Continuing on blissfully ignorant of her son's less than sunny opinion of her plan, Nodoka casually dropped another bomb-shell. "Perhaps you should discuss it with your Chinese Princess fiancée?"
Following his mother's gesture, Ranma nearly choked when he saw Herb in female form. As disturbing a revelation as Herb competing for his hand in marriage was, how far Herb was going was even worse. The Dragon 'Princess' wasn't wearing her normal clothing, instead being decked out in a white and gold silk brocade Chinese dress. With the ankle length skirt slit up the side to both hips, the pearl white stockings with stretch lace tops were prominently displayed on her long legs. That she was wearing elegant sling-back heels, and make-up only twisted his stomach around further.
Seeing the Dragon girl grin slyly at him, Ranma knew this was going to be trouble.
Oh so very much trouble.
Smiling happily as seeing the heartfelt reunion, Nodoka turned to go, leaving Ranma with his lover. "It's been so long since you two saw each other last, I felt it best to allow you to get reunited and catch up before the tournament."
Grinning widely at the stunned young man, Herb did a credible sultry purr. "Ah husband, how I've missed you. Would you...escort me on a walk so that we might talk at our leisure?"
Feeling seriously creeped out and very suspicious, Ranma gave up on trying find a suitable objection his mother might accept and instead decided to find out what Herb was up to. Frowning openly at the trapped feeling he was get, he reluctantly went with the Chinese girl.
It was an agonizingly long wait for Ranma, but eventually they found a stretch of sidewalk near the park that wasn't crowded with people that could listen in. Not wanting to be found out before he could get some answers from Herb, Ranma kept his voice low, though it carried a fair bit of heat. "What the hell are you up to?"
Giving him nothing but a single sidelong glance, the princess continued until she came across a bench, daintily sitting upon it after a little positioning and fidgeting with her skirt. Once comfortable, she finally answered while indicating Ranma should sit as well. "Well Saotome, I find myself a girl once again, except this time it is permanent."
Shocked by the revelation, Ranma's anger melted away in light of Herb's predicament. Having been in that situation multiple times, he knew from experience that it wasn't pleasant. Of course since one of those times had been due to Herb being a jack-ass, Ranma wasn't feeling that sympathetic to her plight. "Okay, that sucks, but that don't explain what you're trying to pull here. If you need me to find the kettle, just ask, okay? We don't need to go through this shit again."
Staring at him for a moment, the princess sighed. "Unfortunately, I do mean permanent. I was attempting to cure my curse by using both the ladle and the kettle with spring of drown man water to create an over-riding curse for the female one. Unfortunately I entrusted the retrieval of the water to others, so in the end I cured myself of being a man. Jusenkyou, the ladle and the kettle no longer have any effect on me."
Realizing the severity of that, Ranma felt truly sorry for Herb. Sighing and deciding to bite the bullet, Ranma asked her straight out, "Alright, so what do you want from me?".
Her expression mostly blank, Herb responded simply, "I want to be your wife and make you the next Emperor of the Musk."
Staring aghast at the girl now, Ranma was horrified at her simple statement. Not because it might mean trouble for himself, but because it reminded him of his own nightmares and fears since gaining his curse. To be reduced to such a state was mind-numbingly terrible in Ranma's eyes. Unable to voice his turmoil, he instead stared at her wide-eyed while blurting out, "...but why?".
Still displaying little emotion to betray her thoughts, the princess mused thoughtfully, "Well, I suppose it began when I returned to China, as I thought of you often. Your actions puzzled me for a long time, and it is rare for me to discover someone I might consider an equal.".
"Unfortunately, my condition has consequences you might not realize. Our people have a tradition of taking beasts locked in human form as wives, so our concept of a 'wife' is more like that of a pet or slave. It is a core reason why we have always been enemies with other tribes, particularly the Joketsuzoku. As such, I am not a princess, nor can I be queen. Under Musk law, at best I would be taken as a concubine by the man who would make himself the next emperor."
"You have the strength to be emperor, as well as being the only man I could respect enough to live with. Yet even if I were to discard my heritage and live in the outside world as a 'free' woman, my path once again returns to you as the only one out here I care about."
Seeing he was still staring at her in shock and a touch of horror, the unfortunate girl shifted tacts. "I have decided that if my fate is to be a woman, and having chosen you, I shall retain as much pride and honor as I have left by being a 'good and dutiful wife' as your mother puts it."
