Shinigami ½
-Chiba Hiro
(I do not own Ranma ½ or Bleach, all credit shall go to their respected creators.)
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Chapter 21: Ukyo Kuonji! The Martial Arts Okonomiyaki Chef!
… … …
Nighttime-
A lone figure with long brown hair with a huge spatula strapped to the back walks through the streets of Furinkan on this gloomy afternoon. The figure appears to be a young woman of about sixteen. The woman catches sight of a large, stocky man with glasses and a bandana sweeping the sidewalk in front of Tofu's office.
Genma Saotome looks upon this new face, and immediately scrambles away, trying frantically to keep out of reach of the woman. The woman appears to be furious, but that is to be expected, considering how dishonorable Genma has acted through the years. None of us would be surprised if he tipped her off someday, and now she came for revenge. Yeah, the elder Saotome appeared to get that a lot.
"Genma Saotome, for your crimes against the Kuonji family, you'll pay for what you did to us!" the girl declared, and cornered Genma into the vacant lot.
Genma turned around fearfully to face his executioner. The girl was furious beyond relief, and one could almost say her battle aura could fry the air around her.
"Now, there's no need to be so hasty!" Genma pleaded. "If only you understood what I went through in order to do the thing I did! It was not an easy decision either! Believe me!"
"I will not have any of this, old man!" the girl exclaimed, and prepared to pounce on Genma with her spatula. "No amount of reasoning will ever get me to forgive you!"
"AAHHHHH!" came his scream, and echo.
… … …
Next morning-
The same girl from earlier is going to Furinkan High, completely masquerading as a male student. The girl had reason to be doing this. The reason was that she wanted revenge on another Saotome. She dealt with the father earlier, but now comes the younger Saotome. He betrayed her ten years ago, and left with that traitorous father of his.
She entered the classroom, fully expecting to see the object of her hatred, and yes, he was there. She cleared her throat and introduced herself to the class. "Ahem! My name is Ukyo Kuonji! It will be a pleasure to work together with you all." With that, she pulled out a portable grill from nowhere and started cooking Okonomiyaki (Japanese pizza).
She delivered them out to the students and the teacher with a speed only a top-notch martial artist could pull off. Ranma nearly bolted from his chair, and he started pointing at Ukyo frantically. "Hey, you're Ukyo!" he shouted. "Remember me? I'm Ranma Saotome! It's been a while!"
Ukyo faked a smile, but glared quietly at him. "Hey yourself! I never thought you'd be here, of all places." She lied, because she already knew he was going to be there. "Yes, it has been a long time."
"How's your brother?" Ranma asked bluntly. Immediately, Ukyo exploded! Her face turned the color of a tomato as her green eyes took on a red hue at the same time.
"Wouldn't you like to know!" Ukyo shouted. "I challenge you! You and I, we settle the score between us today after school!"
"Hey, what's the big deal? Challenging me right off the bat!" Ranma asked, confused. "All I asked was if your brother Sora was alright, jeez."
Ukyo was fast, and before anyone could react, she was in front of him in the blink of an eye. She had indeed improved her stealth and speed. "It's none of your damn business, Ranma." She hissed and took her seat. Ranma just sat there, puzzled, and terrified at the same time. What happened to Ukyo? She was always his friend, and her brother was just as kind to him. What could possibly have happened to make her so mad?
… … …
After school-
Ukyo had set up an arena for their duel, and Ranma played right into it. Ranma had no idea why Ukyo was challenging him, but friend or not, a challenge was one thing he had to accept.
"Alright, Ukyo, what's wrong?" Ranma asked. "Not even a friendly hello? You just up and challenge me, like Ryoga."
"I just wanna test you on your skills." Ukyo said, in her chef's outfit. "You better prepare yourself!"
Ukyo launched into the offense, and tried to push Ranma back with her spatula. Ranma just swerved out of the spatula's strikes. The spatula may be a silly thing to use as a weapon, but the edge cut just as well as any sword. Ranma was finally pushed back far enough that he suddenly felt his shoes frying. Ranma looked down and found himself on a stove that covered the bounds between the ring and the outside.
Ranma leaped over Ukyo, and landed in front of her. Ukyo took a swing at him, but he just rolled around it, and went for a leg sweep. Ukyo tripped out from under him, and landed on her butt. She growled, and took a bowl out and tossed the contents of the batter at Ranma. The batter turned into a cloud of gas.
