DISCLAIMER: I do not own Ranma 1/2. Nor do I own any other recognized series/characters that may appear in this story. Characters and series elements are copyright of their respective owners.

A/N: This chapter continues the two slowly established traditions of this fic. Polar opposite traits within the characters and tons of in jokes. I try to keep some in jokes slightly obscure (for example, Ranma's car being a red mustang convertible. 'Ranma Saotome' translates to 'wild horse') but others are more obvious such as names of the actual cast and crew of the real Ranma 1/2 series cropping up. Speaking of which, keep an eye out for the biggest in joke of that nature in this chapter. Enjoy!

Ranma sat on the steps of his own trailer, his hands trying in vain to cover his flushed face.*I'm a jerk. A total jerk! I can't believe I went an' kissed Akane like that!* "Ranma no baka.." He was so lost in thought that Ranma didn't realize that last part was spoken aloud.

"Since when do you practice Akane's lines?"

Ranma jumped and struggled to regain his composure as he looked to his left.

"Nabiki!" he said, quite surprised to see her. Nabiki didn't have many scenes that day so she really didn't need to come in to work till much later. "You didn't answer my question." Nabiki stated, cutting him off. "Why the Akane impression?"

Ranma was trying his hardest not to blush. The last thing he needed was the entire studio knowing of his feelings for his co-star. Desperate, he thought of the most non-romantic thing he could. He pictured Sasuke changing into the Cologne costume. *Mental note; thank Sasuke later.* he thought as he looked to Nabiki, his blush completely gone.

"It was just a slip o' the tongue Nabiki. I uh, forgot my script in wardrobe! Yeah that's it. Need ta rehearse my next scene before lunch ends." Ranma looked at her, hoping his fib fooled her. He was a lousy liar on and off camera. Fortunately for him, Nabiki bought his story and simply shrugged.

"Whatever. I'm just killing time, myself. I already ate my lunch." Ranma looked at her and pointed gently to her sweater, trying not to appear perverted.

"You've got some okonomiaki sauce on yer shirt." he stated quickly.

Nabiki groaned. "Don't remind me. Ukyo's been following me around since her scene with Kodachi was over. I've had so many okonomiaki's stuffed down my throat, I'm gonna throw up....." Ranma smirked."She means well. If it's anything like what she does ta me on camera, it's a sign she wants ta be nice to ya."

Nabiki nodded reluctantly. She had to admit what Ranma said was true. It was the constant hugs and invites for coffee that creeped her out.

"Well I need to be going. I'm supposed to see Taga-san in the office." Nabiki stated as she turned to go.

"Askin' fer a raise are ya?" Ranma called after her questioningly. Nabiki looked back and shook her head. "No, I'm going to see if I can get this month's paycheck diverted from my account to the local hospital. They need a few new beds." As Nabiki disappeared into the crowd of people on-set, Ranma smiled in thought. *She's gotta be the most generous person I know. 'Course she can afford it. She's got her father's bucks ta fall back on. Not that she ever would. Too proud. Bein' a millionaire's daughter ain't sumthin' Nabiki likes ta be known for.* As he settled back against his trailer door he heard a voice in the distance.

"Nab-chan! Where are you? I cooked you some dessert." As Ukyo went running by, looking in all directions, Ranma let out a soft laugh.

Ryouga wandered around, grumbling quite audibly. Although he had received multiple weird stares, he could care less. He was sick of walking into the wrong set, ending up with the wrong crew. He wanted nothing more to get back to his own sound-stage so that he could do his fight scene with Ranma and Mousse. Ryouga was majorly ticked at getting lost for so long and beating up on Ranma sounded pretty good right now. Suddenly Ryouga heard a familiar voice ahead of him.

"You think a dozen dimwit bandits like you is gonna scare me? Ha!"

Ryouga blinked and ran up ahead to where a girl was standing, practicing her lines. She was around his own age, was dressed in very strange clothing, complete with boots, belt and cape. And she had long flowing red hair. But there was something eerily familiar about her eyes. Ryouga stared at her for a minute until she looked straight at him, almost as if sensing he was there.

Ryouga blinked. "Ranko!? Is that you?" He looked her over quite confused, wondering if they had severely changed the script on him while he was away.

"Ryouga, you baka! What're you doing here? Wait, don't tell me. You got lost again."

Ryouga frowned at the snappy retort. "Hey at least I found my way back didn't I? And what's with the new clothes, Ranko? Are we doing another Nan-ban mirror episode that I don't know about? What'd they do to your hair?"

The red-headed actress slapped her forehead as she tossed the orangy-red wig off her head and onto the ground. "It's a wig, moron! Could you be any dumber? Look, call me Megumi, would you? People are listening."

Ryouga blinked. "But didn't you legally change to your character name like the rest of us?" he asked. Ranko nodded exasperatingly. "Yes, but I signed this contract before that. This isn't our set, dummy. It's the 'Slayers' set. I work two gigs 'round here. I thought you knew that. Everyone knows that!" Ryouga simply blinked again. Obviously he was in the dark on this matter.

"Okay Ran-....eh, Megumi-sama. So where's our set, anyway?" he inquired impatiently.

