Under the silver light of the brilliant full moon, a small shadow struggled up a long and winding road.
A little black piglet made its way up the sandy path, one hoof at a time, making squeals laced with traces of anger.
His mood was about to change, however; he saw steam arising over a bush in the near distance, and his ears twitched at the sound of bubbling water.
The piglet's eyes lit up, and he raced towards the source.
He burst through a rough bush, surprising a group of campers. Their cries of shock only grew louder when they watched the small animal dive into the pot of boiling water they were preparing for soup, and they reached their apex when a naked young man rose from the pot, skin scalding red and roaring to the heavens.
"What is that, the Devil?" one of them shouted.
"The power of Christ compels you!" another screamed at Ryoga, while crossing his index fingers in the shape of the cross.
Ryoga looked down at them, confused. "What are you guys even saying?" he shouted at them. "I can't understand you!"
The campers fell into terrified hysterics again, except for one.
"Mates, calm down!" he shouted at them, before turning to Ryoga and saying, "You speak Japanese?"
The nude boy blinked, confused. "Of course I do. Doesn't everyone?"
The one camper he could understand chuckled nervously, as if he couldn't tell whether Ryoga was joking or not. "Only me. Because my mom is Japanese. Still, only speak so good in it."
"Better than your friends, at least. I mean, why would people who live in Japan not speak the language. But that doesn't matter right now. Do you know how to get to Furinkan High?"
"Furin—what?"
"Hmm...I must not be in Nerima anymore...damn that Happosai for kicking me so hard. I need to get back quick, so that I can go with Akane to the dance before Ranma asks her! Or, wait, she has to ask him...which means I have to get back sooner, before Akane makes a big mistake out of desperation!"
"Uh...you're talking too fast for me. And I don't know any of these people."
"Right, sorry. Uh, do you know how to get here?"
Ryoga retrieved a map of Japan from his bandanna and handed it to the half-Japanese camper, who took one look at it before his face morphed with worry.
"You okay? Were you kidnapped? Do you need hospital? You were a pig a few moments ago, that's not healthy..."
"No, I don't need to go to a hospital, I need to go here! Which direction?"
The camper fixed Ryoga with a serious look.
"Mate," he said slowly, "you're in Australia."
"Here you go, Kasumi," said Ranma as he handed her a paper cup of punch.
She accepted it with a thankful smile. "Thank you Ranma."
"No problem," mumbled the young man, looking away from her; the lighting in here really helped bring out her already-overpowering beauty.
The two of them leaned on the wall while they sipped their drinks. There were a few couples already dancing on the main floor, but there were also many who were standing back for one reason or another. Mostly a hormone-induced shyness that wasn't so much a problem for Kasumi as it was for Ranma.
Every time he thought about dancing with Kasumi, his back would erupt with the worst prickly heat, and he'd look like an idiot rubbing his back on the wall.
Still, he knew it was only a matter of time before she asked him—she might've already done so, if she didn't sense that he wasn't ready—and when she did, he knew he was going to have to suck it up and go for it.
Which brought up another question: how was he supposed to dance exactly? He of all people should've known how important practice was for something like this, but it had slipped his mind and now he was substituting practice for the next best thing: observation.
Those people who were dancing together to the soft music, he watched them with the eyes of a hawk. He tried to be impartial, to take from everyone equally, but for some reason his eyes couldn't stop traveling over to Akane and Mousse.
Their dancing was strange. On the surface, it was much more graceful than one would expect from either of them, and especially them together. They moved perfectly in sync, smoothly flowing like water. Their right hands were clasped together, and their lefts held each other. There were no missteps or mistakes; when one stepped forward, the other stepped back and prepared to retake their lost ground. They spun together in a perfect circle that never broke as an almost mystical display.
But it was a hallow beauty. The form was there, but there was no essence. They were two bodies moving without soul or spirit.
Akane looked at Mousse with a small smile on her lips, but it was a smile of politeness rather than anything else. Her movements had none of the fiery, spontaneous passion that Ranma knew her for. Mousse, for his part, wasn't even looking at his partner half the time. Sometimes he was looking at her, but other times he was looking up to the crystalline chandelier that hung above from a silvery thread.
