Scene One, Take One, Aaaaction!
Fanfiction by Arkanghel22. All Ranma 1/2 characters are made by Rumiko Takahashi.
Chapter 4
"Can you tell me the reason again why you're helping me?"
It was after classes, and Nabiki had dragged Akane to the Department store to buy clothes. It seemed that she was taking the managerial position to heart.
"Come on, you're acting out of context, it's creeping me out. Since when have you been interested in my life though you're not getting any money out of it?"
Akane stared at her sister suspiciously. "You're not Hiro, are you?"
Nabiki ignored Akane's suspicious look. She deposited a pile of Chinese collared blouses and loose pants in front of Akane, selected a blue blouse and white pants, then handed them to her. Akane accepted the clothes and went inside the
changing room.
"You see, dear sister, I AM getting something out of this escapade of yours. A lot, in fact. That's why I'm willing to lend you a helping hand. I won't tell you how because that's not how I work. Just think of my help as advance payment for your services." Nabiki said conversationally as she waited outside. A crafty look passed through her features.
The changing room door opened and Akane stepped out to model the ensemble she was wearing. She also wore a confused look on her face.
"I DO need some help, because I really want to enter the Drama club. And I really want to show Ranma that I CAN act, just to deflate that ego of his… " Akane said, eyes downcast. "…but maybe Ranma's right, maybe I can't pull this off…"
"You're not Hiro, are you?" Nabiki peered at Akane suspiciously. "coz last time I checked, my sister had a backbone."
Akane gave her a wry look, but at least she'd shaken her bemusement off.
"We're taking all these" Nabiki decided. Akane's eyes widened, and then she stared suspiciously at her sister.
"I'm not sure if what I'm doing is right. I mean, trusting you…" Akane muttered.
Nabiki pointedly ignored her.
"At least I'm getting new clothes…" Akane rambled.
"You understand that as your sister & manager, you should listen to me because I'm only looking out for your own good" Nabiki said. Akane gulped when her sister placed a dozen films and video tapes among their purchases, and she saw the sly glint in her sister's eyes.
"So I want you to watch all these videotapes of Ranma tonight and memorize everything about him. Okay?"
Akane heaved a sigh of relief. Maybe Nabiki wasn't half bad at all, she supposed she was in good hands.
"Oh, before I forget…" Nabiki reached behind Akane and expertly detached her bra. "You better get used to wearing no bra."
"WHAT!"
0-0-0-
"Akane, you should be getting ready for bed. You still have classes tomorrow, you know." Kasumi said as she stood by Akane's bedroom door.
Akane nodded in acquiescence. "Alright, oneechan, right after I watch these tapes for what I'm doing for the Drama Club.
"Okay then. Good night!" Kasumi said.
Akane heard her older sister's footsteps fade as she turned the monitor on.
"Just you wait, Ranma. I will be Ranma Saotome. I will be Ranma Saotome…" Akane muttered as she studied the familiar faces on the screen.
"I WILL be Ranma Saotome!"
"AAAAAAAARGHHHH!"
Ranma lurched away as if he was electrocuted, trying to plug the blood gushing out of his nose. His eyes were two big saucers staring at the sprawled figure on the bed.
"Wha? Aaaack, is it time to get up already? Whacha doin' screamin' like that anyway?" Akane groggily said as she stirred.
Ranma tried to back away again but he was already against the wall. "Wha… what are you doing wearing that…?" he demanded as he pointed at his fiancée. Akane peered at Ranma in puzzlement, and then looked at herself. She was wearing an undershirt & shorts, just like what Ranma wears for sleep.
"Why? What's wrong? You wear this to sleep, what's wrong with it?" Akane asked fuzzily as she stretched her arms. Ranma's face turned red, and he scrambled to the door.
"Nuthin' Get dressed, breakfast's ready" he growled.
"Okay! Okay! I'll be down in a minute!" Akane said nonchalantly. Ranma made a face and then closed the door.
Ranma leaned against the wall outside, trying to slap the blush from his face. What's wrong with him? He realized that this was the start of Akane's week long initiation wherein she'd be acting as him, so she must be mimicking the way he dresses. There was nothing out of the ordinary with girls wearing undershirts & shorts to bed, heck, Nabiki does it. He was just not used to seeing so much of Akane's smooth, creamy flesh… Ranma started slapping himself again.
Nabiki ducked inside her room again after she took a stolen shot of Ranma. She chuckled. Raging hormones were always so funny, she had a feeling she'd be enjoying this week a whole lot.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 –
"Hey Ranma, I think I have some piece of info you'd find very interesting," Nabiki said over breakfast.
"Not interested. I've got no money left, you got it all already," was Ranma's muffled replied. He was busy shoveling food to his mouth.
"It involves Akane & her Drama Club Initiation…" Nabiki said suggestively.
