Hurt Feelings
The Stewardess dragged Ranma down five flights of stairs. Ranma had no idea who she was or what she was doing, but she decided to wait and see where The Stewardess was taking her. After all, she was kinda cute.
Finally they reached a small cabin, F-36. The Stewardess opened the door. Ranma looked around.
Sleeping on the floor was P-Chan, and on the nightstand stood a framed picture of the Tendo family. Ranma took a closer look at The Stewardess, who was no longer The Stewardess, but simply Akane with green hair and a uniform.
"Akane…?" Ranma gasped. "What are you doing here…?" Ranma glanced at P-Chan. "And what's he doing here?!"
Akane frowned. "Don't worry about P-Chan! I've been watching you, Ranma. And you're being so stupid! Don't you realize that the longer you wait to tell Kuno, the harder it's going to be? I told you it wasn't a good idea! Why aren't you trying to tell him anything yet? I even tried to help you and you didn't get it!"
Ranma had to smile. "So you were the waitress last night? Thanks for trying to ruin my best kimono by spilling hot soup on it!"
By this time, Akane was becoming frustrated. "Ranma, you have to tell him now! I'm not giving you a choice!"
"You don't understand, Akane," Ranma shouted, "Things are a lot worse than you think that are!"
"Huh?" asked Akane.
Ranma sighed. "Kuno… he asked me to marry him last night."
"What?!?"
"I just don't know how I can tell him. And you should've heard him last night. He was being so romantic. Not mushy; romantic. If I tell him now… I think he'll commit suicide or something. I just don't want to hurt his feelings."
Akane couldn't help herself. "Ranma, do you know how many times you've hurt MY feelings? And I'm your real fiancée! Do you care about KUNO more than ME?" Akane began to cry. "What's wrong with ME, Ranma? Why can't you be nice to ME? Why can't you care about ME instead of stupid, old Kuno?"
Ranma was at loss of words. "Akane… Kuno's just… different."
Akane was sobbing. "You know what, Ranma? Why don't you just go and marry Kuno, and stay a girl forever! That way you won't have to worry about me, or Shampoo, or Ukyo, or even Kodachi bothering you!"
"Akane," Ranma whispered, "I didn't mean to hurt you like that-"
"Just go!" shouted Akane. "Just leave me alone! I wanted to help you, but now you're just going to have to help yourself! Go!"
"I'm sorry, Akane…" mumbled Ranma as he went out the door.
Meanwhile, P-Chan sat on the floor, grunting with approval.
~*~
Ranma didn't go back to her cabin right away. She walked along the decks, thinking about what she was supposed to do. Now Akane hated her, and Kuno would hate her if she told him the truth. Stupid Kuno. This was all his fault. Ranma had her mind made up- she was going to tell Kuno the truth and get Akane back.
~*~
Kuno was waiting in their cabin when Ranma returned.
"Hi, Kuno," greeted Ranma. "You know what, I changed my mind. Why don't we go to the Jacuzzi instead of playing shuffleboard?"
"A fabulous suggestion, my pigtailed girl!" Kuno cried.
On their way to the Jacuzzi, Ranma said firmly to Kuno, "Now I want you to watch me carefully as I step into the water, okay? Don't even think about taking your eyes off of me!"
Kuno grinned. "That's an easy task for me, pigtailed girl!"
Ranma just sighed and hoped things would work out.
At the Jacuzzi, before stepping in, Ranma asked, "Are you watching me, Kuno?"
"Of course!" shouted Kuno,
Ranma stepped into the hot water. In a flash, she turned into the male version of Ranma.
"Look, Kuno, it's me! The pigtailed girl!" said Ranma as he faced Kuno.
Ranma received a kick in the face. "WHAT…DID… YOU DO… TO THE PIGTAILED GIRL?!?" Kuno screamed. "RANMA, YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!"
Not knowing what else to do, Ranma ran off to the first aid station on the ship. He didn't look back.
~*~
After fixing up the bruise on his face, Ranma went back to the cabin. Unfortunately, Kuno got there before him.
"OUT, RANMA, OUT! AND BRING ME BACK MY PIGTAILED GIRL!"
