Soun Tendo held the letter nervously in his hands. The words emblazed upon it made his gut churn with guilt. He realized he shouldn't have done this, but what other choices did he have? The fate of the Tendo Dojo, nay the fate of the very art of Anything Goes Martial Arts had been at risk.
Yes Soun had done what any man in his dire position would have done. He could not be condemned for his decisions…then why the feeling of dread crawling up his spine?
Mr. Tendo read the letter once again:
Dear Mister Tendo;
Our association received your letter about one month ago.
We were very moved by your story about you daughter Akane
and her chosen fiancé Ranma. Rest assured we have analyzed
your situation with the greatest of care and have dispatched our
best apprentice to handle the situation.
You can expect the agent to arrive within the week following the
delivery of this letter.
We at the Lover's Last Chance Gypsy Caravan and Corporation
believe that there is no match made on earth that cannot be made
ever-lasting.
We give you our best wishes and will be waiting for your first
payment. The deadline for the check is August 23rd. Please note
that if your payment is late our agent cannot give you the best work.
Also all our agents are licensed to curse all debtors.
May all your love-affairs turn out pleasant,
CEO and Caravan Patriarch Yvonne Valentino.
The first check was due on the twenty-third of this month! Oh what was Soun going to do? He had never PAID for services for as long as he'd run the dojo? The school was all but bankrupt from paying for damages and repairs as it was! How was he going to gather the funds to pay for a match-maker?
"This has to be the worst idea I have ever had," Soun said solemnly, slipping the business letter and envelope in his pocket and heading back towards the house.
If Soun had had any real skills as a martial artist left in him he would have sensed the pair of feline eyes upon him and he would have noticed the envelope slip from his pocket.
The proprietor of the Anything Goes Dojo rounded the corner just as a small purple and white feline dropped from the trees and strolled unchallenged up to the envelope.
The cat gave the parchment a studious look then snatched it up in her mouth and darted off back towards Neko Haten.
For the moment Nerima was peaceful. But as all the city's inhabitants had come to understand, this peace would very soon fall to pieces.
Ranma ½ Special: The Epic of the Lover's Last Chance Gypsy Caravan
Episode One: "Father, who is Aine Valentino?"
It was a rare occasion indeed when Shampoo would visit Ukyo's restaurant without fighting in mind. Still the average citizens of Nerima weren't going to take any chances with these two and they all quickly paid their bills and left.
Ukyo looked up from her still doughy okonomiyaki at the noise of so many shuffling feet and noticed the Amazonian youth.
"Shampoo, what a surprise," Ukyo said snidely. "Looking for some real food, sugar? Or maybe you just wanted to see if Ranma was here?"
"Shampoo have something very important to show Spatula-girl, so no fighting this time," Shampoo said walking up to the front counter and sitting down.
Ukyo looked at Shampoo in surprise. She moved the now finished okonomiyaki onto a plate and put aside her spatula.
"What's so important that you would come here?" the chef asked.
"Look at this," Shampoo said reaching into her shirt and pulling out the envelope she had snagged from Mister Tendo the night before. The letter was not with it but the address and company-name was written on the envelope.
"Lover's Last Chance Gypsy Mystics Incorporated? What in the world is that?" Ukyo said reading the title easily.
"Is bad news is what it is! Great Grandmother told Shampoo about these type of gypsies! They travel whole world gathering all sorts of potion recipes so when they get call for job they can match up any pair in blink of the eye!" Shampoo stated formally.
Ukyo looked at Shampoo in confusion. Not because of the second-hand story but because of the girl's last statement. Blink of the eye? That meant IN the blink of AN eye, right?
Eh, never mind. Ukyo had been around the purple-haired girl long enough to understand the girl's idiosyncrasies.
"So what does this have to do with anything, sugar?" Ukyo asked.
"Shampoo found this fallen out of Tendo's pocket! It must mean he hire match-maker for Airen and Kitchen Destroyer!" Shampoo explained.
"WHAT? No way! Soun Tendo is the second cheapest guy in town? He would never pay to get some fancy match-maker to set up Ranma-honey and Akane!" Ukyo jolted in surprise.
"Is what Shampoo saw, whether Spatula Girl believes or not is her business," Shampoo snorted picking up the envelope and turning towards the door.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Ukyo yelled leaping over the counter to run in front of Shampoo and bar the door. "You can just drop a bomb like this on me and then leave!"
