Dnabiki150 Nabiki 1/2 "A Very Scary Thought" by Jim Robert Bader (Inspired by the works of Rumiko Takahashi & Others, with concepts and characters created by fellow fanfic writers Wade Tritschler, DB Sommers, Andrew Greaves, Bill Guiroff and countless others, including "Buffy" creator Joss Whedon; with special thanks to my good pal Shiva for his editing and handling of this series.) (Certain other characters and concepts are of my own innovation, including my interpretation of the Monster of Mary Shelly's novel, and various other guest stars appearing in this portion of the Nabiki 1/2 series...) WARNING---LEMONY GOODNESS AHEAD OF YOU! HENTAI MATERIAL ENCLOSED WITHIN THE FOLDS OF THIS CHAPTER, WHICH MIGHT WELL OFFEND SOME PRUDISH READERS, EVEN THOUGH THIS TIME AROUND THE ACTION DESCRIBED IS STRICTLY GUY/GIRL HETERO ACTION, UNLIKE MY USUAL GIRL/GIRL HABITS...YOU HAVE BEEN DULY WARNED, SO MAKE READY! Chapter Sixty. Episode One-Hundred-Fifty. "Flesh and the Devil." Los Angeles, LAPD District 47; Office of Captain Fortunov "But sir, he gave me probable cause..." "Probable cause?" Fortunov responded in disbelief, "He gave you the finger and so you felt justified in ripping his door off the hinges?" "He was concealing a weapon on his lap inside, Sir," Detective Sergeant Carla Mendez assured him, "So naturally I took the initiative to disarm him..." "You sure did a great job of that," Fortunov arched his eyebrows meaningfully, "You almost ripped his arm out of its socket." "He had a spare," Carla shrugged as though it were no great serious matter. "And after you disarmed him...or came close to it anyway," Fortunov continued as if reciting a familiar lament, "You interrogated the suspect and deduced that he hat a trunk full of illegal weapons, AND was holding the hostages that your informant assured you would be found at a certain warehouse, but while you solved the case and caught the bad guy your evidence is inadmissible owing to the fact that you broke a dozen department regulations AND put the suspect on the critical ward, all without once drawing your gun, which may be the only bright spot on this whole debacle." "Well, you see?" Carla said, "That's certainly something to tell the review board." "You think that's funny?" Fortunov demanded, "The guy may never walk again, and this department is facing a potential huge suit, or we would if the guy ever regains normal brain activity, and what the heck did you do to the guy? The doctors can't even find a mark on him." "Oh, you wouldn't know the technique even if I could explain it to you," Carla shrugged, "Truth is it won't be invented for another four hundred or so years, but I assure you it is very effective, and nothing less than the bastard deserved after all the things I saw crawling around inside his head." There was a long pause before Fortunov said, "You scare me sometimes, Mendez, you know that?" "Frankly sir I scare myself sometimes," Carla replied, "Having memories of someone I won't even be until seven hundred years in the future can sometimes make me forget who I was before that whole business with Manhanon a couple of years back." "Don't remind me," Fortunov said, "I try every day to forget it ever happened." "I just wish I could," Carla replied, "But the bastard keeps popping up from time to time messing with our lives...like the first dozen times wasn't enough to clue him that he'll never get the better of me and...ah...my partner..." "Who is currently absent on extended leave," Fortunov said archly, "For pulling crap like you've been doing for the past two weeks that she's been absent." "Sir," Carla insisted, "With all due respect this city doesn't go to rest just because one cop goes on vacation, especially that daffy, hair-brained flame- headed trouble-making two-timing..." "I get the point, no need for the litany," Fortunov raised a hand to halt the ensuing tirade, "You had a fight and things go to hell all around you. But try looking at things from my end, this department is a shambles. Take a look at these file folders on my desk," he indicated the stack that was piled high before him, "Violence, traffic accidents, homicides, assault and battery, destruction of property, general mayhem..." "Yes, I know sir," Carla replied "The criminal element is completely out of control..." "These reports are about you!" Fortunov slammed his palm down upon a clear portion of his desk, which threatened to topple several piles over, "And here I thought it was Trudy who caused the bulk of this kind of nonsense, but the two of you as a team aren't anywhere near as calamitous as you've been during her brief absence! Get your act together, Mendez, and stop taking it out on everyone else! Every partnership has more than its share of ups and downs, but when somebody with your abilities starts to seriously lose it, that's when we see casualty reports pile up and emergency rooms and the morgue get too much of your business!" "But only the bad people get hurt when I'm on duty, sir..." Carla protested. "There's collateral damage in everything you do, Sergeant, and it doesn't matter what excuses you use, the fact remains that you are responsible, and if I have to go before one more review board and explain what I'm doing with a wild pistol like you on the force..." "I thought Delphi covered us on that," Carla frowned. "You think your friends in that super-secret organization are going to convince the department heads that all the noise you make can just be outright ignored?" Fortunov asked, "What do you think this is, a cop drama or a movie where they sweep stuff like that under the carpet? Oh, no problems if you've been thrown on suspension, it just happens every day when you're got a badge and work for the city, right?" "The sarcasm isn't appreciated, Sir," Carla frowned, "I'm just doing my job, catching bad guys and helping defend the people of this city." "Frankly I'm starting to wonder if the city might not be better off without you protecting it for a while," the Captain said while running his hands over his tired, unshaven face, "Putting Trudy on forced vacation isn't enough...I'm thinking you should join her, patch things up between you, try and make peace before you start to do real damage." "You want me to go on vacation?" Carla said blankly, "Sir, I've hardly even taken medical leave in the last five years, and I'm fit and healthy. I don't need any blasted..." Her cell phone went off, causing the Sergeant to glance down at her belt in annoyance. "I thought I told you to turn that thing off when you came in here," Fortunov scowled. "I did," Carla whipped her phone up and snapped into the mouthpiece, "Who is this? Huh...Trudy?" "Obviously she knows how to override the off switch," Fortunov rolled his eyes, "Why do I find that surprising?" "Where the hell are you?" Carla snapped in irritation, "I was expecting to hear from you two days ago...!" She paused to listen to the other end, and then she blinked and said, "Japan? What the Frel are you doing there? Looking up old relations?" "Considering who her ancestors must have been, that must include Attilla the Hun," Fortunov said wryly. "How soon do you plan to be back...what?" Carla stared blankly off into space, and then she snarled, "You're planning to extend your stay? And just when did you decide to do that? YOU WHAT?!? Are you crazy?" "I've had my suspicions about that for quite some time now, yes," Fortunov mused, only to catch a glare from the sergeant that made him fall silent. "What do you mean you've taken an assignment...from who? You've gotta be joking!" Carla snarled, "What does that walking pile of animated corpses expect you do to for him? Teach at a high school?!? Gym? But you sucked at that...or that's what you told me! Listen, if you think I'm just going to wait here meekly while you parade around a bunch of sweet-faced adolescent Geishas, then you're even crazier than I..." "Splendid!" Fortunov spoke up, "What an