DISCLAIMER: The characters and situations in this story are 
copyrighted by many people, not including me by any stretch of the 
imagination. :)  This work is intended purely for entertainment purposes 
and not for profit.

     WARNING:  This story does NOT contain any of the following:
          -- sexual acts, implied or otherwise
          -- resolution of any of the problems of Ranma Universe.
          -- the Ranma characters switching with characters from
               any other anime.

     The closest I can come to describing this story would be to compare it 
to an episode of the Ranma1/2 TV show.  If this is not the sort of 
fanfiction you enjoy, don't read any further. :)

     Comments and feedback can be sent to rogue1@netcom.com.

                            RANMA 1/2
                        Girls' Night Out

                            by Rogue1

     "Ranma no baka!"
     Akane growled out her favorite curse as she stomped down the road, so 
caught up in her anger that she didn't even notice the beautiful summer 
day.  In fact, Akane barely noticed where she was going.
     Honestly, Akane thought to herself, will that jerk never learn?  Will 
he ever listen to me?  No, of course not!  I'm only that dummy's fiancee!  
She took her anger out on a nearby lamppost, causing it to shake violently 
behind her.
     Akane frowned to herself.  I know I never asked to be his fiancee, but 
you think he could at least...
     Akane sighed and looked up.  She was in a small park, not far from Dr. 
Tofu's clinic.  Not feeling like going home, where she might see HIM, Akane 
sat down on a park bench and put her head in her hands, still angry.  Akane 
sat there for several minutes, glaring at the ground as if it were to 
blame.

     Ukyou trudged along a similar road in a similar state of mind.
     Ranchan, she sighed to herself.  Why do you get yourself into these 
messes? Some days, she thought wryly to herself, it just doesn't pay to get 
out of bed in the morning.  She sighed again and resolved to make the best 
of things.  After all, if Ranchan wasn't going to listen to her, the best 
she could do was be there for him when his hopes crashed and burned...
     Ukyou took a deep breath and looked around with more interest.  It 
really is a beautiful day, she thought to herself.  Maybe I'll cut through 
that park and try to take my mind off Ranchan's problems.
     Idly twirling one of her small spatulas in her hand, Ukyou spent some 
time admiring the park before she noticed a familiar figure sitting hunched 
over on a park bench.
     Akane-chan! thought Ukyou.  She looks as miserable as I felt.
     She regarded her rival for Ranchan's affections for a moment.  Despite 
their predicament, Ukyou could never bring herself to hate or even dislike 
Akane.  She could see that Akane and Ranma truly liked each other, despite 
all their arguments, and she could hardly hate Akane for liking someone 
like Ranchan!  She even tried once to set her up on a date with Ryouga, in 
an attempt to see that everyone got a happy ending.
     Well, not everyone, she corrected herself, but I hadn't met Shampoo 
and Kodachi then, and frankly, I wish I never had.  Those two are truly 
frightening at times.  If they didn't know how upset Ranma would get, I 
almost think Akane and I might have had "accidents" a long time ago....  
She shook her head.  Those two might be crazy, but they weren't THAT bad.
     Ukyou decided suddenly that the best way to make herself feel better 
would be to work at cheering up Akane.
     Now, she thought to herself, what's the best way of going about that?  
A moment later, an impish smile spread across her face.  I know!

