[Episode 201901] [Episode 201901]Nabiki stared at her reflection in the mirror at the back of the lift. She took in every detail of her current outfit, not quite believing her eyes. 'Is that really me I'm looking at?' she wondered.
She was wearing a red latex leotard-straitjacket combo which nearly covered her entire body. The only parts of her that weren’t covered by it were her legs and head. Her head though was covered by the mask. The thigh-high heels she was wearing took care of her legs.
The outfit, oddly enough, seemed to be sized nearly exactly to her every contour. Not only that, but there seemed to no zippers, straps or buckles for the suit to be removed or put on. This included her arms being wrapped around herself. 'How in the world did they manage to get my size? I was never here before. And neither Nodoka nor Ranma ever bought me new clothes so they wouldn’t know my size... Did they also seal me into this thing? If so, there’s no way I could have taken this thing off anyway, even if my arms were free. Maybe it was hand-crafted by an expert… But then, how was it made so fast? Even the best tailor ever wouldn't be able to do such a good job in such a short amount of time.'
She pondered these questions for a moment. But she decided they could wait until after Ranma's explanation of what he’d been up to, maybe they’d be answered along the way. The outfit did feel slightly snug to her, but it was also just loose enough for it not to chaff. She noted that it seemed to be designed to not only be very restrictive, but also for the wearer's own comfort. It would be quite alright to wear for a very long time before it got unpleasant.
Whatever the material it was made out of, it seemed to be firm, but slick next to her skin. The sensation of it slipping and sliding a little on her body was strange but not uncomfortable. In fact, it felt kinda... good. She squirmed about a little to feel it move.
It felt so good; she gave a very low moan of pleasure. Thankfully, the sound was mostly absorbed by the mask’s gag. Ranma looked at her curiously, but didn’t say anything. Nabiki blushed slightly under her mask. 'Thank goodness I'm wearing a mask and gag,' she thought, 'it just wouldn’t do to let Ranma hear anything or see my face now.’
She then focused her attention on the mask. It did a very good job of hiding her identity. This was due to the thickness of the mask blurring her facial features. She couldn't even make out a single feature clearly. All that stared back at her was a face that looked like a mannequin. Her eyes were also hidden by the small eyelets in the mask. In fact, she couldn’t even see a hint of them. She then looked at her mouth. The gag with built-in breathing tube in there seemed to be filling it entirely. Her cheeks seemed to be puffed out like a squirrel’s, after it had collected a ton of nuts for eating later on. This was a clear indication of how effective the gag was. These features truly seemed to be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, she couldn’t see very well out of it or speak any way legibly. But on the flip side, her eye colour or voice couldn’t be used to identify her now.
Nabiki was reminded of a picture she once saw in a fetish magazine that she had bought. She had purchased it on a whim, curious to see what was about. It was of a mistress walking a female slave, as part of a profile on that mistress. The mistress had been wearing a black leather cat-suit with attached gloves and high heels, with a half-mask covering her face. The slave, on the other hand, was dressed only in a mask shaped like a dog’s head, with fist mitts on her hands that looked like dog paws, a collar around her neck securing the mask on her head and knee pads over her knees. She was being forced to crawl along on all fours, with the collar attached to a leash in the mistress’s hand. The look in her eyes was that of a person resigned to her fate, even contentment. At the time, Nabiki had imagined herself in the role of the mistress. Now however, when she thought of it, she saw herself in the slave’s position. It sent an unfamiliar tingle down her spine.
Her mind started to wander as it tried to puzzle out what that strange feeling was. She closed her eyes to concentrate on her thoughts. Everything suddenly seemed to go quiet. She couldn’t even hear the elevator music from the lift. Puzzled, she opened her eyes. Her location was her room back in the Tendo household and she was dressed in her normal clothes. ‘Huh? How did I get back here… Was all that, with me waking up in bondage and Ranma leading me on a leash, just a dream,’ she asked herself. Oddly enough, she felt disappointed.
