Since there's only one more chapter in this fic to go, now is the time
for anyone who wants to offer comments or suggestions to do so. Credit
goes to David Johnston and Hiroyuki
Yoshiro for prereading. Earlier chapters of this story and its prequel
can be found at http://members.xoom.com/Yoshiro_san/cwires .
Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2 or any of the ideas associated with
it. Rumiko Takahashi and Shogakukan, Inc do. Rights in North America
belong to Viz Communications
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter 14: The Dating Game
"I'm not using that to pretend to be a guy," Ukyo stated firmly.
Shampoo's plan was fairly obvious. If Ukyo took Ranma on a date, Ryoga
wouldn't be able to.
A frown creased Shampoo's face as she absently fingered the small
package. "Shampoo think you should no decide so quick.
Great-grandmother can't do ritual for over a week."
"I don't know." Ukyo had to admit that the idea of doing something
was attractive. She couldn't think of anything else either.
Seconds ticked by as Ukyo thought. Finally, she reached a
decision. "I'll do it." Ranma would just refuse to go out with her.
There was nothing to worry about Ukyo reassured herself.
=================
"I don't like the way we cheated to help Ukyo win, Ranma."
"You just decided that now?" Ranma asked incredulously. "It's a
little late."
"I know and I'd do it again. Those amazon laws are nothing but
trouble." Ryoga gestured irritably. "I'm just not happy about
cheating. Ukyo might have been able to win on her own."
"I doubt it. Besides, no one knows she didn't." Ranma suddenly
grinned. "I don't think that's your real problem anyway. You're just
worried because Nabiki's getting ready for another date.
Ryoga nodded reluctantly. "That doesn't help. I only wish I
wasn't going to have to deal with the problems that she creates."
=================
Ukyo walked confidently around to the back of the Tendos' house.
That's where Kasumi had said Nabiki was exercising.
"Nabiki, I want to ask you something." Ukyo almost grinned when he
found Ranma dressed in a gi and perspiring lightly, evidently taking a
short break from training. It made it easier to remember who she was
really talking to.
"Yeah? What do you want?" Ranma's eyes narrowed instinctively as
she appraised the unfamiliar boy. He was tall, almost Kuno's height and
had his long hair drawn back in a pony tail. More importantly, he was
obviously a skilled martial artist despite a slight awkwardness in his
stance. If his build was any indication, he'd have formidable levels of
strength and endurance, possibly rivaling Ryoga. In normal
circumstances he'd only be a moderately challenging opponent. Things
certainly weren't normal though.
Ukyo hesitated momentarily, taken aback by Ranma's suspicion. "My
name is Yoshio Konishi. I've wanted to ask you out for a long time,
but I couldn't find the courage.
"But you're doing it now right?" An obvious connection clicked
into place in Ranma's mind. This must be the person who'd written the
love letters she'd found in Nabiki's desk. Ranma conducted a second
more detailed appraisal. She supposed he was fairly handsome.
"I suppose I am."
"All right. You can pick me up at five tomorrow." Ranma didn't
know how she was going to be able to go through with this, but she
couldn't ruin things for Nabiki.
"S-sure!" Ukyo barely managed to contain his shock. Thing's
weren't going according to plan, but it was too late too back out.
"Great. Don't be late."
=================
Ranma was more than slightly surprised. It turned out that Kuno
was actually tolerable to be around if he wasn't trying to kill you or
date you. The fact that he was paying for the milkshake that Ranma was
enjoying helped, of course.
"You brought the photographs I requested, fair Nabiki?"
Ranma abruptly returned her attention to Kuno. "Uh, yeah. I did.
It'll be 3000 yen for each set of five." She noted Kuno's unusual form
of address, but decided it wasn't her problem.
"The very heavens cry out against such usury. Surely the increased
volume of my custom warrants consideration."
Ranma paused. She was almost sure that Kuno had just asked for a
discount, something she knew from personal experience Nabiki seldom
gave. Still, she felt just a tiny bit sorry for Kuno.
"All right 5,500 yen for all ten photos." Ranma passed the packet
of photos across the table to Kuno and accepted a wad of yen in return.
"That seems to be a most equitable arrangement. In return I have a
gift for you."
Ranma blinked as Kuno laid a garland of pale yellow flowers on the
table between them. "This isn't Hawaiian, is it?"
"Wolfsbane. It is said to be most effectual in combating the
condition you suffer from."
"What?" Belatedly, Ranma recalled that her excuse for skipping
school had involved werewolves. "Thanks, I guess."
Kuno smiled slightly. Nabiki's usual casual insults and sarcasm
had been almost entirely absent. The new attitude made her seem almost
attractive.
