[Episode 233710] [Episode 233710]A bleary-eyed Ukyo stumbled into her restaurant’s kitchen to begin preparing for the day, opening cupboards and pulling out pots and pans with more than the usual amount of noise, while her mind yet again ran over what her cross-dressing waitress had reported when she finally returned home the previous evening — the report that had kept her awake on her futon most of the night, and colored her dreams during what little sleep she’d been able to get.
Unbidden, her mind replayed a montage of the images that had haunted her dreams, the redheaded, busty female form of her best friend writhing naked beside her as the chef’s lips captured a crinkled nipple and her calloused hands roamed across her friend’s body, slipped between her legs ... The bowl into which the suddenly furiously blushing Ukyo had been pouring the ingredients for the batter for her justly famous okonomiyaki flipped across the kitchen as a hand came down on the rim, throwing its contents across the kitchen.
She stared at the mess for a moment, then looked up as Konatsu looked through the wide serving window from where he had been setting up places on the tables in the dining room. “Mistress, is everything all right?” the beautiful, perfectly dressed young man asked.
“Yeah, everything’s fine, Sugar, just placed a hand wrong,” Ukyo assured him. Konatsu looked doubtful, but nodded and turned back to his task while Ukyo fetched the broom and dustpan.
A few minutes later, the mess swept up, she turned back to the ingredients then paused when her eyes fell on the knives she’d need to use for the toppings—the slightly out of focus knives. Forget it, Sugar, if you try to get through the day like this, even if you don’t cut off something important you’ll be losing customers thanks to the garbage you’ll be serving. “Hey, Konatsu!” she called out, “Put the place settings back and take the day off, we won’t be opening.”
Konatsu looked up, then nodded. “Good, I can use the day for the laundry, bedroom, the shower could use a scrubdown —”
“Woah! I said a day off, I meant a day off!” Ukyo said hastily. “Take a walk in the park, go to a movie, do something to have fun. Shoo!”
Konatsu’s doubtful look was back, but he finally nodded and started picking up the silverware he had just laid out, while Ukyo washed the bowl she’d dirtied and put the pans away. A few minutes later, he was gone and Ukyo had the restaurant to herself.
Heating up water for her favorite tea, Ukyo took the kettle and saucer back to one of the tables and sat, her mind once again running over Konatsu’s report as she poured. So the Ranma Weirdness Magnet keeps up its streak, and now he’s — she’s — some sort of demon that feeds on sex. Only Ranma.... Konatsu said Nabiki told him she’d be dangerous around women, but only at first. And she got in a limo with the Tendos, including Nabiki, so she must have been safe by then. But what does it matter? Ranma’s chosen to live as a girl, now, any feeding she does will be as a girl, and you’ve never swung that way. Yet again, the dreams came to mind, Ranma-chan’s lips pressed to hers, but this time it was Ukyo writhing as Ranma’s skilled fingers played between her widespread legs ... and the cute former fiancée jerked to her feet, suddenly finding any interest in the tea gone, and headed for the back door. Maybe a workout at the park ... I’m not like that, I’m not! And Akane would resent me getting involved. An unwilling chuckle escaped. Resent it, hells, she’d hate it, and me. But this is Ranma, and she might need my help ...
She paused by the back door and simply stood for a time, her hand on the lock. Finally, she turned around and strode back to the telephone and quickly dialed the number for the Tendo dojo before she had time to change her mind. “Hello ... Kasumi? It’s Ukyo.” ... “Yeah, I’m fine. Listen, Konatsu told me about last night, what he was told by Nabiki and saw, anyway. Is Ran-chan alright?” ... “Oh, good, glad to hear it. Listen, let Ran-chan know that anything she needs that I can help with — anything at all — she’s to call and I’ll be right over. Okay?” ... “Yes, I know what I’m talking about, Nabiki had to explain at least some of it to Konatsu before he accepted the job. Just tell Ranma.” ... “Thanks, Kasumi.” ... “Yeah, you too. Bye.”
Hanging up the phone, Ukyo took a deep breath, feeling light, and just a bit lightheaded. Looking around the restaurant, she smiled. You know, I think I can actually work now, and if I hurry I can still get most of the lunch rush. Sure, Konatsu’s gone, but I ran this place without him before and can again — for a few hours, at least. Striding back into the dining room, she grabbed the table settings Konatsu had put away and started setting the tables.
