As Cologne learned just what happened with Saffron, elsewhere Ranma and Happosai were approaching Ucchan's Okonomiyaki. The conversation had lapsed during the trip, leaving the two walking in a less-than-companionable silence. Well, at least on Ranma's side. Without any great need for haste, Ranma took his usual route of fencetops, while Happosai made his way by bounding from eave to eave. Thankfully the day wasn't overly hot (for Tokyo), and the foot traffic was light with most students in club meetings.
Landing on the street and approaching the entryway, Ranma noticed that Happosai was having some difficulty walking a straight line. Instead, he seemed to be walking in a gentle arc, correcting his path, and then doing it again. Happi then stuck his arms straight out and started making airplane noises, so Ranma thought no more about it.
As the doorway approached, Ranma felt the need to remind Happosai of the conditions of his parole. "Yo, old letch! Remember, no gropin' Uccha - Ukyou here. We're just here so's I can figure out what happened, with you as a witness that nothin' happened." 'Heh, like they'll believe me anyway. With my luck, Akane'll probably just say somethin' 'bout Happosai bein' around just to watch as bein' somethin' perverted.'
******************************************
Ukyou was fiddling with the key, trying to decide whether or not to open the box. She'd already tried calling the clan head, but he had apparently 'taken ill' and was 'unavailable until further notice'.
'Like I haven't heard that before.' Ukyou snorted to herself.
She'd closed the door and flipped the sign after the lunch crowd had filtered out the door, but hadn't locked it. Still, she wasn't expecting to hear someone knock. "Just a minute!"
*******************************************
Shampoo walked down the street aimlessly, scuffing the bottom of her shoes on the pavement, kicking at gravel. How did things get to be so bad? Now she was trapped - whatever she did she lost honor and her status in the tribe - but even worse she was being used as a tool to drag down her Great-Grandmother. And there didn't seem to be anything that she could do to break free!
It hadn't helped matters that she and Mousse hadn't told Great-Grandmother all the things that had happened at Jusendo. If only she hadn't listened to Mousse! But his reasoning had seemed so... reasonable at the time. She'd been so worried about what Ranma might be feeling for Violent Girl that she'd allowed herself to let things pass for a while. Then the damnable Panda and Violent Girl's father had set up the wedding. Shampoo couldn't allow that to happen!
Now Great- no, *Elder Cologne* had gotten the full story out of the two of them. And she had locked Mousse up tighter than he'd ever been before. She wasn't as certain as Great-Grandmother that Mousse was guilty of plotting her family's downfall, but she had to admit that the circumstances were damning.
Looking up, she noticed she was nearing Spatula Girl's restaurant. Deciding that she didn't want to chance a fight in her present mood, she had just rounded the corner to take herself out of sight of the entrance when she heard a pair of thumps close behind her. Instantly on her guard, she moved back to the corner and peered around. 'Eh? What is Ranma doing here? And with the old pervert?! Blast it! I may not be able to visit Ranma, but I definitely need to find out what is happening. I wonder if that storeroom still has that weak window frame?'
(Posted Fri, 30 Apr 2004 02:17)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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