While Motoko struggled to voice her heart, Cologne had no such problems. She was currently pacing back and forth on her staff cursing a blue streak in Mandarin. Sitting nearby was her shamefaced heir and the fool that caused all this. In spite of the gravity of the situation, Mousse couldn't help but wear a silly grin on his face. If the old monkey decided to put him to death, at least he would die having finally been with his beloved Shampoo.
Unfortunately for him, a third party had become involved and was currently glomped on to him. Kodachi Kuno had followed her Ranma-sama into this plebian establishment and managed to become ensnared in the trap set for the gaijin harridan. However, after experiencing a night of passion with the blind gaijin stud and the purple-haired temptress, Kodachi had quickly come to the conclusion that she was now in love with them. After all, two birds in the hand were worth many Ranma's in the bush.
Cologne sighed as she looked at the three again. She had arrived just in time to prevent Shampoo from killing them both. Had it just been Mousse, she might have been inclined to allow the girl her retribution, but the addition of the Kuno girl and the fact that they were both with child hopelessly complicated the issue. Worse than that, this little debacle had cost them their claim on Ranma.
She had seen the girl that Ranma left with, both of them clearly under the influence of the Lust Dust. Unfortunately, there was too much chaos inside the restaurant to allow her to pursue him and stop what was inevitably about to occur. The girl had been powerful too. Amazon pride aside, Cologne had her doubts that she could have taken on both of them at the same time in the fight that would have invariably exploded had she tried to prevent them from acting on their new-found passion.
The flip side to that was that after the effects wore off, the Amazons would likely catch the full blame for the events. If the girl's family was as powerful as she was, that could mean trouble. The last thing the Amazon's needed was a blood feud with a Japanese warrior clan skilled in the mystic arts like the girl seemed to be--if Cologne read her aura correctly through the girl's burning lust.
And that was just one of the many concerns. Ranma and his girl were just the most potentially dangerous of the people that had been affected by the dust. Several other couples and groups had relieved their passion right here in the dining room of the Nekohatten.
"This quest is over, Xian Pu," Cologne said grimly in her native tongue. "It's time for me to go home."
"But my airen--" Shampoo said before Cologne interrupted her.
"Is sitting right beside you," Cologne stated in a tone that brooked no argument. "Mousse is the father of your child and you know as well as I do that the girl Ranma left with is most likely pregnant with his child. No, your claim on Ranma is no longer valid. To deny this now would be the path of the deluded fool. Fortunately, you are pregnant, so that limits the punishments that can be inflicted upon you for this second failure."
"What will happen to me, Great Grandmother?" Shampoo asked.
"The most likely punishment is that you will be stripped of your warrior status," Cologne replied.
Shampoo paled as she thought about what that meant. She could no longer be Cologne's heir, nor would she be eligible to be a matriarch. Warriors were the noble class in the village. All others were common class and looked down on as suitable mainly for men and weaklings--all save the healers, but even they didn't have the status commanded by the warrior caste.
Ranma soaked in the outdoor onsen of the Aoyama home as he tried to collect his thoughts. His head was laid back on the edge of the over-sized furo and a rag was laid over his forehead.
"For the sake of our honor, I will agree to marry you, Ranma," Motoko had said.
Ranma didn't know what to think about that. It wasn't very much different from the situation with his other fiancées...or ex-fiancées now he supposed. He would be getting married for the sake of honor, not love. He had accepted that a long time ago so it was okay for him, but how did Motoko really feel about this? His biggest fear was that he would marry someone that would resent him for the rest of their lives.
Still, the fact was, he now had little choice. He had given his word as a martial artist and that was something he wasn't about to go back on. Not that he saw being married to a girl like Motoko as being odious. He vividly remembered their shared passion and the pleasure that arose from it. He was just afraid that she would never actually feel that way for him for real.
Then there were the events that would be taking place in a few hours. Tsuruko wasted no time in gathering an escort contingent together representing the Shinmei Ryu, all allies of the Aoyama clan. Having known about Ranma, she knew what to expect when they arrived to inform Ranma's parents of the situation and what was to occur. Once the fools found out about what had happened all hell would break loose. Thus they would arrive in a show of force in an effort to discourage hostilities as much as possible.
It was unfortunate that they needed at least one of Ranma's parents to sign off on the marriage since he was still legally a minor. It would have been best if he and Motoko could have been safely married before any of the idiots back home found out about it. Ranma just hoped they could get through it without any blood feuds being declared.
The sound of the door sliding open broke Ranma from his thoughts. Cracking an eye open, he spotted a blushing Motoko step hesitantly onto the deck, modestly holding a towel in front of herself. She glided across the deck and eased herself into the large furo, not quite settling into a position as far from Ranma as the area allowed.
"What are you thinking?" Motoko asked softly after they sat in silence for a few minutes.
"I'm worried, Motoko," Ranma admitted.
"About what?" she inquired.
"A lot of things," Ranma sighed. "I'm worried about how Mom and Pop are going to react. I'm worried about what the other idiots are gonna do. Most of all, I'm worried about you."
"Why are you worried about me?" Motoko blinked.
"It's just that...well...I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy what we did," Ranma said hesitantly. "Or how we felt about each other at the time. I'm worried that you could never feel that way for me for real and that you'll resent me for forcing ya into a marriage you weren't ready for. How do you really feel 'bout all this, Motoko?"
"Ranma..." Motoko breathed softly. Ranma nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt her hesitantly settle beside him and put her head on his shoulder. "For a long time I told myself I didn't need men. My sister was my idol, the greatest swordswoman I'd ever seen, and everything I wanted to be. But then she got married and stepped down from being the head of our style. I felt betrayed. I thought that her loving a man had made her weak.
"It was only recently that I met someone that made me reconsider all that. I know now that loving someone can make you strong. It can motivate you to push yourself well beyond your limits for their sake.
"Still, I wasn't ready to look for that person. I knew he would have to be someone pretty extraordinary, someone that wouldn't try to hold me back from my training, or insist that I stay out of danger. Ideally, it would be someone just as dedicated as I am.
"After what happened, I was terrified because it seemed fate dumped the man that met all my standards right in my lap and I was no where near ready for it. I'm not very good at traditionally feminine things. My cooking is bland and I'm no good at managing a household. I'm also not good at being soft and feminine. Can you live with that?"
Ranma had been enjoying her closeness and listening to the sound of her voice. He silently considered what she said before answering.
"I can live with that," Ranma assured her. "I never wanted a delicate, feminine flower anyway. A girl like that wouldn't be able to deal with my life. Can ya live with me--someone who's cursed, not very good at school, doesn't always say the right thing, and is attacked randomly by crazy rivals and stupid challengers out to make a name for themselves?"
"I'm willing to try," Motoko said. "I liked what we did also--while it was happening. I liked the way you made me feel desired and complete. I want to feel that way again."
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(Posted Fri, 09 Nov 2007 18:45)
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