Jedi Kasumi31 Jedi Kasumi By Jim Robert Bader (Featuring characters and situations created by George Lucas and Rumiko Takahashi. This is purely a work of fiction and is not intended to compromise the copyrights of any other creative persons. I have nothing worth suing me for, so please be gentle...) LIME ALERT---CONTAINS BOTH HOT AND MILD SCENES OF A GRAPHIC, ADULT NATURE INVOLVING BOTH HETERO AND LESBIAN SEX AND IS THEREFORE NOT FOR THOSE OF A REPRESSIVE MINDSET. THIS IS A TALIBAN- FREE ZONE, SO THOSE WHO FIND SUCH TOPICS AS NUDITY AND FRANK SEXUAL DISCUSSIONS TABOO CAN FIND SOME OTHER FANFIC TO ENTERTAIN THEM, AND NO ONE WHO IS EASILY SHOCKED BY THE SIMULATED ACTIONS OF FICTIONAL CHARACTERS WHO ARE ALLEGEDLY UNDER THE AGE OF CONSENT, BUT BECAUSE THEY ARE ENGAGED, THIS SORT OF THING WOULD BE LEGAL IN JAPAN...SORT OF. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Episode Thirty-One: Like a Virgin In the wake of recent events concerning the matter of Akane's forcible seduction of Kodachi Kuno, Trieste and Kimiko sought to make restitution with the Kuno family only to unwittingly get the youngest Tendo Force Master engaged to the emotionally troubled gymnast... This engagement, intended as a "prank" by Kodachi's father, Godai, has the tacit support of Soun Tendo who, unbeknownst to his "wives," enjoys a Good gag at their expense now and then, even if This jest comes at the expense of Akane, whose past history of aggressive lesbian activities have been a source of deep distress to both of the fathers... Not knowing that their "engagement" is viewed as a jest by both men, Kodachi and Akane reluctantly have renewed their association, nervously abiding a hesitant truce while matters get sorted out by their mothers, and meanwhile Kodachi has been accepted by Trieste for low-level training in the same Jedi arts that once healed the mental distress of her suicide-prone mother... Unbeknownst to Kodachi, these activities have come to the attention of the Sith Apprentice named Pantyhose Taro, who now seeks to exploit this situation for his own nefarious purposes and at the behest of his master, the Sith Lord Darth Purge... Meanwhile Akane is now forced to consider how she will explain these matters to her two best friends, Shampoo and Ukyo who might take a dim view of her recent engagement, even absorbed as they are with their training for their upcoming match against the Golden Pair of Kolhotz High School... And meanwhile, blissfully unaware of these developments, the romantic trio of Ranma, Kasumi and Nabiki begin to recover from their recent all-out orgy, emerging from the Siege Perilous to the lights of day with a new understanding of the emotions that have only now been expressed between them... The first thing Ranma was conscious about as he started to awake from a blissful slumber was that there was an odd taste in his mouth and he was smelling a bit gamely, even if the aroma was infinitely preferable to the more familiar scent of his father laying beside him. Smelly old man or panda fur never had quite a pungent scent as this, however, almost perfume like with a hint of parsimons. He was just attempting to sort out what that meant when his mind began to uncloud and memories started to unfold before him, and then he sat bolt upright and stared in disbelief at his surroundings. It was like the perpetual gray of morning twilight, just before the sun fully rose over the horizon, casting just enough light for Ranma to see his two sleeping companions stretched out by his side, all three of them curled up for warmth against one another with Ranma in the center with Kasumi on the one hand and Nabiki on the other. All three of them were nude, this fact registered in his brain with the delayed effect of a hand grenade about to go off and alert every one of his senses of this startling revelation. Surprisingly the expected emotional firestorm failed to develop, leaving Ranma faintly dazed and confused as he regarded his two sleeping iinazuke, marveling that he wasn't spurting a nosebleed at the dizzying sense of what they had shared together on the previous evening. Ranma took a moment to study both women, his lack of fear no less surprising than if he had awaken to find himself nestled between two cats and without a panic attack as might normally be expected. He could remember vividly what they had done together and what it had felt like to make love to these two dynamic beauties, the quixotic Nabiki and the ethereally serene Kasumi cuddled up beside him like sleeping angels and looking so much at peace with themselves that he was loath to risk waking them and disturbing their contentment. Seeing them from so close an angle he was struck once again by their beauty, by the little things that attracted him to both young women, those qualities that distinguished the two sisters and which made Ranma altogether aware that they were sisters, little things he noticed close up that made them both such an intriguing study. For one thing he was drawn to the shape of their eyelashes, now closed, and the upward tilt of their noses, the slight bronze cast of Kasumi's face indicating much time spent in the open, while the rest of her body was creamy colored and much less tanned than Nabiki's taut little body. Their muscle tone was superb and he could not detect a flaw to the curving perfection of their bodies, whole areas of which he was now intimately familiar. He marveled at this strange attraction that he felt to both of these older young women, and the feelings that they inspired within him, a kind of nurturing protectiveness and admiration for their better qualities. He could easily catalogue a list of things that made him appreciate their proximity to him, and yet there was a kind of quiet terror there as well, as if he knew implicitly that these women had the power to both heal and hurt him with their slightest off-hand comment. It was incredible to think of the things which they had done with him only a short while ago, and yet it felt so right to be with them now that he could not feel as if there were anything wrong with this odd situation. He had heard stories from guys who bragged about having two women in bed together but he had never understood what that meant until this moment. Knowing they had generously gifted him with an experience unlike any other in his young life made him want to cuddle them in his arms and thank them profusely, a