It didn't look right, and despite how annoyed he was with her lately, Ranma couldn't stop himself from feeling intense sympathy for Akane.
He looked away from the stony couple and looked around for anyone else he cared to look for. Most of his classmates were paired together, with the sole exception of Gosunkugi, who stood alone in his corner, watching everyone and mumbling what were no doubt occultic curses on his peers.
If Ranma had a crueller sense of humor, he might've turned himself into a girl and asked him to dance.
Surprisingly, Ukyo was nowhere to be seen. Well, perhaps that wasn't too surprising. Attendance was supposedly mandatory, but he knew Ukyo could easily bribe the principal with food so he'd excuse her. And she probably would have, since he couldn't imagine her wanting to come to an event like this with a date. Maybe she would've asked him, though. As friends. Cause that's what he and good ol' Ucchan were: good, good friends.
On the other side of town, Ukyo suddenly felt a great rush of anger that she couldn't explain.
"Ranma?"
The named boy looked to his side.
"Don't you think it's about time we joined Akane?" asked Kasumi.
"Uhh...are you asking me...to d-dance?"
Kasumi couldn't help herself; the way that Ranma instantly seized up and went red made her laugh. It was so adorable.
"Are you nervous?" she asked.
"No, never! I can do anything! Even d-dancing..."
She took his hand in her own, squeezing it reassuringly. She did her best to give the young man the most encouraging smile she could muster.
"Just think of it like martial arts. The Slow Dancing School."
For someone who usually seemed so airheaded, she had chosen the exact perfect words to invigorate her partner. Martial arts was his language; now he was seeing this whole situation in a completely different light. His eyes burst with a new fire of resolve, the kind she often saw when he was fighting or working on learning a new move.
She always found that to be one of his most attractive qualities.
"Let's go," he said with a nod.
She led him to the edge of the circle of his dancing peers. They took their starting positions; they took each other's hands, locking their fingers together, their warm palms pressing against each other. Her palm was as soft as a pillow of silk, and his palm was rough and calloused, a testament to years of training and fighting.
They felt so different, but it also felt right, that their hands should come together as a union of opposites, as Yin and Yang.
"Oh!" An electric tingle raced through Kasumi's body. Ranma had attempted to put his hand on her lower back, but accidentally aimed too low and caressed her butt.
"Sorry, sorry!" His face was redder than the rising sun.
"You naughty boy," said Kasumi playfully, giving his forehead a flick for good measure.
Ranma didn't know how to react to that. He was too used to Kasumi's violent younger sister beating him for less.
She carefully guided his hand to its proper spot, and when it was secure he brought her slightly closer to him, bridging the small distance that kept them apart. A small, soft breath escaped her lips when she felt how close she was to him.
For one brief yet eternal moment, they looked at each other, and everything else didn't exist.
Then the music changed, bringing them back to the world of senses. The other couples were beginning to sway to the new song, and more and more people poured in from the margins to join in. Some danced with grace and elegance; most didn't. There were a lot of feet stomping on other feet, people touching and grabbing where they shouldn't, and sometimes there was a complete fall to the ground.
That didn't change the fact that it felt like almost everyone looked happy to be there.
"Are you ready?" asked Kasumi.
He gave her a small nod, imperceptible by any eyes except hers. "I'm ready," he affirmed.
Kasumi nodded back, and took a deep breath. Her chest rose and fell.
Thank you, Ranma, she said in her mind. Thank you for this.
With any luck, he might have heard her.
"Whoa, look at Ranma," said one of Ranma's friends whose name Akane could never bother to remember. "Who would've thought he'd be so good at slow-dancing? And man, that girl he's with is one hot mama..."
"Quiet!" hissed his date. "That's Akane's sister."
The two looked nervously at the short-tempered girl, who glared at them until they scuttled to the opposite side of the gym.
But now Akane was curious; did they say that Ranma was good at slow-dancing? Impossible! He wasn't good at slow-anything!
Suddenly Mousse felt himself being jerked as Akane ungraciously dragged him through a crowd of her perfumed and sweaty peers until they were close enough to watch her fiancée and her sister dance together.
"Wow," said Mousse, adjusting his glasses, "those two were right. He is pretty good."
Akane frowned, but she didn't argue, because he was right: much to her surprise, Ranma and Kasumi were dancing well together.