A chill crept down Ranma's spine as she saw a slightly unfocused
look enter Kuno's eyes. She pushed it away, laughing inwardly. Nabiki
deserved a bit of trouble, after all.
=================
"You wanted to see me, daughter-in-law?" Cologne was careful to
keep her interest from showing in her voice. There was nothing stopping
Ukyo from visiting the Nekohanten, but she rarely did so.
"Yes. I want to find out if Jusenkyo curses affect the mind.
Shampoo keeps blaming Ranma's curse for the way he's acting, but I'm not
so sure." Ukyo still wasn't happy about the situation with Shampoo, but
that wouldn't stop her from taking advantage of it.
"Humph. I honestly don't know." Cologne raised a withered hand to
forestall any interruptions. "The magics of Jusenkyo share a common
source and should behave in similar ways."
Ukyo's eyes narrowed. "Let me guess. You're going to tell me they
don't."
"True. Most springs don't have any obvious effect on the victims'
personality, but there's at least one that does. That one is the spring
of the drowned virtuous man. My theory is that it differs because of
the extremely strong personality of the person who formed it."
"Then all the springs would cause some changes, just not as
strong?" At Cologne's nod, Ukyo continued. "And the girl that drowned
to create Ranma's curse would have had a stronger personality than, say,
a cat?"
"In all likelihood, yes. However, even if this theory is correct,
I'm not convinced the curse would have a major effect on Ranma."
"But, Ranma does act like a real girl sometimes," Ukyo protested.
"It's likely that much of his changed behavior is simply a way of
coping with the stress caused by his curse. I suppose being in Nabiki's
body has a similar effect."
"That doesn't sound any better. What you're saying is that Ranma
is affected by the curse, we just don't know how much."
"It's really not so bad. As long as Ranma isn't in his cursed
form, it shouldn't matter," Cologne said reassuringly. "Tell me, is
there some reason we're having this discussion now?"
"I used some instant Nannichuan and asked Ranma out on a date. He
said yes." Ukyo gazed nervously at the floor as she spoke and her
cheeks colored faintly.
"Why on earth would you do something like that? Never mind. I
assume you didn't tell Ranma who you really are?"
"Of course not. I don't want him to think I'm some kind of
pervert."
Cologne marveled at the discipline several decades of rigorous
training had given her as she resisted several obvious statements.
"Ukyo, Ranma is pretending to be Nabiki. That means that when a boy
asks him out, he'll respond the way that Nabiki would."
Ukyo considered the statement for a moment. "This is going to cost
me a lot of money, isn't it?"
=================
Kiyomi walked glumly up to the door of the Tendos' house. She'd
always known that Ryoga was cute, but she'd ignored him in favor of
Ranma. That was starting to look like a mistake. Over the past few
days Ryoga had proven himself a surprisingly mature and intelligent
individual. It made what she had to say right now a lot harder.
Mustering her resolve, Kiyomi reached out and firmly knocked on the
door. After a moment, a short haired girl about Kiyomi's age opened the
door.
"Kiyomi? I thought that you were on a date with Na- Ryoga." Akane
stared suspiciously at the girl in the door way.
"I was. I'm afraid that I lost him somehow. We were walking
together and I looked away for a moment and when I turned back, he was
gone."
Akane took a deep breath to help control her temper. "Don't worry
about it. Ryoga's used to looking after himself , so I'm sue everything
will turn out all right." Privately, Akane had her doubts. Nabiki was
resourceful, but it just wasn't the same thing.
Kiyomi smiled softly. "I'm sure you're right. When you see Ryoga, tell
him I'm looking forward to seeing him again."
=================
"Bwee!" Nabiki supposed that it was his own fault. If he'd been
paying attention he would've noticed the sprinkler. Still, that didn't
change the fact that he was hungry, tired, lost and a pig. He had to do
something. Spotting a cluster of teenage girls rounding the corner,
Nabiki started trotting towards them and assumed the most pathetic
expression his porcine face could muster.
"What a cute pig!"
Nabiki permitted himself a small sigh of relief as he felt a pair
of gentle hands lift him up. He'd never really understood why Akane's
friends thought P-chan was so cute, but it was about to come to prove
useful.
"That's Akane's pet, P-chan. I wonder what he's doing here."
Nabiki's heart soared. This was far better than he'd hoped. Not
only was he still somewhere near Furinkan, he'd found someone who knew
Akane.
=================
"I don't know what you want me to do, Akane," Ryoga said
nervously. "If Nabiki's gotten lost she probably doesn't even know
where she is."
