Chapter 3: That Time
Disclaimer: In the prologue
Urd was attempting to force Ranma into a nice pair of rather tight slacks and a dress shirt in preparation to take Skuld out. "Now why do I have to wear this again?" He said.
"You need to dress up for a date Ranma, it's just what you do," Urd responded.
"Never bothered before, plus, I can't exactly fight well in this," Ranma commented, pointing at the offending and restrictive clothing.
"But Ranma," Urd whined with a big pout on her face, "if you don't put any effort into your appearance what will your date think. Every girl puts a ton of thought into what they wear and if you just turn up looking like you always do it means you don't care enough to dress up for them."
"Fine, fine, whatever," Ranma responded. "I still think this is too much effort, 'specially for some geeky, tech thing."
"Don't let Skuld hear you say that buster, she's really been looking forward to going," Urd said menacingly.
"Yeah, yeah, still think it'll be boring."
"Whatever, just go, and remember how I told you to act in the restaurant," Urd shooed him out of the room. 'Damn,' she thought, ' his butt looks GOOD. Skuld better appreciate the effort I'm putting into this.'
'Now, I just need to get there ahead of them to make sure everything goes off without a hitch. Aha, one of my special aerosolized lust potions should do the trick. Ohohohoho.'
'Damn,' Skuld thought, 'Ranma cleans up really well.'
They were currently walking to the auto-show. Skuld had been stunned when Ranma asked her if she wanted to go out on a date, and even more shocked with his suggestions. Naturally, she knew that Urd was involved, but she didn't see why she couldn't enjoy herself. After all, she did want to see the show and Ranma WAS rather cute when he wasn't trying to glomp her. Well, he was still cute then but it had been extremely embarrassing.
For his part, Ranma was understandably nervous and watching his surroundings, just hoping that the night didn't turn out to be as disastrous as some of his previous dates. Sure, he'd been coerced into taking Skuld out, but as far as he knew that was just the way it was. After all, he'd never been out on a date by his own free will before. He had always been coerced into it by the promise of a cure for his curse or by being sold as a date by Nabiki. Granted the auto-show did not exactly excite the young martial artist, but Urd had suggested it as the best way to cheer Skuld up and Ranma is a sucker for a girl in distress. The problem however, was that in Ranma's experience, no date ends well. Either fiancée troubles or a fight would inevitably crop up. And, while Skuld had power in spades, Ranma still didn't want her getting caught in the crossfire that permeated his life.
'Crap, the Squirt and the stud are going out on a date?' Mara thought as she observed the pair leaving the temple from across the street. 'Urdie moves fast… I'll give her that. I'd better get involved if I don't want to lose our little bet.' She moved close enough to eavesdrop on them and learned their plans for the night. 'The restaurant will probably be too crowded, and I want to catch them before they even make it there. Hmm, sending some minions in isn't an option, wonderboy down there would trash anything I can conjure up and I really don't want them to kill him myself. If only I could…' She pulled out a copy of Ranma's file. 'Oho, wait… what's this. Bwahahaha, perfect.' Mara's clothes shifted from her normal biker style clothing to a much racier leather outfit as she pulled a document out of the file folder.
Ranma led Skuld to a quaint Italian style bistro a few blocks from the University for dinner. Bell had suggested it as a quiet place with good food, both of which appealed to Ranma and got them a reservation for a secluded table near the back. Ranma held Skuld's chair out for her, receiving a brilliant smile in return. 'Wow, she's even cuter than Akane when she smiles,' Ranma thought. 'I dunno what the big deal with the chair is, but Urd said it was important and Skuld seems to like it.'
"So, I just wanted to say I'm sorry about glomping you earlier," Ranma said with a light embarrassed blush.
"No, it's not a problem, I'm sorry for hitting you," Skuld said. "I should have known you weren't really in control."
"Not a big deal, I get hit harder all the time," Ranma commented offhandedly. "So.. what's good here, I've never really had Italian, sounds kinda like Ramen and Okonomiyaki though."
'Not a big deal? I smashed him repeatedly on the head and he thinks it isn't a big deal?' Skuld was inwardly fuming. "Um, try the ravioli or the tortellini if you want something close to real Italian. They're both very good."
"Think I'll try both then," Ranma replied with a slight smirk.
Skuld merely quirked an eyebrow and thought, 'Well, he does seem like he eats a lot.'
'Huh, thought she'd yell at me for eating like a pig like Akane always does. Bah, I'm not Ryoga.'
"So Ranma, aside from apparently being my fiancé," Skuld blushed, "I know pretty much nothing about you, what do you like to do?"
"Martial arts, I'm the heir to the Saotome School of Anything Goes," Ranma replied.
"Wow, you must be quite good then," Skuld said.
"Of course, I'm the best," Ranma scoffed.
Skuld raised her eyebrow and thought, 'He's got quite an ego, but he's probably pretty good.' She said, "Must have been a lot of work, what do you want to do with it though?"
"I… I dunno, I never thought about why I was training. I never get any say in it anyway," Ranma slumped a bit in his seat.
"Well, maybe it's time to think about what you want to get out of your life," Skuld said gently. 'Shoot, I didn't mean to make him depressed. Maybe if I compliment him, though his ego really doesn't need any help…' "Well, you must be very good to hold your own against Banpei," she said.
"Ehh hehe, sorry about that," Ranma scratched the back of his neck apprehensively.
"Don't worry about it. I should have added you to his approved list and I've been meaning to make some upgrades to his hardware anyway. Besides, he's almost fixed," Skuld said.
"You rebuilt that thing already, wow!" Ranma was genuinely impressed. Sure, he would never bother trying to build something like that, but he could appreciate the skill required to make such an advanced robot.
Dinner lapsed into companionable, but somewhat awkward small talk.
Ranma's brain slowly melted into goo as Skuld's breast vibrated against his arm, soft flesh pressed tightly against his rock hard biceps. Unlike Shampoo or Ukyo's glomps, Skuld wasn't trying to claim him and wasn't grabbing at his personal areas. Once he got over his initial trepidation about getting smacked around by 120 pounds of violent, pissed off tomboy (Hey, Akane has him programmed pretty well), Ranma found having the goddess hanging on his arm to be very pleasant. Skuld was currently dragging her date around the auto showcase at Nekomi Tech, and fairly vibrating with excitement as she explained all of the sights. "And check this out, I helped design this one! It's got a dual fusion core engine that can push out 20,000 horse power with the limiters I put on it to prevent wind shear stress and can accelerate to 100 kph in less than 5 seconds. I hid a bit of divine computer tech in the drive-system so it balances perfect and shifts flawlessly," Skuld gushed.
Ranma's only initial thought to penetrate his slightly fogged mind was, '….what?' as the technobabble overwhelmed him. He did have to admit that the bike both sounded and looked quite impressive.
The item in question could passably be called a motorcycle, except it had a few too many wheels. It was a sleek 7 foot long mass of highly polished chrome with metallic blue highlights and leather upholstery. The controls consisted of a pair of joysticks directly behind a small windshield/computer monitor. Pairs of wheels were attached on each end of the chassis.
