Ch. 5
After last night, everyone was left exhausted, except for Carrot (he never runs out of energy, sexual energy!) that is. They had spent most of the night cleaning up broken furniture, doors, and any messes the ghosts left while rampaging through the mansion. It seemed everyone would be sleeping in late the next morning.
A loud growl escaped from Carrot's stomach as he rolled over on the solid floor of his bedroom. His eyes opened a crack and he let out a moan. No one had anything to eat the past day, and they were all starving. 'I'm not sure how long anyone can keep this up...' He thought, rubbing his empty and flat stomach. He stared over at the bed next to him.
Tira lay asleep, almost burried in the covers of her warm, soft bed.
'God I wish I could be up there with her....'
Of course, Tira hadn't allowed Carrot to sleep with her. That only happened if she were drunk, or totally insane. 'Drunk...that reminds me, she still doesn't remember that night....my secrets still safe....'
"Carrot, why're you staring at me?"
"Huh?" Carrot blinked and noticed that Tira was awake, and staring back at him, angerly. "O-Oh, sorry, I was just-"
"Just going to sneak into my bed?!"
"No! Tira, I would nev-"
"THATS IT, CARROT GLACE, GET OUT OF HERE!"
Carrot came running out of the room, in nothing but his boxers, as a pillow flew straight at his head and collided with it.
"You sick pervert!" Tira screamed, slamming the door, and returning to her bed.
"Yeesh....she doesn't have to be so rough..." Carrot muttered, taking the pillow and walking slowly down the hall to see if anyone else was awake. He passed by Inuyasha's room, and heard strange mumbling from inside. He paused and looked through the open door, only to find Inuyasha sitting in the corner, muttering Kagome's name and sniffling. 'Dude, if I ever turn out like that, someone's gotta shoot me.' Carrot thought to himself, leaving Inuyasha to mutter on endlessly. Peering up ahead, Carrot noticed Yusuke sitting on the floor outside of Keiko's room, staring at his finger, a strange blue blob sitting on his head.
"Morning, Urameshi."
"Whatever."
Carrot poked at the blob on Yusuke's head and jumped back as it yawned. "WHAT IS THAT?!"
The tiny blob opened it's eyes and stared at Carrot, then it opened it's beak. "Puu!" it chirped.
"Yusuke, why's this bird speaking about shit?" Carrot asked, scratching his head. "And why's it on your head?....OMG, IT'S GONNA SHIT ON YOUR HEAD!"
"He's not gonna crap on my head," Yusuke started, staring up at Carrot. "That's Puu, he's my Spirit Beast."
"Spirit wha?"
"Spirit beast. To make it simple, he's a thing that hatched out of some egg I had to take care of. Kinda annoying, but it saved my life once...."
"It has your hair..." Carrot commented, sitting down next to Yusuke, and slamming his head into the pillow.
"I know that, sadly," Yusuke replied, staring at the look on Carrot's face. "Tira kicked you out again, didn't she?"
"Well, it seems you were kicked out too, so ha!" Carrot muttered into the pillow.
"Actually, I just woke up early, I'm starved."
Carrot sat up at that. "Tira always kicks me out....sometimes I wish she'd just listen to me, I mean, I'm not a sick pervert."
Yusuke let out a laugh as Puu flew into his lap.
"What?"
"You're the biggest pervert I ever met, that's all," Yusuke explained. "You're as whacked as Kuwabara!"
"Who's that?" Carrot questioned, watching as Yusuke slowly pet Puu's head and stroke his hair.
"He's my....friend."
"You say that as if it pains you." Carrot laughed, smiling a bit.
"He's a duface sometimes." Yusuke said.
"I know someone like that...." An image of Gateau popped into Carrot's head as he finished his sentence. "I miss the guys...I gotta admit, I even miss Chocolate."
***
'I'm so tired....I hope we get to EAT today.' Akane opened her eyes as the room slowly came into focus. Ranma's manly arm lay stretched out across her chest, and slightly grasping her boob. Her mouth twitched open.
"YOU BAKAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Ranma jumped up from his sleep, just as Akane grabbed him by the shirt, opened the door, and chucked him across the hall, directly into the wall on the other side.
"BAKA!!" she screamed, slamming the door shut and returning to bed.
