DNabikiTHCh18 Nabiki 1/2 "A Very Scary Thought!" THE HONEYMOON HENTAI CHAPTERS! By Jim Robert Bader (Inspired by the works of Rumiko Takahashi & Others) Part Eighteen. HENTAI ALERT-YOU KNOW THE DRILL! CONTAINS STUFF THAT YOUR MOTHER MIGHT NOT WANT YOU TO READ, UNLESS SHE'S **REALLY** THE OPEN-MINDED SORT, (NOT THAT I'D EVEN THINK OF SAYING BAD THINGS ABOUT YOUR MOTHER) SO BE CAREFUL WHO YOU SHOW THIS TO, COULD RESULT IN LOSS OF HEARING, BLINDNESS, ATIGMATA, NUMBNESS OF THE BODY AND THE HANDS FROM EXCESSIVE FINGER CLICKING, REUMATISM, ARTHRITIS AND OTHER COMPLICATIONS DUE TO STARING AT A CATHODE RAY TUBE FOR LONG HOURS IN BAD LIGHTING. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! (Well...sort of...) Ryoga had wandered off from the party, not feeling very social, and also missing the company of the people with whom he would have felt most comfortable (well, in a manner of speaking) in hanging out with, namely Akane and her two best friends, Kodachi and Keiko. Having seen them wander off early on in the party, his appetite for meaningless sex (even vicariously as an observer) being greatly diminished by their absence, prompted him to follow, heedless of the curse that made such actions fraught with peril. It took little time for him to get thoroughly lost, wandering through the endless corridors of the vessel without a clue as to where he actually was, even when he encountered signs that read, "Boiler Room," "Laundry Room," "Galley Room," "Library," "Study" and even more obscure titles such as "Poker Room," "Smoke Filled Room" and "Officers Ten-Forward." At one point when he encountered a chamber that had a sign saying, "Bowling Alley," he paused to open the door and found---much to his amazement---that there were actual women bowling on a series of lanes, and some mighty tough-looking Marines at that, ladies so hard bitten and mean-looking that when they turned glaring looks his way he hastily backed away, having a very strong sense that to do otherwise would mean having his head turned into a bowling ball. No doubt about where these women turned, and it was DEFINITELY NOT towards the heterosexual persuasion. Of course that could just be his impression, that or the target with the picture of a man's crotch taped to the bullseye, with knives, crossbow bolts and poison darts sticking out from it, and the target itself positioned at a suspiciously waist-high level, but then again he decided that it would probably be premature to make any pre-judgement of a woman with an arm tattoo of a heart with a dagger thrust through it and the words, "MEN SUCK BALLS!" written out in broad Chinese lettering. But, then again, in all fairness he did have to admit that these ladies did look rather fashionable in their bondage strips of leather... Of course the next place he found himself was even more bizarre in that he wondered how it was that a sailing vessel could have a place labeled "Engineering Section," let alone a crew of female technicians who seemed to be frantically running around the place tending to blinking lights and other strange equipment, with one lady who seemed to be in charge of this curious madhouse who was frantically calling into a hand-mike, "Cap'n-we kinnae take it any more---she's gonna blow sky high if we don't ease back on the pressure!" "Do what you must, Skoti," responded a voice that Ryoga thought sounded a lot like the Amazon named Blossom, "We're all counting on you to maintain an even pressure." Ryoga decided that everyone was a bit too busy to help him out with directions, so he backed away and tried to retrace his steps, only to wind up in one of the "Recreational" sections which---as usually was the case on Lao's ship---was occupied by gorgeous ladies engaged in the recreational sport of tying up and flogging one another. There was one girl who was even tied to a spinning wheel mounted on a wall, with another girl wearing a blindfold and chuckling knives that missed the spinning girl by inches. Some of what he saw on display looked a little rough by his gentle standards, but since there was no sign of anyone putting up too much of a protest (at least as could be determined, some girls being gagged and all that) he decided not to interfere with their simple native customs. Then one redheaded girl took notice of him and gave him an "Hello there, Handsome" smile of appreciation. What she said aloud was more like, "Can I help you, Mister Well Hung?" "Um," Ryoga replied, "Actually...it's Hibiki. You must have me confused with someone else. I'm trying to find some friends of mine..." "Three girls, one a redhead with a pigtail?" the woman replied, never losing her hungry leer. "How did you know?" Ryoga asked in amazement. "I saw you making out with them earlier," the lady replied, "They're your fiancées, right?" "Er...well...one of them is," Ryoga admitted. "Check the stables where the Mistress keeps the Pony Girls," the lady replied, then paused when she saw Ryoga hesitate and said, "Oh right...you're new here...you don't know where that is, do you?" "Well...no..." Ryoga confessed, wondering how to explain his little **problem** with directions. "Right," she said, turning a glance over her shoulder and saying, "Hold tight, Jasmine, I'll cum and get back to you in a bit, so don't go anywhere." "No problem, Ariel," another girl replied, one bent over in a pillory with her posterior thrust out as if expecting to receive a closer inspection, "I'll just kneel here and study the woodwork..." "Not by yourself you won't," the girl named Ariel replied, "Esmeralda, take over for me, will you." "Sure thing," said a dusky-skinned exotic beauty who was already wearing a strap-on, patting the helpless Jasmine on her rear before calling out, "Hey Mulan, want to give me a hand here?" "Where do you want me to put it?" grinned a Chinese girl of medium height and build and a highly mischievous expression, "Or do you want me to make my own suggestions?" Ariel linked her arm with Ryoga's and guided him out of the chamber of kinky torture and led the way to some stairs that led to the next level down, and then to a broader corridor than the ones that normally lined the ship. Ryoga was amazed to find a broad thoroughfare leading straight through the interior of the ship, roughly thirty meters wide and leading off for what looked like a mile in either direction as though linking the bow to the aft of the ship in its very center. "What is this?" Ryoga wondered. "The Mistress calls it the Golden Highway," the redhead revealed, "It's her means of getting from one end of the ship to the other without having to rely on the Undines. This is where she trains the Pony Girls who pull her chariots, and it's also where they keep them in the stables, where I'm sure we'll find your fiancées..." "Um...just the one fiancée," Ryoga corrected, "The other two are just...friends...I guess..." "Whatever," Ariel remarked as she took him to the sides, where indeed he found a fenced off area where Akane, Kodachi and Keiko were standing around admiring a beautiful blond girl whose hair was done up in a pony-tail and whose body was bound in a harness. With them was the child named Breeze, who seemed to be explaining something to the girls while Akane used a brush to comb the blonde woman's hair. The blonde herself was unable to attend to this basic need since her hands were bound behind her back, but she seemed rather cheerful on the whole and was chatting away with them as though enjoying the attention. A glance further to the side showed other corals inhabited by other naked women, giving hint to the nature of the place and the sinister purpose to which it was dedicated. "Here we are," said Ariel, "The Happy Acre Corals, home to some of the finest Pony Girls that you can find on these seven seas..." "Pony Girls?" Ryoga remarked with a slight tremor of aversion. "Yes," Ariel explained, "Racing Fems who are trained to run as either a team or to pull a chariot by their lonesome. There's quite a market for these sorts of models and they bring a pretty high price in certain parts of Asia." The sounds of their voices drew Akane's attention from what she was doing and she turned to smile happily at