CONTINUED FROM PART 5 PAGE 1....
A HOUSE SOMEWHERE IN NERIMA
8:15 P.M.
The dark, foreboding, gothic-looking mansion stood silent in the
moonlight, the type of house that the Munsters or The Adams Family
would feel right at home in. We then hears a steady stream of curses,
using almost every swear word in the japanese language, coming
from the direction of the basement.
Inside, Hikaru Gosunkugi slammed a very thick textbook
shut in disgust. The title of the book, "The Sorcerery of Old" was
faded and worn, suggesting the book was a great deal older than the
reader currently using it. Gosunkugi sighed to himself in frustration
as he plopped down on his workbench, the only seat in his basement.
A single red lightbulb illuminated hundreds of photos of Akane
doing ordinary things, decorating the gray cement walls around him
and reminding him of his purpose for living. Gosunkugi slumped
his shoulders in defeat as he recalls the events of what happened in
Akane's classroom over and over again in his mind....)
"Damn it! Why did I have to run away from him like that?
If only my magic worked! Just once! I would show them all that
martial arts is meaningless compared to the power of the occult!"
Gosunkugi sighed again as he idly twirled a five inch nail
along the fingers of his right hand. He glanced at the photolab table
where the Kunou Voodoo Doll he had been trying to create for the past
hour rested. "I can't understand it! I followed the spell from that
book to the letter! Where could I have messed up?!
Gosunkugi went back to the textbook and reopened it. He
started flipping pages to find the doll spell again when he suddenly
paused and stared at a different page. A page he had always tried to
ignore before.
The lightning spell.
Gosunkugi involuntarily shivered as he remembered the last
time he had tried to use that spell. It had actually worked, much to
his
surprise, but instead of the lightning hitting Ranma as it was supposed
to, it had stuck him instead.
He had spent a month in the hospital after that. The
doctor's said it was nothing short of a miracle that he had survived at
all. Akane and Ranma had come to visit him and Akane even left him
some of her bento. Unfortunately, that was the day he discovered how
bad her cooking really was and he came down with severe food
poisoning....
He had vowed never to use that spell again as long as he lived
but now as his options ran thin, he looked upon it once more and
wondered if he should give it another try. Then an better idea came
to his mind....
"What if....what if I convinced Kunou to learn this spell
instead? I could tell Kunou to use it to punish Ranma and then
when Kunou tries to use the spell himself...." Gosunkugi
grinned evily to himself as a possible scenario played out in his
mind....
* -- Dream Sequence
* "Now Saotome! Feel my wrath!" Kunou screamed as he cast
Gosunkugi�s spell to the darkening sky. A bolt of lightning came
down from the heavens but instead of hitting Ranma, it fried
Kunou, enormous surprise lighting up his charred features as
he quickly turned into a pile of dust. Then Akane came running up
to Gosunkugi and leapt into his arms, kissing him madly while a
dejected Ranma walked away, knowing he would never worthy for
Akane's affections now.
"Oh Hikaru! You saved me from Kunou forever! You're
wonderful! I want to marry you and bear your children! I love you!"
Akane exclaimed with starry eyes as Hikaru held her close, the
entire school was cheering in the background and shouting his
name "HIKARU! HIKARU! HIKARU!...."*
"HIKARU!!!"
Gosunkugi�s daydream ended abruptly as he heard the
voice of his mother shouting from upstairs.
"Yes mother?" Gosunkugi replied.
"You still haven't taken out the garbage!" his mother
snapped at him.
"I'll do it in a little while mother!" Gosunkugi yelled back
as his mother closed the basement door shut again. Gosunkugi
turned his attention back on his spellbook and grinned as he began
writing down a copy of the spell on paper....
* * *
THE UTCHAN
8:30 P.M.