Carrot looked to his side as Ranma fell down from the wall and lay next to him. "Hey."
"Hey..." Ranma replied, sitting up and rubbing his head.
"What'd you do?" Yusuke asked, laughing yet again.
"I have no idea, stupid Akane, she's so pissy."
"So's Tira."
"You guys have girl problems." Yusuke commented. At that, Ranma and Carrot stared over at him. "You can't let women push you around like that, it makes you look stupid." Yusuke finished.
"You try and take Tira on." Carrot demanded, getting pissed.
"I don't let Akane 'push me around' and she's not my girl!" Ranma yelled.
"FEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! KAGOMEEEEEEEEE, RETURN TO MEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!"
The three stared down the hall as Inuyasha dragged his half dead body out the door and over to them.
"What the heck is wrong with you, man?!" Ranma asked, jumping up as Inuyasha flopped down in front of him.
"Kagome....feh.....love of my life....feeeeh....." Inuyasha muttered.
Everyone fell silent as Kaoru and Kenshin's door opened, and they stepped out, fully dressed.
"It is a good morning, that it is." Kenshin said, smiling.
Kaoru noticed the guys on the floor and gave a concerned look for Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, are you feeling alright? You don't look so good...."
"Feh....K-Kagome...."
"I think he needs serious therapy." Ranma told Kaoru.
An idea popped into Kaoru's head, and a wide smile formed on her face. "I can be his therapist!" she burst out, causing everyone to jump.
"Feh...therapists....."
"Miss Kaoru is a good therapist, that she is." Kenshin explained.
Kaoru bent down to Inuyasha's level and helped him sit up. Inuyasha looked way thinner than normal, and the bags under his eyes were very red. "You poor thing..." Kaoru commented, petting the dog demon's white hair.
"K-Kago....me...."
"He's pathetic." Ranma commented, staring down at Inuyasha.
"So are you." came a female voice.
Ranma looked up at see Akane glaring down at him. "Heh, morning, Akane."
"Don't you talk to me like that, you pervert!"
"What'd I do now, subconsciously?!"
"YOU TOUCHED MY BOOB!"
"I WHAT?!"
Carrot's ears perked up and he glanced at Akane's chest. "Let me have a look." Without warning Carrot threw Akane's shirt open and began checking her boobs for fingerprints.
Her eyes went wide, and her teeth gritted in anger. Carrot simply grasped one of Akane's boobs and poked at it for a bit, while her face turned red and steam slowly boiled out of her ears.
"Ran....ma...."
"Y-Yea?"
Akane calmly pulled Carrot's hand off her breast, closed her shirt, and picked up her cursed friend. "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!" she screamed, hurling Ranma over the railing so that he fell all the way down into the main lobby.
"Akane, calm down!" Kaoru suggested, taking her hand and staring caringly into the young girl's eyes.
The boys stared over the railing at the large hole Ranma made from the fall and laughed.
"It's not funny," Kenshin started. "That it most certainly is not."
"You know, he's right! Kushi kushi."
Everyone turned around and once again they saw Hamtaro standing before them, or, on the ground in front of them.
"Hamha everyone!"
"Ohayo!" Sakura sang as she skipped out of her room and picked up the hamster. Everyone stared at her, expecting her to be in complete shock from what happened last night.
"She got over her ghost trama." Syaoran told them, walking out of his room in his green pajamas.
"Ooh." everyone replied.
Hamtaro cleared this throat, which caught everyone's attention. "GATHER AROUND, EVERYONE! TODAYS AN IMPORTANT DAY!"
The screaming from the tiny hamster finally woke up Tira and Keiko, and they joined the others in sitting in the hall, watching Hamtaro.
"Today, you will be given an unlimited amount of money to spend in the town!" the hamster announced, excitement in his squeeky voice.
"Money?! You mean we can shop?!" Kaoru asked, her eyes widening with joy.
"Good, I can buy new clothes," Akane muttered.
"I CAN CHECK OUT BABES!" Carrot cheered, getting himself into his normal spirit.
"I guess a night on the town wouldn't hurt, that it will not." Kenshin said, smiling.
"Lets go get some good eats!" Ranma yelled, running up the stairs and rubbing his bruised noise.
