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In My Life

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by Florencio B. de la Merced, Jr. (fmerced@pworld.net.ph)
Web page: http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Temple/3641/index.html

A Fanfic inspired by the Anime Ranma 1/2 created and copyrighted by Rumiko
Takahashi

A Project for the Fan Fiction Mailing List (fanfic@fanfic.com)
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EPISODE THREE



A Past Revisited



"Why the long face Ranma? Aren't you coming with us?" Shampoo was only
passing by the kitchen when she found Ranma by accident, sulking in front
of the sink, washing some plates, pots and pans. She was actually looking
for the room that had several full-length mirrors inside it, but couldn't
recall where exactly in that huge house it was located.



"I forgot that it's my turn to do these tonight." Ranma was obviously
disheartened by his mother's insistence that he do his chores first before
going out, even if the reason is for schoolwork. "Shampoo?" Ranma turned
around but Shampoo was already backpedaling towards the hallway.



"Oh, no. Shampoo already did those for two straight nights. It's your
turn, Ranma. I can't..." Shampoo stopped abruptly. She noted the quizzical
way Ranma was staring at her right now. "What? You like my new look?"
Shampoo flicked her long hair back and forth while swaying her head for
him to get a better glimpse and complete view of how much she had changed
hairstyle. She stroked her long velvet-like locks all the way down her
side. It was styled like a long ponytail. Hers was unbraided unlike that
of Ranma's but very similar to her old hairdo. Her usual style had her
hair tied up into two buns up on top.



"Well," Ranma paused a bit, "it's sort of plain." Shampoo frowned, feeling
some resentment and disappointment. She was expecting a bit more
encouragement or at least some appreciation for her decision to finally
change hairstyle. This was something she had been meaning to do for quite
some time now. But who is Ranma to realize that. "Wait," Shampoo was about
to leave when Ranma ran up to her, "I need to ask you a favor."



"Ok. But my hair is not plain!" Shampoo giggled. She knew that in the
past, Ranma would be groveling on his knees right now just to apologize
for his mistake. But she knew both of them had out grown those times
already. Shampoo cleared her throat, sighing, knowing they were not
children anymore. "So what is it?"



"Well, I need you to tell my classmate that I won't be able to make it on
time," Shampoo's curiosity was aroused, "but I'll still make it." Shampoo
only crossed her arms in response.



"And who, may I ask, is this classmate?"



"You might know her. She's the shorthaired girl that sits behind me in
math class. Akane's her name." Shampoo blinked in surprise to Ranma's
confession. Her intuition somehow suspected as much.



"Ah, so it is true. There _is_ a new girl." Ranma tried to deny her
suspicions, but Ranma knew she knows him too well to dismiss such a hunch.
Even though Ranma couldn't hide his slight embarrassment in the face of
Shampoo's flattering interrogation and cajoling, he did manage to give to
Shampoo the direction to their meeting place. "Her place? Wow, that's a
big improvement, Ranma. Usually you'd get to know a bit more about a girl
before meeting her parents." Ranma pleaded for Shampoo to stop her
persistence.



"She's just a friend, Shampoo. I'm going over there to work on some math
problems we're going to present tomorrow." Shampoo smiled and just winked
at him before leaving. "Geez." Ranma walked back to the sink and continued
finishing cleaning the dishes. He looked at the pile on his right and
tried to estimate how long before he would finish them all. He then looked
up the clock hanging on the far wall. "Damn."



-----



"Ryoga? Where are you?" Ukyou had been hopelessly searching for Ryoga for
the past half-hour now, but to no avail. She quickly took out and read a
piece of paper she had conveniently tucked under her dress for such
situations. "His room, nope. The training hall, not there either. Ranma's,
negative. Shampoo's," Ukyou thought for a moment since it was next on her
list, "naah." She mentally crossed out that item and proceeded to the next
one. "Cologne's training hall?" Ukyou grimaced as she slapped the piece of
paper on her forehead in frustration. "Gah, why didn't I think of that in
the first place?" She admonished herself for her mistake and quickly ran
across the dimly lit courtyard towards the other side of the dojo.



