Ranma 1/2: Siblings Episode 7 All Ranma 1/2 characters are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. Viz owns the US rights, and I'm using them without permission. Don't sue me, I have no money. *** A quick note: Blade and others may want to kill me for the way I protray Tarou in this, but these are his big scenes. I think like Ranma, Tarou needs a friend. As for what I did with him romantically, I think it works, so nyah. (Besides, *I* think they make a cute couple.) *** Andrew and Tarou walked into the Tendo household and headed straight for the dojo. "Come on," Andrew said, "we should be able to get in a quick match before everyone comes home." He glanced over at Tarou apologetically. "I don't think everyone will be too happy to see you." Tarou shrugged. "No matter, I'm not really that anxious to see fem-boy anyway." "Nice to see you too, Pantyhose." Tarou and Andrew whirled to see Ranma standing behind them, leaning against a wall. Akane was behind him, looking a little worried. Tarou growled and started to make a move for Ranma, but Andrew shot a hand out and placed an iron grip on his shoulder. "No. Let me." Andrew walked up to Ranma and quickly rabbit-punched him in the face. Ranma reeled back and held his sore jaw, falling to the ground. He looked up at Andrew in shock and anger. "What'd ya do that for?!" "Don't be a jerk, Ranma. Have you ever thought that maybe he doesn't like being called that, or being reminded about it?" Andrew growled at him. "He's here as my GUEST. Treat him with respect." He whirled on Tarou. "And you. I don't want to hear one smartass insult out of you. Got it?" He looked back at Ranma, then looked at Tarou again. Tarou bristled, but after a moment relaxed, remembering that this man had just defended him. "Fine. He watches his mouth, so will I." "Good. Now come on, I want to go spar." Andrew trudged off to the dojo. "Nice to see you, Akane," Tarou said as he turned to follow Andrew. Ranma looked after the two. "Andrew's gonna spar with Tarou?" he asked in amazement. He leapt to his feet. "This I gotta see!" *** Tarou faced Andrew in the dojo, panting. "You're pretty good," he gasped. "So are you," Andrew panted back. "Call it a draw?" he asked, hopefully. Tarou nodded and sank to his knees. Ranma yawned from the sidelines. "Well that was boring," he remarked to Akane. "Ranma! How can you say that?" Akane demanded. Ranma pointed at Andrew, who was prodding at his ribs, wincing. "'Drew's style focusses on misdirection. He tries to fool his opponent into commiting himself to an attack that is guarranteed to fail, using that as an openning to launch his own attack." Ranma turned and guestured at Tarou, who was trying to work a sore spot out os his shoulder. "Tarou's hangs back, trying to find the perfect moment to strike. His style uses observation more than anything." Ranma turned to Akane. "Get it? Andrew kept on leaving opennings in the hope Tarou'd take 'em. Tarou wouldn't, since he was trying to get a hang on 'Drew's rhythm to find the perfect openning." Akane was a little shocked at Ranma's excellent commentary. She berated herself for forgetting that no matter how dumb he appeared to be at times, when it comes to martial arts he was a master. However, one thing bothered her, and she glowered back at him. "Do they look like they never hit each other?" "Feh. They didn't trade half the blows I would have with either one of them," Ranma snorted. Andrew looked up from his prodding and grinned over at Tarou. "I told you he'd say something like that." He winced. "God those forenuckle punches hurt. How the hell do you do them without breaking your hand?" "I was going to ask you the same thing about those sword hands," Tarou replied. He groaned and got up. "Thanks for the spar, I'd better go." He walked out of the dojo, nodding to Ranma and Akane. "Have fun tonight." Andrew sighed. "See you around, Tarou." He got up and headed to the house. "Wake me up before you go, I have to get ready if I'm going along." He told Ranma. Akane turned to Ranma. "Why is HE coming?" she demanded, a bit of her battle aura showing. Ranma backed up a little, holding his hands up in surrender. "Calm down, Akane. He's just going along as security." He looked embarrased. "I didn't want any of the others ruining our date." Akane's battle aura winked out. "Oh, that's sweet of him," she said, and turned and ran after Andrew. Ranma watched her run off, dumbfounded. Akane caught up with Andrew on the stairs. "Andrew!" Andrew stopped and turned around, and was suprised to discover Akane taking him into a bear hug. "Hey, what's this for?" he asked. "Thank you for tonight," Akane said. She gave him a squeeze. "And for making that bet with Ranma." Andrew stiffened, *Oh crap, she knows.