Ukyou was perplexed to say the least. The Utchan, which
should have been full of customers by now, was completely empty, save
for Daisuke eating at the end of the counter. She had noticed that no
one
else had been coming in for the past hour and had continued to serve the
people that were already inside until they had finished their meals,
paid, and left. Now Ukyou sat at the counter playing Solitaire and
occasionally glancing at the door to see if anyone else was going to
come in.
"Talk about a slow night. It hasn't been this bad since that
crepe chief came and tried to corner the market." Ukyou sighed to
herself as she scanned the cards for a black 10 to go with her red 9.
Ukyou looked up at the sound of money being placed on her
counter and noticed Daisuke was leaving. "See you later Ukyou." he
said as he walked out the door. Ukyou wished he could have stayed
just for the company. She needed something to get her mind off her
fiancee being on a date with Shampoo and Solitaire wasn't doing it.
Then she heard the door open and Ukyou immediately stood up.
"Welcome to the Ut...." her voice died in her throat and her gaze
hardened as she saw Nabiki Tendo closing the door behind her as she
casually walked into her restaurant.
"Hello there." Nabiki said, a grim smile on her face.
"Get out. I'm not serving you. Not after what you did to
Ranchan." Ukyou replied coldly.
"Are you sure that's wise? You don't seem to be swamped in
customers right now...." Nabiki pointed out.
"It's a slow night. I'll have a full crowd come tomorrow
afternoon." Ukyou retorted.
"Don't bet on it." Nabiki said bluntly.
"What is THAT supposed to mean?" Ukyou replied hotly.
"Exactly how it sounds. You see, you interfered in my
business affairs and I can't let you get away with that without some
form of punishment. Otherwise you may encourage others to defy
me and that just won't do." Nabiki said in a matter-of-fact voice.
"Oh, REALLY?" Ukyou's face turned crimson. "Just who
the hell do you think you are to use people like that!"
"I'm someone who can and will make your life a living hell
if you're not careful. You're a business woman, just like me, surely
you can understand what I'm getting at...." Nabiki said.
"No, enlighten me, please." Ukyou replied sarcastically.
"When somebody interferes with your business, you increase
your work output, advertise, get help, do anything possible to eliminate
the competition before they eliminate you. This is what you have tried
to do to me and now I plan to respond accordingly. Only I plan to use
every dirty trick in the book. In fact, I'm doing it right now, even as
we speak...."
Nabiki gestured for Ukyou to follow her. Ukyou does so and
they both walk out of the restaurant and Nabiki gestures at two large
signs posted at either end of the restaurant which read "Closed by the
Japanese Board of Health for Possible Food Poisoning." Ukyou gasped
in shock while Nabiki places a hand on her shoulder.
"This is only the beginning of course. Within a few week's
time, your restaurant will be flat broke and you'll have to sell it
to...."
Nabiki's sentence trailed off as an outraged Ukyou suddenly
grabbed her collar, lifting her off her feet.
"YOU BITCH!" Ukyou spat at Nabiki as she dangled in the
air. Nabiki seemed perfectly calm dispite being held aloft.
"That's right. Hit me Ukyou. That will really show Ranma
how much you care about him." Nabiki said in a calm voice.
Ukyou froze. She realized she was acting like Shampoo or
Kodachi would. Ranma had no love for Nabiki but would he forgive
her if she taught Nabiki a lesson....?
* -- Dream Sequence
* "How could you!" Ranma screamed at a tearful Ukyou.
"Nabiki's not a martial artist like you! Now she's in the hospital and
Akane's crying and...."*
*B....But Ranchan...."*
*"Don't call me that! I thought you were different but now I
see you're just as crazy as Shampoo and Kodachi! Good-bye Ukyou!
I never want to see a violent girl like you ever again!" Ranma began
to storm out of the Utchan.*
*"R....Ranchan wait! P....please.....DON'T LEAVE ME
ALONE!!!" Ukyou cried out as she fell to her knees.*
Ukyou swallowed hard and stared at Nabiki who merely
gave her a cool gaze in response. Then Ukyou slowly lowered
Nabiki to the ground but kept her grip on Nabiki's collar as she
spoke.