"I know that, but we have to do something. Nabiki doesn't know how
to cope with this sort of thing like you do. Besides, Dad isn't going
to take it well when he finds out that Nabiki's missing."
Ranma's mind raced furiously. Being stuck in Nabiki's body wasn't
too bad as a temporary situation, but she didn't want to see it extended
by a couple of months. 'Searching might be worth a shot. If Nabiki
stopped moving after she realized she was lost we won't have to cover
too large an area."
"That's right!" Akane smiled brilliantly. "And if we get Shampoo
and Ukyo to help we can cover a lot more ground."
Ryoga carefully hid a frown. He was guiltily aware that he didn't
really want to switch back and for a moment it had seemed like he'd have
his wish. "I suppose we'd better get going then."
=================
"Do you want another chocolate, P-chan?"
Nabiki nodded his assent and stretched out on the soft bed. The
past hour of being petted, fawned over and fed treats had taught her one
thing. Being a pet was extremely boring. He didn't know how Ryoga
could stand it. At least the conversation was interesting.
"You're a smart pig, P-chan. Sometimes, I almost think you can
understand what I'm saying. Yuka sighed heavily and reached out to
scratch P-chan behind his ears. "Akane's lucky to have a pet like you."
"I don't know if I'll ever find anyone. Akane says that she
doesn't like boys, but you wouldn't know it from the way she talks about
Ranma." Yuka stopped scratching for a moment. "Actually, I'm not sure
that means anything. Do you think Akane likes girls, P-chan?"
Nabiki felt that was his cue to shake his head vigorously and did
so.
"That's what I thought. Then there was Ukyo, but I can't compete
with someone like Shampoo."
It's not certain how Ryoga would have reacted if he'd been there.
Nabiki on the other hand simply moved his head so Yuka could scratch
under his chin easier.
Yuka sighed. It was nice to be able to talk about her feelings
without worrying, even if it was with a pig. Animals were a lot more
trustworthy than humans. She wouldn't be able to talk to anyone from
Furinkan like this.
=================
Ranma halfheartedly stifled a groan. She'd never been a morning
person and current circumstances hadn't changed that. Not only had they
wasted half of the evening looking for Nabiki, but Ryoga didn't seem at
all worried. She'd have to talk to him about that.
As she entered the dining room, Ranma realized something was
wrong. She still hadn't seen Ryoga and he usually woke up a few minutes
before her.
"Kasumi, have you seen Ryoga?"
"I'm afraid he just left."
"Before breakfast?" Something was definitely going on.
"It was quite strange. There was a phone call and I was busy so he
answered it. I didn't hear what he said and right after that he left
without telling me anything."
"Must have been Shampoo or Ukyo," Ranma thought out loud. "They're
the only people who know what' going on and that call must have been
pretty important."
=================
"Stop squirming. If I put you down you'll just get lost again."
Ryoga directed a frustrated glare at the small black pig he was holding
in one hand. He didn't know why Nabiki was being so unreasonable about
this. He was sure he'd never been this bad.
"Bwee!" Nabiki squirmed trying to get the idiot holding him to
loosen his grip, but instead achieved the opposite result.
"You're lucky I'm the one that answered when Yuka phoned. Anyone
else and Akane would be spending some time with her pet pig." Ryoga
realized that this wasn't entirely true. Ranma would have reacted the
same way. Still, Nabiki should at least be a little grateful.
Minutes later, Ryoga was slipping quietly into the Tendos' home.
Carefully keeping P-chan on the far side of his body, Ryoga waved to
Kasumi as he walked past the kitchen. He breathed a sigh of relief when
he reached the furo without encountering anyone else. Getting caught
would have only been a little inconvenient, but he'd still worried.
Ignoring Nabiki's renewed struggles, he slid the door to the furo
open. "Na- Ranma, what are you doing here?"
"Taking a bath, idiot." Ranma abruptly noticed a thin trickle of
blood issuing from Ryoga's nose. The direction of his gaze left no
doubt as to the cause. "Pervert!"
Ryoga hastily ducked a Ranma hurled a wooden bucket towards his
head with surprising force. "S-Sorry. I didn't... " Ryoga was frozen
in indecision. He knew he shouldn't keep looking, but taking his eyes
off Ranma didn't seem like a good idea either. Considering this, it's
understandable that he missed a few details.
"Stop staring at my body!" The sudden blow didn't have much skill
behind it but it more than made up for that in power. Ryoga's face was
driven deep into the floor and Nabiki blinked in surprise at the result
of his action.
"Hey, you found Nabiki! That's great," Ranma exclaimed her anger
momentarily forgotten.
"Wurgle."