They seemed like two bodies with one soul, as coordinated as they were. Ranma's cheeks were pink and even Kasumi's were, especially whenever she peeked at all the people who were and might have been watching, but whatever timidity they had was kept buried inside; their movements showed only confident balance.
The longer she watched, the more her eyes stayed fixed on Kasumi, her long brunette hair swaying with her body, her dress like snow glowing softly with her smooth alabaster skin, her shoes seemingly floating slightly so as not to sully themselves by touching the ground, her eyes shimmering with merry...
Akane had always thought her older sister was pretty, but tonight she was radiant like Aphrodite. No, there was a better comparison...
Akane thought back to her childhood, to the princess movie her father had bought them. A beautiful young woman, who labored day and night with chores, until she danced with the prince at the ball and became the most wonderful princess of them all.
Akane thought back to the Cinderella of that movie, and how she had always thought that Cinderella was the most beautiful woman ever, and how she had always wondered if she could be as beautiful as her, if anyone ever could...
And now, watching Kasumi, Akane felt the exact same feeling now as she did back then.
But now it was bittersweet, and whereas then Akane's chest felt warm with wonder, now it constricted with a strange feeling of loss.
"Akane Tendo."
The young woman snapped back to reality, where Mousse was waiting for her. "I need to excuse myself for a moment."
"Hmm? Oh yeah, sure, okay..."
She watched him retreat into the crowd, probably heading for the bathroom. Quite frankly, Akane couldn't care less if he didn't come back.
The only reason she brought him here was to hurt Ranma, but he didn't seem like he felt hurt at all.
Unlike me.
Frowning, Akane almost walked away, until she heard the thing she wanted to hear least at that moment: Kasumi calling to her.
"Akane, over here!"
Reluctantly, Akane turned, and walked over to her sister and Ranma.
When the first thing he said to her—after snorting obnoxiously—was "Where's your partner?", she was ready to kill him.
"He went to the bathroom," she said. "Not that—"
She was interrupted when the music was abruptly cut and a youthful voice screamed into the microphone, "Hello, everyone! It's time for Miss Hinako's DJ hour!"
Their young teacher began roughly scratching the discs in a rough imitation of TV DJ. The sound that blared from the speakers was something out of one of Lovecraft's short stories, with much the same reaction.
Fortunately, some brave students grabbed their teacher and dragged her away as she kicked and screamed.
"You can't handle me like this, I didn't even get to the best part, it's a work in progress, you're all getting detention, I'd like to see any of you do better!"
"Oh man," said one of the students who was actually responsible for the music, "she messed up the system and wrecked my discs. Alright, everyone, take a five, we'll get the music back on in a little bit."
Some groans of disappointment and irritation came up from the student body, as well as a few sighs of relief from those who had been dreading their dates asking them to the dance floor.
"Well, in the meantime," said Ranma, "I'm getting some juice. Kasumi? Akane?"
"Yes, I'd like a cup. I've worked up quite a thirst," said Kasumi.
"If I wanted a drink, I'd get one myself," said her sister.
"Fine, I was just offering..."
Ranma stomped away, grumbling less-than-nice things under his breath. Akane responded in turn by sticking out her tongue at his back.
"Akane, that's not very proper," chided her older sister.
"Come on, Kasumi, you're not really taking his side, are you?"
"He just asked if you wanted a drink."
It wasn't about that. The whole punch bowl could go down the toilet for all she cared.
It was about...arrgh, she knew what it was about, but she couldn't put it into words. She knew what she was feeling, and she even knew why, but for some reason every time she wanted to express it nothing would come out.
It was such a frustrating feeling; something that made her feel all alone. She couldn't say what was in her heart, because no one, not even herself, really understood.
But if anyone in the world could understand, it would be Kasumi. When she watched her younger sister freeze up and retreat inside herself, battling emotions that she didn't know how to communicate, her gaze softened.
At a time like this, words wouldn't help.
A surprised gasp escaped Akane when she felt Kasumi's arms wrap around her in a consoling hug.
"I'm sorry," whispered the older sister.
For a moment, Akane's body froze, and her mind went completely blank. She had no idea how to respond.
Then life flowed back through her in a red hot current, and she pushed her sister off of her.
