Chapter 46: No Business Like It
Hibari was starting to get ready for bed when she heard the phone ringing. Navigating through the mostly dark halls, she found her way to the nearest phone in a few rings.
"Hello, Oozora home," Hibari began, when the sound of booming music came over the receiver.
"Hibari, is that you?" a feminine voice half shouted over the lively city pop remixes.
"Yes? Who is this?" the redhead asked. "Tsugumi?"
"Yes! I... I need your help. Kasumi's... well, she's very drunk. Can you come get her?"
"Where are you?" Hibari asked.
"The Green Alligator," Tsugumi replied.
"Ooh, going for the family discount. That'll make sneaking in easier too. I'll be there in fifteen!" Hibari said. "See you."
"Thanks," Tsugumi replied, before hanging up.
Hibari turned around and raced upstairs. Tossing her closet open, hunting for her best clubbing clothes. Something spunky, but not going to revealing, she wasn't looking for a date after all.
"What's going on?" Ranma asked, poking his head in from across the divider.
"You should really knock. I was about to start getting changed," Hibari replied with a wink.
"S-sorry," a blushing Ranma replied. "But, uh, it doesn't sound like you're getting pjs on."
"Nah. Going to a club. Tsugumi needs a little help," Hibari explained. "Trying to pick out clothes that say 'I'm hot, I know I'm hot, but I'm taken, sucker'."
"That's a very specific message," Ranma replied. "Could I help?"
"My fashion sense is better than yours, but thanks for the offer, cutie," Hibari said, pulling out a quite elastic sweater.
"I meant with whatever Tsugumi needs," Ranma replied, trying to hide that he felt a little self conscious about his spotty fashion skills.
"Oh... I mean, sure? The more the merrier."
"Cool, I try to pick something out too," Ranma said.
Hibari, with her work out leggings, long form fitting sweater, bright makeup, and blue polka-dot bandana around her neck, she was sure she'd stand out well. Ranma's return to the red bowtie and orange shirt look felt less adventurous, but wasn't bad at least.
Skipping along the rooftops, Hibari let out a sigh when she felt a drop of rain on her cheek. The club would be so much easier to visit with it obvious her and Ranma were a couple. A few more drops of rain and she knew that rather than being able to sneak past as a couple, they were now going to both have to deal with idiots flirting with them.
Hibari paused a moment, trying to figure out if the club would be likely to have any kettles. There was always the bathroom, she supposed.
"Hey, what's up?" the shorter redhead asked, stopping beside Hibari.
"Just trying to figure out how to keep us from getting too many guys at the club flirting with us. Like, as boyfriend and girlfriend it works, but I don't know if this drizzle is going to let up any time soon," Hibari said.
Ranma grimaced. "Didn't even think about that. Hm..."
"Tongzhi! What are you doing on neighbour's roof?" Shampoo asked, staying warm and dry from her bedroom window.
The two redheads glanced at each other, before mischievous smiles grew on their faces.
"Have you ever been to a nightclub?" Hibari asked.
"I do not think so?" Shampoo replied. "That is, like, disco, yes?"
"Yeah, like a disco. How'd you'd like your first time at one to involving being a stud with two hot girls to either side?" Ranma asked.
"Are the 'hot girls' you two?" Shampoo asked in return.
The redheads nodded.
"I would go to a convention for font design if it meant going with you two," Shampoo replied. "Give me five minutes to get dressed!"
The pair hopped down to the relative dry shelter of the entranceway of the of the Neko Hanten as they waited. Shampoo had been good to her word, and barely five minutes later she appeared in male form, one more pulling out the Mao jacket and skinny jeans combo, though she'd got for a lilac dress shirt and silver tie this time.
"Lead the way," Shui announced with a smile.
Ranma and Hibari each grabbed one of Shui's hands and took off, racing down the street. The Green Crocodile was only a few blocks further west, easy to spot with the large line out front.
"That's gonna take forever," Ranma said, sighing as she took in the length of the line.
"Not when you've got connections," Hibari said, leading the other two straight to the bouncer. "Yo!"
The large man raised an eyebrow. "Trying to skip the line are we?"
