Hello ladies and gentlemen! Just a heads up, but later chapters of this fic will get…dark. Very dark.
Disclaimer: I own naught but this rose of life floating down the streams of Time.
Ryu's POV
With the Cat Tongue fiasco behind us, Ranma, Scarlet, and I were all enjoying the lull. That's not to say that we were becoming lazy, however. In truth, we were all in the Tendo dojo in a three way sparing session. Of course, after getting cured, Ranma had decided to reevaluate his 'I don't hit girls' mantra. He was still pulling his punches as far as Scarlet was concerned, but it was better than what had gone before that had antagonized Scarlet to no end. However, we should have known that lull wouldn't last.
Akane's POV
I had just gotten back from my morning jog when I noticed our dojo sign had vanished! I rushed into the house to find my Dad and Mr. Saotome beaten up. Dad then told me that the dojo destroyer who had taken our sign would return on Saturday and he wanted me and Ranma to defeat him. For some reason, this seemed suspicious to me. This dojo destroyer would have had to be a very good martial artist to have beaten Mr. Saotome, even if he is worthless for everything else.
We headed to school, caught up with Ryu, and told him what had happened.
"A dojo destroyer? I was under the impression that those guys only existed in movies and such," Ryu remarked
"That's what I thought," I agreed
"Sounds to me like your fathers are making another ploy to get the two of you on the fast track for romance or some similar bull," Ryu said
"I wouldn't put it past 'em," Ranma agreed and so with the plan to tell our fathers to leave us alone when we got home, we started the school day.
Then gym class rolled around and Shampoo showed up. The crazy Amazon nearly ran everyone over with her bike and apparently didn't care.
"Nihao, Ranma!" She chirped
"Can we help you?" I growled
"The only help that'd do her much good would be the kind found in an asylum," Ryu quipped and we all snickered.
"Are you sure you want to talk to Shampoo like that?" Shampoo asked and then she filled a tub with water, poured something in it, and then dropped a dog into the water; then out popped a boy! Shampoo called it 'instant Nanniichuan'. Ranma looked at the packet like a starved man eyeing a piece of chicken.
"Gee, this doesn't reek of deception at all," Ryu said sarcastically
"What's he gotta do for it?" I asked
"Ranma go on date with Shampoo." She answered
"WHAT?!" Ranma shouted, snapping out of his daze, "If that's the price, I'd rather-" But before Ranma could complete his sentence, Ryu silenced him.
"Ranma will think about it and get back to you later!" Ryu exclaimed and then dragged Ranma off. I sighed and then followed the two to the equipment shed.
"What was that all about? I'd rather stay cursed than go on a date with Shampoo!" Ranma shouted
"I know that! But what if there were a way to make Shampoo think you'd gone on a date with her?" Ryu asked and with a sinking feeling, I figured out where this was heading.
"Ryu, you're not suggesting…?" I was afraid to finish the question
"Yes! I shall disguise myself as Ranma and risk life and limb by going on a date with Shampoo!" Ryu proclaimed
"Really? Thanks!" Ranma said
"Don't thank him; he's just using it as an excuse to dress up. You should see him come Halloween, it's a truly scary thing," I remarked and Ryu had the decency to look ashamed of himself.
"Scarlet's right, but you get the instant Nanniichuan in the bargain, so everyone's happy!" Ryu exclaimed
"Hey, if you're gonna be me, then what happens if you get splashed with water?" Ranma asked
"Pray that the universe cuts us some well deserved slack." Ryu responded
"Alright, just warn us before you put on your disguise. I don't what to suffer through that again," I intoned
"Suffer? What're you talking about?" Ranma asked
"You don't want to know." And that's all I would tell him on the subject. So we exited the shed and told Shampoo that 'Ranma' would go on a date with him. Shampoo told him to meet at the park on Saturday, 2:00 sharp. I couldn't decide who I felt sorrier for, Shampoo or Ryu. After that, the day was more or less normal.
When we got home, however, we discovered more trouble brewing; in the form of a challenge letter from the 'dojo destroyer'. It was set for Saturday. We decided to humor our fathers and not say anything.
Ryu's POV
Well, it was nearly 2:00, so I headed out the door looking for all the world like Ranma's twin. So long as I didn't come in contact with cold water, everything would be fine. I even decided to pick up a bouquet of flowers for her. I had to make it look really good if I wanted to get my hands on that instant powder stuff. I'm sure if Ranma had gone himself, he'd try something stupid, like trying to steal the powder.
"Nihao, Ranma!" Shampoo greeted as she rode up on her bike. I almost didn't respond, but caught myself in time.
"Hey Shampoo!" I greeted back and then I gave her the flowers. She accepted them and then dragged me off to a movie. Thus far, I don't think she suspected a thing.
Ranma's POV
Akane and I were sitting in the dojo, waiting for the 'dojo destroyer' to show up. When he did, our fathers were sitting right beside us. The dojo destroyer was huge with signs hanging all over his body!
"So many dojos, so little time…this will be the thousandth dojo I've destroyed," The dojo destroyer informed us in a low, gravelly voice. With that, the fight was on.
