Ranma looked up longingly as Kasumi set a plate of delicous food in front of him. He was surrounded by family and friends, who were now being served there own plates of scrumptious food. Ranma thanked Kasumi and prepared to dig into his dinner.
"Ah, ah!" Genma warned, from his seat next to Ranma. The teen looked up at his father with pleading eyes.
"Awe, come on, just one bite dad." He begged. Genma snorted and shook his head.
"No. Not until the rest of the household is served." He answered solemnly. Ranma grunted and set his fork down, hungrily.
A light touch on his arm made him look up. Akane removed her hand and smiled at hi, He sat up a little nicer.
"Don’t let your father spoil your birthday fun, Ranma." She whispered, in a soft voice. "I got you something you’ll love for after dinner." She smiled. Ranma’s eyes twinkled and he looked away, to see if Kasumi had finished serving everyone yet. Akane turned away from her fiancee, and began to unfold her napkin.
Nabiki sat next to Akane, and watched her sister a moment. Then she whispered. "What did you get him?!" Akane glanced at Nabiki, and then at Ranma to make sure he wasn’t ease dropping on her. He was, in fact carrying on a conversation with Genma and Soun. She turned back to Nabiki and answered in an equally soft voice.
"Something he’ll like. He showed it to me once. Couldn’t get it because of the price involved, and a hefty price it was." She answered, beaming. Nabiki blinked twice in surprise before replying.
"Expensive?! Why would you *waste* your hard earned money on Ranma? I thought you hated him."
"I don’t *hate* Ranma." Akane answered, after making sure the male teen was still talking to Soun and Genma. "We have our disagreements, but I’m going to have to marry him eventually. Better that it isn’t out of spite. I think this’ll set us on the right track." Akane finished, setting her napkin in her lap. Ranma finished his conversation with Soun and his father and saw everyone was served.
"Alright! Let’s eat!" He announced. Shampoo and Mousse chuckled and everyone dug into the wonder food Kasumi had prepared for them.
Soon after dinner was done, the people moved into the family room, most of then holding wrapped presents. Kasumi stayed in the kitchen, making the final touches on Ranma’s gorgeous birthday cake.
Ranma sat on the floor while friends and family crowded around. He picked up the first gift from Ukyou, and opened it, smiling all the while.
It was a fake okonomiyaki with words written on it. He curiously read the message and blushed.
"Well, boy." Genma called. "What’s it say?"
Ranma lifted the fake okonomiyaki out of the paper. Ukyou grinned broadly. "It says." He began, turning the fake food. "’A free, romantic night of music, drink, and okonomiyaki, at Ukyou’s restaurant." Ukyou grinned brighter. Ranma looked up from the message at Akane, and then turned his head to look at Ukyou, his eyes following his head moments later. "Thank you. I love it." He added. Ukyou frowned as Ranma took the next present.
--That was for me and Ranma, not him and Akane!-- She angrily thought, crossing her arms and steamed to herself.
Ranma continued to open presents until he came to Akane’s. The huge box he was handed insured he was in for a large gift. Akane knelt beside him, and watched him rip the paper off. He opened the bow and then slipped the guitar case slipped it into his lap. His eyes lighted up as he unsnapped the clamps and opened the lid. Everyone ‘oohed’ at the beauty of the instrument.
"Akane . . . how did you afford this?" He whispered to her. She stood up and hugged him, whispering in his ear.
"It took me along time, but I did it." Ranma stroked his fingers over the delicate wooden stringed instrument.
P-Chan snorted from the floor by Akane’s feet and she looked down at him. Ranma flashed the pig an evil glare as Akane picked the creature up and cradled him. Someone dimmed the lights and Akane looked up. Ranma turned to see what was happening and saw who he thought was Nabiki stand up. Acknowledgment swept across Akane’s face, she handed P-Chan to Ranma, and rushed after Nabiki into the kitchen. Ranma dropped P-Chan on the floor, disgusted.
Seconds later, all three Tendo girls came out of the kitchen.. Nabiki and Kasumi on either side, and Akane in the middle, carrying a three tier cake, sparking with seventeen candles. Ranma smiled, and everyone cleared a path for the three sisters. Ranma looked at Akane, and she smiled at him from behind the cake., barely able to see where she was headed. P-Chan watched the exchanges, and found he didn’t like them one bit.
He rushed towards Akane and laid down, curled tightly at in front of her. She took a step forward and tripped over the pigs little body. He squealed and she looked down, loosing her footing. She stumbled towards Ranma, wobbly. Nabiki and Kasumi gasped, as Akane fell flat on her face. The cake took flight and propelled itself directly at Ranma. It made a 9.8 landing and splattered all over the room.
P-Chan scrambled out of the way and Akane pulled herself off the floor. Several people laughed, at them. Ranma stood in rage, flinging cake off his cloths. Akane rushed to help him, and he shoved her away.
Several other people began laughing, as Kasumi cried over her wasted cake. Ranma furiously threw the remains of the cake on the floor and tired in vain to get it off his face. Soon, the whole room seemed alive with laugher. Ranma couldn’t take it. Rolls of laughter hit him.
--They’re laughing at me!!-- He madly thought. --How DARE they!!--
He stepped forward and slipped on a glob of icing. His legs went out from under him and he landed hard on his rear, his head bashing into the guitar case. More laugher as he moaned on the floor. A flicker of light below him caught his eye. He looked at his pants and screamed.
One of the candles hadn’t gone out, and instead, ignited the cuff of his pants of fire.
"Shiiiiiiiiiiiit!!!!!!" He cursed, bolting up, bumping heads with Akane who was leaning over him. he threw he aside, beginning to feel the licking hot flames against skin. He tore out of the house, like a bat out of hell, heading for the nearest body of water.
He dove head first into the fountain nearby, and quenched the flames consuming his pants. Several people followed him outside, others looked on from the window. Most everyone had ceased laughing.
Ranma-Chan emerged from the water, red hair dripping with water and chocolate frosting. Her pant legs were both burnt as were her legs. She splashed out of the water, and back into the house,, her face red with anger. She spied Akane and marched over to tell her fiancee off.
"Dammit, Akane!" She yelled, throwing the door open. Akane blinked, he was mad at her?!
"Don’t *even* try to blame this on me, Ranma!" She yelled before the drenched girl had time to accuse her.
"Who the hell do you expect me to blame it on then, clumsy?!" She challenged.
"Clumsy?!" Akane cried. "Why you little wimpy, cry baby!" She shot back.
"Wimpy?!" Ranma-Chan screamed back, rolling her sleeves up. "I’ll show YOU wimpy, tomboy!"
"You’re the girl in guys cloths!" Akane yelled back. Ranma-Chan flung her arms up.
"I am NOT going to do this!" She cried. "Not now, not on my birthday!" She scooped down and picked the cake cover guitar up. "I don’t want to see you again, Akane!" She yelled, pulling cake from in between the guitar string, finding it hopeless. "And take your stupid guitar with you!" She added, flinging the guitar, and case at Akane.
With that said, Ranma-Chan stormed over to the stairs, heading for her room. She never made it, running as blindly as she was up the stairs. It was no surprise that she lost her footing on the slippery cake beneath her shoes.
Both Ranma’s arms flew out to rebalance her, but nothing helped. She got her legs kicked out from under her and hit the stair case with her back, tumbling down the rest of them, and landing at the foot of the, motionless.
Akane screamed and rushed over to Ranma, throwing the guitar down as she did.
