Episode 42:

"Super-Lucky or Just a Coincidence?
Ranma's Double Date Double-Header!"

Another day of school had come and gone, and everyone was scurrying out the door, eager to put the day behind them and start focusing on how to spend their free time.

"Phew! I thought we were gonna be in there forever!" Ranma proclaimed as he stretched out his arms.

"You're not the only one," Ukyo replied, wiping her head. "I swear, the principal's schemes are getting crazier. Like that whole plan he cooked up where we had to race through the town after he filled it with sand!"

"How could I forget? I think I've still got a little sand in my shoes," remarked Ranma as he tipped out a shoeful of sand.

As they walked through town, they saw some of the townspeople still clad in their post-apocalyptic cosplay gear, and a few of them cleaning off the sand from out of their houses and businesses.

Some, meanwhile, were still selling what they had leftover from that. "Maps to the green place! Get your maps to the green place, only 500 yen!" called a vendor, waving a couple of maps in his arms.

"I can't believe he rented out the whole town just to shoot his Mad Max fan-film…" Ukyo remarked.

"I guess so no one can say he does things only half-way..." Ranma replied. "Still, I don't have anything planned for today, but…I have been wanting to ask you something."

"Sure, Ranma-honey," Ukyo replied. "The floor's all yours."

"Would you wanna go out with me tonight?" Ranma responded, much to the surprise of everyone within the vicinity. Ranma had NEVER asked anyone out, even when everyone thought Akane was supposed to be his fiance.

"Did you hear that?" asked Daisuke. "Ranma just asked Ukyo out!"

"I never thought I'd see the day!" Hiroshi responded.

"How come he never asked Akane out?" asked Sayuri.

"Think about it," replied Yuka. "The girl was like nitroglycerine—volatile."

Ukyo stood there for a minute or two, her brain having to process these words. And the second she finished processing those words…

"YES!" Ukyo shouted with a huge smile on her face and hearts in her eyes.

"Great!" smiled Ranma. "Maybe we could bring Lum, too?"

"Absolutely!" nodded Ukyo. "You oughta go and tell her."

"Consider it done," replied Ranma, before he went on his way with Ukyo, who walked with him.

As they left, Kenma watched with great interest. "About time he took that step," he smiled. "...of course, this means I'll need to go the extra degree to make sure nothing gets in the way!"

Kenma couldn't have picked a better time, since he wasn't the only one listening in.

"Aw, come on!" fumed Ataru Moroboshi, one of the students at Furinkan and in the same grade as our boys. "It's not enough that Ranma guy had to date that Ukyo chick…but now he's gonna go out with that cute alien?! How come HE gets a harem, and I don't?"

"Probably because you hit on every girl here?" Shinobu retorted. "And last I checked, you were supposed to be dating ME!"

"Sure, sure!" Ataru waved her off. "But I can date you AND a bunch of other hotties too. I ask you, is that SO wrong?!"

"You know your problem, Ataru?" Shinobu snapped, uprooting a nearby tree. "YOU'VE GOT NO SENSE OF LOYALTY!"

"Shinobu, don't be ridicu—" Ataru began, before he caught sight of the massive tree. "YEE-IKES!"

"BATTER UP!" Shinobu screamed as she smacked Ataru flying into the distance.

"Aaaand, he's OUTTA HERE!" Kenma remarked. "Good distance on that hit, too."

"Thanks, it helps when you date the most notorious playboy wannabe in the school," Shinobu sighed as she put the tree back down.

"Anyways, I'd better get home and prepare. If Ranma's feeling this happy, I wanna make sure it lasts," Kenma explained. "Because Murphy's law will try its best to ensure he's miserable."

Meanwhile with Murphy's Law...

"Denise, do I have a Ranma Saotome on record?" Murphy asked as he heard his name invoked.

"Hm, barely. His presence is small in your purview," Denise the secretary answered as she looked through her files. "His father, Genma Saotome, is marked with numerous 'Beat him with the Bat' flags."

"Ah yes, the fat man who doesn't seem to learn his lesson..." Murphy nodded as he enjoyed seeing Genma getting his comeuppance.

AND SO, BACK AT THE DOJO…

Kenma and Nabiki were cuddling upstairs.

"Mmm! I'm so glad we have this time to ourselves, Kenma." Nabiki purred,

"You're not the only one," Kenma replied, feeling especially comfortable.

"Why don't you wrap those strong arms around me and give me a few kisses?" Nabiki asked, eagerly.

"If that's what the lady wants, who am I to deny?" Kenma smirked as he put his arms around his girlfriend and puckered up.

Of course, before they could make contact, the door to Nabiki's bedroom was blown open.

