Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma or KISS.
"" Speaking
>>Thoughts
# Sound Effects
( ) Writer feels the need to make a joke or comment to you, the readers
Speaking in Chinese
Italic speaking on a cellphone
Chapter Six: Shock MeIt had been a couple of days since Ranma and Nabiki confessed to each other that they were in love. Both had never been happier. They now spent even more time together. The only thing they practically did while apart, was wait for the moment they would be together again. It was true love in all it's glory.
However, having her mind on Ranma, sometimes interfered with Nabiki's new job.
Ever since she had decided, under Ranma's advice, to give up the mercenary act at school, she needed some way to get income for her family. Luckily, Prince Curry of the Musk Dynasty had a solution. He needed a new accountant for his nightclub, The Spice of the Serpent, and he'd heard how good Nabiki was with numbers. So she got the job, with one hell of a salary, and all she had to do was go over the paperwork, paychecks and bills for the month. She could make her own hours, so long as it was done by the end of the month, and got access to the club through the back, so her and Ranma didn't have to fight their way through the crowds outside to get in, despite their V.I.P. status.
>I really owe Curry one for this opportunity.> thought Nabiki as she enjoyed another benefit of the accountant job, that being an office with one hell of a view of the neighborhood out the window.
Nabiki decided on the best way to thank him. She opened the Amazon rulebook and guidelines, loaned to her by Shampoo, and looked for a way to end Shampoo's engagement to Ranma. She'd been looking for weeks now, and still hadn't found anything. But she was the master of this, and she would find a loophole.
"Nihao friend Nabiki!" said a voice at the door to her office.
Nabiki looked up and saw Shampoo had come in. Today Shampoo was wearing a blue version of her Chinese dresses that showed off her legs and hugged her body the right ways. Nabiki always felt she could never compete with Shampoo in the fashion department as she looked down at own blue jeans, and black KISS T-shirt with Gene Simmons on the front.
Hello Shampoo. said Nabiki in Chinese. She'd been working on it so she could talk with Shampoo, Curry, or his honor guards in private without anyone listening in.
You want to talk in Chinese? said Shampoo happily. Thanks. I hate sounding like a stupid bimbo when I talk in Japanese.
I know. said Nabiki. So, what's up?
I just thought I'd see how you're doing. said Shampoo. How's the arm?
The arm Shampoo was referring to was her right arm that had gotten injured while taking an arrow for Ranma. Her leather jacket had stopped most of it, so her arm was mostly just sore. Luckily, Dr. Tofu had told her she could take the sling taken off in another couple of days.
It's good. said Nabiki. Just a little sore. Let me get us a couple of…drinks?
The minute she mentioned the drinks, two bottles of Nabiki and Shampoo's favorite soda pop appeared on the part of the desk they hadn't been looking at. This had taken a little getting used to as well. Sasuke, the former ninja of Kuno and now employee of Curry, had been responsible for shooting her with the arrow and was doing little things like this ever since. If she needed a drink, there it was. If her pencil broke in school, a fresh one appeared on her desk. Hell, if she was cold while walking home, another jacket appeared on her shoulders. She knew he meant well, but damn it! This was getting annoying.
Sasuke is still doing this? Shampoo asked with a chuckle.
Yeah. Nabiki responded. I know he means well, but I'm really starting to get annoyed.
Well, maybe he'll stop when you can get the sling off. Shampoo suggested.
I hope so. said Nabiki. Anyway, I'm glad you're here. I really need to go over this with you again.
Go over what? asked Shampoo as she noticed the book in Nabiki's hands. Oh, that. Any luck yet?
No. Nabiki said sounding upset. I've looked all over this thing and I still can't think of anything to end your engagement to Ranma so you can marry Curry.
#Crash#
Both girls looked to their right to see Sasuke had appeared, apparently having tripped over Nabiki's garbage can and had fallen on his face on the floor.
"You okay?" asked Nabiki concerned.
"Yes ma'am." Sasuke said. "But, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation."
