(Name) hummed as she smoothed down her skirt. Nabiki was sitting on her bed, brushing her hair for her, while she sat on the floor in front of her. "So, you're going on a date to make Ranma jealous and confess, right?"
"It's not a date; it's a friendly outing."
The sassy brunette smirked. "Of course. Say, where are you going again?"
(Name) hesitated before saying, "W-well, actually... Something came up and Hikaru said that he can't take me for milkshakes today. I-it's fine; I'm not disappointed or anything." She waved it off like it was nothing.
However, Nabiki saw it in her eyes. Any girl would feel upset about being stood up, whether for a date or a 'friendly outing.' She raised her eyebrow at her younger sister. "So, then, why are you getting all dolled up?"
"Akane and Ryoga were there when he asked me for milkshakes, so I'm just gonna go to the mall and window-shop for a while." She pursed her lips in shame. "I couldn't bare to tell them... They'd just pity me and try to cheer me up."
Nabiki fluffed (Name)'s hair out as she said, "Well, I hope you have fun. Don't worry," she did a shushing motion with her finger and winked, "I won't tell them."
"Thanks, Nabiki." She stood up and gave her a thumbs-up. "See you later!"
"Bye~" Nabiki watched her leave and waited in her room until she heard the front door close. Then, she sprung into action.
Downstairs, Ranma and his father were training. He was beginning to hone his skills much better. Even so, he was distracted. 'What's that Gosunkugi creep got planned? If he tries anything with my (Name), I'll--' "Argh!" He sat down and covered his face in embarrassment. 'I called her my (Name) again!'
Genma picked his son up by the collar and set him on his feet. "Ranma, pay attention! What's gotten into you, boy?"
"Excuse me, gentlemen~" Nabiki appeared in the doorway, smiling. "I need to borrow Ranma for a while. It's very important."
"Hm?!" Ranma raised an angry eyebrow at her. He had met her in the hallway and she explained the situation to him. "T-that slimy little creep asked her... on a date?!"
"Ah-ah-ah! A 'friendly outing.' Nevertheless, my baby sister has just gone out to walk the mall by herself." Nabiki poked him in the chest. "As her fiance, I believe it's best if you go and find her. Even if she doesn't have a crush on this guy, she still feels bad that she got stood up."
Ranma crossed his arms and scoffed. "Isn't it a sister's job to cheer her up? She didn't even tell me about this little 'outing,' so why would she--"
"You really are dense, Ranma. I know that you care about her; you've shown it so many times. She really needs you right now. So, suck up your pride and go to her. Make her feel wanted."
He blushed. "W-wanted?"
"I could see it on her face. She probably feels like Hikaru was lying about other plans popping up. Now, go put on something fetching and find her. She's at the mall!" The brunette waved at him before running off.
Ranma sighed, considering what to do. 'Hmm... On the one hand, she tried to go on a date with some creep behind my back. On the other, she's out at the mall alone, feeling sorry for herself.' He crossed his arms with a frown. "What's a guy to do?" he muttered as he walked off to his room.
Meanwhile, Ryoga and Akane were sitting awkwardly in a booth, trying to enjoy their treats while they waited on (Name) and Hikaru to show up. They couldn't stop blushing because of the situation. To everyone else in the shop, it would look like they were on a date.
Akane tapped her spoon against the top of her flan as she peeked at Ryoga. "D-do you, um..." He looked up at her, giving her his full attention. "Do you think that, maybe... we got here too early?"
"I... don't know." He took a deep breath before speaking again, "A-Akane?"
"Yes?"
"Y-you know how (Name) is... e-engaged to marry Ranma?" She nodded for him to continue. "W-would you be happy i-if you were e-engaged, too?"
Akane blushed. Then, she started nervously playing with her hair. "W-well, I-I -- It d-depends on -- oh, well..." She just couldn't think straight. 'Is he... He couldn't be; not now!'
Ryoga blushed, too, and started nervously messing with his slice of cake. "I-I guess that was a b-bit of a personal question. S-sorry. Y-you don't h-have to answer, if you don't w-want to."
"Well, would you be happy if you were engaged?"
He smiled goofily as he stared off into space. "Absolutely..." Without noticing, his gaze landed on her when he spoke, making Akane's face blush even pinker.
She stared at him. 'Does he mean... with me? He'd be happy with me?' She smiled and looked down. 'Maybe he does like me...'
At the mall, (Name) was sitting on the edge of the decorative fountain, looking down sadly at her reflection. 'This isn't helping like I thought...' No matter what stores or vendors she visited, nothing could take her mind off of what had happened.
"(N-Name), forgive me. I can't take you out."
"Huh? What happened?"
"I have important things to prepare for. We'll have to take a rain-check. I'm very sorry."
"No, no! Don't worry about it."
She sniffled, clenching her fist in anger at the memory. "I was looking forward to going out with a guy, even if it wasn't a date." (Name) scoffed hard, full of emotion. 'I guess I deserve this for being so eager about it...'
Just then, she heard quick footsteps coming her way. The Tendo girl looked up in alarm before pulling a confused face. There was some guy in a Mao suit speed-walking toward the fountain. She couldn't tell who it was because he had his hat pulled down to cover the top half of his face.
