Ranma sighed as he tried to untangle Cyan from the mess of brightly colored string that had gotten draped over her. “Honestly, what happened?” He asked the feline pokéwoman. “What happened?” He repeated as she looked at him curiously. He couldn’t believe she’d just lose it like that... it was just yarn for crying out loud!
With her master looking at her, a drop of sweat trickled down the side of Cyan’s head and Cheetit chuckled very nervously. “I... I’ve liked to play with yarn ever since I was a kit.” She gnawed on her lower lip. “And, well I... I haven’t been able too in such a long time.”
Ranma sweat-dropped. “You could’ve at least asked me first...” he told her seriously. “I would’ve bought it for you. Instead, we now got the guys who run the store sorta pissed...” he said, eyeing the employee in uniform that was standing by.
“Muh-Master...” The Elf gasped out. “Please... a little assistance?” She struggled a little, wrists tied to her ankles.
“Oh, right!” Ranma said as he let go of the Cheetit for a moment and ran over to Cassandra. He had no idea how the sylvan pokégirl got herself into such a position but his heart went out to her... even if it kind of reminded him of that time Akane tried to use a gymnast ribbon for the first time. “There...that ought to do it,” Ranma told the Elf as he somehow got her untied.
Sitting up as she was freed of the brightly colored bindings, the Elf turned her head towards the Asian suddenly and she gave him a smile. “On thank you, Master!!” She let out a breath of relief. “I just hate being bound... at least without consent or during Taming if the mood strikes...” she admitted, a slight blush coming to her cheeks.
And she wasn’t the only one blushing. “Um... a little too much info, Cass.” Ranma told her nervously. He noticed the clerk was holding his nose as he helped the Elf stand back to her feet, the Elf taking a moment to pat dirt off her thighs. The martial artist looked towards the clerk. “So how much for all that string anyway?”
The Clerk looked around rather than have to look at the raven-haired individual. “They’re three-hundred SLC each and there’s at least ten of them your pokégirl ruined.” His tone of voice became condescending. “So think! Add an extra zero to that and you get?”
Ranma blinked his eyes once, twice. He then offered, “...Three-thousand?”
The employee slapped his cheeks with his palms. “By the thousand gods! He did simple math! There ARE miracles!” His voice dripped sarcasm.
Her eyes narrowing, Cassandra frowned at the actions of the other person. She might not have been able to do much but she’d be damned if she stayed silent while this jerk tried to belittle her Tamer. “Master’s going to pay you, so why are you being an ass?”
The employee’s eyes widened for a moment before he glared at the poké girl. “Hey you can’t talk to me like that!” He shouted before turning back on Ranma. “Hey pal, your Pokégirl’s-”
“Sticking up for me,” Ranma interrupted the employee as he crossed his arms over his chest. “Look buddy, I’ll pay. I just ASKED for the damn price since I didn't see the tag prices! There’s no need to be an ass!” Kami knew this guy was reminding him of so many people back in Nerima; making snap judgments.
Cyan’s ears drooped in shame at the hassle her master was getting. This was all her fault! Oh, if only she hadn’t gone nuts upon seeing the yarn...
Tapping Ranma’s shoulder to get his attention, the sylvan pokégirl gave her Tamer a disarming smile. “Maybe you ought to see his manager?” She suggested to him. “I mean, being so rude to customers... makes you not want to spend your money here, huh Master?” Cassandra asked with a mischievous smirk.
“In fact it does...” Ranma replied, somewhat missing Cassandra’s angle.
However another employee passing by didn’t and rushed to his co-worker. “Idiot! Do you wanna get FIRED!?” He hissed out in a harsh whisper. “Don’t treat the customer like shit unless he’s doing the same! You know the boss is still cross from the last idiot pissing off that one Tamer!”
The first employee whispered back heatedly. “Well that Tamer had it coming! I still say Frank was in the right! I mean, what is it with these people, letting pokégirls walk around as if they were real?” He snorted in disgust. “Freakin’ animals should be kept on leashes!”
Eyes widened, Ranma tightened his hands into fists at having overheard that. “What... did you just call my girls?” He practically growl.
The mellow of the two clerks let out a squeaky ‘eep’ at the sight of the pigtailed individual glowing and tugged on his friend’s arm. “H-he was talking about the zoo, yeah the zoo! And boy we... um he needs to go help with the back!”
