A/N: AH! THANK YOU, oh WONDERFUL people, that have read and reviewed my
lowly story!!! If you want to e-mail me or anything, you know where to find
the address, I love hearing from you! Anyway, I guess you´re tired of me
prattling on, here's chapter 6!
Chapter 6
"Hurry, Ranma! We're late!" Akane dragged Ranma into the school.
The big night was finally here. Akane had claimed all day that she wasn't nervous, but had been even more short-tempered than usually, and Ranma had seen the wrong end of a mallet more times than even he was used to. And it had not helped that on the way to the school they had been waylaid by Kodachi, who had chosen TONIGHT of all nights to again attempt to claim her "darling Ranma". They were indeed late.
"Miss Tendo!"
Huriko came running towards her, mopping his brow. "There you are!" he puffed. "Thank god, at least ONE of you is here . You haven't seen Ryoga, by any chance?" he added, tensely.
Akane looked worried. "No," she replied. "Isn't he here yet?"
"Ah, he'll turn up, you know what he's like," Ranma said, casually.
"I hope so," Huriko muttered. "Well, you'd better go and get ready, Miss Tendo, the curtain goes up in half an hour ." he added, rushing off to see to something else.
Akane jumped. "Yeah, I'd better get dressed," she said, heading off towards the changing rooms.
Someone watched her go.
"Mallet-girl here, Great-Grandmother," Shampoo said, looking round at the old woman.
"Good." Cologne nodded. "You wait here with the cold water for the pig- boy Hibiki, and I'll take care of the girl." Cologne held up a small bottle. "This potion will put her to sleep for at least six hours," she grinned, evilly. "One sniff of this and her part is yours, Granddaughter."
Kuno had already got his costume on, and was muttering to himself as he walked. "The foul fiend plotted her wicked plan to strike against my dearest Akane this evening. I must take action to keep my love from harms´ way! Monstrous ghoul, you shall indeed not prevail!!"
The kendoist ran down the hall. "Sweet Akane, I come anon! Do not fear, for I - Oomph!" Kuno, by now outside Akane´s dressing room, crashed into something coming the other way at a similar speed. He looked down.
"´Tis you, foul fiend!" he exclaimed.
Cologne gave him a slow, evil stare. "Look . what you made me do . clumsy boy ..." she muttered, before falling to the floor, snoring.
Kuno stared down at the old ghoul, and at the bottle she was holding. Its contents had splashed into her face when he had crashed into her.
"Aha!" the boy exclaimed, instantly coming to a conclusion. "And do not attempt to challenge the mighty Tatewaki Kuno again, old fiend!"
Ranma came round the corner. "Yo, Kuno -" he began. He looked down at the snoring old woman on the floor. "Hey . old ghoul!" he said, poking her with his foot. She did not wake up. Ranma looked up at Kuno. "What happened . you read your poetry for her or somethin´?"
"Do not mock the powerful Kuno!" the boy exclaimed, smugly. "For behold; upon seeing my wrath, the old fiend has fainted from sheer terror! Do not let the same fate befall you, cad!"
"Uh, yeah . whatever, Kuno," Ranma said, absent-mindedly. He bent down to examine the old woman. He picked up the bottle. "Must be one of her Chinese potions," he muttered, examining the label. He looked up, noticing that they were just outside Akane´s changing room.
"Hey, look, Kuno!" he exclaimed, falsely. "Isn't that the pig-tailed girl over there?!" he pointed down the hall.
"What?!" Kuno immediately stopped the detailed description of his victory over the old ghoul. "Where?" He bounded off in the direction Ranma had pointed in. "Oh, pig-tailed girl!"
"What a loser," Ranma muttered, shaking his head. "I guess I'd better make sure the old hag didn't get Akane with whatever was in the bottle ." He put it down and went up to the dressing-room door. "Hey, Akane!" he called, knocking on the door. "Can I come in?"
"Yeah," she replied.
Ranma opened the door. "Yo, Akane, I found the old ghoul with this bottle outside and-" He stopped. He'd forgotten what he had been meaning to say next.
Akane was wearing a beautiful white dress, all sequins and lace. It had quite a low neck, though not overly revealing, and it reached down to the floor. It rustled when she moved. She looks so . pretty . in that, Ranma thought, dazedly. He blinked. Where had that thought come from? This was Akane, the uncute tomboy . but .wow .
Akane noticed him staring, and frowned. "Ranma, are you all right?" she asked.
Come on, say something, say something! "Uh . yeah ." Come on, Ranma, what's the matter with you?! "Um . Cologne hasn´t been in here, has she?" he managed.
