"Are you sure it's alright to do this?" Ranma said in one of the alleys behind the main shopping street of Nerima. It really wasn’t meant for pedestrian use.
"I paid for these, didn't I, Mr. Hayashi?" Nabiki assured her date. "He was going to throw this produce away, anyway, so any money he gets is profit." The sour man looked like he still thought he had come out on the short end of the bargain.
"Who's going to clean up your mess?!" he demanded.
"You should have thought of that before you agreed to the sale." Nabiki smiled "sweetly".
"Hey, I know a panda that'll eat just about anything," Ranma said, trying to keep from upsetting yet another guy he had met on his travels. Whether it worked or not, he didn't get an immediate answer, as a customer came into the front of the man's shop. They were alone, except for a delivery truck parked a block away.
Nabiki stood on the sideline in her fine kimono, twirling her "parasol" like a maiden out of a samurai movie, watching her warrior-interest practice for battle. "I see you've set up quite an assortment."
"Before I try on the harder stuff, I'm usin' The firmest soft stuff I found; mostly tomatoes, banans, and overripe fruit." He hesitated, though, turning the straw hat in his hands. "This is gonna get messy."
"Look what I barrowed from inside." She held up a spray bottle of soap and water.
The water made Ranma a nervous. The girl didn't know his secret, yet. He had to be careful he wasn't near her when she was cleaning his hat. (Cleaning was girls' work, right?) But, he was also feeling comfortable enough around her, he thought that, maybe, when she did know, she wouldn't use his secret against him.
The hat sliced a row of fruit and vegies in the first fling; then cut a pear and apricot yet again on its way back to him, boomerang-fashion.
"We shoulda stayed and help clean up the mess," Ranma was feeling, if not guilty, at least responsible.
"He'll wash the refuse into the sewer drain like he always does. It cuts down on his garbage bill. Now, that you've shown your skill level with groceries, let's move up," she said, walking down the street with her hand resting casually on his bent arm.
"Geez, that doesn't sound like something a girl wants to do on a date. Why do you want to see me practice?"
"Don't think it crass, Ranma, but I'm looking at your profit potential. I am the daughter of a dojo master, so I know how money can be made in martial arts. If Daddy were interested in my ideas, we'd have a better standard of living."
"Wow, that does sound like something a wife would do." He wanted to literally kick himself for bringing that up again.
"No, that's exactly right. It's the divided labor theory of marriage economics. The husband does the business, and the wife manages it: Hunter-and-Gatherer: Together. A wife..." she blushed modestly "...could act as an agent, finding opportunities for her breadwinner to use his martial arts."
"Yeah?! You mean I could count on more opponents? ' Have non-trainin' fights that don't seem random, and pointless?" Ranma was warming up to the idea of marriage.
(Posted Sat, 18 Nov 2006 00:03)
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.