I've gotten a double whammy that's emptied both my tissue boxes and my winnings.
Disclaimer: I don't own whammy/press your luck or Ranma ½.
Akane's POV
I don't think I've ever seen Ranma this angry.
"Kick his butt Ranma!" Ryu cheered and then covered his mouth. For some reason he tried to slink away and then Mikado turned to look at him.
"Ryu? Ryu Tomoe?" Mikado asked, but Ryu only paused long enough to flip Mikado the bird before storming out of the rink. What the heck was that all about? Mikado then turned back to Ranma. "So, you know that pathetic Tomoe? I suppose it shouldn't surprise me, only someone as low as him would dare damage the rink." Mikado quipped and Raman got even angrier.
"You leave my friends alone!" He shouted and he sprung at Mikado, but at the last moment Mikado dodged and Ranma landed head first into the ice.
"Fool, going straight for a suicide attack like that," Mikado mused, but then Ranma appeared right behind him and attacked. Mikado barely dodged in time. Unfortunately, for Ranma, that sent him skating across the ice, on his face. "I don't like using this move on an amateur, but…" Then Mikado began to spin around and around, but Ranma charged right in and got caught up in the spin. Some of the guys in hokey gear called it the Dance of Death, but Ranma seemed to be handling it fairly well. I decided to count how many times Ranma hit Mikado. When Ranma was thrown clear, the total was five hundred and one hits. I then skated over to him.
"Can you stand up?" I asked and Ranma tried to, but couldn't get upright on the ice.
"Looks like a draw, hmmm?" Azusa remarked
"Nope, Ranma won," I corrected her and dragged Ranma off while Azusa and the others began to draw on the unconscious Mikado.
With that taken care of, we went to find Ryu. His house wasn't too far from the rink and that's where we found him, chugging soda like there was no tomorrow.
"Do you mind telling me what got you so worked up all of a sudden?" I asked and Ryu grumbled something unintelligible.
"Don't you go giving me that! Tell me what happened," I demanded
"Do you remember about two years ago when I said I broke my tail bone and couldn't sit properly for over a week?" Ryu asked suddenly
"Now that you mention it, I do," I answered
"Well, the truth of the matter was I had gotten it broken by fighting with Mikado. I had been at the rink minding my own business when that pervert showed up and started harassing at the girls at the rink. So naturally, I challenged him to a fight. I told him that if I beat him, he'd have to leave the girls alone. He then told me that he didn't want anything from me if I lost, he said 'the satisfaction of demolishing your misplaced confidence is prize enough'. Then I proceeded to get my butt handed to me on a silver platter," Ryu explained
"So Mikado's always been a pervert?" Ranma asked
"Insofar as I know," Ryu answered
"So why didn't you tell me in the first place?" I asked
"Because he did hurt my confidence and I wanted to lick my wounds in peace. Ever since then, I've done my best to not think about it," Ryu replied
"Well if it makes ya feel any better, I kicked his butt just now," Ranma remarked and a small smile played over Ryu's face.
"Thanks Ranma, that's nice of you to say. And that reminds me, I need to have words with your old man," Ryu said
"What did he do this time?" Ranma asked
"Blatant inconsideration for his own son, that's what!" Ryu exclaimed and then headed out the door and towards my house. Ranma and I followed. When we arrived, Ryu dragged Mr. Saotome in panda form to the dojo. We all decided it would be best if no one went in there for awhile. So we went to the living room and Ranma got something for his bruises.
"Quite pathetic, isn't it?" We turned to see Ryoga leaning in the doorframe. "I would have never let such a thing happen to me."
"SHUT UP! If I hadn't been stuck in skates, that moron woulda never-" Ranma cut himself off
"Kissed you?" Ryoga finished
"Really? You were kissed Ranma?" Kasumi asked
"Wow! By who? By who?!" Nabiki shouted
"Tell them, Ranma. It isn't often that one is kissed by such and handsome boy," Ryoga snickered
"Boy?!" Nabiki and Kasumi chorused, but before Ryoga could tease Ranma any further, Ryu showed up and punted Ryoga out of the yard.
"YOU INSTENSITIVE MORON! HOW WOULD YOU LIKE IT IF YOU HAD GOTTEN KISSED BY ANOTHER GUY?!" Ryu roared
"Did ya have to go and kick me so hard?!" Ryoga shouted back
"YES! AND YOU'RE JUST LUCKY I DIDN'T AIM WHERE IT WOULD REALLY HURT!" Ryoga then got the messaged and left.