* "Uhh...Akane, you're not mad about the bet, are you?" Akane released him and shook her head. "No, I'm not mad about that." Her battle aura suddenly glowed and she decked him. "But THAT's for what you said about my cooking, you jerk!" she cried as Andrew flew up the stairs and crashed at the top. She stormed up the stairs, stepping over Andrew, and went into her room. *** Ranma stood downstairs, looking rather impressive in his tuxedo. Andrew, in his usual blue and grey ensemble, looked him up and down. "Looking good, bro. Have you got enough money?" Ranma grinned at him and pulled out his wallet, showing his brother the wad of cash inside. "What the hell did you do, rob a bank?" Ranma snickered. "All I had to do was mention the words 'date' and 'Akane' to Pop and Mr. Tendo, and they couldn't wait to give me money." He winced as Andrew swatted him. "What?" "Great, now I have the loon squad AND those two to worry about," Andrew snarled. "Anyone else you'd like to call to make my job more difficult?" "Don't worry about it, bro, Mom said she'd handle 'em," Ranma soothed. "She said something about standing over 'em with her katana." He and Andrew exchanged a grin. Ranma looked at his watch and sighed. "How long does it take?" he demanded. "Ranma, perfection takes time," Nabiki scolded from the stairs. Andrew and Ranma looked up to see Nabiki come down the stairs, followed by Akane. Akane wore an elegant red evening dress. It hung from her left shoulder, the neckline making a diagonal line down to under her right arm. It ran down her body, hugging her curves to her ankles. At the thigh on the left side, the dress was slit, allowing them to see flashes of her leg as she walked. She wore red high heeled shoes, that made her hips move in a rather distracting way. Ranma tore his eyes away from Akane's body and looked her in the face, and noticed with a little shock that she wore a bit of makeup. *God, she's cute,* Ranma thought. *No, she's beyond cute. She's hot!* He looked over at Andrew, who had his eyes closed and was chanting "She's Ranma's girl" over and over like a mantra. *Don't forget it, bro, she's MINE.* "How do I look?" Akane demanded. Soun took one look at her and went into his standard 'my little girl's growing up' wail. Kasumi and Nodoka both told her she looked very pretty, while Genma mentioned something about his lucky son. Akane turned to Andrew, and giggled a little as she saw him chanting. "I'll take that as a compliment, Andrew." "Akane," Ranma began, his voice soft. "You...you look..." He searched for the proper words. "Beautiful." He cursed himself for not being able to say how he truly felt. *Beautiful doesn't even come close.* Akane smiled shyly at Ranma. "Thank you, Ranma," she returned. "You look very handsome yourself." Ranma blushed and looked embarassed. Before Soun and Genma could start congratulating each other, there was a honk from outside. Andrew glanced outside the door. "Cab's here," he said. He got a pompous look on his face and bowed deeply to Akane and Ranma, openning the door. "Young sir, milady, your chariot awaits." Akane giggled and Ranma snickered as they went outside. Andrew followed, but before he closed the door behind him, he shot a glare at Soun and Genma, followed by a pleading gaze at Nodoka. "Mom, PLEASE make sure those two stay here. I'm going to have my hands full as it is." Nodoka smiled at him, and he closed the door and went out to the cab. "The Parisienne," he told the driver. As the cab drove off, a dark figure followed, leaping from roof to roof. *No offense Andrew, but if you're guarding fem-boy you're going to need all the help you can get.