Out of the gate, Ranma and Akane were doing there best not to repeat old mistakes. All those months ago, they'd started the date very formally, after making a point not to interact beforehand. Looking back, both had to wonder if making the date more "special" had also helped its eventual self-destruction. So, this time they both slept in, got ready in their usual routines, then left the house together a little before noon, with no real plan set up. It wasn't until they were a few blocks away from the Tendo Residence that Akane asked, "So, where were you thinking to go?"
Both of them were more than a little nervous. Looking back, their first date had happened when they'd barely known each other, less than two weeks after Ranma's introduction. By this time, they'd gotten to spend a lot more time together, and that meant their friendship was a lot stronger. Which was only more of a reason each was scared that another bad date could hurt it, permanently. Ranma ran a hand through his short hair, trying to think of something, before suddenly snapping his fingers. "Oh! How about the movie theater?"
One of the side effects of living on the road most of his life had been that Ranma's main source of entertainment had come from sneaking into movies to avoid paying. It was a side of him that, even after months of living together, Akane didn't get to see too often. She, like the rest of her family, were a lot more removed from movies, since her father preferred more traditional forms of entertainment like rakugo. Still, she didn't have anything against the idea, so she nodded, and they set off for the movies.
So far, they'd just been walking down the road side by side, a small distance between them, not holding hands. In a typical moment of impatient action, Ranma quickly reached over and took Akane's hand in his, without breaking stride or looking at her. Inside, he was terrified this would be the thing that would ruin the date, but it didn't. Akane squeezed his hand in hers, and both found that this side of public affection was not, in fact, ending the world as they knew it.
The closest movie theater was the Nerima Cinema 3, despite the fact neither could find evidence of it being a part of any local theater chain at all. It was the beginning of fall, so the only things showing were the last dregs of summer blockbusters and the earliest of the autumn dramas and romance films. Instead of really looking at the posters, Ranma's eyes were on Akane's, at least until she looked back and shrugged. "I don't know much about movies, why don't you choose something?"
There was an unspoken element of what she'd said, one Ranma didn't miss: she trusted his judgement. Suddenly taking this task far more seriously than it really demanded, he looked over the options once more and picked out something, a movie about lawyers, after a lot of consideration. Having saved up a relatively decent amount of money, he was able to pay for his own ticket, while Akane had paid for hers. Together, they walked into the theater, unaware of the horror that awaited them.
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Ino was having a weird day. From when she'd first woken up all the way to when she started helping Kasumi with lunch, she'd occasionally checked on Ranma and Akane, only to find they were still asleep. But then, after needing to take a quick bathroom break, she did another check, only to find them gone. When she met back up with the eldest Tendo sibling in the kitchen, Ino was scratching her shaggy head of hair in confusion. "Do you know where Akane and Ranma went?"
Kasumi, whose aprain was covered with flour, was kneading and rolling out tough for the large dumplings being prepared. She directed where Ino was most needed, namely using her powerful fists to get that dough in order, before answering the question. "No, but I did hear someone leave earlier. Perhaps it was them." Kasumi didn't seem to think anything of it, but then she didn't know what Ino did. With a sour mood, she perhaps put more strength than was necessary into her task as she brooded. So, they were out on a date. Didn't even say goodbye.
Of course, that was just what she had expected. After all, whether she was Ino or Ryoga, she was just a third wheel, wasn't she? There was no breaking those two apart...not that she wanted to! She just...would have liked to have someone pay attention to her. "Are you okay, Ino?" The soothing, utterly serene voice of Kasumi broke into Ino's spiraling, and she looked down to realize that she had been a bit too hard of the dough, which was starting to look overworked.
That just added to the list of things bothering Ino, and with a blush on her face she grumbled, "Sorry, Kasumi, I've just got...a lot on my mind." Looking closer at the dough, both girls knew it was unusable for its intended purpose now, and with a heavy sigh Ino threw it away and started working on more to replace that. "I'm sorry for wasting that dough. You can let me know how much it was, and I'll pay for it." It was a weird experience, being paid for work. Having money. Ino wasn't used to it.
Even after living with Kasumi as long as she had, Ino hadn't expected a warm laugh as a reply. "Oh, you don't need to do that, Ino. It's just some dough, after all." They went back to working on lunch for a few minutes more, before Kasumi asked, "You know, you can talk to me if something is bothering you. I consider you a part of my family, after all."
The ease to which Kasumi offered her attention, her consideration, and her kinship was so foreign to Ino that she almost thought it couldn't be real. In fact, if it had come from anyone but the incorruptibly pure Kasumi Tendo, she absolutely would have doubted its sincerity. But for that same reason, there was no way Ino couldn't take her up on the offer. One did not simply refuse a request from Kasumi. "Do you promise not to tell anyone what I'm about to tell you?" It was a bit of a dumb question, really, but Kasumi made a sound of affirmation anyway. With a heavy heart and a deep sigh, Ino started. "Well, Akane and Ranma aren't just 'out of the house'. They're on their second date right now."
