Chapter 21 Ryoga' Date
Once Ryoga reached the Saotome home, he borrowed the telephone to call Nabiki. Once he finally got through all of her handlers, and heard her voice, he said, "Nabiki, this is Ryoga. I need a favor. I asked Shampoo out on a date, and I have no idea where to take her. Can you get reservations at one?"
"Sure, Ryoga, and since I like you and Shampoo, I won't even charge you for it. Just leave everything to me, and I'll take care of it. I'll even have a car pick you up at, say around 7:00, to take you to the restaurant, so you won't get lost. Where are you anyway?" she asked.
"I'm at the Saotomes. Shampoo brought me because she didn't trust me not to wander off, either, I guess," he said with a laugh.
"Okay, like I said the car will be there around 7:00. Once you get to the restaurant, just tell the driver what time to pick you up and he'll take you two home. Just make sure you dress nicely, the place I have in mind as a dress code. Have a goof time, okay?" she said.
"Thanks, Nabiki, I owe you one," Ryoga replied. After saying goodbye and hanging up the phone, he went to find Shampoo. He was pleasantly surprised to find that he found her almost immediately. Of course, the fact that he found her by turning around and running into her might have had something to do with how easy it had been. "Shampoo, we have a car coming at 7:00 to take us to the restaurant. Nabiki recommended it, and said it was pretty dressy. Is there a place I can clean up and get changed?" he asked. Shampoo smiled and led him to the downstairs bathroom.
"I'm coming back in a half-hour to make sure you haven't gotten lost, " she teased, "After all, I don't want you to run off on our first date." Ryoga blushed as she pushed him through the open door.
True to her word, a half-hour later, Shampoo was knocking on the door. Ryoga said, "Come on in, I'm dressed except for this stupid tie." Shampoo opened the door and saw Ryoga standing there in a nice set of dress clothes, attempting to fix the knot in his tie, and failing. She took his hands away from the knot, and redid it. "Why do they make us wear these things," he grumbled, "They're literally a pain in the neck."
"Hey quit complaining, would you rather be wearing hose?" Shampoo teased. Ryoga just shook his head. Shampoo had taken the time to get ready, she was in a very nice, tight dress, that showed off all her curves to her advantage but surprisingly in sensitivity to Ryoga's shyness, didn't show too much of her cleavage. 'After all,' she thought wickedly, 'I don't want him bleeding to death on our first date. A little shyness is okay, but he does take it to an extreme.'
Promptly at 7:00, there was a knock at the front door. When they opened it, they found a liveried driver waiting. He led them to the car, of course since this was Nabiki's arrangement; it was actually a stretch limousine. The driver seated them in the limo, and then walked around to the driver's side and got in. Shampoo reached over and held Ryoga's hand. He drove off into the city and eventually ended up at Milano's, one of the better continental restaurants in Nerima. Ryoga asked him to be back around 10:00 to pick them up, but got his car phone number just in case they needed to change the time. Ryoga escorted Shampoo to the restaurant, her arm through his arm, where the met the host. Ryoga mentioned his name, and they were seated immediately in a small, private booth. The host said, "Friends of Nabiki Tendo are always welcome here."
'I thought she took Kuno as a last name, I guess I was wrong,' Shampoo thought. After they were seated, their waiter came by, gave them the menus, and told them of the various specials. The sommelier came by with the wine list and made a few suggestions that would go with the various items on the menu. Ryoga selected a nice Merlot as a decent compromise. When the waiter came back by, Shampoo ordered Chicken Marsala, while Ryoga ordered Tournedos Madeira. Shampoo asked, "Ryoga, what have you been doing since I've seen you last? I think it's been nearly two years."
"Well, that would have been just before the wedding, I suppose. After I was best man at Ranma and Akane's wedding, I just kinda moved around. I was trying to avoid Nerima since I had promised them not to let anyone know where Ranma was, so I traveled around, mostly in Europe, though I ended up in Australia at least twice, and back in America several times. I did a lot of sightseeing. There are a lot of pretty castles in Europe, I found out. Then I came back to see Akira. I stayed with her for a few months; even thought about marriage, but I figured out that she wasn't what I wanted. I kept remembering all of my friends, here, and all of the craziness that we went through. I realized that's what I was missing, and I just wasn't going to find it with her. Then I realized I had been dreaming of a certain girl, and decided I needed to find you. Once I heard that Ranma and Akane were back, that said it was time for me to return as well. I had always thought that you were attractive, but the monomania you had over Ranma had been a lot disconcerting. You look softer now somehow, and I like that," Ryoga said.
Shampoo was saved from replying by the appearance of the waiter bringing out the salads and bread. After he left, Shampoo said, "I like me a lot better this way, too. But I didn't want to talk about the past, I was wondering what you wanted to do now and in the future."
"I'm not sure. I haven't really done anything except learn martial arts. I suppose I could go help out at the Dojo, but I'm not sure that's really what I want to do. Are you content working at Ucchan's?" he asked.