excellent idea! I'll even book your flight for you and you can be in Tokyo by this time tomorrow." "What?" Carla whirled on the man and sputtered out, "But Captain...!" "Two weeks paid vacation...as a matter of fact, I'm extending that, so you can take the whole month off," Fortunov moved around his desk and clapped the smaller woman on the shoulder, "I'll explain everything to the Commissioner and the Review Board...in fact, I'm sure they'll agree with me based on my recommendation for what's best for the city. Besides, as you said, you're way overdue, and this department can't afford to look bad with the Unions..." "But...!" Carla protested. "Sergeant," Fortunov gave her a stern look, "Do I have to make it an order? In fact, take as much time as you like, go to Japan, make up with your partner, enjoy a bathhouse and some sushi at my expense. I insist...or would you rather leave Inspector Wells to her own devices? You know better than anyone what that could mean for the innocent Japanese population." "But..." Carla said with a bit less conviction to her protest. "You want an international incident to break out that could start another war between our countries?" Fortunov asked reasonably, "Or do you really trust that Trudy will be able to mind her manners and stay true to you the whole time that she's over there? Hell, she might even wind up in bed with the daughter of their Prime Minister for all we know, assuming the Emperor's family is off limits..." Carla scowled, then she growled into the phone, "You caught that? Good. Then be ready, I'm coming to get you, so behave." And then she snapped the phone shut, glaring at Fortunov before saying, "I'm only doing this to keep her from starting any trouble." "Whatever you say," Fortunov waved a hand as if to assure the innocence of his intentions. "And I'm coming back when this is over...with her in tow, if necessary," Carla added by way of insistence. "Don't hurry on our account," Fortunov replied, "Los Angeles will still be here whenever you do decide to come back." "You don't honestly think you'll be rid of the both of us that easy, do you, Captain?" Carla asked as she headed for the door, not even bothering to wait for her dismissal as she exited with such restrained haste that it was more than likely that she would be at the airport within the hour...traffic notwithstanding. For the sake of the traffic Fortunov hoped for clear lanes all the way. Once he was certain that the feisty little "chicana" was good and on her way he murmured softly to himself, "No, but I can hope for some much-needed peace and quiet." He paused to think about it then he picked up the phone and spoke to his secretary, "Get me the number for the Tokyo PD. Yeah, that's right, I mean Japan...and bill it to my personal account." After all, he mused in the privacy of his thoughts, he at least owed it to his counterpart on the other side of the planet, a fair warning that one of his detectives was visiting on a "hush-hush" case, and full cooperation was requested. It was the very least that he could do for a brother cop who was the counterpart of his legal station...otherwise there really could be trouble brewing in the land of the Rising Sun, and who knew better than Fortunov just how explosive the duo of Mendez and Wells could be when turned loose to their own devices... Especially when their private love life was involved...and Lord help anyone who disapproved of working partners with personal feelings that extended just shy of an actual marriage... * * * Very gingerly Trudy closed the mouth of her cell phone then turned to glance at her new partner before saying, "Good thing I caught her in a good mood. Only problem is...she's coming here to get me." "Carla is on her way?" Angelique said in surprise, then she smiled, "Cest le vie...it has been far too long since our paths have crossed, and it would be very good to see her again...even if she is, as you say, your partner in this era and not mine." "Oh yeah," Trudy said with a nervous twitch that made her voice sound less than fully convincing, "Just peachy. Only thing is...how do I explain you to her? Knowing Carla the way I do, she's bound to jump to the obvious but wrong conclusions..." "What conclusions are those?" Takaharis wanted to know, "Does she still have personal feelings for you, Angel?" "Not as such, though zee memory of what we once shared is certain to be within her," Angelique sighed, "Those were good times, and I do so very much miss her. But...life moves on, and it is better to go with zee flow rather than dwell upon things of zee past...zat are also of zee distant future." "Oh yeah," Trudy averred, "Your past and future...my present, and I'm stuck on her for good or ill, so this visit's my problem. I just know I'm as good as dead unless I think up a good way of reassuring her that you and me aren't presently an item." "Do you need assurances, ma amis?" Angelique asked, "If so, zhen I will gladly give Carla my assurances...and she knows that Temuvarai do not lie." "Somehow I don't think even that's gonna totally convince her," Trudy sighed, "Well...better deal with her when she shows up. Right now we've got a day ahead of ourselves to prepare for, so if it's all the same to the both of you, I'll be heading on out, and you can go back to whatever it was you were planning on doing." "Zhen we will see you later, Cheri," Angelique smiled, "And fare well until our next meeting." "Sure thing," Trudy acknowledged as she headed for the back screen door, "Have fun in the meantime...don't do anything I wouldn't do...whatever the heck that is." "Au revoir until zee next time, my friend," Angelique called out, just before a rippling in the mana field surrounding the place signified the passage of the lone Kurustani. Takaharis considered what she had observed about the strange redhead, then turned back to her blonde house guest and said, "A very strange and curious person. I could perceive the scent of death around her, but no taint of actual evil." "She walks in zee gray path between zee dark and zee light," Angelique murmured, but then turned a fond regard towards Takaharis and asked, "Cheri...are you jealous of her? You must know zat Trudy is a friend, and even though I care very much about her welfare, there is no stronger connection between us other zhan zhat we both have elements that come from a very different time and era." "But she is a former lover of yours, correct?" Takaharis asked archly. "We have exchanged pleasantries, and we both gave each other a good tumble," Angelique replied, moving closer to the devil woman while smoldering with sensuality in her smile and regard of Takaharis, "But beyond zhat...non...we were never so close as what I feel when I am in your presence." Despite her reservations Takaharis found it difficult to look away as she was drawn into the magnetic blue eyes of the platinum-haired siren, though she did manage to voice her greatest concern of the moment, "And do you say the same thing with all of your recent conquests?" "Zhat all depends on how we feel on zee morning after," Angelique purred, "And indeed it is a most glorious morning, do you not agree? And I left zee shower water running just in case you were still interested in a cleansing. Surely you do not wish your water bills to go up so high while we dally here in need of a thorough soaping?" Takaharis decided to relent and give into the moment, smiling in a way that would have frightened a lesser mortal as her fangs gave her face a face a distinctly...hungry expression. "Very well...then I suppose we could use a good thorough dousing after the night we both endured together." Angelique took Takaharis by one taloned hand and cooed most delightedly, "Believe me, Cheri, I intend to be very thorough with you, and when we are finished you will glow like a star rising up in zee morning heavens." Somehow Takaharis doubted that they would be too brief in their preparations