The Royal Servant
Chapter 4, Gypsy Lady
Author's Notes: Here it is, the ever-anticipated fourth chapter to The Royal Servant. Hope ya enjoy this chapter. The usual stuff, e-mail me at silverflame_maiden@hotmail.com, sign my guestbook, (for the ppl at fanfiction.net, check out my website), and link to me. That's it. Oh yeah, and this Ryoga might seem more a mature then the one in the original Ranma story line because he's lived by himself and is basically adrifting wanderer that has seen the world.
Disclaimers: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.
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Ranma stared through narrowed eyes across the circle, ivory lawn palace table at the bandanna-wearing, short-haired guy. Ryoga just stared back at the prince in the same, cold manner. Akane had seated them on the palace garden chairs by the sun-tablebefore running off happily to find Shan Pu and tell her the great news. Raising an eyebrow, Ryoga smiled and asked the prince, "How is your food, your highness?"
Angry because he let the other boy initiate the conversation, Ranma said through clenched teeth, "Just fine. A little tough to chew on though."
"Your highness-?" Ryoga began, trying to keep his amusement in check.
"Call me Ranma," the Terian prince said evenly.
Grinning broadly, Ryoga said, "Yes, well, Ranma, I think I know why your food is so tough to chew on."
"And why's that?"
"Because you're chewing on a towel?"
Spitting the towel out of his mouth Ranma glared at Ryoga and pointed out, "That wasn't funny!"
"To you, maybe," Ryoga laughed. Now, we shall not stop our time to ponder on why there was a towel around or who's towel it was. We shall not even ponder on what could possibly be wrong with Prince Ranma's taste buds so that he could not tell the difference between a towel and actual food. If you continue to ponder these thoughts for more then five minutes, your brain just might explode.
Turning to Ryoga's grinning face Ranma decided to not to dance around the issue, but to get straight to the point. As was his nature.
"What are you to Akane?" he asked.
His face hardening, Ryoga said, "I'm her fiancee."
Feeling a dark, foreboding fear grips stomach and heart painfully, Ranma instinctively did the only thing to avoid and try to ignore this feeling. He went on the defensive.
"Hey, why would you want such an uncute, flat-chested, tomboy like that for a fiancee? I mean, she looks more like a boy then girl, she walks like an ox, she's as violent as a gorilla, she-" but his sentence was stopped by a flying chi hammer introducing itself to his open face.
Ranma was instantly smashed against the palace walls with a stifled groan as a flying bundle of purple girl hurled herself at him. If his ribs weren't broken from the smash into the wall, it got broken from the energetic glomp. Ranma slid down to the ground with a louder groan then before.
Looking down at a dazed Ranma, Shan Pu asked innocently, "Ranma notdead yet? Still alive?"
"I think he can't breathe right now Shan with you leaning over him like that," Akane pointed out in an amused, though strained tone.
Immediately jumping off of Ranma, Shan Pu smiled brightly and turned to Akane laughing, "Of course Ne-ne right. Shan Pu no want dead husband."
"I'm so glad you care Shampoo," Ranma said sarcastically as he stood up, rubbing a lump on his head, "and what in the world did you do that for, you stupid tomboy?"
Akane started to glow a light blue as she growled out a warning, "Ranma, so
help me if you don't-"
"Aren't you going to do something to me for insulting your *fiancee*?" Ranma interrupted, asking Ryoga.
Ryoga just grinned and said, "I'm not going to stop one of my rivals from ruining his chances." Before Ranma could react Shan Pu gave a cry of joy and leapt at Ryoga hugging him tight and kissing him all over the face saying, "Oh Ryo! You came!"
Surprised at Shan Pu's sudden show of affection for Ryoga, Ranma turned to Akane and raised one eyebrow asking in a confused voice, "Don't you mind?"
Scrunching her eyebrows in that cute way of hers, Akane asked, "Mind what?"
"Shampoo hugging and kissing your fiancee," Ranma pointed out.
Giving a sigh that can be interpreted as *he doesn't understand so now I'll have to explain* Akane replied, "Shan is my gypsy sister and one of my closest truest friend. She is really kind at heart and has no vindictive bone in her body, contrary to popular belief. Don't you even start to raise that other eyebrow at me, Ranma, or I'm going to shave it off."