Ranma took his time leaving the cabin, and as a consequence, was hit on the back of the head with a pad of Post It notes.
~*~
Akane was taking a nap when there was a soft knock on her door. Maybe it was P-Chan. He had gone exploring again. After splashing water on her face to wash away her dried tears, she opened the door.
Ranma (male) was standing there with an apologetic half smile on his face.
"Ranma, what do you want now?!" demanded Akane.
Ranma became serious. "Akane, I just tried to show Kuno that the male Ranma and the pigtailed girl are the same, and I ended up with this nice bruise on my face and a bump on my head. I made sure that Kuno was watching when I changed, and he STILL didn't get it. Now are you happy?"
"You know, Ranma," Akane warned, "I only came on this cruise to help you and keep an eye on you! It was our argument earlier that made you try to tell Kuno. Admit it! You need me!"
Ranma sighed. "Okay, okay, I guess I do."
"For now," suggested Akane, "go back to Kuno as the pigtailed girl, and act as if everything is normal. I think I might know someone who can help us."
"Who?!?" insisted Ranma.
"I'm not going to tell you yet, because it, umm, might be too expensive, but I'll tell you as soon as I find out." Akane gave him a nervous glance. "Ranma… I didn't mean a lot of what I said earlier… I just felt hurt, that's all. And if you want, you can stay in my room tonight- IF you promise to stay a girl." Akane giggled. "It must be really hard for you to spend the night with Kuno…"
Ranma smiled. "Thanks, Akane. Yeah, and about before… I'm sorry. I didn't know that you would take this whole thing so seriously."
"It's okay," whispered Akane. "Thanks for apologizing, Ranma… I really appreciated that."
There was an awkward moment of silence, and then Ranma said, "Well, I guess I should be going back to Kuno. Do you mind if I use your sink to change back into…?"
"Sure," answered Akane. "I'll see you later then, Ranma."
~*~
In the meantime, Kuno was pacing the room of the cabin rapidly. What had Ranma done to the pigtailed girl?!? What should he do? Should he just wait for her to come back, or should he call security, or should he try to rescue her himself? Kuno shook his head fiercely. "I…CAN'T…DECIDE!"
Luckily, Kuno was saved from further rage by the entrance of Ranma (female). "Hey there, Kuno," said Ranma casually.
"PIGTAILED GIRL! YOU HAVE RETURNED!" screamed Kuno. Kuno ran to Ranma and hugged her so hard that she could barely breathe. "I missed you so much!"
Suddenly, Kuno became serious. "What did Ranma do to you, pigtailed girl?? What horrible things did he put you through?? If I see him again… I'll…"
"Oh, it was nothing, Kuno, don't worry." Ranma tried to sound convincing so that Kuno would drop the subject. "He was nice to me and everything, and then he let me go."
This was not the right answer for Kuno. "THE THIEF! I'll get my hands on him yet!"
Ranma shivered. Wouldn't it be funny if Kuno found out that Ranma (the male) was right before him…?
~*~
P-Chan returned to Akane's room after a long afternoon of exploring. He doubted that he would be exploring again very soon- it was too easy to get lost. Akane's door was already open, so walked right in.
Akane was using the phone in the room. P-Chan's eyes narrowed. Who could Akane be calling? Phone calls from the ship were expensive, so it had to be urgent.
"Kasumi?" said Akane. "Can I speak to Nabiki, please? It's very important. Yes, I'm okay. Yes, he's okay, too. Thanks, Kasumi."
There was a 10 second pause.
"Nabiki? I'm so glad I could reach you. Listen, Ranma's having some problems with this Kuno thing- Kuno doesn't understand no matter what Ranma does. I know this is a big favor to ask, and you'll probably make me pay you, but I was wondering if…"
~*~
Ranma and Kuno ate dinner at the "Ocean Liner Diner." Then, after attempting to convince Ranma for what seemed like forever, Kuno finally took Ranma to the ship casino.
"But Kuno… aren't you only seventeen?"
"That doesn't matter, pigtailed girl! Let's just have some fun!"