The sassy of the two employees pulled his arm free of his friend’s grasp. “I do not! I got a right to speak my mind!”
“So that includes speaking your way out of a job, Nate?” A very gruff, masculine voice rumbled from behind the two store clerks.
Eyes wide from the sight of the large man, Cassandra moved her gaze about him, stopping as she spotted the man’s name-tag which had ‘manager’ on it. Oh goody, the toady was going to be in some serious trouble!
Both clerks turn around slowly and pale at the sight of their boss, especially the rowdy one.
The tall, heavy-set man’s brown eyes moves to the clerk on the left. “Hank, buzz off!”
Bringing a hand up and saluting his manager, the rather weenie if not level-headed grocery store employee prattled off, “Y-y-yessir!” Right before he turned around and ran off to get away as fast as possible!
Watching the chicken run off without much incentive, the man turned his gaze back to the trouble-maker. “Nate, it sounds like you obviously want to join Frank in unemployment unless you make amends.”
Nate winced at that. As much as he was annoyed with Tamers and hated kissing up to them, he needed this job. “And how do you want me to make amends?”
“Well... an apology would be nice...” Ranma suggested. He couldn’t take his eyes off the manager. He was HUGE, almost a solid eight-feet in height and broad-shouldered to boot!
Rolling his eyes, the store employee turned to the Pokégirl Tamer and grumbled, “Sorry you don’t know how to manage your pokégirls...” he ‘apologized’.
Eyes narrowing, the manager reached out with one meaty hand and grabbed his clerk’s head, lifting him up off his feet. It was rather doable, given the man’s impressive height, strength and LARGE burly hands. “Boy, you REALLY want to be fired today!? Apologize WITHOUT THE REMARK!”
“S-sorry!” The employee squeaked as his feet dangled off the floor.
The manager nodded his head. “That’s, ‘sorry SIR’!” He emphasized
The employee’s hands reached up towards the hand squeezing his head. “SORRY SIR!” He screamed towards Ranma; the pigtailed man’s jaw practically on the floor as he stared.
Nodding his head at the weak-willed clerk’s more honest apology, the large man let go, dropping him to the floor. “Now go help unload the trucks in back and maybe I’ll forget writing you up!” The manager roared, causing Nate to take off like a bat out of hell for the back rooms.
Watching the direction the employee ran off, Ranma couldn’t help but whistle. “Wow...”
Hearing the whistle the manager turned about to Ranma, raising a hand to ruffle his handlebar mustache. “Pardon the boy,” the large man began seriously. “His pal got busted for speaking out to a customer. The thing was his pal was half right but you don’t go beating up a customer!” He then gave Ranma a grin. “That’s my job.” Taking a deep breath, the man added, “Besides that, we have a motto: ‘treat the customer right until he’s an asshole to you’.
Nodding his head to that, the pigtailed Pokégirl Tamer turned back to look at the tall man. “Some motto you got there...” he sighed. “Again, sorry for Cyan making a mess. She was just excited. I’ll pay the three-thousand SLC.”
The man shook his head. “Just the balls of yarn that came undone. Half of these can be put back.” He looked off to the direction the employee had run. “I understand the boy, he’s had to deal with some rude customers being shits to him but going off on a customer who isn’t an ass is...” he turned to look back at the Asian individual. “Well, I pretty much laid out where he was heading.”
“I understand.” Ranma replied, raising a hand to rub the back of his head. “So how much do I owe?”
Kneeling down amongst the mess, the large man answered, “Let me count.” The manager looked over the yarn-balls not all strung out. “About two thousand SLC.”
Nodding his head, the pigtailed martial artist replied, “Better than three thousand.” Taking a deep breath, he asked, “So pay now or at the counter?”
“Counter is fine,” was the response the manager gave. Standing back, up, he added, “But I might be enticed to knock off two to five hundred more if you and your girls help me put the salvageable yarn back up.”
Looking at the mustached man, Ranma nodded his head, as did his two pokégirls. “Thank kami some people are understanding,” he thought with relief.
Leaning down to try and clean up the mess she made, Cyan had a very sad expression on her face. “I’m sorry Master...” she apologized whole-heartedly. “I... I just couldn’t help myself. I saw the yarn and...” she blushed. “I haven’t actually gotten to even enter a store of any sort in twenty years now.”
“T-twenty years!?” Ranma gawked. Holy crap! Did these people just keep her in a PokéBall outside of battle and sex or what!?
