At long last, here's the fourth chapter of Ranmadate. I apologise for the
delay, and will try to get the future chapters out in a more timely fashion.



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DISCLAIMERS, APOLOGIES, and RAMBLING

The following is a highly contrived piece of shite.

The following highly contrived piece of shite is based on characters from
Ranma 1/2 and other series.

Appropriate disclaimers will be posted at the beginning of each chapter.

Extreme suspension of disbelief is recommended for reading this story, as
many facets of reality are being disregarded in favour of the highly
contrived plot.

Feedback is encouraged. Flames are pointless, as the author is a flaming
retard.

...wait a minute, that isn't right. o.O;;

Ranma 1/2 is the property of Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan, Viz, and other
corporate entities who are not me.

Azumanga Daioh is the property of Azuma Kiyohiko, Dengeki Comics, ADV, and
other corporate entities who are not me.

No infringement is intended, no profit is being made, and I make no claims
of ownership to anything here except my own original characters.

=================================================

Two weeks ago...

=================================================

Two women sat in a small kissaten eating dinner. One of them was also
consuming large quantities of sake, much to the consternation of the other.

"Didja...*gulp,smack* see those pamphlets a lotta the girls have with 'em
lately?" the brown-haired woman asked, smacking her lips noisily as she
devoured an entire croquette as quickly as she could pick it up.

Her companion took a sip from a glass of cola, frowning. "Yeah, I have. What
do you think about all that?"

The brown-haired woman drained her glass and slammed it down on the table.
"I think it's a crime to waste such an opportunity on the young! It's those
of us who work hard to make the world a better place that deserve the honour
and glory and--" She belched loudly.

Her companion raised an eyebrow. "You just like the idea of being rich,
don't you?"

"Absolutely!" the drunk woman cheered.

The other woman sighed, running a hand through her short, blue-black hair.
"You have absolutely no shame, you know?"

They sat in silence for a while longer.

"I put your name in too, by the way," the brown-haired woman slurred.

"...eh?"

"I mean, you haven't had a date since--"

"HOLD ON A MINUTE!" The dark-haired woman stood, slamming her palms on the
table. "What makes you think you can just--that you can--"

"Calm down, calm down. It's not like an old bag like you has a chance, is
it? It's just a funny joke."

"Old--old bag?" An eyebrow twitched ominously. "Old...bag?"

Ten minutes later, the two women were bodily thrown from the kissaten by its
owner, and informed they were never welcome to eat there again.

They were still pulling at each others' faces by the time they reached the
train station.

=================================================

She was surprised when she found a letter in her mailbox one day from the
Ministry of Financial Affairs. She was even more surprised when she scanned
its contents:

We are pleased to inform you that you have been

selected as an ALTERNATE candidate for Project

Ranmadate.

ALTERNATE candidacy means that you are not on

the list of thirty candidates who will be dating

Saotome-san. However, should any of those thirty

be removed from consideration for any reason, you

may be selected to take her place on the list.

We thank you for your interest in Project

Ranmadate.

Even though her name had been entered without her consent, it was somehow
flattering to be chosen, even as an alternate, to be a possible bride for a
young man who was about to be insanely wealthy.

She wasn't that obsessive about material things, after all, but everyone had
a right to dream, didn't they?

And so, that night, as she went to sleep, her mind filled with images of
beautiful wedding gowns, a church full of flowers and all her friends and
family, her favourite students in bridesmaids' dresses...

=================================================

R A N M A D A T E

=================================================

CHAPTER FOUR:

ONNA-GUY, TEACHER

=================================================

The phone rang.

Kuromaki reached the ornate brass telephone in the foyer before it had a
chance to ring a second time and picked up the receiver. "Saotome Manor," he
said.

A slim eyebrow quirked as he listened to the caller. "Indeed. I see. So
then--yes--very good. And what should I tell Master Ranma, sir? Alright.
Yes. I understand. Thank you. Good day."

Ranma came downstairs just as he was hanging up, dressed in neat slacks and
a polo shirt, his hair in a sleek ponytail. "Yo, Kuromaki."

"Good morning, Master Ranma." The butler bowed. "I regret to inform you
there will be a--delay in today's proceedings."

The younger man blinked. "A delay? How come?"

Kuromaki's lips quirked into a wry smile. "The candidate whom you were
supposed to be meeting today has been--err--removed from consideration."

"Removed?" Ranma frowned. "Why? What happened?"

