COS73-75




A Change of Scene
By June “KaraOhki” Geraci
June 1999

Ranma 1/2 and its characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, and are being borrowed for this work of fiction without her permission. This story is written for entertainment purposes only, and may not be used commercially.


Chapter 73

Akane opened her eyes, turned off the alarm, and wriggled out of Ranma’s embrace. She quietly walked into the kitchen and dialed Nerima. It was very early, but she was sure her sister would be up.

“Hello?”

“Good morning, Kasumi.”

“Akane? Why are you calling so early? Is something wrong?”

“Everything’s fine here, but I’m worried about you. I want you to be very careful, Sis. Watch out for Mousse--he can be very dangerous.”

“That’s what Shampoo said, but I don’t think he would harm me.”

Akane groaned in exasperation.

“Yes he would! Don’t you understand? When he was trying to curse Ranma, he threw the water at him even though he was in a crowd of children! When Mousse is angry, he doesn’t care who’s in between him and his target, and if he gets angry at you, I don’t think it will bother him that you can’t defend yourself. Please, Sis, be careful!”

Akane jumped when the phone was taken from her hands.

“Kasumi? Listen to Akane. Remember what Shampoo told us--he’s been fooling her all these years. He was letting her push him around, and letting her think she could beat him. Now she’s scared, because she knows that isn’t true. I didn’t think Shampoo would be afraid of him! I don’t want you wandering around alone. If you have to go out, take your father with you.”

“But Ranma, Father never goes with me to the market!”

“He’s going to start now. Is he up?”

“He came downstairs a few minutes ago. I’ll put him on.”

“Son, what seems to be the problem?”

“It’s Mousse. I think Kasumi may be in some danger from him. I want you to watch over her, please.”

Soun became infuriated. Ranma was trying to tell him what to do. What gave him the right to do that? Then he stopped to think. He’d made Ranma promise to protect Akane. Now Ranma wanted him to protect Kasumi. It was only right. A father should protect his daughter.

“I’ll take good care of her, son. Mousse wants to know where Shampoo is. May I assume that the three of you know?”

“We do, but we’re not about to tell you. Then you don’t have to lie about it.”

“When you see her, tell her I don’t appreciate her putting my daughter in danger. If anything ever happened to my Kasumi--”

Soun burst into tears, unable to finish his sentence. Ranma waited for him to calm himself, which he eventually did.

Soun and Ranma spoke for several minutes more, discussing the precautions they felt were necessary in order to assure Kasumi’s safety. Ranma hung up, and the phone rang again almost immediately. Shiro was on the other end.

“We were finalizing our plans, Ranma. The wedding is set for Sunday. I’ll pick up train tickets for the two of you, and send one to Kasumi.”

“Sunday? We can’t come!”

There was a long silence on the other end.

“Why not?”

“The play runs Saturday and Sunday this weekend, Friday and Saturday next weekend, and Saturday and Sunday after that.”

Ranma waited, trying to hear what Shiro and Shampoo were saying in the background.

“Okay, a week from Sunday, then. I can’t get married without my best friend to help me through it! After all, I did it for you. OUCH!”

Akane heard Shiro’s exclamation, even though she wasn’t the one holding the phone. Her questioning look made Ranma laugh.

“Seems Shampoo just hit Shiro. I take it she didn’t care for his remark about needing my help to get through the wedding. What, Shiro? I didn’t hear you.”

Ranma listened for another minute, then said goodbye to his friend and hung up.

“They’re coming to the matinee on Sunday.”

Akane looked very pleased.

“Great! Let’s cook dinner for them, Ranma. We can make something we learned in class together.”

*****

Mousse spent all of the spare time he had searching for Shampoo. He’d asked every shopkeeper in the area if they’d seen or spoken to her, and had even questioned the teacher of her Japanese class. Everyone had been very polite, but none of them had any information for him. When he went to the train station, the ticket seller recalled seeing her, but could not remember which train she took. Mousse reached in through the window and grabbed him, causing the poor man to shake with fear. His stuttered repetition of what he’d said before caused Mousse to drop him, and stalk off. The ticket seller watched him go, hoping the violent young man would never find the girl he sought.

Every time Mousse saw Kasumi, she was with her father. Mousse had never paid much attention to the oldest Tendo daughter, but something about this bothered him. Mr. Tendo was giving him the oddest looks. After a few days, Mousse was convinced that Mr.. Tendo was “protecting” his daughter from him. If that was the case, there had to be a reason, and he concluded that it must have something to do with Shampoo’s disappearance. Cologne had been unable to find Shampoo, and Mousse was growing increasingly impatient with the situation. He had to find Shampoo, no matter what methods he used.

*****

Shampoo put on a bibbed apron, rolled up her sleeves, and sat down at the worktable. After a few days of idleness, she’d practically begged Mrs. Hayasuka to be permitted to help out in the greenhouse. Her future mother-in-law nodded, took her into the greenhouse, and gave her into the hands of the head gardener.

