Story: Pride and Joy

 

Meanwhile, at the Tendo dojo, the remaining members of Ranma's harem were in the training hall with beads of sweat pouring off each other's back. It was a contest of wills, of wits, of cunning and guile. The stakes were high, if not outright torturous. Every move they made was risky, yet calculated, as the punishment was severe yet the stakes were so damned high.

"So you think I'm bluffing," Nabiki said, cool as a cucumber. She fanned her hand of cards against her face. "How nice. Go ahead and call, let us see which of us has the better hand."

"I know you're bluffing," Akane said. "You have to be. There's no way you've got a hand that good."

"Akane, be careful," Ukyo said. "She's raised the stakes so high... She'll have your panties at this rate!"

Yes indeed, the three girls were sitting around playing strip poker. The reason was simple enough. They had decided to show that they were not slaves to their loins. They had concluded that if they could not control themselves in each other's company, then it would be impossible for them to do much of anything at all.

Yes, I repeat. They were playing strip poker.

It was Nabiki's idea, because of course it was. What better way to torment each other? What better way for her to show off how much smarter she was then the other girls? At least, that's what she'd say if asked. The truth was more something like 'Nabiki was so horny and dick desperate that strip poker was the only game she could think of'.

At the moment, things were going okayish. Ukyo's trousers were off. Akane's shirt was slung over Nabiki's shoulder like a prize. Nabiki herself hadn't taken a single article of clothing yet, which was making the two martial artists a mite irritated, and pondering if she was cheating.

But how? She hadn't touched the deck. Her sleeves didn't even reach her elbows. Her shorts were far too snug for her to hide any cards in. The cards were Ukyo's, back from when Ranma was training to beat the Gambling King. Which meant they weren't marked in some way. So how was she doing it...?

"I can't give up now," Akane said. Her eyes flickered to her sister's legs. Something about them was just... Mmph, yes please. "I want her shorts. If nothing else I will have her shorts! I call!"

The cards were laid out. Akane had three Queens and two Tens. Ukyo had cards running from Five to Nine, while Nabiki set out... Four Jacks. A minute later, Ukyo and Akane were sitting almost naked in front of their new hands. Akane, in just her bra. Ukyo, in just her underwear.

"I don't get it, how is she reading us so well?" Ukyo grumbled. "I'm covering up my tell, right?"

Akane considered that. Ukyo had done a fair amount of training with penis. She meant Ranma. Dammit, she meant Ranma! He's more than that amazing monster dick that makes her feel so alive that she'd do almost anything to have it for just five minutes, please, just five minutes is all she asks and she'd never ask for anything again.

"... Maybe in covering it up, you're creating a new tell?" Akane suggested. She watched her sister closely, trying to figure it out. Nabiki was definitely cheating somehow, but through tells? Was it that simple? Nabiki herself had to have a tell, but neither of them had been able to pick up on it so far.

She watched Nabiki very carefully this time as the cards were dealt out. Nabiki looked at her hand, and then used her other hand to rub her thigh. Was that a tell? A nervous reflex? Or scratching an itch? Akane continued to watch as that hand went a wandering further, trailing down from Nabiki's thigh until it circled her knee. Then back up her leg.

Her delicious, long, exposed leg.

Akane looked over to Ukyo, and found that she was staring at Nabiki's leg. Drooling a little, in fact. This put an idea in Akane's head, and when she touched her mouth - yep, she'd been drooling too. Could it be? Was Nabiki taking advantage of how utterly mindlessly horny they were getting because The Penis hadn't been giving them their rightful, deep regular fucking since Kasumi took up the engagement?

Who was she kidding, of course Nabiki was shameless enough to do that.

"Nabiki! Stop being all distracting and flirty!"

"Moi?" Nabiki asked, gesturing at herself. She shifted a little and stretched out her arms. "I cannot imagine what you mean, little sister. Didn't we all agree that we wouldn't give in to our hormones while we played this game of strip poker? Besides, the two of you are more scantily clad than I, surely I'd be the one that would be distracted by your <i><b>luscious</b></i> and <b><i>fit</i></b> martial arts bodies."

The cheek of her. Taking advantage of their current state just to get them to strip down in front of her. The funny thing was, they would have probably given her a show if she'd asked, and Nabiki would know that. Which meant this was all about power. She was showing off how easy it was to manipulate -

"Tease!" Ukyo yelled while lunging at Nabiki, tackling her to the floor and goodness that was an intense smooch. Nabiki certainly wasn't complaining, if anything she was throwing her arms around Ukyo's head to, again, resume control over the situation over the stronger martial artist.

At this point Akane was pretty sure that kind of control over people stronger than her was a kink. Oh well. Let those two be weak willed, slaves to their lusts. She was going to sit here and... not watch them because that would be giving in as well. No, no, Akane was going to... Do something else.

'What are Ranma and Kasumi doing right now?'