Looking far off, Akane explained, "Shan is one of the kindest, honest people I know. She's been branded so many things by so many people. You would not believe the cruel things men and women say because of how she looks and her open, friendly nature. Some hate her because of what hiba-chan tells Shan to do. She is not some dumb bimbo, and yes I do know the servants say this about her, she knows too. Shan has more intelligence in that head of hers then most people. That is why people hate her. Raised as gypsies, we are all taught to have an open, friendly, kind nature to those we know and love."
Turning to Ranma, Akane said, her voice barely above awhisper, "When hiba-chan first took me in, the children of the villages we went to called me terrible names and Shan protected me from them. There are only few people in my life that I can name that are my true friends and Shan is one of them, so no, I'm not jealous. Get it now?"
Ranma nodded dumbly, not knowing what to say. Akane smiled at him before pulling his arm over to sit by the ivory lawn table with Shan Pu and Ryoga. Ranma felt a warmth shoot straight to his heart from the place Akane's hand had touched him.
After they sat down, Ranma asked, "Why didn't you tell me about your fiancee?"
Akane looked nervous as Shan burst out laughing, "Don't Ranma mean fiancees? Plural, Ranma, plural."
At Ranma's confused glance Shan Pu laughed harder.
"What does she mean?" he asked Akane who had suddenly found the floor extremely interesting.
"She means that Akane has more then one fiancee. In fact we don't exactly know how many she has, but her main fiancee is me," Ryoga said evenly, but Shan Pu burst out again, "That what Tenchi and Sarem and all them say, right Ne-ne?"
"This isn't funny Shan!" Akane said, exasperated.
"Yes, it is, Ne-ne, you-" but she was interrupted by a rustling in thenear-by bushes. Suddenly, a white duck with glasses flew out of the bushes and landed squarely on the middle of the table. Shan Pu gave a shriek before going to run behind Ryoga and Akane.
"What's wrong?" Ranma asked confused (anyone sense a pattern?)
Looking behind at her friend, Akane said, "Well...um...heh...heh...Shan Pu has a strange aversion to ducks. Duckaphobia, you might say-"
"I don't think there's such a thing as duckaphobia, Ne-ne," Ryoga pointed out, but he was immediately shushed by two female voices screaming, "SHUT UP RYO!"
The duck turned large, pleading eyes to Akane through it's glasses and the girl melted. Akane turned her head to look at her furious, crouching friend and asked, "Couldn't you just-?"
"No, Ne-ne!" Shan Pu hissed out at her friend before turning to glare heatedly at the duck again.
Ranma watched confused as Akane turned to the duck and said, "I'm sorry, Tsu-tsu, I promised Shan I wouldn't allow the challenge to be issued."
Ryoga looked at Shan Pu a moment before bursting out laughing, "Oh this is rich. How did Shan get you to withhold the challenge, Ne-ne? Whoa, I have been gone long, huh?"
"You're not helping Ryo," Akane said through clenched teeth.
"Does someone mind telling me what's going on here?!" Ranma shouted at the top of his lungs, too confused and frustrated at being ignored. Ryoga, Akane, Shan Pu, and the duck looked at him blankly and blinked as if just noticing that he was there. Then, suddenly everyone of them started talking at once.
"Well, see Shan here had always-"
"Ryo shut up, Ryo no know nothing about-"
"Quack, quack, quack, quack-"
"Would you two stop arguing. See, Ranma, what happened was-"
"No, Ne-ne! Ne-ne no tell Ranma about-"
"Shan, listen, Ranma has to know otherwise-"
"Hey, Tsu-tsu, you look so geeky with those glasses as a duck and I think-"
"QUACK!"
"Ow! What did you do that for, I-"
"Um...excuse me, but what is going on here?" The group in the garden stopped their arguing to stare at the newcomer...the grand Duchess Ukyo. Ukyo stood there in a long, formal light brown dress that glistened in the sun, her light brown hair up in a lavish ponytail, shining in the sun. A small smile lit her lips as she stared at the group. Her eyes lingered on Ranma with adoration before passing through the others...and landing on Ryoga. Ukyo felt her heartbeat quicken slightly and she turned away.
"Stupid girl go away, this Shan Pu business!" the gypsy said haughtily and Ukyo just ignored her. She had wanted to dismiss the violet-haired gypsy since the first time she met her. The girl had the gall to insult her and claim she would marry Ranma. Yet, when she mentioned the dismissal to Ranma, he had jumped up and exclaimed no. Ukyo got suspicious that he actually wanted Shampoo's attention and Ranma told her he wasn't. So, Shampoo got to stay.
