Chapter 7: Come And Ride The Limo, Come And Ride It...

	Akane was fiddling with the corsage Ryoga had given her.  He had somehow
also picked it up before he came here.  It was a simple thing, but no less
beautiful.  "Fire and Ice, I think that's what they call it," she thought.  A
mix of white and red roses, mixed with a small background of leaves and
baby's breath.
	She had herself given Ryoga a butane with a single white rose, a short stem
and few leaves, with sparse amounts of baby's breath.
	So far, the night was going alright.  After Ryoga and Ranma finished
dressing, they had come downstairs where Kasumi happily took numerous
pictures of her and Ryoga, and all three of them together.  However, Ranma
was less than enthusiastic about the pictures.  Nabiki took some too, but she
had a feeling Kuno would be getting his hands on the pictures of her soon
enough.  She wondered how Amy could put up with that idiot.
	"Wow," she thought, "I've never been in a limo before.  This is great!"  She
felt the leather interior with her gloved hand.  Even though this was one of
the cheaper limo's, nobody in their party had too much to spend, this was
still very impressive to her.  The limo was a sleek black, and had two rows
of seats facing each other.  Tinted glass surrounded them, and a piece of
opaque glass separated the front seats from the back.  She felt like she was
living the highlife, even if it was just for a night.
	She looked across the limo to see Ranma sitting there with his arms crossed,
staring away from her and Ryoga.  "What was his problem anyways?  He has no
good reason to be so grumpy, if anyone should be mad, it's me," thought
Akane.  And then she realized something.  She wasn't mad, this evening has
been going along great.
	She looked to the man whose hand she was holding.  Ryoga and Ranma were
wearing completely identical tuxedo's.  Standard black slacks, a double
breasted coat, silver bow tie to match with the silver vest, and a colarless
white shirt.  Ryoga was just sitting there with a nervous look on his face.
 It looked like a million thoughts were flying through his head now.  Akane
thought it was cute how nervous he was.  "Funny.  I'm not mad, but how come
I'm not happy either?" she wondered.

	Ranma quickly jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped at the Nekohauten.
 He put the dozen red roses he had brought behind his back as he knocked on
the closed door of the Nekohauten.  Before he knew it, Shampoo had opened the
door and wrapped her arms around him.
	Shampoo was clad in a very tight black Chinese dress.  Gold lining traced
the dress, as well as sketch a dragon pattern.  The dress had a long slit all
the way up her left leg, and the clasps to the dress were fastened across her
upper chest from the upper left down to the right.  Her hair was done in its
usual fashion, but gold clips and braids decorated her hair.  Other gold
jewelry were also part of her attire.  As she stepped back, Ranma noticed her
black and gold high heels.
	"Here Shampoo, these are for you," Ranma says as he hands her the bouquet of
roses.  "And this too," as he brings out a corsage.
	"Ai ya, Wo da ai len!" gushes Shampoo as she holds on to Ranma tightly.
 "Ranma, you put on Shampoo wrist?"
	"I guess," Ranma said unenthusiastically.  He slips the assortment of red
roses, tangled design of leaves, and baby's breath onto her wrist.  "There
you go."
	"And Shampoo give this to Ranma," chirps Shampoo as she brings a red rose
boutonniere out and begins to pin it onto Ranma's coat.
	"You were late by five minutes son in law," complains Cologne as she steps
out of the restaurant.  "Were there any problems?"
	"Lucky I showed up," muttered Ranma.
	"What you say Ranma!" shouted Shampoo.
	"No, I didn't say anything..., um where's Mousse?  We should be going to
Ucchan's soon," digressed Ranma.
	"Darling Shampoo, these are for you!" cry out burst out Mousse as he came
running down the street.  Mousse had apparently run down to the boutique to
get some flowers after he had put on his tux, and was now rushing towards
Shampoo with a dozen red roses.  His tux was only single breasted, but had a
brilliant black bow tie and vest with metallic purple writing on both of
them.
	Neither Ranma nor Shampoo had to stop him as he ran into a sign post
himself.
	"Stupid Mousse, you give those flowers to stupid spatula girl!" scolded
Shampoo.  She then turned to Ranma.  "We leave now?"