"What Spatula Girl suggest I do instead?" Shampoo asked, crossing her arms over her generous chest.
"I suggest that you take a seat and help me plot a way to take down this match-maker," Ukyo said with an evil grin.
Shampoo looked disinterestedly at Ukyo for a long moment then gave an evil smirk of her own.
"For once Shampoo will take advice. Let's take down match-maker…together."
At the Tendo Household
"RANMA!! Get back here you jerk!" Akane yelled, chasing after the pigtailed boy with her mallet-sama held high over her head.
"No way! I'm not that stupid," Ranma responded over his shoulder as he bounded with feline like grace through the interior of the Tendo household.
Despite all the ups and downs and revelations of their relationship neither Ranma nor Akane showed any signs of getting closer. The two still bickered every day and the holes in the house were proof of exactly where these battles took place. The two weren't always fighting; they sometimes had moments of great companionship…that always seemed to end with one of Ranma's stupid comments or slip-ups and Akane's erupting temper.
"I can't BELIEVE you would say that I walk like a duck!!" Akane roared.
"Well I just saw some uncanny similarities between you and Mousse, I can't help it that you waddle," Ranma said defensively.
"Oh you are so going to GET IT!" Akane screeched chasing her fiancé up the stairs.
Luckily before any blows could be thrown the door downstairs opened and Soun Tendo arrived.
"Oh hello father, I thought you and Mister Saotome were going over to the new sushi place that opened just last week, what are you doing back so early?" Kasumi asked as she walked out of the kitchen to greet the family patriarch.
"Ah, yes well I told Genma that I had to get home early and that he should go without me. Akane, Ranma come down here you two," Soun called out.
Akane and Ranma exchanged perplexed looks and walked downstairs into the living-room as if nothing had happened.
"Is there something wrong dad?" Akane asked taking her usual place at the low-table across from Soun. Ranma took his usual place beside Akane without even thinking about it.
"There is something I have to tell you," Soun said riffling around in his coat to pull out the letter from the Mystics Incorporated. "You see some time ago I sent away a letter to a certain match-making group that explained the situation with you and Ranma. Just yesterday I got a response back from them."
Akane and Ranma snatched up the letter together and read it at the same time. Their faces both went from confused to enraged at the exact same second.
"DAD HOW COULD YOU!!!" Akane snapped.
"Mister Tendo I don't want any stupid match-maker coming in here and messing with us!" Ranma growled as well.
"I'm afraid it is too late to protest. You see this particular group doesn't accept cancellations. Once they decide to take on a certain case they won't stop until they are finished; no matter the cost, no matter the difficulty," Soun explained.
"The Lover's Last Chance Gypsy Caravan, daddy? I'm impressed I heard they are the most prestigious romance consultants in the business," Nabiki said popping out of nowhere (as usual) to look the letter over herself.
"Oh how fun, a match-maker! That will make things so much simpler for you, Akane!" Kasumi said appearing at the table out of nowhere as well.
"WE DON'T NEED A MATCH-MAKER!!" Ranma and Akane shouted as one before stopping out of the kitchen and out of the house all together.
The three Tendos watched the two go and then exchanged perplexed glances. Surely Akane and Ranma didn't mean 'we' as in 'we, a perfectly functional couple'…did they? And if they didn't, why did it sound that way?
Further down the street, Akane was grumbling to herself stomping along like an enraged animal. Ranma, however, was walking down the fences as if it were just another average day.
"What are you acting so cool for Ranma? Didn't you hear what my dad said? Do you WANT some match-maker hovering around us?" Akane snapped angrily at the boy.
"Of course not, dummy," Ranma snorted. "I was just thinking …if we ACT like a couple …then the match-maker will think the job was a fake and will leave us alone right?"
That stopped Akane in her tracks. Ranma looked curiously over his shoulder to look at his now strawberry red fiancé.
"Y-you want us to a-act like a couple? Like an IN-LOVE couple? W-with all the h-hand-holding a-and k-kissing and-"
"Where is you mind going, pervert?" Ranma said dropping down to the street right in front of Akane. "I don't mean THAT! We just have to try and not fight so much and you know say stupid sweet stuff to each other every once and a while."