"Well..." Kuromaki coughed. "It seems the lady has a son close to your age,
and was keeping her participation in all this a secret. When one of our
drivers arrived to pick her up, her son--well--" The smile on his face
became more of a grimace. "Reacted violently to the news."

"Wait a sec--she has a son MY age?" Ranma looked sick. "How old's this
woman, anyway?"

"Twenty-nine according to her profile. Apparently she was quite young at the
time she--"

"Okay, I gotcha. So then what?"

"Well, young Master Urameshi was quite set against his mother dating someone
your age--he seemed to feel it was inappropriate. So he, err..."

"He didn't do nothin' to his mom, did he?" Ranma asked, looking shocked.

"Oh, no, sir. He did, however, destroy one of our limousines."

"..."

"With his bare hands, I might add."

Ranma blinked. "Wow. I'd like t' meet this guy sometime."

"Indeed. But perhaps this would not be a prudent time for such an
encounter."

The martial artist chuckled. "Yeah, I guess not. So--what happens now? I
mean, does this mean I ain't got a date today?"

"There are several alternate candidates, Master Ranma, in the event
something of this nature should occur. One of the alternates is being
contacted by Master Kuroboshi at this moment. Your date for today will begin
somewhat later than scheduled, but you will indeed meet a young lady today,
I assure you."

Ranma shrugged. "Okay, cool. I guess I'm gonna watch some TV until we hear
back from Kuroboshi then."

"Very good, sir."

=================================================

The phone rang.

"Moshi-moshi?"

"..."

"Yes."

"..."

"Yes..."

"..."

"Today?"

"..."

"Well...I mean...it's awful sudden..."

"..."

"I didn't say that! I mean--I--alright. Yes."

"..."

"Alright."

"..."

"Thank you."

"..."

"Goodbye."

Click.

=================================================

"I have news, Master Ranma," Kuromaki said briskly as he entered the
television lounge on the second floor.

Ranma looked up from where he was sitting idly on his head, legs folded
above him, watching a space cowboy anime of some sort. "Yeah?"

Kuromaki raised at eyebrow as Ranma's odd position, but continued,
unruffled. "An alternate candidate has agreed to meet you today, and will be
arriving within the hour. The kitchen staff is preparing lunch for the two
of you. From there, it will be up to you and the young lady to decide what
to do."

Ranma pushed himself off the floor with his hands, did a flip and a twist in
midair, and landed easily on his feet. "Okay, cool."

Kuromaki bowed, and Ranma followed him out into the corridor.

=================================================

"Miss Kurosawa Minamo, sir."

As the butler retreated to his quarters, Ranma sized up the woman before
him. She was quite obviously older than himself, though certainly not too
much older, and quite attractive. She had short blue-black hair (which
caused Ranma a brief twinge of discomfort), bright, alert dark eyes, and a
trim, athletic figure. She was wearing tan slacks and a light peach-coloured
blouse, and looked somewhat nervous and overwhelmed.

"It's nice to meet you," she said, bowing.

Ranma returned the bow, and smiled. "Hey, ya hungry? They got a little lunch
ready for us."

"Ah...of course," the woman said with a nervous smile.

Ranma offered his arm, which she took blushingly. The two of them followed
Kuromaki to one of the smaller dining rooms on the ground floor.

As they walked, Ranma commented, "Betcha you weren't expectin' ta be here
today, were ya?"

"N-no, I wasn't," she replied, slightly flustered. "Truthfully, I--" She
paused. "Well, anyway, I'm here. This place really is amazing."

"Yeah, ain't it? I'm still not used ta it yet. In fact--" He looked around
the small, elegant room they had just entered, which had a mahogany table
that would seat no more than four in the center, surrounded by chairs
upholstered with royal blue brocaded cloth, "I ain't never even seen this
room before, come t' think of it."

Minamo laughed softly. Ranma pulled a chair out for her, and she sat down.
As Ranma seated himself across from her, a woman wearing a white uniform and
an apron walked in pushing a serving cart, from which she began placing
dishes on the table. She uncovered the dishes, revealing a number of
sumptuous delights--skewered grilled chicken and vegetables, tempura shrimp,
croquettes, a steaming pot of rice, an array of sauces in clear glass bowls,
an assortment of sushi, and two large bowls of curry udon.

"Looks good," Ranma commented, placing a cloth napkin in his lap as he
reached for a pair of red-and-black lacquered chopsticks.