gesture that he was certain his father would frown upon but which Ranma knew to be honest gratitude, even if such an admission might seem less than fully "manly." But still he found it hard to regret any bit of what had just happened. The experience had taught him a wealth of information concerning what men and women were truly all about, and now he finally understood just why both girls had been so eager to accommodate him with their company, and why he felt so drawn to their sides in spite of their both being capable fighters more than able to look after themselves, a trait he attributed to few other people besides himself. And yet even as he thought this he sensed a shadow moving in the background, and raising his gaze he caught sight of a lumbering figure of menace violating the sanctity of the dojo, moving so stealthily that even the ponderous tread of his massive feet barely registered on Ranma's hearing. "You?" he declared as he shot to his feet, instantly assuming a fighting crouch and heedless of his undressed state as he confronted the menacing shadow with a defiant, "What do you want, creep?" "That should be obvious," Darth Purge hissed in amusement, "And how thoughtful of you to strip yourselves down of all weapons and defenses. This will be so easy I almost hate myself for doing what I must." Ranma instantly had no doubt of the lumbering lizard-man's intentions and firmed up his resolve with a lowly growled, "Not over my dead body you don't!" "You speak as though you had a say in the matter," the lizard-man rumbled, "But I assure you, Jedi Apprentice, you do not." Ranma took an instant to surge forward in attack, but before he could move one muscle group the burly Sith lord raised a three-fingered hand and halted the young human in his tracks. Ranma tensed and struggled only to find his body paralyzed, and in that moment he knew the true terror of the shadowy Dark Lord, the horrifying evil and hate that his presence manifested, and in that instant he knew what true helplessness felt like, and fear was quick to follow this as he realized his peril, standing alone and naked with his unconscious fiancées laying in innocence at his feet, quite utterly defenseless. "Now you see the true power of the Dark Side, Boy?" Purge declared as he produced his light saber and activated the blade, casting an unholy red light over everything around them, "How could you possibly hope to withstand one of my nature?" Ranma sweated and strained as he attempted to break free from the Dark Lord, his muscles knotting into chords as he fought a rising panic that threatened to unman him, even as he saw the blade raised to threaten him with its ruby tip hovering inches from his breastbone. Ranma stared in perverse fascination of the thing, even as his senses reeled and his heart recoiled from the cold and bitter **wrongness** in the air, the sense of violation of all that was good and natural, causing the bile to rise in his throat with a growing sense of utter and complete revulsion. His instincts cried out to break free, as though a hungry horde of cats were licking at his skin from all over, but still he could not break free of Purge's grip upon his body. For an instant he felt the heat of the blazing lightsaber threatening to burn a hole through his center, only to see Purge hesitate after the slightest of flickering moments. "No," the slit-eyed lizard man replied, pulling back from his intended thrust, "This would be too easy, too quick, too pathetically merciful. I believe that I have a better fate in store for you, young Jedi." "Ngh..." mewed a sleepy Nabiki as she started to sit up and rub the sleep out of her eyes, "Ranma-kun...what...?" Ranma tried to cry out a warning, to say anything that would alert Nabiki as to her danger, but quick as a snake the crimson lightsaber moved and struck home at its new target, causing Nabiki to glance down in surprise as she saw its blade sink deep into her breastbone, the intense heat hissing as it evaported her heart in a crimson boil that left a fist-sized hole in the middle of her chest. Nabiki had only a moment to gawp in stupefied amazement, and then the pressure seared her lungs and burst through her mouth in a rush of fire, and then without a word she fell backward breathing plasma, her whole body catching fire as she fell away lifeless before Ranma's horrified eyes... And then he screamed at last, giving voice to break himself free of his paralysis, and that was when he woke with a start and looked around in confusion, finding no sign of Purge anywhere, and daylight all around them. "Huh?" a voice startled out of a deep sleep, glancing to the side with a puzzled, "Ranma-kun?" "Nabiki?" Ranma turned to see the girl beside him was quite whole, alive and unhurt in any way, and without pausing to think about it he put a hand to the space between her breasts and felt her beating heart there, at which point he sighed and said, "Thank Kami..." "Huh?" Nabiki was still sleep-addled and not quite fully alert as she glanced down at herself in dull confusion. Then with a yelp she sat upright and moved a meter away from Ranma, hugging herself with her arms and gasping, "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE? Why am I NAKED???" "Hmmm?" another sleepy voice responded, and then Kasumi opened her eyes and looked around in a state of mild confusion that took more than a moment to sort out, and then she too sat up and hugged herself with a sharply exclaimed, "OH MY!" "Uh...guys?" Ranma looked from one girl to the other and then glanced around, unconsciously stretching out with his feelings to make sure there were no looming shadows in the immediate vicinity, "You both all right?" "All right?" Nabiki asked, "I'M NAKED! How the hell is that all right? And why the hell are you guys naked too? I..." her expression fell, her eyes going round with the delayed effect of realization. "Oh dear," Kasumi slowly lowered her arms and took sight of the dojo, "It happened again, didn't it? Just like with Shampoo..." "Huh?" Nabiki turned and looked at her older sister, "What do you mean again, Oneechan? Kasumi...is there something you forgot to tell us about this Siege Perilous thing?" "Er...actually, there is," Kasumi said nervously, "I'm so sorry, I meant to explain to you before. The Siege was created to effect a protective environment where one could...um...lower ones barriers and discard the normal