Chapter Three: Deal or Fold?
Ranma, once again male, put his right elbow on the counter and put his head in his hand, leaning upon his arm. His left forearm was partially leaning against the counter, the fingers of his left hand drumming on the surface, the noise quickly getting on everyone's nerves.
"Ranma, if you don't stop that infernal tapping, I'm gonna break your fingers one by one!" Ryoga eventually snapped, glaring daggers at the other boy.
"Heh, like you could," Ranma replied in a cocky tone, desisting nonetheless.
Akane sighed at the boys' behaviour. "It's almost been half an hour; you'd think the rain would've let up by now."
"It seems the sky has other plans," Ukyo commented in a bored tone.
"You have playing cards, don't you, Ukyo?" Akane asked, looking as bored as the chef felt.
Ukyo nodded. "Yeah, I've got a couple of decks that I bought when I was helping Ranma-honey train for his rematch against the Gambling King. I'll go get one," she said, walking up the stairs with a relieved smile, glad that someone had found a way to ease the boredom that permeated the building like a shroud.
Ranma tried to hide the sudden grimace that Akane's suggestion brought forth. He had no talent for card games at all and was not eager to get his butt handed to him by the girls. Ranma did not know how good of a card player Ryoga was, but he didn't want the fanged martial artist to find out that he could easily beat Ranma this way. Of course, Ranma had no plans to lose, especially to Ryoga, and was confident that his quick hands would assure his victory. He disliked cheating, but his pride would not allow him to be bested in anything if he could help it.
A couple of minutes later, Ukyo came back down the stairs with a deck of cards in her right hand and a mischievous grin on her face, which she made sure to flash at Ranma before she schooled her expression into something more neutral. Ukyo sat at one of her tables and motioned for the others to join her, all three of them doing so without much delay. Nimbly shuffling the cards, the chef asked everyone what game they wanted to play.
"Old Maid?" Akane tentatively suggested.
Ranma huffed in contempt and Ukyo said, "I've had enough of Old Maid to last half a lifetime, thanks."
"What about Go-fish or Snap?" Akane asked, wracking her brain to remember card games that she used to play with her sisters when she was younger.
"Why don't we play Fifty-two Pickup instead?" Ranma replied sarcastically.
Ukyo, despite sitting directly opposite Ranma, beat Akane to the punch and whacked Ranma lightly across the head. "Jackass," she said affectionately. "How about Blackjack?"
"Blackjack? Oh, okay," Akane said.
"Do you know how to play?" Ukyo asked, catching Akane's hesitation.
Akane grinned sheepishly. "I do, it's just been a while. I'll pick it up again when we start playing," she explained.
Ukyo then turned to Ryoga, who had been quiet ever since she had gone upstairs, and asked if he agreed to play. She smiled when he gave an affirmative nod and once Ranma said yes, Ukyo began dealing out the cards.
Each player had two cards lying on the table in front of them, one face-down and the other face-up for everyone to see. Ukyo had the queen of clubs, Ryoga got the nine of hearts, Ranma and Akane had the eight and ten of spades respectively. Everyone picked up their cards, careful to keep the face-down one hidden from the others.
"This one will be more of a practise run, just to get everybody into the swing of things. Does everyone agree to simply to go through the deck with no flips?" the chef asked, glancing at the other three. Ryoga was on her right, Akane on her left while she was facing Ranma. All three nodded. Starting with Akane and moving clockwise, everyone drew one card; leaving Ukyo to draw last as she was the one who had dealt them. There was an unspoken signal that everyone would stand at the end of one draw; Ukyo laid her cards down first.
"I've lost this one, I got twenty-two," she said with a mock sigh.
Ranma gave a resigned huff. "Twenty-three."
Akane grinned and said, "I guess I win!" Lying in front of Akane was the ten of spades along with the eight and three of hearts.
"Not quite," Ryoga, showing his own cards; the nine of both spades and hearts along with the three of clubs.
"Guess the practise round is a draw," Ukyo commented, making sure everyone put their cards to one side before dealing another round. After they all drew one card, the four teens showed their hands at the same time.
Ranma frowned at the six of diamonds and hearts and the ten of diamonds that lay before him.
Akane revealed the queen of spades, the seven of clubs and the ace of hearts.
Ukyo smiled as she showed the five and ten of hearts with the four of diamonds.
Ryoga concealed his smirk as he presented the four and king of clubs along with the seven of hearts.
