Late But Great Summer Dates!
First Date: Sunset Shimmer!
Sunset: Hey everyone! Sorry for the long, long wait. But, we're back! And now me and Ranma get to go out on our very first solo date! Things are about to get good. We'll, I've got to get to work and then get ready for my big date! And now... THEME MUSIC!
*Smile BOMB*
As the music starts, Ranma and the others can be seen falling from the sky, smiles on their faces as they fall through the clouds. The title of the show appears in stylized letters.
Running in a crowd, in a faceless town
I need to feel the touch of a friend
Ranma can be seen running at top speed as the Mane 7 are seen running behind him one by one. First Sunset, then Twilight, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity and then Fluttershy.
In the countryside, I wander far and wide
The isolation gets me again
Celestia and Luna are then seen running in a field only to be cut off by a giant shadowy figure appearing out of nowhere to block their path. Cut to a close up of Celestia and Luna panicking.
I don't know where to go
When I feel like crying, oh my
It's time to challenge myself, do something new
I want to stop and grow up a bit
Ranma and the others are then seen running to aid their friends. Ranma fires a Hadoken at the shadow as the Mane 7 and even Flash fought off other shadowy figures with their own abilities. At the last line of lyrics, Sunset summons a sword of energy and slashes the last figure, as it fell, Ranma and the others all jump to different sides of the screen.
Then suddenly, my power and confidence start swelling up
Magically erupt
And it's all because of the kindness that I feel
From people I don't even know
The scene changes to show Rainbow Dash training in the woods, then Applejack powering up with a green aura around her, then Rarity generating a whip of blue lightning and twirling it around her. Pinkie is then seen firing her bazooka as Fluttershy summons spiritual animal heads and sending them out in an attack. The scene then changes to Twilight remembering Midnight Sparkle and being broken out of her bad memories by a smiling Sunset.
Then suddenly, my intuition and my wisdom grow
And then I know
The scene changes to show a line of shadowed villains, each one glaring red eyes at an unknown target before showing Celestia, Luna, Cadence and Master Asia looking worriedly at Ranma who is then seen struggling to stand, his body beaten and bruised.
That most of all I sense compassion's real
Thanks to strangers wherever I go
Flash and the girls help Ranma to his feet as they stare forward to face whatever was in front of them. As a giant twister came rushing at them, Ranma and the others jumped away.
Thank you for waking me up!
The scene then changes to show Ranma and the others smiling and falling from the sky towards the screen. The final scene shows Ranma standing in the middle of his friends and allies as he winks and makes a gun with his fingers, acting like he was firing at the screen.
Sunset woke up with a yawn. She and the others had just returned from Camp Everfree and had just decided on who gets to go on a date with Ranma first. And she smiled as she remembered that she was the winner of that little game.
She stretched as she got out of bed and went to her closet to pick out her uniform for her job. She sighed, wandering what Ranma would think if he saw her in her work uniform. She blushed and then shook her head.
"No time to fantasize. If I'm late on my first day back my boss will kill me. And I've got bills to pay." She said to herself as she went to her bathroom to get ready.
As for Ranma himself, our pigtailed hero was in the middle of his morning exercises and feeding his pet wolf Tsukiro. As Ranma leapt outside to wait for his master, he couldn't help but think about his upcoming date with Sunset. Unfortunately...
"FOCUS BOY!" Cried out Master Asia as he shouted in Ranma's ear, spooking him out of his skin.
"EEEEEEYYYYYYAAAAAHHHHH!" Ranma cried out as he fell to the ground in shock.
He shook his head and glared at his laughing master.
"Dirty rotten son of a...That wasn't funny Master!" Ranma said as he got back to his feet. Master Asia held his sides as he laughed at his poor student. He managed to stop laughing and looked at his angry pupil.
"Sorry son, I just couldn't resist." He said in between chuckles. "But by the look on that daydreaming face of yours, I'm guessing you were thinking about a certain red head that you have a date with, am I right?"
Ranma blushed and tried to snap out of it as he glared at his master and did the only thing he could think to do when in this situation. He attacked. He leapt at him and did a tornado kick and when his master avoided it, Ranma chased after him with several kicks and a few punches. Master Asia couldn't help but laugh as he and Ranma began their usual sparring session.
"Come on son, can't ya take a joke? Or did I hit a bullseye about you and your red headed date?" He said as he parried some more of Ranma's punches and blocked his left round house kick.
"Oh, I can take a joke. I just don't like it when ya tease the crap out of me with cheap shots like that." Ranma said as he faked a spinning side kick and went for an uppercut and overhead strike.
Master Asia smirked as he countered Ranma's attacks and went for a reverse elbow that Ranma avoided and countered with a crouching round kick and back kick. The two fighters leapt out into the yard and continued their fight in the air.
Tsukiro watched his two owners as they punched and kicked in the air and continued their fight on the ground. Ranma couldn't help but smile as he and his master sparred. He came at his mentor with an axe kick, only to be blocked by his master.
But that was fine with him. When his master went for a twisting takedown, Ranma hopped into the air and spun with the twist to generate power for a diagonal axe kick that Master Asia ate because he wasn't expecting it. Ranma landed on the ground and used Capoeira style movements to continue his assault on his master, ending in an attempted scissor takedown.
Master Asia cartwheeled out of the way and attempted a falling axe kick of his own. Ranma dodged and returned to his feet, only to see his mentor coming at him with a straight right that turned out to be a faint. Cause as soon as Ranma prepared to block it, Master Asia spun and turned his faint into a spinning whip strike that struck Ranma in the neck.
Ranma coughed and stumbled as Master Asia did a crouching sweep kick that knocked Ranma to the ground. Ranma winced, but managed to do a handstand mule kick that pushed his master back. Ranma flipped back to his feet and came at his master with a barrage of spinning kicks and even a few lunging elbow strikes.
Master Asia couldn't help but smile as he and Ranma continued their little dance. They weren't going all out, but he was happy to see the lengths that Ranma had grown during their short time together. As the two clashed once again, they became aware of three people cheering them on. The two went wide eyed and looked to see Flash, Applejack and Rainbow Dash cheering on the spectacle that they were putting on.