The manager blinked his eyes at the Cheetit’s words before he looked at Ranma. “Let me guess... she belonged to an asshole before you?”
“Um yes..?” Ranma replied. “He was a prick to me but before that guy who knows?”
The manager nodded his head in acceptance. “It figures. You don’t strike me as one of the typical asshole Tamers who’d deny a cat-type pokégirl a simple ball of yarn...” he took a deep breath, shaking his head in disgust. “I tell you boy, some Tamers make me so sick. I understand Nate’s anger but as I said, it’s all about the time, place and making sure it’s the right sort of Tamer to go off on.”
“I-if I may interject?” Cassandra spoke up. “From my understanding, Cyan has had at least eighteen Tamers during her life, often taken from her last as salvage in PokéBattle.” She sighed. “She’s ended up with assholes more often than not.”
Closing his eyes for a moment, the manager growled in annoyance. “Shit, dear...” the manager rubbed his eyes with a hand. Lowering them, he looked over to the pigtailed Tamer. “Tell you what. If you’ll promise to buy this lady one of our nice all-seasons spandex suits, they’re currently on clearance to make room for the next model, I’ll knock it down to fifteen hundred.”
Turning his attention to the tall man, Ranma stared at him with wide eyes. “R-really?” He asked in shock. “Won’t that cost you money?”
“Not by much,” the mustached man admitted. “The suits are marked down to four hundred SLC. I can afford to put a couple hundred SLC out of my own pocket into the register.”
To that show of generosity, Ranma nodded his head. “Thank you. I was going to take them shopping for clothes... you know, get stuff for all my harem. But I believe Cyan will appreciate the gift all the same.”
Smiling slightly, the manager told Ranma to, “Take a good look at all our clearance spandex battle suits. Yes, there’s new models coming out but these are still durable, form-fitting and they’re going for cheap. Before they were four hundred they went for one thousand a piece.”
Ranma nodded his head. “Yessir.” He made his way down the aisle and came down a circular rack. All sorts of variously colored form-fitting body-suits aligned it of various sizes. Most seemed to have a black base and different colors but some were more colorful and some were almost one entire color from the entire design with the exception different color line trim.
“Boy I better let Kasumi and the girls pick out what we should get... I have no fashion sense.” He mutters walking back to the other aisle. Seeing the two pokégirls still trying to clean up, he told them, “Hey! I’ll let you girls pick what color and size you want for a one-piece. My fashion sense sucks.”
At least he was being honest.
“No problem Master.” Cassandra replied with a nod of her head, placing the last of the rewound yarn balls back onto the shelf. The Elf then leaned over and gently poked the Cheetit’s shoulder to get her attention. “Cyan! Master is going to get you an outfit!”
The feline pokéwoman’s ears perked up considerably. “Really?” She asked, sounding hopeful.
Nodding his head at the spotted, golden-furred Cat-type, the pigtailed martial artists raised an arm. Pointing towards the rack, he told her, “Your choice.”
Needless to say, the Cheetit was ecstatic. “YIPPEE!” She shouted gleefully. Giving her master a tight hug, she let go and practically lunged over towards the clothing rack to check out the wares.
Smiling, the Elf shook her head good-naturedly at her harem-sister’s exuberance. Turning to face her Tamer, the Plant/Magic-type poké girl told him, “I know the entire harem’s sizes. I can pick outfits for the rest here before we get them something more proper.”
Looking towards Cassandra, Ranma raised an eyebrow. “You do?”
Nodding her head, the blonde Elf replied, “Got it all last night.” She smirked a little to herself as she also got to reaffirm some sizes earlier that morning as well.
That response made the pigtailed martial artist blink his eyes. True, it did make sense that Kasumi would’ve shared the measurements. “Sure, go ahead. We’ll be getting you more clothes later, but something for all the girls wouldn’t hurt.”
Nodding her head in agreement, the pokégirl told her Tamer, “I think those suits will be a good buy, considering the price and their density.” Looking towards the outfits the spotted feline pokégirl was holding, Cassandra then explained, “Those spandex bodysuits are among the better common clothing items for pokégirls to wear for battles or training.”
Ranma nodded his head. “Like I said, go pick out some colors you think everyone will like, including yourself.” He turned back towards the manager when he realized he’d been standing there all that time and everyone was ignoring him. “Thanks again, man...” he said honestly. “You’re a decent guy.” And that was something the martial artist felt was going to be a rarity in this world.
