Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Don't you know it's love ❯ Chapter 12

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

"Good night, Herb."
"Same to you."
She went off into the hall. She wouldn't be staying. I'd have the room to myself thanks to some last-minute reservations.
Somehow I didn't like that idea.
It was a good inn; there was no denying that. It had been built as part of the ski retreat, very costly but worth every yuan (or yen, whatever) of it. It was also a small inn. Our entire assemblage took up perhaps half of the rooms. There weren't very many other people in the inn, though. Most of the Japanese were at the bigger, modern Western ones that were also owned by whatever conglomerate built this place. Typical of them.
The futon was perfect. I lay on it and tried to find unintentional designs in the ceiling. I picked out a perfect map of France from it. Or maybe there wasn't any map. Maybe I was just fooling myself. I'd only seen a map of France once anyhow. What would I know about France?
Anyhow…

Shampoo raised one eyebrow skeptically. "He's not with u- in here?"
Mint put down her trunk. "No, he said something about being with Kasumi."
Shampoo made a strange noise that Mint interpreted to mean disdain and opened the door. "Good." Before Mint could ask any questions she added, "And no sneaking after me," doing everything but announcing flat-out exactly what she was going to do. And he could guess, and guess right.
"All right."
She scowled good-naturedly. "If you have no intention of supporting your words, I suggest you leave immediately or feel a world of pain."
Mint smiled in response. "All right."
She stepped out and shut the door. "Fahn-tong," she muttered, though she knew she didn't mean it.
"Don't you worry," she whispered to nobody. "I am eternally faithful to you, Saotome Ranma." But even as she said so, she doubted the sincerity of her words.
The way he had looked at her when Herb hugged Nabiki…
What's the matter with you? He's some Jakou Ouchou child, none of your concern, only fifteen…
The other side of her brain sent a stinging retort.Perfume, your loyal friend, is fifteen, too.
I'd rather not think about that.
Too bad.
"Coincidence," she muttered. "Pure and total coincidence. They have the same birth day; both are the same year, so what? So what? Coincidence, that's all."
Somewhat satisfied by this explanation, she headed down the hall for the baths.

Shampoo returned after a while, to find Ranma sitting on the bed.
"Sorry," Mint said, indicating the jacket and pants, near identical to Ranma's set except for the fact that the pants were yellow. "They were selling them at the store this week and I thought it was a good idea."
"That's all right," she replied briefly, then sat down on the futon. "Turn around."
He docilely did so, staring at the wall as intently as if he were watching a movie. Just to be safe, Shampoo watched him as she pulled off the yukata and slipped into a clean set of her usual clothes. "All right."
Mint turned back and blinked as something occurred to him. "Is that the only sort of clothing you have?"
She blinked, then felt faintly insulted. "I might ask the same thing of you."
"Does what you just said count as asking it?"
"I suppose," she replied idly, running a rabbit-carved comb through her compliant hair.
He nodded. "I guess."
Shampoo indicated her trunk and her rucksack lying across it. "And to answer your original question, yes, I do have some others."
"Could I see them?"
She blinked, then decided the question was totally innocuous. "Maybe on Sunday. Oh, and one question." Why did I just say that?
"What?"
"Is that hat of yours real?" She indicated it.
Mint looked lost for a moment, then surprised. "It's an imitation, of course!" he stated with firmness. "D'you think real wolves have got tails sprouting out of the backs of their necks?"
Shampoo smiled faintly. "Good night."
"Good night."
She fell asleep quickly, judging by the speed at which her breathing became the consistent noise of a sleeping person. Mint was awake for a while after that, reflecting.
There was the possibility she actually liked him. Just a possibility, of course, but it very well could be. In that case, all that talk about not marrying him willingly was just pretending…
Mint smiled at his own, albeit silly, insight, and soon his inhalation-exhalation became as rhythmic as Shampoo's as he retired into his own dreams.

Shampoo brushed hair from her face and noted the time: 7:21; the Japanese food spread out on the short-legged table, then the fact that Mint's futon was gone. There was a sheet of old-style paper lying next to hers, face down, which she grabbed and held up to her face. Strong, graceful characters appeared before her eyes. She recognized them immediately.

