Ranma ½
Love Note
Usual disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, any resemblance to Ranma ½ or Death Note is purely intentional, and the rest of that jazz.
For the purposes of this story, any text within single quotes like 'this' is considered a thought.
Chapter 5
Ranma, fresh from a bath used to get back to his male form, was heading upstairs to his room when he found Kasumi at the front door, putting on her shoes. Being that is was past sundown, and that Kasumi was also dressed rather formally, at least for her, Ranma found this rather curious. "Where you off to?" he asked.
Finishing with her shoes, Kasumi stood up and straightened her dress and smiled. "I'm just going out to a movie. I've been meaning to go see this one for a while now."
"Oh... uh... have a good time then," Ranma replied.
"I will," she replied and headed out.
Feeling the sudden urge to help out, Ranma opened the door for her, to which she gratefully smiled for. Involuntarily, Ranma found himself watching after her as she left, only finally managing to pry his eyes away as she turned onto the street and out of sight.
"Hey Saotome, close the door already! Heating this place isn't free you know," Nabiki complained from atop the stairs, forcing Ranma out of his stupor to do as instructed. Shaking her head, Nabiki came down to meet Ranma at the bottom. "Why don't you just go with her?"
"What?" Ranma exclaimed defensively.
"Ranma, you're not fooling anybody, not even Kasumi. We all know Cupid got to you," Nabiki pointed out with a smug grin.
"That's..." Ranma initially started to say, but seeing Nabiki's certainty knew that any denials would be useless. "And exactly why should I go along with it? Just because some weirdo has some power to make people fall in love doesn't mean I should just accept it!"
Nabiki shrugged. "No, I suppose not," she conceded and turned down the hall. "But I was just thinking, it being so late and all, and Kasumi isn't exactly as tough as Akane, that she might appreciate the escort. I mean, not that much happens around here, but I have seen some shifty guys out late at night, and you never know what they might be up to..."
"Kasumi! Wait for me!" Ranma called out from the corner of the road, fumbling with his shoes as he attempted to put them on while running. Nabiki looked over her shoulder at the departing boy with a grin.
"That was too easy," she said quietly as she closed the door once more, and changed course to go back upstairs.
Over at Ucchan's, Ukyo finished with the last of the evening's customers and closed up shop with a deep sigh of relief. The past several days had been surprisingly productive at her restaurant thanks to the new help, namely Mousse.
Shortly after being kicked to the curb by Shampoo, Akane had taken it upon herself to find Mousse some temporary residence and given his experience in the restaurant business, Ukyo had found herself on the short list. She had been very reluctant to take the Amazon in, but after much pleading from Akane, probably influenced by her new found feelings for the boy, Ukyo had agreed on a temporary basis. So far, she had little to regret about the decision. Mousse was surprisingly obedient and competent at his work. The only minor annoyance was his occasional fits of self pity over Shampoo's rejection, or his bouts of blind anger towards Ranma, both of which were easily and quickly corrected with a good swift battle spatula over the head. Best yet, he was a decent bodyguard against Kodachi.
Having Mousse abouts had also given Ukyo the opportunity to discretely interrogate him in regards to Shampoo. Since the whole Cupid confrontation on the television, Ukyo had been convinced Shampoo was somehow involved. Too many things about the incidents were conveniently in her favor for Ukyo to think otherwise. However, as time went on, her confidence in that had diminished, and speaking to Mousse on the topic had not helped. Despite all her suggestions to the contrary, Mousse was adamant that Shampoo had been genuinely in love with him for that brief period, and it had been no act. Add to that Ranma's new interest in Kasumi and Ukyo's theory was leaking from two gaping holes.
'It still could be her,' Ukyo thought. 'Whatever power she has might not be working properly on Ranma... but why go after so many others too? It's totally not her normal style. She's very blunt and simple with her plans. This is convoluted and makes no sense for anyone.' Displeased that her logic was failing, Ukyo shelved the thought for a moment and turned to Mousse. "I'm heading upstairs. You okay to finish up, sugar?"
"I'm fine," he replied, gaining a nod from Ukyo. However, just as she reached the stairs, he called out after her. "Ukyo, do you think Shampoo will forgive me if we find the real Cupid?"
Ukyo paused at the bottom of the stairs and sighed. "Frankly, sugar, I think you could do better than Shampoo. But, if we do find Cupid, she just might, but I wouldn't hold your breath," she answered honestly, causing the Amazon male to slump slightly. "Look on the bright side, Akane seems to like you."