"Yes, I make a pretty good living. Living at home with Mom, the living expenses are pretty cheap after all. We're thinking of expanding to another location, so I've been teaching Sis how to make my dishes, and she's been teaching me how to make okonomiyaki. Mom's been teaching us both a lot of other recipes as well, so we'll be expanding the menus, too. Nabiki is out looking for another location for us to look at, and as soon as she finds one, we'll start the new restaurant. Now that my other sisters are here to stay, they can be the waitresses," she replied, "I'm glad they came here, I was missing them. Funny, that's the only thing I miss from my village. This has become home."
The waiter brought the main dishes, and topped off their wine glasses. Ryoga hesitated, and then asked, "I can see why. Between Nodoka and Ukyo, they certainly seem to have made you feel welcome. I'm glad you found them"
"So am I, they couldn't have been nicer, in spite of everything I had done to hurt her in the past and the damage I had caused Ranma, they just accepted me, and healed my wounded heart. After a few months, the pain of being abandoned by Khu Lon just didn't bother me anymore," she said.
After dinner, they heard the sound of a musical group warming up. They noticed that there was a small dance floor, next to where the group was. After a few minutes, the band started playing some dance music. Several couples went out on the floor and began dancing. Ryoga looked at Shampoo, listening to the music. He asked, "Would you like to dance?" She smiled and nodded. He led her over to the dance floor. They held each other close as they danced, Shampoo putting her head against his chest. As they moved to the music, Ryoga thought 'This is nice. She sure feels good like this. I hope she feels the same way about me.'
Shampoo closed her eyes as they danced. She couldn't believe how good she felt being held by Ryoga. After all those wasted years, maybe she actually had found somebody she could care for. She wondered if he felt the same way about her. The group played slow song after slow song, and they continued to dance together, not wanting to lose the magic. All good things must end however, and eventually the music finished. They walked hand-in-hand back to the table and decided it was time to leave. Ryoga paid the bill, and they went outside. It was almost exactly 10:00 and the limo was already there. The driver seated them in the car, and they drove off. This time, Ryoga reached for Shampoo's hand and held it. Once they got to the Saotome home, Shampoo led Ryoga to the house. She reached up and kissed him. Ryoga fainted. Shampoo just sighed and carried him into the house and laid him on the couch in the living room. She sat there next to him, waiting for him to wake up. Finally, she curled up next to him on the couch and went to sleep.
Ryoga slowly stirred. He felt a presence next to him as he roused. He slowly opened his eyes and found that Shampoo was snuggled up to him. She was mumbling in her sleep in a very soft voice. He listened carefully, and then realized she was saying, "Wo ni, Airen." He gently reached over and shook her. Shampoo's eyes snapped open and they stared deep into each other's eyes.
"How'd I end up here, Shampoo? The last thing I remember is you k-k-kissing me. Oh, no, did I faint on you?" he said.
"Yes, Ryoga, you did. I couldn't leave you on the doorstep, so I brought you in here. I guess I fell asleep waiting for you," she replied.
"Sorry about that. Let me make it up to you," he said, as he kissed her full on the lips. Her mouth opened slightly under the pressure of his lips, and then she returned the kiss. She pulled him tight against her body, feeling his warmth. Finally, they pulled apart. "Wow," was all he could say. She giggled at the expression on his face. Then he remembered something, "Shampoo, before I woke you, I heard you talking in your sleep. You were saying, 'Wo ni, Airen.' I hope you're not still dreaming about Ranma," he said fearfully.
Shampoo blushed, and then said, "I wasn't dreaming about Ranma, I was, uh, dreaming about us. I know I never really showed it before, but I always liked you. Plus we had something in common, both of us chasing after some one who didn't return our love, I felt a kind of connection. After Ranma disappeared, rather than date me, I got very depressed. It took a long time for me to get over that."
"I understand. When Akane left, I wasn't even here to say goodbye. Then when I ran into them in Texas, it just about broke my heart. She was so happy with him; they had just gotten engaged for real. It hurt so much that I wanted to lie down and die. Then she found out I was P-chan and that made her furious. She felt so betrayed by my actions, and I couldn't blame anyone but myself for that. Ranma probably saved my life then. I had gotten less angry with Ranma over the years; our relationship had gradually been turning back into a wary friendship. Him protecting me from Akane made me realize that he didn't hold any grudges against me, and that I had been more at fault."
"That's enough about the mistakes in our past, Ryoga, I want to think about our future. I really would like to see where this relationship goes. I don't want to rush it, but I don't want to wait to long either. I also don't want you getting lost on me now that we found each other. There's a spare bedroom, you're spending the night here," Shampoo said.
"But what will your family say when I'm here for breakfast?" Ryoga protested.
"Nothing, they've been after me to settle down for a while, and they all like you. Besides, what gives you the idea that Ukyo isn't going to tell them everything she's seen for the last few minutes, anyway?" Shampoo said with a grin.
"Ah, Sis, how come I can't ever sneak up on you?" Ukyo protested from the doorway where she had been spying.
"Ancient Amazon technique. Besides, I heard you giggle," Shampoo snickered, "Come on lover, it's getting late, and Ukyo has to get up early to tattle on us."
Ryoga smiled, and then hugged his girlfriend. He liked that thought. Then they got up from the couch and the girls led him upstairs to the spare bedroom.
"Pleasant dreams, Ryoga," Ukyo said as she kissed his cheek. Then she went into her room.
Shampoo kissed Ryoga good night, and went into her room