The first rays of the sun peered over the horizon to mark the beginning of a new day in the district of Nerima. No, not just any day: it was the day nearly every boy and girl of school age looked forward to during the week. It was the start of the weekend! After his encounter with the new idiot in town, Hayate Kurogane, and with no school looming to burden him with all sorts of junk he probably wouldn't need when he got older anyway, Ranma was looking forward to sleeping in. He figured the outside world could make due with one day without him as its whipping boy.
"Foolish boy! When are you finally going to give in and marry Akane?" Unfortunately, his father had other ideas for him. It had been a long time since Genma and Ranma had one of their morning workouts and Genma thought it was about time for one. That was usually the only time they had to themselves to talk and since their talks usually devolved into a fight anyway, it was killing two birds with one stone.
Ranma dodged his father's snap kick and returned a kick of his own, "What in the world are you an Mr. Tendo tryin' to rush us for? We already agree that we want to get married now. Ain't that enough?"
Genma caught Ranma's leg, mid kick, and tossed him over his shoulder, "If you get married today, tomorrow or next year, what difference would it make? There's really no need to wait, boy! You should get married now and fulfill our promise to unite the Anything Goes School of marital arts!"
The younger Saotome flipped in mid air, landing safely on his feet. "You mean YOUR promise! When me and Akane get married, it'll be because we want to, not because of you. That's why when we do get married, it's gonna be on our terms...when WE say we're ready. Right now, we're tryin' to do the responsible thing and finish with school and everything."
Genma snorted, "Please. You don't know the first thing about being responsible!" He leapt into the air, with Ranma following suit and they exchanged punches and kicks over the koi pond. "If we didn't force you to stay here, you would've gone right back to China on the very first day we got here, running away from your obligations the way you did from Ukyou, Shampoo and everyone else we met while on our training journey."
"Are you kidding? All that was YOUR fault! You hocked me off to just about everyone we met who had a daughter for money, food or for whatever else you wanted at the time! I'm surprised MORE people haven't come out of the woodwork tellin' me how I'm engaged to this girl or that girl. Because of you, my life has been playin' out like some stupid, badly written movie!"
"Did someone say movie?" asked Akane who popped out of nowhere interrupting them.
"WAH?" Caught off guard by Akane's sudden appearance, Ranma and Genma lost their concentration and fell into the koi pond.
Ranma, now a girl, shook the excess water off of her and glared at her fiancée. "Geez, don't do that anymore, Akane!"
"Sorry about that," Akane went, "but I heard you mention something about a movie just now. There's the great movie playing downtown that I've just been dying to see. I figured since we weren't doing anything else today, we could go watch it. Here, look at the ad!"
Akane handed Ranma a newspaper. Ranma read the marquee that was circled in red ink and immediately wanted to gag. "Ugh, you gotta be kidding me! There's no way you're gonna drag me out to see some mushy flick like this!" The red head handed back the paper. "Sorry, but no way in the world!"
Akane took the newspaper back with a look of disappointment on her face. A light bulb went off in her head and she smiled wickedly. "Hmm...you know, I think you're right Ranma. After all, you and I DO need to have a little 'talk' about you ditching school the other day when I suggested we stay to finish out the day." She cracked her knuckles threateningly.
Ranma sweatdropped. "So, er...what time does that movie start again?"
"It starts showing in a couple of hours," Akane said with a smile. "Come on! Let's hurry up and get ready!" With that, she ran back inside.
Shaking her head, Ranma let out a defeated sigh. In his panda form, Genma patted her on the back with his huge paw and held up a sign that read, "Wedding or no, it looks like you're living the married life already." All of a sudden, that trip to China was starting to look good again.
-
Dreamweaver Studios Presents
Ranma½
And the Beat Goes On
"Day Off"
-
This was just what he needed. No rivals, no little trolls getting him into trouble. No groups of women with stupid names beating him with brooms and such. Hayate sat back, popping kernels of popcorn into his mouth, watching the movie intently. He hadn't been this relaxed since he stepped foot in that insane asylum of a town. Looking around the theater, he noticed most of the seats were empty. The movie wasn't that critically acclaimed, so most of the showings of the movie were to empty houses like that one. Hayate shook his head. Idiots wouldn't know a work of art if it kicked them in their behinds. It was good for him, though, in that he had his choice of seats to place himself.