"So you and that Keiichi guy built this thing?" Ranma asked.
"Yep, it's what we were finishing in the garage when you showed up, isn't it great?" Skuld chirped happily.
"It's pretty cool, maybe you'll take me out for a ride on it sometime?" Ranma asked, genuinely impressed with the young goddess.
"Really? You want go on a ride with me?" Skuld's eyes shone with happiness and she started bouncing enthusiastically, causing Ranma's eyes to glaze over once more as her breasts once again ground into his arm.
*BOOOOM* the ground shook and debris exploded outward from a nearby wall. Ranma scooped Skuld into his arms and jumped back as an umbrella passed through the space he was just standing in. "SAOTOME PREPARE TO DIE!"
"You idiot! P-chan, look at all the innocent people you could have hurt!" Ranma screamed and pointed at the cowering crowd. He gently set Skuld down behind him. "I'm getting seriously tired of you blaming all your problems on me moron!"
"Shut up! And who is that, a new hussy? For leaving Akane, prepare to die!" Ryoga charged forward in a berserker rage.
"Hussy! Who are you calling a HUSSY!" Skuld screamed and smacked Ryoga with her hammer, stunning the lost boy temporarily.
"Grrr, can't even fight your own battles Saotome, you coward!" Ryoga let fly a few bandanas, sending nearby people to the ground. One errant bandana hit the gas tank of the car behind Ranma as he dodged.
"Oh shi" *BOOOOOOM* Ranma was tossed like a ragdoll through a skylight on the apex of a rapidly growing fireball as everyone else ducked behind what little cover was available.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHH!" Ranma screamed as he went crashing down into the Rec center's swimming pool through a skylight.
*SPLASH*
'Great… it just had to be water, didn't it, Oh no, Skuld was probably caught up in that blast!' Ranma thought as she dragged her bruised and singed body back to the convention center. Her clothes were burnt, could barely keep her decent and were completely soaked through.
"Skuld, are you okay… huh?" Ranma trailed off confused as she saw the mostly pristine room and Skuld standing over prone form of Ryoga.
*GLOMP*
"OH Ranma, you're okay! I was so worried," Skuld wailed as she held her tightly.
"Shh, shh, it's okay, I'm fine," Ranma relaxed in Skuld's arms since it seemed that no one was hurt. "What happened, I thought this place was going to be trashed."
'She was worried about me?' Ranma thought, 'no one but Kasumi ever worries about me.' Ranma blushed a bit under Skuld's fussing, but had to admit that it was kind of nice to be held and cared for.
"Oh, I just contained the explosion, I'm so sorry I couldn't get it in time to save you," Skuld said in a small voice.
"Don't worry about it, I'm alright, just a bit beat up. Can we get out of here?" Ranma said tiredly.
"Sure, let me just finish fixing this place up," Skuld said and her goddess marks glowed brightly as she chanted softly under her breath, restoring the wall and the destroyed car. The spell wiped the memory of the battle and her true nature from the minds of all the random bystanders. "There, that should do the trick."
Ranma turned to walk out of the building but collapsed. "Ouch! Crap, I think I pulled something," she said.
"Here, let me help," Skuld draped one of Ranma-chan's arms over her slightly taller shoulders and the two girls limped off down the street, Ranma glowing with an embarrassed blush. 'Skuld's really nice, sigh, why couldn't any of my other fiancées treat me like this when I'm hurt. It's not like it doesn't happen all the time, but no, they leave me to drag myself home no matter what condition I'm in.'
Back in the convention center, Urd's aerosolized lust potion went off. Couples went off to find convenient broom closets and empty rooms. A few groups even shacked up in bathroom stalls and one lucky pair picked the locks to the roof to have a wonderful evening spent under the twinkling stars.
Ryoga came to and looked into the deepest eyes he'd ever seen. A trickle of blood seeped out of his nostrils as he was swept up and carried off to the back seat of one of the nearby show-cars.
The next morning he would wake up entwined with Tamiya and the resulting scream could be heard for blocks.
'That was fortunate; I didn't count on one of Ranma's rivals to help me wreck this date. Now for my part, I hope I get this right,' Mara thought as she adjusted her extremely revealing clothing.
"AIREN!" Mara shouted as she glomped onto Ranma's free arm.
"Ack, Shamp… who the heck are you?" Ranma's bewildered face flushed three shades of red as she felt Mara grind her assets into Ranma's own. It was evident that Mara was not wearing a bra.
"MARA! What the hell are you doing?" Skuld screamed.
"Why I'm just showing my fiancé, or is that fiancée right now ("I don't mind hun," she added in a whisper that prickled Ranma's ear, causing her to flush as she couldn't prevent the images), my appreciation," Mara said casually as she continued to hang off of Ranma.
"WAIT, what? You're my what? What the hell did pops sell me for this time?" Ranma's brain temporarily rebooted and Mara pulled out an infernal contract.
"Let's see, in exchange for a free meal and a jug of sake, I Genma Saotome, do hereby give my firstborn son's hand in marriage, yaddah yaddah, yaddah, basically, someone affiliated with Hild lands stud-boy/girl here and I'm it," Mara smirked.
"Grrrr!" Skuld steamed and unsheathed her hammer, the events of the night catching up to her.
'Great, and she was being so nice too. I know what happens next, she's going to pound me and it's not my fault. Why does this stuff always happen to me? Everything was going fine earlier, why'd Ryoga have to show up, and now this,' Ranma's thoughts cycled into a spiral of depression and she cringed, waiting for the inevitable hammer blow.
*SLAM* Mara went sailing off into the night.
"Ranma?" Skuld asked gently as she laid a hand on the quivering redhead's shoulder. Ranma briefly flinched away. "Ranma, what's wrong?"
"Just, just get it over with already, c'mon, this is the part where you're supposed to hit me. Why are you taunting me like this?" the little redhead stuttered out.
'What happened to her, why would she think I'd hit her for something Mara did?' Skuld thought angrily. 'Someone has really done a number on Ranma and they better hope that they never run into the Norns. She looks so small and vulnerable right now, far cry from the macho egotist from earlier.'
"Ranma, I'm not going to hit you," Skuld whispered softly as she scooped the smaller girl into her lap. Ranma latched onto Skuld and started sobbing into her shoulder.
'What's wrong, why is she being so nice to me? Everything went wrong on the date and that's when the girl is supposed to beat on the guy, right? Maybe… maybe that's not.. normal. Why couldn't anyone else have been nice to me in Nerima, did any of them actually care about me at all?' Ranma wondered as she continued to sob. 'Why can't I stop crying? I.. I can't stop?'
Skuld just continued to stroke Ranma's hair until the sobs lapsed.
"Th-thank you," Ranma whispered as she pulled back from Skuld's embrace with puffy eyes and tearstains on her cheeks. "I don't know what came over me."
"Shh, it's alright, let's just get you home, okay?" Skuld said as she slung Ranma's arm back over her shoulder and helped Ranma stand. They made it about two blocks when Ranma suddenly froze. "Ranma?" Skuld turned her head to see the redhead looking longingly across the street at an ice cream parlour.
