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----- Original Message -----
From: "Christopher J Olsen" <GAMERS@prodigy.net>
To: <ffml@fanfic.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 30, 2000 11:10 AM
Subject: [FFML] [Ranma/Saber Marionette J]Strangers in a Strange Land:
Chapter 11
]] Wow. Thanks. It's great to see a carefully plotted story come
]] to a surprising conclusion, THEN to kick yourself as you re-read
]] and realize it WASN'T so surprising after all. Anyway, I'll make
]] some comments on the situation along the way....
]]
]] (Note the four dots above, Chris. Thanks for your C&C on MY C&C!)
...
Warning, for those extremely allergic to boredom, breakfast and shopping
moments ahead! Some waffy stuff for those extremely allergic to
feelings of a non-violent nature. Oh, and for those fight fans, who are
waiting for a good knock down drag it out fight to the death? Sorry,
it's going to be a while. For everyone else that knows what this story
is supposed to be about... read on! Essential plot stuff is scattered
about liberally! Don't forget to wait two hours after eating before
diving in! Wait, that's swimming.
]] Humorous. BUT this is a great episode and needs no disclaimers up
]] front.
Strangers in a Strange Land
Chapter 11
Ranma blinked sleepily up at Akane as the short haired girl tried to
shake her awake for the third time. "What is it, Akane? Is it time to
get up already?"
Akane gave her sleepy ex-fiancee one final push and rolled her eyes.
"Ranma, come on. Everyone else has been awake for awhile now!" Ranma
blinked and looked up and around. The door to the small room they had
slept in was ajar, and outside she could see Bloodberry folding up a
futon, still wearing what she had on when she had gone to bed.
]] still wearing her bedtime attire. (perhaps? To many hads and shes)
Ranma
pushed down the covers and sat up, inadvertently letting the burnt and
overlarge kimono she had worn to bed fall to her waist, having come
]], after having (perhaps)
loose during the night.
Otaru pushed open the door to their room with a cheerful smile. "Did
you all sleep... erk!" His eyes went wide and he took a step back in
surprise as he got a good look at Ranma's naked chest.
]] [voiceover] The role of Tendou Soun is now being played by Otaru.
Akane immediately stepped between Otaru and Ranma, growling at the
petite red head. "Cover your chest!" Ranma glanced down, blinked, then
hurriedly did so, pulling the kimono up. Akane smiled wanly to the
young man standing dumbfounded in front of her.
]] A bow, for good measure, might be a good idea.
"Please excuse us,
Otaru-san." She noticed Bloodberry glaring their way incredulously and
she bowed slightly to her as well. "Sorry Bloodberry." Akane pulled
the double doors shut in front of Otaru. "We'll be out in just a
minute."
Akane whirled on Ranma, her face turning a bit red. "Ranma! How could
you embarrass me like that?"
Ranma blinked. "What? I covered up, didn't I?"
Akane rolled her eyes. "Not before giving Otaru and Bloodberry an
eyeful you didn't! Why in the world can't you act like you have a tiny
bit of modesty?"
Ranma shrugged. "Did I ever before?"
]] A few points for Ranma's consideration (which Akane MIGHT angrily
]] whisper.) Before he was a cursed boy. Now, she is a girl. Only
]] Nabiki and Akane know different. Ranma's not just embarrassing
]] Akane but HERSELF.
Akane frowned. "No, but that doesn't mean you can't start now." She
walked over to the pair of kimonos that Gennai had lent them the night
before and took the top one off the pile, tossing it to Ranma. "Here,
put this on. It should fit better than the one you're wearing... or
should I say falling out of, now."
Ranma shrugged and stood up, shrugging off the borrowed Orange Blossom
kimono and letting it fall to her feet, then stepping out of it and
unfolding the orange and white kimono that Akane had handed her. At the
sight of the petite red head in nothing but a pair of panties, Akane
turned away with a blush.