"How do you do that, man?" Ranma demanded, a look comprised of part awe, part jealousy and part suspicion etched on his face as he stared at the pig-cursed martial artist.
"Just lucky, I guess," Ryoga answered.
Again Ukyo waited until the table was clear before dealing. "Stand," she said after everyone had drawn.
"Twenty-six," Ranma grumbled.
"Twenty-three," sighed Ukyo straight after.
Akane grinned. "Twenty-one," she said, showing off the two of hearts, ace of spades and eight of diamonds. "Let's see you pull another one out of your hat," she added, turning her grin towards Ryoga.
Ryoga shrugged and said, "Okay." He lay down his cards; two of diamonds, nine of clubs and the king of spades. "Twenty-one," he announced, unable to keep a grin off his face this time.
Ukyo was laughing internally. She thought it was about time that the poor wanderer caught a lucky break. The chef dealt the cards one last as there would not be enough left for a fifth round. This time it was Ukyo who grinned; declining to draw a card. "Twenty-one," she proudly stated, showing the king of hearts and the ace of diamonds.
"Oh well, eighteen isn't bad," Akane said, placing the ten of clubs and both the four of hearts and spades in front of her.
"Cards hate me," Ranma stated sourly, glaring at the six, two and five of clubs before him. He shot another glare as the short-haired girl broke out into giggles.
"Thirteen? Fitting," Ukyo said, trying to smother giggles of her own. "C'mon, Hibiki, let's see 'em!"
Being as casual as he could, Ryoga lay his cards down so that the other three could see them. There, lying before the Eternally Lost Boy was the queen of hearts, the king of diamonds and the ace of clubs. "Twenty-one," he said, his smirk revealing his fangs.
"Okay, wise-guy, how about one more round with just me?" Ukyo asked, fully aware that the odds were roughly fifty-fifty. She had just as much of a chance to win as the bandanna-clad boy did.
"Two cards each?" Ryoga asked for clarification as there was only five left.
Ukyo nodded and dealt the cards one last time, placing the last one in the centre of the table. She frowned as she lay her cards down. Ukyo had gotten the three and six of spades.
Ryoga put his own hand down, his smirk growing wider.
"Eighteen," Akane counted quickly, looking at the eight of clubs and the jack of hearts.
"Unbelievable…" Ukyo breathed out, slumping back in her chair. "Your luck with cards is as good as Ranma's is bad!" she exclaimed, Akane nodding in agreement opposite the smug boy.
Ryoga shrugged, his smirk fading. "I usually end up playing some kind of card game against people in exchange for something I need if I win. I rarely play for fun; it's usually for some money, supplies or a place to spend the night if I don't feel like using my tent."
"But you're too young to gamble!" Akane gasped, staring wide-eyed at her nomadic friend.
Looking a little abashed, Ryoga gazed at the tabletop and decided to forgo an answer. It was hard to answer something when you had no answer to give. With no more conversation masking the noises coming from outside, Ryoga could hear the rain clearly again. Even with the silence inside the restaurant the rain sounded…diminished. Ranma seemed to have noticed it as well.
"It sounds like the rain's eased off," the pigtailed boy said, more to the girls than anything. Getting up from the table, Ranma slid open the front door a bit to check. "Yeah, we can go home now, Akane."
"Oh, good," the youngest Tendo said. "It was fun hanging out like this, we should do it more often," she continued, smiling warmly at the chef and the Lost Boy.
"Aw man, I wish I had an umbrella! The rain's slacked off a fair bit, but I'll still turn into a girl if I go out there," Ranma complained, glowering at the sky and wishing - not for the first time - that his father had never found the pamphlet that mentioned Jusenkyo.
Ukyo stood up and walked over to Ranma. "You can borrow mine if you like," she offered, plucking the aforementioned object from its place near the door and holding it out to her fiancé. It was the same umbrella she had used when fetching P-chan off the street a fortnight ago.
"Hey, thanks a bunch, Ucchan, you're a real pal!" Ranma said cheerfully, taking the proffered umbrella. "I'll bring it back tomorrow," he added, throwing a pointed glance at Ryoga over his shoulder.
"Thanks again for letting us stay," Akane said before waving goodbye and hurrying after Ranma, immediately getting into an argument about sharing the umbrella.
The sound of their bickering voices became fainter until Ukyo could hear them no longer. She started as a hand suddenly came to rest upon her shoulder, its weight strangely reassuring; letting her know that she was not alone. She slowly turned her head, the worried face of Ryoga Hibiki entering her field of vision.
