Magic was a little bit new to the two boys, but after seeing Ranma change that first time... well, it was a little bit tricky to deny wasn't it? And it became just a little bit harder still each and every time some new kind of magic happened right there before their very eyes. The two of them generally stayed out of the action as much as possible, observed what was going on with rapidly diminishing disbelief and most importantly managed to learn something by being just outside those situations.
"We should be careful with this," Hiroshi said after a moment of uncertain silence. "If we rush in to use it right away, there's no telling what might happen."
"I completely agree," Daisuke nodded in agreement, and he frowned as Hiroshi suddenly looked up at him with narrowing eyes.
"See, this is what I'm talking about! Are you agreeing with me because you agree with me, or because of the book?"
Daisuke opened his mouth to defend his agreement with his buddy's opinion, but stopped dead. That was actually a good point. How could he be certain that the book's magic wasn't having an effect on the two of them right there and then? "In that case, we need to watch what we say to each other. I mean, the last thing either of us needs is to talk the other into a bad idea that easily."
"You're right!" Hiroshi winced as soon as the words left his mouth. "This could be harder than it first appears." Before Daisuke could respond, Hiroshi shot him a warning glance. "And don't say you agree with me! Let's try to figure out what we should do without using the magic to persuade each other by accident, alright? Ah! Never mind that for now, we have company..."
For a moment, Daisuke wondered what he meant but only until he looked behind himself and saw Akane approach and greet the two of them with a friendly smile.
"Hello Daisuke," she said. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything."
"Not at all!" Daisuke said. "How can we help you?"
"Well, I started thinking about that anime series you mentioned. It sounded kind of funny, so I was wondering... Could you tell me when it's on? Or, do you own a copy so I can see it? I'd really like to check it out!"
The two boys were left dumbfounded by this. Akane Tendo, asking them about a harem anime? Thinking it sounded funny? "Are you sure you want to check it out?" Daisuke asked, quite without thinking.
Akane frowned in concentration. "Now that you mention it, this sort of thing isn't usually my taste. What do you think, is it worth my time? Would I enjoy it?"
"Um... Sure thing! I... Uh... I'll get you the tapes tomorrow."
One bright smile that turned the boy's legs into jelly, and then she was gone. Neither of them said anything for about a minute after she was out of sight, before Hiroshi said "Well now we've gone and done it! We've turned Akane Tendo into a harem anime enthusiast."
What went unsaid was another series of thoughts that passed through both of their minds, that went somewhere along the following lines: If Akane is here, Ranma might be here too. If Ranma's here, he might come over for a chat. If that happens, there's a pretty good chance one of them would say something that would have... consequences. Or maybe one of his friends would show up and kick something off. Suddenly, it felt like a very good idea to leave with some immediacy, study the book somewhere much less public and then see if they could use it to their advantage.
"Where should we head?"
"My place is nearer."
Neither of them knew they could move so quickly, and in fact they remained rather unaware of the fact given that they were imagining just what sort of hell they might summon down upon themselves if they stayed too long in the approximate vicinity of Ranma Saotome with a magical book in their possession. The book was checked out under Hiroshi's name, and the two fled with tremendous haste towards Daisuke's. There the two could plan more effectively. There, the two need not worry about the inevitable chaos that would otherwise surely erupt.
Sat Jan 07 22:58:50 2012
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