"As long as I'm with Yusuke, it'll be fun." Keiko commented, taking her boyfriend's arm, and making him blush.
"Feh," Inuyasha grunted.
Hamtaro bounced around on the floor and did a little dance. "Great, enjoy this one day of free time, because after this, no more breaks!" With that, money began falling from the sky, and the tiny hamster disappeared.
Amazingly, they seemed to have divided the money equally, and didn't end up fighting over it. Everyone marched over to the door and awaited the daylight it would bring. Stepping outside into the warm summer day was a wonderful thing to experience, after being locked up in a mansion for so long.
"It's so warm and beautiful out." Keiko commented.
"I wonder how we're gonna get to the town..." Yusuke stopped as he noticed a large limo parked in front of the mansion. "Oh...my...god..."
"A LIMO?! IT'S GONNA BE CHUCK FULL OF BEAUTIFUL WOMEN!!!!" Carrot screamed, flinging the door open and leaping inside.
Tira held up a shaking fist as she tried to contain her anger. "CARROT!!!"
Disappointed at the fact that the limo wasn't full of naked women, Carrot took a seat and waited for everyone else to come in.
Everyone's faces lit up as they all came into the limo and sat down. To one side was a small lit up bar, which was filled with sake. A huge mirror was spread out on the ceiling, and everyone smiled into it.
"This is great!" Akane cheered, finally happy for once.
"Feh...." Inuyasha said, folding his arms and making a sour face. He had only one thing on his mind: Kagome. It was sad really, before the ghosts ate her, he never really knew how much she meant to him. He wished with all his heart that she would return.
Slowly, the limo started it's drive (all by itself!) to the town, where everyone stared out the windows at the various buildings and people they saw.
"Ou! I wanna go there, Kenshin!" Kaoru pleaded, grasping Kenshin's arm and pointing to a chocolate store.
Ranma's eyes widened as they passed by a very famous ice cream parlor, and his feminine side kicked in. "Akane, I wanna go there!" he said, pointing to the store.
"We'll see, Ranma...." Akane replied, watching the store go by.
Carrot pressed against the glass as the limo zoomed past millions of women. "STOP THE CAR, STOP THE CAR!!" He quickly rolled down the window and popped his head out. "PRETTY LADIES, WANNA GO OUT WITH M-" His setence was cut off as his head smashed into a sign on the side of the road. The women all began to laugh as Carrot sadly closed the window and rubbed his head.
"Serves you right!" Yusuke laughed.
Tira only continued to glare when Carrot looked at her for encouragement. Sighing, he stared down at the floor for the rest of the ride.
***
The limo was finally stopping, and directly in the center of the large town too! Unable to hold their excitement, everyone leapt out of the car and began splitting off into groups.
"Yusuke and I are going on a walk."
"Akane, Tira, and I are going shopping, Kenshin you're coming with us."
"It sounds fun, that it does, Miss Kaoru!"
Grabbing her samurai, and Akane's hand, Kaoru set off for the large clothing store in front of her. Tira took a fast glance at Carrot before she quickly followed after the group.
"Akane, I'll be at the ice cream place!" Ranma called, running down the streets, trying to find a bathroom with cold water.
"I'll meet you there later!" Akane yelled after him. "Don't get in any trouble!"
This left only Carrot to stand alone by the limo and watch everyone go their seperate ways. He didn't mind checking out a town alone, but what was he going to do? All the girls had laughed at him earlier, and not a single one was in sight. It didn't matter. He didn't feel much like girl chasing at the moment. He had a funny feeling inside him as he watched Yusuke and Keiko walk off to the park, hand in hand.
'If Tira only knew.....if only I could tell her I know how she feels....but....how do I feel?...'
Instantly, an image of Tira appeared in his mind. He smiled as he ran through the various times he'd been wipped, bashed, whacked, and otherwise clobbered for being an idiot. He then remembered touching her soft skin, staring at her beautiful face, running his hands through her hair. 'It was just one night, Carrot....get over it....' He heaved a sigh and took a seat on a nearby bench.
***
"Bathroom, bathroom, where's a damn bathroom?!"
