Ranma didn't have a lot of clothes, and most of them were just the same-styled Chinese shirts in different colours with the same black pants. He did have one different shirt though; it was left over from when he had faced off against the golden pair in an ice-skating completion. He smirked thinking about it, it was so long ago now but he had never thrown the shirt away. It was intricately embroidered with a dancing dragon winding its way around his body, over his shoulder and onto his back.
He didn't know why he hadn't worn the shirt after than; he figured it was because there had been no real occasion for finery before this. He just figured his normal attire wouldn't cut it tonight; he did worry about it however as while flattering the shirt wasn't exactly functional. The sleeves were too baggy and if he was caught in a proper fight they would only hamper his arms' movements. He mused a moment on what this shirt would change into were he to be splashed with cold water. He knew that his clothes changed slightly during the change process and he wondered just what this shirt would become.
His musing was brought to an abrupt halt when Kasumi came down the stairs. He gulped, unable to tear his eyes away from her form as she nervously walked down the stairs. She wore a simple yet elegant light blue strapless dress that swept down around her feet. Her hair was tied back as usual but instead of her normal bow she wore a lilac ribbon that trailed behind her, flickering ever so often as the slight wind took it. He kept staring until she was right next to him and he shook his head violently just to clear his head.
"You look very nice Ranma." He nodded dumbly until he realised what she had said.
"Oh, Oh yeah, you look amazing Kasumi!" She blushed and looked away smiling.
"Thank you, that's very kind." He smiled at the kind words.
"No seriously, you're really beautiful Kasumi." Her blush only grew and she giggled into her hand a little nervously. "Well are you ready to go?" She nodded happily and they walked out of the door. Ranma noticed it was a little cold out tonight but when he looked across at Kasumi she didn't seem to mind. Even so he decided now might be a good time to test out a trick he had been working on for a while. He pushed out with his aura and agitated the air around them ever so slightly, warming it up. Kasumi immediately noticed and looked at her date with wonder.
"Ranma, is that you warming the air?" He smiled at her broadly.
"Yeah, it's something I've been working on, I haven't quite got complete control of it yet but it basically works how I want it too." She looked nervous for a moment.
"It's not dangerous is it?" He smiled comfortingly.
"Don't worry Kasumi; I would never let myself hurt you, consciously or subconsciously." He took her hand to stress the point and she looked at it for a moment, he did too when he actually realised he did it. He started to pull away from her but she squeezed his hand gently.
"It's alright Ranma, It's quite nice." Once he stopped acting agitated he couldn't help but agree with her, the hand felt warm and comforting in his grip. He smiled unsuredly at first but as they continued to walk he only found it easier, soon he had forgotten about it altogether and just enjoyed the walk.
On the rooftops of the street they were walking down Shampoo and Ukyo watched with curiosity and concern. Shampoo was grumbling to herself about how Ranma never held her hand like that. Ukyo was just watching with watery eyes at the way Ranma could walk down the street holding a girl's hand and it wasn't hers. More saddening to the young chef was the fact that Ranma seemed unfazed; in fact he seemed completely happy.
Her heart let out a small pang as she watched the man she loved with a girl she knew only deserved happiness for the way she lived her life. With all her heart she wanted to despise the eldest Tendo daughter, she should, she was only between her and her Ranchan the same way Akane was. Even so, Ukyo didn't have a single nasty or critical thing to say about the older woman, she was just too... perfect.
"Shampoo" Her co-conspirator looked across at her, startled out of her grumbling and glaring. "I, I can't do this." Shampoo just stared at her critically, her eyes narrowing.
"What Spatula girl mean?" She had dropped the pretence of her name now that mutiny may be in the air. Ukyo sighed and looked back down to the happy couple on the street.