Choking up a little, the proud princess firmed her resolve and continued with some difficulty at admitting weakness. "As I have decided to give myself to you, I place myself in your hands. As one of the few people that can truly understand my position, you know how difficult this is for me. As you well know, the curse does not make me a woman in spirit, or give me a woman's desires. As such, even though I wish to take pride in being a dutiful concubine, it is difficult for me."
Seeing that her bumbling explanation wasn't getting a response, Herb balled up her fists in frustration, a sign Ranma easily spotted. "I'm asking...please don't make this difficult for me. I'm giving myself to you...as a slave-girl or pet if you wish. Just...please don't make me beg."
Still not even close to comprehending Herb's decision, Ranma asked her, "Are you sure? I mean, that you want to do this?"
Sighing softly, the pink haired girl stared out across the park, mouth quirking up faintly into a smile. "Please don't pity me either. The arrangement isn't without it's perks. For one, you still retain your female form, so there is some possibility there, though it isn't my place I suppose to ask you to spend time with me in that way."
Smirking boldly now, the princess turned in amusement to her would-be-husband. "More importantly, your mother loved the idea of you as Emperor having a proper harem. The prospect of co-wives, particularly lovely ones, is truly quite pleasing. In a way, it's actually a better prospect for women than I had in China. I must say, your mother is a most amusing woman, as I think I'll enjoy this contest greatly."
Getting the sinking feeling that his mother's casual comment of calling the girls his 'harem' had a deeper meaning, Ranma urgently asked the amused girl, "What do you mean?".
Looking out across the assembled girls in the dojo, Nodoka found herself increasingly disappointed with the girls. While she did wish Ranma would take the girls into hand, she understood that he believed that girls should be treated nicely. She wasn't going to fault him for going easy on the girls, but it would take too long for her tastes for him to learn how to properly handle the girls.
As such, it was time for her to step in and do her part to raise Ranma, teaching him the lessons Genma had obviously avoided.
First however, there was the matter of dealing with the girls. "Now girls, Ranma is safely out of the way at the moment so we can have a nice discussion and settle this nastiness."
Now that she had the girl's attention from bickering among their selves, she continued on a somber tone. "I must say, I'm quite disappointed in your girls. It's obvious that with his upbringing, Ranma doesn't know how to properly handle the fiancée mess his father saddled him with. You girls however should know better. Not only do you fight with each other and cause trouble, but it's obvious from how you treat my son that none of you are truly serious about having a relationship with him."
Seeing their shocked expressions turning towards hurt and outrage, Nodoka quickly spoke up to silence the girls. "It is blatantly obvious, so don't deny it. If any girl here had her heart in the right place, she'd take Ranma's side and not her own in your bickering. Any girl that could have done that would have won my son and enjoyed a true relationship. Instead from your blackmailing and scheming and bickering, it is quite obvious that it's common knowledge Ranma doesn't know how to deal with girls, a fact you all seem willing to take advantage of."
Turning towards her companion with her upset frown still in place, the Saotome Matriarch decided to underline her point. "Is that not so Nabiki? Surely it's obvious to a girl with your keen insights, is it not?"
Smirking confidently at the girls, Nabiki was more than happy to give them a wake-up call. "Of course."
Unfortunately, Nabiki failed to pick up on the fact that Nodoka's frown was actually aimed at her. "Of course, which is why I'm most disappointed with you and Kasumi as well. I suppose it's not surprising for you, but Kasumi I expected better of. At the very least she could have spoken to Ranma and offered some support. When it became obvious that things weren't working out, she should have taken the engagement upon herself as the only mature thing to do."
Now knowing why she was included in the dojo as a 'witness' Kasumi hesitantly spoke up in her defense. "...but Auntie, Akane really likes Ranma, I'm sure of it. She just needs a little more time to adjust."
Cutting off Akane before she could object loudly, Nodoka cut back in. "No, even if that were the case you should have taken the engagement upon yourself. As a mature woman you could have shown Ranma what a proper relationship is like, and then if you were still so sure Akane was ready, return the engagement to her. With Akane unwilling to make the relationship work and Ranma ignorant of how to make it better, such would be doomed to failure. If however my son knew what a proper relationship was like, there might have been a chance. Do you disagree?"