Ranma ran along the streets, and finally stopped when he came to the ice cream parlor. His eyes went wide at all the cute girly desserts in the display window. He pushed the door open and entered the store. Quickly, he slipped into the men's restrooms and poured himself a glass of water. After walking into a stall, he poured it over his head, and changed to his more feminine side.
"Desserts at last!" Ran-chan cheered as she skipped out of the restroom and up to a man behind the desk. He was about Ranma's age, and wasn't half bad looking. "Hey big boy," Ranma flirted, winking at the man.
"H-Hello miss," the man replied, blushing quite a bit. "W-What can I help you with?"
"I'd like a tripple scoop sundae with hot fudge, caramel, sprinkles, peanuts, whipped cream and some cherries, please." Ranma ordered, his mouth watering at the sound of his dessert. "Make it fast, cutie." he added, giggling and blowing a kiss. He knew how to get what he wanted.
Steaming, the man behind the counter quickly made Ranma's dessert and handed the bowl to him. "There you go, missy, it's on the house, anything for such a pretty lady."
"Why thank you!" Ranma cheered. He then turned on the spot and rushed into a booth, where he sat and scooped up some ice cream. The second the spoon entered his mouth he felt a tingling sensation all over. He was now, in heaven.
***
"Oh, this is cute!" Akane cried, selecting a blue dress from a rack of clothes.
"That'd look great on you!" Kaoru said, looking at some kimonos.
Kenshin stood at his girlfriend's side, utterly confused and a little embarrassed. "Miss Kaoru, what exactly am I doing here?"
"You're gonna try on some clothes, Kenshin!" Kaoru cheered, rushing into the men's section and dragging Kenshin along with her. Tira followed them, having nothing else to do, and not wanting to go back outside.
Kaoru ran through tons of racks, pilling clothes into Kenshin's hands as she went. She didn't reject much, and when she'd finally gone through the whole store, it was Kenshin's time to get dressed.
Kaoru stood anxiously outside the changing rooms, waiting for Kenshin to come out. Tira stood beside her, a bit eager at what the samurai looked like in more normal clothes.
The door opened and Kenshin stepped out in a tight muscle man shirt, and nice jeans. His face was red and he felt very, very stupid.
Tira blushed at bit, seeing Kenshin's muscles.
"Flex, Kenshin! Show off a bit!" Kaoru cheered. Kenshin sweatdropped and let an "oroooo" escape his mouth. Kaoru sighed and walked up to him. She grabbed one of his arms and flexed it into a muscle, gasping as she did. "YOU LOOK SO CUTE AND SEXY, KENSHIN!"
"Miss Kaoru!" Kenshin shouted. "We're in public!"
Kaoru glomped Kenshin and clung to him. "You're so hottttt!!!"
Kenshin's face was brighter then ever, and he couldn't seem to get it back to it's normal shade. "Miss Kaoru, control yourself!"
Tira giggled watching the two, they were a funny couple. 'Couple......' It reminded her of how she left Carrot all alone outside, by himself. She sighed and turned away from Kaoru and Kenshin, it wasn't her place, to see two people happy.
She walked out of the changing rooms and sat down in a chair outside. 'Why can't I tell him how I feel?.....He is a pervert and all, but he's still Carrot.....and I love him.....'
"Kenshin, you look great!" Kaoru exclaimed as Kenshin walked out wearing a tuxedo. "You look so handsome!"
"T-Thank you, miss Kaoru, but I really don't think I'll be needing this." Kenshin replied, sweatdropping.
"That's true, try the next one on!"
Kenshin walked back into the changing room and came out wearing a long shirt, and long baggy pants, with a hat on sideways. Now he felt BEYOND stupid.
Kaoru burst out laughing. "I just wanted to see how stupid you'd look in that, hahahaha!"
"Miss Kaoru!"
"Alright, alright...."
"Hey, Tira." Akane greeted, sitting down next to Tira, a bag in her hand with her purchases.
"Hi Akane..." Tira replied, still not back to reality.
"Anything wrong?" Akane asked, peering into her bag at the items she bought and smiling happily.
Tira let out a sigh and glanced out the window at Carrot, who stood leaning against a lamp post, staring into oblivion. "I'm just...worried about Carrot. He's not acting like himself lately....I dunno what's wrong with him."
Akane looked up and stared at Carrot also. "I expected him to be going girl hunting by now! Maybe he's sick or something."
