Ranma was in the common room of the Tendo household dressed in the most formal thing he had: an army green Chinese military uniform and a cap with a single red star on it to match. The boy was pacing back and forth, wringing his hands together. In the common room with him was Kasumi, Nabiki and the two girl's father, Soun.
"Relax," said the man.
"Yeah, your making me dizzy," added the middle sister.
Ranma had a good reason to be nervous. Even though he has been on dates before, they were over trivial things. Whether the date was for a false cure for his curse, or if it was to get a girl; who turned out to be a cross-dressing guy; to like guys, there is one difference separating those dates from this one. This particular date was a serious one between two people who truly love each other.
"Maybe I should go and see what is taking Akane so long," said Kasumi, getting up to leave.
The boy stopped and watched her go up the stairs and then he went back to pacing.
"You're going to worry yourself sick if you keep it up," Soun told the boy.
But the advice fell in deaf ears.
"Just try to have a good time at the restaurant tonight," Nabiki added.
Ranma stopped again and turned his attention to her.
"That reminds me," he says, pulling a note from his pocket, "I've been meaning to ask you if this was some cruel joke you're trying to pull?"
"Whatever do you mean?" she replied, trying to sound innocent.
"I know I should've read the note when you handed it to me, but I didn't because I thought I could trust you to pick a nice restaurant we would enjoy," he explained.
"I thought I did," answered the middle sister.
"You wrote Uchan's as your choice. I mean I could've done that!" he tells her.
"I called her place to make the reservations and she agreed to help you out," she pointed out.
"Do I dare ask you what the other choice was," he said.
"The other one was the Nekohanten," she responded.
"Now you're joking, you couldn't have been seriously thinking about Shampoo's place, could you?" he asked.
"I was," replied Nabiki, "I had no doubt Akane was going to win her fight against Shampoo and I thought about having your date there just to rub it in."
"We don't know how she would react to us being there. What if she tries some underhanded tactic or if she gave Akane the 'Kiss of Death' and tried to hurt her. Do you want that on your conscious?" wondered Ranma.
"No I don't, that's why I chose Uchan's. I know of Shampoo's Amazonian laws and put that information in my decision in the first place," she snapped.
Kasumi hurried down the stairs and said, "Here she comes," and stepped aside.
The boy waited with baited breath as she came down. She stopped and stood in the doorway to the common room wearing an elegant blue dress, cut just below the knees with a white sash wrapped around her waist.
Soun began to cry tears of joy, "You look so grown up!"
"You look great," said Ranma, awestruck.
"Thanks," she replied, "You look nice too."
He glances at the girl's father. "Let's go, before he decides to take a picture," he tells her, walking over to her.
He reaches for her hand when a flash goes off. He turns around and sees Nabiki holding a camera.
"Way ahead of you, Ranma," she says, laughing.
The couple chuckle and head for the front door. The boy grabs the doorknob only to hear knocking come from the other side. Opening the door he is face to face with his parents.
"Mom, dad, what are you doing here?" he asked.
"We wanted to catch you two before you left," replied Genma.
"You look so handsome," said Nodoka, giving her son a hug. "And you're looking lovely, Akane," she continued, giving the girl a hug too.
"Thanks, Mrs. Saotome," answered the girl, accepting the gesture.
"I guess we should get going," responded Ranma, holding the door open for his date.
"Have fun, you kids!" called the boy's father, waving goodbye to the young couple.
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"Where are we going for dinner?" asked Akane, walking down the street, hand in hand.
"Oh, I thought we'd go to Uchan's, if it's okay with you?" Ranma replied.
"Uchan's sounds good as long as nobody tries to ruin our date," said the girl.
They made their way over to the restaurant in a nervous silence. Opening and holding the door for her, the couple enter and are greeted by Ukyo.
"Good evening. Your table is right over here," she says, showing them to the only table in the place, set at one corner of the dining area.
Two chairs were sitting around it and there was a card laying on the table with the word 'reserved' on it. There was also a single white candle sitting in the middle of the small table, to help with the mood.
Doing the gentlemanly thing, Ranma pulled out a chair for Akane and scooted it in after she sat down. Business looked a little slow, because they were the only customers there at the time.
Lighting the candle, Ukyo asks, "What will you be ordering tonight?"
"I guess we'll have two of your best yaki," said the boy.
His date nodded her head to show she agreed with him.
"Sure thing, Ranchan. It'll be a few minutes," replied his friend.
She went behind the cooking counter and began to fill out the order.
"This is a nice little setup she did, isn't it?" he asked.
"Yeah it is," agreed Akane.
Before they could say another thing, the door opens up and his two friends Daisuke and Hiroshi entered. They see the couple sitting in the corner, grab two stools and sit with them.
"This is new," said Daisuke.
"Yeah, what are you two doing here like this? You're not on a date, are you?" asked Hiroshi.
Ranma nodded and told them, "We are and it's kind of a private date."
"Oh, then we'll leave you two alone then, come on Hiroshi," said the boy's friend. They put the stools back where they belonged and sat down at the bar.
Returning to their conversation, Akane says, "Still, I can't believe Ukyo did this for us."
"I know, it's like she has completely gotten over the fact that we're together," agreed the boy.
"Not completely, just look," responded the girl, pointing.
He glanced at the bar in time to see his friend jerk her attention back to their order.
"I think there is still some feelings left, she's just repressing them," replied Akane.
"Maybe one of us should talk to her?" he wondered.
Before he could volunteer, the girl says, "I'll do it."
"Why you?" asked Ranma.
"Because what she is going through right now, I've already dealt with it once," she explained.
It was around this time Ukyo brought the couple their order.