	"Hold on a second first, let us capture this moment forever," commanded
Cologne as she brought a camera.
	Akane and Ryoga were about to get out of the car for the pictures, but
Cologne quickly said "Only Ranma and Shampoo's picture need be taken."
	Akane growled as she returned to the car, while Shampoo laughed as she
hugged onto Ranma tightly.

	"Okay daddy, do you understand what you need to do right now?" asked Nabiki.
	"Yes, I think I do.  It's just been awhile.  I start off slowly, and then
increase the speed while I move this, correct?" replied Soun.  "And listen to
the sound she makes to know when to go faster, right?"
	"That's right dad.  Or you can look at your RPM meter to know when to change
gears.  Okay dad, don't wreck this car, I don't think our insurance will
cover it," cautioned Nabiki as she got out of the green Subaru Impreza.
	"It's just been such a long time since I've been driving, that's all.  Heh,
heh, it sure was nice of the school footing for the rental car wasn't it
Saotome?"
	Genma was standing on the side walk on the passenger side, with Kasumi next
to him.  "It sure was nice of them," smiled Genma.  "They should give you a
F50 for chaperoning that dance," muttered Genma.
	"Remember daddy, put the car on neutral when you stop, use the parking brake
when you park, and when the RPM hits the red zone, change gears."
	"Yes, yes, I think I've got the hang of it now Nabiki.  Okay, I'm off to
pick up Ms. Hinako all, wish your father luck girls!  And don't worry Genma,
I'll make sure Ranma and Akane get together at least once this night."
	"C'ya dad."
	"Drive carefully father, and don't forget to fasten your seatbelts."
	"Get Ranma and Akane away from their dates if it kills you!"
	As soon drove off, the car stalled a few feet away.  He restarted the car,
only to have it stall again at the corner stop sign.  The car jerked and
stalled until it was beyond the horizon.
	"Hmmm," Genma thought.  "I'm not so sure about this.  Having him go with
Hinako might not have been the best idea in the world.  He might have his
hands to full to deal with the children.  Perhaps there is something I could
do..." 
	Genma then began laughing out loud.  "Of course, I've got it!"
	Nabiki and Kasumi looked at him strangely.  "Oh Mr. Saotome.  Are you
feeling left out of the fun?" inquired Kasumi.

	Mousse walked roughly into Ucchans, and blurted "Hey, don't make me wait for
you, let's just get the hell out of here."  He then noticed Ukyou. 
	Ukyou was sitting on one of her stools, her head resting on her hand,
shaking her leg violently, and just looking all around impatient.
	Mousse was taking aback for a moment by the sight of Ukyou.  The smooth skin
of her shoulders were revealed by her black strapless dress.  The dress
hugged her body down to the legs.  Her shaking leg revealed much of the slit
in the dress.  She was decked with diamond jewelry, from her necklace,
bracelet, ankle bracelet, to her diamond earrings.  Her hair was now fully
up, and styled in a French twist.
	"Hey there, duck boy!  What are you staring at!  Snap out of it and let's
get going!" yelled Ukyou as she broke Mousse out of his daze.
	"What?  Oh yeah, let's get going," he said as he shook his head.  "Here,
these are for you, but I bought them for Shampoo," he lamented as he tossed
her the roses.
	"Gee, thanks," replied Ukyou as she tossed the roses backwards in no
specific direction.  "Oh yeah, take this."
	Mousse caught the box containing the boutonniere in his hands.  It was a
pretty cheap red rose, without much decoration.  In fact, it looked like an
ordinary rose that just got clipped near the head...
	"You could have at least spent SOME money," complained Mousse.  "I did," he
told her as he threw her the box with the corsage.
	Ukyou looked at the ugly purple thing.  It was just a mash of purple roses
with vines of leaves.  "Apparently you didn't spend much!" shouted Ukyou.
	"Yeah, yeah, yeah, let's just get this damn night overwith," replied Mousse.
	"That's the only thing we're going to agree on tonight," snapped Ukyou.
	Both of them went outside into the limo.
	Akane and Ukyou greeted each other as she got into the car, while Shampoo
was busy hugging Ranma.  All three of the guys ignored each other.