boundaries that separate us from one another..." "Lower our barriers?" Nabiki asked skeptically, "You mean...like drop our clothing...and our inhibitions?" "Well...that has been known to happen," Kasumi allowed with a somewhat sheepish expression, "But the intent was to make it possible for us to...um...get to know more about each other..." "Well...it sure did the job for that, didn't it?" Nabiki snorted, her tone indicating rising agitation bordering on hysteria, "And what a great way for you to seduce the both of us, both Ranma and YOUR OWN SISTER!!" "Um...could you mind not shouting bout it, Imotochan?" Nabiki asked with a lowering of her head and shoulders in a meek display of contrite humility, "It wasn't as if I...planned for this to happen..." "OH NO??" Nabiki scoffed, rising to her knees as she barked at her older sister, "WELL IT SURE THE HELL WORKED OUT THAT WAY, DIDN'T IT???" "Nabiki!" Ranma surprised himself by speaking up just then. "What do you want?" Nabiki snapped in his direction, and ordinarily Ranma would have flinched at the tone she used, but this time he crossed the room and did the only thing he knew how to do under these circumstances, he followed his instincts and threw his arms around to hug her tightly to his bosom. For a moment it was as if time itself stood still, and Nabiki tensed up and remained utterly rigid for a few brief seconds before relaxing moderately, becoming aware of the boy in whose arms she was currently embraced, and then she heard him moaning softly in her ear, "Thank Kami you're okay...don't ever scare me like that again, will you?" "Huh?" Nabiki asked in a mild daze, wondering if she were imagining things or had Ranma's voice actually shaken a bit with emotion, almost a sob of relief as he held her tightly. "Ranma-kun?" Kasumi asked with a puzzled expression. "It...it's nothing," Ranma said as he gently separated from Nabiki without fully letting her go, "Just glad you're all right. I mean...with all that happened...whooeeehhh..." he glanced away, "Ain't like I'm scared or nothing...I'm just...glad, that's all." For a moment Nabiki was speechless, then she glanced at Kasumi, who looked back with equal parts of confusion and amazement. Then both of them glanced at their discarded robes and thought back to the night before, each reliving their memories in the blurry haze of bodies and souls joining together. Their thoughts briefly meshed before each sister reasserted her individuality and regained a measure of composure, then Nabiki frowned and looked soberly at Kasumi, compelling the older girl to give her a heartfelt apologetic expression. "You didn't really plan for that to happen...did you?" she asked in a level tone of voice. "Um...not really," Kasumi replied, "My intent was to bring the three of us much closer together..." Nabiki gave a short, bitter laugh, "Yeah, well you sure called it on that, Oneechan...now what the heck are we supposed to tell our folks if they find us like this? You're my sister, for Kami's sakes! My sister!" "Ah...well..." Kasumi winced, her expression one of guilty admission. "Aw, forget about it," Ranma urged. "Forget about it?" Nabiki looked at him incredulously. "I mean...we all got through it alive, right?" Ranma said, then paused before saying, "No, that didn't come out right. I mean...I never saw any of that coming, but I ain't sorry it happened. I mean...uh well..." He fell silent as he saw the expressions both women turned upon him, and then he drew back a bit with a nervous grin as though only just then realizing that anything more he said was bound to reflect badly upon him, and after all that had just happened the last thing he wanted was to get on the bad side of both women. "So...you like that, did you?" Nabiki asked with an almost neutral expression. "Well, Ranma-kun is our fiancée," Kasumi reflected, "And at least now we know that we are...um...sexually compatible..." "Yeah," Nabiki turned a cross look towards Kasumi, "Next time, though, I'd like a little advanced warning before you order me to strip, Sis. You couldn't have been more obvious about that is you'd slipped yen notes down my g-string and did a wolf whistle." "Oh my," Kasumi glanced away, "This is...so awkward..." "Heh...you're telling me?" Ranma nervously swallowed, wondering why a timely interruption could not happen right then to spare him having to make an account for his actions...then he thought of his vision and inwardly shuddered... "Boss?" Taro asked, noticing his mentor was unusually silent in his posture of meditation. Purge blinked his nictitating eyelids then glanced at his remaining disciple, "What is it?" "Um..." Taro only hesitated for a fraction of an instant, then frowned and silently assured himself that he was not feeling nervousness, only caution, "Thought you wanted to know...Duck boy is back from his mission." "He has brought the goods?" Purge asked, then flicked his tongue in satisfaction, "Good. He would not dare fail me again, not after the last time. Another piece of my plan now moves closer to fruition." "He says it wasn't easy sneaking it out of the shop with the old lady always guarding it," Taro noted, holding up a container, "But it looks like the real deal here. You can check for yourself if you want..." "Not necessary," Purge replied, "I will know if it is genuine or not, and if not, then I will test it out on Mousse." "Um...right," Taro paused before asking the real question that was foremost in his mind, "I don't mean to pry, Boss, but...where were you right now? I mean, I've seen you meditate before, but..." "It was not meditation," Purge replied, "I was...projecting my thoughts into the subconscious of another. I wished to test his defenses to see how far he has come along in his training." "And?" Taro asked with raised eyebrows. "As expected," Purge replied, "The boy has holes large enough to drive a Star Destroyer through. It was simplicity itself to plant a suggestion in his mind that touched upon his deepest fears, ones that would not trigger his dangerous alternate personality. It is as I have long believed, Trieste wastes her time with a clod who lacks the sensitivity needed to become a truly formidable Jedi." "That's good, right?" Taro asked, "That means you can crush him when you like?" "When it suits my designs," Purge acknowledged, "Patience is a quality my kind has in great abundance, unlike you humans, and when we strike it is always