Chapter 12 – Dating Game – Part 2
The next evening
Shinji looked himself over in the mirror, trying to reconcile the image he saw with his usual appearance. He was clad in black tight fitting trousers and a black button down shirt that was decorated with a green dragon coiling over front and back. Black leather shoes completed the outfit. Shinji wasn't one to compliment himself, but he had to admit he looked pretty good. 'Asuka would have a heart attack if she saw me like this...or if she knew I had a date with a girl three years older then me, for that matter.'`
Still chuckling about that thought he walked downstairs, it wouldn't do to be late for his first date with Kaori.
As Shinji came into the living room Nabiki looked up from reading a manga and got glassy eyes. 'Damn...he looks good!'
Shinji, oblivious to her look, turned around once and asked her what she thought.
Nabiki repressed the bout of jealously she felt, knowing it would be Kaori with whom he would leave shortly, and smiled brightly. "You look great Shinji-kun! Get her tiger!"
Shinji gave her a smile in return, yet his was just as false as hers. They had almost kissed the day the family found him out and ever since then they had only interacted on a purely platonic basis. Somehow, even with the three beautiful girls vying for his heart that disappointed him. He shook his head. 'Get a grip on yourself; you're starting to sound like Kuno!'
Not wanting to risk saying something stupid before his date even began Shinji quickly left the house to wait at the front door. After asking him out Kaori had made it perfectly clear that she would organize this evening, which also meant that she would 'give him a ride' as she had put it.
A few minutes later said ride arrived and Shinji's eyes bugged out as the white stretch limo that had first brought Kaori into his life held directly in front of him. When his date stepped out of the overlong car Shinji swallowed. Kaori was clad in a simple black evening dress, which had a slit all the way up to her hip on the left side and showed a healthy amount of cleavage. Simple dark blue earrings and a touch of make up completed what was a breathtaking sight.
"Earth to Shinji!"
Kaori's voice brought him out of his stupor and he blushed. "Ah...sorry about that, I was just overwhelmed...you look very good."
Kaori smiled. "You're not too shabby yourself Shinji, but we should get going."
Shinji nodded and Kaori climbed back into the car, shortly followed by the younger boy.
**********************
An hour later Shinji found himself seated in Tokyo's finest restaurant.
Even with Kaori at his side he was feeling decidedly out of place and the glances all the rich people walking by were giving them weren't helping matters any. The waiter wasn't much better and Shinji could easily feel his contempt through the false smile he was wearing when serving them.
At least the food was good.
Kaori watched as Shinji picked on his fish and frowned slightly. This was supposed to be fun, but it was obvious something was bothering him. During the drive here Shinji had held a lively conversation with her, but since arriving here he had been silent. "Shinji, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, why do you ask?"
Kaori rolled her eyes. "Oh, just the fact that you didn't say a single words for the last 30 minutes."
Shinji winced slightly. "I...sorry about that, it's just that" he gestured all around him, "I feel out of place here, unwelcome...sorry, I know you worked hard to make this as nice as possible."
Kaori sighed. "Sometimes I find it hard to imagine you apologized even more back then before I have known you, Shinji-kun. There is no reason to be sorry. It's not your fault you don't like the atmosphere here. If anything I should have known that you wouldn't like it here. So, where would you like to go instead?"
Shinji caught the subtle look Kaori gave the admittedly stiffly dancing couples on the dance floor and the slightly dejected look she adopted for but a moment and put two and two together. "I would like to dance with you Kaori, but I think a less formal place would be a lot more fun."
Immediately Kaori's face lit up. "Really? Great, I'll just pay the bill and then we can go."
Another five minutes later they left the restaurant, Kaori several thousand yen poorer. After a short walk they arrived in front of a cosy restaurant called the "Dancerico" that was drawing customers with the admittedly strange catch phrase 'eat and dance until you puke'.
Upon entering it became clear very fast that puking was _not_ part of the daily proceedings here as the restaurant/bar smelled very clean. It was divided into a dancing area on the first floor that was framed by a bar on one side and a place to eat on the second. Some kind of love song from the eighties- more than just an oldie where Shinji came from – was flowing from the speakers with tolerable volume. It was also pretty clear that the music required real dancing, something that suited Shinji just fine. He had been forced to learn dancing by his teacher and then again during his synchronisation with Asuka.
Shinji smiled brightly and bowed to Kaori while gesturing to the dance floor. "May I ask for this dance, miss?"
Kaori played along and smiled coyly. "I would love to dance with you, mister. Maybe I can invite you to a drink or two afterwards?"
Shinji looked doubtful for a moment, alcohol was not very high on his list of things to consume and while Kaori was still underage he did not doubt that she would get some, seeing how she looked very mature right now. Then he shrugged it of, they were here to enjoy themselves after all. "All in good time, madam; first we will dance."
Minutes later the young couple was already lost in the music, just two normal people in a sea of many.
*********************
It was nearing midnight when Shinji and Kaori walked home. They had decided to walk the rest of the way after having seen how nice of a night it was. Surprisingly it had been Shinji to make the proposal and Kaori was starting to wonder if it was possible that a man was more romantic than a woman...Shinji's ideas for the evening had worked out a lot better then hers after all, even if Shinji had gotten splashed on the dance floor once. Fortunately his gender-change hadn't been noticed and they had been able to turn him back soon after that little mishap.
Normally she would have used the opportunity to lay her head on Shinji's shoulder, but that would have been very awkward because the boy was over half a head shorter than her. Instead she had hooked her arm around his and was walking as near to him as possible.
Shinji, for his part, was holding up very good. After nearly 3 hours of dancing with a lot of bodily contact the boy had finally gotten used to her constant presence. That made it possible for him to break their comfortable silence without stammering. "I had a lot of fun tonight."
"I had fun as well, Shinji-kun. As far as first dates go I would even say it was the best you can get. We should do it again sometime soon."