"Ryoga are you all right?" Leaving the furo, Ranma knelt down
beside Ryoga and started trying to pry his head out of the floor.
"He deserved it." Nabiki tried not to smirk, but had to admit that
violence was surprisingly...cathartic.
=================
"Did you enjoy your run, Akane?"
Akane nodded absently at Kasumi's question and ran her fingers
through her sweat dampened hair. "Yes. I really feel like a bath now
though."
"I'm afraid that you'll have to wait. I think Ranma's still in the
furo."
"Too bad. I suppose I can't join him, even if he is my sister
right now." A sudden clatter of wood on tile caught Akane's attention.
"What was that?" Akane asked, taking two steps towards the furo.
"Maybe Ranma slipped." A moment after she spoke, an image of Ryoga
walking past the kitchen flashed through Kasumi's mind. He would have
noticed the occupied sign though.
"You're probably right. I..." An outraged shout coincided with an
impact that shook the foundations of the house. Akane was heading
towards the furo before the sound ended, leaving Kasumi to trail behind.
Halting before the door to the inner bath, Akane paused for a
second to marshal her courage and then swiftly pushed the door open.
She wasn't sure what she expected to see, but this wasn't it. Ryoga was
lying on the floor while a naked Ranma knelt beside him and cradled his
head in her hands. Meanwhile, Nabiki stood by the wall wrapping a towel
around his midsection.
"If there's a logical explanation for this, I don't want to here
it," Akane announced, before spinning on her heel and storming out of
the room.
"I think she took it very well, don't you?" Kasumi met Ranma's
incredulous stare with a faint smile.
=================
Akane ran through recent events trying to make sense of them.
Ranma and Nabiki had apparently been taking a bath together. She was
sure there was something perverted about that, but trying to figure out
what was more trouble than it was worth. The really puzzling part was
how Nabiki had suddenly appeared. A quiet knock on her door interrupted
her train of thought.
"Who is it?"
"Ryoga. We have to talk."
Akane sighed. She should have known this was coming. "Come in,"
she called.
Ryoga quickly darted inside and closed the door behind him. "Akane
I..."
"Let me guess. You've got an explanation for what happened that's
a lot simpler and more convincing than the truth."
"Yes- I mean no." Ryoga caught himself and grinned sheepishly.
"How did you know."
Akane smothered a giggle. She should have realized that Ryoga was
trustworthy. If nothing else, Ryoga was by far the poorest liar that
she knew. "When I was six years old Nabiki sold my favorite doll. She
told me the monster under the bed stole it. She got it back for me when
I wouldn't stop crying, though."
"It doesn't sound like she'd changed much," Ryoga ventured, his
voice heavy with relief.
"She hasn't." Akane paused for a moment and assumed a somber
expression. "I have to ask you something very important, Ryoga. Do you
care for Ranma?"
"What? Yes I do." Ryoga was a bit surprised by the question, but
there was no doubt about the answer. The weeks since he'd ended his
quarrel with Ranma had been the best in his life.
"Good. I'm worried about this date that Ranma's going on tonight."
"Wha... Ranma's going on a date?"
"He didn't tell you? A guy named Yoshio asked Ranma out. He said
he'd liked Nabiki for a long time, but he had to be lying about that.
He doesn't go to Furinkan or even live nearby."
Ryoga frowned thoughtfully. "He's a martial artist?"
"Ranma says he seems to be pretty good."
Ryoga winced internally. "I guess we'll have to do something
then. There's no reason to assume something will happen, but-"
"-we are talking about Ranma," Akane said, finishing Ryoga's
thought.
=================
"Hello, Kasumi. I was wondering if I could talk to Ranma."
Kasumi smiled politely at the visitor. "I'm sorry Mousse, but
Ranma isn't home now."
"Then perhaps I could speak to Akane or Nabiki."
"I'm afraid that they're not here either."
"Really. Do you know where they went?"
"I'm afraid not. I know they're eating out, but they didn't tell
me where." Kasumi shifted slightly under Mousse's steady gaze. It
wasn't that he was impolite, but there was something different about
him.
"I see. I'm sorry to have troubled you."
"Don't worry. It was no trouble at all." It wasn't until Kasumi
was watching Mousse walk down the street that she realized what was
different about him. He hadn't been wearing his glasses.
=================
"What are they doing?" Akane craned her head awkwardly trying to
peer over the row of plants. They'd stopped Ranma from seeing her and
Ryoga, but they also made it hard to keep track of what was happening.
"Looking at their menus." Ryoga's hands tightened involuntarily on
his own menu. There was just something about the way Ranma was smiling
at that jerk.
