The Sorceress was moving again, that much was certain.
What her spells and portents were telling her were an odd mix of signals. Yet if she read the signs correctly, her son was being manly and her husband being responsible and things were progressing pretty much as she'd predicted.
Nodoka Saotome was a wu jen, a sort of wizardling whose spells directly influenced the natural elements. Her spells were of far less power than that of the Sorceress - but that didn't mean she was a pushover by any means.
She mainly isolated herself from society and her husband to keep the influences to a minimum in her magical scrying. Too many people around tended to cloud visions. It had been her own visions of the future that had her allied with the daimyo years ago, and it was at her behest that he had gone after the Oni Thief to begin with.
Now things would come to a conclusion. The world could be unmade in the process, but if the Sorceress won then the black yoke of oppression would settle around their necks for the remainder of their years. Success would throw things into uncertainty again. It all depended on so many things coming together in the last moment.
Nodoka spoke a single word into the evening hours, then prepared for bed. With morning, there would be a horse here to take her to the daimyo's castle.
It would be nice to see her son again.
"At least let me wash your back, milord," offered Makoto simply.
Ranma acquiesed, though he knew the old him would never have stood still long enough for this.
Slicked by soap, Makoto's fingers quickly covered his back, rubbing gently but firmly.
Then, since she had done his back - was it not fair of him to do the same?
Her back was soft but firm, showing strong muscle under the silk of her skin.
"Milord?" Her voice wasn't a protest, wasn't angry at all, merely questioning and perhaps a bit pleading.
Ranma was aware that he'd stopped with his hands above her waist. Still on the back and definitely not naughty, but unexpected.
"Ah, sorry," stammered Ranma.
Makoto let her breath out and turned, twisting about so that she faced him. "Lord... Ranma. This needn't go any further than you will it."
It wasn't two bodies coming together in mindless lust or something of that nature. They simply continued scrubbing each other.
His hands on her breasts turned her breathing ragged and caused her arms to momentarily lose their strength. Her hands rolled his balls and stroking his shaft caused him to swell to full attention.
Neither of them were quite ready for that, the matter of his dimly remembered arrival being not something to think about. No they simply became familiar with each other's forms and then pressed together as Makoto kissed him.
It left both of them panting and while both of their bodies wanted to go right there for fulfillment - mental state was something different. The two sets of memories made the whole thing completely muddled.
"If we succeed and turn the timeline back to normal," gasped Ranma, "I am staying at the Tendo Dojo in Furinkan prefecture in Nerima ward of Tokyo."
The look of gratitude was like he'd thrown a drowning person a line, almost frightening in its intensity. "Thank you," was all she said.
With that, the two went into the hot soaking tub to recover and think when
Sun Sep 21 04:41:29 2003