"Don't stop now! Keep going!" Flash said.
"Yeah! Keep going!" Rainbow cheered, wanting to see more of her boyfriend and her boyfriend's master duking it out like something from a manga or anime.
Both fighters chuckled as they stopped. With the arrival of Ranma's three main students, it sadly marked the end of their little game. Sad really, Ranma was hoping to get to show off some new tricks of his own and test his luck in a more serious bout with his mentor.
But now, he had to put on his teacher's hat. One he still wasn't really used to wearing. He sighed and looked at his master.
"Sorry, but it looks like we'll have to call this one. It's time to start your training." He said to his three students.
"Ahhhhhh..." Flash and Rainbow said as they trudged themselves to where they usually did their training. Only Applejack wasn't too sad about it. She laughed a little before giving Ranma a good morning kiss.
"Morning Sugar Cube." She said. Ranma smiled at his farmer girlfriend.
"Morning my sweet apple pie." He said. Master Asia ruffled Ranma's hair.
"Ok, ok Casanova. Get going and train your students." He said as he playfully shoved Ranma off to his little class.
The day went by pretty smoothly for our young heroes. Ranma started them off with a light jog and then stretches before having them work on forms. After getting them started on some new forms, Ranma had them work on their ki control as well as their ki techniques.
Ranma mainly had them focus on Shoryuken and Tatsumaki Senpu Kyaku. Flash wanted to focus on his Burn Knuckle move as well as get back to working on the Hadoken. Applejack and Rainbow also wanted to work on the Hadoken as it was still the one move that they hadn't been able to use yet.
Ranma relented and showed them the proper way to channel their ki to perform the technique as well as giving them a demonstration of the move. Ranma also told Applejack to work more on her Power Wave move so as to perfect it.
"Ranma-sensei," Rainbow said as she landed from another Tatsumaki kick. "When are you going to teach us that elemental stuff?"
Ranma chuckled at Rainbow's question.
"All in good time my dear little student." He said as he ruffled her hair. Rainbow sighed as she pouted at her boyfriend and mentor.
"Ok ok. Once you guys can fire off a Hadoken, I think that's when I'll start you guys on that." He said, making his rainbow haired girlfriend smile.
"Great! By the way..." She started to say.
"Sorry Rainbow, ya still got to wear that unitard." Ranma cut her off.
"Ah maaaan!" Rainbow said as she went back to training, fighting the urge to pull down the bottom part of her unitard that was starting to ride up on her butt. Not that Ranma wasn't enjoying the view.
At the end of their time, Ranma had them pair up for sparring. Applejack and Rainbow were naturally fighting each other, and Ranma squared up with Flash. Ranma sized up his best friend and smiled as he saw the improvement in the blue haired boy's stance. Flash came in with a feint low round and switched to a series of quick jabs and a backfist.
Ranma smirked and blocked the spinning backfist and then went for strike to the ribs and a leg sweep. Flash managed to stay on his feet and tried to elbow Ranma, only for his friend and mentor to parry and hit him with a Baji quan shoulder strike that sent the blue haired boy rolling to the ground. Flash rolled to his feet and charged at Ranma, leading to Ranma blocking and parrying Flashes punches and kicks.
Flash launched a front kick, knowing full well that Ranma would be able to catch it. When he did and tried to go for a takedown, Flash used his remaining leg to jump up and kick at Ranma's chest. Ranma was caught off guard, not expecting Flash to pull off such a risky move. Flash rolled on the ground and shot out a crouching round kick at Ranma, only for Ranma to catch it and twist Flash around into a painful ankle lock.
"AGH!" Flash screamed as Ranma sat on Flash's back and applied a more painful lock.
"Say uncle." Ranma said with a smirk.
"Uncle! Uncle, uncle, uncle!" Flash screamed as he slapped the ground. Ranma let go and cartwheeled to his feet and offered Flash a hand up.
"Not bad. You're getting better." Ranma said with a smile. Flash smiled back at his friend and took his hand and got up.
"Man, I thought I had you that time." Flash said as he scratched his head.
"I'm afraid you're still a few years too early to be at my level bud. But next time I promise, I'll let you use some special techniques so we can go a little more all out." Ranma said. Flash nodded.
"Right sensei." Flash said.
"Awww man!" Came the voice of Rainbow Dash, causing the two boys to look where the girls were fighting and saw Rainbow on the ground and Applejack pumping her fist in the air at having won the bout with her friend and rival.
"You lose Dashy!" Applejack said as she gloated over her friend.
"I'll get you next time, farm girl." Rainbow said with a challenging smile as she got back to her feet.
"Not bad AJ." Ranma said as he and Flash applauded. Applejack blushed at the praise.
After a little while longer, Ranma dismissed his students and cracked his neck as he went back to the house, deciding to take a quick shower before he went off to pick up Sunset. But before Ranma could walk through the door...
"Hey, Ranma?"
Ranma turned and saw a blushing Rainbow Dash. Ranma tilted his head at his sporty tomboy girlfriend.
"What's up?" Ranma asked. Rainbow rubbed her arm as she tried to look at her boyfriend.
"Hey so...uh...how much longer do I have to keep wearing this stupid thing?" She asked, gesturing to her unitard. Ranma smirked at her.
"Sorry honey, but you just got started. You've still got a long time to wear that for me." He said. Rainbow pouted at the pigtailed boy.
"Perv." She said, turning her back.
SMACK!
"AGH!" Rainbow screamed as she felt her butt get smacked. Hard. She turned, face blushing beat red and saw a whistling Ranma walking back into his house as innocent as could be.
"GRRRR! Ranma! You!" She said.
"Never turn your back on someone." He said nonchalantly. Rainbow growled but part of her, she won't admit it, but part of her liked the fact that Ranma spanked her like that. But she'd be damned if Pinkie ever heard that.
As for our favorite blonde-streaked red head, Sunset was walking to the mall where the sushi restaurant she worked at was. She sighed as she went to the kitchen and psyched herself up for work.
"About time you got back." Said a voice that Sunset knew well. She smiled as she turned to look at her boss.
