"Um…" Gohan scratched his head.
"Yeah…" Ranma looked around confused.
"This hasn't happened before…" Akane walked around.
"Where is everybody?"
"I dunno, Videl…" Ranma replied.
"We're not late, what's the deal?" Akane said. The ground began to shake and a low rumble was heard. The four whirled around and a collective scream sounded behind them.
"GOHAN!!"
"Pick me, Gohan!"
"No! ME!"
"ME!"
"What the hell?!" Akane shouted above the roar of the female crowd. The four friends ran toward the school, while the mob continued their pursuit.
"I think I found the problem," Ranma held out a poster that had been attached to the main doors. It read, 'School Dance'.
"It's ok, we can take care of this just like before!" Videl cracked her knuckles.
"Do I sense a touch of jealousy?" Akane said.
"Um, one thing Videl."
"What is it Gohan?"
"I'm not gonna beat up girls," he looked down at his feet.
"What about you, Ranma?" She suddenly held a bucket of water in her hand.
"This ain't any of my business," he put his hands in his pockets.
"Well, good luck, Videl," Gohan said nervously, grabbed Ranma's arm and pulled him inside the door.
"Damn," Videl turned around.
"No! Gohan!" The crowd sighed in disappointment.
"Gohan's mine! Go away!" Videl made a face at them.
"WE'LL SEE ABOUT THAT!!" They roared, and the shock wave slammed the doors open and the two girls sailed into the building.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Biology…
Gohan and Ranma sat at their lab table, leaning over a dead frog attached to a cutting board.
"Here?" Gohan turned to Ranma who looked at the handout.
"Yeah, right there," he pointed just below the chin. Gohan steadied the scalpel and prepared to make the first incision. A small ball of paper flew into his vision and he missed the frog, imbedding the knife in his nearby textbook.
"I'll get it out," Ranma picked up the book and grabbed the handle of the cutting tool.
"It's a note, I wonder what it says," Gohan rolled it around in his hand.
"Well, open it!" Ranma gave Gohan a look of annoyance. Gohan carefully unraveled the message, and it read:
'Dear Gohan,
Hi. Um, Hi. So anyway, would you go to the dance with me?
Love,
Suri'
Gohan looked over his shoulder and a girl with her brown hair in a ponytail held by a red ribbon waved at him.
"What's she got that I don't?" Videl muttered to herself.
"Videl please concentrate," Akane adjusted her protective goggles.
"Yeah, yeah."
"Okay, now where's the heart?" Ranma used two pins and dug through the amphibian's innards.
"Ranma."
"Yes?"
"It's the little red thing in front, in between the lungs," Gohan tapped it with the point of the scalpel. A second ball of paper hit Gohan in the back of the head. He picked it up and read the note:
'My dearest Gohan,
I beg of you, go to the dance with me!
Love,
Jeanne'
Gohan looked at the girl seated behind him. She had dark black hair cut shoulder-length. She giggled and waved. Ranma saw that Gohan had sliced through the frog, pinning it to the cutting board with the knife.
"Ugh, I'm sorry Ranma, it's just these stupid notes," he apologized profusely.
"That's it!" Videl leapt up and grabbed the frog from her cutting board.
"Videl, no!" Akane shouted. She flung the frog, and it landed on Gohan's head.
"Gyaaah!" He jumped up in surprise. Ranma jerked the scalpel, with the frog still attached. It flew off the knife, and onto Akane's face with a wet splat.
"RANMA…." She clenched her fists.
"Uh oh," Ranma began to get out of his seat.
"You're mine!!" She jumped over her lab table and bounced across several others as she made her way toward him. Meanwhile, Gohan flailed his arms around, attempting to remove the amphibian carcass from his hair.
"Oh, let me help you my love!" Suri sprang from her seat.
"No, let me assist you dearest Gohan!" Jeanne likewise got up and ran toward Gohan.
"Oh yeah?" Videl jumped up and flew over to Gohan. She grabbed him under the armpits and lifted him off the ground. "Take this!" She threw the frog at the two girls. In the process, she accidentally hit Gohan on the head, knocking him unconscious. "Nyah, nyah!" She stuck her tongue at the pair of suitors. Unfortunately for Videl, Gohan's pant leg caught on a coat hanger and he fell to the floor.
Ranma flipped over the teacher's desk as Akane reached the other side. She chased him around the desk, the helpless teacher stood on her chair. They stopped, each on opposite sides once again. Akane growled and lifted the desk into the air, then threw it at Ranma. He turned to run but the desk flattened him to the floor. The door to the classroom was flung open and the Big Kahuna stood in the doorway.
"Enough o' dis!" He shouted above the commotion. "Ranma Saotome, Akane Tendo, Videl Satan, and Son Gohan report to da Big Kahuna's office right dis minute!" The rowdy teenagers left the room with their heads lowered in embarrassment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"You all gonna get da big-time punishment for your major disruptin' of class," he steepled his fingers on his desk. "Da boys will be cleanin' the boys bathroom and the girls will be cleanin' the girls bathroom."
