DISCLAIMER: Rumiko Takahashi owns Ranma 1/2. I don't. I used these
characters without permission. Probably it will happen again.
Hey everyone! Here's an idea that attacked me at 3am…
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Ucchan's was closed for the day but inside the okinomiyaki restaurant, furious activity was taking place. Intense expressions and fast movements….
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
"Aagh!"
"I win!"
Seated around one of Ucchan's tables, the small group of teenagers tensed in anticipation as Ukyou brought over a square cardboard box. She placed it in the center of the table. With a grin, she looked around at her friends.
"Now now, Ran-chan won the first pick, remember. After that, everyone gets to pick what they want."
Ukyou opened the flaps of the box to reveal comics of every kind.
Cries of excitement and anticipation ran around the table. The comics were North-American, not found easily in the neighborhood. The box had been brought into Japan for them by one of Ukyou's friends who traveled to the United States frequently.
"Batman. Legends of the Dark Knight! Yeah!" Ranma whooped with glee and grabbed another comic. "Aaand…Nightwing! Ok, you guys can grab…"
There was a flurry of movement and a few seconds later, the box was empty.
"I've got the Archie digests," said Akane, flipping through the brightly-colored pages. She stopped and scanned a story. "That Archie, he never learns!" she said with a laugh.
"I've got Spidey's latest," Ukyou said. "Have you got Buffy, Shampoo?"
"No. Pig-boy steal from Shampoo. " The pretty Amazon scowled at Ryouga, who was avidly perusing the Slayer's latest exploits. She glanced at the books in her hand. "Is okay, Shampoo find Scooby-Doo and too too cute comic of Katy Keene."
"Katy Keene?" Akane questioned. "I thought they stopped publishing that."
Beside her, Mousse was paging through an issue of Justice League.
Ukyou rapped the table. "Okay, everyone, we've all got our comics for today. Please remember to exchange your comics with another member when you're done. As president of NACC, the Nerima American Comic Club, I vote we move onto the next item on our agenda. Mousse?"
The vice-president cleared his throat. "That would be determining our fund for the next purchase, Ukyou. We must consult the treasurer. Saotome?"
Ranma stood and went through his pockets with an absorbed look on his face. "I have the money right here." He placed the full amount on the table with pride.
Everyone stared, staggered by the amount of money.
"A hundred yen?!"
"How did we get so broke?"
"Where's the rest?"
"Ranma…!" This last from a furious Ryouga, who had been hoping to put in an order for Angel next time.
Ukyou leveled a glare at her fiance. "How did this happen, sugar?" She loved Ranma, but sometimes, she thought, he could be such a ditz.
"What we do for next month?" Shampoo asked with a cute little frown between her eyes.
Everyone glanced at everybody else.
"There's no shortage of manga," Akane said.
"We all like manga, but there's a problem, sugar." Ukyou looked glum. "My friend's going to the U.S again next month but he won't be going for a few months after that. If we want anything, we'll have to ask him now."
Everyone groaned.
Reaching home, Akane and Ranma walked into the living room to find Akane's father deep in conversation with a nun. Soun looked up at their entrance.
"Ranma! Akane! I'm so glad you two are here!" he cried happily.
"What's going on, Mr.Tendo?" Ranma asked, biting into an apple he'd snagged from Ucchan's.
"This is Sister Mary Clementine." Soun indicated the nun, who smiled sweetly at them. "She works at the Catholic hospital down the road. It seems they are in some trouble."
"What's the problem, Sister?" Ranma asked. "Ghost? Thief? Pervert? The School of Anything Goes don't fear nothin'."
"Actually," said Sister Mary in a soft, sweet voice. "We need volunteers."
"Volunteers!" Akane exclaimed. "For what?"
"Every year, we have a charity auction," Sister Mary explained. "People pay whatever they are willing to donate, and they get what they paid for. The money goes to the hospital."
"You need volunteers to conduct the auction?" Akane asked.
"What do you auction?" Ranma wanted to know.
Sister Mary smiled. "We auction the services of young people."