]] Interesting reasoning behind the blush. Because Akane know Ranma's
]] 'really' a guy, she gets embarassed when she is changing. Akane
]] needs to work on things too...
]] EG: Hey, Akane. Do you always blush when another girl's changin'?
"Now hurry up. I need to get changed too."
Ranma shrugged and started dressing. "Sure." She looked around the
small room. "Hey, where's Nabiki, anyway?"
Akane glanced back at Ranma for a moment before looking away again.
"Nabiki got up a few minutes ago and went downstairs with Lime and
Cherry. You were the one who said you didn't want to freeload, but here
you were, sleeping in as everyone else gets ready...."
]] Yawn. It's hard work not to freeload. Being noble's the pits
]] sometimes.
Ranma finished dressing and went to the door. "OK, OK, enough already.
I'm dressed. What about you, are you going to change?" She glanced
pointedly at the torn kimono Akane was wearing, its left sleeve still
missing from when Panther had shot Akane with her laser.
Akane made a pushing motion with her hands. "I will in a minute, if
you'd leave! Now shoo, and find something useful to do."
Ranma nodded quickly, opening the door and stepping through. "Right,
right. I'll see what everyone else is up to." The petite red head shut
the door behind her and glanced around the room. Panther glanced at her
with mild interest while handing Bloodberry a folded up futon.
Bloodberry took the futon and was about to store it in the closet when
she noticed Ranma. "Why you.... Don't think I'm going to let you get
away with that. I haven't even gotten to show Otaru my chest yet, and
then you go and spoil it for me!"
]] Shouldn't she be a bit more outwardly demonstrative of her anger?
...
Bloodberry shrugged, letting her cleavage bounce nicely. "None taken.
More for me that way."
]] Ranma: [smirking] Oh, so you want more than one guy, huh?
]] Lime: Huh?
Ranma swallowed at the sight, then shook her head. "Ah... so, what do
you guys normally do in the mornings?"
...
Panther sniffed at her. "Fine, you want to see me do something besides
fight? Give me that broom. I'll clean up this place until you won't
recognize it!"
Bloodberry rolled her eyes. "That's what I'm afraid of."
]] Nice interchange.
...
After only a few bites, Nabiki spoke up. "This is really good, Cherry.
You could give my big sister Kasumi a run for her money in the cooking
department."
Cherry smiled politely. "Thank you, Nabiki-san." The demure, purple
haired marionette looked curious. "I didn't know that you had an elder
sister, Nabiki."
Nabiki blinked, then frowned. "I don't suppose I do... anymore,
anyway. Kuno had a duplicate of her... but just the image, no memories
or Maiden Circuit. Kasumi was a very good cook, she took excellent care
of all of us." She shrugged. "That's long in the past now, I suppose."
]] Hmm... Was this interchange what got Nabiki thinking?
]] I wonder if they might be able to find 'Kasumi' and have her repaired
]] if needed.
Cherry looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up a
painful memory."
Nabiki shrugged off the apology. "It doesn't matter." She glanced
around the table, abruptly changing the subject. "So, what do you all
usually do during a normal day?"
Otaru answered after a short pause. "Well, Cherry cooks breakfast and
dinner... she handles the restaurant for most of the day as well. Lime
does the shopping,
]] Shudder.
and Bloodberry does most of the other chores around
the house. Faust asked us to help teach Panther and Lynx how to cook,
proper etiquette... that sort of thing, so Cherry has been teaching Lynx
how to cook, and Bloodberry has been giving Panther pointers on cleaning
up and maintaining the house for the last few days.
Akane looked at Cherry earnestly. "Cherry, do you think you could teach
me too? I like to cook... but I'm not as good at it as I'd like."
Cherry nodded with a smile. "Of course, Akane-san. If I can teach Lynx
how to cook, I can teach anyone." Lynx raised an eyebrow but didn't
otherwise respond.
Ranma rolled her eyes. "You've never seen Akane cook before either."
