Ryuu sat nearby, Azusa in his lap (this seemed to be the only way he could prevent her from trying to slowly strip him through kleptomania), with Rouge and Natsume hanging onto an arm each. Kurumi seemed content to merely sit near Ryuu for the moment, but still shot him blushing glances every so often.
Kasumi brought lunch in, and Cologne swiftly deflected Nodoka in search of Soun, with Konatsu standing outside the door to watch for anyone approaching.
"Now," Cologne murmured. "A cup of tea for you, Muko-dono." She passed him one, which he drank quickly, emptying in a single gulp. He grimaced at the taste and stuck out his tongue. "I never said it was pleasant!" After that, another cup of tea for Ryuu, though a slightly different concoction.
Ranma and Ryuu then were led apart from the women, and each sat cross-legged, Ryuu holding a black stone fist-sized stone, and Ranma holding a white one. Each of the girls took a clear sphere the size of a large marble in one hand.
"Now," Cologne said, "these stones will tell you if you are -- or will shortly become -- pregnant. If you are already pregnant, then it will change color to match the stone in each of your prospective husband's hands. If you aren't, then since both of these boys are considerable martial artists, I'm sure the stones will color through the force of their chi anyway, but will be noticeably dimmer."
And with that, everyone took a look at their stones.
Hinako clapped her hands together with glee as the first girl at the dojo to watch her stone change color. It suffused a brilliant white, and leapt from her lap to roll across the floor, not stopping until it bumped Ranma's knee. "Ranma! I'm going to be a mother!" She sighed dreamily at the thought. Finally, someone to take care of ... and someone to take care of her!
"Number five?" Kodachi asked Ukyou in a quiet voice.
"Maybe," Ukyou said doubtfully, glancing at Miho. "Maybe more like 'sister number one' for me."
Kodachi nodded, and then gasped as her own stone mirrored Hinako's. Ranma rolled the stone Hinako had dropped back to her, though it lost color when Ranma touched it. Once Hinako picked it back up, it resumed its white glow. Ukyou's was a heartbeat behind.
"Oh, nice," Nabiki said, glancing at her notepad. "In order, Ranma. Looks like you're at one hundred percent, so far."
Ukyou and Kodachi were both holding one other and giggling ecstatically.
"Chi-empowered martial artists tend to be exceptionally fertile," Cologne noted.
Ranma winced.
Miho's stone turned white. "Oh, no," she groaned. Natsume, Kurumi, Rouge and Azusa's stones all turned black in sequence, though it seemed a glowing, almost pulsating tone, not at all repulsive to the girls.
"Hah!" Natsume crowed. "Ryuu's gonna have four kids!"
"Shampoo already pregnant," the one young woman without a stone noted, smirking. "Ranma beat Ryuu by one."
"Oh, my," Kasumi murmured, as her stone turned white. "Well, I think I know how this will end."
"Yep," Nabiki sighed, holding up her glowing white stone.
"And the final score is Ryuu, four, Ranma ... eight," Akane concluded with a groan. "Oh, Daddy's going to break down completely!"
Cologne nodded. They hadn't even had the privacy they'd want to test Nodoka yet ... if she were pregnant, and it wasn't Soun's, the general consensus was that Ranma wouldn't need to know. And to make sure that no one said anything stupid, Soun and Ryuu wouldn't need to know, either. "Okay," Nabiki said, climbing to her feet. "White stones, if you want to marry Ranma, raise your hands."
All of the girls with white stones except for Miho raised their hands. "Miho?" Nabiki asked.
"You don't want me around even though we're having a kid?" Ranma asked in surprise.
"That's exactly why I don't want to marry you," she said flatly. "Kasumi and Nabiki have their own defenses. I remember from seeing them go through school. Every other girl here has martial arts, or Hinako's special ability. You attract trouble, Ranma-sempai. How am I supposed to survive that? I'm ... just a normal girl, in comparison. I don't ... think I could handle it."
"But you're not saying that you don't want him as the father," Nabiki pressed.
Miho nodded slowly, not meeting anyone's eyes. "I do ... want him to be there for our child," she murmured. "But ... I ... don't think I want to be married to someone who's ... well ... so much of a target."
"But ... the kid," Ranma managed.
"Would you be opposed to being here if you were married to someone else?" Nabiki asked. "So we could help take care of the baby, I mean."
"But who else could I marry?" Miho asked, glancing at Ryuu. Natsume and Rouge both looked at her doubtfully.
"Who's left?" Ranma asked, scratching his head. "We've got me, Ryuu, Konatsu, and Soun."
"Konatsu's a girl," Miho sighed. "And anyway, I know who the cards say I should marry. When my greatest tragedy befalls me, my knight in darkened shinobi-gear will descend from the shadows and bear me away to safety! At least ... that's what the cards say."
"Um," Ukyou said slowly. "Konatsu! Get in here!"
The ninja was in the door in a heartbeat, kneeling in his traditional feminine clothing. "Yes, Ukyou-sama?" he asked quietly.
"Ah, a loyal ninja-retainer," Kodachi murmured. "I've always meant to get one of those."
Ukyou rolled her eyes, and said, "Konatsu, tell Miho you're really a boy."
"Boy? I am a man!" Konatsu exclaimed, pulling his robe open enough to show his flat chest.
"Great!" Ukyou cheered. "Now, would you be opposed to being married to this girl?"
"Hey!" Ranma and the majority of the girls in the room protested.
They all silenced to turn to Ranma, and let him continue. Somewhat nervous at all the attention, he managed, "Don't you think you're moving things a little fast there, Ucchan?"
"Not really," Konatsu said, smiling softly. "I could probably hide for some time, Ranma-sama ... but with the new laws, I could easily be married to anyone without them even knowing. It makes sense to be married soon, even if it's not for love. Otherwise, I won't be able to remain in my capacity as your and Ukyou-sama's servant."
"Well, that works for me," Miho agreed. "It's ... not love ... but honestly, and no offense Ranma-sempai ... I don't really know you well enough to love you, either. This way we can both be close to our child, your servant is protected ... and I have an old maid uniform from last Halloween. I suppose I could help around the house or ... something."
"Well, we'll simply see to it that our 'servants' are all very well cared for," Kodachi decided.
"Okay, Ucchan knows what she's doing," Ranma said slowly. "Um. Wow." Then something seemed to sink in, and Ranma cringed. "Eight kids?"
"Serves you right," Ryuu muttered.
"What was that?" Ranma asked, glancing up.
"Uh ... I hope ... they can ... serve you right," Ryuu said haltingly. "Yeah! I hope your wives are good for you."
"I can feel the love," Ranma said flatly.
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(Posted Sun, 31 Jul 2005 04:05)
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