No answer was forthcoming for a while until Shinji spoke with an uncertain voice. "I don't know if that's such a good idea."
"What do you mean? I thought you had fun?"
Shinji sighed. "It's not that I wouldn't mind doing it again, I just think it's wrong...I hadn't realized it up until tonight, but you're very wealthy, are you not?"
Kaori nodded hesitantly, not knowing where this was going. "Are you bothered by that?"
Shinji chuckled good-naturedly. "Don't be ridiculous. Whoever would complain about something like that? No, I'm just thinking that you would have to leave all that behind if you are going with me to my world. It's not right that you would have to give all that to be my fiancée...so I was thinking maybe we should cancel the engagement, I wouldn't want you to be miserable just because of that."
The next moment Shinji found himself yanked backwards and suddenly he was standing in front of Kaori, who had stopped walking. The girl was glaring at him. "Don't you even think about calling off our engagement for something silly like that!" her eyes softened and her voice got thick with emotion, "I would never choose wealth over being with you; I love you too much for that!"
Shinji could only stare at the beautiful woman before him. 'She...loves me?' he thought while trying to get his mouth working again.
Yet, before he could answer in any way Kaori pressed her lips to his and all thought fled his brain as Kaori tried to drown him in passion.
Nearly two minutes later Kaori released him and Shinji scraped together the last of his resolve lest something else happened. He knew what he was about to say was unfair, but it was also the truth. "I...thank you Kaori... that means a lot to me, more than you can imagine...but...I"
"You don't love me, do you?" Tears were shimmering in her eyes causing him nearly to panic.
"NO! I ...I just don't know...I know I like you a lot Kaori, but I don't know if this is really love, or if I love the others more. I Would like nothing more to tell you the same thing you just told me, but I don't want to betray you by saying something I'm not hundred percent sure of." He gave her a pleading look. "Just give me a little time to work it out, all right?"
Kaori gave him a smile, but inside it still hurt to know he couldn't share her feelings...yet. "If that is all you are willing to give me at the moment, I'll be happy with it...just don't take too long with sorting out your feelings Shinji- kun."
"I'll try. Now let's continue walking, all right?"
Kaori simply nodded and fell into pace beside him. It was obvious that she was hurt by what he had said, but it was a necessary evil. Shinji could admit to himself that he had never felt this strong about anyone, save for Nabiki maybe, but there were other things to take into account: Saying he loved Kaori would mean the end for any relationship with Pepper and Spice as well as the strange one he had with Nabiki. It would hurt them all, and that could only happen if he knew without a doubt the girl he would choose was truly the love of his life.
Before Shinji could ponder the dilemma any further they had arrived in front of Kaori's house. Deciding to end the evening on a positive note Shinji stood on his toes and kissed Kaori before the girl could react. Once they separated Shinji hugged her again and stepped away. "Good night Kaori."
"Good night Shinji" For a moment it looked like she wanted to say something else, but then the girl turned and walked to the front door.
As he watched her vanishing inside Shinji wondered when his life had gotten so complicated.
********************
Standing behind the curtains Kaori let out a depressed sigh as Shinji walked away. 'So much for seducing him...coward.'
Before she had gone inside she had debated whether to try or not, but somehow she had felt it inappropriate tonight. Their date had been too eye opening for that.
Shrugging at the wasted chance Kaori dropped her garments to the floor and proceeded to the shower butt naked...living alone in a house was lonely, but it had its advantages.
**********************
A few days later
Ranma walked home from the market with a smile on his face. Said smile stemmed from two things: first off he liked helping out Kasumi and secondly she had promised him they would do something special on their date tonight.
A shout of "SAOTOME, PREPARE TO DIE!" followed by an assortment of sharp objects thrown his way was enough to dampen his mood slightly.
With a deft jump he cleared the weapons and landed safely on a nearby roof where he set down his groceries. He turned around to find his attacker in the form of a young man with long black and bottle thick glasses, clueing him in to the fact that it could only be the Amazon male Shampoo had told him about a few days back.
Plastering his cocky trademark grin onto his face he started his fight like he did whenever someone attacked him out of the blue... "God, you really are as blind as a bat, otherwise you would have hit me with the surprise you had going for you." ...namely taunting his opponent.
Not that it was necessary. Mousse was already steamed enough as it was and didn't waste any words. He simply leapt to the attack.
Ranma pouted as he dodged another volley of chains. Fighting them was no fun if they didn't scream their head off while doing so. "Fine, if fighting is what you want, that's what you get."
The next moment a fist slammed into Mousse's face out of nowhere.
It wasn't the last one either...
**********************
Cologne regarded Mousse with an amused expression. The Chinese boy was currently wrapped up in his chains and dangling from the branch of tree, where he tried without any success to free himself. He was a sorry sight indeed.
The blind fighter stopped his futile attempts when he noticed her. A sneer came to his face instantly. "So, are you here to gloat over my loss? Or are you here to fulfil your threat?"
"I did not come here to gloat over your loss. I have expected it after all. And even though I know you are no real threat to son-in-law I can no longer tolerate your actions. Son-in-law and his brother do not need any distractions right now, so I will remove one."
Mousse glared at her, something that's hard to do through bottle glasses. "Oh? What will you do? Kill me?"
Cologne sighed. "It hurts to know you think me capable of doing that. While I certainly would under some circumstances, this is not one of them. Instead I will do something you will hopefully thank me for later on."
Mousse's eyes widened as she produced a bottle of Shampoo from her sleeves. "You can't!"
Cologne smirked. "I can...and I will!"
The last thing Mousse saw before Cologne knocked him out to stop his struggling was the number 121 on the bottle.(1)
**********************
Shinji walked homewards from his latest date with indecision raging inside his mind. The date had been nice. They had laughed, they had danced, they had eaten, they had kissed and yet...something was very different. After his date with Kaori he had decided to take out Pepper and Spice as well and to make sure he treated everyone the same way they had done exactly the same thing. They had gone straight to the 'Dancerico' to eat a pleasant dinner. Needless to say eating dinner with two girls at once had gotten him a few raised eyebrows.