Akane growled at her warningly. "Ranma...."
]] This has the potential to be an interesting sub plot. A lot of the
]] external stimuli that contributed to Akane's inattentiveness
]] cooking (assuming THAT was why she was bad) are now absent.
...
Nabiki looked mildly impressed. "Own your own boat, eh? That's pretty
impressive."
]] Yen (mon?) signs in eyes.
...
Otaru laughed nervously. "Heh... I should have them around somewhere."
"I'll go get them, Otaru-sama!" Cherry piped in. "I know just where
they are!"
...
As they walked, Nabiki maneuvered herself over by Cherry so they could
talk semi-privately. "Cherry, I was wondering if you could tell me what
you know about Maiden Circuits?"
]] So begins Nabiki's exploration of Maiden Circuits.
Cherry blinked, then nodded. "If you wish, Nabiki-san. What is it that
you wish to know?"
...
Nabiki was silent for a moment. "Lorelei mentioned it... when we were
imprisoned together. You sacrificed yourself to save her?"
Cherry nodded. "To save her, and the world... and most importantly
Otaru-sama. We would sacrifice anything for his sake."
Nabiki nodded slowly, not speaking, but looking slightly disturbed.
]] One wonders if she was noticing feelings like that?
The shopping trip seemed to drag on and on. To Ranma it was horribly
boring, but she forced herself to pretend to stay interested. After
what seemed like hours, Nabiki managed to pick out an outfit that suited
her. A pair of light greenish yellow jeans held up with a leather belt,
along with a loose fitting blue shirt with a white stripe down the
middle that showed off several inches of her stomach.
]] Fairly typical Nabiki outfit.
They couldn't any
shoes that she liked at that store, but Cherry and Bloodberry found a
green on green shirt the same in the same size for Ranma, and a
yellowish brown pair of shorts.
Cherry gazed at Ranma for several seconds, analyzing her measurements
with her onboard sensors. "Alright, Bloodberry, these should fit
Ranma. Why don't you see if she likes them?" As Bloodberry walked off
toward her fellow red head, Cherry turned to Lime, who had been
fidgeting impatiently for several minutes. Lime, Ranma wears a five and
a half shoe, could you find her something in her size? Boots perhaps,
in yellow and green if you could find a pair."
Lime blinked. "Huh?" Cherry sighed and repeated the instructions, and
then a third time just in case.
Bloodberry brought the clothing over to Ranma with a grin. "You're more
of a tomboy type,
]] Ranma: Heh.
like Panther, right?" She held out the shirt and
shorts. "Cherry thought the color would suit you. Go ahead, try em
on." Ranma sighed and went to a changing booth to do so.
When she came out, Ranma shrugged. "I like em, can we go?"
Akane came over, looking amused. "Don't you know how to shop Ranma?
You don't just take the first thing you see." She took a good look at
Ranma. "They do suit you though." Akane smiled. "We'll take them!
It's good for you to wear something besides all those Chinese clothes
you always wear."
]] Wow, Akane's sure a bit bossy today.
...
Lime ran up holding a pair of yellow and green boots that looked like
they would come up to the ankle. "Boots! And they're the right color
too!"
]] One wonders if being the wrong color would have stopped Lime?
...
Lime smiled brightly and ran off. "Yay! Boots!"
Akane shook her head. "Oh no you don't, Ranma. You need something to
sleep in to. Now come on!"
Lime ran back, carrying another pair of boots. "Akane's size! Akane's
size!"
Akane blinked and checked the foot deep, bright yellow boots with brown
trim. "They are the right size... but I haven't picked out an outfit
yet Lime. I don't know if I'm going to be getting anything that will
match."
Lime pouted. "Boots."
Akane glanced at the boots dubiously. "Well they are cute, but...."
Lime continued to pout. "Boots!"
Akane sighed. "They're very nice, Lime. Thank you."