The large man with a handlebar-mustache smiled. “No problem. Enjoy your shopping!” With the mess clean and the terms laid out he had more work to do. Plus, he’d make sure the cashier knew to give the Tamer a slight discount for the yarn.
Waving to the manager, Ranma called out, “Thanks again, man! You’re one of the good-”
“RANMA!” Kasumi shouted right behind him, interrupting the teenaged martial artist of Asian descent.
“ACK!” Ranma jumped up for a moment before spinning around. Taking a deep breath, the pigtailed man exhaled. “Yeesh! You surprised me there, Kasumi!”
With that said, the woman had the decency to blush. “Sorry, Ranma-kun,” she apologized. “I was just so excited. I found out something neat we’ll need to take care off later and I’ve got something good coming my way!”
The raven-haired martial artist gave Kasumi a smile. “Oh really?” He asked with interest. “Let me guess... the guy’s actually gonna sell you one of his Milktits?”
Practically beaming, the eldest of the Tendo sisters nodded her head. “Yes! But I brokered a good deal too!”
“A deal?” Ranma asked curiously. At the woman’s energetic nodding, the pigtailed Tamer asked, “Really... like what?”
Kasumi grinned. “Like a very, VERY deep discount if I can pass my Tamer’s test tomorrow morning and then come back here right after!” She giggled in excitement. Oh, this was just oh-so wonderful!
Ranma couldn’t help but smile with seeing Kasumi so giddy. “That’s great! What’s the other deal?”
Grinning, the woman told him, “Look.” Taking the PokéDex off his belt, she opens the red device and scrolls through it, pointing out a bit of information concerning his financial info. “Read this.”
Taking back his PokéDex from the eldest Tendo, Ranma held it up to his face and eyed it curiously. Seeing the names, numbers and associated information, all the pigtailed martial artist could reply was, “Holy shit!!”
“Uh-huh!” Kasumi grinned wider as she asked him, “Isn’t it wonderful?”
Nodding his head slowly, Ranma flipped the device closed. “Man... Nabiki’s gonna go nuts! We can get plenty of what we need and have a lot left over.” He grinned at the eldest of the Tendo sisters. “Plus you can easily buy your Milktit and the girls extra clothes with ease!”
Nodding her head firmly, the matriarch of the Tendo pointed out to him, “You just need to ask Jolie about the paperwork to finalize all this.”
“Soon as we get back I’ll have Nabiki help me.” At the look the chestnut-haired woman was giving him, Ranma admitted, “I suck with stuff like math, law and all that junk...”
Kasumi nodded her head. “That would be best. We need to get the clothing after we get all the food here. When we go back to the PokéCenter, you can retrieve Nabiki-chan and you two can head back to the police station.” She smiled pleasantly. “I’ll look after Akane.” And hopefully, she could get her baby-sister to listen to her about the way things work her. Maybe even get her to open up to the concept of Taming!
Nodding his head to that advice, Ranma admitted, “That sounds about right...” he took a deep breath. Looking at the Tendo girl, he asked, “Maybe she’ll be calmer with your help?”
Nodding her head, Kasumi replied, “Hopefully...” she made eye-contact with the pigtailed youth. “But Ranma, you also need to curb your tongue.”
Blinking his eyes once, twice, Ranma asked, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Sighing a bit, the eldest of the Tendo sisters looked into Ranma’s eyes again, “Ranma-kun,” she said his name to make sure she had his attention. “You and Akane are so used to arguing and fighting it’s... instinctive. You both need to break out of it. Instead of fighting try...” she paused for a moment. Finally, she suggested, “Kissing!”
“K-kissing!” Ranma practically shrieked. “Kasumi! She’d deck me flat on my butt!” And that’s if she didn’t pound him into the pavement like a nail with that damned mallet of hers!
Considering that for a minute, the housekeeper of the Tendo Dojo admitted, “True... but maybe I can...” she grinned in a manner not-so-Kasumi-like. “Help her mellow out some.”
Ranma and even the pokégirls checking for sizes felt a little uneasy when Kasumi started giggling.
“Akane~eee.... Akane~eeeee...” Nabiki repeated in an almost melodic tone as she lightly rapped her sister’s forehead with the knuckles of her right hand. “Wakey, wakey... you’ve got to come back to the Pokégirl World now...”
