A Rainy Day

Tuesday

……

"Well, Ranma," Ukyo said as she twirled a finger through her glossy hair. "I happened to get these baseball tickets and I wanted to know if we could go to the game together." She smiled slightly, looking up with her eyes. "You know, as a date?"

Her reflection was so feminine and shy and cute and nauseating that Ranma was more likely to ask if she was sick than accept.

"Arggh!" Ukyo pulled her hair. "I know I'm supposed to be his cute fiancé, but that's too much!"

She looked in the mirror and tried again. "Hey, Ran-chan, how's it going? I've got these baseball tickets, and I thought we could go together. We'll hang out, eat some hot dogs. It will be fun." She grinned widely.

"No, no, no!" Now she sounded too masculine, too hey-we're-best-buds-I'm-one-of-the-guys-let's-hang-out. "It doesn't even sound like a date, anymore. This is supposed to be a date."

Ukyo sighed and her reflection sighed with her. Some girls tried on outfits, she tried on personas. Of course, some girls actually had guys ask them out instead of the other way around.

But Ukyo didn't have time to wait for him to pluck up the courage and ask. Truth be told, she was beginning to be afraid that Ranma would never ask. Lately, his attitude toward Akane had been… strange. Nice, almost.

Ukyo had seen them one morning, walking to school, holding hands, like a couple. Ranma had made a joke and Akane laughed. Ukyo had grabbed her spatula furiously, her fingers twining tightly around the handle. She had felt so awful, so cold and so sick.

Ukyo shook out her head, trying to get her muddled emotions in order. When she looked back at the mirror, strands of hair were strewn messily across her shoulder.

"I have these baseball tickets Ran-chan, and I thought we might go to the game together." She smiled crookedly. "It'd be a date, but nothing too serious. We'll have lunch together. Hot dogs and soda. How does it sound?"

CRACK! BOOM! Ukyo jumped. Thunder? It had barely been cloudy. She glanced out the window and saw sheets of rain pouring down.

"Is that a sign?" she said. It was just as well; it was nearly five and she had to be opening her restaurant soon. Ukyo closed the window and walked downstairs into her kitchen.

The rain thrummed on the roof as she fired up her grill. Oil sizzled. Ukyo wiped off the counter and set out spices and pitchers of cold water for her customers' use.

The door slid open.

"Welcome to Ucchan's," Ukyo said reflexively. She saw who it was. "Oh, hi Ran-chan."

"Hi," Ranma said glumly.

She was in her female form, not surprising, given the rain. Her shirt was soggy and her wet orange braid lay limply over her shoulder. A small black pig with a yellow spotted bandana around its neck was gnawing her wrist.

"Got caught in the rain?" Ukyo said.

"Yeah," Ranma said. "Do you have a towel? Maybe some hot water?"

"Just a minute." Ukyo put the kettle on the stove and tossed Ranma a towel. "By the way, is there a reason Akane's pet is attached to you?"

"We were fighting," Ranma said, wiping off her face and hair.

"With a pig?" Ukyo raised her eyebrows. "Let me guess. This pig is actually a skilled martial artist?"

Ranma snorted. "Skilled martial—please, he couldn't fight his way out of a paper—Ow!"

P-chan began to writhe and claw, cutting red marks into Ranma's skin. It's teeth remained clamped in place.

"Damn pig!" Ranma said. "I've just about had it with you! Cut it out already!"

"Looks like P-chan has it in for you," Ukyo said. The kettle began to shriek. "I'll get it."

She turned off the stove and brought the kettle into the main restaurant area. To her dismay, Ranma was banging P-chan against the counter.

"Let go, let go, let go!" Ranma said.

"My counter! Ranma, stop!"

"Stupid pig! LET GO!"

P-chan let go. It ricocheted off the counter and smacked into Ukyo's kettle.

With a whistling crack, the kettle shattered. Steam burst through the air, and hot water splashed across Ukyo's skin. P-chan's squeal became a frenzied shout. Through the steam, Ukyo could see a thick head of hair and a face. Ukyo squinted. She knew that face. If fact, she was staring into the terrified eyes of—

SPLASH!

P-chan. The black pig landed in a puddle on the floor. It was shivering. Ranma leaned over the counter with an empty pitcher in her hand.

"Ranma?"

"Heh-heh," Ranma said, rubbing the back of her head. "Er, sorry about that."

"That was—" Ukyo said and stopped.

That was Ryoga Hibiki. Ranma's good friend and rival. Who was in love with Akane. Who also, apparently, had a Juusenkyo curse. Which Ranma seemed to be covering up. Ukyo shook her head. Why would he do that?

"Uh, why'd you throw the water?" Ukyo said.

"Well, it's, uh, Akane's pet," Ranma said. "So I, uh, I didn't want it to get burned or anything. You know Akane, she would have killed me."

"That is P-chan," Ukyo said flatly. "The same P-chan Akane lets sleep in her bed."

"For now," Ranma said.

P-chan sneezed. The pig's eyes were wide and brimming over with tears. It looked frightened and ashamed.

Ukyo had always thought of Ryoga as a nice boy. A bit sensitive and awkward as all hell when it came to Akane, but nice. Why would he be sneaking into Akane's bed? And why would Ranma be letting him?

"So, Ran-chan—" Ukyo was trying to keep her voice casual. There was just no good way to ask this. She tried a different tactic. "So, uh, do you need more hot water?"

"Nah, it's fine," Ranma said. "I'll just be taking this pig—" She picked up the squealing black bundle with one hand and plucked it from the puddle. "—and be on my way. Thanks for the towel, Ukyo."

"Anytime, Ranma," she said. "Take an umbrella or you'll catch a cold."

"You're the best," Ranma said with a wave.

Ukyo felt a small glow.

She looked at her restaurant and the glow left. The counter was dented. There was water and bits of kettle all over the floor.

"The idiot! I have customers coming any minute!"

Ukyo grabbed a rag and began cleaning up the mess.

……

Much later, when the last of the customers had left, Ukyo stood in front of the mirror and tried again.

"So, I have these tickets, Ran-chan," Ukyo said. "And I was thinking—I was thinking—"

She looked awful. She was tired and her eyes were red. Her hair was frazzled and there were drips of sauce and bits of cabbage stuck to her shirt. This was Ukyo the Okonomiyaki chef. Probably the most real Ukyo there was.

Ukyo sighed. "Why did you hold Akane's hand? Why not mine?

"I don't have a dojo. I don't have half the population of Furinkan High running after me. But I can cook and I can cheer you up and you know you can always count on me. And I'm your fiancé, too.

"Do you really like her better than me?"

But she couldn't ask him this. She was afraid of the answer.

Ukyo went to the bathroom, washed her face, and brushed her hair. "I have these tickets to a baseball game, Ran-chan," she said. "Do you want to come?"