"Yes, well, I live here so that makes it my business. Now, what is going on here?" Ukyo replied and looked expectantly at the boy with the bandanna. Ryoga looked at the girl and felt himself wanting to blush. What was the matter with him? He met beautiful women all the time, but this one was...different. She was...cute. Ryoga had only met three women in his life who he felt was unique and different. They were Akane, Shan Pu, and...and...he blocked out the memory of her from his mind. The pain was still too fresh, the wound not yet healed.
"Um...who are you-?" Ryoga began, but suddenly he felt a weight on the top of his head and looked up to see a crouching Ranma on his head saying brightly, "Her name's Ukyo Kounji, 4th Duchess of Nomiya."
Ukyo smiled brightly, somehow hoping her high title would impress the bandanna boy, not knowing why she cared. She felt the instant change come over him though when he heard her title and wondered why. The bandanna boy's eyes turned a dark glacier cold and he was no longer blushing at her. A cold, impersonal smile replaced the warm one he had been giving her and Ukyo internally flinched. He cast a critical, wary eye orher (not unlike the one Akane had given Ranma the day they met in his room).
Ryoga inwardly scowled at himself. She was a duchess! She was a noble! She was...she was...his blood boiled with anger, not at her, but at himself. He actually had thought that noble was *cute*. How could he? Ryoga cast a critical eye over her and thought *...she's a noble alright...look at those clothes...those jewels...*. He felt disgusted with himself and felt the need to lash out at someone. Luckily, a certain someone happened to be near-by.. perched atop his head.
"Get off of my head!" he yelled just before Ranma jumped off his head and landed gracefully on the floor.
"Geez, touchy aren't you? What's the matter with you?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Nothing's wrong with me!" Ryoga yelled and pulled back his finger to hitthe ground underneath Ranma before he heard Akane ask behind him, "Do you smell it Shan?"
Ryoga and Ranma turned to Shan Pu who nodded her head and said, "Shan Pu
smell it."
"What? What do you smell?" Ukyo asked curiously.
"Rain," Akane and Shan Pu said at the same time before running towards the nearest building, the kitchen. Ranma, Ryoga, Ukyo, and the duck just stared wide-eyed one second before running towards the kitchen also...but they were too late for the rain had already fell, like tiny bullets. They were too busy worrying about themselves to see the others transform.
* * *
Akane heard the door to the kitchen open and close as the others scrambled inside away from the rain. The kitchen was very dark and she couldn't see anything, but could hear the breathing of the others in the room.
"Shan, come help me light these candles," Akane said and she and Shampoo started to take out candles and light them until the room had a dim light around it. Not great, but it suited enough for them to see.
Akane and Ukyo saw each other first and smiled, but Ukyo suddenly asked Akane, "Where all these animals come from?"Akane smiled and picked up the cat and piglet and put them on the counter, the duck flew up by itself.
"See, Ukyo, the cat is Shan, the piglet is Ryoga and the duck is...well...you'll see. They were cursed by a very mean old man named-"
"Jusynkuo?" Ukyo asked stunned.
"Yes, how do you know?" Akane asked.
"Lucky guess," the other girl replied weakly. Akane accepted this and pulled out a hot kettle of water out of thin air and poured it over the cat, piglet, and hesitated at the duck but poured it anyway. Ryoga and Shan Pu hastily put on their clothes, but the duck-turned- man pulled out a robe from thin air and wore that.
"How did you do that?" Ukyo asked amazed.
"Well, you see the curse is activated by cold water and undone by hot water," Akane explained. The duchess shook her head, "No, I meant how did you and him pull out those things from nowhere?"
"Sub-space pocket. Everyone has one. Maybe I'll show you how to use yours
another time," Akane said.
Suddenly, a sneeze could be heard in a dark corner of the room and Akane walked over to find a crouching girl there.
"Ranko!" Akane exclaimed, "What are you doing here? Did you get stuck in the rain?"
"I-I-" the other girl stammered.
Shan Pu stomped over and poked Ranko in the chest to confirm what she and
Ryoga already suspected. She took the kettle from Akane's hands and poured it over Ranko to reveal and wet Ranma.
"Why Ranma girl? Ranma got cursed by Jusynkuo man too?" Shan Puasked. "R-r-ranma?" Akane stammered, her eyes wide.
"Um...hi Akane," Ranma gave a cheeky smile just as Akane passed out.