Afterwards they had hit the dance floor, where Shinji had shown Pepper and Spice how the Japanese danced. They had grown tired of dancing very fast, saying it was far too slow sometimes and so they had left the establishment only 2 hours later, once again receiving several odd looks.
From there on they had insisted to go back to Nerima per rooftops. Needless to say Shinji hadn't been happy about that at all. He had only managed to jump high enough to get on a two story building a few days ago and was not eager to fall in between two roofs. Of course, the twins had managed to convince him otherwise and he had landed on the ground painfully at least four times.
With Shinji slowing them down it had taken quite some time to get back and so they didn't do anything else afterwards. Their good night kiss consisted only of a short peck.
All things considered Shinji had fun, but this was not much of a romantic date. Maybe, just maybe, someone was trying to tell him that Pepper and Spice were better friends than spouses.
A car drove by, splashing him with the murky water from a nearby puddle.
A now female Shinji wrung out her shirt and sighed. 'Hopefully big bro had more luck with his date.'
**********************
At the same time
In Kasumi's room Ranma sat with his mouth hanging wide open. Unlike Shinji he wasn't indecisive, he was simply baffled and it was not because Kasumi was standing naked in front of him...even though some perverts would have liked that. No, the reason for Ranma's current bafflement was of another nature: When Kasumi had told him they would do something special for their date tonight he had thought a lot of things, but not that Kasumi would try to solve the fiancée mess.
She had just told him of the law allowing for an Amazon to take a co-wife and had also told him that she would be willing go with that solution because she did not see another way to solve the engagement mess.
Currently Kasumi was patiently waiting for him to wrap his mind around the concept like the angel she was. "Ranma-kun, are you all right?" Of course, even angels can get worried when their intended husband to be is staring ahead like a statue.
Kasumi's inquiry returned Ranma's coherent thought and the pigtailed martial artist gave her an incredulous look. "Kasumi...that's a very daring idea... I mean, we don't even know if we...lo...love each other, bringing Shampoo into the equation is......"
"A very good thing, if you ask me Ranma-kun. I have known about this law for over three months now and have pondered its merits long enough. Right now it is the only way to make sure we can unite the schools like honor demands without destroying Shampoo's honor in the process and I feel ready to use it. Even though we are rivals for you I have gotten along very well with Shampoo and would be more than willing to be her co-wife."
Ranma was still looking a little doubtful. "But is that really what you want?"
Kasumi sighed. "Of course I would rather marry you alone, but you of all people should know that life is not always going the way you want it to. Besides, I'd rather share the man I love with one of my best friends than to play mother for my family until I'm old and grey."
Finally Ranma relented. "All right, if you don't have a problem with it, I don't have one either. I lo...like both of you enough to try this."
Kasumi gave him a stern look. "That doesn't mean you'll get to have both of us in the sack at once."
Ranma looked at Kasumi in confusion, until his brain finally processed what she had told him...and he promptly pulled a Ryouga by fainting.
Kasumi looked down at her unconscious fiancée and giggled. 'Ranma-kun really can't take a joke.'
*********************
Once again at the same time
The first thing he became aware of when waking was not the hard earth he was laying on or the smell of fresh air. No, the first thing he became aware of was of internal origins. He couldn't quite grasp what it was, but he just knew that the old ghoul had done something unpleasant to him. What was she talking about again? That he would never love Shampoo again?
Nearly blind eyes opened wide as realization flooded his brain.
He recalled every single image of the woman he loved, all of them still as crystal clear as ever and yet the most important thing was missing: emotion. He remembered her rich purple tresses, her graceful movements, her face down to the last line and all he felt was an objective appreciation of her beauty.
No unconditional love or psychotic possessiveness.
He tried to recall everything she had ever done or said to him.
Nothing...
He tried to feel betrayed by the matriarch of his tribe for robbing him of his love and yet all his objective mind could feel was thankfulness. Finally he could once again live his life for himself and not for a fool's dream.
And so, laying on the cold hard earth of a small park in Nerima, a young man named Mousse made a fresh start by letting go of something he had never had: A young woman named Shampoo. (2)
**********************
Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo were seemingly playing shogi, even though it was almost midnight. Everyone else had long since gone to bed, leaving the two men alone to discuss undisturbed.
After taking one of Soun's stones, for once without cheating, Genma decided to start the conversation they were both awake for. "We have waited well over six months now for our children to get to know each other, old friend. "
Soun nodded seriously. "That we have, Saotome and I would say these six months have brought Ranma and Kasumi close together."
"True, and that is why I would advise to wait for these two to make the final decision. That way their bond will be so much stronger."
"You do have a point there. Our interference will probably only hinder their relationship. We shall not speak to them about the engagement again."
Genma gave a court nod. "It is settled then."
Inside her room Nabiki had problems not to let her jaw drop after listening in on their little conversation over the micro she had hidden in the living room. 'Wow...looks like these two actually learned something about subtlety'
It was right about then that Soun couldn't hold it in anymore. "MY BABY GIRL WILL REALLY MARRY YOUR SON, WAAAAAAHHH!!!!!"
Nabiki ripped off her headset to save her ears only to note that Soun's excessive use of wail #575(I'm so happy I could wake the whole house) was heard even through her door. 'So much for subtlety, daddy'
**********************
As the bell rang to signal a new customer even though she had long since closed own Ukyo frowned. "We're currently closed. Please come back again tomorrow."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible Ucchan."
Ukyo's head snapped up to see Ranma standing in the door. "Oh...it's you."
Ranma flinched from her cold tone "Hey...uhm...I need to talk with you about something important Ucchan."