Not expecting any answer to her question, she was quite shocked to hear a voice speak up behind her: ‘No Nabs that was no dream…’ Spinning around to face the intruder, Nabiki was shocked to find… herself?
But there were several key differences. This Nabiki was wearing a very expensive business suit and a smile that didn’t seem fully sincere. Her eyes also seemed to be a lot colder too, almost like ice… The original Nabiki stared in shock for a few seconds, but quickly recovered. This ‘double’ seemed be her ‘Ice Queen’ half come to life. ‘What is going on here,’ Nabiki wondered. Her private thoughts were interrupted when the other Nabiki began to speak.
'We're in your mindscape, silly... You can change your appearance to whatever you wish,' this was quickly demonstrated by the double with a shift of her clothes to a dress and back. 'How you came to be here, I don't know. But Ranma has us in his clutches alright,' it finished with a scowl.
'So it wasn't a dream,' Nabiki nearly shouted in glee, which surprised her. 'Why did I get so excited like that? I haven't been like that in a long time,' she wondered, but quickly shrugged it off. She then concentrated and shifted her clothes back to the bondage leotard. Sure it rendered her totally helpless, but the odd feeling she got from wearing it was incredible! Her doppelganger sweat-dropped as she watched Nabiki squirm away in the outfit. But when Nabiki started to moan out loud, it spoke up again.
'Snap out of it girl, you're in front of Ranma back in the real world! Do you want to embarrass yourself in front of him? He'd never let you live it down... After all, you’ve embarrassed him enough times before? Ranma can be nasty that way... Remember the way he acted towards Akane after she used the super strength noodles to beat him in arm wrestling and other events. Once she stopped using it and the effects wore off, he had multiple matches with her, just to get even…' it almost shouted at her. But Nabiki was only half listening to her other’s self argument. Sure, she felt a little bit embarrassed about being stuck wearing this outfit in front of Ranma.
But it also felt strangely right, somehow. Ranma had actually been very thoughtful and considerate towards her, despite the fact he could have easily taken advantage of her helplessness. He had plenty of reasons to do so, from all her past actions towards him. It wasn’t that he was afraid of her using the info on him to make his life a living hell. No, if she tried a stunt like that here, she could very easily be locked up and the key thrown away. No-one would ever be to find her! If anyone even noticed she was gone, that is… Not only that but seeing Ranma being so forceful, yet gentle at the same time, had awakened something in her. She couldn't put her finger on it, but she felt...
'Angry? Humiliated! Stop me if I'm getting any warmer,' her mirror image asked sarcastically. It then continued on, taking a conspiratorial tone: 'You know, sooner or later we'll get an opportunity to turn the tables. We should take it! Just think of all the money we could make off Kuno or even all the other perverts, having “Ranko” and Akane both starring in a bondage photo shoot... Maybe even throw in the other girls and Nodoka too to cover all the bases. We’d be on easy street for the rest of our lives… But why stop at just pictures, when we could record it and sell it as porn! We’d make millions…' Nabiki froze in shock, shifting her clothes back to normal, and then stared in total disbelief at her double, not quite believing what it was suggesting. While she was feeling those emotions slightly, she actually was feeling something else much more strongly…
Not only that but that idea of her double was too extreme and dark. And to her horror, part of her had actually been considering that very idea! Sure, she may have wanted revenge at first, but it didn't matter now. She hadn’t fully realised just how immoral her attempts to make money were getting. Until now, that is...
‘Are you even listening to what you’re saying? What about all the risks involved in that idea!’ she countered, ‘I would be arrested and charged with multiple charges of child pornography. Do you want me to be sent away to prison for a while? Not only that, but the girls would hunt me down whenever they got free. No matter where I hide, they’d find me. And when they do? They’d use everything they know to make suffer so badly, that I’d be begging them to kill me…It’s just not worth the risk. And what about Nodoka herself, I don’t think she’d be a pushover? In fact…’ she started to state another fact on why it wasn’t a good idea, but her other self cut in.
‘So what, that’s never stopped you recently, has it?’ Nabiki’s prepared counter died in her throat. What could she say to refute that claim? It was the truth, no matter how much she wished it wasn’t.