	Ukyou plopped herself down by Ranma instead of Mousse, and began hugging his
other arm.
	"What you do spatula girl!  Go sit by own date!" shouted Shampoo.
	"There's no room on the other side!  There's only three people per row, so
stop complaining!"
	"You no raise voice at Shampoo," she threatened as she let go of Ranma and
moved closer to Ukyou.
	"I'll raise my voice to you if I want to you hussy," snapped back Ukyou.
	Akane was all too quick to get in-between the two.  "Stop!" she yelled.
 "Look, we're all going to get one rule straight right now, and that's NO
FIGHTING this night!  Understand!  If anybody is going to fight, you'd better
make sure I'm not around!  And especially DON'T MESS UP THE LIMO!  This car
isn't ours you know!" ordered Akane.  "So, are we all in agreement here?"
	Ukyou and Shampoo sank back into their seats with a "Hmph!" as they stared
wickedly at each other.  The guys all just nodded their heads lazily.
	Akane wasn't sure if she got through to everybody, but at least it was calm
now.  "Driver, take us to La Fromage Guerre now please."

Chapter 8: Not So Fine Dining

	Amy sat sheepishly in the limo.  Kodachi was looking as unpleasant as she
ever was, Jinnai gave her the spooks, and Kuno was babbling some nonsense she
wasn't really inclined to listen to.  "Why did I do this?  Why did I decide
to accept that idiots offer," she cursed to herself.  "Amy, you're too nice,
that's the problem.  Just telling this guy to shove off would be the best way
to handle this."
	She turned to look at Kuno.
	"And like the mother bird protecting it's nest, I shall shield you from the
prying eyes of...," and so on Kuno babbled.
	Amy rolled her eyes and turned to see the wicked stare of Kodachi.  Chills
went up her spine
	"Just what is wrong with you to want to go anywhere with my brother?" shot
Kodachi.
	"Um, I don't understand...," she lied.
	"You know perfectly well that my brother is insane.  I could understand
Nabiki going with him, she's a gold digger, but are you really that deranged
to like my brother?"
	"Let your tongue be still sister!" barked Kuno.  "Least I am forced to
remove it with my blade!"
	Jinnai quickly stood up, as much as he could in the limo, and approached
Kuno.  "Do not threaten the lovely Kodachi.  Brother or no brother, I shall
not accept crude behavior towards her!"
	Before Kuno could shove his bokken down his throat, Kodachi had smashed the
top of Jinnai�s head in with a club.
	"I do not need you to defend me pale skin!"
	Amy saw this happening a mile away.  When she got into the limo with these
crazies, she knew it'd erupt into a royal rumble before too long.  And she
was normally so logical too, what was wrong with her?
	"Mr. Kuno, we're there," the driver pronounced.
	Amy let out a sigh of relief.  They had been saved by the bell.
	The car rested and Amy looked out the window.  In her anxiety, she hadn't
even noticed where they were.  She at first wasn't sure if this was what she
thought it was, but the thundering sound of engines confirmed her suspicions.
	"Kuno, why are we...," but Kuno cut her off before she could finish.
	Kuno and Jinnai were attempting to push themselves out of the car first, and
getting jammed in the door in their attempt.
	"Base villain, my date doth a goddess herself, she should be the first to
step upon the red carpet!"
	"Aaaaahuahuahua!  What a preposterous thing to say!  I must make way for the
lovely Kodachi first!"
	Kodachi, ignoring the other two, opened the door on the other side and
walked out with a "hmph!"
	Amy shook her head slowly and followed her out.  As she stood up, she looked
around the dusk sky and felt the roar of an airplane pass overhead.  They
were at a private airport.  "Did Kuno really book a private plane just for
dinner?" she wondered.  If he did, she had to say, this was really something
nice.  Her impression soured when she looked to talk to Kuno and saw him
still shoving Jinnai.
	"Will thou malnutritioned ghost concede defeat already!"
	Amy shivered at the sound of Jinnai�s cackling laughter again.

	The limo pulled to a stop in front of a walkway leading into a restaurant.