"I can't go out with Akane!" Mousse protested. "She is the only thing keeping Ranma away from Shampoo!"
Ukyo glared at Mousse in response. "And just what am I?"
"Er..." Mousse responded nervously, realizing his unintended slip but Ukyo waved him off before he could try and correct himself.
"Doesn't matter anyway. If your chances with Shampoo are nil, then keeping her away from Ranma is pointless, now isn't it?"
"I... I guess so," Mousse conceded, but then quickly countered, "but I'm not giving up on Shampoo that easily."
"Your choice sugar," Ukyo said with a shrug, thus ending the conversation and headed upstairs. There she broke out her school books to work on some pressing homework, and turned on the television for some mild entertainment on the side. Channel surfing in between math problems, she came to a discussion program and stopped to watch.
"...Thus far there has been no response from the Cupid task force to our inquiries. We can only assume, so far, that the task force has not made any major progress on the investigation," one commentator said.
"Or they could simply be keeping things quiet," another commentator argued. "In all criminal investigations, it is customary to keep the details of the investigation under wraps."
"Still, with all the speculation currently going on, I think it would be wise for the investigative team to at least make a public statement and..." the first commentator argued back as Ukyo turned back to her homework. Several minutes past as the program went on, with Ukyo only paying it slight attention. However, as the program turned to an open phone discussion, her attention returned. People calling in alternated between either singing Cupid's praises or calling for his public flogging. As these set of calls ended, the announcer said, "please, if you have any comments, give as a call at the number below. Do you think Cupid is a criminal or a saint? Have you been personally affected by Cupid? We're accepting all calls on the topic."
As Ukyo watched the screen, her eyes couldn't help but wander to the phone at her bedside. She had several times considered calling the police tip line, but had dismissed it. She was still far from certain who Cupid was, and even if it was Shampoo, somehow it seemed wrong to get the police involved. 'Of course, this isn't the police, and it has been bugging me a lot...' she thought as she continued to eye the phone.
Kasumi looked at Ranma as he walked along side her as they neared the local movie complex. As was his usual pattern, Ranma was making every effort to seem as distant and uninterested as possible. "You really didn't need to come along, Ranma. I'm sure I'll be fine."
"It's not a problem," Ranma replied, looking off at the sky.
"He's a shy one alright," Trista remarked as she floated behind the couple. "You wouldn't think he'd be so popular with the ladies with that kinda attitude."
Kasumi cast the love goddess a quick look then returned to looking at Ranma. "How are things going with Akane?" she asked. Ranma's only reaction was to look further away. "I see. I'm sure you understand that her interest in Mousse is just the result of Cupid's power. I'm sure it will wear off."
"Will it?" Ranma asked rhetorically. "So far, the only person who has got out from the effect is Shampoo, and I'm not so convinced she actually did. Maybe Ukyo's right and she just acted like that to throw off suspicion."
"I really don't think so," Kasumi replied.
Finally, Ranma hung his head and nodded. "Yeah, but still, even if she did get rid of it legit, no one else has yet. I mean... what if I feel... I mean, if Akane feels-"
"Ranma, I know what happened," Kasumi interjected, causing the boy to start and look at her nervously. She quickly calmed him with a smile. "Don't worry, I understand, and I'm sure it won't last forever."
Behind them, Trista nodded. "Yep, not forever, but for a couple decades or so... who knows." Kasumi quickly cast Trista a brief unamused look, to which Trista merely shrugged. "What, it's the truth. Besides, he can't hear me."
"You see something?" Ranma suddenly asked, startling Kasumi.
"Oh, nono," Kasumi quickly answered as she returned to looking ahead. "Looks like we're here," she said to change the subject. After buying their tickets, and a quick stop at the concession stand, the pair sat down in their seat within the theater and waited for the movie to begin. In a rather disconcerting display, Trista sat on the back of the chair next to Kasumi, freely kicking her feet through the person sitting in the actual chair with a complete lack of concern.
After watching this nervously for a few moments, Ranma spoke up, grabbing Kasumi's attention. "How long do you think this Cupid has been... you know, doing his thing?"
"Hmh?" Kasumi replied in confusion.
"I mean, we know he's being doing a lot lately, but what if he's been doing this for a long while now?"
"Oh, I doubt that," Kasumi responded, but Ranma seemed dissatisfied.