"Yep," Hibari replied with a grin.
The man narrowed his eyes. "What makes you think you've got that right?"
"I'm an Oozora. Your boss pretty much works for my dad," the girl replied casually, her casual tone shifting to something more sharklike and dangerous. "Want some ID to prove it?"
The man paled. "S-sorry miss. Step right in."
Then man move out of the way as he opened the door.
Stepping inside, both Ranma and Shui were assaulted by the volume of the music. Neither had been to concerts or similar venues, and found it all a touch overwhelming. After a moment's hesitation they realised Hibari was heading off towards the booths without them and they scurried after her.
Hibari, for her part, was scanning for Tsugumi, and soon found her sister in a corner booth, a handsome man to one side and Kasumi to the other. The eldest Tendo sister was giggling away, and the others looked a bit tired.
"Sis!" Hibari called out as she raced over to the booth.
"Hibari, good to see you... I, oh... y-you brought Shui," the older Oozora said, her eyes dropping to the table.
"Oh man. Sorry sis, forget that would still be a little awkward," Hibari replied with a slight grimace.
The guy beside her glanced at Tsugumi, then looked over at the dashing (if oddly dressed) Shui, and had his eye twitch slightly. "W-who's Shui? A-an ex?"
"N-no. Not exactly," Tsugumi replied, still studying her glass, a blush visible on her cheeks in even the low light of the night club.
"He saved my sister!" Kasumi added happily.
"S-saved your sister?" the handsome stranger asked, visibly grow more concerned.
"Oh yeah, she was kid-mrmph," Kasumi tried to say, when Tsugumi placed a hand over her mouth.
"It's a little embarrassing, probably best to not go into details. Right Shui?" Tsugumi said.
"What?" the cursed girl asked, not used to trying to follow conversations over music this loud.
Ranma slipped forward and placed a hand on Kasumi's shoulder. "Come on, let's get you some fresh air."
"Yeah! I haven't had a chance to talk to you lately either, Ran. We should catch up again," Kasumi said, hugging the smaller girl tightly.
Ranma used that as an opportunity to scoop Kasumi up and pull her out of the booth. The unknown man looked a bit disoriented by the tiny girl's display of strength, watching Ranma carry her out to Shui's side before putting the taller girl down.
With the young man so distracted, Hibari slid into whispering range with her sister.
"You okay alone with him?" she asked, quiet enough only Tsugumi could hear.
"I'm not really alone," Tsugumi whispered back. "The bouncers know who I am, and that they'd lose their jobs at the very least if anything happened. So they're keeping an eye on me."
Hibari nodded. "Alright. But I can wait up if you need?"
"I'm fine, go and help get Kasumi home," Tsugumi replied.
"How much did she drink anyway? She's pretty sloshed," Hibari asked.
"Two drinks, but they were barely alcoholic. And then a little bit of one of mine after I called you," Tsugumi said. "And I kept an eye on everything. She's just really a lightweight."
"Dang," Hibari replied. "Well, see you tomorrow."
Hibari then slipped out of the booth and over to the others. Kasumi was giggling away about something neither Ranma nor Shui seemed to follow.
"Well, I'd stay for a drink or two, but I suppose we should really head out," Hibari said as she caught up to the others.
Shui and Ranma nodded, and the trio lead Kasumi out, despite the older girl's insistence on shouting compliments to almost everyone they passed. Finally they were out into the cool evening air again, the drizzle having shifted to a heavy fog while they were inside. The quartet walked along quietly enough, Shui's ears still ringing a little.
Suddenly the cursed girl found Kasumi's face mere centimetres from her own.
"Y'know... you're really handsome. If you were a couple years older I'd totally date you... hmm. I think it's fine actually. You're cute enough. If you're-if you're okay with dating an older woman?" Kasumi asked, her cheeks rosy with a mixture of alcohol and embarrassment.
"T-thank you, but I am not really in market right now?" Shui offered.
Kasumi pouted, and the result was quite adorable. "Are you sure? I know I turned twenty today, but it's not really that old?"
Ranma and Hibari slid in between them.