"Hey Fuji-dono." She said. Her boss, Miss Miya Fuji, fought the urge to smile at her favorite employe.
"Hope you had fun on your time off. Time to get cracking." She said. Sunset smiled at her boss. Knowing that despite the way she tried to hide it, she liked Sunset a bit.
"Hai hai. I'm on it boss." She said as she headed off.
After some time passed, Sunset came back into the kitchen and was surprised by the way her boss was looking at her.
"Something wrong boss?" She asked.
"What's wrong with your face? You keep smiling." She said. Now it was Sunset's turn to look at her funny.
"I always smile." She said.
"Yeah, but you look more happy than usual. You have a peppy spring in your step. It's weird. You too happy." Fuji-dono said.
Sunset smiled and shook her head at her boss.
"Well..." She said cheekily. "Truth is...I have a date after work today." She said.
"A date?" Fuji-dono asked. "How do you have a boyfriend? I haven't met him yet?" Sunset couldn't fight the smirk from her face.
"Gee, I never made that connection." She said as she went out to work the crowd.
When she came back in, Fuji-dono went back to talking to Sunset.
"I'm just saying, boys are the most dangerous animals on the planet. You let them have one freebie and they leave you high and dry for the next model." She said.
"Yeah, maybe some of them are like that. But not this guy. He's a real sweet guy." Sunset said as she helped where she was needed around the kitchen.
"They always play nice. That's how they get what they want." Fuji-dono said.
"I'm just saying Sunset, I've been divorced three times already. I KNOW how these things go. I'm just trying to look out for you. I've never had a daughter and you're the closest thing I've got."
"And I appreciate it." Sunset answered. "But you don't have to worry. Ranma may come off as bit rough sometimes, but once you get past that, he's a sweetheart."
"Oh, so he has a name, huh?" Fuji-dono said. "So, did he sweep you off your feet or something?"
"Yeah, kind of." Sunset said with a smile. "But it was more like we had some adventures, fought some stuck-up snobs, danced a few times...yeah. 'Swept me off my feet's' the right term for it."
"Those are the ones to really watch out for." Fuji-dono said as she loaded Sunset up with orders to take out.
Sunset shook her head at her boss. The old Asia woman may come off as scarry and moody sometimes, but she was actually a nice woman. Sadly, she took some time to get used too. When Sunset was down on her luck and needed money to pay for an apartment, Fuji-dono was the one to offer her a job.
At first, they didn't like each other much, but after Sunset's redemption, she and Fuji-dono got a lot closer. So much so that Fui-dono actually tried to protect Sunset from some of the more...unpleasant costumers. Honestly, Sunset really liked this job and was glad to have it and a boss like Miya Fuji looking out for her.
As the day passed on by, Sunset kept switching from working the crowd and talking to Fuji-dono.
"I'm just saying, have you even thought about what you having a boyfriend will do to our profits? Most of the men who come in here are horny teenagers who come in cause they think they have a shot with you. If they find out you're unavailable, there goes most of my costumers." Fuji-dono said. This made Sunset laugh out loud.
"I'm SO sorry my happiness has spoiled your plans to market me for business." She said with sarcasm. Fuji-dono smiled at her favorite employee but kept it hidden.
"So, when can I expect to meet this mystery man?" Fuji-dono asked after some more time had passed.
"Oh, you can meet me right now." Came a voice from the behind them. Both girls 'eeped' and turned to see a smiling Ranma, wearing a red sleeveless Chinese shirt with dark gold outlines and dark grey Kung Fu slacks and black Kung Fu shoes.
"Ranma!? Wh-what are you doing here? Our date isn't for another hour." Sunset said as she ran around to give her boyfriend a hug.
"Oh, well, this place was on my paper route and my hot girlfriend works here so I thought I'd stop on by." He said with his usual smirk.
"Hey hey hey! No flirting with my girl while she's on the clock." Fuji-dono said before Sunset could kiss Ranma for being such a charming Schmook.
"Gomen, gomen." Ranma said. "I won't take her time."
"You better not." Fuji-dono said, then muttered under her breath. "Baka idemen."
"HEY!" Ranma said, marching up to where he could talk back to the woman.
"I'm not a stupid pretty boy! Ya osekkainao obasan!" Ranma shouted at her.
"Oh yeah tough guy?" She said as she came back, only for Sunset to get in between the two.
"Ok, break it up you two! There're too many people for you to start a Japanese name calling match here." She said. Ranma and Fuji-dono glared at each other but then huffed and walked away.
"Sorry Ranma. My boss can be a bit much sometimes." Sunset said to Ranma. Ranma sighed.
"Sorry. I didn't' mean to start anything." He said. Sunset smirked and playfully slugged his arm.
"I think she likes you a little. She normally only tells people to take a seat and order something or get out. Not actually get into a fight with them. She always gives the people she likes a hard time."
Ranma smirked at her.
"Then she must really like me." He laughed. "But I think I'll go take a seat until your shift's over. Oh, and by the way..."
He gave Sunset a good look up and down.
"You REALLY look good in that uniform." He said with a smile and wink. Sunset blushed and playfully shoved him.
"Get going you goober." She said.
Ranma smiled and walked off to find a table to wait until Sunset's shift was over. But as he did, he saw that quite a few of the young men in the restaurant were giving him some pretty mean death glares. As he sat down, he tried to ignore the death glares as much as possible, but still found himself fidgeting from them. A few minutes later though, something happened that made his blood boil.
"HEY!" Said one teenage boy who looked like a straight up street punk as he tried to grab Sunset's arm.
"What's this about you dating that stupid cosplay idiot over there!?" He said. Ranma tilted his head and looked at his clothes.
"Cosplay?" He asked himself.
"Hey, I can date whoever I want. And who I date is no concern of yours. Sir." Sunset said as she pulled her arm away from the stupid punk.
"Hey, I'm sorry." He said. Not really sounding like he meant it.
"I'm just a little heart broken. I thought we had something special." He said, making Ranma, Sunset and Fuji-dono want to vomit.
"Well, sorry. But no. We don't." Sunset said, putting effuses on the last word.
