At six o’clock sharp, there was a knock on the door. When Kasumi answered it she said
“Oh, hello Alan. Are you here for Akane? I’m sure she’ll be right down. You can wait in here with my father.” The door to the dining room (AN: is that really called the ‘dining’ room??) was opened and Alan Breck came in. Nabiki looked up and whistled at her first sight of the mysterious Alan Breck, while Soun and Genma only briefly looked up from there game. Five minutes later, a noise was heard from right outside the door. Alan started to get up, but sat back down when Ranma came in.
“Hey, Nabiki, do you know where I can get some- oh. It’s you. I was hoping you wouldn’t show. Too bad.” Alan smiled at Ranma and said
“Why, Ranma, don’t tell me your jealous of Akane and me going out. I thought you didn’t like her.” Ranma bristled at the comment and was about to reply when Kasumi called out
“Alan! Akane’s ready!” The entire household gathered at the bottom of the stares to see how Akane would turn out. Everyone gasped when she came down. She was wearing a black turtleneck with short sleeves that hugged her very well proportioned figure. Instead of pants, she wore a short red skirt that clung to her waist, but hung loosely after that. When she reached the bottom of the stares, Alan took her hand and twirled her around, causing her knee length skirt to flair out, showing almost too much. Her white, bobby-sock-ish shoes squeaked on the floor as she spun, but they were obviously made for dancing and complimented her tiny feet. To finish off the twirl, Alan dipped her, then stood her up and said,
“You look perfect.” She smiled at him and said.
“Thank you. You don’t look so bad yourself.” Alan looked down at his black pinstriped swing suit (AN: I was going to call it a Zoot Suit, but I didn’t know if you people out there knew what that was…) and laughed.
“Well, at least we dressed the part, right, Akane?” She laughed and he extended his arm to her. When she accepted, Ranma almost choked. When he opened his mouth, Akane looked at him and said,
“Remember, Ranma, you told me you’d be good.” To emphasize her point, she squeezed the air, making her sword flicker in and out of being. The she swept her hand threw her sword, causing it to disappear. Turning to her father, she said
“Well, Daddy, off we go.” He smiled at her and said
“Yes, well, have fun and-“ here he turned into the huge demon head and said to Alan “have her back by eleven o’clock, unharmed, or else!” turning back to his normal self he hugged Akane and started crying. “Oh, my baby’s all grown up!” Akane laughed and Alan lead her out of the gate. She turned to him and said,
“I’m sorry my dad’s like that…he really can’t help it.” Alan smiled at her and replied,
“Don’t worry. I respect him for being so protective. After all, you’re so beautiful, who knows what a cad like me might do.” She blushed and punched him lightly in the shoulder,
“Oh, stop it. Anyway, what’s the Shelter like?” He laughed and answered,
“It’s a lot of fun. It’s a swing dancing club that serves dinner.” When Akane looked distressed, Alan asked her what was the matter. She blushed and answered,
“Oh, well, I, um…I’ve never been swing dancing…It’s not very popular here…” Alan looked at her, surprised, then he smiled.
“Don’t worry! I can teach you! It’ll be fun!” Akane smiled back at him as he hailed a Taxi. Five minutes later, Akane and Alan stepped out of the Taxi and found themselves at the door of a small building in the upper part of town that had a neon glowing sign which read: The Shelter.
“Here we are! The Shelter.” Akane looked at Alan nervously and said a prayer that she wouldn’t mess up as Alan opened the door. As soon as she stepped in the door, music enveloped her. She looked around as people bobbed their heads, tapped their toes, and danced to the music. Akane stole a look at the dance floor as Alan led her towards a table. Couples moved across the floor as one in intricate moves that kept them in very close quarters. In the center of the dance floor, two people did amazing aerial throws that sent the girl high over the boy’s head. Each time the couple did one of these throws or a flip, the crowd cheered for more. Akane tugged on Alan’s suit. When he bent his head down to hear her, she whispered,
“I don’t think I can do that.” He smiled at her and said,
“Don’t worry! When you’re fighting, you flip mid-air, right? Well, this is like that. Only you don’t propel yourself, I throw you.” He laughed at her worried expression and told her not to worry. “By the end of the night, we will be the best couple in the room!” She rewarded his optimism with a smile. After eating a small dinner, Alan asked Akane if she wanted to learn how to swing dance. After watching all the couples dance for a while she was more than eager. Taking her to the side of the floor where the new couples went to learn, Alan started teaching her moves. Starting with the box step, which looked something like a line dance for two people, he continued to teach her trick after trick until he thought she was ready to dance. Leading her threw the thick of people, he took her hand and put his other on her waist. After she put her hand on his shoulder, Alan began moving with the music and she soon caught on to the beat he was moving to. After getting the rhythm down, Alan lead Akane in some of the simpler moves he had taught her. After two songs were danced using only the simplest of moves, Alan upgraded to harder ground moves and simpler flips. Two songs more and harder flips were used along with very simple throws. Another song passed and Alan was leading Akane in the most complex throws on the floor. Less than two songs later Alan began making up moves of his own and Akane adapted perfectly. One hour after the initial dance moves had been taught the floor was cleared for a dance off between the two best couples. Akane and Alan danced against the other couple in three songs, two fast and one seductively slow. When the songs were over, Akane and Alan were declared the best couple on the floor.