He took a sip of his soda, but noticed nothing was coming through the straw. Well, this was inconvenient. He hated to miss a second of the movie, but he just couldn't properly enjoy his extra buttery, extra salty popcorn without the extra sugary, extra carbonated beverage to complement it. It was fortunate there was a lull in the action. He hopped up and walked as quickly as he could back to the concession stand, hoping he wouldn't miss too much of the movie.
Stepping up to the counter, he made his selection, tapping the glass counter impatiently as the vender picked a cup filled it with ice and poured a few drops of soda into it. Paying the, rather outrageous seven hundred and fifty yen charge, he grabbed the cup and ran back into the theater, hoping he hadn't missed a moment of anything important.
Just as he disappeared out of view, Ranma and Akane walked into the theater. Ranma, of course, had a rather despondent look on his face, seeing that there was, at least, one action movie showing at the theater and he was stuck going to some sappy love fest. On the upside of things, it would give him the opportunity to catch up on his sleep, making up for the chance his father made him miss. One thing still didn't make sense to him, though. "Yo, Akane...when you said you wanted to go to the movies, I thought you meant you an me. Why did ya bring them along too?" He pointed his thumb back at Ukyou and Ryouga, who walked into the theater behind them.
Akane leaned in to Ranma and whispered, "We're trying to get them together, remember? What better way to start things off than with a date to a romantic movie? I'm sure the story of an unlikely couple meeting each other in unusual circumstances and falling in love would, at least, open her up to the possibility of seeing Ryouga as more than a friend."
"I dunno," Ranma whispered back. "Not sure about Ryouga, but I'm pretty sure Ucchan ain't in to these kinds of movies."
"Nonsense! What girl wouldn't enjoy a good love story?"
Behind them, Ukyou leaned in to Ryouga and whispered, "I really hope we're going to see the action movie instead of that sappy love story."
The four disappeared into the darkened room where the movie was being shown, while Hayate ran out of his. All of the soda he drank finally caught up with him and he had to make use of the theater's facilities. He stopped, looking at the group and wondered if he saw what he thought he saw. That couldn't have been Ryouga and his friends that just went into that room, could it? He shook his head, dismissing the idea and continued to the men's room, having more pressing matters to attend to.
Leading the way, Akane found a set of four seats near the front of the room. She let Ukyou and Ryouga go into the row of seats first so they could sit next to each other. Ranma filed in last and they all sat down as soon as the opening credits of the movie started to roll. The title of the movie flashed across the screen and there was a collective groan. "Now, isn't this nice?" asked Akane. The other three in her group groaned again. She glared at them, "I SAID, isn't this nice?"
"Oh yeah, sure, great!" they said, trying to appease her.
"I'm glad you think so," Akane said sweetly. "Now, let's just sit back and watch the movie without any trouble, okay?"
"Uh huh, sure, whatever you say," they said, quickly.
----+----
A half an hour passed and Hayate and the few other moviegoers who were watching the same film as he filed out of the theater. It was a shame he had to get up as much as he did, but at least he didn't miss any of the action sequences, especially the fight scene that took place in the parking garage. That had to have been the single best movie he had ever seen in his entire life...even better than the first. He hardly even got his suit messed up...too bad life didn't imitate art.
Hayate looked at his watch and saw it was still rather early in the afternoon. The day was much too good to go right back home to vegetate in front of the TV or plot any new schemes. He started walking through the downtown area, deciding to treat himself. Getting something to eat was of particular interest. Of course, after his recent experience, okonomiyaki was out of the question. However, looking at the wide variety of restaurants he wouldn't have any trouble finding a substitute.
The scent of teriyaki chicken caught his attention. His mouth watering and his stomach letting him know it agreed with his choice, he made his way to the store in question. He had to say; he hadn't felt this content in a long time. With the quality entertainment he took in, and hopefully, the food of equal quality he was about to take in, he didn't think there was anything in the world that could ruin this perfect day.
"What a haul!"
Hayate winced hearing that all too familiar voice. He knew he should've seen that one coming. The anger within him began to boil over, remembering the first few run-ins he had with the perverted pipsqueak. He owed the little man big time. But was it really worth ruining his day over? After all, there would, surely, be another time to settle that score. Besides, whatever was going on didn't involve him, nor did it have to. If he would just walk into the restaurant, whatever was going on would continue on without him. He nodded resolutely. He wasn't about to be drawn into any more chaos. Opening the door, he took a step inside.
-WHUD!-
The old man cackled as he bounded down the sidewalk with another huge sack of woman's underclothes on his back. Hayate, meanwhile, was face down on the floor, half his body inside the restaurant, half outside and very noticeable footprints etched on the back of his head. No way he was going to let that indignity slide.
