Chapter 14: Thoughts!
Ranma managed to sleep for a few minutes but as soon as his mind relaxed, he started to think. From past experience, he knew it was futile to attempt sleep when he was thinking. Although most of the masters continuously teased him for his ability to almost turn his brain on and off, he was secretly proud of this ability. This meant that it was possible to use his instincts to their fullest potential whilst having a usable battle plan.
Right now, he was thinking about how he should treat each of the Tendo girls. His thoughts started to organise themselves in a familiar pattern. First Kasumi! Ranma started to think about the oldest daughter and how her aura seemed almost dead. She seems to be an emotional mask. It doesn't suit her. I can sense her mischievous nature being suppressed by a forced kind and friendly disposition. She deserves to be taken care of rather than sacrificing herself for others. It is like she has replaced her mother in the eyes of her family. She is being taken advantage of but she tolerates it.
Ranma's thoughts then drifted to how she reacted to his cooking and taking care of the family for the first time. I can't believe someone could be so cruel as to do something so bad to such a sweet girl. To ruin her sense of self to the point that she almost feels like if she loses her family duties, she would become redundant. Ranma mentally cursed himself for not being here and letting his dad add to that stress. At least, when she heard me offer her a break and a chance for someone to take care of her for a bit, she got a little better.
Her attitude changed for the better when I helped out and looked after her. She was forced to become a mother too early when she needed someone to comfort her. Even if I'm not her fiancé, I will make sure she finds someone to take care of her. Ranma started to think of what possibly attracted Kasumi to him. If what I'm thinking is correct, she simply expressed interest in this arrangement since she thought that someone who could cause all three of her sisters to express their interest was worthy of merit. That must have changed though after I started talking to her.
Ranma continued to ponder about when she started to feel attraction to him. His Ki-sight was beneficial for this as it allowed him to recognise the changing feelings. That's it. She was interested in medicine and was impressed by my healing abilities and shiatsu knowledge. I must remind her of Dr Tofu. From what I've heard, she prefers mature, older men with intense medical knowledge. Two out of three is good but I shouldn't take her away when I know someone who is better. But to get them together is going to be a problem due to that weird shiatsu point that Dr Tofu's seems to have been put under. I'll need to release him from it and then they can finally be happy.
After vowing to himself silently to help Kasumi and Dr Tofu, Ranma started thinking about his other possible fiancées. I haven't actually spent as much time with Nabiki as the rest which could be a problem. Her reaction almost seems as if she was settling with the first option that was being dangled in front of her. Ranma hoped it wasn't about this. He would be very disappointed if that was the only reason. However thinking about it, she started to feel some form of physical attraction when we first met.
Ranma shuddered to think of what might happen if Nabiki became one of those girls who kept drooling every time he opened his mouth or moved. She is very headstrong which is very attractive. I hope she doesn't lose that. Deciding that he needed to analyse her aura before he could make a judgement; Ranma used his father's Umi Sen Ken to make himself invisible. Once he disguised himself, he snuck into the living room to see the entire family discussing about him. Quickly tuning out their chatter; he activated his Ki-sight, causing his eyes to turn silver. What he saw surprised him. It seemed that both Nabiki and Akane had feelings for him. Ranma turned around and went back into his room to further analyse his situation.
After entering his room, Ranma dropped the Umi Sen Ken before lying on his futon. Her attraction is emotional as well. When did that happen? Ranma started to think back before hitting himself on the head. Duh! I saved her life and asked for nothing in return. But this attraction is more towards my action than any actual feelings towards me. I'll have to wait for a bit before thinking about Nabiki.
Ranma then swapped over to Akane. Ranma briefly chuckled at some of the situations he ended up in with her. He started to mull things over to understand what was going up in her head. Akane is very cute. That's not saying much though since all the girls are good looking though. However her confident aura is very enticing and attractive. Her anger and embarrassment is also fun to play with but I shouldn't do it often. She is clearly sensitive.
Ranma sighed before getting back to his thoughts. She seems to have a crush on me. This is a little annoying though since from what I heard from Dr Tofu, she used to have a crush on him as well. Am I simply the fall back option since I'm similar to the doctor? No! She simply realised that her crush was never going to bring fruit so shifted her attentions to someone more attainable. Ranma briefly felt a pang of resentment at being a rebound before realising that Akane had so much boy trouble that the fact she now had a crush on him was a real compliment. I should give her a chance. She and Nabiki are very good potential options.
Ranma was quite pleased with his progress with the situation and decided that another fifteen minutes or so should help him fully organise a plan about his new situation. After deciding his next move, he will have to ask Kuno about it. Although most people didn't realise it due to the months of delusion they experienced after witnessing it, Kuno was extremely level headed and an honourable friend. Just as long as he doesn't eat any more food that his sister makes! That girl was just plain crazy. I can't believe that she attempted to drug her own brother so she could have him as a possession. It was a good thing Kuno was there when I got lost. Ranma shuddered at the thought of the look she gave him when they first met. I swear that I am going to have to find a way to get away from that psycho.
Ranma was very surprised when he looked at Kuno's aura when he first came over. Somehow, it changed from when he analysed it at school the previous day. At that instant, he immediately reverted to his deluded self. Ranma almost took it as a multiple personality disorder but realised that it was more like a drug when he took a closer look. After hitting a few shiatsu points, the influence of the drugs immediately receded and he acted like the sane self he presented yesterday at the tree.
After this, Ranma questioned Kuno about who gave him his meals. When he heard it was his sister, he almost completely rejected his previous hypothesis about the drug being placed in his food. However before he could dismiss the idea, Kuno was becoming curious as to what his new friend was looking so worried about. After hearing about being in an almost constant state of being drugged for so long, Kuno immediately accused Kodachi. Ranma was shocked when he heard this accusation until he heard that Kodachi was a botanist with considerable skills with poisons.
After hearing this, he told Kuno to make sure to make Kodachi taste what she gave to him. After asking her to do this a few times, Kodachi quickly came to the conclusion that her brother dearest had found out about being drugged and suspected her. Realising that her previous way of controlling her brother was compromised, she decided she should try to come up with a new method. Although she was confident with her combat skills, she knew she was no match against her brother when he wasn't drugged by her. I bet she didn't really want a confrontation. However she really deserved what Kuno did afterwards.
Ranma remembered Kuno asking him for a method to keep her calm since he was under the impression that some of her drugs were affecting her. Ranma agreed and soon realised that Kodachi must have been testing her drugs on herself as well. After removing the effects of the drugs, they thought she returned to some semblance of sanity before they realised that she was actually crazier without them, so they increased the dosage as she slept.
Ranma suddenly realised he was off topic and berated himself before thinking about the last potential fiancée. Natsume! Something is really off about the way she acted. She clearly doesn't feel any current attraction to me. Her aura makes that obvious enough. However what surprises me is the amount of resentment and jealousy in her aura. She may just want me since she is jealous of Akane. However it seems more like there is an ulterior motive. I need to keep an eye on her and find out a bit more about the engagement.
Ranma yawned. Realising that he spent a considerable amount of time thinking about the situation, he decided he had done enough thinking before lying down. Soon he fell into a deep sleep with all thoughts forgotten.