While separating seedlings for potting, Shampoo noted that the bruises on her arms were fading. When Shiro had seen the results of Mousse’s rough handling of her, he had been furious. Shampoo concentrated on what she was doing, trying to put thoughts of Mousse out of her head. Hopefully, he would never find her. She hadn’t left anything behind that could possibly give him a clue.

The work that she was doing soothed Shampoo, and after a while she was so absorbed in it that she didn’t note the passing of time. When the other workers in the greenhouse got up to take their morning break she remained behind, unnoticed. That was when the automatic sprinklers kicked in.

Shampoo-cat dragged her dress into a corner of the greenhouse and hid it. She did the same for the rest of her things, and then stood by the door, hiding behind a large flowerpot. Eventually, someone opened the door and she ran towards the house.

Mrs. Hayasuka noted the time, and put her paperwork aside. She looked at the photograph of her late husband, and sighed. Taking over the business after his death had been difficult, but she was determined to keep at it until Shiro graduated and could take her place.

She wondered what was keeping Shampoo, who had agreed to leave the greenhouse mid-morning and have tea with her. Then she smiled. It seemed that Shampoo was developing a love for gardening, and that would only make her and Shiro grow closer. She went to the front door and opened it to see if Shampoo was on her way from the greenhouse.

This was Shampoo’s chance. If she could slip into the house before Mrs. Hayasuka saw her, then she could get to some hot water. Unfortunately, Shampoo’s tail brushed against Mrs. Hayasuka’s leg, and she looked down. She saw a damp cat, with muddy front paws. She would have thought nothing of it, except that the cat had very familiar ornaments in the long fur at the sides of her head.

The cat was starting to back away when Mrs. Hayasuka picked it up and looked carefully into its face.

“My God, I don’t believe it! He told me, and I didn’t believe him!”

She took a deep, shuddering breath and continued.

“Please, tell me you’re Shampoo’s pet! If you’re not. . .I have to make sure.”

Mrs. Hayasuka ran to the bathroom, and turned on the shower. She placed the cat inside and had to struggle to keep herself from passing out when Shampoo changed back to human form. She left the bathroom to give the obviously upset girl some privacy, and poured herself a cup of tea with shaking hands. A little while later, Shampoo entered the room, and hesitantly approached her.

“Sit down, dear. It’s all right.”

“Shiro told me that he explained my curse to you, but I didn’t want you to see it.”

“Yes, I can understand that. It’s a little--it will take time for me to get used to it. Shiro told me there may be a spring in China that could cure you? Are you going to find it when you go?”

Shampoo shook her head sadly.

“It’s not there any more. There was an. . .accident, and all of the springs ran together and formed a lake. I’d heard that the man who lives there drained it, but I don’t think the springs came back, because my father would have written to tell me.”

“Do you think that’s a possibility?”

“I don’t know.”

Shampoo hesitated, and Mrs. Hayasuka saw the pain on her face as she began to weep.

“Maybe now you won’t want me to marry your son, Mrs. Hayasuka. I would understand if you wanted me to go away.”

To her surprise, Mrs. Hayasuka gathered Shampoo into her arms.

“And break my son’s heart, and yours? Never.”

Mrs. Hayasuka gave Shampoo a hug, and smiled at her.

“Isn’t it time you started calling me Mom?”

*****

“Guys, could you turn the lights back on, please?”

Ranma had just shut down his spotlights, and he wondered why Yoshimi wanted them back up again. Then he saw a couple of familiar-looking people walking onto the stage. It took a couple of seconds for him to remember who they were: members of the Journalism Club, carrying notepads and cameras.

Yoshimi conferred with them for a minute, and then began organizing the members of the cast for group shots. After those were complete, they began taking individual shots of the cast. Ranma came down from the catwalk and stood beside Yoshimi, watching the process.

“Trying to sell more tickets, Yosh?”

The first response he got was a grin.

“You bet. They’re doing a full write-up on the play, with pictures. I’m hoping for a sellout.”

Two days later, when the paper came out, it seemed that everyone on campus was carrying one.

When Akane opened her copy, she was pleased to see an article about Mishi’s success at the fashion competition in Tokyo. The article included a picture of her standing next to Akane’s wedding kimono, which was on a display stand. Akane was amused to see that there was a second photo of Mishi in her Sailor Mars costume, with a note that she had designed all of the costumes for the play. Between that and the photos and article about the play, there seemed to be a picture of Mishi on every page.

As a result of the publicity, Akane and the other members of the cast were subjected to a lot of attention on campus. Akane handled it better than she had previously, actually laughing about it. Mishi, on the other hand, seemed to be very nervous most of the time, and this made Akane curious enough to question her friend at lunch.

“Mishi, are you okay? You’ve been jumpy all day.”

Akane watched her normally self-confident friend blush, and look down at her plate.

“You’re going to think I’m really silly.”

“Don’t worry about it. Maybe I can help.”