"Hey, don't be like that baby." He said as he tried to go for another grab, only to find his hand stopped by a glaring Ranma, who had shot over to them faster than the eye could blink and grabbed the punk's wrist.
"Since you don't seem to understand subtleties, allow me to translate. The lady is politely telling you to back off." Ranma said. The punk growled and wrenched his hand away from Ranma and turned to face him.
"Hey! Back off ya woman stealer! I've been wanting to take this chick out on a date for a week and you just swoop in and take her?" He said. Ranma cracked his neck.
"Back off pal. I don't want to cause a scene at my girlfriend's job." He said.
"Yeah. Well too bad hot shot!" The punk said as he swung at Ranma, only to end up in a painful joint lock.
"Excuse me honey. I think the TRASH needs to be taken out!" He said as he dragged the goon to the front door and threw him out.
"Anyone else?" He asked to the rest of the people in the restaurant. Thankfully, they all got the idea of NOT messing with this guy or his girl, and went back to their meals.
"My hero." Sunset said with a smirk as Ranma smirked back and took a seat.
Sunset blew him a kiss and walked back to the kitchen. She saw Fuji-dono shaking her head at the display outside.
"So? I told you he was a good guy." Sunset said. Fuji-dono shrugged.
"Eh, he's alright." She said. "But I still don't know."
The rest of Sunset's shift went by without any more incidents as Ranma patiently waited for his girlfriend to finish up work. While he was sitting and chilling, Fuji-dono walked up to him. Ranma looked at her with his usual carefree attitude and smiled.
"Konichiwa Fuji-dono." He said.
"Cut the crap bishounen." She said, causing Ranma to drop his smile.
"Let's get down to business. I like Sunset too much to let some bishounen swing in and break her heart. So, if you do, I'll chop you up and turn you into the next daily special." She said. Ranma's eyes narrowed at her words.
"Look," He said, standing up. "I can take a lot, and I'll take whatever abuse you throw. But if you ever insinuate that I'd ever hurt Sunset, then that's when I get mad."
He got right in front of her face, making everyone around fear another fight would break out.
"Sunset is someone dear to me. I'd sooner slit my stomach open than hurt that girl. So, believe me, you don't have anything to worry about from me." He finished, his eyes as hard as still. Fuji-dono stood her ground for a few seconds then nodded her head.
"Good. See to it that I don't." She said as she headed back to the kitchen.
Back in the kitchen, Sunset was getting ready to clock out when she saw Fuji-dono. She sighed, knowing full well what she was up to. She turned to her boss and put her hands on her hips.
"Fuji-dono, seriously, Ranma's a good person, you don't have to give him the third degree." She said.
"I know." Fuji-dono said. "It's just fun. But boy, let me tell you something. If I was 20 years younger and had your figure, you'd be in trouble."
Sunset couldn't help but chuckle at her boss's antics.
"If you say so. Welp, I'm off. See ya people, I've got a date to get to." She said as she walked out the door.
Ranma smiled as Sunset walked out and walked over to her.
"I think my boss likes you." She said. Ranma chuckled.
"Tell her I'm flattered, but I'm spoken for today." He said. Sunset giggled and kissed Ranma.
"That you are. So, shall we be off?" She said. Ranma offered her his arm and she took it.
"We shall, m'lady."
And with that, the two lovers walked out with the whole world to themselves. But as they walked out of the restaurant, Sunset decided to ask Ranma something.
"Say Ranma, that's a nice design on the back of your shirt. I can't say I've ever seen you wear one with a phoenix on the back." She said, making Ranma blush as red as his shirt.
"Well...I...I just thought I'd wear it today because...forget it." He said. But Sunset wasn't letting him off that easily.
"What?" She asked.
"Nah, you'll think it's silly and corny." Ranma said, trying not to look her in the eye.
"Oh, come on! You can't just hint at a reason and not tell me. What were you going to say?" She begged, pulling his arm to her chest. Ranma blushed at the gesture and sigh.
"Well, I chose it because the phoenix reminds me of you. The design reminds me of your hair and... well...after hearing your story, it made me thing that you're something of a phoenix yourself." He admitted.
NOW it was SUNSET'S turn to blush. She smiled at how thoughtful Ranma's simple gesture.
"You're right, it was corny." She said, snuggling his arm a little more. "But...it's sweet."
As they were walking, Ranma noticed that Sunset looked a little downcast after a while.
"What's on your mind?" He asked. She sighed.
"It's nothing. It's just, after hearing your reason for wearing that phoenix shirt, I wish I had something better to wear than this." She said. Ranma couldn't help but chuckle.
"I don't mind." He said. "In fact, I think you look really hot in it."
That made Sunset blush.
"Let me guess, reminds you of home?" She asked with a cheeky smirk. Now it was Ranma's turn to blush.
"Yeah, just a little." He said. Sunset chuckled.
"So, what's our first stop?" She asked.
"How about the arcade? It'll be a nice get away from all the craziness we've been through lately." He suggested. Sunset pretended to think for a moment.
"Ok. On one condition. No Fighting games." She said. Ranma laughed.
"Ok, no fighting games."
And with that, Ranma and Sunset headed over to the arcade. Ranma decided to let Sunset choose what games to play since he didn't know too many. So, the first game she choose for them was a shooting game. Terminator of all things.
"Ready?" She asked, chuckling at how Ranma was fumbling with the gun controller.
"Um...I guess?" He replied. Sunset grinned at hit start.
"Then GO!"
And with that, their date was officially on! And it was starting out pretty good for Sunset. She was racking up points by the second while Ranma was struggling to get accustom to the gun in his hands. Ranma never did like shooting games, and this was proving his lack of skill.
When it was over, Sunset was cheering at her score while Ranma was sighing in defeat. In hand to hand, few could take him. But apparently with guns, he SUCKED! Sunset smirked at her boyfriend as he sulked at his loss.
"So, want to go another round?" She asked. Ranma shrugged.
"Sure, I can stand to be humbled by the master for a while longer." He said with a chuckle. Sunset chuckled back as she started up the next round.
They played for a few more minutes, laughing as they enjoyed shooting at the video game robots. After two more rounds of shooting at robots, and Ranma sighing at losing to his girlfriend again, they headed off to find another game to play.
