Saturday morning dawned, and the minors prepared for their short day of school. As Ranma and Akane run to school, Akane asks Ranma "We're still going to an amusement park today?"
"Sure. We return home to drop off our bags, you can change out of uniform, we have time to eat lunch. You leave, and after you're gone a bit, I'll leave too. If we act normal, we can have a fun afternoon. Everyone will quiz us afterwards, but it'll be too late then."
* * *
"Ranma Saotome! How dare you act so familiar with the fair Akane! For your sacrilege I shall smite you. Take ..." Kuno's face gradually separates from Ranma's sole.
"Well, at least he's only attacking me because of you. One of these days we'll figure a fool proof method to take care of him."
"Some days I feel like talking him into seppuku. There's got to be a less drastic way."
* * *
Ranma spent another morning fidgeting in his chair. As soon as class ends Ranma, Akane, and Ukyou catch each other's eye and nod. then Ranma's off to see Dr. Tofu, and Akane and Ukyou are off to their homes.
* * *
Over lunch, Nodoka asks Ranma and Akane about what their school was like. Ranma and Akane take turns, first describing the male horde that Akane had to beat up when Ranma was still new to the neighborhood. This lead to an explanation of Tatewaki Kuno; his insane pursuit of Akane and Ranko, and his inane poetry. They mentioned briefly that Kodachi was his sister, and lead in directly to discuss his father, the principal of Furinkan. It took some time to discuss the effect that a wealthy Hawaiian-obsessed beach-bum with a fascination for scateboards, explosives, and shaving heads had on a school.
From here they discussed the hiring of Hinako-sensei, and her tendency to drain energy from anyone she thought was misbehaving. In explaining her, they revealed that Happosai was loose from his imprisonment, and ostensibly living in the dojo, although currently out on a trip. There are, after all, only so many undergarments in a given area to steal. He had all of the good ones in the immediate area, and the rest were being carefully protected. No one could stop Happosai, but you could protect a simple white brassiere well enough so he'd go looking elsewhere for pink or black lace. Happosai was an obsessed pervert; he wasn't stupid.
After lunch, While Kasumi and Nodoka (in spite of Kasumi's protests) were cleaning up, Ranma and Akane both went to their rooms.
* * *
Akane comes downstairs a little later, and announces "I'm going out for a while."
No one thinks twice about this. Kasumi calls out "Make sure you aren't late for dinner."
* * *
Ranma enters the living room where Kasumi and Nabiki are enjoying a cup of tea, and a moment of peace. "Kasumi, have you seen Akane?"
"She went out about ten minutes ago."
"Thanks Kasumi. I'm gonna go talk with Kodachi." Ranma puts on shoes and leaves.
"Ranma is going voluntarily to talk to Kodachi?" Nabiki asks.
"Oh my."
* * *
"Akane, Ucchan" Ranma calls out as he sprints up to them. "I think I guaranteed we wouldn't be disturbed by the others looking for us."
"How did you manage that, Ranchan?"
"I told Kasumi and Nabiki that I went to talk with Kodachi while Akane's out. If anybody comes by the dojo looking for Akane or I, they'll wind up in a big brawl at the Kuno mansion. The only people who wouldn't get sucked into it are Nabiki, any boys following Ukyou, and Ryouga (who's as likely to stumble on us as he is the Kuno mansion.)"
Akane bops him lightly on the shoulder, "You know I resent it when you pick on Ryouga like that."
"Do you deny it?"
"No, I just resent it."
* * *
It is lucky, but hardly surprising, that the three of them largely agree on which rides they enjoyed the most. All three of them noticed, but decided not to mention, the tunnel of love, so peace was preserved. None of them felt any strong desire to explore the fun house or the haunted house either.
They spent a little time at the game booths, where Ranma emptied a tank of goldfish using a single paper net. after giving out a few to the young children watching, he sold the rest back to the vendor at a ridiculously cheap price. The vendor was so grateful to get the rest of the fish back after watching his livelihood for the day disappear, that he didn't begrudge Ranma the money, or the fish he gave away. Ranma was able to buy some more snacks with the cash. And although Ranma and the vendor didn't realize it, Ranma's display was pretty good advertisement, and for the next hour, he had more business than usual.
Akane excelled at games based on strength, and had a small crowd of her own, who were amazed to see a small, cute girl successfully performing feats of strength that daunted most men. Meanwhile Ukyou was doing well with the many games requiring throwing something accurately, even the rigged ones. Apparently it is possible to knock over a pyramid of 10 bottles made out of wood, even if they are glued together and glued to the table, if you can throw the ball hard enough.
