DISCLAIMER: All characters except for Nayami, who is introduced in later chapters, do not belong to me. *ponders Ryoga's fangs wistfully* Unfortunately. C&C always welcome, feel free to email me at saezuru@hotmail.com if you've got any comments. Thanks for reading!
The Eye of the Beholder
Chapter 4
As he walked quietly through the echoing and empty passages, Ranma became more and more
uneasy. Why hadn't he found anything yet? He was fairly sure that he'd been walking for over
half an hour, and hadn't seen nor heard anything to tell him that he was taking the correct
passages, much less that he was in the right cave. All he was acting on was what something deep
down was telling him, and he wasn't used to that. Ranma shivered, partly from the chill of the
caves and partly from anticipation. He found his mind wandering, and he began to think of his
recent life at the dojo. Ranma almost hoped that he wouldn't find a cure here, so that he could
just hurry and return home.
When did I start to think of the dojo as home? Ranma wondered, almost surprised at himself. I've
never really had a home for very long before. Does that mean we'll be leaving the dojo
soon? His throat closed at the thought. Sure, Nerima was weird, and there were all sorts of
people that wanted him or wanted him dead, but it was still home now. He sighed, drooping a
little. He was getting soft; perhaps he should leave on a long training trip when this whole thing
was over with. Distance himself from those back in Nerima, get a little training done . . . Ranma
nodded his head, steeling himself. Yes, a training trip. If he could get away without his father, the
trip would give him time to get used to being solitary again.
And give him time away from Akane.
The thought was insistent, and no matter hard Ranma tried to ignore it, the fact was still there. He
was becoming too close to her; depending too much on her, depending on the fact that she was
there. And she was always there; especially when he least expected it. He needed her there too
much for his own good. Or for hers. Ranma hated it, but it was true. He needed to get away
before something very wrong happened, and Akane got hurt.
Just then, Ranma noticed a change in the lighting of the cave. Before, he had been depending on
the small pool of light cast by the traveling lantern he had brought, but now the whole passage
seemed brighter. Curious, he continued until he reached a fork in the passage. One of the passages
was dark and the other was obviously where the light was coming from; it was almost light
enough to be the light of day. Unable to retrain his curiosity long enough to get ready for any
enemies that may have been waiting for him, he hurried into the lighted corridor. It led to a large
cavern, with spherical lights on the ceiling causing the brightness. The floor of the cave was
covered with a kind of moss, and it muffled Ranma's footsteps so that he couldn't hear anything
but the pounding of his heart. The walls of the cavern were lined with straight, perfectly formed
tree-like organisms, and Ranma could almost see a small animal or two dart into their shelter at
his approach. The trees continued throughout the entire grotto, just thinner than along the walls.
From where he was standing, Ranma could see that there was a slightly darker green section of
the moss leading in a arrow-straight line away from him. His eyes followed the path forward, and
it turned out to lead to another tree-like plant, but this one was sprawling and twisted, but with a
strange kind of beauty to its imperfection.
On it sat-- Ranma's jaw dropped; he couldn't help it. On the chair sat the most beautiful woman
he'd ever seen. She seemed to be about nineteen or twenty years old. Her hair, long and raven
black, was half pulled back into a loose bun, twined with woodland flowers and vines, and she
was dressed in a long, draping white dress, tied around her waist and over her shoulders with a
thin, green vine. Her soft, luminous brown eyes caught his and he could only stare at her, not
wanting to say anything to startle her.
She smiled at him, her lips curving in a soft arc. Opening her mouth, she said, "Come, Ranma.
I've been waiting for you, waiting for you for so long. Come to me." Her voice was liquid
smooth, and lyrical. She lifted one smooth, pale hand towards him in entreaty.
Ranma's feet began to move, without his knowing. Before he knew it, he had almost reached her.
His last rational thought before rational thought dissipated into nothing was, Wow . . . She looks a
lot like Aka . . . Ak . . . A . . .
"Ranma, do you love me?" The woman was still holding out her hand to him.
Ranma's mouth, still open, moved a couple times before he said quietly in a voice that would
have surprised him, had he been thinking clearly, "Ye-es. Yes, I do." And with that, he reached
out and took the hand she extended.
