Misato for herself was embroiled in an dilemma. Sure was glad the boy had agreed to stay with her, though a little unnerved with how easy it had been to convince him, but who was she to look a gift horse in the mouth? It wasn't till they actually got in the car she really, truly realized how difficult this was going to be. Ranma was a special kid, and no doubt had special needs. Just how much would he eat? What kind of quirks did he have? Did he play video games to relax, board games, computer games? Would she need to buy anything right then for the kid? This wasn't going to be as easy as she thought.
"Y'know." Ranma softly intoned, still staring out the window.
"Hmm?" shifting gears, she slowed down a bit as they neared a red light.
"We don't gotta be like this, y'know."
"Like what?" she glanced at him while bringing the car to a stop.
"All silent an stuff." he grumped, "Ya ain't still angry at me over that thing with yer friend?"
"Ah.." she racked her mind, trying to remember what he was talking about. Failing to remember, she figured that whatever it was, she wasn't mad about it. "No, I'm not mad."
"'kay." he sighed, leaning back in his seat and stretching a little. He spared the light a look, cool still red. "Ah right, wanna do this the right way?"
"How's that?"
"Hi!" Ranma grinned, holding out his hand, "I'm Ranma, wanna be friends?"
Misato blinked, eyes tracking down to the offered hand. Friendship? Is that what he was looking for? Wait, wasn't she the guardian? She felt like slamming her head against the steering wheel. Idiot Misato! Who ever said a guardian couldn't be friends with their wards? Besides, she was glad he took the first step to warm things up between them, the relief of knowing he was willing to give her a shot was greatly appreciated. Tentatively taking the hand, she grinned as he shook it, "Misato Katsuragi. Nice to meet you."
---
Aoba wasn't into gossip, at least, not as much as the NERV staff composed of the fairer sex, but from time to time he liked to indulge. It was great for two things, getting a laugh, and mingling with the soldiers. Besides, most of the gossip was of the harmless variety, like who's dating who and other small things. No one liked to talk about their job in these gossip circles, everyone far to aware of their own mortality and depressed by it at the same time. Still, it allowed him to make friends, maybe even come upon that chance encounter where a girl he might enjoy as more then a friend would appear.
He missed a note, "What was that?"
Yajiro a Private with the security force chuckled, "I tell you, it's the truth."
Setting his guitar aside, Aoba tried to make sense of it all. "You're telling me the Commanders son tricked Kyo and Kenji, locked them in his room, and then went for a pleasure cruise through the installation until he ran into his father?"
"Heh." the security officer nodded, sipping his drink as he tried to relax. "Ikari was so pissed, I thought he'd blow up. Especially when the kid started singing that weird song."
Aoba frowned. "What song was it?"
"I don't know." the man shrugged, "It was weird, something about their coming to take him away 'haha'." he chuckled. "Kid's a riot."
"I bet." he grabbed his guitar, slinging it over his shoulder. "I'm heading home. Take care, Yajiro."
"See ya."
---
Makoto grinned, a manic thing that sent Maya running for the hills at the first sight of it. Years! It had taken him years to find even a hint of his prize. After hours of bartering, days of waiting with baited breath for his dream to come true, it had finally come in. It was only a matter of time now until he held his golden treasure firmly in his greasy little palms. There could be no stopping him now! You hear that! NOTHING! BUAHAHAHA!
On his computer screen, the message "You purchase has been accepted. Please review Ebay policy in regards to shipping and handling. Thank you."
"SHINJI 1/2! YOU ARE MINE! BUAHAHAHAHA" Finding any issue of that elusive Manga was a trial in and of itself, having been manufactured pre-impact, most of the copies were scattered about the world. Makoto felt like a Pokemon trainer when it came to these things, he just had to catch them all.
Maya shivered, hiding behind another console. There was one thing in this world more scary then an Angel, and that was Makoto going on another Tirade about his Manga addiction. Last time he was like this, she had gotten stuck listening for four hours about some silly little comic called Argento Sama. Never again, she swore to herself.
---
Ranma felt a little nervous as Misato opened the door to her Condo. Not that he was nervous of the place itself, he was rather looking forward to getting his own room for a change, but the memories of everything that took place in here in the original line was rearing up and giving him problems. Relax Saotome! he chided himself, mentally. It's a place to sleep, ain't nothin bad gonna happen less you let it.
"Well, here we are." Misato turned around, that cheery little smile on her face. "Welcome home, Ranma."
"Heh." he slid past the woman standing in the door way, making damn sure not to get too close to her. One thing he had realized quickly after coming to this world that while it had giant robo's, assured death at nearly every corner, and a maniacal madman trying to take over the world to bring back his wife, it didn't have fiancee's. He was free of that fate. Poor Shinji. he chuckled, mentally, Better him then me. Last thing he wanted, even if it was only a remote possibility, was to get mixed up in a relationship with any of the girls here. "Nice place you.." he blinked as he came into the living room. Trash everywhere, empty bottles of alcohol lining the walls like silent sentinels left to keep watch, the table so packed with beer cans you couldn't even see it's surface. In short, it's just how he expected it would be.
".. had before ya moved in." he deadpanned.
"Oooh!" Misato rolled her eyes, "Don't start with me like that, bucko." she flipped the rest of the lights on, setting her purse down on a chair, "We need to talk.."
Ranma gazed at her with a half lidded glare, "I ain't the kid's father."
Misato blinked, before snorting at the crude joke. "Don't flatter yourself."
"Hehe." he smiled cheerfully, "Least ya can take a joke."