"Huh?" Ranma looked flabbergasted. "You mean…wait, you're a nun. Ouch!" This last to Akane who had thwacked him on the head with her Archie comics.
"You're the pervert!" she hissed.
"The young people are sold to the buyer for a space of a day," continued Sister Mary. "They do whatever is required of them. Usually that entails shopping for the lady of the house, perhaps mowing the lawn, just a few household chores."
She smiled at Ranma and Akane. "Every year, it is the youth from our church that do this, you see. However, they were invited to a World Youth Convention this year and are unavailable right now. Our Mother Superior knows your father, Akane, and we are aware of his reputation for helping those in need."
"Of course they'll be happy to help!" said Soun, grinning. Akane was smiling, too.
"We'd love to help, Sister!" she said with a smile. Ranma paused and slanted a look at Akane consideringly. His fiancée could be so uncute at times, but no one could ever deny that she had a kind heart. He kinda liked that about her.
"Wonderful!" Sister Mary placed her hands on her knees and stood. "Please, bring your friends too. We need as many young people as possible."
"What? Ranma honey's for sale?" Ukyou's eyes lighted up as she heard the news. She stopped sweeping her restaurant's entrance and leaning on the broom, she cocked an eye at Akane. "You're not kidding me, are you, sugar?"
Akane's eye twitched. "It's just for a few hours, Ukyou. It's not forever."
"Shoot!" Ukyou punched her cupped palm. Then she gave Akane a sunny smile. "That's okay. Even for a few hours, Ran-chan can be all mine!"
"Actually," Akane began, "I was wondering if you would be interested in going on the block yourself. They need as many…" But Ukyou was already shaking her head.
"No way, sugar. I'm gonna be there to buy Ran-chan and I can't waste time working for someone else!"
"But it's for a good cause, Ukyou," Akane pleaded. "C'mon, besides, if this works, we can try it again for comic-book money, and you can buy Ranma then!"
Ukyou thought for a minute. "You're right, Akane. Good idea! Well, it IS a good cause. Ok, count me in."
"Akane's going to be a slave?" Ryouga's eyes got large and a series of images flashed so quickly through his head that even he didn't see them quite clearly. What he did glimpse caused him to have a nose-bleed and steam to gush out of his ears.
"Not THAT kinda slave, moron!" Ranma decked the lost boy, not liking the turn Ryouga's thoughts were taking. "She's just gonna do chores an' stuff. It's for charity. I'm gonna be on the block, too. You oughta come. We could use an extra pig or two."
"Shut up, Ranma." Ryouga groaned from the ground, feeling his jaw. "If Akane's gonna be there, maybe she'll buy me…Aagh!"
Ranma walked away, leaving Ryouga twitching on the ground.
"Aiyah! Ranma slave for Shampoo?" The curvy Amazon placed her palms together beneath her cheek, sighed and fluttered her thick lashes. Ranma had come to the Nekohanten to give her and Mousse the news about the auction.
"Yeah, well, we need you and Mousse there, ok, Shampoo?" Ranma asked uncomfortably. "It's taking place tomorrow morning at eight."
"Is no problem, Ranma! Shampoo be there! Shampoo bring plenty money! Is good to donate to hospital!" Shampoo waltzed away happily to wait tables, leaving Ranma to contemplate his new potential mistress with some dread.
"Akane Tendo? My fiery beloved will be sold as a love-slave in the flesh market?" Kunou cried. " Come, Sasuke, it is not to be borne!" He pulled out a large wad of cash and brandished it in the air. "I shall buy her myself! Her gentle slavery shall be for mine eyes only but I shall bind her with chains of love!"
"My darling Ranma can be free of that harpy…" Kodachi paused here to picture a mini-Akane with horns. "…that harpy for an entire day? I'm coming, Ranma darling! I'll save you!"
Word spread around Furinkan High like wildfire. Ranma, Akane, Shampoo, Ukyou, Mousse and Ryouga would belong tomorrow to anyone who could pay for them for an entire day. Who would get whom?
***********************************************************
Notes: I really don't know if Japanese teens read English comics, but I figured, why not? There must be SOME who do. If not, please assume for the purposes of this story. :) Thanks. And please review.
