Chapter Four
Euphoria
Everyone donned suitable party clothes and after stopping once to pick up Dr. Tofu (whom Kasumi invited), the group were off to the club, taking two seperate cars: Ranma's small, faded blue one that could barely hold four people, and Nabiki's sleek black car that looked small on the outside but like a limo on the inside. Ranma and Ryoga rode in Ranma's car, with Kasumi and Tofu in the back seat.
Dr. Tofu looked nervous sitting beside Kasumi, who had ditched her apron and floral-print dress for some make-up and a pretty mauve skirt with a white top. Ranma was grateful the doctor was holding up (in the least, his glasses had yet to go foggy) but he knew Tofu had to be losing it. You'd have to be a blind fool not to notice how drop-dead gorgeous Kasumi was. Tofu was damn lucky to have her, and boy did he know it.
Ranma felt a little underdressed, when he'd seen what the girl's had put on. Ukyo had knee-length boots that hurt Ranma's feet just looking at them. Nabiki was dressed the most daringly, of course, with a shirt that rode very low and a skirt that showed a whole lot of legs. Akane was dressed the most modest next to Kasumi, but Akane was even wearing make-up for a change. Dr. Tofu was even rocking a suit. Ranma, who had chosen to wear the new shirts Akane had given him, felt a bit plain compared to them, and was thankful Ryoga was dressed in a simple white T-shirt and old jeans. He wasn't much for flashy clothes, either.
Parking was mental, and they had ended up having to park their cars a ways down the street, but not enough you couldn't see the flashing, thumping club in the distance. The group walked up the street and waited in line. Ukyo paid their way in (saying it was her present to Ranma), and the group filed inside and instantly the thumping got louder. They made their way to the main room, and as the doors opened, Ranma was nearly deafened by the music that burst through the door. It was so loud it beat against his ears and chest, and Ranma had to feel his heartbeat to completely make sure it wasn't actually in time with the music.
The dance floor was packed with people, mostly ones their age, dancing radically to the beat of the music. Some had some wild outfits that took Ranma's attention away from the colourful flashing lights and lazors. Ranma wished he had more eyes, because there was too much to look at. There were two giant screens that had bubbles of all colours darting around and then bursting into dust, then a new pattern would take over the screen. Employees walked around the club with silver platters of drinks of all shapes and sizes and colours, or trays of finger food. There was a set of stairs that led up to a place where you could look out across the whole room, where Ranma noticed people sat at tables. There was also a wide bar, the table a shimmering stainless steel. There were glasses and bottles behind the bar that flickered in the strobe lights. Ukyo was ushering everyone over to the bar excitedly, and Ryoga took Ranma's wrist and pulled him away from all the distracting lights.
"I can see why they call it Cornucopia," said Ranma quietly.
"Whaaat?" Ryoga asked loudly, squatting down so his ear was level with Ranma's mouth. You'd be insane to think you could talk in an inside voice in a place this loud, you either had to scream at the top of your lungs to be heard or just not talk at all. They reached the bar, which was fairly empty so they all got seats together, Ranma inbetween Ryoga and Akane. When the barmaid asked them what they were having, Ranma and Akane declined, not fans of alcohol. Ryoga asked for a beer.
The thumping beat of the music faded into a slow melody, and Akane tapped Ranma's arm and smiled at him.
"Can I get a dance with the birthday boy?" she asked, able to talk in a more normal tone now that the volume of the music had died down.
"Of course," said Ranma. He slid off the stool and playfully hooked his arm through Akane's, and looked over his shoulder to give Ryoga a parting smile. Ryoga smiled back, taking a swig of his drink as Ranma and Akane went out to the dance floor, which already had many couples slowly swaying to the music.
Akane rested her head on Ranma's shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her waist. They smiled contently as the swayed; neither were very good at dancing despite their martial arts grace, but they were happy to just sway back and forth.
"You look good in that shirt," Akane mumbled. "I have good taste."
Ranma chuckled, resting his cheek on the top of her head. "It's good to have you back, 'Kane." he said. "I was startin' to miss ya."
Akane giggled. "Just a little?" she teased.
"Well, maybe a bit more than 'a little'..." Ranma mumbled.
Akane laughed, squeezing him tighter. They were silent for a while, then Akane pulled away and looked up at Ranma.