"Maybe...." Tira then paused, her eyes shimmering. "I'm just really worried about him...." She suddenly felt her heart leap, and put her hands over her chest, a confused look on her face. That was when she noticed that she was blushing. 'Whats wrong with me?...'
***
"Ok, Sakura, since everyone else forgot, it's our job to go grocery shopping and stock up on food." Syaoran told his girlfriend as they entered the store.
"Hai! It'll be fun!" Sakura cheered, skipping over to a cart. She then started to race down the first isle with Syaoran following after her, laughing at her sweetness.
"Shopping, shopping!" Sakura sang happily as she pilled things into her cart. Syaoran checked the list he'd made and then looked up.
"We'll have to split up, I'll go get another cart and meet you at the front of the store." He said, ripping the list in half and handing a piece to Sakura.
"Un! Ja mata!" Sakura called after Syaoran as he ran off. She then continued her singing and journey through happy land. She checked the list occasionally, and loaded the cart up with as much junk food as possible. But unknown to Sakura, someone was following her.
"I'll have my darling back at whatever cost it takes!" Chocolate muttered from behind a huge display of boxes of pancakes. She watched Sakura closely as she approached the display. Chocolate then stepped in front of the display, causing Sakura to jump.
"Hello little girl!" Chocolate greeted, smiling as much as possible.
"Oh, konnichiwa!" Sakura said, bowing.
"You wouldn't happen to know who Carrot Glace is, now would you?" Chocolate asked in a very high pitched old woman voice.
"Hai! I know Mr. Carrot!" Sakura replied, still smiling happily.
Chocolate smiled evilly and lunged foward, grabbing Sakura and tossing her into a large bag.
"HOEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sakura screamed as Chocolate rushed out of the store with the bag in her hand.
"Now, to take her back to Marron!"
***
"Well, I guess I'd better go check on Ranma before he eats the whole store." Akane told everyone as she waved goodbye and made her way out of the store. She noticed Carrot, still leaning against the lamp post and slowly approached him. "Hey, Carrot!"
Carrot looked over at her, not smiling. "Hi Akane...."
"Wanna come buy ice cream with me? I gotta go get Ranma."
"No thanks...."
Akane gave a concerned look, and took Carrot's arm. "C'mon, it'll be fun!"
"B-But I don't wanna!" Carrot complained as Akane dragged him down the streets.
It wasn't long before the two reached the ice cream parlor, where they found Ran-chan sitting at a booth with about a dozen eaten sundaes in front of him.
"Hey guys!" Ranma cheered as Akane and Carrot sat down across from him.
"Having fun, Ranma?" Akane asked, staring at the ice cream bowls.
"You bet! The guy here let me have all twelve of these for free, isn't that cool?! Ouu, and they're so good, Akane! I just love being a girl!"
Carrot stared at Ranma, and for some reason, he didn't feel the least bit attracted to her large breasts and beautiful looks. 'I'm too depressed to care for girls anymore...now I know I've hit rock bottom....'
"So, you don't care that Carrots seeing you now, Ranma?" Akane asked, grinning.
"Not one bit! LOOK AT ME!!" Ranma cheered, standing up in his booth and opening his shirt. "WOOO!!!!!!!" he screamed, dancing around on the table.
"RANMA!! SIT DOWN!!" Akane yelled, tugging on Ranma's arm and trying to get him to get back in his seat.
"CARROT, DANCE WITH ME!! HEEE, THIS IS FUN!!"
"Carrot?" a tall man with long dark hair looked over at the dancing girl on the table, and only then did he notice his brother sitting at the table. "BROTHER!"
Carrot's ears perked up as he heard his brother's voice. "MARRON!" he yelled, jumping up from his seat and rushing over to Marron. Akane was too busy trying to get Ranma down from the table to notice that Carrot had escaped.
Marron embraced Carrot tightly as the two met. "OH BROTHER, I'VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!"
"Yeah, yeah, you don't have to get all mushy about it, Marron! Cool down, we're in public!" Carrot said, forcing Marron's arms apart, but giving him a sly smile. "How have you been?"
"I've been fine," Marron started. "But ever since you've been at this mansion, Chocolate is near insanity! She's been in this town for months searching for you, but for some reason, she can't find that mansion of yours."