Akane flinched, beaded sweat flipping from her face, at another light touch on her ribs. She whipped around, a waist-high kick scything out, but Ranma spun away from her counterstrike, the red fur running down her back to her tail flashing across Akane’s view for a split second, then the tail wrapped around Akane's outstretched leg, pulling her off-balance and sending her rolling along the mat. “That’s enough,” Ranma said firmly, stepping back. “Yer gettin’ sloppy from fatigue, time ta quit.” Akane sighed and nodded, then rose and bowed to her sensei, careful to keep her eyes on the naked redhead as she did so. Ranma bowed back, and the two walked over to where towels were lying by the wall.
Xian Pu, already sitting there with her back against the wall watching, nodded approvingly. “Kitchen Destroyer better than last time Shampoo see her,” the purple-haired girl said. “New Girl — Battle Sister — good teacher.”
“Of course, Ranma’s a good teacher,” Akane asserted, offended for her lover’s sake. “She’s the best fighter around!”
But Xian Pu shook her head. “That not mean anything,” she replied. “It something Shampoo see at village — some warriors very good, almost as good as Shampoo, but horrible teachers. It like they learn to fight so good they can’t teach basics.” She shrugged. “It help that Kitchen Destroyer finally give up false pride, accept teaching.”
“Shampoo, please don’t call Akane that,” Ranma said.
“But it true!” Xian Pu asserted, glancing slyly at an Akane going red with anger.
Ranma glanced over at the raven-haired girl nervously, then reached out and took her hand with a sigh. “I know,” she admitted, “but it’s still an insult, and of someone that might have ta fight at your side.”
“Good point,” Xian Pu conceded. “Shampoo think up new name.”
“Why do you use those nicknames, anyway?” Akane asked irritably.
The Amazon shrugged. “It make opponents angry, help make Shampoo look stupid. But perhaps it time Shampoo drop mask,” she added thoughtfully.
“It would certainly cut down on repair costs,” came Nabiki’s voice, and the three girls looked over to find the middle Tendo leaning against the doorframe of the dojo. “I just got off the phone with Ayano-san — the madam,” she said to Ranma as she straightened and walked into the dojo, an eyebrow going up as her gaze ran up the naked redhead's body to pause for a moment on the tiny white horns on her forehead. “I was right, she wants to talk to you first. We have an appointment tomorrow. Assuming she agrees after she sees you, the training would start tomorrow night.”
“Good, it’ll be good ta get the energy I need ta practice with my new abilities, see what I can do,” Ranma said with a smile.
“Remember, no feeding off your sensei,” Nabiki cautioned, “that would be too obvious.”
“Yeah, I know, I’ll wait ‘til the training’s over and I get real clients,” the redhead agreed.
Akane closed her eyes, her grip on Ranma’s hand tightening as she tried to fight back a surge of jealousy. “Ranma, why are you being so calm about this?!” she shouted. “Just the thought of sleeping with guys was enough to give you nightmares! And now you’re going to have to ... to ... and you act like it doesn’t bother you at all!”
Ranma sighed and turned, pulling her lover into a hug. “I dunno,” she admitted. “I know how I used ta be, I remember the dreams, how they sometimes made me not want ta sleep, but I just don’t feel the same way anymore, I dunno why.”
“Shampoo know,” her battle sister said, glancing at Nabiki. “Shampoo and Mercenary Girl — Nabiki — find that in scrolls last night. Nabiki better able to explain.”
Nabiki nodded. “If you’re going to be staying here, we need to get you some language lessons. But yeah, we came across that, it’s because of how succubae make more succubae.” Seeing Ranma and Akane break apart to listen, she continued, “Alanya didn’t know from experience, but she thought it was because most new succubae were first lovers of the succubae that converted them over, so they had a good chance of being lesbians if not out and out manhaters. Considering that men are their main food source that would be a real problem, so the conversion makes them instant bisexuals.”
Akane stared at her older sister for a long moment, then slumped. “I guess that makes sense,” she mumbled as Ranma put an arm around her waist, then stiffened, looking sick as the blood drained from her face. “That means that if Ranma converts me, I’ll ... I’ll ...”
“End up liking men, at least when it comes to sex?” Nabiki finished, suddenly focusing on Akane. “Yes, you will. Why, are you thinking about it?”
