Disclaimer: Don’t own Ranma ½ except for Daiquiri,
Tequila, Iruka, Perfume, and Kumiko. Don’t sue me, I’m broke.
Chapter 6:
Girl Talk
At the Rum kingdom, Iruka was sitting on the ground motionless as Tequila looked at him from her bed with happiness. She never had a guy as a pet before. She knew he wasn’t really a pet, but a love slave mostly.
“So, Iruka, where do you live, if I may ask?” Asked
Tequila.
“Nowhere. I’m a traveling martial artist…” replied
Iruka.
“Really? That’s sound exciting,” commented the black
hair girl.
“What do you mean?” Iruka looked up to her.
“I mean to travel to different kinds of places,
meeting people, and eat different kinds of food,” remarked Tequila as she sat
on the floor with him.
“It gets lonely sometimes traveling on your own,”
replied the brown haired boy.
“Well its still exciting. Did you know I’m sixteen
and I’ve never left this castle?”
“Why? Aren’t you a princess here? You can do what
you please.”
“Yeah, at times. My brother is very protective of
me. Maybe even selfish for not letting me meet someone. He commanded all the
ninjas to make sure I never left this kingdom.”
“Wow, that’s kind of sad…”
“It is. I want to meet people and maybe even find
the guy I would marry one day…” The princess turned and looked into Iruka’s
eyes.
He felt a sudden feeling as Tequila looked at him.
It wasn’t the same feeling he felt for Akane but it was close. Still, he
couldn’t get Akane out of his mind. He turned away as Tequila just looked.
“Why are you turning away from me?” Asked the
princess.
“I already like somebody,” said Iruka still not
looking at her.
She wasn’t shocked at all and she knew already whom
he was smitten with. It was Akane… It was so obvious when he tried to shield
the short raven haired girl from her brother. She gave a sigh until she thought
of something for her advantage.
“But… isn’t she engaged to that Ranma Saotome?”
Asked the princess.
“Yes, but they’re having disagreements right now
about their love. I can tell by their last fight they had before we came here,”
replied Iruka.
“Those two have gone through a lot of things from
what I heard. They went through family pressuring them to marry; jealous,
dangerous fiancees and suitors; and kidnapping, but through it all their love
for one another has sustained them day by day.”
“They don’t love each other. As much as I saw and
heard, they like to fight a lot.”
“You can fight every day with a person, but that
doesn’t mean that you don’t have a secret affection for them. I’ve always
fought with my brother, but we love each other to death.”
Iruka started to think. He remembers in Ranma and
Akane’s fight that he heard them talking about a wedding. He finally realized
that what the princess was saying could be very true. He lowered his head in
disappointment as Tequila placed his hand on his back.
“I was drawn to her by her kindness and beauty. She
took me in when I needed somewhere to stay. I thought I was in love with her….”
The traveling martial artist trailed off sadly.
“Maybe you were in instant love with her.” replied
Tequila. “Do not worry you’re not the only one who fell in instant love.” Said
Tequila.
Iruka turned towards her and looked into her emerald
eyes. She placed her hands on his face as she moved her face closer to him.
“I do believe I am in love with you…” The princess
spoke softly as she drew his face nearer still.
Without another word, their lips met. It was a very
passionate, yet gentle kiss. Iruka was shocked but somehow his body returned
the kiss. He placed his arms around her as she wrapped her arms around his
neck. It took them some time, but minutes later they broke their kiss and
embrace.
“You’re a good kisser…” commented Iruka as he
blushed a deep crimson.
“As are you,” replied the raven hair girl also
blushing. “I am sorry for being so forward.”
“It’s okay… I liked it though.”
Tequila looked up at him and gave him a rather cute
smile. He felt his face started to glow and gave a small chuckle. He took his
hand and placed it on top of her head looking as if he was petting her.
Meanwhile in Daiquiri’s bedroom, Akane sat in a
chair while Daiquiri laid on his bed looking at him. (a/n: Like sister like
brother! They love the bed, don’t they? ^_^) Akane felt no desire to talk to
him, but there too much silence.
“So, what do you like about Shampoo so much?” Asked
Akane.
“Well, she IS the strongest amazon in her tribe and
her beauty surpasses all…”
“What about her personality?” Akane crossed her arms
in contempt.
“Who cares about that?! Besides, she is persistent,
stubborn, and ruthless. That’s the kind of queen I want for my kingdom,”
replied the prince.
“Well, that’s great! I mean, what’s so different
about her and her sister?”