"Iceeee creeeaaaaam," Skuld said wistfully. "C'mon, let's go!"
A few minutes later found both girls sitting in a booth with massive sundaes. Skuld giggled at Ranma's antics. "You really had him wrapped around your finger," she said, referring to the slightly stunned counter boy.
Ranma blushed and moaned as she ate another spoonful of the delightful confection. "Whatever."
"Aww, come on Ranma, you have to admit it's funny that you're such a good flirt," Skuld teased.
"Hmph, I wasn't flirting," Ranma ducked her head.
"Oh, then what do you call it," Skuld said.
"I, I… oh alright, it is flirting, it just comes naturally to me and it isn't like it means anything," Ranma shot back.
They continued to banter over their ice cream before heading home in much better spirits. By the time they made it back, Ranma was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to put on some clean clothes and to fall asleep. She didn't even bother turning back into a guy, she just threw on a pair of boxers and a muscle shirt and fell face first into her bed, sound asleep.
Ranma groaned as she looked at the clock on her nightstand. 'Ungh, my stomach! Huh, guess I forgot to change back before bed, oh well. Oh Kami-sama, that explosion must have really done a number on me,' she thought as she clutched her abdomen. She eventually managed to drop back off to sleep.
A few hours later, and Skuld gently shook Ranma awake.
"Huh, Skuld, what's going on?" Ranma slurred out.
"C'mon, get up or you'll miss breakfast," Skuld said as she continued to shake Ranma slightly to keep her from falling back asleep.
Ranma's stomach growled angrily and she looked up at Skuld sheepishly. "I'll be right down, just lemme use the bathroom first, k? Ugh, I still feel like hell, but I guess I did get blown up yesterday." Ranma stood up with a grimace, her leg still hurt and her stomach felt like it was clenched painfully. She actually felt a little nauseous, but food still sounded great. She blearily trudged off towards the bathroom.
"Alright, hurry up though or we'll eat it all!" Skuld called out after her.
"Ooo, you'd better not!" Ranma yelled back as she ducked into the bathroom. Skuld just chuckled to herself and walked downstairs to the dining room.
The Norns and Keiichi sat at the table, waiting for Ranma to join them to eat when they heard an ear piercing shriek from upstairs.
"AAaaahh!!"
"Uh-oh, I hope he wasn't attacked!" Keiichi said as the group sprinted up the stairs. The Temple, aside from Ranma's presence, had been relatively quiet for a few weeks and it seemed like they were due for some trouble after all.
"Ranma, are you alr-" Skuld started as she ripped the door open and the group barged inside. She squeaked out, "-ight." Skuld turned an incandescent shade of pink and Keiichi had to turn around to prevent a nosebleed.
"Oh my," Bell gasped as she too flushed in embarrassment at seeing Ranma sitting on the floor near the toilet without her pants on, legs spread apart and staring blankly at her hand which was covered in blood. "Um, big sister, would you mind taking care of her. I don't want breakfast to be ruined," she said as she hastily shooed her boyfriend out of the room.
Urd just smirked. "Alright little sis, I've got this one." She closed the door behind herself and walked towards Ranma. "Hey, kiddo, what's wrong?" Ranma, however, was nearly catatonic and didn't respond. Urd closed the distance and gently laid a hand on her shoulder, "Ranma?"
Ranma jerked suddenly and launched herself into Urd's arms sobbing. Her surging female hormones combined with her disturbing symptoms had thrown her emotions off entirely. "Wha-what's wrong with me Urd?" she bawled out. "I'm bleeding from … from m-my girl parts. Wha-what's wrong with me, am, am I dying?"
Urd just gathered the clearly shaken neo-girl up in her arms and softly stroked her hair. "Shh, it's alright Ranma-chan. It's just your period. It's normal for a girl your age," she soothed while she gently cradled the Ranma's smaller form.
Eventually Ranma's sobs lapsed and she flushed in embarrassment but only half heartedly struggled through Urd's embrace which was surprisingly calming. Ranma felt protected in Urd's arms. And while that fact unsettled her further, Ranma had no real desire to give the comfortable feeling up. "Sorry, I… I don't know what came over me," she murmured.
"No, shh, it's okay. I'd probably be pretty upset too," Urd said.
"S-so, this is normal?" Ranma asked with a look of dread on her face.
"For a normal young woman, yes, it's perfectly normal," Urd said and put up a hand to silence Ranma's inevitable protest. "I know, I know you're a guy, but you're also a girl and this means that you're a fully functional one too. Didn't your parents explain this sort of thing to you?"
"Explain what?" Ranma asked as a confused little frown graced her face.
"Hoo boy, so you've never had 'The Talk' then, right. I really need some sake right about now," Urd mumbled. "Alright, let's get you cleaned up and then go to my room. We're going to want the privacy." Urd rolled Ranma off of her lap and helped her over to a washing stool. "Just get cleaned up quickly while I go get some supplies. Don't get into the furo until I get back though, alright?" she said before leaving the room.
Ranma sighed. She really didn't know why she broke down earlier and was absolutely mortified that she had clung to Urd. Being held had felt really nice though. Ranma carefully washed her body, focusing on removing the blood from her girl parts. Normally she was avoided touching herself there as much as possible. It made her feel uncomfortable, but not in an unpleasant way. Today she didn't have that luxury as the caked on blood took some serious scrubbing to remove. And for some reason, the sensations were much much stronger than usual. She felt her nipples tighten, but in a very pleasurable way and heat built up in her belly. Her cheeks flushed and a shudder ran through her body as the washcloth touched a particularly sensitive spot and she couldn't help but cry out a little, "Aahhh!"
Naturally, Urd chose that moment t walk back in. She smirked, "Don't stop on my account." Ranma's entire body flushed in embarrassment.
"I hate when that happens," Ranma whispered as her body shuddered again.
"Why, it feels nice right, what's not to like?" Urd shot back.
"Because," Ranma's eyes squeezed shut and she clenched and unclenched her fists, "I have no control over it and it feels strange. It makes me feel so, so dirty and … and it means Akane is right, I am a pervert." She shuddered again.
"I'm sorry," Urd said and gently laid a hand on Ranma's shoulder, causing her to flinch slightly. "I shouldn't make fun of you, but there's nothing perverted about it at all. Are you telling me you've honestly never masturbated?"
Ranma just shook his head.
"Just so you know there's nothing wrong with it. Everyone does it. It's a normal part of growing up. For guys and for girls."
"R-really, you mean… girls do that too? I thought," Ranma blabbered.
"Yes, of course they do. I don't know what this Akane has said to you, but it's completely natural that you would feel curious about your female body. I, for one, think you should learn to enjoy it," Urd said.
"Hey! I am not some sort of pervert!" Ranma interrupted.