Hey everyone! Here's an idea that attacked me at 3am…
**************************************************************
Ucchan's was closed for the day but inside the okinomiyaki restaurant, furious activity was taking place. Intense expressions and fast movements….
"Rock, paper, scissors!"
"Aagh!"
"I win!"
Seated around one of Ucchan's tables, the small group of teenagers tensed in anticipation as Ukyou brought over a square cardboard box. She placed it in the center of the table. With a grin, she looked around at her friends.
"Now now, Ran-chan won the first pick, remember. After that, everyone gets to pick what they want."
Ukyou opened the flaps of the box to reveal comics of every kind.
Cries of excitement and anticipation ran around the table. The comics were North-American, not found easily in the neighborhood. The box had been brought into Japan for them by one of Ukyou's friends who traveled to the United States frequently.
"Batman. Legends of the Dark Knight! Yeah!" Ranma whooped with glee and grabbed another comic. "Aaand…Nightwing! Ok, you guys can grab…"
There was a flurry of movement and a few seconds later, the box was empty.
"I've got the Archie digests," said Akane, flipping through the brightly-colored pages. She stopped and scanned a story. "That Archie, he never learns!" she said with a laugh.
"I've got Spidey's latest," Ukyou said. "Have you got Buffy, Shampoo?"
"No. Pig-boy steal from Shampoo. " The pretty Amazon scowled at Ryouga, who was avidly perusing the Slayer's latest exploits. She glanced at the books in her hand. "Is okay, Shampoo find Scooby-Doo and too too cute comic of Katy Keene."
"Katy Keene?" Akane questioned. "I thought they stopped publishing that."
Beside her, Mousse was paging through an issue of Justice League.
Ukyou rapped the table. "Okay, everyone, we've all got our comics for today. Please remember to exchange your comics with another member when you're done. As president of NACC, the Nerima American Comic Club, I vote we move onto the next item on our agenda. Mousse?"
The vice-president cleared his throat. "That would be determining our fund for the next purchase, Ukyou. We must consult the treasurer. Saotome?"
Ranma stood and went through his pockets with an absorbed look on his face. "I have the money right here." He placed the full amount on the table with pride.
Everyone stared, staggered by the amount of money.
"A hundred yen?!"
"How did we get so broke?"
"Where's the rest?"
"Ranma…!" This last from a furious Ryouga, who had been hoping to put in an order for Angel next time.
Ukyou leveled a glare at her fiance. "How did this happen, sugar?" She loved Ranma, but sometimes, she thought, he could be such a ditz.
"What we do for next month?" Shampoo asked with a cute little frown between her eyes.
Everyone glanced at everybody else.
"There's no shortage of manga," Akane said.
"We all like manga, but there's a problem, sugar." Ukyou looked glum. "My friend's going to the U.S again next month but he won't be going for a few months after that. If we want anything, we'll have to ask him now."
Everyone groaned.
Reaching home, Akane and Ranma walked into the living room to find Akane's father deep in conversation with a nun. Soun looked up at their entrance.
"Ranma! Akane! I'm so glad you two are here!" he cried happily.
"What's going on, Mr.Tendo?" Ranma asked, biting into an apple he'd snagged from Ucchan's.
"This is Sister Mary Clementine." Soun indicated the nun, who smiled sweetly at them. "She works at the Catholic hospital down the road. It seems they are in some trouble."
"What's the problem, Sister?" Ranma asked. "Ghost? Thief? Pervert? The School of Anything Goes don't fear nothin'."
"Actually," said Sister Mary in a soft, sweet voice. "We need volunteers."
"Volunteers!" Akane exclaimed. "For what?"
"Every year, we have a charity auction," Sister Mary explained. "People pay whatever they are willing to donate, and they get what they paid for. The money goes to the hospital."
"You need volunteers to conduct the auction?" Akane asked.
"What do you auction?" Ranma wanted to know.
Sister Mary smiled. "We auction the services of young people."
"Huh?" Ranma looked flabbergasted. "You mean…wait, you're a nun. Ouch!" This last to Akane who had thwacked him on the head with her Archie comics.
