The limo eventually stopped in front of a set of stairs that led to a temple. As Ranma soon found out, Katsuhito Masaki lived in a large mansion right next to his shrine. She got the feeling that there was an . . . unusual aura around the area, but before she could comment on it, the limo stopped, and the door was opened.
She fell into place behind her master and mistress, with Hotaru following right behind her. As they neared the door, Setsuna turned around and asked, “Hotaru, dear, would you go check in with Sasami for me? Let her know that we have an extra guest, and see if you can help her, while we get Ranko situated here.
Hotaru nodded, and then ran into the house ahead of them. Katsuhito led them into the sitting room, and asked for Ranko to sit down. Blinking, the redhead did as she was asked.
Setsuna sat down across from her, hands folded. “Now Ranko . . . or would you prefer ‘Ranma’?”
At the sound of her true name, Ranma flinched, as the voice telling her to fight or flee suddenly became louder. However, her conditioning kept it from following through. “Ra . . . Ranko will do, mistress.”
Setsuna frowned, causing the conditioning to kick in again. However, before Ranma could apologize, Katsuhito said, softly, “We know who you are, my dear . . . we know what you gave up, and for what noble purpose you did do for.”
Ranma stiffened. Her masculine voice came through inside her head, yelling at her, but the voice of the Adjustment fought it at every stepped. Finally, in a small, unsure voice, she managed to whisper, “I . . . I don’t want to go by my old name right now . . . not like this . . . “
The old man nodded kindly at her, while Setsuna gave him an odd look. Noticing, he replied, “You always look at the big picture, my dear, but sometimes the smaller parts are more vital to pay attention to. I asked Little Washu to keep an eye on her Adjustment Period, and considering the reinforcement they put in there, Ranko will not be feeling like her old self for a long time. She will still help us where we need it, but it will take at least half a year before the conditioning starts to fail, and even then, she will not be herself.”
Setsuna nodded and sighed, “Still . . . with a little help, we may be able to make the transition easier on her.”
The redhead before them blinked, but stayed silent, training still in effect. After a minute of watching her, Setsuna sighed again, and then told her, “Ra . . . Ranko, I’m going to be frank with you: the major reason that the five of us bought you was to get even, in some small way, with the Kuno clan. However, we each have our own motives to buying you . . . though if it is any comfort, none of us will be putting your more . . . sexual skills, to use as of right now.”
Ranko let out a sigh she didn’t know that she was holding in, but couldn’t shake the feelings of disappointment that she felt inside. “I-It is a comfort, m-mistress.”
“Please, call me Setsuna. Now, I’m not going to lie to you. Mister Mando and Mister Sanzenin will be using you as a date for various events, and you will have to let them kiss and feel you up from time to time; however, neither of the two are interested in going any further than that with an unwilling girl, and though your training would make you somewhat willing, both know that if you were in your right mind, you would never allow them to go so far.”
Katsuhito cleared his throat, and continued where Setsuna left off. “Mrs. Natsume is far more interested in using you to test out the durability and range of usage of the technology that she is working on. She is also married, and quite happily so, so you will not receive any sexual advances from her, either welcome or unwelcome. However, while Mrs. Natsume, Mister Mando, and Mister Sanzenin will be requiring your assistance periodically about once or twice a week, you will be spending most of your time with us.” As the girl stiffened, the old man laughed and then said, “Don’t worry, my dear: I am far too old to be able to take such pleasures with you, and Ms. Setsuna, while willing to go either way for love, is not at all interested in a full-time sex slave.”
“Though someone to keep my bed warm during cold nights would not go amiss,” Setsuna purred, sending shivers down Ranko’s spine.
Katsuhito blushed at this, but managed to pull himself together. “Well . . . that said, what we wish for you to do has more to do with your prodigious martial arts skills and training.”
Ranko blinked at this. “Wha . . . what do you mean?”
“Ranko,” Setsuna hedged, “what do you think of my daughter, Hotaru?”
Ranko wasn’t sure where this was going, but she replied, “She’s . . . nice. A little on the quiet side, and maybe a bit too touchy-feely . . . sorry, but . . . I’m not . . . “
Setsuna smiled warmly at her, “I understand. The Adjustment had you reacting sexually to her, despite realizing how young she was, correct?” At Ranko’s embarrassed nod, she went on, “Understandable; hopefully that will fade as you work with her.”
When the newly purchased slavegirl gave her an odd look, her smile softened, and she added softly, “Hotaru suffers from a condition that cuts down on her strength and endurance . . . she used to be quite sickly, and has experienced periods of exhaustion from time to time. I’m hoping that a little bit of soft martial arts training may help her finally recover from that. I may also have a few other . . . colleagues that may require martial arts training of their own.”
“I, on the other hand,” Katsuhito interrupted, “have a grandson who requires a better training partner. While I have taught him everything I know of our school of swordsmanship, I have gotten somewhat predictable. I wish for you to spar with him, and maybe even teach him a little bit of kempo, for a fear that he is getting lazy and lax in his training. Also, you need not fear being used as anything else; my grandson has enough ladies after his hand, he does not want another one.”
Slowly, as the two adults in front of him spoke of training and martial arts, the voice of the Adjustment faded somewhat, and Ranko managed to whisper, “You will not . . . use me . . . like that?”
Katsuhito nodded, “We will not force you to do anything you don’t want to. If you so desire it, we will see to it that the two goons who used you during your training period are the last that ever do so.”
At hearing this, Setsuna whipped her head around to stare at Katsuhito, and then turned her horror-filled gaze to Ranko. “Wha-what?” she stuttered.”
Ranko cringed at her stare, and Katsuhito nodded softly, “You need to pay more attention to the details, my dear. You have looked into what normally happens during Adjustments, and what our best and worst outcomes are going to be, but you neglected to look into what happened to Ranko specifically; according to Washu, she had a few . . . guest participants . . . in hers.”
Setsuna gaped at him, and then abruptly stood up. “I . . . I need to go look at something,” she told the other two, as she hurriedly walked away.
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(Posted Sun, 10 Jan 2010 06:27)
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