"A no is a no," the pair said in unison.
"Okay... Is Shui your boyfriend, Ran?" Kasumi asked. "I remember Kousaku said you had one. But then you're Ranma... Oh no, was I not supposed to say that?"
Ranma found herself blushing furiously. "I... Sh-Shui knows. And, uh... we're, uh, not really a thing."
"Really? You seemed very jealous," Kasumi said, giggling a little. "I think there's something there."
Flustered, Ranma turned to Hibari. The taller girl gave a shrug.
"It's complicated," Hibari said.
"Oh... but Ran, you should visit again more. Or Ranma... I like both of you," Kasumi said.
"Sorry about this," Shui said, stepping forward and poking Kasumi just behind the ear.
To Ranma and Hibari's surprise, Kasumi passed out an instant later, being caught by Shui as she fell forward.
"It's late. We have school. Getting her home awake was going to take forever," Shui replied with a nervous grin.
"I really want to learn that trick," Ranma said.
"Same," Hibari added.
"Ah, well... would need Great Grandmother's permission to share," Shui replied while trying to figure out a dignified, yet comfortable, way to carry Kasumi.
With the Kasumi asleep, the walk along the foggy streets of Nerima was fairly peaceful. Hibari slid over to hold Ranma's hand after about a block. She noticed the shorter girl was glancing back Shui's way from time to time, a guilty blush on Ranma's face whenever she did. Hibari couldn't blame Ranma though, she'd found herself checking out Shui too.
Shampoo was just too attractive, whatever her form.
The trio (plus sleeping Kasumi) were getting close to the Tendo home, when the sleepy Tendo began to stir.
"Good timing," Ranma said as she raced up and knocked on the front door.
The others had caught up when the door finally opened, revealing a somewhat sleepy looking Nabiki.
"Oh. Kasumi brought home some nice eye candy," Nabiki said with a smirk. "And she told daddy he didn't have to worry about her picking up anyone."
"Well, she did try to pick up Shui," Hibari said with a laugh.
The eldest Tendo blinked awake, lighting up when she was her sister.
"Na-chan!" Kasumi proclaimed, sleepily/drunkenly tumbling forward to hug her sister, and effectively tackling Nabiki onto the floor.
"How much did you drink?" Nabiki asked, struggling to breath a little from her sister's bear hug.
"So much," Kasumi said in a tone that seemed to imply she thought she was whispering.
"Two and a half cocktails, apparently," Hibari added.
Kasumi broke her hug (which allowed Nabiki to breath), and began to nod sagely. "I'm a woman of the world now."
"Does that mean what she's thinkin' that means? 'Cause I don't think it does," Ranma whispered to Shui.
The cursed girl just shrugged. "I am no Japanese language master."
"Fair. Very fair," Ranma replied.
"What's going on down here?" a sleepy Akane asked as she came down the stairs, Kousaku not far behind her.
"Akane!" Kasumi half shouted before glomping her youngest sibling into a hug. "You look so 'punk' with that hair. You should embrace it!"
"That explains nothing," a confused Akane replied, looking to Ranma and Hibari for help.
"Sis is drunk," Nabiki explained. "Anyway, since it's stopped raining, do any of you need a kettle? It's the least we could do, with you helping to bring out sister home and everything."
"I'm good," Ranma replied.
"Wouldn't mind a kettle," Shui replied.
"Wait, he's got a curse?" Kousaku asked, whispering to Akane (and Kasumi, since she was hugging Akane).
"You can follow and find out," Akane replied with a very Tendo mischievous grin.
"I want to see too," Kasumi declared, breaking her hug and hurrying to the kitchen.
Upon arriving, she found herself blocked by Nabiki from actually touching anything.
"You're way too drunk to operate anything in here... apart, maybe, for the fridge," Nabiki said.
Kasumi pouted, but it didn't sway Nabiki in the slightest. Instead, she and Kousaku just watched quietly while Shui waited for the kettle to warm a bit, then poured it on her head.
Kousaku's jaw dropped. "Th-that obnoxiously handsome guy's r-really a... a super cute girl?"
