Ryoga continued to wander the streets, hoping to stumble across a familiar face or anything that could tell him if he was any closer to finding Tofu's lab. Today was the day he and the other tamers in Nerima were supposed to receive their first pokegirls; only Ryoga had gotten himself hopelessly lost. Again. He was already a month behind Ranma cause he had failed to show on time.
What that should've meant, was he'd have had to wait until the following year. But the Professor had been kind enough to give him another chance. Now it looked like he was gonna blow that one too... and after he'd left two days early to give himself extra time!
Face it, Hibiki he thought glumly, you're a lost cause.
Maybe fate was trying to tell him something. I mean, how was he supposed to find pokegirls when he didn't know where he was half the time? With his luck, they would have to find him. But Ryoga was anything but a quitter. Where failure and adversity would dishearten most, they only served to strengthen his resolve. Too bad determination alone couldn't solve his problems. What he needed was a pokegirl, he had to find Tofu. If only he could just call the lab and -
That's it! Why didn't I think of it before?
After digging out his phonecard, he headed for the nearest booth, which took him little over half an hour to find. The thing of it was, it'd been right across the street. He quickly got in, picked up the receiver, and began dialing. It took awhile for someone to answer. Ryoga immediately recognized the voice on the other end as Kasumi Tendo.
"Hello. You've reached Professor Tofu's lab. How may I help you?"
"Hey, Kasumi."
"Oh. It's you, Ryoga." he heard her say. Then she excused herself with, "One moment please." As she handed the professor the phone, he could've sworn he heard what sounded like a peck between them.
"Ryoga, where've you been?" Tofu asked curiously. "I've been waiting since yesterday."
"Eh-heh. Sorry about that." Ryoga said with a bit of sheepish laughter. "I sorta got... "
"I figured as much." he heard Tofu sigh. The next part was as hard for him to say as it was for Ryoga to hear. "Anyway, I'm afraid I have some bad news. I no longer have a pokegirl to give you... I gave the last one away early this morning. A tamer came by, from the neighboring town and League rules state I can only hold one in reserve for twenty four hours. After that... " he explained apologetically. When next Ryoga spoke, Tofu could tell he was trying for a lighthearted tone. But the strain in his voice betrayed his true emotion.
"Well, hey. No big deal. Right?"
"Ryoga..."
"It's okay. Really." he lied. The last thing he wanted was pity or for the professor to feel at fault. He had only himself to blame. After all, rules were rules. Still, he couldn't help the hurt he was feeling. It just didn't seem fair; especially after he'd tried so hard and had come all this way... wherever he was.
Tofu seemed to think for a moment. "If you want" he began, "I can ask around, but I can't promise anything anytime soon."
Ryoga shook his head. "Thanks anyway."
"Well, if you're sure." the professor replied.
"Positive."
Tofu resign with a sigh. "Okay then."
"Give everybody my best."
"Same to you. Take care Ryoga."
Ryoga hung up and slumped against the phonebooth, sliding down until he sat flat on his backside. Knees raised, he rested his arms atop them and lowered his head so his bangs hung down and concealed his eyes. Great. Now what am I gonna do? A set of impatient taps against the glass snapped him out of his funk and gained his attention. Looking up, he saw what he assumed was a school teacher.
"Hey you! Ya mind?! I wanna use the friggin' phone!" the snippy brunette told him. Ryoga lept to his feet and apologized as he excused himself. "Yeah, yeah yeah." she said, making a dismissive gesture as she brushed past him and shut the door. Ryga blinked a few times, taken aback by the woman's rudeness. Then shrugged and turned to leave. He'd barely made a step before he heard her call, "Hey you!"
"Now what?" Ryoga asked.
In answer to his question, the woman thrust out her hand and said, "Gimme some yen." Ryoga would've asked if she was serious, but her expression made it clear she wasn't joking. "Well? Are ya or aren't cha? I ain't got all day." she said.
"Sorry lady. All I got is a phoneca- "
"Thank you." she said primly as she plucked it from his fingers and ducked back inside. Ryoga stood flabbergasted as she proceeded to make a long distance call and yack it up. And, for Ryoga, that'd been the last straw. He pounded on the glass, determined to get his card back and give this crazy lady a piece of his mind.
"What?!" she snapped at him.
"That's my phonecard and I want it back!"
The woman blinked then made a face as though she were bored. "You mean this? I used what was left about ten minutes ago. Here. Take it." Ryoga could barely suppress his rage as she casually tossed it back at him. Seeing that he was upset, she supposed she ought to make it up to him somehow. So long as it didn't cost her anyhing. She looked him over briefly and came up with an idea.
"Tamer, right?"
"So what if I -"
"And no pokegirl, I see."
"Look lady..."
"Aw shut it. I'm actually gonna go outta MY way and do YOU a favor. In fact, you oughta be thanking me." she said haughtily. This was too much. Just who did she think she was, mooching off him then ordering him around? Talk about nerve. "By the way, the name's Yukari." she interjected.
"I'm -
"Yeah, whatever." she cut him off again. "Anyway, I was thinkin'. How about I... "
Read the comments on this episode
See other episodes by NyteFlite
(Posted Sun, 07 Oct 2007 02:55)
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.