"Let's play this one next!" She said, pointing to another game.
"As long as it doesn't involve shooting, fine by me." Ranma said with a shrug.
And so, they played some more games. Ranging from Skee-Ball, hoops, old arcade games, racing games and just about every other game they could get to. After a few hours, they sat down to enjoy a light meal. Ranma couldn't help but smile the whole time.
'Man... this feels nice. I... I feel like I'm just a regular kid on a date with a girl I like. This...this just feels so right.' He thought to himself.
"What?" Sunset asked with a smile.
"Huh? What?" Ranma said, snapping out of his thoughts. Sunset laughed at the poor boy's reaction.
"I said, what's with that faraway look on your face?" She said as she took a sip of her drink. Ranma chuckled a little.
"Sorry. I was just lost in thought." He said as he used his hand to brush the hair from his eyes. "I...(sigh) I was just thinking about how nice this is. Just, being a regular kid. On a date with a girl I love and..."
Ranma clamed up and his eyes went wide at what he realized he just said. And so did Sunset's.
"W-what did you just say?" She asked. Ranma gulped.
"I...I...well...I..." He stuttered.
"Did...did you just say...you love me?" Sunset asked. Ranma gulped again.
"Well...I...I think I did. Yeah." He admitted. Sunset blushed and leaned in close to Ranma as she placed her hand on top of his.
"Ranma. You know what? I love you too." She said. Ranma blushed as he and Sunset locked eyes.
"I didn't think I'd say it so soon. But it did feel good to say."
And with that, the two kissed. Little did they know, someone was watching them from afar. After a while longer of playing any game they could get to, they headed out for a stroll. They held hands as they walked, simply happy to be enjoying each other's company.
As they walked over to a nearby park, Ranma looked out at the setting sun, smiling broadly at how it reminded him of the beautiful girl by his side.
"Beautiful, ain't it?" Sunset asked.
"Yeah. As beautiful as the girl I'm with." He said.
Sunset looked at her boyfriend and leaned her head on his shoulder as she snuggled up to him.
"Sap." She said.
"Hey!" Ranma said in mock hurt, causing the blond streaked red head to giggle.
"But you're a cute sap. But more importantly, you're my sap. At least for today." She said as she got in front of Ranma and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I'll always be your sap. Even when I'm out with the others, I'll always love you as much as the others. I swear." Ranma said as he wrapped his arms around Sunset's waist.
"I know." She said as she leaned in to kiss Ranma again...only for Ranma's danger sense to flare up!
"DUCK!" He screamed as he pulled Sunset to the ground, nearly avoiding a barrage of bladed weapons with ropes tied to them passing over their heads and stabbing into the ground.
"What the!?" Sunset said as she looked up to see the weapons that nearly took hers and Ranma's heads off.
"Hey! Who's the wise guy!?" Ranma shouted.
Just then, the weapons were pulled, freeing them from where they were imbedded, and returned to the man who threw them. But to the surprise of Ranma and Sunset, the person who caught the weapons simply let them fly into the sleeves of his shirt.
"What the?" Ranma thought out loud as he took in the sight of this mysterious assassin.
He seemed to be a young man around their age, with long black hair that went past his shoulders, wearing a long white robe with a diamond pattern on the chest with black cuffs and wide-open sleeves, dark blue pants and black Chinese shoes. He also wore large Coke-bottle classes on what looked to be an admittedly attractive looking face.
"Huh. Not bad. You appear to have good instincts and the reflexes to go with them. Ranma!" Said the glasses wearing boy as he flung one of his wide sleeves and fired a spear head on a chain at Ranma. Ranma grabbed Sunset in his arms and leapt out of the way of the attack.
"HEY! Watch it, pal! You could kill someone with that thing!" Ranma said as he landed and put Sunset down.
"That was the idea, dimwit!" Said the young man as he returned his weapon to his sleeve.
"Just who are you, ya creep?" Sunset asked the assassin, being very ticked off at having her nice, normal date with Ranma interrupted.
"Humph. Well, I guess a condemned man should at least know the name of his executioner." Said the young man.
"My name is Mu-Tsu, warrior of the Joketsuzoku Amazon tribe and master of the art of hidden weapons!" Said the now named young warrior.
"You're an Amazon!?" Sunset gasped in shock. Ranma however...
"Wait...(snicker) your name is Mousse?" Ranma asked, trying his hardest not to laugh at the obvious reference to hair mousse.
"Ranma, that is not the thing to focus on. This guy's an Amazon like Shampoo and Cologne." Sunset said, only to stop and realize what Ranma was laughing at.
"Wait. Shampoo, Cologne, Mousse? (Snicker, snicker) Wait, heh heh, are all Amazons named after Health and Beauty products? Ha ha hah!" The poor girl just couldn't hold it in anymore. And neither could Ranma.
"HEY! It's not my fault your stupid Western tongue has products that sound like our names!" Mousse shouted at the two laughing teens.
"Sorry, sorry." Ranma said in between laughs. "So, Mousse boy, what's the idea of attacking me and my girlfriend like that? I haven't done anything to you."
"Oh yes you have Ranma." Mousse said while adjusting his glasses. "You stole the love of my life! My darling Shampoo!"
"Nani!?/Say what!?" Ranma and Sunset gasped simultaneously.
"That's right! Shampoo is my woman. I've pined after her since we were little kids. I wanted to marry her my whole life. But as my evil fate would have it, YOU had to go and defeat her in combat and claim her as your bride!" Mousse shouted in rage and pointed at Ranma.
"Huh!? Oh, dude, if you want her, you can have her. I don't even like that crazy chick. Go with my blessings." Ranma said.
"You idiot! According to our tribes' laws, Shampoo belongs to you! The only way I can have her now is to kill you and free her up for myself!" Mousse said as he flung his arms and fired more weapons at Ranma from out of nowhere.
"YEOW!" Ranma said as he dodged the flying weapons. "Sunset! Stay clear! I'll deal with this creep!"
"Right! But be careful!" Sunset said as she dived for cover. She watched as Ranma bobbed and weaved as he tried to get closer to the glasses wearing assassin.