~**~

When Akane left with Alan, Ranma had been very quiet. Shortly after dinner, he had gone up to the roof and had not been seen again. When Akane and Alan came into view, Ranma was the first to see them. As they came closer he realized that he could hear music. Alan had bought a CD from the club and was playing it on a small, portable CD player he had in his hand. A familiar song called Zoot Suit Riot started playing and Alan grabbed Akane’s hand and they started dancing, using the hardest ground moves along with flips and throws. Ranma was surprised to find that Akane was such a good swing dancer. As the final beats of the song played out Akane said goodbye to Alan and ‘Charleston’-ed into the house. Alan laughed at the display and mimicked her actions down the street. Ranma watched him hail a taxi and get in. After the taxi carrying Alan disappeared from his view, Ranma took a beep breath and thanked the stars that Akane was home safe before going back into the house to see how Akane’s date had gone.

~**~

The next day Akane danced everywhere she went and occasionally broke out into the chorus of one swing song or another. Around one o’clock it got to be too much for Ranma and he went to the Dojo to practice. Half an hour later he heard Akane coming to practice. Her footsteps were uneven as she paused every now and then to Box Step or Charleston. Ranma sighed as she threw open the door and stepped in.
“Oh! Ranma! Hi! So this is where you escaped to.” Ranma sighed again and started his practice from where he left off. Five minutes later Akane was finished warming up and she asked,
“Hey, Ranma? Would you, um, spar…with me? Please? I don’t know why, but the more I draw my sword the easier it is and the better I am. So…would you?” Ranma looked over at her and consented.
“Ok, but only if you promise not to hit me with that sword of yours. It really hurts, so pull your blows. I will, too, for fairness’ sake. Ok? First one hit in a fatal place or pin the other wins.” She smiled at him and nodded. As he stretched his arms in anticipation, she drew her sword from the same place she put it after she was done with it.
“And no ki blasts!” Ranma said.
*Heaven knows she has enough of the stuff…*
Akane smiled and they both struck a defensive pose. Akane launched the first attack, as she always did. She front flipped over Ranma’s head and slashed with her sword when she had a clear shot at his back. Ranma felt her move behind him and leapt into the air, avoiding the blow. As soon as she hit the floor, Akane ran at Ranma. Though her running seemed to be slower than usual, Ranma could sense that the Akane he could see was not the real one. Somehow, she had created a duplicate to distract him while she sneaked up on him. Pretending that he didn’t notice her, he allowed her to get in striking distance. When she was about to tap his vital spot with her sword, Ranma spun around and grabbed her wrist with a cry of “Ha!” Twisting her arm ever so slightly, he made her drop her sword, which disappeared before it hit the ground.
“I win!” he cried.
“Not yet!” she countered as she pulled her sword put of the N-dimension it had gone to. Touching the tip of it to Ranma’s hand, she backed away.
“Hey!” he cried, “You dropped that!” She grinned at him and said,
“Ha! That’s what you think. This sword is a part of me. It is an extension of my will. If I drop it, it goes where I can call it whenever I want it. My sword is always in my hand, even if you can’t see it!” As she said this last part she lunged at Ranma. When he dodged her blow she suddenly changed her point of aim and came up to on his left side, touching her blade to his left shoulder.
“Ha ha!” she cried, “You can’t use that arm anymore! I cut it off!” He shrugged and said,