* *** The cab pulled up at The Parisienne, and Andrew got out. "La Taverna," he told the driver. "What's he doing, Ranma?" Akane asked as they pulled away. "He's being a diversion," Ranma replied. "He figured since everyone at the house knew I planned on taking you here, it would be best if I took you somewhere else instead." Akane looked at Ranma suspiciously. "This wouldn't happen to have something to do with my sister, would it?" "Well, yeah," Ranma said, embarrased. He looked up with a bit of anger. "Are you trying to tell me she wouldn't sell that info to the others? Come on Akane, she's probably made a mint off of this date already!" Akane started to grow angry. "She's my sister! I can't believe she'd do that!" Ranma bit back the retort he was about to yell. She was wrong, but he didn't want to fight. "Forget it, Akane. You're right." *Please, let me be wrong about this.* The cab soon pulled up to the restaurant, and Ranma held open the door for Akane. He offered his arm to her, feeling his heart race as she took it. The two entered the restaurant, not noticing their shadowy guardian. *Smooth, fem-boy, very smooth...for you. I'd better go check on Andrew.* *** Tarou bounced back to the Parisienne, and stood stunned at the wreckage out front. Craters littered the area, telling him Ryoga had been here. Likewise, the numerous chained weapons and shuriken littering the area was a sign of Mousse. He looked closer, and saw numerous black flower petals and evidence of someone with a katana as well. *And I thought I did property damage.* The restaurant itself was deserted, all of the occupants having fled at the start of the trouble. It was probably a good thing, since the restaurant was now completely demolished. Tarou hopped down to the front of the restaurant. Inside was Andrew, crumped on the ground. His arm seemed to be broken, and he was bleeding from a cut in his thigh. Running to his side, Tarou examined him closely, glad to see he was still breathing but worried about how the breath seemed to rattle in his lungs. Watching his chest, he realized only one side was rising. *Oh shit, he's got a collapsed lung!* Tarou searched the restaurant for a phone, and called an ambulance. He noticed Shampoo on the ground, rather beat up herself. *You had better have been defending him, girl.* He looked at the evidence, and picked up a general idea of the sides. *Cat-girl, the duck, and Andrew against the pig and those other two. I wonder what happened to the duck?* *** "Ranma, you're sweating, what's wrong?" Ranma looked up from his meal and into Akane's worried face. He laughed nervously. "Sorry, Akane, I just keep expecting one of THEM to show up and ruin the date. I guess I should relax, if anyone can handle them, Andrew can." Akane smiled back at him. "Stop worrying, dummy." Thew two ate in companionable silence for a while, finishing off their meal. Akane noticed that Ranma was forcing himself to eat slowly, so as to not make a scene. At one point, Ranma glanced at his watch, and whispered something to a waiter. After dessert, Ranma glanced at his watch. "I'd guess we'd better go, the play's about to start in half an hour." "A play," Akane asked, suprised, "I'm impressed, Ranma." Ranma grinned back a little sheepishly. "Well, we've been engaged for a year now, I thought we should do something nice." A waiter came by with the bill on a tray. Ranma looked at it, choked a little in shock, and pulled out his wallet. He counted out several large bills and winced as he placed them on the tray. "What play are we going to see?" Akane asked him as they walked out of the restaurant to a waiting cab. As Ranma opened the door to the cab, he smiled mysteriously. "It's a secret." *** Tarou watched the cab drive off, and followed it, bounding from roof to roof. *Damn paramedics. I hope Andrew's OK, he was beat up pretty badly.* He shook a little with anger. *When I get my hands on those guys, I'm going to do the exact same thing to them.* He bounced up to a high roof, and watched the cab as it went into a more modern area of the city. *I guess the best I can do for now is take over for Andrew.* *** Akane and Ranma walked in the park after the play. "You know, that play's alot better for real," Ranma remarked. "'Specially since you were there to translate for me." "Thank you, Ranma," Akane said softly. "How did you get tickets to Romeo and Juliet on such short notice?" She looked at Ranma sidewise. "Nabiki?" Ranma grimaced. "Yeah, and boy, did I pay for 'em." They walked along for a moment, each enjoying the sensation of being in the other's company. *Now or never.