“I wish we hadn’t dared each other to be in the play. I like to stay behind the scenes, and I should have stayed there!”

“Why?”

Mishi’s answer was a whisper.

“I get the worst stage fright. What if I freeze up during the play?”

“You won’t! You’ve been fine so far. Besides, there’s only one cure I ever heard of for stage fright.”

Mishi grabbed Akane’s wrist.

“What is it? I’ll try anything!”

Akane grinned.

“It’s called the performance.”

Despite Akane’s outward show of confidence, she was as nervous as her friend, and it was getting worse. Ranma recognized the signs and (for once) wisely held his tongue, but Shiro was not so perceptive. When she failed to respond to one of his questions at lunch on Friday, he gently teased her about it. She blew up at him, and stormed off.

“Ranma, what’s the matter with Akane? You two have a fight or something?”

Ranma just laughed.

“Nah, it’s the play. She’s all wound up about it. Funny thing, I think this is scaring her more than our wedding did.”

Shiro spilled his tea.

“Heh. Guess I shouldn’t say the word ‘wedding’ in front of you right now.”


Chapter 74

Akane set the cookbook on the counter, and read the “rules” again. She knew them by heart, but today it seemed necessary to read them again.

*Read recipes carefully and thoroughly.
*Check all cooking equipment and place within reach.
*Arrange all necessary seasonings, spices and herbs on kitchen counter or within your reach.
*Prepare measuring cups and spoons.
*Prepare all serving bowls, plates and platters near you.
*Put comfortable clothes on and wear an apron, so that you will be psychologically ready for cooking.
*Prepare plenty of kitchen towels and paper towels.


Akane had made the necessary preparations, put on the comfortable clothes and apron; however, she still felt “off”. She ignored her uneasiness, and put the wok on the stove to heat. Ranma would be home from work soon, and she wanted them to have a nice dinner before the first performance.

The door opened as Akane was reaching for the oil, and she turned around to welcome Ranma home. Something about Akane’s tone of voice made him stop short and look at her. Akane looked unusually tense, and her greeting made Ranma feel as if he were in her way.

Ranma looked from his wife’s face to the stove, and realized that if they were going to survive the night he had to prevent her from cooking. He put a concerned look on his face, and turned off the light under the wok.

“Put everything away, Akane. Let’s eat out.”

Ranma held his breath, waiting for Akane’s reaction. She looked from the wok to the counter, where all the ingredients were waiting to be cooked. Then she looked up at Ranma, her face full of confusion.

“B-but I cut everything up, and measured it. . .it’s all ready. Why?”

“You’ve got the play to concentrate on tonight. I’ll help you put everything away, and you can make it tomorrow instead.”

Rage filled Akane’s expression. She’d worked so hard to get everything ready, and now Ranma didn’t want her to cook. Didn’t he appreciate how hard she was trying? Why did he have to upset her so much?

Akane struggled with an intense desire to hit her husband which she suppressed with a great deal of difficulty. **Think, girl, before you hit.** Maybe Ranma wasn’t trying to insult her, but help? After all, he knew how wound up she was about the play. She took a couple of deep breaths, and tried to reason it all out. Then a memory came to her--how badly she burned the dish in class when she was preoccupied with Kodachi. Evidently, Ranma remembered too, and didn’t want to see a repeat performance. She couldn’t blame him. Akane smiled at Ranma, and tried not to giggle when he let out a sigh of very obvious relief.

“Okay, sure. Where do you want to go?”

“I wanted to go to Ucchan’s. Maybe Konatsu can tell us how Ukyo is doing.”

Akane merely nodded. Ranma would never change. Even though he had every right to dismiss Ukyo from his life after the way she’d treated him, he was too loyal a person to do so. A few months ago Akane wouldn’t have understood that, and would probably have accused Ranma of preferring Ukyo to her. She was glad that she’d learned to trust him, at least some of the time.

*****

Ukyo’s therapist picked up his recorder, and clicked it on.

“Status notes on patient Ukyo Kuonji. See notes for previous five days for reference. Miss Kuonji had been making some progress. After several days of denial, she admitted that the object of her obsession, Ranma Saotome, has a wife that he loves. It took another day for her to be able to state that he does not love her. Although she said it, and claims to believe it, I tend to think she was saying what she thought I wanted to hear. She seemed filled with anger towards him.

“The very next day, she took a large step backwards. She insisted that she was going to give Ranma a child. When I asked her to explain herself, she explained that it was a matter of “honor” for Ranma. This turnaround from anger to desire shows the patient’s instability. The speed of it, however, makes me wonder if the idea came from an outside source.

“Ukyo has had two visitors that I know of. The young man Konatsu comes daily, and seems very concerned about her. I know she was visited by a woman yesterday who spent some time with her. Tomorrow I will check with the nurses and find out more about her.”

*****

The Saotomes turned the corner, and saw a crowd in front of Ucchan’s.

“Ranma, is that a line?”

“Yeah, it is. What’s up? Konatsu doesn’t cook anywhere near as good as Ukyo does.”