“Perfume? Well, actually, Perfume was my first
choice. When we were younger, I fell in love with her. She is very smart crafty
and actually she is stronger than her sister.”
“Yeah, sometimes you can’t really tell, but Perfume
is probably is the brain of the sister if it wasn’t for her going ga-ga over
Ryoga.”
“She was special until she beat me up one day and
threatened to kill me if I ever tried to court her.”
Inside of Akane, she was laughing at that last
comment. She knew Perfume was a great martial artist, but for her to beat the
prince as a boy was mildly funny.
“Anyway, Shampoo is more my style plus I know I can
win her by getting you and Saotome married here.” Daiquiri said as he smiled
confidently.
“There’s no way I’ll marry Ranma anytime soon. We
promised each other that we wouldn’t wed until we’re ready,” Akane’s face began
to cloud over in anger.
“Nevertheless, when Ranma and you rejoin once and
for all, I’ll take Shampoo and we will be married.” Replied Daiquiri with a
smile.
Akane gave him a very angry look. Shampoo wasn’t her
favorite person, but no person deserves to marry someone they did not love.
“Tell me, Akane, why do you love Ranma so?” Asked
Daiquiri.
She froze at that question. She never told anyone
her true feelings about Ranma before, not even her sisters. Some knew about her
feelings, but she never expressed it out loud to anyone. Was it time for her to
finally express it?
“How I feel about Ranma can not truly be expressed
at this time, but let me say this… I could never feel the same for anyone else
in my days on this planet.” Akane
responded.
“I know you love him, but why?” Asked the prince
once more looking at her.
“Even though we fight all the time and I always hit
or kick him, we have this understanding on how we both feel for each other.
Ranma can be a baka a lot of times, but at the end he shows some way to say he’s
sorry.” Akane spoke thoughtfully.
“How sweet….” Commented Daiquiri sarcastically. “I
believe that true love is not alive anymore, so you must have given in to your
parents.”
“No way! You must be blind and stupid to say that!”
Daiquiri ran towards her and picked her up by the
throat. She started to struggle as he looked at her trying to be free herself.
She looked at him as she place her hand on his arm to stop.
“No one insults me like that! You will learn your
place girl or you won’t survive when you see your prince charming.” Said
Daiquiri.
He released her as she coughed up a storm. She sat
back on the chair as he left her in the room with the door locked. She has
never been touched liked that before. She knew from now on she had to pick her
words carefully before speaking. Still, she knew it was wrong for him to hurt
her like that. Tears started to form in her eyes as she covered her face with
her hand.
At night on the ship, the group just finished eating
a meal in the ship’s galley.
“The food wasn’t that bad!” Ranma commented with a
broad smile on his face..
“That because Ranma eat whatever he gets hands on!”
Shampoo chided him.
Everyone laughed as Shampoo just smiled at Ranma. It
was good to be happy again around him. Suddenly, Ranma gave a loud yawn.
“I think it’s time for us to hit the hay,” spoke the
pigtail boy as he stretched his arms.
“Yes, we need to rest our bodies. Tomorrow evening
we will be at the village and then on to saving Akane and Iruka,” Mousse
stated..
They all nodded. They seemed to understand that even
though they were having a good time on the ship together, this was still a
serious mission especially for Ranma.
“Good night, airen. May your dreams be filled with
happiness,” Perfume said with a seductive smile.
“Uh, alright, Perfume. Good night!” Ryoga replied,
scratching his head.
“See ya, Kumiko,” said Mousse with a smile.
“Yes, Good night, Mousse-san,” replied Kumiko
blushing a bit.
“What’s the formal name calling for? You are my
boss, of course,” Mousse chuckled.
“Good night, Ranma,” said Shampoo with a bow.
“Good night to you, too, Shampoo,” Ranma looked at
her posture. “You don’t have to bow to me.”
“I wanted to,” said the purple haired amazon.
Later that night, the girls could not go to sleep.
Kumiko came out of the bathroom as Shampoo brushed her hair and Perfume read a
Latin book.
“My goodness, Perfume, aren’t you bored when you
read books like that?” Asked Kumiko.
“No, is very exciting, actually. It help Perfume get
better in other languages than Mandarin Chinese and Japanese. That remind me
that Perfume need to freshen up in Japanese a bit. Perfume still sound like
bimbo. Sound like old name of yours, Shampoo,” said Perfume jokingly.
“Yes…” said Shampoo sitting on her bed.
“Is anything the matter, Shampoo? You’re not your
usual cheery self,” The priestess sat down beside her.