Oh, that wasn't a nice thought to have right now. She should really not follow up on it because it could only lead to bad places. Like the fact that she and Ranma hadn't been on a proper date yet. They had hung out together a fair amount, more and more right before The Dickening, but you could hardly call any of them dates. More like, they happened to be at the same place at the same time, it usually wasn't just them either, they tended to bicker quite a bit over quibbling little things. Though now when they bickered it tended to feel a lot more flirty...

Bet he doesn't bicker with Kasumi. In fact, was it even possible to bicker with her? The two of them were probably having a lovely time together. Arm in arm. Out and about. Seeing the sights. They must look really idyllic together. He's quite handsome when he wants to be, and who wouldn't want to be at their best for Kasumi? She was so great. The ideal woman. A measure that Akane had always reached for, but found impossible. No wonder she was so easily able to get Doctor Tofu's attention. Stealing the affection of Akane's first crush without even trying.

So what if she actually put the effort into stealing Ranma's heart?

Ah! This was the bad line of thinking she was afraid of! She wasn't really all that worried about sharing Ranma with others anymore. Not a one of them could hope to keep up with him, but Kasumi... Sweet innocent Kasumi could easily make him lose interest in all of them by being her sweet, kind, gentle self. The ideal housekeeper, the perfect wife. There was no way she could compete, nor Nabiki, nor Ukyo, nor -

A lifeline hit her out of nowhere. A way off this awful train of thought.

"Hey, what do you think Shampoo and Kodachi are up to right now?" Akane asked out of nowhere. Ukyo and Nabiki stopped their writhing for a moment, froze in place bug eyed, then pulled away from each other with a loud, satisfying sounding 'plop'.

"Knowing them, they're probably trying to interfere in the date," Ukyo said. Nabiki nodded along in agreement with that.

"Well, hey, more power to them," Nabiki shrugged. "Now, come on sis. Stop pretending you don't want in on this action and get your hot butt over here. Ukyo's pussy won't lick itself."

Well... Okay, fine. It wasn't as if either of those two had anywhere near the strength of will to hurt Kasumi, and Ranma wouldn't let anything happen either so... Oh, fuck her pride! Anything to stop herself imagining a terrible future where Ranma fell for Kasumi! She could only hope that things weren't going that well for them!

<hr>

On the whole, Kasumi was enjoying herself quite a lot. Ranma was obviously still nervous. For a boy who turned into a girl, and was surrounded by pretty girls who wanted him, he still gave off the impression of a boy new to dating. Which was, in its way, fascinating. And flattering.

The two of them went inside the tent labeled with the banner advertising a 'cursed scroll'. Ranma, understandably, didn't seem too keen on the idea given his history with curses - but he didn't seem to want to let that out. Quite adorable really. The tough man exterior was hiding a gentler underside. Rough on the outside, softer on the inside.

"You'll protect me from the curse, right Ranma?" Kasumi asked, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Y-yeah, no problem!" he squeaked out. Yet she had no doubts in her mind that if something did happen, he wouldn't let her get hurt.

A man appeared on stage, head leaning forward slightly as though he was sharing a great secret with the audience. Then, he spoke, with an accent even more deliberately Chinese than Shampoo. It had to be a part of the performance, combine that with his attire and you couldn't have a more blatant Chinese stereotype if you tried.

"The three scrolls you are about to see, are the most terrifying on Earth," he began. He pulled his hands from his sleeves, and unfurled a scroll in each with dramatic flourish, first in his right hand. "First one! My grandfather died one year after finishing!" This one portrayed a horned behemoth standing atop a landscape of skulls. "Second one! My father died one year after finishing!" the second, an enormous spider with a human face, long flowing hair and a long nasty looking tongue. The crowd gasped for each, Kasumi included, while Ranma was apparently content to watch as if expecting something to happen.

"But that's nothing!" the presenter continued. "This is last scroll, and is worst of -"

"Pervert!"

Oh dear, was that Shampoo and Kodachi performing a double flying kick to the back of her father's head? It very much seemed to be that. The two of them had smashed his face directly into the scroll. Funny though. Shampoo was wearing a kimono very loosely, like she had been undressing and had to tie it back together quickly, while Kodachi was in a black fuzzy bathrobe and seemingly little else.

"Hello father!" Kasumi waved at him. "How nice to see you drop by!"

"Here it comes..." Ranma muttered under his breath. He let out a weary sigh and detached himself from Kasumis arm, moving to stand in front of her.

"Oh no! Seal come off!" the presenter wailed. "Three thousand year accursed magic behind these scrolls, and you just knocked off seal!"

"At least I'm not the one that knocked it off, I'd feel like a real dummy if it had been me..." Ranma muttered, cracking his knuckles and staring at the scroll, which did seem to have a dark billowing malevolent energy swirling out of it. Oh dear. Such a mess, and it only seemed to be getting worse.

"Now monster in scroll is unleashed to plague the world!"

"Buuuuuh!" her father burbled while Shampoo and Kodachi continued to beat him, ignoring the mess coming out right behind them.

Oh dear, oh dear. This date wasn't quite going how Kasumi imagined at all. Then again, she would get to see Ranma show off what he was good at. His martial arts skills. Which... for some reason, she was really looking forward to. If only she could place why...