Lime brightened immediately. "Boots! Yay!" She ran off again to
search for another pair."
]] Kill the trailing quote mark.
Nabiki walked up to them, glancing down at the bright yellow pair of
boots Akane was holding. "Well now, those are... glaring, aren't they?"
Akane frowned at her older sister. "Lime picked them out. She's really
trying hard you know."
Nabiki shrugged. "Hey, did I say anything about Lime?"
]] Indirectly, yes.
Lime raced back to them with an even taller pair of bright blue boots,
each with a red glass jewel placed on the front decoratively, presenting
them to Nabiki. "Boots!!!"
Nabiki looked at Lime in mild alarm. "Lime-chan... this isn't exactly
how people usually shop...."
Lime pouted. "Boots."
]] She's sure pushy, sorta.
...
"Bloodberry." Nabiki addressed her in a serious tone. "Could you tell
me something about the relationship between you and Otaru?"
]] Okay, Nabiki's second round of Q&A.
Bloodberry looked surprised. "Me and Otaru? Well... I guess you could
say, I love him." She smiled fondly to herself. "He's a great guy. He
really cares for us." She frowned slightly sadly. "I just wish he
could take some time to just be with me once in a while."
Nabiki hesitated before speaking again. "All three of you love him,
don't you?"
Bloodberry frowned slightly, then glanced back at Cherry and Lime, who
were walking on either side of Otaru looking cheerful. "Yeah." She
sighed, then smiled faintly. "I think we figured out a while ago that
none of us was going to get him just for ourselves. He likes all of us,
and if he knows one of us is hurt, Otaru feels bad." She shrugged. "We
try and keep it from him... when we're sad, because we can't stand to
see him unhappy." Nabiki's eyes were wide, but again she said nothing.
]] Interesting. Perhaps this describes her feelings too.
Bloodberry shrugged. "It's hard to explain I guess, if you don't feel
the same way about someone yourself. I'd do anything for him. Anything
at all." She grinned broadly. "And one of these days, he'll actually
let me!" She winked knowingly at Nabiki, who found herself chuckling
along with the boisterous Saber marionette.
Before long they arrived at a specialty store, holding a variety of
different exotic martial arts supplies and outfits. Bloodberry gestured
around proudly. "I love this place! They have all the best stuff in
here!" She walked by a section holding various formfitting outfits like
the ones she and Lime wore under their outer clothes and nudged Akane.
"Perfect for getting the attention of your guy, eh?" She winked at the
short haired girl knowingly. "Or in your case, your girl. What do you
think?"
Akane blushed slightly, but nodded,
]] No shouted denials? Well, I HOPE Ranma and Akane bonded to each
]] other. If not, it will be tough for both of them.
...
While Akane was in the dressing room, Nabiki went over to the corner of
the store, where lime was looking interestedly at a rack full of
]] Lime is a proper name and should be capitalized.
different color sashes. "Hey Lime, can I talk to you?"
Lime grinned and posed for her. "Hoh!" She tilted her head curiously.
"What do you want to talk about, Nabiki-chan?"
Nabiki chewed on her lip thoughtfully. "I wanted to ask you about how
you feel... about Otaru, for example. He's the one you saw when you
first woke up, right?"
Lime nodded happily. "I love Otaru!"
Nabiki nodded with a smile. "I can tell. So, how do you feel... when
you're away from him?"
Lime thought about that. "I don't like it. I want to be with Otaru all
the time!"
Nabiki quirked her head. "Really? All the time?"
Lime blinked. "Um... well sometimes I go play with my friends in the
forest... all the baby Pontas are so cute... and I talk with Yumeji...
he's my friend too, and I go to the market and buy things for
Cherry...." She giggled. "I guess I'm not with Otaru all the time."
Nabiki nodded in agreement. "Not all the time. But you want to be with
him when you're not?"
Lime nodded. "Yup!"