Akane blinked. "Nope," she replied. "Why?"
"Just . I found her asleep outside the door . she had a bottle, I think it might have been a sleepin´ potion, only she banged into Kuno and got it on herself instead."
She IS cute, isn't she . No! She is NOT! Shaddup! But she is, and you know it . Ranma pretended not to hear the annoying little voice in his head.
"Oh," Akane said. She sniffed. "Well, serve her right, she's been after me all week! Miserable old ghoul ."
"Um . is that the dress you're gonna be wearing in the play?" Ranma asked, indicating the white gown.
Akane smiled. "Uh . one of them, yeah," she said, looking down at it. "This one's the one I have to wear in the second scene, you know, when the Phantom kidnaps Christine, but I wanted to try it on . You like it?" she added, uncharacteristically girlish as she twirled round, showing it off.
"Uh ." Ranma tried to think of something clever to say. ´You look absolutely amazing in that´ wasn't exactly his style. "I guess . Very girlie . not very you ."
Akane´s eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, Ranma?" she said, a dangerous tone to her voice.
Ranma backed up against the door. "I -" he began, expecting yet another intimate meeting with Akane´s Mallet. Geez, why'd she always think he was insulting her?
He was saved by a desperate hammering on the door. "Saotome!" Mr Huriko shouted, as he crashed through the doorway. "Are you in there?"
Ranma pushed the door, that had squashed him up against the wall as Huriko flung it open, back. "Um . yeah," he replied. "What?"
"Mr Hibiki appears not to be coming," Mr Huriko said, desperately. "Go and get changed, Saotome; curtain up in fifteen minutes."
Ranma blinked. "´Scuse me?" he said, a panicky edge to his voice. "Get changed? You - you don't mean -"
Huriko nodded. "I'm afraid you'll have to take his role."
Ranma´s eyes widened. "NO WAY!!" he shouted, and made to dash to the door, but Akane and Mr Huriko grabbed him before he could make it. "There's no-one else that can do it, you jerk!" Akane fumed. "If you chicken out we'll have to cancel the whole thing!"
Ranma hesitated in his desperate scrambling for the door. "But -" he began.
"You do know the part, don't you, Saotome?" Huriko asked.
"Uh . yeah . I guess ." Ranma muttered. His father had made sure he practised it every evening after his workout until he knew it off by heart. "But I never thought I'd actually have to do it on stage ." he whined.
"Well you should have been prepared for that, you knew Ryoga sometimes goes missing for weeks," Akane sniffed.
"But he's not missed a single practise!" Ranma protested, but seemed to be settling down by now. "He's not got lost - well, not seriously, there was that one time when they found him over in the next town - but apart from that he's not got lost once for a whole month! I thought he'd be able to keep it up for one more night!"
"Well, he's not here now, and there's not much we can do about it," Huriko sighed. "You'd better get ready, Saotome."
Ranma swallowed. "Okay. But only ´till Ryoga comes back," he added. "I bet he'll turn up any minute. Any minute now ."
Akane sighed. "I wonder where he is this time," she said, to herself.
Ryoga jogged along the busy street. He checked his watch. "Better hurry . don't wanna be late for the show," he smiled to himself as he ran. "Oof! Oh, sorry sir, didn´t see you ." he stared slightly at two men in front of him.
They were both dressed up in strange clothes. Both wore large, dark sunglasses. One was quite tall, a moustache sticking out from under the glasses and the woolly hat. The other was very short and very fat. He was dressed from head to toe. Ryoga couldn't be sure for all the clothes, but it looked like he had . paws .
"Not to worry, son," the taller man said, his voice muffled by the scarf he had wrapped around his face.
"Um . I'll get going, then ." Ryoga said, trying not to stare.
"Wait!" the tall man said. "Say . aren't you the boy who's going to be in that play over at Furinkhan tonight?"
"Um . yeah ." Ryoga said, slowly, puzzled. "How do you-"
"You're heading the wrong way then, son," the man continued, in a friendly voice. "Furinkhan´s THAT way." He pointed in the direction Ryoga had been coming from. "A LONG way that way," he added, cheerfully.
"Oh," Ryoga said, gratefully. "Thanks; I often get lost ." he turned round the way he had been coming from. It was a good job these two men had told him the right way; otherwise he might not get to the school in time . Ryoga turned round and waved to the two men. "Thanks again," he called.
you're welcome.
Ryoga walked on a couple of steps before frowning. Had the small, fat man just held up . a sign? He glanced back again. He blinked. The two men had gone. Ryoga scratched his head. Well . better carry on; don't want to be late for the play, he thought, cheerfully, and carried on down the street.