 A high, white fence, with foliage leaking through it, framed the walkway.  A
sign posted on the fence read "School of Cheese, Bread, and Wine Martial
Arts." A burgundy tarp covered the path into the restaurant, and on the front
of it, Le Fromage de Combat was written in gold cursive.  Looking through the
tinted windows, everyone knew why they couldn't afford a stretch limo; this
place was going to cost them an arm and a leg.  But it was the only fancy
restaurant that any of them knew that wasn't booked, so they had little
choice.
	The door on the right popped open as the driver opened the way to the
restaurant.  Ryoga was the first out, and nervously took hold of Akane's hand
to lead her out of the limo.  His hand was shaking ridiculously, and Akane's
arm was waving wildly as she was led out of the car.  She grabbed a hold of
Ryoga's hand with both of hers, and her whole body then started to vibrate.
	"Ryoga!  Calm down," demanded Akane as she gently started to rub his hand.
	"Heheheh...," stammered Ryoga as his whole face turned a bright red.  He
could feel the pressure building in his nose again, and it took every ounce
of his martial arts to keep himself from snapping.
	Next out of the car was Mousse, and he roughly grabbed a hold of Ranma's
hand.  "Come on Ukyou, get out of the car already..., have you gained weight
Ukyou?" asked Mousse as he tried to pull Ranma out of the car.  His grip on
Ranma's hand was broken when Ukyou smacked her purse against his head,
sending him flailing to the ground.
	"I told you to wear contacts today!" roared Ukyou as she stepped out of the
limo and used Mousse's head as a step.
	Ranma was the last male to step out of the car, and he casually took a hold
of Shampoo's hands and led her out of the limo as well.  Like Ukyou, she also
decided to make use of Mousse's head as a step.
	"Ranma such a gentleman," informed Shampoo as she quickly wrapped Ranma's
arms around hers.
	Mousse let out a low groan as his face was pressed against the cement
walkway again.
	"Gentleman?  Hmph," sneered Akane as she turned from Ranma and Shampoo and
wrapped her arm around Ryoga's.  "Come on, let's get inside, we're already
late."
	Ryoga let out a low hysterical laugh again as his whole stopped shaking and
froze.
	"Driver, we'll be back soon, go take a breather," instructed Ranma.
	After Ryoga regained the flow of blood to his brain, and Ukyou had peeled
Mousse off the sidewalk, the couples walked towards the restaurant entrance
arm in arm, albeit somewhat unenthusiastically.
	"This place is beautiful," remarked Akane as her eyes came across the
beautiful green garden surrounding the walkway to the restaurant.  As they
came to the entrance, they had to walk around a magnificent water fountain.
 Ranma put his hand on the door handle to open the door but...
	The doors burst open as a man dressed in black and white flew out of them
and landed into the fountain.  Everybody except Akane and Ukyou quickly
leaped for cover by some nearby bushes to avoid the splash.
	"Ryoga, what are you afraid of ?" questioned Akane, as Ryoga peeked his head
over the bushes.
	"Um, just making sure..., um...," stuttered Ryoga as he tried to think of
something to say, but the sight of another waiter flying out of the
restaurant interrupted them.
	"What's going in there," asked Ranma as he flew out from behind the bushes
to the front of the open doors.
	Inside, he saw a number of waiters apparently fighting an enormous man
wearing a white kimono, carrying a large number of wooden signs in his arms,
and possessing the most swollen lips in the world.  It was the dojo
destroyer.
	One waiter yelled a battle cry as he flung china at the enormous man, and
another flung silverware against the same monster. 
	The destroyer laughed as the projectiles bounced off him harmlessly.  He
then flung a wooden sign knocking a waiter flying backwards into the kitchen.
 With his arm, he grabbed a hold of another waiter's head and slammed him
against a cluster of black and white waiters on the otherside of the room.
	"Kyaaaa!" screamed a man dressed in white as he jumped from behind a counter
to confront the destroyer.  He was decked in a chef's garb.
	As the confrontation between the chef and destroyer was about to commence, a
battered waiter crawled to Ranma's feet, and used him as a prop to get up.
	"Nous sont fermer," wheezed the waiter before he collapsed at his feet.
	Mousse was the first to ask "what did he say?"
	"We are... we are closed," gasped Akane.
	The chef was pounded into the ground by the bushel of signs.  The destroyer
let out a low laugh before he began to storm out.