Akane's blush faded as her mind went to work thinking the situation over. "Do you really think it could work though? I mean this person dad is bringing in is a professional."
"Yah, a professional amateur," Ranma said with a 'tsk', "didn't you read the part where they said they were sending over their best 'APPRENTICE'? It's not like they are sending over their chief match-maker or anything. We can dupe an apprentice match-maker no problem."
Akane nodded meaningfully, rubbing the bend of her forefinger against her lips like she often did when she was thinking. Ranma tried to ignore how cute that gesture was. He knew if he blushed now, Akane would know something was up.
"Okay I guess we could do that but…if the match-maker really IS good enough that my cheap-skate dad is willing to pay her to come and counsel us…then we will have to be really good. I think we'll have to do a little practicing before they get here."
"W-what do you mean?" Ranma asked nervously.
Akane looked up at Ranma calculatingly through her lashes, then lifted her head, clasped her hands together underneath her chin and crooned, "I think you are the greatest guy in the whole wide world, Ranma sweetie."
"What the-!" Ranma gapped, stumbling back several steps.
Akane blinked at his in confusion and lowered her clasped hands slightly. "What? Don't you think Ranma sweetie is a good pet-name?"
"U-Uh, y-yah I guess so, I mean-" Ranma said blushing like crazy and trembling all over.
"Maybe I should go with something else. Ukyo calls you 'sugar' and 'honey' all the time so sweetie is really all that original. Hmmm maybe something like Ranma-love or my darling Ranma would work better?" Akane said rubbing her chin thoughtfully, not noticing Ranma's discomfort at all.
"Uh-uh-uh, yah well you work on that, I uh gotta go and uh, figure out some stuff for this couple act too!" Ranma said bounding off into the wild blue yonder as quickly as humanly possible.
"Hey Ranma, waaaait!!" Akane called out a little too late. "Hmm…idiot, doesn't he realize that it would work better for us to think this stuff up together?"
A Few Miles Outside Nerima
A young man dusted his hands off against his blue-jeans and straightened out his dress-shirt. A whole gang of biker thugs lay sprawled out all over the road, all beaten black and blue.
"You boys should know better than to attack a stranger without first gauging their strength. You're lucky I have some place to be today for I would have enjoyed teaching you men how to be respectful," the man said, brushing the two short chestnut braids that hung over his ears out of his face.
One, not so terribly beaten biker coughed and asked, "W-who are you?"
The man smiled, his green eyes flashing with mystery, "The name is Valentino, and you won't soon forget it."
The man then turned and picked up the poles of his merchant yatai (meaning it was a closed up little house most likely filled with tourist junk rather than food-stuffs) and marching off casually down the road.
The biker watched the stranger walking away for a moment then his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out.
A breeze fluttered through the air, rattling the sign nailed onto the door of yatai. It said "Lover's Last Chance Gypsy Chart: Official Recognized by the Gypsy Mystic's Corporation #225B"
The match-maker was on his way to Nerima
Back to Nerima
Ranma was darting across roof-tops, trying as hard as he could to get the image of Akane giving him puppy-dog eyes out of his mind.
"It was just a joke, stupid! Just a joke, just a joke, just a joke!" He yelled at himself as he took a particularly heroic leap from one roof to another across the street.
A few still impressionable citizens of Nerima looked up at the boy in shock, applauding the boy's athletic ability openly. The usually proud and slightly egotistical Ranma, for once, didn't pay any attention to the applause. He was too busy trying to outrun his problems.
All of yesterday the pigtailed boy had found every reason to avoid the Tendo dojo and especially the youngest Tendo daughter. He ran errands for Kasumi, he collected money from Nabiki (which had actually been pretty fun because it had involved shaking down people to get cash) and he had even helped Ukyo and Shampoo with some food deliveries (which had been surprisingly peaceful as both the girls were 'out-to-a-long-lunch' leaving the less glomp-prone men in charge).
This morning was no better. Ranma had actually done the unthinkable and had skipped breakfast, just so he could get out of the house before Akane even came down.
"It's just to get rid of the match-maker, moron! Just to get rid of him, just to get rid of him, just to get rid of him!" Ranma yelled at himself as he headed deeper into town, hopping over more and more store roof-tops and less and less house roof-tops.