"Ranma, it wouldn't make you a pervert. I'm stunned you haven't done so already. You have a unique gift. No, don't interrupt me. Listen to me, you have a gift: you get to experience all aspects of human life and yes, all aspects of human sexuality. At the very least… you'll understand whatever woman you settle down with all the better for it (and you'll probably be a heck of a lover once you get the hang of it) but there's no reason to shy away from exploring that gift of a body you have," Urd said. Ranma looked like he wanted to protest this but she held up a hand. "Just think about it. The body may have come from a curse but it really should be a blessing. Well, everything but what I'm going to teach you now," Urd snickered and pulled a pack of tampons and pack of pads and some undergarments out.
"No way… no way am I wearing any of those girl underwear, nuh-uh!" Ranma protested.
"You really should, you don't want to give all the guys a free show of your rather... impressive assets, do you Ranma? And you have no idea how much more comfortable wearing a bra really is, do you?"
"But when I change back to a guy I'd look ridiculous!" Ranma said.
"Hoo-boy. Ranma, when you're on your period, I don't think you're going to be able to turn into a boy. This process is fundamental to female biology," Urd said.
A fearful look flashed over Ranma's face and she dove into the furo…
"See, I'm not," she trailed off after hearing the distinct soprano of her voice. "Great, just great," Ranma muttered dejectedly and hung her head to hide the fact that her eyes were tearing up again.
Urd joined the startled redhead in the furo and pulled her into a loose hug. "I know, it's tough, but you'll get used to it. After all, every girl on the planet goes through this every month, are you man enough to do it to?"
A shade of Ranma's usual cocky smirk graced her face momentarily before it fell one more time. "But I'm a guy, I don't want to have this happen. What'd I do to deserve this, the curse sucked enough without it." Ranma pouted.
Urd just snickered and said, "No one wants this to happen, but it does. Alright kiddo, these," she pointed to the tampons and pads, "are to keep the blood from getting everywhere. You'll have to wear panties if you want to use the pads, and I'll show you how to put a tampon in. I personally prefer the tampons; they are more comfortable, less noticeable and less disgusting. Especially for an athletic girl like you I'd recommend them."
What followed was an even more embarrassing discussion than Ranma could have possibly anticipated. She blushed profusely when Urd demonstrated how to insert a tampon and paled when Urd mentioned that this meant that she could get pregnant. Urd then gave her a basic run-down in female anatomy and arousal, hitting all the high points. Ranma didn't think that she had blushed that much in her whole life.
Ranma eventually decided to use a tampon, in spite of how uncomfortable inserting it made her feel. Having something stuck in her girl parts and having her period completely destroyed the wall of masculinity that Ranma had hid behind since gaining the curse. She felt completely vulnerable, but at the same time, not having to maintain the façade was strangely freeing.
Ranma and Urd eventually made their way back down to the breakfast table. Urd was wearing her usual ensemble of revealing robes that hinted at a latent sexuality and Ranma (with Urd's help) had picked out a pair of slacks and a blouse that clearly showed that she was wearing a bra. Ranma had to admit, the support was nice.
"Oh my, you look very nice Ranma-chan," Belldandy said. "Are you ready for breakfast?"
Ranma grumbled cutely. "S'not my fault. I ran out of clothes." Her stomach rumbled and she blushed, "And yes, breakfast would be great."
"Well you look great kid, but I guess we should go shopping after this, how many outfits do you have anyway?" Urd asked.
"Three sets of my Chinese Silks," Ranma answered.
"THREE!?" Urd screamed.
"Erm, yeah… Pops never thought I needed any more than that."
"That's completely unacceptable, you've really never owned much of anything have you. Especially for a young lady, you need some more clothes including supportive undergarments. And we'll make sure that some of them don't look out of place on a male, but you really need to contain your assets, unless you want to give people a free show." Urd leered at Ranma, who fidgeted.
"Stop teasing him you old hag!" Skuld jumped in.
"Protecting your fiancée, ehh Squirt?"
"Ooo, you're going to get it old mummy," Skuld yelled before priming one of her patented Skuld bombs.
"Sisters, stop, please," Bell interrupted as she served breakfast. "Skuld, why don't you join Urd and Ranma on their shopping trip?"
"Oh, there's a sale on some components that I need for Banpei that I've want to go pick up. Sure, I guess I'm in. Someone has to protect Ranma from the mummy anyway," Skuld said.
"Skuld, don't antagonize your sister," Belldandy frowned.
"Sorry Bell," Skuld said sheepishly.
"That's alright, well, eat up everyone."
Ranma tore into the food with her usual gusto.
"Kiddo, chill out, slow down. Don't you bother to taste your food?" Urd said with an expression resembling disgusted amusement dancing across her face.
"Hmm," Ranma paused for a moment and swallowed. "I always eat this fast, it's the only way to get enough food around pops. If I don't, he'll steal my food."
The trio of goddesses seethed, respect for Genma dropping rapidly. Urd however, continued, "Well, is your father here Ranma?"
"Um, no. What's your point?" Ranma responded, causing Urd to sigh and put her face in her hands.
"Ranma, there's no one to fight for the food. You should really try to eat like a normal person. It would be polite, for one, and more importantly, you'll actually be able to taste the food better."
"Oh," Ranma blushed in embarrassment, but she did slow her pace down to something that began to resemble civilized, even if she still ate extremely quickly. 'Wow, this actually does taste better. Bell is a great cook, I wonder if Kasumi's food would be even better if I could slow down to try and enjoy it.'
The rest of the meal passed in light conversation.
Mara casually strolled up the path to the temple, suppressing a wince as she passed the wards at the outer wall. She was dressed almost demurely, well, compared to her normal mode of dress. Bell would balk from wearing the semi-revealing, tight crimson leather top with a pair of hip-hugging jeans and knee high boots. About halfway up the path she saw the door open and watched mirthfully as a smirking Urd danced out of the way of an annoyed Skuld.
"I am not going lingerie shopping old hag!" Skuld screamed as she lobbed a bomb at her older sister.
"Why not Skuld-chan, don't you want to show off your cute little body for your fiancé?" Urd taunted as she dodged around the explosion.
"What?!" Ranma screamed from inside the house. "You want me to go lingerie shopping with the two of you? Nuh-uh, no way is that gonna happen!"
"Aww c'mon Ranma, you really need the support. Besides, don't you want to showcase that hot little bod of yours?" Urd said as she dodged around another Skuld bomb.
"Eww, no way. I've got enough trouble with people hitting on me as is," Ranma scoffed.
"Aww, you mean you're scared to wear lingerie because you think people will appreciate it?"
"I'm not scared of anything!" 'Aww crap, me and my big mouth,' Ranma thought.
"Great, so we'll get you something spicy," Urd said. "Aww, c'mon Skuld, it was just a joke."
"Bwahahaha," Mara couldn't take it anymore and fell to the ground laughing. Incidentally this stopped the confrontation as all three other girls turned to sweatdrop at the sight of a demoness first class laughing so hard that she couldn't even stand.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?" Skuld screamed as she primed a few weapons and called for Banpei.
"Wh-hahaha-wait. I'm –bwahahaha- I'm not here to… snort… start anything," Mara choked out.
"Are you done?" Urd snarked.
"I'm –hah –yeah, I'm done," Mara snorted. "I just thought I'd come by and see if *MY* fiancée wanted to do something today?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?" Urd looked genuinely puzzled.