Kuno stepped up to a slot machine and inserted some money. He pulled the lever on the side of the machine… and whoosh! Cherry, Cherry, Cherry!
Ranma and Kuno stared in disbelief as coins poured out of the machine. "…We're rich, pigtailed goddess!" cried Kuno. With Ranma's assistance, Kuno managed to carry all the coins back to their cabin.
Upon returning to their cabin, Kuno immediately began counting the coins. After over an hour of counting, Kuno shouted, "617,023 yen! Pigtailed goddess, that is enough to pay for our wedding and our honeymoon!"
::Sweatdrop:: "Wedding… and… honeymoon…?" Ranma whispered to herself.
~*~
Akane prepared her small cabin for Ranma's arrival. "He better not try anything…" Akane murmured.
This caught P-Chan's attention. "He"? "Try anything"? P-Chan's mind went to Ranma. Had Ranma stolen Akane from him when he finally thought that things would be under control- without Ranma? P-Chan gave an angry grunt.
Akane heard him. "P-Chan," Akane advised, "Don't bother Ranma when he comes tonight, or else I'll have to keep you in the bathroom." P-Chan looked very upset. Akane groaned. "I don't think I'll ever understand why you hate Ranma so much, P-Chan! Are you jealous or something? Because you shouldn't be. I'll always love you, no matter what."
Akane held P-Chan to her chest. P-Chan gave a quiet squeal of delight. But he had to stop Ranma… even if it meant leaving Akane's room. P-Chan would make sure that Ranma never came to Akane's room again…
~*~
Later, when Ranma was quite sure that Kuno was asleep, she crawled out of bed towards the bathroom. She filled a water bottle with some water so she could change into a girl again in case she needed to. Then she headed toward the cabin door. What was that sound? Was someone talking? Ranma strained to hear.
"…Oh, pigtailed girl… don't be frightened… I'm not going to hurt you… I just want to…"
"The pervert," mumbled Ranma. Hoping that Kuno was simply talking in his sleep and wasn't really awake, Ranma slowly opened the door and snuck outside the cabin.
The Stewardess dragged Ranma down five flights of stairs. Ranma had no idea who she was or what she was doing, but she decided to wait and see where The Stewardess was taking her. After all, she was kinda cute.
Finally they reached a small cabin, F-36. The Stewardess opened the door. Ranma looked around.
Sleeping on the floor was P-Chan, and on the nightstand stood a framed picture of the Tendo family. Ranma took a closer look at The Stewardess, who was no longer The Stewardess, but simply Akane with green hair and a uniform.
"Akane…?" Ranma gasped. "What are you doing here…?" Ranma glanced at P-Chan. "And what's he doing here?!"
Akane frowned. "Don't worry about P-Chan! I've been watching you, Ranma. And you're being so stupid! Don't you realize that the longer you wait to tell Kuno, the harder it's going to be? I told you it wasn't a good idea! Why aren't you trying to tell him anything yet? I even tried to help you and you didn't get it!"
Ranma had to smile. "So you were the waitress last night? Thanks for trying to ruin my best kimono by spilling hot soup on it!"
By this time, Akane was becoming frustrated. "Ranma, you have to tell him now! I'm not giving you a choice!"
"You don't understand, Akane," Ranma shouted, "Things are a lot worse than you think that are!"
"Huh?" asked Akane.
Ranma sighed. "Kuno… he asked me to marry him last night."
"What?!?"
"I just don't know how I can tell him. And you should've heard him last night. He was being so romantic. Not mushy; romantic. If I tell him now… I think he'll commit suicide or something. I just don't want to hurt his feelings."
Akane couldn't help herself. "Ranma, do you know how many times you've hurt MY feelings? And I'm your real fiancée! Do you care about KUNO more than ME?" Akane began to cry. "What's wrong with ME, Ranma? Why can't you be nice to ME? Why can't you care about ME instead of stupid, old Kuno?"
Ranma was at loss of words. "Akane… Kuno's just… different."
Akane was sobbing. "You know what, Ranma? Why don't you just go and marry Kuno, and stay a girl forever! That way you won't have to worry about me, or Shampoo, or Ukyo, or even Kodachi bothering you!"
