Chapter Two: Haze of Uncertainty
A few wispy clouds drifted along with the aid of a light breeze, the sun proudly blazing in its place among the seemingly endless canopy of blue. The rainy weather had gradually given way to the warmth of the sun, resulting in this fair morning a little over two weeks later. Ukyo found herself frowning, despite the nice weather, to hide her anxiousness.
After Ryoga had promised to try and visit, he had swiftly left, leaving Ukyo alone once more with only her thoughts for company. She did want him to visit; she really had enjoyed the company, but was somewhat afraid to face him.
Ryoga Hibiki, long time enemy/rival of her beloved Ranma, knew many of her secrets.
Could she really trust him with that personal information? Would the Lost Boy betray her, spilling her insecurities to the other fiancées - maybe even to Ranma himself?
Ukyo had found herself asking these questions every day and had yet - even around two weeks later - to find an answer. She deeply regretted letting the wandering warrior simply stroll out the door all those days ago. Who knew where he was, who he had spoken to and what had been said?
Ukyo breathed deeply and sighed, unable to open Ucchan's Okonomiyaki as today was a school day. Her work sometimes became a bit monotonous for her, but she dearly loved it and would rather be serving customers in her restaurant all day than put up with another crazy scheme thought up by her coconut and pineapple-loving principal. Boring though her regular classes were, they helped take her mind off the fanged boy she had spilled her heart to.
Her slightly out of the ordinary behaviour had not gone unnoticed by Ranma and Akane but, after repeating that she was fine for what felt like a hundred times, they eventually left her alone. Ukyo knew that the pair had not entirely given up as she was constantly catching one or the other staring at her in class. She was seriously considering taking a sick day, but decided against it. She would only be alone with her thoughts again and that was the last thing she wanted.
In her bedroom, Ukyo had just finished getting dressed into her school uniform. She quickly brushed her hair and tied her bow. The teenage girl sifted through her things, locating her school bag and stuffing her school supplies into it, doing a quick double-check to make sure she had the right books and papers before descending the stairs and picking up her giant spatula. Now ready, Ukyo carefully locked the place up and briskly walked toward Furinkan High School.
The young chef took note of all the people she walked past, wondering what it would be like to live such a bland, normal life. Would she be happy if she was one of the ordinary people that stood on the sidelines and tutted about the property damage the crazy martial artists caused to the town?
Ukyo shook her head. No, she enjoyed being a part of the whacky things that took place. Life would be far too dull without the occasional kidnapping, new enemy, the fiancée fights and the strange contests that she was inevitably drawn to, either to sell okonomiyaki or to participate.
The school gates came slowly into view, many students milling around just beyond them, gossiping with friends or simply loitering. Ukyo let the chatter become meaningless background noise as she walked past everyone, heading for class 1-F. Once there, the chef sunk into her chair and let her mind wander, ignoring the few students who were also in the classroom.
Around ten minutes later, Akane walked through the door followed by a disgruntled-looking Ranma. He shot a dark look at the youngest Tendo's back before slumping into his seat while Akane stuck her tongue out at him as she sat at her own desk.
Ukyo ignored the pair's antics; far too used to their immature bickering to care. That little scene, however, sent a pang through Ukyo's heart. The way those two fought like that… The chef could tell that, deep down, they didn't mean whatever insulting words flew from their lips. Ranma and Akane would finish their spat, do their best to ignore the other for a while, then simply act like the reason for their argument never happened and things would be back to normal a few hours later before the process repeated in a seemingly never-ending cycle.
While Ukyo was glad that Ranma never fought with her like that, it also meant that Ranma had no strong feelings for her beyond the friendliness her showed her. Ukyo mentally gasped, using all of her impressive willpower to keep from looking at the pigtailed youth.
Did Ranma consider her…neutral? Not an enemy, of course, but nothing more than a friend from childhood that he could mooch free food from? Did he even view her as his fiancée, despite his claim that she was 'the cute one'?
Right at that moment, Ukyo wished for nothing more than school to be over so she could go home and think about her situation with Ranma without distractions.
Didn't people say that rain made lots of people sad? If it hadn't been raining that day… If that jackass had not wandered by… If she had not given in to her feelings and let them spill forth… Damn that pig!