"Here you go, " she says, placing the plates in front of them along with two glasses of water. She adds, "If you need anything else I'll be right over there," and walks back behind the bar.
The okonomiyaki they ordered was topped off with an egg, two slices of pork and had been dusted with tempura flakes and shredded cabbage.
"It looks good," said Akane, picking up a piece of the yaki and some egg with her chopsticks.
Ranma however had something on his mind.
"What did you mean by 'you've already dealt with it once'?" wondered the boy.
Swallowing the food in her mouth, she replies, "The mixed emotions, I've been through them one time before."
While she elaborated, he ate. "Before you came along I had a crush on Dr. Tofu. But since he had a crush on Kasumi, my feelings weren't acknowledged. I was happy for her, but at the same time I was sad for myself. I still had feelings for him although I knew the feeling wasn't mutual. That is what Ukyo is going through, she has feelings for you even though she knows those feelings aren't returned. It might be better if she heard it from someone who has experienced the pain of loving someone that didn't love them in return."
"Maybe it would be better if you talked to her," agreed Ranma, not really understanding all she said.
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When they finished their meal, they thanked Ukyo for everything she did and paid her for the dinner. Leaving Uchan's, the couple joined in with the bustling nightlife.
"Do you want to go home?" asked Ranma.
"Not yet, let's walk around for a little bit," she replied, looking down the street.
They strolled down the sidewalk absorbing the sights before them. Standing in the middle of the bridge they gazed at the moon's reflection in the river as the waves made the image dance along the moving water. They made their way to an ice cream parlor for some dessert. He ordered a root beer float, while she had a hot fudge sundae. After that they stopped at a flower stand where Ranma bought a dozen red roses.
"Beautiful flowers for a beautiful lady," he says, handing them to her.
She thanked him and gave them a sniff. "They're lovely," said Akane, smiling.
Walking arm in arm, they watched as other couples went up and down the street, stopping at the various stores along the way. When they returned home, neither one of them wanted the night to end. They stood in silence on the front step of the Tendo household for a few minutes. Akane was the first to act.
"I had a wonderful time tonight," she said, gazing into his eyes.
"I'm glad you did, I had a great time too. We should do this again some time," replied the boy.
"Are you asking me out on another date?" wondered the girl.
"Maybe, I don't know yet," answered Ranma.
"If you are, I'd love to go on another date," said Akane, wrapping her arms around his neck.
Their lips came together in passionate fashion. After a few seconds they parted only to embrace each other again with another kiss. When they finished their display of love, the boy opens the front door for her to enter. Following her inside, he shuts the door with a click. The house was eerily quiet until a noise came from the common room. Standing in the doorway between the foyer and the living room the couple find Kasumi and Soun watching the news.
"Welcome back, how was the date?" asked the eldest daughter, standing up.
"We had a wonderful time," replied her sister, handing over the roses.
"I'll go put these in a vase," said Kasumi, heading for the kitchen.
"I didn't expect to see you so soon. It's not even ten o'clock yet," said Soun.
"If you like we could go back out to the porch for another hour," answered Ranma.
"No, no need," responded the girl's father.
"Where's Nabiki?" wondered the youngest daughter.
"I believe she is up in her room," the oldest sister called from the kitchen.
"I don't know about you two, but I'm going upstairs," said the little sister.
She leaned closer to the boy and whispers, "Meet me on the roof in an hour."
"Okay," replied the teen.
Akane then went up the stairs to her room. Waiting a few minutes, Ranma followed her up. He knocks on Nabiki's door.
"Enter at your own risk," said the middle sister thru the closed door.
Shutting the door behind him, she greets him.
"Home already, I see. How did it go?" she asked.
"She had a great time, thanks for the help," replied the boy.
"It was nothing, I'd be glad to do it again for a small fee," answered the girl.
"I think I'll pass on that offer," said Ranma.
"Your loss," responded Nabiki.
"I guess you should call your friends and tell them to stop watching Shampoo and Kodachi," he reminded her.
"What? Oh, right," she remembered.
"Is that all?" she asked.
"Yeah, thanks again," he replied, reaching for her doorknob.
"Remember don't mention my act of kindness to anyone, got it?" she told him.
"Got it," said the boy, closing her door again.
"Maybe I should have told him nobody was watching Shampoo and Kodachi? Oh, well," said Nabiki, getting back to what she was doing.
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Sitting on the roof's edge with her legs dangling over, Akane was no longer in her dress, but was instead wearing a white shirt and jeans. She sat there waiting for Ranma to show up. Climbing onto the roof, the boy had on his red shirt and black pants.
"I'm here, why did you want to meet?" he asked.
Standing up, the girl walked over to him.
"Remember when I said there were a few things I wanted to do before I accepted your proposal?" she wondered.
"Yeah, what were those things?" he replied.
"One was to get the other girls out of the way," she told him.
"You did that. Anything else?" asked Ranma.
Akane reached into her pocket and pulled out the black felt box. She held it out for him to take.
"The last thing I wanted was to go a date with you. One date without anybody else messing it up," she answered, handing the box over.
"You're saying 'yes'?" he asked.
"Mm-hm," she nodded, holding out her hand.
The boy removed the gold ring from the box and with his hand shaking, he placed it on her finger. It was a perfect fit. The six diamonds and one ruby glistened in the night. The two teenagers wrapped their arms around one another and emphasized their joy with a quick kiss.
"When are you going to tell your dad?" asked Ranma.
"I'll tell him in the morning," responded Akane, placing her head onto his shoulder.
The couple stood there in silence for a few minutes in each other's embrace.
"I'm so happy," said the girl, beginning to cry.
"Me too," agreed the boy, rubbing her back.