     "Akane-chan?  Are you OK?" came a voice.
     Akane looked up to see Ukyou standing over her, still clad in her 
boy's school uniform, complete with the giant spatula strapped to her back 
and a bandolier of mini-spatulas across her chest.  She smiled at Akane, 
who felt an instant stab of inferiority.
     Ukyou was so many things she wasn't, Akane felt.  She was cute, even 
in the male clothing, she could cook, she was a childhood friend of 
Ranma's....
     It helped that Ukyou was so friendly and outgoing, though.  While they 
might be rivals, Akane knew that Ukyou didn't hold it against her 
personally.
     "Ukyou!" Akane exclaimed.  "It's nothing," she stammered.  "I'm OK, 
really."  Akane's voice trailed off.  She looked miserably at her feet.
     Ukyou sat down next to her.  "Come on, Akane-chan... you can't fool 
me.  It's Ranchan again, isn't it?"
     "That baka?!  Why would I be concerned about him?  Hmph!"  Akane 
turned up her nose at the thought.
     Ukyou sighed.  "Because Shampoo's tricked him into dating her with 
another phoney cure."
     Akane looked at Ukyou in surprise.  "How do you know it's phoney?"
     "Because," Ukyou said, "she's obviously trying to trap him into 
marrying her.  She knows that a real cure means that he would have to make 
up his mind about this whole fiancee business, and she doesn't want that 
until she's sure he'll pick her.  Oh," she added, "I could be wrong.  It 
could be a real cure this time, nannichuan water or something like that, 
but I doubt it.  She's pulled this trick too many times."
     Akane nodded.  "Yeah... but that dummy keeps falling for it!  And when 
I tried to warn him, he accused me of being JEALOUS!  Ooooh!"  Akane looked 
ready to explode.
     Ukyou merely nodded.  "He told me about it at school, bragging that he 
would soon be cured.  When I tried to warn him not to get his hopes up, he 
said I sounded 'just like that tomboy Akane.'"  Ukyou laughed at Akane's 
expression.  "Considering the way I dress, I'm amazed he would call YOU a 
tomboy, Akane-chan."
     Akane's anger dissipated into a fit of the giggles.  "True," she said.  
"I'm surprised they let you get away with it..."
     Ukyou giggled and said, slyly, "It seems the school hasn't figured it 
out yet."
     "No!  Surely SOMEONE has told them," Akane gasped.
     Ukyou shrugged.  "I don't mind, really.  I'm comfortable like this."
     The two of them sat quietly for a second.  They both felt a little 
uncomfortable, sitting there talking to each other like ordinary 
schoolgirls.  After all, most of the time they were working against each 
other, fighting for Ranma's attention.
     Akane finally took a deep breath and asked, "Why are you trying to 
cheer me up?  I mean... Ranma... that is..."
     "You really don't know, Akane-chan?" Ukyou asked.
     "No," answered Akane, perplexed.
     Ukyou switched gears suddenly, "Well, it doesn't really matter.  Come 
on, I know what will cheer us both up!"
     "What?" asked Akane, perplexed.
     "Let's go shopping!"

     "Oooh, kawaii!" exclaimed Ukyou, as Akane showed off a light pink 
sundress.  The two of them were at a clothing store, because clothes, Ukyou 
had declared, were the first order of business.
     Akane frowned.  "That's not the effect I wanted..."
     "What's wrong with cute?" Ukyou asked.
     "Haven't you ever heard me and that dummy arguing?  He's always 
calling me 'kawaiikune' and 'unfeminine.'  I wanted something... more."
     Ukyou got a wild glint in her eye.  "I think I know just the thing.  
Come on!"  She put back the dress she had been looking at, and pulled Akane 
out of the store.
     Akane dropped the dress.  "Hey!  Wait a minute!" She exclaimed as they 
tore out the door.
     Her cries fell on deaf ears as Ukyou took them to a boutique down the 
road.  The clothes it offered were more expensive than the last shop, but 
were also of a higher quality.  Additionally, they were designed to be as 
sexy as possible.
     Akane blushed as she looked around.  "Ukyou!" she hissed.  "Should we 
really be here?"
     Ukyou smiled at her.  "Come on... it's just a dress store.  Besides, 
don't you want to knock Ranchan's socks off?"  Ukyou examined a blue dress 
with a short skirt.  "What do you think?"
     Akane goggled at the dress.  "You'd wear -that-?"
     "Hey, Akane-chan, whatever works.  You take a look around, I'm going 
to go try it on."
     Akane stood uncertainly in the middle of the store for a few minutes, 
gawking at the cut of the dresses and their prices.  When Ukyou came back 
out of the dressing room, though, her eyes flew open.
     The blue dress was very tight, low cut and left Ukyou's shoulders 
bare.  She had loosened her hair, so that it fell in waves down her back.  
Smiling at Akane's reaction, Ukyou struck a pose.  One of the advantages of 
being a martial artist, both Akane and Ukyou had found, was that it kept 
you in great shape, and Ukyou's body was irrefutable proof of that.
     "Ukyou... you look... great!"
     Ukyou nodded in appreciation.  "Thanks!  Now, let's find you one... 
Ooh, this is a nice red one...."  Ukyou held out the red, sequined dress 
she was looking at.
     Akane shook her head.  "I couldn't!  I mean... that dress..."
     "Come on, Akane-chan... trust me on this."
     "Well, maybe... but not that dress," Akane said.  She looked around 
the shop.  Every now and then, Ukyou would show her a dress, and Akane 
would turn it down.  Finally, Ukyou began to lose her patience.
     "Come on, Akane....  They're just dresses.  You can at least try one 
on!"
     "But, they're so..."
     Ukyou raised an eyebrow.  "I thought you didn't want to look 'kawaii.'  
Trust me, if you wear one of these dresses, 'cute' is the LAST thing Ranma 
will think."
     Akane's cheeks colored.  "Who says I want to dress up for that jerk?"
     "You don't?" Ukyou asked innocently.
     "Give me that dress!" Akane growled, grabbing the dress Ukyou had just 
tried to show her and stomping into the changing room.
     A few minutes later, Akane came back out.  The dress was not as tight 
or as short as Ukyou's, but it was still very daring.  It was red and 
resembled a chinese dress, being high-necked and the skirt was slit along 
one side.  The dress fastened at the neck and had little wooden ties going 
down the front, but it left the back bare.
     Ukyou smiled at Akane.  "Trust me, you look anything but cute.  You 
look like a movie star, Akane-chan!"
     Akane blushed.
     "OK," Ukyou said, "let's pay for these dresses and go."
     "Go?  Go where?"
     "You'll see."