"So...you really think I've gotten better at cooking?" she asked quietly.
"Yeah, 'course. You'll be a pro chef in no time, 'Kane. Even Kasumi said she was bad when she first started out. You're no different; nobody is born a good cook, you gotta learn how to do it properly. When Pops and I were out trainin' and were short on food I'd have to whip somethin' up, and of course my first attempts were awful, but we had to eat it or else we'd starve. So I learned under pressure, because I never really knew where we'd get our next meal, so I had to get good fast so that if I had to make something, we could actually stomach it. Even Kasumi had to force it upon herself to cook, after your mother passed away. She was just young, and had three other mouths to feed." Ranma paused for a moment, and looked down to see Akane staring at him with wide eyes. He chewed the inside of his cheek, feeling a little flustered with her looking at him so intently.
"I went off on a tangent there," he muttered. "What I'm tryin' to get at is that nobody is born a good cook, but it helps when it's in your blood. Your mom had that whole book filled with recipes, and now Kasumi is an amazing chef, and soon you'll be too. You got the drive, and the potential. That's all it takes. When you make yer masterpeice, I wanna be the first to try it, okay?"
Akane grinned, and nodded enthusiastically. "You bet!" she said happily. She cupped Ranma's face and gave him a kiss. "Thank you, Ranma."
The song ended, and changed to another slow tune. Dr. Tofu walked up behind Akane and asked her for a dance. She accepted, beaming at Ranma as Tofu took her hand and they started to dance. Ranma smiled at them, then turned around to see Ryoga. Ryoga held out his hand.
"Can I have a turn?" he asked.
Ranma blushed instantly. "W-we're in public!" Ranma blurted.
Ryoga laughed in light exasperation. Three years together, and Ranma still got uncomfortable if Ryoga even tried to hold his hand in public. If he tried to kiss him, he usually got smacked. Dancing was under the same category, it seemed.
Ryoga watched Ranma amusedly as his head darted around, looking to see if any of the dancers were watching them. Ryoga still had his hand out expectantly.
"I think everyone here is a bit too interested in their own partners to care about us, Ranma." Ryoga assured him, taking a step closer. "Besides, I don't think you'll get too much discrimination at a place like this. They welcome all kinds. See that lady over there dancing? That's a guy in drag."
Ranma looked where Ryoga was gesturing, and upon closer inspection, realized the woman was indeed a man in a dress. Ranma's eyes bulged.
"Nobody seems to be giving him much fuss. So just take my hand, will you?" Ryoga urged, holding his hand closer to him. Ranma pouted, looking down at his hand and looking like he was trying to solve a math problem. Finally, he sighed, and placed his hand in Ryoga's.
"You win, Hibiki." he muttered, as Ryoga pulled him close. Ryoga seemed to know a bit more about dancing, since he positioned them correctly, with his arm around Ranma's middle, his fingers closing around Ranma's hand as he started to lead them. Ranma stumbled right away.
"I don't dance, y'know." Ranma muttered, frowning at the amused smile on Ryoga's face. "Do you dance by yourself in the shower, or somethin'?"
Ryoga laughed. "No, I'm just not a dumbass and have a shred of common sense about how to dance properly." he quipped.
"Hey!"
Ryoga kissed him suddenly, and shut Ranma right up, except for his unarticulate stammering at the bold public gesture. Ryoga laughed at his boyfriend's despair, and decided to torture him further by dipping him, which got fabulous results as Ranma screeched in surprise.
"You better not drop me, Hibiki, or I'll kick your ass!" Ranma shouted.
"Shh, you're disturbing the other couples." Ryoga chastised lightly, swinging Ranma back up onto his feet. "You know, you're usually so graceful I thought you'd be at least slightly good at dancing."
Ranma scoffed. "Dancing is for geeks," he muttered.
Ryoga raised his eyebrows, and dipped Ranma again, getting another good reaction. "You know, one looks more like a geek when they can't dance. You're making yourself look pretty lame right now." Ryoga told him.
Ranma's face flushed in embarrassment. "Oh, shaddup." he grumbled.
"...good thing you make it look so cute, being so hopeless at something so simple as dancing."
"Shut up, I said! Undip me, already!"
