Disclaimer: I own nothing in this fic. Yuka and Muu Tsu are not mine, but you know that by now. I do own a pair of sparkly socks that are for sale on E-bay. I can't even give 'em away!

All right, it's been a two weeks since my last chapter, and I've been distracted. Well, that's not an excuse. I mean, haven't we all. It's about time that I poured my frustrations and other emotions into something creative, don't you think?

This chapter full of chaos is sponsored by "Otaku by Day, Goth by Night". Go read her "Lather, Rinse, Repeat!"… I wouldn't suggest it if I didn't like it!

On with the show!

Yuka stepped through the doorway into the fresh air outside, glasses clenched in her hand. She had left early to run her mother's "errand". 'What do you say to a guy like that? "Excuse me, I think I found your glasses at my house."' She rolled the thought over in her mind. Maybe it would sound better out loud.

"Hey, excuse me, I found your-"

'splash' "Hey, get offa me you pervert!"

"Whoopee!"

BOOT

Yuka sighed. 'Happosai's out in full force this morning. Wonderful.' She looked around for some place to hide. Not that there were many. 'I'll just keep my senses open, like Akane says.'

Somehow, the thought didn't reassure her as much as she would have liked it to.

Ryouga crawled out of his tent, and started to dismantle it. He was very careful not to let it leave his vision as he methodically took it apart. He had lost more tents that way…

"Hey, P-Chan-" He looked up to see a red coiffed beauty in front of him.

The lost boy growled, lunged, and missed.

"You've gotten slow again."

"…" Ryouga sliced forward, which Ranma-chan countered easily.

"Hey, Ryouga, can you help me with a little somethin'?" They were caught in a standoff pose. "Mousse has a treasure hunt he's sending me on. Feels like the only thing he hasn't asked me for is Instant Nannichuan."

Ryouga broke free, and glowered. "You ask me for help? Why?"

The buxom redhead scratched the back of her neck. "Well, he said one of Akane's friends might know where his glasses were."

"Why, exactly, are you helping that blind Amazon anyway?" Ryouga let his guard drop, and set about taking care of the tent, assuming that Ranma-chan would still be there when he looked up.

"You remember that Neriman Auction?"

"Yeah, Nabiki almost roped me into it, but I got lost right before my turn on the block." 'Thank the Kami.'

"Well, it came down to Uc-chan, Shampoo, and Mousse. Uc-chan ran out of money first, and Mousse wanted me to suffer." 'And he didn't want Shampoo to be within two meters of me.' "So, have you seen 'em?"

"No." Shoving the tent into his oversized pack, Ryouga shouldered it and stood. "I haven't."

"All right then. See ya, P-Chan." With a flick of her red hair, Ranma-chan was off again.

"Hey, wait!"

Mousse warily swept the street outside of the Nekohatten. '5. . . 4. . . 3. . . 2. . .1. . .'

'splash' "Qwak." 'bonk'

It had been like this every single morning, at least once a morning since he had come back to Nerima. Elder Kho Lon would send him outside to sweep the storefront. The "blessing" lady would splash him, he would be just ducky, and the broom would bounce off of his head. Amazing. Never a change.

"D-Chan?" He looked up.

Black Shoes. White Stockings. Blue Furinkan Uniform. White Blouse. Brown hair. Soft voice.

Yuka.

"What are you. . . Oh! Your owner must be that girl with the purple hair who works here, isn't she." She glanced around quickly to make sure no-one was in sight to see her talking to a duck. One never knew when someone like Azusa would appear and pluck whatever you were carrying from your arms. "But what are you doing outside?"

Muu Tsu ruffled his feathers, but it didn't seem to perturb Yuka much.

"Well, I was going to go inside anyway, but I don't think it's open yet." She peered inside. Xian Pu was eating some breakfast on one of the tables. "Nope. Not open."

She turned away just as the Amazon looked up from her food.

'It's that girl with Muu Tsu. What does she have duck-boy for, anyway?' She shoved a chopstick laden with vittles into her mouth, chewed carefully, and swallowed.

"It no matter." The words echoed against the empty tables and chairs.

Akane stood at Ranma's door, considering waking him up for breakfast. They still had at least fifteen minutes before Kasumi would be done, but if Nabiki was right and Ukyou hadn't asked him to the dance…

She gripped the door and flung it wide.

"RAN-MA! Get up! It's time for-" There was no-one but Genma in the room, and he was snoring peacefully on his futon.

She picked up the piece of paper left on Ranma's futon.

"Went to run errands. Being Mousse's slave is a pain." She could imagine his roguish grin, and practically see the wink. "See you at school."

"Baka," she half said to herself, half to the empty air.

"So I've decided, D-Chan. I'm going to ask him. I'll ask him today." It felt like she was trying to convince herself to do it, rather than admitting who it was. Yuka stood at the gates of Furinkan High School, duck in arms.

Reality set in.

"I can't take you in here!"

"Hey! Yuka!" Sayuri jogged over to her. "Ranma's looking for you."

"Ranma?"

Muu Tsu cocked his head. 'It's about time. . .' After all, one of the first orders he gave when he realized his robe was missing was for Ranma to bail Muu Tsu out of any embarrassing situations concerning Jusenkyo curses.

Not that this was embarrassing.

But it could be.

Oh, it could be.

"Yeah. He asked me if I had picked up some glasses somewhere. Then he asked if I knew where you were." She noticed the duck in Yuka's arms. "Yuka, why did you bring your pet duck to school? Teacher's not going to like-"

"I wasn't thinking clearly. So, you are going to the dance with Daisuke, right?"