It wasn't a hard push, but hard enough.
Kasumi fell back and a few people around them gasped, but neither sister heard them. Only the two of them existed, suspended in their own private world.
"Akane..."
Kasumi's meek little squeak fanned the fires of anger, upset, and sorrow inside Akane.
Saying nothing, Akane just turned and ran off.
"With all the dumb martial art schools I've come across so far," said Ranma to himself as he prepared two cups of juice, "I'm surprised I haven't come across a School of Serving Hawaiian Punch yet."
"If such a horrid and frivolous school were to come into existence, it would no doubt be my father who would birth it," grumbled a nearby Kuno.
"Would that make you heir to it?" teased Ranma. "Tatewaki Kuno, son of the Serving Punch School of Martial Arts?"
"As if you yourself wouldn't try to study and master such a school if it existed," replied Kuno with a snort.
He wasn't wrong, Ranma had to admit. But only because he was a completionist.
With his two cups in his hands, he turned back and made his way back through the crowd. Carefully, too, to avoid spilling on his nice clothes. He felt like having mini-heart attacks every time someone near him made a sudden movement.
As he neared the center of the room, suddenly there was a loud and warped voice that came on over the speakers: "Who wants gold coins?!"
Suddenly there was a shower of large golden coins, and the students all cheered and scrambled to get their hands on one. The coins had all fallen around the sidelines and margins, and soon Ranma was left alone on the dance floor, standing there awkwardly with his twin cups. Just as he considered putting them down and seeing if the principal or whoever it was had dropped coins with any actual value, one just so happened to fall on and bounce off his head.
"Ow," grumbled Ranma. He kneeled on the ground, setting the cup in his right hand down so he could pick up the coin that had struck him.
There was kanji written on one of its sides.
"'Look up'," read Ranma. Then, with a frown: "What the hell is the principal planning now?"
As he asked himself that, the lights above him flickered, and a few girls nearby suddenly screamed.
Ranma looked up just in time to watch the chandelier above falling down toward him.
Akane had just finished washing her face when she heard the screaming, followed by the horrifying sound of something large crashing and shattering on the ground.
She froze, her eyes wide with horror. The worst case scenario flashed before her eyes: the people she loved, fatally wounded. Ranma, Nabiki, Kasumi...
The idea of Kasumi being hurt especially haunted her. What if her oldest sister was injured badly, and the last thing she had done to her was shove her...
Akane burst out of the bathroom and cried out, "Ranma! Nabiki! Kasumi!"
She was flooded with relief when she heard Kasumi call back, "Akane, I'm over here!"
Like the little girl she had once been, she turned and ran towards her older sister and hugged her tightly, her eyes stinging with tears dripped on Kasumi's dress.
"A-Akane..."
"I'm so glad you're okay," said Akane.
Kasumi blinked with surprise, then smiled gently and patted her sister's head.
Then Akane broke the hug, looking up with renewed worry. "What about everyone else? Did someone get hurt?"
"Only one person was under the chandelier when it fell," one of her classmates informed the two. "It was...Akane, I'm sorry..."
Her stomach churned; she knew exactly who it was.
"Ranma..."
Her knees shook; her eyes widened as they surveyed the horrible scene.
There was a lot of glass, and to her horror, she could see some of the shards were stained dark red.
"Oh my," murmured Kasumi. It wasn't her usual exclamation; it was tinged with dread.
Things only got worse when they heard a sudden maniacal laughing.
Sliding down from the ceiling on a rope and hook that emerged from his sleeve was none other than a cackling Mousse, who landed on the largest pile of glass. He threw his head back and laughed even harder, before throwing his fist in the air.
"Yes! I finally did it!"
"Did what?" whispered Akane in a meek voice. Then, when the shock gave way to a pure boiling rage, she screamed, "Mousse, what did you do?!"
Still grinning, the young man she had brought with her looked over to her. "Did what I had hitherto failed to do: defeat Ranma Saotome, and claim my place as Shampoo's one and only love!"
A dark realization struck Akane: "This...this was your plan all along. You u-used me..."
"Don't think of it like that, Akane Tendo," said Mousse as he shook his head. "Think of it as teamwork."
"Teamwork?"