"Fine. I won't hit you. But I'm not going to take this lying
down either. If you want a war, that's fine with me."
Nabiki laughed scornfully. "Oh please! Do you have any
idea how tightly I have this district wrapped around my finger? Are
you THAT ignorant of what goes on around here?
"If you're so sure of your victory then you have nothing to
fear, do you?" Ukyou challenged.
Nabiki smiled. "Typical." She remarked. "Everything is a
battle to you martial artists isn't it? Very well. I accept your
challenge
on one condition. If I win, meaning you beg me to stop ruining your
business, you have to give me and anyone else I choose free
Okonomiyaki for the rest of their lives. Plus a daily percentage of
your restaurant income.
�Fine. And if I win, meaning you apologize to me as my
business continues to flourish, you have to swear that you will
NEVER EVER exploit my Ranchan again for anything, got it?�
"Agreed." Nabiki said as she began to walk away down the
sidewalk. Then she paused and turned back to Ukyou.
"You should know....From this point on, your life as you
know it....is over."
Nabiki let the threat hang in the air for a moment before
she turned and left. Ukyou stared after her as she departed. Then she
tore up Nabiki's board of health signs to shreds and walked back into
her restaurant, a little less confident than before....
* * *
THE NEKOHANTEN
9:00 P.M.
Shampoo tapped her foot impatiently as she glanced at the
clock on the wall. While she hadn't actually set a time for Ranma
to pick her up for their date tonight, it was getting late and she
wanted to have fun out on the town before everything closed down,
including the restaurants.
"Shampoo?"
Shampoo looked over at the kitchen to see her grandmother
giving her a reproachful look. "Son-in-law doesn't appear to be
coming...." Cologne remarked.
"Ranma come for Shampoo soon! Ranma give word of
honor!" Shampoo replied, almost desperately.
"He'd better get here soon. Otherwise I'm putting you
back to work as a waitress." Cologne warned as she handed four
bowls of ramen to Mousse. Mousse gingerly took them and placed
them down on the table where the customers were waiting. Then he
looked over at Shampoo as he thought to himself....
"Hmmm.....perhaps I've misjudged you Saotome....You
decided not to show up for the date after all. Maybe he really doesn't
want to steal Shampoo away from me after all...."
Shampoo continued to stare at the clock every ten seconds as
she impatiently awaited her love's arrival. Then...."
"Yo Shampoo!"
Shampoo immediately jumped to her feet and prepared to
glomp onto the owner of the voice as she rushed towards the figure at
the door.
"AI REN! You come to date...."
Shampoo stopped in mid-stride. She had a look of shock and
dismay on her face as she looked at her fiancee. Mousse turned to face
the door, a look of anger on his face. Then his face suddenly changed
from angry to puzzled. Cologne looked up upon hearing the shout.
Her eyes narrowed and she sighed to herself upon seeing what was at
the door. The restaurant fell silent as the guys began to drool while
the
girls fumed at them.
"R....Ranma....?!" Shampoo stammered.
Ranma-Chan stood in the doorframe of the Nekohanten. She
was wearing a sexy blue dress, low cut to show off plenty of
cleavage and slits down each side similar to Shampoo�s own
dress, showing her creamy white thighs, along with high heels and
a matching purse. She was wearing makeup and her long flowing red
hair was shoulder length, the bindings for her pigtail gone.
Ranma-Chan twirled around in a circle, giggling as she saw the look
of disbelief on Shampoo�s face. "Well, what do you think Shampoo?
Do I look cute enough for you?"
This was too much for the male patrons as they began to
whistle and yell out compliments to Ranma-Chan. Ranma-Chan
smiled and gave them a wink, causing them to go nuts, some of them
even standing up and whistling with both hands. That is until the
women, who had more than enough of being ignored, left the restaurant
in disgust. The guys noticed their girlfriends leaving and followed
them, trying to apologize, only a few single guys remained, their eyes
fixed on the two girls as they waited to see what would happen.