for the coming day, and she privately marveled that they could get so clean and dirty at one and the same instant, but still she ached to feel the touch of this magnificent sex machine caressing her body, and for the sake of the joy that they were about to share she was willing to set her reservations aside, to indulge in the pleasures of the body while sharing a spiritual communion with this sensuous Angel... * * * Frank awoke to the day feeling very, very good about himself...and he was aware of the presence of a very warm and comfortable blanket laying across his massive chest, a living presence who smelled of chestnuts and springtime and who fit so comfortably upon him that he was loathe to move lest he unintentionally disturb her. Very slowly he opened his pale eyes and gazed upon the top of a brown canopy of silken hair that fell loosely about a pair of slender shoulders. His arm lay across her back and he could feel the softness of textured skin that yielded so lightly to his touch. Her legs were spread around his massive thighs as though she were riding a log in her sleep, and indeed, he could feel the other log of his manhood stiffening with the waking of bodily functions and discovered---much to his amazement and delight---that he was still buried deep inside of her body, the cleft of her soft folds clenched around him in reflexive, possessive retention. He could not quite recall the last time that he had fallen asleep while still enfolded within the depths of such a warm and inviting harbor. Size issues and bathroom humor notwithstanding, Frank had often suspected his creator of harboring a perverse sense of humor giving him a massive member far larger than seemed right even for his hefty proportions. Just the sight of it alone would often frighten young ladies far more even than his Hollywood image would suggest, and just where in the heck his father had found the donor that contributed to his current anatomically "correctness" was a subject of much deep speculation for Frank. In fact, had he not believed such a thing beyond even the formidable capacities of the not-so-good doctor who had given him life, it seemed more than probable that his "dong" had once belonged to a long-dead resident of some forgotten stable. It had rather amazed him that he could even fit down there between the legs of his current bedmate, and he recalled how---at first---it had been a bit difficult for his lady friend to get him crammed all the way into her velvety cleft. She had to work at it a bit before she could take him in all of the way but still she had been determined to impale herself upon his rod in all of the way, and by slow accommodation had mounted his horn and then adjusted her insides to more properly fit him. From there they had begun a wild ride whose ultimate climax Frank could not quite recall, other than that he had been blinded by one heck of an explosion, and then his mind had filled with the brilliance of her body glowing like a star as she came with the force of a mini- supernova. If he had harbored any doubts as to the transfigured divinity of his lady friend, that had put it all to rest. She had literally shimmered with divine majesty while taking him all of the way to a heavenly place where dreams of such a moment had a strange and wondrous resonance, and where even Monsters could find the grace of salvation. A stray memory came into his mind of seeing his lover during the moment of heightened consummation. Despite his best efforts to control his body's tendency towards an electrostatic discharge he had indeed let go with all his power at that critical moment of conjuncture. He had unwittingly electrified her body, causing her hair to curl upwards as static discharges matched the physical injection of bodily fluids up into her innermost cavity, and yet still she had taken it all in with onlya mild cry of delightful triumph. Her beautiful face was lighted from within by a joy that surpassed all comprehension by mortals, and she had ridden him out to his fullest measure, at last falling across him spent and contented while he lay back feeling momentarily quite drained in all measurable senses, and in that position they had drifted off to sleep together, his manhood still inside her and she quite reluctant to release him, adjusting her posture so that she could remain as she was without surrendering what she had so willingly taken. It was rare enough that Frank could find a woman who could bring him off so thoroughly, let alone one who could endure his full measure without suffering injury, and always in the past he had been quite careful about going too far with any of his lovers. He briefly though of his first long-lost love, of the pink haired Chinese girl named Lotion, who had taught him all about the ways of the body...and then of Eve, the woman quite literally made for him, yet with whom he had shared a somewhat tempestuous relationship, and how they had eventually grown apart as each sought a different path down through the decades of their mutual existence. Other names and faces floated across his mind with the memories that they brought with them, and much sweetness he had tasted in their company, though many were long gone now, passed away with the passage of the nearly two centuries that he had been walking the Earth, rare gems to be treasured in the course of his many long adventures. But few of them could hold a candle to this new flame that illuminated his life...this Tendo Kasumi, a gentle girl of gentle means who nonetheless harbored the fierceness of a wildcat when aroused to go the distance. Frank savored the press of her flesh against his own heavily scarred body and marveled at the strength that hid beneath the softness of her exterior...and just where did a girl who had formerly been so ignorant to the ways of the body gain the knowledge to do things like that with him? She had brought him to full arousal like it was nothing, and he had tasted every inch of her in turn with delight in the sweetness of her savor. He really was getting heavily addicted to her company, but it had surprised him the night before when she had put the moves on him, demonstrating a randy eagerness that he had never even begun to suspect her capable of possessing. Always before she had been quite shy and demure in expressing her affections. She was too much of a proper lady by the standards of Japanese etiquette to even think of something so inappropriate as sex outside of wedlock, and while she had given him many passing looks and hints that she felt a certain closeness towards him, always Frank had felt restrained by the thought that he might lessen her purity and take away her innocence if he gave in too far to his own quite legendary libido. But now that he had tasted every inch of her warm flesh, and kissed her in the most private and intimate of places, and received in kind many fond caresses and hungry kisses in return he felt somehow connected to this woman on a level that was quite beyond some casual affair involving the natural hunger of one living body for another. After all, neither one of them was entirely human in the normal sense of such affairs, and as mutual outsiders who yearned to find a connection they had merged with one another as if finding a niche into which each grove of their being fit perfectly and neatly. They complimented one another in ways that Frank found both puzzling and yet mysteriously intriguing. And to think she had been there before him as a friend and a companion for the past several months, always expressing an interest in being more of a part of his life, yet never until now willing to say out loud just how far she would go in order to meet him half way. In a way he felt as though he had despoiled her, and yet for all that the mystery of her innocence was gone she still held a mystique that was unassailable, and so his interest remained as strong as the day when he had first