(Insert Fight Song: 'Combat' by The Mighty Raw)
"Dude! I told you, I don't want that psycho Shampoo! You can take her!" Ranma said as he tried to attack Mousse with a combo of straight punches and spinning kicks.
Mousse retracted his weapons as he dodged Ranma's attacks. He ducked under punches and slipped to the side to avoid Ranma's spinning side and back kicks. Ranma lashed out with back fist forcing Mousse to block and tried to attack Ranma with an open palm strike. It was lucky that Ranma managed to grab Mousse by the arm because he noticed that the Chinese boy had a knife protruding from his sleeve.
"How many weapons do you have up your sleeves, dude?" Ranma asked as he kicked Mousse in the thigh and then another front kick to push him away.
"I told you, I'm the master of hidden weapons!" Mousse said as he charged at Ranma again. Only this time he had a dao, a Chinese saber, slide out of his sleeve and into his open hand as he tried to swipe at Ranma again.
"HEY! That's cheating you creep!" Sunset shouted at the unfair fight.
"Alls fair in love and war!" Mousse shouted back as he attacked Ranma.
Ranma tried to keep his distance from the crazy Amazon boy. And decided that if this guy wanted to fight dirty, then he'll reply in kind.
"In that case, Hadouken!" Ranma cried as he fired a blast of blue ki at Mousse.
Mousse gasped and leapt into the air to avoid it. But Ranma was ready for that move. He launched himself into a Shoryuken as Mousse tried to swing his sword at Ranma. Imagine his surprise when Ranma's fist broke the sword on contact and smashed into the Chinese boy's stomach.
Ranma then grabbed the boy and started to spin as he started plummeting down.
"Izuna Otoshi!" Ranma cried as he slammed Mousse into the ground head first. The spin causing the boy's head to be stuck in the ground.
"That'll learn ya." Ranma said. But before he could walk away, Mousse lashed out with one of his feet, which produced spiked talon to try and skewer Ranma.
"Hey!" Ranma gasped as he avoided the attack. Mousse managed to pull his head out of the ground and back on his feet. He was still dizzy, but he shook his head to clear it and popped out another set of talons on his other foot and claws on his wrists.
"That won't stop me, you Cassanova!"
And with that, Mousse charged at Ranma yet again. Ranma dodged the bladed weapons as Mousse slashed at him with bladed swings, punches and kicks. Ranma was getting fed up with being on the defensive and prepared to take action against him. He may not have any weapons on hand, but he had plenty of techniques to even the odds.
"Tourouzan!" Ranma cried as he charged ki into his hands and slashed at Mousse.
Ranma's ki covered hand clashed against Mousse's steel claw, and to the glasses wearing boy's surprise, Ranma's hand cut right through it.
"What!?" Mousse gasped in shock as he tried to attack with his remaining steel claw and talons.
A dance of steel and ki blades ensued as Ranma defended himself from Mousse's onslaught. As Mousse came in with a spinning heel kick, Ranma made an up and down scissor move that destroyed the bladed talon on his foot and then smashed his shoulder into the Chinese Amazon's back.
Mousse stumbled but got back up and lashed out with his remaining taloned foot, only for Ranma to catch it, twist it into a lock and snapped the blades off of it before nailing Mousse with a spinning back kick.
Ranma came at him with a jumping snap kick and a barrage of punches followed by a left round kick to Mousse's ribs. Mousse tried to defend against Ranma's punches and was unprepared for the kick that nailed him in the side. Mousse coughed up blood, feeling his bones crack, as Ranma grabbed his head and smashed it into his knee.
Ranma was about to put his opponent in a neck crank, but lost his grip when he felt something sharp pierce his skin. He screamed as he let go and dive rolled away and looked at his bloody arms.
"What!?" He cried as he looked up and saw Mousse shaking his head and came at Ranma, swiping his hands like claws. And he actually DID have claws on them!
"Shuko!?" Ranma gasped as he avoided Mousses renewed attack.
"Why not? They may be Japanese, but they make great surprise weapons for close quarters!' Mousse said as he swiped at Ranma.
"Ranma, watch out!" Sunset screamed, her hand going for her geode.
Ranma backstepped and parried Mousses attacks and when he got his opening, he grabbed Mousse by the wrist and slammed his elbow just above the joint of Mousses' elbow. Mousse screamed in pain as Ranma bent his arm backwards into a figure four lock and threw him to the ground before switching to another arm lock. This time, he didn't let up until he felt and heard Mousse's arm break.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" The Amazon boy cried as Ranma pried off one of Mousse's shuko and tossed it as he tried to go for his other arm. Mousse swiped at Ranma in desperation and rolled away back to his feet.
"Don't think I'm beet just yet!" Cried the near-sighted Amazon as he swung his broken arm and fired off various weapons attached to ropes and chains.
Ranma dodged and parried the weapons and charged at the weapons user, who smirked evilly. He yanked his arm back and the weapons seemed to fly right at Ranma like they were homing missiles. But the pigtailed martial artist wasn't worried one bit.
He just avoided any weapon that came at him and tightened his fist, ready for the strike that would end this battle. Mousse produced another blade from his sleeve and sliced off the ropes and chains and with a smirk, struck his good hand against something he had up his other sleeve.
"BURN!" Mousse shouted as the ropes and chains caught fire!
"RANMA!" Sunset screamed as the area around Ranma exploded!
"HA HA HA! SO LONG, BASTARD!" Mousse shouted.
"YOU'RE THE ONLY BASTARD HERE!" Came a voice that made Mousse and Sunset look up.
Right above them, Ranma was in the air with his hands to one side, ki gathering in them.
"HUH!? HOW!?" Mousse gasped in shock.
"Hell yeah!" Sunset cheered as she pumped her fist in the air.
"Eat this ya cheating bastard! SHIKU HADOUKEN!" Ranma cried out and fired a bigger and stronger version of the Hadouken right at the long-haired young man.
"Ah crap!" Mousse said as he tried to escape the blast.