"Ya didn't have to defend me like that. I coulda handled it," Ranma said in a subdued voice
"Just because your father doesn't give a damn about you doesn't mean everyone feels the same way. I consider you my friend and friends look out for each other. We also talk to each other about our problems. So if you ever feel the need, I'll always have an ear to lend," With that Ryu left. But not before growling at Nabiki; something about not giving Ranma any grief.
Ranma then headed out to the dojo to do some thinking, I guess.
Ranma's POV
The first thing I noticed when I entered the dojo was a panda corpse. I guess Ryu really was pissed at the old man. Or maybe he just underestimated Ryu and paid the price. So the first thing I did was throw Pops out of the dojo so I could think in peace. Unfortunately, the only thing I could think about was that stupid kiss. No matter what I tried, it always came back to that. I'm just thankful no one from school saw me. I probably would have died if word got out that I had been kissed by another guy. Come to think of it, that's probably what has Ryu so pissed off. He's had to deal with all kinds of crap like this.
"You're wide open you know," I heard Akane remark right before she smacked me on the head. "Pay attention. Honestly, aren't you finished pouting? And here I thought you were a guy."
"Aw, go ahead and laugh at me," I grumbled and Akane lost no time in doing just that. "Hey! What are you laughing at?!"
"Oh nothing," Akane replied while looking up at the suddenly interesting ceiling. Before I could protest, Akane suddenly put a bandage on my nose. "You do realize it's your own fault that he kissed you. You left yourself wide open."
"I'm sorry I don't have practice at being a girl," I remarked venomously, "How am I supposed to know if I'm leaving myself wide open or not?!" Then Akane got a faraway look in her eyes that made me regret saying anything at all.
"Well then maybe I should teach you. I don't want to have to put up with you moping every time you run across a guy with more testosterone than common sense while you're in your girl form," Akane commented
"NO!" I yelped, "I mean, no, I don't need help," I said while looking anywhere but at Akane.
"What's the matter, scared?" Akane teased
"I'd be lyin' if I said I wasn't," I muttered under my breath
"What?" Akane asked
"Pops raised me to be a man among men. We were almost always on the move and I didn't get to have friends and stuff like other people. Pops called them distractions from the Art. I have absolutely no business 'learning to be a girl'," I said and then Akane sighed and began making a 'tsk' sound.
"You're really going to continue to listen to the guy who Ryu just beat up because he doesn't care about you at all? The one who got you cursed in the first place? You just admitted that you don't know what it's like to really have friends because of him! And yet you're still going to follow his teachings? As far as I can tell, the only thing your Dad is good for is Martial Arts. Beyond that he's worse than useless," Akane observed
"When you say it like that it does sound kinda stupid," I said and while I had had fights with my old man before, I had never stopped to think about it like that before.
"Or you could think about it another way, if you still want to try the whole 'man among men' thing. Which is more manly, getting kissed by every pervert around or getting taught how to prevent it?" Akane questioned
"So you don't think I'd be less of a man if I did this?" I asked
"Hardly. You've got enough macho pride for ten men. Besides, your curse might be around for awhile and I think it would be less manly to run away from it as opposed to facing it head on," Akane answered
"What about Ryu?" I wondered
"We can talk to him tomorrow, but he'll probably say something along the lines of 'it's better to use everything you have at your disposal. You can't control your curse so the only smart thing to do is learn how to use it'." Akane remarked
"Thanks Akane, talkin' about this helped a lot," I told her and I smiled at her before leaving the dojo. Ryu may have killed the fat panda, but I still wanted to skin him.
Ryu's POV
The day of the 'Charlotte cup' had finally arrived. Ranma had just told me that Mikado planned on kissing Scarlet at some time during the match. I wanted to go try and kill him before he got on the ice and became dangerous, but Ranma promised that Mikado would only kiss Scarlet over his dead body. He went to put on his skates and I got a seat. I decided to keep a close eye on P-chan to make sure Azusa didn't try anything sneaky.
Azusa and Mikado entered the rink with practiced grace, but Ranma still hadn't gotten skating down completely and so his and Scarlet's entrance was a little bit more…painful. The bell rang and almost right off the bat Mikado tried to kiss Scarlet! Thankfully, Ranma was able to keep Mikado from his goal.
"Ranma, above you!" Scarlet shouted as Azusa came in for an attack, but it was too late and Ranma took Azusa's knees to the face. Mikado tried to kiss Scarlet again, but she threw him off. She then went to try and rouse Ranma, but he had landed pretty hard. Eventually, he did come around and then they went on the attack. Ranma threw Scarlet into the air and then nailed Mikado in the gut. Ranma then caught Scarlet, but then ran into the fence. They nearly crashed and only Ranma's split second timing had saved them.