Happousai continued bounding down the street, unaware of running anyone over. He just couldn't wait to get back home to catalogue the latest additions to his collection. So many articles of silk and lace, just the mere thought excited him. Hopefully, today would be the day he could get Ranma in his girl form to model some of the articles for him. He was so caught up in his perverted delusions; he barely noticed the attack from behind. He turned around just in time for a crescent shaped energy attack to strike him head on. It would have sliced him in two if his own ki didn't dull the attack. Most importantly, he managed to save his sack of goodies from harm. Happousai shook off the effects of the attack and searched through the crowd of people for the offending party. "Who would dare to attack the master of the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts?"
Hayate walked up to him calmly. "That would be me. Hayate Kurogane at your service. I do believe that you and I have some unfinished business that needs tending to."
The wrinkled old pervert narrowed his eyes, "You again? You haven't learned your lesson from last time, 'eh? Well, this time, I won't go easy on you, boy!" Happousai flared his impressive ki.
Unfazed, Hayate smirked and replied, "Funny, I was just about to say the same thing." He charged the old man, swinging his bladed umbrella purposefully. Even with a sack twice his size on his back, Happousai was able to dodge every swing easily. In return, Happousai grabbed the younger man's arm with his trusty pipe and tossed him into the wall of the teriyaki chicken restaurant he wanted to go to.
Hayate shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs out and bared his teeth at his opponent. These martial arts masters always liked to show up younger opponents by beating them with apparently no effort. That was the way it was back in his old school and, despite his claim to the contrary, Hayate was sure that's what the old man was doing now. Still, even if he weren't using all of his strength, the old goat was clearly more than Hayate could handle head to head. He was tired of getting kicked around. It was time to start kicking back and Hayate figured he knew how he could kick this old man's behind good.
Leading with his umbrella once more, Hayate let loose another volley of slashing attacks. Again, Happousai danced around every one with ease, but Hayate paid very careful attention to where exactly he was dodging. A stabbing thrust caused him to lean to the right. Swinging the blade to the right caused him to hop backwards. Step forward and swing the blade downward and he jumped upwards to avoid the arc...that was it! While his opponent was in the air, Hayate jabbed with his free hand. Expertly, Happousai bounced off of the arm and jumped over the youngster's head.
The old pervert landed lightly on the sidewalk and regarded Hayate with a laugh. "Heh, not a bad strategy, kid. But it was very basic. You'd need at least a hundred more years' experience before you could hope to defeat me!"
Slowly, Hayate turned his head and looked at Happousai with a grin. He held up his free hand and dangled a little prize he nabbed from the old man's sack. Happousai's eyes bugged out as the bra he stole fair and square blew lightly in the breeze from Hayate's hand. With a growl, the old man's ki exploded and he launched himself at the young fool who dared to steal one of his silky darlings from him. With his plan working for a change, Hayate waited until the old pervert was in the proper range and, using the ki infused handle of his umbrella, backhanded Happousai into the sky.
Hayate watched him streak across the sky like a shooting star until he disappeared over the horizon. "Heh, looks like I won this round, you freak," he said, smiling. Before he got too deep into gloating over his victory, something else caught his attention; a strange hissing noise. Looking down at his feet, he saw what appeared to be an average pineapple...with a fuse...a lit fuse. "Aw crap..."
-BOOM!-
Singed and with another ruined suit, Hayate flew straight up getting farther and farther away from that teriyaki chicken he wanted so badly. However, he didn't really have the time to worry about that. The world, which seemed to get smaller and smaller every second stopped moving away from him. In fact, it seemed to be getting bigger and bigger now. The explosion was bad enough, but this was really, REALLY gonna hurt...
He fell back down in nearly the same spot where he was propelled upward. In fact, he could still see the black spot and smoke where the explosion took place. But that wasn't where he was heading. He looked at where he was falling and hoped the building he was about to fall into didn't have a steel reinforced roof.
-WHAM!-
He crashed through the exterior roof of the building first, then the interior ceiling and finally down into what seemed to be a heated pool. All things considered, it ended a lot better than he thought it would have. Breaking the surface of the water, Hayate took in a big gulp of air, thankful to still be alive and relatively unharmed. If that spiteful old troll meant to cause him lasting bodily harm, he would be disappointed to find out that he failed miserably. Hayate laughed to himself, thankful that the good luck that seemed to elude him since he arrive in Nerima had come back to save him.