them and say, "Ryoga-kun! I'm glad you could make it." "How's it hanging, Stud?" Keiko asked with a wry smirk, "Ariel decide to give you the grand tour of the place?" "I haven't laid a hand on him...yet," Ariel assured them, ignoring the arm that she had all but commandeered at her side, "He was wandering around looking like a lost puppy, so I offered to show him the way. Guess he's never seen a Pony Girl before, huh?" "Oh really?" asked the cute blonde, who was even more stunning and built than Ryoga had realized from a distance, her perfect breasts jutting out from the leather harness that she was wearing, "Well, he's come to the right place if he wants an education. I'd be happy to let a stud like him ride me any day..." "What Palomina means is that she is as glad to see you as the rest of us, Ryoga- kun," Kodachi mused, "You really shouldn't wander around by yourself on a vessel of this size, there are portions of Madam Lao's ship that have not been frequented for many generations." "Yeah," Keiko mused, "There are Marine divisions who've been wandering lost for so long that they've been declared Missing In Action, and some places where it wouldn't be too healthy for a well-endowed bo-hunk like you to wander loose. The natives here tend to get a little restless." "Got that right," Breeze agreed, "There are places on this ship that Mom doesn't even want me to see...says I wouldn't understand until I get older," she rolled her eyes and made a huffing noise of exasperation. "Er...well...I seem to do all right...mostly," Ryoga turned his attention back to the stunning blonde and said, "You're a...Pony Girl?" "That's right," she raised her head and said it proudly, "One of the best around. I can pull a chariot bearing one hundred and fifty kilos around a track doing a four-minute mile. I've even won a blue ribbon at an Inter-Mural competition as Best in Show, and I can trot with the best of them...but don't take my word on it, hitch me up and I'll show you." "But..." Ryoga paused before saying, "Isn't it a little...demeaning? I mean...you being treated like a horse and all that..." "Well," the woman shrugged philosophically, "I suppose it might seem a little odd at first, but after a while you get used to the lifestyle. Regular meals every day, plenty of exercise, and I get ridden at least twice a day by the trainers. When I'm not on-duty I tend to hang out with the rest of the Ponies, and we're pretty much free to do whatever we like to each other, just as long as we don't leave a mark or anything like that..." "But..." Ryoga tried again, "Is this what you really want to do? I mean...don't you miss having a life doing something else? I mean...what were you before this...?" "A Certified Public Accountant," Palomina replied, "It was boring as hell and didn't pay half as good as this gig. I got roped in by the Mistress about a year ago, and one day I just said to myself, 'Why should I be nosing through account books when I could be pulling a chariot for a living?' Believe me, this is much more satisfying labor." "But you're a slave!" Ryoga exclaimed. "Gee, thanks for the announcement," Palomina replied with a knowing smile, "I never would have guessed it." "Palomina signed her papers giving Madam Lao sole ownership rights to her body a long time ago, Ryoga-kun," Keiko explained, "We were just telling Akane about how Kodachi and me were pulling a chariot together a few months back, during her rehabilitation training." "Oh yes," Kodachi mused, "There is something almost...exhilarating about racing on a track while your Mistress flicks the lash to encourage you, drawing her chariot as your vision is narrowed by the presence of the blinders, the bit between your teeth as you pull and run for all that you are worth..." "Wow," Akane remarked, "I've never even thought of it that way. Is it hard learning how to pull on a track?" "Well, that all depends," Palomina said as she visibly sized Akane up, "With your short stride and build, I imagine you have a lot of leg power but not much speed, though you do seem pretty compact. If you trained in Single Chariot races you'd have to work at building up your speed and stamina so you can compete against long-legged Phillies like me, but I see no reason why you couldn't turn out to be a first class racer. Now, training with a quadriga team is a little more tricky...you'd have to be matched up to one or three girls who come close to your length of stride and physical performance, but with enough training and coordination you ought to be able to synchronize your steps so that your feet all hit the ground at the same time, which will give you that extra power you need to pull a chariot through tight turns..." "Wow," Akane mused, "I never realized it could get so complicated..." "This is nothing," Breeze said in airy dismissal, "You should see the girls Mom trains to pull a hitch and a plow for farming, tilling the soil and all that..." Ryoga decided about that point that he needed to step in and assert himself, but being uncertain on where to go at this point, all he managed to say was, "Akane- chan..." "Yes?" she turned her dark brown eyes in his direction. "..." Ryoga replied, losing his train of thought as though the box-cars of logic got derailed on a high-speed Bullet line. Keiko and Kodachi seemed to sense something about him together, for they looked from him to each other, and then Kodachi turned to Akane and said, "Akane- chan...I believe Ryoga-kun would like to have a few words with you alone in private. Why don't you two lovebirds run along so you can be by yourselves for a bit. Kei-chan and I would like to reminisce some more with Palomina and bring her up to speed with events on the outside world." "Oh yes," Palomina nodded, pawing the ground with a bare foot in a way that was surprisingly horse-like, "We don't get too much news of the outside world down here, especially news of America and my home state of Florida. Tell me, are they still counting the ballots down there?" "For which election?" Keiko asked, then added, "I got word on your big sister..." "Tammy Lee Fae?" Palomina asked, "How's she doing? Still married to that loser husband of hers?" "She said that she has been receiving your mail regularly and hopes you are doing well in your new job," Kodachi answered, "Though she seems to be under the strange impression that you are dating an Idol Singer..." "Oh I was," Palomina replied, "But she got sold to the glue farm. Joke that...I really mean that she got transferred upstairs...she just wasn't all that cut out to be a Jockey..." "Harness racing isn't for everybody," Breeze remarked, "But if you're in the mood for taking a spin, Pali, then I'll hitch you up and show everybody what a first class trotter you are." "Why, thank you kindly, young Mistress," Palomina bobbed her head and did a neat curtsey, "I would be ever so grateful." Ryoga opened his mouth to say something about this, then stopped himself as he thought the matter over. This woman did seem eager enough to please, and while it did seem odd to him that she would express such enthusiasm about her...profession...he was not one to rush to any hasty conclusions about the matter...at least not at the present. After all, his real purpose for being here was to talk with Akane. Akane acted first by moving to take Ariel's place at his side as the latter surrendered her hold with great reluctance. Ryoga allowed himself to be led a short distance away, and then Akane fixed him with those doe-like eyes again and asked, "What is it, Ryoga-kun? What's wrong? You don't look very happy for some reason." "Akane-chan," Ryoga began, then hesitated again before saying, "What's happening to you? What's happening to us?" "Huh?" she blinked her eyes, "What do you mean? What's wrong with us?" "What's wrong?" Ryoga looked her up and down before saying, "Look at you...you're standing here naked surrounded by all this...craziness...and you can ask that?" "Craziness?" Akane looked puzzled for a moment, then seemed to get the point and said, "Um...well...I suppose it is kind of unusual...but look at it this way...at least you're no longer getting nosebleeds." "I think I'm too numb to