The cross dressing girl's glare only intensified. "Why don't you start with an apology?" Only incomprehension greeted her request and she had to restrain herself from bashing his head in before explaining, "An apology for not showing your face all the time you jerk! You haven't even visited once this month! So, what gives you the idea I would talk to you now?"
Ranma executed another Saotome special technique and used the first thing that came to mind as an excuse. "Hey, I woulda visited more often, but I had a lot o' training to do, you know?"
Ukyo folded her arms over her chest. "Don't give me that shit Ranchan. Ryouga is training almost as hard as you and he is visiting almost every day."
Ranma's shoulders slumped slightly. "That's what I wanted to talk with you about. I mean, how am I doing as your fiancé?"
Ukyo shrugged. "Up until now, you suck...big time."
Ranma winced. He hadn't expected a positive answer, but that was pretty harsh. Nonetheless it would make this far easier. "Thought so. Now, don't get me wrong Ucchan, even if we got to know each other on a very sour note this time around I still like you as a friend...it's just that whole fiancée business is bothering me. That's why I came to ask if maybe we could cancel our engagement officially?"
Ukyo shrugged. "Sure thing, not like I want to be engaged to a jackass anyhow."
Ranma frowned. "You can lay off with the insults now Ucchan, I got the message, Ok?"
Ukyo returned to cleaning the grill, seemingly dismissing him, only to glance up a few moments later. "Anything else?"
"Actually, yeah. You know about how we want to get my brother's robot back?"
Ukyo chuckled dryly. "How could I forget? He's probably the only person in Nerima who could beat you for sheer weirdness."
Ranma rubbed his neck nervously. "Yeah, well, I came to ask what you think about it...I mean, do you plan on helping out?" Ukyo tilted her head, thinking for a moment. "Well, I don't know your brother all that well and I don't see why I should get involved in this." A predatory smile suddenly crossed her face, "But beating on some military nuts will probably be fun, so you can count me in."
"Well, then you should close down your place for two weeks, Ucchan."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the training trip we're taking. Cologne organized it and everybody comes along, save for the Tendos of course. "
Ukyo looked confused. "So? And who says I'm going with you?"
"Cologne, if you want to help getting Unit 01 back that is. She says she wants all of us at our peak before going in there to make sure we don't get ourselves killed."
Ukyo shook her head resolutely. "I'm still not going. If I close down my restaurant for two weeks all of my customers will be gone for good!"
Now it was Ranma's turn to look determined. "Ok, if that's what you want. Just remember that you won't be going with us then."
"And who is going to stop me, Ranchan?"
Ranma stepped forward and leaned over the counter, invading Ukyo's personal space. His eyes had grown very concerned. "If it means keeping you outta trouble I'll stop you myself. Cologne has hammered it into my thick head for three months now that this is gonna be dangerous and I believe her. As I said, you've got two choices: train and come with us or keep out of this."
"If that's the way you want it, I'll close the restaurant."
"You will?" asked a slightly perplexed Ranma. He had hoped to keep his childhood friend out of this whole affair by making this ultimatum. It seemed his plan had backfired, as usual.
"Yeah, I will. Someone has to keep you out of trouble after all" 'and Ryouga as well'
Ranma gave her a warm smile nonetheless. "Thanks Ucchan. We'll leave tomorrow at eight so be there. I'll be going now."
Ukyo didn't even acknowledge his leaving, already thinking about what she needed to pack.
End Chapter 12
**********************
(1) Wait and see, then you'll realize why I'm using another number then
in the anime.
(2) Don't think I hate Mousse. I actually like him a lot. If he isn't
swooning over Shampoo he is actually the most level-headed person in
Ranma ½. That's why I removed that factor: He would be a better and
happier person if he actually concentrated on things he has a chance in
hell of getting.
Author's notes:
After this chapter has mostly shown interaction with the fiancées to clear up the relationship mess, I can finally come to the last 3 chapters of this story arc, meaning Shinji, Ranma and co. get to kick some butt!
This part has been preread by kuarcao and NuStrike as well. And now for a little Omake:
************************
OMAKE
A knock on the door draws the author's attention and Nodoka Saotome steps in.
Nodoka gives me a death glare. "I did not have a scene."
The author looks annoyed. "So?"
Nodoka draws her sword and slices up the computer the author is working on. "You will write an additional scene for me, is that clear?"
The author's eyebrow starts twitching. "I'm starting to get sick of this."
"Write my scene!"
A snap is heard and we find the chair the author is sitting in is missing one of its steel armrests. An unholy aura of bloody red bathes the room in red. "You want me to write your bloody scene? THEN SHUT THE FUCK UP AND STOP DESTROYING MY EQUIPMENT SO I CAN WORK! WHY CAN'T YOU DIMWITS ACCEPT THAT ITS HARD TO FIT ALL OF YOU IN THERE?!"
Nodoka looks totally terrified and about to bolt from the room, only to stop when a loud rumbling is heard and the roof is ripped away by a giant purple hand moments later. Unit 01 face appears in the newly made hole looking pretty pissed off. "ROOOAR ROOAWR ROOORAAWR"(translation: Who are you calling dimwit you puny human)
"SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU BITCH! DO YOU KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE THE FUCKING ROOF WAS? FUCKING GET OUT OF MY FUCKING HOUSE OR I'M GONNA FUCKING RIP YOU APART!"
The EVA flinches and promptly disappears from sight as the author picks up his chair and hurls it upwards with enough velocity to dent the EVA's armor. Only a dust cloud remained were Nodoka had once stood.
Outside EVA 01 is seemingly trembling while crouching on the street while rocking back and forth. Shinji is standing next to its foot and patting it soothingly. "Don't be scared mom, I'm sure he was only joking."
His only answer was a rumbling sob from the overgrown parent.