“Well ... yeah — I know I can’t while I’m pregnant, but afterward ... Ranma’s immortal now, isn’t she?” Nabiki nodded. “So eventually I’ll grow old, and Ranma won’t.”
“Yes, Alanya thought that was a big part of why lesbians would agree to conversion,” Nabiki said. And I don’t think I’ll mention that most such relationships eventually broke up.
“But that’s an issue for another day,” Kasumi said from the doorway. “Ranma, Ukyo-san just called, and asked me to pass on a message.”
Khalice sighed as she leaned back in her seat for a moment and closed her eyes, then straightened to again focus on the monitor in front of her. She knew how important the links between Yggdrasil and Nidhogg were, and that it was equally important to have a demon monitoring those links rather that leaving security purely to automated programming, but it was so mindnumbingly boring. Which is why demonic operators were cycled through on a regular basis, and it just happened to be her turn. This isn’t really a punishment detail for that embarrassing boo-boo with the boy scout troop, that wasn’t your fault, it could have happened to anyone — right, keep telling yourself that.
Suddenly, a flashing red bar sprang across the screen, and a new window opened up. Khalice sat up straight as what the window showed registered — an automated reshuffling of the doublet system, jointly carried out by Yggdrasil and Nidhogg. But that only happened when a god or demon switched sides, and since she hadn’t been notified of any incoming — Great, we lost another one, what does anyone see in those gutless dreamers, I’ll never know. (She carefully suppressed the memory of her one — very painful — encounter with a valkyrie.)
So, let’s see who we lost. As the two computer networks finished their joint task, Khalice ran the comparison of the list of demons that had just had new doublet partners assigned to the with the same list from before the reshuffling. Only one name wasn’t on both lists so it hadn’t been one of the extremely rare mass defections, and she quickly brought up the link to personnel assignments. Alright, Kason, what were you doing that might have caused you to defect? she thought, perusing his file and frowning, then winced. Over two hundred years watching some pools of water? Ouch! I’d think about defecting, myself, just to get a little action in my life. Who did he piss off? Well, not your business. But at least the excitement had given her something to speculate about during the rest of her shift.
A blonde demoness with two elongated diamonds in a ‘V’ pattern and two red triangles slightly below her eyes stepped through the permanent Gate between Niflheim and Jusenkyo. Walking a few short steps away from the base of the cliff, Mara gazed out for a moment across the valley at the numerous still pools with the bamboo poles in the their centers, then knelt by the closest pool and held her hand a few inches above the water to find what she’d half-expected — not a trace of Alanya’s centuries-old spell, simply the feel of the normal Jusenkyo magic, waiting for a drowning victim to imprint his, her, or its form on the water. Probing deeper, she sought any hint of the old spell and cursed as she finally found a hint of the activation trigger.
“Yup, Alanya’s spell has finally done its job, and just barely in time,” came the slightly mocking voice of one of the people Mara loved and sometimes hated more than any in the world, and the Demoness, 1st class, Unlimited, turned with a sigh to face a grinning Urd sitting on a boulder by the cliff face.
“Well, it was probably going to happen sooner or later,” she said with a slight shrug. “Though a little forewarning would have been nice. You wouldn’t have any idea just where Kason is, do you?”
Urd’s grin broadened even as it softened around the edges. “As a matter of fact, I do. The invitations to the wedding will be going out to those few friends he still had after being stuck here so long, not that he’s likely to get a favorable response even from them, now.”
“Marriage? Do I know the lucky lady?” Mara asked as her stomach knotted.
“Oh, I’m sure you’ve seen her name a time or two,” Urd said airily. “She’s been Kason’s only constant companion for the past few centuries, and a more simple, sweet, lovable goddess you won’t find. Normally completely hopeless for field work, of course — and even moreseo now — but sometimes a goddess like her is just what the job calls for.”
Mara’s jaw muscles ached with the effort not to grind her teeth. And we eventually decided that Sanli’s assignment as Kason’s counterpart meant that they’d given up on the succubae and were going through the motions, damn!
Urd smoothly rose to her feet. “Well, now that we’ve confirmed you’re still in charge of this little sideshow, I’ll be off. Have fun trying to track down who the pool finally got,” she mocked, then walked over along the cliff face to Asgard’s permanent Gate to the Pools of Sorrow and was gone.
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(Posted Thu, 01 Jul 2010 00:00)
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