Ryoga snorted at Ranma's unique choice of words. Then he leaned down to kiss him, hearing Ranma make a nervous gasp in his throat. He held the kiss, breaking away as the final note of the song held, then, slowly, faded out.
"Happy birthday," Ryoga said in a voice only Ranma could hear. "I love you."
Even in low lights, Ryoga could see Ranma was as red as a dragon fruit. He pressed his lips together, looking anywhere but at him.
"I...love you, too." he finally forced out. "Now will you let me up?"
Ryoga obeyed, pulling Ranma back up onto his feet. Ranma glanced around, and blanched when he noticed people were staring at them, even as another fast song kicked up again. A group of girl's were pointing, bouncing up and down excitedly, all of their hair bright colours and styled like something out of an anime. Ranma looked away, and dragged Ryoga off the dance floor and back to the bar.
"Well, wasn't that precious." Nabiki jeered. "You should have seen the group of girls over here at the bar just now. When they saw you, they swooned so much I thought they would all faint in unison."
"I'm so glad you're having such a good time, Ranma." Kasumi said innocently.
"Ryoga, you jackass, take yer paws offa Ranchan for five seconds and get yer fanny over here! Come drink with me!" Ukyo called, waving him over.
Ryoga shrugged at Ranma, and they went and joined Ukyo, who was looking quite tipsy already.
"Yo, get a drink for this sap over here!" Ukyo laughed, pointing to Ryoga. She looked down at her cup and frowned. "Top me up, too, I'm runnin' on empty over here!"
A barmaid came over, who had platnium blonde hair that was obviously fake considering her dark eyebrows. She smiled at the three of them and topped Ukyo's drink, giving Ryoga another glass of beer. She looked at Ranma questioningly.
"Anything for ya, sweetpea?" she asked.
Ranma blinked at the pet name. "Um..."
"C'mon, sugar, have a drink!" Ukyo demanded.
Ranma shook his head. "No way, beer is gross." Ranma said.
"You know, they have things other than beer." Ryoga informed him.
Ranma shrugged. "All alcohol is nasty." he said. He looked up at the barmaid. "I'll just have water, thanks."
"Suit yourself," the girl said, shrugging. She quickly brought him a glass of water with a lemon wedged on the rim of the glass.
Ukyo pouted at Ranma's order. "I guess we can just pretend that's straight vodka." she grumbled bitterly.
"Pretending won't get Ranma intoxicated." Ryoga said.
"Then I'm just gonna hafta get your ass drunk, Hibiki! Cheers!" Ukyo shouted, holding up her glass. Ryoga and her touched glasses then took a swig. Ukyo gasped contently as she took away her glass, then held it up again. "An' this 'uns fer Ranma-honeh. Happy freakin' birfday, jackass!"
Ranma laughed, and he, Ryoga, and Ukyo touched glasses heartily. Ukyo threw her head back and downed her drink, Ryoga following suit. Ukyo called for another round. Ryoga shook his head, blowing out a breath.
"I'm not really used to having this much beer in one sitting," Ryoga said. "I'm already getting a buzz."
"You're not gonna hurl on me, are you?" Ranma asked him seriously.
Ryoga laughed, accepting his third glass from the barmaid. "If it comes down to that, I'll be sure to aim for somebody else." he replied.
It amazed Ranma how fast Ryoga and Ukyo managed to pale through seven beers each. Ranma, still very much sober, watched them amusedly as they laughed at stupid things and made silly jokes, then get all serious about something 'really deep' until they burst out laughing again. A sudden drowsiness came over Ryoga and he rested his forehead on the table top. Ranma placed a hand on his back.
"I think I'm cutting you off, bud." he said with a smirk.
"I'm fine, jus' shleepy..." Ryoga muffled. He sat up straight and the room spun. He looked at Ranma and gave him a drunken smile. He let out a weird, drunken giggle and poked him in the nose. Ranma snorted and pushed his hand away good-naturedly.
"Are y-you havink a gewd time?" Ryoga slurred, concentrating very hard to pronounce words properly.
Ranma smiled. "Yeah, 'course I am, Ryo." he said. "You want a glass of water?"
Ryoga looked deep in thought. Ranma slid his glass over.
"Take mine. You'll feel better." Ranma told him.