Mousse's sinister grin grew even wider. "We both wanted to get back at Saotome, didn't we?"
"M-Mousse...YOU BASTARD!"
Akane nearly threw herself at the villain, had Kasumi not held her back. Akane wanted to scream at her to let her go; she knew she wasn't strong enough to fight Mousse, but at that moment she didn't care! She just wanted to punch and kick him as hard as she could, even if it would have meant nothing.
Mousse, for his part, watched with amusement. He was ready to begin a second round of villainous laughter, but the sound got stuck in his throat when a hand burst out of the glass and grabbed his leg tightly.
"Mousse..."
Akane and Kasumi, and everyone else watching, felt a collective burst of hope.
"...YOU RUINED MY SUIT!" roared Ranma as he erupted from the wreckage and punched Mousse as hard as he could.
"Ranma!" yelled Akane.
"I'm so glad he's okay," said Kasumi. She spoke calmly, happily, but Akane could see that she was still trembling.
When Mousse landed back on the ground after being sent flying by Ranma's fist, he shouted, "How are you—"
"Shut up!" Ranma punched him again, this time in the face, physically stuffing his words back into his mouth. When Mousse leaped back, Ranma pointed angrily at his clothes. "Look what you did! I sent all evening trying to make sure I took care of this vest and shirt, and now it's all shredded! So are my pants! And look, look here, I got juice stains on the white part because of you! They'll never come out! I didn't even like wearing this thing, but I at least wanted to care of it!"
"Ranma, who cares about your suit? That guy tried to kill you!" shouted one of the observers.
"What, the dropping the chandelier on me?" Ranma shrugged. "That's just classic Mousse, I'm used to it from him."
"Well he could've killed one of us!"
"Excuse me, I would never be so sloppy!" interjected Mousse. "I made sure to lure all of you away with those gold coins you pigs were oh-so-happy to chase after!"
"That was you? I thought it was the principal?"
"In hindsight, that voice was too high-pitched to be the principal's."
"My voice is not high-pitched!"
"Forget them, Mousse," said Ranma in a low growl. His fists collided together, where his fingers then interlocked and he loudly cracked his knuckles. "I'm really mad about the suit, but there're more important things that I'm really mad about too."
"Oh yeah?"
"First, you used Akane's feelings to get yourself here..."
Akane blinked; her heart skipped a beat. Was he this angry for her sake?
"...and second, you made me break my promise."
"What promise?"
"A promise I made to someone I care about," he said slowly, "to give her a perfect night out. To let her feel like she can herself. Not a housewife, not a daughter, not a sister...just herself!"
Kasumi's heart thumped powerfully against the cage of her chest. "Oh Ranma..." she breathed his name softly.
"So unless you got any other tricks up your sleeve, get ready to get your ass kicked," snarled Ranma as he took position.
By now, a circle had formed around them, spectators anxiously anticipating the start of the fight between these two foes. Mousse, for his part, just smirked, in spite the pain he felt in his face. He got up off the floor, dusted himself off, and looked his foe directly in the eyes.
"I had hoped that the chandelier would do the trick of finishing you off," said Mousse, "but you disappoint me. I thought you would've known by now that I always have another trick up my sleeve."
"Throw everything you got at me, I can take you with one hand behind my back."
"Of course. But first...you were carrying juice, right? You must've been thirsty. My apologies for spilling your drink. How about I get you some WATER?"
Before Ranma knew it, he had been splashed with water, and had transformed into his girl form. She could feel her clothes constricting tightly against her now-voluptuous chest, and with her white shirt as wet as it was...
Well, the cheers from the male audience said enough.
"Heh, this is your best?" said Ranma. "Hey genius, I can still beat the hell out of you in my girl form."
Mousse responded by holding up three fingers.
"Three...two...one..."
"Oh, pig-tailed girl!"
Ranma screamed as Kuno fell on her, holding her tightly as she struggled against his strong grip. "Let go off me, you ape!" she cried.
"Ah, pig-tailed girl, I was so worried when you never approached me with an invite to accompany you to this dance," said Kuno, clearly not acknowledging how she was biting his arm in a futile bid for freedom, "but now that I see you here, I realize it was only a mistake! You clearly came here looking for me. Fret not, for your prince hath arrived."
"You. Are. The. WORST!"