"I'll lead you back there in a sec. Stay here while I get changed." With that, Ranko headed off to wardrobe to change into her street clothes.

Back at the sound-stage, Shampoo was standing outside wardrobe arguing with Mousse. She had been acting extra nice toward him all day and had received not so much as a glance cast in her general direction. All in all, she was close to her own personal 'breaking point' with the guy. He had ignored, snubbed and all but insulted her. Mouse put on the coke-bottle glasses required for his character and glared at her.

"Just what is your problem with me, Shampoo? You've been following me around all day and now you corner me here to yell in my face. I went out with you didn't I? What do you want from me?"

Shampoo bit her lip and held back a tear she'd been struggling to keep back since their argument started. "Have you no sense of gentlemanly behavior at all? You are decent and friendly to everyone on this set with the exception of me! Was going out with me really as bad as having your teeth pulled?" Shampoo lost her control there just enough to lose the battle with that tear drop. Not noticing and too emotionally wraught, she continued.

"I'm sorry if I annoy you immensely with my presence! I was only being nice to you! I like you, you baka! If that's so terrible, then you needn't worry about me pestering you ever again!!"

With that last word out of her system, Shampoo broke down into tears and ran away. Mousse could only stand there in shock. He would have had to be as blind as his character to not notice Shampoo's tears. *I...I made her cry..* he thought, still stunned.

Mousse had never been in a relationship before. He was very serious about his work as an actor and had put it first in his life. This left little time for socializing. All in all, he had grown used to things that way and thought little of it. As long as he had his work, he was happy. He stood there thinking back to his initial response when Ranma had given him the news of his date with Shampoo. It all came back to him, just like a scene from the show.

Mousse had been going over his lines as Ranma clapped a hand on the back of his shoulder in his usual style of greeting. "Hiya Mousse. Have I got some news for you, man!"

Mousse looked at his colleague and frowned. Being interrupted from memorizing his script was something he hated. "This had better be good, Ranma." he muttered.

"Sure is. I solved yer dilemma for tonight!" Ranma said with a satisfied grin. Mousse looked at him funny. "Dilemma? I have no dilemma."

Ranma chucked his colleague playfully across his shoulder. "Sure ya do, man. You always have such a boring time at home on Friday nights. So I got ya a date with Shampoo!"

"You WHAT!??" Mousse yelled as he spun around to fully face Ranma. But Ranma had already turned to go and simply called back one final time as he disappeared from sight.

"No need ta thank me, man. Have fun on yer date!"

Mousse sighed as that memory finished playing in his head. The only reason he had objected so much to Ranma's little set up was because he already had his evening planned out. He was going to go over the scripts for the following week's shoots. He would be following this with his nightly self-training session. Mousse had his whole routine planned out in detail and having it upset did not sit well with him. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that his real problem was change. Having a relationship take a part in his life would take major adjustment. This was something he wasn't used to, and so pushing Shampoo away seemed an easy solution. More than that, he began to realize he had thoroughly enjoyed his evening with her. They had gone to a five star restaurant, taken in a movie, and walked home through one of the district's nicer parks. All in all, he had no complaints about the experience. *"I like you, you baka!"*

Shampoo's words rang through Mousse's mind as clear as the image of her tear streaked face. *I'm an idiot.....* he thought as he cast his head downward and walked off to the set for his next scene.

Akane had emerged from her trailer and was taking a last glance at her script when she heard Kasumi's trailer door open. Kasumi walked out and smiled calmly at Akane. *Calmly?? She's never calm before the director says action. What's going on?* Akane thought puzzled.

"Oh my, hello Akane. Ready to shoot our next scene?" Kasumi said with a quite in-character trademark smile. Akane reminded herself to close her mouth and snap out of 'shocked as hell' mode before replying.

"Ahh, uh hello Kasumi. Yes, I was just looking over the script one last time before going on. Um, how are you feeling?" By this time a few crewmen and cast members had heard the unusually calm lack of noise and come to investigate.

"Why, I'm feeling wonderfully Akane. Thank you for asking. I feel so relaxed. Did you have a nice lunch?" Several pairs of eyes stood blinking as Akane simply nodded back to the eerily calm Kasumi. Kasumi smiled pleasantly and walked off in the direction of wardrobe, leaving several people uttering confused questions.

"What the hell was that?" said a crewman.

"She's actually being nice. What the?" stated another.

"She was yelling like crazy before." said the crewman that Akane had helped with Kasumi's coffee delivery. Suddenly a faint snicker came from behind the crowd. As it grew steadily louder, the crowd of confused people parted to reveal Tatewaki, sporting a sneaky grin on his face. "Oh, she just enjoyed all that wonderful coffee you left on the table for her." he said while stifling a laugh.

"What do you mean, Tatewaki? And how did you know where we left Kasumi's coffee?" Akane asked. She was now just as intrigued as she was confused. Tatewaki let out a chuckle and looked around at everyone as if to answer the entire crowd's confusion.