"Yes." She was very crisp and clear. No doubt in her voice. "Why?"

"No reason." Yuka sighed. "My kingdom, my kingdom for a date."

Nabiki clapped her hands softly and appeared from no-where. "Not bad. Kuno-baby hasn't said that one for months."

"Nabiki. What do you want." Yuka hugged Muu-Tsu a little tighter. It had taken her ages to pay off her last debt to the loan shark. And that was on "friend of the family" rates.

She smiled disarmingly. "Nothing. I just happen to have some information about the person you were planning on asking to the dance." The Ice Queen folded her arms, and the gestured with the one on top, displaying a fifty-yen coin. "Interested?"

"Not today, Nabiki." She tried to imagine what the middle Tendo could possibly have on the guy. "My credit's no good to you. I don't feel like taking part in your next slave auction."

"Why, Yuka! I'm shocked. I never said-"

"-a word about money? You didn't have to. I need all the yen I can get." She took a deep breath. "How much."

D-chan squawked and flapped. Yuka dropped him. Feathers and black rose petals mingled in the air as Kodachi bounced by on her way to St. Bacchus.

"OH-HOHOHHOHhohohohohohohohohohoho-"

The cackle faded into the distance as everyone tried to get back to the subject at hand.

"Fine. How much, Nabiki."

"One favor. Whenever I need it."

Yuka gulped. Nabiki had a very evil glint in her eye that she didn't like. The loan shark had to have had something in mind.

"If I can. . . if it is in my power. . . and is not. . . less than honorable by any stance. . . outside of a slave auction, which I shall NOT take part in, I accept."

"Done." Nabiki turned to Sayuri. "Would you mind giving the two of us a bit. You can see her inside." Yuka nodded to her friend and Sayuri reluctantly walked inside.

"You have your promise. Tell me."

"He has a date. You were too late."

'No.' Yuka felt a tear well up in her eye. He was the most reasonable choice, and someone else had gotten to him first. "She. . . she can have him."

"Don't care to know who it is?"

"It doesn't matter. I'll see them at the dance." Yuka closed her eyes. "Is that all?"

"Unless you want to add anything to your. . . service, yes."

"Ari-arigato." She bowed slightly and whirled away.

"Pleasure doing business with you." Nabiki smiled wryly at the retreating figure. 'Now where did that duck go?'

Ryouga walked right up to Akane, searching for Ranma. But Ranma, at that second, was being chatted up by Ukyou.

And Muu Tsu, a human once again, watched it all from the rooftops with his second-rate glasses.

Akane and Ryouga talked, Akane gesturing, and Ryouga nearly breaking down the neighborhood with stray fists to the wall.

Around the corner, Ukyou and Ranma were talking animatedly as well, which would have ended with him getting a spatula to the cheek if he knew what was coming.

The pairs bumped into each other.

Akane and Ukyou, oblivious to the men on their arms, spoke in heated voices, each one rising in a crescendo about something.

Ranma glared at Ryouga, who was looking very smug while holding onto Akane's hand.

The words that came out of Ranma's mouth surprised everyone present.

"Ryouga can't go with you, Akane. You asked me last night."

"When! I never-"

"Think."

"She obviously doesn't remember, and doesn't want to," interjected Ryouga.

"I didn't hear someone ask for your input P-Chan, did you?"

Yuka was all out of options. When Akane finally got to class, she announced that she would be going with Ryouga. Hiroshi had a date as well.

She had no-one.

Stopping by Uc-chans lunch stall, she bought a steaming okonomiyaki. The sauce tickled her nose as she moved across the open yard.

It wasn't her fault, really.

She sat on the grass not far from the football court, watching some of the other kids playing unorthodox martial arts soccer.

"Yuka! There you are!"

Ranma was racing in her general direction when she saw someone cutting him off at the pass with long black hair.

"Saotome! Where are my glasses!"

"Uh, never mind, Yuka. Hey, Mousse. . . they're on your face."

"Not this pair, the pair I-"

Yuka squinted. It was him. Mystery Man. She trashed the rest of her okonomiyaki. It wasn't like she was feeling like finishing it anyway.

Bravely she walked up to him and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Ex-excuse me. . . I- uh- I found these glasses. . . do you think they're yours?" Her knees almost buckled. For a second, she almost thought he recognized her.

Not that he would. He only saw her with his glasses for a few minutes. A few minutes.

But still. . . "And. . . I was going to ask-"

He took the glasses from her and his vision snapped into place. Despite himself, he gasped. The voice matched. It was the girl.

"I was going to ask you to-"

"Hey, Yuka. . ." Ranma had decided to save Muu Tsu from a potentially embarrassing experience. "I think I saw-"

"-whatyournameis."

The Amazon blinked. Ranma blinked. Yuka felt like she had made a horrible mistake. But it did make sense. She didn't know his name.

"Muu Tsu" he replied in Mandarin.

"Well, Muu Tsu, would you- would you consider going to the dance with me Friday night? If your- your-" 'plum-top' "girlfriend didn't- didn't ask you."

Watches Nabiki distribute yen to all the people who voted on Muu Tsu. Way to go! I am usually a gigantic Ranma/Akane shipper, but we all know that Ms. Takahashi likes to mix up couples too. I was originally going to have her ask Hiroshi, but what fun would that be? And I didn't really give her a chance to ask Ryouga. . . so here we are.

I really hope this made up for the lateness. I hope the next chapter will be just as good.

And you do want another chapter, right?

You do know what it takes. Send me your comments! Send me your criticisms! Send me to hell in a handbasket! Just don't send me into fits of crying and insanity. I have enough of those already.

Thanks!