"Ukyo, what's wrong? You suddenly…froze," he said in a hesitant manner, as though she was a bomb about to explode.
Ukyo was a strong girl and she was determined not to break down in front of Ryoga; once had been enough! Keeping her voice even and steady, she asked, "Ryoga… If you had a loving fiancée, would you simply call her your 'pal'? Would she be your 'buddy'?"
Ryoga blinked; that feeling of being adrift slamming into him again. "Uh…no. If I had a girl that loved me like that, I'd view her as a being a bit more special than a friend. I've noticed that in all the places I wander through and all the people I meet…that someone only calls someone else their 'buddy' when they want something from that person," he answered honestly. He instantly regretted his answer when Ukyo's expression swung south, far south. Before he could start stuttering apologies, Ukyo held up a hand and Ryoga grew still while watching her intently.
"Now don't go saying sorry for telling the truth, sugar. I'd rather hear the plain truth straight up, no matter how painful, as a sugar-coated lie would only end up hurting worse in the end. You can only hope for so long…" she said. A few awkward seconds passed before a small, soft sob came from the chef and her shoulders hunched a little as she tried not to curl in on herself.
Ryoga's normally hard, angry gaze softened as he gently led the girl to the counter with the grill and guided her onto one of the seats, taking the seat next to it for himself. Not knowing what to say, the Lost Boy simply sat there, offering his silent emotional support.
Tears began running down her face as she continued to sob, putting her elbows on the counter and resting her head in her hands, covering her eyes and cheeks. Ukyo had clutched at even the smallest glimmer of hope for quite a while, but now… Now she could fool herself no longer.
Each little thing that Ranma did to upset her in some way she used to be able to brush off as though it never happened or was of no importance. Ever since that rainy day, however, Ukyo had not been able to turn a blind eye anymore. All of those little things were slowly returning to haunt her, and now she was looking at them without Ranma-tinted glasses in front of her eyes.
Ukyo Kuonji did not like what she saw.
Her hunched shoulders trembled as her sobs increased in intensity. Despite being labelled as 'the cute fiancée', Ukyo vividly recalled the first time she had gone anywhere with Ranma while there were no other fiancées around. Looking back, Ukyo could tell that Ranma and Genma had wanted her to accompany them to Yomogi Valley simply because, unlike Akane, she could cook perfectly edible food. No doubt they avoided asking Shampoo - and even Kodachi - due to the high risk factor of potions, powders and other dubious ingredients that both girls had a tendency to slip into food and drink.
Shampoo may not have been there, but her great-grandmother was. The tiny old woman had mostly ignored Ukyo, really only speaking to her when answering or explaining something. Ukyo hadn't minded since they were technically enemies, though the chef was grateful to the Elder for helping her Ranchan get his strength back.
Feeling silly for letting her thoughts wander, Ukyo scrubbed away her tears with the back of her hand. "Look at me, crying like a little kid whose ice-cream melted before I had a chance to eat it," she remarked, trying to bolster herself. She turned to her guest, about to apologise for her sombre mood, but found that she was unable to get the words out. Ryoga was staring at her, a knot of worry on his brow, as though he was contemplating whether or not to hug her in an attempt to cheer her up or if the risk of being called a pervert and clobbered with a giant metal spatula was too big of a con to outweigh any pros.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he suddenly asked, catching her by surprise.
Ukyo's mind immediately said, "Yes!" but the word that rolled off her tongue was, "No."
"Are you sure?" Ryoga persisted.
"Yeah, I'm sure. I…don't think I'm ready to talk about it just yet," she admitted, feeling ashamed that she had let her emotions get the better of her again. In front of Ryoga again, no less, even after she had all but vowed not to!
The fanged martial artist gave her a reluctant nod. He was not happy about the entire situation, but he knew better than to push the girl before him; she would only start pulling away.
Ukyo suddenly had an unexplainable urge to be alone. Considering that she had wanted Ryoga around for the past two weeks, this urge made no sense to the confused chef. She did want to be alone at the moment, but Ukyo knew that once Ryoga left, she would start wishing for company. The Lost Boy was not many people's choice for a companion, but he was Ukyo's friend now and she didn't want to lose that new, tenuous friendship over her little scene. Deciding to buck up and be the tough Kansai girl she was, Ukyo plastered a smile on her face and asked him if he'd like a drink and something to eat. He had only had one okonomiyaki since she had found him earlier, and she was beginning to feel like a bad hostess.
