With things calmed down a bit, Kasumi decided to help Ranma out a bit more. “Ren-chan, switch to your maid outfit please.” A tug of her collar and flash later and the girl was in her maid outfit again much to Ranma’s relief. “Good, now you two stay in bed and relax. I need to go have a talk with my sisters about proper behavior.”
Blinking at the older girl in her very nice maid dress, Ranma wasn’t about to argue with her. The current mild annoyance she was showing with her sisters was about as angry as Ranma had ever seen Kasumi, and right now it seemed like she was on his side. Whatever was going on, he didn’t want to upset her.
Smiling weakly at the cornered look Ranma still had, Kasumi was about to do something about her household.
Entering into Akane’s room after politely knocking, Kasumi found her little sister looking contrite for the moment. “Akane-chan we need to have a talk about your behavior.”
Fidgeting with worry, Akane was quick with her apology. “I’m sorry about hitting you. I didn’t intend to.”
Staring at her little sister to see if she had anything more to say, Kasumi began to get confused. “Do you think the reason I’m upset with you is because you bumped into me?”
The rhetorical nature of the question penetrating, Akane’s eyes began to widen as she realised her apology had been misplaced. The only thing that came to mind however was elbowing Kasumi in a tender spot, yet she knew her big sister was looking at her in disappointment.
As the silence continued, Kasumi turned incredulous. “You really don’t know what you did wrong?”
Getting nervous now, the little tomboy tried to think of anything else. “I barged into your room?” Latching on to that as the only other trespass she could think of, she rapidly moved to explain herself. “I’m sorry, it’s just when Nabiki told me about Ranma sneaking some girl into the house, I was just in a rush to stop him from doing something perverted. I’m sorry I didn’t get there sooner.”
Kasumi simply stared at her, having trouble fully understanding what her little sister was saying. “You think... that Ranma...”
Steeling herself, Kasumi didn’t know where to begin, but she should at least try to explain to Akane what she’d done wrong. “That girl, Ranma rescued her today. He politely left out the nasty details, but he found her naked, starving and wearing only a collar. He had to sneak her into the house so I could get her a snack and some clothing to wear because for some reason people jump to strange conclusions around here.”
Looking a bit sad, Kasumi wasn’t looking forward to cleaning up this mess. “That you barged into my room and wrecked it in one of your fits I can forgive. That you scared Ren-chan and Ranma-kun so... that poor dear was already frightened enough as is.”
Kasumi sighed, unsure what to do about this situation. Her previous efforts to get Akane to calm down had proven to be wasted, the girl just couldn’t hold her temper when it came to Ranma. That brought her to a sad but simple conclusion. “I see. You no longer have to worry about your engagement with Ranma-kun. I shall take over the engagement, hopefully the lack of stress will do your temper some good.”
Satisfied with her simple solution to the problem, Kasumi politely left before Akane had fully processed her words.
Stopping by at Nabiki’s room, Kasumi had a simpler warning for her. “Nabiki-chan, if you have so much spare time that you have to cause trouble, I could give you some chores to do around the house.”
Seeing that Nabiki had been properly chastised, Kasumi quickly moved back own to her room.
Entering her own room and quietly closing the door behind her, Kasumi stopped and calmed herself down.
Seeing Ranma and Ren still sitting where she left them brought her back to her immediate concern. Ren seemed content to be by Ranma’s side, but Ranma still looked a little apprehensive of the situation. Seeing the state of her room gave her an idea however. “Time to get up you two, Ren-chan can help me make the bed.”
With Ranma standing out of the way, Kasumi led Ren through the process of cleaning up the room, the slender girl helping her tuck and fold all the covers until the bed was properly remade. She had to clearly explain to Ren how to do each step, but the girl patiently followed Kasumi in the task, quickly picking it up unlike her sisters.
The gentle cooperation was a nice change of pace for Kasumi. Nabiki never wanted to do chores and would sabotage the effort like a spoiled child. Akane on the other hand was overly eager yet unwilling to listen, forging ahead and generally making the mess worse.
Once the bed was made and her room was back in order, Kasumi paused as she pondered what to do next. Coming to a decision she nodded to herself. “My apologies for not asking your opinion Ranma-kun. To help Akane with her temper problem, I’ve taken over the engagement, that way perhaps she won’t be as stressed.”
Looking between the two girls in maid outfits and then at Kasumi, Ranma pointed to himself. “You mean, I’m engaged to you now?”
Bowing deeply Kasumi came up with a curtsy that worked very well with her apron-dress. “Yes, once again my apologies for not consulting you dear Master, but I think this is for the best. Akane-chan needs to learn to control her temper, plus I can help keep things calm around you and Ren-chan this way. Would you consent to allowing me to be your maid for a while?”
Ranma simply stared at the sight of a normally polite Kasumi actually doing her version of polite, the gentleness being a bit overwhelming. Blushing a bit Ranma looked away from the older girl’s gentle smile. “Ah, yeah, if that’s what you want.”
Enjoying herself for once, Kasumi turned her smile towards Ren. “There now Ren-chan, now we’re officially maids serving Master Ranma. Would you like me to teach you the skills?”
With Kasumi smiling expectantly at Ren, Ranma heard her voice say something odd. “Uhm, Kasumi, Ren wants to know if you want a collar like hers.”
Looking at the magical girl for a moment Kasumi’s smile suddenly brightened. “Really? A magical one like hers? Would it be able to do the dress change magic?”
Blinking as he had a little mental conversation with Ren, Ranma made sure to ask if it was safe. “Yeah, she says it will do that, plus let you hear her and more.”
Smiling happily now, Kasumi didn’t know whether to nod happily at Ranma or Ren, switching between the two. “Yes, please.”
Getting the picture of what needed to be done from Ren, Ranma stepped forward between the girls and held their hands, connecting them. With his part done, Ren closed her eyes and floated up into the air, this time Kasumi being the one to float with her instead of Ranma. A little sparkle and light show later and Kasumi had a matching collar form around her neck, although this one was slender and made of white leather and gold.
Smiling gently at the girl, Kasumi tugged on her collar, reforming her maid dress. Although Kasumi had made it herself and it was well made, it had also been a rather simple dress. The remade dress looked similar but now included different textures of fabrics and additional panels and buttons to give it a subtle dash of intricate decorations.
More than just the dress, Kasumi smiled at being a magical girl now and her warm connection with Ren. She could feel both Ranma and Ren now actually, Ren a simple warmth and her Master a gentle storm of emotions.
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(Posted Thu, 31 Mar 2011 23:43)
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