"Look at him Shampoo, he's happy." She looked back at Shampoo with pain and sadness, but also a tired resignation in her eyes. "I can't come between them, then I wouldn't deserve him." Shampoo's glare increased in intensity as Ukyo continued. "Remember the wedding Shampoo? Remember how Ranchan was after that?" She sighed again wearily. "What if he doesn't forgive us this time? I can't lose him forever, even if it means only having him as a friend." She stood up from her crouched position and Shampoo did the same, angrily, but with a newfound concern for her actions.
"Spatula girl give up too too easily. Nice girl obstacle, obstacle is for removing." She looked across at her former partner and Ukyo looked right back.
"But what then Shampoo? Even if you do break them up then it all just goes back to the way it was before with Ranma growing more and more frustrated until he lashes out and hurts somebody. What if it was us, or somebody we care about, or even worse himself?" She wearily shook her head looking at the ground. "I love Ranchan with all my heart, and that's why I can't do this." After that she turned and just walked away from Shampoo.
The lilac-haired girl looked down as Ranma and Kasumi were about to move out of view. She looked back at Ukyo and then back at the couple, her head darted back and forth as the other girls words sunk in. She had a few seconds to make a decision or Ranma would walk away and make it for her. She scrunched up her eyes and took off after the pair. 'Spatula girl is wrong, I love Airen too much to let him be with another woman.' However even her thoughts were tinged with uncertainty.
Shampoo rounded the corner of the rooftop, sighing with relief when she spotted Ranma and Kasumi. She raced up to their general position and started getting the first part of her plan ready. While the Amazons' plans were notorious for backfiring she had come up with this with Ukyo's help so she hoped that the two of them together could find a solid solution. She could still do it without the other girl so with determination and stubbornness she grabbed the large cask of cold water they had hidden up here early and with a grunt she began tipping it over the edge of the roof.
Ranma was really enjoying this; there was no need to talk, for the moment the two simply enjoyed each others' company and the feeling of their fingers intertwined. He was about to say something to Kasumi when suddenly about a tank full of water crashed over the both of them. They stood in shock for a few moments just looking at the ground and their clothing before looking up. Neither could see where the water had come from and Ranma sighed heavily; now the curse was producing water out of thin air just to piss him off. Kasumi looked across at a now female Ranma and giggled at his drenched and feminine appearance.
"Oh dear Ranma, now we'll have to go back and get some hot water." Shampoo fist pumped the air in happiness, she was about to walk away from the successful mission when Ranma spoke up.
Ah don't worry about it Kasumi, watch this." He visibly concentrated a moment and Kasumi felt the warmth in the air slowly rain back into him. A heat haze appeared around his body and steam started rising off of his clothes as he concentrated his Aura into a blazing hot membrane around his skin. There was enough steam from the excess water to trigger his curse and soon a very dry and very male Ranma was smiling happily at his companion. Kasumi merely looked back at him in surprise, first he walked on water and now this. He never ceased to amaze her.
"That was incredible Ranma. Why haven't you ever done that before?" He grinned sheepishly.
"Like I said, I've only just started working on it. It's basically the same thing as the heat generating but more concentrated." He looked at her still soaking form and dress and stifled a laugh "Do you want me to do it for you too?" She too looked down at her appearance, noting how disheveled she must look. She nodded meekly, a little nervous, but she trusted Ranma completely.
He walked forward and tightly wrapped his arms around her in a warm hug, literally. From every part of his body that touched her heat passed between them, evaporating the water off of her body and clothes. Soon enough she was just as dry as he was but she noted with a small blush he hadn't let go of the hug.
"Ranma, while I do enjoy this, we are in public." He suddenly backed off, once again donning his full body blush. Kasumi felt oddly refreshed, her hair felt freshly blow-dried and her clothes were fluffier as if they had come straight from the machine. She smiled at his embarrassment and took his hand once again before leading the slightly fidgety teen onwards. He once again extended his aura outward fought off the cold for the both of them.