* "Akane..." Ranma began. "You remember that once scene when we...uh...butchered that play?" Akane kept her face neutral. She knew exactly where Ranma was leading. "Oh, and which scene was that?" "The k-kiss," Ranma stuttered, and swallowed. "I'd...I'd like to try it with...without the tape." Akane smiled triumphantly. She turned to Ranma and looked him in the eyes,and slowly closed hers. Ranma bent his head, and lightly brushed his lips against hers. She felt and almost electric tingle where their lips had touched. Akane openned her eyes to see Ranma looking down at her worriedly. *That's it?!* she screamed in her head. *I don't think so, Ranma.* She threw her arms around the back of his neck. "Dummy," she whispered, and gave him a much more thorough kiss. Ranma stiffened like a statue, but slowly relaxed into the moment. *** Ukyo watched the two kiss from the shadows of the trees, and felt herself burn in a mixture of sorrow and rage. *You...you...hussy!* She pulled one of her throwing spatulas, and pulled her arm back to throw it, but found her arm held back by an iron grip. She turned and saw Tarou holding her arm. "Don't even try it," he growled. "Do you really think he'd be yours if you did that?" Ukyo looked at the spatula she held in her hand in horror. *Oh my god, what was I going to do? I can't believe I was going to kill Akane!* She crumpled against Tarou, sobbing like a little child. Suprised, Tarou wrapped his arms around the sobbing girl instinctively. "Why doesn't he love me, Pansuto?" she whimpered into his chest. Tarou froze, his blood like ice. *She knows! I've...I've got to get out of here!* He began to drop his arms, but a new round of sobbing from Ukyo stopped him. *No. For once, I'm not going to run.* He held the girl while she cried herself out, silent as the night. After a few minutes Ukyo got ahold of herself, and looked up at him with a wan little smile on her face. "Thanks, Tarou," she sniffled. She then frowned suddenly. "Where's Andrew? I thought he'd be here," she said, pulling away. "I'm...helping out," Tarou told her. "Andrew figured he'd need a hand." He looked back at Ranma and Akane, and saw them getting into a cab. "Come on, I'll take you back to your place." *** Ranma paid the cab driver and led Akane into the house. *This evening has been perfect.* He braced himself before openning the door, expecting a barage of questions from curious members of both families. He swung open the door, and was shocked to see the house dark and empty. He exchanged a confused look with Akane. "Hey, where is everyone?" The entered the living room, turning on the light to see Nabiki sitting at he dinner table, sobbing into her hands. "Nabiki?" Akane asked, rushing to her sister's side. "What's wrong?" Nabiki looked up, her eyes red and puffy from crying. "Andrew's in the hospital!" she told them. "He nearly died tonight!" She started to sob again. "And it's all my fault!" she cried, and went into another round of sobbing. "WHAT?!" Ranma yelled. "What the hell happened?" he demanded. "Andrew went up against pig-boy, some guy with a katana, and some person using alot of drugged flowers. Black ones." Ranma whirled and saw Tarou standing in the doorway. "Cat-girl and duck-boy were there too, but I think they were on his side." Ranma growled. "Kuno and his damn sister." He looked up at Tarou angrily. "How the hell do you know what happened?" "Give it a rest, fe-Ranma." Tarou stopped himself from insulting Ranma. *Andrew asked me not to, I won't.* "I was the one who called the ambulance." Ranma looked at Tarou in suprise, and sagged a little. "Thanks, Tarou," he said apologetically. Akane held the sobbing Nabiki. "Nabiki, it isn't your fault," she tried to soothe the girl. "You didn't know this would happen." Akane seethed with conflicting emotions. She was angry at Nabiki, for betraying her trust, yet she somehow felt that yelling at Nabiki now wouldn't help anything. "I can't BELIEVE it," Ranma snarled to the room. "I can't believe they'd go that far!" He ran up to his room, and came down in his standard red and black outfit. "I'm going to get to the bottom of this!" He yelled as he ran out the door. Looking at the furious Ranma, Tarou decided not to tell him about the incident with Ukyo. He turned to follow Ranma, who was already hopping roofs. *You're not doing this alone, fem-boy.* He ran outside and began to follow the boy.