10/28/17 - Oh man this story just keeps going, worried about hitting my deadline as there is still so much I want to do with this story. Going to try my best to do a post a day. Let me know your thoughts. I love comments as they help encourage me to write faster
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Come on Ranma, you have to go. This is going to be my first big party and I need all my best friends there." Daisuke pleaded with his friend.
"Man why did you have to have a costume party of all things?" Ranma whined for like the 10th time during lunch about his choice of party.
"Why? Because it is awesome! Girls LOVE to get dressed up in super cute and sexy outfits and parade around in front of us. I can't believe you AREN'T excited about going with Akane. I am sure she is going to look amazing."
"Wait a second. Who said I was going with her?" Ranma yelled as he about choked on his food at the assumption they were going together. "Besides it's not like she could pull off any of those sexy outfits you have been talking about. She will probably just want to go as a ghost or wear her gi or something stupid like that. She doesn't have the guts…..or body to wear one of those outfits."
"Dude you must be blind or stupid or both. Of course Akane is going to look hot in whatever she wears. She looks good everyday in her normal clothes. How is it that you are the only one in school that can't see it?" Hiroshi questioned his friend. "I swear being her fiancée is wasted on you."
"Are you really not going to ask Akane to go with you to the party?" Daisuke ask Ranma trying to deflect Ranma's attention from Hiroshi before Ranma tried to clobber him.
"Why should I. She will probably just accuse me of being a pervert or trying something if I make a big deal about going with her. Besides we will go together anyway. I mean we live in the same house so of course we are going to go there together."
"Ranma, there is a big difference between going to a party together because you are coming from the same place and actually 'Going Together', you know like a date." Daisuke said as he started gathering up his things to head back to class. "You know you really should ask her to go together before someone else beats you to it."
Ranma thought for a moment about what his friends had said. He didn't want her to go with anyone else but he just kind of assumed they would go together, they always did everything together so why would this be different. But he couldn't imagine himself actually asking her to go together flat out. Maybe he could trick their dad's into forcing them to go together then he wouldn't have to worry about her going with someone else and he wouldn't have to actually ask either.
Realizing his friends had already left him he grabbed his things and rushed to catch back up to them. "So what do you guys think I should go as anyway. Because there is no way I am wearing anything like what you two got talked into wearing."
Hiroshi and Daisuke gave each other a look, they had him right where they wanted him now. "Don't worry about it Ranma." Hiroshi said as he put his arm around his friend as they walked back inside. "We can go to the store tomorrow. I am sure we can find you something that will work."
Once school was over Akane went to meet up with Ranma in their normal spot. She explained that she was going to head over to Sayuri's house with Yuka to look up some ideas for some costumes before they went shopping the next day. "You could come with us to find a costume tomorrow if you want."
"That's ok. Daisuke and Hiroshi mentioned something about going out tomorrow also, so I will probably just tag along with them. I guess I will see you later. I'll tell Kasumi you will be home late."
Akane thanked Ranma and rushed off to find her friends as Ranma left for home. She finally spotted Sayuri by the school gate talking to Hiroshi. She yelled hello and waved but they didn't hear her. She was a bit surprised they didn't notice her, but they appeared completely absorbed in their whispered conversation. As soon as she got close they both abruptly stopped talking.
"Hey guys, what's going on?" Akane asked as she joined the two of them.
"Um...nothing much. We were….just….um….talking about our costumes." Sayuri said. "We can talk about it some more later though, Hiroshi. I am sure Yuka is waiting for us by now so we got to get going, Bye." Sayuri quickly grabbed Akane's hand and dragged her away.
"Sayuri, hold up a second. What's the rush?" Akane asked as she pulled her arm back and started to walk along side her friend instead of being pulled along.
"I just don't want to keep Yuka waiting. We have a lot of work to do tonight before we go shopping tomorrow and I just want to make sure we have enough time." With that the two girls found their other friend and took off. They spent the rest of the night looking up outfit ideas for Akane and making a list of what they would need for the other girls costumes.
The next morning Akane left soon after breakfast to meet up with her friends at the tea shop just outside the shopping district. Akane always prided herself on arriving early, at least when Ranma wasn't with her, so when she arrived ten minutes early to find her friends not only already there but already at a table having tea she was a bit shocked. As she approached them they were too absorbed in their whispered conversation to notice her.
"I don't know Sayuri," Yuka whispered to her friend. "What if she gets mad at us for interfering. You know how she can get when she is upset."
"Hey guys," Akane said announcing herself as she sat down. "Am I late? I thought we were not meeting till 9."
"Oh Hi Akane." Sayuri said. "Oh…..um…..no you aren't late. We just um….ended up getting an early start today and got here a bit early so we decided to go on and get a table. We haven't been here that long."
"Oh ok. So anyway what were you guys just talking about. Who do you not want to make upset by interfering with?"
"Huh...oh….um….Ms Hinako." Sayuri said quickly as she fumbled for an excuse. "We were just talking about how…..um…..we should….maybe….talk to principal Kuno about Ms Hinako draining students, but we don't really want to upset her you know how she can be. I don't want to get drained every day for the rest of school.
"Yeah that would stink but someone really does need to do something about her." Akane said as she poured herself a cup of tea. The three friends started to talk about which store to start with today and made a plan for the day. Soon they all had finished their tea and they were off.
They soon found their way to the store that specialized in Halloween and had a wide selection of costumes. "Hey Akane, what about this one." Yuka said as she held up a Red top with black shorts and black open toe boots. "You could be Sakura. It's perfect. You both have super strength. It's not super revealing but it will be very form fitting and will show off your legs Plus you will get to wear a cute pink wig."