"Haha, very funny." she rolled her eyes, "I'm going to change." she finished saying as she shut the door to her room.
"Heh." he shook his head, tentatively sneaking around the mountains of garbage as he made his way to the fridge. Pulling one side open, he deadpanned. "Junk food.". The other side wasn't much better. "Gallons of beer." he hmmed, scratching his chin. "The breakfast of champions all right." grabbing three beers, he returned to the living room and cleared the end of the table of crap, before setting the beers down across from where he slid in a seat. He figured it would help break the ice with the woman.
Ten minutes later, Ranma glared balefully at her door. What the hell was wrong with women? Was it some unwritten law they had to take forever to get dressed?! It's not like she had to pretty herself up on his account. He sighed, shaking his head. Things were getting boring again, and he was finding it a little difficult to just sit there. He didn't know how long the woman had lived here, but aside from some furniture, a couch, table, a few chairs here and there, she really didn't have all that much in terms of furniture, and absolutely no electronics to speak of. No TV, no VCR, nothing.
"Duh Ranma." he grunted, "All her cash goes ta beer and more beer." he glanced at the mountain of empty bottles surrounding the majority of the room in disdain. How the hell could that woman drink so much?! Didn't she realize that crap destroyed yer body? What good was drinkin gonna do ya anyway? Sure you'd feel good now, but years down the road you'd get all sorts of problem..s... He blinked. Pfeh! Years down the road?! It makes perfect sense! he sighed, shaking his head tiredly. It ain't like they had years left anyway, life was gonna be short, why not live it up?. So thinking, he grabbed one of Misato's beers and popped the top. Raising his drink to his MIA guardian, he slammed it back, hard.
---
Misato stared at herself in the mirror, balefully. She had come to realize just how comfortable she was already feeling with the kid in her house. That was the problem, in that while he was a fourteen year old, he didn't look like it. If he looked like it, she doubted she'd be having problems figuring out what the wear, but as it was he didn't, and that knowledge was bothering her. At first she had decided to wear what she always did around the house, a pair of short shorts and a tank top, good ole relaxing clothes. His comment about 'kids' had really drove home the fact he knew, at least from what she was seeing, about sex. She was an attractive woman, a fact she flaunted on occasion for a few kicks, but at the moment it left her feeling vulnerable, especially when you added in the knowledge of his physical capabilities.
Shaking those thoughts off, she gritted her teeth. "He's just a kid, he's just a kid, he's just a kid." Satisfied she had buried any nervousness she felt, she spared her self one last look in the mirror, before heading to the living room. Her clothing would be good to gauge the kid's reaction to such things. If it was over the top, well, she'd need to look into getting more concealing clothes for home wear. Opening the door, she gave him a nod as she went to the kitchen. A few beers would help calm her frazzled nerves.
She frowned then when she noticed quite a few beers were missing, seven by her count. Trying to remember if she had taken some and simply forgot, she eventually just shrugged it off. It's not like the kid took them, even she couldn't drink seven beers in the time it took her to figure out what to wear. Getting back to the living room, she slid into her seat, almost immediately noticing the three unopened can's of beer near by. "Ranma?"
"Yeah?" his tone seemed more subdued, more calm, and he seemed to be staring into space a little, but at least he wasn't staring at her, so that was a good thing in her book.
"How'd these get here?" she motioned to the beer.
Blinking, he raised his head and stared at the beer for a second, before shrugging, "Figure'd ya'd like em and didn't wanna have to get up while were talkin to get more." he took a sip of his beer, shrugging, "This stuff ain't all that bad."
Misato gawked, before scowling, "Ranma! Put that down! You're not old enough to drink!"
Ranma gave her a half lidded glare, "I'm old enough ta kill an risk my life, why not drink?"
"Because I said so!" Misato hesitated a little before saying that. There was something eerily right about his words, and horribly wrong at the same time. She had almost forgotten the kid had a morbid outlook on life.
Ranma debated for a second about snubbing the woman and continuing to drink, but he decided he rather not. 'sides, he already had four beers, and was feeling pretty good at the moment. "If ya say so." he pushed the beer away. No sense pissin her off yet. he thought ruefully. "Whatcha wanna talk about?"
Misato smirked, feeling a little better now that he had done what she said. Maybe this could work out? "Chores."
Ranma rolled his eyes.
---
"Paper! Rock! Scissors!"
...
"Well gee, looks like I win again?" Ranma stared at his rock versus Misato's scissors, taking careful consideration not to smirk wickedly at the woman's horrible horrible 'luck'. It took him a little to get use to the game, so he had started off getting thrashed by the woman, but quickly picked up on the tricks of the game. It was mainly a game of luck, as far as he figured, at least to anyone else it was. To him, it was like practicing hand-eye ordination. Follow her hand, watch it descend and take the form of what she chose to battle with, and then quickly change your own answer to the winning hand. Just a matter of speed, really.
Misato simmered, staring at the list of chores she was going to end up with. Aside from Cooking dinner Monday, cleaning the house and taking out the trash Tuesday, she had to do EVERYTHING else! No fair! "This.. isn't.. possible.." she said through gritted teeth.
"Ah, don't be a sour puss." Ranma chuckled, scratching the back of his head, still relaxed from the beer. "I ain't gonna be mean about it, I'll help ya out.. sometimes." Maybe. he added mentally, ignoring Misato's hung expression of despair.
Now they got to...
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by Matdeception
(Posted Mon, 03 Jan 2005 20:19)
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.