Nabiki patted lime on the top of the head affectionately. "Thanks for
answering my questions, Lime-chan." She walked over and picked up a
large white sash. "I bet Akane would like this one. Why don't you take
it to Cherry and see if it fits?" Lime nodded and ran off, and Nabiki
sighed to herself. "I guess there's only one way to know for sure."
]] Interesting exchange. With the enforced separation, things will
]] be hard on Nabiki.
When Akane came out of the dressing room, a minute later, Bloodberry
nodded with a grin. "Looks good, Akane... it needs something more
though... But what?"
Cherry came up with a large white sash. "How about this instead of that
black belt? It'll go with your headband." Akane nodded and took off
the belt, then let Cherry tie the sash around her waist from behind.
Ranma walked up and blinked. "Hey, Cherry, I don't think you're
supposed to put a big bow in back, are you?"
Akane glanced around to see, and blinked. "Oh... well, actually...."
She turned around and looked at herself in a mirror. "Actually I like
it like that!"
Ranma shrugged. "It's not bad."
]] Again, did she take something off her comment, or does she not
]] make comments like that, at least as much.
...
Ranma wandered over to the glove bin, and pulled out a fingerless glove
that looked like it might fit her tiny hands. "This looks kinda cool
too." She tried it on and flexed her hand experimentally. "And it
don't get in the way either." She started searching through the pile.
"Now where is the other one...." Minutes later, gloves strewed across
the floor, Ranma growled in annoyance. "Darn it... and there isn't
another pair I like!" She wrinkled her forehead. "Well, I don't care,
I'll just get the one glove then. It's still cool."
Akane sighed. "You sure, Ranma?"
Ranma nodded firmly. "Yeah, lets buy this stuff so we can go home and
eat!"
Akane frowned. "You still have to get something to sleep in, Ranma."
Ranma blinked, then walked over to the bodysuits. "Well... how about
one of these?" She picked out a dark blue shoulderless one that would
go halfway down her thighs and just cover her breasts.
Akane blushed slightly, picturing Ranma in it. "Er... are you sure you
want this one?"
Ranma shrugged. "It's for sleeping, right? I can wear it under my
clothes like Lime does, in case I get into a fight where I get my
clothes wrecked." She grinned wickedly over at her ex-fiancee. "And
I'll look damn sexy in it too." Akane's jaw dropped and Ranma smirked.
]] Wow. But then Ranma always did have a flair for such (remember the
]] mirror double episode?)
"Heh. Never know when that'll come in handy in a fight... I'll take
it." They headed up to the front to pay for their purchases, and Ranma
glanced at Akane hopefully. "Now we're done, right?"
...
Nabiki went over to Otaru as they left the martial arts supply shop. "I
think I'll drop by the palace and check up on Lorelei." She told him
calmly. "I want to ask her some technical questions today. You can get
the futons with Ranma and Akane's help?"
...
]] And off she goes.
*****************
Nabiki walked toward the palace quickly, but not anywhere near as
quickly as she knew she could run. If anything, Nabiki Tendo prefered
to be at least a bit dignified.
]] But she also really really really wants to get there ASAP.
<I do not run!> Nabiki told herself firmly. <Not unless there's a damn
good reason.> She ignored the ache in her chest as best as she could.
]] Wow. Hmm... Did Ranma or Akane feel like this?
<I do not let my emotions get the better of me. I'm the Ice Queen of
Furinkan high... I don't let my better judgment be impaired because of
my feelings.>
]] Of course WAS is more to the point. (but the sentence is fine
]] as is) NOW she's a marionette.
The trip to the palace seemed to take hours, but it was really more like
twenty minutes when she finally reached the front gate. "I'm here to
see Lorelei." Nabiki told the gate guard coolly as she reached him.
"Where is she?"
]] Still Nabiki at the helm of the red-hot maiden circuit.