�Wow! I never knew the waitress here was a lesbian!� one
guy whispered to another. �Her date is really hot!�
�That�s why I come here to eat. Great food and the scenery
is fantastic!� the other guy replied with a knowing grin.
As the men continued to drool, Shampoo's jaw dropped as
she pointed an accusing finger at Ranma-Chan. "Shampoo want date
boy-type Ranma! Not girl-type Ranma!" An outraged Shampoo
shouted.
"Sorry to disappoint you Shampoo, but I agreed to take you on
a date. I never said I would do it as a guy." Ranma couldn't help but
smirk at foiling Shampoo's plans.
Shampoo glared daggers at Ranma-Chan. "Shampoo fix
Ranma so you boy-type again!" Shampoo stalked off towards the
kitchen while Cologne gave Ranma a wry smile.
"Very clever Son-In-Law. But my granddaughter will be
back with hot water any moment.
"I've planned ahead." Ranma-Chan said as she pulled a
plastic bottle with a spray nozzle out of her purse. "Anytime
she splashes me with hot water, I use this to change back into a girl
again.
Cologne was impressed. But she also knew Ranma. "Tell
me Son-in-law, who gave you this plan?"
Ranma-Chan gave her a look of irritation. "What makes you
think I didn't think of this one myself?!"
"Because you are a fool, if you'll pardon my saying so. Was
it that mercenary girl then?" Cologne asked.
Ranma-Chan's face reddened with fury. "No, it wasn't
Nabiki! It was...." Ranma-Chan stops herself and shakes her head.
"It's none of your business who told me! The point is Shampoo isn't
going to kiss and hug me as a girl!" Ranma-Chan then turned to face
Mousse. "I hope this convinces YOU once and for all that I don't
want Shampoo!"
"You're still dating her, Saotome, regardless of your gender.
I won't forgive you for that. Besides....it's personal now." Mousse
replied coldly as he assumed a crane battle stance. Just then Shampoo
returned with a kettle of hot water.
"Mousse! What you doing with Ranma?" Shampoo shouted
angrily.
Mousse didn't take his eyes off of Ranma-Chan nor relax his
stance for an instant as he replied, "Showing Saotome once and for all
who your true husband to be is."
Ranma-Chan shook his head in disbelief at Mousse. "You
just don't get it, do you pal? I....DON'T....WANT....SHAMPOO!!!"
"No talk stupid Ranma!" Shampoo said as she approached
her menacingly with the tea kettle, shoving Mousse out of the way as
she did so. "Ranma change back into boy and date Shampoo!"
Ranma-Chan yelped as Shampoo emptied the entire kettle
over her head, changing her back into a guy. Then Shampoo glomped
onto him, trying to place her lips on his own while Ranma hid the
spray bottle behind his back and gently squeezed the trigger a few
times. Shampoo was more than a little surprised when she felt Ranma
grow breasts in a matter of seconds and she stepped back to see Ranma
had changed back into a girl. "Ranma....you....girl again?" She said
in a shocked tone of voice.
"Yep. Guess you can't kiss me now eh? Me being a girl and
all." Ranma-Chan gloated.
""THAT NOT FAIR!!!" Shampoo screamed in fury. Then
she placed her arms around Ranma-Chan and held her tight, causing
Ranma-Chan to drop the spray bottle in surprise. "It no matter!
Shampoo kiss Ranma even if he girl!"
Ranma-Chan immediately paled. "W...Wait a second....You
can't kiss me now! We're both girls!" Ranma-Chan nervously said
as Shampoo grabbed the back of her head and leaned in close for a
kiss. Ranma-Chan swallowed hard as she knew she couldn't
interfere without breaking her word. "Has Ucchan's plan failed after
all?" he wondered to himself as the guys in the restaurant leaned
forward to get a close-up look of what was sure to be one of the
hottest kisses they had ever witnessed....