"Enjoy pepper gas!"
Ranma's nose started to tingle and he sneezed and coughed fitfully. Ranma held his nose, and escaped from the cloud. He rolled to the right, only to get caught in another one of Ukyo's concoctions.
"Why don't cha stick around, Ranma?" Ukyo made a pun out of the situation.
This time, she spread a liquid substance on the ground. Ranma was instantly glued there. Ranma tried to move his limbs, but all he could do was move his left leg. Ukyo was coming in for the final blow, but this time, Ranma was more than prepared.
"I seriously don't have time for this!" Ranma shouted. "If you want to fight so badly, then you'll get one!"
Ranma lifted his leg up and disarmed the spatula Ukyo wielded, and tore open her chef's kimono faster than she could react. The obi ripped off to reveal her chest wrap. His eyes bugged out when that happened and Ukyo hurried to cover up her exposed chest, but it was too late! All the spectators saw it (the male ones included). Ukyo turned a bright red and ran off screaming her head off in shame.
"Ranma, you jerk!"
Ranma tried to move, and stand up, but the girls that were there were not about to let him out unscathed. They quickly surrounded him; each had the aura and the intent to make him pay for embarrassing a girl. Akane included. Rukia watched unflinchingly as Ranma received their punishment, and even laughed when the girls tore his pants off, and gave him a severe beating on his face.
"Enemy of women!" one girl shouted.
"How dare you embarrass the poor girl!" Another one shouted.
"You didn't have to do that!" Her friend shouted.
"Ranma, you pervert!" Akane shouted.
After they were done, Ranma was now a pile of bruises. Rukia sighed, and moved toward him to get him out of the ring. But, just as she did, her cell phone rang. Rukia checked it. Ah! And, it was bad timing too! Hollow alert! Three hollows, the first, 2.5 kilometers east, the second 3 kilometers south, and the third, inside Furinkan High School Gym!
"Bad news, Ranma!" Rukia announced. "There are two hollows, one to the east, one to the south, and one in the gym!"
"I'm kind of stuck here!" Ranma shouted, even though he hurt all over. "Could you maybe free me?"
Rukia obliged him, and splashed him with a bucket of water she got from the water fountain.
"Now, let's go!" Rukia ordered. Ranma got up, his bruises already healed.
"Hey, I'm the lieutenant here! You should be listening to me!" Ranma shouted.
"Oh, okay then, you say it!"
"Let's go!"
"Right!"
… … …
Ranma decided to take on the Hollow that apparently ravaged the gym. When he caught up with the Hollow. The Hollow had succeeded in destroying half the gym. Ukyo was cowering behind the bleachers. Ranma decided to act now and take the Hollow down. Ranma sprinted toward the Hollow, and drew his zanpakuto and hacked the Hollow in half in the blink of an eye.
When it was over, he sheathed his sword and walked over to Ukyo. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and she stopped shaking. She looked up at him with fearful eyes. In an instant, her eyes flooded with tears, and she cried on his leg. Ranma knelt down to her level and put an arm around his buddy. She grew tense when he did that, but decided to let it go.
She calmed down a few minutes later and looked up at her savior. When she looked into his ocean-blue eyes, she could feel herself getting lost in them. The sheer look to them made him appear to be wise. She knew where she'd seen those eyes before! Her brother used to look at her the same way. At that realization, her tears resumed, and she cried yet again.
When she finally settled to a dull whimper, and stopped crying altogether, she found herself sitting next to Ranma. He was still in Shinigami form, but Ukyo couldn't care less. Now, Ranma decided to ask her.
"Um, Ukyo?" Ranma asked, but hesitated.
"Yeah?"
"Can…Can you really 'see' me?" Ranma asked a hypothetical question.
"Would I be crying on your leg if I couldn't see you?" Ukyo sounded more humorous than serious. "Yeah, I can see you. Why?"
"Well, you see…have you ever heard of Jusenkyo?"
"Yeah, the place of cursed springs."
"Well, this is what I look like when I transform." Ranma said.
"So, you transform into a Meiji version of yourself?" Ukyo said sarcastically. "No offense, but if we add a cross-shaped scar to your cheek, and dye your hair red, you'd look exactly like Kenshin from the anime."