Minamo boggled at the feast. "This is a *little* lunch?"

Ranma grinned. "Far as I'm concerned one o' th' best things about this bein'
rich thing is th' food." Minamo laughed. "So, tell me somethin' about
yourself."

"Oh--" the dark-haired woman frowned thoughtfully, selecting a croquette and
putting it on her plate. "Well, I'm a gym teacher. I also coach the swim
club at the school where I teach."

"No kiddin'!" Ranma said, popping two bites of chicken and a whole water
chestnut in his mouth. "Man, I wish th' gym teachers at some o' th' schools
I've gone to had been as pretty as you."

Minamo flushed. "Th-thank you, Saotome-san."

"Just call me Ranma." He paused for a sip of tea. "So, sensei, what sports
do you do?"

"Well, I like just about any sport in general, really," Minamo said,
carefully picking at her curry udon. "Swimming, obviously, but I also like
volleyball and basketball. Softball's fun too, as long as everyone's
behaving themselves."

Ranma grinned. "Heh--reminds me of a time I was sittin' with th' guys
watchin' th' girls play ball, an' caught a foul with my face."

"There's a little too much of that at my school," Minamo admitted. "Some of
the students are a little...well...spirited. But they're good kids, really."

Ranma nodded, working on his own curry udon now.

"So tell me something about yourself, Ranma-san. I--well--I never actually
got to read the brochure."

Ranma blinked. "Oh?"

Minamo shook her head. "Actually, a friend of mine put my name in for this
without asking me." She flushed. "But when I got chosen as an alternate, I
decided I didn't mind TOO terribly." She smiled, seizing a bit of shrimp in
her chopsticks.

"Heh." Ranma paused. "Well, ain't much t' tell. I'm a martial artist, been
trainin' with my pop all my life, had a bunch o' crazy, stupid stuff happen
t'me that'd take too long t' tell about an' you probably wouldn't believe me
anyway..." He shrugged. "An' then one day, this old rich guy dies, leaves me
everythin' he owns, I ain't never met him or nothin' like that, ain't
related--but I gotta get married t' get th' money an' stuff. Not that I care
that much about bein' rich," he added. "I got other reasons for goin' along
with this whole thing."

"Reasons such as meeting a lot of eligible women?" Minamo asked teasingly.

Ranma flushed. "Well, it ain't been as bad as I thought it could be so far."

The teacher quirked an eyebrow. "That's an odd way for a young man your age
to react to your situation."

The teenager shrugged. "I'm an odd kinda guy." He paused. "So, whatcha wanna
do this afternoon? We can go anywhere an' do anythin' you want, just name
it."

Minamo sipped her tea. "I really have no idea, Ranma-san," she replied. "I
was caught a bit flat-footed by this, and don't really know what--" She
paused. "Why don't you decide?"

"Hmm." Ranma popped half a croquette in his mouth and chewed thoughtfully.
"Well, we got a gym here. Wanna goof off a bit? Play a little one-on-one or
somethin'?"

The gym teacher smiled. "That sounds like fun." She paused. "Though I'm not
exactly dressed for it..."

"Hmm." He paused, then snapped his fingers. "Hold up. Yo, Kuromaki!" he
called, more loudly.

"Yes, sir?" the butler replied, appearing instantly.

"Don't reckon we got some gym clothes that'd fit sensei here? We're thinkin'
o' goin' out t' th' gym after lunch."

Kuromaki nodded. "There is a full wardrobe in the guest wing for both male
and female visitors. There should be something suitable in there."

"Cool."

"Do you require anything else, sir?"

"Nah, we're cool."

"Very good, sir."

As Kuromaki departed, Minamo stared after him. "I don't know if I could ever
get used to that," she said.


Ranma shrugged. "You can get used ta anythin' after a while...trust me."

=================================================

After they finished eating, Haruka led Minamo to the guest wardrobe, while
Ranma headed for his own room to change into his more familiar clothes and
re-braid his hair. A half hour later, he met up with the gym teacher in the
foyer; she was dressed in dark blue track pants with white stripes, white
sneakers, and a light grey sweatshirt. She also seemed to be more composed;
Ranma reasoned that she probably felt more in her element in gym clothes,
just as he did in his usual Chinese outfits.

"Ready?" he asked. Minamo nodded.

They headed to the gym, which was connected to the manor proper by an
enclosed walkway. As they walked down the corridor, Minamo looked through
the windows on either side. "Ah! What a beautiful garden," she enthused.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool," Ranma replied.

