*Splash*

The small pebbles sank into the water, an extending ring of ripples marking its passing.

She sighed, staring at her reflection. Her long hair fell around her face as she bent forward.

"Hey. Whatcha thinking about?"

She whirled around, startled to come face to face with...

"Oh. It's you."

He smiled at her and brushed a stray lock of black hair out of his eyes.

"Yep. Howya doing?" he said affably.

"Life is pure and unadulterated hell."

He sat down next to her, carefully avoiding the mud.

"Why?"

She glared at him. "Living in this town's like being on a rollercoaster. You don't wan't to get on, but you have to get to the end. The chance of love is the thing that makes this all worthwhile, and the ones who are in the front cars have the best chance. Us?" She sighed. "We're not in the front cars at all, my friend."

"This is a side of you I've never seen."

"The same could be said of you, you know."

He paused, looking down at his clasped hands.

"Well, we've never really talked to each other, have we?"

She considered his words a little.

"No, not really. I suppose I always wrote you off as an obsessive. In love with someone who didn't love you back and blaming Ranma for it."

"I was no more obsessive than you were, actually. And as for that..." he paused. "The same might be said of you."

"You do have a point. But...still, I can't seem to find it in my heart to blame him for...that."

He looked at her then, somberly. "What do you think of...what happened, then?"

For a brief second, her body was limned in the flames of her battle aura. Her voice was pure ice. "What do you think?"

He recoiled from her in fright, noticing this, she slowly counted to ten and regained control.

They sat then, neither speaking, for a few moments.

Finally, she spoke one word.

"Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." he chuckled nervously. "Say, can we move away from all this...water?"

For a moment, she was startled, but then comprehension flooded through her. "Right, the curse. What's it like?" she asked, then hastily exclaimed, "No, you don't have to tell me! I shouldn't have pried!"

He made a small noise.

It was *not* a laugh.

"Don't worry about it. I've kinda gotten used to it. Although it does suck to turn into a blue plate special."

"Tell me about it."

"Don't think I won't!"

She stood up, offering him her hand. "C'mon, let's go back to my place. I'll make you a super-deluxe, okay?"

"Sounds good."

She watched him as he walked ahead of her, a slight smile on her lips.

Ever since Ranma and Shampoo had gotten married, life had been difficult. Maybe he could at least help her through the tough times that undoubtedly lay ahead. Didn't *everyone* need friends?

It didn't hurt that Mu Tsu had a *fantastic* butt.

With that thought on her mind, Kuonji Ukyou walked off.















Author's Notes: Yes, I kinda like this pairing, mainly because the idea of cute little children making cute little spatulas appear out of cute little subspace portals amuses me. And, as always, I stay with my tradition of not letting you, the readers, know who the hell the stars of my one-shots are until the very end. And this marks my first Ranma Romance Fiction. Yatta!