Shampoo gave him a peace sign and a quick wink, which lead to a furiously confused blush on poor Kousaku's cheeks.
"Does this mean I'm a lesbian?" Kasumi whispered to Nabiki.
"Do you still think she's cute?" Nabiki asked flatly.
"Um... well, she's really pretty. But... more like how I know you and Akane are cute?" Kasumi replied. "Certainly don't have... um... words. I'm after words."
"You don't have the hots for her anymore?" Nabiki offered.
Kasumi replied with a blush. "That's one way to put it!"
"I think I've got the hots for her now," Kousaku muttered, before his eyes went wide as he realised what he'd said.
"I would stay and flirt, but have school in the morning, sorry," Shampoo replied, heading off towards the street.
Ranma and Hibari also gave their goodbyes and set off into the street with Shampoo.
Akane and Nabiki were waiting patiently for their instant noodles to heat when a very sleepy Kasumi wandered into the kitchen.
"Did... did I kiss Shui last night?" Kasumi asked as she stared out the window. "I remember being very close..."
"Yep," Nabiki replied, winking at Akane while Kasumi was distracted.
"Oh my... Apparently drunk me is something of a cradle robber," Kasumi said.
A laugh burst out from Nabiki. "A two year age gap doesn't count as cradle robbing, sis."
"Ah, that's good to know," Kasumi mumbled as she popped the freezer open and popped an ice cube into her mouth. "I hab no ibea 'ow do beal wid hagobers."
Genma was lying on the outer yard of the Oozora home, a panda again after a morning spar with Ranma. He found it stressful that Ranma was getting better at fighting, while growing ever more open to exploring femininity. The child hadn't just gone to school as a girl, which was happening more and more often, but in a skirt today.
The most unsettling thing was how Ranma's female face, smiling away so innocently, was the spitting image of the face Genma found himself fearing more and more each day. Why had he come up with that dumb contract?
"Uncle Saotome?" Tsugumi's voice called out as she walked out with a kettle. "Can I ask you for help with something?"
#What with?# Genma's sign asked.
"Well, you see... I've found a new boyfriend, but my father isn't much a fan of actors, and, well, this new boyfriend is an actor. But, father does seem fond of you. So, I thought if you could vouch for him, it might help with the first impression?"
"Growf," Genma replied as he sat up. He meant for it to be an affirmative reply, but wasn't sure if that was clear.
Tsugumi poured the kettle onto his head as he tightened up his gi.
"I'll give him an honest appraisal," Genma said. "No promise he'll pass."
"Fair enough," Tsugumi replied with a smile.
Genma headed off to wear something a little nicer than his usual gi, which translated to a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. He felt awkward, so overdressed, but figured it was best to give a good impression with this young man.
He then followed Tsugumi to the train station, heading towards the central part of the city, preparing for the multiple transfers involved to get back out to Setagaya and the film studio lots where her boyfriend was working.
After rather longer on a train than Genma was happy with, the pair arrived. There was a bit of finagling with security, but Tsugumi managed to get a guest pass that let them enter the property, though they weren't allowed to access active film sets.
Wandering about the grounds a bit, Genma found himself a bit distracted by the variety of costumes... and the catering tables.
"So, do we know when he'll be meeting us?" Genma asked as he piled up a plate of food.
"He said he'd be free around this time. I would guess that catering would make sense as a place to meet him on his break," Tsugumi replied.
Genma nodded as he grabbed a bit of dessert. The next step was to find a table. Genma scanned a bit, when his eyes landed upon something he'd not expected to see: a panda.
And it was waving at him as it walked over.
"D-do I know you?" Genma asked nervously as the creature approached.
"Nrmph," the creature replied, before smacking itself in the forehead. The creature then proceeded to pull its head off.
Genma nearly fainted, before spotting there was a human head underneath.
"S-sorry. Always forget people can't understand me with the mask on," the handsome man beneath replied.
Genma placed a hand on his chest trying to calm himself. "That is an unsettlingly realistic costume."
"Really? The effects guys will be thrilled to hear that... do you work at a zoo?" the young man asked.
"He spent a lot of time with pandas in China," Tsugumi explained.