When she was about to start complaining about the wait, the guard that
she had first spoken to came back accompanied by the palace's main
sentries, Tamasaburo and Baiko. "Come with us." Baiko told her, and
they both turned to lead the way toward the main castle. Nabiki
followed along without bothering to strike up a conversation with the
two stoic palace sentries, instead focusing on memorizing their route,
as well as all of the landmarks on the way in.
]] If she tries to sneak in and gets, things could go very very bad
]] for her.
...
Lorelei looked up as they came in and her questioning look turned into a
genuine smile. "Nabiki! It's good to see you again." She stood up and
walked over to the middle Tendo sister. "What brings you here today?"
]] I'm sure Nabiki is heartened by her reaction.
Nabiki smiled back at Lorelei, finding herself smiling genuinely for the
second time that day. "Actually I had some questions I wanted to ask
you." She walked into the room to meet Lorelei half way. "It's... good
to see you too though."
Lorelei quirked her head sideways questioningly. "What questions do you
have for me?" The demure scientist glanced around as if just noticing
their surroundings. "Oh dear... where are my manners. Would you like
some tea? Why don't we go sit down some place a bit more pleasant, and
we can talk."
Nabiki nodded. "I'd like that. Please."
...
Lorelei smiled. "They do a very good job of anticipating my needs
here." She sighed faintly. "Well, most of them, anyway."
]] An opening, perhaps?
Nabiki felt a twang of sympathy. "I think I understand. You're stuck
here, aren't you? You're the one and only female on the planet, so they
treat you like the crown jewels."
...
Nabiki hesitated, then glanced at Tamasaburo and Baiko. "Could we
talk... privately?"
Lorelei blinked, then nodded, turning too the two palace guards.
]] to (too is 'as well')
"Please leave us for now." She ordered quietly. "I'm in no danger in
Nabiki's company."
The two Amazonlike marionettes exchanged a long glance, then turned back
to Lorelei. "Very well." Baiko agreed. "We will be outside if you
call." They bowed slightly and left. Lorelei blinked in faint
surprise. "They actually left me alone? Will wonders never cease."
Nabiki frowned slightly. <Why did they, I wonder? I had the impression
they didn't really trust me.>
...
Baiko nodded in agreement. "Yes. Nabiki's combat abilities are
minimal, in comparison to our own at this point. I should be able to
reach her with approximately 0.03 seconds to spare. Given a worst case
scenario that is."
Tamasaburo nodded. "Agreed."
]] And I doubt if Nabiki's survival even enters in to their plans.
Back in the tearoom, Nabiki finally broached the subject she had come
about. "Lorelei, I wanted to ask you what you could tell me about
Maiden Circuits."
Lorelei blinked. "What exactly was it about Maiden Circuits that you
wanted to know?"
Nabiki hesitated for a moment. "Well... when Godai Kuno first told us
about them, he said that they should have caused us to become loyal to
them upon first sight... but obviously they didn't. Do you have any
idea of why that might have been?"
Lorelei put one finger along the side of her face, thinking intently.
"Hmm... interesting. Yes, I did wonder a bit about that myself... but I
think I can come up with a reasonable theory or two."
Nabiki gestured for her to continue. "Please do."
Lorelei nodded. "Alright. Godai suggested that your Maiden Circuits
were somehow at fault, correct?"
Nabiki nodded. "Do you think that was the reason?"
Lorelei shook her head after a moment. "No, it's just possible, but
I've given the matter some thought in the meantime and I believe there
is another explanation." She put up a hand. "This is only a theory,
mind you. You see, Maiden Circuits were designed not only to give a
marionette emotions, but as a fail-safe device as well. The Maiden
Circuit, in theory, should cause a marionette with it to emotionally
bond to the first friendly face they see. That way the marionette,
despite having emotional responses, would not prove a threat to its
creator."
Nabiki nodded encouragingly. "In theory."