"Well, I guess I can agree with you on that." Ranma laughed, and tugged at his rather long ponytail.
"Um, I'm ready to tell you why I challenged you." Ukyo said.
"What?"
"Well, I challenged you because I wanted revenge for what you and your old man did to me." Ukyo started. "I confronted him yesterday, and beat him to a pulp."
"Hey, so no wonder dad was covered in bruises." Ranma wondered.
"Anyway, I wanted to do that today to you too. But, I guess I got embarrassed at the end, and ran off." Ukyo went on, humoring herself for acting embarrassed in front of an opponent.
"Well, I don't blame you, Ukyo." Ranma said. "I kind of went to far when I ripped your kimono open. I'm sorry, Ukyo."
"Nah, I kind of overreacted, because that's probably what I would've done if I were stuck like that." Ukyo joked and put that thought aside. "You and I, we were friends in the past. But, for all the times you beat me and won free meals from my father, I always resented you. But, deep down, I always harbored an affection for you."
Ranma looked thoughtful, but Ukyo decided to move on.
"You were the closest thing I had to a family back then, Ranma. Ever since I could remember, father was too busy with the Okonomiyaki stand to ever pay attention to me. Instead, it would always be my brother Sora's duty to look after me. The day you came into our lives was the best thing that ever happened, if not the most annoying."
"What…happened to Sora?" Ranma hesitated, expecting to stir up her fury again, but she remained calm and closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
"It all started when you guys left us behind. Our father's yattai was about to be given to you in return for my dowry. But, since you lucked out and decided to leave Sora and I behind, you took off without warning.
"I spent days crying for how you left me. The girls at school would make fun of me for losing my 'boyfriend' that way. I wanted nothing more than to get that back. I cooked for the family I still had left. Sora was still going to high school, and yet he was still the one to take care of me." A tear rolled down her cheek, but she wiped it away.
"I loved Sora, and I thought everything would be okay, and with him around, I could forget all about you and move on. But, tragedy struck when I turned twelve. It was his birthday, and I was out shopping. I searched frantically for a gift, and got it. When I finally returned home, I was expecting Sora to walk in and greet him I usually did.
"A whole day goes by and he still doesn't come home. The food I had prepared from the night before was now cold and untouched. Then, a phone call comes from the hospital. They tell me my brother was involved in a car crash, and I went to his side immediately. He died in my arms. And, do you know what his last words were?
"They were: 'Find Genma and Ranma Saotome. They will know what to do with you.' Then, he died." Ukyo said. "I assumed he meant to find you and punish you because they might've ultimately caused his death. I come here, and I dealt your father a severe punishment, and I meant to do the same to you, but I couldn't do it."
"Then, when I asked about Sora earlier…" Ranma started.
"I was angry when you mentioned him, and when you did, all I wanted to do was kill you." Ukyo finished.
"But, I would never kill anyone, and even if I did, I certainly wouldn't have killed your brother. Because, he was kind to me too." Ranma smiled.
… … …
Later-
The two walk home, and Ukyo just keeps thinking about Ranma. In all the years she spent trying to find him, she never meant to truly hate him. She misinterpreted her brother's wish for getting revenge on them, not looking to them for care. But, she still could not bring herself to forgive Genma for abandoning her.
"sigh…What do I do now?" Ukyo sighed.
"Well, whatever you want, Ukyo." Ranma said, listening to her. "Hey, now that we're back in business, why don't we be friends again?"
"I'd like that." Ukyo said as they stopped in front of a former storefront. It was just asking to be bought and used.
"What will you do now?" Ranma asked.
"Well, I still wanna continue the family business." Ukyo said, looking at the 'for sale' sign. "I think I'll start my business here."
"Really? If this ever opens, give me a call, okay? You could live with us." Ranma suggested.
"Live with you, where?" Ukyo asked.
"At the apartment Rukia and I live in." Ranma said.
"Oh, well, until I can get my business started, I guess it would beat camping outside. I'll do it!" Ukyo exclaimed, and followed Ranma home.
… … …
At the apartment-
"Well, this is the apartment we share." Ranma said, and pointed to Rukia, who was lazily reading a manga and lying on the couch they shared.
"Wait, you live here together?" Ukyo asked.
