% It's about time. ^_^
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Chapter 12 - Fianc�e Follies
***** Earth 0.000,0.000
down on the couch, the thick cushions embracing her softly. She picked
up the receiver on her telephone with her free hand and punched in a
quick series of numbers. It was answered on the other end before the
conclusion of the second ring.
% "Hello there. This is Nasty Naoko's Naughty Talk for Lonely Women line.
How can we help you?"
"Report."
% Well, I was close.
Ayaka Kisaragi frowned slightly at Director Kasuga's perfunctory tone of
voice coming over the telephone as she began to speak. "Only two
notable things have occurred so far this week, sir.
% <Insert derisive snorting> I'd say more than two notable things happened
in the last week.
"It was a very close fight," continued Ayaka, "both of them showing
extraordinarily high levels of skill, but Ranma won in the end. I am in
the process of obtaining a copy of a video shot during the match, one
that I feel you might find most interesting."
% "You can see Nabiki's panties in one of the shots," Ayaka said.
% Director Kasuga began drooling.
"Negative," said Director Kasuga. "The Science Ministry examined the
proposal he originally submitted for his project and found his notions
for a method for contacting 'parallel Earths' interesting but unlikely
to ever be made workable.
% Such a silly notion, really.
"I want you to know that I appreciate your faith in me, in giving me
this assignment," said Ayaka sincerely. "I know my actions in the past
have been less than exemplary-"
"Such as your predilection for getting drunk and laid every few days,
you mean, Kisaragi?"
% Ayaka: Well, since I wasn't screwing you, my judgement was obviously not
completely warped.
"Personally, Kisaragi, my advice to you would be to get a steady
boyfriend that you can keep for longer than a month. After all, you're
not getting any younger."
Ayaka felt like someone had just stabbed her.
"I understand that all of your former squadmates from your own training
group have gotten married by now."
The assassin brought a friend.
% Hehehehehe. I love that line.
"Yes, sir," said Ayaka numbly. I need a drink, she thought.
% Several, in fact.
"Carry on, Kisaragi."
Ayaka heard the phone being hung up on the other end, and then she did
the same while she ran a hand back through her red hair. A few moments
later, the stereo in her small apartment flicked on at a touch of her
finger upon its remote. Half listening to the driving beat of the music
playing,
% 'Blue Devil Blues', or 'Dancin' With a Demon'? ^_^
"Drinking alone is a sure sign of alcoholism," said Yui Ikari
%Ah, so she's back.
young women with her into the apartment. She was dressed in a snug
black minidress and matching pumps. "If you're going to drink, you're
coming out with us and doing it right."
% Oh yes, with friends like these, Ayaka's going to clean up her act in no
time at all.
"We'll do karaoke," said Yui
% Ayaka: I can't say I know him well enough to sleep with him. And I'm
trying to get out of the whole orgy scene anyway.
The two off-duty Peaceforcers
% Nice title for Imperial law enforcement. It sounds ominous.
After all, thought Yui with a grin, they had to keep living up to their
reputation as the 'Fearsome Foursome' of the Security Directorate.
% And here I had them tagged as 'The Lushketeers' or something. ^_^
******************************
My timing is off, else I would already be victorious,
% Or else you just suck. ^_^
Anger at being forced back step by step filled him, and he
cried out, "But I shall not fall!"
% Which was essentially the same as telling the gods, 'Please Kick Me'. It
was small surprise when Tatewaki slipped on a banana peel and ended up
landing on his head.
engaged his phantom opponent. The muscular, older nobleman was dressed
in a fine silk kimono and hakama-style pants, a worn bokken held in one
hand. He absently tapped it against his knee as he watched his son's
pathetic efforts. He gave the impression of having just stepped out of
an elder age, when men of honor fought and died with steel in their
hands and fire in their eyes. His face was grim and unforgiving.
% "If only I could have been in a Kurasawa film," Lord Kunou moaned.