-----



In another part of town, inside a small but well to do home that resembled
somewhat like a cross between a clinic and small library. A young man was
browsing through some text and notes scattered across several feet of
flooring. Some shelves were stacked with several books in all sorts of
sizes and thickness, while others were just empty. Most of those books
supposedly filling those empty spaces had found their way on the floor and
were already opened. Even though he had been sitting on the cold wooden
floor for some time now, Hikaru Gosunkugi didn't feel uncomfortable
reading way down there, rather than up on the nearby table.



"Hikaru, are you sure you don't want to eat?" A tall man was standing a
few feet away from the book engrossed Hikaru and had a steaming bag full
of food in front of him. The studious Hikaru didn't even bothered to raise
his head up to the man as he only swung his head denoting that he didn't
want any. "Oh, come on. You won't grow big and strong if you don't eat."
Finally Gosunkugi paid attention.



"What did you get me, Tofu-sensei?" The man smiled in appreciation to
Hikaru's change of mind.



"I bought some mushroom soup and some chicken or beef ramen. Isn't that
your favorite?" Tofu placed the plate and bowl on the table and beckoned
Gosunkugi to come to the table and join him.



"What do you mean chicken or beef? Don't you know what you ordered?"
Hikaru sat down on a stool and helped Tofu unwrap the hot food.



"I'm not exactly sure if Kaori gave me chicken or beef. She just said she
wanted to surprise you." Tofu had anticipated Hikaru's surprised yet
silent reaction to what he had said. It wasn't the first time he got
something extra-special from the ramen restaurant house a few blocks down
the street. That was where he usually buys food when he doesn't have the
time to cook it himself or he has his usual guest in the house.



"Gee. She doesn't quit, does she?" Hikaru just made the soup his main
course and paid little attention to the ramen that came with the whole
package.



"Oh, come on. She's a fine girl. And she likes you." Tofu had no problems
with the ramen, and quickly discovered that it was a beef and shrimp
combo. "And you like her too."



"I do not!" Hikaru just glanced away towards his schoolwork for a second
before looking back at Tofu. "Well, a little I guess." Tofu smiled to
Hikaru's self-confession. "But...you know?"



"Know what?" Tofu got a bit more ramen and again asked Hikaru to take some
too. He succeeded this time.



Hikaru swirled his chopstick a bit through the noodles and played with his
food a while before getting enough courage to finally speak out what's on
his mind. "I can't...I mean," he tried to find the right words, "I'm just
not that kind of guy." That made Tofu raise his eyebrows. "I just can’t
accept...uhm...you know." Tofu just swung his head.



"Hmm, what are you saying, Hikaru?"



Gosunkugi looked back at the scattered books all over the floor before
returning to confront Tofu. "I don't want to be like my parents. They
married too early, and they never really planned for the future. They,"
Tofu somehow sensed Hikaru's uneasiness, "never planed for us, our family.
So that's why they had to give me up to my uncle's so that I could just
get some decent education." Tofu felt sorry that he had to rile up
Hikaru's depressing feelings.



"I know what you feel."



Hikaru sighed, letting out a deep breath to calm him. "I guess what I'm
trying to say is that...If," Hikaru held up his index finger, "and that's
a big if. If it's going to be Kaori and me, I want to be prepared." Tofu
was proud to hear that from such a young man. "So that my children don't
have to experience that their mother or father not being there for them
just because they have to work all the time, and in some foreign country."
Tofu couldn't help himself applaud at his friend's revelation. Hikaru,
though, was deeply saddened that he had just recounted his sad life in
front of Tofu.



"Hey, if it's any consolation Hikaru. Think of it this way." Gosunkugi
looked at Tofu quizzically, doubting whether he could see a silver lining
in his tragic story. "If your parents didn't marry at an early age, and
probably, you wouldn't have been born yet. Or might have never been born
at all." Gosunkugi blinked. "I should know these things since I am a
doctor." Tofu grinned back at Hikaru, who seem to have been stunned to
what he had said. "Poor Kaori if that were true. Heck, I might be speaking
to a beautiful young girl right now, instead of you." Hikaru snapped out
of his momentary trance.



"Oh, shut up. Pass me the bowl." Tofu laughed, as he obliged. Hikaru liked
the special ramen and showed this by cleaning up the bowl of it. "You
know, I never thought of it that way."