Ryoga obeyed, taking a big gulp of water. Then he smiled and turned to Ranma. "It does help!" he said, much too happily.
Ranma laughed lightly. "Told ya so."
Ryoga leaned in suddenly, his expression drunkenly affectionate. "Gimme a kissh." he said.
Ranma glanced around quickly, but nobody was looking, all caught up with their own groups. Ranma looked back at Ryoga and quickly pecked him on the cheek.
"There, I..." he began, trailing off as Ryoga shook his head. "What?"
"I wanna reeeal kissh." Ryoga demanded, leaning towards him. He grabbed Ranma's wrists, spun him around on his barstool so his back faced the bar, and pushed him back against the cool stainless steel, bringing his lips down on Ranma's before Ranma could break out of the hold. Ranma heard Ukyo let out a drunken squeal of delight. Ranma whipped his head to the side, breaking the lip lock with a gag.
"Somethink wrong?" Ryoga asked.
"You taste like beer," Ranma groaned.
"Done already?" Ukyo whined. "Things were gettin' good, too! C'mon, sugar, lay one on 'em, who cares if you taste like shit!"
"I do!" Ranma shouted, shoving Ryoga off of him. Ryoga didn't seem offended by the gesture, and instead burst out into hiccuping giggles.
Soon the two drunks suddenly wanted to dance, and they dragged the birthday boy out onto the floor with them. They danced erratically to the quick beats of the music, Ranma mostly too busy holding his sides laughing too hard at his boyfriend's stupid dance moves to join in. He was too sober for that, anyways. After several songs, Ryoga started slowing down, and all of a sudden he darted off the dance floor. Ukyo, too busy jumping around in the mob, didn't see him run. Ranma fought his way out of the tight crowd, and caught sight of someone with an unmistakable yellow headband running like hell for the men's toilets.
"Oh boy..." Ranma sighed, following after him.
The washroom was deserted when Ranma entered, and quiet. There was only the faint rumble of the music outside. Then, Ranma heard a groan and the sound of something hawking a loogie.
"Ryoga?" Ranma asked, although he knew it was him. It was more of a test to see if Ryoga could even reply, or if he was too busy dying of alcohol poisoning.
"Kill meeee..." he heard Ryoga moan.
Ranma chuckled. He followed the smell and voice to the very last stall, opening the unlocked door. There lay Ryoga, hugging the toilet, his head buried in the bowl, blocking whatever foul-smelling grossness lay inside that Ranma tried very hard not to think about. It was very difficult considering the smell, however. If he thought beer smelled bad enough as it was, it was even worse coming back up. Ranma knelt down beside Ryoga, cramped in the tiny stall, and tried very hard not to plug his nose and gag.
"I think I'm cutting you off." Ranma said simply, patting Ryoga's back.
Ryoga groaned, echoed by the toilet he still had his head shoved into. "D-don't pat...or I'll..." he managed to croak, but trailed off as he choked on the stench in the toilet and was nearly sick again.
Ranma quickly stopped patting his back. He settled for rubbing instead, rubbing soothing circles inbetween Ryoga's shoulders, which seemed to work better because Ryoga sighed and his body slacked a little.
"That settles it. I'm never drinking again." Ryoga said with finality.
Ranma laughed lightly under his breath. "Yeah, you said that on your nineteenth too, buddy." Ranma reminded him.
"Well now I'm serious." Ryoga replied groggily. "I'll never touch another alcoholic beverage for as long as I li-...li...li..."
Ryoga was cut off as more beer evacuted his body and splashed into the toilet. Ranma wrinkled his nose, but continued rubbing Ryoga's back, pulling Ryoga's hair out of his eyes as he continued to bring his beer back up. Ranma said silly things like 'there, there', and 'that's the way, just get it outta there', 'it'll be over soon', or anything else he figured a doting boyfriend should do in gross situations like this. He waited quietly until Ryoga sat up slowly, the nausea passing at last. Ranma quickly reached over and flushed, looking anywhere but at what lay in the toilet water.
"Bleck," Ryoga said simply, grimacing at the taste in his mouth.