noticed her as a woman. Her breathing became regular and then she inhaled gently and murmured softly, "You are so quiet, my lord...I trust that there are no regrets for your part?" "Not for me, Kid," Frank replied in a low rumble, "You?" She purred contentedly and seemed to spread herself out over his chest like warm butter as she murmured, "None whatsoever...which is a bit odd, considering that I never thought I would be doing this with anyone but my future husband." "Ah...yeah," Frank said a bit tightly, "Guess this ain't the traditional way you were dreaming about having your first moment with a guy, huh?" "That is true," Kasumi moved a hand and felt along the contours of the ancient stitches that marked where one part of him had been sewn up to another, "But in all honestly I have grown more than a bit weary with tradition. Thoughts of propriety and what is improper no longer seem to matter as much as they did when I was just a young girl growing up and imagining myself with a husband. The values instilled in me by Aunt Nodoka and my late mother seem quaint and old fashioned rather than a practical guide to how I want to live my life. Even father's likely disapproval of my decision to consummate my feelings for you in such a fulfilling way could not dissuade me from the choice I made when I decided to be with you, my darling Frank-sama. It just seemed the natural thing to do, and I was tired of holding back and minding my manners when both of my sisters have casual and free intercourse with their marriage partners and lovers. Besides...for me the moment we shared this last night was something of a revelation...and do you know why?" "Not really, Doll-face," Frank said while running his huge hand through her silken tresses, "Despite the fact I was put together rather than born like most other guys, I'm still just a man, not a mind-reader." Her gentle laughter surprised him, and he saw her raise her head to look at him, then she composed herself upon his chest and smiled with a warmth that put the sun to shame as she informed him, "Because this is the first time that I have ever done this with a man...and as a woman with a man. It proves to me that I am still capable of knowing all the joys of womanhood, that my condition has not denied me the simple pleasures that others know and take so much for granted." Frank gazed into her crimson eyes and found himself as mesmerized as anyone under the influence of a Vampire's hypnotic fascination, "Glad I could help you out with that, Beautiful, but if the truth be known, I never really doubted you in the first place. Of course..." "Yes?" she asked, sensing a meaning to his slight hesitation. "Well..." he paused then said a bit gruffly, "I found out a long time ago that my blood ain't exactly healthy for most vamps. You got a taste of what I can do when I let go...I'm like an electric eel, I store up static electrical charges in the cells of my body and can release them at will, so imagine what I must taste like when a normal vamp tries sucking on my veins." Kasumi smiled and said, "It did kind of tickle. But I see what you mean...for someone less...resilient than myself..." "Exactly," Frank murmured, unable to help the memory from coming back to him of seeing vampires who had made the mistake of thinking him vulnerable that way disintegrating before his eyes as their bodies literally burned up from within from the taste of the "battery acid" he called his blood, much though it acted in most other ways like regular plasma. And yet Kasumi had only once giving him a 'love-nip" without suffering harmful side-effects...and then she had doubly surprised him by going down all the way and taking his manhood between her lips and... Unwittingly he felt his rod begin to stiffen, and so did Kasumi, who was delighted at this physical sign of his renewed interest. "You were afraid of hurting me," she said gently while smiling in a way that belied the innocence of her statement, "But as you can see...I am not quite the same vulnerable little girl that I was when you first knew me." "Yeah...I know," Frank felt his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed, knowing the rush of hormones that were firing his synapses were matched in kind by the woman who straddled him so possessively, and that she was adjusting herself slightly so that she could sit upright and feel his "pole" poking up more erectly. "Frank-sama," Kasumi said, rather than her usual demure 'Steinberg-Sensei,' which was further testament to how far their relationship had progressed in a single night, "You don't need to hold back with me, my love...I gladly accept what you are, and...I am grateful to you for being accepted for what I am...and I am delighted to be with you now...and forever, if you so wish it." Frank moved his hands to caress her hips and took firm hold of her as he spread his legs and prepared himself for another romp with his beautiful Japanese lover, "Careful how you say that, Doll...a guy might take it into his head that you want this to be formal." "I would have no objections...if the thought were agreeable with you," Kasumi answered, squirming a bit as she prepared herself for another vigorous "pole" ride, "But I will not insist on it, and I understand how men do not like to feel pressured..." "Your dad might have his own opinions on the subject," Frank said as he stared longingly at the radiant glory that was Kasumi, fascinated by the bob and weave of her full breasts as she moved slowly up and down over his manhood, generating sufficient pressure that he was now as hard as a rock and fully intending to see this through to his third climax of this encounter, "But for what it's worth...any man would be proud to have a gal like you for a wife. Hell...a man who have to be crazy beyond stupid to turn down the thought of being with you on a long-term contract. But...are you really sure about this, Beautiful? I mean...I've lived a long time, and I know a few things about relationships. I've been married...ah...a few times over the years, and it ain't exactly like I'm a stranger to the alter..." "Maybe so," Kasumi mused, "But I suspect that with us it will be anything but a casual affair, and I want to experience the sanctity of marriage at least once in whatever passes for the remainder of my life." "Huh?" Frank said in mild surprise, "You thinking of going somewhere, Beautiful? Or don't you think you'll live forever?" Kasumi gave him an endearing smile while working up more momentum as she moved up and down over his much-prized manhood, "I don't plan on going anywhere, and it is technically possible that you and I could live forever. After all, neither one of us is getting any older in the conventional sense. It is just that...with the sort of troubles we've been having of late...there is a possibility...that one day in the future...our luck could run out..." "I...see...your point," Frank grunted while giving her his own upthrust member, "And you're right...if there's one thing living two centuries has taught me...it's that...life's too short...and you gotta appreciate...and enjoy every moment you're given..." "I live for the present...I enjoy this moment especially," Kasumi sighed as she worked up a much more regular rhythm, bobbing up and down over her man while enjoying the way her heaving breasts were swaying with the laws of inertia, "But every moment that I take...from this day to...whenever the fates will take me...into their embrace...I plan to enjoy life...to the fullest...and I want that life to include...a family of my own...a husband...and, if possible...even children..." "Children?" Frank almost stumbled over the idea, but then---with great reluctance on his part---he softly admitted, "Doll-face...you know I...have had kids in the past. I don't know how it's even possible, the way I was made and all that...but...it is possible, at least on my end..." "I know," Kasumi purred contentedly as she found