"Um… A drink would be nice. Do you have anything fizzy?" he replied, blushing a little at his own request.
"Fizzy?" Ukyo blinked. "I'm pretty sure I've got some cans of soda lying around," she answered, hopping off the seat and walking around the grill to her kitchen. "Is plain lemonade okay with you?" she called after a minute.
"Yeah, that's fine," he called back.
A few seconds later, Ukyo reappeared holding two cans. Instead of sitting at her usual spot behind the grill, she reclaimed the seat next to Ryoga, holding one of the cans out to him as she did. Two metallic clicks broke the silence, followed by the soft hiss of pressurized air being freed.
Feeling curious, Ukyo asked, "Why did you want something fizzy?"
"Hmm? Oh, well, water gets a bit old after a while and even tea is only hot water," he replied.
"True," Ukyo said, nodding absently.
Silence became dominant once again as the two teens' feelings of awkwardness began to rise steadily. Neither of them had spent so much time in anyone's company without something happening; whether it was a newcomer to Nerima that was more than likely after Ranma for one reason or another, or someone with an agenda usually fuelled by jealousy. Ukyo began to wonder if Tsubasa Kurenai was suddenly going to pop out of something.
A random thought struck the teenage girl at that moment. Akane had Kuno chasing her, Mousse hounded Shampoo, Ukyo had to fend off Tsubasa and Ranma had nearly everyone after him. Ryoga had no-one.
Sure, there were the multiple times that Ranma had pretended to be the Lost Boy's fan or fiancée or something, but those didn't count. Ranma always disguised himself and targeted Ryoga when he was after something.
It hurt Ukyo to think that Ranma could act so casually cruel to the sensitive boy. Didn't the pigtailed jackass know that mental and emotional scars ran so much deeper than any physical wound? The fanged martial artist was so internally scarred, he could utilise an attack formed from despair and depression with almost frightening ease.
That thought stopped Ukyo's mental train of thought with a jarring screech.
How healthy could the constant use of that attack be to Ryoga's state of mind? No wonder the poor guy always looked glum whenever saw him! Thinking back, Ukyo realised that Ryoga had always been like that and that the behaviour was simply a little more pronounced after he had learned the Lion's Roar technique. Now that they were officially friends, Ukyo felt a bit protective of the pig-cursed teen and vowed to keep him happy whenever he was around. Much like Ryoga, Ukyo had been a bit of an outcast growing up and valued friends almost as highly as he did.
"Thanks for everything today, Ukyo, but I should get going before the rain picks up again," Ryoga said, a small undertone of reluctance making its way into his voice. Standing up, he slid his arms into his pack's straps and tugged it into a more comfortable position against his back.
"Hey, it was no problem, sugar," Ukyo replied. She watched him walk over to the door and slide it open. The sudden urge to ask him to spend the night overtook her, but she pushed it away. What was a little rain to him? As long as he kept under his umbrella, he would be fine. So why should he stay at her place? She opened her mouth to ask, but managed to squish the urge. "Try to visit again tomorrow, okay?" she asked instead.
"Sure, but I can't make any guarantees," he replied, smirking to hide his anger at his non-existent sense of direction. "Bye!" he said, stepping over the threshold of her restaurant, flicking open his umbrella, and disappearing amongst the rainy streets.
"Bye," Ukyo said softly.
"What do you think it was that Ryoga returned?" Akane asked when she and Ranma were alone in the living room.
Ranma shrugged and took a sip of his tea. "I got no idea," he replied absently.
Akane frowned at her fiancé's disinterested attitude. Wasn't he even the least bit curious? What if something was secretly going on between her friend and her rival fiancée? Akane shook her head. Sure, Ryoga seemed to act a little differently around Ukyo; more grounded, focused and he didn't stutter nearly so much, but Ukyo was still pursuing Ranma with the same fervour she always had, so surely Akane was simply seeing things that weren't there. Still, Ukyo had been much more cheerful when she and Ranma had taken refuge from the rain in her restaurant… And Ryoga had been the only possible cause for the chef's uplifted mood that Akane could see…
"Here you are, freshly baked and still warm," Kasumi happily announced, her light voice breaking Akane away from her thoughts. The eldest Tendo daughter gently set a plate of rather tasty looking cookies down upon the low table the two sixteen-year-olds were leaning their elbows on.
"Wow, thanks, Kasumi!" Ranma said, snatching a cookie immediately after flashing a cheerful grin at the demure girl.