"Oh," the man replied. "Th-that's very interesting."
"China's an interesting country," Genma replied, trying to sound authoritative. "So, is your role a starring part?"
"Heh, no... not really getting big parts," the handsome man replied. "I, well... I don't audition well."
"You need to work on your confidence a little then, lad," Genma said, starting in on his lunch.
"I know... but when I get too nervous my brain kind of shuts down and I make a fool of myself," Tsugumi's boyfriend replied.
Genma nodded as he gobbled up the last of his lunch. "Hmm... wait, that foreign looking guy over there looks important."
"Th-that 'guy' is Steven Lucas! The American director!" the handsome young actor blurted.
"Are you dressed decently under that suit?" Genma asked.
"W-well enough?" the actor replied nervously.
"Good, good," Genma replied, before yanking the young man out of the panda suit through the neck and dragging him towards the famous foreigner.
Genma proceeded to shove his way through the crowd of admirers around Lucas. The crowd around the director stared in disgust at his boorish behaviour, but Genma paid them no head.
"Steven-san! I've got good news for you. I've got you next leading man right here!" Genma declared as he plopped Tsugumi's mortified boyfriend in front of the biggest director in Hollywood. "He's a natural leading man. Just look at that face!"
The young actor's jaw fell open as his eye twitched involuntarily.
"C'mon lad, introduce yourself!" Genma bellowed, smacking the lad on the back.
"Ta-Ta-Takakuro Yujiro, s-sir!" the man stammered, before closing his mouth.
"See? Great name for a leading man!" Genma declared, chuckling to himself, until he realised Yujiro had stopped exhaling and was swelling up like a frog.
"Um, what is—" Lucas began to ask, when Yujiro suddenly cut him off.
"I-I can juggle!" the young actor declared, grabbing drinks off of some of Lucas' entourage.
He actually did decently for two rotations, when the drinks suddenly slipped out of his hands and proceed to all land on Genma. Suddenly the whole crow was staring at a Panda in tattered clothing.
"Wonderful! This is perfect!" Lucas declared in English, before switching over to Japanese. "I do not know how you do that, but it is what I am needing!"
#Martial Arts?# Genma's sign offered.
"Amazing! You're both hired! I needed a comedy duo for Space Crocs," the director pronounced. "And I was thinking about an alien friend. So less makeup than man in suit! Wonderful!"
Tsugumi watched in confusion as Yujiro and Genma were whisked away by the entourage, leaving her alone beside an empty panda suit.
"Uh, should I return this somewhere?" Tsugumi asked to anyone in earshot.
"Don't touch it and it's not your problem," a man in a samurai costume muttered.
"Pop's got hired to be a movie star?" Ranma asked, as she and Hibari sat in the Oozora kitchen.
"Yes," Tsugumi replied, still not quite believing what happened.
"I mean, that's pretty cool," Hibari said. "Didn't think uncle Panda could manage something like that."
"Yujiro was hired on too," Tsugumi muttered.
"Yujiro?" Ranma asked.
"You met him at the club?" Tsugumi explained. "I met him a couple weeks ago. We've been dating for a bit, but... getting a contract like that... there's no way he'll be able to keep dating, let alone marry anytime soon like he was a talking about. Celebrities like that are under such constant observation."
"Oh man, pop's'll be fired in no time," Ranma declared. "Someone'll catch him pocketing somethin' or conning and old lady..."
"Maybe we can talk Yujiro out of it?" Hibari offered. "Get him to put love first?"
Tsugumi let out a tired sigh. "It's probably a lost cause. I have the worst luck with men."
Five days passed, and Genma hadn't returned to the Oozora home. Ranma had enjoyed it the first few days, but that enjoyment slowly morphed into unnease. The pigtailed teen wasn't used to spending so much time separated from Genma.
Hibari had noticed, and decided to slip into Ranma's room on the fifth night, as the handsome boy lay there, staring at the ceiling.
"You okay?" Hibari asked as she sat down beside Ranma.
Ranma sighed, still staring up at nothing in particular. "Pop's is an idiot who drives me nuts. I should be happy ta get a break from him."