Ukyo shook her head. Blaming Ryoga would get her nowhere. It was not his fault that she had reached some sort of emotional limit that day. What she wouldn't give to have the bandanna-clad boy stroll into her restaurant after school was done for the day! She was sure that once she spoke to him again, she would feel loads better. The stress of the past two weeks was really getting to her and Ukyo did not know how much longer she could hold out before she cracked.
Time dragged by excruciatingly slowly to Ukyo. The lunch bell, when it finally did ring, took her completely by surprise, shaking her from her stupor. Gathering her things, she waited for most of the class to empty before slipping out. Ukyo made her way to a small, secluded spot by a lone tree. Unpacking her self-made bento, she reflected on all that she had revealed to 'P-chan' as she ate.
Did she really whine about Ranma and say she was jealous of Akane because of Ryoga?
As much as she would love to deny it, Ukyo knew it was the truth. Would someone - preferably Ranma - ever dote upon her like the Lost Boy doted upon Akane? If someone brought her gifts nearly every time they visited, would she, perhaps, fall for that person? Akane seemed to accept Ryoga's gifts with an air of friendly politeness, nothing more. Even after all this time, the chef knew that Akane only thought of him as a friend. Did Akane have no way to gently refuse Ryoga or was she simply naïve?
Ukyo shook her head. Nobody could be that naïve; Akane probably just didn't want to hurt his feelings. Thinking about Akane's dilemma did nothing to help her sort out her own and the chef scowled. She should have been giving Ranma some of her delicious okonomiyaki for lunch, but here she was thinking about Akane, Ranma, Ryoga and all of their strange relationships. The chef had just finished off her bento when Ranma and Akane came into view, spotted her, and started in her direction.
What was that saying? Speak of the devil and he shall appear.
Normally Ukyo would be overjoyed that her Ranchan was seeking her out, but she knew that both Ranma and Akane were about to inquire if she was okay for the umpteenth time. So, instead of welcoming him with open arms, Ukyo found herself wishing that he would go away.
"Hey, Ucchan, what are ya doin' all the way over here by yourself?" Ranma asked, grinning cheerfully to hide his concern. He had become increasingly worried over the fortnight and was determined to help Ukyo with whatever problem she seemed to have.
"Why don't we keep you company? It must be lonely sitting here by yourself," Akane suggested.
"Oh, uh…yeah, okay," Ukyo mumbled, trying, and failing, to sound chipper.
Ranma's grin slid off his face to be replaced with a frown. "C'mon, Ucchan, spill; I know that somethin's wrong," he said, a faint, pleading undertone barely detectable in his voice.
As faint as it was, Ukyo still picked up on it. "Look, it's nothing, okay?" she replied, annoyed.
Akane sat down beside the chef and took a moment to rearrange her dress so that it covered her legs before speaking. "Ukyo, you know you can tell us, right? We only want to help," the blue-haired girl said, looking at Ukyo with worry obvious in her eyes.
Ukyo sighed, relenting. "It's nothing that you two can help me with. But, if you see Ryoga, could you bring him to my restaurant?"
"Ryoga?" repeated Akane, confused by the strange request.
"Whaddya want with Ryoga?" Ranma asked, equally confused.
"Oh, he uh…accidentally took something of mine when he was at the restaurant a couple of weeks ago. I really want it back, but I have to wait for the jackass to come back to town. That's why I've been acting a little strange," she explained, hoping they would buy her story and, therefore, leave her alone about the matter.
"Oh…" Akane said softly, trailing off. "I'll keep my eye out for him and bring him to you if I find him," she promised.
Ranma nodded and said, "Yeah, me too. If he's upset ya, Ucchan, you just let me know and I'll pound the jerk for ya!"
Ukyo almost giggled aloud at that. The irony of it all was that it was actually Ranma that had upset her all those days ago; Ryoga was innocent, Ukyo simply vented to him. "Thanks, I appreciate it."
"What are friends for?" Ranma blurted out, happy that Ukyo had finally told him what was bugging her.
Ukyo's heart constricted at those words as though a big rubber band was tightening around it.
Friends?
