Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma 1/2.


Ukyo was having a bad day.

As usual, she got up bright and early in the morning. She showered, brushed her teeth, dressed, fired up the grill, and ate breakfast in 40 minutes. Then she opened her shop for business. Today, a Saturday, just enough customers showed up that Ukyo felt the day was a definite success without wearing her out too much. She encountered no troublesome customers. By closing time at 5:00 PM, Ukyo had hardly broken a sweat – and she still had a full evening of free time to look forward to.

"This sucks," she remarked as she turned off the grill.

After all, this was just another day in the life of Kuonji Ukyo, wasn't it? She felt like everything in her life was routine. Aside from school and work, Ukyo had no regular activities. She had no time for extracurricular activities – or at least, that's what she told herself. In reality she just wasn't comfortable enough with the students of Furinkan High School (with the exception of Ranma and Akane) to voluntarily spend time with them. Of course, there were the occasional visits from Ran-chan and the even more occasional Ranma-related adventures. During these times, Ukyo felt excited and even a bit bubbly. How could she not when Ran-chan grinned at her like that and called her "Ucchan"? How could she not get excited during a battle with Shampoo and Kodachi or during one of her schemes with Ryoga to split Ranma and Akane? At times like these, Ukyo was happy not only due to seeing Ranma and hoping to win his heart, but also due to the fact that she was doing something. Something that stood out from her relatively normal life. As much as Ukyo sometimes wished (along with a good deal of Furinkan's residents) that the whirlwind of craziness that seemed to hover over Ranma would go someplace else, she had to admit that without such a flurry of activity, she would be quite bored.

And yet she was bored. The whirlwind seemed to come and go too quickly, leaving too many gaps of normal life. Sure, Ranma likely didn't feel the same, what with having to live with his nutjob father, his troublesome Grand Master, and the sitcom-worthy Tendo family. But Ukyo lived alone. Furthermore, some of Ranma's adventures didn't even involve her. She might not even hear about such events for months until Ranma and Akane mentioned one of them laughingly. That did not make Ukyo feel happy.

A car horn outside caused her to flinch. Glancing at the clock, she realized she had been sitting here on her butt feeling sorry for herself for almost half an hour. Being who she was, Ukyo rarely let herself get depressed for long.

What to do, what to do… The okonomiyaki chef scoured her brain, looking for something that might be interesting. She could read. She could rent a movie. She could go see a movie. She could pop up uninvited at Ranma's, but thinking like that made her feel like Shampoo, and Ukyo would rather fry herself than imitate that bubble-headed bimbo. Then she remembered something she had overhead a customer say that afternoon. Something about the TV news and the police… and 6:00 at the marketplace. Why not? she asked herself. Ucchan's was practically in the marketplace anyway, so it wasn't as if she would have to go out of her way to see what was going on. With a purpose in mind, Ukyo went upstairs to change.


Not long after, the brunette emerged from her shop wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Immediately she spotted a small crowd gathering around a fruit vendor's cart down the street. Walking over, she tried to get a view of whatever it was the crowd was looking at, but even though the area wasn't exactly packed, it was still relatively thick with people, and Ukyo didn't want to push and shove if she could help it. After a few minutes of standing and staring at people's backs, she was beginning to get bored again when-

"Look, will you guys just give me a break for once?"

Ukyo's heart leapt. It was Ran-chan!... and Akane. But still – Ran-chan!... and Shampoo, Mousse, and the Kuno siblings. But still!

Before Ukyo could call out to Ranma, the crowd shushed the noisy teenagers. Finally, it seemed, the meeting – or whatever it was – seemed to be getting underway. A man who had the look of a secret agent appeared atop the fruit cart.

"Good evening. I represent the National Police Agency of Japan. I'm here tonight to explain the situation." After a pause, the man continued. "Many of you may have heard rumors about last night's kidnapping."

The sudden increase in attention given to the man was almost audible. Kidnapping? Rumors?

"What we do know is that last night, an elderly woman was kidnapped from her home in northern Hokkaido. Her neighbors reported screams that they recognized to be hers coming from the house followed by several loud booms. Police found many items in the house singed and all electrical wiring fried. A message was left written on a scrap of paper: 'And thus it begins. I'm coming for you.' A map of Japan lay next to the scrap with a line drawn between the town in Hokkaido and Tokyo.

"The identity of the victim will be released shortly. As always, if anyone has any possibly relevant information, simply contact law enforcement personnel. Thank you for your time."