"Oh, and you have a pool too!"

"Got three pools, actually," Ranma said. "Great big outdoor pool an' two
smaller ones inside. One's cold all year, one's hot all year."

"Very nice!" Minamo said, impressed.

They entered the gym, and Ranma dashed to the equipment closet while Minamo
walked out to centre court. A moment later, the pigtailed boy returned,
twirling a basketball idly on one finger. "I gotta admit I don't play much,"
Ranma said. "Not usually my thing."

The gym teacher grinned. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."

Ranma grinned back at her. "Twenty-one points?" At her nod, he passed the
ball to her, then stood waiting.

Minamo dribbled for a moment, then broke down the court, cutting a wide arc.

To her surprise, the ball disappeared out from under her. She turned and saw
Ranma keeping pace with her, grinning broadly. He sprinted around her,
easily evading her attempts to steal back the ball, then leapt into the air
as he crossed the free-throw line, slamming the ball through the hoop and
catching it easily as he landed.

The gym teacher blinked. "Not bad," she admitted.

Ranma grinned, and passed her the ball again. This time, she managed to keep
him from stealing it, as she was on her guard now. She shot from the
free-throw line, and was sure she was about to score--

Ranma suddenly sprang into the air, grabbed the ball just before it touched
the backboard, spun around, and lazily sank a mid-air layup.

Minamo stared.

"Gotta work harder if you wanna beat me, sensei," Ranma said, grinning.

And so it went for nearly half an hour. Minamo occasionally managed to guard
the ball long enough to score, having learned that keeping Ranma off the
ball was easiest if she didn't let go of it until she was at the hoop.
Ranma, for his part, was enjoying himself, and didn't seem to be working up
a sweat, while the gym teacher was beginning to feel drenched--she hadn't
played this hard since college.

Finally, Ranma shot a three-pointer for the win, and turned to the
dark-haired woman, grinning. "You're pretty good alright," he said.

"You're amazing, Ranma-kun!" Minamo said. "You--you should play
professionally!"

Ranma shrugged. "Nah. Not my thing. Too easy." At the teacher's smirk, he
laughed. "I've been jumpin' like that since I was a little kid, sensei. Th'
family school specialises in midair combat. These little jumps ain't nothin'
for a Saotome."

"If I hadn't seen how easy it was for you, I'd think you were bragging,"
Minamo said, an eyebrow raised.

"So, whatcha wanna do now? Volleyball?"

The teacher laughed. "Noooo no, one crushing defeat was humiliating enough."
She smirked. "Though I bet I could beat you in the water for sure."

Ranma suddenly went pale. "Eh...heh. You...wanna go swimming, I take it."

Minamo shrugged, sighing. "I wouldn't mind a nice dip in the pool to cool
off after that game. Why, something wrong with swimming?"

"Err..." Ranma coughed. "Well..."

"Oh, I get it!" The dark-haired woman giggled. "You're embarassed about
wearing a swimsuit in front of me, right? Or maybe it's the thought of *me*
in a swimsuit, hmm?" She poked him in the chest with an index finger
teasingly, winking.

"N--no, it's not that," the pigtailed boy said, flushing. "It's..."

"Don't tell me you don't know how to swim," Minamo said, eyes wide.

"Hell no! I can swim just fine! It's just that--"

"Well, let's go swimming then! Come on, Ranma-kun, there's nothing to be
afraid of!"

With that, she began heading back to the manor. Ranma sighed heavily and
followed.

=================================================

Kuromaki looked up as the pair entered the foyer. "Did you enjoy your game?"
he asked.

"Yeah, it was fun," Ranma said. "Listen, we--er--gotta get a couple'a
swimsuits."

"Going for a swim?" Kuromaki asked, raising an eyebrow. "Would this be in
the heated pool, or in--"

"The outdoor pool," Minamo said forcefully, an eager gleam in her eyes.

"What she said," Ranma echoed in a somewhat defeated tone. "An'--an' y'know
I only got th' one suit, an' it's a bit--well, I think I could use a new one
too."

"Of course, sir. Shall I have Haruka escort you to the guest wardrobe?"

"No--no, it's okay. We know the way. Just kinda keep everyone clear for a
bit, okay?" Ranma asked, flushing slightly.

"Of course, Master Ranma."