-----



"Listen you, don't bother calling again." Nabiki was on the verge of going
full-blown catastrophic against the other person on the line. "I don't
care if you didn't die in the school fire. Go die again." She was about to
hang up but a new voice on the other side of the telephone conversation
made her hesitate. "Oh, Mousse. How nice to hear your wonderful voice
again." Nabiki was making silent gagging motions. "What? No, I'm not
making fun of you." She must have been too transparent in her statement a
while ago. She hoped she could make it better this time. "Now, what made
you say that? You know I always adored our conversations on the phone."
Nabiki silently stuck her tongue out and darted her index finger quickly
into her mouth. "What do you mean we never talked on the phone before?"
Oops, She realized she had mistaken Mousse for someone else. "Are you
sure?" Silence then ensued as Nabiki was forced to listen to what Mousse
had to say. "I don't think that would be a good idea." She listened again.
"No way! My sister had a hard time accepting it, but she's over him
already. And besides, it's his fault anyway." She decided to sit on a
nearby chair, carrying the telephone with her. "I don't care if you did
manage to save his life from the fire that brought down the school.
Shinnosuke is a two timing jerk and Kasumi already hated him even before
he went into a coma." She felt she was talking to a brick wall. "Oh, sure.
Now he's sorry." Nabiki felt a bit angered by what she heard. "Give him a
break? Listen, that _jerk_ that you call a friend, he broke my sister's
heart. There is _no way_ I would allow him to do that to her again." The
handset almost broke on impact on the receiver. "The nerve!"



-----



"What did she say?" Mousse was still rubbing the throbbing pain in his
right ear and wasn't able to answer Shinnosuke directly. "What did Nabiki
say?"



"Well," Mousse sat down on his bed, "a train leaves for Ryugenzawa at
about nine in the morning, so we'll still have time to..." Mousse laid his
back flat and promptly closed his eyes. Shinnosuke gaped in wonder.



"Mousse?!"



"Go to sleep, Shinnosuke. We've got a train to catch early tomorrow
morning." Mousse was trying to sleep, and hoped his acting was believable
enough.



"I'm not leaving Nerima until I get to talk to Kasumi." Shinnosuke slept
anyway. The lights in the room finally went out.



'Good luck, Shinnosuke.' Mousse thought his friend would need it. He then
stirred around to get into a more comfortable position. He was almost
asleep, but that was cut prematurely by the sound of the television
roaring suddenly back into life. 'Damn Shinnosuke!'



-----



"Good evening Cologne. Have you seen Ryoga?" Ukyou stood at the entrance
of the room. Cologne hopped towards her and was about to answer but a huge
crashing sound made both women wince. "Nevermind."



"Ryoga, you idiot! Pick that rock up, and place it over that corner!"
Cologne couldn't help grimace at the thought of the slow progress they've
made with her training hall. Ryoga was not that exhausted to not be able
to carry the huge rock as ordered, but there was hardly any light in that
room to help him move. "Not that way, the other side!"



"I'm doing my best! But I could use a little bit of light in here." He
could have used that light an hour ago, but he still kept bumping into the
smaller debris scattered all over the floor. "Oops!" Down came Ryoga
crashing to the floor again.



"Oh, well. Looks like I'm going without you, honey." Ukyou waved at Ryoga,
who weakly waved back. "See you tomorrow." Ukyou bowed to Cologne before
leaving.



"Tomorrow?" Ryoga just stared at Ukyou, then at Cologne. "Don't tell me."



"If you still can't improve your memory, Hibiki-san. You are forcing me to
make this an all night training session." Cologne was visibly displeased
as she had other plans for that night.



"Training? I thought you needed renovations." Ryoga picked himself up and
was about to pick the troublesome rock again. "Damn, this is the third
time I fell in this area." Cologne was surprised that he even counted.
"Ah, now I get it." He managed to bring the rock safely to the specified
corner at last. He was asked to bring another boulder over to the same
corner and had little difficulty following Cologne's order this time.



'Good, now he remembers where all the obstacles are.' Cologne smiled. She
hoped she could finally use tonight the new television she ordered. But
another loud crash snapped her from her dreamy thoughts. 'Well, maybe not
all of them.'



"Arrgh! Who placed a stupid rock here?!"



"You did."



-----



"So what are we having for dinner?" Genma eagerly sat at the dinner table
but the only thing that was served in front of him was a katana blade
wrapped in cloth. "Eh? What's the meaning of this, Nodoka?" His wife was
sitting across the table in front of him, and her blade.