Blinking her eyes once, twice, the youngest Tendo slowly turned her head to look at her older sister with an apprehensive look. “What’s going on with this place?”
Sitting back into the chair she was using once her younger sister started to come back to herself, the most mercenary Tendo looked her sister over. “Like I said, we wound up in another world, dimension, just like in the movies and comics,” Nabiki said as calmly as she could and using concepts she hoped her sister would understand. “And it revolves around a sexed up PokéMon concept.”
Akane winced. No, she was not liking this at all. “So what? We have to worry about Tamers and Pokégirls now? These things that could easily ruin our lives?”
“They’re not the only things,” Nabiki told her seriously. “Apparently, bandits have always been a problem no matter where you live in this world and there’s a group of thieves that stand out above all others: Team Rocket. From what I read, members of Team Rocket were the first group to widely use pokégirls to commit crimes. Local police were found to have problems dealing with this new threat, as most police weren’t trained to deal with pokégirls initially. The majority of crimes committed by Team Rocket include the raiding of PokéCenters and Tamers for their pokégirls and anything else of monetary value.” She took a deep breathe. Finally, she admitted to her sister, “Team Rocket has also already kidnapped some of our group... well, technically they did. We haven’t met them, but they were Asrial’s friends.”
Tilting her head to try and get a better look at her sister while she lay back on the bed, the youngest Tendo asked, “Asrial?” That name wasn’t ringing any bells with her.
Nodding her head, the Tendo with the pageboy haircut answered, “Another girl from our world. She’s an alien who looks like a pokégirl on this world, and...” she sighed. “Look, just don’t ask. Even I’m still grasping things but trust me when I tell you that’s not the most whacked I’ve discovered.” She really needed to see about getting herself something to drink when she next got the chance.
“Okay...” Akane said slowly. Damn. It sounded like a lot had gone one while she was out if they knew an ‘Asrial’ and were on a mission to save her friends. “So... What’re we going to do?”
Taking a moment to think about the current state of affairs, the middle Tendo Sister frowned for a moment. Finally, Nabiki explained, “Get the vehicle we acquired fix, get supplies, allow you time to finish healing and then...” she shrugged. “We hit the road. Whether we can find a way home or have to find a way to adjust to this world forever is the only question I can’t answer.”
Akane’s eyes went wide. “We might be stuck here!?” No! NO! She was not staying in a perverted world where men had all the power and women were treated like dirt when not being literally used as currency!
“It’s not like the Nanban mirror incident,” Nabiki said seriously.
“But we got home despite the trouble with the Nanban mirror!” Akane shouted... and regretted it as the pain jolted up the side of her body.
Nabiki looked over her writhing sister. “Be that as it man, Akane...” the middle Tendo sister took a deep breath. “You and Ranma are going to need to tone down your ‘lovers spats’. They could get us into trouble and draw unwanted attention.”
The pain dulling to a throb as she lay back still for a bit, the youngest Tendo girl winced as she nodded her head. “Why would me trying to get Ranma to stop acting like an idiot draw attention?” She turned her head to look at Nabiki. “I mean, it’s not like we’re anything special if there’s those more of those slutty pokégirl things for male idiots to oggle!”
“Because,” the middle Tendo sibling spoke up. “Akane, if you hit Ranma you could wind up in jail...” seeing her sister staring at her, she explained, “It’s true. Because of the human female-to-pokégirl quotient, most laws concerning females favor males and so the last thing you want to do is publicly strike Ranma and perhaps not even privately unless he really and I mean really has it coming.” She frowned. “As much as you will HATE to hear this... we need him. This world is screwed up with its laws and standards concerning women so even an independent gal such as I have to swallow my pride too. But make no mistake, in truth, Ranma needs US as much as we him so it’s a symbiotic thing going on.” Much like with pokégirls and their Tamers.
Akane narrowed her eyes. “How do we need Ranma, besides giving us a male presence to let us sneak under the radar of certain people?”
The Tendo girl’s eyes moved to look at her sister even if her body wasn’t completely facing her. “For one thing, Ranma’s got Tamer rights and access we can never have even if we all get Tamer licenses... which we will all be, eventually,” she stated seriously.
Akane’s eyes widened. “No way! I’m not going to be some Tam-”
Nabiki continued, cutting off her sister before she could rant. “Plus, as I said before this is a male-centered world. Even without a figurehead male, we’re boned. At least Ranma’s not like Kuno who’d have us wanting to commit seppuku should we speak out against him and take advantage of this world and us.”
