Another chance - Ranna and Kappei

[Nan-Yo]

Kappei glanced in Ranna's direction and let out a sigh. This was just how it was between them and he had to accept it. Nothing good would come from him expecting her come around and accept that this was her best option right now. he had already told her his piece and she was a smart girl. It was just that she didn't want to accept it.

"Are you coming?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow. She might have reminded him of a cute squirrel, peering at him from the door-opening like she did, but he was sure that had never been her intention. They could only register as being betrothed on the coming Monday next week so there really was no need for them to start preparing things right away. But why postpone things? It was better to prepare things as soon as possible. Starting that Monday, she was going to wear a temporary ring on her finger that signaled that she was promised to him. It would become her protection, but it was also signifying a new beginning. After they had gotten betrothed on Monday, he would show her the place that they were going to stay at together from then on.

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

“…I could probably marry one of the girls in this class at this point.”  Ranna noted, half seriously.  Still not moving quite yet.  The way they had been recently, and the way marriages tended to go here, she would not have been surprised if at least  one of them said yes.  It was a much more appealing idea than marrying Kappei or any other boy.  It was at least worth throwing out there, though she doubted it would help, committed to this idea as Kappei was.

[Nan-Yo]

Kappei gave Ranna a patient look. He understood that she was having difficulty accepting things the way they were, but she really wasn't doing herself any favors here. A lot of her classmates had already left the classroom and more were still spilling out. Some of them were giving him and Ranna curious looks and friendly smiles, but none of them were trying to get involved. It was apparent that they didn't want to get in their class idols way and ruin her new date.

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

No reaction?  It honestly felt like a perfect solution to Ranna.  It might have been something she considered earlier, if she had this popularity.  This was supposedly a fake marriage anyway, no reason for Kappei to bothered by it.  It was unfortunate no one was helping her getting out of it, though they did not really know what was happening here.  Probably misunderstood why she was looking at him like this. Not realizing she was being rushed into marriage so young, with a boy.  She just looked at Kappei more, a look telling him she was willing to wait as long as she could, she had made her point how she felt about this.  After that suggestion failed, she did not see a way out this.  She did not want to get it over with though.  She would delay as much as she could, even if it was only a few minutes.

[Nan-Yo]

Finished with his job as their homeroom teacher for now, Ranna's scruffy looking teacher shuffled up behind her and looked down on her. His shoulders slumping and his eyes half-lidded, he gave Ranna and Kappei an almost judging look. Kappei had never interacted with this man himself, but he had done a little research on him. The man hated his job and he had no love for his students. He was just there for the paycheck.

"I... I 'm loo...looking the do...door." He stuttered, giving his pink haired student a telling look. He wanted her to step out of the room so that he could close it and leave. "No Fu...fuuu... fu.. han.. hanky panky! Still two da...daays!" he told them, making it clear to them that he didn't intend to let them have sex in his classroom if that was what they wanted. This day included, Ranna still had two more days before she could start fooling around with people on campus without breaking the rules. The teacher didn't care of course, he just didn't want to be punished if one of his students did something stupid.

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

That was finally enough to get Ranna out of the door.  Though for now she just backed up agains the wall opposite the door, giving the teacher plenty of room to close and lock the door.  If anything, it seemed safer to keep her distance from both men, while he was in sight.  She did not even look at Kappei, she had never seen the teacher quite like that, and it seemed like wandering off with Kappei was more likely to give the teacher the impression they were looking for a place to break that rule.  This would be a lot easier if Reiko was here, or her elusive chaperone.

[Nan-Yo]

The teacher gave the two youths a tired look and closed the door behind him, shuffling away down the corridor and leaving them alone. There were always a lot of people milling around on campus, but at least for the moment, the only two people in the corridor were Ranna and her future fiance.

"How was your day?" Kappei asked her, deciding to start over in a more gentle way this time. He hadn't been trying to rush things, but he had figured she wouldn't have been happy if he had walked up to her with her classmates milling around. But instead of getting out of everyone's sights, she had just been standing there, telegraphing that she was meeting up with him. Kappei doubted it had been her intention, but it had been the result.