End OMAKE
******************
You know, I always wanted to tell off an EVA. *g*
The next evening
Shinji looked himself over in the mirror, trying to reconcile the image he saw with his usual appearance. He was clad in black tight fitting trousers and a black button down shirt that was decorated with a green dragon coiling over front and back. Black leather shoes completed the outfit. Shinji wasn't one to compliment himself, but he had to admit he looked pretty good. 'Asuka would have a heart attack if she saw me like this...or if she knew I had a date with a girl three years older then me, for that matter.'`
Still chuckling about that thought he walked downstairs, it wouldn't do to be late for his first date with Kaori.
As Shinji came into the living room Nabiki looked up from reading a manga and got glassy eyes. 'Damn...he looks good!'
Shinji, oblivious to her look, turned around once and asked her what she thought.
Nabiki repressed the bout of jealously she felt, knowing it would be Kaori with whom he would leave shortly, and smiled brightly. "You look great Shinji-kun! Get her tiger!"
Shinji gave her a smile in return, yet his was just as false as hers. They had almost kissed the day the family found him out and ever since then they had only interacted on a purely platonic basis. Somehow, even with the three beautiful girls vying for his heart that disappointed him. He shook his head. 'Get a grip on yourself; you're starting to sound like Kuno!'
Not wanting to risk saying something stupid before his date even began Shinji quickly left the house to wait at the front door. After asking him out Kaori had made it perfectly clear that she would organize this evening, which also meant that she would 'give him a ride' as she had put it.
A few minutes later said ride arrived and Shinji's eyes bugged out as the white stretch limo that had first brought Kaori into his life held directly in front of him. When his date stepped out of the overlong car Shinji swallowed. Kaori was clad in a simple black evening dress, which had a slit all the way up to her hip on the left side and showed a healthy amount of cleavage. Simple dark blue earrings and a touch of make up completed what was a breathtaking sight.
"Earth to Shinji!"
Kaori's voice brought him out of his stupor and he blushed. "Ah...sorry about that, I was just overwhelmed...you look very good."
Kaori smiled. "You're not too shabby yourself Shinji, but we should get going."
Shinji nodded and Kaori climbed back into the car, shortly followed by the younger boy.
**********************
An hour later Shinji found himself seated in Tokyo's finest restaurant.
Even with Kaori at his side he was feeling decidedly out of place and the glances all the rich people walking by were giving them weren't helping matters any. The waiter wasn't much better and Shinji could easily feel his contempt through the false smile he was wearing when serving them.
At least the food was good.
Kaori watched as Shinji picked on his fish and frowned slightly. This was supposed to be fun, but it was obvious something was bothering him. During the drive here Shinji had held a lively conversation with her, but since arriving here he had been silent. "Shinji, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, why do you ask?"
Kaori rolled her eyes. "Oh, just the fact that you didn't say a single words for the last 30 minutes."
Shinji winced slightly. "I...sorry about that, it's just that" he gestured all around him, "I feel out of place here, unwelcome...sorry, I know you worked hard to make this as nice as possible."
Kaori sighed. "Sometimes I find it hard to imagine you apologized even more back then before I have known you, Shinji-kun. There is no reason to be sorry. It's not your fault you don't like the atmosphere here. If anything I should have known that you wouldn't like it here. So, where would you like to go instead?"
Shinji caught the subtle look Kaori gave the admittedly stiffly dancing couples on the dance floor and the slightly dejected look she adopted for but a moment and put two and two together. "I would like to dance with you Kaori, but I think a less formal place would be a lot more fun."
Immediately Kaori's face lit up. "Really? Great, I'll just pay the bill and then we can go."
Another five minutes later they left the restaurant, Kaori several thousand yen poorer. After a short walk they arrived in front of a cosy restaurant called the "Dancerico" that was drawing customers with the admittedly strange catch phrase 'eat and dance until you puke'.
Upon entering it became clear very fast that puking was _not_ part of the daily proceedings here as the restaurant/bar smelled very clean. It was divided into a dancing area on the first floor that was framed by a bar on one side and a place to eat on the second. Some kind of love song from the eighties- more than just an oldie where Shinji came from – was flowing from the speakers with tolerable volume. It was also pretty clear that the music required real dancing, something that suited Shinji just fine. He had been forced to learn dancing by his teacher and then again during his synchronisation with Asuka.
Shinji smiled brightly and bowed to Kaori while gesturing to the dance floor. "May I ask for this dance, miss?"
Kaori played along and smiled coyly. "I would love to dance with you, mister. Maybe I can invite you to a drink or two afterwards?"
Shinji looked doubtful for a moment, alcohol was not very high on his list of things to consume and while Kaori was still underage he did not doubt that she would get some, seeing how she looked very mature right now. Then he shrugged it of, they were here to enjoy themselves after all. "All in good time, madam; first we will dance."
Minutes later the young couple was already lost in the music, just two normal people in a sea of many.
*********************
It was nearing midnight when Shinji and Kaori walked home. They had decided to walk the rest of the way after having seen how nice of a night it was. Surprisingly it had been Shinji to make the proposal and Kaori was starting to wonder if it was possible that a man was more romantic than a woman...Shinji's ideas for the evening had worked out a lot better then hers after all, even if Shinji had gotten splashed on the dance floor once. Fortunately his gender-change hadn't been noticed and they had been able to turn him back soon after that little mishap.
Normally she would have used the opportunity to lay her head on Shinji's shoulder, but that would have been very awkward because the boy was over half a head shorter than her. Instead she had hooked her arm around his and was walking as near to him as possible.
Shinji, for his part, was holding up very good. After nearly 3 hours of dancing with a lot of bodily contact the boy had finally gotten used to her constant presence. That made it possible for him to break their comfortable silence without stammering. "I had a lot of fun tonight."
"I had fun as well, Shinji-kun. As far as first dates go I would even say it was the best you can get. We should do it again sometime soon."
No answer was forthcoming for a while until Shinji spoke with an uncertain voice. "I don't know if that's such a good idea."
