Chapter Twenty-Two
Long before she had become his fiancée, Ranma and Ukyo had been friends. Well, very well-known acquaintances anyway.
While Ranma had been traveling on a decade-long training journey across China with his father, he had got to know Ukyo quite well. She and her father were traveling okonomiyaki salesmen with a cart. This is how they made a living.
On an consistent bases, Ranma would ask for some okonomiyaki, and if he could defeat Ukyo in battle, he would get some. Sufficed to say, despite her martial arts training, he won every time.
Due to his naiveté when he was a kid, he originally thought Ukyo was a boy because she acted like one. Even now, she acted like a tomboy wearing a male uniform to school.
But despite her lacking in martial arts - although she was a pretty worthy opponent sometimes - more so, she was a hell of a cook! And this is where her true strength lied. He could never cook like her. Not in his wildest dreams! Ukyo had him beaten hands down in that area.
He had hoped they had a strong friendship by now, and not one just based on all this annoying fiancée stuff. In fact, he was banking on it. But now Ukyo being possessed by a demonic being didn't give him much self-assurance in that hope.
Ukyo wasn't as forthright with their "engagement" to him as some of the other girls were, like Shampoo, or obsessed over him like Kodachi Kuno. But she did like him, he knew that for sure. And he liked her, but in a platonic way.
Like a very good friend…
He didn't want to marry her.
But as for hanging around with her, thathe enjoyed. She felt just like one of the guys, and he was comfortable around her in that way. But he knew she wanted more, a relationship. Not necessarily a commitment, but the start of something. Well, it was something he wasn't ready to give to anyone right now in his life.
He always said getting rid of his curse was his top priority. Once that was done, if it could be done, then he would start thinking about other things like dating.
Ukyo's hands were gripped tightly around the long handle of the giant spatula she both cooked with and fought with, and Ranma prepared himself for the most likely outcome that she would attack him. Whack him in the face or body like she had done numerous times before. It had all been out of playfulness, but now under the control of Xi'an, play time was over.
But her hands were shaking, and with a closer look, it appeared that her whole body was shaking, as if she was fighting against something; her body, and the urge to attack.
She had jumped down with the others, ready to engage him in combat, but had not attacked like the others did. He had wondered why. Now he knew, or he hoped he knew.
"Ranma...help me! It's...too strong!" She finally spoke, pleading.
That was his confirmation!
"Fight it, Ukyo! Don't let it win! I know you can..." Ranma cringed at a sudden sharp pain in his stomach. "We're engaged, but we're also friends. Best friends!" He smiled. "I can't help you. You must push that demon out yourself!"
He sighed, calmed himself. "We've fought before, mostly because I did stupid things...and you've hit me countless times, and I admit I've acted stupidly in certain situations...but I can't see you striking me in misdirected anger. It's not me you need to fight. It's that demon spirit inside you!"
"But it's too strong! It's taking all my strength to hold it back!"
He knew Ukyo was weakening, her resolve was strong, but against a demonic being's influence, he didn't know how long Ukyo could last without succumbing to it.
"I know you can do it, Ukyo," he said, taking a few steps to her, and took a risk. He reached out his hand. "Take my hand. And join me. Help me beat Xi'an. I need you."
"No! Keep hands away!" Shampoo's voice screamed.
And Ranma jumped back, avoiding her strike. He grit his teeth from the leap, as one of her bonbari came smashing to the ground where he once stood, leaving a small crater.
"You girl..." He said to Ukyo, "...you stay away from Ranma! He mine!"
Something in that declaration had a ring of the old Shampoo knew. Shampoo loved him, or maybe it was Amazon law that drew her to him, but her tone was not that of anger but of want, desire; an almost obsessive nature to it.
Shampoo faced Ranma. "You come with me to master," Shampoo said. "He..." Tears streamed down her face and Shampoo suddenly looked over at her great-grandmother. "He...master want you dead..."
"Shampoo, fight it! Don't let Xi'an win! He made you hurt her..." Ranma pointed to Cologne. "That demon inside you is evil!"
She looked at him, and that evil look at moment ago when she attacked him had changed to sorrow. Shampoo was a strong-willed girl, Ranma knew. If anyone could cast out that demon inside her by sheer will, it was Shampoo.
But he knew she needed more of a push.
"He made you hurt her! Xi'an's as evil as they come! I need you..." He looked at Ukyo and Shampoo successively. "...both! I need both of at my side! Together we can beat Xi'an and the rest of his dark army!"
This wasn't like him, it almost seemed out of character for him. He wasn't an emotional guy like this. But he knew desperate times called for desperate measures.
And with those final words, it seemed he had broken through to them.
Shampoo dropped her bonbari and ran over to her great-grandmother to see if she was okay, a strange dark like aura mist flying off her as she ran. The demon was departing.
Then Ukyo did something very unorthodox, something he never would have expected. She ran to him and hugged him. Wrapping her arms around him in an embrace.
Ranma's face flushed, his eyes widened. He stuttered out: "Ukyo...what…are you doing?"
Ukyo pulled back. She smiled. "I'm hugging to say thank you. You reached out finally. And the demon inside me left because of that." She gave him a kiss on the cheek.
He swallowed nervously and looked around haphazardly for Akane. He hoped Akane hadn't seen that. She got so jealous whenever any other girl paid him any kind of attention.
"Oh," he said, realizing his failing to understand. "But you're not gonna go all girly on me now and say we have to get married after this, are you?"
Ukyo frowned. "You sure know how to ruin a beautiful moment, don't you!"
"I...I..."
Ukyo then said, "I don't know why, but I felt the demon inside me didn't want to fight, as if it was being forced to. But had to, as it too was under another influence. Maybe that's what all Xi'an's army consists of - unwilling demons forced to obey his power?"
"Then we have a way to stop him!"
Ukyo continued. "It was female; the demon inside me..." She put a hand to her chest. "...and your words touched its heart. It felt sad, as if it had lost a lover. I felt it had been summoned unwantedly by Xi'an to serve him. It left me without a fight." Ukyo looked at him, smiling. "But did you really mean what you said? Do you really need me?"
Ranma's face flushed. "Well, I..." Then he smiled. "You do make the best okonomiyaki around. How will I get my fill?"
Ukyo's eyes narrowed harshly. "Ranma..."
Ranma's eyes widened once more, and he smiled nervously.
Oops, he thought. "Just kidding," he said.
Ranma and Ukyo followed Shampoo to her great-grandmother. Shampoo knelt next to Cologne. The old woman lay motionless on the ground.
Ukyo bent down and pressed two fingers to the old woman's neck. She looked at the others and sighed relief. "There's a pulse, but it's feint. She'll need time to recover."
"Oh, great-grandmother. Shampoo so sorry."
Ukyo put a hand on the Amazon girls shoulder in comfort. "It wasn't your fault, Shampoo. Don't blame yourself. Xi'an's the blame!" She clenched a fist. "We've broken free of his demonic influence. He can't touch us now."
Ranma looked over his shoulder. "Not all of us," he said, as he observed Mousse and Nabiki. "We need to help'em!"
Ranma groaned.
Ukyo said, "You have to help yourself, Ranma. That's a bad injury."
"And look at all that blood!" Shampoo chimed in. "Xi'an will pay for this!"
Ranma agreed that his wound was bad, but he was more concerned about the others. About Akane.
"Worry about me later. We gotta help'em!"
To be continued...