Edited June 4, 2023 by Nan-Yo

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

It had been a better day up until now.  Ranna still did not consider this an ideal plan.  It might have been more appealing than some alternatives, but she wanted to avoid it if she could.  “I’m a genius and now apparently an idol.  My new goal is to marry one of the rich girls here and hide away with her.”  It was only half serious, it might not have been possible, but it was an appealing dream.  Clinging to fantasies was better and more civil than an argument that she realized would not change anything at this point.  That she had probably delayed the inevitable as much as she could at this point.

[Nan-Yo]

Kappei really didn't know how to respond. She was an idol now? The marriage plan really wasn't as simple as she made it out to be. Her concern that it didn't work was actually valid, since it depended on the effort they both put into it. If she just married some random girl at the academy, or even some other boy... if her marriage partner wasn't able to put in the effort then problems could still arise. If she married a girl and they had a fallout, what would happen if that girl suddenly filed for divorce? In his case, such a thing would never happen, because she could trust him. "That's nice. You just need to find the perfect candidate then."

He stretched for a bit and stopped leaning against the wall. Ranna was looking cute today too. If she just wanted to hook up with somebody she really wouldn't have any problem. Finding somebody that could actually help and protect her was a different story though. "But today I'm going to show you the place I've gotten for us."

Edited June 5, 2023 by Nan-Yo

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

Ranna did not completely understand her sudden popularity herself.  It seemed too random, it was also just strange as something she was not used to.  She understood she was one of the smarter people here, the ball’s reaction proved that.  But she did not think she had done anything to get the reactions she was getting.  She just shrugged, she was not going to dwell on it, she was not like much of many of those girls from here on.  She had no idea what to expect with her new classmates either.

She was still rather uneasy about the whole living together thing.  It would be one thing if they were roommates, but ‘fake’ or not, he was insistent on it being as husband and wife.  She just stood there, reluctant to move on her on own.  Needing her some light dragging, to go to a place like that.

[Nan-Yo]

"Come along. I think you are going to like the place." Kappei told her as he took her small left hand and gave her a gentle thug to make her start walking. Not quite pulling her along with him, he held her hand but not so hard that she couldn't easily pull away if she chose to.

"I'll get the most basic essentials myself, but you can decide on most everything else yourself." He told, giving her brief explanation. The apartment he had gotten them should suit Ranna's needs just fine, but he had no idea how she wanted to decorate or what things she wanted. He'd get her a bed of her own, but stuff like cupboards, chairs, tables and whatever else she wanted would have to be decided on later.

 

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

It was weird still, the feel of something like this, Ranna should have pulled her hand away, but she did not.  Part of her wanted to waste as much time as she could, to delay this.  Another part of her just wanted to get it over with, so she could get away from this and hopefully find some more appealing things to do.  That side had won for the moment, and she just let him pull her along.  She was rather skeptical about how much she would like it.  She also half expected Reiko to show up and at least give advice on decorations, if not pick them herself.  She did not feel like arguing about it, would at least wait to see it for herself, before doing so.

[Nan-Yo]

Having vacated the school building, the two of them didn't have to wait long before a trolley pulled up at the station and the could climb on. The train wasn't exactly packed, but it wasn't empty either. With less than a dozen people on the train, it was easy for Kappei and Ranna to find a spot where they could sit down in peace.

"When we get off, we'll have to walk the rest of the way." Kappei explained, while the rode the train. He'd have to get them some sort of transportation later, maybe a bike or something for Ranna? Yeah, that would probably be the best solution. Even if got himself a motorcycle, he might not be able to drive her to the trolley every day, so it was definitely a good idea if she had something herself.

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

Ranna figured that was better for today at least, walking meant it would be a little slower.  Though she had mixed feelings about being with Kappei only for that long, just because she expected it to be about subjects of conversation she had been trying to avoid.  They were getting closer to taking steps she had hoped to have been able to talk her way out of.  “That’s fine.”  She did not consider herself an athlete…though she would have to see what happened with the gymnastics club.  She was not bothered by walking though.  Doubted she would be that tired after this.

