And asking his female classmates would probably result in all hell breaking loose. Even if he knew a non-fiancee female that he could safely spend time with, the rumor mill would guarantee at least one pissed off fiancee asking questions he didn't want to answer.
And if asking a classmate would have been bad, asking one of the adults would have been a disaster. They all had ulterior plans for him, and couldn't be trusted to report the weather in an unbiased manner, much less answering questions about dating. The only time his father had ever discussed his dating experience, he had merely managed to convince Ranma that his dad's previous girlfriend was extremely lucky to have been dumped by Genma.
There were only two people Ranma could consider for dating advice, and those were Kasumi and Nabiki. There were methods he could use to try and extract information from others, such as disguises, and accosting people in other districts, but these would require asking alot of other people in order to avoid the biases from choosing a single individual. The Tendo daughters had biases as well, but these Ranma knew about in advance. The last thing he needed was to unwittingly take advice from some weirdo like Asuza Shiratori, and come to believe dating involved kleptomania of cute items.
Being able to go on a normal date was a secondary desire. While Ranma would like to experience one, he wouldn't have made this effort if it weren't for his primary reason to go on a date; Nabiki.
Nabiki said she loved him, and said it while unable to lie. And unlike the other girls after him, she wasn't out to make him behave in a certain way, or forswear himself or his father. She wasn't pursuing him due to honor or pressure from others. On the contrary, there'd be alot of pressure to break them up if anyone knew.
And while Ranma couldn't say he loved Nabiki, he definitely had feelings for her which might grow, or resolve themselves into love.
So while Ranma would like a normal date, what he really wanted was a date that would make Nabiki happy. So the person to ask would be Nabiki. The "Master's Way" was an excellent handbook on the mysteries surrounding sex, arousal, and desire, but was completely useless on the subject of social mores involved with dating in modern Japan.
There were two separate parts to Ranma's questions on the whys and wherefores of dating. The straightforward question of where to go could be decided in a few seconds after speaking with Nabiki. The hard part was for him to understand how he was supposed to react while on the date. Granted, Nabiki had already told him her fantasies, but these were a jumbled collection of desires. Ranma suspected that if he really swung into view with a sword between his teeth while wearing nothing but whip cream, she'd either faint, scream, or make some acerbic comment which would dispel the mood he was attempting to achieve.
And it was obvious from all of the trouble he'd had asking Nabiki out that just because she fantasized about it, didn't mean she'd react well if it happened.
Luckily, Ranma had a technique to get the information he needed. The tea he'd used on Nabiki earlier would work again, and maybe he'd learn why he had had such difficulty giving Nabiki what she wanted.
It proved rather a simple task to ask Nabiki where they should go on a date. In Nabiki's opinion, a date ideally had three parts. Entertainment, such as a movie, something to eat or drink, and going somewhere romantic or secluded where couples could talk, display affection, cuddle, and possibly make out.
While they quickly settled on a movie, followed by dinner, and a walk through a park at twilight for their first date, Ranma asked Nabiki to expand on what dates could be made up with. Nabiki tried to introduce Ranma to terminology such as a casual date between friends, planned dates, and intimate rendezvous, and pointed out that they served different purposes.
The idea that the date served a purpose was a minor epiphany for Ranma. He went on dates before because he had to, or because it sounded like fun. But Nabiki pointed out that people did it, sometimes, to advance a relationship, and that what they did on a date should reflect what they were hoping to get out of a relationship.
At this point, Ranma had managed to slip Nabiki some of the tea, and apply the pressure points which would insure Nabiki's veracity while preventing her from remembering this part of the conversation in the future. "Ranma, let's imagine you were one of the perverts in school who were only trying to see how far you could get sexually with a girl. All you'd be interested in would be the making out part, but you'd include the other two parts because they'd be your best chance of getting the girl favorably inclined. You'd select a movie to put the girl in a romantic mood, so something where the heroine gets to make out with the hero. You'd select diner to impress her and not spoil the inroads made with the movie, and somewhere private in case you got lucky afterwards. However, if you were just friends and wanted to see if you could become more than that, you'd select the entertainment to be something you both enjoy that you could share, and afterwards you'd want somewhere you could talk, and maybe hug and kiss."
"And how do you see us, Nabiki?"
"We know alot about each other, and we want to see if we can enjoy each other's company, so it's entertainment and dinner we'd both enjoy so we have alot to talk about and share, but a romantic subplot in the movie would be nice, and afterwards we can see if there's any chemistry between us when we hug and kiss."
"And how should the guy behave on a date? How does the guy know what the woman wants?"
"Normally the couple is too shy or too unsure what they really want to just say things like 'now put your hand on my knee,' and 'I want you to kiss me in five minutes.' Instead they make use of non-verbal clues. Traditionally the male is the aggressor, but not always. One person will endeavor to behave more intimately, while looking for signs of acceptance or refusal from his partner."
"I don't understand."
"Imagine we're watching a movie. You might hold my hand, and sit so that our shoulders could touch. If I didn't want that, I'd either sit ramrod straight or lean away, and then you'd back off. Or I might lean against you. Then you might try putting your arm around my shoulder. I might ask you to stop that, or I might accept it, or I might encourage you by snuggling into your embrace."
"Hugging you without permission sounds like something Kuno'd do..."
"There's a difference. Here you're offering a hug, but willing to back off. And you're looking for what I want before continuing. Kuno'd just grab you, while trying to fondle your breasts, and assume you're enjoying it. If you didn't offer the hug, I might have not gotten a hug I would have liked."
"Ok, I can see that."
"The hard part is understanding what a refusal means. It could mean 'Absolutely not,' or 'that makes me uneasy at this time,' or 'not at this stage in our relationship,' or 'not now.' If it were the last three, then I might react differently if you tried it again later, but if it were the first, then I'd get annoyed if you kept trying it again and again."
"So how do I learn what's 'Absolutely not' for you?"
"Unless you seriously surprise me, I doubt you'll hit any of those. You're more likely to try something that's just too soon in our relationship; something I'm not ready for."
"Is that why it was so hard to ask you out? I thought you'd have jumped at the opportunity."
"I thought you were playing a prank on me. Either getting even for the things I did to you, or being made to behave that way for someone else's amusement."
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Tue, 01 Mar 2005 05:46)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.