Before Ranma came along, she had been a small-time con artist and hustler. Why? It was a challenge to her... It was never about the money, (that was just a bonus) but just how well she could scam people at school. But once he had showed up, her money-making opportunities had sky-rocketed. The chaos that had surrounded him made for some easy money. Everyone had either wanted to know more about him or placed bets on his fights. She had never made so much money in her life before. But then, she had gotten greedy for more. She had seen a golden opportunity to keep raking in the money. ‘And why not,’ she had thought, ‘I deserve to live the good life.’
All she had to do was set up situations where things might get out of hand, nudge her ‘pawns’ in the right directions and let Ranma’s chaotic luck do the rest… As the profits had started to dip, she had gone with bigger and more elaborate schemes to compensate for their drop. She had made tons of money, but she had wanted more. This had let her new-found lust for power and money take over her life. She began to ignore just how others might feel about being used. Even the possible consequences of her actions weren’t considered. It had taken the recent odd behaviour of Ranma to make her think back over the last two years. In particular, his request to move up a year. She had been pondering his actions, to try and figure out his possible reasons for this whole attitude at first. But over time, she had started to focus on her own actions.
It had been quite a shock for her, to see just how low she had sunk over the last two years. She just couldn't believe that she had even been willing to ruin Kasumi, her own sister who had taken good care of the entire family ever since their mother died! Kasumi, who had done everything for them with a smile and never once complained; despite having to give up her own dreams of being a nurse to take care of an ungrateful family... Nabiki realized that most of the household had never given Kasumi a hand. Only Nodoka and Ranma had actually helped her out. Well Akane had tried to help, but she just ended up causing more problems. But Nabiki hadn’t even lifted a finger to help. In fact, she had treated Kasumi as a maid!
'Did I really act like that to people I know and care about,' she wondered. She lowered her head a little in shame, as she realized that yes she had and never even shown a bit of regret. And she had been even worse to people who she saw just as a money-making opportunity! Ranma was once in that category. But not anymore, she now realised that he had changed and changed for the better. The Ranma she thought she knew, while he may have known that he was being used, couldn’t do a thing to stop her. That was whenever he actually figured out her scheme! But now, if she even tried anything, she would get punished and punished hard by him. The mere thought of that very idea sent butterflies fluttering through her stomach. With a sudden start, she realized exactly what the strange feelings she had been having were.
Arousal… She was actually getting turned on by being totally helpless around Ranma. With no way to get free, or even talk her way out of trouble now… Ranma could do whatever he pleased with her. And there was nothing she would be able to do to stop him! The very thought sent goose-bumps of pleasure down her back. And the outfit made her feel sexy. It showed off her well-toned body and gave it support in all the right places. It also rendered her unable to use her hands for anything. She would be totally reliant on Ranma for all her needs, food and drink, even sexual release. Sure, the whole situation was degrading as anything, but that was part of the appeal to her. She had always been the one to take charge of any situation. So, to be totally helpless and having to rely on the other person in the relationship for everything; was a major change for her…
Her mind wandered back to the day Ranma had arrived in her life. When she first had seen him, in both forms, she had found him sort of cute. But with no brains to back up those looks of his, she had handed the engagement over to Akane. She had no time for ‘dumb jocks’ as she thought he was. Dealing with Kuno in her class was quite enough ‘dumb jock’ interaction for her. His actions, while she was engaged to him, hadn’t changed her mind at all. Even though he learnt new and impressive moves on his first or second go, she had just put it down to him being a martial arts prodigy. She only liked boys that could keep up with her mentally. And if they could outwit her every now and again, that impressed her even more. And Ranma just hadn’t shown anything like that...