react that way anymore," Ryoga admitted, "But...I mean...you're spending too much time around Keiko and Kodachi...you're playing all these games and it's started to affect you. I mean...there's nothing wrong with a little sex...I mean...it's great that we share and all that, but..." "You think I'm overdoing it, is that it?" Akane replied, "Well...I know I haven't been using any protection, but Kei-chan assures me that everyone here is clean and free of diseases. Those Undine servants of Madam Lao's can remove all kinds of harmful bacteria that they find in our bodies and..." "That's...not what I mean," Ryoga said, "I mean...you're taking all of this...really strange stuff so much in stride that it's starting to affect you. You act like having sex with lots of people is perfectly natural, and you're even talking about chaining yourself up to a chariot now! Don't tell me that you're going to let them turn you into one of captain Lao's women?" "Well...what would be so wrong about that?" Akane asked, sounding faintly annoyed by the question, "Ryoga...I finally understand what it means to have a really good time. Sex is wonderful, it's natural...it's something I enjoy doing more than anything else in life. It's just incredible the things that Kodachi and Keiko have taught me in the last few months...I finally understand why boys think about making out with us girls all of the time...it's just unbelievable! I've never been this happy!" "Happy?" Ryoga asked, "I thought...we were going to be happy just having each other..." "But we are happy, Ryoga-kun," Akane touched his arm and looked at him in mild confusion, "Aren't we? I'm not leaving you out of anything? Because if you're worried about that..." "No, that...isn't it at all," Ryoga hesitated by a bit before he continued, "It's not the sex...not really...it's about us...about our commitment...you and me and no one else. Doesn't it seem at all to you like we're just doing a dance that has no rhythm to it...as if someone else is pulling our strings and making us move to her beat?" "You mean the captain?" Akane replied, "Ryoga, that's just Oneechan being paranoid. You don't really think that everyone is on this ship for no other reason but that Madam Lao wants them to be here? Don't you think that people might actually want to live like this for themselves and what they actually want?" "Uh...well..." Ryoga thought about that for a moment. "Ryoga...I actually like it here...everyone is so friendly, and no one here is passing any judgement on me for being...kind of different." "Different?" Ryoga blinked, "How do you mean?" Akane chewed her lower lip then said, "It's just...that I've never been thought of as...too feminine back home. People always look at me and stare then say, 'There goes the Tomboy, watch out or she'll beat you up!' Even the guys who used to harass me every day thought I was a little weird. Only Tatewaki ever called me a 'soft and gentle flower.' Back home I'm a freak, the girl who likes to fight and who doesn't know how to act soft and demure like my older sister, Kasumi. People used to point at me and whisper behind my back, saying I was more like a boy than most girls. Despite all those guys who used to want to date me, I've never been the prettiest or the sexiest girl in school, and some people even called me a Dyke when they thought I couldn't hear them. I was the Nail in our school who refused to be hammered down, only unlike Ranma, I wasn't thought of as being all that cool defying normal convention..." "What are you talking about?" Ryoga blinked, "You're not a freak to me, and you're the most feminine girl I know..." "Yeah," Akane smiled, "But you're prejudice, Dummy. I like you because you see people as they are, not the way other people judge us to be, Ryoga-kun...but here they aren't judging me for being different, here I'm cool, and just about everyone wants to hop into the sack with me...only unlike the boys at our school they actually are polite about it and back off when you say no..." "You've actually said 'no' to them?" Ryoga arched an eyebrow. "Because I don't want to do anything behind your back that I know you'd disapprove of," Akane replied, "Mind you I wouldn't mind a bit sleeping with everyone in Lao's harem...they're just some of the most incredible people I've ever had the chance to get to talk to, and they taught Kodachi and Keiko-chan so much about making out and showing affection for the people you really care for. People back home just get so...strange when you show a little emotion. I've never realized before how repressed we Japanese really are about showing our feelings..." "And they make you feel more relaxed?" Ryoga concluded, following at least this much of her logic. "They make me feel like I can get in touch with the real me for the first time ever," Akane said, "All my life I've had to bottle up so much of me in order to fit in. If it hadn't been for my martial arts over the years I just know I would have gone crazy without an outlet. The minute I started to show any real emotion back home my so-called friends would all look at me and give me this, 'There goes Akane again, she's so un-feminine' look that I hated so much. At least Ranma had the guts to tell me what he thought to my face, and he used to tease me when we were kids, then tell me I shouldn't worry so much about it. He could always flaunt conventions and no one would ever say anything mean about him...I grew up so envious, and he'd never take me serious as his future fiancée..." "But you're no longer engaged to him," Ryoga pointed out, "You're my iinazuke now..." "I know," Akane smiled, reaching out to touch his arm with affection, "And I want to thank you so much for putting up with everything these last few weeks. I know you're not into the bondage scene as much as I am, and whenever Kodachi or Keiko ties you up you've always got this uncomfortable look about you, like this isn't really such a turn on for you as it is for me. I just find rope bondage so...liberating...like it gives me permission to just let go and not have to hold myself back all of the time. It's funny how not being able to move takes so much of the pressure off of me so that I can relax and have fun, especially when either Kodachi or Keiko starts to play with me and I just sit back and take it from both ends..." Ryoga got very round-eyed in seeing the almost dreamy way that his iinazuke described the 'joys' of being tied up and tortured, either with fingers, feathers, whips and flogs and clips about her nipple and clitoris with wax being poured over her body. It really was an eye-opening thing to hear her go on about such...odd pursuits as though it were the nicest way in which to make out with another person. Clearly Akane did not see anything wrong about such things, as though any objections that she might once have had were swept away in a relentless tide of hunger to find out how far she could be taken over the edge and beyond the pale of what he would have thought constituted consensual sex- play. Clearly the girl he loved had turned into a person who could indulge in any form of kinky fetish with as much enthusiasm as some girls who tear into a new romance Manga. Strangely enough this did not put him off against her as much as he would have thought would be the case. True Akane was going overboard about her newfound enthusiasm for sex, but it did seem...at least plausible how she might be roped in (pun intended) by the desires of her friends to "show her the ropes." Kodachi had become something of an enthusiast at these games of extreme perverse pleasure, and Keiko...well...she was always a little strange in his opinion, but in a nice kind of way that he didn't judge her for too harshly. Just then he saw movement out of the corner of his eye, and when he turned to look his mouth hung open, for there was the statuesque blonde calling herself Palomina trotting past them with a racing harness now hitched to her body and Breeze sitting in the saddle holding the reins and steering her by the bridle that was now clenched between her teeth. The beautiful Pony Girl's full breasts were bobbing in time to her stride as she trotted at an easy