"You're the pervert!" she hissed.
"The young people are sold to the buyer for a space of a day," continued Sister Mary. "They do whatever is required of them. Usually that entails shopping for the lady of the house, perhaps mowing the lawn, just a few household chores."
She smiled at Ranma and Akane. "Every year, it is the youth from our church that do this, you see. However, they were invited to a World Youth Convention this year and are unavailable right now. Our Mother Superior knows your father, Akane, and we are aware of his reputation for helping those in need."
"Of course they'll be happy to help!" said Soun, grinning. Akane was smiling, too.
"We'd love to help, Sister!" she said with a smile. Ranma paused and slanted a look at Akane consideringly. His fiancée could be so uncute at times, but no one could ever deny that she had a kind heart. He kinda liked that about her.
"Wonderful!" Sister Mary placed her hands on her knees and stood. "Please, bring your friends too. We need as many young people as possible."
"What? Ranma honey's for sale?" Ukyou's eyes lighted up as she heard the news. She stopped sweeping her restaurant's entrance and leaning on the broom, she cocked an eye at Akane. "You're not kidding me, are you, sugar?"
Akane's eye twitched. "It's just for a few hours, Ukyou. It's not forever."
"Shoot!" Ukyou punched her cupped palm. Then she gave Akane a sunny smile. "That's okay. Even for a few hours, Ran-chan can be all mine!"
"Actually," Akane began, "I was wondering if you would be interested in going on the block yourself. They need as many…" But Ukyou was already shaking her head.
"No way, sugar. I'm gonna be there to buy Ran-chan and I can't waste time working for someone else!"
"But it's for a good cause, Ukyou," Akane pleaded. "C'mon, besides, if this works, we can try it again for comic-book money, and you can buy Ranma then!"
Ukyou thought for a minute. "You're right, Akane. Good idea! Well, it IS a good cause. Ok, count me in."
"Akane's going to be a slave?" Ryouga's eyes got large and a series of images flashed so quickly through his head that even he didn't see them quite clearly. What he did glimpse caused him to have a nose-bleed and steam to gush out of his ears.
"Not THAT kinda slave, moron!" Ranma decked the lost boy, not liking the turn Ryouga's thoughts were taking. "She's just gonna do chores an' stuff. It's for charity. I'm gonna be on the block, too. You oughta come. We could use an extra pig or two."
"Shut up, Ranma." Ryouga groaned from the ground, feeling his jaw. "If Akane's gonna be there, maybe she'll buy me…Aagh!"
Ranma walked away, leaving Ryouga twitching on the ground.
"Aiyah! Ranma slave for Shampoo?" The curvy Amazon placed her palms together beneath her cheek, sighed and fluttered her thick lashes. Ranma had come to the Nekohanten to give her and Mousse the news about the auction.
"Yeah, well, we need you and Mousse there, ok, Shampoo?" Ranma asked uncomfortably. "It's taking place tomorrow morning at eight."
"Is no problem, Ranma! Shampoo be there! Shampoo bring plenty money! Is good to donate to hospital!" Shampoo waltzed away happily to wait tables, leaving Ranma to contemplate his new potential mistress with some dread.
"Akane Tendo? My fiery beloved will be sold as a love-slave in the flesh market?" Kunou cried. " Come, Sasuke, it is not to be borne!" He pulled out a large wad of cash and brandished it in the air. "I shall buy her myself! Her gentle slavery shall be for mine eyes only but I shall bind her with chains of love!"
"My darling Ranma can be free of that harpy…" Kodachi paused here to picture a mini-Akane with horns. "…that harpy for an entire day? I'm coming, Ranma darling! I'll save you!"
Word spread around Furinkan High like wildfire. Ranma, Akane, Shampoo, Ukyou, Mousse and Ryouga would belong tomorrow to anyone who could pay for them for an entire day. Who would get whom?
***********************************************************
Notes: I really don't know if Japanese teens read English comics, but I figured, why not? There must be SOME who do. If not, please assume for the purposes of this story. :) Thanks. And please review.