Shampoo just looked on from the rooftop, eye twitching; as she watched the events unfold. She had been so sure that would have at least delayed the two, putting a damper on their evening. How was she to know of this new ability of Ranma's? Like Kasumi the pigtailed martial artist only ever surprised and confused the young Amazon. With a gulp she realised she had only made things worse by actually giving Ranma a reason to hug Kasumi. 'Oh well, there's always the second phase.'
Now that they had been slightly delayed Ranma and Kasumi picked up their pace a bit and made it to the restaurant quickly. It was a fairly new restaurant that had only opened last week and Nabiki was the one who recommended them. Ranma hadn't decided if he was going to thank her or not yet and would wait until after he had tried the food. He walked up to the friendly looking waiter who held a false but still warm smile and waited patiently for the couple before him to speak.
"Uh hi, table for two I guess?" the waiter briefly smirked at the youth before him as he unsuredly glanced at his date. 'Kids...' he smiled politely and led them over to a table not far from the entrance to the kitchen. The delicious smell of food wafted over to the pair and Ranma's stomach led out a large grumble causing Kasumi to laugh.
"I think coming out to a restaurant was a good idea after all." He nodded quickly in agreement as the waiter took their orders. Once he was gone Ranma nervously looked around the restaurant. There were a few other couples enjoying the night out and he tried to get some idea of what he should be doing. He only grew frustrated when he realised they all just seemed to be talking to one another and seemed to have no difficulty doing it. He cursed the fact he had a useless lump of a father who was completely unable to explain any of this to him, how he had managed to get his mother was beyond him.
"It's strange; I've never noticed this restaurant before." Ranma sighed with relief, Kasumi was making small talk but it was a big help. He realised with an internal sigh that she seemed to be putting in the effort here and he resolved to change that.
"It's new, Nabiki told me about it." She nodded idly, looking around the small restaurant at the patrons and their food.
"The food smells delicious." Ranma smirked confidently.
"I bet it's not nearly as good as anything you could make." It was actually more of a statement of fact than an outright compliment but Kasumi looked away embarrassed all the same. "Where did you learn to cook anyway Kasumi?" She looked up shocked; people had complimented her cooking lots of times before but nobody had ever taken a genuine interest in it like Ranma was.
"I learned from my mother, before she... passed on" he noticed he had entered into a touchy subject and winced involuntarily. She noticed his discomfort and only smiled with hint of melancholy. "It's alright Ranma, it's been a long time now and while it still hurts to think about I've moved on." He relaxed noticeably.
"What was it like? Growing up with a mother?" He looked past her wistfully at a small family not too far away from them as the mother picked up her child and set him on her lap, playfully feeding him. Kasumi looked over her shoulder and smiled at the heart-warming scene before looking back around at Ranma.
"Honestly I wouldn't know how to describe it, sorry. It's all I ever knew so I have nothing to compare it to." He nodded thoughtfully and had expected at much, even so it couldn't hurt to see.
"Well have you ever thought of doing something with your skills like opening a restaurant?" She looked at him with wonder for a moment, looking for the false interest she knew she wouldn't find. It still amazed her that he took a genuine interest in her life, going as far to ask about her plans for the future.
"Oh I don't know Ranma, people compliment my cooking but I'm not sure it's quite up to that standard." He grinned broadly, shaking his head in disagreement.
"Nah, your food's great; don't tell them but I think you're better at Ukyo in anything but okonomiyaki and the same with Shampoo and ramen." He looked up suddenly when he thought he heard a loud huff coming from somewhere but when he looked around he couldn't see anything. Kasumi still looked unconvinced even though she was quietly smiling from the great compliment. If anybody knew food it was Ranma and she did trust his judgment on these things, even if he was only a fledgling cook himself.
"Well what about medicine?" Kasumi looked up, intrigued at where the question had come from. "You used to go to Tofu's all the time and get books right? I always thought you were training for medicine or something." Her brow rose in surprise that he had even remembered that with the rest of his life all around him. It touched her that even back then Ranma noticed her, and not just as the keeper of the household.