Frowning, Ranma looked off to the ceiling. "I'm not so sure. I mean, just think back to when I beat Shampoo. I mean, she fell in love with me just like that. Maybe that was Cupid's doing."
"I don't think so. That was simply because of the Amazon law."
"A law can't make you just fall in love, and besides she's not the only one. Kodachi was basically the same thing, and even Ukyo... well, I guess Ukyo liked me from when we were kids, but she really did a quick 180. Yeah, but you're probably right," Ranma replied to which Kasumi only smiled.
'Of course, I can't tell him I'm Cupid and I know I didn't do anything, but I suppose he is just wondering about Akane in a roundabout way,' she thought then once more noticed Trista next to her, who was now carefully sneaking popcorn out of a nearby moviegoer's bag. Unable to speak up, Kasumi merely sighed and shook her head, when a thought hit her. 'That's right, I might not have done it, but nothing says a Love Goddess didn't,' she realized. 'Trista hasn't mentioned anything like that, but she is forgetful. Come to think of it, if Trista was the one to do it, that would explain a lot.
'Still, in the end does it really matter?' Kasumi wondered. 'Love is love after all. The source of it little matters... but what does that mean about Ranma's feelings for me?' Kasumi thought, giving Ranma an unnoticed glance. 'Trista is right, I really have no idea how long Ranma will be in love with me, or how long any of the others will be affected either. It could easily be years. Perhaps...' Kasumi thought hesitantly, but quickly shook her head, just as the theater lights started to dim, signaling the start of the film. 'Now I really am being silly. Then again, I've always thought one day it would be Dr. Tofu... but now... hmmm...' Kasumi cast another glance at Ranma in consideration before the movie diverted her attention away from such matters.
Inside L's hotel room, several televisions were set up displaying various channels, all of which were covering various Cupid related programs. L paid them little mind, instead intent on his computer as he examined the latest data. 'So, Cupid, you haven't affected nearly any actor with a stage name, and almost no one who hasn't appeared on screen. A name and a face... interesting limitation,' he thought. 'That will come in handy as we get closer to you.'
Relaxing slightly, L turned his attention back to the TVs. Most were showing the usual talk shows and news reports. They were nothing particularly interesting or helpful, but they demanded watching nonetheless on the off chance something did happen. He was just about to return to his computer when a young lady's description of events caught his attention.
"...and now he's in love with her sister, who he's never had any interest in up till now," the caller said.
"Very interesting. And you say this all happened within a week?" the interviewer asked.
"Yes. I'm certain it's Cupid's doing. It's the only explanation."
"It certainly sounds that way. You wouldn't be willing to name a few names for us, would you?"
"Uh... look, I really don't want to get anyone in trouble. I have my suspicious about who Cupid might be, but even I'm not sure anymore."
"Very well, I won't press you any further on the topic. Thank you for the call..."
L frowned in thought as he considered. It was one call, like hundreds of others he had listened to, but something about it was particularly grabbing. L quickly grabbed his mic and turned it on. "Watari, get me the phone records from the call in show on channel 17 airing right now."
"Yes L. Did something happen?"
L considered a moment. "Perhaps nothing, perhaps something very important," he replied.
Back at the Tendo dojo, the door to Kasumi's room opened and a figure crossed the room, heading directly for the closet. There, the figure opened the closet, and quickly recovered a small notebook from a not so discrete hiding spot on the top shelf. The figure looked back at the doorway quickly to ensure no one was watching.
"Kasumi, Kasumi, Kasumi... you really have to learn how to hide things better," the figure said and looked over the Love Note with a sly smile.
End Chapter 5
As I noted in chapter one, all input is welcome here. My ideas on this story are pretty sketchy right now meaning most my time is actually spent figuring out what to write rather than actually writing it, which is not the usual hold up for me.
Oh, and did anyone notice where I goofed up? Apparently not, but in a previous chapter, I broke a rule. No major worries, I'll just add a hidden rule to solve this as it was subtle but I did break one. Free cookies to the first person to figure out how I broke it. Answer next chapter regardless if it is found or not. As a side note to this, if you notice me breaking a rule, please get back to me on it. I'm not perfect, so it can obviously happen, and I'd like to correct the issue as soon as possible (otherwise it can get stuck in plot).
Speaking of next chapters, I have the next 2 already written. I'm currently just editing them (and trying to make sure I didn't bugger up any more rules). I'll be doing a double post next outing.