Soon the three of them made it to the rides. After a tense moment when they found out that the roller-coasters were intended to seat only two people per row, they discovered the fun three friends could have in a seat meant for two.
After enough rides to induce sickness in anyone over the age of 25, they finally decide to take a break, and ride on the ferris wheel.
As the ground fell away beneath them, Ukyou starts up their conversation. "Ranchan, how are you and your mother getting along?"
"Great. She's still a bit shocked over the multiple fiancees, and I think something else is bothering her. But I love telling her about my life. Every meal there's so much to talk about, that afterwards I'm a bit worn out. It's a good thing Dad's staying a panda, or he'd steal half my meal while I was talking. She's just beginning to get an idea about how weird my life is, and we haven't yet broached the subject of magic yet. She's reserving judgment on the fiancee situation until she has met you all, but I can promise you she'll pound pop for what he did to you. I just hope she stops short of killing him. At times he is a bastard, but he's still my father."
Akane adds "So far we've introduced her to Mousse, and told her a bit about the amazons, the Kunos and Hinako-sensei. I never realized how much has happened before I tried to explain it to Ranma's mother. And we're still on the simple, safe subjects."
Ranma continues "It is a bit stressful though. I keep feeling she's about to discover I'm Ranko before I tell her. And I know she'll freak when she discovers my curses, I just wish I knew beforehand how she'll react. Now that I've started telling her about my life, I don't think I can stop even if I wanted to, but I wish I knew if she'll require seppuku from me at the end."
"Ranchan, will you commit seppuku if she requires it?"
"I don't really know. I wouldn't just do it if she demanded it while she was shocked or upset. But if she convinced me I had to in order to maintain honor, I think I might. I've faced death at the hands of others countless times, but my mother scares me more than the other times ever did. I love her, and I want her to be proud of me."
"Ranchan, promise me that we'll talk about it before you do something like that. I think I might go crazy if I thought that whenever you are gone, you might be in danger. If you promise me, then I can say good-night to you without wondering if I'll ever see you again."
"She's right, Ranma. Promise both of us that we'll have a chance to talk to you and your mother before you do something so final."
"You're right. I promise."
* * *
The best cure for melancholy discussion turned out to be a dose of controlled abject fear. They allowed the park's roller-coasters to hurl their bodies through corkscrews with an acceleration of two gravities. It is, of course, impossible to brood over the future, when the present is rushing straight at you, at high speeds.
During another break from the roller-coasters, Ranma spotted Ryouga from the ferris wheel they were riding. "It figures. I didn't do anything to prevent Ryouga from showing up, so he wanders by on his own. I think I can convince him not to fight, if you can talk him into talking with me before he attacks. Could you tell him, and bring him to me? If he sees me first, he'll just attack."
"Promise me you won't fight." Akane insisted.
"I can't promise that. I promise I wont throw the first blow, and that I want him to leave peacefully. But if he does attack me, I'll take him down quickly. His Bakusai Ten Ketsu could easily kill someone around here."
* * *
"Ok, Ranma. What do you want to say to me."
"Ryouga, I'm sick of fighting you over you sleeping in Akane's bed. I've never told her of your curse, and I never intend to. But I feel you have been taking advantage of Akane. I'm honor-bound to keep your secret, and to tell Akane about you. I've finally thought of a solution that will work better than our endless fights. If you don't want to tell her yourself, the next time I catch you taking advantage of Akane's ignorance, I'll tell her that one of the many men who'd like to date with her has a Jusenkyou curse, and disguises himself as P-chan to protect her from me. I'll make sure you have an option to escape; I don't want her to kill you. But she deserves to know she's sleeping in bed with a man."
"Ranma, how DARE you!"
"You have no right to complain, unless you tell her. If she doesn't mind that P-chan is a guy, I'll stop trying to keep you from her room. But if you want to claim to be an honorable martial artist, you had better tell her before you sleep in her bed again. If you want to fight about this, meet me at the dojo. If we injure one of the rides here, someone might die later."
"Curse you, Ranma. I'll meet you tonight at the dojo, and kill you! Uh, which way is it?"
* * *
The end of the day found them happy, tired, and wired. All of their problems had been shunted aside, as the three took a vacation from their normal lives. On the trip home, they resumed their roles as fiancees and rivals, and with the weight of their problems came the exhaustion from the day's excitement. All three were tired, but still happy as they split up for the night.
As Akane and Ranma arrived home, they were greeted by the shocked stares of their families. "Where were you?" Nabiki nearly shouted.