gait, drawing the harness along with an ease that spoke of long and intensive practice, her bare feet making a drum-like rhythm on the floor with her forward movement. "Isn't she something else?" Akane spoke with clear admiration in her voice, "'Dachi-chan says she's a true thoroughbred, and her Mistress is even thinking of studding her out so she can foal more champions just like her." On the other hand, Ryoga reflected, taking things a little too passive might not be such a good thing after all, especially with the disturbing tone of approval in Akane's voice that almost sounded a bit laced with a hint of envy. A mental image of Akane hitched up to such a chariot came to mind and immediately made Ryoga feel a need to find a hasty Kleenex. "Say," Keiko spoke up, "Can 'Dachi-chan and I trust you two crazy kids to behave yourselves for a while? We're going back to the party to join up with the others." "Indeed," Kodachi noted, "We need to consult with Nabiki and the others. There are...unresolved issues that must be attended...and matters that have been postponed for too long a time must needs be addressed if we are to have resolution and closure among our party." "Hey, why don't we tag along," Akane said, "This place is great, but we can always come back and visit it another time. What do you say, Ryoga-kun? Want to join in on the fun upstairs or...would you rather we...talk some more in private?" The way that she looked at him and phrased that lilting speak suggested that Akane had other things besides "talk" in store for Ryoga, and the way she was eyeing the redheaded Ariel made him feel increasingly nervous as mental images that might once have given him a brain hemorrhage came immediately to mind, making him almost long for the days when his iinazuke would fly off into a jealous rage at even a hint of Ryoga showing interest in another woman. The look she was giving this other girl as much as said that she was in the mood for a little...seafood. At any rate, returning to the party was one way of avoiding a dramatic confrontation on that and **other** related issues...and by postponing a resolution on the matter of Akane's increasingly libidinous behavior he gave himself more time to think the matter over. Perhaps Akane was turning into some kind of a raging Sex Monster, but she was still basically the same sweet girl he had always known her to be...right? Perhaps the pedestal he had mentally placed her upon for so long was showing a bit of tarnish, but overall it was a good thing that his lady love was resolving so many long-unresolved issues from her past, and she did seem genuinely happy about her newly uninhibited state, she was still basically sweet, kind and caring towards others, even if she was turning into perverted Hentai with behavior that might well have shocked Happosai, but other than that she was still basically HIS Akane-chan...right? He wondered why---as he thought this---he heard what amounted to an odd sort of thunder rumbling in the background... Nabiki could not believe what she herself was thinking at that precise moment, reckoning it as statistically impossible that she and Lao could actually be in agreement on anything, but the more she talked to the girl in front of her, the more convinced she became that enslaving her was probably a **good** thing for the sake of humanity. Better that than letting someone as airheaded and scatterbrained as this walk the streets of a major metropolitan city! "...And so I said to Kiyone, 'What are those people doing passing along those white bags of flour? I thought we were supposed to be making a major drug bust, but it turns out those bags really were full of flour...of course it turns out that powdered wheat is a powerful hallucinogenic drug on Rimbus XIV in the Sagittarius Cluster, but who'd believe that there's actually be a black market for the stuff? Guess those Rimbuzoids really like their product whole grain after it's been processed, right Kiyone?" "Why me?" groaned the gorgeous brunette at her side, the one presently resting her face in both hands and staring down at the table in total disconsolation, "It was supposed to be a simple bust, but you HAD TO SCREW IT UP FOR US---AGAIN- --by discharging your blaster at the ceiling instead of at the Bad Guys!" "Yeah, well, we arrested them anyway, but then you got mad for some reason and we wound up letting them go," the coffee-cream colored blonde girl with the large feline-like blue eyes remarked, pausing to place a finger to her mouth as she considered the point, "...Or maybe it was when the roof caved in and we both went swimming in the bay. Good thing for us those nice blue ladies were on hand to pick us up, right?" "My life is a nightmare..." the brunette groaned softly. "Gee, sounds like you two have had a pretty rough time of it," said a young seeming girl with Eurasian features, "It must be exciting work being a cop. Me, I kind of work the other side of the fence, know what I mean? Picking pockets is my trade, but how was I to know I'd be picking the pockets of a slaver? Oh well...at least the food here is good..." "You said it!" said the redheaded girl named Lina, who was presently tearing into a high-piled plate of food with ravenous intensity that made everything seem to just evaporate off her plate, "Good thing they've got an 'all you can eat' policy here, I'm starving after hanging around for three days with only those elementals around to give a girl a good time..." Perfume was staring at the young mage, appalled, and voiced aloud the question that just about everyone else was asking in silence, "Where do you put all that? You must have a portable hole for a stomach!" "Lina has always been one to value a good meal where she can find it," said the more refined lady Nagha, who was dining on her share of the food with more courtesy and restraint in her manners, "Besides, it's her way of dealing with stress...but if you truly wish to see a bottomless pit, then you should see her friend Goury when he shares a meal with her. The two of them always treat food as if it were some form of almost-friendly competition." "Damned straight I'm stressed out!" Lina growled between taking huge bite-fulls of food and wolfing it down with generous amounts of liquor-laced fruit juice, "The nerve of that Pirate lady, thinking she can just grab the two of us up off the streets of that city and subject us to all kinds of perverted torture, only to decide to throw us back like used linen! I'll have you know that I'm a rare and delicate flower much admired by men where I come from, and anybody says different, I'll fireball them into next week!" Nabiki also found herself fairly appalled at the way this miniature bottomless pit chomped down at anything that was set in front of her, making her own eating habits almost dainty by comparison. It was the first time in her life that she had actually met someone who could eat more than her Uncle Saotome in one sitting, and a mere slip of a girl at that, one who did not even have the waist or chest capacity to make that much food disappear, judging by her waiflike, slender dimensions. Of course the real issue of concern here was how many of the women sitting down at their table actually had the right mindset and temperament to be included into Lao's training program. The very idea that even one girl might make a fitting slave would seem to have legitimized the entire profession, and the moment she made even that much of a concession she could well travel down the road that Lao had taken when first she had decided to be a slaver. It was a mental leap for which Nabiki was not truly prepared, even granted that some of these girls would seem to be perfectly suited for a life as courtesans, a position that Nabiki still stubbornly held t be an illegitimate profession. "Hey, what is with the service here?" said the blonde executive sitting further down the line at their table, "You honestly expect me to eat this stuff? This isn't fit for street people living in back alleys, let alone a civilized palate..." And then again, Nabiki silently averred, there was the odd exception...and perhaps some people DESERVED to have a taste of