"What do you mean? I thought you had fun?"
Shinji sighed. "It's not that I wouldn't mind doing it again, I just think it's wrong...I hadn't realized it up until tonight, but you're very wealthy, are you not?"
Kaori nodded hesitantly, not knowing where this was going. "Are you bothered by that?"
Shinji chuckled good-naturedly. "Don't be ridiculous. Whoever would complain about something like that? No, I'm just thinking that you would have to leave all that behind if you are going with me to my world. It's not right that you would have to give all that to be my fiancée...so I was thinking maybe we should cancel the engagement, I wouldn't want you to be miserable just because of that."
The next moment Shinji found himself yanked backwards and suddenly he was standing in front of Kaori, who had stopped walking. The girl was glaring at him. "Don't you even think about calling off our engagement for something silly like that!" her eyes softened and her voice got thick with emotion, "I would never choose wealth over being with you; I love you too much for that!"
Shinji could only stare at the beautiful woman before him. 'She...loves me?' he thought while trying to get his mouth working again.
Yet, before he could answer in any way Kaori pressed her lips to his and all thought fled his brain as Kaori tried to drown him in passion.
Nearly two minutes later Kaori released him and Shinji scraped together the last of his resolve lest something else happened. He knew what he was about to say was unfair, but it was also the truth. "I...thank you Kaori... that means a lot to me, more than you can imagine...but...I"
"You don't love me, do you?" Tears were shimmering in her eyes causing him nearly to panic.
"NO! I ...I just don't know...I know I like you a lot Kaori, but I don't know if this is really love, or if I love the others more. I Would like nothing more to tell you the same thing you just told me, but I don't want to betray you by saying something I'm not hundred percent sure of." He gave her a pleading look. "Just give me a little time to work it out, all right?"
Kaori gave him a smile, but inside it still hurt to know he couldn't share her feelings...yet. "If that is all you are willing to give me at the moment, I'll be happy with it...just don't take too long with sorting out your feelings Shinji- kun."
"I'll try. Now let's continue walking, all right?"
Kaori simply nodded and fell into pace beside him. It was obvious that she was hurt by what he had said, but it was a necessary evil. Shinji could admit to himself that he had never felt this strong about anyone, save for Nabiki maybe, but there were other things to take into account: Saying he loved Kaori would mean the end for any relationship with Pepper and Spice as well as the strange one he had with Nabiki. It would hurt them all, and that could only happen if he knew without a doubt the girl he would choose was truly the love of his life.
Before Shinji could ponder the dilemma any further they had arrived in front of Kaori's house. Deciding to end the evening on a positive note Shinji stood on his toes and kissed Kaori before the girl could react. Once they separated Shinji hugged her again and stepped away. "Good night Kaori."
"Good night Shinji" For a moment it looked like she wanted to say something else, but then the girl turned and walked to the front door.
As he watched her vanishing inside Shinji wondered when his life had gotten so complicated.
********************
Standing behind the curtains Kaori let out a depressed sigh as Shinji walked away. 'So much for seducing him...coward.'
Before she had gone inside she had debated whether to try or not, but somehow she had felt it inappropriate tonight. Their date had been too eye opening for that.
Shrugging at the wasted chance Kaori dropped her garments to the floor and proceeded to the shower butt naked...living alone in a house was lonely, but it had its advantages.
**********************
A few days later
Ranma walked home from the market with a smile on his face. Said smile stemmed from two things: first off he liked helping out Kasumi and secondly she had promised him they would do something special on their date tonight.
A shout of "SAOTOME, PREPARE TO DIE!" followed by an assortment of sharp objects thrown his way was enough to dampen his mood slightly.
With a deft jump he cleared the weapons and landed safely on a nearby roof where he set down his groceries. He turned around to find his attacker in the form of a young man with long black and bottle thick glasses, clueing him in to the fact that it could only be the Amazon male Shampoo had told him about a few days back.
Plastering his cocky trademark grin onto his face he started his fight like he did whenever someone attacked him out of the blue... "God, you really are as blind as a bat, otherwise you would have hit me with the surprise you had going for you." ...namely taunting his opponent.
Not that it was necessary. Mousse was already steamed enough as it was and didn't waste any words. He simply leapt to the attack.
Ranma pouted as he dodged another volley of chains. Fighting them was no fun if they didn't scream their head off while doing so. "Fine, if fighting is what you want, that's what you get."
The next moment a fist slammed into Mousse's face out of nowhere.
It wasn't the last one either...
**********************
Cologne regarded Mousse with an amused expression. The Chinese boy was currently wrapped up in his chains and dangling from the branch of tree, where he tried without any success to free himself. He was a sorry sight indeed.
The blind fighter stopped his futile attempts when he noticed her. A sneer came to his face instantly. "So, are you here to gloat over my loss? Or are you here to fulfil your threat?"
"I did not come here to gloat over your loss. I have expected it after all. And even though I know you are no real threat to son-in-law I can no longer tolerate your actions. Son-in-law and his brother do not need any distractions right now, so I will remove one."
Mousse glared at her, something that's hard to do through bottle glasses. "Oh? What will you do? Kill me?"
Cologne sighed. "It hurts to know you think me capable of doing that. While I certainly would under some circumstances, this is not one of them. Instead I will do something you will hopefully thank me for later on."
Mousse's eyes widened as she produced a bottle of Shampoo from her sleeves. "You can't!"
Cologne smirked. "I can...and I will!"
The last thing Mousse saw before Cologne knocked him out to stop his struggling was the number 121 on the bottle.(1)
**********************
Shinji walked homewards from his latest date with indecision raging inside his mind. The date had been nice. They had laughed, they had danced, they had eaten, they had kissed and yet...something was very different. After his date with Kaori he had decided to take out Pepper and Spice as well and to make sure he treated everyone the same way they had done exactly the same thing. They had gone straight to the 'Dancerico' to eat a pleasant dinner. Needless to say eating dinner with two girls at once had gotten him a few raised eyebrows.
