"Ranma-kun..." a sultry voice murmured in his ear.
He immediately snapped out of the nightmare about his new fiance using him as a prize in a contest, only to find a far worse reality.
Ranma was sitting in a chair in Nabiki's room, with the nightmare in question standing over him with the predatory expression of a c... ca... feline.
"You still haven't answered my question," she continued seductively, "What do you think of my proposal?"
The suggestion she had made but a couple of minutes ago had initially sent him into a state of shock, but now he could begin to feel the stirrings of a righteous anger in his veins.
"Absolutely not!" he replied forcefully, getting to his feet to stare her straight in the eye, "There is no way I will agree to you selling me like a piece of meat!"
Nabiki's eyes filled with fear as she flinched back from him, "Don't hurt me!" she begged in whimpering tones, hiding her face in her hands, "I have no martial arts skills to defend myself."
Now it was Ranma's turn to be filled with fear as he backed off from the terrified girl - he was so distracted with making excuses that he failed to see the momentary smirk that twisted Nabiki's lips. "I wasn't going to hurt you," he asserted quickly, making warding gestures with his hands, "I just wanted you to give up this idea of selling me. That's all."
Before he even saw her move, he felt her hands gently rubbing his arms and guiding him back down into the chair, "Calm down, Ranma-kun," she said gently, "Whoever said anything about selling you?"
She smiled down at him as she saw the confused expression plastered across his face. Through careful manipulation, she had just given him a roller coaster ride of emotion; shock then anger; fear then confusion. Now that his mind was off balance she could appeal directly to his baser instincts without his strong sense of morality getting in the way - after all, a lifetime spent around Genma was bound to have allowed some of his father's habits to rub off on him.
She casually reached into a pocket and withdrew a thousand Yen note, holding it to the light so that she could examine it in detail. "Why should I go the trouble of selling you, when I can simply lease you out for short periods of time?" She finished.
By this point, Ranma's emotions were completely frazzled, and the only objection that he could manage to voice was the single word, "Lease?"
Nabiki bent over in front of him - accidentally flashing him a hint of cleavage to further keep his mind off balance - and lifted the thousand Yen note before his eyes. "Think of it Ranma," she said in hushed tones, "Girls paying for the privilege of just a couple of hours of your time. No long term commitments. No obligation to marry. Just a few hours of harmless fun." She moved the note from side to side before him and smiled as she watched his eyes follow its movement like a fish watching a baited line, "And of course, you will get 10% of all the profits I make."
Ranma didn't even blink as his eyes remained glued to the note, "10%?" he asked as numbly as before.
She abruptly stood up and backed away from him a few paces, taking away the note, but dragging his gaze along with it.
Nabiki shook her head and sighed. "Ranma-kun, Ranma-kun," she breathed in regretful tones, "You are forgetting that I am your iinazuke. By definition you belong to me, and I have every right to lease out my property to whomever I want. I would say a 10% fee is more than generous, don't you agree?"
She smiled as she watched him wavering on his decision. It was time for the deciding blow.
"If you don't want to cooperate, I suppose that I will have to auction you off to cover my expenses. Though it is a choice I am reluctant to make," she said sorrowfully, "I'm sure Kodachi would be more than willing to buy my claim to you. She is, after all, the only one of the main contenders for your affections without any formal claim on you... yet."
She watched his eyes widen in horror, and she new that she had him. Her greatest business venture so far was about to begin.
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by Murasaki no Tsuki
(Posted Wed, 07 Jan 2004 03:02)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.