"Great news, Kenma! I scored a double date with Lum and Ukyo!" exclaimed Ranma.

"That's awesome, man; I couldn't be prouder," replied Kenma. "Now, er…I was in the middle of smoochin' my lady?"

"Whoops! I'll give you two some privacy." Ranma sheepishly said as he closed the door.

Kenma nodded. "Now…where were we?" he grinned, turning back towards Nabiki.

"We were about to swap spit." she said as she licked her lips.

Kenma smirked. "Ah, right. Well, I think I can get us back on track," he replied as he puckered up and went in for the kiss once more.

Of course, that was when he got interrupted again.

"Nabiki, I'm just coming in to let you know that lunch is almost ready!" Kasumi said, before releasing what was going on. "Oh! Don't stop on my account~" she said as she left, closing the door behind her.

"...okay, then," Kenma replied as he puckered up again. "Third time's the charm, as they say."

At that very moment, there was yet another interruption.

"Kenma, I think we ought to get some training in before we–" Genma started before being cut off by a ki blast. "Ah! Right in the gut!"

"NO! YOU! OUT! GONE!" Kenma boomed as he picked him up and tossed him out of the room before locking the door. "Lousy rule-of-three BS..."

"I should really invest in a lock for my door," Nabiki groaned from the constant interruptions when she was alone with her manly monkey.

"I'd be glad to pitch in," Kenma agreed. "Especially if it has more than one."

A little while later, the boys were in their own room.

"These are the facts as I understand them," said Kenma as he paced back and forth with his hands behind his back. "You are about to go on a date with two lovely young women, and yet, you don't know the first thing about bein' out on a date! Hell, I'd wager you don't even know the second thing about bein' on a date!"

"Yep!" Ranma answered. "That's why I'm asking you for help. You know a lot more about this romance stuff than I do."

Kenma gave a nod. "This is true," he responded calmly. "And so, I shall grant you the aid that you seek."

"Thanks, Ken! I knew you'd understand." His brother said excitedly. "So, what do we do first?"

"First, you gotta figure out a plan for where this date will go," explained Kenma. "Are you goin' for dinner? A movie? Ice cream? A stroll in the park?"

"Actually, we were thinking about going to the pier," stated Ranma.

"That same pier where we go crawfish catching?" Kenma asked.

"Yeah, there's gonna be music, rides and other fun stuff." Ranma explained.

"Well, that sounds pretty cool," Kenma replied. "Although I do advise, if there's a ferris wheel, definitely go on that. That's like, peak romantic seating right there."

"Great idea! Just like in the movies." Ranma agreed. "But we'll also have to watch out for the usual schmucks!"

"Bingo," Kenma nodded. "And some of the unusual ones. People trying to ruin your date, and a few who might try to steal your girls. It's a good thing you'll have me watching out for ya!"

"That's why I love ya, little bro!" Ranma said as he opened his arms for a hug.

Kenma smirked and brought his arms over to return the hug.

Eventually, the hug concluded. "OK, what next?" Kenma asked.

"Hmmm, let's start with what I should say.." Ranma answered.

"Alright…this is gonna take a while…" Kenma sighed. "Just hope we don't bore anyone."

To save time, we decided to give you all a montage of said training.

Kenma proceeded to show Ranma how to conduct himself properly. Like holding the door open, offering compliments, etc. You know, that sorta thing!

Meanwhile, Ukyo was with Lum, helping her in a similar manner.

After hours of preparation, it was finally time for the date.

"Alright, do you remember what to say?" asked Nodoka while she fixed the collar on Ranma's shirt.

"Sure do, Mom!" Ranma confidently stated.

"Then get ready to put your training to the test," said Kenma.

Ranma then took a deep breath before heading to the door. And then, gripping the knob, he opened it and headed off on his way.

"My baby boy, going out on his first date…" Nodoka sniffled. "...I SHOULD'VE TAKEN PICTURES! YOU ONLY GET ONE FIRST DATE, AND THESE MOMENTS NEED TO BE CAPTURED!" she started bawling.

"Alright, Sis. Let's get you some tissues," said Atsuko as she led her sister back to the living room.

Kenma watched his brother go, while going to contact Jinn and Akimitsu about the situation.

"Well, so far so good." Jinn observed. "No sign of any yahoos yet."

"We'd better keep watching," Kenma said as he headed out. "After all, that could change."

Jinn and Aki nodded. "Right!" they said.

Unbeknownst to the three, Genma had snuck out through the backdoor.

This cannot, WILL NOT stand! He thought, wickedly rubbing his hands together. By the end of this, the boy will have no choice but to come back and fight for Akane's love. And once he has her, then they can get married and take over the schools when they merge! And my retirement package will be once more assured!