Afterwards they had hit the dance floor, where Shinji had shown Pepper and Spice how the Japanese danced. They had grown tired of dancing very fast, saying it was far too slow sometimes and so they had left the establishment only 2 hours later, once again receiving several odd looks.
From there on they had insisted to go back to Nerima per rooftops. Needless to say Shinji hadn't been happy about that at all. He had only managed to jump high enough to get on a two story building a few days ago and was not eager to fall in between two roofs. Of course, the twins had managed to convince him otherwise and he had landed on the ground painfully at least four times.
With Shinji slowing them down it had taken quite some time to get back and so they didn't do anything else afterwards. Their good night kiss consisted only of a short peck.
All things considered Shinji had fun, but this was not much of a romantic date. Maybe, just maybe, someone was trying to tell him that Pepper and Spice were better friends than spouses.
A car drove by, splashing him with the murky water from a nearby puddle.
A now female Shinji wrung out her shirt and sighed. 'Hopefully big bro had more luck with his date.'
**********************
At the same time
In Kasumi's room Ranma sat with his mouth hanging wide open. Unlike Shinji he wasn't indecisive, he was simply baffled and it was not because Kasumi was standing naked in front of him...even though some perverts would have liked that. No, the reason for Ranma's current bafflement was of another nature: When Kasumi had told him they would do something special for their date tonight he had thought a lot of things, but not that Kasumi would try to solve the fiancée mess.
She had just told him of the law allowing for an Amazon to take a co-wife and had also told him that she would be willing go with that solution because she did not see another way to solve the engagement mess.
Currently Kasumi was patiently waiting for him to wrap his mind around the concept like the angel she was. "Ranma-kun, are you all right?" Of course, even angels can get worried when their intended husband to be is staring ahead like a statue.
Kasumi's inquiry returned Ranma's coherent thought and the pigtailed martial artist gave her an incredulous look. "Kasumi...that's a very daring idea... I mean, we don't even know if we...lo...love each other, bringing Shampoo into the equation is......"
"A very good thing, if you ask me Ranma-kun. I have known about this law for over three months now and have pondered its merits long enough. Right now it is the only way to make sure we can unite the schools like honor demands without destroying Shampoo's honor in the process and I feel ready to use it. Even though we are rivals for you I have gotten along very well with Shampoo and would be more than willing to be her co-wife."
Ranma was still looking a little doubtful. "But is that really what you want?"
Kasumi sighed. "Of course I would rather marry you alone, but you of all people should know that life is not always going the way you want it to. Besides, I'd rather share the man I love with one of my best friends than to play mother for my family until I'm old and grey."
Finally Ranma relented. "All right, if you don't have a problem with it, I don't have one either. I lo...like both of you enough to try this."
Kasumi gave him a stern look. "That doesn't mean you'll get to have both of us in the sack at once."
Ranma looked at Kasumi in confusion, until his brain finally processed what she had told him...and he promptly pulled a Ryouga by fainting.
Kasumi looked down at her unconscious fiancée and giggled. 'Ranma-kun really can't take a joke.'
*********************
Once again at the same time
The first thing he became aware of when waking was not the hard earth he was laying on or the smell of fresh air. No, the first thing he became aware of was of internal origins. He couldn't quite grasp what it was, but he just knew that the old ghoul had done something unpleasant to him. What was she talking about again? That he would never love Shampoo again?
Nearly blind eyes opened wide as realization flooded his brain.
He recalled every single image of the woman he loved, all of them still as crystal clear as ever and yet the most important thing was missing: emotion. He remembered her rich purple tresses, her graceful movements, her face down to the last line and all he felt was an objective appreciation of her beauty.
No unconditional love or psychotic possessiveness.
He tried to recall everything she had ever done or said to him.
Nothing...
He tried to feel betrayed by the matriarch of his tribe for robbing him of his love and yet all his objective mind could feel was thankfulness. Finally he could once again live his life for himself and not for a fool's dream.
And so, laying on the cold hard earth of a small park in Nerima, a young man named Mousse made a fresh start by letting go of something he had never had: A young woman named Shampoo. (2)
**********************
Genma Saotome and Soun Tendo were seemingly playing shogi, even though it was almost midnight. Everyone else had long since gone to bed, leaving the two men alone to discuss undisturbed.
After taking one of Soun's stones, for once without cheating, Genma decided to start the conversation they were both awake for. "We have waited well over six months now for our children to get to know each other, old friend. "
Soun nodded seriously. "That we have, Saotome and I would say these six months have brought Ranma and Kasumi close together."
"True, and that is why I would advise to wait for these two to make the final decision. That way their bond will be so much stronger."
"You do have a point there. Our interference will probably only hinder their relationship. We shall not speak to them about the engagement again."
Genma gave a court nod. "It is settled then."
Inside her room Nabiki had problems not to let her jaw drop after listening in on their little conversation over the micro she had hidden in the living room. 'Wow...looks like these two actually learned something about subtlety'
It was right about then that Soun couldn't hold it in anymore. "MY BABY GIRL WILL REALLY MARRY YOUR SON, WAAAAAAHHH!!!!!"
Nabiki ripped off her headset to save her ears only to note that Soun's excessive use of wail #575(I'm so happy I could wake the whole house) was heard even through her door. 'So much for subtlety, daddy'
**********************
As the bell rang to signal a new customer even though she had long since closed own Ukyo frowned. "We're currently closed. Please come back again tomorrow."
"I'm afraid that won't be possible Ucchan."
Ukyo's head snapped up to see Ranma standing in the door. "Oh...it's you."
Ranma flinched from her cold tone "Hey...uhm...I need to talk with you about something important Ucchan."