As they made their way upstairs, Minamo turned to Ranma inquisitively.
"What's wrong, Ranma-kun? You're acting awfully strangely all of a sudden."

Ranma sighed. "I just hate this part. I never know how people're gonna
react, an' it's embarrassin'."

Minamo stopped him. "What's embarrassing, Ranma-kun?" she asked. "Tell me
what's wrong. Maybe I can help."

The pigtailed boy snorted. "I wish." He sighed. "It's just that--well,
there's somethin' you gotta understand about me an' water."

"You're afraid of--"

"I ain't afraid o' nothin'!" Ranma cut across her hotly. "No, it's somethin'
else." Sighing, he pushed open the door to one of the many lavatories on the
second floor, and began filling a small glass with cold water. He turned to
Minamo and said quietly, "You see--"

He poured the water on himself.

The gym teacher's eyes widened, then contracted to tiny specks as she stared
at the damp redhead.

"--cold water turns me inta a girl."

=================================================

Minamo stared, her mind racing.

When she'd seen the enormous pool on the grounds, she felt a pang of
longing--even though she spent more time in the water than any other teacher
she knew, swimming was one thing she never quite got enough of.

She'd felt sure that Ranma would jump at the chance to go swimming with her;
she wasn't as terribly vain as some people she could name, but she knew for
a fact she looked damn good in a swimsuit. A plan had begun to form in her
mind; she'd get Ranma to go swimming with her, show off her talent in the
water--the younger man seemed to respect athletic skill--and show off her
good looks at the same time, and she'd be sure to win.

Not that it mattered if she won or not, after all. She was enjoying herself,
and given she hadn't even signed up for this herself in the first place, she
didn't feel compelled to go for the gold. But still, a bit of a competitive
streak was just part of her nature, and this was a competition--just like
any relay race, the one who kept a cool head and a steady pace would emerge
victorious. She felt certain that, once in the water, she'd be in total
control of the game, with a clear shot at the finish line.

Then the rules had changed, and all it had taken was a cup of cold water.

"Wha--how--wha--"

The redhead turned the hot water tap, waited for the water to heat up, then
filled the glass again. Ranma poured the hot water over herself, and was
suddenly male again.

Minamo's eyes contracted further, her jaw agape, her hair frizzing violently
as she trembled, staring at the pigtailed boy.

"Hot water changes me back," Ranma replied. "But since we're gonna be
swimmin' in th' big pool..." He turned the cold tap again, filled the glass,
and--

Splash. Girl.

Minamo tried to say something, anything, but all that came out was a small
squeak.

This, she hadn't expected. In her mind's eye, the finish line suddenly
vanished from sight, reappearing hundreds of metres away, and a chorus of
laughing voices echoed in her head, one of them sounding suspiciously like
Yukari.

Ranma was watching her, apparently waiting for her to speak. After what felt
like an eternity, she finally managed, "H-how?"

The redhead took a deep breath. "There's a place in China called
Jusenkyo..."

=================================================

Ranma explained the curse and how it worked to the stunned Minamo, and after
the shock wore off, she seemed able to accept it, though she was still a bit
rattled.

"And there's no cure for it?" she asked.

Ranma sighed. "Haven't found one yet."

"Well--" Minamo fished around for something encouraging to say. "It could be
worse, couldn't it?"

The redhead laughed. "Yeah, it could. I mean, at least I don't turn inta a
panda or somethin' like that. You got any idea how bad my pop stinks when
he's wet?"

Minamo giggled, though it was a strained sort of giggle. "Well, let's find
some suits so we can go swimming, ne?"

Ranma smiled. "Yeah, okay."

Several minutes later, the two women stood in the guest wardrobe, a spacious
room containing racks upon racks of clothes. "Wow, I ain't never seen THIS
either!" Ranma exclaimed.

"I was surprised too," Minamo replied. "It almost looks like someone bought
out an entire clothing store and moved it all in here."

"That's probably about what happened," Ranma said, nodding. "I guess it's
like they say--if you got it, flaunt it. Th' old man sure as hell had it."

Minamo found a rack of swimsuits and began looking through them. "Ah, some
of these are so cute! Oh, but this one's way too small for me."

Ranma perused the rack beside her. "Lotsa choices here. Hmm, this one's my
size. This one too. So's--" She paused. "Hey, wait a sec. These are ALL my
size!"

Minamo blinked at the redhead. "All--?"

"Yeah. But why--" Ranma's eyes widened, and an angry flush crept up her
face. "That old pervert!"

