My second attempt at a Ryoga/Ukyo fanfiction. Hopefully this inspires a new trend of more fanfics between these two.
I went for a bit of a twist with how she would react to unknowingly meeting him in his cursed form. Plenty of fluff
please follow, favourite and review as I greatly appreciate it
Ukyo hummed to herself as she continued on the long journey home, an umbrella atop her head and the rain pouring down all around her. But then again in the summers, heavy but warm rain was to be expected. She was only relieved to have protection or she would be doing a mad dash home in hopes of protecting her shopping and getting home before she got sick.
It was always good to be prepared for anything, her father had always taught her to follow her instincts. Be in cooking or martial arts, as that sort of thing would save your life. So she had taken her umbrella just in case upon seeing the heavy cloud cover over the city, good thing too before things had become this bad. God knows she would be worse off if not.
She carried ingredients for dinner on her arm as she held her umbrella tightly with two hands. You never know if the winds would pick up with rain this heavy, so it was better to be safe than sorry. Nothing much mind you, dinner ingredient and things for breakfast, given she lived on her own shopping was always cheap. But she also had to unpack and check all the shipments of ingredients for her produce.
But she doubted she would be able to get many customers at the minute due to the heavy rain. So, things were rather slow at the shop meaning she had to find other ways to pass her time to prevent being bored out of her mind. But it always helped to keep the shop in check and prepared, just because she had no customers did not mean she would neglect her duties and responsibilities.
She had an income to make and rent to pay, customers helped with that but thankfully her father sent her money for other means. But she could take things easy for a while, do her own thing and even train her skills. She couldn't remember the last time she had time off, given she was either at school or working at the shop as of late. It would be good to put her feet up and do her own thing.
Due to how heavy and serious the rain had become; the school was closed to prevent being trapped in the area. There had been serious flooding in certain areas which had left a lot of people so far nothing serious like landslides and such had happened. People were helping each other but no warning alerts had been sent out so not many people were concerned about anything serious.
However, the ground got soft from how much water would be absorbed and would become uneasy in certain areas. She was only glad she lived in the centre of Nerima as she was out of the danger zone, meaning her home would be safe. Though she did wonder how long it would be before the drains started to overflow, then things would become troublesome.
Suddenly, she was snapped out of her train of thought when she heard something. Though it was quiet due to the heavy patter, muffled for a better word. As she pricked up her ears with her hands, she heard it better. Oinking and whining, animal sounds. But it sounded distressed, like an animal did when its in pain. A feeling of concern came over her, kids could be dicks when bored. Often using animals as a form of entertainment due to a lack of understanding, or innocent curiosity.
She found herself running faster on her feet, the pattering and splashing of her feet on wet ground and puddles echoing. She followed the sound like a hunter seeking its prey until she found what she was looking for. She then came to a halted stop, a look of surprise on her face as she caught her breath. There, sitting there soaked to the bone, shaking like a leaf, sneezing and scraped up was Akane's beloved pet pig.
What on earth was he doing out her by himself, usually Akane never let him out of his sight. Hell, the time some psycho ice skater had kidnapped him to add to her collection until they had got him back. But he had a habit of doing a vanishing act on her and going off for long period of time. Which made her think she had simply adopted a stray pig that liked to wonder off, much like a cat.
Though she didn't show it often, Akane did have a strong maternal side that she herself was not aware of but others were. She had often overheard conversations about future grandchildren from Genma and Suon, which did upset her at times given her strong romantic feelings for Ranma. These feelings Akane conveyed towards P-chan to vent her internal maternal instincts.
She herself had no pets to speak of but growing up she had been friendly with local cats and dogs. But she could not abandon anyone in need, human or animal as it was not in her nature. She then approached P-chan, aware that he often lashed out at Ranma due to a strong dislike of him. So, she was self-aware of the fact that despite meaning no harm he could still act out to protect himself.