"Hmm, I wonder why..." Carrot said cooly, sitting down at a small table and putting his feet up.
Marron took a seat across from him and moved a strand of hair out of his face. "It's protected by a magical forcefield, that's why we can't reach or see it."
Carrot nodded with an "oooh." "That mansion creeps me out."
"I can understand that." Marron then stared at Carrot's thin face. "How's Tira?"
Carrot instantly stared at the floor and started blushing. "She's...uh....she's....ok, I guess...."
Marron smiled. "Why're you studdering, brother?"
"S-Studdering? Me, I'm not s-studdering!"
"Brother, I've sensed the pain you've been having....I know when you're in trouble, and I can feel your emotions, please, tell me what's bothering you..."
The second Carrot opened his mouth, Chocolate burst into the ice cream parlor, a bag full of Sakura in her hand, and Gateau screaming his lungs out at her.
"Chocolate, you don't just kidnap a girl just because she knows who Carrot is! Geez, you're insane!"
"Gateau," Marron said, smiling at his boyfriend.
"Oh, hey Marron." Gateau said, walking up to Marron, to notice Carrot. "YOU! WHAT'RE YOU DOING HERE?!"
Chocolate's eyes burst wide open, and she rushed over to Carrot and glomped him. "DARLING!!"
"AH!! C-CH0COLATE!!!"
"Darling, I was so worried about you!!!! BUT NOW YOU'RE HERE, AND WE CAN ELOPE!"
"ELOPE?! WHAT?!" Carrot screamed.
Slowly, Sakura climbed out of the bag she'd been kidnapped in, just as Syaoran rushed into the store, hands full of groceries. "Sakura, I got all the stuff." he said, smiling, not noticing what had happened.
Sakura's eyes swirled. "Hoeeeeeee...." she then passed out on the floor.
***
With a promise that they'd return Carrot within the hour, the Sorcerer Hunters, minus Tira, went out into the streets to talk about what was on Carrot's mind. They all sat in the park, on the grass in a circle, as Carrot opened his mouth once again.
"It's just....well, one night while we were in the mansion...I sorta....well, I got Tira drunk."
"You got my sister drunk?! Good for you! She's always a party pooper, was she fun to be with?!" Chocolate laughed, holding onto Carrot's arm.
Carrot slowly took his arm back. "Chocolate, this is serious....s-she told me that she loves me..."
Chocolate's eyes went wide. "S-She said that?!"
"Whoa! Tira...and you?!"
"No! Not Tira and me!" Carrot said quickly, trying to cover up his feelings.
"You and me then, Darling!"
"Chocolate!!!"
"Let my brother speak." Marron said firmly, causing Chocolate to let go of Carrot's arm and sit back to listen.
"But....I mean....I don't know if she meant it, she was drunk."
Marron smiled once again. "Carrot, you can see it with her eyes...you know in your heart what she feels, and how you feel."
"I don't know how I feel!" Carrot shot back defensivly.
Gateau punched Carrot's arm and chuckled.
"OW! What was that for?!"
"You little pervert! Of course you know how you feel! I've seen you blush at Tira about a thousand times, I've seen her save you, you two are in love! L-O-V-E LOVE!"
Carrot stared over at Gateau, who was now somewhere deep in La La Land, staring lovingly at Marron.
"Carrot, you know how you feel, I'm sure of it, don't be afraid to express it." Marron said.
Chocolate sat and stared at Carrot. "Darling..." she started, in a serious tone.
Carrot looked over at her, he didn't want to see her hurt, but she wanted to know. The last thing he'd want to do was hurt Chocolate by this news, but, surprisingly, she smiled.
"Darling, if you love Tira, and she loves you, I'd gladly step back, and support you with all my heart. Whatever my little sister wants, she'll have, and whatever is best for you, Darling. Go with how your heart feels, don't worry about anything else but your feelings."
"Chocolate...."
Chocolate put a finger to Carrot's lips. "There's no time for talking, you have to tell her!"
"Tell her?! Are you crazy! She'd-"
"She'd express her feelings back, brother. It's the only way to get her to open up, you know how she feels already, so express yourself."
Carrot heaved a deep sigh and stared once again at the ground. "I.....I'll try..."