"Akane," Ranma whispered, "I didn't mean to hurt you like that-"
"Just go!" shouted Akane. "Just leave me alone! I wanted to help you, but now you're just going to have to help yourself! Go!"
"I'm sorry, Akane…" mumbled Ranma as he went out the door.
Meanwhile, P-Chan sat on the floor, grunting with approval.
~*~
Ranma didn't go back to her cabin right away. She walked along the decks, thinking about what she was supposed to do. Now Akane hated her, and Kuno would hate her if she told him the truth. Stupid Kuno. This was all his fault. Ranma had her mind made up- she was going to tell Kuno the truth and get Akane back.
~*~
Kuno was waiting in their cabin when Ranma returned.
"Hi, Kuno," greeted Ranma. "You know what, I changed my mind. Why don't we go to the Jacuzzi instead of playing shuffleboard?"
"A fabulous suggestion, my pigtailed girl!" Kuno cried.
On their way to the Jacuzzi, Ranma said firmly to Kuno, "Now I want you to watch me carefully as I step into the water, okay? Don't even think about taking your eyes off of me!"
Kuno grinned. "That's an easy task for me, pigtailed girl!"
Ranma just sighed and hoped things would work out.
At the Jacuzzi, before stepping in, Ranma asked, "Are you watching me, Kuno?"
"Of course!" shouted Kuno,
Ranma stepped into the hot water. In a flash, she turned into the male version of Ranma.
"Look, Kuno, it's me! The pigtailed girl!" said Ranma as he faced Kuno.
Ranma received a kick in the face. "WHAT…DID… YOU DO… TO THE PIGTAILED GIRL?!?" Kuno screamed. "RANMA, YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS!"
Not knowing what else to do, Ranma ran off to the first aid station on the ship. He didn't look back.
~*~
After fixing up the bruise on his face, Ranma went back to the cabin. Unfortunately, Kuno got there before him.
"OUT, RANMA, OUT! AND BRING ME BACK MY PIGTAILED GIRL!"
Ranma took his time leaving the cabin, and as a consequence, was hit on the back of the head with a pad of Post It notes.
~*~
Akane was taking a nap when there was a soft knock on her door. Maybe it was P-Chan. He had gone exploring again. After splashing water on her face to wash away her dried tears, she opened the door.
Ranma (male) was standing there with an apologetic half smile on his face.
"Ranma, what do you want now?!" demanded Akane.
Ranma became serious. "Akane, I just tried to show Kuno that the male Ranma and the pigtailed girl are the same, and I ended up with this nice bruise on my face and a bump on my head. I made sure that Kuno was watching when I changed, and he STILL didn't get it. Now are you happy?"
"You know, Ranma," Akane warned, "I only came on this cruise to help you and keep an eye on you! It was our argument earlier that made you try to tell Kuno. Admit it! You need me!"
Ranma sighed. "Okay, okay, I guess I do."
"For now," suggested Akane, "go back to Kuno as the pigtailed girl, and act as if everything is normal. I think I might know someone who can help us."
"Who?!?" insisted Ranma.
"I'm not going to tell you yet, because it, umm, might be too expensive, but I'll tell you as soon as I find out." Akane gave him a nervous glance. "Ranma… I didn't mean a lot of what I said earlier… I just felt hurt, that's all. And if you want, you can stay in my room tonight- IF you promise to stay a girl." Akane giggled. "It must be really hard for you to spend the night with Kuno…"
Ranma smiled. "Thanks, Akane. Yeah, and about before… I'm sorry. I didn't know that you would take this whole thing so seriously."
"It's okay," whispered Akane. "Thanks for apologizing, Ranma… I really appreciated that."
There was an awkward moment of silence, and then Ranma said, "Well, I guess I should be going back to Kuno. Do you mind if I use your sink to change back into…?"
"Sure," answered Akane. "I'll see you later then, Ranma."