He snickered wickedly as he tiptoed away, eager to begin his scheme.

Meanwhile…

Ranma walked up to Ukyo's shop and rang the doorbell. After a few minutes, there were some footsteps heard from inside, and eventually, the door slid open, revealing Ukyo standing before him.

"Hey, Ranma-honey!" she beamed. "It's about time you got here! Lum and I were getting antsy!"

"What can I say? I had to freshen up." the ponytailed boy said in his defense.

"Fair enough," the tomboy chef said before ducking out of the way of Lum, who flew in to give Ranma a hug.

"Hello, darling!" beamed Lum. "It's about TIME I got something else to do in this story…I've been so bored, being away from you!"

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: Cut us a break, Lum! It's hard fitting you into the story…or finding stuff from your original series to incorporate. We're trying to do something more story-driven, and Urusei Yatsura is episodic craziness!]

"Hehe! It's great to see you too, Lum!" Ranma said nervously while tugging at his collar. "Let's get this show on the road, huh?"

Lum nodded. "Sounds good to me," she replied. "On we go then, yeah?"

"Yep! The night is young, and so are we!" Ranma said as he locked arms with both girls and led the way.

"Look at them holding hands like that…disgusting!" fumed Genma as he watched the trio from a vantage point via binoculars. "If he's going to be holding hands with a girl, it ought to be the one that was chosen for him!"

Suddenly, a bird flew by and started pecking at Genma's head.

"Ow! Stop it!" Genma shouted, angrily swatting at the bird, trying to shoo it off. He slowly began to lose his footing before ultimately falling off and landing flat on his corpulent ass.

The bird gave a Muttley-style wheezing snicker at this.

Eventually, Ranma and co. made it to the pier which was burgeoning with activity.

"Wow! Where do we even start?" asked Ranma.

Ukyo rubbed her chin, before she snapped her fingers. "I got it!" she exclaimed. "We start out with some games, then rides, THEN food!"

"Sounds like a plan, Ucchan!" Ranma replied. "I love your brain!"

"Oh, you're such a sweet-talker." Ukyo said with a blush.

"Come on! Are we gonna stand around here all night? Or are we gonna have some fun already?" Lum asked anxiously.

"Can't argue with that," smiled Ranma. "So let's get to having fun!"

"Yay! Woo-hoo!" the alien girl cheered as she excitedly flew around, eventually flying into the camera.

And thus, their night of fun had officially begun! First, they went to the bottle knocking game, where each of them won a prize for each other. Ranma was about to throw the ball, when Genma snuck up behind him and tapped on his shoulder.

"Huh?" Naturally this caused Ranma to do a double take right as he let go of the ball. The ball then bounced off of one of the wooden boards holding up the stand, and hit Genma right in his left eye.

WHACK!

Next, the trio moved to a game of darts where Genma was crouched behind the stand, now sporting a black eye. He then snickered to himself while holding a water gun filled with pickle juice.

However, as soon he peeked out of cover to shoot, Genma was immediately riddled with darts.

…and lo, he did scream. Long and loud.

After that, Ranma and the others went to see what other games they could get in on. And at that very moment, Ataru happened to walk by while on a date of his own.

…okay, maybe calling it a date is being generous.

"Oh, it looks like Saotome and his lady friends are here, too!" Ataru said to himself as a devilish grin swept across his face.

"Ataru…" Shinobu glared at Ataru in a ghoulish manner, hoping it would work on the wannabe playboy to reign him in.

"Listen, Shinobu. It's been fun, but I think it's time for us to go our separate ways." Ataru said in a very offhanded and dismissive manner.

"Honestly, I'm not surprised," Shinobu remarked, her tone icy.

"Toodle-oo!" the wannabe playboy said before sauntering jauntily walking away.

Just because I'm used to this behavior doesn't mean I'll let him get off scot-free, Shinobu thought as she picked up a nearby rock, and pitched it at Ataru's head.

"Huh? AAH!" Ataru immediately jumped out of the way of the incoming projectile…only to receive Shinobu's fist in his face, sending him flying.

"THEN BY ALL MEANS, I WON'T GET IN YOUR WAY!" she screamed.

While in the air, Ataru saw Lum and puckered his lips, hoping that his lips would land on hers. "Pucker up, Buttercup! You're about to get a kiss from the one and only Ataru Morob—"

FRA-ZZAKKK!

"AAAAHHHH!" shrieked Ataru as his body was electro-fried, twitching and spasming in the air, courtesy of Lum's Thundershock power.

"Ooo! That's gotta hurt!" said Ukyo.

Then, to her surprise, Ataru lifted his head up. "Well, if you want, you could always kiss it better~" he grinned.