"No, Darling, you will!"
A glistening of hope appeared in his eyes, as Carrot looked up. "I will..."
***
The sun was almost setting, as Carrot rushed through the park, despertly in search for Tira, and now set on his dreams. He knew everyone was meeting back by the limo at this time, and he was expecting to be going back to the mansion, where he would express his feelings, but he couldn't have been more wrong.
He noticed everyone gathered around the limo, and watched as Kenshin shoved bags of clothing and groceries into it as he approached. "Hey....guys..." he panted, looking up and smiling.
"Good, you're here Carrot!" Kaoru said quickly. "We're all going to the hot springs for the evening, it's gonna be so much fun! So c'mon, move it, lets go!"
"H-Hot springs?!" Carrot repeated, totally confused.
"Yeah, you know, the water thats really hot...yeah." Yusuke laughed.
"Dude, I so wouldn't be laughing with that bird on my head." Carrot said, poking at Puu, who was asleep.
Yusuke glared over at him as everyone began walking. "HE'S A SPIRIT BEAST!"
"He's just so adorable, isn't he?" Keiko giggled as she took Puu into her arms and craddled him like a baby. "And he looks just like you, Yusuke!"
"If only I had a bird on my head, maybe hott girls would look at me!" Carrot teased.
Yusuke lifted his fist and punched Carrot right in the face, sending him flying in back of them.
"O-Ow...." Carrot yelped, his face in the dirt. 'Now what am I gonna do?.....Hot springs are seperated by sex, I won't get a chance to tell Tira how I feel!'
"It's just down this path!" Kaoru cheered as she started running down the dirt path, followed by the other girls.
"Hot springs, hot spring!" Sakura sang as she followed by Keiko's side. "I've never been in one before!"
"They're really nice, and so warm!" Akane told her, as they approached the entrace to the huge bath house.
After a long time of reservations, they were finally able to get to the two springs they had asked for. They came to two doors which lead to the seperate springs, and bid eachother goodbye for a bit.
"Don't try and peek at us now." Kaoru said, winking.
"Espically you, Ranma!" Akane warned.
"Why would I want to? I have bigger hooters than you! And I'm better built, to boot!" Ranma laughed as everyone stared at him, very confused.
At that, everyone filed into the changing rooms, where they put on towels and entered the springs. The only thing seperating them, was a large bath wall, which has a large opening at the very top, so they could communicate to eachother.
Sakura slowly slipped into the spring. "SUGOI!!" she squeeled. "SUGOI, SUGOI, SUGOI!!!"
Keiko giggled and got in as well, followed by Akane, Kaoru, and Tira.
"Well, no peeping toms yet," Akane commented, staring at the opening in the wall at the top.
"Do you really think they would try to sneak in here?" Keiko asked, covering up a bit with her wash cloth.
"Knowing Ranma, anything is possible."
"But is he that much of a pervert?" Keiko questioned, becoming afraid that Yusuke might try and climb over as well, since it seemed so magnitizing.
"Not as much as Carrot!" Akane laughed.
Tira stared down at the water, her glasses slipping off the end of her noise. She pushed them slightly up, and watched as the steam from the bath fogged them up.
"Tira, you've been so quiet lately." Kaoru brought up.
All the girls stared at Tira and nodded. "Is anything wrong?" Keiko asked.
"No...No, I'm fine." Tira replied, washing her face lightly.
"You're thinking about Carrot again, aren't you?" Kaoru asked, smiling.
Tira's face lite up. "Carrot?! Why would I think about that pervert?!"
"I'm not a pervert!" Carrot shouted back at hearing Tira raise her voice.
"You kiddin?" Yusuke laughed. "You're the biggest pervert in all of Japan and the Spirit world!"
"Spirit wha?" Carrot asked as Puu flew from Yusuke's head and landed at the opening in the wall.
"Puuu!" he chirped, looking down at the boys.
Keiko gasped and smiled up at Puu. "Puu! C'mere boy! Come to mommy!" she said, holding out her arms and staring hopefully at the bird. Puu simply cooed at her, and turned back to the boys. Keiko put on a confused look. "I wonder why he won't even look over here...."