Meanwhile, Mikado was still down from the punch he had received from Ranma. So of course, Azusa skated over to him and poked the spot where he was hurt. Mikado only flinched, but then Azusa started punching the sore spot. With friends like her, who needs enemies?
"Why are you hitting me there you ditz?!" Mikado shouted
"But widdle Azusa is worried about you," She said, but Mikado had turned his attention to Ranma and Scarlet.
"It's rare that I'm brought to my knees," He remarked
"You try anything funny with Akane again and I'll do more than bring you to your knees!" Ranma threatened
"Oh? And just what will you do?" Mikado challenged
"I'll put your lady-killing butt straight into a coffin!" Ranma declared, "Akane is my fiancée! You touch her and I'll kill you!" Ranma practically snarled that last part. Their parents might have shoved them together, but I think they might be starting to genuinely care for one another. Then Mikado swore to break Ranma and Scarlet apart and began to laugh sinisterly.
"We, the golden pair, also have another name," Mikado said as Azusa jumped on his shoulders
"The anti-matchmakers!" They both cried and the announcer then shouted that they were going to do a technique called the 'Couple Cleaver'. Azusa snatched Ranma's ankles and as he fell, he grabbed onto Scarlet's hands. Mikado then lifted all three of them up into the air and began to spin. Then the announcer shouted something about 'The Good-bye Whirl'. Personally, I was too busy being worried about Ranma and Scarlet.
"Ranma Saotome, if you let Akane go, I'll stop!" Mikado promised. Then I got the idea of what the attack was trying to do. It was a test to see how loyal you were…or in this case, how hard headed. Unfortunately, for Mikado and Azusa, they just happened to be up against two of the hardest heads in the world and they were also fairly loyal to one another, even if they wouldn't admit it. Scarlet tried to convince Ranma to let go, but that only made him want to hang on all the more.
"Little Azusa is all worn out!" Azusa suddenly cried and both Ranma and Scarlet went flying. They were still holding on. But they were going fast! Then Ranma placed himself in between the wall and Scarlet and took the brunt of the force. The impact created a big crater and I winced. Then I saw P-chan break his chain and I decided to follow to make sure he didn't get lost. So I followed him to the men's room and saw P-chan turn on the hot water in the sink and jump in. Then out came a naked Ryoga.
It didn't take a genius to figure out Ryoga had a curse like Ranma's and boy was I pissed. THAT LITTLE PIG HAD BEEN SLEEPING IN SCARLET'S ROOM!
Ryoga's POV
With Ranma out of the way, I could replace him and skate with Akane! Then I turned around and saw Ryu staring me down.
"Hello, Ryoga," He sounded friendly enough, but there was an icy undertone that froze me in my tracks.
"Hey, Ryu, what's up?" I asked, hoping I wasn't in as much trouble as I thought I was. Ryu didn't answer immediately. Instead, he went over to the sink and turned on the cold water. Ryu then splashed me.
"Oh, nothing much is up. But Kasumi will probably be making pork chops for dinner," Ryu growled and I tried to escape, but he caught me in his backpack and I couldn't escape.
Akane's POV
Ranma was hurt, so I begged him not to continue. Then I noticed Ryu was already on standby. I pointed him out to Ranma and he nodded. Ryu skated out to help Ranma off the ice, when suddenly the lights cut off and I felt myself shoved off the ice. Just as suddenly as they went off, they came back on, beside me was Ryoga, and on the ice was Ranma in his girl form and Ryu.
"Would someone mind telling me what the heck is goin' on here?!" Ranma demanded
"Your guess is as good as mine," Ryu replied while pointed over at Ryoga. Then Mikado skated over and tried to flirt with Ranma, but he was having none of it. Then the crowd started to complain about Ryu and Ranma's costumes. I knew where this was heading and I knew it was no where good.
"It seems The Kolhotz fashion club has appeared!" The announcer exclaimed
"AHHHH!" Ryu cried and skated away as fast as he could. Ranma shot me a questioning look and I told him I'd explain later. Ranma's costume was changed relatively quickly, but they had to hunt down Ryu and that wasn't easy. But eventually they managed to bring him down and get him into a costume.
That's when Mikado tried to take advantage of the situation and kiss me on the hand, but Ryu punted him away before he could. Then Ranma slipped on the ice and took Ryu down with him.