great delight in continuing to bob up and down over his lap, taking him in all of the way each and every time she completed a down-stroke, "And speaking of which...having met your first girlfriend...and your first wife...I am more than a little curious...did you ever give a child to Madam Lao? After all...she is your wife by Amazon law...and I am more than...a little curious...of how far your relationship...extended..." "Ah..." Frank found himself suddenly on the spot, and staring up at the incredible sight of this entirely desirable young woman as she rode up and down over his member he found himself unable to avoid forming an answer...so, much though he was reluctant to relate the personal matters that existed between him and the renegade Amazon turned Poacher, he found himself opening up to his new woman, even as she opened up and received him in a way that insured his total sincerity as they spent the rest of the morning working out the details of their future relationship...and establishing for them both that they truly did have a future...together... * * * "Such an amazing night, Tendo-kun," Saotome Genma remarked as he and his friend sat on the porch together enjoying the sunrise while sipping from the "hangover cure" that Nodoka had taken great pains in preparing. "Say that a bit more softly if you please, Saotome," Soun softly pleaded, wincing more than slightly, "I still haven't quite grasped the thought that I am suddenly a grandfather with two more children birthed in one night by my two youngest daughters." "Sure was a night full of surprises," Genma mused while nudging his friend with a playful elbow, "I hear that Daitokuji went into labor a short time after Kodachi gave birth to her own daughter...and Akane was right there alongside her during the whole process. About the only ones who didn't give birth last night were Shampoo-san and Ukyo-chan, but it could be any day now for the former...a few months beyond that for the latter." "Incredible to think that they were each five months into their pregnancies yet gave birth to healthy offspring who were fully developed," Soun remarked in a faintly dismayed tone and expression, "It's as if a kami were speeding up time to cut the duration to half that of a normal gestation period...and have you seen the way that little Lylac, Fragrance and Eileen have been growing like wild flowers in an open field? It's astonishing to think that my eldest granddaughter is almost a year old, and yet she is not only walking and talking but can carry on conversations like a girl three times her actual age." "Disturbing indeed," Genma admitted, "But I'm sure there has to be a logical reason, and young people do seem to want to grow up a bit faster than they did in our day, eh Tendo?" "You are so right on that, old friend," Soun agreed as they finished sipping their medicinal tea, then as one turned to their Shogi board and resumed their play (minus the pieces each had covertly stolen to enhance his own position). "Of course it will be some time before the girl is back to her former self," Genma remarked while trying to make sense of the current number of pieces on his side of the board, "I've been taking it way too easy with her on account of her condition, but that will change once she's regained her health and can wean her boy so that she can focus her energies into regaining her martial arts advantages." "Normally I would applaud your enthusiasm, old friend," Soun softly pleaded, "But do give her a few days to recover her strength. From what Ranma and the others have told us, Nabiki went through quite an ordeal last night and may even have come close to losing her son, so for the sake of my heir please give her body a chance to recover before putting her through your usual paces." "She'll have the chance she needs to get back into shape," Genma assured his companion, "But knowing her like I do, I'm confident that Nabiki knows more about her limits than the both of us put together. Besides, she's got the old woman to coach her through that. Just leave the rest to me, old friend, and I'll see to it she's on her feet and back to kicking fannies and taking numbers. Besides, after over ten years as her Sensei I've got more than a healthy respect for the girl's resilience, and if anything it will be Nabiki who demands more from us and herself than anything that the both of us might imagine." "I certainly hope that you are right about that, Saotome-kun," Soun mused while at last making his move, then waiting to see if his current gambit would be successful...and prepared to take whatever steps were necessary to redress a perceived imbalance brought about by the mysterious disappearance of several of his key strategic pieces... Unbeknownst to either man, another gathering was taking place upon the roof of the house, one very unusual even in Nerima as the five female figures sitting around in attendance were human only in contour, being quite inhuman in respects to their actual nature. And yet, as the lead figure demonstrated, their concerns of the moment were entirely quite human, inspired as they were by what they had observed upon the previous evening. "I still can't get over the way they fought so hard to bring this child into the world," Karina marveled, "It was as if it would have meant the end of the world if they really had lost him..." "Aye," Latisha softly agreed with the Sylph princess, "The way our Master struggled so hard to channel our energies into keeping his wife's flame from dwindling out...and the pain of loss he felt when his son was stillborn...I have never felt anything so moving." "And let us not forget what the lord Anri said regarding this child having a special destiny to fulfill," Nagisha said thoughtfully, "And that protectors yet to be born would arise to serve his needs as he grows older." "That almost makes it sound as if the were fated to fulfill some great and important mission," Sobriel gave a mildly disturbed look towards her contemporaries and said slowly, "And if events are shaping themselves to help bring the baby into the world, and protect him against anything that might prevent his destiny from coming about, do you think?" "You mean like the way that Paladin just strode up out of nowhere and saved the day?" Sharil remarked with a thoughtful expression, "I didn't know healing magic like that existed in this cynical era...but yeah, now that you mention it, when the child was touched by her grace, it did something to really bring light and joy to our master." "I have often heard it said that human mortals will fight the most fiercely for their offspring," Nagisha remarked in subdued tones that were quite atypical for one of her normally haughty demeanor, "But this night we all witnessed the truth behind that ancient adage...because the struggle to save the boy was like no other battle that we have ever shared with our Master. He gave it his all and demanded everything of us, and when we managed to help save the mother but almost lost the offspring...it reminded me much of what a dragon feels when she loses an egg to some poacher..." "You know, any other time and I'd never understand what the lot of you were even talking about," Sobriel said with less aloofness than was her usual temperament, "But now that I've gone through it with you guys...I'm starting to miss the fact that I never even knew my own mother and father. I grew up in the Abyss before I was ensnared and put to work for that wizard, and before I met the Master the Void was my home in exile. I never really got the concept of what a family could mean to other people...but now...after living through that..." "Yeah, I know what you mean," Karina had a very thoughtful expression as she gazed down at the house where their Master was currently bathing, having told them to "give him some privacy" so that he was currently without the tattoos that normally covered his splendidly masculine body, "It kind of