	Ranma and co. moved out of his way as he barged out, leaving giant
footprints in his path.  As he reached the end of the gateway, he grabbed the
"School of French, Bread, and Wine sign," and ripped it off the wall and
added it to his collection of signs.
	As the shock finally set in to everyone, they all realized what had
happened.  They weren't going to be dining at this restaurant today.
	"Damn, those French aren't good for anything besides eating cheese and
drinking wine.  What made them think they knew any martial arts," commented
Ranma.
	As everyone then stood still from shock, Akane broke the stillness by
grabbing a hold of Ranma's collar and shaking him violently.
	"Who's fault is this!  Who's stupid idea was to come to this restaurant in
the middle of nowhere of all the restaurant's in Japan!  Was it your idea to
come to the a place called the fighting cheese!" screamed Akane as she
slammed Ranma roughly against the wall.
	Ranma was completely taken aback by Akane's strength.  Even Shampoo was so
shocked she didn't react for a few seconds.
	"Stupid tomboy let go of Shampoo date," warned Shampoo as she approached
Akane.
	"Back off bitch," hissed Akane as she continued to press Ranma against the
wall.
	"Akane, listen you dumb macho chick, it wasn't my fault!" shouted Ranma as
he broke her grip on his shirt.  "In fact, if I remember correctly..."
	"I mentioned this place," exasperated a very shocked Ryoga.  He was still
staring into the wrecked restaurant.  He was more frozen then everybody else.
 "I... I came about this place while I was lost once.  I thought... it was a
nice place."
	Ryoga snapped out of his trance and looked like he was about to cry.  "I...
I'm sorry, Akane, I ruined your night.  I don't deserve to be your date!" he
cried as he prepared to run off.  He was abruptly stopped when Akane grabbed
his arm.
	Akane seemed to calm down a bit as she told him, "it's... it's alright
Ryoga.  I guess, I guess we can eat elsewhere."  It seemed to take every
ounce of her energy to calm herself down.
	"Oh really?" interrupted Ukyou.  "Tell us where we can find another place to
eat."

	Amy admired the beautiful night skyline of Okinawa from their restaurant.
 It was a lavish restaurant that sat atop a skyscraper, and the windows
wrapping around the entire place was used to enhance the effect of its
rotation.  From their window seat, they could see all of Okinawa spin around
them.  She thought it was somewhat extravagant of Kuno to fly them such a
short distance, but this was Kuno.
	"Kuno, this is beautiful," Amy said as she turned to look at her date.  Her
date was busy making the waiter miserable.
	"Is my appearance not obvious to your feeble mind that I am indeed 21, and
perfectly within drinking age?  Bah, my federal identification is not
necessary for me to purchase from this wine list!  Will you not make haste
and simply bring me my Chardinay already?  Am I not paying good money for
this?" barked Kuno as he shoved his bokken against the waiters face.
	"I'm sorry sir, but I'll get fired if I sell drinks to minors..."
	"Aaaaaaahauhauhauhauhau," laughed Jinnai at Kuno's failure.
	"One would think your life would have greater value than this pathetic
occupation," threatened Kuno.  "And pale skin, shut your aperture."
	Amy gently put a hand on Kuno's arms, and slowly lowered it as to give the
waiter some breathing space.  "Kuno, it's okay, we don't need liquor."  She
then looked up to the waiter.  "Can we have a bottle of apple-cranberry cider
though?"
	"Hmph," sneered Kuno.  "Thou has been granted a reprieve from my swift blade
thanks to this goddess at my side, but do not dare question the kendo master
ever again!"
	Kodachi rolled her eyes.  "Thank you Amy dear, perhaps we can FINALLY order
now?  Waiter, give me the most expensive thing you have."
	Everyone gave their orders, and the waiter was all too eager to walk away
from the insane table.  Jinnai then slowly motioned to Kuno and whispered to
him, "Next time, try bribing them with money instead of violence.  You'd be
surprised by the results."

	"Yes, I'd like a #6, a #2, a crispy chicken, and a chocolate milkshake,"
ordered Ranma as he pulled a wad of yen out of his pocket.
	"And what would you like to drink with that?" cheerfully asked the teal clad
McDonalds cashier.