In contrast, Tatewaki was dressed in a suit of silvery material overlaid
by a bluish metal that acted as force-feedback simulators, his head
covered by a light helmet of plastics and silicates. Once the suit was
activated, it fed to Tatewaki the sensation of being in a life or death
battle from the Middle Ages, thus gauging his combat effectiveness. All
that was missing was the smells of this illusionary field of battle to
make it complete.
% Nice toy.
Lord Kunou was less than pleased at Tatewaki's performance. In fact, he
was almost furious to see his own son losing to a computer program so
badly.
% Especially a Microsoft program.
Tatewaki dodged backwards, barely avoiding the blow that would have
opened his ribcage if it had been real. His blade slashed down at his
foe's arm, exposed for a fraction of a second by the strike, and he was
rewarded to see his own blade shear through the cloth and armor to sever
the limb at the elbow.
% Warrior: I've had worse.
"Simulation completed at level twelve," said a computer-generated female
voice in Tatewaki's ears as the scene around him faded away. "Time
taken for completion: four minutes, fifty-two seconds. Best time for
completion: one minute, twelve seconds."
% Someone's slacking, all right.
"You play at being a warrior, my son," said Lord Kunou quietly.
% "And not a very good one at that," he added.
had, you would be all but unbeatable." He shook his head, a little
sadly. "Young Ranma Saotome defeated you with his bare hands, several
times, over the past few days, I am told."
% Ohh, that's gonna hack him off.
Tatewaki somehow held his temper before his father, but he seethed
inside with a fresh surge of desire to seek out and avenge the indignity
of his defeats. Seeing his father looking so disappointed with him
% I think 'in' might be better than 'with.' I believe it has more to do
with the way it sounds to me than from any grammatical error, though.
"I will be taking over your training from now on," said Lord Kunou,
% "First we begin wid de hair shearin' techniques. Den we move on to de
Coconut Bomb Toss.'
a
touch more kindly than his previous words had been.
% Nice. Shows a desire for the old man to teach his son as well.
Lord Kunou stood up, lifting his bokken to rest it upon his right
shoulder. He stared severely at his son and said, "For centuries, the
Kunou Family has produced champion duelists, feared for our skill with
the sword.
% And with their propensity to be delusional.
Your former sensei has failed to take you as far in your
training as he should have." He paused, lowering his voice in a
menacing manner. "However, I am certain that I can find new ways to
motivate you."
% Electric shocks are usually quite effective.
Seeing the fierce look in his father's eyes, Tatewaki felt a brief
moment of hesitation before his usual bluster returned. Bah! Let this
old fool do his worst. I am the quintessential and most noble example
of the perfect warrior, feared and respected by my fellow men, loved by
all women.
% And I can make a mean bowl of miso soup. Truly none are as magnificent as
myself.
"I see doubt as to the status of my skills in your eyes, my son," said
Lord Kunou with a wolfish smile.
% Always a bad sign, the wolfish smile is.
"Excellent," said Lord Kunou mildly. "I could use a light workout.
% Ouch.
Though, I really doubt you'll give me one."
% Double ouch.
"Better," said Lord Kunou. "But not good enough yet, not by a long
shot.
% I don't know. 'not by a long shot' seems to informal for someone of his
station to use. I'd use something a little more formal sounding. 'not good
enough by half' (the only thing that come to mind at the moment) or
something else.
warrior, the only man worthy of her." He broke into a gale of maniacal
laughter following his rant, one that was abruptly stopped short by the
application of his father's weapon to his skull, quite hard.
% He had that coming.
"That hurt, you know," grumbled Tatewaki, rubbing the lump growing on
the top of his head. A moment later, a second lump had joined the
first.
% That too.
"Enough of this foolishness, my son," said Lord Kunou calmly. Even
though he had raised his son to show a certain independence of thought,
a necessity for a future Lord of a Noble House, there were still limits
to his tolerance. "I have no time to waste on you if you continue on in
such a fashion. Now, recite for me the philosophy of our School."