what it was like to be on the other end of the social pyramid... She turned her mind back to what Ranma was doing with her at the moment, smiling to herself as she accepted her place in his lap, for once not complaining about being rear-mounted. Ranma was holding her in place while the two of them shared a meal together, his manhood somehow remaining stiff and erect inside her rectum, preventing her from getting up or going anywhere, which was exactly what her husband wanted. "Say what you like about Lao," Ranma murmured in her ear as she passed him along a bowl of sautéed mushrooms, "At least she can be a good hostess, when she wants to." "Just as long as one stays on her good side," Nabiki noted, rather enjoying the feeling of having her man be inside her, even if they were too busy stuffing their faces to do anything really hot and heavy...at the moment. One of the good things about having her husband's manhood inside her while they ate was that it helped defuse some of that latent excess sexual energy that always seemed to be charging everything in the air, which---ironically enough--- helped Nabiki to think a little more clearly. Odd how being pegged in the rump by a seven-inch hard-on could relieve so much stress as she started to actually take stock of everything and come to a more serious conclusion about Lao and the way she ran her operation. It did indeed seem as if the libidinous captain was adhering to the letter of her word in providing her a chance to size up the "New Recruits" and determine whether or not they "belonged" in a harem. Going by Lao's odd form of logic, she had sized up and eliminated at least half of the "likely candidates" as "unsuitable for training," a catch-phrase that the other women in the harem tended to use when referring to such women. The other half of these candidates who did seem to have some form of potential as concubines ran the gamut of various emotional backgrounds and complexes that might predisposition one to a life of trading favors for comfortable surroundings. If one could accept the whole notion of a "Natural Born Submissive," then several girls certainly did seem to fit the mold and could be "convinced" to join the program with very little actual coercion. Not that she really did go along with Lao's idea about owning people and treating them like property, but at least the Slaver went to great lengths to prepare her girls so that they would not be badly traumatized by the experience. Brainwashing or not, there were far worse ways in which one might turn a human being into a purely sexual object, not that Nabiki had any intentions of becoming one herself, or of seeing any member of her posse get "turned" with the program...even (and here there was a bit of an exasperated sigh that escaped her on reflection) someone who was clearly turning into a devout Fetishist like her little sister, Akane. As obsessed as she had been with finding a way to turn the tables on their smirking hostess, Nabiki had noticed the way in which her younger sister was drifting to the orbit of Keiko and Kodachi with their many "games" of perverse pleasure. Looking back she wondered why she had not put her foot down sooner, or taken issue with the sort of things that Akane was being exposed to, with the subsequent evidence given that Akane was now a willing participant in everything her friends suggested. Akane had gone from a shy and awkward girl who blushed at the mere mention of her own body to someone who was willing to be bent in all sorts of "poseable" positions for the simple amusement of trying herself out in progressively more-and-more advanced games of bondage. Nabiki sighed and eased herself as much as she could into Ranma's lap, smiling when she thought of how possessive her husband had gotten with her of late. They had both felt the lure of temptation that was provided by the harem, but unlike Ukyo and Shampoo had refrained from expanding their game to include Undines and concubines within their marriage circle. Perfume was wavering but still remaining loyal to her Airen, even in the light of how taken Ukyo was in exploring other options. The chef had started out by making okonomiyaki for the harem and wound up receiving compliments and flattering that progressed into open invitations that Lao's women wanted to shower their favors as a sort of "compliments to the chef" proposition. It was not that Nabiki could blame Ukyo for being tempted, or for Shampoo being so outgoing and gregarious with the women of the seraglio, just as long as they kept things to a minimum amount of flirting and covetous glances. When the concubines themselves began making more outrageous advances, Nabiki had considered putting her foot down but was restrained by Ranma, who murmured in her ear, "Let's not rock the boat right now, Nabchan...this ain't the right time to be starting anything. Ucchan and Shamchan can handle themselves and if things get too far out of hand, Perchan will help break things up, right?" "Er...well..." Perfume blinked, "I guess...Airen..." Nabiki felt Ranma's hands exploring her breasts as he took a break from eating to do some cuddling of his own, then nuzzled her right ear and said, "Hope you don't mind that I'm feeling kind of horny myself at the minute. With all the screwing we've been doing of late you'd think I'd get over this, but..." "Oh?" Nabiki asked as she settled back in his arms and enjoyed a good fondle, then deliberately tightened her sphincter before pushing a bit off their pillowed flooring to add a slight amount of "tugging" pressure to his loins, "You want to get your rocks off with me, husband? Well...I suppose I could accommodate..." Just then she saw Akane and Ryoga setting back down at their end of the table as concubines and "guests" scooted over to make room for them, and then Keiko and Kodachi appeared beside Ranma and Nabiki, setting down to opposite sides as though to take flanking positions. "Nabchan," Keiko said, "We've got to talk." "Oh?" Nabiki asked as she glanced to her left to give a sardonic look to the redhead, "What about?" "About matters left unresolved and of a highly personal nature," said Kodachi, who now sat down at Ranma's right side, "We know how you feel about the Mistress, but rather than try and change your mind about that, we want to ask that you indulge us a certain...favor..." "Uh...yeah?" Ranma asked nervously, feeling awkward at the closeness of the beautiful girl upon whom he had long had a crush, and for once she wasn't looking at him like he was totally beneath her notice." "The seraglio is more than just a place to have kinky sex and hang out in the altogether," Keiko replied, "It's an extended family, a working, breathing tribal unit, and the way you two keep holding yourselves apart from it all...it disrupts the social harmony that holds this group together."" "Yeah, so?" Nabiki asked. "So we would like to ask if you would...allow us to let our hair down a little and to speak frank for once," Kodachi replied, then added, "Ranma-kun?" in a surprisingly familiar way. "Ah...yeah?" Ranma swallowed, "What is it, Kodachi-chan?" The dark haired girl lowered her violet eyes and looked down for a moment, then raised her gaze once again to look him in the eyes with a seriously expression, "I want to apologize to you for the way I've been treating you all of these years. You were a friend to my family and my brother, and I never truly appreciated that about you. I knew about...your interest in me...but I treated you coldly and selfishly, never once thinking about your feelings. It was wrong of me and I ask that you forgive me." "Er...sure, 'Dachi-chan," Ranma replied, "I forgive you. It's in the past anyway...forget about it..." "Would that I could forget about it so easily," Kodachi murmured, then turned her look towards Nabiki, "I also wanted to ask your forgiveness, Nabiki-chan, for the way I treated you months ago when we first met...especially your Kaneda self. I know it embarrassed you, and I want you to know that I sincerely regret that..." "You don't have to apologize to me," Nabiki replied, "You weren't quite yourself back then either." "I know," Kodachi averred, "But...of late