If possible, Akane’s already wide-eyed stare became larger.
Realizing she was getting through the thick skull of her sister’s, Nabiki continued. “Think about it like... a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich.” Again, she was trying to use simple terms and similarities she felt her sister would grasp. “They’re fine alone but together it tastes so good or a great movie with an awesome sound-track or good acting, whatever your combo of choice is.” She then added again, “Ranma needs us but we need him more to even have a fraction of the rights we’re used to. With the men of this world, most of them are used to a centuries old mentality of women and pokégirls simply existing just for their satisfaction. If we want any of our freedom we need to keep a certain appearance.”
Leaning her head back, Akane groaned. “This is so unbelievably unfair! I mean... kami-sama! How did we get stuck with all this!?” She frowned deeply. “So what happens now? Ranma gets pokégirls and Tames them?” Her eyes were starting to narrow.
Nabiki scooted closer in her seat and reached a hand out to cup her sister’s chin. She turned the girl’s head slowly to face her. “Akane... calm down. And yes, he will. He’s already got some girls from a battle and they’re... nice...” even if they did grope her in her sleep. “Get to know them before passing judgment.”
“Okay...” Akane replied in defeat. Still, she wasn’t done yet on other facets. “But has he...?”
The middle Tendo sister nodded her head. “Yes... just with Kiiro but he has.” Nabiki lied, praying she’d set Akane up enough so she wouldn’t blow a gasket when she found out the hall truth. “I do not look forward to telling her about Asrial and Kasumi... Kasumi especially.” Nabiki thought as she shuddered
Just staring into her sister shivering for a moment, Akane could barely believe what she heard. “He... he had sex?” She whispered out. A part of her didn’t want to believe it, a part she knew was deep down within her. Oddly enough, it was that voice that was ripping through the one in her head screaming, ‘OF COURSE HE DID! HE’S A PERVERT!’
“He has to,” the middle Tendo sister told her younger sibling. “Those girls are biologically configured that if they aren’t Tamed after a certain amount of time, they’ll go Feral and become no more than animals. Trust me, it took every bit of his guts to not pass out Akane,” Nabiki half lied. “I even heard he was hesitant because of you.”
Unsure of how to respond to that, Akane just stared at her sister. Finally, she managed to bring herself to ask, “M-me?”
Nodding her head, Nabiki replied, “Yes. Half of the reason being because youd kill him and the half being he gives a damn about your feelings... even if he can be a baka!”
The youngest Tendo flushed a little from hearing that. “So... he actually cares about what I think and feel?” She frowned. “So how did he become a Tamer? Does just claiming ownership of a pokégirl make you one?”
Shaking her head, Nabiki explained, “No, Akane. You need to take a Tamer’s test to quality for it. Apparently, there was a Ranma Saotome here that already took the test and the license was still good.”
That made Akane go wide-eyed. “Excuse me?”
“Yep...” Nabiki drawled out. “There are analogues in this world...” she shuddered. Oh dear kami, she still hadn’t gotten over finding those articles on Gendo Giovanni or the Evangelion. Damned thing was ‘sexy armageddon’ in this world.
Trying to take THAT in, Akane hesitantly asked, “Ah-and us?”
She’d been expecting that question. “So far, there’s nothing I could find concerning that. What I did find was that this world’s Ranma vanished. We have him faking amnesia and like I said, he needs us to help him as we do him.” She smiled wanly. “He is a baka Akane, but he’s got a good heart.” She patted her sister’s head. “That’s why I need you to reign it in and why he has to do the same. We need to pull together; we can’t let this world take out the Tendo sisters, right?”
Considering this for a moment, Akane looked down at the bed-sheets. “No, we can’t...” she took a deep breath and sighed. She turned her head to look at her sister and told her, “I know the first thing I’m going to do as soon as we’re away from civilization...”
Nabiki raised an eyebrow. “And that is?”
Frowning, Akane said, “Smack the baka on the back of the head for not having the decency to tell me this truth to my face!”
Nabiki couldn’t help but smirk at that. “Okay, fair enough but know this. I did pressure him to keep his trap shut, lest he angered you into aggravating your wounds. But yeah, a free smack is something I believe you can get in."