"Well, I did use to want to be a nurse." She smiled dreamily, a new look that Ranma hadn't seen on Kasumi's face before. It was filled with hope and expectation and lit up her face. He was actually a little disappointed when it passed and she looked back into his eyes. "The thought of helping people recover from injury just seemed appealing." Ranma could see it, Kasumi as a gentle healer helping people come back from disease and injury. Suddenly he noticed all of the past tenses Kasumi had been using.
"Well what happened? Why did you stop?" She looked sadly at the table.
"I couldn't just leave my family like that." Ranma's brow furrowed in slight annoyance, although it wasn't aimed at his date.
"You know Kasumi you can't be their housekeeper for the rest of your life. You have to live your own life, walk your own path." His gaze softened. "I know you care about your family and I think it's wonderful that you've helped them as you have all these years, but don't you think if you keep mothering them like this you're only stopping them from becoming independent? You saw what happened when we came back from the vacation; if my mother hadn't been there who knows what would have happened?" Kasumi thought on his words for a moment and couldn't help but see the logic behind them.
She had slipped into the role so suddenly and fluidly that her family had merely accepted it and moved on. The next decade of their lives had just been built around her as the pillar for the entire household, holding everything together with her tireless work and unwavering patience. It had grown almost to the point of dependence and maybe that was why Nabiki had become so independent, she had seen what was going on and had gotten out of it before she too ended up dependent on her sister like some kind of parasite.
"But Ranma what can I do? Without me what would Father and Akane do?" He smiled encouragingly, knowing how difficult this must be for the older girl after so long. He got an idea and a metaphorical bulb lit over his head.
"Kasumi, what is the procedure for getting addicts off of drugs?" She looked at him thoughtfully pondering the strange question for a moment. She thought back to some of the medical texts she had read and answered as technically as she could.
"Well you wean them off slowly from their dependence until they are able to resist the addiction. If that doesn't work you let them go cold turkey until it's all out of their system and they're shocked into sobriety." He nodded, grinning at her answer and she stared at him a moment, wondering why he had asked until it dawned on her. "My caring for them isn't really like an addiction, is it?" He just sadly nodded and she knew that it did share similarities; dependence, withdrawal, the fact that it only grew worse over time.
"I guess you're right, but I don't know how to start. How do I wean my family off of myself?" Ranma looked on thoughtfully but nothing immediately sprung to mind.
"Sorry, I guess I don't actually know, maybe we can think about it and come up with something together." She smiled at the thought and nodded, noticeably happier than before. Ranma cursed silently, how had he managed to let the conversation turn to such a saddening topic? Even so, the two were none the worse for it, in fact Kasumi might actually be a little better off for it so Ranma felt good and his smile only reflected Kasumi's own.
"Well what about you Ranma? What are your plans for the future?" He was about to answer but he noticed a waiter weaving between the tables towards them holding two platters of the food they had ordered. He licked his lips hungrily at the sight; the conversation with Kasumi had managed to distract him from his stomach's protests but now that it was here there was no denying just how hungry he was.
Shampoo smirked as she shrunk back into the shadows; Ranma hadn't been the only one who had noticed the food going their way. She had immediately recognised one of the dishes as something Ranma would order which automatically made the other one Kasumi's. She feigned bumping into the waiter, not hard enough to make him drop the dishes but enough that she could quickly lean across and dump her specially sleeping spice into the food. She smirked, Kasumi would fall asleep, straight into her food and Ranma would think he was boring her. Shampoo couldn't actually take credit, this part had been all Ukyo's idea and she thanked the young chef as she moved out of sight.
The waiter set their dishes down and with a polite bow moved back off to the kitchen for his next order. Ranma was about to happily dig in when he noticed a nervous look cross Kasumi's face. He looked around and saw that what was in front of her was not the food she had ordered and his brow furrowed when she picked up her chopsticks anyway.
"Hey Kasumi, you shouldn't eat that."
"Huh?" She looked at him curiously.