Ranma abruptly stopped eating, but the door suddenly opened and Akane came in.
"I'll tell you at lunchtime, it can wait," NAbiki whispered with a sly smile.
CLICK
Nabiki hid her camera as she gave a victory sign to Akane, or is that a peace sign?
"Wow, you look adorable, Akane" Kasumi said as she poured more tea on their father's cup.
The rest of the Tendo residents turned to Akane who had just entered the room. She was wearing a white Chinese-collared blouse & black pants, with soft-soled shoes. Her hair was tied in a very short pony tail. She did a pose for their benefit.
"She looks great, don't you think, son?" Genma commented. He surreptitiously stole some food from Ranma's bowl while he was staring at Akane. He must admit, Akane looked really cute. Tooth-achingly cute. That must be the way he looks when he does the 'cute little girl' act. Ranma broke his gaze with an unintelligible mumble & turned to his food again. Then he gave his father dagger looks when he realized the theft.
"Why you! You're asking for it, old man!"
The father & son sprang to their feet and started a chopsticks fight, yelling at each other. After a while they realized that they were the only ones making a sound. They stopped to find out why.
Soun, Nabiki & Kasumi were staring Akane vacuuming ALL the food on the table.
Silence.
And then…
"The Fooooood!" Genma wailed.
"Burp! That was great, Kasumi! Thanks!" Akane said cheerfully.
"You're welcome Ran- … Akane," said Kasumi faintly. She looked confused. If having one Ranma in the house was hard enough, having a Ranma-acting sister was too much. She mechanically handed Ranma & Akane's bentos to Akane. Akane accepted them & started pushing the shell-shocked Ranma out of the door.
"Bye, have fun at school!" Kasumi said.
Akane waved goodbye. "Thanks, we will! Bye everyone!"
0-0-0-0-
Ranma hopped on the mesh fence & started walking as he usually does, balanced on top. He glanced down the street where Akane usually walks… but she wasn't there. He halted abruptly, his imagination getting ahead of him. Akane kidnapped again
by a powerful challenger…kept in a dark, dank place… pleading for him to save her…
"AKANE!" Ranma yelled, fist raised in the air.
Plonk.
Akane raised an eyebrow, ready to throw another pebble at the pig-tailed martial artist. She was standing on top of the wall parallel to the mesh fence. The couple faced each other, glaring.
"Stupid. Whacha doin' yelling my name like that?" Akane asked.
"I wasn't yellin' your name, kawaii-kune! You got to get your eats cleaned" Ranma replied, his cheeks turning red.
"Oh yeah! My ears are perfectly fine, you were yellin' my name loud & clear" Akane fired right back.
As the two bickered, they started walking for school, one on the mesh fence & the other on the wall. After a while, Ranma noticed something.
"Stop copying me! Are you trying to annoy me?" Ranma said angrily. He halted and faced the blue-haired girl. She stopped in her tracks & faced him, too.
"I'm trying to learn how you walk, baka! So just cooperate & don't mind me!" Akane replied.
"Hmp! As if you can! You should give up right now, you can't act even a bit like me" Ranma started walking again, pretending that he didn't see his fiancée imitate him like before.
"I'll show you, Ranma! Ooooh, you're so irritating! You're going to eat all those words when I get in the Drama Club!" Akane fumed. She half wanted to go to the other side & pound the cocky martial artist into the concrete.
Ranma walked with his hands at the back of his head, glancing surreptitiously at Akane who was doing the same thing. He tried swinging his arms. She did it. He tried marching. She did it. He tried jogging while making faces. She did it. It annoyed the heck out of him! So he decided running. He was much faster & she'd be hard-pressed to keep up. That'll teach her!
Ranma started sprinting. At first she was able to match him, but soon she began to tire. There were also some times when she had to resort to the roofs to get over the gates she encountered. Akane really tried to keep up, but after awhile Ranma was way ahead of her & she was puffing her lungs out. Boy, Ranma was really something to endure all the training he went through, plus all the
challenges & fights he manages to get himself into.When Akane could no longer see Ranma, she decided that it was useless to keep walking on the wall anymore. She jumped to the street.
SPLASH!
"Oh, sorry dearie! I didn't see you… you didn't change?" the water-throwing old lady said to the soaking-wet Akane.
"Eeeerk… That's okay grandmother, no, I'm not Ranma. I don't change gender… Hey, wait a minute…. I thought you were half-blind that's why you always manage to hit Ranma by accident" Akane said.
A sweat drop appeared on the old lady's forehead. "Oh, I'm just little old woman. I have to get back inside now, oohhh how my old bones hurt… bye, dearie!" the old woman rapidly disappeared inside her house, cackling wildly
"That's strange," Akane muttered, staring at the closed door. Then she looked at herself. "Now I know how Ranma feels about this always-getting-wet thing," she said, grimacing as she started for school again. "Thank Kami I don't turn into something else like he does. Eeew, the silk is sticking to my skin…"
0-0-0-0-
Ranma slowed down when he realized Akane wasn't on his heels anymore and proceeded on in a more leisurely pace. Suddenly, he heard a familiar bicycle bell & cringed. Oh, no! Shampoo & her Delivery Bike from Hell! He started looking for a hiding place.