"I-I… I'm sorry, but I'm not feeling very well. Could you please let the teacher know that I've gone home?" she choked, barely holding back a sob.
"Uh, sure thing…" Ranma said, blinking a bit at the abrupt request.
Akane frowned in friendly concern. "Are you alright?" she asked. After receiving the chef's reassurance that a bit of rest at home was all she needed, Akane conceded.
Standing up, Ukyo bid farewell to the pair and headed inside to fetch her things. Once she had retrieved her belongings, the despondent teen started trudging toward her house, valiantly trying to hold her tears back until she could release them in private. Sparing a glance at the sky, Ukyo noticed that it had become fairly cloudy. There were a few patches of blue scattered about, signalling that the sun was not going to give in without a fight.
Ukyo scowled at the sky, but was strangely pleased by the increasing cloud-cover. It was reflecting her mood quite nicely and Ukyo wondered - with the sky darkening as it was - if it would rain. If the sky did decide to shed its own tears, the chef hoped it would do so after she was safely inside her restaurant; she had no desire to be caught in the rain.
She was now only a couple of blocks away from her destination. Speeding up a little, Ukyo's ears, used to filtering out mundane chatter, caught an unhappy-sounding male voice say, "Where was that restaurant? I promised Ukyo I'd visit and, if I don't, she'll hunt me down and clobber me with that oversized spatula of hers!"
Instantly recognising the woe-is-me undertone, Ukyo dashed around the corner to see Ryoga Hibiki; bandanna, fangs, scowl and all. "Hey, Hibiki!" she shouted, hoping he wouldn't wander off before she reached him.
"Oh, great, now I'm even imagining her yelling at me!" Ryoga whined, adopting a pained grimace. His head suddenly swung forward as something impacted with the back of his skull. Whirling around to see who or what was responsible, Ryoga's jaw fell open as he found himself facing Ukyo. An Ukyo who didn't look particularly happy as she stood there, hands on hips and an exasperated glare adorning her face.
"You weren't imagining it, I really WAS yelling you," she commented dryly. While she appeared a little angry on the outside, internally she was actually quite happy. Ukyo had been waiting for him to return for two weeks and, now that he was back, she would be able to sort some things out.
"Oh, well, that's okay then," he said. A couple of seconds later he added, "Wait, that didn't come out right…"
Unable to help herself, Ukyo giggled at him; at his words and the innocently befuddled look he was sporting. Barely aware of what she was doing, Ukyo took his hand in hers and said, "C'mon, Hibiki, I'll take you to my restaurant seeing as how I was just headed there myself."
Ryoga, blushing at the feeling of their clasped hands, could only manage to stammer his consent. This was one of the few times where the Lost Boy did not mind being led like a dog on a leash to get where he needed to go. Though he could easily admit to himself that this particular time was actually enjoyable. Suddenly feeling horrified, Ryoga shook the thought from his head and concentrated upon memories of Akane instead. No matter how hard he tried though, he could not dispel the traitorous little voice that whispered how soft and delicate Ukyo's hand was and how utterly nice it felt against his own.
"Here we are," Ukyo cheerfully announced, oblivious to Ryoga's internal battle. The fact that her hand was wrapped around his just hit her as she realised she needed both hands to unlock the door. Now sporting a brilliant blush of her own, Ukyo released his hand as though it had grown red-hot and fumbled around for a bit before she succeeded in getting the door open.
Ryoga followed her inside a little hesitantly, oddly pleased by the red complexion that holding his hand had produced on her face. Not really having any experience with women, he wondered if she was simply embarrassed to be leading him around, repulsed by him and blushing because of her own actions, or if she found him cute but dropped his hand because it was an act of betrayal to Ranma on her part?
Having never been called cute, hot, handsome or even sexy by any girl, he found himself adrift in uncharted territory and decided to retreat before he hit an obstacle and sank.
"I did say I'd feed you if you visited me, so sit down and tell me what you want," Ukyo said, bustling about behind the counter to keep her mind away from what she had done. "Nothing with pork, I presume so…how about a seafood okonomiyaki? Is squid okay with you?"