Ranma just frowned. 'She better not be thinking what I think she's thinking.'
"Oh, you didn't hear about it? I thought mommy-dearest would have offered the job to you first Urdie," Mara said as she produced the infernal contract in a flourish and handed it off to Urd.
"That woman is NOT my mother," Urd shot back. "Oh wow, your father is a bigger idiot than I could have possibly imagined Ranma. At least he only sold you in marriage and not your soul though..." she trailed off as she read the exact terms Genma had agreed to.
"WHAT?! Pops coulda sold my soul to the devil?"
"Well, she prefers Hild-sama, but I guess that's not really all that important is it?" Urd said absently. "Oh wow, really? One night of free drinks and snacks a bar for an engagement, your father is a real creep."
Ranma just silently fumed, wondering what else her father had done to screw up her life.
"Aww, c'mon kid, it ain't so bad." Mara slinked forward and trailed her fingertips down Ranma's sternum. Her voice dropped into a husky tone and she whispered, "think of all the fun we could have together."
Ranma's brain slowly shut down. Mara's touch left fire trailing behind at the same time her voice made all sorts of promises of even more pleasurable activities. She blushed and started to stammer.
"Leave Ranma alone!" Skuld yelled and pushed Mara away.
'Ohoho, protecting your fiancée, you go sis,' Urd thought.
"What's wrong Squirt, afraid you can't measure up?" Mara said and struck a sexy pose.
"Grrrrr!" Skuld steamed.
"Hey hey, chill, she's just trying to get to you Squirt," Urd interrupted. Sure, the fight would probably be pretty amusing, but she still really wanted to get Ranma-chan into some lingerie. "Anyway, we're going out shopping Mara, I assume you're joining us?"
"Why would you invite her Urd?" Skuld whined.
"You know, she's actually pretty fun sis, besides, it's not like Mara's about to start anything, is it?" Urd looked significantly at the demoness.
"No, I'll be good," Mara said.
"Great," Urd chirped. "Let's go!"
The quartet of girls wandered around downtown Nekomi relatively peacefully. Sure, Skuld was shooting daggers at Mara, but that was hardly unusual. At least they hadn't come to blows yet. For her part, Ranma was sweating bullets as Mara remained sensuously draped off her arm in a manner that was entirely more enticing than any of her fiancées (even Shampoo) had previously pulled off. She was waiting on the other shoe, or more accurately violent reaction.
"Ohoho, we have to start there first," Urd said and pointed at one of the boutiques.
Mara smirked and cocked an eyebrow. "Mmm, that sounds like a great idea, don't you think so Ranma?"
Skuld blanched and Ranma flushed a brilliant red. Urd had pointed out a lingerie shop with very racy selections.
"Naw, I don't need any of that stuff," Ranma attempted to push past the store but Mara just grabbed her arm.
"No, that's definitely the place to start. How can you shop for clothes if you don't have the," her voice dropped to a sensual register, "proper accoutrements?"
Ranma flushed a deeper shade of crimson but let herself be dragged into the store alongside an indignant Skuld.
"I'll be right back stud-girl," Mara said and winked at Ranma as she shuffled off into the leather section.
"C'mon you two, let's see what they have," Urd said and started picking out a few articles for each of her companions. "Ooo, this would look great on Ranma, don't you think Skuld?" Urd held up a small and lacy number in baby blue. "Why don't you go try this on Ranma?"
"Ack, ewww, no way am I wearing that," Ranma said. "If I have to wear stuff like this can't they at least be functional Urd?"
"Ohohoho, this has a function Ranma," Urd cackled before holding up a yellow thong panty and bra combination for Skuld's inspection. "What do you think about this Squirt?"
"Shove off hag, I don't need you to pick out my underwear!" Skuld shot back.
Ranma carefully edged away from the impending violence and picked out some very plain cotton sports bras (hey, she did have to admit having some support was doing wonders for her back) and some simple white panties to wear whilst on her period. She walked over to one of the changing booths and carefully put the garments on before looking at her reflection in the mirror.
'Damn, my girl body is hot. I can't believe it's fully functional, this period stuff is so gross. I never thought I'd say this, but these underwear are really much more comfortable than just wearing my boxers. Oh well, guess I'd better go show everyone. Somehow I think Urd's going to give me a hard time though.'
Ranma stepped out of the changing booth and stepped between the still bickering Norns. "Well, will this be enough?" she said, defusing the argument.
"C'mon kid, live a little. Those are so plain. Don't you want to show off just how hot that bod of yours really is?" Urd chided.
"Well I think they're fine," Skuld huffed. "Not everyone is as slutty as you sis."
"Whoa, stop it, I'm not breaking up another fight between you two okay?" Ranma said. "And Urd, while I will admit, I am proud of how this body looks," Ranma blushed and mumbled out, "I'm not comfortable wearing lacy underwear, this is already embarrassing enough."
Urd scooped Ranma into a loose hug, startling the neo-girl. "I'm sorry, I didn't think about that. Of course you aren't comfortable with wearing sexy underwear yet, but I still think you should get something that's a little less… granny."
"Fine, we can look at some other stuff, but nothing too extreme, alright?" Ranma relented.
Mara chose this moment to return wearing what could passably be called undergarments, consisting of a black g-string with a tiny patch of leather that barely preserved her modesty but still let the entire world know she was shaved and a bikini style bra that contained just enough fabric to contain her areolas. "Hi hun, what do you think?" she said as she launched herself into Ranma's arms.
"Gack!" Ranma choked out, completely stunned by Mara's attire, or lack thereof. Skuld just bopped Mara on the head with her hammer and Ranma bolted back to the safety of the changing room with a few more pieces.
"Bwahahaha, did you see the look on her face?" Mara cackled.
"You were just teasing her?" Skuld demanded.
Urd just started chucking. "C'mon sis, it was pretty funny. Besides, you'd think she'd be used to it by now."
Skuld just shook her head and thought, 'why did I agree to come along on this trip anyway?'
They eventually finished and left the store. Ranma had purchased a few sports bras for working out along with some boy cut panties and a selection of nice, but rather plain bras. Mara bought the outfit she'd jumped Ranma in along with one other leather set while Urd and Skuld just helped.
A few more stores received similar treatment. Mara would come on to Ranma wearing the most provocative things she could find (one purple dress particularly stood out in the neo-girls mind as being nearly the sexiest thing she'd ever seen). Skuld stocked up on electronic parts and Urd had bought a very revealing silk cheongsam. Ranma wound up with a small selection of dresses, skirts, slacks and blouses and she had to admit, at least to herself, that she had fun trying on some of the clothes once she stopped thinking about it. She had even gone off on her own and purchased one sexy little black dress of her own. For some reason when she tried it on she had felt wonderful and she didn't exactly plan on wearing it often. Besides, she had rationalized, between the bunny costume and some other things from Nerima she had worn far worse.
Mara had left them in the shopping district, saying she had business to attend to and the three tired girls walked back to the Temple.