"Eh?"

"Th' old man knew about my curse. I'll just bet--" Ranma growled. "Dammit,
why do old guys all gotta be such freaks?"

Minamo nodded sagely. "It does seem that way sometimes, doesn't it? You
should see this one teacher at my school--" She paused, pulling a suit off
the rack. "Ah! This'll work." She held it up to her chest, smiling and
turning to the redhead. "What do you think?"

Ranma looked over at her. Minamo was holding a one-piece swimsuit that was
half blue and half black, divided by a diagonal double white stripe across
the torso which crossed the left breast. She nodded. "Not bad." She turned
back to her own rack of swimsuits, grumbling under her breath, before
pulling out a bright red suit with "WILD CHERRY" across the front in big
pink letters. "I'll take this one." She looked around the room, musing,
"Yanno, I could use a lotta this stuff next time I hafta play th' girl
game."

"The 'girl game'?" Minamo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah. I hate this curse, but sometimes it comes in handy--times I gotta act
like a girl, mess with someone's head or somethin'." She nodded. "Yeah, I'll
hafta remember about this." Turning to Minamo, she asked, "Ready t' go t'
th' pool?"

"Lead the way," the gym teacher replied, grinning.

=================================================

They changed into their swimsuits in private rooms by the pool, then headed
out. Minamo studied Ranma closely; she felt a twinge of jealousy at the fact
that the younger girl's chest was larger than her own. Then she reminded
herself that Ranma was really a boy and probably didn't care how big her
chest was. She frowned as she realised that Ranma also probably wouldn't be
nearly as interested in her own body as she'd hoped, since she'd probably
long since become desensitised to the sight of female flesh.

Ranma grinned at her, then bounded over to the high diving board. One jump
carried her to the top, where she landed precariously, bending the board
almost to the breaking point. Then, with a joyous shout of "CANNONBALL!",
she sprang off the platform, launching herself so high in the air she became
a dark speck against the sun, before plummeting toward the pool, body curled
into a tight ball, spinning rapidly as she descended. With a tremendous
SPLASH!, the redhead impacted with the pool, sending huge sheets of water
skyward.

Minamo applauded. "Nice dive!" she called.

The pigtailed girl broke the surface, grinning back at her as she began
lazily backstroking. "Thanks. Your turn!"

The gym teacher smiled, then headed for the high dive platform, climbing the
ladder quickly. Once she was in position, she glanced down at the pool,
noticing Ranma watching her carefully. She tensed for a moment, then leapt,
keeping her body perfectly straight, her hands together. She split the water
neatly, making as little of a splash as possible, then swam to the bottom
and came up behind the redhead. As soon as she broke the surface, she sent a
spray of water at Ranma, who yelped.

"Ack!" Ranma turned, glaring at her. "Very funny," she said, sticking out
her tongue. Minamo laughed. Ranma smirked, then splashed her twice. With a
giggle, the older woman disappeared under the surface again, a playful smirk
on her face. Ranma tensed--

Then shrieked and laughed as she felt the swim coach tickling her feet
underwater. She splashed around a bit, laughing, then dropped underwater,
evading the tickle attack. She spotted Minamo underwater and gave her an
evil grin, then charged toward her...

The two women spent nearly an hour and a half chasing each other around the
pool, occasionally coming up for air, laughing, then going back under to
resume their game. Minamo was surprised that Ranma was nearly as good a
swimmer as she was--maybe even just a bit better--but she still managed to
stay ahead of the redhead fairly easily.

Eventually, she broke the surface, smiling. "I give, I give!" she called to
Ranma, who had just surfaced a metre away. "You're a really good swimmer,
Ranma-kun!"

"Thanks." Ranma sighed. "I don't go swimmin' much anymore cuz'a th' curse.
But I guess th' swim t' China kinda wore me out on swimmin' anyway..."

Minamo blinked. "The--swim to--WHERE?"

"That's how me an' my pop got t' China in th' first place," Ranma explained.
"We swam. We took a boat back, though, cuz'a Pop bein' a panda an'...well,
we had other reasons t' take a faster way back."

The gym teacher's eyes contracted again. "You. Swam. To China."

"Yeah."

Minamo shook herself. "Help me out of the pool, Ranma-kun."

"...eh?" The redhead looked at her, confused.

"I don't want to faint until I'm out of the water."

"..."