Shampoo lurked in the shadows by the stage door. By now, she thought happily to herself, her Great-Grandmother would have got that horrible pervert-girl who called herself Ranma´s fiancée . And serve her right! Now, all she needed to do was wait for the pig-boy, and everything would be going the way they had planned it .
Shampoo sighed, impatiently. Where was he?
"Miss Shampoo!"
Shampoo jumped, almost dropping her bucket of cold water, which she quickly hid behind her back. "What is it mister teacher man?" she said, sweetly.
"What on earth are you doing out here?" Huriko practically screamed. "The show starts in ten minutes! Why aren't you in your costume?"
Shampoo blinked. "Err . Shampoo . Shampoo not know what time is!" she said, quickly.
Huriko waited. "Well?" he prompted.
"Well what mister teacher man?" Where WAS the pig-boy?!
Huriko was almost in tears. "Well please go and get your costume on and get out onto the stage! Hibiki´s disappeared, Saotome´s likely to disappear as well if we take our eyes off him, Carlotta hasn't got her costume on . All we really properly have is a Christine!"
Shampoo blinked. "Mall- Akane-girl all right?" she asked.
"Yes, and I do believe she's the only one," Huriko muttered, not noticing Shampoo's expression. "Now; PLEASE go and get your costume on, Miss Shampoo."
Shampoo stomped off towards the changing rooms. What could have gone wrong? she wondered. Why hadn´t her great-grandmother done what she had been going to do? "Oh! Nihao, Ranma!" the Chinese girl exclaimed, as she bumped into him. "Oh ." she hesitated, "Shampoo sorry . must go now ." and she ran on.
Ranma looked down at his Raoul costume, now wet from Shampoo's bucket; she had, for some reason, been carrying one, and the water had splashed out as she bumped into him. "Great," he muttered, and froze, noticing his voice.
The water had been cold.
"All right, places for the first scene, everyone!" Huriko cried from somewhere down the hall.
"Oh, man," Ranma hissed.
A/N: Ooooh . a cliffhanger! *Grins nervously* I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself . I'm already doing really well with chapter 7, I'll try to hurry up with it, I know I hate cliffhangers . Aaaaanyway, remember to REVIEW, people, it's the only way I know there's someone out there that actually LIKES my stuff . you people have been REALLY great about reviewing me, I love ya! Peace!! Talhonjik.
Chapter 6
"Hurry, Ranma! We're late!" Akane dragged Ranma into the school.
The big night was finally here. Akane had claimed all day that she wasn't nervous, but had been even more short-tempered than usually, and Ranma had seen the wrong end of a mallet more times than even he was used to. And it had not helped that on the way to the school they had been waylaid by Kodachi, who had chosen TONIGHT of all nights to again attempt to claim her "darling Ranma". They were indeed late.
"Miss Tendo!"
Huriko came running towards her, mopping his brow. "There you are!" he puffed. "Thank god, at least ONE of you is here . You haven't seen Ryoga, by any chance?" he added, tensely.
Akane looked worried. "No," she replied. "Isn't he here yet?"
"Ah, he'll turn up, you know what he's like," Ranma said, casually.
"I hope so," Huriko muttered. "Well, you'd better go and get ready, Miss Tendo, the curtain goes up in half an hour ." he added, rushing off to see to something else.
Akane jumped. "Yeah, I'd better get dressed," she said, heading off towards the changing rooms.
Someone watched her go.
"Mallet-girl here, Great-Grandmother," Shampoo said, looking round at the old woman.
"Good." Cologne nodded. "You wait here with the cold water for the pig- boy Hibiki, and I'll take care of the girl." Cologne held up a small bottle. "This potion will put her to sleep for at least six hours," she grinned, evilly. "One sniff of this and her part is yours, Granddaughter."
Kuno had already got his costume on, and was muttering to himself as he walked. "The foul fiend plotted her wicked plan to strike against my dearest Akane this evening. I must take action to keep my love from harms´ way! Monstrous ghoul, you shall indeed not prevail!!"
The kendoist ran down the hall. "Sweet Akane, I come anon! Do not fear, for I - Oomph!" Kuno, by now outside Akane´s dressing room, crashed into something coming the other way at a similar speed. He looked down.
"´Tis you, foul fiend!" he exclaimed.
Cologne gave him a slow, evil stare. "Look . what you made me do . clumsy boy ..." she muttered, before falling to the floor, snoring.
Kuno stared down at the old ghoul, and at the bottle she was holding. Its contents had splashed into her face when he had crashed into her.
