Another chance - Ranna and Kappei

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

Of course part of the issue, as mentioned before, was she did not really believe him.  Ranna did not think Kappei was necessarily lying to her, but she was far from convinced anyone would care that she was married in a place like this.  If anything she was expecting it to make her a bigger target here.  These perverts would probably get off at the idea of going for a married girl.  She just went back to eating, glaring at him occasionally.  Not fond of the way she felt like he was dismissing how problematic it was for her.  If he wanted her to ‘drop it’, this was what he was going to get.

[Nan-Yo]

Kappei finished his coffee, then left the table for a moment to get a refill and allow Ranna to think for a bit about what he had told her. She had to understand that things were going to go really sour for her really quickly if she didn't find some way to protect herself before the protection period ended. So that couldn't be the problem here. She was a clever brat, after all. So what was the problem? Returning to the table again, Kappei picked up another one of the sandwiches and took a bite from it.

"No, you definitely understand all this." He stated, studying Ranna as he put his sandwich down and sipped some coffee instead. She probably didn't like hearing this, but it couldn't be helped.

"Being betrothed will give you some protection. But that won't work if they think you are unhappy with the person you are together with." Since you could get sex pretty much whenever you wanted, why would you go out of your way to get in between two people who wanted to be alone? This was why it was important that Ranna act like she wanted to be with him when they were in public, or at least that she didn't act as if she disliked being around him.

"When we're married, it will be a bit different since the school rules will protect you. But we don't have that luxury before then." A married person could mess around with other people if both married parties were okay with it, but anyone who tried to force themselves on such a person would immediately face trouble. The school always talked about unity, and the school motto was that they were all one big family. Within that family, you were expected to create ties and build a foundation for the future. But outside of the school, such bonds were created through legal marriage and children. This was why, if somebody got married at the academy, it was seen as if they had just skipped a few steps ahead of everyone else. Naturally, since you had this freedom and power, you were expected to invite other people. But since you had already created a bond that would have value outside of the academy, you had achieved a certain type of status. Building for the future and following the school motto should be rewarded. Of course, this was why the extremely few that actually married were kept separate and relocated to the Residential Zone.

Edited July 12, 2023 by Nan-Yo

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

It all seemed a little too easy, too convenient, that there was a way that could that could ‘fix’ the problem, but only by doing something else that was so unappealing.  Alternatives might have been even worse, but this was not something she wanted to deal with either.  Kappei might have been trying to help her, she could understand that, but he was not going to convince her to be happy about it, even pretend to, quite that quickly.  She was still irritated over being told to drop what were rather real concerns for her too.

There was a course another alternative.  She could prove Kappei and Reiko wrong, switch to mostly boy form, have plenty of fun with girls.  It would be easier than anything else.  She probably would enjoy it.  But the reality was deep down, she was probably on the borderline.  Not completely a boy anymore, but not fully embracing being a girl either.  The easiest way out did not appeal to her, but she would not easily accept Kappei’s idea either.   She continued to eat quietly, stewing in her irritation.

[Nan-Yo]

Having finished his second sandwich, Kappei didn't touch the fourth one, waiting to see if Ranna wanted it after she finished her first one. She was eating very slowly, and was only sipping her coffee. He didn't want her to be unhappy, but what he had told her was something she had to come to terms with, the sooner the better.

"That's why we need to decide beforehand how to act if something happens." He said, taking another sip of coffee. While it was indeed true that Ranna could have simply tried to stay a boy all the time instead, would it have actually worked? Her curse activated when she sneezed, so it shouldn't really have had to great of an effect on how she lived her life. But ever since she been cursed, circumstances around her  seemed to push her into situations where it made more sense for her to just stay as a girl. Her older sister had always told her that she was really smart, and she had even ended up being scouted the academy and getting a scholarship. But would she have made the same choices in life if she had never been cursed? 