"I'm asking you again, Genma. Please come with us to a dinner party at the
Tendo residence. This is so little that I'm asking of you." Nodoka hoped
her little intimidation would do the trick. "Kimiko would be happy to see
you after such a long time," Nodoka looked up at her husband, "and she
probably cooked some of her best recipes." The little finch in Genma's
stone cold face told her that her plea was somehow getting through.



"I'm sorry, Nodoka. I'm just not up to it." Nodoka sighed. "What's between
me, and Soun might," Genma crossed his arms and closed her eyes, "disrupt
your reunion with Kimiko. I'm sorry." Nodoka felt sorry too.



The two were silent for a bit, until Ranma came in the room carrying a
tray of food. "Umm." His mother took the sword away, allowing Ranma to
place the bowl and plates in front of Genma. "Wait." Ranma ran back
towards the kitchen. Nodoka bade goodbye to Genma, who was already eating
despite Ranma's request.



"Pops! Hey, save some for me!" Ranma had brought with him a pitcher of
water and two glasses. Ranma grabbed a plate of food and hurried to fill
his empty stomach. He was going to be late since he still had to clean the
dishes in front of him before he leaves. "Hurry up, Pop. I'm already
late."



"So where are you going tonight?"



"I'm going to my classmate's house to work on a school report." Ranma
grabbed the last piece of okonomiyaki on the table. He didn't see the grin
on his father's face.



"Tell me, Ranma. Is she pretty?" With an okonomiyaki in his mouth, Ranma
could only nod in reply. "Ah! That's my boy!" A slap on his back made
Ranma wince in pain and choke. "Just like a chip off the old block, eh."
Ranma reached for a glass of water in a panic. "Ah, I still remember when
I first met your mother." Genma wanted to continue, but somewhere in his
recollection was a figure of a man who at one time he called 'best
friend'.



Ranma cleared his throat. "Are you finished yet?"



-----



The three women were walking down the dimly lit and deserted street.
Nodoka had stayed silent ever since they left the house. She was
reflecting on how she failed again to convince her husband to face his
long-standing problem with the Tendos. Shampoo and Ukyou, on the other
hand, were squabbling about hairstyles.



"So how long do you plan to stay this way?" Ukyou played a bit with
Shampoo's new ponytail.



Shampoo swayed her head the other way. "I might just make this permanent."
Ukyou gasped. "What? You don't think Shampoo's serious?"



"What would all your fans say? Gosh. They won't be able to recognize you."
Ukyou giggled but Shampoo wasn't the least bit amused.

"And just how many girls do you know that have blue hair, Ukyou?" Ukyou
blinked. Shampoo was right. Ukyou was thinking of a good response to that,
but Shampoo beat her. "Me! One and only, moi!" She wanted to bow, but
remembering what Ukyou did to her hair earlier made her change her mind.



"Yesh, I guess having blue hair has its advantages." Ukyou looked at her
mother and noticed the somewhat sadness in her face. "Mom? Is there
something wrong?"



Nodoka was lost in her thoughts, so she wasn't at once able to respond. It
took Ukyou's hand on her shoulder to get her back into reality. "Huh? Oh,
did you say something, Ukyou?"



"What's wrong mom? Is it dad?" Nodoka nodded. "Well, we can't force him.
Maybe a few years from now..." Nodoka was deeply moved by Ukyou's
prediction, she can't wait that long.



"Yes, maybe." Ukyou smiled hoping to cheer Nodoka. "Thanks, Ukyou." Ukyou
looked back at Shampoo, and this time she'd come up with a good punch line
to add to their bit of argument a minute ago. But she hesitated upon
seeing Shampoo's only worrisome look. "What? You too?"



"Shampoo is forgetting something? I can't place my," Shampoo's extended
pointing finger played around on the tip of her nose, "finger on it."
Ukyou was at a lost.



"I wish Ranma too was able," Nodoka sighed, "to come with us." Shampoo
screamed to everyone's surprise. "Shampoo?"



"Aiya! I remember now. I was suppose to do a favor for Ranma." She
explained to both of her companions before running further ahead down the
street. "I'll run back up here when I finish favor!" Both Ukyou and Nodoka
didn't really understand what Shampoo shouted in the last minute, but
figured since she was running in the same direction, they'll meet again
later.