makes you wonder...what would it be like to go through what these human women have been doing? Would it be worth enduring a few months with a swollen belly just to share in the joy that they take so much for granted?" "Why bother suffering at all?" Latisha sniffed, "I've had offspring in the past, and I've never been all that inconvenienced." "Yes, but not everyone hatches their children from an egg, take my word on that," Sharil said wryly, "And while I don't know too many of the details about how my mother had me, I'm pretty sure she did it in the usual human manner." "You do things your way," Nagisha mused, "But a dragon only needs to fertilize her eggs before she drops them into her nest, and for that she need only find a suitable mate, one who matches her standards for compatibility and desirability, and only in the season when it seems the most appropriate..." "You mean...have sex first?" Sobriel arched an eyebrow as she regarded her fellow elemental, "Like...say...with the Master?" "Did I say that?" Nagisha looked startled, "Ah...never mind...it just came out as a random comment." "Ah-huh," Karina said skeptically. "Pull the other one," Sharil smirked. "You two should get your minds out of the gutter," Latisha scolded, "He is our Master, we should respect him and his wishes, and while the five of us are contracted to be his elemental servants we dare not intrude upon his privacy by thinking forbidden thoughts beyond our mission." "Who are you trying to fool with that remark?" Sobriel scowled, and then all five elementals fell silent, their faces growing speculative as thoughts turned inward, and then as one they glanced down at the roof as though peering through the layers of wood and plaster to view the naked form presently soaking in hot water...and five hungry leers began finding their expression. Down below Ranma was an enjoying a rare moment of genuine privacy, having temporarily liberated himself of the company of his elementals. It was not that he minded the girls or wanted to be rid of them permanently, but after months of living with their constant daily presence within him he found he rather needed to stretch out and enjoy a moment by himself, just soaking in the furo and enjoying the thrill of being alive and knowing he was at long last genuinely a father. Nabiki had survived her ordeal, and their son would live to be a Man among Men. His mother had praised them both for the joint accomplishment of returning with both wife and child in his arms and giving her the joy of seeing her first grandson safely delivered. It would be a few days before his primary wife was back on her feet and ready to engage in some healthy free-sparring, but in that time he planned on spending as much time with her as he could. Not that he intended to neglect his other wives, of course, and he intended to reassure Ukyo and Shampoo of his devotion, but for now it was Nabiki who needed their support the most, and thanks to the joint agreement that he had struck up with Perfume during the night he intended to see to it that his family unit remained happy and contented while sharing in the joy of the new life that had been granted to them by the Kami. Odd how he had grown used to thinking of the four human girls in his life as "his" cozy family unit, but he loved them all and was happiest when they were all together. And soon Shampoo would be having her baby "Whoah...when did I ever become such a family guy?" Ranma remarked to himself, half-smiling as he thought about the chain of circumstances that had lead to him becoming a father at the tender age of seventeen...just shy a few months of his eighteenth birthday. Of course Nabiki was in much the same boat, and now that she could become Kaneda again she'd be doing her "fatherly" duties since officially she was Shampoo's husband and not Ranma. The story the family had cooked up to explain his months long absence involved an extended business trip, which was crude in its own way but had helped to defray any speculation that outsiders might have of what a "foreign born" woman was doing with her child in the Tendo household. Of course the ironic situation concerning Ukyo was that she was legally registered as a guy and so was able to marry Perfume for official purposes and justify the Amazon's residency so that no one from immigration might try and deport her. Of course the fact that Ukyo was actually a girl and was secretly wed to Ranma in a private civil ceremony tended to make them both bigamists in a strictly legal sense of the word, just as Nabiki herself was guilty of being married in both of her forms, officially as Ranma's wife in her female half, while her fictitious alter ego of Tendo Kaneda justified Shampoo's being there, while unofficially he was married under Amazon law to all four women, Kaneda being essentially a co-husband... "Man, you could get a real headache trying to figure this all out," he mused, recalling from a week before when he had tried to explain himself to that other Nabiki and discovered in doing so how odd it sounded in his own ears. But this situation was "normality" for him, and after a year of being in a joint relationship with four very different and exciting women he had grown quite accustomed to being the main man in a five-way harem. But there was never any question about who was of central importance to their family unit, and without Nabiki's presence the whole thing would never have hung so well together. Nabiki...or Kaneda...was the "man" in charge as far as anyone bothered to notice, which was just fine with Ranma as he had the greatest confidence in her ability to manage things, and he was well beyond ego in admitting to pride in her authority and command of any given situation. Following her lead was as natural to him now as obeying the wishes of his mother, and he knew perfectly well that he could never take her place in the day-to-day decision making that kept things running smoothly and held their tight-knit family unit together without friction. Perhaps it was the lazy man's approach to sit back and support his woman (even when she was a guy), but Ranma knew he had it good and was privileged to be the one to back her and give her the benefit of his strength, and he knew that he had the respect of his ladies in spite of his secondary status. Ukyo and Shampoo were as accommodating with him as they were with Nabiki, and Perfume had become way lots more closer with Ranma since the day when they had conspired together to create the "Kamasenken." Where once he had tended to resent the brown haired and buxom enforcer, now his fondness for her and respect for her abilities made him tend to regard her as his most important ally. Perfume was accustomed to offering support to the decisions of others, and as Ranma was as much her husband as Ukyo was her wife, she was in much the same position as him and could lend her strength to him at need, which made her every bit as important to their family group as Nabiki herself, if not quite so flamboyant. And Ukyo was quite a woman in her own respect, so like a guy in many ways but a girl beyond question, and his closest friend next to Nabiki. With her he could relax and be himself in ways that might have once been unthinkable, and he could always speak his mind before her without the need to hold things back or dissemble. Ukyo was the one who could make him relax, or laugh the easiest of any of his lady companions, and while the closeness he felt with her was very different from his relationship with Nabiki, it was no less strong a union built on trust and mutual respect...especially as she could be the quickest to kick him in the ass if he got too down or was in need of a good ass-kicking. And Shampoo? What was not to love there? The girl was a marvel of sensuality and spirit who could brighten any day with a look, just as her smile could light up a room, and she was the one who knew how best to keep Nabiki in