With that, the man stepped down from the cart and walked away, quietly but politely denying requests for more information. Soon, the NPA agent was gone, and the crowd at the market was left to wonder.


Ukyo stood there, shocked at this sudden serious news, before she remembered that Ranma was a few feet away. "Yō! Ran-chan!" Running up to him, she brightened when he smiled at her.

"Ucchan! Didn't know you were here," greeted Ranma.

Ukyo nodded, still smiling, unsure of what to say. "So what did you think of that police guy? I sure hope that kidnapper doesn't come our way."

"Well, if they do, I'll knock 'em into China," Ranma assured her confidently.

"Hey!" complained Mousse.

"… uh, I'll knock 'em someplace," amended Ranma.

"Shampoo never hear of people-stealers what burn furniture and cook TV. Must ask Great-Grandmother."

"I am sure Ranma-sama will take care of the dastardly villains."

"Imouto, surely you know that I, and not your disgusting 'Ranma-sama', shall be the one to triumph over the vagabonds?"

Akane had had enough for today. "You're both wrong. At the rate all of you are going, my sheer impatience will scare them away! And don't comment on that!" she added to Ranma, glaring at him.

"I wasn't going to!" the boy protested. He was blushing guiltily though.

After an awkward silence, Akane proposed that they go their separate ways. It was getting late. Ukyo began to feel down again. Couldn't we all just hang out and, oh, I don't know, fight over some cursed bar of soap? She didn't voice her thoughts aloud, of course. And so everyone turned away, facing their respective homes, when-

"Hey!"

A far away voice brought hope fluttering back to Ukyo's heart. Someone else didn't want the day to end yet! Who could this wonderful person possibly be?

An old guy, apparently. One of several aging men and women in the marketplace, who evidently had also attended the announcement, called to the disbanding martial artists. As Ranma turned to face the man, he and his companions scuttled forward.

"Saotome Ranma, is that correct?"

"Yeah, that's me," answered Ranma.

"Wonderful. We're the town elders. You've already heard the man yourself, so we don't even have to explain anything. Well, what do you say?"

Ranma waited for a second. "What do you mean? Say about what?"

The elderly man grinned, as if politely appreciating a joke. "Laying down your life for the town, of course."

Thump. Ranma decided to retire for the night early.


Nabiki sipped her tea. "So let me get this straight," she said to Ranma. "The town elders want you to make sure that this mystery kidnapper doesn't hit Furinkan?"

Ranma nodded, wincing as he did, clutching the lump on his head from his faint.

Ukyo frowned. "Those old folks could really have used a better phrase than 'laying down your life'."

As he sat in the crowded room with the others, Soun worried. And not just about the fact that five of Ranma's friends had invited themselves to dinner. "Ranma-kun, I don't like the idea of this. You are the future of Anything-Goes Martial Arts. If anything happens to you, I'll never forgive you."

Akane sighed. "Otōsan…"

"Tendo-kun," laughed Genma, "there's no reason to fear for Ranma. My son can more than hold his own against almost anyone, can't you, Ranma?"

"Sure can!"

"So you will take the elders up on their offer?" Nabiki prodded.

"Of course! Well, I mean… it seems kind of early to be getting this worried. The crook'll probly be found in no time." Even as he said this, Ranma frowned. From the sound of it, this wasn't an ordinary kidnapping. Items singed? Electrical wiring fried? But no other damage to the house? It sounded like the kind of unbelievable occurrences that Ranma was used to experiencing himself. "Though," he added, "those old men'd rest easier knowing there's a whole team on the job. How about we all help?" He glanced at Akane before blushing slightly and quickly looking at all the others too. The bluenette suddenly felt warm.

"I'll help!" chorused Shampooo, Ukyo, and Kodachi eagerly. After a threatening glare from his sister, Kuno sighed. "I shall also volunteer my services."

"As shall I," added Mouse between gritted teeth, as Shampoo held a bucket of water over his head.

Ranma grinned. "All right!" Usually he considered these people annoying, even Ukyo sometimes. Despite this, he found himself looking forward to working with them.

Akane grinned too. Then all chaos broke loose.

"Soun, Genma, have you started dinner without me? Who are your guests?" Happosai froze in the doorway, eyeing the grand total of six girls in the room, three of whom he didn't see often.

Kasumi covered her eyes. "Oh dear."