"SAOTOME!" Mousse roared as he attempted to break the
couple up only to have Shampoo lash back with her fist, catching him
flush in the jaw and sending him flying backwards to hit the wall.
Ranma-Chan's heart began to beat faster with fear as Shampoo
leaned closer for a kiss....the men in the restaurant held their breath.
Unfortunately for them, Shampoo couldn't do it. As much
as she wanted Ranma, she did not like him in girl form and couldn't
bring herself to kiss another girl. She tried several times, her lips
mere millimeters from Ranma-Chan's, driving them crazy, but
she couldn't force herself to close the gap and Ranma wasn't doing
anything to help her along other than offer little resistance. Finally
Shampoo pulled away from Ranma and began to cry.
�Aww man!� The men let out groans of disappointment.
"I....It not fair.....Shampoo love Ranma....Why you hurt
Shampoo like this...."
Ranma-Chan felt a pang of guilt and almost felt sorry for
her but then the image of Shampoo blackmailing her in the shower
reminded him that Shampoo needed to be taught a lesson. Mousse
groggily got to his feet and saw that Shampoo was crying and
immediately jumped to the wrong conclusion as per usual.
"YOU DARE MAKE MY BRIDE CRY!?!? DIE!!!"
"Not again." Ranma-Chan groaned as Mousse unsheathed
his arm blades and starting slashing at her wildly. Ranma-Chan
desperately dodged the deadly weapons, fully aware of what would
happen if she got cut by one of them. Mercifully for her, Cologne
decided to intervene and grabbed the spray bottle she has dropped and
used it on Mousse, turning him back into a duck. Cologne then tried to
grab the duck to place it in its cage only to be surprised when the duck
dropped a smoke pellet from it's beak, emitting a thick black cloud,
concealing him for a brief moment and when the smoke cleared,
Mousse-Duck was out the door, flapping his wings as fast as he could.
"So....Mousse is learning from his past experiences after
all." Cologne remarked as she watched him fly away into the night.
Meanwhile Shampoo continued to cry loudly, acting hurt and sobbing
about only wanting Ranma's love but she soon stopped when she
noticed Ranma-Chan wasn't paying attention to her, instead watching
the door where Mousse-Duck departed.
"RANMA! SHAMPOO HURT! NO LOOK AWAY!"
Shampoo screamed at Ranma-Chan, her eyes streaked with tears.
"Gee. I guess you weren't as hurt as you let on, Shampoo."
Ranma-Chan noted sarcastically. "Look, I appreciate you helping
me with Kodachi and all but I'm not going to let you seduce me, no
matter what you do."
"But you still agreed to take her on a date." Cologne pointed
out.
Ranma-Chan sighed to herself. "I know. Just let me get
my...." Ranma-Chan's voice trailed off as she noticed she no longer
had the spray bottle. "Hey! Give me back my cold water!"
"I'm afraid not." Cologne smiled wryly as Ranma-Chan's
heart sank. "Have a nice date Son-in-law!" Cologne chuckled to
herself as she bounced back into the kitchen.
"HEY!!!" Ranma-Chan started to follow her when Shampoo
grabbed her from behind. "Ranma take Shampoo on date now!"
Shampoo said as she pulled her towards the door. Ranma-Chan
swallowed hard as she realized this date wasn't going to be as easy as
she thought....
* * *
THE TENDO DOUJOU
10:30 P.M.
Akane looked at the gym. It's floor was completely covered
with the remains of bricks and her hands were red and sore from
slicing so many of them over and over again. Akane sighed as she
went to the closet to get a broom....
"Akane....?"
Akane was startled as she whirled around to see Ryouga
Hibiki standing in the doorway....
"Ryouga-kun?"
"Yeah....it's me." Ryouga replied in a quiet voice.
"It's nice to see you again."