I have been tormented by guilt over the things I once did that caused you so much distress...especially you, Ranma- kun. I never really appreciated that you had such feelings about me...it was wrong for me to humiliate you, to make you jump through my hoops and suffer from my insults towards your manhood. I would give almost everything I have if I could make right what I did wrong back then, and not least because you have surpassed my expectations of you and grown to become the sort of man that I would have been proud to call my husband." "I also want to make my apologies," Keiko said, "I've imposed myself on you, Nabiki, starting with that time you freed us both from Phat's arena. That night we made love together was...truly special to me...but I presumed more from it than you took it to mean, and I'm sorry for that...and for your rat-fink uncle coming between us and anything deeper." "Um...well..." Nabiki replied awkwardly, "I suppose some of the fault was mine in...letting him get away with that..." "The simple truth is," Keiko resumed, "That I've never been able to entirely get you out of my system, Nabchan." "Oh?" Nabiki asked with a nervous arching of her eyebrows. "When I decided to give up on you and surrender the field to the rest of the other players after your ass," Keiko continued, "I thought I could be the mature one and not try and compete against the likes of Shampoo and Saotome here. When I started to fall big-time for Kodachi I thought that everything would wind up perfect but...well...doors that remain unclosed have a way of opening themselves, if you take my meaning. Kodachi and me both agree that we left a lot of...unfinished business in the air, and if we want to make a go of a more permanent style of relationship, then we have to make our peace with those we've wrong and those we care for." "But...I thought you guys were after Akane and Ryoga?" Ranma asked. "Oh, we are quite happy being involved with Akane-chan and Ryoga-kun," Kodachi replied, "But we do not fool ourselves into believing that this is a permanent relationship. Ryoga has been a sweet dear in going along with our suggestions...but we can tell, in his heart of hearts, he truly is a one-woman type of fellow, and if we pushed things too hard we might wind up spoiling that which is between him and Akane. Already it is possible that we may have gone too far on that particular subject." "We've started to notice Ryoga-kun drifting a bit away from our fun," Keiko said, "So we're going to have our hands full repairing fences there. The thing is...we want to be sure that everyone winds up happy in the end, which is why it's long since time that we made up with you guys." "Um...well, you said it yourself, old business," Nabiki said with a bit more strain in her tone than she had intended. "Of course there cannot be true closure until we agree to make a true act of contrition, which---fortunately---this setting is ideally suited for us to make," Kodachi noted with a peculiar lilt to her voice, "Which is why we wish to petition you for formal permission to...temporarily invade the sanctity of your marriage." "You...what?" Ranma asked with an astonished expression, only to be surprised as Keiko leaned forward and placed a kiss upon his lips. "But you don't have to---hmmph?" Nabiki got very round eyed as Kodachi moved forward and planted a kiss on her lips, causing her to momentarily lose track of her intended protest as she had been prepared for it to be the other way around here. "May I please," Kodachi murmured when their lips at last parted, "...Have the extreme honor of paying my deepest respects to your husband?" "...?" was the most coherent thing Nabiki to think about saying. "And would it be all right with you if I have Nabiki for---say---the next half hour or so, Big Stud?" Keiko asked sweetly, then---when Ranma looked too stunned to respond---she took it as assent and said a pleasant, "Thank you," and reached out to embrace Nabiki, easily prying her loose from her purchase as Ranma's raging hard-on was removed from her rectum, to be replaced by the attentive hands of an affectionate Kodachi, who used a cloth to begin cleaning it up for her inspection. "Thank you ever so much," Kodachi smiled, "I am most appreciative and grateful for your trust and will endeavor to have your husband returned to you in due course...if in slightly used condition." "Say...what...?" Ranma looked up to find the luminous deep purple eyes of the black rose staring into his own blue eyes, an appropriately appreciative smile on her ruby lips as she rose up to present her chest to his inspection, and without a word drew him into her embrace. Nabiki fell into a pile of pillows as Keiko fell atop her, pinning her down as though this were a wrestling match and planting a kiss on her face before snuggling up close to her and cooing delightedly, "Now this is more like it..." "Uh...Keiko-chan?" Nabiki was more surprised than disturbed by the sudden aggressiveness of her first female lover, but---strangely enough---she did not feel like putting up a fight when Keiko next bent her lips to kissing her with deep and abiding passion. Very soon after this tongues were exchanged as the magic of the environment did its work to lower any resistance that might have been felt on either part, and Nabiki found herself yielding to the fiery Kickboxer's ardor in tacit acceptance of the "apology" being given. Perfume---who had been only half-paying attention to these proceedings--- suddenly looked up with an alarmed, "Hey!" "Oh, let them have their fun, Sugar," Ukyo urged as she popped up her head from the dogpile of bodies in which she and Shampoo were presently members, "Been expecting Kei-chan to make her move for sometime now, but Kodachi...now that's right out of left field..." "Think Rose girl is showing Airen he much more man than she hint before," Shampoo gasped, taking her mouth away from the interesting place it had been residing for the past several minutes, then plunging back down again to return to some studious "muff diving." "Nice to see Oneechan getting into the spirit of fun here," Akane remarked, "And it looks like Kodachi has that baka caught in the headlights for real this time...which reminds me, Ryoga-kun..." "Uh..." Ryoga began to perspire, sensing that his own manhood was suddenly and once again in eminent peril. Ranma took a deep, heartfelt breath of a sweet, musk-like aroma that filled his nostrils, wondering if Kodachi deliberately perfumed her body, or was she truly a Rose Girl in all the ways that mattered? The heady aroma of sex that attended her did a lot to break down his initial reluctance, and so he started to reply with her overtures as he nuzzled her breasts with his lips and tongue, using both hands to steady himself while fondling her with the skill of his Kamasenken, much to Kodachi's immediate and heartfelt approval as she held him close to her body and urged him to satisfy his hunger with some tender and affectionate "breast feeding." Across from them, Lina Inverse had stopped eating and was staring at the overt display of libidinous behavior playing itself out before her, her expression one of non-plussed astonishment and perverse fascination. Beside her, her well- endowed and bosom companion smiled, sensing opportunity in the air and not above taking advantage of Lina's distraction to steal a succulent morsel from her plate, knowing that it would earn an immediate reaction. "Hey!" Lina protested, "Give that bad---I wasn't finished!" "And what would you give me for me to return it?" Nagha asked, making a point of laying the morsel at the top of her cleavage (or rather what would amount to cleavage had she been wearing a stitch of clothing), then pushing her massive breasts together to form a trough that held the morsel in place, "Come and get it if you want it..." "Huh?" Lina blinked, then frowned, "Oh yeah? You think I'm gonna fall for that one, Nagha, you've got another think coming. FIRE---!" "Uh-uh-uh," Nagha chided sweetly, "You can't use regular spells while you're chained with cold iron, and if you resort to your more powerful magics it will draw the attention of the elementals, who