"She doesn't like you like that, dummy! Not like that! Not like that! Not like tha-AAAAAAAAAHHHH!!!"
If Ranma had been paying attention to where he was running so fast he would have noticed the new open-air day-spa that had been opened up.
But because Ranma had been paying attention and because Ranma seemed doomed to run into trouble when he wasn't paying attention the Japanese youth plunged down through space, having no roof to land on this time.
He dropped like a rock down three stories right into a large artificial hot-water spring, causing an enormous eruption of water.
At least four young women screamed in fright and darted out of the bath into the locker-room before Ranma even floated back to the surface of the water.
"Ouuuuuch, okay that was dumb," Ranma said rubbing his water-slapped pink face. It was only then that he noticed he wasn't alone.
Not but five-feet away a young woman was sitting, leaning undisturbed against the spring's edge.
She had chestnut hair that was tied back in a bun on the top of her head, except for a pair of short braids that dangled against the sides of her face.
Her skin was a beautiful hue of buttermilk white that seemed to glow in the steamy air of the osena. Her cheeks were flushed with the most delicate sakura pink color Ranma had ever seen.
Her, uh…figure, as far as Ranma could see through the milky water, was nice and curvy, but kind of short and blocky like Akane. Though Ranma really couldn't help but notice that this woman had much larger breasts than Akane did…and that one of those luscious breasts had a peculiar little pink half-heart shaped mark on it.
Ranma's whole-body tensed up with fear. He knew what came next by heart. The woman would open her eyes to realize that she was being ogled by a sixteen-year-old sopping wet boy. The woman would assume that he was a peeping-tom. The woman would scream and wallop Ranma like there was no tomorrow. Ranma would go back to the Tendo Dojo, Akane would be waiting there, somehow already aware of Ranma's little 'sight-seeing' debacle. Akane would get really quiet then summon mallet-sama and wallop Ranma until the bruises he'd gotten before seemed like butterfly kisses compared to her handiwork.
Yet a whole painfully long minute passed without the woman moving an inch from her leisurely position. And another minute passed after that, and another minute after that.
"Well?" the woman spoke suddenly after five minutes of silence had passed. She hadn't moved anything other than her pouty, peachy lips. "Do you plan on staring at me ALL DAY, or was there a notion of moving swimming around in your head as well?"
"A-A-A-AH! I'M SORRY! I DIDN'T MEAN TO-" Ranma began to excuse himself.
The woman sat up and locked eyes with him. Her pupils were the most beautiful shade of amethyst. Ranma could honestly say he had never seen such a beautiful bright hue of purple in a person's eyes before.
"Normally if a young boy dropped in on me bathing they would find themselves getting very acquainted with my fists…however, judging by the WAY you entered the pool and the way you are blushing so heavily while at the same time staring on in abject terror, I take it that you are just a poor kid who somehow managed to fall into the worst landing-spot imaginable," the woman chuckled in a voice that was rather husky for her gender.
"I-I…t-that's right, n-not peeping, j-just unlucky," Ranma answered nervously.
The woman chuckled and climbed out of the tub, giving Ranma a fantastic view of a very lovely (though certainly not tiny) buttock that was blushed with the same hue of pink that the woman's cheeks had been.
The stranger walked unalarmed and unhurried over to the towel rack and pulled out two towels. She wrapped the first one, firmly around herself then held the second one out to Ranma.
Ranma stared at it in shock for a long moment then jolted in recognition and waddled awkwardly out of the water.
"There now, that wasn't so hard, was it?" the woman questioned as Ranma dried himself off.
"Sorry again," Ranma apologized humbly, "I wasn't looking where I was going."
"Obviously not," the lady laughed in a surprisingly androgynous manner for such a beautiful woman.
Ranma smiled sheepishly at her and hung the towel over his shoulders. "My name's Ranma Saotome by the way, in case you ever chance your mind about letting me get away so easy and want to take revenge."
"Well that is certainly nice of you to offer such information so openly," the lady laughed again, "however, I am a little more cautious than that. You can just call me Aine for now and I'll decide on whether or not to tell you my last name later."
"Oh…okay…why just Aine?" Ranma asked.
"Well my family-name is prone to causing turmoil whenever I say it, so I would just prefer to not say it," Aine shrugged.