"Here we go again!" Azusa chirped and they started the Couple Cleaver again. This wasn't good, if Ranma took another hit, he'd be finished! Thankfully, Ryu had come prepared. He dropped a smoke bomb and that caused the Good-bye Whirl to collapse. When the smoke cleared, Ranma was fine, sitting right on top of Ryu.
"Oh! I'm sorry!" Ranma exclaimed and then scrambled off of Ryu
"Don't worry about it. I was just returning the favor you did for Scarlet," Ryu replied, right before getting nailed by Azusa.
"Hey! That's a cheap shot!" Ranma protested and then attacked Azusa. He jumped and tried to crash down upon her, but Azusa dodged and the whole rink cracked. While everyone was distracted, Ryu decided to employ some…underhanded…tactics of his own by sneaking behind Mikado and nailing him right where it counts. It was safe to say Mikado was done for the day and he was carted off by paramedics. Then to add insult to injury, Azusa got a liking for the blanket the paramedics gave Mikado and tried to take it. Mikado wanted it for himself, so Azusa knocked him out with a chunk of ice.
Since there were no substitutes for Mikado, that meant we automatically won! Then Ryoga charged out onto the ice to attack Ranma for some reason. So I went after him and tried to break up the fight. But in the process, I fell into the water.
When I came to, it was to Kasumi fussing over me. Nabiki then told me that Ranma and Ryu had gotten me out of the freezing cold water and had brought me home. Kasumi fed me hot chicken noodle soup and then I slipped back into sleep.
The next day was Sunday, so I was allowed to sleep in. Eventually I got out of bed and went downstairs.
"Akane!" Ranma exclaimed, "Are you OK?!"
"I'm fine Ranma. It'll take more than that to keep me down for long," I told him
"You shoulda told me you couldn't swim!" He nearly shouted
"I never thought about it. I'm sorry I worried you," I said
"Hey Scarlet, there's something I want to talk to you about," Ryu said suddenly and then grabbed Ryoga by his ear. I was confused, but let him lead the way back up to my room. As soon as the door was closed, Ryu leveled a bone chilling glare at Ryoga. "Tell her now or I will," He growled and then produced two thermoses.
"No! You can't make me!" Ryoga protested
"Shut up! You're just lucky I decided to let Akane dish out your punishment! You say you've seen Hell?! I would have thrown you in its fiery embrace!" Ryu shouted and I knew whatever Ryoga had done, it must have been serious. Ryu's threat seemed to have softened Ryoga's unwillingness to come clean, because he turned to me and got on his knees in begging.
"Please, have mercy! It's not my fault! It's Ranma's!" Ryoga cried
"LIAR! SPIT IT OUT ALREADY BEFORE I DO SOMETHING YOU'LL REGRET!" Ryu bellowed and that totally cowed Ryoga. A trembling hand reached for one of the thermoses and he dumped it on himself. After the few moments delay, suddenly where Ryoga had been standing was P-chan.
My brain shut down from the shock and I fell onto my bed. Ryoga was P-chan? Suddenly every secret I had told P-chan and every time I had undressed in front of him popped into my head. I felt my face turning red in embarrassment. I then heard water and Ryoga returned to human form and I heard as he quickly got his clothes back on. Finally, my brain began to thaw out.
"What do you have to say for yourself, Ryoga?" I asked and surprisingly, I didn't feel the rage I usually would have. I guess the shock was to blame for that.
"This is all Ranma's fault! He's the one who got me cursed in the first place!" Ryoga shouted
"And you're the one who slept in Scarlet's bed!" Ryu shouted back, "That was your choice!"
"Ranma forced me to do it!" Ryoga cried
"AND HOW DO YOU FIGURE THAT?!" Ryu yelled
"I had to protect Akane from that pervert!" Ryoga protested and Ryu was about to shout again, but I put a stop to it.
"That enough, both of you. Ryu, could you go get Ranma?" I asked and a few moments later, Ranma was in my room too.
"What's goin' on here?" He asked
"Ryoga got busted," Ryu replied
"Ranma, how long have you known about Ryoga's curse?" I asked
"Ever since he got here, but I swore I wouldn't tell nobody 'cause that's against the Warrior's Code. Of course, that was before he started sleeping in your bed," Ranma answered with a frown.
"While I understand why you didn't tell me, I wish you had. In any case, thank you for being honest," I said and then turned to Ryoga, "Ryoga, I don't know what I'm going to do about this. But right now, I want you to get lost for a while." I told him and to his credit he didn't protest, he just slinked away like a wounded animal. I then asked Ranma and Ryu to leave and once the door closed, I started crying.
I think that's a fair place to stop. With the P-chan issue dealt with, how will things progress? Stay tuned to find out!