Even someone as socially inept as Ino could practically feel warmth radiating from Kasumi in hearing that, though her actual, stil pleasant, facial expression didn't change at all. "Only their second?" she asked, putting a finger to her chin. "I had thought they must have gone farther than that." Wow, Ino thought to herself, even Kasumi of all people marveled at how slow the two teens were taking everything. Suddenly looking at Ino with an almost piercing stare, Ino asked, "But, why is that troubling you so much, Ino?"
That was the ten million yen question, wasn't it? Both as Ryoga and as Ino, she'd been thinking about that question a lot. After all, the two had grown to become the closest people she had in her life. If they wanted to get together, what was the problem? But maybe, just for a moment, in this space, with this person, she could be more honest to Kasumi than to herself. "You really promise not to tell anyone?" Still looking far more serious than was normal for her, Kasumi nodded, and Ino couldn't hold it back anymore. "I...think I have feelings. For Ranma. I might...like him." Even after doing her best to get over their shared enmity, it was still hard to admit it, to herself or anyone else.
When Ino was finally able to look at Kasumi again, she saw naked empathy looking back at her. No pity. No disgust. No judgement. Just someone who cared, and wanted to help. "Would it be okay," Kasumi began to ask after a few seconds, "if I gave you a hug?" Almost imperceptibly, Ino nodded, and Kasumi quickly washed her hands in the sink before enveloping the chubby girl with pig ears, and squeezing her with compassion and love. For a few seconds, Ino tried futilly to stop herself, but she couldn't sustain the effort, and started crying. "I know it hurts," Kasumi whispered to her, and started stroking her hair. "I'm here for you."
As Ino cried, something she hadn't done in quite a while, and couldn't stop herself from continuing to spill her feelings out. The floodgates had opened. "He'd never like me back, I know that. When I'm like this, I'm fat, and ugly, and I'm part demon. But...the rest of the time...I'm a guy. He'd never...he'd hate me...Akane would too..." All the ugly thoughts, all the cruel insults from daydreams in her head, all the what-if scenarios she'd ever imagined, they were all Ino could think about anymore. "Even if they didn't...I'm broken. There's no way either would understand if I tried to explain to them..."
After that, after even starting to touch on a much darker part of her psyche she had never shared with anyone before, Ino couldn't even talk anymore. She could only sob. "It's going to be okay," Kasumi told her. "You're a wonderful person. As Ino, or as Ryoga. I can't speak for Ranma's romantic feelings, but I do know that he and Akane care about you far more than you seem to understand. I know that the...nature...of this topic makes discussing it with them more difficult. If you need to take more time, that's okay. But in the meantime, you can always come to me." Her words were nice, but Ino just felt empty inside, of tears and emotions. They broke apart and went back to making food, Ino utterly unsure if she'd ever be able to tell Ranma or Akane any of what she was going through.
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In the middle of the afternoon, two high school martial artists stumbled out of the Nerima Cinema 3 among a horde. All bleary eyed, the bright sun blinding after several hours in the dark. After choosing a random direction walk, Ranma and Akane didn't say anything for a while. Both looked like they were searching for what to say. "I'm...not an expert in movies," Akane finally began, looking baffled. "But that was, um..."
"No need to bead around the bush, 'kane. It was bad. Like, really bad." Ranma let out a whistle. "I don't know if I've seen a movie that bad in years." They shared a quick laugh, but just as proper sight was returning to Ranma, he noticed something. "Hey, let's eat there!" They'd both chosen to avoid the overly expensive food at the theater, so the little bakery he'd picked out looked pretty good to both of them, considering how hungry they were. Each picked out a pastry, got it on a little plate, and sat at an outside table to start eating.
Akane was nibbling on her cherry-filled puffy baked good, as she thought about what to say. "I know it was only two and a half hours long, but it feels like we were in there all day." Still searching her internal lexicon for the proper words to talk about something so indescribable, she added, "But at the same time, it felt like nothing actually happened."
"Exactly!" Ranma exclaimed, having already practically inhaled the chocolate cinnamon roll he'd picked out. "Plus, what was with the setting? Who even goes to a circus nowadays?" They had a quick laugh about that, both still marveling at the experience they'd just shared. Running through the events depicted on celluloid for them once more, Ranma suddenly said, "Also, did it feel like they were trying to make the killer sympathetic?"
Suddenly nodding fervently, Akane agreed. "They did! But he tried to crush a teenage girl's skull!" They spent the next half hour rattling off things that stood out to them, supporting each other's points one second and battling it out verbally where they disagreed. When they finally rose from their table to walk home, they were hand in hand again. When they weren't too far from the Tendo Estate, Akane nudged Ranma. "Hey, Ranma." He looked down at her, and all of a sudden she was blushing quite a bit more than she'd intended to. "This date was...really nice. If it's okay with you, I'd really like for us to be 'dating' now." Then, she rose up on the tips of her toes to plant a quick kiss on his lips.
But he wasn't happy with just that, and put one arm around her lower back and returned the favor, their mouths parting as they shared a kiss that lasted a passionate half a minute, easily. When they pulled away, Akane felt equal parts annoyed he'd pulled that stunt, and happy with the affection. The latter won out, and soon they were home again, still hand-in-hand. Both noticed Ino reacting a bit oddly to the sight, but everyone else in the family was so busy talking up the results of the date, they didn't have a chance that night to ask her what the problem was.