unexpected. You would do well to study this and add it to your arsenal if you wish to go up against the old perverted human once again rather than overestimate your abilities and come to failure." "I'll keep that in mind, Boss," Taro replied, "You know I never forget a lesson." "Good for you," Purge raised his chin and looked down his squat reptilian nose at his pupil, "Haven't you somewhere to be right now?" "Naw, no hurry on that front," Taro replied, "I'll know how to find her when it suits me, and right now she's with the Tendos making sweet with her **fiancée**," he managed to accent the word so as to make it all the more derisive. "I will never fully understand you humans," Purge admitted, "But at least you are learning." "Hey, I had a good teach, the nastiest one in the business, right?" "Flattery will avail you nothing around here," Purge replied, "It is results that interest me, and I await with interest to see what the fruit of your labors will be with this Kuno Kodachi." "Trust me, Boss," Taro replied, "You want her brother, you deal with the sister first. Some humans are pretty attacked to our relations...not like me, I ain't got nobody but myself I can rely on." "And that is why I trust you in this endeavor," Purge noted slyly, "You love no one but yourself, and even there you are unforgiving." "The better to crush my enemies and leave 'em weeping I always say," Taro replied, turning away with a sly look, "And believe me, I'm gonna enjoy turning that frail into my own personal love slave, unless she surprises me and proves she's worthy of something better." "Better than you?" Purge inquired. "Naw, better than being a bootlicker," Taro replied, "Or a bush licker, either way, right about now I'll bet she'll be wanting a real man in her life instead of that Tomboy Jedi freak, and I'll be the man to take her away from all this and give her a real place, either at my side or at my feet, and I may even let her get to chose which is which when I get through initiating her into her own dark side." "Then I await the results of your personal pet project," Purge nodded with interest, "Just be sure you do not become too distracted by your hormones from achieving our true objective." "Like I could forget that part, Boss?" Taro gave a nasty smile relishing the impending hunt and thinking with special malice how this would reflect on Kuonji, who even now he knew was having her own share of **interesting** encounters... Shampoo groaned as Ukyo worked her over, shuddering softly as she felt the chef's study hands ply their efforts to sensitive skin, working the body oils into each nook and cranny with an almost vindictive relish, clearly delighting in finally having the voluptuous Amazon completely at her mercy. "Just remember," Ukyo said over the mewing noises of her hapless victim, "You screw up out there, you make the both of us look bad, and there ain't no way I'm losing to that Senzenen creep, so try and pay attention, and for pity's sakes! Stay away from that Azusa!" "Shampoo remember," the Amazon replied, though it sounded more like a low groan as Ukyo's hands went deeper and deeper, "This one will be careful and not let fuzzy-headed thief girl distract Shampoo from stupid rich boy." "Yeah, sure," Ukyo snorted, "That's what you said the last time, before that one girl cut across your path and you tracked her with your eyes instead of watching where your skates were crossing. You remember what the old woman said to the both of us after we got untangled?" "Aiyaa..." Shampoo groaned softly, though whether she was agreeing with Ukyo or with the level of her treatment was impossible to determine. "What am I gonna do with you, Sugar?" Ukyo asked in faint exasperation. "This one have many good suggestions," Shampoo smiled as if to suggest a few telepathically. Ukyo caught the flash of images and just smiled, "Some other time, maybe," she then slapped Shampoo on the fanny with the flat of her hand, "Okay, lazybones. That's enough of a massage for you, now you do me...and JUST a massage, got that? No hanky panky before breakfast." "Ucchan no fair," Shampoo pouted as she got up off the towel-strewn bench that had been serving as a massage table, "This one only want to make nice to Ukyo, give maybe you nice breakfast between legs?" She flashed Ukyo a sultry look and spread her legs to show off her clean-shaven pussy, but this time Ukyo was having none of the Amazon's seductive tricks, knowing full well that to give in so much as an inch to temptation would be to spend the whole morning screwing her brains out instead of concentrating on their impending school session. "Nice try, Sugar," Ukyo said as she lay face-down upon the bench, "But you don't get off that easy. Besides, you're the one who said we need to take it slow, right?" "Actually that was Spatula Girl's idea," Shampoo remarked as she poured lotion onto one hand then started to rub it onto Ukyo's backside, then at once her fingers worked their magic over tense muscles and firm flesh, kneading and applying that lotion to surface areas of Ukyo's body that did not normally see so much attention, "Shampoo just say she let Ukyo decide when she ready to screw. Ucchan want this one to always be one who is on top?" "Not a chance, you little flirt," Ukyo smirked, enjoying the feeling of being pampered far too much to move from the spot, "You think I'm gonna let you waltz all over me the nest time around---ah---not that I'm saying that there'll be another time, mind you, just not gonna take my eye off of you while we're out there on the ice..." "My, aren't the both of you looking cozy?" Cologne mused by way of announcing her presence. "What do you want, old woman?" Ukyo frowned, "We got school in another hour, we can take the time to cool off after that torture session you just put us through..." "What, a little light workout like that is getting you down?" Cologne asked innocently. "Light workout?" Ukyo fought the temptation to rise up and glare at the source of her present agony (preferring instead to concentrate on the source of her current release), "You had us on inline roller skates with fifty kilo weights balanced on our shoulders, doing cartwheels and pirouettes for Kami's sakes! Then you had us scale a flight of a hundred steps while some nut went chasing a hat for his girlfriend, and we had to hop on both feet the whole way dragging sleds full of telephone books---WHICH YOU HAD