=================================================

A short while later, Minamo emerged from the changing room, freshly
showered, dried off, and dressed. Ranma was waiting for her, male again,
smiling. She flushed as she looked at him. "Thanks for going swimming with
me, Ranma-kun."

"Hey, I enjoyed it. Like I said, it's not somethin' I get t' do a lot
anymore." He offered his arm. "I reckon they probably got dinner ready for
us by now, since it's gettin' kinda late."

Minamo nodded. "I worked up an appetite in the pool."

"Me too," Ranma said with a chuckle.

They returned to the small dining room and found, to their surprise, a
Western dinner spread waiting for them: a large beef roast, mashed potatoes,
roasted potatoes, baked potatoes, sweet peas, a large bowl of salad, hot
corn on the cob, a basket of rolls, a boat of rich brown gravy, and a bottle
of champagne.

"Wow," Minamo said.

"Man, Imozuki must be cookin' tonight," Ranma said as he held out a chair
for the older woman. "Dude's a potato freak." He sat down across from her,
and eyed the champagne dubiously. "Err..."

Kuromaki suddenly appeared with a corkscrew, popped the cork, filled two
glasses with champagne, and left. Ranma and Minamo stared after him.

The pigtailed boy shook his head. "It really creeps me out when he does
that," he muttered.

"What, open a bottle of champagne?" Minamo asked as she placed a large slice
of roast on her plate.

"I mean th' poppin' up outta nowhere thing," Ranma replied, helping himself
to the mashed potatoes.

They spent several minutes in companionable silence, filling their plates
and eating, the clink and clatter of knives and forks the only sound.

"Yukari'd have a fit if she knew I was having dinner in a mansion, with a
handsome younger man," Minamo giggled as she sipped her champagne.

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "Yukari?"

"We've known each other since we were kids, we both teach at the same
school. She teaches English." She paused for a bite of potato. "She's the
one who put my name in for this. She signed up for it too, but I don't think
she made it in, or she'd have been crowing about it." She shook her head.

"Gee, she just signed ya up, just like that?" Ranma asked.

"Yeah. She's always doing weird things like that. She's so annoying
sometimes." Minamo paused, then flushed. "But I'm glad she did it. I mean,
I've had a LOT of fun today."

Ranma smiled. "Yeah, me too. You don't mind that we didn't go someplace
fancy or nothin'?"

The gym teacher stared at him. "What could possibly be fancier than this
mansion?"

The pigtailed boy grinned sheepishly. "Ya got a point there," he admitted.

Minamo refilled her glass, draining half of it in one gulp. She picked up
her fork again and speared a roast potato on it, but didn't eat it straight
away. "She's a real pig sometimes. Yukari, I mean." She gesticulated with
her fork. "And she's lazy. And messy. And immature. She welshes on bets when
she loses."

"Sounds like a pain. And she's your best friend?"

"Yeah. Weird, huh?"

Ranma laughed. "At least she doesn't try ta kill ya every time she sees ya.
That's how it is with me an' my pal Ryouga."

Minamo blinked. "He tries to KILL you?"

"Yeah. It gets on my nerves sometimes. But he's not a bad guy, just kinda
stupid an' high-strung. He's a pain in the ass mosta th' time, but he's good
t' have on your side in a pinch. An' he usually shows up right when y'could
really use his help." He sipped his champagne. "So I can live with him
tryin' ta kill me all th' time."

The gym teacher shook her head. "You know, Ranma-kun, you have a REALLY
strange life."

Ranma snorted. "Tell me about it."

"Sometimes I think my life is strange, but now..." Minamo laughed. Her
cheeks were turning quite pink. "Yeah, I got Yukari for a friend, and she's
a mess, but..." She sipped her champagne again. "The kids at school are a
little weird too, but I can't imagine not having them around. But those
girls will be graduating this year..." She sighed, then smiled. "We go on
summer holiday with them, you know? Yukari and me. One of our girls has a
summer beach home, and we go there every year. But she's gonna go to America
for college, so we may not get to go again."

"Mm. Well, maybe she'll come home for summer and you can all go together
again then?"

Minamo brightened. "Yeah, you're right! I'm sure Chiyo-chan won't stay in
America all year." She smiled. "It must seem weird to you, ne? A teacher
wanting to spend summer with the kids she teaches."

"Nah. It's kinda cool, I think," Ranma replied. "Then again, you're nothin'
like most'a th' teachers I know. You don't act all grown-up an' stuff. You
just wanna have fun, like a kid. It's cool."