-----



"Hey, Mousse. I asked the telephone operator what were the high schools
near here, and guess what? There's only one. Its called Furinkan High."
Shinnosuke heard only the chatter from the television so he turned that
off. "Mousse? You awake? Well, I just thought if we're going to look for
Kasumi tomorrow this Furinkan High would be the best bet." Silence was his
response. "Mousse?" 'Damn Chinese!' Shinnosuke said to himself.



-----

"Akane?" Kasumi called for her little sister from behind the door to
Akane's room. "The guest would be here any moment now, aren't you coming?"
The door cracked open.



"But, I'm having my classmate over here too. How can I attend to mother's
guest?" Kasumi smiled hoping to calm her anxious and excited sister.



"At least meet the guest, Akane." Her sister nodded in agreement. "When
your special friend arrives, then I'll excuse you from the dinner table."
That felt the best compromise she could think of.



"Ok. Let me change first." Kasumi let herself in.



"Oh, why don’t you wear your beautiful white outfit? You know, the one
that has that beautiful white hat." Akane just frowned back at Kasumi.



"Where going to study, oneechan. We're not going to the park for a
picnic." Kasumi stared blankly for a moment before both sisters burst into
laughter.



-----



"Hello, who are you?" Nabiki was a bit surprised to see a young, beautiful
girl with the unusual hair at the gates of the Tendo dojo at such late
hour. "Aren't you..."



"Hi, I'm looking for Akane? I need to tell her something from Ranma."



Nabiki raised her eyebrows in curiosity. "Well, I'm her sister. I guess I
could tell her." Shampoo was satisfied.



"Well, Ranma has some chores to do at home and so," Nabiki held her breath
for the worst, "he's going to be a little bit late." Nabiki exhaled in
relief. "That's it. I've got to go now. Ranma will be here later, but
he'll come." Shampoo waved as she left.



"I'll be sure to tell Akane." Nabiki waved back, though she really felt
awkward by it. As soon as she closed the gates she thought of the best way
to tell her little sister about Ranma's tardiness, and that he's living
with that Chinese girl too. "This doesn't look good."



-----





"Whoah! Shampoo." Shampoo was starting her run back up the street when she
almost bumped with Ukyou and Nodoka. "What's the rush?"



"Huh? Ah, nothing. I just completed favor for Ranma. I'm ready now." Ukyou
just grinned at Shampoo.



"Anyway, we're here." Shampoo looked strangely at both Ukyou and Nodoka.
She turned around and then realized to her shock, the house she had rushed
to a while ago was the same house they were going to have dinner at.



"Ranma will pay for this." Shampoo was infuriated that Ranma tricked her
into running ahead to a house they were going to anyway. "He'll definitely
pay."



"Who are you talking about, Shampoo?" Ukyou was intrigued by Shampoo's
sudden vendetta swearing. Nodoka too was puzzled, but her attention was
turned to the opening gates.



"Mrs. Saotome. How nice to see you again." Nabiki let her mother's guests
inside. "Ukyou!" Ukyou exchanged cheek kisses with Nabiki. "You?!" Shampoo
could only wave and smile, hoping she didn't really look too stupid.



"Nihao! I'm Shampoo."



"Oh, so you're Shampoo." Nabiki shook Shampoo's hand. She's trying to
remember what Daisuke had said to her on the phone earlier. "Oh, so
_you're_ Shampoo." Nabiki felt relieved as her suspicions a while ago was
proven false.



"I think I said that all ready, didn't I?"



-----



"Got to finish this! Got to finish this!" Ranma was frantically cleaning
the rest of the kitchen.



"Why don't you go on ahead, Ranma? Let me finish that." Ranma's eyes grew
in surprise as his father was offering to relieve him of his chores.
"Well, go on."



Ranma immediately took off the cleaning apron, dropped the cleaning mop,
and washed his hands at the sink. "Thanks Pop. I'll never forget this." He
was gone in a second.



"Kids." Genma tried to get the apron on, but it was just too little, so he
proceeded to finish the work his son had started.



-----



"What happened?" Kimiko and Nodoka were talking in one corner while Nabiki
was leading both Ukyou and Shampoo towards the dining room. "Don't tell me
he couldn't come." Nodoka nodded embarrassingly. "Gee. What can we do to
make them friends again?" Nodoka had no answers. Kimiko looked up the
stairs and sighed. "You can come down now. He didn't come." Soun then
appeared coming down the stairway.