But it was no use. He may have escaped a direct hit, but he was caught in the explosion. As he was blown away by the blast, Ranma dived right at him, fully intent on ending this once and for all. Mousse rolled up and threw out his one good hand and fired a spear at Ranma.
But Ranma grabbed the spear and used it to pull Mousse straight towards him. Mousse panicked as ranma channeled ki into his feet for his final attack. He kicked Mousse with a side kick and followed up with a series of ki enhanced kicks to the near-sighted youth. And then, Ranma struck Mousse with a ki empowered flying side kick that sent Mousse flying away into a nearby lake.
Ranma landed on the ground and exhaled his breath as he calmed down after that tough fight. Sunset came rushing to his side, calling his name with a little bit of fright still in her voice from seeing her boyfriend bleeding.
"Ranma! Are you ok?" She cried. Ranma looked to her and smiled.
"I'm ok. I'll need to wear bandages on my arms until they heal, but I'm ok." He said. Sunset ran up to him and took his arms in her hands. The adrenaline and his naturally fast heeling had stopped the bleeding, but the wounds were still fresh and made her stomach turn.
"Oh Ranma..." She trailed off. But Ranma tilted her head up to look him in the eye.
"Hey hey, no crying. I'm ok. They're just flesh wounds. Nothing serious. And if they leave scars, then they'll just make me look tougher." He said smiling his usual smile.
"Dumby." She said as she kissed him. "Let's get you out of here before that wannabe assassin gets the idea to get back up again."
"Good idea. But first..." Ranma trailed off as he walked over to the lake and fished Mousse out before tying him with his own chain that was still sticking out of one of his sleeves. But as Ranma tied him up, he looked up Mousse's sleeves to see...nothing?
"Where in the heck did this guy keep all those weapons? Some kind of pocket space?" He asked no one in particular.
"And here I thought Pinkie was the only one who could do that." Sunset said as she walked over to Ranma.
Ranma tore off Mousse's sleeves and used them to wrap up his arms. He turned back to Sunset and was about to tell her to call the police, but smiled as he saw that she was already doing that.
"Welp, let's get out of here. I think we've caused enough damage for one day." He said. Sunset took his hand and nodded.
"Say...uh..." She trailed off, a huge blush on her face. Ranma tilted his head in confusion.
"What's up?" He asked.
"Just...forget it." Sunset said, trying to hide her blushing face.
"What? Come on, don't leave me hanging." Ranma said, holding Sunset in his arms.
"Well...it's just that...If...If you want...I mean...we...we could...you know...go to my place and lay low for a while." She said, her face as red as her hair. Now it was Ranma's turn to blush.
"Y-y-your place?" He asked. "Well...I...s-sure."
"Really!?" Sunset said as her head shot up. "I mean...well...l-let's go."
And with that, they left before the cops arrived to find Mousse all tied up and dripping wet. Back with our two love birds, Ranma and Sunset were both blushing and sweating at the fact that they were going back to Sunset's place. And it was only after they got to her apartment that Ranma's brain finally started working.
'Wait a minute.' He thought. 'Sunset is from another world. And she lives...(GULP!)...Alone. Which means...I'm about to be alone...with one of my girlfriends. In HER apartment. And no one's parents around in sight.' Ranma was starting to think that maybe he made a BIG mistake.
He gulped as Sunset opened the door to her apartment and looked at her boyfriend.
"Well, this is it. C-come in." She said.
"Huh? O-oh, right." Ranma stuttered as he followed Sunset in.
He tried to steady his breathing as he looked around. It was a nice place but somewhat minimalistic. Nothing too expensive looking but definitely a comfortable place to live. And he wasn't at all surprised to find so many games and game systems laying in front of the TV.
"Nice place ya got here, Sunset." Ranma said as he looked around.
"Thanks. It's not much, but it' home." Sunset said. "I'll be right back. I'm gonna change out of this uniform. Make yourself at home."
"Ok." Ranma said as he looked around while Sunset went to her room to change.
He looked around and tried to calm his heart down. He looked to the couch and was about to sit down when he looked over and saw a stack of some of Sunset's games in front of the TV and decided to take a look. He smirked, she had a bit of everything.
"See anything you like?" Came the voice of Sunset.
"Yeah. I...I...aiyai yai." Ranma trailed off as he looked at Sunset.
She had changed out of her blue Japanese uniform and into a white tank top and some Burgandy sweatpants that hugged her hips. Sunset saw the look on Ranma's face and couldn't help but chuckle at him.
"I guess you do see something you like, huh?" She said as she struck a pose with her hand on her hip.
"(Gulp) Uh huh." He said as she chuckled again and walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him.
"Ok, first thing's first, let's take a look at those wounds of yours. You may be mister tough guy, but you're not invincible." Sunset said as she went to grab her first aid kit.
"Yes ma'am." Ranma said with a smile.
As Sunset came back, Ranma undid the makeshift bandages around his arms so that she could see his wounds. To her surprise, not only had the bleeding completely stopped, but they were starting to look like they were healing up nicely.
"Wow." She said. "You really do heal fast."
"Benefits of the crazy training I've been put through all my life." Ranma said. "But I do wish I healed as fast as that American comic character, Wolverine. He's got it easy."
"Heh." Sunset said. "A lot of comic fans would beg to differ on that."
"Good point." Ranma said. "That's why I think we Japanese are better comic writers than you guys. No offense."
"Oh, is that so?" Sunset said with a challenging smirk as she dapped alcohol on Ranma's wounds. "And what makes you say that?"
"Well, for one thing, we don't retcon and reboot and try to rewrite everything about our characters every couple of years." He said, making Sunset laugh.
"Ok, I'll give you that one." She said, finishing up her work.
"Well, that should do it I think." She said as she wrapped his arms in gauze.
"Thanks." Ranma said, flexing his arms. "I bet I'll be healed up in two days tops."
Sunset giggled at Ranma's bold claim, but knowing him, he might just be telling the truth.
"So, want to...watch a movie or something?" She asked with a blush and a smile. Ranma nodded quickly.
"S-sure. A movie sounds good."
And with that, Sunset went to grab a movie from her DVD rack. As she did, she bent over, looking through the lower shelves all while giving Ranma an unintentional good view of her shapely rear. He gulped and turned his head as Sunset settled on 'The Terminator'.