"That's not so bad," Ranma remarked.
"Fo' a month," he concluded.
"No way!" Videl stood up.
"Yes way, now get ta cleanin'!" He pointed toward the door of his office. Videl hissed in frustration and left the room with the others. "This is all your fault!" She said to Gohan after the door had closed.
"Me?!?"
"Yeah you!"
"It's not his fault he's so popular, unlike other people," Ranma glanced at Akane.
"Why you-"
"I don't hear any cleanin'," the principal's head stuck out the door. Akane sighed. They walked off to the bathrooms.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The day of the dance arrived. Gohan and Ranma were busily getting ready in their room. Gohan hopped on one foot while he pulled on a sock. Ranma was pretty much dressed, and was fixing his tie.
"Hurry up Gohan, the dance is gonna start without us!"
"I'm hurrying!" He replied and reached for his shoes.
In Akane's room…
Videl gazed at herself in the mirror. She walked in a circle, admiring her dress. Akane stood next to her, applying eye shadow.
"Do you think Gohan will like this dress, Akane?"
"Sure, why not. Although I'd expect him to pay more attention to you than the dress."
"You're right, I look fine." They headed downstairs to meet the guys.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To their dismay, when Ranma and the others entered the school gymnasium, the principal pulled them aside.
"It still not been one month yet, keike."
"Aw, come on!" Ranma protested. Videl rolled up her sleeve and swung at the Big Kahuna, who blocked the blow and hopped backward.
"Oh, dis no good for you, keike. I gonna be nice and let you all go, but Videl gonna go back to da bathroom duty."
"Why I oughtta-" Videl prepared to strike again.
"Try dat again and you gonna be scrubbin' de toilets for your whole high school career, keike." Videl hissed and left the gymnasium. Gohan sat on the bleachers and sighed. Ranma and Akane walked over.
"Hey Gohan, I'll sit with you until Videl gets out of the bathroom," Ranma offered.
"Thanks," Ranma plopped down beside his friend. Akane harumphed and tapped her foot.
"Something wrong Akane?"
"It seems you could care less about my evening," she crossed her arms over her chest. "Not that you would dance with me anyway, chicken." This comment made Ranma jump from his seat.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah. Chicken! Bawk bawk bawk!"
"I'll show you chicken!" He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her onto the dance floor. Gohan watched as Ranma swung her around clumsily, repeatedly stepping on her toes. Ranma attempted to dip her, and Akane ended up dropping to the floor. She got back to her feet and rubbed her sore tailbone. She yelled something incomprehensible at him and hit him hard upside the head. He soared into the air then crashed into the bleachers. Ignoring the stares of the other couples, Akane stomped over to Gohan.
"Ugh! How dare he do that!" She complained to no one in particular. "And during a fast song no less!"
"You're talking to me?" Gohan asked in a confused voice and pointed at his chest.
"GAH! All alike! All boys are all alike!" She left the gymnasium. Ranma sat up, rubbing his jaw.
"Y'know, I'm never gonna understand her." Gohan shrugged in reply.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Suri and Jeanne watched the two boys sitting in the bleachers by themselves. Fortunately for them, their dates had already been subdued by outside forces. Like wolves to a kill, they moved closer to their unsuspecting prey.
"I call Gohan!" Suri whispered.
"Nah ah! Not fair!" Her companion replied.
"Just dance with Ranma for a little while and we can trade."
"I guess so, Ranma's kinda cute, but not as cute as Gohan is," Jeanne smiled.
"Just one thing, Jeanne…"
"What?"
"You lead, not him."
"Good idea." They broke from their unconventional huddle, slowly sauntering over to the guys.
"Hey guys," Suri tucked a loose string of her brown hair behind an ear.
"Hi," Gohan greeted them in turn.
"Yo, what's up?" Ranma glanced over at them and waved slightly.
"We were wondering if you would like to dance," Jeanne let the words hang.
"Uh…" Gohan and Ranma turned to each other.
"What should we do?" Ranma said in an undertone.
"We've have nothing else to do. And besides, I don't want to hurt their feelings."
"Great, I've got Mr. Morals over here," his expression changed as if a light bulb went off over his head. "What if the girls see us?"
"I hadn't thought of that."
"Who cares, this'll be a good chance for me to get back at Akane."
"I dunno…"
"Let's do it!"
"Ok…" Gohan turned to the girls. "We accept." Suri squealed with joy and latched onto Gohan's elbow.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Akane! Videl!" A brunette girl ran into the bathroom. Akane, who was leaning against a wall, practically lost her balance. Videl sat on her haunches and tossed the scrubbing brush down. Akane regained her footing and turned to the exasperated girl.
"What's up?"
"It's… oh, it's horrible," she clasped her hands over her mouth and nose.
"Yeah, yeah, speak up," Videl implored.
"Ranma and Gohan…" the girl trailed off and looked at the floor.
"Out with it," Videl was up on her feet now.
"They're, oh gosh. Um, Suri and Jeanne. Yeah."