 

 

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by Nan-Yo

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

Reiko said a lot of things, some Ranna would have agreed with, others not.  Blinded by a desire to have a little sister and efforts to convince her to become one,  Ranna would hope anyone would be cautious about taking Reiko’s word about her for granted too much.

It was true she tended to be in girl body more often than not, but she also had not gone out of her way to try to control it after the early days.  Just let herself have whatever body she did at the moment.  If she wanted to try harder, she probably could commit more to one body over the other, but it was more trouble than it was worth.  Not that this conversation was better.

She was eating a little slow, but that was her way of avoiding it.  This was just getting more and more unpleasant.  She was not so optimistic they could come up with something she would easily agree to.

[Nan-Yo]

Ranna hadn't said anything for a while now, and maybe that was a good thing? It showed that she was actually listening this time, right? But did she actually have the resolve? What would she do if they found themselves in a bad situation again?

"Ranna, if we are surrounded by a bunch of men and women that want to have sex with you, what should our gameplan be?" He asked her in a serious voice, making direct eye contact with her. He had already told her what he thought their coarse of action should be, but we're they on the same page here yet? Saying you didn't like something was all good and well, but did she have an alternative? He would be beppy if she did have some other plan, but he would have to know about it so that he could support her. That, and it had to be a plan that actually would work. Telling everyone that she wasn't interested might work in some cases, but in the long run it would lose effect if that was the only thing she did.

 

 

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

Ranna was quiet mostly because she was still annoyed by the response to her last comment, but also she did not really want to think about this.  He made it sound so easy, but it was hard to think of anything she could do in such a case which would not make her uncomfortable.  This was not a trivial thing that could be decided just like that.  Something she had tried to explain, but she was told to drop it.  So she was still dropping it.  It was not something she was going to hold a grudge over long term, but if he wanted to pretend she was his fiancé, it was as good of time as any to learn to deal with an angry girlfriend/fiancé/wife.  She would just let him continue, see what he suggested, whatever it may be.

[Nan-Yo]

There was a clear dissonance. Kappei had never tried to belittle what Ranna was experiencing, but had simply asked her to stop focusing on things that they couldn't change. She was just torturing herself. Instead of focusing on the problems, she should focus on the solutions. But this just showed the difference between men and women. Men focused on solving problems, while women simply wanted to vent. Women didn't always want a man to tell them how to fix whatever troubled them, women sometimes just wanted a man to listen.

"Ranna?" Kappei said, taking note of that Ranna was just giving him the silent treatment. It wasn't as if he was unfamiliar with this tactic and hadn't been at the receiving end of it before, but it still baffled him every time it happened. If a person was unhappy about something, you should just tell the other person straight to their face what troubled you. But girls sometimes acted like this.

Kappei sighed and took the last sandwich himself. He had finished his second cup of coffee and didn't intend to drink any more right now. He was still hungry though. If Ranna wanted more food, he would just go and buy it for her.

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

Ranna had tried to tell him the problem to his face, that was how they had ended up here as far as she was concerned.  She finished her food and was content.  She stood up, as her sign she was done eating.  If Kappei wanted something else to eat, he would have to either get something he could eat while walking or wait until after she was back in her room.  She did hope to have some time to enjoy being in her room again, some final peace before this went to the next stage.  Though she knew there was still an unpleasant step left for today, a step other than the conversation she was now avoiding.

[Nan-Yo]

Kappei finished the last sandwich and stood up, a bit annoyed at how rude Ranna was being. She was really being a brat. Wasn't logical that you would remain seated until both parties had finished their food? It wouldn't do him any good explaining this to her though, since she would just excuse her actions by that she didn't want to be there and that it was difficult for her.

"I guess we should go get the rings then?" he told her, grabbing her small hand. She was a brat, but he would still help her. He really did think that she would probably benefit from getting her butt spanked and taught not to so cheeky.