She reached out her hand gently making cooing sounds to get his attention. Showing a friendly yet cautious air to show she meant him no harm. Before she could help him, she needed to earn his trust. If she spooked him in any way, he would run off and if she showed some form of accidental threat he would attack her and bolt off to god knows where.
P-chan looked up at her shyly, his brown eyes big and full of sadness. However, she saw a shine of surprise in his eyes as he recognized the face of Ukyo approaching him cautiously. From their past encounters, he had become wary of her but saw her as no threat. She was supposedly Ranma's fiancé as arranged by his lousy father Genma, but her feelings appeared to be very one sided. But they had a mutual friendship which had blossomed since their adolescence.
In his opinion she was an alright girl, even feeling comfortable in her company. He did enjoy going to her for a free meal and venting his problems. He considered his options here before he decided anything. He didn't want to face Ranma, and he deeply cared for and loved Akane. But he was too tired to keep going, hunger and exhaustion finally getting to him. Needing to rest.
Ukyo smiled at him warmly, her blue eyes gentle and patient "C'mere little guy, its alright. I'll clean you up and get ya fed" she reassured him. He had nothing to fear now, he was safe and she would do her best to help him feel better. Though she had nothing fancy, she had enough to fill his empty belly. Sadly he wouldn't be able to enjoy Kasumi's cooking for a while.
Ryoga hesitated, he couldn't touch hot water, or he would revert. Given he was soaking wet and cold it was only natural that she would want to warm him up via a hot bath. What if she was naïve in that sense like Akane, but he didn't really have another option here. He had no idea of how far away he was from the Tendou dojo and if he kept going he knew he would collapse leaving him in danger. He then approached Ukyo shakily, ready to bolt if he sensed any ill intent.
He sniffed her hand for a while before allowing her to finally pick up and shelter him from the rain. However, she was unfazed by his wet body, usually girls hated anything slimy, dirty and wet. She really was a tomboy, no wonder she and Ukyo got along so well. Ukyo then pressed him against her chest, causing Ryoga's heart to skip a beat and his face to flush bright red. He was more than used to being close to Akane like this, but this was Ukyo. If she even sensed his true identity, he was dead.
Though Akane was naive to his human form and Ryoga being the same person, Ukyo not so much. So he had to avoid any way of his identity being revealed out of fear of what she would do. She slid the shopping bag down her arm until she was comfortable, then continued her journey home humming to herself. Though she had not expected to find a runaway on the way home, she would do her best to help it recover.
Ukyo placed P-chan on a pillow contently, having dried him off with a warm towel and now getting around to making dinner. He was now safe and warm, wondering what would have happened to the poor thing if she hadn't found him. He could have starved to death, been eaten by stray dogs, or even drowned if he ended up falling into deep and heavy waters.
Though it was nothing fancy, she was still a decent cook regardless. Curry and rice was still delicious and filling, she had never liked it overly spicy and a little on the sweet side. Odd she knew but that was how she liked it. She had odd tastes in food since she was a kid, but her palate was sure as hell better than say Akane and her cooking creations.
Ryoga stared around the room quietly, sniffing and oinking as he took in his new and unfamiliar surroundings. He couldn't stop watching her for whatever reason, unable to believe she lived alone. Relying on only herself like him. She had left her family behind, despite only being in high school she fended for herself and made money from her work. She had no family like everyone else, god knows how often she saw them. He felt bad for the poor girl, she must miss them terribly.
Despite having friends, he wondered if she ever got lonely. I mean spending time with your friends was fun, but you didn't get to see them all the time which would cause you to miss their presence. Having nobody to keep her company until they visited, or she got a delivery. Hell, he couldn't even see a phone in order to contact anyone. That must have sucked.
Ukyo then served up a small bowl of curry for P-chan, and a plate of it for herself with rice. It smelled delicious and Ryoga's stomach growled as the aromas of the meal wafted up his nose like sweet perfume. "Not too spicy for ya, and there's plenty more where that came from" she replied playfully. The poor guy must have been starving, sitting out there alone without food, water or shelter.