Hibari laid down beside him, wrapping an arm around Ranma as she rested her head on his shoulder. "Eh, my dad's an idiot too, but it would be weird to not have him around. You just get used to things, especially family being annoying."
"I think I'm gonna try to track him down tomorrow," Ranma said. "At the very least just ta yell at him."
"Sounds fun. I'll help ya out," Hibari replied.
The studio took the pair a little while to find, not knowing Setagaya very well. Still, it was easy to ask for directions, so it didn't take too long.
The security guard was less than impressed by the young couple, however.
"What are you kids after?" the man asked.
"My pop's workin' here. Just wanted to say hello," Ranma replied.
"Right. And you can't do that when he comes home?"
"He hasn't been home in a while. Bit of a commute, so I guess they've set him up somewhere closer?" Ranma explained.
"Well, what's your name? Maybe I'll let you in," the man muttered.
"Saotome. I'm Ranma. My pops is Genma. He's doin' that new Steven Lucas movie," Ranma replied, feeling a bit of a smirk. He was actually kind of proud of his old man managing to do something substantial for once.
"Wait, you're Panda-man's kid?" the guard asked, hopping to his feet to lean in. "You don't look that much like him."
"Mhm, as his girlfriend I'm pretty happy for that," Hibari said with a grin while leaning against Ranma.
"Do you know how to do the panda thing too?" the guard asked. "I've seen it, but only from a distance."
"Ah, well... my 'trick' is a bit different," Ranma replied. "I guess I can show ya? Just toss me some water."
"Sure thing," the excited guard replied, tossing a water bottle Ranma's way.
The handsome boy open up the bottle and poured out a little. The guard stared in shock and the curvy cutie now before him. Ranma grinned and handed the water bottle back to him.
"W-wow. You could be a leading man and a leading woman," the guard half whispered.
"So, can we head in?" Ranma asked, giving her cutest puppy eyes.
"S-sure. Here's your passes," the guard replied.
The pair gave their thanks with large smiles before heading off into the studio, walking hand in hand. After looking for signs, they realised that there wasn't much in the way of directions visible.
"Huh, guess we just gotta start poking around," Ranma said.
"Sounds fair. And then we get to see more of what they're filming," Hibari replied with a grin.
The first two sound stages were filming rather plain modern set films. Hibari was definitely more interested than Ranma in the one that looked like a romance, having to be dragged off by the shorter redhead.
The next soundstage was working on a tokusatsu movie of some sort with a miniature city.
"Ooh, that looks like fun," Ranma said.
"If we're not stopping for romance then we're not stopping for kaiju," Hibari muttered, grabbing her fiancee's hand.
"Ah, but the miniatures are cool. And they let me feel like a giant," Ranma complained as she was pulled away.
The fourth stage had a samurai movie filming, and the mix of romance and action distracted the pair for a few minutes, before they remembered they were hunting for Genma.
The next set was finally Space Crocs, with miniature spaceships, a dump truck with a rocket built into it, extras in alien costumes, and more chaos. Sneaking along, they found more and more people in costume, and began to feel like they were sticking out a little too much.
"Ooh, there's a dressing room!" Ranma whispered to Hibari.
The taller redhead raised an eyebrow at how Ranma had pointed to the women's dressing room without a moment's hesitation. It made Hibari happy to see Ranma growing ever more comfortable.
The pair snuck in, Hibari digging along until she found a silver and blue little number she could only describe as a 'space bikini', with chain in places that made her quite certain it wouldn't be water worthy.
Stepping back to look for Ranma, she found the pigtailed cutie fussing about while half undressed.
"Everything okay?" Hibari asked.
Ranma turned and suddenly giggled. "I was tryin' that same look, but... I think I was one misstep from a wardrobe malfunction. So now I gotta figure out somethin' with a bit more... I guess support?"
Hibari couldn't help smirk. "Mhm, you definitely need more fabric in that area than me... well, unless you changed forms. I bet we've got enough makeup here to make sure no one would question the look."
The shorter girl turned the same bright red of her hair. "I... that's not... don't be silly."