Fidgeting nervously, Kasumi found herself reluctant to admit it for fear of hurting Akane, but found herself unable to refute Nodoka's claim. "...no Auntie."
Nodding to herself, the red-head switched gears. After all, she wasn't intent on breaking the girls up with Ranma, not in the least. "Now now girls, I'm not here to condemn you and end your relationships with Ranma. Unfortunately, things can not continue as they are. As far as things have gone, drastic steps must be taken. As such, to settle claims with no girl being hurt, something I believe important to my son, I have made a decision."
After pausing a moment to compose herself and ensure this came out right, she continued. "All claims will be dropped. Any girl willing to stop this non-sense and give herself to Ranma will have my blessing. As such I would expect you to behave yourself around Ranma and treat your co-wives cordially at the least. As for who will be the actual wife in Japanese law, that will be settled peacefully after I find out which girls here are willing to end this and give their selves to Ranma."
After ending her speech, Nodoka prepared to wait patiently for their responses. Seeing some of the girls consider the idea gave her some hope to reaching a happy resolution.
Unfortunately, it didn't take long for Akane to reach her own conclusion, shouting at Nodoka for the first time. "Are you crazy? Give myself to that pervert and live in his happy little harem?"
Like dominoes, the other three girls spoke up as well, initially to reject the idea and then once again breaking down in insults at each other.
Ignoring the squabbling and insults to herself, Nodoka dismissed the four arguing girls in favor of the currently quiet two. "I suppose I have my answer from them. Nabiki, Kasumi, what about you?"
Raising an eyebrow at the demented older woman, Nabiki felt she should have known better. "Auntie, I believe we already discussed that the whole harem tactic was a bad idea...and no, I'm not joining his harem. Last time I joined a harem I got carried off by some dog-guy."
Nodding sadly, Nodoka turned her gaze to Kasumi. Then as the mature girl continued to fret, everyone started to stare at her. Realizing her sister was actually considering it, Akane decided to speak up. "Come on Kasumi, you can't actually be considering joining that freak's harem."
Giving Akane an inscrutable gaze, Kasumi seemed to make her decision. "I suppose perhaps that might be best. I wouldn't want to impose on Ranma-kun though."
Nodding happily, Nodoka was quick to add a trailing comment. "That's nice dear, but I suppose it might be best to give you a trial period with Ranma, because this isn't something to take lightly."
Turning to the group as a whole, she continued her announcements. "With this in mind, we will settle who becomes first wife and who becomes concubines through a fair contest suited to a girl's specific nature. The aim of the contest will be to test the girl's compatibility and determine her true skills and feelings."
Shampoo and Kodachi started proclaiming their victories already, drawing in both Akane and Ukyou. Long since tired of their bickering, Nodoka spoke up once again. "All six of you shall be competing. Until the contest is over, Ranma shall stay elsewhere in the carte of his concubines. Right now he is in the care of his first concubine, and Kasumi will perhaps prove to be his second. The contest will be just over a week from now, so please prepare yourselves."
After that announcement, Nodoka was dealing with five irate girls, though she gave the recently annoyed Nabiki her attention. "To answer your question Nabiki, consider it fair for your contributions to this mess. This contest will determine your position with Ranma, the lowest of which is 'slave-girl'. It may not be a legal position, but his first concubine seems most willing to enforce it if Ranma wavers. All six of you will begin at that rank and must prove yourselves better. If you disagree, then you'll have to never see Ranma again as he'll be honor-bound to treat you as your position dictates."
Palming her face in annoyance, Nabiki regretted getting mixed up in one of these crazy schemes.
Four other girls were a bit more vocal.
"What?! You gotta be kidding!"
One was a little less vocal. "Oh dear, but I don't have a proper collar. I suppose I need to go shopping. Where's the shop you get your toys from Nabiki-chan?"
Walking alongside Ranma, the concubine-princess managed a very proud stride despite her earlier confession.
Ranma was a bit worried about any girl taking him to a hotel as he actually knew a little about what love hotels were. On the other hand, the idea of Herb of all 'girls' doing that was particularly worrisome.
Sensing his unease, Herb decided to fill her husband in on the plan. "This is my hotel. Until the contest is over, your mother wishes for you to stay with me to keep things fair. It will also give us some time to get acquainted."
Unfortunately, the reasonable explanation didn't ease Ranma's discomfort in the least.
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(Posted Fri, 11 Aug 2006 20:46)
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