A joyous expression crossed Ryouga's face. "Really?"he exclaimed with
delight.
"Yes....It's always nice to see a good friend." Akane
replied with a smile.
Ryouga's smile faded a bit. "T....Thanks. May I come in?"
"Please do." Akane responded. Ryouga walked over and sat down next to
her on the floor.
"So Ranma's dating Shampoo, huh?"
Akane frowned. "Yeah. Not that I care!" she snapped. "Ranma can
marry Shampoo and move to China for all I care! Stupid pervert!"
Ryouga gently placed a hand on Akane's shoulder, trying to
offer her comfort. She doesn't seem to notice as she exclaimed "I
can't believe I was actually worried about him! Here I make him a nice
lunch and he eats Ukyou's lunch instead. Then he goes out on a date
with Shampoo and lets her do whatever she wants! The liar said he has
no interest in Shampoo and yet he keep them hanging! He's such
a....a...."
"Conceited Arrogant Perverted Jerk?" Ryouga finished with a straight
face.
"Yeah!" Akane nodded her assent.
"And those are his better qualities." Ryouga added.
"You said it!" Akane wholeheartedly agreed
Both of them stared at each other for a moment and then broke up
laughing.
Akane smiled brightly at him. "Thank you, Ryouga."
Ryouga smiled confusingly at her. "For what?"
"For making me laugh. Ranma may be an insensitive jerk but you've
always been there to cheer me up when I felt bad."
"No problem. Ryouga assumed a serious expression as he said "I'll
always be there for you Akane."
Akane thinks Ryouga is still kidding around as she replies. "Oh cut
that out you big silly! I'm cheered up now. I'm cheered up real good.
She started to laugh again as Ryouga forced a smile at
her "friend" tag.
"Uh....kidding.....heh heh.....yeah sure." Ryouga faked a laugh while
holding his hand behind his head.
"Well, I guess I'll be going to bed now. It was nice talking to you
Ryouga. I hope you stick around a little longer this time." Akane
smiled as she rose to her feet.
"W....Wait!" Akane paused to look down at him. "I....I wanted to
speak to you about something.
Akane suddenly remembered what Dr. Tofu had said. "I heard you walked
from China to here without stopping. What's so important you couldn't
send me a postcard about?"
Ryouga took a deep breath, every fiber of his being preparing to say
what he has wanted to say since the first day he saw Akane....
"Akane...." He began.... "There's something I have to tell you.
Something I want to get off my chest....
"Yes?" Akane smiled at him.
"Uhhh....well....you see....I was just wondering...."
Ryouga still had no idea how to speak his feelings in front of Akane as
his courage started to fail.
"Go on." Akane looked confused now but still eager to hear what he
wanted to say.
"I....I....I..." Ryouga grimaces and with enormous effort he tries
again. "I was wondering if you...you..."
"What are you trying to say?" Akane was definitely confused now.
"....if you would........umm........that is if you could ever....."
Ryouga begins to falter again.
"Just spill it!" Akane said exasperated.
Ryouga looked deep into Akane's eyes and then after taking a deep
breath, he grasped her hands in his and blurted out. "If you would
like to go out on a date!" Ryouga released the breath he had been
holding and tried to speak normally. "....with me that is....if you want
to...." Ryouga then started to ramble. "..if that's okay with you I
mean I'd understand if you didn't want to and I'll understand completely
if you feel uncomfortable with...."
"A date?" Akane's voice was filled with surprise. "You want to go out
with me?"
"Umm......yes....." Ryouga looked down at the floor while twiddling
his thumbs. "W.....What do you say?"
Akane looked at Ryouga and thought it over in her mind.
While Ryouga had occasionally acted unusual around her, this was the
first time he had asked her for a date. And while she had nothing
against Ryouga, she didn't know if it would be right to...."
Akane shook her head as thoughts of Ranma entered her mind. "Why
should I care what that pervert thinks! He never thinks about me when
he dates Shampoo! Maybe I should date Ryouga, just to teach Ranma a
lesson!