"Rain. I hate rain. Why does it always have to be rain?" Ukyo brushed her sodden locks aside,
out of her eyes, and looked around at the rest of the group, who ignored her complaint. They had
been trudging through this rain for a good half a day. It wouldn't have been that bad if they were
out in the open, but they weren't. They were under trees, which meant that one minute they'd
think the rain was stopping, because they were under a particularly thickly leaved branch, but the
next minute a whole bucket-load of water would slosh down, completely drenching everyone.
Well, except Akane and Ryoga. Fang-boy, who'd recovered from his head cold, had his ever-present umbrella with him and when he had heard the first raindrops hitting the leaves, he had it
up so fast that the others could only blink at him. Now he was using it as best he could to keep
Akane and himself dry, and succeeding fairly well. Ukyo scowled at them for good measure, but
they weren't looking at her so it didn't really matter. Shampoo, of course, was in her cat form,
since no one had thought to pack umbrellas-- well, except for Ryoga, but that was different.
After several attempts to turn her back into a human during a pause in the rain, only to have her
turn back to a cat the moment the rain started up again, they had all given up and just decided that
she'd stay a cat until they made camp in the evening. It was a small comfort to Ukyo, at least. No
matter how miserable she felt in the cold rain, she could always look down at the violet and white
cat and she'd be just bursting with energy again. Shampoo, however, was not amused by this. If
Ukyo was any judge of feline faces (which she most likely wasn't), Shampoo was very not
amused; in fact, she looked downright pissed off by the whole thing, and kept glowering up at the
sky, or what she could see of it through the trees, with daggers in her little kitty eyes.
Ukyo glanced over at Ryoga and Akane again, wistfully this time. I want an umbrella, Ukyo
thought peevishly. Why does that jackass have to hold the damn thing over her? Right, right, he
loves her, or whatnot. Ukyo sighed and her eyes returned to the path in front of her. She wished,
above all, that Ranma were here. Ukyo knew he wouldn't have held an umbrella over Akane;
he'd never live it down if he did, not with half the people here trying to marry him, and a couple
trying to marry Akane, too. And Shampoo, of course was out; why hold an umbrella over a cat?
So, the only one left, other than the Tendo sisters, would be Ukyo. She smiled dreamily, idly
squeezing out her dripping hair with one hand. Yes, Ranma would hold that umbrella over her.
And then . . . and then . . . they'd have to walk close to each other. And then, Ranma would see
how cute Ukyo looked when she was wet, like a lost puppy, almost. And then, and then, and then
he'd say, "Hey Ukyo, did I ever tell you that you're really cute . . ."
"Hey Ukyo?"
The tentative, masculine voice, so like the one in her fantasy, startled her out of her daydream
and Ukyo looked up hopefully. Ranma?
Ryoga cleared his throat, looking down at the ground. "Er, no. Ryoga. Sorry."
Ukyo turned a little pink in the face. Had she exclaimed that out loud? She made a face, her
hopes of having Ranma magically returned to her dashed. "Yeah, what is it?" she asked, a little
more testily than she'd meant to, and she was sure that the disappointment that it wasn't Ranma
was showing quite plainly in her expression.
Ryoga winced at her tone of voice. "Well, first off, I was going to tell you that I suggested an
early halt for today, and even Shampoo agreed. We're not making much headway in this rain, and
you're looking as if you feel really miserable."
Ukyo breathed a sigh of relief, glancing up towards the unrelenting sky. "Oh, I'm glad of that!"
She looked around, and spotted everybody else beginning to set the camp. Kuno was trying
unsuccessfully to start a fire with sodden matches and drippy kindling, Kasumi and Akane were
discussing dinner for the evening, and the others were setting up the tents.
Ryoga nodded, a little bit of a smile coming to his face. "Yeah. Funny how it always rains around
here." He looked slightly troubled.
Ukyo grinned and nodded, making a noise of agreement. "You sounded as if there was more.
Was there something else you needed to tell me?"
Ryoga nodded again, his gaze falling back to the leaf-littered forest floor. "There was. Um . . .
Well, you see . . . Ukyo . . ."
Ukyo raised an eyebrow, trying not to crack an amused smile at the boy. Whatever it was he was
trying to say was giving him that speaking disorder thing again. Funny, he only started stammering
when he was talking to Akane. And he was mad in love with her. Stammering . . . when he's in
love . . . He's stammering now! Ukyo's heart skipped a beat, and she could feel herself getting
breathless as she waited for him to say it.
