Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Duckie Dearest ❯ Someone Else ( Chapter 3 )

Darling Duckie - Part 3

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So. Now the choice was between Ukyou and Akane. Shampoo he had no matter what. Kodachi was crazy and didn't count. And he got the feeling that if he didn't chose someone other than Shampoo, he's wind up just another man back in her village. Suddenly, he was glad of his curse.

But he didn't want either Ukyou or Akane. Not as they were. He didn't want Shampoo either, but that was a moot point. He had her anyway.

Ranma pause to wonder what 'moot' meant.

Okay, so someone was in his head, thinking for him. That would be the narrator. Ah, now he understood.

Anyway. whether or not he wanted Shampoo was a moot point, since he didn't get a choice. Akane -- well, he didn't want a wife who would constantly hit him because of imagined faults. And neither did he want a wife like Ukyou, who was so unsure of her hold over him that she was much too possessive. And unlike Akane, she hid her emotions behind a smile.

With that, Ranma supposed he reached his ultimatum. Either the girls changed for him, or he found somebody else.

Maybe he should go talk to Mom.

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"Ranma!" Nodoka smiled at her son as he stood a little sheepishly in the doorway. "How are you?"

"I'm confused, Mom," he admitted. "It's about the fiancées."

"I see," she said. "Come in and we'll discuss it over tea. Okay?"

He obeyed, and soon they were seated at the table with tea and some sweets that remained untouched due to Ranma's nervousness. "Now," Nodoka began, "What's wrong with the fiancées?"

"Well, I get Shamps whether I want her or not."

"I thought that was how it was to begin with."

"No, I mean: it doesn't matter if I marry someone else. I'm still her husband."

"Dear me," Nodoka said. "Well, that simplifies things, doesn't it?"

"Only slightly. The real problem is with the others."

"Ranma, you know I'll always support Akane as your fiancée."

"Mom, she's always hittin' me! And for no reason!"

"Oh. I see." She seemed disappointed. "Well then. One of the other Tendo girls, maybe?"

"Nabiki's a mercenary. And I really like Kasumi, but I can't imagine being married to her."

Nodoka sighed. It seemed as though another promise made upon her husband's non-existent honor was going to be broken. "Alright. So the Tendos are out -- unless Akane or Nabiki changes. Am I right?"

"Yeah."

"Then what about Ukyou?"

"Too possessive, too boyish, and she loves her okonomiyaki better'n me."

"So she needs to change first too, then?"

"Yeah."

And another promise. "You could always have only Shampoo."

"I don't wanna live in an Amazon village in China, Mom," Ranma whined. "If I don't have another wife, that's what'll happen."

"So then you'll be looking for someone else."

He nodded.

Well, that wouldn't be too bad. Really, sometimes her husband was such an idiot that she wished she was part of the Amazons. And with two wives, Ranma would be manly indeed. He only needed to find someone else. And with the way he seemed to attract girls, that shouldn't be too hard, should it? "I'll see what I can do," Nodoka said, standing. "Would you like some help with your father?