     "I can believe how much that dress cost!" grumbled Akane as she and 
Ukyou walked down the street.  Besides the dresses, the two had also had to 
buy some accessories (shoes, wraps, jewelry) to go with them.
     "It was a bit of a splurge," Ukyou admitted, "but it'll be worth it.  
We're here."
     "Where?" asked Akane looking around.  They were in front of a small 
dance club.  Judging by the loud music and the number of teenagers milling 
around in front, it seemed quite popular with the younger set.  "Here?" 
Akane asked incredulously.
     "Yup!" beamed Ukyou.  Noting Akane's expression, Ukyou smiled 
encouragingly at her.  "Akane-chan, trust me.... this is exactly what we 
need.  Now, let's go have some fun."
     Akane let Ukyou drag her to the door.  After a quick talk with the 
doorman (who wouldn't mark them as legal drinkers, of course) the two girls 
walked into the club.
     Akane looked around nervously.  She had never been to a place like 
this before, not even with her girlfriends.  She spent most of her nights 
in martial arts training or spending them quietly at home.  It wasn't that 
she was shy or anything....  She looked over at Ukyou, who was smiling at 
her and seemed to be in her element.  Was this one more thing that Ukyou 
was better at than her?
     Ukyou looked eagerly over the crowd.  To her, the best thing about 
being in the restaurant business was the chance to meet new people, and she 
was enjoying herself.  She smiled at some of the males who were staring at 
the new arrivals, causing them to blush and look away.  She'd practically 
had to drag Akane here, but Ukyou was sure that she'd have a good time, 
once she loosened up a bit.
     "Hi there!" a handsome, brown-haired teenager shouted over the music 
to Akane.  "My name's Kaneda.  Want to dance?"
     Akane glanced nervously at Ukyou, who nodded and shouted, "Go for it 
girl!"  Turning slightly, Ukyou smiled at a dark-haired boy who seemed to 
be trying to make eye contact with her.  Noticing her attention, he soon 
came over and asked her to dance.