"Well . . . it's, well, um." Ryoga took a deep breath, and then said in a rush, "Ijustwantedtosay
sorryforrunningofflikethattheotherevening!"
Ukyo blinked. Oh. So that was what he was trying to do. Apologize. Ukyo couldn't tell whether
the emotion rushing over her was relief or disappointment. It had seemed like he was going to . . .
to . . . She mentally gave herself a smack in the face. C'mon, Ukyo, wake up! Quit getting addled
and pay attention to the task at hand! Ukyo shook her head, and smiled. "Oh, don't worry about
it! You fixed the leak, right? That's all that matters."
Ryoga raised an eyebrow, trying not to grin at her. She looked all flustered for some reason, and
Ryoga found that very amusing somehow. Ukyo flustered was not something one saw every day,
after all. She only really got like that when Ranma called her cute, or something equally
charming. And she was mad in love with him. Ryoga's mind suddenly skipped forward a few
thought processes. Ukyo . . . only got flustered when speaking with Ranma. Who she's in love
with. Ryoga swallowed nervously, watching her even more carefully, not quite knowing whether
he wanted her to be flustered or not. "Oh. Okay. Thanks for the okonomiyaki, by the way."
Ukyo nodded, looking down towards the ground. "Yeah, you're welcome." She paused,
something nagging at the back of her mind. "Um, Ryoga . . . I-- I'm really sorry for sending you
out in the rain like that. I didn't realize it was that cold out there. I never would have asked you
to if I'd known you'd get sick."
Ryoga swallowed again. "It's no problem at all. I'm perfectly fine now, and if it made you drier,
it was worth it."
Ukyo smiled. "Thanks, Ryo-chan."
Ryoga grinned back, showing his fangs. "Yeah, you're welcome."
Akane glanced up from the recipe she was reading, and spotted Ukyo and Ryoga talking about
something. Her eyebrows furrowed slightly, as she watched them. Ukyo looked kind of testy, and
Ryoga looked apologetic. Was that girl being mean to poor Ryoga? But then, she noticed Ukyo
calm down and Ryoga look a little less embarrassed. Oh, no, now it's fine. Whatever it was, it
was just a little thing. Akane rested her head on her hand, her elbow on the tree stump she was
using for a table. Both of them were now seeming to get a little flustered and nervous. Akane hid
a smile, and her eyes went back to the recipe. "Well, well, well . . . Ukyo and Ryoga, hmm? It's
about time that nice guy got a crush on someone."
She had just looked back down at her book when something caught her attention out of the
corner of her eye. She turned, and saw Nabiki leaning on her head on her elbow, watching Ukyo
and Ryoga. She had no discernable expression on her face, but she never did, so that wasn't
unusual. But she didn't usually spend whole chunks of time watching people, not without some
reason. Akane frowned, and went back to her cookbook with an uneasy feeling in the back of her
mind.
The next morning, the group held a council of war, to plan out how they would approach the
mountain. Kuno was all for rushing the place at once, rescuing the pig-tailed girl, and rushing
back out again. The others exchanged knowing glances. Nabiki, ever the sympathetic one, patted
him on the arm. "Hey, Kuno-baby, we'll get your pig-tailed girl outta there in no time. But
meanwhile, I have a stunning picture of her just after she finished a workout . . ."
Kuno sighed. "How much, Nabiki Tendo?"
Nabiki pretended to think about it for a few moments, and then said, "150 yen. Since I'm feeling
generous."
Kuno scowled at her, but pulled out a slightly crumpled handful of bills and held them out to her.
"Here."
Nabiki smiled her triumph and handed him the picture, making the bills disappear somewhere
about her person. Then she looked around, and met the others' glances, each particular to their
characters. Kasumi was frowning ever-so-slightly, Dr. Tofu was staring at Nabiki with a
disapproving expression, Akane was glaring at Nabiki, and clenching her fists threateningly. Ukyo
was blinking in confusion, Shampoo had her arms crossed over her chest, watching Nabiki, and
Ryoga kept glancing after Kuno with an almost sympathetic expression on his face. Nabiki shifted
uncomfortably in her seat. "What are you all looking at?"