	"Um, cokes with both of them," answered Ranma.
	After he had gotten his order, he rejoined the rest of the party sitting at
a table.  Mousse seemed to be the only person really eating, stuffing chicken
nuggets down his throat.  Everyone else were just slowly nibbling on their
fries, except for Akane.  She wasn't eating at all.  Ranma sat down and
handed Shampoo her #2, and shoveled the rest of the food down in seconds.
	"Akane, I'm really sorry for this...," apologized Ryoga, still feeling like
dirt for screwing up.
	Akane sighed.  "It's not your fault Ryoga.  I know you didn't plan on this
to happen.  But I guess the dinner's not really important, I'm sure
everything will work out at the dance."
	"Ha!  That's wishful thinking," uttered Ranma through his stuffed mouth.
 "We'll be lucky if a nuclear missile doesn't hit us."
	Before Akane could smack him for his comments, Shampoo had already propped
her hands on Ranma's face and turned it towards her.  "Ranma, you take that
back.  Ranma have better faith on tonight or you make Shampoo mad," she
snapped.
	"S're," squeaked Ranma through squished cheeks.  When she released her grasp
of his face, he said, "Well, at least we saved alot money for dinner.  Not to
mention the service hear is fast, if not anything else."
	"Hey Mousse, save some of those fries for me," yelled Ukyou as she tugged
the fries away from him.
	"Hey, I paid for those," replied Mousse as he made a grab for them.  "Ow,"
he yelped as Ukyou slammed her fist down on his palm.
	"You're supposed to pay for dinner you jackass!  You should've been paying a
small fortune for dinner at that other place!"
	"Hey, maybe we should invite the driver in here.  He's looking kind of bored
outside in the limo," suggested Ryoga.
	"I don't think we should leave the limo out there all by itself in this
neighborhood," added Ranma.
	"Shampoo no care about dinner, Shampoo happy just being with Ranma."  She
then hugged Ranma's arm tightly.
	Again, before Akane could act, Ukyou had slammed Mousse's head against the
plastic seat between Ranma and Shampoo.
	The two of them were all too quick to get into a shouting match again.
 Akane had no interest in this and just gazed out the window; past the big
yellow arch, to see the stars.  "Where did it all go wrong," wondered Akane.
 "I never imagined my junior prom dinner taking place at McDonalds of all
places.  Why does everything around me always go crazy?"  Thinking about her
question, she turned to stare at Ranma, who was pouring milk shake into his
mouth.  "It all starts with him.  Him and all his crazy friends, that's what.
 I should have went with one of the normal people from my school that asked
me, like Yakamo.  He's a nice boy, and I'm sure no dojo destroyers are
interrupting his dinner."  She then turned to look at Ryoga, who still had
his head hanged low.  "But Ryoga's not a bad person, he didn't mean to screw
up.  He's NOT like Ranma."  And then a realization hit her.  "I forgot I
wanted to go with Ranma in the first place.  And god help me, I still do..."
	Ranma messily wiped the chocolate off his face with a napkin, and then
declared, "okay everybody, I'm done.  Let's get out of this dump and go to
the prom."

*Author's Notes: Okay, the entire flow of my writing has been thrown for a
loop these past few weeks.  I got some bad case of writer's block, and these
last five pages took me three weeks to write.  Maybe what was so hard about
writing this was the fact that I had NO FIGHTING in the last two chapters.
 At least, none involving Ranma and co.  But, I am happy to say that two of
those pages were written today, so it finally looks like I've gotten over my
writer's block.  And with the prom itself FINALLY arriving, I have alot to
look forward to write.  I'm still shooting to finish this up before the month
ends, and if I've gotten my knack back, I don't see why I won't.  The next
part we finally get to see some dancing, so have your bids ready, as the
story hits its namesake.  One quick thing to add, the fanfic@fanfic.com ML
has been giving me alot of grief recently, and I really can't say I know why
(I'm not pointing any fingers!).  I do send out all my fanfics to a number of
people on my own ML, and if you want to insure getting my stuff, e-mail me at
chihokodan@aol.com with Subject line subscribe and your address.  Oh, and
before I forget, PLEASE e-mail all comments to the same address.