% Tatewaki: Chicks can't resist us Kunous.
Caught off-guard by the question, Tatewaki almost earned a third lump on
his head before he quickly spoke. "The sword and the body must be as
one."
% It is interesting to note that in the early days, several Kunous took
this to mean that being stabbed by a sword was okay, since, in effect, the
sword and body were one at that time. Luckily, those branches of the family
died off quite quickly, leaving only the more coherent members of the line
alive.
"Continue," said Lord Kunou.
as natural as being alive, to embrace the sword that lives within every
true warrior. The stances are its walk, the rhythm of the swing its
speech, and honor is the breath and blood of the sword."
"Very good, my son," said Lord Kunou
% 'but you forgot my own addition to the code: Pineapples are the perfect
food."
"Behold," intoned Lord Kunou solemnly, "a technique handed down from our
forefathers, the Blade of a Hundred Strikes."
% Ah, a good move which disappeared very early in the series.
The wall began to buckle from the air pressure alone generated by the
strikes, the wood and stone reacting as if caught by the focused force
of a hurricane. With a last shattering wrench, a two meter wide hole
was ripped through the wall, scattering chunks of stone and shards of
wood out across the grass outside.
% The servents are going to be happy about fixing that.
Tatewaki was impressed, to say the least.
% I'd drop the 'to the say the least'. It seems useless here.
such plans for your future, Tatewaki, the older man thought. Not to
mention what your mother has in mind for you. The latter thought
brought a very faint feeling of sympathy for his son. The girl his
mother had picked for the boy had a rather formidable reputation.
% She is going to be so hacked off when she finds out who she's engaged to.
mine from my youth, and I am pleased to see that he raised his son to be
such a fine warrior. When we last saw one another, I did not expect him
to ever do so, but I see that the fire of his own warrior heritage could
not be denied forever."
% So to speak.
Tatewaki blinked. This was surprising and unwelcome news to him, but
his honor required him to bear his discomfort stoically.
% Besides, he'd end up bopped on the head yet again if he disagreed now.
"Father was a little bit harsh with you, I think," observed Kodachi as
she gracefully stepped into the training hall, having witnessed the
entire exchange that had just taken place from a position half-hidden in
one of the room's many entryways. She was presently dressed in one of
her casual kimonos, this one in green silk with a phoenix across the
back in golden thread.
% heh. 'Casual' means different things for different people.
Tatewaki blinked, then snorted, "Nabiki Tendou, a dalliance? I think
not. What interest would I have in a woman of such mercenary morals?
% Kodachi: She has a nice rack.
% Tatewaki: Well, there is that.
Kodachi grimaced inwardly at the mention of the younger Tendou girl, but
her face remained pleasant. "Oh, really? I would think that you might
enjoy the challenge of breaking through that mercenary shell that Nabiki
Tendou projects. She was obviously showing some interest in you."
% Kodachi is an evil girl. ^_^ Not that the plan has any actual chance of
success.
"But of course," said Tatewaki grandly. "Am I not the heir to the Kunou
name? Am I not the undefeated Academy-level kendo champion throughout
the Empire? Women throw themselves at my feet daily.
% Tatewaki: Oh, certainly they pretend they did nothing more than trip, but
I know better. And their rejections afterwards are just their way of
playing hard to get. Women do that, you know.
"How little you know of women, brother dearest," said Kodachi
% This is true.
"What? Enlighten me," said Tatewaki,
% Nah. It would take her to the end of the fic to do that. ^_^
"It is obvious that her seeking money from you is simply a ploy to bask
in your noble presence,"
% Of course it is.
As the memory of both Nabiki's beauty and her strange, yet beguiling,
presence resurfaced, he found himself intrigued by the prospect of
bedding sisters. One whose quick wit and tongue paralleled his own,
% Nabby would slap him for that one. Not the bedding part. The comment
about her 'quick wit and tongue' matching his.
while the other's sheer physicality was in and of itself sexual. He
knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that he must have them both for his
mistresses. He realized it would be beneath his station to marry
either, yet having them at hand at his whim excited him.