“If that means Ukyo is back, we’re finding somewhere else to eat.”

Ranma was going to object, but the look in Akane’s eyes and the set of her jaw convinced him otherwise. His wife was tense enough tonight without adding to it. Then the restaurant door opened and Ranma gasped as he saw a panda exiting the restaurant, holding up a large sign advertising the night’s special.

Seconds later the panda had been grabbed by both arms and pulled around the corner.

“Pop, what the hell are you doing here?”

Genma just shrugged, and began pulling more signs out of the air.

**DON’T BLAME ME!!**

**IT WAS YOUR MOTHER’S IDEA!**

Genma then pushed Ranma and Akane into the restaurant.

Ucchan’s was full of happy diners when they entered. Nodoka looked up from the grill and waved at her son. The smile she gave Akane was not quite as warm. Ranma didn’t notice, but Akane did, and her heart sank. She was very fond of Ranma’s mother, and didn’t want Nodoka to be angry at her; but that wasn’t going to make her change her mind. Ukyo was not going to lay a finger on her husband.

Akane pushed the unpleasant thought aside, and smiled at her mother-in-law. She and Ranma started to sit down at the counter, but Nodoka shook her head and pointed toward a small table against the wall. Nodoka motioned for Konatsu to take over at the grill, and joined her son and his wife. Ranma stood when she reached them, and gave her a hug.

“Mom, how long have you been here? Why didn’t you call us, and what on earth are you doing?”

“We arrived on Monday, Ranma. Your father and I are going to work, unpaid, until Ukyo’s dowry is repaid. I also feel responsible for her well-being, and I’m going to be a mother to her.”

Ranma nodded. His mother’s idea seemed to make sense, especially the part about being a mother to Ukyo. He would rather see Nodoka take Ukyo as a daughter than push her at him for a mistress. Then he turned his mother back toward the grill, and pointed.

“It will take forever if you let Pop keep eating up all the profits.”

Nodoka’s smile disappeared. Genma was shoving the last bite of an okonomiyaki into his mouth, and had another in front of him. She ran back to the grill, and pushed her husband towards the kitchen.

“I’m sure there are plenty of dishes to wash, dearest.”

The restaurant was crowded, and Nodoka was busy. She didn’t notice that Ranma and Akane had finished eating and were ready to leave until they stopped at the counter to say good bye.

“You’re leaving? Can’t you visit for a while?”

“Not tonight, Mom. It’s opening night for the play. Can you come for the matinee tomorrow? We can leave tickets at the theater for you and Pop.”

Nodoka hesitated, and Konatsu spoke up.

“Go ahead, Mrs. Saotome. I can take care of things here while you and Mr. Saotome go to the play.”

*****

Ranma watched as Akane applied her makeup. What little she normally wore was rather understated, and this theatrical stuff was quite a contrast.

“Do you really have to put all that junk on?”

“Yes.”

“What for?”

“So the people in the back row can see me.”

“Who’d want to look at an uncute girl like you anyway?”

“OUT!! Get out!!”

A laughing Ranma escaped before Akane could find something to throw at him. He walked onstage and peeked through the curtains, noting that they had a nearly full house. Tonight was going to be fun.

Akane returned to her mirror, giggling. Ranma hadn’t fooled her, not a bit. He’d teased her to help her to relax, and forget her nervousness. The funny part about it was that even though she knew what he was up to, it had still worked.

Mishi clung tightly to Akane’s hand as they walked onto the stage. She could hear the murmurs of the audience coming from the other side of the curtain, and swallowed nervously. Ranma’s voice coming from above made the two girls look up.

“Hey you two! Break a leg!”

*****

The audience watched, spellbound, as the Sailor Scouts battled the demon. The stage was in semi-darkness, with spotlights following whichever Scout was doing the attacking. At that moment, it was Sailor Mercury, and Akane was bathed in a blue spotlight. She raised her cupped hands to just under her chin, and a ball of reddish-colored light began to grow between them. The ball left her hands, and sped toward the demon, and he was surrounded by a beam of red light.

A young man sitting in the audience nudged his date.

“How did they do that?”

“Do what?”

“That bit with the light. She had a blue light on her, so how did a red light come from her hands? I could see the red spotlight when it surrounded the demon, but not when it was in her hands.”

“Shh! Stop being scientific and just watch!”

The young men in the front row were being anything but scientific. They were too busy enjoying the view.

“Look at those legs! Just look at them!”

“Yeah, long legs, and long hair. God, she’s beautiful!”

“Who are YOU looking at? Mars? I think Mercury is beautiful.”

The young man tore his eyes from Mishi long enough to make a face at his friend.

“Too bad she’s married then.”

“Has that ever stopped me before?”

Three rows back, two other observers made their own comments.

“We should have gotten first row seats. I bet from there you can see their panties.”

“Want to go again tomorrow?”

“Yeah. I especially want a better look at Mars and Mercury.”