"Relax, Ryoga. The way you're scowling I'd almost think you were
jealous." Akane kept her voice light, but a perceptive listener might
have detected an edge of bitterness.
A wave of momentary panic shot through Ryoga at Akane's words.
First that mess when he'd walked in on Ranma in the bath and now this.
After a moment, Ryoga decided it was all Yoshio's fault. If he hadn't
asked Ranma out there wouldn't be a problem. One of Ryoga's hands
dropped to the edge of the table and the wood groaned ominously under
the pressure. He could hardly wait for trouble to start.
=================
By the time the time the waiter had seated them, Ukyo had convinced
himself that it was going to be a fun evening. Even if it wasn't quite
the way he'd imagined it, he was on a date with Ranma.
"You look lovely tonight, Nabiki." To his surprise, Ukyo
discovered that he meant what he said. The black dress Ranma was
wearing wasn't nearly as revealing as it might have been, but it
certainly flattered Ranma's figure.
"Thanks. You look good too." Ranma shifted uncomfortably in her
seat. The effort it took to keep smiling was starting to make her jaw
hurt. It didn't help that Yoshio seemed to be a nice guy. Someone like
Kuno she knew how to handle, but this was an entirely different game.
"I hope the food here is good. I heard they just reopened the this
restaurant after it was leveled in a freak explosion."
"I'm sure it will be fine. Maybe you could help me make a
selection though." Ranma tuned out Yoshio's reply and occupied herself
in an inspection of the room. Her eyes narrowed as she caught sight of
a familiar pair seated across the room.
"Is it all right if I leave for a moment, Yoshio? I have to go fix
my makeup."
"Of course." As far as Ukyo could tell, Ranma's makeup looked
fine, but he'd never worn any himself.
=================
"Kiyomi, I'm glad you called." There was no one around to see, but
Nabiki smiled into the phone. It seemed that his plan was back on
track. "I was wondering if you'd like to try another date on Monday
night."
Nabiki listened for a moment and then his smile broadened. "You'd
love to? That's great. I'll see you then."
By the time Nabiki hung up the phone, a satisfied smirk stretched
across his face. When Kiyomi arrived for her date, it would be the real
Ryoga that was waiting. The only downside was that no one appreciated
how helpful he was being.
=================
"Akane, where did Ranma go?" Ryoga glanced around curiously. He'd
become distracted momentarily and lost sight of Ranma.
"He was headed towards the washrooms a minute ago. He's probably
still there."
"Or maybe not. Care to explain why the two of you are here?"
Ranma was amused by the startled expressions that flashed across the
pair's faces, but she didn't stop scowling.
"We were worried about you." Akane felt the gazes of the other
diners turn in their direction as she stood to answer Ranma's question.
"Besides, if I want to go on a date with my fianc� it isn't any of your
business, Nabiki."
"What? He's not your fianc�!"
Akane leaned forward and hissed in Ranma's ear, "Will you be quiet,
people are staring."
"Nabiki, what's going on?" Ukyo stopped dead at the scene that
confronted him. Akane and Ranma were standing face to face, while Ryoga
actively ignored the whole situation.
"I'm just talking to my sister," Ranma grated out.
"Come on. Let's go to our table." Reaching out, Ukyo grabbed hold
of Ranma's arm pulling her off balance.
"Let go of her!"
"Why don't you just sit back down? This doesn't have anything to
do with you."
"Ow!" Ranma winced involuntarily as Yoshio's grip on her arm
tightened.
That was more than enough for Ryoga. Lashing out, he landed a
solid punch on the taller boy's face.
"That didn't hurt at all." Releasing Ranma's arm, Ukyo rubbed his
cheek in surprise. Even Mousse's punches had had more effect.
"What are you talking about?" Ryoga demanded in surprise.
"I mean you hit like a girl." Seizing a glass of water from a
nearby table, Ukyo cast it into Ryoga's face. Fighting Ryoga without
any weapons wasn't his idea so he'd take all the advantages he could
get.
Sputtering, Ryoga wiped her wet face with her sleeve. The clatter
as male diners throughout the restaurant hastily set down their drinks
registered only faintly. "Why don't I show how hard a girl can hit?"
Darting forward, Ryoga easily ducked under Yoshio's punch and launched
her own attack.
Ukyo barely had time to notice that he'd missed before something
slammed into his midsection and flung him backwards though the air. As
he slammed into the tables behind him, the scalding sensation of hot tea
barely registered on his stunned mind.
"I don't believe it" Ryoga's eyes widened in shock as Ukyo
staggered back to her feet.
"Shampoo!"
At that outburst, Ryoga and Akane turned just in time to see Mousse
latch onto Ranma
from behind.
End Chapter 14.