% Oh? Changed his mind from marrying Akane to simply having her as a
mistress that quickly, did he?
Tatewaki rushed over to his sister's side in the blink of an eye. He
leaned in and said, "Thou hast my undivided attention, dear sister."
% Poor Kunou. Poor Nabiki.
compared to how Ukyou's life had been spent with her grandfather. What
followed was a ten-minute long duel of flashing battle spatulas, fist
strikes, and kicks, ending when her aunt managed to disarm her with a
blow to her wrists. Seconds later, Ukyou was knocked senseless by a
combination of punches and nerve strikes.
% A hard taskmisstress, I see.
Yumi listened with interest as Ukyou described her time spent with
Ranma, and occasionally a wistful smile would cross the older woman's
face. When asked about it, Yumi took the time to relate some tales
taken from her own youth, much of that having been spent on the road
from the time she was fourteen or so. Ranma apparently reminded her of
one or two of the young men that she had met during that time of her
life,
% Anyone we know, by chance?
"Your father dropped by while you were gone," said Yumi suddenly. "He
was on his way back to his hotel, and he just wanted to see how you were
getting along with me.
% I told him we've been bar hopping and hitting on guys every night. Since
that's the way your mother met him, he didn't seem to mind." Yumi said.
"I don't really know how to say this except straight out," said Yumi,
looking Ukyou squarely in the eyes. "Ukyou dear, it seems that you're
_already_ engaged to marry Ranma Saotome, and neither of you were to be
told about it until later."
% Well, that's one cat out of the bag.
"Won't he be mad when he finally learns the truth?"
% Probably only slightly enraged.
Yumi's grin faded into a more serious, yet supportive look. "Don't
worry, kid. You and Ranma are going to have a lot of years ahead of you
together. Be glad. Since a good-looking boy like Ranma didn't seem to
have any girls hanging around him, or mention any to you, then it's a
reasonable bet that you won't need to worry about any rivals for his
affections.
% Well, it appears even Yumi can be off. Way off. Way, way, way, off.
exercises, the gestures helping her concentrate. Ukyou had always done
her best thinking when it was quiet and dark, and right now she felt the
need to do some serious thinking about what she planned to do about her
new situation, especially in light of what her aunt had learned from her
father.
% Nice insight into Ukyou here.
Then, the import of what she was doing hit Ukyou all of a sudden, and
she sat bolt upright in bed, her eyes wide open. "What the hell am I
doing?" she whispered to the room.
% 'Talking to yourself," the room whispered back.
even as his own was folded neatly over his desk chair. She was an
attractive conquest for him, a first-year cadet at Whitehall's sister
Academy, with long, chestnut-colored hair and a very sensual frame. But
now that he had taken his pleasure from her, he was already bored with
her.
% Which was fine, since the girl had been so bored with him that she had
fallen asleep halfway through the first time they were having sex. It
hadn't stopped him from finishing, though.
At least that abominable plot to wed me to that simpering Shiratori girl
is over and done with, Mikado thought gratefully. While it was true
that she was attractive enough for his tastes, her personality left much
to be desired.
% Which was how she had hoped he would react, since she hadn't wanted to be
engaged to him either. Her plan had worked to perfection, she noted. Act
like a deranged kleptomaniac, and the jerks would usually leave you alone.
as an opportunity to infuse the Sanzenin's coffers with needed yen,
apparently to try and take advantage of some production contracts for
the Imperial Army that the Emperor was shopping around to the various
Families. However, when the Emperor awarded the contracts to the
Daitokuji Family, that had combined with Mikado's own reticence to end
the matter.
% heh. Poor Mikado is nothing more than a tool in his parents' eyes.