*****

All agreed that opening night had been as perfect as it could be. No one forgot their lines, the audience laughed when they were supposed to, gasped at the appropriate times, and applauded thunderously at the end.

After the third curtain call, the student playing Tuxedo Mask came out with a huge bouquet of red roses for Sailor Moon. She blushed bright red, and accepted them with a smile.

Akane elbowed Mishi, and whispered to her.

“I think they like each other, Mishi.”

“Where have you BEEN, Akane? That’s been going on for weeks!”

A whistle from above kept Akane from replying, and she looked up at the catwalk in time to catch the yellow rose Ranma tossed down to her. The brilliant smile she gave him was noted by several young men in the audience, who fervently wished she would smile at them that way.

*****

Yoshimi popped the cork from another champagne bottle, and poured more glasses for everyone.

“Woderful job, evbody, woderful.”

Akane picked up her glass and headed across the room to Kaori, weaving her way around other members of the cast. The room was crowded, and Akane felt a hand brush her where it shouldn’t have. She whirled, ready to send the pervert through the ceiling, but it was impossible for her to tell who it had been. Realizing that revenge was a lost cause, Akane continued on to Kaori.

“You look like you’re ready to kill someone. Did you have a fight with Ranma or something?”

Akane looked across the room to where Ranma was deep in conversation with the other stagehands. She put her hand up to feel the rose in her hair, and smiled momentarily. Then her angry look returned.

“No, it wasn’t him. Some pervert just tried to grope me.”

“Who? Did you clobber him?”

“That’s the problem. It’s so crowded in here I couldn’t figure out who did it.”

She downed the entire glass of champagne, set it aside, and made a fist.

“If I ever find out who it was, he’ll be very sorry he ever touched me! Did you have any idea this party would be like this? Not everybody here is from the cast and crew, you know.”

Kaori looked out at the crowd, and nodded.

“Yeah, I don’t recognize a lot of those people, especially a lot of the guys. I heard that the main reason some people joined the Drama Club is because of the opening night parties Yoshimi threw last year. Everybody knows his Dad’s a vintner, so he gets all the champagne he wants.”

She paused, and pointed across the room.

“They’re setting up the music! Excuse me, but I want to dance with Yosh while he can still stand up.”

The people talking in the middle of the floor were soon pushed aside by the couples getting up to dance. Kaori had succeeded in her quest to snag Yoshimi and dragged him out onto the floor. Akane was trying hard not to laugh at the way Yoshimi was leaning on Kaori for support when Ranma tapped her on the shoulder.

“Want to dance?”

Akane nodded, and Ranma walked her into the middle of the room. Ranma held her around the waist, and pulled her close to him. After a couple of quiet minutes of dancing, Ranma’s hands began to move, stroking his wife’s back gently. When one of his hands moved between them, and cupped her breast, she jumped.

“What’s the matter?”

“We’re in public, Ranma! Besides, somebody touched me there a little while ago.”

Akane realized she’d made a mistake the moment the words left her mouth, but the champagne had loosened her tongue. Ranma was turning bright red, and his grip on her was almost painful.

“Who was it? I’ll KILL him!”

People were starting to stare, causing Akane to get terribly embarrassed.

“Shhh! I don’t know, honestly! It’s so crowded in here, and I was trying to cross the room. All I know is somebody touched me, and I don’t think it was an accident.”

It was evident to Akane that the alcohol had affected Ranma also, because he was rapidly losing control. Dancing had become an impossibility, and they moved to one side of the room. Ranma scanned the faces in the crowd, and turned back to his wife.

“It can’t have been one of our friends from the club. The guys all know we’re married. I’ll bet it’s one of the party crashers.”

“You’re probably right, but there are too many of them to know which one did it.”

Akane pulled Ranma back towards the dance floor.

“Come on, calm down. Don’t let this spoil the party.”

The look of entreaty in Akane’s eyes was enough to convince Ranma. He pulled her into a gentle embrace and danced with her. He stumbled a few seconds later, and stepped on Akane’s foot.

“Sorry.”

“How much champagne did you drink?”

“Dunno. Lost count.”

Akane giggled.

“So did I.”

Though they danced somewhat less than gracefully, many eyes were drawn to the couple as they moved across the floor. One young man noticed the look in his friend’s eyes, and elbowed him.

“I told you before, you’re going to have to forget about that one. She’s tough enough on her own, but I hear her husband is tougher.”

“And I told YOU, that doesn’t bother me!”



Chapter 75

More and more people were beginning to go home, and Yoshimi was running out of champagne. He waved a couple of glasses at the Saotomes, but they shook their heads, and put their coats on.

“Yosh, if I drink any more of that stuff, I won’t be able to find my way home. I’m not a drinker.”

Yoshimi waved a hand, knocking over one of the glasses.

“Aww, thish stuff won’t hurtya, you’ll be fine.”

Akane giggled.

“No more for me, Yoshimi. See you tomorrow.”