Akane answered "We went to an amusement park with Ukyou."
Nabiki smiles and comments "Do you realize that Shampoo, Mousse and the Kunos got into a fight that destroyed part of the mansion, and left Mousse and Tatewaki in Dr. Tofu's clinic? Kodachi's pet Midorigami is also being treated for cuts, bruises and poisoning, and Kuno-kouchou has left for Hawaii?"
Ranma comments "It couldn't have anything to do with us, we just spent an afternoon having fun."
Nabiki responds "And here I was getting worried that life around here would start to get boring if people stopped coming by to kill you."
* * *
Over dinner Ranma and Akane tell their family about their day. Nodoka comments that Ukyou sounds like a good friend. "She was my best friend when we were growing up. I thought she was a boy. We played and sparred. We always have fun together except when the subject of marriage comes up.
* * *
After dinner, Ranma is surprised by Shampoo. "Ranma, Where did you go today?"
"I went to the amusement park with Akane and Ukyou."
"Why not invite me?"
"Because if I invited all three of you, there would have been a big fight. If I invited one of you, everyone would call it a date, and there would have been a big fight. I just wanted to have some fun for a change. Everyone is always telling me who to marry. I wanted to get away and have fun."
"Would you do fun things with me?"
"I would, if I could. I haven't figured out a way. If we did, it would have to be as friends, and not a date. If we could find a way to do it, I would like that."
"I thought you picked them over me. Please find a way so we can have fun too."
"I'll try."
* * *
"Good evening, Dr. Tofu. Is there a way I can speak with Mousse away from Kuno?"
"Sure Ranma, wait here, and I'll bring him out. He's only staying here overnight as a precautionary measure." Dr. Tofu leaves, and a moment later Mousse emerges.
"What brings you over here, Ranma?"
"Before I begin, I'd like to know if you blame me for your injuries you've received today."
"You make it difficult for me to blame you. Apparently while I was getting beat up, you were at an amusement park with both Akane and Ukyou. Even Shampoo seemed more surprised than anything else."
"She stopped by the dojo an hour ago to ask me why I didn't invite her. I explained I just wanted to have fun with friends, so I couldn't have gone alone with anyone, or everyone would assume it was a date, and I couldn't take her with any of the other girls, or there'd be a fight. She asked me to think of a way, and if you're willing, I've got an idea ..."
* * *
"Sure. We return home to drop off our bags, you can change out of uniform, we have time to eat lunch. You leave, and after you're gone a bit, I'll leave too. If we act normal, we can have a fun afternoon. Everyone will quiz us afterwards, but it'll be too late then."
* * *
"Ranma Saotome! How dare you act so familiar with the fair Akane! For your sacrilege I shall smite you. Take ..." Kuno's face gradually separates from Ranma's sole.
"Well, at least he's only attacking me because of you. One of these days we'll figure a fool proof method to take care of him."
"Some days I feel like talking him into seppuku. There's got to be a less drastic way."
* * *
Ranma spent another morning fidgeting in his chair. As soon as class ends Ranma, Akane, and Ukyou catch each other's eye and nod. then Ranma's off to see Dr. Tofu, and Akane and Ukyou are off to their homes.
* * *
Over lunch, Nodoka asks Ranma and Akane about what their school was like. Ranma and Akane take turns, first describing the male horde that Akane had to beat up when Ranma was still new to the neighborhood. This lead to an explanation of Tatewaki Kuno; his insane pursuit of Akane and Ranko, and his inane poetry. They mentioned briefly that Kodachi was his sister, and lead in directly to discuss his father, the principal of Furinkan. It took some time to discuss the effect that a wealthy Hawaiian-obsessed beach-bum with a fascination for scateboards, explosives, and shaving heads had on a school.
From here they discussed the hiring of Hinako-sensei, and her tendency to drain energy from anyone she thought was misbehaving. In explaining her, they revealed that Happosai was loose from his imprisonment, and ostensibly living in the dojo, although currently out on a trip. There are, after all, only so many undergarments in a given area to steal. He had all of the good ones in the immediate area, and the rest were being carefully protected. No one could stop Happosai, but you could protect a simple white brassiere well enough so he'd go looking elsewhere for pink or black lace. Happosai was an obsessed pervert; he wasn't stupid.
After lunch, While Kasumi and Nodoka (in spite of Kasumi's protests) were cleaning up, Ranma and Akane both went to their rooms.
* * *
Akane comes downstairs a little later, and announces "I'm going out for a while."
No one thinks twice about this. Kasumi calls out "Make sure you aren't late for dinner."
