Chapter Two

"Ranma, come here, let me show you some stuff we just got in," said the shop’s proprietor.

"Hatta, you know I’m not into the hentai stuff," Ranma said, shaking his head and putting his choices on the counter. Spawn, Pulp and a few mangas this week. He’d known Hatta since high school and he hadn’t changed in the least, physically or mentally. He was still the round, boyish figure he’d known back then, prone to girlie mags and parties involving large amounts of alcohol.

"I know, I know, but you’ll like this," he insisted, setting a largish box on the counter next to the register. He pulled out a comic with a very detailed drawing of a statuesque woman in full dominatrix gear holding whip. He proudly presented it to Ranma, adjusting his square framed glassed on the bridge of his nose.

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Hatta. . . ."

"Okay, okay, check this one out." He brought one out with an illustration of a puny-looking man surrounded by beautiful women in full, lurid color. "Hmmm?"

"No, Hatta. Not my style. Come on, ring me up and put that shit away."

"Just you wait, I’ll find one you’ll beg me to sell you," he grumbled, putting the box down on the floor next to the counter. "Maybe one featuring young, shapely researchers with ponytails?" he ventured, raising his eyebrows at his friend, managing to make himself look like a surprised owl.

"Hey, now. What’s that supposed to mean?" Ranma asked suspiciously, looking at him over his round, gold-rimmed glasses.

"Mean? Hey, are you implying something? Maybe you’re implying my best friend is infatuated by a certain co-worker of his? I know I certainly wouldn’t imply anything like that." Hatta was the picture of innocence as he primly totaled and bagged Ranma’s purchases.

"Cut the crap. How much do I owe you?" Ranma griped sourly.

"$38.82."

"You gouger. Is that with the discount?"

"Yes it’s with the discount. Like you can’t afford it anyway." Hatta took the two twenty dollar bills and gave Ranma his change. He leaned his elbows on the counter and eyed his friend speculatively. "You’ve seen her today."

"Who? How can you tell?" Ranma asked anxiously, looking quickly from side to side.

"You know who and you always look extra happy and you have this stupider than normal look on your face. Don’t deny it, I’ve known you almost longer than I’ve known myself." Hatta crossed his arms in a satisfied way over his black Deep Space 9 T-shirt.

"Okay, fine!" Ranma huffed. He leaned his elbows on the counter and said in a low voice, "She called me this morning."

"Oh yeah? What for? To set up a hot date?"

"No, to go into to office. She finally figured out where we were going wrong on the project. So we talked for a while about that and had breakfast at Sally’s."

"So what was she wearing?"

"Sneaks, blue jeans, mascot T-shirt and a blue zippered sweater."

"I knew that photographic memory of yours would pay off sometime," Hatta grinned, standing up straight to eyeball the kids flipping through the comics. "Hey, this ain’t a library, you know." They looked back at him and continued to flip through the comics.

"Go to hell," Ranma said good-naturedly.

"Not if you do first, buddy."

"Anyway, Hatta, I have to run. Gotta go shopping and all that, you know."

"Hey, I’m having kegger next Saturday, you should bring her," he invited.

Ranma snorted. "Hatta my friend, you are not going anywhere near her if I have anything to say about it. See you later!"

"Ja ne! Think about it!" he yelled as Ranma left the shop.

After leaving the comic shop, Ranma went to the store to stock up on groceries. He was trying to be more responsible about feeding himself and not getting too caught up in work. He was giving his mother way too much ammunition in the war over his marital status. After putting the groceries away, he decided he was feeling really good and dressed in shorts and a T-shirt for a run. Leaving his building, he noticed a van parked across the street from the structure.

‘That looks a lot like the van that I saw earlier at breakfast with ‘Kane,’ Ranma thought distractedly as he jogged down to the park down the street. Reaching the park, he put the van out of his mind and ran briskly around the sizeable park 3 times, passing mothers with children and frisbee-catching dogs. Stretching after the run, he once again saw the van, this time nonchalantly parked next to a playground area where children frolicked and mothers gossiped.

Narrowing his eyes, Ranma decided to try to get a closer look at the van and see if he could tell who was inside. It was white and had no markings other than the Ford emblem on the side. Stretching some more, Ranma started walking aimlessly in the van’s general direction. As he got closer, he heard the engine start up and watched it slowly drive away. He shook his head and jogged back to his apartment. ‘That’s weird. I wonder what that was all about. Coincidence, I guess.’