Not that she could blame poor Ranma-chan for what had happened. The dear boy probably hadn't even thought that something like that would happen, never mind that he was doing it at that moment. Sure, he'd been giving her a full view of himself, but it had been such a nice view....
Stopping on her way out the door, she tucked her hands in near her chin, blushing and giggling at the same time. Think that way was ever so naughty, and it actually felt pretty good. If she were going to be honest, she was going to have to admit that she hadn't minded that sight as much as she thought that she might have at another time. That had been rather pleasant, and she did like the boy.
Right from the beginning, she'd recognized him as someone that she could take care of. It fit in the whole idea of being a maid, as there were jobs that had the maid being the main support for the 'master'. He was one of those people who could use so much in the way of help, and would do well with a girl who could make a comfortable home for him to stay in. And she knew that she was of the sort of Tribal who could enjoy such things.
Nesting was something that many Tribals went through, especially pregnant females. When it got close to the time when they would give birth, they would want to arrange their home furnishings to their satisfaction. That usually meant a lot of work for their mates, but it was one of those things publically grumbled about, but was privately treated tenderly.
She was one of those who tended to do it all the time. People told her that she would be a good mother all the time, and she'd always been fairly concerned about taking care of people. Some of those who knew about her maid focus thought that such emotions were the cause, and that might have been part of it.
It was the fact that she thought that she looked cute in the uniforms that had first started her in thinking in that direction. There were all sorts of maid outfits in her wardrobe now, from ones that were rather practical, some that could double as evening wear, and even a few that Nabiki had found for her. No matter the task, she'd be dressed for it, even if that was only part of being a maid for her now.
Yet, for a girl to be truly a maid, she needed to have someone to be her 'master'. A growing part of her wondered if this boy would be the one that would fill that position. He did need someone to care for him better than that nasty old father of his had, and she considered him to be be a very nice person. His body was certainly up to the task, and she found herself coming up with a very vivid image when she considered what it would be like to 'serve' him in that one maid's 'uniform'.
Thinking in that direction resulted in a rather giddy feeling that made her want to go inside and spend a moment alone. Feeling a bit embarrassed about it, she simply tossed the garbage onto the pile, and hurried back outside.
Of course, Kuno was too unconscious to realize that he'd be fairly bruised from smacking into the other refuse.
The situation as it stood wasn't exactly what Genma had in mind when he had been thinking of what would happen when he would bring his son to meet Tendo's daughters. According to what he'd been considering, it had been a rather simple situation. His son would take one look at the daughters, add his desire for them to his loyalty and deference to his father, and would follow through with the engagement immediately. Then they would set upon creating the continuation of the family lines.
As it stood right then, he had angry catgirls who were mad at him for his son being afraid of them. They were planning on coddling his boy to get him over that silly phobia, and were apparently intent on keeping him from doing the job that he'd been doing well with for the last ten years. There had been some... hiccups, but things had been going along well enough up until then, in his opinion.
He was going to have to do something to prevent things from going out of control. It would be good for those girls to make his son comfortable with them, since they were his possible wives, but they could make his boy soft, and he couldn't have that. So he was going to have to work hard to prevent it. The boy would thank him for it, as he knew that his son liked the idea of being strong. That would mean that he'd have to be rough on him, but that was what happened when one practiced the Art. 'Ease' went out the window in exchange for work.
With his plan in place, he settled on getting started with it after he enjoyed his game of shogi with Tendo.
Nabiki tapped her fingers against her desk and considered the situation at hand. Despite being a manga-phile, she was also a realist, and she didn't let her emotions run ragged as they did for some. The idea of losing herself, and doing something that she would be sorry for later was something that she tended to want to avoid. And at this moment, she didn't want to risk that happening at all.
Spotting a likely choice, she pulled out the manga volume, and hoped that Ranma liked it as much as she did.
Had she been another 'Nabiki', she might have seen things in a more 'risk-reward' oriented sense, but here she knew something about instincts. To a Tribal, instincts were something to pay attention to, and if one got a feeling that one could not explain, it was considered to be a good idea to try and figure out what it was. Sometimes, it could be a big help, especially if it warned one about a situation.
And right then, her instincts were warning her that things were not going to be easily solved. She knew that she would not trust that barrel bodied idiot of a father, and she sure knew that she liked his son. Ranma certainly had the body, and she knew that he could be well equipped to follow out what she had seen in those adult mangas that she hid away from casual sight.
Still, she knew that things would need to be taken quite calmly, as she didn't want to mess anything up. If nothing else, he was fun, and he didn't seem to be the usual stick in the mud sort. The idea of dressing up as a couple from one of the series that she liked did have some appeal, and she wondered what he would look like in a tuxedo.
But she didn't take his participation in anything that she wanted to do to be automatically given. After all, he was barely able to stay in the same room as her without bolting. So, even if she was certain that she would enjoy being with him, she wasn't stupid enough to think that it would come automatically. What he would need would be the 'voice of reason', and she knew that she could supply it for him. From there, they might get close, and she did have to admit that cuddling with him wouldn't be such a bad thing.
Of course, she was also sure that she was going to have to make sure that nothing else messed things up. Hopefully, she could get a level of trust going, and he could actually learn ways to get past his fears to be able to handle a long conversation, among other things. Being a realist, she knew that even if they got him to trust her and her sisters, that sort of calm might not extend to other feline Tribals. However, even that much would be a welcome, and helpful, change from the current situation.
Perhaps lending him this manga would help, as it would give them something to enjoy together. Smiling despite her thought that it would be better to keep things neutral for the time being, she headed out of her room, while:
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(Posted Wed, 19 Apr 2006 03:33)
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