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Chapter 4, Gypsy Lady
Author's Notes: Here it is, the ever-anticipated fourth chapter to The Royal Servant. Hope ya enjoy this chapter. The usual stuff, e-mail me at silverflame_maiden@hotmail.com, sign my guestbook, (for the ppl at fanfiction.net, check out my website), and link to me. That's it. Oh yeah, and this Ryoga might seem more a mature then the one in the original Ranma story line because he's lived by himself and is basically adrifting wanderer that has seen the world.
Disclaimers: Ranma 1/2 belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ranma stared through narrowed eyes across the circle, ivory lawn palace table at the bandanna-wearing, short-haired guy. Ryoga just stared back at the prince in the same, cold manner. Akane had seated them on the palace garden chairs by the sun-tablebefore running off happily to find Shan Pu and tell her the great news. Raising an eyebrow, Ryoga smiled and asked the prince, "How is your food, your highness?"
Angry because he let the other boy initiate the conversation, Ranma said through clenched teeth, "Just fine. A little tough to chew on though."
"Your highness-?" Ryoga began, trying to keep his amusement in check.
"Call me Ranma," the Terian prince said evenly.
Grinning broadly, Ryoga said, "Yes, well, Ranma, I think I know why your food is so tough to chew on."
"And why's that?"
"Because you're chewing on a towel?"
Spitting the towel out of his mouth Ranma glared at Ryoga and pointed out, "That wasn't funny!"
"To you, maybe," Ryoga laughed. Now, we shall not stop our time to ponder on why there was a towel around or who's towel it was. We shall not even ponder on what could possibly be wrong with Prince Ranma's taste buds so that he could not tell the difference between a towel and actual food. If you continue to ponder these thoughts for more then five minutes, your brain just might explode.
Turning to Ryoga's grinning face Ranma decided to not to dance around the issue, but to get straight to the point. As was his nature.
"What are you to Akane?" he asked.
His face hardening, Ryoga said, "I'm her fiancee."
Feeling a dark, foreboding fear grips stomach and heart painfully, Ranma instinctively did the only thing to avoid and try to ignore this feeling. He went on the defensive.
"Hey, why would you want such an uncute, flat-chested, tomboy like that for a fiancee? I mean, she looks more like a boy then girl, she walks like an ox, she's as violent as a gorilla, she-" but his sentence was stopped by a flying chi hammer introducing itself to his open face.
Ranma was instantly smashed against the palace walls with a stifled groan as a flying bundle of purple girl hurled herself at him. If his ribs weren't broken from the smash into the wall, it got broken from the energetic glomp. Ranma slid down to the ground with a louder groan then before.
Looking down at a dazed Ranma, Shan Pu asked innocently, "Ranma notdead yet? Still alive?"
"I think he can't breathe right now Shan with you leaning over him like that," Akane pointed out in an amused, though strained tone.
Immediately jumping off of Ranma, Shan Pu smiled brightly and turned to Akane laughing, "Of course Ne-ne right. Shan Pu no want dead husband."
"I'm so glad you care Shampoo," Ranma said sarcastically as he stood up, rubbing a lump on his head, "and what in the world did you do that for, you stupid tomboy?"
Akane started to glow a light blue as she growled out a warning, "Ranma, so
help me if you don't-"
"Aren't you going to do something to me for insulting your *fiancee*?" Ranma interrupted, asking Ryoga.
Ryoga just grinned and said, "I'm not going to stop one of my rivals from ruining his chances." Before Ranma could react Shan Pu gave a cry of joy and leapt at Ryoga hugging him tight and kissing him all over the face saying, "Oh Ryo! You came!"
Surprised at Shan Pu's sudden show of affection for Ryoga, Ranma turned to Akane and raised one eyebrow asking in a confused voice, "Don't you mind?"
Scrunching her eyebrows in that cute way of hers, Akane asked, "Mind what?"
"Shampoo hugging and kissing your fiancee," Ranma pointed out.
Giving a sigh that can be interpreted as *he doesn't understand so now I'll have to explain* Akane replied, "Shan is my gypsy sister and one of my closest truest friend. She is really kind at heart and has no vindictive bone in her body, contrary to popular belief. Don't you even start to raise that other eyebrow at me, Ranma, or I'm going to shave it off."