"They are so gonna get it," Videl cracked her knuckles.
"Hoboy," the girl piped in nervously.
"Thanks," Akane dismissed the girl and turned to Videl. "Um, maybe they're innocent, we can't suspect anything without evidence."
"HELLO!?!? The whole fiasco that got us into trouble in the first place."
"Oh yeah."
"The question is," Videl rubbed her jaw. "How I'm gonna get out of here without the principal knowing," something caught here eye and she glanced at the ceiling.
"Y-you're not serious are you?" Akane put her hand on Videl's forearm. Videl smirked and continued looking at the air vent.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I should've listened to Akane, Videl though to herself. She edged forward in the tight crawlspace of the air vent. She passed a grating and peered through it. The room was the history teacher's, not the gym. Videl hissed and continued to make her way through the maze of square metal shafts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meanwhile, Akane walked briskly through the crowd within the gymnasium. She found a nice perch and stopped amid a group of students. She glanced over her shoulder and peeked toward Ranma.
"Akane Tendo, what a pleasant surprise!" Not now… Akane thought to herself.
"What, Kuno?"
"I am wondering that perhaps you would like to dance with the Blue Thunder of Furinkan High?"
"Maybe later," she brushed him off then refocused on Ranma.
"The time is now my-" Akane quickly silenced him with a hard kick to the crotch. His jaw dropped and he fell over, wincing. I wonder where Videl is…
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ugh!" Videl grunted. She had come so far. The vent reaching the gymnasium was only two junctions ahead, approximately fifteen feet of crawling to go. And her dress was caught on an unseen obstacle behind her. "This is just great," she pounded a fist onto the metal planking of the airshaft. Videl reached forward and secured a grip on a railing. She sucked in a gulp of air and heaved herself forward. This motion was followed by a loud riiiiip. "Crap, I knew that was gonna happen." She had no way of assessing the damage to her dress, but she was free and continued to clamber toward the gym. She reached the final juncture. A creak reverberated around her. "What the-" the section of metal shaft in front of her tipped, pitching her forward. Videl's cheek as pressed against the metal and her full body weight pressed down on it. She grimaced. Something cracked behind her and the earth fell out from beneath her.
Videl tumbled end over end, getting closer and closer to the gymnasium floor. She gritted her teeth and splayed her limbs, then controlled her ki to stop her descent midair. Videl soon realized the eyes of everyone in the room were upon her. Gohan was frozen in place, a dazed look on his face. Ranma's forehead was furrowed. The other males in the room stared the hardest. Videl glanced downward and noticed that the remains of her dress covered little. Her panties were visible and a bra strap had been torn, revealing quite a bit of cleavage. She smiled nervously. Videl powered up and blew a hole through the roof before flying into the night.
"Videl!" Gohan cried out before raising his ki and taking off after her. Ranma stifled a yell when Akane clobbered him into the wall with a large mallet she pulled out of thin air.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Videl sat shivering on the roof of the Tendo residence. Gohan floated up toward her and hovered about the rooftop.
"Videl..." he whispered. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and harumphed. He lowered himself to a standing position. He tossed the blanket he held to her then sat down in a crossed-leg position next to her. With a wordless thank you, Videl wrapped the blanket around her. They sat together in silence, gazing into the starry sky. Videl sighed and scooted closer to Gohan. She clasped the blanket at the front of her neck and leaned her head onto Gohan's shoulder. He gently put his arm around her shoulders.
"I… uh…" Gohan began.
"Mmm?" She looked up at him.
"I'm sorry about earlier."
"You don't need to apologize, it was my fault," fearing for his safety, he didn't reply.
"Videl…" She cocked her head to the side. "Um…" he gulped a few times. "I-I…" His mouth fluttered for a moment and he composed himself. "I love you," he winced, preparing for a blow that never came. She nuzzled into his shoulder.
"I love you, too."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"What have they been doing for so long up there?" Akane asked Ranma.
"I, uh wouldn't know," he laughed nervously. They were both on the balcony, looking into the sky. He's such a dummy when it comes to romance, Akane thought. I just wish for once, he'd be open about his feelings… Almost by chance, a thought popped into Ranma's head.
"Akane," he looked into her eyes.
"Yes, Ranma?"
Is this it?!? Is he gonna actually say it!? Akane's heart raced.
"I-I, uh…"
"Yes?" Out with it!
"I-I l-lov-"
COME ON!
"I'd love a snack right about now, I'm off to the kitchen," he turned to leave.
"Ugh!" She grabbed the color of his shirt, holding him back from leaving.
"N-no, I d-didn't mean to give the wrong impression! Akane, no!"
"You are so impossible, Ranma!" She let go and crossed her arms over her chest, turning back to look at the sky. Ranma paused, his hand reaching toward her.
What are these emotions stirring within me? His eyes widened in shock. "Well, I'll be seeing ya. G'night."
RANMA!!!!
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* PREVIEW * Things are bound to crazy when Videl's father, Mr. Satan pops in for a visit…