Ranma let out a long suffering sigh, 'These jeans make my hips look huge. Maybe the white skirt would be… dammit, not again.' Two days had passed and she was slowly getting used to wearing her new clothes. She still felt a twinge of embarrassment every time she put the underwear on, but compared to the tampons it was hardly noticeable. Her mood was a bit unstable, one moment she would revel in how good she looked, the next she'd be disgusted with herself for feeling that way and later she'd start worrying about whether or not her butt looked fat. All in all, her raging hormones were playing havoc with her emotions.
'Oh well, at least this didn't happen in Nerima. I don't think I woulda survived the embarrassment, if Akane didn't kill me for being perverted first. May as well see what everyone's up to.'
Ranma found Urd lounging in front of a television watching soaps. "Hey Urd, I'm bored, anything going on?" Ranma said.
"Well, I think Keiichi is catching up on some school work, Bell is out shopping and I don't know about Skuld. Wanna join me?" Urd said, gesturing to a nearby spot on the couch.
"Naw, think I'll go see what Skuld's doing," Ranma said.
Ranma found Keiichi and Skuld at the table engrossed in their work. Keiichi was working on a problem set for an engineering course while Skuld seemed to be jamming a myriad of electronics into a box. "Hey, there anything going on?" Ranma said.
"Oh hi Ranma," Keiichi looked up from his work for a moment. "Don't you have any school stuff you need to keep up with?"
"Naw, I never bother with that stuff anyway. It's not like I really need it to run a dojo," she said. She muttered to herself, "not like I can keep up with school anyway, stupid pops."
Skuld however, has literally divine senses and overheard Ranma. "What?" she shouted, "Of course school is important. Maybe you should take some time while you're here to catch up. Besides, is running a dojo really what you want to do?"
"Well, it's not like I've ever had a choice in the matter, and how would I catch up? It's not like I can get my work here, and it's not like I can really keep up since I barely every went to school."
Urd had followed Ranma into the room and overheard the conversation. She jumped in, saying, "Of course you have a choice in the matter Ranma-chan. What do you like to do aside from your martial arts? Oh, I suppose I can help you get caught up on school work as well."
"Pops never let me do anything else on the road, and it's not like I've exactly had time to do much else than fight in Nerima," Ranma said. Her face falls into a frown and her eyes start to mist slightly. "I wouldn't even know where to start."
"Hey, it's alright kiddo. You should take some time here to figure out what you really like doing while you're here," Urd said and laid a comforting hand on Ranma's shoulder. "I mean, we all have hobbies aside from our jobs. Keiichi spends his time racing and building bikes even though he's working on his degree. Skuld loves to tinker with her tech and build new devices but her job is debugging. And me, I like shopping, matchmaking, potion making and dancing. And Bell really likes to cook. I'm sure we can help you find something you like, maybe even more than martial arts."
"Yeah, and we'll help you find some things you might like too, right Keiichi?" Skuld said.
"Of course!" Keiichi said.
"Th-thanks everyone," Ranma said as she turned and pressed her face into Urd's shoulder. Her shoulders started shaking as she broke down sobbing.
"Hey, it'll be okay kid," Urd soothed as she rubbed Ranma's back.
A few moments later Ranma got her emotions back under control and turns back to the group after shooting a thankful smile at Urd. Her eyes are slightly puffy but she's smiling. "Thank you everyone, I can't remember anyone ever being so nice to me." Her face fell and she muttered, "Damn hormones, I'm sorry you had to see that."
"How are you holding up with your time?" Skuld asked. Keiichi edged his way out of the room, no guy wants to be around for period talk.
"Well, that midol stuff really helped but I can't stand these mood swings. I swear I've cried more in the past two days that I have in the past ten years. It always makes me feel better, but I don't want to be so weak that I have to cry," Ranma said. She shrugged. "The whole thing sucks though. The bleeding is gross, the cramps are annoying and I look fat in everything that I wear. And the worst part is, I actually care."
"Yeah, well, no one really likes having their period Ranma. I'm surprised that you're handling this so well, especially the part where you can't switch back," Urd responded and Skuld nodded her agreement.
"Besides," Skuld said, "I think it actually means you are stronger if you can face your emotions, even if that means crying."
"Yeah, I guess I miss being a guy, but it's not like I'm not used to this by now and I've been stuck for much longer. What gets me is the loss of control, these mood swings are so embarrassing," Ranma said.
"Hey, there's nothing wrong with a good cry kiddo, besides, it's not healthy to suppress your emotions."
"But pops always said emotions were for the weak and if I ever showed any he'd hit me," Ranma said then backed away as Urd and Skuld erupted in goddess sized battle auras.
"HE WHAT?" Urd screamed. "I swear, I'd better never run across your father, I might do something I'd regret."
"Me too," Skuld gripped her hammer reflexively. She noticed that Ranma looked slightly frightened by their rage. She gestured subtly to Urd.
"I know, we need something fun to do to help Ranma-chan catch up on enjoying life," Urd said suddenly while grabbing Ranma and swinging her around. "I know just the thing too!"
"Oh great, I guess I'd better tag along to protect Ranma from you, old mummy!" Skuld playfully shot back.
"Seriously though, I think we need to go out and do something fun and different. Say Ranma, do you like to sing?" Urd said.
"Um, I've never really tried it. I've done martial arts ballroom dancing, but never martial arts singing."
Urd slung her arm around Ranma's shoulders and started to guide her towards the door. "Well, you better get ready to hit the town then sister, we're going out for some karaoke!"
Skuld just grumbled, "Great.. not this again. Have fun you two, I am not getting dragged out to another one of those lame karaoke bars you like Urd."
"Psh, you just don't know how to have fun Squirt."
"Whatever hag, I'm going to get back to work on my new robot. Have fun Ranma, even though I don't like karaoke doesn't mean you won't. Urd would want to do something lame first though," Skuld stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry at her older sister. "Maybe when you get back we can go get some ice cream!"
"Sure, that sounds great Skuld!" Ranma yelled back as Urd led her out the door.
"Have fun Ranma, I can't believe how much your father has messed up your life," Skuld muttered as she started soldering two microprocessors together.
Urd and Ranma were walking relatively peacefully towards a local karaoke bar when Mara appeared in a flash of brimstone and glomped onto Ranma's arm, rubbing herself slowly against the smaller redhead. "Where do you think you're going cutie?" Mara whispered huskily in Ranma's ear making her entire body go stiff in shock and desire.
"Knock it off Mara," Urd scolded and smacked the demoness on the arm.
Mara pouted. "Psh, you're no fun Urdie. Besides, I'm supposed to show affection to my 'fiancée,' aren't I?" However, Mara did let go of Ranma, allowing her brain to reboot.
"Do you really have to do that to me?" Ranma said with an embarrassed blush.
"You're saying you don't like my attention cutie? Your body seems to appreciate my efforts," Mara quipped, motioning towards Ranma's clearly hardening nipples budding through the fabric of her silk shirt.
Ranma blushed harder and crossed her arms over her chest to hide the obvious signs of her arousal. "It makes me uncomfortable, okay?" Ranma said tartly.
"Oh, c'mon, relax a little princess," Mara shot back.