“Fine. My turn.” As she watched him he blurred.
“W-what?” As she looked at the spot he had been in, she suddenly became aware of his presence as it moved around the room.
*He’s so fast! But…how am I sensing him? Is this how fight’s go between Ranma and Ryoga?*
Suddenly, he was behind her. By dropping on the floor and rolling she barley avoided ‘loosing’ her right arm.
“Almost!” he cried. She laughed and replied,
“Almost only count’s in hoarse shoes and hand grenades!” Again he blurred, but this time she could tell where he was very clearly. As he attached her from behind she dodged easily.
“Darn it, Akane, how are you doing that?” She laughed at the frustration in his voice.
“Doing what, Ranma?” Again he blurred and again he missed.
“That! Two days ago you couldn’t even have touched me, let alone dodge my moves! Today, you’ve cut off my left arm and I can’t hit you! What happened?” She looked honestly confused.
“I dunno. I think it’s my sword. Having it seems to have boosted my fighting ability. It’s fun to have, but I have to tell you, I’m gonna have to kill you pretty soon. My hands are killing me!” Ranma laughed and attacked her again. This time when she dodged, Ranma turned her trick on her and intercepted her retreat, ‘cutting off’ her right arm.
“There!” he said. “I win! You can’t hold your sword anymore!” Akane laughed, tossed her sword it her left hand, and continued fighting.
*Damn!* Ranma thought as he dodged he attacks *She’s even better fighting left handed!* As Ranma lunged at her he asked,
“So, Akane, what are you gonna do tonight?” She dodged and replied,
“I dunno. Maybe Alan or someone will call and I’ll go out.” She front flipped to get out of his range of attack and took a stab at him with her sword.
“Why?” She questioned. He moved to the side to avoid loosing, and hand sprung across the room to get the speed necessary for his next attack.
“I dunno. I was just wondering if maybe…” he left his sentence hanging as he ran towards her, jumping over her head at the last moment, attempting to kick her from behind. She realized this and front flipped to get away from him in time.
“Maybe what?” She let her sword go and hand sprung over to him, slid threw his legs, re-drew her sword and up-slashed, attempting to cut his back. “I dunno,” he said while dodging,
“Maybe you wanted to go out-” She flipped over his head and slashed at his neck. He blocked the blow with his sleeve, which turned the same color as her sword before returning to normal, and got under her defenses. Once past the sword, he was confident that he would win. Never get confident.
“Sword to dagger!” Once she uttered this, her magnificent sword shrunk to the size of a dagger and she slash at him with this, causing him to flip over her head to avoid loosing the match.
“Dagger to sword!” the sword extended again and she stood in the ready position.
“Hey!” Ranma cried, “That was really cool! How did you do that?” She blinked and shrugged,
“There’s another really big ‘dunno’. How did I do that? I knew I needed something a little smaller than my sword, so I told it what to do and it did it. Anyway, here I come.” This said, she lunged at Ranma and he dodged casually remarking,
“So, I was thinking that you could go out with-“ he kicked at her and she blocked with her swords hilt, using the opening to land a really light punch on Ranma’s chin. As Akane’s swing turned her torso, Ranma back flipped away from her. When he landed he rubbed his chin.
“Nice one, Akane.” She gave him a little bow and said,
“Thank you. Now, you were thinking I could go out with…” Ranma lunged at her with a punch but changed at the last moment to a kick and got Akane lightly in the midsection. He skidded to a stop a few feet away.