"Ha ha ha!" cackled Mousse. "I'd like to see you dodge my weapons now that that buffoon is holding you in place."
"Curse you, Mousse!"
"Curse me as a ghost, Ranma, because this is the end for you!"
Swords, knives, spears, and other weapons poured out of Mousse's sleeves like a waterfall of blades. He leaped into the air, throwing his hand back, preparing the fatal swing that would tear Ranma into little ribbons of meat.
Ranma struggled in vain against Kuno—perhaps she'd been more injured by the falling chandelier than she first thought, if he could overpower her like this. As she watched Mousse setting up his final blow, she closed her painted eyes and braced herself for the end.
Her final thoughts, to her surprise, drifted to Kasumi.
I'm sorry tonight didn't turn out as nicely as it was supposed to be.
"Now, Ranma, prepare to di—"
Mousse choked on his final word, and that was followed by the sound of his weapons falling away. Things went silent, and combined with the blackness, Ranma wondered if she was in the afterlife now. She cautiously peeked one eye open, and what she saw had her gasp.
She was still alive, still in the school's wrecked gym, still facing Mousse...but now there was someone standing between them, with her arms held up defensively.
"K-Kasumi?"
Kasumi stood in front of Ranma, shielding her from Mousse.
In the crowd, Akane watched with awe; she couldn't remember if she had ever seen a sterner look on Kasumi's face ever before.
Behind his large glasses, Mousse's eyes narrowed. "Get out of the way."
Kasumi said nothing, did nothing, not even shake her head. She just stood between Mousse and his trapped enemy, staring him down with such strength in her eyes that even the Chinese Amazon felt a little shaken.
"Fine then...I'll skewer you both!"
As he again leaped into the air, the helpless Akane could only call out: "Kasumi! Ranma!"
"Happo Five-Yen Satsu!"
Mousse fell back to the ground like a stone; he growled in pain as he felt his energy leave his body. In less than a minute, he was reduced to a weakened, withered husk.
Miss Hinako, now in her adult form, stepped over to the near-unconscious young man, and said, "You have detention for a month."
"I d-don't even...go to this s-school...oh whatever, good night..."
When Mousse finally passed out, all the students let out a great cheer. "Miss Hinako, you saved us!"
"Hmmph. You're lucky I came back when I did. And I only came to steal the energy of all the boys that interrupted my DJing."
"Well, well, little keikis, hasn't this been fun? I've a-been sufficiently amused for one night," came the booming voice of the principal over the speakers. "Now you have two minutes to get off school grounds before I sic da crocigators on ya."
As everyone began rushing to leave, Akane rushed over to Ranma, pushing Kuno out of the way. "Ranma, are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she said, rubbing her sore arms.
"I'm glad to hear that," said Kasumi, joining them. Her expression was light and pleasant now, as if she hadn't just been glaring down Mousse like a lioness glaring down a leopard.
At the sound of her voice, Ranma's features scrunched up, and her cheeks flushed crimson. She looked away from Kasumi. With a brisk cough, she then said, "We should go now."
They, together with Nabiki and the unconscious Kuno she was carrying, left the school. By the time the psychotic principal released his giant monsters, only Mousse was around to be chased by them.
The ride home was mostly quiet. Kuno was unconscious, Nabiki was tired and taking a quick nap, and Ranma didn't seem like he was in the mood to talk. It felt icy, enough to make Akane shiver. She sat there, twiddling with her thumbs, stewing in her shame.
Ranma coughed lightly.
"Did you say something?" asked Akane.
"No, nothing," the redheaded girl responded. She didn't even look away from the window; she just watched the bright lights of the city roll by.
"Oh, okay." There was a pause, then a sigh. "I'm sorry."
Now she looked away from the window.
"If I had known Mousse was going to do something like that, I would've never brought him."
"Really?"
"Yes, really! Why would I not mean that?"
"Akane, you don't like Mousse, and he doesn't like you," said Ranma coolly. "So why else would you two come together unless it was something against me?"
Akane's emotions lit like a match. Gone was her remorse; anger filled the vacuum of its departure.
"You know, I was actually worried about you!"
"That I might've been killed by the guy you invited just to spite me? I'm touched."
"You are the worst, you jerk!"