"Ooo, what did you call me?" Ranma fumed.
"Chill you two," Urd cut in. "Mara, lay off a little, okay? And Ranma, you should really learn to deal with physical contact a bit better. Anyway, we're going out to a karaoke bar, want to join us Mara?"
"You live with multiple violent fiancées and see if you like physical contact," Ranma muttered to herself.
"Sure, why not?" Mara said and took Ranma's arm gently. "Is this okay at least?"
"Fine, whatever," Ranma said.
Karaoke went late into the night and Ranma found that in addition to being very talented, she really enjoyed singing. Mara had left them partway through the night but asked if she could visit the temple the following day. Urd and Ranma stayed until closing, Urd enjoying a little too much sake and Ranma singing every chance she got. They left the bar around 1 am to walk home.
"I tolshd you that you wouldsh like it," Urd giggled happily and spun around in a few circles on the sidewalk. "Shee… thingsh besides martial artsh can be fun too. You were really good too Ranma-chan. You could probably makesh a career out of that short of thing if you wanted." Ranma blushed a little at the thought. Urd, of course, took that as her cue to fall sideways into Ranma before collapsing to the sidewalk in a fit of giggles.
"Sheesh, can't take you anywhere, can I?" Ranma said fondly. She really had enjoyed the evening. She dragged Urd to her feet and slung one of Urd's arms around her shoulders. "C'mon, let's get you home."
"Thanksh, you're a really schweet gal, guy too," Urd slurred out before quickly pecking Ranma on the cheek and giggling.
Ranma just stood stunned for a second before shaking her head and continuing to drag the inebriated goddess back to the temple. They eventually made it home but it was far too late for Ranma and Skuld to go out for ice cream. They got Urd settled in bed before heading off to sleep themselves.
"Ugh, my head," Urd groaned as a beam of sunlight pierced her eyelids. 'What did I do last night? Better get some coffee,' she thought before memories started to percolate into her awareness. 'Wow, Red sure can sing. Hmm, Mara's coming over later, better warn Bell,' Urd stumbled to her feet and downstairs to the kitchen while trying to ignore the stabbing pains each step sent shooting behind her eyes. 'Huh, wonder how I got home, Ranma must have had something to do with that, she's… he's a sweet kid, I hope Skuld appreciates the effort I put into finding her a real winner.'
As soon as Urd entered the kitchen a cup of steaming java appeared in front of her face. "Good morning sister," Belldandy chirped, causing Urd to wince. 'Too perky too early in the day,' the eldest Norn thought as she gratefully sucked down the blessed caffeine.
"Ah, thanks Bell. Just to warn you, Mara might stop by later but I don't think she'll cause any trouble," Urd said.
"Oh, that won't be a problem Urd, Keiichi and I are going out to the beach later today anyway," Bell said with a blush.
"Ohohoho, finally putting the moves on your man little sister?" Urd cackled, causing Belldandy to blush deeper and duck her head.
"Please, must you embarrass me like that?" Bell asked.
"Ohohoho, you really need to get laid sis," Urd responded.
Fortunately, Belldandy was spared answering by the ringing of the doorbell. "Oh my, I should answer the door." She quickly left the kitchen, causing Urd to break down laughing. 'Oh you are too easy little sis.'
Belldandy returned to the kitchen with Mara in tow. "Hi Urdie," Mara chirped in a disgustingly chipper tone after noticing the clear signs of a hangover, causing the goddess in question to wince.
"Keep it down Mara, I had a rough night."
"Oh fine, be that way," Mara said dismissively as Belldandy guided her to an empty place at the breakfast table.
"Would you like some breakfast Mara?" Belldandy asked.
"Sure."
"Alright, I'll put out an extra setting," Belldandy responded as she brought the food to the table.
Ranma, Skuld and Keiichi entered the dining room shortly thereafter, prompting Mara to attempt to glomp onto Ranma once more. She was interrupted by an irate Skuld fending her off with a hammer. "Knock it off, we're trying to eat here," Skuld said, Mara's presence no longer bothering her as the demoness had been hanging around the temple a lot recently.
"Thanks Skuld," Ranma said and sent her a grateful smile which caused the young goddess to blush. Urd just smirked in the background in Mara's direction.
An hour later found Ranma and Skuld heading out to get an ice cream, to make up for the previous evening. Mara was planning on tagging along as well. Just as they were about to leave the gates of the temple, Ranma heard something she never really wanted to hear again. "AIREN!" Shampoo yelled as she glomped on to Ranma's arm.
Like most Amazons, Shampoo had been trained as a tracker since she was a young girl and she was quite competent. After all, she had managed to track Ranma across China and to Nerima by herself to execute the kiss of death. Tracking Ranma's disappearance from Nerima was far beyond her own skill level though, as Ranma hadn't left through any traditional means. Cologne, however, was much more advanced and had managed to narrow down Ranma's presence to a few possible locations. It should come as no surprise that the wrinkled old prune herself was cackling on the boundary wall of the temple. "Ha ha ha, you thought you could escape 3000 years of Amazon history and skills son-in-law?" she cackled. Had she been more careful, she would have recognized Ranma's company as beings that even she would not want to mess with. But, like most Amazons, Cologne was relatively sure of her own superiority and was having too much fun watching Ranma struggle through Shampoo's embrace.
"What do you think you are doing little girl?" Mara demanded as an angry looking haze started to coalesce around her.
"Shampoo is greeting husband, what silly looking woman want with husband?" Shampoo said.
"SILLY LOOKING?!" Mara yelled, before forcing herself to calm down. "That happens to be my fiancée you're bothering, I suggest you stop before I get seriously pissed off," Mara responded.
"Hey, Ranma's a person, not a piece of meat Mara!" Skuld interrupted.
"Butt out Squirt," Mara said dismissively. "So, little girl, what's it going to be?" She smirked at Shampoo.
"You is obstacle, obstacles are for killing!" Shampoo shouted as she disengaged from Ranma's arm and brought out her bonbori. She charged towards Mara swinging the maces skillfully for an incapacitating blow.
Cologne finally took the time to read the new girls' auras and gasped in shock at what she saw. These two beings made Saffron look like an appetizer at an all you can eat buffet. "Shampoo, no!" she yelled but it was far too late.
Mara avoided Shampoo's strikes with ease and taunted, "What do you think you are doing with those toys little girl."
"Grr, DIE!" Shampoo screamed as she continued her relentless assault, moving in for a sweep kick, thrust combo that Mara seemed to flow around effortlessly.
"Is that really the best you can do?" Mara asked as she stifled a yawn with the back of her hand.
Shampoo was enraged; this bimbo was mocking her abilities. She increased her speed yet again and entered into the chestnut fist, which she had learned earlier in the month. After nearly a minute of moving at top speed and nearly exhausting her reserves, Shampoo managed to land a glancing blow.
"Ouch, you bitch, you managed to break one of my nails!" Mara yelled in outrage. She noticed a pattern embedded into Shampoo's life force and smirked. "Just for that, I think I'm going to take care of you permanently."