"Oh, my, Akane, is something wrong?" Kasumi asked, seating herself at the table between Ranma and her youngest sister.
"No, no, I was just thinking," Akane hastily assured. She was saved from any further probing by an unhappy, piggish squeal coming from just beyond the edge of the porch.
Ryoga had been wandering the streets, looking for a place to pitch his tent, when someone on a delivery motorbike had driven past, sending the water that was running along the gutter like a mini river splashing straight onto the cursed boy. His eyes did not work quite as well at night when he was a pig, so he had ended up wandering around even more blindly than usual and was unaware that he was in the Tendos' backyard. It did not take him long at all to pinpoint his own location once he saw Akane rushing towards him.
"Oh, P-chan, you're finally back! Poor little baby, you're all cold and wet. Let's get you inside and dry you off," she cooed happily, picking up the little black piglet and cradling him in her arms as she carried him inside.
A warm glow spread through Ryoga at the physical contact, but it was somewhat dampened by Ukyo's voice echoing in his head. Not wanting to spoil any chance he might have with the youngest Tendo, Ryoga decided to follow Ukyo's advice and try not to act love struck. Since he had no problem talking normally to Ukyo, perhaps he should picture that he was speaking to Ukyo instead? It might just help him get over his shyness concerning Akane…
Ranma sent his usual half-glare at the little swine, but refrained from making any sarcastic comments due to how happy he had made Ukyo earlier that day. Besides, the porker looked a little…subdued?
As Akane sat back down at the table, Kasumi re-entered the room carrying a couple of towels and handed them to her youngest sister.
Ranma blinked at the elder girl; he hadn't even notice her move! If Kasumi took up the Tendo branch of Anything-Goes, Ranma was quite sure that she would swiftly progress further than the current practitioner. She wouldn't have Akane's brute strength, but Kasumi possessed the discipline and emotional centre that Akane didn't, and it was this small fact that would allow Kasumi's skills to grow past Akane's. Ranma shook his head. Kasumi was too dedicated to her current role in the Tendo family to change it.
Akane eagerly grabbed one of the towels and threw it over Ryoga, scrubbing him with it gently yet firmly; the experience feeling like déjà vu as he recalled Ukyo doing the same thing.
Ryoga hated having his short piggy fur ruffled. It felt like having your clothes on backwards; tolerable, but not exactly comfortable. He endured in silence, acting as though he was enjoying himself. Once Akane deemed him clean and dry, she gathered up the towels and took them to the laundry, leaving her pet with Ranma and Kasumi.
"I should start making dinner," Kasumi suddenly said, walking serenely toward the kitchen.
Ranma had to fight the urge to grin in anticipation of another delicious Kasumi-cooked meal. Ryoga, too, was looking forward to it as Akane always fed him bits and pieces off her own plate. This small fact never failed to bug Ranma.
"What brought you here in the rain, Mr. P?" Ranma asked, for once not infusing the question with any innuendo or sarcasm.
The little piglet gave him a half-hearted glare and his piggy equivalent of a shrug.
"You don't know or you were lost?"
Ryoga hopped onto the table and tapped a hoof on it twice.
"Lost, huh?"
Ryoga simply nodded, not feeling like getting into a fight at the moment. Ukyo's behaviour throughout the whole afternoon had him unusually concerned. Something seemed very wrong with Ukyo, but Ryoga had no idea how to help as she hadn't told him the problem. Thinking about how sad she had been made his own spirits sink, stripping him of the will to fight, even though his opponent was Ranma.
Even Ranma, who was not very observant when it came to feelings, noticed that all was not right. "Something wrong, Ryoga?" he asked seriously. Despite all, he did view the Lost Boy as a friend. Their friendship was incredibly twisted and hardly recognisable, but it was there.
The black piglet shook its head, but there had been a tiny moment of hesitation that had not escaped Ranma.
Ranma was about to call him on it, but the pigtailed boy was derailed when Akane came back and sat down. Huffing in disappointment, Ranma wondered if he could pluck P-chan from Akane's room later and force him to talk. Ranma hated being out of the loop. Between Ukyo's, and now Ryoga's, strange behaviour, Ranma got the feeling that whatever this new development was, it was pretty big.
Dinner went normally. Afterwards, everyone drifted off to do their own thing. Kasumi had to wash the dishes; Nabiki had to take care of something, the shogi board beckoned to Soun and Genma, while Ranma and Akane had homework that they had been putting off. They had been given the homework a week ago and it was due tomorrow. Ranma had only finished about a third while Akane only had a few things left to do.
