"Safe, he will be," he advised, nodding. "But much strength has he spent."
"Is there anything we can do to help Ranchan?" Ukyou asked worriedly.
"Rest, he needs," Yoda replied with a headshake. "Near him, you should be. From friends, strength he will draw."
Kodachi blinked at this, and then nodded, seeming to decide that if Ukyou thought Yoda was trustworthy, she should too. "Very well," she decided. Imperiously, she decreed, "I am not familiar with all of the intricacies of such things, but Kuonji-san, if you are willing, we shall have a slumber party."
Ukyou blinked at Kodachi, and then smiled softly. At least she could be near Ranma, as uncertain as that was. "Okay," she agreed. She'd never been to one herself as a child; as a girl, she'd simply never had that many friends. As a boy, she'd let fewer people close to her. Konatsu was easy to identify with, but she'd never tried with him; she was engaged and it simply wouldn't have been proper.
But she'd seen movies, and read stories, so she thought she could puzzle out what went on. "So ... what do we do?"
"It's late," Kodachi observed. "I think we should dress for bed."
Yoda nodded approval, and said, "Remain closer to Ranma, you should."
"How close?" Ukyou asked, a slight blush coming to her cheeks. "Touching?"
"Oh, my," Kodachi murmured, a similar blush coming to her cheeks.
"Mhmhmhmh!" Yoda laughed, nodding. "Indeed. In spirit and body, closeness is closeness." With that final instruction, he vanished, giving the girls some privacy. Kodachi stepped behind a divider and emerged wearing a sheer black nightgown. Ukyou felt a little jealous of it as she slipped into her own white nightgown, but then they climbed into bed on either side of Ranma, and each cuddled up to an arm.
"Ucchan," he murmured. "'Dachi-chan."
Both girls blinked, and giggled quietly. "Ranma-sama is certainly spectacular," Kodachi murmured. "I never thought he'd make me feel so...." She squinted, trailing off. "I'm at a loss for words," she finally admitted. "I wonder what this feeling is."
"Love, maybe?" Ukyou asked. "You feel ... kind of warm inside, and when he looks at you, you feel like he's really holding you?"
"Why, yes, that seems to be quite it," Kodachi replied, delighted. "Tell me, you are in love with someone, too?"
"Well," Ukyou mumbled, looking away nervously. "If you haven't noticed, yeah. I.... I love Ranchan."
"And I as well," Kodachi mused. "I had not recognized the depth of this feeling. How extraordinary. For some reason, I can't find it within myself to fault you for it, even though we can't both have him."
"Well, we can," Ukyou said slowly. "I mean, as friends," she added at Kodachi's puzzled look. "I.... You're really helping me and Ranchan out, and I guess I owe you.... But I don't know what he's doing, now. I don't know...." She trailed off, and bit her lip. "If Ranchan ... marries you ... I'd still want to be his friend."
Kodachi winced suddenly, and placed a hand over her heart. "I ... don't ... like the feeling I have at the thought of Ranma-sama marrying you," she said slowly. "But I suppose ... you feel it too when you think of him marrying me?"
Ukyou nodded.
There was a long, uncomfortable silence for a while, until Kodachi finally said, "I'm not certain how to handle this." After a much shorter pause, she asked, "Perhaps ... we could be friends with one-another?"
Ukyou smiled hopefully, and looked up to meet Kodachi's eyes. She nodded. "I'd like that," she said quietly.
Beneath them, Ranma made some noise in his sleep, and then the tension drained from his sleeping visage. "It's late," Kodachi decided. "We should rest. I rather suspect tomorrow will bring ... interesting results."
See other episodes by Sgt. Chibi De`Ohki
(Posted Tue, 19 Jul 2005 22:52)
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