(Well... here I go again with the next chapter of "Akane's New Friend". Wow... 6 reviews already? That's a bunch... to me anyway. Thanks you guys... that feels great!! Thanks to The Time Travler, crusincloud, Excel, kudo-miyaka, ImSomeone, and 2627adik for reviewing. Obviously Ranma 1/2 seems to be a very popular anime show. And in fact, "Jeopardy!" had an anime category some time ago if you haven't been paying attention to the TV very much, and one of the responses was not Ranma 1/2, but another one of my favorites, Sailor Moon. Well, anyway, enough with TV and on with the fic.)

Copyright 2008

(Akane's P.O.V.)

I was surprised at what Mathew offered me -- a couple of drinks together? Nobody offered ME anything before... even though it was just a friendly get-together to know more about each other.

"Sure, I'd love to," I said to Mathew, smiling.

That's pretty much all I would've said... personally. So, the two of us went to a nearby diner and ordered a couple of drinks. I offered to pay, but Mathew was nice enough to pay for me.

"So, tell me, Mathew," I said to my new best friend. "Why'd you decide to come all the way out to Japan from wherever it is you live?" I asked.

"See the world, got a deal to race motorcycles here, and start my normal life," Mathew responded. "And whaddya know... I move in a week ago, and you and I are practically almost next-door neighbors."

"I know," I said, almost laughing. "And what are the chances of that ever happening?"

"Slim but still possible," Mathew answered.

"So, tell me about yourself," I said to Mathew.

"Well, I'm here from the states or United States I guess you could say; I enjoy music, watching and riding motocross, playing a ton of video games, plus I'm one of those people who prefer the old days like the early or mid 90's or late '80s," Mathew said to me. "Plus I'm a huge game show addict; what does that mean... well, I watch a lot of game shows; I've been watching them ever since I was born 20 years ago."

"Wow... sounds like an interesting lifestyle," I said, looking real surprised. "Which of the states are you from?" I asked him.

"The last of the 50... Hawaii," Mathew answered.

"Wow!!" I said, sounding real shocked. "I've never been there before!! What's it like back there?" I asked, looking real interested.

"Well... it's pretty cool... a lot of beaches, hotels, fancy restaurants with a little Japanese culture, heck, I think it's got Korean too -- basically the BBQ; but the only thing that's wrong with it is the government -- it is REALLY stupid," Mathew explained.

"Wow," I said again; it was pretty much all I could say.

"Not to mention the shutdown of a local airlines, which took a big 'kaboom' on the tourism there," Mathew added. "But overall, Hawaii's a great place to vacation in; if you're born there like how I was, it's even better."

"Sorry to hear that," I said.

"Oh, forget it," Mathew said. "What about yourself, Akane?" He asked me.

"Well, as you know, I'm Akane Tendo, I'm a student at Furinkan High, I'm the youngest of my three sisters, Nabiki and Kasumi, I work out a lot with Karate, I enjoy hanging with my friends from school -- movies, the beach, the pool, and... I'm engaged," I said to him.

(End Akane's P.O.V.)

"Wow," I said after a moment of silence. "Was it a decision by you or your folks?" I asked.

"My folks," Akane answered. "I'm engaged to Ranma Saotome, who constantly says that I'm uncute."

"I can't believe he'd say something like that to you," I said to Akane.

"Huh?" Akane said, looking surprised. "I'm cute to you?" She asked me.

"Well, if I had to rate you on a scale of 1-10, 10 being really cute, I'd give you an 8.9," I responded.

"8.9?" Akane asked. "Why 8.9?"

"Well," I said. "the only REAL problem that I see with you is your hairstyle... not that it's a BIG problem, but I kinda like girls with long hair, but some girls like you, I'd make an exception."

"Kasumi has long hair," Akane said to me. "Nabiki and I are the ones with short, but I used to have a different hairstyle before I got rid of the old one."

"Really?" I said. "That's kind of like me -- only I used to have a mustache, but I got rid of it because I just plain didn't like it there."

(A/n: It's true, I DID get rid of my mustache that I had growing.)

"Wow, I had never noticed that," Akane said to me. "Ranma's Dad doesn't have a mustache, but MY Dad does."

"Glad I'm not the only one," I said.

"But there is one little thing about Ranma and his Dad," Akane said to me.

"What's that?" I asked.

"When Ranma's splashed with cold water, he turns to a girl, and when splashed with hot, she turns back to a guy; when Mr. Saotome is splashed with cold water, he turns into a big panda," Akane explained.

"Oh my gosh," I said, almost laughing.

"They're both from Jusenkyo, China, and have been hit with a mysterious curse -- that's the cause of their changes when splashed with water," Akane said.

"That's the most strangest curse I've heard since another sports curse when the Supercross Lites class hits Las Vegas, NV for the Lites Shootout," I said, looking real surprised.

"What kind of curse is that?" Akane asked me.

"Well, this all started back in the year 2000," I said to Akane. "Ever since the new millenium, a regional champion has won the race only once -- in 2004 when East Lites Champ, James Stewart won it, running the number 259, instead of a 1e; from 2000 to today, except for 2004, a regional champion has NOT won the East/West Lites Shootout race," I explained.

"What's supercross?" Akane asked me.

"Basically, dirt bikes racing in a football or baseball stadium on a man-made track consisting of whoops, triples, doubles, etc.," I said.

"Oh so that's what you're going to be racing here?" Akane asked.

"That and Supermoto," I answered. "Which is racing on a combination of dirt and asphalt. There's nothing more I like to hear than the sound of a 4-stroke 450cc Supermoto bike or Supercross bike revving, or the sound of a song from the late '80s or early '90s."

"Awesome," Akane said to me.

(Akane's P.O.V.)

"Well, if you're set, I'll take you to my place and introduce you to my family," I said to Mathew.

"Sure, got nothing else to do that I know of," Mathew responded.

So, after we both had finished our drinks, I took him to my place to meet my folks.

"I'm home," I called out to Kasumi and the others. "Oh, and I brought a friend here," I added.

"Well, hello there," Kasumi said when she saw me with Mathew.

End chapter.

(Alright, I think I'll stop here. What was your favorite part or parts? Me meeting Akane's folks will be in the next chapter. Hope you liked it. I know I enjoyed typing it. Well, hope to see a lot of reviews pouring in. If I got 6 for chapter 1, I'm probably gonna get more than that... I hope. Well, we'll see you with the next chapter from me, and be sure to check out my stories for "Detective Conan/Case Closed". I have 10 stories posted.)