"Uh, yeah, sure…" Ryoga replied slowly as he sat down, unsure what to make of his current situation. He had spent the past two weeks trying to come to terms with all he had heard on that rainy day, and subsequently wondering if anything had changed between him and Ukyo because of it. His mind had plagued him by telling him that Ukyo would tell Akane; his dreams had been nightmares about such a scenario coming to pass and Akane's angry reactions.
Having Ukyo seemingly happy to see him and treating him so nicely had completely thrown Ryoga for a loop.
"One squid okonomiyaki coming up!" she crowed as she set about pouring the batter and mixing in the proper ingredients.
A slight frown crossed Ryoga's face and he said, "Are you sure? I can pay, you know."
"I'm a woman of my word," Ukyo replied, waving a hand as though to physically wave away his concerns. "So, how have you been?" she asked over the sizzle of his food on the grill.
Ryoga shrugged. "Same as usual. I'm not exactly sure where I was, but I g-got this f-for you since you can't have a pet…" he said, trailing off near the end as he stared at his hands in his lap, a light blush marring his cheeks. He bent down to retrieve it out of his backpack that he had placed on the floor next to him in an effort to avoid the chef's gaze for a few seconds.
"Oh, Ryoga, you didn't have to get me a present," Ukyo protested weakly. As the bandanna-clad wanderer brought the gift in question into Ukyo's eyesight, she could not contain the happy, girlish gasp that tore itself free from her throat.
Sitting on the counter where Ryoga had placed it was a soft, fluffy plush toy of some unidentifiable breed of dog.
"It's adorable!" Ukyo breathed, reaching out and tentatively stroking the brown fur on the plush pup's chest as it was in a sitting position.
The toy was light brown on its legs and underside, while the rest of it was a darker shade; its tail and ear-tips were black and its glass eyes were forget-me-not blue.
"I-I…don't know what to say…"
Ryoga swallowed nervously and asked, "Do you like it?"
"Like it? I love it! But…are you sure you just want to give this to me? What about Akane?" Ukyo didn't want to refuse, but Ryoga always bought presents for Akane… What if Ranma and Akane found out that Ryoga of all people had bought her something so wonderfully thoughtful? Ukyo didn't reckon that Akane would think anything of it, but…would Ranma care?
"I buy Akane many things, none of which she needs. You, however, have a great need for this particular gift, and that is precisely why I got it and want you to have it," Ryoga answered bluntly, sounding uncharacteristically forward.
Ukyo blinked a bit before smiling shyly. "Thank you, Ryoga, you have no idea how much this means to me," she said, carefully lifting the stuffed puppy over the grill and cradling it gently in her arms.
"Oh, but I think I do," he whispered to himself. His stomach chose then as a good time to announce the fact that it was empty and wished otherwise.
Reluctantly placing the gift down, Ukyo grabbed one of her mini-spatulas and flipped over the okonomiyaki that was still merrily sizzling away. Checking it with a practised eye as she flipped it, the chef announced that it would not take too much longer. "Can you hold out for a minute more, sugar?" she teased playfully.
Ryoga pouted as an answer, earning a short laugh from the girl.
Silence fell over the restaurant. It was not the tense, lonely silence that Ukyo had become accustomed to, however. The lack of noise had a distinctly…comfortable and companionable feel to it; those were the only words Ukyo could find that seemed to match.
Roughly a minute later, Ukyo placed the cooked squid okonomiyaki on a plate and set it before her guest with a slightly dramatic flourish due to her good mood. "Eat up, sugar!"
His empty stomach gave an inaudible gurgle, prompting him to sink his fangs into the food that tickled his nose with its enticing aroma. Quickly swallowing the mouthful, he said, "Wow, Ukyo, this is delicious!"
"Thanks," she said, beaming at the praise. No matter how often she heard it, those words never failed to bring a smile to her face. "If you're still hungry after that, let me know and I'll cook you another."
Ryoga, mouth full of food, didn't answer verbally, but gave her a look that clearly said, 'I don't want to take advantage of your hospitality'.
Ukyo didn't feel like arguing with the Lost Boy at the moment, he was far too stubborn, so she let it slide for the time being. Taking a deep breath, Ukyo braced herself to plunge headfirst into an awkward but necessary conversation. "Have you been to the Tendo's yet?"