When Ranma opened the door and they stepped outside, the cool air cleared his head a little. He took Akane’s arm and began to walk through the quiet campus. Akane stumbled, and Ranma caught her.

“You had too much of that stuff.”

“So did you.”

Ranma grabbed Akane by the shoulders, and pulled her close.

“Trying to pick a fight?”

Akane’s response was to stand on her toes and kiss her husband.

“No.”

If Akane had anything else to say, it was effectively smothered by Ranma’s response. He kissed her until he had to pause for breath, then he picked her up and ran for home.

*****

“You’re leaving, Mishi?’

Mishi paused, hand on the door.

“Yes, why?”

“You’re not walking home by yourself. Wait, and we’ll walk you there.”

Mishi was about to object, but it was late, and it wasn’t a good idea to walk around alone. It was nice of Toshi and her boyfriend to offer.

The followers kept the three in sight, hoping Mishi would go off on her own once they left campus, but her companions stayed with her.

“Damn! I know those two live on campus. I was sure they wouldn’t keep going.”

“Maybe we’ll have better luck another time.”

Then one of them spotted another pretty girl, who was walking alone.

“Or maybe our luck has changed.”

*****

“Ranma! Wait ‘til we get upstairs!”

“Race you there!”

The noise in the hallway woke Mrs. Takai. She raised her head from her pillow, and listened to the giggling. She smiled, and settled down again.

“Newlyweds. How cute.”

*****

When the alarm went off Akane grabbed the clock and turned it off as fast as she could. How had it been set to ring so early on a Sunday? She snuggled up to Ranma, ready to go back to sleep, when she remembered.

In order to be at the theater for the matinee, Ranma had switched shifts with another employee. He was due at the hospital in less than an hour. Akane leaned over, kissed Ranma’s cheek, and shook him gently.

“Ranma? Honey? Time to get up!”

All Akane got for her trouble was a groan, so she shook him again.

“You’re working this morning, remember?”

This time Ranma shot into a sitting position, eyes wide. Then he clutched his head.

“Owww. Too much champagne. Do I have time for breakfast?”

Ranma threw aside the blankets and dashed into the bathroom. Akane shivered. Sleeping in the nude was okay when Ranma was there to keep her warm, but the bedroom was chilly. She got up, put on a warm robe, and went into the kitchen to put the teakettle on, and make breakfast. By the time she was done Ranma had showered, shaved, and dressed. He came up behind her as she was standing at the stove, put his arms around her, and kissed her cheek. Akane turned around and melted into his arms.

“Don’t tempt me, Akane. You’ll make me stay home, and we need the money.”

Ranma gave Akane an evil look, and continued.

“Besides, you’re going to burn my breakfast.”

Akane eeped and turned around. The breakfast hadn’t burned--yet--and she took it off the stove and served it before it could. Ranma inhaled it in seconds, kissed Akane goodbye, and was gone.

*****

Ukyo had barely finished her breakfast when Nodoka came in the door. She immediately got up and hugged her.

“I was hoping you would come today! I think I said something wrong to my therapist.”

Nodoka settled into a chair, and patted the one next to her.

“What do you mean, dear?”

“He doesn’t understand why I want to have Ranma’s baby. He told me that since I accepted that Ranma doesn’t love me, I should put him behind me. I tried to explain about the debt of honor, but it didn’t work.”

“Ukyo, I don’t think you should discuss this with him. Men just don’t understand such things. This can be our little secret.”

Something in the back of Ukyo’s mind made her wonder if she should be keeping secrets from her doctor, but she suppressed the thought. The therapist had said that the sooner she resolved her problems, the sooner she could go home. She would tell him what he wanted to hear, and maybe it would work.

“Okay, it’s our secret.”

*****

The head of campus security sat with his assistants, looking over a map of the campus.

“We’ll need to hire some more people. I want this area covered better, and this one. I’ll also see about having more lights installed. There are too many dark spots on campus.”

“That’s good, but don’t you think we should place some sort of notice in the campus paper, and on our radio station? Girls shouldn’t be going out alone at night.”

The security chief looked frustrated.

“That’s what I said, but Administration wouldn’t hear of it. They’re afraid their precious reputation will be tarnished if what happened becomes public knowledge. I did tell them that the women on campus deserve to be informed, but they shouted me down.”

“I don’t like this at all. We can’t be everywhere.”

*****

Akane was halfway down the stairs when she heard the doorbell ring upstairs in the apartment. She continued down and found her mother-in-law on the porch.

When Nodoka saw that Akane had her coat on, she looked disappointed.

“You’re going out? I was hoping to spend some time with you and Ranma.”

“Ranma’s at work, Mother Saotome. I was going grocery shopping. Would you like to come along?”

Nodoka watched Akane as she shopped. After a few minutes, she began to make suggestions, which Akane politely declined. Nodoka looked a little hurt, and picked up yet another item.

“You really should get this, Akane. It’s one of Ranma’s favorites.”

Akane looked pained.