"I'm not being silly," Hibari replied with a pout.
Ranma kept blushing as she dug along, until she found an ivory collared shirt and dark vest. Tossing them on (after putting her sports bra back on), she decided that the look was sci-fi enough with her normal kung-fu pants.
"Waddya think, not half bad?" Ranma asked with a cocky grin.
"You look quite dashing," Hibari replied, leaning in and giving Ranma a quick kiss on the cheek.
Ranma's cocky grin shifted to more of a goofy one in response, before shaking herself back into reality. "Right, we gotta go find pops now."
The pair of girls slunk back onto the floor of the soundstage, hunting for a sign of Genma. After limited luck, eventually Ranma went up to someone with a bug-like alien head and cute pink pump heels.
"Yo! Have you seen Saotome Genma around?" Ranma asked.
"Saotome? Eh, he's probably in his trailer. Total primadonna type, that guy," the extra replied. "Give it 50/50 odds he's getting a foot massage or something."
"D'you know which way that is?" Ranma asked, feeling a bit like Ryoga with how little a sense of the place she had.
"North exit," the 'alien' muttered, gesturing vaguely.
Ranma and Hibari gave a quick bow and thank you before racing off in the direction indicated. Getting outside they were surprised by the small sea of trailers, poking around until the saw one labelled 'Saotome'.
Ranma knocked firmly, and then they waited. The better part of a minute passed before the door finally opened, revealing Genma in a red housecoat, sunglasses that didn't quite suit his face type, and a bad toupee.
"What's going-wait, Ranma? What are you doing here?" Genma asked, pulling his sunglasses off to revealing rather strong tan lines on his face.
"You've been missin' without a word for the better part of a week. Wanted to make sure you hadn't forgot about havin' a so-er, kid," Ranma said, crossing her arms and glaring up at her father.
"It's really been that long? Wow... time sure flies when you're having fun. Listen, boy... the money for this gig is really good. I could pay off my debt to Oozora with this paycheck, and then you won't have to marry a guy," Genma declared.
That got him a punch to the gut from both girls, causing him to double over and stumble back.
"I'm a girl, you idiot!" Hibari hissed.
"Seriously, get that through yer thick skull," Ranma added. "Yeesh, and ta think I missed you at all."
"You missed me?" Genma asked, a genuine sparkle of joy glittering in his eyes.
Ranma turned away a bit, pouting, before reluctantly looking over her shoulder. "I'm used ta ya bein' around. It's weird ta have you gone for so long."
Genma rushed over and pulled the short girl into a hug that lifted her off the ground. "That's one of the nicest things you've said to me in years, my boy!"
"It's too nice!" Ranma protested as she tried to squirm out of the hug. "You're a big idiot!"
The loud shouts drew a few of the other stars out of their trailers, and all of them looked rather confused.
"Uh, Saotome, not to question your judgment," a man who Ranma vaguely recognised from some movie or another said, "but that looks like a girl you're holding?"
Genma set Ranma down and slapped her on the shoulder. "Haha! The boy looks like it, doesn't he? It's the same thing as my panda technique."
"Right," the actor replied, slipping back into his trailer, the look in his eyes saying that he wanted to keep his exposure to Genma to a minimum.
A few others eyed Ranma up suspiciously for a moment or two, before slipping back into their own trailers.
"Anyway, Ranma. Don't worry. The shoots only a couple months. You can come visit your father any time too, boy," Genma declared, slapping Ranma on the back again.
Ranma just grimaced. "Don't hold your breath."
Ibari glared across the table at the rather tired and defeated looking Genma who'd shown up after two weeks away at the film studio.
"You tried to run off without saying anything, and now you come crawling back why?" the large Yakuza patriarch asked.
Genma gave a weak smile. "Heh, well... it turns out that letting reporters know about the script and shooting plans violated some fine print of the contract. The fees took all the salary I'd made, so I don't have many options."
Ibari shook his head. "You always were focused on the quick profits... fine, Saotome. Since your martial arts lessons have been showing results for my men, I'll let you back in. This time."
Genma dropped into a deep bow. "Thank you for your kindness. You won't regret it!"