"Better a jerk than a spiteful tomboy," Ranma spat back.
"Both of you, stop it!" said Kasumi with the voice of matriarchal authority. The two of them did quiet down, and Kasumi frowned at both of them.
"You two really need to learn how to talk to each other. You're being children right now." Then she looked to Akane. "Akane, I know you're sorry, but what you did tonight is going to take a lot more than an apology to make better."
"I...I know."
"A lot of people could've been hurt. And Ranma was hurt."
"It's just his clothes that got ripped, he'll live."
"That's not what I meant. I mean you hurt his feelings."
"Wh-what? No, I...I don't have feelings," grumbled Ranma, crossing her arms like a surly child.
"And Ranma, Akane was trying to apologize to you. You didn't see it, but she was really scared and worried for you."
"Don't tell him that!"
"So don't just throw her apology back in her face. Talk to her if you're unhappy, and see if you can make things better between you two."
Both Ranma and Akane reflected on what she had said. If either had a counterargument, they didn't say it aloud. They looked tentatively at each other, then looked away. It was, in Kasumi's eyes, a frustrating but cute thing those two always did.
The vehicle stopped in front of the Tendo dojo, and after Kasumi shook Nabiki awake, four of the five passengers departed. Kuno was left unconscious and sprawling on the floor, but the carpeted floor was comfortable enough that no one thought twice of leaving him down there.
As the limo drove off, the two younger Tendo sisters went inside. Ranma was ready to follow them, until Kasumi said, "Ranma, can you wait just a moment?"
"What's up?"
"I'd like to speak to you."
Ranma shrugged, and closed the door she was about to walk through.
"I just wanted to thank you, Ranma," said Kasumi, "for letting me go with you to your school dance."
"It was no problem," replied Ranma, grinning. Her grin then faltered and slid off her face, and she looked ashamedly to the side. "I'm just sorry that Mousse coming after me ruined it."
"Ruined it? Ranma, I don't think it was ruined at all."
"What? You don't?"
"Not at all," said Kasumi, smiling. "In fact, I thought it was quite fun."
"R-really...huh..."
Kasumi stepped closer to Ranma, and Ranma became painfully aware of short the distance was between them. Of course, they had been closer earlier, holding each other while they danced, but now felt different to her for some reason. The fact that Kasumi's skin glowed beautifully under the beams of moonlight, and that the juniper and pine in her perfume were carried by the gentle breeze into Ranma's nose weren't helping Ranma feel any less uncomfortable.
No, uncomfortable wasn't the right word for when she was with Kasumi. It was anything but uncomfortable.
Maybe there was shyness, but there was also warmth and tenderness and...well, comfort.
"Ranma..."
Ranma's eyes widened as Kasumi leaned down slightly and planted her soft lips on her forehead.
It wasn't a quick kiss, either. Kasumi kissed Ranma for seconds that felt like hours. And when she finally pulled back, the prettiest smile Ranma had ever seen adorned her lips.
"Thank you," she said quietly, intimately. "I won't forget this night for as long as I live."
Ranma would've responded were it not for the hot ball of iron in her throat.
"Now go take a hot bath," giggled Kasumi. "You're really sweaty."
She passed by her and went inside, leaving Ranma standing as still as a statue in front of the door. When she finally came back to her senses, she quietly slipped into the house and made her way to the bath. She spilled the steaming water into the tub and got in, returning to his male self with a sigh. He sat back, the back of his head against the wall, looking up at the ceiling and thinking about what had happened outside.
His heart was still racing, and he could still feel the phantom of her kiss on his forehead.
I had this whole 500-ish word section with Ukyo written out, but I had to take out because it really broke the flow of the chapter. Story rhythm has to come before waifu loyalty, sadly.
Anyhow, thank you all for reading this far. This chapter concludes the first part of the outline I typed up nearly a year ago. If this first part was setting up Ranma and Kasumi's romance, then the second part would be really getting into it, developing it, and really getting to the love-and-war of it all. I'm looking forward to typing it all out...eventually. Not too distantly in the future, I hope, but between college and other projects I've had in mind, it might take a while. Bear with me, I'm a mess when it comes to keeping a good timetable...
Also, it's just struck me that it's February. The month of love. Seems appropriate, eh?