The cross dressing girl's glare only intensified. "Why don't you start with an apology?" Only incomprehension greeted her request and she had to restrain herself from bashing his head in before explaining, "An apology for not showing your face all the time you jerk! You haven't even visited once this month! So, what gives you the idea I would talk to you now?"
Ranma executed another Saotome special technique and used the first thing that came to mind as an excuse. "Hey, I woulda visited more often, but I had a lot o' training to do, you know?"
Ukyo folded her arms over her chest. "Don't give me that shit Ranchan. Ryouga is training almost as hard as you and he is visiting almost every day."
Ranma's shoulders slumped slightly. "That's what I wanted to talk with you about. I mean, how am I doing as your fiancé?"
Ukyo shrugged. "Up until now, you suck...big time."
Ranma winced. He hadn't expected a positive answer, but that was pretty harsh. Nonetheless it would make this far easier. "Thought so. Now, don't get me wrong Ucchan, even if we got to know each other on a very sour note this time around I still like you as a friend...it's just that whole fiancée business is bothering me. That's why I came to ask if maybe we could cancel our engagement officially?"
Ukyo shrugged. "Sure thing, not like I want to be engaged to a jackass anyhow."
Ranma frowned. "You can lay off with the insults now Ucchan, I got the message, Ok?"
Ukyo returned to cleaning the grill, seemingly dismissing him, only to glance up a few moments later. "Anything else?"
"Actually, yeah. You know about how we want to get my brother's robot back?"
Ukyo chuckled dryly. "How could I forget? He's probably the only person in Nerima who could beat you for sheer weirdness."
Ranma rubbed his neck nervously. "Yeah, well, I came to ask what you think about it...I mean, do you plan on helping out?" Ukyo tilted her head, thinking for a moment. "Well, I don't know your brother all that well and I don't see why I should get involved in this." A predatory smile suddenly crossed her face, "But beating on some military nuts will probably be fun, so you can count me in."
"Well, then you should close down your place for two weeks, Ucchan."
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about the training trip we're taking. Cologne organized it and everybody comes along, save for the Tendos of course. "
Ukyo looked confused. "So? And who says I'm going with you?"
"Cologne, if you want to help getting Unit 01 back that is. She says she wants all of us at our peak before going in there to make sure we don't get ourselves killed."
Ukyo shook her head resolutely. "I'm still not going. If I close down my restaurant for two weeks all of my customers will be gone for good!"
Now it was Ranma's turn to look determined. "Ok, if that's what you want. Just remember that you won't be going with us then."
"And who is going to stop me, Ranchan?"
Ranma stepped forward and leaned over the counter, invading Ukyo's personal space. His eyes had grown very concerned. "If it means keeping you outta trouble I'll stop you myself. Cologne has hammered it into my thick head for three months now that this is gonna be dangerous and I believe her. As I said, you've got two choices: train and come with us or keep out of this."
"If that's the way you want it, I'll close the restaurant."
"You will?" asked a slightly perplexed Ranma. He had hoped to keep his childhood friend out of this whole affair by making this ultimatum. It seemed his plan had backfired, as usual.
"Yeah, I will. Someone has to keep you out of trouble after all" 'and Ryouga as well'
Ranma gave her a warm smile nonetheless. "Thanks Ucchan. We'll leave tomorrow at eight so be there. I'll be going now."
Ukyo didn't even acknowledge his leaving, already thinking about what she needed to pack.
End Chapter 12
**********************
(1) Wait and see, then you'll realize why I'm using another number then
in the anime.
(2) Don't think I hate Mousse. I actually like him a lot. If he isn't
swooning over Shampoo he is actually the most level-headed person in
Ranma ½. That's why I removed that factor: He would be a better and
happier person if he actually concentrated on things he has a chance in
hell of getting.
Author's notes:
After this chapter has mostly shown interaction with the fiancées to clear up the relationship mess, I can finally come to the last 3 chapters of this story arc, meaning Shinji, Ranma and co. get to kick some butt!
This part has been preread by kuarcao and NuStrike as well. And now for a little Omake:
************************
OMAKE
A knock on the door draws the author's attention and Nodoka Saotome steps in.
Nodoka gives me a death glare. "I did not have a scene."
The author looks annoyed. "So?"
Nodoka draws her sword and slices up the computer the author is working on. "You will write an additional scene for me, is that clear?"
The author's eyebrow starts twitching. "I'm starting to get sick of this."
"Write my scene!"
A snap is heard and we find the chair the author is sitting in is missing one of its steel armrests. An unholy aura of bloody red bathes the room in red. "You want me to write your bloody scene? THEN SHUT THE FUCK UP AND STOP DESTROYING MY EQUIPMENT SO I CAN WORK! WHY CAN'T YOU DIMWITS ACCEPT THAT ITS HARD TO FIT ALL OF YOU IN THERE?!"
Nodoka looks totally terrified and about to bolt from the room, only to stop when a loud rumbling is heard and the roof is ripped away by a giant purple hand moments later. Unit 01 face appears in the newly made hole looking pretty pissed off. "ROOOAR ROOAWR ROOORAAWR"(translation: Who are you calling dimwit you puny human)
"SHUT THE FUCK UP YOU BITCH! DO YOU KNOW HOW EXPENSIVE THE FUCKING ROOF WAS? FUCKING GET OUT OF MY FUCKING HOUSE OR I'M GONNA FUCKING RIP YOU APART!"
The EVA flinches and promptly disappears from sight as the author picks up his chair and hurls it upwards with enough velocity to dent the EVA's armor. Only a dust cloud remained were Nodoka had once stood.
Outside EVA 01 is seemingly trembling while crouching on the street while rocking back and forth. Shinji is standing next to its foot and patting it soothingly. "Don't be scared mom, I'm sure he was only joking."
His only answer was a rumbling sob from the overgrown parent.
End OMAKE
******************
You know, I always wanted to tell off an EVA. *g*
