. Yep, everything matched what should have been signed between him and Marie in the first place. His eyebrow then arched after he read the four last paragraphs, which were not a common part of mamluk contracts:
All signatory Parties to this contract will solemnly affirm that the Guardian, upon completion of his indentured service to the Owner, will possess no legal, filial or other obligations to the Guardian's birth-father, Saotome Genma, or to any parties decreed by the Guardian's birth-father for whatever reason. In this matter, all signatory Parties will adhere to the Special Regulations on Post-Indentured Employment of Non-Permanent Bodyguards (Mamluk and Yoojimbou) as written in the Slave Codes of the Dual Empires of Japan and Korea.
In acknowledgement of the above statement, any failure by the Guardian's birth-father, or any parties decreed by the Guardian's birth-father, to adhere to the Special Regulations on Post-Indentured Employment of Non-Permanent Bodyguards (Mamluk and Yoojimbou) as written in the Slave Codes of the Dual Empires of Japan and Korea, either during or after the Guardian's time of indentured service with the Owner, will result in criminal legal procedures being directly levied on the Guardian's birth-father and/or other applicable parties.
Furthermore, if actions initiated by the Guardian's birth-father, or by any parties decreed by the Guardian's birth-father, do violate the articles of the Special Regulations on Post-Indentured Employment of Non-Permanent Bodyguards (Mamluk and Yoojimbou) as written in the Slave Codes of the Dual Empires of Japan and Korea, the Guardian, upon his emancipation at the end of his service to the Owner, will be adopted as a free citizen and subject of His Majesty the Emperor of Japan into the Hana Clan of Hokkaido under the name "Hana Ranma" under the Adoption Codes for the Houses of Nobility of the Dual Kingdoms of Japan and Korea.
Upon such adoption (should it occur) of the Guardian by the Hana Clan of Hokkaido, all legal, filial or other obligations which might be imposed on the Guardian by the Guardian's birth-father, Saotome Genma, or by any parties decreed by the Guardian's birth-father, will have no standing in the society of the Dual Empires. Any attempt at forcing the Guardian to adhere to such legal, filial or other obligations by the Guardian's birth-father, or by any parties decreed by the Guardian's birth-father, will result in criminal legal procedures being directly levied on the Guardian's birth-father and/or other applicable parties.
Ranma blinked several times as he took in what had been written down, and then he looked up at Marie. Seeing the question forming in the marchioness' eyes, he then gave the draft contract another careful re-reading. Once that was done, he found himself slowly nodding. With that, he stared once more at his mistress. One of her eyebrows arched. Straightening himself to display the standard level of respect a mamluk was expected to show to his mistress, he then asked, "My Mistress, is this like the contract Kino-san has with Mistress Shirayuki?"
"Except for the clauses concerning your future after your employment with me, not to mention what might happen to Saotome Genma and anyone else who foolishly chooses to ally with him should they attempt to circumvent the clauses in our agreement, my servant," Marie responded before a tired look crossed her face. "Ranma, please! Not while we're alone in my own residence!" she wearily pleaded.
He relaxed. "Sorry. But that part of my training's pretty ingrained into me."
A sour look crossed her face. "So I noticed. So..." A pause. "Does this satisfy you?"
He nodded without hesitation. "Hai, Marie-chan, it does."
"Very well, then. Ami!"
The door to the study opened. "Yes, Marie?"
"Please inform Yotsuba-chan that Ranma-kun's new draft agreement can be printed up in good with the necessary number of copies, and then have the copies sent to me right away," Marie ordered. "Then send a message to Saotome Nodoka in Nerima, demanding -- make sure you use that word, Ami! -- her to come here at once to sign Ranma-kun's new agreement on behalf of her family. Also inform her that she is to not bring either Saotome Genma or Tendou Souun with her when she comes to Hana-jou."
"Right away, Marie," Ami replied before stepping out of the room.
Once the door closed, Marie then breathed out. "Any further questions?"
Ranma gazed on his mistress for a moment, and then he shook his head as he remembered what Makoto had advised him to do earlier in the day. "No. If you don't need me for the rest of the day, I'd like to get my things moved into my apartment."
"Go ahead."
With that, he rose and walked to the door. Turning to bow respectfully to her, he then moved to leave.
"Ranma?"
He turned to gaze on the marchioness. "Hai?"
"I assume Mako-chan told you about Aniue-sama?"
The mamluk blinked. "Aniue-sama" was, no doubt, Marie's nickname for her mysterious elder brother. "Hai, she did."
"Don't go into his residence," Marie then ordered. "It's for your own safety. Believe me, when Aniue-sama's control slips and he allows his slave programming to take over, even a trained mamluk like you could eventually succumb to him. To prevent any problems in case he does lose control over himself, just stay away from his residence. That's what Kasumi and Nabiki are here for."
Ranma nodded, and then he turned to leave. He then stopped before gazing once more on her. "Did he try to seduce you?"
"He almost succeeded," Marie answered.
The mamluk took that in, and then he sighed. "Is that why you would've wanted me to be full-use?"
"Hai. And again, I'm sorry for my mistake on that matter, Ranma. I didn't realize at the time that being 'full-use' would've horribly degraded your legal status. Yotsuba-chan corrected me of that when I spoke to her about our contract earlier on."
Ranma nodded. "You'd want me to be to you what Mako-chan is to Shirayuki-chan, right?"
"Hai," Marie breathed out. "You have to understand, Ranma-kun, Shirayuki-chan is at the stage in her life where boys are, in that fashion, still 'icky!' Her experience with Aniue-sama, while it did nothing to damage her love for him, simply reinforced that particular point." A wry grin crossed her face before she sobered up. "And yes, as I'm sure you've figured out already, Ami serves as my lover as well as my assistant. And while sex with a girl is quite pleasant, I would like to get the chance to share my bed with a handsome man. But..." A deep breath. "I think that we've had our fill about that topic for the time being, so I won't bother you about it anymore."
"I appreciate that. Good night, Marie-chan."
"Good night, Ranma-kun. I'll see you in the morning."
And with that, he left...
So now...
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Tue, 29 Mar 2005 14:25)
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.