* * *
Ranma enters the living room where Kasumi and Nabiki are enjoying a cup of tea, and a moment of peace. "Kasumi, have you seen Akane?"
"She went out about ten minutes ago."
"Thanks Kasumi. I'm gonna go talk with Kodachi." Ranma puts on shoes and leaves.
"Ranma is going voluntarily to talk to Kodachi?" Nabiki asks.
"Oh my."
* * *
"Akane, Ucchan" Ranma calls out as he sprints up to them. "I think I guaranteed we wouldn't be disturbed by the others looking for us."
"How did you manage that, Ranchan?"
"I told Kasumi and Nabiki that I went to talk with Kodachi while Akane's out. If anybody comes by the dojo looking for Akane or I, they'll wind up in a big brawl at the Kuno mansion. The only people who wouldn't get sucked into it are Nabiki, any boys following Ukyou, and Ryouga (who's as likely to stumble on us as he is the Kuno mansion.)"
Akane bops him lightly on the shoulder, "You know I resent it when you pick on Ryouga like that."
"Do you deny it?"
"No, I just resent it."
* * *
It is lucky, but hardly surprising, that the three of them largely agree on which rides they enjoyed the most. All three of them noticed, but decided not to mention, the tunnel of love, so peace was preserved. None of them felt any strong desire to explore the fun house or the haunted house either.
They spent a little time at the game booths, where Ranma emptied a tank of goldfish using a single paper net. after giving out a few to the young children watching, he sold the rest back to the vendor at a ridiculously cheap price. The vendor was so grateful to get the rest of the fish back after watching his livelihood for the day disappear, that he didn't begrudge Ranma the money, or the fish he gave away. Ranma was able to buy some more snacks with the cash. And although Ranma and the vendor didn't realize it, Ranma's display was pretty good advertisement, and for the next hour, he had more business than usual.
Akane excelled at games based on strength, and had a small crowd of her own, who were amazed to see a small, cute girl successfully performing feats of strength that daunted most men. Meanwhile Ukyou was doing well with the many games requiring throwing something accurately, even the rigged ones. Apparently it is possible to knock over a pyramid of 10 bottles made out of wood, even if they are glued together and glued to the table, if you can throw the ball hard enough.
Soon the three of them made it to the rides. After a tense moment when they found out that the roller-coasters were intended to seat only two people per row, they discovered the fun three friends could have in a seat meant for two.
After enough rides to induce sickness in anyone over the age of 25, they finally decide to take a break, and ride on the ferris wheel.
As the ground fell away beneath them, Ukyou starts up their conversation. "Ranchan, how are you and your mother getting along?"
"Great. She's still a bit shocked over the multiple fiancees, and I think something else is bothering her. But I love telling her about my life. Every meal there's so much to talk about, that afterwards I'm a bit worn out. It's a good thing Dad's staying a panda, or he'd steal half my meal while I was talking. She's just beginning to get an idea about how weird my life is, and we haven't yet broached the subject of magic yet. She's reserving judgment on the fiancee situation until she has met you all, but I can promise you she'll pound pop for what he did to you. I just hope she stops short of killing him. At times he is a bastard, but he's still my father."
Akane adds "So far we've introduced her to Mousse, and told her a bit about the amazons, the Kunos and Hinako-sensei. I never realized how much has happened before I tried to explain it to Ranma's mother. And we're still on the simple, safe subjects."
Ranma continues "It is a bit stressful though. I keep feeling she's about to discover I'm Ranko before I tell her. And I know she'll freak when she discovers my curses, I just wish I knew beforehand how she'll react. Now that I've started telling her about my life, I don't think I can stop even if I wanted to, but I wish I knew if she'll require seppuku from me at the end."
"Ranchan, will you commit seppuku if she requires it?"
"I don't really know. I wouldn't just do it if she demanded it while she was shocked or upset. But if she convinced me I had to in order to maintain honor, I think I might. I've faced death at the hands of others countless times, but my mother scares me more than the other times ever did. I love her, and I want her to be proud of me."
"Ranchan, promise me that we'll talk about it before you do something like that. I think I might go crazy if I thought that whenever you are gone, you might be in danger. If you promise me, then I can say good-night to you without wondering if I'll ever see you again."
"She's right, Ranma. Promise both of us that we'll have a chance to talk to you and your mother before you do something so final."
"You're right. I promise."
* * *
The best cure for melancholy discussion turned out to be a dose of controlled abject fear. They allowed the park's roller-coasters to hurl their bodies through corkscrews with an acceleration of two gravities. It is, of course, impossible to brood over the future, when the present is rushing straight at you, at high speeds.