"No, not yet," Ryoga replied, finishing off his meal and licking his fingers appreciatively. "You're the first familiar face I've seen in two weeks," he added, unaware of how depressing it sounded to the chef. Ryoga thought nothing of it; it was a simple fact of life for him.
"You…haven't told anyone of that day, have you?" she blurted, apprehensive of the answer.
Ryoga blinked a bit before shaking his head, sending his ebony locks swinging. "Of course I haven't told anyone! I happen to know the value of secrets, if you recall," he said, scowling faintly.
"Oh, right, yeah… Sorry, I've just been a bit on edge ever since that day," she said, sending him an apologetic glance. "It didn't help that Ranma and Akane were bugging me to tell them what was wrong, either," she muttered in a low tone, though Ryoga's sharp ears caught every word.
"Ranma and Akane were bugging you about it? What did you tell them? I've gotta have my story straight or they'll know something's up," he said, his scowl turning into a partially worried frown.
Ukyo told him her hastily invented cover story, inwardly marvelling at the lengths he was going to for her. He was even going to lie to his beloved Akane for her sake! Ukyo began to wonder if there were more depths to Ryoga Hibiki than anybody bothered to dig to. The intriguing thought was put out of her mind as Ryoga spoke again.
"That's easy enough to remember. Speaking of Ranma and Akane…isn't it a school day? What are you doing here, shouldn't you be in class? I don't want you to get in trouble with that crazy principal of yours just because of me," he swiftly said, looking worriedly at her.
"Relax, I took the rest of the day off by telling Ranchan and Akane to inform the teacher that I wasn't feeling well and had gone home," Ukyo explained.
The worried look did not leave his face as he continued to stare at her. "You're not sick are you?"
"What? No, sugar, I'm fine, I just needed to get away from those two for a bit, they were really starting to wear me down."
The worry vanished from his face to be replaced by a small, relieved smile.
It was odd, Ukyo thought, how open they were being with each other. Although Ryoga always wore his heart on his sleeve, she was much more reserved when it came to overly emotional outbursts; her personal negative feelings were an exception. The only time she was not afraid to show them was when she was facing off against Shampoo, Kodachi and even Akane on occasion.
A light pitter-patter noise slowly invaded the restaurant, the sound snapping Ryoga to attention in an instant. "Oh, no," he murmured, gaining a dark yet resigned expression.
"What's the matter, sugar? It's only a bit of rain," Ukyo said. After catching the bemused look Ryoga was sending her, Ukyo's brain finally caught up and put two and two together, leaving the girl feeling like smacking herself in the head. "Oh, right, rain! Well, don't I feel stupid now?"
"Don't worry about it, it just takes a bit of getting used to," Ryoga said.
A little stunned, Ukyo quickly shook it off and blurted, "How can you stand it?"
The fanged boy blinked, his eyes wide as he stared at her over the counter due to the unexpected question. "How can I stand it?" he repeated incredulously. "I don't, not really. But it was either I learned to live with the curse somehow and adapt, or let myself be eaten by someone, human or otherwise. And I was not about to admit defeat," he said firmly, scowling at the end and curling his upper lip back a bit, just enough to expose one of his rather large canine teeth.
"You know, I never thought about the curse this way with Ranma-honey. If he gets splashed, he just has to worry about perverts, but you have to worry about so much more; people, animals, a whole lot of things that wouldn't bother you as a human, but could injure you as a little piglet… I can't imagine how horrible it must be to be lost in the woods as a pig, some hungry bear or wild dog chasing you down…" Ukyo trailed off, her imagination kicking into overdrive and providing her with scenes best left in scary movies or animal documentaries.
The light pitter-patter of the rain began to sound like horses' hooves, beating down louder and louder, transforming the gentle rain into a downpour.
Both teens were staring at the door due to the rain. They were just about to resume their conversation when a strange sliding noise followed by a rather loud bang made them both jump in fright.
Ryoga drew his umbrella, ready to defend himself, Ukyo and her entire house if need be.
Ukyo was fervently wishing that her battle-spatula was in hands' reach instead of being two feet away. She began to inch towards it, ready to lunge for it if the situation called for it.
