I pisked this up after... I don't know how long. It's rather
sappy and cheesy and fairly simple, but I thought it needed more of an
end than I had given it before. (I think Ranma sounds a bit too
intelligent in this, but I think if you give the characters a chance to
grow up, they could be pretty decent people)
Green-Eyed Monster
"This is Ken." I smiled. I liked Ken a lot.
Ranchan, on the other hand, looked less than impressed.
"Hi," he said noncommitally.
Ken was nervous, sweating rivers. He barely got out a
greeting in return. "Hi..."
That was my cue. "So who's up for some freebies?" That
would get Ranchan; he never turned down free food. This time he
seemed unenthused.
"Thanks, Ucchan, but I've got other things to do," he
said, rising from his stool. "Maybe I'll see ya later." He gave
a half-hearted wave and walked out.
So much for that. Sometimes Ranchan can be so
thick-headed. I looked at Ken, who was still nervous. "How 'bout
you Ken? You want something?" I must be attracted to guys who
can't turn down free food.
"Sure," he answered, loosening up. He smiled a little; I
liked to see Ken smile.
I had warned him Ranchan could be a little... Well, kind
of a macho pig at times, and that he shouldn't take anything
personally. I guess I didn't count on Ranchan taking it so badly.
I always knew Ranchan was *slightly* possessive, but he had
nothing to be upset over.
So I started to get mad. Damn it. I had made the
sacrifice, I had agreed to give him up as my fiance, and now that
I had found someone, he decided he wanted to keep me? I frowned
and started mixing the batter with a fury.
I know I wasn't always the most rational, forward thinking
person, sometimes I could get just a bit violent... But I like to
think that once I let something go, I could let it go forever. I
liked to think that I had matured. I suppose Ranchan hadn't.
Cooking, something I could do if I was asleep, was also my
'therapy'. I had time to think when I was cooking, but this time
I was just mad.
Ranchan pushed me on that date with Ryoga; Ranchan pushed
me to find someone else. I convinced myself that I needed to get
on with my life and Ranchan had seemed all for it. Too bad he
couldn't get over it.
"Hey, Ukyo," Ken's voice came from behind me.
I stopped what I was doing, realized I had been zoning.
"Coming right up, Ken," I said, pushing down the anger.
"I'm sorry about Ranchan. He's not usually so rude."
Well, most of the time. "He just hasn't grown up." I turned and
set the plate in front of Ken.
"The whole fiance thing?"
"Right. It just makes me mad that he thinks he's some
sort of... What's the word?"
"Pimp?"
I stared at Ken. Then I giggled. If only Ranchan had
heard that. The one aspect that Ranchan really hated about his
life, all the girls, and he had just been accused of doing it
professionally. I started laughing harder, Ken's smile growing
wide.
"I think Ranchan would hurt you if he heard you say that,"
I said, between fits of laughter.
Ken suddenly stopped laughing. "Are you serious?"
I just couldn't stop laughing. Ranchan as a pimp. The
idea was so absurd. I could only nod to Ken.
"Ukyo, I don't want to be hurt. I think Ranma could very
easily bend me in half."
I nodded again, the laughter starting to slow. Ken was so
silly.
"Come on, Ken. Eat up. And I won't let Ranchan hurt you,
even if he is a possessive, thick-headed, macho twit."
Get A Life
"I need advice."
"So why did you come to me? I thought you were mad at
me."
"I could never be mad at you."
"Then why did you act like that last week?"
"Act like what?"
"Come on, Ranchan. Don't play stupid. You treated Ken
like he was an inanimate object. And you acted like I was made of
cold water."
"I don't know..."
"Please. If you're going to be like this, why don't you
just leave. I have more important things to do than take your
crap then help you out when you get yourself in trouble." I
didn't like being angry at Ranchan, but he had to know I wouldn't
be his floormat.
Apparently, I got through to him. He had a funny look on
his face; it appeared to be disbelief. His mouth worked a little,
then his face fell. "You're right, Ucchan. I'm sorry."
Well maybe he was growing up. It was a start.
"You know I just don't think that guy's good enough."
"You'll never think anyone's good enough. I know you
tried to dump Ryoga on me so he'd stop hanging around Akane."
He looked down, his face getting a little red.
"I don't need you to act like my father. I'm perfectly
capable of living my own life. I think it's about time you tried
the same."
"What? You're saying I can't live my own life? I've been
living my own life for the past year; and it hasn't been easy."
"You've been going through the motions, meddling with
other people's lives. Worry about yourself for once. I don't
know why you can't leave well enough alone."
"Are you kidding? If it was possible, you know I'd say
'see ya' to the entire mob and spend my days sleeping in a
hammock."
Well, I suppose it wasn't ALL his fault. But enough was
to make me annoyed at his innocent act. "All right, Ranchan. So
what's your problem?"
"Well, ya see..." He scratched the back of his head and
looked at the counter. "There's this girl I like... But we
always fight and I can never say what I mean. And there's this
other girl who's always been my best friend... And sometimes I
treat her bad. I'm just no good with girls. Can you help?"
END
--
Lara
o------------------------------------------------------------------o
| Danger! Thrills! Guns! What more could a gamer want than Tomb |
| Raider? In it, you play hacker dream date Lara Croft (packs |
| heat, back flips, has improbable breasts), as she leaps, swims, |
| and shoots her way through various lushly depicted exotic |
| labyrinths. There's not much brain-work required here -- just |
| keyboarding -- but it's hard not to be entertained by Lara's |
| derring-do. You go, girl! |
| --- Newsweek |
o------------------------------------------------------------------o
lara@emunix.emich.edu |
http://emuaxp.emich.edu/~lt_bartram