line, and it never failed to astonish Ranma to see the way the purple haired girl could charm and sway Nabiki's affections to get her to view things from an entirely different perspective. How best to value her importance in their compact little group? One could not underestimate how her worth as a person and as a future mother to one of his impending offspring. Yes indeed, Ranma was a very lucky man to have such wonderful women as his wives, and the thought of living without any of them was simply not to be contemplated. He loved each one of them in their own very special way and was privileged to be loved in kind by them, and not a day went by when he did not thank his lucky stars to be a part of the very special destiny that they were crafting together as a unit. But still the words of that odd fellow Anri made him wonder if there might be more going on than even he could imagine. Things certainly did seem to be coming together in a very odd sense, and the near loss of both Nabiki and her child made Ranma appreciate even more the fragility of life, and fired a renewed sense of zealousness in protecting his loved ones, which meant having to train in earnest to master new skills that would give him the power he so desperately needed. Siren was quite obviously the one who could guide him in the ways of elemental mastery, and Lord Anri appeared even to anticipate her involvement, if not direct things mischievously from the sidelines. There were still a lot of unanswered questions about the connection between those two, though quite obviously Anri was a heck of a lot older than he looked, Siren being---by her own admission---a contemporary of Cologne, and her frequent references to Anri as her "great-grandfather" made him seem positively quite ancient. The very odd thing about that Anri guy was that he seemed a contradiction in terms in many respects, both old and young, wise and yet innocent, keen to laugh at life yet also harboring a sadness in his eyes that went beyond serious reflection. And powerful enough to intimidate even his elementals...with skills in the martial arts that made Ranma feel like a stumbling amateur and even put shame to Nabiki...and just who was he really? Boddidharma, the legendary monk who founded the Chinese system of Shaolin reborn to a new life...or somebody else entirely? It was very hard to shake the sense that there were layers to the guy quite beyond the simple mysteries of reincarnation. "Aw hell...I'm no good at that philosophy stuff anyway," Ranma mused, thinking briefly of his older half-sister, Kaori, "That's more her thing, like the way she explained to me the connection between the Senkens and the body...or the universe as a human body, that sort of thing. Way too abstract for me...I just need to see the connection between that and my training in the Senkens..." "Do you wish for me to help explain things for you...Master?" a feminine voice said softly from the vicinity of his bathwater. "Huh?" Ranma blurted, glancing down with a start, "Sharil? But..." The water itself congealed into the form of the beautiful Undine, and suddenly she was floating there beside him, having assumed a fully human shape from the waist up complete with textured skin coloration...and quite obviously naked, positioned as she was between his legs. "The others wanted me to convey to you our concerns over recent matters, Master," Sharil purred sensuously as she regarded the handsome youth with undisguised interest, "And we agree that your training must intensify if we are to make a better team for dealing with the threats that will be posed against us." "Er...right," Ranma said nervously, stifling the urge to get out of the furo fast before Nabiki or someone else barged in and got entirely the wrong idea of what was going on there, "Well...you heard Siren...I mean, my new Sensei...we're going to start out early tomorrow and---urk!" His expression stiffened as something else congealed around his lower anatomy, and suddenly the rest of her body was quite visible beneath the surface of the water, having formed where she was with her loins about his stiffening manly organ. "Yes...that aspect of training we are prepared to attend, as is our duty," Sharil said with a sweetness that went beyond simple affection, squirming a bit as she did to adjust her own anatomy to be more in accordance with his, "But we have decided that our need to bond with you must take us each to another level well beyond anything ever attempted before...and as I am the most experienced in the arts taught to me by my former Mistress, Lao-sama, I thought it appropriate to begin your initiation...after I managed to convince the others that I should be the one to...how best to put this? Start things rolling..." "You...?" Ranma felt his voice squeak and sought to regain some measure of dignity, even feeling as he did that he had been entrapped by the elemental, whose grip on his most sensitive member prevented him from heeding his previous urge to vacate the water. Sharil leaned closer, placing a hand that was webbed between fingers on his chest, "Please Master...relax and let me handle things for you. Yes, I know what you are asking...and yes, the others had objections to my going first, but we made a pact between us to each take our turn with you, and I was the one who won the first coin toss." "The first...what...?" Ranma automatically glanced down as he felt the elemental move with velvety texture across the surface of his manhood, but in doing so he got an eyeful of her cleavage, and in spite of his considerable experience with his human wives he found the blood rushing to his head with the threat of an impending nose bleed. Anything else he might do at this point would only make matters that much worse for him...and with Sharil's intent so obvious he could do nothing but react like a man in the presence of an entirely desirable young lady. "Please do not think of this as being unfaithful to your wives, Master," Sharil urged, "I was trained to think of the art of giving pleasure as a duty that I learned to perform upon command for my lady...and for those Masters of the POJ who came before her. I have ached to do this service for you in the past, but out of respect for your wives I have held off until this moment...but now I sense a need for us to dissolve the barriers that have existed between us so that we truly can work together as a single unit. Please allow me to service you, and in doing so to fulfill my duty." "Your duty?" Ranma found himself unable to resist the persuasive caresses of the Undine as Sharil moved her webbed hands up and down his chest, causing curious sensations to travel up and down his spine even as the rest of his stiffened and his rod became as hard as a thing of iron. "Yes...my duty," Sharil gazed down at him with loving adoration, "This service I perform for you will result in our becoming as one...and soon you will know me more thoroughly than you have ever dreamed possible, my Master. Learn the mysteries of water...and through me gain insight into the fluid state of elemental being...the universal solvent that is the stuff of life itself, without which this world would not be the green and fertile place that it is...nor would humanity have evolved from the sea to the land...to experience the wonders of nature that I will not reveal to you in fulfillment of my obligations as your servant...my wonderful, brave and handsome young Master..." And with that Sharil bent down and planted her lips upon Ranma's astonished mouth, and when he gasped he found himself filling up with the water of her substance, and reflexively he moved his hands to try and push her away, only to find her body flowing about him as he drowned in her essence, feeling her tongue push into him in order to impart for his benefit the vitality of her nature... "Have you seen Ranma-kun anywhere around, Airen?" Perfume asked as she met Ukyo in the hallway. "He's