The restaurant door, which Ukyo had closed to grant her and Ryoga some privacy for their discussion, was now wide open. The rain sounded louder than ever.
Because the clouds had darkened the sky considerably, all Ukyo could see in her doorway was a large, indistinct, slightly hazy black figure.
Part of the figure moved forward a step, dripping water onto the once-dry wooden floor. The figure began moving further into the restaurant, becoming clearer as it did so, until Ukyo and Ryoga could tell that the large figure was, in fact, two people standing close together.
Ukyo was mentally kicking herself for not turning on the lights and, as though one of the two people was reading her mind, it said, "Hey, Ucchan, where's the light switch?"
The voice, though distinctly female, was instantly recognised by both of the battle-ready teenagers. Ukyo almost laughed. She had been so fearful of a burglar or some weird beast like Pantyhose Taro, but it was only Ranma. The other person was Akane, if she had to guess. She swung the hand that had been reaching for her giant spatula's handle up and let it rest on the counter, while she told Ranma of the light switch's location.
Artificial brightness bathed the room with its soft, yellow radiance. Blinking to help her eyes adjust, Ukyo could see Ryoga doing the same. Both of them turned to face the pair who had inadvertently intruded upon their conversation. As Ukyo had thought, it was indeed Akane, the blue-haired girl standing slightly off to one side behind the equally wet redhead.
"Hey, Ukyo! I'm really sorry about barging in on you like this, but we were hoping to wait until the rain let up a bit before we walked the rest of the way home," Akane said. Her eyes then alighted upon Ryoga and she added, "Hey, Ryoga, I'm glad you're back in town!"
"Ryoga's back?" Ranma asked, turning around to see for herself. "So he is! Didja give whatever-it-was back to Ucchan yet?" Ranma asked, directing the question right at Ryoga and staring him down. If pig-boy hadn't returned the object, Ranma was fully prepared to force him, girl-form or not. Ranma did care for Ukyo, even if it wasn't in a romantic way like the chef wanted, and she did not like seeing her hurt in any way. Her childhood friend had not really been happy for an entire fortnight and the cause of it was sitting right in front of her, glaring hotly back at the pseudo-girl.
"Of course I did!" Ryoga said snippily, restraining himself from yelling at or hitting the boy-turned-girl while he was in Ukyo's restaurant. He was sure she would not take such behaviour, and the subsequent collateral damage, well at all and would extract her payment from his hide.
"Is school over already?" Ukyo asked, changing the subject in an effort to disperse the sudden tense atmosphere.
"Miss Hinako told us to go and buy ice-cream as an assignment to find the cheapest, so she let us go," Akane explained, taking a seat next to Ryoga after closing the door to dampen the noise of the rain somewhat.
"Did I miss any homework?"
"Not besides the ice-cream assignment," Ranma said, rolling her eyes at the childlike teacher's weird homework as she took the seat on the other side of Akane.
Ukyo smiled at the disgruntled redhead in a knowing way. "Want some hot water, Ranchan?"
Ranma perked up at this. "Yeah, that'd be great, thanks!"
Ukyo nodded and said, "One kettle of hot water comin' right up!" as she went into her kitchen, leaving Ryoga with his crush and rival.
"So, Ryoga, how have you been?" Akane asked as a conversation opener.
"Yeah, Mr. P, where did you wander off to this time?"
Akane elbowed her rude fiancé in the ribs none too gently, making her wince and shut her mouth with a huff. "I'm sorry, ignore him."
Since Ukyo had not yet returned from the kitchen, Ryoga slowly began to describe all the places he had been in the last two weeks that he could remember.
Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ and all related characters in any way. If I was as talented as Rumiko Takahashi, I would not be jobless and poor.
A/N: Everyone that reviewed (anonymous or otherwise) all wanted me to continue. I already had plans to continue, so I was not going to disappoint. -grins-
I personally think we need more Ryoga/Ukyo stories. There are a few great ones on the site, but the number of Ranma and Akane fics far outweigh Ryoga and Ukyo. I call for anyone who's willing to step up and write one! Please!
Now that that's out of the way… What did you think of chapter two? I know, nothing much is happening, is it? I don't like rushing into things; more often than not, it ruins the story.
Please review and tell me your thoughts!