“I know, Mother Saotome, but I have to stick to my list. This is about all we can afford this week.”

Nodoka had the grace to blush.

“I shouldn’t interfere. I’m sorry.”

Akane had to bite her tongue to keep from saying what she was thinking. Nodoka was apologizing for interfering with her grocery list, but hadn’t said a thing about her attempt to interfere in her marriage. Instead, she smiled brightly and invited Nodoka to come back to the apartment for a cup of tea.

*****

Cologne opened the door of the Nekohanten, and looked up and down the street. It was obvious from her expression that she was extremely annoyed. Mousse was missing, and Cologne couldn’t open the restaurant without anyone to help run it.

“Where is that boy?”

Mousse was miles away. He had seen Kasumi Tendo and her father leave their home, and walk to the train station. Perhaps this meant they were going to see Shampoo.

Hoping that he would not miss their departure, Mousse had run straight back to the Nekohanten, and retrieved some of the money he had hidden in his room. He ran back to the station in time to see the pair board a train, and he got onto the next car.

Cologne gave up, and turned out the lights in the front of the restaurant. Evidently, Mousse was off searching for Shampoo again. As long as he was gone, Cologne would take the opportunity to do some more packing. She’d already shipped off several boxes to China without Mousse’s knowledge, and within a few days she would be on her way home.

Cologne sighed. She wished there was some way of minimizing the damage Mousse was going to do if and when he found Shampoo. The only way she had been able to think of was that of eliminating him altogether, but she wasn’t ready to take that kind of a step--yet.

*****

“I have something for you, Mother Saotome. These were delivered yesterday.”

Akane put down her teacup and retreated to the bedroom, returning with a box. She opened it, and pulled out a photo album and a framed portrait.

“These are your copies.”

Nodoka cried out delight when she realized that Akane had handed her a wedding album.

“I have to bring these to Genma right now! He’ll be so pleased.”

“Won’t you stay until Ranma gets home? I wanted you to have lunch with us.”

“I’d love to, but I have to make my husband lunch. We’ll see you later at the theater.”

*****

Soun stopped at the newspaper stand while Kasumi asked directions. Mousse hovered some distance behind them. They soon started walking, and he followed.

The line to enter the theater was long, and the line for tickets was just as long. Kasumi pulled tickets from her purse, and joined the line at the entrance of the theater with her father. Mousse looked in his wallet, cursed, and got onto the line for tickets.

Inside the theater, Ranma watched once more as Akane applied her makeup.

“You look so relaxed today, Akane.”

Akane nodded.

“I’m not nervous at all, Ranma. Couldn’t you tell? I didn’t ruin lunch!”

Ranma laughed. He’d come home to find Akane cooking what she’d started to prepare the previous day. She’d been standing at the stove with a smile on her face, instead of the haunted look she’d worn the previous day.

“It was good Akane. No, it was better than that--it was great.”

*****

Mousse was steaming. It looked as though he’d wasted his time and his money. Kasumi and Soun were sitting some rows ahead of him, but there was no sign of Shampoo. He’d come all the way to Ube to see a play--a play he had no interest in. Mousse was tempted to leave the theater, but since he’d already paid for the ticket, he decided to stay and watch the show. The playbill said that Akane was a cast member, and Ranma was on the crew. That explained why Soun and his daughter were there.

A few minutes later, Genma and Nodoka Saotome passed him, and took their seats. Mousse sighed, and took off his glasses to polish them. That was why he missed seeing Shiro walk in, Shampoo at his side. Shampoo, however, did not fail to notice Mousse.

“Look! Mousse!”

“What?”

Shampoo pointed, and ducked behind the crowd.

“Right over there. He doesn’t see us.”

Shiro looked, and hurried Shampoo down the aisle to their seats.

“Let me sit on this side of you. Then he’s less likely to see you, especially once the lights go down.”

“But after--”

Shiro cut Shampoo off when he squeezed her hand gently.

“We’re going backstage to see Ranma and Akane. He won’t see you.”

Shampoo nodded nervously, and looked very relieved when the lights in the auditorium dimmed. She thought back to the previous day, as Shiro watched her practicing. The look in his eyes was admiring, and then his face had become serious. He lacked the skills that she had.

“Can you teach me some of that?”

She’d started with the basics, and Shiro tried hard, but it would be a long time before he would be anything but a handicap in a fight. This convinced Shampoo that Shiro would be in more danger from Mousse than she would. Cologne had told her that she would try to convince Mousse to return to China. Shampoo hoped with all her heart that her great-grandmother would succeed.

Her attention was brought back to the theater when the music started.

*****

Mousse was bored. The play was somewhat amusing, if rather silly, but he hadn’t traveled all this way to see a play.

For the first time in many days he found himself thinking of Shampoo without anger, but with regret. Regret that he couldn’t see her beautiful face, or hear her voice. He missed her much more than was good for him. For a moment, he could swear that he smelled her perfume. Then something made him sit up.