Kodachi Kunou, the sister of his best friend, the secret passion that
had haunted his nights since he first
% he had first met (I think)
met her. Even when he was in the
midst of copulation with one of his conquests, she was still on his
mind, the only woman he felt would truly complete him. He knew they
were destined for each other.
% More likely her foot is destined for his groin. But I guess that is a
form of destiny, after all.
Long ago, Mikado had decided to only bed young ladies of the nobility,
for the thought of becoming intimate with a girl of merely common
lineage filled him with faint disgust. Smiling, he recalled his last
meeting with Kodachi with fondness.
% I thought he got beaten up in front of her by Ranma.
It is only a matter of time, dear Kodachi, thought Mikado. I almost
cannot wait to be able to grant you my special favor and taste of your
lips, as well as your other charms. He was hoping to save her for the
last. After all, he was drawing near to his goal, to bed one hundred
girls before he reached his seventeenth birthday.
% My, my. Mikado is quite the slut, isn't he?
Despite her obvious reluctance at our initial meeting, thought Mikado,
flexing the hand her touch had briefly impaired, Nabiki Tendou would
make a very fine addition to the ranks of my conquests.
% I see Nabby is about to be set upon by unwanted suitors.
She was a
little older than he was, but she also had an attractive worldliness in
her manner that he knew he could use to break her resistance to his
charms if need be. His sources informed him that she was infatuated
with money, so if necessary he
% so, if necessary, (I think)
was willing to buy her favors. After
all, the method of seducing a woman did not matter to him, and money was
an easily-obtained commodity for one of his high-born status.
% I kind of like that, It's a sort of admission that he's a realist about
that sort of thing and that he had the morals of an alleycat
Still, if
she continued to refuse him, then he would assume she was a lesbian and
move on. Nabiki was lovely, but he was also running out of time to
reach his goals. He only needed a few more.
% I'd cut that last part. There's not going to be any tension in his
actions if we know he's going to give up at the first sign of resistence
the innocent and pristine Kodachi Kunou. Ah, fair, unspoiled Kodachi,
he thought, a mixture of fondness and lust coloring his thoughts. You
will be my greatest victory when I finally take you to my bed. Taking
my pleasure from your womanhood will complete me. And nothing will keep
me from that goal. Anyone that tries, I will simply eliminate from my
path.
% Yeah. Right.
to wakefulness for another round of activity, Mikado pretended that it
was the one, true love of his life, Kodachi Kunou, who was in bed with
him. Rolling atop the unnamed girl, he proceeded to do that which he so
fiercely desired to do to the object of his passions,
% Try on her dress?
even as the girl
gasped out his name in carnal pleasure.
% Which was then followed by her gasping out her name in pleasure as well.
******************************
Kinnousuke Kashuou broke off his furious assault for a moment to
reassess his opponent, giving Tiger a chance to counter-attack. His
eyes glowed with excitement as he parried and dodged each of her quick
strikes, enjoying the use of the level of skill that he steadfastly kept
hidden at the Imperial Academy. A weapon known can be planned for and
dealt with, but a surprise could be lethal if saved for just the right
moment; one of his family's mottoes.
% Good point.
Kinnousuke. Their standard-issue personality programming quite strongly
prohibited them from even contemplating violence against their owner, a
necessary safety feature given their formidable strength and skill.
However, a short time after the trio had entered into his service,
Kinnousuke had taken the liberty of disabling those particular
overrides, finding a certain thrill in having a level of wildness left
in his living toys.
% Interesting look into Kinnosuke's mind
this way, putting his strength and skills to the test like this. Now
knowing that Nabiki Tendou was as formidable a fighter as he had
suspected from seeing her sister in action, only hiding it like he had
hidden his own skills, he was looking forward to being the one to
utterly dominate her.
% Ah, so much like him that she's alluring, too much like him to be allowed
to roam free.
"I yield, Kinnousuke-sama," said Tiger with a tired smile, rubbing her
sore jaw. She was as amazed as she always was that he was able to fight
all three of them in sequence, after brief rest breaks,
% Well, at least he took breaks.