"I mean I gave her the old switcheroo! It's amazing what a little decaf can do, wouldn't you say?" he blurted out forcefully before a giggle fit cut off his capability to speak. Everyone blinked as Tatewaki Kuno fell on the floor laughing. *So that's why she's so calm now.* Akane thought *I hope she'll have enough energy to get through the scene.*

Tatewaki was still laughing and receiving some odd stares as a voice came up from behind him. "Ahem!!" He looked up and saw an angry Kodachi glaring down at him with cold eyes and crossed arms.

"Tate-kun! What is the matter with you?! I expressly asked you to refrain from pulling anymore of these childish pranks!" Kodachi roared. Tatewaki's laughter immediately silenced as a look of disappointment and intimidation overtook his features. The rest of the crowd slowly backed away, not wanting to get in the way of Kodachi when she was that ticked.

"Oh, but Koda-chan..." he whined. "..It was only a little joke." Kodachi said nothing, choosing instead to intensify her stare toward her husband.

Tatewaki Kuno regained his somewhat dignified voice, realizing not only was he making a scene, but he was getting nowhere with his case. "I'm on the couch again aren't I..." he said softly. Kodachi gave a firm nod and reached down to grab his ear, pulling him to his feet and dragging him off with it firmly in hand. Only then did the rest of the crowd start uttering giggles of their own.

"Alright everyone, shooting resumes in five minutes." The cast and crew wrapped up their idle conversations and began final preparations at the director's call. As the director eased into his chair, he saw Ranma walk over from wardrobe.

"So what's the next scene Nishimura-san? D'ya need me yet?" the young star asked. Meanwhile, a figure was slowly edging forward from the crowd. It was Akane. She stood silent, her gaze locked thoughtfully on Ranma as he spoke to the director. Akane had not seen Ranma since he left her trailer and she was still quite enchanted by the accidental kiss that graced her hand. She watched as Ranma's posture shifted slightly and thought back as his sudden request of a future date came back to her. *I never did give him an answer.* she thought. *He's so sweet. Maybe I could....*

At the same time Akane was lost in thought, the director was answering Ranma's question. "I wish I could tell you Ranma. The scenes have all been scrambled. I wanted to do your fight scene next since you and Mousse are both ready..." he stated as he glanced over at Mousse who had just emerged from the prop room. "..but without Ryouga here.." he continued. Then as if on cue, one of the other cast members came bounding in, making her presence known quite audibly.

"Hey kiddies, I'm back! Ready for my close-up as usual! And looky what the red head dragged in!" Ranko marched up to the director with Ryouga in tow. Then with a huge grin, she pushed Ryouga forward and winked at the director. "You should give me an advance for retrieving him. He's been all over the darn lot!"

Akane snapped out of her thoughts of accepting Ranma's date the second she saw Ryouga. More to the point, he had seen her, and his sly smile complete with wink was more than enough to get her attention. She smiled back and blew him a quick kiss before anyone could spot it. Well, almost anyone. Ranma had been eyeing Akane ever since he noticed her standing there, and the unspoken exchange between her and Ryouga was more than his eyes cared to see.

"Well, I won't ask you where you've been Hibiki." said the director. "Let's just get this fight scene underway, okay?" With that Ranma, Ryouga and Mousse took their respective places and waited for the magic word. Ranma eyed Ryouga during what seemed like endless silence. This scene would prove all too easy and Ranma was more than ready.

"ACTION!"

The trio went through their various lines building up to the fight. For once, the lines didn't even register to Ranma. In fact, he could hear nothing. All sound ceased to exist. He merely spoke his lines without thinking, using the lack of movement in his colleagues' lips as cues. Finally, came the time for Ranma's first flurry of punches. He simply countered Mousse's attacks, much like any other convincing, yet choreographed fight. But Ryouga was another story. Those attacks were real. Here was someone who had the power to ruin the one thing he wanted most in the world. This person had gotten a better reaction with a smile, than Ranma had with an entire evening. Ranma seethed as Ryouga's first planned attack approached. Suddenly, Ranma let loose a flurry of punches and kicks, not holding back. Ryouga was taken aback and found himself attempting to go through choreographed moves while defending himself at the same time. Ranma's frustration left him with such incredible speed with every punch that the special effects department almost wouldn't need to boost his attacks to Amaguriken standards.

The director had blinked in awe as soon as Ranma had let loose. In no time, he swerved to the camera man and shouted "Are you getting this? Zoom in! I want this footage!!" Ranma, decided he'd vented enough and went back to his planned moves. With one mighty roundhouse kick, Ryouga was sent flying into a nearby fountain. The movement was part of the scene, but the force behind it was much stronger than the script called for.

"CUT! Good form there Ranma. Ease up on the kicks okay? Hibiki can take it, but let's not take any chances with my cast nonetheless." the director stated playfully.

"Sure thing.." Ranma responded in a dead flat tone as he came out of his follow through stance and stood seemingly relaxed. His back was turned to the cameras and the crew, so the sight of his gritting teeth would go unnoticed. Ryouga yelled over as he hopped down from the fountain. "WHAT'D YOU DO THAT FOR!?" Ranma simply ingored him and muttered. ".....that's 'my' line."

-----------------