have strict orders against allowing you to spell-summon while on this ship." "But...that's dirty pool, Nagha!" Lina protested. "Yes it is," Nagha replied, "What's your point?" Ranma found himself easing into Kodachi almost before he even knew that she was moving her body into position. Being already well lubricated, it was simplicity itself for Kodachi to mount herself upon the horn of his manhood, thereby fulfilling the dream of many private fantasies of his youth, though no dream that Ranma could remember could compare to the reality of having Kodachi accept him into her body as though the two of them had been lovers for quite a while now. Certainly the dazzling smile she gave him made him feel ten feet tall and did a lot to urge him on in proceeding to give her the benefit of his expanding knowledge of female anatomy, and---as he fervently had hoped---Kodachi proved enormously responsive to his skillful treatment, and---more to the point---began moaning softly in sensuous approval. Nabiki was amazed at herself, not only for accepting Keiko's advances but for returning them with interest. She knew a short distance away Kodachi was screwing with her husband, and yet she found that she had no jealousy nor resentment about the subject, even feeling excited for some peculiar reason, as though the very concept of Kodachi and Ranma together were some marvelously perverse turn-on. "Man, doesn't anybody respect the institution of marriage anymore?" remarked Alison as she and Beatrice wandered in from the next chamber, the former holding a cloth-wrapped baby in her arms while her companion hovered near by her shoulder, "On top of all the other perverse stuff going on we're adding mate wife swapping to our group? And when did Ranma get so familiar with Kodachi?" "I believe it's the other way around," Beatrice mused, "It would seem Kuno-san is making a move towards reconciliation, of a sorts. Of course it could also be the magical ambiance of this place working its usual charm, bringing people closer together..." "Guess so," Alison blinked, "Whoah...take a look at what that Keiko is doing with Nabiki...now that's what I call an athletic maneuver." "Nothing that we couldn't try ourselves...a little later," Beatrice mused, "But in the meantime...that food does smell good, doesn't it?" "After just going through two hours of labor?" Alison grinned, "You bet, and it looks like they just left enough for me, and maybe a few scraps for you. Of course the kid gets her own lunch, ain't that right, you little nipper you?" The infant nursing at her breast did not reply, of course, unless it was to redouble her suckling noises. "Hey," Ukyo looked up from what she was doing and saw the pair gingerly stepping past the writhing bodies and said, "You guys ready to join us? I've been wondering how long it would take you to recover..." "Oh, you know Aiko-chan and her healing abilities," Beatrice cheerfully remarked, "A couple of hours rest and she's ready to go. I should know that well from all the times we used to quarrel together..." "You mean those times when you used to try and kill me, but I'll let that pass," Alison sniffed, then turned back to Ukyo and the others who were paying attention, "Guess that means I join you guys in the perils of motherhood. Got any tips for a first-timer?" "Are you kidding?" Ukyo smirked, "I'm just figuring things out for myself...but...what are you going to name the kid now that you've finally had her?" "We considered several names," Beatrice replied, "But we settled on the name of Eileen, my late mother." "Eileen?" Shampoo asked as she, too, looked up from the interpersonal screwing that she was taking part in, "Is odd name for warrior..." "I thought so too, before Beiko gave me an earful about it," Alison sniffed, "But Eileen sounds pretty good when you practice it a few times...Eileen Kent- Kane Daitokuji Managi...just don't call her E-ko, okay? It sounds too much like Echo." "Actually it is a derivative of the Grecian name Helen, which means 'Shining One,'" Beatrice explained, "And out child will shine like a star, having such splendid genetics in her ancestry..." "I should say so," remarked Perfume, "Part God, part Amazon, part Kryptonian and part...um...whatever you are," she gave a teasing nod to Beatrice, "Don't know what that makes her, but if she's anything like her mothers, then she'll be a real terror." "Look whose talking," Alison smirked, "If your kid's anything like the both of you then she's gonna be a real terror on the neighborhood..." "On the other hand, she should grow up to be a magnificent chef," Beatrice observed, "Or---failing that---a quite talented tracker." "Or maybe both," Ukyo suggested, "What do you think about that, Per-chan?" "Well," Perfume said, "If she has my tracking senses, then it might make it hard for her to work in a kitchen...too many smells to clog up her senses...but maybe with a little training she'll manage it better than I can." "One can only hope with kids," Alison mused, then added a bit darkly, "At least I'm gonna try and do a better job with mine than Oneechan obviously did with Joan. From what I've been able to piece together so far, it sounds like she dropped the ball a long time ago..." "To be fair your sister had personal problems that interfered with her abilities as a parent," Beatrice remarked, "But as long as we stay together, our child will have the benefit of our experience to help guide her. I trust the same will hold true with Fragrance and Lylac..." "Shampoo hope so too," the purple haired Amazon said as she got to her feet, "But you make good point...is enough time spent away from child. Shampoo go check on baby and see she no miss her mother." "I'm with you on that," Ukyo said, "Fun and games are not excuse for irresponsible behavior, and if I want to be a good mother for my child, I'd better get back on the ball. Sorry about that, but duty calls." "No problem," said the girl whom she had been in the process of pleasuring mere moments ago, "Do what you have to...I understand, being a mother myself." "Great," Ukyo paused to turn at the sound of Kodachi arching her back as she hopped up and down on Ranma's lap with great enthusiasm and enjoyment, leaving the chef and the others to stand non-plussed for several long moments before at last Ukyo replied, "You know...I really should be irritated about that, but for some reason...I can't help wishing them both a good ride...at least for now...but remind me to punish her for it later." "Count on it," Perfume sniffed, "Imagine riding our husband without asking our permission, not that Nab-chan seems to be doing any better at refusing an offer." Indeed, Nabiki was finding it impossible not to respond in kind to Keiko's gentle ministrations, so much so that she was not capable of noticing the stares being turned her way, though some part of her mind did cringe a little in advance of an eventual accounting on the matter. "Aiyaa," Shampoo said a bit crossly, "Also remind Shampoo to spank Red bottom so she know not to poach on Shampoo Airen when she back is turned." "You know, that almost makes a kind of weird sense when you think about it," Perfume remarked. "You mean the part where you guys were cheating on her and Ranma, but it ain't cool when they cheat on you?" Alison wondered. "That would seem to be the point that they are making," Beatrice remarked, "However, looked at objectively, it really doesn't seem as if the normal rules of human relationships apply here in Lao's domain. Even a resolve as strong as Nabiki's seems inadequate to refuse the influence of all-purpose Nymphomania that seems part and parcel to the ambiance of this ship." "Translation please?" Alison asked her partner. "You mean this place makes us all go crazy with lust for one another and just about anything that walks on two legs?" Perfume sniffed, "I could have told you that." "If the lust-influence of this place is as strong as we all know it to be," Ukyo remarked, "Then how can any of us stand against Lao herself? It's no wonder she's been able to toy with us like we're all puppets dangling on her strings." "Aiyaa," Shampoo exclaimed, "Then what we do if cousin no want let us