But she couldn't do that to Ryouga. He was her best friend and he
deserved to have his feelings considered. She thought of all the times
Ryouga had defended her against Ranma and that he was one of the few
people who liked her cooking even when no one else did. She felt she
owed him something for being so sweet to her and if he wanted to take
her on a date, why not? It beat sitting home alone at night doing
nothing. Besides, she had never been on a real date before and Ryouga
was the kind of guy she could depend on not to take advantage of her as
Kunou or Mikado most certainly would. So with these things in mind,
Akane made her choice.
"Okay." Akane replied.
Ryouga's eyes grew huge and he grasped Akane's shoulders as he
exclaimed "R....REALLY?!?" Y....YOU'LL GO ON A DATE WITH ME?!?" his
voice trembling with excitement.
"Umm...sure..." Akane nervously replied as she looked around her
frantically. She didn't want her dad hearing about this or he would
raise hell over it. "Just don't spread it around or we'll have everyone
trying to mess it up. Okay?"
"Okay! How about dinner tomorrow at eight?"
"That would be great!" Akane replied.
"I'll see you then and thank you!" Ryouga was almost delirious with
joy as he left the gym, whooping it up as he walked away. Akane smiled
at his reaction. "Too bad Ranma never reacted like that when we go on a
date." Akane sighed as she began to sweep the gym floor again. When
she finished, she returned the broom back to it's resting place, dumped
the bricks in the garbage with the other broken pieces and walked out
the door, shutting off the light behind her. Akane then walked towards
the stairs that lead to her room when she noticed a light on in the
kitchen.
"Oneechan?" Akane called to the figure inside. Kasumi turned around,
dressed in her nightgown as she cheerfully replied. "I noticed you were
still up so I thought I'd make you some warm milk to help you sleep.
"Oh, you didn't have to." Akane felt guilty at worrying her sister so.
"Don't worry about me Akane. I'm glad to help out." Kasumi replied as
she carefully poured the milk from the pan into a glass and handed it to
Akane. She gratefully accepted it.
"Thank you." Akane said as she drained the glass, the warmth of the
milk, traveling down her throat and into her stomach, filling her with a
warm soothing feeling inside. "I guess I'll be going to bed now...."
"Goodnight Akane. Pleasant dreams." Kasumi said as Akane walked
upstairs to her room and shut the door. She then peeled off her
training gi and put on her yellow pajamas. She wished she could have
taken a shower before she went to bed but with the hot water bills being
what they were, taking more than one bath or shower a day was a
forbidden luxury....
As Akane crawled into her bed she wished P-Chan was there to comfort
her. As she lay back on her bed with her hands behind her head, she
began to think about her upcoming date with Ryouga and wondered if she
should have said yes....
"Why am I so worried about this? Akane thought to herself. Ryouga is a
perfect gentleman and much more mature than Ranma. He doesn't flirt
with three different girls, he doesn't dress like a woman to tease
somebody and he doesn't call me a uncute sexless tomboy. He's not like
Ranma at all...."
Akane felt her eyes growing heavy as she began to drift off, her
thoughts fading as she fell into a deep sleep....
* * *
Had Akane looked out the window before she fell asleep, she may have
spotted a boy wearing a bandanna doing cartwheels and flips on the lawn
and looking happier than he had ever been in his entire life. Then he
looked up at the moon in the sky and noticed it was growing close to
midnight. Ryouga put his thoughts of Akane aside for the moment as he
made his way towards the stone bridge....
As he left the Tendo home, he failed to notice someone watching him
from the window across from Akane's room.
"I wonder what's he's so happy about?" Nabiki wondered to herself as
she turned off the light in her room and drifted off to sleep, her last
thoughts of Ukyou and how Nabiki would bring her to her knees,
financially....
TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 5 PAGE 3 COMING SOON....