[Nan-Yo]

The trolley chugged along, making several stops and taking a fairly long time before finally pulling up at the station Kappei wanted them to get off at. Leaving the train, and the debauchery therein, the two of them stepped down at a small train-stop as unremarkable as the rest of them. While unremarkable, it was a bit different though. As you left the platform itself you could immediately see at least two dozen parking spots as well as several roofs covering bike-racks. Looking past these you could see a rather narrow road stretching beyond and into what could only be called a forest. No, not a park, but a forest.

"It's a fairly long walk to the Residential zone, so you'll have to get a bike if you don't want me to take you to the trolley station every day." Kappei told her, starting to explain a bit about where they were going to live. The zone had actually been created so that they could separate teachers and staffs from the students, but because the place was so empty and due to the special statues of married people, this group had also been assigned to this area.

"The building itself is the largest on campus, and the most empty one." he continued as he guided Ranna past the parking lot and down the narrow road that lead into the deep dense forest.

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

Ranna would worry about things like bikes or things like that later.  While she would prefer to do things on her own, rather than rely on Kappei daily, she would wait to figure that out.  This was a little annoying though, if she was suddenly becoming popular, that felt like a better reason to stick to the girls dorm, see what happened there.  Now she was more isolated again, maybe that would help in some areas, but she would have appreciated it more earlier.

”Just like home…”. She muttered as she approached the forest, which reminded her of the fairly rural area she and Reiko grew up.  You did not have to go too far out of the town to find something like this.  But they were not here for a nature walk, she really was not very thrilled about the destination they were approaching.

[Nan-Yo]

"Home? That kind of has a nice ring to it." Kappei noted, as he took the young girl deeper into the dark forest. Even though it was early in the day, the canopy did a good job of blocking out a lot of light, giving the road a rather desolate feeling. The Academy could have easily put up lights or trimmed the trees, but had chosen not to do so. Honestly speaking, it was to Kappei's taste, what was there not to like?

"You know, I never wanted to make things anymore difficult for you than it already was." Kappei admitted after a few minutes of walking. He had just wanted to help her. He had promised Reiko he would. But that wasn't all there was to it. Ranna might have been a brat, but he felt she was a good person. She didn't deserve to be cursed like this.

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

“…Not what I meant.”  Ranna was still not ready to think of this whole situation as ‘home’.  She was not excited about living with Kappei.  Living with Reiko again would have been more appealing, even if her sister and Kappei were in agreement on a bit too much.

She understood this was far from the worst case scenario she could be in.  But she could not be blamed for being less than comfortable about being pushed to marry a man, any man, especially at her age.  “Find me one of those rich girls to marry then.  If you’re nice, I’ll share her with you.”  He had to accept it was not going to be quick for her to warm up to this.  It was not the worst case scenario for him either.  She going along with it, even if she was rather reluctant.

[Nan-Yo]

Coming from a, by the schools standards, rather poor family Ranna seemed to lack a real understanding of what she was saying here. The school catered too mainly two demographics; the ones that wielded outer power and those that wielded inner power. Ranna herself belonged to the later group, being beautiful and intelligent something that was classified as inner power. People with high magical aptitude or special abilities also belonged to this category. Kappei belonged to the former group, while not wealthy himself, his father was a four star high ranking general. People that belonged to this category were the wealthy or those with influence.

"It's not that easy Ranna." Kappei said, having already explained this to her in part before. It wasn't that it was an impossible task, rather the time constraint and Ranna lack of connections was the real problem. Ranna for a lack of a better word for it, was hot commodity. You could acquire wealth, influence and fame with hard work, but beauty and intelligence was different. The next generation would inherit what the previous one possessed, so having a children with intelligent or beautiful people was optimal for those that already had wealth.

The problem was that if Ranna wanted to appeal to rich girls, she would have to do it as a guy.

There simply hadn't been enough time to find anyone acceptable though. Once the protection period was over, Ranna would no doubt be hunted by men.