But now, in the last three months, Ranma had developed the qualities she looked for in his personality. He could be smart, witty and downright charming. This had made him into her perfect type of boyfriend. Part of her wished she could turn back the clock to their first meeting. She could have become the fiancée then. That way, she might have sorted all the problems out as they had first come up. And therefore, she wouldn’t have had to share him at all. She was fairly certain that Nodoka would want all the girls together in a harem for Ranma. That was a little annoying, but Nabiki didn’t mind, too much. As long as she got some quality time with him, she’d be happy. ‘If I had only seen then, that he had such great potential... I’d have probably taken up the engagement myself. But no, I had to treat him like dirt! Well, Akane managed to blow her chances with him multiple times, but he always forgave her. Maybe I’ll get lucky too…’
She then mentally created a new category for him and him alone. It would all depend on if Ranma accepted the offer she had just come up with. It involved her swearing complete and total servitude to him. He would become her master and she'd be a loyal slave to him. She sighed, knowing that it would truly be a life-changing decision for her, no matter what happened: 'I'm sorry for what I did to you in the past, Ranma. It was completely heartless and callous of me. But now, I’ll try to serve you with everything I have. I know you may never fully forgive me, but who knows? Maybe, we can start again with a clean slate... Even if I don’t become your wife, I hope Nodoka will allow me to be a part of your life. After, every good master/mistress needs a few slaves to play with…'
'What's that, you actually want to become Ranma's slave willingly?' Oh please sister,' her other self, no her dark side scoffed, unimpressed by Nabiki’s vow. 'I know you, we're the same... We'll never stop wanting to make money. Sure, you might be able to avoid the temptation, at least for a little while. But it’ll keep gnawing away at you, until you break down and slip into your old ways! You'll never be able to break the... What the?'
Nabiki's double looks down to see that she's now wearing a stainless steel long leotard-style straightjacket which was welded shut. Not only that, but her legs were now in a pair of steel ballet-boots that came all the way up to the jacket. These had not only been welded shut and to each other but also to the straightjacket. She then attempted to break free, but overbalanced and toppled backwards into an Egyptian-style coffin Nabiki mentally created behind her. As soon as she hit the back of the casket, multiple straps snaked out, which secured her to the back of the casket. She visibly began to sweat heavily.
‘Now hold on just a mom… MMMPH!’ Whatever she was about to say gets cut off, as a steel mask with built-in gag clangs shut around her head. A faint clicking sound indicates it’s now locked shut tightly. The mask is a near perfect match for Nabiki’s ‘Ice Queen’ face. Her other self’s eyes looked out at her in pure terror, the only thing visible under the mask. It contrasted with the calm expression the mask had. Nabiki stared back at her now tightly restrained doppelganger with open revulsion. She started to speak, venom dripping from her voice with every word.
'NO! We're not the same person... Not anymore! I'm turning over a new leaf and changing my course in life... I can see that the path you were leading me down clearly now… And I don't want any part of it anymore. It would have led to a lonely life for us, where no-one would care for us, only obeying us out of fear. That or we'd end up in prison for illegal activities, or worse. No-one would even shed a tear over us, the way we’ve been acting recently…So thanks for the offer, but no thanks. True, this may be quite degrading and the most embarrassing thing I’ve ever done... But it’s what we, no I deserve for all my actions. Maybe Ranma will eventually forgive me, maybe not… But I will now never let my greed over-rule my morals. So I'm locking you away in the deepest corners of my mind and you are NEVER getting out ever again!'
With that, Nabiki slammed the lid of the coffin shut. She quickly, but methodically, sealed it shut with the strongest mental locks she could think up of. Then she telekinetically flung it far away, into the same place she had once kept her emotions bottled up. ‘And good riddance to bad rubbish... Now, to get started on that vow I made,’ she stated, as she brushed off her hands. She then realised that Ranma had been calling her name a few times. Blinking, she tunes into what he's saying.
“Umm... Nabiki, are you okay? You seemed to space out for a little bit there. Do you want me to remove the mask...?” Ranma asks, moving his free hand (the other is still holding the lead and the bags) towards his other wrist. But seeing Nabiki shake her head, he continues: “You sure, since the next chance you'll get is in the room Mom and me have here?” Her response to his question is a firm nod. “Okay then, this is our floor! Mind your step please...”
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Wed, 13 Feb 2008 11:54)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.