“Well, I just don’t think you should have ta go out with the some guy twice in a row, that’s all.” Akane ran toward him and flipped over his head. Once she was behind him she twirled her sword in her hand so that it was facing his neck and stabbed. Ranma knew what she was doing and jumped to the side, her sword just grazing his shirt. She laughed and said,
“And you were thinking you could set me up with some martial artiest somewhere so the I don’t go out with Alan?” Ranma ran at her, flipped over her head, crouched when he hit the floor, and kicked her legs out from under her. She landed on the floor with a painful “Oomph!” but soon she was back up and running at him.
“No!” Ranma defended while dodging, “That’s not what I meant.” Akane threw a punch at him and asked, “Oh? Then you want me to pick my date? ‘Hello, is Kuno there?’” They both stopped and looked at each other a moment, sharing a shiver and a “Yuck”, then they were back at it. Ranma took a moment from dodging Akane’s lightning fast blows to note that her style reminded him more of fencing than of a samurai. “No, it’s just that-“ She interrupted him with a thrust of her sword and a good-natured smile.
“What? You’d rather it be Ryoga? Or Mousse?” Ranma was tired of playing games. When she came at him with her sword he knocked out of her hand with a high kick, grabbed her hands, and pinned her against the far Dojo wall before she could re-call her sword.
“Damn it, Akane, you’re not making this easy for me!” She looked at him, startled out of her smile. He wasn’t looking at her, but he still held her pinned.
“R-Ranma…?” He looked up at her and murmured,
“I don’t want you going out with Breck. Or Ryoga or Mousse. I…I wanted you to go out with…me…” He let her wrists go and walked towards the door of the Dojo. A few feet before the door she called his name. He paused, not daring to take his eyes off of the floor.
“Ranma. I didn’t understand what you were talking about. I didn’t think you’d ever want to go out with a tom-boy like me.” He nodded his understanding and turned away, crushed that she wasn’t going to go out with him.
“Wait, stupid! I’m not finished! I’d love to go out with you tonight.” The surprise of her actually accepting caused him to look at her. She was standing in the exact same spot he had left her. She was smiling at him. Right. At. Him. He enjoyed her smile and returned it.
“So,” she said, walking toward him, “what time are you gonna pick me up and where are we going?” (AN: ‘Nother really big problem. I dunno what kinda clubs they have in Nerma. So I’m making all of the clubs up! Yes I am! I am doing this equipped only with the music I have in my house…so there it is. Please don’t sue and/or kill me!! Thank you.) He blinked and stammered,
“W-well, I thought we could go to my favorite restaurant called the Starlight Cafe. (AN: WA-hahahahaha!!) It’s a really nice black tie dance club. The food isn’t bad, either.” Akane flinched when he said ‘dance’.
“Dance? Like, swing dance? I mean, don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot of fun, I just can’t do it two nights in a row.” Ranma smiled at her and replied,
“No, not swing dancing. Remember, I said ‘black tie’ nightclub. Very classy. You’ll have to wear an evening gown. But make sure you can dance in it. The music there is very…old. But good. Y’know, 1940’s and 50’s. Big band stuff.” Akane looked at Ranma in mild surprise.
“What?” He asked when he noticed.
“Oh, nothing. I mean, no offense, but I wouldn’t have seen you as a big band kinda guy. You surprise me daily.” Ranma smiled,
“Thanks. Oh, and, by the way, Akane.” She turned and looked at him. Suddenly he was right beside her. “You fought really well, but remember who won.” He bopped her on the nose and went whistling into the house to tell Mr. Tendo that he was taking Akane out. She smiled and followed him in.