US DELIVER, BY THE WAY---!" "No need to thank me for looking out for your welfare," Cologne replied, "It's my duty as your trainer. Oh...and by the way, I got a call from the father of your friend Akane...such an interesting development, I have to marvel at the man's deviousness, I never knew he had it in them." "What are you going on about?" Ukyo frowned, "What about Akane?" "Aiyaa," Shampoo ceased her lavishing attention to Ukyo's body to give her elder a concerned look, "Is Akane all right?" "Oh, she's just fine," Cologne said a bit too casually for anyone to be fooled by her demeanor, "It's just that she got engaged to some person named Kuno Kodachi." There was less than a three second pause before both chef and Cologne's heir simultaneously chorused, "ENGAGED...TO WHO---???" in tones that could be heard well onto the street level... "Nabiki," Kasumi softly pleaded. "Not a word, Kasumi," Nabiki said with a flat expression as she exited her bedroom, "As far as I'm concerned I'm going to pretend the whole thing never happened. You can try explaining it to me later...AFTER I see what Sensei has to say about your ideas of training." "Um...actually," Kasumi hesitated. "What?" Nabiki turned and glared at her normally beloved older sister. "I...already spoke with Sensei...and with mother," Kasumi sheepishly replied, glancing away, "And it seems they...already knew about what happened..." "And?" Nabiki arched and eyebrow. "Daddy also knows about our little...um...oh my," Kasumi coughed politely, "But that is not the most unusual part of it all..." "What?" Nabiki was too stunned to form a more coherent response to this, her mind reeling at the implications. Their parents knew...and Sensei? But that would mean... "Actually...it's about Akane." Nabiki blinked at this, her brain doing a complete reboot in a matter of mere seconds. "Akane?" "Akane," Kasumi replied, "She's...engaged." "Engaged," Nabiki repeated, feeling a numbness sweeping over her, "To...Ranma?" "No," Kasumi said, "Ranma is still our fiancée." "Oh," Nabiki said in relief, followed abruptly by a return of her former irritation as she once more frowned at Kasumi over the "our" part attached to the word "fiancée." "You see," Kasumi explained, "Last night...mother and Sensei went over to the Kuno mansion and..." "The Kuno mansion?" Nabiki blinked, "You don't mean...Tatewaki? Akane will kill him!" "Oh no," Kasumi explained, "Mister Kuno brought that up but it was rejected, so instead he engaged...someone else to Akane..." "Someone else?" Nabiki knew that she was repeating the lines her sister was giving her but for the moment could not help that fact, instead remarking, "And mother went along with this? But...who?" "Ah...well, it's just..." Kasumi seemed to be searching for the right words, then turned and gave Nabiki an apologetic, "Maybe you had better come to the breakfast table so you can see for yourself." "Nani?" Nabiki blinked, giving Kasumi a vexed and puzzled expression. Nonetheless when the two of them went downstairs the matter only became more confused for Nabiki as she saw who the other party was who was sitting at the table beside Akane, an invisible line separating the two as both were nervously glancing away as though afraid to acknowledge the presence of the other. "Kodachi?" Nabiki blurted, surprised at seeing her friend in attendance. "Er...hello, Nabiki-san," Kodachi gave her a fleeting smile before adding, "Fancy meeting you here..." "I live here," Nabiki said, glancing at Akane and then slowly forcing her mind to put it all together, "You don't mean..." "Nabiki," her father said with a casual ease that surprised her, "Say hello to your new sister-in-law, Akane's iinazuke." "Say WHAT???" Nabiki reacted with a start, "Daddy, have you flipped?" "Nabiki," her mother spoke sharply, "That is no way to address your father..." "Sit down, Nabiki-chan," Trieste calmly instructed, her tone firm so as to leave one in no doubt that it was an order, "We are still sorting through these matters, and it is by no means decided, but that appears to be the consensus of both Kuno Godai and your father." "But-but-but-but that's crazy!" Nabiki declared, "They're both girls, for Kami sakes!" "Huh, you're a fine one to talk," Akane responded before thinking better of the matter. "Huh?" Nabiki looked at her younger sister, "And what's that supposed to mean?" "Nothing," Akane replied, going back to picking at her food without really picking anything up with her chopsticks. "Please sit down, Nabiki-chan," her mother urged, and this time Nabiki complied with her instructions. "Okay," Nabiki grumbled as she pointedly ignored Kasumi, who sat down beside her, "So what happened? You guys set this up last night between yourselves?" "It was not intentional on our part," Trieste replied, "That much I can assure you." "Gee, what a coincidence that is," Nabiki remarked as she made a point of pausing to spoon some rice into her mouth, chewing it carefully and sipping some tea to watch it down before she added, "Seems something else that wasn't supposed to be intentional took place last night..." "About time too," Akane remarked without looking up. Nabiki crossly glared at her sister and said, "What do you know about it?" "Oh...nothing," Akane replied, still not showing much evidence of an appetite this strange morning. Nabiki stared at her sister then glanced from side to side to confirm a suspicion, then growled out a terse, "You mean...everybody knows what happened...including you, Kodachi?" "Well," her erstwhile best friend remarked, "You weren't exactly...inconspicuous. Which reminds me...where is the fortunate boy who had you howling at the moon until the wee hours of the morning?" On cure Ranma showed up, toweling down his hair before saying, "Sorry I'm late, Pop showed up and insisted on sparring. He's getting cleaned up now...guess he doesn't want mom smelling wet panda fur all over the place..." "Good morning, Ranma-kun," Kasumi said brightly. "Heh, morning, Kasumi," Ranma said before sitting down on the opposite side of Nabiki, "You guys leave enough for me? 