One Hour: Part 2


  This is a story involving the characters and situations nominally 
represented in Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma 1/2 series. All related 
characters are copywritten by her, and all those distributing 
companies that promote her work.

  This is the second installment of my 1 hour challenge. This took a 
little more thinking than the last.  (Talk about an understatement!)

  One Hour, part 2
    Second hour

  This guy called 'Kaneda' who said he was Akane just pulled my arm 
with him. Off balance and kept there by this guy, I could only think. 
Before you say "Wow, Ranma thinks!", I'll have you know that I think 
lots. 
  Just not before I open my mouth.
  Look, I know what my problems are. That doesn't mean I can always 
help it, ya know?
  Anyway, this 'Kaneda' just got me outside the Tendo's wall when I 
planted my feet. Normally I would just pull my hand from the grip, but 
I wanted his attention.
  He had quite a head of steam and almost pulled me off my feet a 
second time. Almost.
  "What the hell is going on here?" 
  "I'll tell you later. Right now, we are going elsewhere." Then the 
smile came over his face. Nabiki all over. Brrr!
  "I don't think that your father really could take you going out on a 
date with another guy, could he?"
  A minute must have passed while my jaw hung open. I could believe 
this! When did _this_ happen?
  "Come on, we are going to be late! Let's go!"
  Again he grabbed my arm, and wind pulled at my hair. (Not that it 
really matters, I am a guy after all, but I could _tell_ that we were 
pushing the sound barrier.)
  We stopped at a rather nice resturant. It was exactly the kind of 
place that I avoid when eating out. All the people I know wouldn't 
mind trashing the place to get to me.
  So here sat 'Kaneda' across the table from me. I couldn't read him 
at all. I noticed that his breathing slowed slightly and the pulse at 
his neck was barely noticable. He seemed to be calm, but I couldn't be 
sure. He really didn't act like Akane.
  "Later is now. Give it up."
  His face told me that this was a sore subject, and he really didn't 
want to talk about it.
  He opened his mouth as if to say something, but was saved by the 
waitress.
  "Good afternoon. Thank you for choosing our resturant. Would you 
like to view our menu?"
  "Thank you, I would like that very much."
  I couldn't believe this guy was flirting with the waitress. The girl 
was eating it up with a soup ladle. If this was Akane, I was not certain 
that I could take this.
  The waitress handed him a menu, and took a little long giving me 
mine. I could actually feel my ebrow twitching.
  Right when she got out of hearing distance, "What is going on here."
  Kaneda just _looked_ at me. I looked for a second head.
  "This is just something that has been burning in the back of my 
mind."
  "WHAT! TURNING INTO A GUY?"
  Kaneda actually had the gall to turn a little red and put his hand to 
his face.
  "Ya know, I really wanted a low profile here. Please, don't shout 
like that."
  Then I noticed all those others looking at us. Correction, looking 
at ME.
  "Whaddaya all lookin' at! Mind your own BUSINESS!"
  "Great, you keep on calling _me_ a tomboy. Then you do this. Gee, I 
wonder." Kaneda was slouched in his chair, his hand covering his face.
  "So are you going to tell me, or do we play a loud twenty 
questions." This had gone on too long already.
  Kaneda sighed heavily. "Well, I know that everybody says that I do not 
think. Usually that is the case, when it is you.
  "Anyway, I started thinking about you one time. Specifically how 
your curse affected you. You know, there have been times that you did 
act like a girl."
  The waitress interupted Kaneda. I mostly didn't notice. I acted like 
a girl? There have been some fuzzy parts to my memory, but I usually 
put that off to being wacked by Akane's mallet too often.
  "Psst, Ranko!" I shook my head to clear it. "Pull out your 
pig-tail!"
  Blinking a couple times, "Why?"
  Kaneda pointed over my shoulder,"Over there is Kunou. If he sees 
you, then it's all over for a chance to explain."
  Where did Kaneda learn to push buttons? Slowly I reached up to my 
bound hair and pulled on the tie. With a few quick movements my hair 
fell over my back, still a little damp from all the quick dunks.
  "Happy?"
  Kaneda smiled. "Much better."
  There. 
  That was all Akane. I relaxed a little, now knowing who it was that 
I was with. Then I tensed a little because I knew so little 
about,"What is going on?"
  The waitress came back with our drinks. I got the feeling that she 
was trying to come onto Akane. That really is not the thing to do. I 
simply gritted my teeth.
  "Like I said, I started thinking about how you hate being a girl. 
How it is such an affront to your masculinity. But you repeatedly went 
around as a girl when convienient. Conning Kunou sempai out of house 
and home, at least boat and fortune. Getting food, getting out of 
trouble, several instances really."
  Then the waitress came up with the food. It's like she wanted to get 
in on the conversation. GO AWAY BITCH! I am having a talk with my 
Fiancee!
  "Relax Ran..ko. Don't be giving yourself a coronary."
  "Don't 'Ranko' me. my name is _not_ 'Ranko'"
  "Fine." He looked at his plate, with the prepared food set 
attractively,"Anyway. I thought to myself,'Self, who knows the most 
about supressed sexuality?'"
  Blink.
  "The answer was immediately obvious. So I went to him to talk about 
what it was like to be a girl.
  "Eat up Ranma, it is getting cold."
  I looked down at my plate. Several things were wrong about it. Don't 
get me wrong, it really didn't look like anything that Akane would 
have touched. It just didn't look as... professional as Akane's plate.
  I started eating, slowly then with gaining speed.
  "Anyway, It seems that Konastu had a number of good insights..."


************************************************
  
  O.k. O.k. O..k. (whap! stop the Joe Peschi impression whap!)
I am really going to have to stop this cliff hanger nonsense.
  I realize that Akane seems WAY O.O.C., but that is needed 
for the story.  Yes the waitress is being used as comic relief.
As is Ranma's jelousy.
  This was written in a little more than an hour, maybe an hour 
and fifteen minutes.

Revision #1:
  After cleaning up a few grammatical mistake, tense mix-ups, 
and typo/spelling mistakes, I changed only one major point. That
point is currently minor. It does change the course of the fic 
quite a bit. 

  Tell me what you think.
  Turbo@relex.com