"That's not what you ordered. You should ask them to take it back." She shyly shook her head.
"Oh no, I wouldn't want to be a bother, this food will be just fine." She was about to start eating the food but Ranma intercepted her chopsticks with his own.
"Kasumi, you have to start being a bit more assertive. You have a right as the customer to the food that you ordered and paid for." She looked at him pleadingly but he held her gaze firmly. Her eyes flickered between him, the food and the retreating waiter until she lazily raised her arm a bit.
"Excuse me." The waiter turned and returned to the table, waiting patiently. "This wasn't the food I ordered." The man looked down at the food and picked it up; with a gracious bow he once again retreated into the kitchen. Kasumi sighed in relief when he had gone far enough away, her voice had been weak and she didn't even realise she had been holding her breath. Ranma smiled at her, grinning like an idiot.
"That was great Kasumi. And that wasn't so hard now was it?" He was almost cut off by his own stomach releasing another growl as his nostrils continued to take in the scent of his food. Kasumi giggled and just motioned for him to start, he hesitated a moment but put his chopsticks firmly back down on the table. "Nah, I can wait." As if to disagree with him his stomach continued to gurgle but Ranma managed to resist the lure of the steaming food until the waiter returned with Kasumi's dish; the correct one this time.
"I apologize for the mistake miss." And with that he returned to the work. While Ranma was being a gracious date he wasn't made of stone and as soon as Kasumi's food was down on the table he cheerfully dug into his own. She smiled at him, it may have seemed like nothing but she knew that Ranma waiting while food was right in front of him was a huge challenge, unless Akane cooked it of course. She sighed happily and started her own food at a considerably slower pace, thinking about the gracious gesture.
Shampoo cursed again from her position, nothing was going her way tonight. She had noticed the mistake with the food but didn't get a chance to reach the waiter and re-do the sleeping spice before he made it to the pair's table. She watched with dismay as a couple on the other side of the room who were sharing their dish suddenly slumped forward onto the table, sound asleep. It earned a few odd looks from the patrons around them and Shampoo had to leave before people saw her and suspected the strange girl that wasn't eating of something.
The two of them had finished their meal with Ranma paying and walked back outside, the cold air felt good after the slightly stuffy restaurant so Ranma only created a weak aura to stave off the worst of it. Kasumi didn't complain as they slowly made their way back through the streets in a random winding pattern, their hands firmly locked together as they enjoyed the moonlight night. They of course weren't the only ones out in the streets at this time of night but they passed by everybody else without a second glance, their own company enough to satisfy them.
Shampoo once again watched from the rooftops, she didn't have much more time as it had begun to get tiring, masking her presence from the heightened senses of the pigtailed teen. If he wasn't so distracted he would have sensed her a long time ago and it was burning up a lot of her Ki reserves to manage even this much. She wished it hadn't come to this but she now saw she had no choice, she released the creature in her hands and threw it gently towards the walking couple. The cat landed right in front of Ranma and did not go unnoticed for more than a second.
"C-C-C-Cat!" Ranma nearly screamed it out as he saw the lazy feline staring slightly annoyed at the one who threw him so suddenly. It looked at the two newcomers and appraised them in a way only a cat can. It mewled softly and Kasumi looked on, thinking it was cute while Ranma had a wholly different reaction.
"Meow" Shampoo smirked from her position, she had expected Ranma to run away but she guessed this worked just as well. That tomcat had been annoying her for a while now and she had been looking forward to an opportunity to get rid of it. 'Damn cats in heat, no human can ever understand what that is like'. She grinned as she saw Kasumi look oddly at Ranma when he hunched down onto all fours and began hissing at the cat in front of him. The cat just looked at the strange human and walked off, not wanting to deal with such peculiarities.
