Childhood Loyalties

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma ½ or any related characters in any way, shape or form.

Author's Notes: This could be considered part of the "wanderers" micro-continuity amongst these oneshots, or just the two on a training trip; it's your decision. Anyway, I've been focusing on this anthology to try and close the gap between it an "A Chinese Connection", so expect an update for the other anthology fairly soon. The first draft of the next CTR chapter is almost done, we just need to write the ending and get the betaing done.

Children

Ukyo sighed softly, lying on her back with her hands clasped behind her head, enjoying the gentle breeze and watching the clouds drift lazily past. Beside her, Ranma chewed idly on a blade of grass, staring at the sky himself and idly crossing his legs. They rested their in companionable silence for several minutes, before Ukyo was the first to speak up. "Hey, Ranchan?" She asked, not looking away from the clouds.

Ranma hummed to show he was paying attention.

"What do you see in your future?" Ukyo wondered.

"…What do you mean?" Ranma replied quizzically.

"Well, we're not going to be like this forever. What do you see your life being like, in the years to come?" She persisted.

"In what ways?" Ranma replied, still inscrutable.

"Well… what about kids?" Ukyo suggested.

"What about them?"

"Do you want any? How many do you see yourself having? Do you want boys, or girls, or some of each? What do you want them to grow up to be?"

Ranma fell silent for a long minute, mulling it over. "What about you?" He finally replied.

"…What about me?" Ukyo wondered.

"You brought the idea up; surely you've got your own answers." Ranma smirked.

Again, silence reigned, and Ranma was starting to think that maybe Ukyo had dropped the subject in embarrassment when she softly said, "Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes, I want kids. I'd like a little boy and a little girl, though I wouldn't mind having more then one of each, you know? It was kind of lonely being an only child; I always wanted a bigger family then just my dad and I. But not too big; I never want to have so many kids I can't give all of them what they deserve. And, of course, I'll teach them all martial arts; can't let the family style die out, right?" She grinned playfully at Ranma, turning back to the sky again afterwards. "Your turn."

"W-what?"

"I told you my dreams, now you tell me yours." She insisted.

"…Not really much to say. I honestly never thought about it before – I mean, can you imagine me as a dad?" Ranma asked, deliberately incredulous.

Ukyo looked him over meaningful, and then gave a single, emphatic nod, leaving it up to Ranma as to what she was agreeing with.

"Anyway… I guess I do want kids, at some point. Not right now, ya know, but… someday. Boy or girl? …Never really thought about it. I guess, after everything I've been through, I don't really care – I just want a kid who's a tough little scrapper, you know what I mean? Someone I can relate to, someone I can teach, someone I can understand… I mean, I want them to have a better childhood then I did, but… what do I really know about a normal life?"

Again, the companionable silence settled between them, the minutes ticking away unnoticed. And then, Ukyo spoke up once again. "R-Ranchan…" She hesitantly began.

"Yeah, Ucchan?"

"Would you… I mean, could you… do you think? Would you ever consider…?" She stammered, losing control of her tongue and blushing furiously. "Do you think you and I could make a family, someday?" She finally blurted, then promptly flipped over so that her back was to him and hid her face in her hands, feeling her cheeks burning so red she was wondering why she wasn't setting the grass on fire.

Ranma turned to look at her, but said nothing. He just smiled, softly, and lay there, watching her.