Ranma started to move forward. While Shampoo's constant glomps and attention annoyed her, she didn't want to see the Amazon girl dead. However, just as she was about to break up the fight, Mara waved her hand dismissively and a tangible sense of power washed over the area.
"Meow?" Shampoo said as she was turned into a cat.
"Ahhhh, ahhh, c-c-c-c-cAAAAATTTTT!" Ranma yelled and started to edge back towards the wall.
"I thank you for sparing my great-granddaughter's life," Cologne said to Mara, recognizing that Shampoo could have just as easily been killed. Cologne splashed Shampoo with a flask of hot water. Cologne nearly fell over in shock when the hot water failed to reverse the Jusenkyo transformation.
Now, with the exception a strange breed from Turkey, all cats hate getting wet, and being drenched in scalding water naturally led to a rather pissed off Shampoo-kitty. Her fur stood on end, claws extended and she hissed as she bolted forward to instinctively escape the evil water source. Unfortunately, her path took her directly up Ranma's leg, which she scratched accidentally. Between the shock of having a cat in such close proximity, the angry hissing and spitting noises it was making, and the pain from the claw scratches, Ranma's mind did the only thing it could.
"Mroaww," Ranma said as she curled forward to walk on her hands like a cat. She punted Shampoo away, clearly upset at the smaller feline upstart. Ranma-cat turned to angrily hiss at Cologne who had to admit that she had been involved in repeatedly making the sometimes-girl's life difficult.
"Oh no, the Neko-ken," Cologne said with no small amount of fear at the idea of a pissed berserker with enough strength to kill a demi-god targeting her. She backed away very slowly so as to avoid attracting any more of Ranma's ire before bolting after her wayward great-grand kitty.
With the annoyance removed, Ranma-cat let out a happy little "Mroaww" before starting to clean herself with her tongue. Urd and Mara both fell over laughing. Skuld shot both of them a glare before hesitantly approaching the cat-girl. "Ranma?" she asked tentatively.
Chibi-Hild had been observing the temple residents as usual. She had barely managed to hold in her mirth at seeing Ranma-chan act like a cat. She was rather stunned to see someone trained in a technique she thought lost with the worship of Bastet. 'Hmm,' the small Demon Queen thought to herself, 'what can I do to spice this up a bit? Ooo, I know!' She started giggling madly as she gathered the mana required for a small spell.
*WHOOOSH*
The goddesses and Mara were stunned as a large quantity of small leaves blew past them to land around Ranma who started to roll around and rub herself on the plant matter while letting off little contented mews and chirps.
"What just happened?" Skuld asked.
"No clue, she seems to really like those herbs though," Urd said offhandedly.
'Herbs… herbs,' Mara thought. 'Something funny is going on here… wait, could it possibly be…,' She fell over again cackling. "Bwahahahahaha."
"What's so funny?" Urd asked somewhat obliviously.
"Bwahaha- she's- haha – getting –hahahaha –stoned out of her -hehe – mind," Mara gasped out between gales of laughter. "I – hahahehe- think that's catnip."
"Catnip?" Skuld mouthed at Urd, while thinking, 'But Ranma is human, and catnip shouldn't affect her, even if her mind is currently cat-like.' And normally, Skuld would be correct, catnip would attract Ranma-cat just like it would any other cat but her basic physiology was still human so the catnip would not have its normal affect. However, this wasn't just any catnip, Hild, even though it was just her chibi form, had created it. And all evidence pointed towards it working very very well as Ranma the cat stumbled around making silly noises, mewing and giggling.
"Mew!" Ranma chirped happily as she jumped at a butterfly, missing by a large margin.
"Um, Urd, is she going to be okay?" Skuld asked as she looked worriedly at the stoned catgirl.
"Seems happy enough to me," Urd replied as Ranma tackled Mara and gave her a quick lick on the face before bounding towards the house.
"We'd better catch her before something happens!" Skuld chased after Ranma to watch as the martial artist bounced off the walls like a ping pong ball on speed before diving between Keiichi's legs, sending him off balance to fall into Belldandy who responded with an "Oh my, are you alright Keiichi?"
"Just fine, wonder what insanity is happening now," Keiichi said with a resigned sigh. The relative peace they had experienced recently was just too good to last. They boggled when Skuld burst past them shouting something about Ranma thinking she was a cat and getting into catnip. Keiichi just turned to his fiancée and said, "There's no way she actually said what I think she did, is there Bell-chan?"
Belldandy's cheeks turned pink and her eyes sparkled. She threw her arms around Keiichi; after all, he very rarely was so affectionate as to call her by that nickname when other people might hear. She sighed happily when he returned the embrace. "Yes, I think Skuld did mention that Ranma was acting like a cat on catnip. I suppose we should help, though I'm very comfortable right now." She reluctantly removed herself from Keiichi's embrace and gracefully dragged him after her younger sister.
Ranma was having the time of her kitty-life; everything was so colorful and smelled so wonderful. She bounded out of a window and started to roll around in one of the flower beds before bounding over to a tree to sharpen her nails on. The bark peeled away like sawdust under the onslaught of her chi claws. A passing moth distracted her temporarily and the chase took her back towards the front door where a wonderful scent wafted into her nose.
Skuld had just stepped out from the door when she was tackled by an extremely affectionate Ranma-cat. The neo-catgirl rubbed her face all over the wonderful smelling person and she exulted in the warmth of the lap she was sitting in. "Purrrrrrrr," went Ranma-cat as she nuzzled the warm, good smelling lap contentedly. She was getting very tired, but she wanted to make sure to cover herself with the smell before she went to sleep.
Skuld turned an incandescent shade of pink as Ranma-chan rubbed her body in ways that no one had ever done before. The catgirl's rumbling face vibrated and tickled some very sensitive areas on the young goddess' body. Skuld couldn't stop her body's response when Ranma's face nuzzled between her breasts her nipples tightened and her entire body started to get sensitive. Then the catgirl started to gyrate her entire vibrating body against Skuld's, briefly touching many of her erogenous zones. A warmth started to build in her belly and she had to resist the urge to touch herself. 'Oh my goodness, that feels… wonderful,' the goddess thought as her muscles started to tense. Ranma-cat then gave her a brief little kiss on the lips, and a tingling feeling exploded into Skuld's brain. Finally, just when she thought she couldn't take anything else, Ranma buried her face in Skuld's lap, vibrating very sensitive parts of Skuld's anatomy.
"AAAHHHHH!" Skuld's back arched and her entire body tensed. Every nerve in her body felt like it was exquisitely on fire. A few moments later awareness returned to the young goddess and she squeaked when she saw the entire household and Mara watching her. Urd sauntered over to her youngest sister and teased, "My my, you certainly are making good use of your fiancée sis."
"Now that wasn't very nice sister," Belldandy chided.
"I…I, leave me alone!" Skuld squeaked out and bolted into the house, leaving behind a very confused Ranma-cat.
"Meow?"
"Don't sweat it kiddo," Urd said as she gave the catgirl a pat on the head.
In the bushes, chibi-Hild just burst out laughing before disappearing in a swirl of hellfire.