"I don't know." Akane said as she got closer to check out the outfit some. "I like the show but I have never been a big fan of Sakura's. I always thought she was an annoying, whiny, crybaby. I was kind of thinking about going as Hinata though. If I go as the early version my hair will look similar, so I won't need a wig"
"No way Akane." Sayuri said as she shoved the Sakura outfit into Akane's arms. "I like Hinata as much as the next person but there is no way to make that outfit sexy. And remember you wanted to make Ranma notice you right? Well you need a more….appealing outfit. Why don't you at least try this one on."
The next thing Akane knew she was shoved into a changing room with the outfit. As she started to change clothing she heard some banging coming from a few stalls down from her. She quickly finished changing and stepped out of her room to go to the other changing room to see if the person needed any help. As she approached the room and was about to know she heard, "Now where the hell am I?"
"Ryoga? Is that you?" Akane asked as she pulled the door open to reveal the eternal lost boy.
"Akane? What are you doing in China?" Ryoga ask as stepped out of the changing room.
"You are not in China, Ryoga. You are in the women's changing room in the shopping district of Nerima." Akane said as gave him a confused look on how he always managed to get himself so lost all the time.
"The wom..wom….women's….changing….." Ranma stuttered as he finally took in his surroundings and the skimpy outfit Akane was wearing and started to get a nose bleed.
"Come on Ryoga. Let's get you out of here before you cause a panic with the other women." Akane took his hand and lead him outside to where her friends were waiting.
Yuka and Sayuri barely batted an eye as Akane emerged from the changing room with Ryoga. They had gotten to know the eternally lost boy over the past few years and came to realize quickly that he always ended up showing up in the oddest of locations. So when he came out with Akane they just accepted it as an everyday thing. Go in to change clothes. Come back in a new outfit with Ryoga in tow.
Yuka commented on how cute she looked in the outfit and that a pink wig would make it perfect while Sayuri just eyed her up and down with a judging look in her eye. "I don't know about this one guys." Akane said as she tried to pull down the short top some more to try to cover more of the short shorts. "I don't think this is really right for me."
"Yeah your right." Sayuri said dismissively. "This one doesn't have enough WOW effect to it. We need something that is going to make you stand out if we want to get his attention."
"Well for what it's worth," Ryoga said he tried to give his opinion. "I think you look great Akane. But, if I may ask, what is it for?"
"Oh well our friend is having a Halloween Costume Party next weekend, so we are out shopping for our outfits.
"What about this one?" Sayuri said as she pulled out a beautiful light blue floor length princess gown. It was a halter top dress with a low cut back that was covered in sequins so that it seemed to sparkle in the light.
"Oh my goodness!" Akane exclaimed as she reached out to grab the dress in her excitement. "But I don't know if I should go with a princess costume. That is what Kuno wanted me to wear and I don't want to give that idiot any ideas that we are going together." Sadly she let go of he dress as she continued, "Unfortunately I think I have to pass, even though that has to be the most beautiful dress I have ever seen.
Ryoga spent the rest of the morning with the three girls as they shopped for their outfits, offering his opinion, in between his many trips to the bathroom to deal with his nosebleeds. Yuka and Sayuri had quickly found their costumes but Akane was proving to be more difficult. It seemed like she had tried on just about every outfit and managed to find something wrong with all of them.
She complained that the nurses skirt barely covered her butt and the top was cut so low she thought her chest was going to pop out of it. The Mermaid outfit was just too revealing she said, being that the top was basically just a string bikini top and the skirt that formed the mermaid tail was super low cut and skin tight. The Jeanine outfit had been a contender for a while but when Akane thought about all the perverted boys at her school coming up to her and asking her to grant their wishes all night she decided against that one too. Akane had really like the gypsy outfit but Sayuri had vetoed that one, claiming it was just a frumpy dress did nothing to draw attention to her.
Tiered and hungry they decided to take a break and get some lunch. As the three girls and Ryoga were sitting at the cafe eating lunch Ranma and his friends spotted them and came over. As they were approaching Hiroshi asked Ranma if he had thought anymore about asking Akane to the party and mentioned that he better not wait much longer as that was Ryoga sitting next to her looking all buddy buddy.
"Yo, pig boy!" Ranma said as he pulled up a chair and placed himself between Akane and Ryoga. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be lost in some woods somewhere?" Then without asking he helped himself to some of Akane's chips.
Akane glared at the back of Ranma's head, amazed at how he could manage to be so rude in the five seconds he had been there.
"Funny Ranma." Ryoga replied. "I have just been helping Akane pick something to wear for the party next weekend. Where have you been? Shouldn't you have been helping her?"
"Nah, that Tomboy doesn't need my help. She can pick some lame costume out on her own."
"Ranma you jerk!" Akane yelled as she smacked him in the head. "Why do you have to be so rude all the time?" The two of them started to argue and Ryoga attempted to bait Ranma into a fight.
Yuka, Sayuri, Daisuke and Hiroshi all shook their heads a the hopelessness of their friends then started to talk together while Akane and Ranma were distracted.
"So have you had any luck picking an outfit out for Akane yet?" Hiroshi asked Sayuri. "We need to make sure Ranma gets a matching outfit. They can't go together if they have different outfits."
'I know, I know." Sayuri replied. "We have been trying ALL morning but she just won't decide. I will let you know as soon as she picks something. You will just have to keep stalling Ranma on making his decision."
"Oh don't worry about that. I don't think he has any interest in picking one. He has done everything he can to avoid it."
"These two are just impossible to work with. They are just too stubborn." Sayuri said in defeat.
"You are just not handling them properly." The four friends jumped as the heard Nabiki speak behind them. "Ranma and my sister are indeed stubborn when you give them a choice. But when you only LET them think the choice is theirs they are quite easy to handle. Now why don't you guys tell me exactly what it is you are up to."