Shampoo,
Went to get something. Will be back by eight.
I love you,
Mint

For a moment she was so mortified she was rendered immobile. Then she slowly slid the paper under her futon.

Mint, for his part, was in the gift shop, looking over the flowers on sale.
He grimaced as he examined them-not a single fresh one. Some were even markedly brown. And the prices were ridiculous!
Besides, he had to admit, Shampoo did not strike him as liking flowers.
Sighing, he turned his attention to the other items in the store, mentally ruling out postcards, key chains, and the like. He'd have to come back to the inn with a piece of junk if this kept up, and he didn't want to give any junk to Shampoo.
Then he saw the katana.
It was obviously not in the same category as the rest of the junk in the shop. It was faultless, he could tell, he had experience with these things. He'd been around swords since he was five, when he'd been given his first one, bamboo. And he'd gotten a metal one five years later. He'd had plenty of experience.
He would have loved to have it, but he couldn't.
Mint picked it up, almost gave it a swing but stopped himself. He didn't need to anyway. He could tell it was perfect. 7500 YEN, the price tag said. He counted out the right amount and paid for it, then headed back for the inn.

I saw Mousse in the inn hall. He was yelling at Perfume, Shampoo's loyal friend.
"You! You die!"
"Wait a minute."
"You think I'll wait? You stole Shampoo, you… you…" Apparently he couldn't think of a word bad enough. She cut in.
"Mousse… put on your glasses."
He did, and screamed in shock. "Oh! Perfume! I'm sorry!"
"Oh, that's perfectly all right."
"It's just, well, your hair…it's the same color as that…"
"Thank you for your observation."
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so very sorry!"
She lifted an eyebrow. "Are you rehearsing for talking to Shampoo?"
"Ummmm. Yeah…" He didn't sound quite real. "Of course that's what I'm doing? What else could I have been doing? Ah ha ha ha!"
I walked by into the room without either of them noticing.

Shampoo had it by heart. I do not love you. I do not! It's Saotome Ranma I love, not you. She memorized it so she could recite it ten times over without a single variation.
But when he walked in, no words came out.
When her voice was retrieved, she heard herself say, "Is that… is that…"
Mint nodded, laying it on the tatami and sitting down cross-legged. Through some instinct, she did so as well, the katana lying there between them.
"You got it for me?"
"Yes, of course I did!"
Shampoo was briefly stupefied by the enthusiasm in his voice. Then the agony began to spill out of her soul. She was able to keep it in herself for the time being. "Did you really?"
"Yes. I know you like this kind of thing."
"So…" Come on, say it, what are you afraid of? "Do you really like me?"
"Yes," he said without hesitation. "I do like you. You're smart, and you're cute."
It took longer to recover this time. "Thank… you…" She turned away, feeling the flow of blood to her face. "I can't."
Mint jerked up. His eyes grew large. "What the… how can you can't?" His voice was utterly devoid of any harsh tones.
"I can't."
"Why not? I mean, I did beat you and all, didn't I? Or was that not quite a defeat? I guess running you over isn't a defeat especially since you weren't fighting me to start with… I can understand that…"
"I just can't, okay?" She faced the wall, the itching in her nose starting. "I can't. Saotome Ranma…"
Mint came over and tentatively placed one hand on her shoulder. She didn't push it away. "Didn't you see… in the Nekohanten?"
"See what in the Nekohanten?" she replied, though she knew. She knew.
"You were with us, remember? You saw, didn't you?"

"This girl, you see, might be uncute… and she's strong, so she won't get hurt. But… what you did to Akane, you really shouldn't have done that…so I will return the favor and throw youout!"

Shampoo blinked and felt the tears just beginning to fall like her personal cloudburst. "Yes… I saw…"
"I'm sorry."
"You don't need to be…"
"This is all my stupid fault. If only I'd noticed you instead of keeping both eyes on him…"
"If only that fahn-tong hadn't called for a delivery…"
"Then we wouldn't be here would we?"
She smiled through the tears. "We definitely wouldn't have."
"So let's thank Mousse and that guy for this."
Cautiously, as if any moment Ranma would change his mind and then it would be too late, she hugged him again. "Yes, let's."
Wo ai ni.