She then smiled warmly at him again and took hold of his upper arm. "Now you come along with me, so I can explain to the spa managers that you aren't some sort of pervert and that I'm not planning of suing the hotel."
"Okay," Ranma shrugged. He wasn't sure what Aine's game was but if it kept him from getting beaten to a pulp then Ranma figured it couldn't be anything too bad.
One hour later, after a lot of talking and managerial butt-kissing had taken place
The clothing Aine came out wearing wasn't the clothing Ranma had expected a classy girl like her to wear. Not that he was suddenly a fashion-expert of anything like that but mostly he noticed that the cuter the girl, the cuter the clothing.
Aine wasn't like that though. When the girl returned from the locker-room with her clothing on she came looking like someone who had been forced to raid her elder brother's closet for her wardrobe.
Aine's clothing of choice was an anatomy-securing white tank-top underneath a cutely oversized men's business dress-shirt (also white) coupled with cutely oversized worn and wrinkled blue-jeans and a pair of Chinese slippers.
Dressed like that the girl looked a lot younger than Ranma had first thought. Especially with her still slightly damp hair draping down to her butt like it was.
"Okay Mister Saotome, seeing as how you owe me big-time, come with me to the spa's restaurant. The owner and the manager both told me I could eat as much as I wanted there and with your help I think we can really make them regret that decision, generous as it was," Aine said rubbing her palms together and licking a candy-cotton pink tongue over her lips.
Before Ranma could even really think over that proposal his gut answered for him with a particularly pathetic and cattish 'grrrrooooowwwllll'. Aine took the noise as an agreement and she grabbed his upper arm and pulled him along once again. Ranma took the moment to notice that Aine stood about two or three inches shorter than him…about the same height as Akane. He also noticed that Aine's hair smelled intoxicatingly like plumeria and honeysuckle flowers.
"Listen, you don't have to-" Ranma tried to excuse himself.
Aine wouldn't hear of it. She sat Ranma down on a bar-stool next to hers then sat down and picked up the fancy menu. "Ooooh they have that English dessert I love here! Tell me, Ranma, have you ever tried a knickerbocker-glory?"
"A what?" Ranma asked.
"A knickerbocker-glory," Aine repeated. "It's a sort of sundae, you see. It has all these different colored jellies mixed in with vanilla ice-cream with whip-cream and a cherry on top."
"Oh um…no I've never had one," Ranma said almost timidly.
"Well then you are gonna have one with me. Hey garcon, bring us two knickerbocker glories, a plate of ootoro and uuuuuh some fried octopus! Oh and a cola too, if you please!" Aine called out to the waiter.
Recognizing the girl as the one his boss had told him about the man darted off immediately to fill the order.
"I do so love special service," Aine chuckled, leaning her elbow against the counter and her chin against her palm.
"You seem sort of used to it," Ranma commented. Aine looked at him in surprise than gave another hearty laugh.
"I do? Well, that's probably not too unusual. Ya see I've been cruising around swanky places like this since I was nine-years-old, because of my family and all," Aine explained.
"Wow, you would never guess that the way you dress," Ranma blurted out before he could help it. Immediately after the words came out of his mouth though, he realized they were probably insulting and he slapped a hand over his runaway mouth.
Aine just threw back her head in a tear-rolling, shoulder-shaking guffaw. She continued to laugh for a long, long moment until finally she had to take a breath. She wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand and tried to stifle her snickers.
"Well you certainly are a plain-speaking kid, aren't you," she finally said.
"I um, I just um-" Ranma babbled.
"Forget it, forget it; it's no big deal. I know how I must look to people and it doesn't bug me in the least. I decided a long time ago that no matter what other forces in my life I would be comfortable with myself, always first and foremost. I dress like I do because it's comfortable and because its hassle free. Some people think it's a little too boyish for me and I ignore them," Aine said with a good-hearted wink and a peace-sign.
"Phew, that's a relief. Most of the girls I know would really take it a lot worse," Ranma sighed heavily.
"What other girls?" Aine asked.
"Eh? Oh, um just…other girls," Ranma blushed, twiddling nervously with his pigtail.
Aine smiled brilliantly at him for it. "You're engaged to someone, aren't you?"
"You could tell!!" Ranma gapped.
"Oh ya. But then again, I've always been good a reading people. Let me guess, the marriage was decided by your folks and you aren't sure whether you like or the girl or want to dump her body in a shallow ditch somewhere," Aine guessed.