"A good workout, girls," said Kinnousuke with a smile, taking the clean
towel held out for him by Lynx. He wiped his face, feeling the trio of
warm bodies near him. When he pulled the towel free, he saw all three
catgirls smiling at him.
% Brings all new meaning to the term, 'sex-kitten'
"Why would he want to spend time with an overmuscled ape when he can
have more fun with me?" asked Tiger, moving Panther out of the way with
a subtle jiu-jitsu move.
% Here we go again. ^_^
market. The eight gigahertz processor chips were now out from several
of the Empire's competing computer manufacturers, so perhaps it was time
for him to start thinking about an upgrade again. After all, it had
been over six months since he had purchased this one, and it wouldn't do
to let it get too far behind the technology curve.
% Ranma Saotome: Master of the Anything Goes School of Hacking.
workspace window, and he then opened up the specific file he needed,
after entering the decryption key. From his years working with some of
the computer and system security experts he had known, his own personal
security had become quite important to him. So in his spare time he had
written up an encryption algorithm for his personal datafiles, protected
by a nonsense phrase that he had picked out at random.
% This practically cries out to be hacked into by somebody.
******************************
*FROM THE PERSONAL JOURNAL OF RANMA SAOTOME
% Which most non-technical people would refer to as 'A Diary" ^_^
to indulge myself in so many interests of the mind, but few of them have
lately held much interest for me. The work on my project has taken on a
new level of focus, especially since rescuing my real father (not to
mention getting rid of that other Genma Saotome, the parasite, before he
can do any real damage to my life)
% Too late, boy.
current project and my newfound interest in martial arts, nothing else
really seems to matter. Life is funny sometimes, isn't it?
% Oui
another. Can there be such a thing as fate or destiny? My father, that
is, my 'real' father, once taught me that a man makes his own fate in
his life, but I am starting to wonder about that now. Hopefully, I can
use the experiences of my counterparts as guideposts, so that I can try
to avoid the traps and pitfalls of their lives.
% Nah. You'll just end up making a whole set of new ones.
get himself romantically entangled with Akane, Ukyou, Kodachi, and also
Shampoo. He somehow manages to keep them all at arm's length while he
figures out what to do, even though deep in his heart I'm sure he's
fallen in love with Akane.
% Heh. Nice to see he can admit to that in his other world counterpart.
The third one disturbs me on some deep level, for some reason. He
stayed at home while Nabiki Tendou, of all people, went on the training
journey from Hell instead, but that one I see as having his own major
troubles. He's been all but emasculated when it comes to how he deals
with the women in his life,
% Hehehehe. Yep.
at least in my eyes, and I'm sure my other
quantum brothers would agree.
% Oh yes. That they would.
in any relationship with a girl. Not that I plan on ever having a
relationship, besides a purely professional one, with Nabiki Tendou.
I'm attracted to her, as I am to the other girls, but I can't let myself
fall in love with any of them. I don't want to trigger the traps that
lie there, though it may already be too late.
% Probably.
After this week is finally over, hopefully having managed to dodge all
of my prospective arranged marriages,
% Oh, the bitter irony of that thought.
matter of restoring my father to his proper body, and sending that
twisted parody of the man I have come to love and respect back where he
belongs. Once I can do that, then the worst of my problems will be
behind me.
% Poor deluded fool
handful at times, but Kunou and Mikado aren't any trouble. And it's not
as if I have Ryouga Hibiki coming to town looking to fight me. If he
even exists in this timeline, he won't have any reason to want to take a
swing at me. Kind of a shame really, though. Maybe in this world, we
could be friends.
% Oh, somehow I doubt that very much.