"I told you that good for nothing, gut-less, panda-loving..." Soun was
suddenly faced with two irate looking women, "oops...eh he...Hello there
Nodoka. It's been a long time, hasn't it?" He was sweating profusely.
"Gulp. Well, I guess I'm going to the dining room now." Soun ran all the
way there.



"And what about your son?" Nodoka explained Ranma's absence. "That's too
bad. We could have hit two birds with one stone." Nodoka sighed, she knew
as much.



"We'll just have to do it some other time, Kimiko."



-----



"What a nice place you've got here Nabiki. I'm impressed." Ukyou loved
open spaces and she even liked the fishpond located in front of the porch.
Shampoo, too, liked the view from the terrace. It was very soothing and
relaxing for her.



"It is." Nabiki was with them, admiring the heavenly night sky. "I used to
stay all night out here and would watch the stars," Ukyou looked up at the
clear night sky, "and if I was lucky, I'd wish on a falling star."



"Ah, true. Wishing on a star is quite pleasant," Shampoo felt a cold
evening breeze blowing past them, "if your wish had come true. Don't you
agree?" Ukyou and Nabiki nodded in agreement.



"Hello there." All three turned around.



"I'm Kasumi, and this is our youngest, Akane." Ukyou and Shampoo stared to
each other first before extending the same greeting.



"Hi, I'm Ukyou. And this is...," Shampoo cut herself in.



"Nihao! I'm Shampoo. So you're Akane?" Akane was a bit startled by
Shampoo's openness.



"Why, yes." Nabiki bit her lip. She realized she forgot to tell Akane
about Shampoo's important message. "We're in the same class." Ukyou was
the one that was surprised.



"Wait. We're in the same class?" Akane nodded. "Whoah. That's some kind of
coincidence." Shampoo was itching to tell Ukyou what else she knew about
Akane.



"Why don't we come inside and have dinner?" Kasumi's invitation could
never be resisted. Shampoo was nudging Ukyou, but got the wrong signal.



"So Kasumi, do you have a boyfriend or something?" Shampoo grimaced as
Ukyou was asking the wrong girl. Ukyou, on the other hand, recognized
Kasumi as the girl she saw at the cafeteria the other day.



"Oh, my. No, unfortunately I don't have a boyfriend. Not yet, anyway."
Kasumi was a bit troubled at Ukyou's question. 'Why is _she_ asking me?'
Kasumi's imagination was really worrying her.



-----



Ranma huffed to a complete halt as he reached the gates of the Tendo dojo.
He checked himself, a bunch of wind swept tulips in one hand, and his
schoolbooks in the other. He collected himself and braced up to finally
knock on the gates.



-----



"Nodoka, these are my children. Kasumi is the eldest. You already met
Nabiki, and Akane is my youngest." The three beamed a cheerful smile at
the guest. "And, of course you know my husband." Soun just nodded.



"Oh, it's so nice to have finally met you all." Nodoka glanced at Soun
again. "Especially you, Soun." Both Kimiko and Nodoka couldn't help
giggle. Soun just looked the other way in embarrassment. Just then a knock
at the front gates is heard.



"Oh, my. I think that's..." Akane was already up on her feet and excitedly
excused herself. She ran out the porch towards the front gates. "Please
excuse my sister. She's having a friend coming over for some school
activity." Both Nabiki and Shampoo had only one thought.



'I bet she does.' Shampoo really wanted to talk to Ukyou. But Ukyou was
still busy questioning Kasumi.



"Is Sayuri and Yuka coming over?" Kimiko wasn't aware that her daughter
was also expecting guest.



Since Kasumi was still talking to Ukyou, Nabiki answered her mother. "No,
mom. It's somebody else." Both Soun and Kimiko were surprised by the news.
Shampoo was talking to herself again.



"Really? Who?" Shampoo was about to cheerfully announce what she'd been
dying to say all night. Unfortunately Nabiki continued the conversation.



"Oh, nobody important, father." Shampoo glared at Nabiki. "No body, at
all." Shampoo tried to figure out what Nabiki was implying with the look
that she gave her.



'Ah, now I understand.' Shampoo grinned back at Nabiki. "Shrimps, anyone?
" she smiled as she passed the tray around, "these shrimps are far better
than Ran..." 'Oops' She almost blew it. "ramen. I meant ramen."