     The two girls stumbled out of the club a few hours later, laughing and 
flushed from the exertion.
     "Whew..." said Akane.  "That was more of a workout than most martial 
arts battles."
     "But it was fun, wasn't it?" exclaimed Ukyou, doing a little spin.  "I 
don't know how you did it, Akane.  You had practically the whole club 
lining up to dance with you!"
     Akane blushed.  "I did NOT!  Besides, they all wanted to dance with 
you."
     "Hey, who got asked to dance first?"
     Akane's face grew redder.  "I'm just glad nobody we knew saw us..."
     "Why?"
     "Well... we were dancing... with all those guys..."
     "Hey, don't worry about it... We were just dancing.  And anyway, after 
the slap you gave that one guy I don't think anyone could doubt your 
intentions."  Ukyou smiled.  "I heard the slap over the music.  You got him 
good."
     Akane clenched her fists.  "I still can't believe he tried that... in 
public, even!"
     "Come on... forget about him.  Time to head home."
     The two girls stumbled down the street, their legs rubbery from the 
exertion.  Behind them, unnoticed, a small knot of people followed at a 
distance.
     "Let's cut across there," Akane said, pointing to a dark alley.
     "I dunno, Akane-chan," said Ukyou, looking dubious.  "That could be 
asking for trouble."
     "Don't worry about it... it'll cut a lot of time off our trip, and 
we'll be through it in no time."
     Still unconvinced, Ukyou let herself be led towards the alley.  Behind 
them, the small knot of men split off, one running off, the other hurrying 
in behind the two girls.
     The alley was dark and relatively quiet.  Ukyou glanced around and 
checked to see if her giant spatula was still in place on her back.  (Yes, 
she took it dancing.  This IS Ukyou, after all. :)  Akane didn't seem 
concerned as they walked quickly down the alleyway.
     "Hey, girlie!" came a leering voice behind them.
     "Keep walking," hissed Ukyou.  "Don't look back."
     However, several figures suddenly blocked the alley in front of them.  
Ukyou looked at them and recognized them from the club.  Looking behind 
her, she confirmed her fears.  The lead figure had a large, red hand-print 
on his cheek.  Apparently the dancer Akane slapped had decided to collect 
some revenge.
     "Akane," she whispered, "we're in trouble.  Think you can handle the 
guys in front of us?"
     "Yeah," Akane said, grimly.  Moving quietly, hoping it wouldn't be 
noticed, Akane slipped her feet out of her shoes.  While the shoes might be 
fine for walking and dancing, she didn't want to try martial arts with them 
on.  Beside her, Ukyou did the same.
     "Good.  Wait for my signal."
     "Well, girls," sneered the voice of the dancer Akane had slapped, 
"fancy meeting you here..."  His voice turned uglier.  "Me and my friends 
are here to collect what you owe me for this," he pointed to the slap mark.  
"We think you need to be taught a lesson about respect."
     "Sorry, I don't respect pond scum," rejoined Ukyou.  "NOW, AKANE!"
     Ukyou drew her giant spatula faster than the thugs could react and 
swung it in a mighty arc.  It caught the slapped-face leader square in the 
head, slamming him into the brick wall of the alley.  Blood fountained from 
his nose and he spit several teeth out as he slid to the ground, moaning.
     Akane leapt into the middle of the three guys she faced.  A flying 
kick took one in the stomach, causing him to bend over in pain.  Taking 
advantage of the confusion generated by her sudden attack, she slammed both 
her hands down on the first thug's ears, stunning him.  He collapsed.
     Ukyou still had three thugs to deal with and they now hovered just out 
of range of her spatula.  Grinning fiercely, she plucked three mini-
spatulas out of her purse with her right hand and, with practiced ease, 
flung them at her attackers.  The thugs, not expecting the culinary 
projectiles, dodged as best they could.  One was a little too slow and 
stared at his jacket which was now pinned to the brick wall by a still 
vibrating spatula.  Screaming incoherently, he ran off so fast that the 
leather of the jacket ripped.  The remaining thugs charged Ukyou, only to 
be knocked down by another swing of her giant spatula.
     Meanwhile, one of Akane's thugs had gotten behind her and had pinned 
her arms.  The other thug smirked at her predicament and moved towards her, 
hands outstretched.  However, he and his partner neglected to pay any 
attention to Akane's feet.
     He realized his mistake a second later when her foot impacted with his 
groin.... hard.  He bent over in agony, clutching at his injury.  Akane 
took advantage of this to swing her self forward, lifting the man holding 
her arms off the ground, and ramming his head into his buddy's.  Both fell 
to the ground, senseless.
     Ukyou's remaining opponents were now doing a passable imitation of 
okonomiyaki as she expertly flipped them into the air, letting them land in 
a pile of garbage cans.  She then stood over them, smirking and panting 
slightly.
     "I think you better think again before you try to attack any more 
'helpless' women, boys."  She heard the wail of a siren approaching.  "But 
I think you'll have a lot of time to consider that."  She turned to Akane, 
"Good going, partner."
     Akane smiled and they exchanged a high-five.

