"Agreed," Barnett grinned, offering up her pinky to seal the deal with Meia.
Meia locked pinkies with Barnett and returned her grin.
"Perhaps you can introduce me now," Meia suggested.
"Of course," Barnett nodded. "Let's go."
The two women returned to the dinning room and sat down at Ranma's table.
"Ranma," Barnett began, "This is Meia, the commander of our Dread team. Meia, this is Ranma."
"Pleased to meetcha," Ranma bowed causally.
"Likewise," Meia returned. "That was quite a show you put on earlier."
Ranma winced, glancing quickly at Barnett to see if she was about to clobber him. Barnett, however, just blushed profusely and said nothing.
"Um, yeah, uh, sorry about that," Ranma stammered. "It was an accident. Honest. I hate being groped by some pervert as much as you girls probably do so I would never do something like that intentionally."
"It's okay," Barnett said quickly, still blushing. "I kind of...well...enjoyed it."
"So you wouldn't do that intentionally?" Meia asked in a slightly teasing tone. "What is the girl wanted you to?"
Ranma gaped at her then blushed as darkly as Barnett.
"I..um...well, that is...usually when I get into that situation I usually get clobbered," Ranma stammered.
"Oh really," Meia drawled. "Well, I don't see Barnett wanting to clobber you. So maybe you just haven't been around the right girls."
Ranma laughed nervously, uncertain where this was leading. He opted to change the subject.
"So you're the commander of the Dread Team?" Ranma asked, receiving a nod. "So where do I sigh up?"
"You want to help us fight?" Meia blinked.
"Of course," Ranma replied. "I'm a martial artist. It's my duty to fight and protect others. I'm not one to stand aside while people are fighting. After all, it's my life on the line regardless if this ship gets attacked."
"I see," Meia nodded. "So do you know anything about piloting?"
"Not a thing," Ranma admitted. "I'm an expert in hand to hand combat. Still, it can't be that hard."
Meia and Barnett sweat-dropped.
"Oookay," Meia said. "I'll have to talk to the Captain about it."
For all his bravdo, Ranma was discovering that piloting a Vanguard was something totally alien to him. While his reaction times and hand-eye coordination were serving him well, his martial arts techniques were all but useless here. He simply couldn't feel the machine and the controls were too sluggish from him. He was having a difficult time trying to adjust to the time gap between when he wanted something to move and when it actually moved.
Still, as soon as the Captain had given the go ahead, those two girls had been trying their best to help him get the hang of it. They had been really nice to him, always bringing him food and helping him study the manuals and other things he would need to know to be a part of the team. Best of all, they didn't seem jealous of the other at all.
Ranma knew they were attracted to him from the way they hovered around him all the time. Strangely, he found he didn't mind at all. He couldn't help but notice both girls were very attractive themselves with the revealing outfit that Barnett wore and the less revealing, but still skin tight fight suit that Meia always went around in. Neither outfit left any doubt as to the quality of the female body wearing it.
Neither girl had pushed the issue, but the way Ranma caught Barnett looking at him at times, with a kind of wistful frustrated look, Ranma knew she was looking forward to a slightly more private repeat of what had happened when he arrived. Nor did he miss the same type of look in Meia's eyes. He knew that sooner or later one or both would make a move on him.
Ranma, for his part, was conflicted. He wasn't immune to the temptation of what was being offered, but he was still undecided whether or not it would be honorable to give in. Would it be cheating on his fiancées?
Come to think about it, did he actually have fiancées anymore? He did wish that he didn't have those problems. And these girls did seem perfectly willing to share him. Which was perhaps not surprising considering that they normally had same-sex relationships.
Maybe when the opportunity presented itself, he would act.
Ranma was suddenly torn out of his thoughts by a shower of ice water hitting him as the young girl in the weird nurse's uniform tripped and sent her glass flying. Ranma started to smirk, thankful the curse was gone...until he felt a familiar tingle pass through him. Looking down, he saw the familiar protrusions pushing out from his chest. He was unaware of the horrified stares he was receiving because he was too absorbed with his own scream of horror and frustration.
Ranma awoke in the infirmary and had to explain the curse to the shocked personnel gathered there. Upon reflection, he realized it was just wishful thinking that the curse was gone. After all, he wasn't in Keiichi's body anymore. He was in his own. Add to that, things had been going entirely too smoothly. He should have expected something like this.
Meanwhile, the crew of the Nirvana decided to...
(Author's Rant: I realize that Ranma's curse was removed earlier, but such a thing is heresy of the highest order, nearly as bad as Ranma not being a fighter. So I returned the curse to its rightful owner. Deal with it.)
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(Posted Thu, 24 May 2007 14:13)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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