Of course, that was when he noticed exactly where it was he crashed. That wasn't a gym with a heated pool he managed to crash in. He was in a bathhouse. On the women's side. Being the avid fan of the female form that he was, he wouldn't normally think of this as a bad thing, but then there were all of those women in the water with him giving him very, very angry stares.
He held his hands in front of him, trying to beg off, "Now, now ladies! I can assure you, my being here is a complete accident. I'm sure if we could talk about this like the reasonable people we all are-"
"Hey! That's MY bra!" said a familiar voice. Oh goodie, it was that P.E.R.V girl, Miyabi.
Hayate dropped the offending article of clothing and backed himself against the wall. There didn't seem to be any other way out of this situation but to force his way out. He didn't like fighting girls, but wasn't above doing it if his back was against the wall. And since it was, literally, it was time to use his trusty umbrella and cut his way through. However, he found himself with one, slight problem. Even though he, somehow, managed to hold on to the bra with an iron grip, he managed to drop his umbrella. It was in clear view; unfortunately, it was behind the growing angry mob of naked women who wanted to do very bad things to him.
"Aw crap…"
----+----+----+----+----
Ryouga was depressed. There was nothing unusual about that. What was unusual was how it came to be. He used to love watching romantic movies like the one showing on the screen. It was something that developed after his first real encounter with Akane. Sometimes, he would imagine he was the male lead of the movie, with Akane being the female lead. Through all of the hardship, through all of the drama, through all of the heartache, the male and female leads would always end up with each other at the end. That was the way it should be. That was the way he always figured it would end with he and Akane. Being back in a setting like this with how things turned out made Ryouga's heart very heavy.
Another thing Ryouga used to do was imagine that he and Akane were on a date watching a movie like this. When Akane approached him to go to the movies, he couldn't find it in himself to say no. That very thought ran through his mind and, even though he knew he should've said no, he just couldn't help but say 'yes'. Sitting there in the theater with his rival between him and the woman who stole his heart, he knew he made a mistake going there. Still, for Akane, he couldn't just up and leave.
And on the other side of him was Ukyou. No doubt, she was felt the same as he did with Ranma there, so close, yet so far away. Still, for some strange reason, he felt a little more comfortable with her there. It was true, he supposed: misery loves company. Too bad, though. She had her flaws, but all in all he felt she was a decent person and Ryouga hated for a good person like her to feel even a fraction of the misery he was feeling. She should have a happier existence, laughing merrily the way she did during the story he told her about he and Hayate. He smiled thinking back to that recent memory...she had such a nice laugh too...
Ryouga blinked. Okay, he didn't like where that train of thought was heading. The whole situation was uncomfortable enough as it was. He didn't need thoughts like that making things worse. The movie had reached its most dramatic moment, the part where Ryouga imagined he would put his arm around Akane and rest her head on his shoulder. While at the movies himself, that was usually the part where he would stretch his arm across the back of one of the seats next to him, practicing for the moment the way he practiced for every moment he wanted with her. He had to restrain himself from doing so. No doubt, Ukyou wouldn't appreciate it, and Ranma? Bleh!
Of course, it was that moment that he felt extra weight fall upon his shoulder. Since the weight was on his right shoulder, it couldn't have been Ukyou, as she was sitting in the seat left of him. Once again, bleh! Just what in the world was that idiot doing? Ryouga chanced a glance at his rival and noticed the pigtailed martial artist was fast asleep. Of course, he'd find the movie dull and doze off. Ryouga jerked his shoulder, lurching Ranma awake.
"Huh? Wha?" went Ranma, dazed.
"Listen, if I have to sit here and suffer through this, then you'll have to also!" whispered Ryouga.
Ranma grumbled and straightened himself up in his seat. On Ryouga's other side, Ukyou looked as though she were ready to doze off too. She too regretted coming out to the movies. Her out on the town with Ranma sounded like a wonderful idea at the time, even if it was with Ryouga and Akane. Plus, after what she had just been through, a break really sounded good. At the moment, though, she wanted to be anywhere but there. Ranma was all the way over on the other side of Ryouga. He may as well have been a million miles away. Stupid Ryouga taking up such a valuable space...
Okay, he didn't deserve that. She was just so frustrated with the situation. Even if she were out with Ranma alone, what would that accomplish? He would still have his heart set on Akane; she didn't think she could do anything to change that. And she certainly wouldn't settle for being a mistress. When it came to the game of love, where her heart was concerned, it was an all or nothing deal.