"Little Ninja speak Chinese?" said Shampoo surprised.
Indeed mistress Shampoo. said Sasuke. I also have a solution to your problem.
YOU DO? said Nabiki and Shampoo in shock.
Of course. said Sasuke as he told them his plan.
Why the hell didn't I think of that? said Nabiki after hearing it. That's brilliant!
Do you think Ranma and Curry will go for it? asked Shampoo concerned.
We'll ask and see. said Nabiki as they got up to seek out the men they loved.
"Thanks Sasuke!" said Nabiki giving him a quick kiss on the cheek.
Yes, Thank you Sasuke. said Shampoo kissing the other cheek as the two girls then headed out the door leaving a ninja who was blushing up a storm.
"I GOTTA WHAT?" yelled Ranma at their table at the Spice of the Serpent as he, Nabiki, Curry and Shampoo were having dinner at the club.
Ranma had been surprised to learn that the club had a five star dining record a few weeks ago, but he hadn't regretted it since. The chef had though, after learning what it's like to cook for a Saotome.
"It's the only way to end the engagement Ranma." Nabiki said taking his hand in hers. "Believe me, I looked over everything."
"Well, it seems like a good plan." Curry said as he ate some of his dinner. "My only concern is what Cologne will do if she learns Shampoo's role in all this."
"Shampoo don't know what she do." The Amazon said. "Only know that she do what she has to, to be with Curry."
"If it's the only way." Ranma muttered. "But, I'm doing this under protest."
"Duly noted." Nabiki said. "Now to the second concern."
"What concern is that?" asked Curry curious.
"I believe we told you about it?" said Nabiki.
"Ah! That concern." Curry said understanding. "Fear not. This time you have something you didn't before."
"Which is?" asked Ranma.
"Us." Garlic and Lemon said standing off to the side.
"Alright then." Ranma said with a sarcastic smirk. "Tomorrow afternoon, we begin Operation Amazon."
"I don't think we need the code names Ranma." Nabiki said. "Besides, we're calling this Project Shampoo."
"As if." Shampoo said as they all playfully argued about codenames for the rest of the night.
The next day started off even easier then Ranma and Nabiki had thought. They arrived at the City Hall early and waited. Moments later Shampoo, Curry, Lemon and Garlic arrived. Curry assured them that Sasuke was doing a stealthy recon on the neighborhood. Nodoka had been informed of the plan and was watching the fathers in case they found out for some reason.
The plan that they were about to proceed through was simple. As stated by Sasuke, the only way too end the engagement was to actually go through with it. In other words, Ranma had to marry Shampoo. After they got it done, they would quickly simply get divorced. Not even Cologne could argue with that.
The problem was that they could possibly get a repeat of the wedding fiasco. If any of the others heard about this, the City Hall would become a war zone. That was why Curry and the gang were here, to keep the others away long enough to get it done.
"Alright!" said Nabiki confidently. "Let's do it."
Nabiki, Ranma and Shampoo entered the building while Curry, Garlic and Lemon stood guard at all the entrances.
Getting Cologne and Genma's signatures to allow the marriage were tricky because if Cologne knew of it, she'd never allow it to be ended. So they forged her signature. Luckily to get Genma's, they used one of Nodoka's secret methods to get him to do anything. They got him so drunk he'd agree to do anything.
As Ranma and Shampoo signed the paperwork, this was the critical moment. It all rested on the fact that this part of the plan succeeded.
#The sounds of, KISS's Love Gun, fills the air from Nabiki's cellphone#
"Yes?" asked Nabiki answering the phone.
"Sasuke has reported in!" said the voice of Curry. "It's all clear."
"Ten-four." Nabiki said feeling like she was a spy. "We're almost done here. We'll be heading for the next location in a few minutes."
"Ten-four…SHIT!" said Curry.
"What?" asked Nabiki panicing.
"Sasuke just reported over the radio. Ukyo is on her way to the City Hall to renew her business license." Curry reported.
"Crap!" said Nabiki. "Keep her out of the Hall for at least the next half hour."