The way the dojo destroyer attacked by using other dojo signs was incredible. He was using his chi to manipulate the signs to do whatever he wanted! The fight would have been a heck of a lot harder if it weren't for the Amaguriken training both of us went through. As it was, the dojo got torn up pretty bad and both Akane and I would have a few new bruises in the morning, but in the end, we managed to defeat the dojo destroyer.
"Alright, we won. Give us back our sign," I panted
"Your sign? I don't have it." The dojo destroyer replied and then walked off. If he didn't have the sign, then that meant only one thing.
"Dad, do you happen to know where our sign is?" Akane asked in a voice that promised lots of pain
"Er, um, well…" He stuttered before bursting into tears
"It was for your own good! As fiancées, you have been neglecting your duties! I-" Before Pops could continue with his little speech, I kicked him into the pond. I just hope Ryu manages to get that instant powder.
Ryu's POV
So far, so good; I had avoided raising Shampoo's suspicions and the date was wrapping up with a nice picnic. Thank goodness, for my brother giving me that disguise kit for my eighth birthday present.
"Ranma, you want instant Nanniichuan powder?" Shampoo asked suddenly
"Er, uh, yeah," I answered
"Then give Shampoo good-bye kiss!" She exclaimed and I felt myself freezing up. SHAMPOO WANTED ME TO KISS HER?!
"What matter, Ranma?" Shampoo asked and the best I could get out were a few incoherent stutters. I had never kissed anyone before! I sure as heck didn't want to waste it on Shampoo! Then I felt something drop into my hands. I looked and it was the instant powder.
"But-" I started
"Is OK, kiss next time!" Shampoo then biked off, leaving me very confused.
Shampoo's POV
I made it home to the cat café and found great-grandmother waiting for me.
"So, you managed to keep son-in-law's attention for a whole afternoon using only a quack remedy," She remarked
"Was not Ranma, was Ryu," I said
"Really?"
"Yes, was very good disguise, but Shampoo notice." I answered
"And what did you do about it?" Great-grandmother asked
"Nothing, Shampoo just give instant Nanniichuan to Ryu. Ryu do it for sake of Ranma and Shampoo respect that." I told her
"Yes, son-in-law certainly does have a…interesting…friend in Ryu," Great-grandmother mused
"Shampoo going to wash now, been tiring day." With that, I went upstairs to do just that.
Akane's POV
"I'm baaack!" Came Ryu's voice and Ranma was the first one to get to him.
"Did ya get it?!" He shouted and Ryu held up the packet. Ranma snatched the packet and his dad took out the koi. After putting in the powder, both of them jumped in. They didn't change. Or at least they didn't until it started to rain.
"WHY?!" Ranma cried and Ryu picked up the packet.
"'One use only'…well crap, looks like Shampoo put one over on all of us," Ryu grumbled and I sighed. Looks like Ranma's curse is here to stay for a while yet.
Ryu's POV
It was the day after and Ranma was still somewhat depressed about not getting cured. So I decided to do something about it.
I waited until it was almost sunset and then dragged Scarlet and Ranma up onto the roof of Furinkan High.
"What's the big idea, bringing us up here?" Ranma asked
"Look." I said simply and pointed to the sunset. It was absolutely gorgeous and we all sat there watching it. I even brought ice cream for the occasion. So as we sat there, eating our ice cream, I felt a sense of contentment and companionship that made me grateful to be alive.
"This is amazing," Scarlet commented
"Yeah, I mean, I've seem hundreds of sunsets on the road with Pops, but this one seems different," Ranma added
"That's because all those other times, you weren't enjoying it with friends," I remarked
"I never woulda' thought it could make so much of a difference," Ranma said
"It's the small things in life that are really special, when shared with good friends," Scarlet remarked
"And good food!" I added and we all chuckled at that
"I wish we could stay like this forever. No parents nagging us about being engaged or any of that other crap; it's just us watching the sunset," Ranma commented
"What a terrible thing to say!" I exclaimed and when Scarlet and Ranma looked at me questioningly, I explained, "Well, this is just one moment in time, one perfect sunset. If we were to stay here forever, then we'd never see another one. Personally, I'd rather have lots of wonderful memories of lots of wonderful sunsets. In addition, if we stayed here forever, then we'd never get to see the adventure on the other side of that sunset! Life may not be easy, but as long as we stick together, there's nothing we can't beat!"
"I don't know, Ryu, Ranma's egotism seems pretty insurmountable," Scarlet quipped and that caused me to laugh out loud.
"Hey! I'm not that bad!" Ranma protested, but I could tell by the way his face was trying, and failing, to stay frowning he found the jab funny himself.
"This proves my point. If we had stayed watching the sunset forever, we'd have never gotten to share this laugh. So I guess it all boils down to sharing as many of these moments with friends as possible and enjoying the adventure of life," I remarked and the other two nodded in agreement. With that, we finished our ice cream and watching the sun go down before returning to our homes.
For those of you who are fans of Kingdom Hearts, you'll no doubt notice the similarities between this school roof rendezvous and the scenes so often enjoyed by Roxas, Axel, and Xion. There is rhyme and reason for this. That last scene was deeply symbolic as both trios will travel eerily similar roads. Will they end up in the same place, however, is for you to ponder.