'Cause I just know Pop'll steal anything that's left..." "We made sure to spare as much for you as possible, Son-in-law," Kimiko replied, "After all you went through I'm sure you'll need your strength to replace that energy you expended keeping my little girls up way past their bed time." "Mother," Kasumi replied, blushing a faint crimson along her cheeks. Nabiki just stared in disbelief from side-to-side before noticing the casual way Ranma was behaving, as if nothing momentous had taken place the previous night. If anything he seemed a little too cheerful, and while he was hardly strutting like a peacock at the moment, Nabiki was a little too quick to perceive his actions as tantamount to preening like a Tomcat. "So," Kodachi mused, "The conquering hero makes his entry." "Oh...uh...hi," Ranma said as if just then noticing Kodachi. Akane glared at him with more heat than her usual level of resentment, "Do you mind not staring at a guest? And I thought you had your hands full with my sisters." "Huh?" Ranma blinked, "Oh...um...that? Er...well..." "Ranma," Soun spoke sternly, "Were you respectful to my little girls last night? Because I won't have you behaving disrespectfully to either Nabiki or Kasumi when you are married..." "Oh, no problem there, Sir," Ranma replied, "I'll be very respectful to your daughters. Kasumi and Nabiki...um...well...they mean a lot to me, and they're really pretty special..." "We know that you three will be very good for one another, Ranma-kun," Kimiko assured him, "You may be in for some adjustments along the way, but it's been obvious to both Soun and me that you make our little girls very, very happy."" "Just be mindful that your activities do not interfere with your other training," Trieste said with serene aloofness, focusing her stare upon Nabiki before adding, "No doubt there will be many questions to be asked, but the time and place to discuss these matters will be after breakfast, before you children must be on your way to school for the morning." "Oh gee, that's right," Akane remarked as if only just thinking up something important, "Kodachi has to get ready for her school, right? So I guess she should head back to the mansion..." "Nonsense," Soun replied, "She can borrow one of your spare uniforms. I spoke with Kuno Godai last night and your father has agreed to let you transfer over to Furinkan so you can spend more time with Akane, isn't that nice, Kodachi- san?" "What?" both Akane and Kodachi chorused together. Nabiki was growing more confused and infuriated with the drift of this conversation and finally slammed her chopsticks down on the table, "What the heck is going on here? Who are you people, and what have you done with our parents?" "Nabiki..." Trieste said softly. "No, Darling," Kimiko replied, "I am her mother and I will handle this. Nabiki, to the dojo. Now." "But...!" Nabiki started to protest. "Now," her mother did not exactly shout the word, but the tone she used would have suited her early days as a drill sergeant in the self-defense forces. "Nabiki?" Ranma asked uneasily. "Just wait here, Ranma-kun," Nabiki told him while keeping her focus upon her mother. Nabiki was feeling angry, confused, rebellious and not a little hurt by the way things were happening all around her, but she was too well trained to mistake that tone as a good time to assert her independence. She got up and left her half-eaten breakfast on the table as she trudged out into the garden following close on the trail of her mother. When at last they got to the dojo she was feeling more than a little bit miffed about this curt treatment that she was receiving when her mother surprised her by going to the weapons stand and fetching a pair of practice naginata, tossing one of them to Nabiki, then turning to face her with a resolute expression. "Now then," Kimiko said, "Do you have something that you wish to say to me, young lady?" Nabiki surprised herself by firming up her resolve before saying, "Yeah...I have something to say. Like what the hell is going on here? Did you set me up, Mom? With Ranma and Kasumi that is?" "You mean did I plan for you to have sex with your sister?" Kimiko seemed to consider the question before saying, "I did foresee it as a possibility, but I didn't do anything to prevent it from happening, if that is what you mean." "It's not, dammit!" Nabiki declared hotly, "How can you stand there and tell me you think it's okay for me to have sex with my own sister?" "A very good question," Kimiko replied, then went into action, "Defend yourself!" Nabiki almost did not react in time to block the attack of her mother's naginata, but once she deflected the first three strikes she had enough of a gap to vault back out of reach of the fourth attack, at which point she squared her stance and prepared herself to meet the inevitable rush that her mother staged as she came at her daughter with naginata thrusting at her middle. "Very good," Kimiko said as she dodged back when Nabiki counter-attacked, "But your moves are too wild and you don't have control over your emotions..." "Gee, what a surprise that is, you think?" Nabiki responded with a grunt as her own thrust was blocked and he was forced to disengage. "You're old enough to know better than this, Nabiki," Kimiko paused to say before going in with an attack that caused the younger girl to stagger backwards and go on the defensive. Nabiki rallied at once and came back with a tricky maneuver that nearly caught the older woman napping, and then Kimiko backed away and assumed a defensive crouch while Nabiki circled slowly with her naginata at the ready, looking for an opening while trying not to present one that might earn her a painful rap from the blunt end of her mother's weapon. "So," Kimiko remarked into the tense silence that hung between them, "Aren't you going to ask?" "Ask what?" Nabiki responded, not letting herself be distracted from her ready posture. "Why Trieste-san and I allowed Kasumi to perform the Siege Perilous...even knowing that there was a risk of what could happen." "You set us up for that?" Nabiki asked, "How could you, Mother?" "All that we set up was the chance for you to get to explore your own emotions and your ties to Kasumi and Ranma," Kimiko replied, "You three did the rest between you, there was nothing predetermined about it. It was just as likely that nothing very significant would happen." "You don't mind the fact that I just spent the night sleeping with my own sister?" Nabiki marveled. "Does it bother you so much?" Kimiko asked, "You love Kasumi, don't you?" "Of course I do!" Nabiki shot back, "But just because I love Kasumi doesn't mean I want to sleep with her!" "But you acted on your impulses, Child," Kimiko replied, "And that means, on