At least, until the 'warmth' breathed, that is.
Yanking herself from her former position, she tried to figure out where she was. And she was shocked by what she found there.
Mousse was sleeping next to her with a smile on his face and his arms around her body. That sent her mind whirling, just as she noticed that she ached in places that she had never ached before. For a long moment, it was impossible for her to realize what had happened. But it was equally out of the question for her to ignore.
Putting the tips of her fingers to her kiss swollen mouth, she could come to only one conclusion, completely bizarre as it was to her. 'We didn't... How could I...' She gulped. 'I... slept with Mousse? As a girl..?'
"Ah, I see that you are awake," commented an aged voice softly.
The pigtailed turned her head to gaze wildly at the person that had spoken. "I..."
"I know child," Cologne told her, "Do not worry about it for the moment, but come. You will need answers."
Not trusting her voice, Ranma nodded.
"Good," said the Amazon Elder, placing a Chinese pantsuit nearby. "Clean up and put this on before come to see me please."
Looking between the outfit she had been given and her own, Ranma gave a confused expression to the Elder.
"Your clothing is... not clean. And that is the best that I could do under the circumstances. Besides, the water heater isn't working and I do not have anything that can fit your male side in any case."
Slumping, the pigtailed girl reached for the clothing while Cologne left her to get herself ready.
Twenty minutes later, Ranma came into the dining area of the Nekohaten looking much as she did when she had waitressed there. But the situation was different than then and the place was quiet and empty.
From her seat at a table with her great-grandmother, Shampoo looked up at the sound of the footsteps and gave a wan smile to the redhead. "Ranma, come sit."
Licking dry lips, Ranma did as she was asked, trying not to look up at either female.
"Ranma," Cologne said.
"Yeah..." whispered the redhead.
"Look up at me."
Hesitantly and somewhat unwillingly, Ranma gazed at the Elder.
"Trust in me in this child. We will deal with this. But first we need to talk, and have some tea."
"Tea?"
"Yes, tea. It will help us relax as much as we can at the moment."
"Oh... Okay..."
"(Great-Grandmother,)" Shampoo asked in Chinese.
"(Yes?)" asked Cologne in the same language.
"(This isn't... that tea..., is it?)"
"(No child, that tea can only be used within a certain time after the... 'act', and with the time since then and the properties of that drug, it would make ut pointless to use. As for the other... I can not give that morally without making certain to find out if the... person in question will wish to use it.)"
"(Oh...)"
Ranma frowned slightly as she tried to figure out what they were talking about. "What's goin' on?"
"Nothing Air... Ranma. Just want make sure I remember something right."
"Oh... Okay..."
"Still child, are you feeling?" asked Cologne.
"How d'ya think?"
"That is expected."
"Yeah, 'bout the only thing that is."
"And this will not be easy to deal with."
"You're telling me."
"Yes, I am. But I have had the time to think about it. And it could be more problematic than what you think."
"Could it?"
The Matriarch nodded. "It could, and it also brings certain decisions that will have to be made by both you and Shampoo."
"What, is she gonna have ta hunt me down again?"
"Hardly, since this situation has made that a very distant possibility, if it ever truly became possible, which I doubt."
"What then?"
"Shampoo... has some of the same problems that you do."
"Huh?"
Blushing, the Amazon grumbled. "Pig-boy wander in, and Shampoo see him. He... very nice, but snore lot."
"Ryouga?"
"Is him."
"Which brings us to our difficulties," Cologne inserted."
"What kind of 'difficulties'?" asked Ranma nervously.
"First, let me just say that this sort of problem has not really come up before. Or at least, recently."
"Lucky me."
That gained a thin smile from Cologne. "I know, and I sympathise with your... situation, even if I can't know it. But for our laws, this is a major mess."
"Yeah, what does that mean?"
"It means that you will have a choice. Normally, there are ways of dealing with a male who uses a drug to catch a female that he is interested in. It usually depends on the situation and can be quietly dealt with, to be coming a major incident. And for a female who had never... experienced such contact before, it would be expected for him to take responsibility for what he had done."
"'Take responsibility'? How?"
"On the conditions of the case. If the male had gone after her with the intent of using her, he would be dealt with. If it were forced, then he would be punished. But if it were... otherwise, then he might, and I stress might be forced, more by pressure from the village, to 'do the right thing' as they call it here, and... wed her."
Eyes widening, Ranma just stared at the Elder. "B...but... I'm a GUY!"
"Which is where the problem lies. As well as with other diffculties."
"What?"
"Considering the way that this... came about, it complicates things."
"'Complicates' how?"
"None of those involved, especially you and he, would never had done this as far as we know. And since nobody was in total control of themselves, it means that they can't be blamed totally for what they did."
"But that... IDIOT was the one who threw what ever that was!"
"Yes, and that does coun against him quite a lot. Unfortunately, it was what he threw that will cause us even more problems."
"'More'? "What was in the bag was something called 'Lust Dust'. It's an aphrodesiac..."
"An 'afro-what'?"
"Aphrodesiac," Cologne told her patiently, "Something that makes people want to do what you did."
"Oh..."
"The problem is that it also has other side effects that may affect you that we have to deal with."
"Like what?"
"That is what we will have to figure out. It may have affected you or not, but not without observing what happened."
"I see..."
"Well, until we can figure it out, we do have other things to deal with in the mean time."
"Like what?"
"'Like' your family, the other girls after you, and your rivals to begin with."
"I am so screwed," breathed Ranma.
"Don't worry child, we will help you as best we can."
"You will?"
"It is part of our laws. As one who was... caused harm by one of ours, you are to be protected and helped."
"I don't need..."
"You do at least for now."
Ranma just slumped in her seat while:
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(Posted Wed, 28 May 2003 01:31)
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