Unfortunately, that was exactly what she ended up with...nothing. Nothing except Mr. Piggie over there; the walking time bomb who was just waiting to explode at the slightest ill feeling. Okay, he didn't deserve that either. She could understand where he was coming from and, to tell the truth, she'd probably do the same thing if she had his power. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she realized she probably would've left the whole stupid down in a gigantic smoldering crater a long time ago. He's so reserved and proper; it's easy to forget exactly how strong he was. She couldn't help but admire the level of restraint he had to practice every day. And from what she's noticed of him so far, he seemed like the type of guy who would move heaven and earth to make a girl he was with happy. A girl would be very lucky to have such a man as a boyfriend. Maybe...
Ugh...not that thought again. Ukyou rubbed her temples. It must be temporary insanity due to the stupid movie she was watching. She just had to get out of there. Fortunately, Ryouga provided the perfect escape plan. She leaned over and whispered loud enough for Akane and Ranma to hear, "What was that Ryouga? You need me to lead you to the men's room?"
Ryouga looked at her, confused, "Wha-? But I didn't say-"
"I don't know why I bother with you sometimes. Come on, let's go. Excuse us." She grabbed his hand, yanked him up and started out.
"Wait! I don't need to go to-"
-STOMP!-
It took all of the restraint Ukyou was fond of for Ryouga not to scream out in pain from her stomping on his foot. "Oops, sorry hon," she whispered sweetly. "Let's go!" She lead the limping lost boy past the engaged couple and out to the lobby.
Once the door to the screening room was closed, they were able to talk a little more freely. Ryouga sat down on a bench in front of the men's room and rubbed his foot. "What in the world was that for? That hurt you know!"
"I'm sorry, I really am. I just couldn't take another moment in there looking at that movie."
"Oh...yeah. I can understand that. It wasn't a very comfortable experience for me either."
Ukyou smiled, "What say we get out of here while the getting's good?"
"What about Ranma and Akane?"
"We'll just say you wandered out of the bathroom while I wasn't looking and I had to track you down."
Ryouga shrugged, "Sounds good to me."
----+----
As soon as they stepped out of the theater, it felt as if a gigantic weight had been lifted off of their chests. After all that time they spent chasing after Ranma and Akane for various reasons, they found it ironic that now they were trying to get away from them. They walked down the streets of downtown Nerima taking in the sights, sounds and scents of the area. Neither had done so before just to enjoy the scenery and they had to admit, Nerima certainly did have its charm.
Without the ongoing quests to kill or marry someone, it was as if their eyes were finally opened enabling them to finally appreciate everything that was around them. They did pass a part that smelled like detonated gun power for some reason, but that smell was fleeting, making way for the more pleasant aromas of the flower shops and restaurants of the area.
Ukyou closed her eyes and stretched her arms over her head. Ryouga watched intently as she did so. He didn't mean to, but for some reason, when he laid his eyes on her, he couldn't take them off. When she opened her eyes, she noticed him just as he turned away with a slight blush and she smiled. She didn't know why, but she found that cute. "So, now that we've made our escape from the prison of romance, what do you feel like doing?" she asked.
"I am kinda hungry," Ryouga answered. "Let's get something to eat! Something that isn't okonomiyaki."
She raised an eyebrow, "And what exactly is wrong with okonomiyaki?"
Ryouga shrugged, "Nothing's 'wrong' with it. I just have a taste for something else." Ukyou frowned at the sentiment. "Aww, come on, you can't tell me that even you lose your taste for okonomiyaki and get a craving for something else SOME time."
"Well, it's been known to happen once in a while," she exaggerated. "Anything in particular you have a taste for?"
"How about that teriyaki chicken place we passed? I'll buy."
Ukyou smiled again, "Well, since you put it that way, teriyaki chicken sounds delicious!"
They turned around to go back to the teriyaki chicken restaurant and found their path blocked by one very irate looking Hayate Kurogane. The suit he was wearing was in tatters, with one of the coat sleeves completely ripped off. His hair was matted to his face like he was doused with water and his umbrella looked slightly bent. That's not even mentioning all of the bruises, or the scorch marks.
"Wow, looks like someone had a bad day," Ukyou observed, feeling bad for the new guy...a little anyway.
Hayate growled, "I hate that stupid, lecherous troll! I hate those stupid girls from P.E.R.V! I hate this whole stupid town! And most of all," he leveled his bent umbrella at Ryouga, "I hate YOU! My life has been a living hell from the day you stumbled into the school!" Ryouga wondered if that was what he sounded like whenever he challenged Ranma. "I don't care what it takes! I'm going to KILL YOU! Right here! Right NOW!"
----+----+----+----+----
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