Leaving the coffee-shop, Kappei didn't say anything as he lead them towards the Velvet Oasis again. It was the same store that he had bought Ranna her communicator in. Back then she had been under the impression that they were going to get their wedding rings. She had of course been incorrect, but it was actually true that you bought your wedding rings at magical jewelry shops like this one.

Finally arriving in front of the building Kappei gave a somewhat irritated sigh when he read the closed sign on the door. Opens again 19.30. Well wasn't that just peachy.

 

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

Ranna just silently went along.  Figuring he should have been willing enough to even go this far.  This was near the bottom of her list of things she wanted to do.  Alternatives may have been worse, but this was still far from great.  Same with the hand holding, it was not something was thrilled about, but she tolerated it and it was a step in the direction of how he wanted her to act.  When they got back to their destination, a place she was not thrilled to visit again, she had mixed feelings about what they said.  If she was really the brat Kappei thought she was, she could have said something about how he should have known what times they were open, since he had been so focused on the idea.  She kept it to herself though.  She did finally break her silence though.  "...Now what?"  Part of her wanted to delay this, part of her wanted to get it over with, so she could return to her room.  She was not sure which was better, or what he might come up with to pass the time.

[Nan-Yo]

In Kappei's defense, the boutique should have been open at this hour. He didn't know why they were closed, but it didn't matter. Since they knew when they it would be open again, he just had to make sure to be here then.

"Now what?" He repeated, checking his communicator what time it was. They had a bit over ninthy minutes until the store opened again. "Now we wait until they open again I guess?"

There was plenty of ways to pass time on campus, but aside from sex, a large chunk of those ways involved doing club activity. Big group activities were promoted heavily. There were plenty of things that they could still do though, but most of them would probably take longer than two hours. "Hey, Ranna? You haven't seen any of the drama clubs theater productions yet, have you?"

 

 

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

Ranna would not have come up with anything on her own.  It was still a little early for the gymnastics club to start taking up part of her time.  They might not be doing anything anyways.  She had no idea if she would join any other sort of club, though initiations made it much less likely.  Only likely to even think about another team/club that was girl only for that reason.

The suggestion shook her out of her thoughts.  Her missing chaperone had also mentioned that as one of the few ways people occupied themselves.  Though she did not mention only some of the plays were purely entertainment.  Some of them were meant as propaganda or to teach the ‘official’ story of how certain aspects of the school came to be.  “No, I have not.”  It was an unsurprising answer for someone as new as her.  She likely would have got there on her own eventually, but she had not got around to it yet.

[Nan-Yo]

"I guess you are in for a treat then." Kappei chuckled, treating Ranna to a warm smile. The theater plays did have a lot of propaganda and lewd stuff in it, but it was still a rather pleasant and warm experience as far as he was concerned. The theater troupe didn't just recycle old material, but was constantly innovating and mixing things up. You could see the same play the same week two times, and not only had dialogue and scenes changed, the actors playing the characters in the play would often have changed too,

""We should go check it out." He told her. Maybe watching something different would allow her to think of something else and get her in a better mood again. It was worth a try. He had seen his fair share of plays himself, but he had always done so on his own or with Reiko.

 

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

Ranna was not thrilled about it, but it was not the worst idea.  She did not rule out it could be enjoyable, and was probably the most appealing thing the two of them could do together.  She was not as enthusiastic as him but she let him lead him on to wherever it was.   She did have a little curiosity to see how much it worked, what sort of budget they had.  In a school that included so many wealthy/powerful families, her guess was it had considerably better production than at least most highschool plays, though she was not sure how it would compare to higher class theaters.  Of course, knowing the school, she would not be surprised if they tended to lewder than many plays, especially in love stories or anything like that.

[Nan-Yo]

Unlike many other clubs, the drama club had their locales in Recreation Zone. This actually made a lot of sense since the theater was a part of what was considered recreation. Similarly, combat and sports clubs were located in areas closer to the arena.