-----



Ranma whistled while he waited. He started looking around but the street
was deserted. He looked up at the evening sky and all the stars seemed to
smile at him. The moon was in its last quarter but still had enough light
to make the atmosphere a bit eerie yet romantic just the same. He gave
some thought how he'd introduce himself. He thought he'd just say he's a
new student and Akane was helping him, which wasn't really far from the
truth. 'Was it?' Ranma honestly asked himself.



Just then, he heard the bolts of the gates moving. He straightened
himself, pulled his gift behind his back, and breathed some of the misty
evening air. He was surprised to notice a faint sweet scent, something
that reminded him of his sister's perfume. Then the gates opened and it
was Akane that greeted him.



"Hello, Akane." Ranma extended his hand nervously. Akane happily received
what he offered. "I'm sorry to be late, but at least I'm here." Akane just
nodded.



"Come on in." Ranma closed the gates before following Akane inside. "So
what do you have there behind your back?" Ranma turned immediately around.
He was stupefied to discover he still had the bouquet with him, while his
books were with Akane. "Um...I guess these are" Ranma brought out and
handed the bouquet to her, "for you." Akane looked strangely at what was
being given to her. To her, it was strange for something to be wrapped in
layers of brown paper, but received it warmly anyway.



"What is it?" Akane tried to guess, but only when she felt the bunch of
stems when she held it did she realize what it was. "Oh, flowers!" Ranma
freed Akane's arm of his books and allowed her to peel off the wrappings.
"Wow! Tulips! They're beautiful!" Ranma's heart was relieved. 'She liked
it' he thought. "Thanks." Ranma hadn't expected it, but the kiss Akane
left on his left cheek was far more a reward he had ever dreamed.



"Um. I'm glad you liked them." Ranma was flushed in embarrassment. "I
would have..." He stopped abruptly as he saw the strange look of Akane's
face. "What? Is something wrong?"



"Strange. It smells like detergent." Ranma gaped in shock. He sniffed at
his hand and forearm.



'Yikes' he did smell like detergent. "I can explain."



"Oh, it's not that really important. They're wonderful." Akane calmed her
guest. "Should we start? It's kind of getting late, don't you think?"
Ranma agreed. They walked inside the house. Ranma was led up the stairs.



"So where are your sisters? I would have expected at least Nabiki to be
here to welcome me." Ranma started to laugh but was asked to keep his
voice down.



"My mom has some guest downstairs, so we better keep things quiet Ranma."
He promised to stay as silent as a mouse. Akane joked that she hated mice.
Ranma chuckled but was again reminded.



"Sorry." Akane forgave him. "So where do we work?" Akane opened the door
to her room. "Um...we're working in your room?" Akane asked if something
was wrong. "Um...don't get me wrong. But, I'm a gentleman. I don't
think..."



"Don't be silly. We're only going to work on math." Ranma had doubts.
"Unless..." Ranma backed a bit, realizing he might have made the wrong
impression to her. "Ranma! We're not doing that! I'm not that kind of
girl." Ranma sighed in relief. "Come on in, and lets get started." Ranma
obliged. The door closed slowly behind him.



-----



"Ukyou, do you want some fish?" Kasumi was busy all night dodging some of
her mother's guest's more intriguing questions. "I cooked it myself."



"Wow, you're a great cook, Kasumi. These taste very, very good." Kasumi
sighed, as she felt a bit relieved. Ukyou reached for a glass of lemonade.
"Your future husband would be such a lucky guy." Kasumi winced at the
thought.



"Ukyou." Shampoo whispered.



"What?" Ukyou sipped her drink.



"I know where Ranma is?" Ukyou glanced at Shampoo as she continued to
drink the lemonade.



"So? He's probably over that place you went to earlier, right?" Ukyou
decided to finish the whole glass.



"But I went _here_." Ukyou almost lost her control. Good thing the glass
was still up on her lips. She recovered from her shock and brought down
her glass. She stared at Shampoo and was a bit convinced. "It's true."



Nabiki was eavesdropping and decided to join in. "She's right, Ukyou. He's
right upstairs. In Akane's room." Ukyou couldn't believe what she was
hearing. "I wonder what they're doing right now?" Nabiki just smiled,
raising her eyebrows at both girls.



"He's not that kind of guy." Nabiki frowned upon hearing that bit of news.
"Really, he's not." Shampoo nodded, confirming Ukyou's statements.



