Cologne sat in her room smoking her pipe while she pondered her next course of action. It was Genma's parting shot that troubled her.
"It won't do you any good, crone," Genma had wheezed. "The boy's true curse has found him and not even you can save him from the Fate."
This of course had led to more questioning and now Cologne had the whole story. The Fate of the Sacred Bead...the Amazons had run across this before. They had lost whole families to the Fate when unsuspecting warriors had been defeated by outsiders wearing the strange magatama. They had then married the outsiders and their children where born under the Fate. It had prompted an amendment to the marriage laws that ruled outsiders under the Fate were not only exempt from the Kiss of Marriage, but also were to be avoided lest the Amazon people draw the attention of whatever power was behind the magatama.
By rights, she should just pack up and head home with Shampoo and Mousse. Shampoo would suffer no loss of status as the Kiss of Marriage never applied. There wasn't anything they could do about her curse, despite the fact that it turned out to be an erroneous punishment. How ironic that Shampoo's cursed form turned out to be something that would drive her perspective groom away. The omen was obvious in hindsight.
Regardless, Cologne had become fond of Ranma. The boy had been so much fun to toy with and now she didn't feel right about just leaving him to his Fate. Shampoo's marriage to him was out of the question now, being her sole heir, but she could perhaps help the boy prepare for the battles ahead of him. It would probably cause her some problems with the tribal council though.
Chouhi looked from Ranma's hand to his smiling face. She had to admit, his smile was really nice now that it didn't have that mocking component to it. She could see why Kan-san was so interested in him. He also lived up to his A-ranking. Chouhi was a lot better than her own D-ranking would suggest, but he still handled her as easily as an A-ranked fighter would handle any D-ranked opponent.
Nodding, she reached up and grasped his wrist. Ranma stood up and pulled Chouhi to her feet. As soon as she had her feet under her, she launched a punch at his face with her free hand while holding onto his wrist with her other hand. A meaty, flesh-on-flesh smack echoed through the training hall and Chouhi's eyes widened. He'd caught her brutal punch seemingly without effort and was now chuckling at her while waving a finger—and her fist—at her in admonishment.
"Nice try, tomboy," Ranma grinned. "Unfortunately for you, my old man was the master of cheap shots...including that knee to the groin you're about to try."
Chouhi smiled weakly and sagged.
"Um...just kidding?" she offered.
"Uh huh," Ranma smirked knowingly. "Are ya done now? Or shall we continue?"
"No, that's okay," Chouhi replied. "I've found out what I wanted to know."
After all, it was Chouhi's job as Kan-san's best friend to make sure this guy she was interested in was worthy of her. In spite of the fact that he was a little rougher with her than Kan-san had described him being with her, he hadn't intentionally hit her in the face, breasts, or groin, and he hadn't used their fight as an excuse to grope her. He didn't even shred her gi and hakama. That was usually the first thing that happened in a fight, even between two female fighters.
His loyalties did trouble her. She would have much preferred if he gave Ryuubi his unconditional loyalty, but she really couldn't fault him for putting his family before Seito. The problem was that his family happened to be Sonsaku of Nanyo. She also knew that Kan-san was troubled by that as well.
"Well, if we're done, do you need any help getting to the nurse's office?" Ranma asked.
"No, I'm fine," Chouhi grimaced. She was still in some degree of pain from all the walls she had been thrown into. "Nothing a nice, hot soak in the furo won't fix."
"Suit yourself," Ranma nodded. "I guess I'll head home now. Got stuff to do."
As Chouhi made her way back to the changing room, Ranma collected his bag and stepped out of the dojo to find Chou'un leaning against the wall next to the door.
"Chou'un-san," Ranma nodded.
"Ranma-san," Chou'un nodded back. "You were a little rough with her, ne?"
Ranma scratched the base of his braid and chuckled.
"Maybe a little," Ranma agreed. "She's been giving me attitude and insulting me since we were introduced. I guess I might have wanted a little payback. Is that a problem?"
Chou'un shrugged.
"I suppose not," the silver-haired girl said. "In truth, I find your restraint admirable. Not many fighters would have held back that much in the face of Chouhi-san's treatment of you."
"So you were watching?" Ranma asked, then winced as he remembered his conclusion that she was blind.
Chou'un laughed lightly.
"I'm not blind, Ranma-san," Chou'un smiled, correctly interpreting his wince. "I just prefer to use my other senses." Left unsaid was that most people tended to be alarmed by the appearance of her eyes when she opened them. "And yes, I was observing. I confess I was curious as to both your abilities and to see how you would handle Chouhi-san's challenge."
"And step in if it got too out of hand," Ranma smirked, causing Chou'un to blush in mild embarrassment.
"But it was not necessary," Chou'un replied. "I am happy to see Kanu-san's respect for you is not at all unwarranted."
"Glad you approve," Ranma deadpanned.
"Very much so," Chou'un remarked, her enigmatic smile talking on a decidedly sly overtone. "Enjoy your weekend, Ranma-san."
With a polite bow, Chou'un walked away as Ranma shook his head in exasperation while trying not to admire the sensual sway of Chou'un's hips.
"Shiryuu-san," Kanu greeted as Chou'un walked by where Kanu was leaning against the side of the building.
"Unchou-san," Chou'un nodded, pausing.
The air practically vibrated with tension as the two girls stood there silently.
"Ranma is quite a catch, ne?" Kanu observed, breaking the silence.
"Indeed. Whoever ends up with him will be very fortunate," Chou'un replied calmly—thus informing Kanu that she was no longer the sole contender in this race.
"Game on," Kanu acknowledged the competition.
"May the best woman win," Chou'un smiled serenely as she walked away.
Kanu watched her go and sighed. What was it about the boy that was so desirable that she was now competing with Chou'un of all people to be the one to claim him? What was more, did she really want to claim him? Why was it that despite his questionable loyalties to Ryuubi did she feel such jealousy when she saw Chou'un flirting with him?
Ranma felt a shiver run down his spine as he made his way to the train station. Somehow, he got the inescapable feeling that someone had just declared Ranma season with no bag limit.
However, he wasn't able to dwell on it for long since he suddenly found himself surrounded by several guys, all wearing magatama, and all radiating hostile intent. Ranma smirked, thankful for the distraction, and cracked his knuckles.
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(Posted Fri, 11 Jul 2008 08:37)
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