Nabiki sighed.
Akane pointed upwards.
Kasumi glanced up, seeing only the ceiling. Wait one moment. "The roof?"
Akane nodded and a curious thing was occurring within her head.
Akane tended to take an observation, come to a conclusion, and then continue to work with that conclusion even when it was proved wrong repeatedly. In the original timeline she had first seen Ranma in the bath tub and concluded pervert and scoundrel. After that she had alternately seen him in compromising situations, and seen the more common image of someone who would be afraid of kissing a girl because he might get cooties. Had this happened, she would have maintained that he was a pervert for a very long time. Likewise she saw Ryoga as a likeable chap who was not a pervert - and would do so unless her face were ground in details to the contrary.
The situation was very different. Ranma Saotome had been reluctant to do anything even remotely perverted, even when the opportunity was dangled at point blank range. Rather than be sharing a very crowded room that was uncomfortable (even Nabiki was reluctant to do THAT for the first time with an audience - maybe after some practice), he had fled to the roof as soon as he'd wiggled out of the ropes and chains.
Akane therefore had not pigeonholed her new Master as a pervert. He was brash, clumsy, and prone to panicking around women. Naturally she was trying to fit that into her worldview. "He's not gay is he?"
"He wouldn't have reacted like that to sitting in Kasumi's lap if he was," stated Nabiki. "Strictly involuntary though. You'd think he'd never been around girls before."
"Maybe he hasn't," guessed Kasumi. "Or very many at least."
Nabiki hmmmed. "That could explain a lot. We'll have to train him to be a good Master."
"What?" asked Akane, now sure that there was a pervert in the house. It wasn't Ranma though, it was a certain sister.
Three uniforms had been obtained by the fathers, who were still apparently trying to work out new plans regarding their offspring.
Akane finished snapping the armor into place, over the thin but tough fabric of her black bodysuit. It was a fairly reasonable mamluk uniform, nothing fancy, with the sheathed sword on one hip and the holster for the gun on the other. She studied herself in the mirror briefly before making a face. It was entirely too form-hugging for her comfort, though it smoothed out the lines enough that you couldn't tell if she was wearing underwear or not. It also provided darn little heat retention and she'd wear a long coat over it in inclement weather. For a spring day it was fine.
The red armor consisted of a breastplate, shoulder pads, bracers, greaves, and open-fingered gauntlets with reinforced knuckles padded on the inside. A mamluk did not fight for sport, but to take an enemy opponent down in the quickest manner possible.
She was not, strictly speaking, a mamluk. Mamluk were not full use and they served for a specified contracted period - normally five years. The insignia on shoulder and breastplate indicated she wasn't a mamluk, but rather a trainer of mamluk. Which was a 'gray area' disputed in some circles.
Akane closed the door behind her and went down to the kitchen, carrying her sheathed sword rather than clicking it into place on the belt-link.
Kasumi was already up, wearing the maid uniform selected for her by the two parents. It was a proper maid's uniform, fairly utilitarian - though Akane knew there were variations more for showing off the maid - Kasumi had apparently decided to make one herself as she'd begun gathering a very small amount of black cloth with markings on it next to an apron on one table. Akane shook her head at this, thinking Kasumi was getting WAY into this whole thing. The one she was wearing was a proper maid's uniform but judging from the amount of cloth - the one she was making would have a small apron and maybe a hankerchief's worth of dress involved.
Nabiki's own maid uniform had been tried on and quickly discarded. Oh, she'd probably wear it every so often, but she had gone for her regular school uniform with the exception of two slave-bracers to which she'd applied a few yen-decals. Apparently she had decided to fit into the accountant/management role, and was reading a book on household management at the breakfast table. Only the occasional yawn indicated how little she liked being up this early.
Akane knelt at the table, sparing only a glance at the coward who'd gone sneaking off to the roof despite being tied up and thrown into her room her Master. That he looked as if he hadn't slept much gave her a tiny amount of satisfaction, but she was careful not to say anything.
Ranma ate sparingly, looking more and more nervous as breakfast dragged on.
"You'll be late for school," noted Kasumi.
"Right." Ranma got up. "Uhm, I think I-"
Kasumi handed him a lunch and a bookbag and seemed to be waiting for something.
"Ah, right, uhm, see ya this afternoon," said Ranma awkwardly.
Kasumi frowned ever so lightly, indicating that was not what she had been waiting for.
Ranma panicked, correctly interpreting that look. "Ah, see ya." Zoom!
Akane half-bowed, took her bundle and lunch, and sprinted off in pursuit.
"It's too early for this," complained Nabiki as she also got ready to go.
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Fri, 13 May 2005 09:32)
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.