As Akane pored over her work at her desk, Ryoga was sitting on her bed instead of her lap. The best way to cool down his emotions, he figured, was if he started by distancing himself a little. It was not easy to force himself to stay away from Akane's warm, inviting lap, but he knew it was for the greater good. If he could not do this, how was he supposed to control himself around her? The one time he had been able to fully express his feelings - due to the waterproof soap he had inadvertently stolen from Shampoo - his passion scared her almost as much as his casual strength. That simple fact continuously cut him to the core and was his main driving force behind his current determination.
Some time later - Ryoga had no idea how much time had passed as he had lost track - Akane finally put her pencil down and closed her exercise book, raising her arms above her head and giving a content sigh when her back popped, relieving some of the stiffness.
Ranma, too, had finished his homework. He had worked quickly, wanting the rest of the night to snag the pig and have a chat. When the house was completely dark and quiet, minus his old man's snoring, Ranma snuck out the window and onto the roof. Silently making his way across until he was above his fiancée's room, Ranma hopped down and eased the window open.
The curtains swayed slightly in the light breeze, as if they were waving in greeting to the guest that slipped past them into the room they guarded.
As Ranma's eyes adjusted, he looked to the bed. Akane was lying there of course, but there was no black lump in her arms or sharing her pillow. Confused, Ranma swept his gaze around the room. Had the little porker gotten lost already? Ah, no, there he was, sleeping at the foot of the bed. Ranma frowned. He had no complaints concerning Ryoga's chosen spot, but why was he sleeping there? Ranma knew that Ryoga took every opportunity to snuggle up to Akane, so why was he not where he usually slept?
One of Ryoga's long porcine ears perked up and swivelled in Ranma's direction. Rousing himself, Ryoga stood and turned to face the pigtailed boy, baring his powerful piggy teeth and growling softly to convey the message that intruders were unwanted.
Ranma raised his hands in a passive gesture, indicating that he didn't want to fight. When the piglet stopped growling, Ranma swiftly snatched him and fled to the roof. Running across it, Ranma jumped off and ran into the dojo, shutting the door behind him.
Ryoga squealed loudly in protest, writhing about and trying to bite Ranma or score him with his hooves. After almost a full minute of this struggling, Ryoga went limp. He really hated being manhandled, it only served to remind him how small and helpless he was in this form.
"Now that you're ready to listen," Ranma said sarcastically, "I only grabbed ya so we could talk." Picking up a kettle that was next to a backpack, Ranma poured its warm contents over the black piglet.
Ryoga, butt naked, sat there with his mouth firmly shut.
"I went and found your stuff," Ranma said, tossing the backpack to Ryoga.
The Lost Boy grunted in a vaguely thankful way and retrieved his clothes, dressing in silence.
"Come on, Ryoga, tell me what's goin' on," Ranma cajoled. "Somethin's wrong with Ukyo and somethin's wrong with you, too. Spill!"
Looking hard into Ranma's storm-blue eyes, Ryoga saw plenty of determination, as well as worry and honesty.
Ranma crossed his arms, signalling that neither would leave the dojo until the young Saotome was satisfied.
Ryoga took a deep breath.
Disclaimer: In no way what-so-ever do I own Ranma ½ and all related characters. I only own this storyline and my own style of writing.
NOTE: I am looking for a beta for this story. I would have used the beta search feature, but I much prefer someone to volunteer themselves. That way, they're less likely to get sick of it since they read it themselves. I've run across this problem before and it can be a pain to sort out. So, anyone interested?
A/N: Ah, still not much is happening, huh? Well, not physically. I'm an emotional thinker, psychologically inclined. If you're like this, you'll understand that I actually got quite a bit done in this chapter. Stories aren't all about fighting, you know. I'm not saying there won't be fighting in this, I just won't be focusing on it much. Sorry.
The game of Blackjack was based on a stream of games I played with my mother until we ran out of cards in the deck. I slightly modified the rules to make it less arduous to write and more fun to read. I hope you enjoyed it. (Since Ranma sucks at any kind of card game, I figured I should make Ryoga a pretty good player. I did give a legitimate reason for his card skills, so I hope you don't think I was just picking on Ranma.)
Let me know what you think, reviews are wonderful motivators to write more. Constructive criticism is appreciated.
~Fantomo