     Several hours later, after giving statements and pressing charges 
against the would-be muggers, Akane and Ukyou headed home once again.
     "Ukyou?" asked Akane, after they had walked in silence for a time.
     "Yes, Akane-chan?"
     "Don't take this wrong, I had a wonderful time tonight--at least until 
those guys showed up--but... WHY did you try to cheer me up?"
     Ukyou stopped and looked frankly into Akane's eyes.  "Because, even 
though we're both fighting for Ranchan's heart, I'd like us to be friends, 
Akane-chan."
     "U-ukyou," stammered Akane.
     "Ranchan likes you... I trust his judgement."
     "That baka?  But he..."
     Ukyou held up her hand.  "I know, he's a bit foolish at times, but I 
see why he likes you.  You're a very nice person, Akane-chan."  She held 
her hand out to Akane.  "Friends?"
     Akane looked at Ukyou for a second, then grasped the hand firmly.  
"Friends," she said with a nod.
     "Of course," Ukyou added with a grin, "I'm still going to win Ranchan 
away from you."
     "Hmph!  You can have the baka!" Akane grinned back.
     Suddenly a familiar, purple-haired form ran past the two, followed 
closely by another familiar figure.
     "Shampoo!  Get back here!" yelled Ranma.
     "Ranma no BAKA!" shouted Akane.
     Ranma came to a dead halt and looked at Ukyou and Akane.  His jaw 
dropped as he saw their dresses.
     "A-akane?  Ucchan?  Wha--??"
     "SAOTOME!" came Mousse's voice, followed swiftly by a veritable hail 
of chains, whips, and weights.  "How dare you date my future bride!"
     Ukyou and Akane just shook their heads in resignation as Mousse landed 
on Ranma's head and pounded it into the pavement.  Then he took off, 
bawling, "Shampoo!  Wait up, Shampoo!"
     "Some things never change," sighed Ukyou.  "Well, at least he noticed 
you as something more than cute, right Akane-chan?" she asked with a wink.
     Akane smiled back as she helped Ukyou pull the unconscious Ranma out 
of the his crater.  "Yup.  And you know what, Ukyou?  That makes me feel 
better than anything else."
     "Me, too, Akane-chan.  Me, too."

     The End

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

     Well, I hope you enjoyed this little tale.  It started as nothing more 
than a flash of inspiration and a need to finish at least one writing 
project.  I'm working on the sequel to my BGC fanfic (Angel of Darkness) 
and a Ranma Elseworlds story with John Biles, but both those projects keep 
getting longer and longer, with no end in sight...
     Anyway, this short story offers, I hope, a glimpse into the lives of 
two of the many characters of Ranma1/2.  Given all the craziness that 
occurs in their lives, we can lose sight of the characters that truly make 
that series enjoyable.  As noted in my tongue-in-cheek warning at the 
beginning, this story lacks many of the features commonly found in Ranma 
fanfics, and this was intentional.  It's not that I do not enjoy fanfics 
that do that sort of thing (if it's well written, I'll enjoy it) I just 
thought a change would be nice, even if it is a change back to the 
original.  I've tried to keep everything in this story as 'in-character' as 
possible, but most of my exposure to Ranma is from the Viz videos and 
translated manga, some episode synopses, most of the fanfiction stored at 
Zoner's FTP site, and some Ranma1/2 manga I found at conventions.  If I 
made any glaring mistakes, I apologize and plead ignorance.
     I'd like to thank a few people now...

     -- To Gryphon, Zoner, and everyone on #Eyrie... thanks for listening 
to me, correcting me, and inspiring me... and especially for convincing me 
that even I could write something... We may not always agree guys, but I 
appreciate it all...

     -- To John Biles, who really got me into Ranma1/2 Fanfiction, and was 
kind enough to listen to me when I wanted to talk about his stories.

     -- To everyone who preread this story and sent me comments, thanks!  
(If you want to preread my stuff, just drop me a line at 
rogue1@netcom.com... I'll put you on the list.  Don't expect too much, or 
for it to be in great shape, but I need all the feed back I can get...)

     -- To my old roommate Jay, who was really responsible for getting me 
hooked on anime.... would he have done so, had he known what it would lead 
to?  Who knows? :)

     -- To the people at Viz, who truly exposed me to Ranma1/2.

     -- To Rumiko Takahashi, who always amazes me with the silliness she 
can generate...

     -- To everyone who enjoys reading this story, whether you let me know 
it or not... in many ways, this story is written for you...

                                             Rogue1
                                             February 3, 1995