"Hope you like Arnold." She said as she plopped the movie in.
"Eh, I like him a little." Ranma said as he sat down on the couch. Sunset sat down and snuggled up to Ranma, making him blush madly at how she was pressing her breasts up against his arm and chest.
The rest of their date went by without a hitch. After the movie ended, Ranma looked at the time and saw that it was getting late. As much as he didn't really want to, it was time for him to leave and head back home.
"We'll, time for me to split." He said as he got up. Sunset looked at her phone.
"Oh shoot! I guess you're right." She said as she got up and walked with Ranma to the door.
"Well...despite the manic that attacked us, this was a pretty good first solo date. At least, I think so." Ranma said, scratching the back of his head.
"Yeah. I'd say it was a pretty good first date." She said as she stepped up onto her tiptoes.
"So...I guess I'll...see ya later?" She said. Ranma smiled at her as he leaned in close.
"Yeah." Was all he said as he kissed her goodbye. "Catch ya later, my beautiful phoenix."
"See ya, you crazy wild horse." She replied.
And with that, Ranma headed off for home. He sighed happily as he thought about how much fun this date was. Although, the fact that yet another Amazon had showed up to cause him trouble was a pain in the neck. And the arms. He'd have one heck of a story to tell Master Asia and the others after this.
Of course, now he was worried about if that creep would show up again later. Knowing his luck, he'd be seeing Mousse again.
'Speaking of headaches, I wonder what Ryoga's been up to? I haven't seen that palooka since the whole Gala incident.' He thought to himself.
After getting home, he decided to tell Master Asia about the whole thing. Master Asia thought deeply after hearing Ranma's story about Mousse.
"Hmm. A master of pulling weapons out of nowhere, huh? Sounds like the Amazon's have mastered that trick they were talking about many centuries ago." He said.
"What trick?" Ranma asked.
"I once heard about an Amazon who could create a pocket dimension using his ki." Master Asia said.
"Pocket dimension!?" Ranma gasped in shock.
"Yeah." Master Asia said. "But it's more like a small pocket space where you can store things for later. It seems like this young man you fought has mastered it to the point that he can stash a small armory and can summon them at any time from anywhere."
"Sheesh. No wonder that guy seemed to never run out of weapons." Ranma said. "He'll be a tough one to deal with if he keeps coming back. But to be fair, I think the fact that he relied so much on weapons might mean he isn't as skilled in hand-to-hand."
"True. But be that as it may, you shouldn't take this new foe likely." Master Asia said. "So, which of your girlfriends are you taking out next?" He finished with a smirk.
Ranma smirked and shook his head at his master. But he decided to indulge his curiosity.
"It's Twilight." He said with a smile.
"The brainy one, huh? Well, what do you have planned for her?" Master Asia said with a Cheser Cat style grin.
"Well, I just thought we'd head to the planetarium, go to this restaurant she likes, and just chill out. Maybe I'll even take her star gazing." Ranma said. Master Asia laughed.
"Pulling out the stops right from the start, I've taught you well." He said. Ranma smirked back and sighed.
"Well, you and they did. But yeah. I'm off to bed. Good night master." Ranma said as he headed off to his room.
"Good night son." Master Asia said to his student.
"I'm proud of you boy."
Twilight: Hey guys, Twilight Sparkle here. And on the next episode of Equestria Wild Horse, me and Ranma are off to enjoy our date, and everything seems perfect. However, before we can even get started, we have some uninvited guests show up while Ranma is teaching his class. Who are they? Seriously, can't we get a normal day around here? Don't miss the next episode of Equestria Wild Horse: Late But Great Summer Dates Part 2: Twilight. We'll see ya there!
Ending: Talent For Love (Sung by Fluttershy)
(As the music starts to play, painted pastel styled screen shots of Fluttershy, Ranma and the others slowly pass by on the screen)
Life is so full of hurry and hustle
Sometimes I think it's passing us by
The days are like hours, hours like minutes
I'm caught up in it till I look in your eyes
And to my surprise I find there is a heaven
Timeless and real, making me feel
Free and alive
(Scene changes to a painting of Fluttershy looking over a meadow. It shows a close up of her smiling face as another painting takes it's place, showing Rainbow Dash, playing her guitar on stage. Change to a painting of Applejack wiping the sweat off her forehead as she works on her farm.)
You touch me, you kiss me, and time has no meaning
I'm on a rocket to some other zone
Baby, you thrill me - whatever you're doing
Don't think of stopping until we are light-years away
All alone, cause I want to keep this
Treasure for my very own
Your talent for love
(Change to a painting of Twilight looking up at the stars through her telescope. Change to a painting of Rarity modeling one of her dresses. Next is a painting of Pinkie throwing one of her parties. Then comes a painting of Sunset, painting herself and her friends. The picture slowly fades to reveal a painting of Ranma smiling at the screen.)
Trying to move forward, pushing and shoving
People all get in each other's way
But when two lovers find their own magic
Nothing else matters, cause they know it will stay
And I know somehow our spell will not ever be broken
Timeless and real, making me feel
Free and alive
(Change scene to a painting of Ranma walking aimlessly while looking to his right. Scene changes to a close up of Ranma's face before sliding to a picture of Fluttershy. Then it changes to pictures of each of the girls. Next comes a picture of the seven girls waving to Ranma before it switches to another close up to Ranma's face, showing him smiling.)
You touch me, you kiss me, and time has no meaning
I'm on a rocket to some other zone
Baby, you thrill me - whatever you're doing
Don't think of stopping until we are light-years away
All alone, cause I want to keep this
Treasure for my very own
Your talent for love
(Switch to pictures showing Ranma hanging with each of the girls. First, him playing guitar with Rainbow, then helping Applejack with her farm work, then him and Rarity dancing, then a picture of him and Twilight stargazing while sitting and leaning on each other, then a picture showing him and Pinkie laughing while partying, then the scene changes to him playing games with Sunset before changing to a picture of him and Fluttershy holding hands under a tree. The final picture is a group painting of Ranma with all the girls, all huddled together and smiling.)