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

Ranna would not have been bothered doing it as a boy, if the opportunity came up.  She did not consider herself a girl after all, as she repeatedly told Kappei.  She was in this body because that was the last she switched to.  That was what she told herself at least.  The real truth was probably somewhere in the middle, she did not completely consider herself a girl at the moment, but she was more or less comfortable in the body, and with most aspects of being a girl.  There was no point in going out of the way to change, because she was fine with either body.  The idea of being sexually/romantically involved with a boy was the biggest aspect of being a girl she was not comfortable with yet, and that was the one she was being forced to deal with.  “…One of them at least should be happy with a trophy wife.”  She was going to ignore the reason for this walk as much as she could, as long as she could.  Even if it meant clinging to fantasies.

[Nan-Yo]

"A trophy wife huh?" Ranna might have been fine with being a boy and marrying a girl, but the problem wasn't whether or not she was willing, but rather how she would go about making a girl interested. As a girl she had both beauty and brains, but was the same true when she was a guy? Was she as good looking whens he was a boy? If she still chose try to become a trophy husband, the kind of girls that would be interested wouldn't be any different than a man looking for a trophy wife.

"You'd rather bear children than marry me?" Kappei asked giving Ranna a sidelong glance. What exactly did she think a lesbian relationship was? Two women couldn't have children on their own without a donor, but if she did marry a girl certainly that girl would want children. Maybe Ranna thought she could use her own sperm to impregnate the other woman, but if Ranna was the trophy wife then she'd be the one carrying the child.

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

Ranna went silent for a while.  It was not like she never thought about that before.  She knew she was capable of having children now.  She had gone through the most awkward and uncomfortable aspects of being a girl at her age.  It was naturally something Reiko had brought up on more than one occasion too.  She could not help but wonder what would happen if she was pregnant.  Whether she would be locked in as girl, until it was over.  As well as more general thoughts, possibly not that different from other girls, wondering what it was like, how she would handle it?  It was not something she intended to experience, but now that it was physically possible for her, it was natural to think about it some.

She did not really see this situation as different, was part of the problem.  No matter how much Kappei insisted this was a fake marriage, it was hard to ignore things like expectations of marriage.  That she would sooner or later to pressures to do that with him.  If she had to do it anyway, she would prefer to go through with it with another girl.  Rather than get in another argument though, she just kept quiet.  If they were not close to their destination, she would let Kappei change the subject.

[Nan-Yo]

Taking Ranna's silence and lack of answer as a confirmation, Kappei grimaced. A bad first impression aside, but being thought of that badly when he was just trying to help her, actually kinda hurt. Considering how much Kappei was giving up for Ranna, and the lengths that he was willing to go to help her, it co could be argued that the she owed him. You could even go as far as claiming that she should give him some sort of compensation. But Kappei had never once thought like that.

Continuing on in silence, Kappei didn't say anything, but he did notice something that gave him some slight hope that maybe he could make her stop thinking of him as her enemy. He had grabbed her hand as he had brought her with him on the trolley, and then grabbed her hand again as they had climbed off. They had been walk for at least maybe a good fifteen minutes now and Ranna still hadn't pulled her hand away.

[SataiRolePlayingGuy]

Ranna was not sure if she was misunderstood, but it was too awkward to clarify.  She mostly just wanted to get off that subject of conversation with the way it was going.  Things she did not want to think about.  She was not bothered by Kappei trying to help in general, but as she saw it, he should understand why she was going to be uncomfortable with this method.  Though, even with Reiko’s help, she was not sure how much Kappei really believed everything about the curse and why she did not consider herself a girl.  He should appreciate she was going along with this at all.  Part of her wanted to turn and run back to the dorm.  But for some reason, she was going through with this, walking somewhere she had no desire to go.  In part because there were no other options, at least not quick ones.

[Nan-Yo]

Either Ranna still hadn't noticed, or she simply didn't care. Holding Kappei's hand, anyone watching them from afar would could not have been faulted for thinking that they were in some kind of romantic relationship. The trek towards the Residential Zone Took another good five minutes or so before the small road finally opened up into a clearing and their eyes came to rest on probably the largest building that Ranna had ever seen. Larger than both the two large high school dorms, it would have towered over all the other buildings on campus if it had not been secluded to it's own section. Only the Arena was larger than the Residential structure, but even that building fell short when it came to height.

 

 

((OOC: I updated the map again a bit.))