During another break from the roller-coasters, Ranma spotted Ryouga from the ferris wheel they were riding. "It figures. I didn't do anything to prevent Ryouga from showing up, so he wanders by on his own. I think I can convince him not to fight, if you can talk him into talking with me before he attacks. Could you tell him, and bring him to me? If he sees me first, he'll just attack."
"Promise me you won't fight." Akane insisted.
"I can't promise that. I promise I wont throw the first blow, and that I want him to leave peacefully. But if he does attack me, I'll take him down quickly. His Bakusai Ten Ketsu could easily kill someone around here."
* * *
"Ok, Ranma. What do you want to say to me."
"Ryouga, I'm sick of fighting you over you sleeping in Akane's bed. I've never told her of your curse, and I never intend to. But I feel you have been taking advantage of Akane. I'm honor-bound to keep your secret, and to tell Akane about you. I've finally thought of a solution that will work better than our endless fights. If you don't want to tell her yourself, the next time I catch you taking advantage of Akane's ignorance, I'll tell her that one of the many men who'd like to date with her has a Jusenkyou curse, and disguises himself as P-chan to protect her from me. I'll make sure you have an option to escape; I don't want her to kill you. But she deserves to know she's sleeping in bed with a man."
"Ranma, how DARE you!"
"You have no right to complain, unless you tell her. If she doesn't mind that P-chan is a guy, I'll stop trying to keep you from her room. But if you want to claim to be an honorable martial artist, you had better tell her before you sleep in her bed again. If you want to fight about this, meet me at the dojo. If we injure one of the rides here, someone might die later."
"Curse you, Ranma. I'll meet you tonight at the dojo, and kill you! Uh, which way is it?"
* * *
The end of the day found them happy, tired, and wired. All of their problems had been shunted aside, as the three took a vacation from their normal lives. On the trip home, they resumed their roles as fiancees and rivals, and with the weight of their problems came the exhaustion from the day's excitement. All three were tired, but still happy as they split up for the night.
As Akane and Ranma arrived home, they were greeted by the shocked stares of their families. "Where were you?" Nabiki nearly shouted.
Akane answered "We went to an amusement park with Ukyou."
Nabiki smiles and comments "Do you realize that Shampoo, Mousse and the Kunos got into a fight that destroyed part of the mansion, and left Mousse and Tatewaki in Dr. Tofu's clinic? Kodachi's pet Midorigami is also being treated for cuts, bruises and poisoning, and Kuno-kouchou has left for Hawaii?"
Ranma comments "It couldn't have anything to do with us, we just spent an afternoon having fun."
Nabiki responds "And here I was getting worried that life around here would start to get boring if people stopped coming by to kill you."
* * *
Over dinner Ranma and Akane tell their family about their day. Nodoka comments that Ukyou sounds like a good friend. "She was my best friend when we were growing up. I thought she was a boy. We played and sparred. We always have fun together except when the subject of marriage comes up.
* * *
After dinner, Ranma is surprised by Shampoo. "Ranma, Where did you go today?"
"I went to the amusement park with Akane and Ukyou."
"Why not invite me?"
"Because if I invited all three of you, there would have been a big fight. If I invited one of you, everyone would call it a date, and there would have been a big fight. I just wanted to have some fun for a change. Everyone is always telling me who to marry. I wanted to get away and have fun."
"Would you do fun things with me?"
"I would, if I could. I haven't figured out a way. If we did, it would have to be as friends, and not a date. If we could find a way to do it, I would like that."
"I thought you picked them over me. Please find a way so we can have fun too."
"I'll try."
* * *
"Good evening, Dr. Tofu. Is there a way I can speak with Mousse away from Kuno?"
"Sure Ranma, wait here, and I'll bring him out. He's only staying here overnight as a precautionary measure." Dr. Tofu leaves, and a moment later Mousse emerges.
"What brings you over here, Ranma?"
"Before I begin, I'd like to know if you blame me for your injuries you've received today."
"You make it difficult for me to blame you. Apparently while I was getting beat up, you were at an amusement park with both Akane and Ukyou. Even Shampoo seemed more surprised than anything else."
"She stopped by the dojo an hour ago to ask me why I didn't invite her. I explained I just wanted to have fun with friends, so I couldn't have gone alone with anyone, or everyone would assume it was a date, and I couldn't take her with any of the other girls, or there'd be a fight. She asked me to think of a way, and if you're willing, I've got an idea ..."
* * *