"Sasuke is on it." Curry said.
"Good to know." Nabiki said. "Keep me informed."
Nabiki hung up as Ranma and Shampoo came up to her with the signed paperwork indicating they were married.
"Something wrong?" asked Ranma.
"Ukyo is on her way here to renew her business license." Nabiki said. "We've gotta move it!"
"Aiyaa!" exclaimed Shampoo as the headed to the office that deals with divorces.
One hour later Ranma and Shampoo exited the City Hall. They now held the record for the fastest marriage and divorce in Nerima. Ranma claimed he always was the best at things. As they walked out with Nabiki, they ran into Ukyo, whom had been knocked out for forty minutes thanks to Sasuke's knockout darts.
"Hey Ran-chan." Ukyo said happily as she spotted Shampoo. "What're the three of you doing here?"
"I had some paperwork I had to drop off." Nabiki said. "Shampoo offered to accompany me and Ranma. Wasn't that nice of her?"
"Yes." Shampoo said. "Shampoo happy to help friend Nabiki and Airen."
"Listen, we'd like to chat, but we've gotta get going." Ranma said as they hurried away from the scene.
"That was weird." Ukyo said as she shrugged it off and went inside.
"Here's to my marriage and quick divorce!" said Ranma later that night at the club as the seven conspirators celebrated the success of their plan.
"Shampoo feel cheated." Shampoo said sounding upset. "Shampoo get married but no get wedding night. Maybe Ranma give anyway?"
"Ahhhh!" said Ranma nervously as Shampoo laughed.
"Shampoo just kidding." said the Amazon. "Shampoo so happy engagement to Ranma is over."
"I thank you for discovering this method to end the engagement Nabiki." Curry said.
"Don't thank me." Nabiki said. "Sasuke was the one who brought it up."
"Indeed." Curry said as he looked at the little ninja. "Thank you my friend."
"It was a pleasure master." Sasuke said. "However, I would like to bring this up with Nabiki."
"What's this?" asked Nabiki as she looked over a piece of paper he'd gave her. "You placed a bet?"
"Yes. Can it still be honored?" asked Sasuke.
"What bet?" asked Ranma curious.
"When I was still the ice queen, I took a huge amount of bets on the first girl you'd marry Ranma." Nabiki explained. "Apparently Sasuke here bet on Shampoo."
"I see." Ranma said as he pulled out a betting slip. "I guess mine's invalid."
"Whom did you bet on?" asked Lemon curious as Nabiki took it from him and read it.
"Me." Was her response with a blush.
"Well, all's well that ends well." Ranma said as 'I Was Made For Loving You' filled the air.
"I love this song!" exclaimed Nabiki as she headed out for the dance floor with Ranma followed.
"Curry coming?" asked Shampoo as she headed for the dance floor herself.
"In a little bit kitten." Curry said as Shampoo shrugged and went out on the floor.
As soon as she was out of sight, Curry turned to Lemon with a serious look on his face.
"Is everything ready for tomorrow?" he asked.
"Yes my prince." Lemon said bowing. "The packages arrived this afternoon."
"Excellent." Curry said smiling. "Tomorrow is a big day then."
The next day was a busy Sunday afternoon at the Nekohanten, Shampoo was serving customers as usual. Today she was dressed in her pink pants and shirt with a white apron, her usual work uniform. She'd been contemplating the best possible ways to tell her grandmother about how her engagement to Ranma was now over. So far she hadn't thought of a good one.
#Ding, ding#
Here we go again. thought Shampoo as she heard the chime on the door ring meaning another customer had entered.
She looked and saw it was Ranma and Nabiki.
"Nihao! Shampoo show friends to table yes?" asked Shampoo.
"Thanks Shampoo." Nabiki said as they were seated.
They ordered the lunch special and Shampoo went to get it.
#Ding, ding#
"Nihao!" said Shampoo as she turned to the door. "Welcome to…?"