“Good,” was Akane’s firm reply. Yet, even as she was reveling in the fact she’d get to give that boneheaded baka what for, she noticed something that shocked her immensely. “Nabiki...” she gasped. “You... you’re...”
Surprised by her sister’s actions, wasn’t until she blinked her eyes that Nabiki realized what had shocked her younger sibling. “Damn... guess I kept it in too long.” She blinked away more of the moisture trickling down her cheeks. “Damn it, Akane! Don’t you dare scare me like this again! You almost died...” Nabiki told her while she now furiously wiped at her eyes.
“Nabiki...” Akane whispered, somehow not surprised. Only Kasumi and she had seen this, when Nabiki’s emotional repression finally gave way and everything pent up would hit her sister, opening the flood gates.
“Shit,” Nabiki cursed as she tried to get an grip on her crying. It wasn’t heavy sobs but her eyes kept watering. “At least Ranma and Kasumi aren’t here to see this...” she chuckled miserably.
Looking up at her sister, Akane sighed. She tried to reach out to her, managing to move her arm farm enough to only pat her sister’s thigh. “I'm sorry to scare you... if it makes you feel better, I certainly didn’t want to be some thing’s dinner.” She shivered. “Just what the heck was that thing anyway?”
“An Arachnae...” Nabiki said as she brought a hand to wipe her face again. “And believe me, that’s not the worse spider pokégirl out there.”
Now Akane was surprised. “There’s more?” Her eyes widened. “There’s worse!?”
Nodding her head, Nabiki listed off, “There are a lot stronger if not deadlier spider-girls. There’s Scorpiagirl, Tarantella, Wolf Spider, Xerablondi... Widow...” she shuddered at the thought of that last one. “Let’s just say there’s plenty of dangerous pokégirls; not all are friendly.” The Tendo girl managed to clear her eyes but they were still puffy.
Looking at her sister for a good minute, Akane finally said, “Nabiki can I ask something?”
The woman shrugged her shoulders. “Sure, go ahead.”
Taking a moment to gather her thoughts together, the youngest Tendo finally said, “I get the pokégirls but...” she cringed. “Are we supposed to...?”
“Not unless you got an itch to scratch.” Nabiki smirked, seeing an opportunity to lightly tease and put her emotional outburst behind her. “Why? Do you want to claim your stake of Ranma?”
Shaking her head furiously, Akane shuddered before bursting out with, “NO! It’s just... I...” she closed her eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. Upon opening her eyes, she just said, “I don’t think I’m going to get used to this world any time soon...”
“You and I both, Akane...” her older sister assured her. “You and I both...”
Holding the PokéBall in her hand, Asrial frowned. “Hey, Kiiro!” She called over the Peekabu. “Is there anything else that uses tech like this?”
Looking over the PokéBall, the Peekabu then looked up to her Alpha. “Why do you ask, Alpha Asrial?” Her ear twitched as she looked the Salusian over. “You have nice panties.”
The Salusian sighed. The Garage’s air conditioner couldn’t be fixed, making her still have to forgo the majority of her clothing after using the RV’s shower to clean up. “I’m serious Kiiro. I’m considering how this works and... perhaps I can adapt it for other storage aspects for the RV.”
Raising a hand, Kiiro rubbed her chin. “Hmmm... I dunno. Lemme think...” the Electric-type pokégirl replied as she tried to think of something.
Seeing the Peekabu concentrating, Asrial let off a sigh. “Don’t hurt yourself, Kiiro-chan.” She reached out with her free hand and pat the girl on the head. Eyes gazing over the garage, she frowned. “Hey! Where’s Alice? She’s supposed to be helping us!”
THAT Kiiro did know. “Last I saw her, she was sitting in the back of the RV.”
The Salusian of Imperial birth sighed in aggravation. “Give me a minute.” Storming around to the side of the Class-A Landmaster RV, Asrial opened the door there. She stuck her head into the RV, relaxing a little as she felt the AC going. “Alice!” She shouted. “Get your lazy butt out here!”
Sitting on one of the nice chairs while reading a magazine, the Shadowcat didn’t bother to look up as she replied, “I’m busy.”
The Royal Salusian’s eye twitched. “Busy? You’re just reading a magazine!”
“And it’s a good one,” the Dark/Psychic-type pokégirl replied. “Granted, it’s last month’s issue but I never really get a chance to just kick back and relax with it beforehand. It’s new to me.”