taking a bath in the furo, Sugar," Ukyo greeted her wife, "I think he'd rather not be disturbed, though if you feel like barging in on him, I'd be happy to join you." Perfume smiled as she gave her primary love interest a saucy look then said, "Tempting...but I just wanted to see if he was in the mood for some free sparring. Nabiki had him most of the morning, and as far as I know they were chatting away about some stuff...don't ask me what about, because I couldn't overhear the details." "You what?" Ukyo was quite surprised at this, "Just how far away from the room upstairs were you, Honey?" "Just outside doing morning katas," Perfume replied, "Which is odd since the room is hardly soundproofed against my hearing. But for some odd reason...well...it was like there was this buzz that made things indecipherable for me...I really can't explain it." "Did you think to check in and find out what was going on up there?" Ukyo asked. "That was my first impulse...but the oddest thing was..." Perfume paused to consider her words, looking both disturbed and unusually puzzled, "...the moment the thought entered my head...it just seemed to drift away, as though I'd forgotten all about it. How strange...almost like someone were trying to discourage my interest." "Now if that don't sound ominous enough," Ukyo frowned, "Maybe we oughta have a word with Ranchan and get to the bottom of this right away. If something happened between him and Nabchan..." "Then it would hardly be polite or prudent to intrude upon their privacy, now would it, daughters?" a pleasantly matron-like voice remarked, surprising both Ukyo and Perfume as neither one had noticed Nodoka's presence until that instant. "Mother-in-law?" Ukyo asked with a mildly puzzled expression. "I know that you both want what is best for my son and your co-wife, who is also my daughter, Dears," Nodoka said pleasantly as she put a comradely arm around the shoulders of both young girls, "But sometimes it is for the best if you just let things happen as they will, and if there is a need to include the both of you in the particulars of their conversation, I'm sure my son and Nabiki will inform you themselves...or don't you trust them enough to do what is best for all concerned parties?" "Uh...well..." Ukyo said somewhat reluctantly. Perfume sniffed but could discern nothing amis about Nodoka, but some warning instinct made her ask rather tentatively, "Are you certain that it's for the best, Mother? If something important happened with Ranma and Nabiki..." Nodoka favored the young Enforcer with a motherly smile and said, "If it's important do you really think they would hold it back from you, dear? If so, then obviously you should speak with Nabiki first rather than go barging in on my son and causing him the embarrassment of two of his wives peeping on his naked body while bathing." "Ah...well," this time Ukyo colored, and Perfume seemed unusually embarrassed. "That's right...Ranma-kun does act a bit like a prude at times..." the Amazon reluctantly conceded. "We wouldn't want to give him the wrong idea, like we didn't trust his or nothing like that," Ukyo agreed with some trepidation on her part, "Not that there's anything wrong with us seeing him in the nude, of course..." "But my son is a man and men sometimes need their time away from us to gather their thoughts and keep things in perspective," the older woman assured them both, then gently gave them a friendly push to guide them on their way back down the hallway. Ukyo turned to Perfume just as they were about to reach the kitchen and said, "You know...Auntie Nodoka makes sense sometimes. I know enough about boys to understand that they've got mood swings and moments when they just want to be by themselves doing their own private business." "You mean stroke his thing and think about doing the both of us?" Perfume gave a wicked leer to her wife and said, "Wouldn't want him to lose it just because the two of us were a bit too intrusive. So...maybe we should work on him later to get him to open up to us?" "You took the words right out of my mouth, Sugar," Ukyo chuckled, "In the meantime, what say we do hunt down Nabiki and worm out some details from her end?" "Now that sounds like a lot of fun," Perfume agreed with her Airen, then together the two girls headed for the stairway, and thus failed to detect a second Nodoka currently hard at work in the kitchen preparing the noon meal for her household. Back down the corridor the "Nodoka" standing there shimmered and reformed herself in the image of Nagisha, then with a confident smile she said, "So...what do you make of my performance, Sisters?" "Incredible," Latisha remarked as she materialized from seeming nowhere, "Had I not witnessed it with my own eyes I would never have believed that you could carry out such an effective imposture." "What an acting job," Karina marveled, "I especially like the way you altered your scent so that the Sentinel actually though you were the real Nodoka." "Let's hope they distract themselves enough not to investigate and find out how we deceived them," Sobriel remarked more practically, "If they come back down and figure out that they've been had..." "Doubtful," Nagisha said confidently, "And even if they tried, we've fortified the room with spells that will keep intruders out and the sound-level down so that no one suspects what is happening within." "Let us hope that Sharil does her part and convinces the Master that what we intend to do with him is in everyone's best interest," Latisha said with a glance back towards the furo, frowning as she added, "But I still fail to see why she should be the first one to consummate with him. I knew him before any of you others..." "Yes, we know," Karina said diplomatically, "But she's got the best people skills of the lot of us, and the most experience seducing people who are normally too reluctant to open up like that...so as much as I hate to say it, she is the one with the best chances of convincing our Master to go with the flow, as it were." "I still think she cheated with that coin toss," Sobriel grumbled, "I wouldn't put it past her to figure out some way of making it land the way she wanted..." "Her sphere is water, not metal," Nagisha grumbled, "And I would know if she had used her powers to influence the coin toss. I am no happier with the outcome than any of you, Sisters, but we have agreed to take turns doing our part to insure the future...and if everything goes as planned, then let us pray the Master will forgive our deception...and the real reason why we must do this." "You mean to get all five of us with kids of our own?" Sobriel remarked with a side-glance to the furo, "Guardians yet to be born but who will have a special attachment to the boy named Chusen? Yeah, I'm just sure he'll go for that...when we find the right time to explain things." "It is as Lord Anri himself has prophesized, and so it must be as it will be, Sisters," Latisha said confidently, then added with a smirk, "And never forget who is slated to be the next one to seduce him." "Good luck with that," Karina smiled, then added in soft undertone, "And make sure you use an asbestos condom." "How is that again?" Latisha turned on the Sylph with a dangerous smolder in her expression. "Nothing," Karina said innocently, glancing at the ceiling while preferring to ignore the psychic resonance that they all could feel taking place beyond the barrier with their Undine compatriot working to bring forth in their Master a new and most fruitful beginning... Continued. Comments/Criticisms/Consummation of Past Innuendo: shadowmane@msn.com And so a new chapter turns in the lives of our heroes, but are Ranma and Nabiki prepared for the fallout that is likely to occur if this plot by his elemental servants sees fruition? Learn the secret to that and other mysteries in, "Sex Among The Rafters," or, "Half a Loaf of Ranma is Worth Two In the Oven..." Be there! X