"Shucks." Nabiki frowned at first, but started to laugh in the end. Ukyou
and Shampoo joined in.



"What are you three laughing about?" Kasumi asked but was surprisingly
ignored.



-----



"Please, Soun." Nodoka was beginning to feel she was talking to a statue.
"You and my husband have got to stop hating each other. You two are the
best of friends." Kimiko looked at Nodoka, then to Soun and nodded her
agreement.



"_Were_ friends, Mrs. Saotome." Soun was as stubborn as Genma.



"But..." Kimiko calmed Nodoka. It was now up to her to convince her
husband.

"Soun," her husband didn't stir, "what if I tell you that we, Nodoka and
I, had come to an agreement." Kasumi overheard her parent's conversation
and gasped in shock. Soun looked his wife and saw only the seriousness in
her face. He feared something like this would happen. Nabiki too had
stopped laughing and so did Ukyou and Shampoo.



"What sort of agreement?" Soun hoped the tone in the way he asked would
intimidate the two women.



"Well," Kimiko and Nodoka stared at each other before continuing, "we
decided to unite our two families." Soun feared as much. Kasumi's heart
was beating faster and it was getting difficult for her to breathe. Nabiki
was only suspicious, while Ukyou and Shampoo wasn't really following the
conversation to really grasp the situation.



"And, how may I ask do you plan to do that?" Kimiko again looked at her
best friend, hoping if what she's about to say was the right thing to do.
"Well?"



"We've decided to," Kimiko breathe deeply before continuing, "we decided
that we're going to arrange our children into marriage." The silence in
the room proved that everyone was listening and was stunned by the
revelation. Kasumi was almost in tears, while both Ukyou and Shampoo
looked at each other. Nabiki just looked at the ceiling, and smiling at
the same time.



"I have to speak to Genma about this." Both Kimiko and Nodoka didn't
expect such a reply from Soun.



"Really?" Nodoka was overwhelmed with amazement that she sounded like she
wasn't that determined or resolved about the arrangement. Kimiko was as
astonished as her friend by the sudden change of heart by her husband.



"Yes," Soun turned to Nodoka, "will you arrange a meeting with Genma."
Nodoka nodded.



-----



Genma was sitting on the couch and was watching the television when an
exhausted and weary Ryoga joined him. "So how did the training go?" Ryoga
was not happy in his reply. "That bad, eh? Well that's Cologne for you."
Ryoga ignored him and rested his head on one of the pillows.



"What are you watching?" Cologne had crept up from behind and hopped in
between Genma and her student. "Are there any Chinese shows?"



"Unless you consider Jet Lee a Chinese." Cologne looked at Ryoga sleeping
beside them on the couch. Genma too stared at the lifeless student of
Cologne. "You're doing the right thing with him, Cologne. Always remember
that." Cologne sighed.



"True." She then turned her attention to the movie showing on the screen.
It was a big fight scene in one of those 'Once upon..' series, where a lot
of bamboo poles were involved. "Bah...He's so pathetic."



"He sure could have needed a couple of weeks of your regimen, eh?" Genma
laughed along with Cologne. Ryoga grimaced, as he was too tired to walk to
his room, but was also not getting the peace and quiet he longed for all
night.



-----



End of Episode



-----



Preview of Next Episode



Genma and Soun finally meet. Shinnosuke searches Furinkan High for Kasumi,
while Akane and Ranma successfully reports in front of the class. Daisuke
gets to interview Ukyou, while Nabiki plans for the future of the Tendo
household.

-----

C&C, Comments please... ^_^

Special Thanks to...

Thomas Schmidt
Jeff Shelton
Anand Rao
The Rams
Gary Kleppe
Lara
Megane6.7
Krista Perry
Mark Premo
Dave Eddy
Terrence Marks
Harold Ancell
Emily Siazon
Ronald Chan
White Wolf
Shiva
The Eternal Lost Lurker
Christopher Szeto
Theodore Sommer
Scott Parker
Ronald Chan
Dianne Langley
Blades
Corey Lewis
Jod
Shiro08th@webtv.net
Asri Jaffar
Bryan Cupp
INSANITY57@aol.com
Scott Schimmel
All the other cool guys/gal on the FFIRC, ^_^
and
Rumiko Takahashi, of course