“Are you finished packing?”
Needle turned around to see her best friend’s head poking into her hut, her ever-present cheerful grin still on her face.
“I think so, Xian Pu. I mean, I don’t think I’ve forgotten anything—unless I’ve overpacked…”
Shampoo strolled over to her friend’s bed, where a nearly-full bundle lay. “Spare clothes, emergency rations, extra money, toiletries, your sanjiegun… it looks like you’ve got everything. Oh, wait!”
“I knew I did something wrong….”
Shampoo somehow managed to avoid groaning as her friend’s notorious pessimism reared its ugly head again. “You forgot your lucky hair comb!”
“What?”
“You know, the one with the red jewels? You’ll want to look your best when we find your husband, after all.”
“Oh… right.” Needle opened a trunk, and after some fishing around, she pulled out an ivory hair ornament and carefully added it to her things.
“Now you’re ready,” Shampoo said confidently. “Well, I’ve got to finish packing myself. Make sure to get a good night’s rest—we’ve got a long journey ahead of us tomorrow morning!”
After an afternoon of stress, things finally seemed to be calming down at the Tendo household—a phenomenon which Ranma largely attributed to his father’s absence. Workouts had finished, and schoolwork was completed (thanks, in large part, to Kasumi’s willingness to tutor her spouse). This was the first opportunity they’d had to seriously discuss certain domestic matters, the most pressing being the facilitation of what Nodoka would call “demonstrations of manliness.” Quite simply, Soun did not want to think about his baby girl having sex, even if he was willing to admit that Ranma and Kasumi had every right to do so, and the walls of his home weren’t exactly soundproof. In this matter, the newlyweds were completely in agreement with him, since they very much wanted some privacy for their consummation. As Ranma put it, they wanted to share themselves with each other and absolutely nobody else. This led to the current brainstorming session between the Saotomes and the Tendo girls.
“Maybe you could save up for a honeymoon,” Akane offered.
“I’m pretty sure we were planning on doing something like that eventually,” Ranma replied. “But, uh, I don’t particularly want to wait that long.”
“To be honest, I don’t, either,” Kasumi confirmed.
“Well,” Nabiki replied, “if it’s only privacy you want, there are places in Tokyo where you get it…”
Akane rolled her eyes. “Please tell me you aren’t talking about a love hotel.”
“Why not? Most of them are very discreet, and the prices can be very reasonable if you know where to look.”
“But a couple’s first time should be somewhere so… so…”
“Perverted?”
“Right!”
“Akane, I’m not suggesting they get a BDSM suite—just a room where they can do their business away from anyone who might interrupt them.”
“I don’t know,” Ranma said. “Sounds kind of seedy to me.”
“Hey, it’s just an idea, that’s all.”
“Well, perhaps Ranma can take a day off from school,” Kasumi suggested. “We can send Father on an errand of some sort, and we’ll have the house to ourselves.”
“Hmm… it’s simple, inexpensive, and nobody will assume anything dishonorable is going on,” Akane said.
“Yeah, but that won’t stop the perverts in your class from pestering Ranma for a week afterwards,” Nabiki countered. “People who can’t get laid like to live vicariously through those who do.”
“Look, thanks for your ideas, but I think this is something me and Kasumi gotta figure out for ourselves,” Ranma said. “We’ll let you know if we need your help, okay?”
Nabiki would have answered, but the phone rang before she could get any words out. “I’ll get it,” she said, standing up and walking towards the kitchen.
Akane, meanwhile, seemed apologetic. “Look, I’m sorry if it seems like I’m prying into your private life.”
“It doesn’t seem that way at all,” Kasumi said. “It’s obvious that you want what’s best for us, and unlike Genma, you’re making sure to include us in the conversation before acting on that.”
“Well, to be fair, my Pops is a stubborn, pig-headed idiot.”
“He’s also in the hospital,” Nabiki said as she walked back into the living room. “That was the police—they found Genma in the abandoned quarry outside of town. He was in really bad shape. They said they want to talk to you, Ranma.”
“Huh? Why? Do they think I did something?”
“Uh, no… they just have some questions—such as why Genma suddenly turned into a panda when the nurses tried to give him a sponge bath.”
“Ah, they probably let the water get too cold.”
“That’s not exactly the kind of explanation they’re looking for.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll get down there right now.”
“I’ll come along, too,” Kasumi said. “He is my father-in-law, after all.”
“Sure thing. Oh, and one of you better call up Mom. She’s gonna want to hear about this.”
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(Posted Tue, 08 Mar 2011 04:08)
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