"Yeah, well we don't have parents to bother us here, and it's the ideal place to start living in." Ranma said.
"Where's your dad?" Ukyo asked.
"He lives with Akane. Apparently, he's freeloading off them, and waiting for me to come to my senses and marry Akane." Ranma said.
"They sure sound desperate." Ukyo commented.
"Yup." Rukia agreed, and casually turned a page in her book.
Ukyo looked around the apartment, just to get a feel of her temporary home. The living room comprised of two couches, one armchair, a small bookcase stacked with books of different kinds, and a simple TV set.
There were three bedrooms, one was obviously Ranma's because it was fairly big, and comprised of 'manliness', and the other two were a lot more normal. The room next to his was small, and assumed it was Rukia's. The last room was reserved for guests. And, she assumed it would be hers until she opened her shop. A bathroom was located next to the kitchen, and the coat closet was near the door.
Ukyo inspected the kitchen. It had a very small stove and oven, a counter for cutting things, and a microwave and pantry on top of them. The dining room came next, and in it was a small kotatsu and cushions for sitting down.
"Hmm…hey, guys, how about I cook dinner for tonight?" Ukyo suggested.
"You're welcome to cook." Rukia said offhandedly. "I'd like to see someone top Ranma's cooking."
"Who usually cooks around here?" Ukyo asked as she put on an apron and set up her cooking utilities.
"I do." Ranma admitted. "And just because I cook simple dishes doesn't mean you should complain. I mean, I worked especially hard trying to make that omelette the other day."
"Which was great, by the way." Rukia interrupted.
"Okay, sugar, for this to work…would you mind cutting the vegetables?"
"I do it anyway." Ranma sighed, and proceeded to work together with Ukyo.
… … …
Later-
When all was said and done, dinner was fairly quiet, and going to bed was also going to be a quiet one. Ukyo unpacked what little she had, and slipped into her nightclothes. Ukyo was violently tossing in her sleep. She dreamt of that day her brother died. She cried silent tears as she saw him again.
He was smiling as usual, but even as he was dying, the smile never left his face. Even if he were hurt, he would never let Ukyo see anything other than that smile. It made her sad to think that if he were hurt, he would never trust her enough to show it.
Suddenly, she screamed out, and caused her other roommates to rush to her bedside, worried. She was sweating furiously, and shivering even though it was a fairly warm night. Ranma and Rukia were worried about her, and she was still sobbing about it when they saw her.
"Um, Ukyo? Are you alright?" Ranma asked, and shook Ukyo's shoulder gently. She came to her senses and opened her eyes. Reality returned to her, and started uttering nonsense. "Ukyo, calm down! Tell us what's wrong!"
Ukyo finally calmed down, somewhat, and breathed in deeply.
"I dreamt about…my brother." Ukyo said.
"Do you want to talk?" Ranma asked her, but Ukyo shook her head slowly.
"No, it was just a dream." Ukyo reassured them, and smiled, despite her tears. "I'll be okay soon. No need to worry."
"Okay, if you're sure." Rukia said, and both got up and went back to their respective rooms. Ukyo, on the other hand, had a difficult time getting to sleep.
... ... ...
Every time she slept, the same dream came back to her. She finally had enough, and got up out of bed. It was about 4:32 in the morning, and her other roommates were dead asleep. She decided to go make herself some tea to calm down, and go back to sleep.
Ukyo heated a kettle on the stove, and mixed some herbs she found in the pantry. Rukia had a surprising amount of tealeaves. Some of which she'd never heard of before. She decided to try them out, and hope for the best that she get some more sleep before she went back to bed. But, no matter how hard she tried her eyes would not close. Her thoughts drifted to her brother, and she thought about him, really thought about him again for ages.
She was about to pour herself some tea, when the doorbell rang. Ring! Who could be up at this time of morning? It was barely 4:50 and Ukyo rose to get the door. When she opened it, she looked upon her visitor. Her heart nearly stopped when she set eyes on him!
"Brother!"
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A/N: So, do you like how I gave Ukyo a brother, and named him Sora? Well, the Orihime figure in my story, if you're wondering, is going to be Ukyo. She will gain the same powers as Orihime in the original canon. And, as to who's the Quincy, I plan to have a certain myopic Amazon as the Quincy here. Please rate and review! Thanks!
Next time: Ukyo's resolve!