Looking far off, Akane explained, "Shan is one of the kindest, honest people I know. She's been branded so many things by so many people. You would not believe the cruel things men and women say because of how she looks and her open, friendly nature. Some hate her because of what hiba-chan tells Shan to do. She is not some dumb bimbo, and yes I do know the servants say this about her, she knows too. Shan has more intelligence in that head of hers then most people. That is why people hate her. Raised as gypsies, we are all taught to have an open, friendly, kind nature to those we know and love."
Turning to Ranma, Akane said, her voice barely above awhisper, "When hiba-chan first took me in, the children of the villages we went to called me terrible names and Shan protected me from them. There are only few people in my life that I can name that are my true friends and Shan is one of them, so no, I'm not jealous. Get it now?"
Ranma nodded dumbly, not knowing what to say. Akane smiled at him before pulling his arm over to sit by the ivory lawn table with Shan Pu and Ryoga. Ranma felt a warmth shoot straight to his heart from the place Akane's hand had touched him.
After they sat down, Ranma asked, "Why didn't you tell me about your fiancee?"
Akane looked nervous as Shan burst out laughing, "Don't Ranma mean fiancees? Plural, Ranma, plural."
At Ranma's confused glance Shan Pu laughed harder.
"What does she mean?" he asked Akane who had suddenly found the floor extremely interesting.
"She means that Akane has more then one fiancee. In fact we don't exactly know how many she has, but her main fiancee is me," Ryoga said evenly, but Shan Pu burst out again, "That what Tenchi and Sarem and all them say, right Ne-ne?"
"This isn't funny Shan!" Akane said, exasperated.
"Yes, it is, Ne-ne, you-" but she was interrupted by a rustling in thenear-by bushes. Suddenly, a white duck with glasses flew out of the bushes and landed squarely on the middle of the table. Shan Pu gave a shriek before going to run behind Ryoga and Akane.
"What's wrong?" Ranma asked confused (anyone sense a pattern?)
Looking behind at her friend, Akane said, "Well...um...heh...heh...Shan Pu has a strange aversion to ducks. Duckaphobia, you might say-"
"I don't think there's such a thing as duckaphobia, Ne-ne," Ryoga pointed out, but he was immediately shushed by two female voices screaming, "SHUT UP RYO!"
The duck turned large, pleading eyes to Akane through it's glasses and the girl melted. Akane turned her head to look at her furious, crouching friend and asked, "Couldn't you just-?"
"No, Ne-ne!" Shan Pu hissed out at her friend before turning to glare heatedly at the duck again.
Ranma watched confused as Akane turned to the duck and said, "I'm sorry, Tsu-tsu, I promised Shan I wouldn't allow the challenge to be issued."
Ryoga looked at Shan Pu a moment before bursting out laughing, "Oh this is rich. How did Shan get you to withhold the challenge, Ne-ne? Whoa, I have been gone long, huh?"
"You're not helping Ryo," Akane said through clenched teeth.
"Does someone mind telling me what's going on here?!" Ranma shouted at the top of his lungs, too confused and frustrated at being ignored. Ryoga, Akane, Shan Pu, and the duck looked at him blankly and blinked as if just noticing that he was there. Then, suddenly everyone of them started talking at once.
"Well, see Shan here had always-"
"Ryo shut up, Ryo no know nothing about-"
"Quack, quack, quack, quack-"
"Would you two stop arguing. See, Ranma, what happened was-"
"No, Ne-ne! Ne-ne no tell Ranma about-"
"Shan, listen, Ranma has to know otherwise-"
"Hey, Tsu-tsu, you look so geeky with those glasses as a duck and I think-"
"QUACK!"
"Ow! What did you do that for, I-"
"Um...excuse me, but what is going on here?" The group in the garden stopped their arguing to stare at the newcomer...the grand Duchess Ukyo. Ukyo stood there in a long, formal light brown dress that glistened in the sun, her light brown hair up in a lavish ponytail, shining in the sun. A small smile lit her lips as she stared at the group. Her eyes lingered on Ranma with adoration before passing through the others...and landing on Ryoga. Ukyo felt her heartbeat quicken slightly and she turned away.
"Stupid girl go away, this Shan Pu business!" the gypsy said haughtily and Ukyo just ignored her. She had wanted to dismiss the violet-haired gypsy since the first time she met her. The girl had the gall to insult her and claim she would marry Ranma. Yet, when she mentioned the dismissal to Ranma, he had jumped up and exclaimed no. Ukyo got suspicious that he actually wanted Shampoo's attention and Ranma told her he wasn't. So, Shampoo got to stay.