"Aha!" the boy exclaimed, instantly coming to a conclusion. "And do not attempt to challenge the mighty Tatewaki Kuno again, old fiend!"
Ranma came round the corner. "Yo, Kuno -" he began. He looked down at the snoring old woman on the floor. "Hey . old ghoul!" he said, poking her with his foot. She did not wake up. Ranma looked up at Kuno. "What happened . you read your poetry for her or somethin´?"
"Do not mock the powerful Kuno!" the boy exclaimed, smugly. "For behold; upon seeing my wrath, the old fiend has fainted from sheer terror! Do not let the same fate befall you, cad!"
"Uh, yeah . whatever, Kuno," Ranma said, absent-mindedly. He bent down to examine the old woman. He picked up the bottle. "Must be one of her Chinese potions," he muttered, examining the label. He looked up, noticing that they were just outside Akane´s changing room.
"Hey, look, Kuno!" he exclaimed, falsely. "Isn't that the pig-tailed girl over there?!" he pointed down the hall.
"What?!" Kuno immediately stopped the detailed description of his victory over the old ghoul. "Where?" He bounded off in the direction Ranma had pointed in. "Oh, pig-tailed girl!"
"What a loser," Ranma muttered, shaking his head. "I guess I'd better make sure the old hag didn't get Akane with whatever was in the bottle ." He put it down and went up to the dressing-room door. "Hey, Akane!" he called, knocking on the door. "Can I come in?"
"Yeah," she replied.
Ranma opened the door. "Yo, Akane, I found the old ghoul with this bottle outside and-" He stopped. He'd forgotten what he had been meaning to say next.
Akane was wearing a beautiful white dress, all sequins and lace. It had quite a low neck, though not overly revealing, and it reached down to the floor. It rustled when she moved. She looks so . pretty . in that, Ranma thought, dazedly. He blinked. Where had that thought come from? This was Akane, the uncute tomboy . but .wow .
Akane noticed him staring, and frowned. "Ranma, are you all right?" she asked.
Come on, say something, say something! "Uh . yeah ." Come on, Ranma, what's the matter with you?! "Um . Cologne hasn´t been in here, has she?" he managed.
Akane blinked. "Nope," she replied. "Why?"
"Just . I found her asleep outside the door . she had a bottle, I think it might have been a sleepin´ potion, only she banged into Kuno and got it on herself instead."
She IS cute, isn't she . No! She is NOT! Shaddup! But she is, and you know it . Ranma pretended not to hear the annoying little voice in his head.
"Oh," Akane said. She sniffed. "Well, serve her right, she's been after me all week! Miserable old ghoul ."
"Um . is that the dress you're gonna be wearing in the play?" Ranma asked, indicating the white gown.
Akane smiled. "Uh . one of them, yeah," she said, looking down at it. "This one's the one I have to wear in the second scene, you know, when the Phantom kidnaps Christine, but I wanted to try it on . You like it?" she added, uncharacteristically girlish as she twirled round, showing it off.
"Uh ." Ranma tried to think of something clever to say. ´You look absolutely amazing in that´ wasn't exactly his style. "I guess . Very girlie . not very you ."
Akane´s eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, Ranma?" she said, a dangerous tone to her voice.
Ranma backed up against the door. "I -" he began, expecting yet another intimate meeting with Akane´s Mallet. Geez, why'd she always think he was insulting her?
He was saved by a desperate hammering on the door. "Saotome!" Mr Huriko shouted, as he crashed through the doorway. "Are you in there?"
Ranma pushed the door, that had squashed him up against the wall as Huriko flung it open, back. "Um . yeah," he replied. "What?"
"Mr Hibiki appears not to be coming," Mr Huriko said, desperately. "Go and get changed, Saotome; curtain up in fifteen minutes."
Ranma blinked. "´Scuse me?" he said, a panicky edge to his voice. "Get changed? You - you don't mean -"
Huriko nodded. "I'm afraid you'll have to take his role."
Ranma´s eyes widened. "NO WAY!!" he shouted, and made to dash to the door, but Akane and Mr Huriko grabbed him before he could make it. "There's no-one else that can do it, you jerk!" Akane fumed. "If you chicken out we'll have to cancel the whole thing!"
Ranma hesitated in his desperate scrambling for the door. "But -" he began.
"You do know the part, don't you, Saotome?" Huriko asked.
"Uh . yeah . I guess ." Ranma muttered. His father had made sure he practised it every evening after his workout until he knew it off by heart. "But I never thought I'd actually have to do it on stage ." he whined.