~*~
In the meantime, Kuno was pacing the room of the cabin rapidly. What had Ranma done to the pigtailed girl?!? What should he do? Should he just wait for her to come back, or should he call security, or should he try to rescue her himself? Kuno shook his head fiercely. "I…CAN'T…DECIDE!"
Luckily, Kuno was saved from further rage by the entrance of Ranma (female). "Hey there, Kuno," said Ranma casually.
"PIGTAILED GIRL! YOU HAVE RETURNED!" screamed Kuno. Kuno ran to Ranma and hugged her so hard that she could barely breathe. "I missed you so much!"
Suddenly, Kuno became serious. "What did Ranma do to you, pigtailed girl?? What horrible things did he put you through?? If I see him again… I'll…"
"Oh, it was nothing, Kuno, don't worry." Ranma tried to sound convincing so that Kuno would drop the subject. "He was nice to me and everything, and then he let me go."
This was not the right answer for Kuno. "THE THIEF! I'll get my hands on him yet!"
Ranma shivered. Wouldn't it be funny if Kuno found out that Ranma (the male) was right before him…?
~*~
P-Chan returned to Akane's room after a long afternoon of exploring. He doubted that he would be exploring again very soon- it was too easy to get lost. Akane's door was already open, so walked right in.
Akane was using the phone in the room. P-Chan's eyes narrowed. Who could Akane be calling? Phone calls from the ship were expensive, so it had to be urgent.
"Kasumi?" said Akane. "Can I speak to Nabiki, please? It's very important. Yes, I'm okay. Yes, he's okay, too. Thanks, Kasumi."
There was a 10 second pause.
"Nabiki? I'm so glad I could reach you. Listen, Ranma's having some problems with this Kuno thing- Kuno doesn't understand no matter what Ranma does. I know this is a big favor to ask, and you'll probably make me pay you, but I was wondering if…"
~*~
Ranma and Kuno ate dinner at the "Ocean Liner Diner." Then, after attempting to convince Ranma for what seemed like forever, Kuno finally took Ranma to the ship casino.
"But Kuno… aren't you only seventeen?"
"That doesn't matter, pigtailed girl! Let's just have some fun!"
Kuno stepped up to a slot machine and inserted some money. He pulled the lever on the side of the machine… and whoosh! Cherry, Cherry, Cherry!
Ranma and Kuno stared in disbelief as coins poured out of the machine. "…We're rich, pigtailed goddess!" cried Kuno. With Ranma's assistance, Kuno managed to carry all the coins back to their cabin.
Upon returning to their cabin, Kuno immediately began counting the coins. After over an hour of counting, Kuno shouted, "617,023 yen! Pigtailed goddess, that is enough to pay for our wedding and our honeymoon!"
::Sweatdrop:: "Wedding… and… honeymoon…?" Ranma whispered to herself.
~*~
Akane prepared her small cabin for Ranma's arrival. "He better not try anything…" Akane murmured.
This caught P-Chan's attention. "He"? "Try anything"? P-Chan's mind went to Ranma. Had Ranma stolen Akane from him when he finally thought that things would be under control- without Ranma? P-Chan gave an angry grunt.
Akane heard him. "P-Chan," Akane advised, "Don't bother Ranma when he comes tonight, or else I'll have to keep you in the bathroom." P-Chan looked very upset. Akane groaned. "I don't think I'll ever understand why you hate Ranma so much, P-Chan! Are you jealous or something? Because you shouldn't be. I'll always love you, no matter what."
Akane held P-Chan to her chest. P-Chan gave a quiet squeal of delight. But he had to stop Ranma… even if it meant leaving Akane's room. P-Chan would make sure that Ranma never came to Akane's room again…
~*~
Later, when Ranma was quite sure that Kuno was asleep, she crawled out of bed towards the bathroom. She filled a water bottle with some water so she could change into a girl again in case she needed to. Then she headed toward the cabin door. What was that sound? Was someone talking? Ranma strained to hear.
"…Oh, pigtailed girl… don't be frightened… I'm not going to hurt you… I just want to…"
"The pervert," mumbled Ranma. Hoping that Kuno was simply talking in his sleep and wasn't really awake, Ranma slowly opened the door and snuck outside the cabin.