Ranma soaked in the water, trying to get all the ice cream and sugar out of his system. Every few minutes he'd start giggling.
"Ranma, you are acting strange, that you are." Kenshin commented, staring across the bath at Ranma.
"HEHEHEHEHEHE!!!" Ranma laughed, hopping to his feet.
"Oh man, I don't wanna see that!" Yusuke burst out, covering his eyes.
Carrot burst into laughter.
"Dance with me, Carrot!!!"
'I got a little time on my hands, why not!' Carrot thought before he got up and took Ranma's arm.
"Feh, morons." Inuyasha grunted as he splashed some water on his face and his ears twitched. "I sense something disturbing is about to happen....hmmm...feh."
"LETS PLAY RING AROUND THE YUSUKE!" Ranma giggled as he and Carrot began to skip around Yusuke.
"LEAVE ME ALONE BEFORE I BLAST YOU TO BITS!" Yusuke yelled, covering his eyes as if they were burning.
"RING AROUND THE YUSUKE, WHEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Ranma practically screamed as he and Carrot's running soon took his partner off his feet. Carrot flew as Ranma swung him around, and loosing his footing, Ranma slipped and let go, releasing Carrot straight into the wall which divided the pools.
Everyone let out loud ear piercing screams as the wall came tumbling down, and Carrot landed somewhere deep within the rubble. All the girls started running out of the pools before the guys saw them, and the guys did the same, and everything was quiet for a second, until Tira came rushing out, her towel around her tiny waist (covering herself) and ran to the wall of rubble.
"Carrot! Carrot, are you alright?!"
There wasn't an answer, only a hand popped out of the rocks, which gave a thumbs up. Tira gave a sigh of relief as Carrot's top half pushed it's way out from the rubble. "T-That hurt...."
"Carrot...."
Carrot stared over at Tira, who had tears in her eyes.
"I'm so glad you're ok." she said as she hugged onto him.
Carrot smiled and hugged her back. "Thanks, Tira."
Then, noticing what she was leaning on, Tira blushed deeply and quickly stood up. "Umm...d-do you need help getting up?"
Carrot gave her a look before trying to remove himself from the pile of broke up rocks. With no luck, Tira took hold of Carrot's arms and started pulling him out slowly. "There we go." she said as Carrot's bottom half came out. With wide eyes, she realized that Carrot had no towel on.
"Gee, thanks so much Tira, you're so nice to me, you know that?" Carrot went on, not noticing he was uncovered. "Even though you hit me and beat me, you're so kind to me, just like now, and I really appreciate that."
Tira's face was so red that she felt faint, and started falling, but Carrot quickly caught onto her, and together they toppled over into the water. Carrot laughed as Tira looked at the water, noticing how she somehow got ontop of him. "You're alright?..." Carrot asked gently, turning Tira's face towards him.
"Y-Yeah...." Tira replied, not sure of what was going on.
"Tira, I have something to tell you." Carrot replied. He then took a deep breath, and paused, catching the look on Tira's beautiful face. 'This is it, Carrot, you've gotta say it, it's now or never!' "Tira......I......I love you."
Tira's eyes shot wide open, taken aback at what Carrot had just said to her. 'This can't be possible?! He likes me? But he- but I-' "I love you too." she replied, without even thinking, letting her heart take over. Giving her brain a rest was a very rewarding thing.
Slowly, Carrot leaned in and brushed his lips against Tira's, smoothly parting them open, so he could kiss her. She kissed back and closed her eyes, it was like a dream, he finally felt what she felt.
'You did it, Carrot! You finally got the girl!"
***
"Ranma, I can't believe how much of a jerk you are!" Akane complained as she and Ranma walked down the streets to the limo.
"I'm sorry, Akane, I dunno what came over me, I'm tellin ya, it was so weird!" Ranma explained.
Akane gave an angry sigh. "What 'came over you' was the urge to see me in the nude! AGAIN!"
"I wasn't trying to see you! And what'd you mean "again"?! I never tried that time either!"
"Ranma, you're such a jerk! You tried to see me, and you know it! And if you don't want me to yell at you any further, I suggest you shut your trap!"
At that, Akane stormed ahead and hopped into the limo, leaving Ranma to stop and grit his teeth. "She-is-SO-UNCUTE!!!"