“Well, it’s just…” Shampoo looked at the floor,
avoiding the other’s eyes.
“She still has feelings for Ranma,” replied Perfume
as she placed her book down.
“Oh, really?” asked Kumiko, looking at the purple
haired amazon.
“Sister is right… but I know he no will pick me. He
see Shampoo as only friend and Shampoo for now must be happy with that,”
replied Shampoo with a frown.
Suddenly, Shampoo took her hands and covered her face
as she started to cry. She couldn’t stop the pain and sorrow anymore. She
thought being just Ranma’s friend was enough, but it wasn’t. She felt so weak
and alone.
The other
two girls looked at each other. They knew how much Shampoo loved Ranma, but they
also knew his heart was for Akane. Still, they knew for now they had to make
her stop the tears and put a smile back on her face.
“What is this! Is Shampoo, our champion of the
amazons, crying over a man? Is not good. Listen dear sister, you have taught me
how to be strong for self and have not just excelled in books but also in
fighting skills. Why, if it wasn’t for you, Perfume would be average fighter
and not as strong as Shampoo and Ranma.” Encouraged Perfume as she looked at
her sister.
“That’s right, Shampoo. You have many friends beside
you, so you don’t need to worry. Besides, Ranma and Akane might be in love, but
they can get out of love…” said Kumiko placing a hand on Shampoo’s shoulder.
“She right! Maybe if Shampoo take time, Ranma start
to like Shampoo.” Replied the pink haired amazon.
“You really think so?” Asked Shampoo.
The two girls nodded with a smile. Shampoo thought
for a moment and then gave a smile herself. She never knew that she had such a
good friend and sister.
“And besides, Shampoo, we all have boy trouble,”
said Kumiko.
“Huh? Perfume no have trouble,” said Perfume looking
at them.
“Oh, yes you do. Doesn’t Ryoga still like Akane?”
Asked Kumiko with a smirk on her face.
“He just not using head right now! He know Perfume
love him very much and he love Perfume back.”
Said Perfume crossing her arms.
“Have you asked him that or heard him say that?”
Asked Kumiko.
Perfume opened her mouth but didn’t say a word. She
knew the answer was no. Ryoga is a very passionate person, but he’s very shy
with girls, especially the ones he likes. She heard him say hints on how he
felt for her, but most of the time it was obvious he liked Akane. Perfume
started to feel tears working into her eyes until Kumiko and Shampoo placed
their hands on her shoulders.
“Don’t tell me strong amazon warrior is about to cry
for man,” said Shampoo smiling.
“Perfume, don’t you dare cry! Like I said we all
have our boy problems. I’m chicken to tell Mousse how I feel, but he probably
doesn’t like me…” Kumiko trailed off.
Kumiko looked down as she thought to herself how
weak she was compared to the amazon twins. They expressed how they felt to the
men they loved, but she feared the possible rejection that she would receive
from the male amazon she adored. She felt a tear wanting to pour out until the
amazon twins hit her with pillows. She started to scream until she got free and
pounced on her bed.
“Oh, two on one isn’t fair at all!” said Kumiko as
she grabbed her own pillow.
“Hey, girls!
We heard screaming!” said Ranma rushing in.
They started to fight and laugh until Ranma, Ryoga,
and Mousse rushed in. The boys looked them over. Three beautiful girls in their
tight, short, nightshirts were looking at the boys blushing away.
“Uh, what’s going on?” Asked Mousse.
“I think we came at a bad time,” said Ryoga trying
to hold his nose before it would bleed.
“Hey, how about you get out here!” said Kumiko
trying to cover up. “If you weren’t our friends, I’d call you all perverts!”
The trio ran out thinking Kumiko would start
throwing things at them like Akane. The girls laughed at how fast they ran.
“We have funny men we love,” said Perfume closing
the door still giggling.
“I hope they didn’t hear what we talked about
earlier,” said Shampoo.
“It nothing to really worry,” replied Perfume
picking up another book.
“I tell you, Perfume, you’re turning into a nerd,”
said Kumiko jokingly.
“Hey! Don’t be jealous that I have a brain and you
don’t, priestess,” Perfume smiled jokingly.
Shampoo couldn’t help but to laugh at them. They
were happy she felt better.
“Hey, let’s make a promise. We will not give up no
matter what to get the men we love until they made their final decisions,” said
the priestess with a smile.
The two amazons looked at each other and smiled.
They knew they could live up to this promise.
“We promise, too!” unison the amazon twins as they
hit the other girl with their pillows again.