Shampoo's sentence was cut off by what she saw. Both Lemon and Garlic had just entered the Nekohanten dressed in what looked like some sort of ceremonial armor. Then Curry walked in dressed in his royal armor. It looked exactly like his brother Prince Herb's except the cloth was black.
"Well, well." Cologne said as she came out of the kitchen. "What do we have here?"
"I am Prince Curry of the Musk Dynasty!" Curry announced as he bowed before her. "I am honored to meet the matriarch of the Chinese Amazons."
"I am pleased to meet you as well." Cologne said. "You must be Herb's brother. I've heard of you. They say you are fair as you are strong."
"You honor me." Curry said as he continued to bow. "I too know of the reputation of Cologne. How she is kind a person as she is strong as a warrior."
"I thank you for the complement." Cologne said respectfully. "To what reason is my humble restaurant honored again by a visit from a prince of the Musk Dynasty."
"I have business with Shampoo." Curry said as he got to his feet and then knelt in front of her. Xian Pu, I have loved you since the first day we met. Even though our two tribes are at times at odds, we still found true love with each other. Today I ask the most important question of my entire life.
Curry snapped his fingers and Garlic placed a small ring box in his prince's hand. When he opened it, Shampoo's eyes bugged out at the size of the diamond on the ring and realized what Curry was doing.
Shampoo, will you do me the greatest honor in the world and be my wife? asked Curry.
YES! cried out Shampoo as she grabbed Curry in a Amazon Glomp. Yes, I'll marry you!
As two of them kissed, Curry slipped the ring on her finger. Even though most of the other customers didn't know Chinese, they could easily guess at what just happened and applauded. It was so romantic. Then the ghoul spoke.
"I'm sorry to interrupt, but Shampoo already has a fiancée." Cologne said looking at Ranma. "Isn't that right son-in-law?"
"Nope. We already got married yesterday." Ranma responded. "Followed by a quick divorce."
"You see pri…WHAT?" exclaimed Cologne in shock as what Ranma just said sank in.
Forgive me for betraying you grandmother! said Shampoo as she stopped hugging Curry as bowed before her grandmother. I have loved Curry for many years now, but because of the problems between our two tribes, I never spoke it. I never wanted to marry Ranma and hope for your mercy!
"Well child." Cologne said looking angry. "I was wondering when you'd tell me about Curry here. You have been seeing him for long enough."
#Slam# (Sound of a massive facefault at the Nekohanten)
"Great-grandmother already knew?" said Shampoo in shock.
"Of course." Cologne said smiling. "You honestly thought you could sneak around the village and then here in Japan without me knowing?"
"So, you approve?" asked Curry in shock.
"Of course." Cologne said. "While marrying Ranma would have been nice, she is only happy when she's with you. Her happiness is more important to me then some stupid thousand year old law about marrying someone who defeats you in combat."
"Thank you Grandmother!" cried Shampoo as she held the small Amazon.
"Your welcome child." Cologne said smiling. "May you and Curry be very happy together."
"We shall elder." Curry said happy that this went easier then he thought.
"Please son-in-law, feel free to call me grandmother." Cologne said.
"You knew this was happening didn't you?" asked Ranma to Nabiki as Shampoo and Curry kissed again.
"Maybe." Nabiki said with a smirk on her face. "Curry did get my help buying the ring."
"Well thanks for not telling me." Ranma said trying to sound hurt but failing. "I'd have probably blabbed it out loud."
"No you wouldn't have." Nabiki insisted as, to celebrate Shampoo's engagement, the Nekohanten became a place of celebration for all present as Cologne announced that drinks and food were on the house.
To Be Continued…Author's Notes: That's it for chapter six. In the next installment the long awaited, (Although I didn't get any requests for it in my reviews as I mentioned in the first chapter), Concert Chapter. Curry hears of a KISS concert in Hawaii and takes Ranma, Shampoo and Nabiki to it for a vacation. Ranma also makes an important decision in his life. It's Chapter Seven: I Was Made For Loving You Baby. See-ya then. Ciao!