"Oh my, that's right, Ranma's condition. I had almost forgotten." Kasumi looked at the Neko-state boy and tutted to herself. "How unfortunate." She tried to dredge up all she knew about the Neko-Ken from the last time Ranma had turned, which admittedly was a while ago now. If she remembered correctly he would either snap out of it during the transformation or when calmed down enough. It was usually Akane who calmed him down but she supposed it couldn't be too hard. 'Like dealing with any cat I guess'
She bent down on her knees and looked across at the boy-turned-cat who was now lazily looking around, not quite sure what to do now that it wasn't being threatened. He turned to the sound of Kasumi making squeaking sounds with her lips and holding out her hand, rubbing her thumb across the fingers in the way you do when trying to get an animal to approach you. Ranma did come closer, intrigued by the hypnotic movements and sounds. Kasumi knelt down a little further and Ranma gratefully crawled onto her lap, curling up into a small ball and affectionately rubbing himself across her chest.
Kasumi blushed furiously at the peculiar motions but kept calm, Ranma wasn't in his right state of mind after all. She blushing more due to the fact she was actually enjoying the contact, it felt good, even if Ranma wasn't doing it on purpose. Eventually the ball of a teen started lightly snoring and Kasumi smiled gently down at him before lightly shaking his shoulders. Ranma groggily opened his eyes, looking around him; he found it strange that he appeared to be on a street floor yet the thing he was lying on was soft and warm.
He looked around further and saw something unusual, two large lumps in front of him encased in some kind of material the same colour as Kasumi's... He was out of her lap possibly faster than he had ever looked before. He was halfway across the street and his entire body was bright crimson by the time he stopped. Kasumi just smiled at him in her innocent way and he stared back, partly horrified by what he had done and at the same time embarrassed because it had felt so natural.
"W-What happened? What was I doing?" She looked at him, still smiling with her eyes closed, the red just starting to leave her cheeks.
"There was a cat," Ranma flinched at the word "But it's gone now. I brought you out of that strange state you entered in a few minutes." He looked at her oddly.
"Y-You brought me out of the Neko-Ken?" She nodded cheerfully and his brow furrowed, he though only Akane could do that, but he guessed nobody else had really tried. He supposed that anybody who could calm him down could manage it and he smiled briefly when he realised that he did feel calmer around Kasumi, no wonder she could do it. "Well, thanks." She just walked over and linked hands with him again.
"It's no problem Ranma." He grinned sheepishly, rubbing his hand against the back of his head. Suddenly his gaze dropped and he looked at Kasumi sadly, almost with guilt.
"So, uh Kasumi. What do you think of uh, you know, me and stuff?" She looked at him in a bemused way and he clarified. "You know like my curse and the Neko-ken and stuff?" her smile dropped for the moment.
"Oh" his heart sank at the single word, it was filled with such reflection and thought that he regretted even bringing it up, he was sure he wouldn't like the answer. "Well I can't say that I wasn't surprised at first and it was all very strange." His heart sank even lower but suddenly a smile pulled at the corners of her mouth, a genuine one and his hopes picked up. "I really don't mind your curse Ranma; I know it's still you, no matter what you look like."
Before he could even react she pulled out a thermos from her handbag and poured the cold water inside over him. Now a girl he was about to ask why she did it but before he could she leaned across and kissed him on the cheek. He froze solid and when she pulled away she laughed a bit at how shell-shocked he looked.
"Like I said Ranma, I don't mind what you look like" she poked him lightly in the chest, right above his heart "As long as you don't change." He smiled idiotically at her and she couldn't help but laugh again, he could be so silly sometimes, soon enough he would get over this strange reaction to intimacy, she was sure of it. They walked on after Ranma had used his new ability to change back, not saying a word because none needed to be said.
Shampoo watched the whole thing, growing more and more frustrated with ever second that passed. The cat had been her last ploy, her trump card, and it had failed, probably bringing the two even closer. She angrily kicked the ventilation unit next to her, leaving a large, foot-shaped dent in the metal. She watched the couple move away, towards the Tendo house as she ground her teeth in annoyance. 'This isn't over yet. It can't be'.