Taking her hand again, Kappei strolled down past a myriad of stores until they reached a large building with a Pagoda styled red and gold roof.

Entering through the glass doors of the main entrance, the two of them found themselves in a rather large hall with multiple stands that were selling what could only be called comfort food.

Hotdogs, popcorn, chips, buckets with fried chicken and soda all lined the large chamber, manned by junior members of the theater group. The members of the drama club wasn't just expected to be actors, they were expected to learn how to interact with their audience and get to know them.

Walking up to a ticket salesman behind a booth, Kappei held up two fingers. "Two tickets please."

 

 

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

It was an impressive enough sight, it partially answered Ranna’s questions about the style of the club, though she would get a better answer when she saw the stage and then the play itself.  She tried to ignore how this all looked, that she was reluctantly doing exactly the sort of illusion Kappei was talking about.  At least she did not think she would have to do stuff like these club members were doing with the gymnastics club.  Eventually she would have to put on performances, but presumably not interacting with the audience like this.

[Nan-Yo]

Rhythmic gymnastics had always been a sport were whether you won or not was decided by of you were able to charm the judges and do a good performance. The difference now was that it had been turned into even more of a audience pleaser. There were no competition against other schools. Instead it had been made into a more of an exhibition. It was better that most of the other clubs though, and not really all that different from just a dance performance.

"The show is going to start fifteen minutes from now, but we can enter and take our seats now of you want." Kappei told Ranna as he returned. There wasn't really anything to do if they did though, not that there was much to do waiting outside either.

"I"m gonna get some snacks I can eat during the play, you want me to get something for you?" He was a rather talk guy and the three sandwiches he had eaten at the coffee shop had not been anywhere near enough for him. Ranna was just a petite young girl, though, so she probably didn't need as much food as he did. But eating just a single sandwich seemed far to little even for somebody of her size as far as Kappei was concerned.

Edited July 19, 2023 by Nan-Yo

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

"Just get something for yourself, I'm fine."  Ranna did not need anything else to eat.  Annoying as it was, she would have had more earlier if she had still been hungry.  She was not going out of her way to watch how much she ate, but maybe it was something in the back of her mind.  Reiko too had been careful about planning healthy meal sizes, especially after the curse.  It was partly about saving money, but at that point Reiko felt they both had bodies and figures that needed proper care.  It was just a waste for a beautiful girl to lose it all out of carelessness.  She only occasionally put it in so many words though, usually just doing other things to try to encourage her new sister to preserve her new beauty.  It had rubbed off on Ranna, somewhat without her noticing.  There was all that, she just also did not really feel hungry anyway, she could have ate more, but it seemed unnecessary.  Kappei getting food would at least save them from a few minutes of sitting there awkwardly.

[Nan-Yo]

Taking proper care of your body was important, but Ranna still hadn't eaten all that much today had she? Aside from  that sandwich, what bad she actually eaten today?

Worried about her, Kappei not only got himself an extra big bucket of chicken, but also a plate of thick spicy sausages. The things went really well with alcohol, but you didn't need to get drunk in order to enjoy them.

Getting the food he had ordered, Kappei guided Ranna  to their seats and waited for her to sit down before joining her. 

"Apparently they are going to perform a reinactment of some sort of something during today's play." Kappei explained as the lights around the bleachers started to dim down and spotlights focused on the scene.

Edited July 19, 2023 by Nan-Yo

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

Ranna just let him get whatever he wanted, did not have much opinion of it herself it did seem quite a bit to eat, but she did not really think about it too much or why he might he might have got that much.  She just quietly looked around, as they made their way to their seats.   She was not sure what sort of reenactment they would do here, whether it was some sort of school history or wider history.  She watched the occasional member move around the stage, making final preparations for the play.  For now she just tried to wait and hope nothing was said to irritate her.