The scouts were fighting the demon, and Akane had a strange glow coming from her hands. Mousse had seen than glow more than once, and he knew exactly what it was.

Ranma had taught his wife a chi attack. She wasn’t using it to attack now, but was controlling the chi, limiting it to an area just outside her hands. That meant Akane had become more dangerous. She’d never be as dangerous as her husband was, but she was nonetheless someone to take seriously.

Mousse shrugged his shoulders. It didn’t matter to him how dangerous anyone was. If they stood between him and Shampoo, he would get past them.

The play ended, and Kasumi clapped enthusiastically. Her little sister and the rest of the cast had done a marvelous job. She got up, handed her weeping father a handkerchief, and dragged him towards the front of the theater. They needed to get backstage before Ranma and Akane left the theater.

Shiro pulled Shampoo to her feet, and they went down the side aisle, rather than the one where Mousse was sitting. They started toward the front of the theater, meaning to go backstage, but spotted Mousse ahead of them. Apparently, he was following someone. Shiro looked ahead, and spotted Kasumi and Soun Tendo.

“Come on, Shampoo. We’ll go out the side door, and around the other side of the theater.”

Kasumi and Soun were allowed into the backstage area, but Mousse was stopped at the doors.

“Sorry. Family members only.”

“But--”

“I said, you’ll have to wait for the cast at the side doors like everyone else.”

He pointed to the exit, and Mousse walked that way.

Shiro arrived at the side door, and was relieved to see a friend there.

“Okay if we go in?”

“Sure, Shiro. Just don’t tell anyone I let you in.”

The doors had barely closed behind them when Mousse arrived.

“Is this the door the cast uses to exit?”

“Yes, it is.”

Mousse settled down to wait. He wasn’t alone. A crowd of young men had parked themselves there, waiting for the Sailor Scouts. Quite a few of them were carrying flowers.

*****

Akane was washing the makeup off when there was a knock on her dressing room door. Ranma opened the door a crack, and stared in astonishment at Kasumi and Soun. He waved Kasumi inside, and joined Soun.

“Akane’s not dressed. I didn’t know you were coming!”

“We wanted to surprise you. Kasumi sent for tickets weeks ago. The play was wonderful!”

Soun was starting to tear up.

“It’s just a play--just for fun!”

“But my little Akane did such a good job.”

It looked to Ranma as if Soun was going to turn on the waterworks again, but fortunately he was interrupted by the arrival of two other couples--Nodoka and Genma, followed by Shampoo and Shiro. The women disappeared into the dressing room, while the men waited outside. Shiro waited for the door to close before he spoke.

“Mousse is here.”

Genma looked mystified when he saw the expressions of Ranma and Soun become very serious.

“Where did you last see him?”

“He was following Kasumi and Mr. Tendo to the backstage entrance in the auditorium. We got in through the side door.”

Ranma nodded.

“They only let family members through the auditorium door. I’ll have someone check to see if he’s at the side door.”

Ranma found Kenji, described Mousse, and sent him to the side door. Kenji had no trouble spotting Mousse. All the young men at the entrance were surrounding the girls who had exited the theater, but Mousse just stood there, staring at the door. Kenji went back inside, and reported to Ranma.

“He’s there all right, and he does NOT look happy.”

“Then we’ll go out the front door. Thanks, Kenji.”

*****

After the initial surprise of seeing her sister, Akane was soon deep in conversation with her, Shampoo, and Nodoka. Shampoo had informed her of Mousse’s presence in the theater, and Nodoka needed to be filled in on the relationship between Shiro and Shampoo, and the danger from Mousse. Once she was told the whole story, Nodoka looked at Shampoo in wonder.

“That man is too persistent. Why doesn’t he understand that you are not interested?”

Akane used that question as an opportunity.

“I don’t know, Mother Saotome. I wonder the same thing about Ukyo.”

Nodoka flinched, and grew quiet.

When Akane led the way out of the dressing room, she was surprised to have Ranma take her arm and walk in the direction of the auditorium.

“Why aren’t we taking the side door?”

“I had Kenji check outside. Mousse is waiting there.”

That was enough to make Akane walk faster.

Just before they got to the door, Shiro stopped everyone.

“Where are we going, anyway?”

Ranma responded.

“To our place. We’re going to make dinner, and Kasumi and Mr. Tendo are going to stay overnight.”

“Let us take you out.”

*****

The theater manager came outside, and locked the door. Mousse ran up to him and grabbed his arm.

“I didn’t see everyone come out.”

“There are only a few people left backstage. The rest will go out the front, and we’ll lock up there.”

Mousse cried out in frustration, and took off for the front at a run. He arrived there too late to see the people he sought walk off across campus.


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to be continued
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Akane’s “rules for cooking” were borrowed from Yukiko Moriyama’s “Japanese Cuisine For Everyone”, published by Joie, Inc. They’re in the back of the book, under “Menu Planning - Preparation”. I recommend the book for anyone who wants to try Japanese cooking at home.