The mystery boy sped by (Name), and without pause, grabbed her hand, pulling her up and along with him. At first, the girl was frozen with shock. Was this a kidnapping? A possible assault?
She didn't want to cause a needless scene, in case this guy had grabbed her by mistake and just didn't notice. 'Where did Akane say that pressure point was, again?' (Name) took two fingers and jabbed them into the side of the boy's neck.
"Ah!" (Name) gasped, recognizing the voice. Ranma turned around, flicking his cap up to reveal his face and glare at her. "What was that for?!"
She pouted angrily. "I thought I was getting kidnapped, you idiot! What were you doing, grabbing me up like that?!"
"Haven't you heard of spontaneity?" Ranma grumbled, rubbing his aching neck. 'Geez. If I wasn't as strong as I am, she'd've brought me down easy...'
(Name) glared at him. "And, since when were you the spontaneous type? What are you even doing here dressed like that?"
"Nabiki told me that you were here, and she asked me to make sure you were safe."
(Name) pursed her lips. 'Nabiki...' She turned away from Ranma and held her hands behind her back. "Well, besides from that little scare you gave me, I'm fine. You can go back home now."
"Huh?"
"You only came here because Nabiki asked you to. I'm fine, so you can go back home."
Ranma turned her around to face him. "Hey, I don't do anything I don't wanna do!"
(Name) blinked. "So, you decided to check on me? All on your own?"
"W-well, I... Not that it means anything big, but, uh -- I..."
The way he stuttered over his words made (Name) knit her brow, a bit annoyed. She frowned at him before walking off, saying, "I'll see you later, Ranma."
"Hey! Wait a minute. You don't have to be so short-tempered. I was just trying to be nice." He caught up with her, putting his hands behind his head. He glanced down at her before hesitantly saying, "So... you must've been pretty excited about this little date with Gosunkugi. Why else would you have been moping around in the mall?"
(Name) looked over at him, growling a bit. She scoffed, "What, are you jealous?"
"Of course not."
"Good; you have no right to be!"
Ranma frowned deeply. "Well, why not?!"
(Name) raised her eyebrow at him, smirking a bit. "Well, it's not like you've ever asked me out or anything. Why should you be jealous over someone you don't have feelings for?"
He stuffed his hands into his pockets, trying in vain not to blush. "Even so, we're engaged, aren't we? I have the right to be a little jealous, even though I'm not! Besides, I'm much better looking than that Gosunkugi creep."
"Hikaru isn't a creep. Sure, he's a bit strange, but that's no reason to pick on him like that."
"Yeah, well, if you knew what I knew, you'd be glad he didn't show."
(Name) put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "Are you following me around just to make fun of me or something?"
Ranma scoffed. "No. I'm just making sure that you don't fall into a rut over some weirdo who blew his chance to hang out with you, is all..."
"Hm?" (Name) blinked in surprise at his statement. She skewed her mouth to the side in thought. Then, she looked over at the burger shop they were in front of. She put her hand on his arm and pointed to the burger place. "Hey. Since we're here, why don't we get something to eat?"
"Huh? You sure changed your mood quick."
"Do you want to or not?" The teens went in and sat together in a booth. While they ate, (Name) thought back to the fountain incident and chuckled. "So, what's with the get-up, Ranma? Were you trying to keep your identity hidden, or were you trying to impress me?"
Ranma paused mid-sip of his soda and looked wide-eyed at her, blushing wildly. "N-no way! What would I be hiding for?"
"Then, you won't mind," she reached over the table and plucked his hat off of his head, "if I do this!" (Name) teased him, putting the hat on herself and grinning cutely at him with her tongue stuck out.
"Hmph! If you're trying to act cute, it's not working." He crossed his arms and smirked.
(Name) took one of the sesame seeds off of her burger bun and flicked it at Ranma's cheek. "Who'd want to act cute for you?" She giggled at him, seeing that the seed had landed square on his nose instead of his cheek. "Sorry! You shouldn't have moved!"
The pigtailed boy wiggled his nose to get the sesame seed off as he half-glared at his fiance. He blushed, gazing at her face as she laughed. 'Well, she's not thinking about that creep anymore. That's good.' He smiled in relief. "Hey, y'know..."
"Huh? What is it?"
"If you ever want to do this again..." Ranma hesitated, realizing how it sounded. "I mean, if you ever have the time to..."
(Name) smiled at him and nodded, blushing a bit. "Sure, Ranma. I'd like that."
At the end of the day, all four of the teens walked home and ran into each other at the entrance to the Tendo training hall. (Name) grinned happily as she pointed at her sister, "Aw, you two went on a date? Cute!"
Ryoga blushed while Akane crossed her arms and smirked. "Not nearly as cute as you two. Is that Ranma's hat you're wearing or did he buy it for you?"
(Name) forgot she was still wearing Ranma's hat and rushed to shove it back onto his head. She looked down at her feet, blushing, as Ranma readjusted his hat. "You're so mean, Akane," she pouted, making her twin laugh. Then, they all went inside to get ready for dinner.