"Well…I don't HATE her or anything," Ranma said turning his gaze up to the ceiling.
"But you aren't sure you LIKE her either, right?" Aine snickered.
"Ummmmm," Ranma said nervously.
"Listen kid, I am a bottomless pit of a person when it comes to indulging in good, not to mention free, food. So granted that we will be here a long time and will have to put up with each other for that time, why don't we chit-chat for a while. You tell me all about your girl and everything and I'll listen and add in my thoughts, what do you say?"
"I dunno, the story is kinda…weird," Ranma said, scratching the back of his head as his mind drifted over thoughts of the Jusenkyo Springs and the various villians he had fought against in the last year and a half.
"Kid, you are talking to the Queen of Weird here," Aine winked. "I love stories of the bizarre and the more than slightly warped. You just start talking and I'll just keep on listening. If you get too Stephan King for me, I'll let you know."
Ranma had no idea who Stephan King was (he is Japanese after all) but he figured that if his fellow classmates at school could deal with the truth, then this girl probably could as well. And so Ranma began his story.
At first Ranma started out with just the basics, talking about the arranged marriage his parent's had set up, and about how his dad had trained him in ever conceivable (and a few unconceivable) form of martial arts in order to fulfill his oath to raise Ranma to be a 'man among men.' He also briefly mentioned how he was living with the Tendo family because his father was a lousy husband and even though he had made up with his wife, Mrs. Saotome didn't really care to have him around the house all that much.
But as the afternoon wore on, and as the two munched their way through plate after plate of food, Ranma found himself revealing more and more. He told Aine about his curse and all the trouble it had caused him. He told her about his father's many stupid moves and how it had caused him to end up with three would-be fiancés and more than a few enemies.
Ranma even went into some details about Happosai and the tortures there-within as well as his trips to China, and his thoughts on all the bad-luck he'd faced.
It wasn't until Ranma had finished his third dessert (a particularly luscious chocolate-truffle mousse cake) that the boy realized he'd just spilled his whole life-story to a complete stranger.
"AH! Uhhhh well now you probably think I'm completely crazy, so I guess I'll-" Ranma tried to excuse himself.
"You're not nuts," Aine shrugged.
"Say what?" Ranma blinked.
"You aren't nuts," Aine said again. "Trust me; I know a thing or two about insanity. I know you've told me nothing but the truth since you sat down with me…and I think you are a pretty sweet kid."
"Sweet," Ranma grimaced.
"Yep, sweet," Aine nodded. "Definitely stupid, slightly egotistical, obviously chauvinistic and more than a little naïve…but sweet none the less."
"Thanks?" Ranma said in confusion.
"Hey, I call 'em as I see 'em," Aine shrugged, getting up from the bar and walking with Ranma towards the door. "I can definitely see some points in your story where you really were asking for trouble, but it's obvious you've got good intentions underneath it all."
"Of course, and hey all that other stuff is hardly my fault, what with having Genma as a role model and Happosai as his mentor! Actually when you think about it like that, I'm a lot better than I could be," Ranma said defensively.
"Still…you could stand a few improvements," Aine smirked wickedly. The girl's wrist-watch then suddenly began to beep. The girl looked at the black-leather band held, plain-face watch in surprise then grimaced in agitation. "Awwh man, is it that late already?"
"What time is it?" Ranma asked.
"Around four-o-clock…dang it, now I'll have to stay a hotel tonight!" Aine grouched.
"You could stay over at the Tendo Dojo," Ranma offered.
"What? Oh well…yah, I guess I could do that," Aine nodded vaguely, "I mean…yah that fits in with my plans. I just have to grab my pack real quick, wait for me by the entrance.
Ranma nodded his agreement and walked out of the hotel. About three minutes later Aine came trotting up with what looked like a shrine-house strapped to her back."
"What in the world is that!" Ranma blinked at the usual carry-on.
"This is my amazing collapsible shop-tote," Aine said. "I'll show you what the un-collapsed thing looks like later; which way to the dojo?"
"Well that's the problem, I came here over the rooftops so I don't quite know the way-" Ranma began.
"Hey, don't worry about me, I can keep up no problem, just give me a leg-up to the roof and we'll be on our way!" Aine said giving the air an enthusiastic punch.