Minamo flushed. "Well, I do like to have fun. But it's important to be
responsible too."

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, most'a th' teachers I know don't know what fun is
anymore. Except one, but she's a total nutcase. Actually," he frowned
thoughtfully, "She teaches English too. Maybe it's just English teachers who
are weird, huh?"

Minamo laughed. "Maybe so."

=================================================

After dinner, Ranma escorted Minamo out to the limousine. "I had a really
good time today, Ranma-kun," Minamo said.

"Yeah, me too," he replied, holding the door open for her.

Minamo started to get into the car, but paused, a pensive look on her face.
She suddenly leaned forward and gave Ranma a brief, chaste kiss, then waved.
"Goodnight, Ranma-kun."

Ranma flushed, but smiled and waved back at her. "Goodnight, sensei."

The limousine started off down the driveway. Ranma watched for a moment,
then turned to head back inside, whistling to himself, hands in his pockets.

=================================================

Once the driver had dropped her off, Minamo hummed quietly to herself as she
dug her keys out of her purse. She approached her apartment door, and saw
Yukari slumped against it, half-asleep.

"Yukari!" she called out in a sing-song voice, bending over and prodding the
brown-haired woman.

"Snrrxz--huh? Wuzza?" Yukari glanced up. "Ah--Nyamo-chan. Where were--" She
glanced past her fellow teacher, and saw a limousine pulling away from the
curb. "UOOOOH!" She stood up abruptly, pointing a finger at Minamo.
"WH-WH-WH-WH-WH-WH-WHERE WERE YOU THAT YOU WERE IN A LIMO?!"

Minamo smiled. "I had a date with a very nice, cool, handsome, wealthy young
man today." She unlocked the door and pushed past Yukari into the apartment.
As she slipped off her shoes, Yukari turned to face her, gaping.

"Handsome--wealthy--young--" Her eyes took on a very scary cast as she
jabbed a finger into the short-haired woman's chest. "WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO
PULL?"

Minamo took a step backward, smiling. "Thank you for setting me up with
Ranma-kun, Yukari-chan. Goodnight!" She blew her friend a kiss, winking
playfully, then closed the door in her face.

Yukari stood there, blinking. "Goodnight..." She paused, then scowled,
snarling at the closed door. "WITH SAOTOME RANMA?! SCREW YOU!
SCREWYOUSCREWYOU*SCREWYOU!*" She kicked the door forcefully. "OWOWOWOWOW!
DAMN YOU, NYAMO!" With that, she stormed off angrily.

Inside, Minamo giggled, then flopped down on her bed, fully-dressed.
"Goodnight, Ranma-kun," she muttered sleepily, hiccoughing slightly.

She had very happy dreams all night.

=================================================

RATE THIS DATE!

Your participation determines the outcome of the Ranmadate project! Vote for
the bridal candidate you like best!

Below is a date rating form. Fill it out and send it to
lurker@lurkerdrome.com; results will be tallied during the course of the
Ranmadate project. The individual date-rating forms and the final voting
form at the end of the thirty days will be used to determine the outcome,
and Ranma's future bride.

IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE make sure the subject line of your e-mail reads
"Ranmadate Voting Form", and that you specify which candidate the voting
form refers to. Also, please DO NOT post voting responses to the FFML! Also
refrain from posting them to my LiveJournal. If you do not comply with the
above, I'll ignore your vote.

0. BRIDAL CANDIDATE NAME: ______________________

1. COMPATIBILITY

On a scale of one to ten, rate this candidate's compatibility with Ranma.
(1-worst, 10-best)

2. SUCCESS OF DATE

On a scale of one to ten, judge how successful this date was for both
parties (cumulatively; please do not enter separate values for both Ranma
and the girl). (1-worst, 10-best)

3. SURVIVAL CHANCES

On a scale of one to ten, rate how likely:

--Ranma is to survive this candidate. (1-worst, 10-best)

--This candidate is to survive Ranma. (1-worst, 10-best)

--Ranma is to survive becoming part of this candidate's life. (1-worst,
10-best)

--This candidate is to survive becoming part of Ranma's life. (1-worst,
10-best)

4. OPINION POLL

Would you like to see Ranma marry this candidate?

(yes or no)

Votes will be collected until the end of the Ranmadate project. Thanks for
reading!

=================================================

END OF DAY 4 -- RANMADATE

=================================================


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