~**~

“Akane! Phone!” Akane was sitting on the steps, getting ready to go dress shopping with Nabiki and Kasumi.
“I’m busy, Nabiki! Take a message!” Nabiki huffed and said fine, but it was going to cost.
“I’m sorry, she can’t come to the phone. Can I take a message?” (AN: That’s how I do it anyway…) The voice on the other end countered a question with a question,
“Would you please tell her that it’s Alan?” Nabiki put the phone down and told Akane who was on the other end of the phone. Akane immediately hopped over to the phone, while at the same time trying to put on her other shoe.
“Hi, Alan! You picked a really bad time to call, I’m about to go out with my sisters.”
“Really? Well, this’ll only take a minute. I had such a great time last night that I thought we could maybe go see a movie or something tonight.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Alan. I can’t tonight. I have a date,” Akane looked over into the other room and caught Ranma’s eye before continuing, “With Ranma.” Over in his house Alan clutched the phone so tightly that it started to crack.
“Oh, really? That’s too bad. Well, maybe tomorrow.”
“Actually, my family and I have plans then.”
“Well, how about the next night.” Akane laughed on her end of the phone.
“I make a point not to make plans that far in advance. Too many things can happen in my life to interfere. Sorry.”
“It’s ok. Maybe some other time.” Alan heard one of Akane’s sisters calling her and then she sighed, saying, “Definitely. Well, I gotta go. See ya later, Alan!”
“Bye!” He put down the phone and looked at the receiver. “Touché, Soatome. Very good. But I will win in the end. I will.”

~**~

Later that night was a replica of the previous. The only major differences were that the date was Ranma, Kasumi and Nabiki were both helping Akane dress, and Genma and Soun both kept sending glances at Ranma, then getting into a huddle to discus something. A wedding, probably. Minutes ticked by like hours for Ranma as he waited. Finally, an eternity later, Nabiki’s voice rang out,
“She’s ready!” Ranma, Soun, and Genma waited for her at the bottom of the stares. First Nabiki came down. She gave Ranma a thumbs up sign and winked at him. Next Kasumi came down. She looked at Ranma and grinned. Ranma gulped. Anything that could make Kasumi grin was going to be big. And it was. Every one caught their breath as Akane descended the stares. She wore a dark, midnight blue gown that sat just off her shoulders. The gown fit her perfectly, emphasizing a curvy figure and tiny waist. The skirt had tiny, diamond like thinks sewn into it and sparkled as she moved. The dress was made of dark blue silk with black velvet trimming around the sleeves and neck. Diamond droplet earrings dangled from her ears while a single diamond hung around her neck. She wore matching high heel shoes that complemented her grace. A single red rose was tucked behind her left ear, adding to the stunning beauty of her face. Her red lips were darkened by lipstick, and light eye shadow, mascara, and blush could be found if one cared to look for them. Everyone, save Kasumi and Nabiki, was speechless. Finally it got to be too much for Akane who asked,
“Well? What do you think?” Genma fainted and Ranma sputtered. Akane bit her lip and looked at her father. He stood oddly still, smiling a small smile none of the girls had seen since their mother died.
“Akane.” he breathed and cupped her face in his hands. He looked down at her necklace and Kasumi piped up,
“It was mother’s. Doesn’t it look wonderful on her, father?” Soun looked back at his youngest daughter and nodded, for he was too choked up to say much.
“You-“ he choked out before having to stop and take a deep breath. “You look just like your mother. A stunning beauty with a kind heart. I’m so proud of you.” He hugged her and she held him close.
“Thank you, Daddy. That means a lot to me.” Father released daughter and he gave her hand to Ranma.
“Take care of her. If she comes home with anything but tears of joy and happiness…” he let his threat hang. Ranma nodded and said,
“Don’t worry, Mr. Tendo. I won’t let anything ruin this date. Right, Nabiki?” He continued, handing her a wad of bills. She waved the bills off,
“No fee this time. But if you hurt her…” She smiled at him and he grinned back. "Don’t worry, Ranma, no one will ruin your date. When I’m done, all of your enemies, not to mention fiancées, will be in far off countries. I guarantee it.” Ranma smiled at them all and he and Akane said good bye and stepped out into the night.

Next time on Crossfire: THE DATE! THE DATE!! THE DATE!!! Need I say more? Tune in next time for: Chapter 4!