"Well you should have been prepared for that, you knew Ryoga sometimes goes missing for weeks," Akane sniffed.
"But he's not missed a single practise!" Ranma protested, but seemed to be settling down by now. "He's not got lost - well, not seriously, there was that one time when they found him over in the next town - but apart from that he's not got lost once for a whole month! I thought he'd be able to keep it up for one more night!"
"Well, he's not here now, and there's not much we can do about it," Huriko sighed. "You'd better get ready, Saotome."
Ranma swallowed. "Okay. But only ´till Ryoga comes back," he added. "I bet he'll turn up any minute. Any minute now ."
Akane sighed. "I wonder where he is this time," she said, to herself.
Ryoga jogged along the busy street. He checked his watch. "Better hurry . don't wanna be late for the show," he smiled to himself as he ran. "Oof! Oh, sorry sir, didn´t see you ." he stared slightly at two men in front of him.
They were both dressed up in strange clothes. Both wore large, dark sunglasses. One was quite tall, a moustache sticking out from under the glasses and the woolly hat. The other was very short and very fat. He was dressed from head to toe. Ryoga couldn't be sure for all the clothes, but it looked like he had . paws .
"Not to worry, son," the taller man said, his voice muffled by the scarf he had wrapped around his face.
"Um . I'll get going, then ." Ryoga said, trying not to stare.
"Wait!" the tall man said. "Say . aren't you the boy who's going to be in that play over at Furinkhan tonight?"
"Um . yeah ." Ryoga said, slowly, puzzled. "How do you-"
"You're heading the wrong way then, son," the man continued, in a friendly voice. "Furinkhan´s THAT way." He pointed in the direction Ryoga had been coming from. "A LONG way that way," he added, cheerfully.
"Oh," Ryoga said, gratefully. "Thanks; I often get lost ." he turned round the way he had been coming from. It was a good job these two men had told him the right way; otherwise he might not get to the school in time . Ryoga turned round and waved to the two men. "Thanks again," he called.
you're welcome.
Ryoga walked on a couple of steps before frowning. Had the small, fat man just held up . a sign? He glanced back again. He blinked. The two men had gone. Ryoga scratched his head. Well . better carry on; don't want to be late for the play, he thought, cheerfully, and carried on down the street.
Shampoo lurked in the shadows by the stage door. By now, she thought happily to herself, her Great-Grandmother would have got that horrible pervert-girl who called herself Ranma´s fiancée . And serve her right! Now, all she needed to do was wait for the pig-boy, and everything would be going the way they had planned it .
Shampoo sighed, impatiently. Where was he?
"Miss Shampoo!"
Shampoo jumped, almost dropping her bucket of cold water, which she quickly hid behind her back. "What is it mister teacher man?" she said, sweetly.
"What on earth are you doing out here?" Huriko practically screamed. "The show starts in ten minutes! Why aren't you in your costume?"
Shampoo blinked. "Err . Shampoo . Shampoo not know what time is!" she said, quickly.
Huriko waited. "Well?" he prompted.
"Well what mister teacher man?" Where WAS the pig-boy?!
Huriko was almost in tears. "Well please go and get your costume on and get out onto the stage! Hibiki´s disappeared, Saotome´s likely to disappear as well if we take our eyes off him, Carlotta hasn't got her costume on . All we really properly have is a Christine!"
Shampoo blinked. "Mall- Akane-girl all right?" she asked.
"Yes, and I do believe she's the only one," Huriko muttered, not noticing Shampoo's expression. "Now; PLEASE go and get your costume on, Miss Shampoo."
Shampoo stomped off towards the changing rooms. What could have gone wrong? she wondered. Why hadn´t her great-grandmother done what she had been going to do? "Oh! Nihao, Ranma!" the Chinese girl exclaimed, as she bumped into him. "Oh ." she hesitated, "Shampoo sorry . must go now ." and she ran on.
Ranma looked down at his Raoul costume, now wet from Shampoo's bucket; she had, for some reason, been carrying one, and the water had splashed out as she bumped into him. "Great," he muttered, and froze, noticing his voice.
The water had been cold.
"All right, places for the first scene, everyone!" Huriko cried from somewhere down the hall.
"Oh, man," Ranma hissed.
A/N: Ooooh . a cliffhanger! *Grins nervously* I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself . I'm already doing really well with chapter 7, I'll try to hurry up with it, I know I hate cliffhangers . Aaaaanyway, remember to REVIEW, people, it's the only way I know there's someone out there that actually LIKES my stuff . you people have been REALLY great about reviewing me, I love ya! Peace!! Talhonjik.