Ryoga blushed profusely, she had saved him though she had not been obligated to. She had cleaned his scrapes, patched him up, dried off his body and fed him. She could have just taken the long trip to the Tendou Dojo and given him to Akane. He admitted, he and Ukyo had faced conflict in the past but more so due to their similar personalities. Though she was loudmouthed, had a bit of a potty mouth, rough natured and often aggressive. She had a kind heart and would always fight for her friends.
Like him, she knew the feelings of unrequited love for someone; that person being Ranma. He never so much as noticed her love, despite all she did for him and all of her attempts to seduce him. So, she could understand how he felt with his crush on Akane. It was nice to have someone on the inside who knew about the complexities and stresses of your crush not noticing you.
He could stay here a while, he would be safe from harm and would be cared for by Ukyo. He would be able to recover from his ailments and regain his strength allowing him to visit Akane and beat Ranma. But Ukyo had a warm smile, surprisingly she was very loving too. He wasn't used to seeing her act like something other than one of the boys. She was very loving, and she had a big heart too. Hell, she even showed kindness to her rivals, aside from shampoo.
"I wonder, was Ukyo always this cute?" he wondered. Though she was a fairly appealing girl, he had never really taken the time to appreciate her appearance before. He then started to eat the meal given to him. It was hot but not in a spicy way, it tasted good. If Ukyo was really this good of a cook, why did she use it to attract other men? She would make a really good wife if she took the training.
Ukyo then noticed P-chan staring at her, wondering what must have been going through his mind. The poor little guy must have been lonely, knowing Akane didn't carry about a lot. I mean she took him out to cafe's and such occasionally, but never let him out of the house alone. He must not have been used to being neglected, due to Akane babying him so much. But then again before she found him he had been through the wars from the state he had been in.
She then moved the bowl beside hers, then picked up Ryoga from his seat and placed him on her lap. That way he could lean over the table and enjoy his dinner from the warmth of her lap. Though she would squish him a little because she was bigger than Akane, she would do her best to be careful with him and make sure he was comfortable.
"Bit more like home now eh?" she chuckled. He really was a spoiled little pig, no wonder Ranma got so jealous of him. Nobody liked to become to a pet, especially if you were in a relationship with one another. He was so loved and cared for by Akane, she was surprised the Tendou home was not surrounded by strays. She chuckled at Akane creating her own petting zoo from stray pets.
Ryoga blushed, not knowing what to think. He had only ever been shown love by Akane before now. He had only ever been spoiled by her and because of this had loved her since she saved and adopted him. His lack of social interaction made him awkward when any other woman showed him an interest. Now having Ukyo speaking to him in a flirty tone and teasing him was confusing.
But he could get used to living with Ukyo, it was more casual, less people. No Ranma, no perverted old man causing trouble, no arguing between Genma and Ranma and no drama. Just peace and quiet. Just the two of them living together, and if he turned back into his usual self he would still be welcome due to being a regular place at Ukyo's restaurant.
Hell, at least she would pay attention to him, at least he knew there would be no interference or rival for her affection. The girl was loyal to Ranma and thought of nobody else, but he had the feeling she would dote on him in pig form. I mean, they had a good friendship sort of, he felt comfortable around her and knew she would take care of him.
His cheeks flushed darker, nuzzling into her lap her chest pressing lightly against him. He could feel her body heat and he could smell the pancake batter scent on her skin. Her hands were soft and yet coarse, showing she was a hardworking woman. But he could be happy here, like a free roommate and a friend. He doubted she would mind and he would never think of causing trouble for her. But he was happy here, though different it was cosy.
He then shifted on her lap and continued eating his meal, though he was far from his supposed home. Part of him felt he could build a new one here with Ukyo, just the two of them. He felt happy here, he felt like this place could soon be his new place to return to. Though, he would have to wait a long time before he could tell her about his curse.