Staring at the last Cat-type Asrial frowned. “You can relax later tonight. For now, we need to see what else we can salvage to improve the vehicle! I want to do as much as we can before we have to head back for lunch.”
Lowering the magazine, the Shadowcat finally looked at the skunk-like woman. “C’mon, Alpha Asrial!” The Shadowcat whined. “I deserve this! I mean, I Tamed you good TWICE today, didn’t I?”
Asrial blushed at the mental images that statement brought up. “Well...um... yes, but-”
“Then give me a break!” The Shadowcat snapped. Alice grumbled as she lifted the magazine and began reading.
Sighing in annoyance, the Salusian rubbed her brow, trying to keep from blowing up at the pokégirl. “Okay... can you at least answer a question?”
“What's that?” The Shadowcat asked, before grinning as a thought came to her. “No... let me guess...” she smiled mischievously as she got up from the couch and walked over to Asrial. She held the magazine in her left hand while her right caressed the Salusian’s posterior. “You want ANOTHER Taming?” With that said, she pulled princess’ panties down in the back, exposing her black-furred booty.
Although that caught her by surprise, the Salusian stood her ground. “No!” Asrial shouted as she pulled her panties back up, grumbling about needing to make some metal underwear. “I needed to know if I can apply the tech of this.” She holds up the PokéBall, “To the RV. I was thinking I could use it as a storage unit after some modification.”
The Shadowcat looked the sphere over. “What would we do with PokéBall tech in this place? What do you want us to do, turn the RV into a mobile PokéGirl Storage Center?”
“No,” Asrial told her. “I mean extended to extend this tech’s capabilities past pokégirl storage. Like using it to store gear and the like!”
“Oh that...” The Shadowcat blinked her eyes. “As far as I know, it’s illegal to tamper with PokéBalls. You’re the first to suggest it’s storage beyond pokégirls, least that I know of. I’ve heard rumors of derivative tech being used for storing food items in bulk for long term storage in short space areas.” Alice sighed. “Man, it’s a shame we don’t have a scientist around like that Professor Steamhead guy in-”
“PROFESSOR STEAMHEAD!?” Asrial shrieked, interrupting the pokégirl.
The shocked Shadowcat blinked her eyes once, twice. “Uh... yeah...” Alice replied, surprised by her Alpha’s outburst. “There’s an article on him in this magazine.”
Snatching the magazine from the Cat-type pokégirl’s hands, Asrial brought it to her face. She read through quickly, catching notices on Professor Johann Steamhead being stationed in Douchsiabag City and mentioning of him being a devout scientist with a passion for harnessing the wonders of steam and having a number of Fire and Water-type pokégirls on his lab’s premises. “He often claims that one day, the world shall be saved by steam...” she read aloud, her eyes wide. Holy crap! This place had a Professor Steamhead!!
Raising an eyebrow, the Shadowcat wasn’t sure of how to react to what the Salusian was doing. “Hey... Alpha Asrial?” She spoke up softly. “You all right?”
“Yes... yes I am.” The Salusian replied with a smile. Handing the pokégirl her magazine back, she told her, “You earned this rest.”
Accepting the magazine back, the Dark/Psychic-type pokégirl wasn’t sure what to make of her Alpha’s actions. “Oka~aaaaay...” Alice replied, unsure of what was going on. “So... does this mean I get to Tame you again?” She asked hopefully.
“NO!” Asrial stated firmly. Calming down a little from that outburst she continued. “But I’ll make sure Mas-RANMA!” She caught herself. “I’ll make sure Ranma Tames you well tonight.”
Hearing such a promise, Alice licked her lips. “Now THAT is an incentive.”
After a moment, Asrial spoke up again. “And I might join... maybe.” She allowed before leaving the vehicle’s interior.
Watching the Salusian leave, Alice smirked. “Oh, you know you’re addicted to this!” So saying, the Shadowcat pointed to herself.
Asrial rolls her eyes not even bothering to dignify that with a response. Instead, her thoughts were on what she’d just read. “Hmm... if I can find this world’s Professor Steamhead... if he’s anything like mine... we might find a way back. Maybe our luck is turning around.” She smiled. She had to bring this up to the others... and find out where the hell Douschiabag City was.
And then it hit her. “Douschiabag?” She sighed. “Dear God, what is with the people that named these places?”
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(Posted Mon, 22 Sep 2008 00:42)
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