"Couldn'ta said it better myself, pal. C'mon, over to the sink. Up you get, ya drunk." Ranma pulled Ryoga to one of the sinks, and made Ryoga wash his mouth out with the hand soap. Ryoga complained vehemently about this, but Ranma simply told him to suck it up and that it would taste a lot better than beer and vomit. He also mentioned it was his punishment for getting so drunk and making the birthday boy have to drag him home. Later, Ranma led Ryoga out of the bathroom, teasing him lightly about how he was amazed Ryoga had managed to find the toilets in time when he was intoxicated, sick, and directionally challenged.
"Hey, where did you guys go?" Akane asked when the two arrived back at the bar.
"Ryoga had a little trouble, umm...keepin' his beer down." Ranma explained meekly, glancing over at Ryoga's pasty face. "I think it's about time we called it a night. I'm gonna take him home."
"Aww, but we're jus' gettin' started, Ranchan! C'mon, the night is young!" Ukyo complained.
"It's been fun, Uuchan, but Ryoga looks ready to pass out." Ranma replied, shifting his weight to better support Ryoga.
"Oh my, poor Ryoga. Yes, I think it will be best for you both to head straight home." Kasumi said with concern. "We'll all walk you out."
The group headed back outside; night had fallen completely, the sky midnight blue. Club-goers came and went, the only people on the street at this hour.
"Now be sure to have a few glasses of water before you go to bed, Ryoga." Kasumi was telling Ryoga, half-asleep on Ranma's shoulder. "That way you won't feel as terrible in the morning."
"Call me in the morning, Ranma. You've got a day-off, right?" Akane said, holding her arms in the slightly chilly night air. "We can go out...catch a movie or something."
"Sure, 'Kane." Ranma said, smiling. He and Akane hadn't had a day out in ages. "Thanks again, everybody, for the gifts and dinner. And thanks for buyin' us all in to the club, Uuchan."
Ukyo winked at him, her cheeks flushed from the alcohol buzzing through her veins. "Drop in when ya wanna get that pizza, kay, sugar?" she told him.
"You bet." Ranma laughed. "Well, have fun, guys. See you."
Everyone said goodbye and waved as Ranma and Ryoga started down the street towards Ranma's car. The walk was a little slow-going since Ranma had to support a bit of Ryoga's weight as the drunk boy leaned on his shoulder, but Ryoga was doing his best to walk mostly on his own. He stumbled a few times as they made their way down the sidewalk.
"You put up with me too much, you know that?" Ryoga said in a low, croaky voice.
Ranma chuckled in his throat. "I'm the only one who puts up with you, porkbutt." he reminded him, trying to sound nonchalant and jovial, but there was a soft smile on his lips.
They reached the car, and Ryoga clumbsily sat down in the passenger's seat. Ranma got in, turned the car around and headed for home. Not even a minute later, Ryoga was fast asleep. Ranma made his way down the dark street, lit by dull streetlights. Feeling the odd quiet settle on him, Ranma turned on the radio, not caring about the song but just wanting some background noise. It was some English song that Ranma didn't recognize.
...Everything will change,
nothing stays the same...
Ranma glanced over at Ryoga, still fast asleep, his mouth hanging open slightly. Ranma smiled, laughing slightly as Ryoga began to softly snore. He looked back to the road, an amused little smirk on his face as he listened to Ryoga's snoring.
...Everything is dark,
it's more than you can take,
but you catch a glimpse of sunlight, shining,
shining down on your face,
on your face,
on your face...
Ranma's smirk faded away as he heard a squealing noise that was as loud and high-pitched as a scream. A shiver jittered up Ranma's spine as his senses were telling him something, although he wasn't exactly sure what it was. There was a white flash in the corner in his eye, and the shiver jolted up his back again. His head turned to the right, out his side window, where the light came from. His eyes widened then squinted at two bright, white lights shrouding his vision. Ranma only had one second to realize it was car, speeding out of control.
Then the car smashed into him.
Author's Notes:
...yeah, I'm a bastard, I know.
Here's where the story really begins, folks! Didn't I say last time shit would get real? Well, it's gettin' real. Don't shoot me.
Stay tuned for Chapter Five to see what happens!
- Jadells
In case you're curious or you didn't know, the lyrics at the end of the chapter, playing on Ranma's radio are from the song "In My Veins", by Andrew Belle. Look it up, it's a great song...and it's on the Emotion soundtrack! :)
...and yes, those lyrics are supposed to be foreshadowing/symbolic. :D