some level, you really do want to sleep with her. Did you enjoy it?" "Yes...but that's not the point!" Nabiki sputtered, then she had to duck fast as her mother came in with a swipes, followed by a leg-sweep that the younger girl only narrowly avoided. "The point is that you think we let you down, eh?" Kimiko asked as she methodically backed Nabiki into a corner, "Did it ever occur to you that this decision was not easy for us, to permit Kasumi to take the risk that she did in getting to know you better?" Nabiki was sweating and knew she was at a distinct disadvantage, but she refused to panic and instead spotted an opening, and like a shot she thrust her naginata forward, only to yank it back in time as Kimiko moved to block it. Her feint bought her time enough to leap backward up against the wall and with both feet planted there she **pushed** forward and over her mother's head, shooting up into a tumble that brought her around behind her mother within a second, and then with a backward kick Nabiki was able to tumble her mother back into the wall with the satisfaction of seeing the older woman stumble. "Hah, now who's napping?" the younger Tendo girl snorted, "So why did you go through with this, and how the heck did you explain things to daddy?" "Well," Kimiko pushed away from the wall and regained her poise, turning about and assuming a new ready attack posture, "Your father was upset at first when we explained matters to him, but after he heard the list of advantages and disadvantages that came with advancing your marital training, he came around to seeing that there were worst fates than for you to share a husband with your sister. And look at it from his perspective, you both gain a husband and you fulfill the obligation with the Saotomes for our families to be bound together, plus you and Kasumi can be together more often so long as Ranma is in the middle of your fun. Believe me, it is a relief to have someone else around here who is willing to do housework..." "That's your idea of domestic bliss?" Nabiki said when a realization hit her and she stared blankly at her mother, "You mean...you...and..." The butt-end of her mother's naginata rapped lightly against her jaw, causing Nabiki to stagger backward as her mother came forward again and forced the younger girl back up against the wall using the blade-end to "convince" her to remain motionless there. Kimiko then smiled and said, "Now you're catching on...but you're allowing your emotions to distract you. Trieste and I are like sisters, just like you and Kasumi, and yet we find our arrangement eminently suitable, thank you very much. Just because you haven't been paying close attention to what we grown-ups do with ourselves is no reason to act like a deer caught in a headlight, Nabiki-chan." "Um..." Nabiki glanced down the length of the naginata then at her mother, realizing she was effectively pinned and with no easy escape route, at least that would not lead to pain of one sort or another, "So...what's your point again, Mom?" Kimiko withdrew her naginata and rested the butt-end on the floor of the dojo, leaning upon it slightly as she responded, "You're angry because of what happened, and I suppose you have every right to feel upset over being cornered into it, but you can't pretend to be a complete innocent here. Trieste and I sounded you out long before this occurred, if you will recall..." "You asked me if I'd consider sharing Ranma-kun with Kasumi," Nabiki shot back, "You didn't sound me out about whether I'd want to have sex with my own sister!" "No, but that part you did on your own," Kimiko replied, "Once your inhibitions were down it was only natural that you would gravitate towards Kasumi. You have always looked up to her and admire her, and if she were not your sister it is still quite possible that you would still have loved her no less. You had reservations about making love to another woman, but was it only your fiancée's cursed form that you were thinking about? Might it not be possible that, even then, you were unconsciously considering the possibility that you and Kasumi might wind up together if you shared her with Ranma?" "W-What?" Nabiki blinked, "Hold on now...you're making it sound like I was more jealous about sharing Kasumi..." "Are the two not one in the same?" Kimiko gave her daughter a wry look and added, "It may surprise you to know that I was young once myself, and I've made more than my share of mistakes along the way, some of which I hope you never have to find out about, Nabiki-chan. Making mistakes is all a part of growing up, and it is quite possible that your sister made one by opting for something that you were not ready for, but perhaps it is because she wanted you to know how much she cares about you..." "You mean...like enough to fuck me?" Nabiki said indelicately. "Or to have you fuck her, as the case might be," Kimiko smiled, "In either event I am not disappointed in you, in either of you. If anything I am proud to see my little girls blossoming out into beautiful and mature young ladies. All right, so the timing was a bit premature, but are you going to stand there and tell me that you will never again want to spend another moment alone with Kasumi for fear of what happened happening again? Or that you will never consider letting your barriers down like that with her again? Then tell me, child...was it really so awful?" "No," Nabiki replied, "It wasn't awful at all...in fact...I can remember enough of what went down to know that I was actually...happy." "At making love to Kasumi as well as Ranma?" Kimiko asked, "Or just being held in your sister's arms like when you were a small girl and the two of you took care of one another?" "Um...both..." Nabiki glanced down and for a moment she could not form a more coherent response to summarize her feelings in the matter. "So...do we cancel the wedding reservations?" Kimiko asked, "Or can we move ahead admitting that we both have made mistakes in this matter and will try to learn from our errors?" "Easy for you to say, Mom," Nabiki responded, "I...I..." "You were shocked to find yourself wrapped up in this?" Kimiko asked. "No...shocked that I was enjoying it," Nabiki grudgingly admitted, "But then I woke up and it just seemed...wrong...I mean...I'm so confused about it now...but Kasumi..." "Your sister loves you very much," Kimiko moved forward and laid her hand upon Nabiki's shoulder, "There