"All-right but don't say I didn't warn you."
Two hours later a street away from the Anything Goes School of Indiscriminate Grappling
Much to Ranma's surprise, when Aine said she could keep up no problem, she meant it. The girl had lagged behind only once or twice but other than that she had kept pace with Ranma, step-for-step.
They'd managed to get completely turned around once or twice but eventually Ranma's memory kicked in and they found themselves on the street leading up to the dojo.
"I have to say that your way of getting around Tokyo is a lot more convenient that taking the streets. I'll keep that method of travel in mind," Aine panted lightly.
"It helps a guy avoid a lot of nasty punks too," Ranma said panting slightly as well. It was then as they passed under a street-light that Ranma noticed that Aine was still unbelievable wet. Her hair glimmered like a prom-queen's coif as the water droplets in her hair refracted the light.
"Hey Aine-" Ranma started to question. Before he could finish, however, another voice spoke up.
"RAAAAAANMA!!" Akane called running down the street to meet the pair. "Ranma, where on earth have you been all day, everyone was getting worried."
"Uh, uh, Akane, I'd like you to meet my new pal, Aine; Aine this is Akane," Ranma hastily introduced.
Akane turned her head to eye Aine up in that certain way women always size-up other women. Apparently the result of the size-up wasn't good because Akane's nostrils flared in anger and the girl straightened herself out so she could sort of stand a half-inch taller than the other girl.
"Hello Aine, where exactly did Ranma meet you?" Akane asked sharply.
Aine just smiled back as sweet as anything and gave a polite bow. "It is a pleasure to meet you Akane Tendo. Ranma has told me so much about you, and let me say that you excel all expectation."
"You two talked about me?" Akane blinked in shock. Since when did Ranma have private conversations about her with strange woman? And what did the woman mean, she excelled expectations; had Ranma said flattering things about her? What did that mean?
"Poor Ranma had a little bit of a tumble this morning and so I decided to treat him to a nice big meal. While we were eating a poor day-spa café out of stock, we started talking and you came up a few times. I assure you all the things said were very complimentary," Aine explained.
"Oh um well…thank you then," Akane flushed. She looked over at Ranma questioningly. "I didn't know you could be complimentary."
"I don't ALWAYS stick my foot-in-my-mouth, okay? So what the heck were you doing screaming out to me like you were? Think I was skipping town?"
"Hmmph, as if I'd waste my time worrying about you;" Akane snapped as Aine watched the interaction with closely observant eyes. "That match-maker called the house and left a message. He said that he'd be here by tomorrow."
"He? It's a guy," Ranma blinked.
"The voice on the phone was definitely a man's voice," Akane asserted.
"Well, what a dorky profession for a guy," Ranma laughed out-right.
"HEY! Just because you wouldn't know romance if it hit you on the head, doesn't mean all guys are like that," Akane snipped. She turned to Aine. "You agree with me don't you?"
"Oh I most certainly do, Miss Tendo. I believe that love is the one passion on this earth that is completely free of gender-barriers. Love as an equally strong effect on women AND men. It's a true equal-opportunity emotion and obsession really," Aine answered as easily as if this were something she was questioned about everyday.
"HEY! Whose side are you on," Ranma growled.
"I don't believe in sides, like I don't believe in the sexism of love, Ranma Saotome. Every conversation and every issue has apposing sides to be sure, but as long as a person has an open-mind they don't have to be held to one thought or another. Human beings are fluid that way," Aine shrugged.
"I'm beginning to see a whole other side of you that I missed before, and I can't say I like it," Ranma grumbled.
"Well I DO like it, come on inside Aine, you are planning to stay the night, right?" Akane said taking Aine's hand in hers and towing the brunette along.
"Well if its not too much of an imposition, yes, I would like to stay," Aine said hastily.
"No problem, no problem at all, you can sleep in my room!" Akane laughed.
The two women disappeared into the house leaving Ranma alone on the street.
"I take back thinking Akane could be cute, she is soooo not cute!" Ranma grumbled to himself. "And Aine is just like her."
End Chapter
Masaka: Oh good grief, here I go again writing another story out of no-where
Yami Masaka: Oh it won't be that bad, hikari. At least it's proof your muse is working. Now just don't add in your sister's character Lasagna and you'll be fine.