go?" "Pray to our ancestors that she means what she says about letting us go home after this trip is over," Perfume replied, "Otherwise...well...hope that these two get good enough to take her in a rematch," she nodded to Ranma and Nabiki, who were both too far gone in their private trysts to pay much attention. "Kodachi-chan..." Ranma murmured in a moment of clear ecstasy, even as Nabiki gave vent to a cry of delight at what Keiko was doing to her at that particular moment. At that everyone looked dubious over their future prospects with the odd sweatdrop or two giving hint to the degree of their nervous trepidation... Lotus ease the door to the side and peered into the Captain's personal chamber, hearing the sounds of heavy action coming from the bed, and not wanting to disturb her Mistress in the middle of her fun, but seeing no other way of carrying out her essential duty. Clearing her throat and gathering her nerves, Lotus made a noise to call attention to herself and then said, "Mistress? Sorry to disturb you, but..." The rumbling on the bed ceased abruptly and then Lao's head popped up into view as she rumbled menacingly, "What is it, O' soon to be dinner?" Lotus swallowed thickly and stood to attention, "Blossom sent me to inform you that we have sighted land...only the island is a strange one that does not appear to be grounded on the ocean bottom...in fact, scouts report that it appears to be...floating." "Floating?" Lao sat up and gave Lotus more scrutiny, "A floating island? Are you sure about that?" "Positive, Mistress," Lotus replied, "Selke and her people are at a loss to explain this curious phenomenon, but we were wondering if we should stop and investigate. After all, the island is not large, but it may have provisions that we need." "You interrupted me for that?" Lao frowned as Martha Kent rose up on her elbows and eyed the captain with wry amusement, "How many times have I told you not to interrupt me when I'm in negotiations? Oh...never mind...a floating island you say? That does sound familiar...we're not, by any chance, even farther to the east than I'd supposed we should be?" "I'm positive, Mistress," Lotus replied, "Shall we send an away party to land and take our bearings?" "Might as well," Lao mused, rubbing her chin with a thoughtful expression, "A floating island...I hope that this isn't something like Panga Panga..." "Panga Panga?" Lotus's eyes got wide, "You mean that forbidden place where exotic green dancing women lure people off to the side and---and---?" "And what?" Martha asked. "I don't know," Lotus shrugged, "No one has ever survived to report what happens next." "It's odd...it's truly odd," Lao frowned, "I know that there was a floating island on our schedule someplace. Can't be Shakespeare Island...that's in the Atlantic. Oh well, I'm sure it will come back to me if it's important. Organize a team and lead the away party yourself if you would please, Lotus dear." "As you command, Mistress," Lotus replied, not daring to give evidence of her relief at not being assigned latrine duty for a week (not that anyone much used the facilities, thanks to the services of the Undines) or some other such odious punitive duty. "Oh," Lao said in afterthought, "And report to the torture chamber when you get back, not that I mind your doing your duty in informing me, but it's a longstanding tradition to punish the messenger when she interferes with her captain's pleasures." Lotus gulped and winced before saying, "Yes Mistress..." "Aren't you being a little harsh with her?" Martha asked, "She was only coming here to get your consent for a landing party." "True, but Lotus-chan knows that discipline builds character," Lao remarked, then paused to consider the point before adding, "Make it half duty, and I'll let you off with a stern warning...this time. Better yet, tell Blossom that she can split the discipline time with you, and I'll officiate to make certain you enjoy it." Lotus did not bother this time to disguise her relief as she said, "As you wish it, my Lady. I will be back with news about the island within the hour." Lotus took her leave but did not fail to hear Martha saying to Lao, "You're strict." "I know," Lao replied, "And---believe it or not---she happens to be a very close friend, but that doesn't mean that I can afford to lower my standards. Once people hear that a pirate has gotten soft it's riot and mutiny and work, work, work..." "I suppose that's true enough," Martha said, "But still it seems that you expect more loyalty out of your people than is seemly. Even slaves deserve their dignity..." "How well I know this," Lao replied, "Do you believe that I am too hard? I certainly am trying to be fair, but I suppose I do let expediency get the better of my personal judgement. I'm not sure how to quality this...no matter what I do I find my motives being questioned...it gets a little frustrating at times being suspected of much worse crimes than those for which I am actually guilty." "Uneasy rests the head that wears the crown, eh?" Martha mused. "Quite so," Lao nodded, "But then again, I have my limits, and many a King in a guilded tower, if he wants to cling to Pomp and Power, must manage somehow to get through more dirty work than ever I'd do..." "Thank you Gilbert and Sullivan," Martha sniffed in an amused voice, "But still...I think you're right about that. You may do some pretty...questionable things...but I've known far worse than you, and some of them I've even worked with, against my better judgement?" "Like this General Gordon fellow who seems to have earned your righteous wrath?" "That goes without saying," Martha replied, "People who operate in the shadows often think that they are a law unto themselves, and God help us if they have government backing because they become twice as arrogant and four times as convinced that they're on the side of the Angels and anyone else is an ally of Lucifer..." "I have never truly understood this Western concept of ultimate evil," Lao sighed, "There are many forms of evil that defy and distort the pattern of nature, but ultimate evil is inherently self-destructive. Even the most wicked people retain some sense of self-preservation and have an instinct for their self-interest that you can appeal to. The closer you come to ultimate darkness the more self-destructive and nihilistic you become...I've seen it in the eyes of people who are without hope or a solid foundation. I want a world where people can be nice to each other without having to guard themselves against pain, betrayal and desertion. Does that make me a fallen idealist or a cynic, I wonder? Either way, I think that we have to know our limits and adhere to them before we allow ourselves to sink into the deepest pits of degradation and despair." "You have a poetic sense of yourself," Martha remarked, "I find that surprising in a Slaver." "Hey, I'm just full of surprises, trust me on that," Lao smirked slyly, "Try me out if you have any doubts about it." "Ah yes," Martha replied, "I believe we were still exploring those issues in our negotiations..." "Indeed," Lao smiled, "What say we resume with our...negotiations...?" And that's just what they proceeded to do, while Lotus turned away and sighed, wondering at the strange quirks of fate that had led a humble Amazon warrior to such a curious state where life was one never-ending adventure, and it wasn't just a job, it was $5.97 an hour... Continued. Comments/Criticism/Early Retirement Plans: shadowmane@ridgenet.net The landing party makes a curious discovery as Nabiki and Ranma awake to themselves and a new level of understanding, and Lao strikes a deal that will have long-ranging consequences...but what's this shadow that's stalking the party, and does it portend a new kind of trouble to befall our heroes? Be with us next time for: "Island of the Morose," or "I'll Make a Man Out of You!" Be there! X -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- If you wish to check out my other works, Please check out my Fanfiction webpage at: http://millennium.fortunecity.com/firemansam/457/jimbader.html All related chapters of this series can be found there along with my other works.