"Since you can still hear just fine, listen up," Ranma said as he pulled Ataru up by shirt collar. "Ukyo and Lum are my girlfriends, and they are not up for grabs!"

"Aw, c'mon, don't be so stingy~" Ataru grinned. "I mean, one of them's a great cook, and the other's a cutie from outer-space! Clearly you can afford to share!"

"Well, I don't WANT to!" Ranma growled. "Least of all with a playboy like you! I've seen how you treat your so-called girlfriend!"

"Besides, what exactly do you have that Ranma doesn't?" asked Lum.

"My charming personality, for one!" said Ataru.

"Oh, yeah; so much charm," Ukyo retorted dryly. "The fact that you're always badgering any girl you find attractive, and the fact you can't take 'no' for an answer."

"Alright, since ya caught me in a good mood, today. I'll let ya pick where you wanna get punched." Ranma said he clenched his fist.

"Not the face! Anywhere but the face!" Ataru insisted.

Somehow he's as spineless as, but has more spine than Gosunkugi.

"OK then…stomach it is," Ranma replied as he drew back and socked Ataru in the stomach—

WHUMPH!

…causing the boy to crumple to his knees, clutching his stomach in pain.

Ukyo then took out her spatula, scooped Ataru up with it and threw him into the air.

"I'm disturbingly persistent…!" Ataru called as he got tossed away.

"Enjoy your flight, Bozo!" Ranma said to Ataru as he flew away.

"Phew! Man, that guy was annoying!" commented Lum. "Something about him just gave me the worst case of shivers!"

"How so, Lum?" Ukyo asked.

"I dunno. I guess it's just me..." the alien girl replied. "I just get this sickening feeling that somehow, in another time and place, I got stuck with him…"

"Well, there's no need to worry, Lum." Ranma reassured her. "You're with me and Ukyo."

"And I'm all the happier with Ukyo and Darling~," Lum beamed as she hugged the duo in a warm embrace.

Letting go of the hug, the ponytailed boy rubbed his chin in thought. "Hmmm, what to do now? Oh! Let's go on the Ferris Wheel!"

"Sounds good to me," Ukyo replied with a smile.

"Count me in!" Lum said as she flew ahead, with the others following behind her.

Unknown to them, Kenma had been playing the role of spectator—a fly on the wall, in both a figurative and literal sense.

"Kenma, this is Aki. Could ya give us a status report?" asked Akimitsu via walkie-talkie.

"Read ya loud and clear," Kenma replied. "STATUS: Looks like they're heading for the Ferris Wheel!"

"Awesome! Didja get all that, Jinn?" asked Aki.

"All that and more," Jinn responded. "I'll fly on by and see if I can increase the ambience."

"Go for it, magic man," Kenma nodded.

"That's a big copy!" the genie said as he hung up and flew over to the Ferris Wheel for a bird's eye perspective.

Down below, Ranma was helping Ukyo and Lum into their seats before climbing into the capsule with them. Once the door was shut, the ferris wheel began to move.

"Alright, let's see what I can do here." said Jinn as he thought for a moment. "Oh, I know what I can do!" He then used his magic to highlight a few specific stars in the sky, as well as make the moon shine just a little brighter. "And for the finishing touch…" Jinn proceeded to finalize his work by conjuring up some speakers who started playing "I Love You" by Kanako Wada.

"And perfect!" the genie commented as he gave an A-ok sign. "Everything is in its proper place, and the stage has been set."

Right when the trio were about to go to the top, Jinn flew back down to ground level and watched the scene go down with Kenma and Akimitsu.

Ranma stared deeply into both Ukyo and Lum's eyes, mentally preparing himself for this pinnacle moment. Come on, Ranma. It's now or never! He thought as he puckered his lips and went in for a kiss, with the girls following suit.

They then locked lips with each other at the same time. [Not sure how a three-way kiss works, but hey]

Meanwhile, at ground level. Genma limped by with a walking stick, wondering what his next scheme would be—before looking up and shouting "NOOOOO!" in agony at his failure.

Kenma, Jinn, and Aki whooped and hollered as they watched it play out.

We give a heart-shaped iris out on one last shot of Ranma, Ukyo and Lum sitting with each other under the moonlight.

The End.

IN OUR NEXT EPISODE:

A mysterious "Dojo Destroyer" is challenging martial arts dojos and stealing their signs—and he has his eyes set on the Tendo Dojo next! Genma thinks Ranma and Akane are destined to defeat this foe and defend the dojo's honor—so of course, Kenma's steppin' out for some time with Shampoo. But how will they handle this situation?

Tune in next time for:
A 2-on-1-Duel!
Havin' a Go at the Dojo!

We'll see you there! So everyone—ya better get ready!

TEYANDEE!