Lorelei nodded back. "And in practice... at least when they are used in
the manner for which they were designed. General Kuno, however, made a
considerable change that altered the function of the Maiden Circuit when
he created you, Akane, and Ranma. He gave you memories... a past. As
soon as you became active, those memories affected your Maiden Circuits,
causing them to start maturing at an accelerated rate."
Nabiki blinked. "OK, I'm following so far, but why would that cause
them not to work like he planned?"
Lorelei shook her head. "General Kuno was a genius with computers, but
he did not understand people, more specifically, how people mature.
When a baby is first born, it is very impressionable, it bonds
emotionally to the first thing it sees... usually its mother. This bond
strengthens over the first few months, and never really goes away. An
adult, however, has passed that stage of bonding. For a bond to form
between adults, a certain minimum of trust is required. It can happen
quickly, but not with just a look, not for an adult."
Nabiki nodded. "I... I see. So... just seeing the Kuno's for the first
time wouldn't have been enough to bond us too them, because our Maiden
Circuits were more mature?"
Lorelei nodded. "Exactly. The bonding only occurs under friendly
conditions, remember, even when it works properly. A newly awakened
marionette won't, for example, bond to something that attacks it when it
wakes, it will wait until the first amicable contact."
Nabiki nodded slowly. "And a marionette with a mature Maiden Circuit
would have to feel... amicable about the person she sees to form a bond
with them? In theory, I mean."
Lorelei nodded. "That's correct. In theory. In fact, I suspect that
you, Ranma, and your sister already have bonded, to each other. It's
possible that you didn't even notice, if my theory is correct...." She
frowned. "But from your line of questioning... and the look on your
face, I suppose you have noticed something?"
Nabiki nodded shakily. "Yes."
Lorelei looked concerned. "What is it, Nabiki? I thought that perhaps
you may have bonded to your sister, especially given the way you
obviously care about each other... or perhaps it was Ranma?"
Nabiki shook her head very slowly. "No... it wasn't them." She sat
back and took a deep breath. "You see... I've been keeping my guard
up... for a long time. I've done my best not to let my emotions cloud
my thinking... especially when I need to think clearly... as I did when
I found myself five hundred years in the future in the body of a
robot." She took another deep breath. "From what you've said, and I'm
inclined to agree with your theory, doctor, is that a marionette will
bond with a person they see that makes them feel... happy, I guess, at
least a little. Seeing Ranma and my sister in the same boat I was...
all I really felt was my gut clench up inside. I was worried, scared...
I just kept my feelings locked away until I could afford to let them
out."
Lorelei choked, a look of great sympathy coming over her face. "Oh
Nabiki...."
]] Does she know?
Nabiki winced visibly at Lorelei's look of concern. "Lorelei... don't
look at me like that... I don't know if I can say this already."
Lorelei's eyes went wide. "Oh my!"
Nabiki nodded faintly, holding on to the arms of her chair tightly.
"It's true... the person I bonded with... was you."
]] It is obvious that Lorelei cares for Nabiki.
]] I *do* see Ranma and Akane having a real relationship, however
]] they chose to define it. But, Nabiki and Lorelei is a different
]] kettle of (cold) fish. One is Human. One was human, but is ruled
]] (at least in part) by a piece of hardware.
]] But then look at Otaru and his entourage. None of the three
]] Marionettes will ever have a relationship anywhere near
]] that a husband and wife have. So, Nabiki is not in too different
]] a boat.
]] I could easily see her trained as Lorelei's personal aide,
]] at the very least. Also, remember that the only sentient population
]] smaller the Saber Marionettes is Human females (1), so I don't
]] think they would be too likely to destroy Nabiki if it came down
]] to it.
]] I can't wait to see what the ramifications of this are. Will either
]] woman tell any of the others? It's going to be hard for Nabki
]] to hide, though.
End Chapter 11
]] End C&C
Kevin D. Hammel
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khammel@mail.anime.sobhrach.com
kevinsff@pacbell.net
http://www.fanfic.net/~khammel/
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