"Ni Hao, Akane!"
GLOMP.
Ranma stiffened, but there was no bike wheel embedded on his head or a lavender-haired Chinese girl hanging on his waist. Wait a minute, something's wrong… Ni hao Akane!
Ranma started running back full speed.
There was lavender, and then she couldn't breathe. Something was constricting her chest, and that something looked very much like Shampoo.
"Get offa me, you pervert bimbo!" Akane yelled, instantly reverting to punting mode. But before her book bag could connect to Shampoo's head, the Chinese girl hopped nimbly a safe distance away. Akane was about to advance to finish the job when
Shampoo started shaking her head and waggling a finger at her.
"No, no, no, NO! That definitely is not the way Ranma Saotome responds to his fiancée Shampoo!" Shampoo said angrily. "Sure, he protests weakly, but that's all…" Akane was about to protest that Ranma did not count Shampoo as a fiancée, AND
comment about how great her Japanese was already, but before she could do either one, there was stage smoke, a loud POOF! and in place of Shampoo, Miyoga Hiro stood.
He paused theatrically for effect, smoothed his hair suavely, and then gave Akane a wink. Akane had a very strong inclination to swoon.
"Oh my," Akane said in a small voice. Somehow, Sakura petals started falling all around the two of them.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk…My dear Akane, as you well know, I really want you to get in the Drama Club and taste those sweet li… uhhh… right." Hiro looked discomfited for a second, but he masked it but tossing his head grandly. He continued after collecting his wits.
"That's why I'm here to help you in any way I can. That's why I'll be acting as Shampoo so that your 'Ranma' character will have someone to interact with," Hiro said grandly, and then with a loud POOF! he turned into Shampoo again. Akane flinched. After making a dozen poses in his Shampoo make-up, he reverted to himself again.
"Enough about that, back to business," Hiro said gravely.
He snapped his fingers, and out of the bushes and the garbage bin in the corner came a couple of boys that Akane realized were Drama Club Members. They set up a TV and VCR right in the middle of the street, and made a grand bow before exiting stage left. Akane face faulted.
"Now, I want you to observe this closely, my dear," Hiro said as he popped a tape. Familiar scenes started playing, and then she realized that they were everyday settings with her and Ranma, with various other people like Shampoo, Ukyo, Kasumi, etc. Hiro suddenly paused the tape to a scene wherein Shampoo was glomping Ranma, and Akane was fuming at the side.
"GRRR…. I don't want to see this!" Akane said angrily. She attempted to snatch the remote control from Hiro.
"Now, hold on a minute, my dear. Think of this as an acting exercise!" Hiro cautioned. He rubbed Akane's shoulders calmingly.
Akane subsided a bit, so Hiro zoomed to Ranma & Shampoo. "Now study Ranma's body language… see, he just stands there taking it all in. That's the Ranma way…"
Akane knew the routine very well, but she tried to see the scene in a detached manner. Bicycle bell rings, Shampoo lands on Ranma, Ranma looks like a trapped animal, Shampoo glomps Ranma, Ranma tries running away but can't so resorts to
standing as stiff as a board, Shampoo squeezes harder, Ranma looks pleadingly at Akane, then Akane punts Ranma to orbit…
Wait a minute… Ranma looks like a trapped animal… Ranma standing as stiff as a board… Ranma looks pleadingly at her…
Ranma never LIKED getting glomped.
"Okay, shall we do it all over again?" Hiro said conversationally, rubbing his hands together.
Akane dumbly nodded. Actually, she wasn't paying particular attention to the dark-haired boy. She was shell-shocked with her realization.
Hiro grinned wolfishly. "Okay then! Let's practice!"
One.
Two.
Three.
GLOMP!
"WHAT THE HELL! GET YOUR HANDS OFF AKANE!"
Ranma was breathing hard, but he was satisfied with how high he was able to make Hiro fly to orbit.
"That was great acting, Akaneeehhh! But YOU, Saotome, you make a lousy actor. You make a lousy Akane…… Do you hear me, you're a lousy Akaneeeeehhhhhhh!" Hiro yelled as he soared though the air.
"Nnnnhhh… huh?" Akane dully followed Hiro's flying figure.
Ranma scowled at her. "Sheesh. Don't play dumb with me, Akane! Let's go," he sullenly said as he stomped away to school.
"HEY! What did I do to you, baka? Hey, I'm talkin' to yah, wait up! Okay, I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Wait up, Ranma! Baka!" Akane scrambled to catch up with the pig-tailed martial artist.
