"It does sound like you were targeted specifically," Kanu observed. "Perhaps in retaliation for your interference with their attack on Sonsaku. However, I think we should increase security at the school in case they attack there. I doubt Ganryo is going to let this go if you hurt Bunshu as badly as you think so a retaliatory strike with him as the target should send Yoshuu a message and keep him out of your hair for a while."
"Maybe I should just go have a chat with this Totaku jerk," Ranma suggested. "He's the one calling the shots. I could put an end to it at the source."
"That's not a good idea," Kanu said, giving Ranma a firm look.
"Why not?" Ranma demanded, bristling slightly at the implication that he couldn't take this punk out.
"You're very powerful," Kanu placated, "and I know I haven't seen the extent of your power, but you're not ready to take on Totaku. Even if you are strong enough to defeat him, you'd have to get past Ryofuu Hosen who serves him and she is arguably the best out of all of us. I'm afraid even if you did manage to defeat her, you would likely be too injured or exhausted to face Totaku. And think about it, are you ready to kill him? Because if you don't, you will risk starting a war between Rakuyo and Seito. A lot of fighters will be hurt in the battle. Is that what you want?"
"I guess not," Ranma said, deflating.
"Listen," Kanu consoled. "Totaku is a sadistic piece of trash and he will eventually need to be dealt with. But the Big Fighter's Tournament is coming up and that will be our chance to take him out without causing an all-out war."
"That's right!" Hakufu chirped happily. "Kokin said Gak-chan wants us to fight for Nanyo in the Big Fighter's Tournament! Are you gonna be there, Kan-chan?"
"I will be representing Seito," Kanu smiled. "Perhaps will have a chance to face each other."
"I can't wait! I'm so excited!" Hakufu cheered.
Ranma was sweating like he was being roasted alive. The reason for this wasn't because he was working out, or that the temperature was overly high. No, the reason for this was the two armed girls walking on either side of him. He still wasn't sure how it happened, but after dinner, Ranma found himself standing outside the gate with orders from his mother to take Kanu and Chou'un out for ice cream. At some point during the walk to the ice cream shop, each girl had captured one of his hands and now clutched it possessively.
The girls, on the other hand, seemed perfectly at ease with situation—at least on the surface. Kanu was still conflicted about just what it was she was doing and whether or not she wanted to get involved with someone like Ranma. However, she wasn't about to let Chou'un get treated to ice cream without her. Oddly enough, the jealousy she had been feeling earlier was absent. In fact, she felt quite content at the moment.
Chou'un was outwardly inscrutable as ever. She was well aware of Ranma's near-panicked state and had to wonder what had been done to the poor boy to cause this reaction. Most of the boys she had seen would have cut off body parts to be in Ranma's current position. Even though she didn't know the whole story, she instinctively knew that if she and Kanu made any obvious effort to compete for his attention it would cause him to take flight. That was okay with her though. Even if she had to share him with Kanu for a while, that could be fun too. It wasn't as if she hadn't often admired Kanu's beauty, power, and grace.
Chou'un also found it particularly amusing to note the dichotomy between Ranma's extreme nervousness and the jealous remarks that were being made by the boys they passed, commenting on what a 'lucky bastard' Ranma was. Well, he may not feel lucky at the moment, but Chou'un decided that situation would be corrected soon enough.
Gakushu sat in the ice cream shop engaged in his favorite pastime, consuming large quantities of sweet, frozen treats. However, his attention was immediately drawn away from the cold, sugary goodness when he noticed the door open and three people walk in.
Two tall, stacked, and armed girls were not something to be typically ignored. The fact that these two hot babes were each clutching the hands of one guy was even more noteworthy. However, what got Gakushu's attention most was that he recognized one of the girls as Kanu Unchou, one of the top fighters in the Kanto region. She was hard to miss with her long, midnight blue hair and her signature naginata propped on her shoulder.
He didn't recognize the other girl. Though she was dressed much more conservatively than Kanu, it was obvious she was nearly as well-built and she carried a katana in the hand that wasn't occupied with holding the boy's hand. With her long, silver hair, she was as exotic as Kanu though for some reason, she wasn't as attention grabbing.
The boy appeared to be a couple years younger than the girls and he looked as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs—almost like he expected Armageddon to break out at any moment. Due to the family resemblance, Gakushu suspected who the boy was. It had to be Shuyu's cousin, Ranma Saotome.
If what Shuyu had told him was true, he could understand why the boy looked so nervous. He probably expected the two girls to declare war on each other any minute now with him at ground zero for their opening attacks. While it was obvious the two girls were interested in him, they seemed perfectly content to share him.
It didn't strike Gakushu as that peculiar. The was a rumor that Kanu swung both ways—actually the rumor was she was a lesbian, but she was clearly interested in the Saotome boy so if anything she swung both ways. The other girl might be her girlfriend who also was clearly attracted to the boy. It made perfect sense to Gakushu and even he couldn't help but feel some small amount of envy. Saji would have been beside himself with jealousy had he been here to see this.
Gakushu resolved to introduce himself as soon as the opportunity presented itself. Perhaps he could even get a chance to test Saotome's skill for himself if he agreed to a little match.
"Relax, Ranma," Kanu smiled as they sat down at the table with their ice cream. "You act like we're escorting you to your execution instead of going out for ice cream with two cute girls."
"There's a difference?" Ranma joked nervously.
"You're surprisingly reserved given how...uninhibited...the rest of your family is," Chou'un giggled. "Just what exactly did your father do to you that made you so...hesitant...around girls?"
"It seems Ranma's father had a habit of engaging Ranma to every violent, possessive nut-case they ran across," Kanu informed the other girl.
"And each came with their own annoying suitors that thought attacking me at random times was great fun," Ranma snorted. "And that's beside the fact if I was even so much as nice to any of them, she'd start crowing about how I'd decided to marry her and the others would go ballistic, usually with me at ground zero."
"So you've never had a girlfriend, huh?" Kanu asked. "It's always been some idiot showing up and going from complete stranger to fiancée with nothing in between?"
"I guess," Ranma shrugged.
"Well now you have two," Chou'un informed him, causing Kanu to raise an eyebrow and stare at the other girl.
"Two?" Ranma squeaked.
"Sure. Why not?" Kanu shrugged. "It's about time you learned that not every girl out there is like the ones you've dealt with so far. That is, unless we're not good enough for you..." Kanu left that last statement hanging to provoke a response.
"Eep!" Ranma remarked, his eyes darting back and forth between the expectant expressions on the two girls' faces. "It's not that! It's just that I wouldn't know what to do with one girlfriend, let alone two!"
"Relax, Ranma," Kanu giggled at his panicked behavior. "It's not a statement of undying love or a life long commitment. All it means is we like spending time with you and we want to get to know you better."
"W-what about the fiancées?" Ranma stammered, trying to stave off the impending brain-lock.
"What about them?" Chou'un dismissed. "Even if you decide to marry one of them later, it doesn't mean you can't have a girlfriend or two to have fun with until you're ready for that."
Ranma turned that one over in his mind. He couldn't really find a flaw in that logic except for the violence that would ensue if Shampoo or Ukyo found out he was dating other girls. He said as much.
"Don't you worry about that," Kanu grinned wickedly. "Chou'un and I can take care of ourselves if it comes to that and we won't let them take their jealousy out on you either."
Ranma looked at the two girls. Both of them were beautiful. Both of them were very powerful. He liked being around them, and they wanted to be with him because they liked him, not out of some stupid obligation. The only down side was the inevitable orgy of violence that was bound to happen when the others found him.
The decision was easy.
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(Posted Wed, 16 Jul 2008 08:44)
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