is no shame in admitting that you love her back. It takes more to make a marriage work than just fooling around and indulging your mating instincts, what's needed is honest desire and devotion. You have to think of the other partners in a marriage as being as important as satisfying your own needs, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually. If you and Kasumi are to be co-wives for Ranma, then you are going to have to work out these differences and learn to put things aside that are less important than the greater union." "You make it sound like I'm going up for a job interview," Nabiki sniffed, "Or joining the army or something..." "In a way you are," Kimiko replied, "Being a wife is a very big job and responsibility, and you battle daily just to keep a roof over your head and see that all of the bills are paid in a timely manner, and then there are the children to take care of..." "Children?" Nabiki blinked. "Oh, did I forget to mention that?" Kimiko smiled, "Tell me, which of you would you rather see get pregnant first, you or Kasumi? Because I am eager to have grandchildren while I'm still young enough to bounce them on my knees and take them to go out and buy ice cream, and do you mean to stand there and tell me, child, that you've never thought about yourself as a mother?" "Um...well..." Nabiki nervously fidgeted before conceding, "I...guess..." "Only you'd rather finish your education first and work on getting a career?" Kimiko smiled, "Good girl. I always knew you were the levelheaded and practical one in our family. You must get that from me because you sure didn't get it from your father..." "Ah...well..." Nabiki swallowed and unconsciously rubbed her belly with one hand, "I guess maybe eventually I could have some kids with Ranma...but if Kasumi wants to go first, then I'm sure she'll make an excellent mother..." "Oh, absolutely," Kimiko nodded, "I've imagined her balancing a son on her lap for so long that the vision is practically a divine revelation, but she'll also have a daughter or two along the way, and I wonder how many you'll be having once you settle down with that randy future husband of yours? Ah, if I were twenty years younger I'd envy you...but then again, I'm quite happy with Soun- chan for my husband." "Um...right," Nabiki conceded, then paused before adding, "I'm still not happy about the way this was pulled on me...and I don't think Ranma-kun had clue before last night what he was in for..." "So tell me," Kimiko leaned forward with interest, "Was he good with you on the first time? Do you think he's trainable enough to improve with age, and are you afraid that he might come to care about one of you more than the other? Does he prefer you or does he like Kasumi better?" "Mother!" Nabiki was only mildly shocked at this point to hear her parent asking such raunchy questions...but then again, her meter for the weird was already beyond the red zone, and so she had to silently concede that these were very good and tough-to-answer questions... "Nabiki-chan?" a voice asked timidly from the sidelines. Nabiki sighed and passed her naginata along to her mother, then turned to say, "Yes Oneechan?" "Um..." Kasumi glanced down and hesitated before saying, "It is nearly time for you to go to school. Will you be wanting to clean yourself up some more or...?" "No, I'm all right," Nabiki sighed, "Sorry about blowing up at you before, Oneechan, but...I'm still a little miffed at you. You could have handled things better last night, you know." "I know," Kasumi sighed, "Can you forgive me?" Nabiki exchanged a look with her mother before saying, "I'll think about it. Meanwhile I want to talk with Sensei about your use of the Siege Perilous to seduce your own sister." "I am here," Trieste replied as she appeared from the shadow of the dojo. "Gee, what a surprise," Nabiki managed to say without sounding too sarcastic, "Guess I don't need to repeat myself. I just want to say that it was a pretty sneaky, underhanded thing to do for someone who claims to walk on the light side of the Force..." "I know," Trieste answered, "And I am prepared to do penance for my own presumption. It is simply that...one cannot fight biology, no matter how hard that you try. The mind may rule the body, but only so far, and to ignore your instincts can often be quite fatal." "I'll try and keep that in mind the next time somebody scolds me for listening to my instincts," Nabiki duly noted, "Baser or otherwise." "Ranma-kun is waiting for you outside, Imotochan," Kasumi noted, "If you want to talk with him, discuss what happened..." "Maybe later," Nabiki murmured softly, "I can forgive the big lug since it was a first time for him, but if one or both of us becomes pregnant because of this..." "Oh my," Kasumi blinked, "I...didn't take that into consideration..." "Figured as much," Nabiki said as she moved past Kasumi, "Have to say, Sis, I never expected you to be the one who did her thinking with her hormones. We'll talk when I get back, and I'll sort things out with Ranma...but this business about Akane getting engaged to Kodachi..." "Oh my, yes," Kasumi averred with an overtly troubled expression, "Father seems unusually pleased about it for some reason, but...I cannot believe that he actually intends for Akane to marry your friend..." "He's up to something, no doubt about it," Nabiki agreed with a slight shudder, "And when Daddy gets an idea in his head...that's definitely the time to worry." "You do know your father well, Nabiki-chan," Kimiko mused softly, "But one way or another, I intend to get to the bottom of this, one way or another..." Continued. Comments/Criticisms/Naginata Counseling Sessions: shadowmane@ridgenet.net Ranma gets his say on the state of his dual engagement as matters FINALLY progress to the showdown with the dirty---AH-I mean the GOLDEN Pair (after, that is, Akane does some 'Splainin' to Ukyo and Shampoo about her **engagement** to Kodachi), but what will Ukyo do when she finds out just where Ryoga's been spending his evenings? Find out the answer to this and so much else in: "To Halve and Behold," or, "Couple Cleaving on the Edge!" Be there! X -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- If you wish to check out my other works, Please check out my Fanfiction webpage at: http://s11.sexshare.com/~jbader/jimbader.html All related chapters of this series can be found there along with my other works.