Akane breathed a sigh of relief once Ranma called Akane to relay Setsuna’s recommendation. It was one less thing to worry about, and it gave Akane time to worry about something infinitely more important — her appearance.
“Alright, Kasumi, what do you think? Is this too casual?” The youngest Tendo sister had gone through most of her wardrobe trying to decide what to wear on her date; she wanted to look nice, but not too nice — she couldn’t really afford to stand out, and somehow she doubted that folks would be dressing up to see Amazon Tree Frogs on a Spaceship.
And though Kasumi hadn’t really had time to go out on any dates herself recently, she still felt she should help Akane, if only to make sure her sister was actually ready for her date when he arrived. She looked at the simple blouse and skirt combo, and rendered her decision. “Well, it seems to me that you’ve got the right amount of formality, but I’m not certain that particular shade of teal goes well with that particular shade of orange.”
“Ugh… maybe I’m looking at this wrong. Maybe I should try going really casual — you know, so that anyone who sees us thinks that our relationship is platonic.”
That didn’t exactly gel with Kasumi’s idealized view of romance, but Akane was running low on time. “I suppose that could work.”
After some searching around, Akane found the hip-hugging pair of jeans that she had bought when Kuno left Furinkan, thinking at the time that she could now wear clothing that was actually flattering to her figure since the kendoist wouldn’t be coming around and bothering her anymore. Boy, was that ever naïve. Still, once she got the jeans on, she was reasonably sure this could work, as she matched it with a simple green blouse. “How about this?”
Kasumi wasn’t sure what to think. “Uh, it’s… very nice….”
“You hate it, don’t you?”
“No, no! It’s quite flattering, in fact. I’m just somewhat concerned… are you sure you want to look that… sexy?”
Akane giggled at the mild embarrassment her conservative sister was showing over using a relatively innocuous word like “sexy.” “Well, Setsuna said that nowadays, the casual look generally is pretty sexy, and she is a fashion designer. Besides, when I contacted Hikaru, he said that he planned on going the casual route as well, so we shouldn’t stick out too much.”
At that moment, the doorbell rang. “I’ll get it!” Nabiki called from downstairs.
Hikaru Gosunkugi looked around nervously as he waited for the door to open. He had several things on his mind, like whether or not anyone connected to Kuno would see him, how the date was going to proceed, or whether or not the striped polo shirt and khaki pants he’d chosen were “casual” enough for Akane. But mostly, he was worried about Kuno. Thus, it was with some relief, that he saw the door open… and no small amount of panic that the person opening the door was Nabiki.
“Gosunkugi? What are you doing here?”
The pale-skinned boy became noticeably nervous. “Um… I, uh… I’m here to pick up Akane… —for our date.”
Nabiki’s eyes widened — only a few months ago, she’d been supplying this guy with mildly suggestive (but in no way pornographic) photos of her sister, but she’d stopped because this kid was just plain creepy. Surely he couldn’t be Akane’s date….
A familiar voice came from within the Tendo home. “Hikaru!” Nabiki turned and saw her little sister waving at the boy at the door. “Are you ready?”
Gosunkugi swallowed hard and nodded. “Uh-huh… uh, you look… really nice.” At least, her idea of “casual” wasn’t too far from his. This could actually work out.
Nabiki, on the other hand, was dumbfounded. “Hold on… you’re telling me that he’s Hikaru?”
“That’s right… Hikaru Gosunkugi,” Akane said with a smile and a nod.
You’ve got to be kidding me. Nabiki could have kicked herself for such an obvious (and downright amateurish) oversight. Okay, from now on, I’m getting the full name of all of my customers.
Gosunkugi shifted nervously. “Look, I, uh, don’t want to sound pushy, but I’m getting kind of worried standing out here in the open….”
“Huh? Oh, right. Kuno. Well, why don’t you come in for a while?”
“Oh, uh… okay.” Gosunkugi stepped into the Tendo home as Nabiki closed the door behind him.
Akane motioned towards her sisters. “These are my older sisters, Kasumi…”
“How do you do?” the aforementioned sister asked sweetly.
“Hello,” the pale teenager replied, feeling much more at ease in the eldest sister’s presence.
“…and Nabiki.”
“Hello again, Gosunkugi.”
Any sense of ease the boy felt went right out the window. “Oh, uh, hi.”
“You know each other?”
“Yes, Akane — he’s a former customer of mine.”
Fortunately for Gosunkugi, his date seemed quite willing to drop the subject at that. “Oh. Alright.” She turned her attention back to her date. “I’d introduce you to my father or Chibi-Usa, but they aren’t here right now.”
“Oh, that’s… too bad, I guess. Maybe some other time.”
“So, about the theater we’re going to….”
“I’ve already got that taken care of — it’s called Crazy Ichiro’s Astounding Multiplex of Total Cinematic Bliss!!™. Apparently, it just opened, so they’re running a special on tickets.”
“Is this the same Crazy Ichiro who owns the Bargain Madness Emporium™?”
“Uh-huh. I think he’s branching out.”
“I see….”
“Is something wrong?”
“Well, I have a really good friend who lives in Juuban who recommends the Royale Megaplex. I mean, is there any particular reason why we should go to Crazy Ichiro’s?”
“I don’t know… it’s closer, I think.” At least, Max had told him that it was the nearest theater.
“Well, I suppose that’s a good reason, but the Royale Megaplex came highly recommended by my friend — she says it’s almost always kept clean, and the snacks are actually affordable.”
“Well…” Akane made a good argument as — and, she seemed really, really keen on going to this Royale place. It didn’t really make much sense to jeopardize the date over something so trivial. Gosunkugi was still hesitant.
“To top it off, Ranma has agreed to be in the area to watch for any shenanigans by Kuno.”
Gosunkugi took a few seconds to process this bit of information. Then again, it’s not like Max ordered me to take Akane to Crazy Ichiro’s Astounding Multiplex of Total Cinematic Bliss!!™ — it was just a recommendation, after all. “Sure. That sounds great.”
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(Posted Mon, 16 Oct 2006 05:56)
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