[Nan-Yo]

The curtains rose and the first thing Ranna saw on stage was boy wearing a dress. The boy was dancing around and trying to act feminine. Three more characters appeared all of them boys and they were laughing at the prancing boy. A fifth character appeared, this o e played by a black haired beauti appeared in front of the boy and she knelt in front of where he had fallen when the other boys had pointed and laughed at him. She told him that no matter what anyone said, she would always be there for him. The boy responded with that he loved her and the certain fell. A lyre could be heard playing as another woman's voice could be heard.

"Hear he, hear ye! This is the story of The cocktease and the horsecock! A tale of unfortune and fortune alike!" She paused for dramatic effect and the lyre hit a particular awful note. Kappei shook his head. Could the play actually be any good with such a name?

 "It is a true story and a reinactment of something that happens far to often. Please, kind souls. Lend us your hearts and ears as we watch the events unfold!" The voice finished and the lyre stopped. The curtains rose again and the scene had changed drastically now. The previous scene had been empty with only the actors appearing on stage, but this time there only the girl from before was on the scene, sitting on a chair in front of a desk. She seemed to be writing in a diary.

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

"Was this written by Reiko?"  Ranna asked, barely a whisper, asking more to herself.  This felt too coincidental, the boy in the dress.  She was more confused at what it was supposed to reenact.  It almost sounded sounded more like some fable or something, not a recreation of one specific event.  Though it was too soon to say for sure.  The name was ridiculous too, but she tried to ignore that.  She would see where it went, though she was not sure where it was going.  Though whether it was a reenactment of something that happened here sounded less likely with the name.  And a love story was a little less expected for something that was intended to be set on campus.

The girl in chair was an actress by the name of Selena Cervano, a girl who had begun making a name in the club, who had a chance of leading the club in the future.  For now though, she was just one of the more popular actresses.  She loved the stage, to perform, to be someone else.  She never felt a shred of nervousness, it was her excitement she had to had to hide behind the shell of her character.  At the moment, writing in a dairy, telling the book the story of the day.  The cruelty of the boy she saw, being bullied, why?  Because he wore a dress?  Acted feminine?  She spoke some of these thoughts out loud for the audience.  She had offered the boy her support, he had confessed his love for her.  It was touching, but what was she supposed to do that, should she accept his confession?

[Nan-Yo]

The girl in the chair spoke out loud her thoughts and what she was writing in the diary, but after a while the female narration voice returned, explaining what was happening. 

"The girl had never known love, but she thought herself correct and moral. That poor boy! How he had suffered! But she would support him!" The narrator went silent for a bit and the girl, whom would remain unnammed throughout the entire story, loudly declared that she would support him. There was a moment of silence and then the girl returned to writing in her diary again.

"But the girl did not love him. The girl just wanted to help him. How could she love a boy that dressed like a girl? She could not! She had asked him to show that he loved her by putting on a dress and he had. But any guy that was that weak could never be her partner." The narrators voice stopped again, having given the audience a better grip of what was going on. This girl was the leadrole, and she played the character known in the script only as the cocktease.

The girl scribbled some more in her diary and started speaking about how the boy was such a good friend and that she would always be there for him. She closed the book and the stage went completely black. You could hear some shuffling and objects being moved and then the lights illuminated the stage again. The girl was now seen walking with one of the boys that had bullied the other boy before. She held onto his arm and they walked around. At some point the guy was asking her if she wanted to be his girlfriend. The girl turned to him and said that she would love that, but that she couldn't possibly be dating a boy that was friends with bullies. The boy promised that he would fix that problem.

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

Okay, this was not written by Reiko after all.  It was not the sort of message Ranna was expecting.  She was not sure what, if any, message there was.  Or if the story was just the writer trying to be amusing.  The girl was playing something of the opposite of the students here.  Ranna had assumed there would be one or more sex scenes in just about any show the club put on.  But she wondered whether that would actually be the case this time.  Especially with the first half of the title, though the second half left her uncertain.  For now she just watched, with a confused look on her face.