"Ranma Saotome, you are an egomaniacal fool,"
% Well, yes.
he thought out loud. "I
can't believe I believed
% two 'believes' close together. I'd change the second to 'thought'
lights on the darkened surface of the moon, scattered signs of mankind's
presence on its sister orb in the form of mining colonies. The largest
ones were French,
% Ah, the Frogs moved quickly, I see. ^_^
making much sound, feeling the muscles in his legs already beginning to
loosen up as he catapulted his body into the air once again, sailing
across the gap between this building and the next. He disappeared into
the distance, as if trying to outrun all of his troubles.
% You could be the Flash, and still not run that fast, boy.
******************************
The sooner he found Ukyou Kuonji and savagely crushed him once and for
all for awakening such strong feelings of attraction for another boy,
the better. This was all that damn Ukyou's fault!
% So to speak
"Tokyo?" asked the old farmer in surprise. "But this here is Settsu
Province, just outside Kobe. You're nowhere near Tokyo, boy! Can't you
read a map?"
% Ryouga: Sure I can. I just can't follow them.
coolness of the small tavern was a welcome refreshment. He shifted the
paired swords riding at his waist casually as he placed his dark glasses
in an inner pocket, his garb reflecting the traditional one of centuries
past for a samurai nobleman.
% Except for those modern Ray-Ban's of his.
The tavern's owner greeted him at the door, a painted woman seeking to
retain her long past youth. Her breath was redolent with the odors of
tobacco and alcohol.
% Nice description.
"Akemi here will take you to Saotome-san's private area, Milord," said
the woman, bowing low once more. She turned to the young woman,
catching her eyeing Lord Kunou with a subtly calculating look on her
face. "See that this noble lord and his companion receive only our
finest at their table."
% Translation: Feed them the most expensive swill we have on hand.
thought with a smile, setting down his cup of sake. He patted the
pocket containing the engagement agreement, pleased that he was able to
find such documentation readily available at a local office supply
house. He had even taken the liberty of writing down the names of the
soon to be engaged, happy couple.
% Heh. he certainly plans ahead. ^_^
"It is good to see you again, Saotome-san," said Lord Kunou as he
stepped past the partition, taking one last sidelong look at the young
hostess.
% Tsk, Tsk. Lady Kunou not holding his interest? ^_^
They exchanged pleasantries as the number of empty sake bottles grew
larger in number. Genma was grateful that he had been training for the
past several days to raise his capacity for consumption. Even so, he
was hard-pressed at first to ensure that Lord Kunou drank more than he
did. Although things became much easier as the amount of sake consumed
by the nobleman began far exceeding his own.
% Genny plans well, I see.
to wed my little Kodachi, old friend." A single burp escaped his lips.
"I have worried about her so, that she would find a good husband. So
many of these 'proud sons of the nobility' are really nothing more than
dishonorable savages in fine clothes. She needs someone to protect her,
my innocent little Kodachi."
% Nice to see he has a soft spot for his only daughter. To date it was
mostly just Kensaiko that dealt with her daughter. We never got to see much
insight as to lord Kunou's thoughts.
"I understand completely, old friend," said Genma, feeling the world
taking on a rosy glow. He nodded, but then it felt like his head might
fall off, so he stopped.
% Time to pull the contract out, all right.
tear. "I am relieved, old friend. More relieved than you know." The
Sanzenin family had suddenly begun pushing for him to engage Kodachi to
their son, something to do with the recent collapse of the agreement
between their family and the Shiratori family. Personally, he thought
the boy Mikado was a little pustule on the backside of the Empire,
% Well, he is, metaphorically speaking. I see Lord Kunou has the ability to
judge at least some people well.
more days. If things here act anything like they do back home, this
will all blow up in the boy's face at the worst possible time. After
that, I'm sure that the little punk will be kept busy trying to handle
things, and it will keep him occupied while I prepare myself to train
him as he should be. A month or two, and I'm sure that I'll have this
body up to a level that can deal with him.
% So this whole fiancee mess he's weaving is also a form of training
for Ranma, as well as a money making scheme for Genma. Interesting.
be continued in 11B)
% Will try to get to that sometime in the next few days. First part looks
great, as always
D.B. Sommer