"Yes, well, I live here so that makes it my business. Now, what is going on here?" Ukyo replied and looked expectantly at the boy with the bandanna. Ryoga looked at the girl and felt himself wanting to blush. What was the matter with him? He met beautiful women all the time, but this one was...different. She was...cute. Ryoga had only met three women in his life who he felt was unique and different. They were Akane, Shan Pu, and...and...he blocked out the memory of her from his mind. The pain was still too fresh, the wound not yet healed.
"Um...who are you-?" Ryoga began, but suddenly he felt a weight on the top of his head and looked up to see a crouching Ranma on his head saying brightly, "Her name's Ukyo Kounji, 4th Duchess of Nomiya."
Ukyo smiled brightly, somehow hoping her high title would impress the bandanna boy, not knowing why she cared. She felt the instant change come over him though when he heard her title and wondered why. The bandanna boy's eyes turned a dark glacier cold and he was no longer blushing at her. A cold, impersonal smile replaced the warm one he had been giving her and Ukyo internally flinched. He cast a critical, wary eye orher (not unlike the one Akane had given Ranma the day they met in his room).
Ryoga inwardly scowled at himself. She was a duchess! She was a noble! She was...she was...his blood boiled with anger, not at her, but at himself. He actually had thought that noble was *cute*. How could he? Ryoga cast a critical eye over her and thought *...she's a noble alright...look at those clothes...those jewels...*. He felt disgusted with himself and felt the need to lash out at someone. Luckily, a certain someone happened to be near-by.. perched atop his head.
"Get off of my head!" he yelled just before Ranma jumped off his head and landed gracefully on the floor.
"Geez, touchy aren't you? What's the matter with you?" he asked, an eyebrow raised.
"Nothing's wrong with me!" Ryoga yelled and pulled back his finger to hitthe ground underneath Ranma before he heard Akane ask behind him, "Do you smell it Shan?"
Ryoga and Ranma turned to Shan Pu who nodded her head and said, "Shan Pu
smell it."
"What? What do you smell?" Ukyo asked curiously.
"Rain," Akane and Shan Pu said at the same time before running towards the nearest building, the kitchen. Ranma, Ryoga, Ukyo, and the duck just stared wide-eyed one second before running towards the kitchen also...but they were too late for the rain had already fell, like tiny bullets. They were too busy worrying about themselves to see the others transform.
* * *
Akane heard the door to the kitchen open and close as the others scrambled inside away from the rain. The kitchen was very dark and she couldn't see anything, but could hear the breathing of the others in the room.
"Shan, come help me light these candles," Akane said and she and Shampoo started to take out candles and light them until the room had a dim light around it. Not great, but it suited enough for them to see.
Akane and Ukyo saw each other first and smiled, but Ukyo suddenly asked Akane, "Where all these animals come from?"Akane smiled and picked up the cat and piglet and put them on the counter, the duck flew up by itself.
"See, Ukyo, the cat is Shan, the piglet is Ryoga and the duck is...well...you'll see. They were cursed by a very mean old man named-"
"Jusynkuo?" Ukyo asked stunned.
"Yes, how do you know?" Akane asked.
"Lucky guess," the other girl replied weakly. Akane accepted this and pulled out a hot kettle of water out of thin air and poured it over the cat, piglet, and hesitated at the duck but poured it anyway. Ryoga and Shan Pu hastily put on their clothes, but the duck-turned- man pulled out a robe from thin air and wore that.
"How did you do that?" Ukyo asked amazed.
"Well, you see the curse is activated by cold water and undone by hot water," Akane explained. The duchess shook her head, "No, I meant how did you and him pull out those things from nowhere?"
"Sub-space pocket. Everyone has one. Maybe I'll show you how to use yours
another time," Akane said.
Suddenly, a sneeze could be heard in a dark corner of the room and Akane walked over to find a crouching girl there.
"Ranko!" Akane exclaimed, "What are you doing here? Did you get stuck in the rain?"
"I-I-" the other girl stammered.
Shan Pu stomped over and poked Ranko in the chest to confirm what she and
Ryoga already suspected. She took the kettle from Akane's hands and poured it over Ranko to reveal and wet Ranma.
"Why Ranma girl? Ranma got cursed by Jusynkuo man too?" Shan Puasked. "R-r-ranma?" Akane stammered, her eyes wide.
"Um...hi Akane," Ranma gave a cheeky smile just as Akane passed out.
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