As one, the rest sighed, and continued the discussion. Dr. Tofu cleared his throat, and
volunteered, "Perhaps we should just approach the mountain in the open. I think that it won't
matter how we go in-- we'll be spotted anyway."
Ukyo shook her head, twisting a strand of hair through her fingers. "But . . . we can't just stroll in
there. It'd be like saying, 'Hey, here we are, come get us all!' It just doesn't seem natural."
Ryoga nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, and if we try to go in quietly, we might just get the
slightest advantage of surprise over whatever's up there. It can't hurt, can it?"
Dr. Tofu mulled that over for a few moments, while Akane spoke up. "It could slow us down,
though. It always takes longer to move quietly than to move overtly. If we don't try to skulk
about, we'd get there quicker."
Ukyo argued back. "But if we get caught by something because we're marching around in the
open, we won't reach him at all!"
Shampoo stood up. "Shampoo can go quietly and quickly. Why give up one? Unless you all
clumsy."
Ukyo stood up as well, clenching her fists. "I am not clumsy! I'm cautious!"
Akane felt compelled to add her say. "Ukyo may be clumsy, but I'm not! I just want to get all
this over with so I can go back home!"
Shampoo made a face, sticking out her tongue. "Is too clumsy!"
Ukyo's eyes were snapping. "Am not!" She pulled her spatula off her back and swung it in the
Amazon's direction.
Shampoo leaped out of the way, only to have to deal with Akane. She ducked a punch from the
girl, and lashed out with a foot.
Ryoga stood up, loosening his umbrella and taking a threatening step towards Shampoo. "Don't
you dare try to hurt Akane, you . . . you . . . cat-girl!"
"Akane, the beautiful maiden more lovely than Diana the huntress herself!" *glomp*
Akane thwacked Kuno over the head absent-mindedly and glared at Ukyo. "Leave Shampoo
alone! I get to fight her!"
Ukyo glared right back. "Oh, really? As if you could take her?!"
Dr. Tofu stood up, rather suddenly. "Stop it, all of you!" he said, loud enough to startle everyone
into an uneasy silence. "Stop acting like little children and pay attention. I've changed my mind.
We're going to try to go as quietly as we can, but we'll move as quickly as we can, too." He sat
back down, ignoring the surprised looks of the group.
Akane sighed and sat down again, nodding. "Yeah, okay. Whatever."
Ryoga stopped waving his umbrella at Shampoo, glanced at Akane, and nodded as well. "Sounds
fine to me."
Ukyo reluctantly replaced her spatula. "Fine."
Shampoo pulled one more face at Ukyo and Akane, and sank back down onto the fallen tree she
had been sitting on, without saying anything.
Dr. Tofu glanced around to make sure nobody objected. His gaze rested on Shampoo for an
oddly long period of time, but before anyone noticed, he spoke again. "But there's another thing
I'd like to bring up. This mountain is a very dangerous place-- people might get hurt. I think that
half of us should remain here and wait for the others to return, and get help if you don't come
back out."
Akane set her jaw. "I'm going! No one's gonna stop me, so don't try!"
Ryoga looked up and said in a quiet but firm voice, "I'm coming. To protect Ak-- to help fight
with the others who are going." And to find that cure Ranma had mentioned!
"Shampoo is going too!" Shampoo stood up and stubbornly placed her hands on her hips to
prove her point.
Ukyo snorted and stood up as well. "And you all know you're not going to stop me from going
and finding Ranchan, wherever he is."
Dr. Tofu blinked and nodded, looking almost oddly relieved. "Very well-- Kasumi and Nabiki,
along with Tatewaki-kun and I will stay here to wait for you. I've told you all I know about the
mountain; you'll have no use for me there anymore beyond another pair of able hands."
Kuno lifted his head, and voiced his objection. "But I must go and rescue the pig-tailed one!"
Nabiki sighed and shook her head. "Kuno, Kuno, Kuno. Weren't you listening? Ranma's the one
in the mountain. The pig-tailed girl is out here, lost in the forest, so we need to wait for her out
here while the others go find Ranma."
Kuno meditated on that for a few moments, and then nodded decisively. "You are most correct,
Nabiki Tendo."
Ukyo, curious, asked Kuno in an aside, "Didn't you ever ask what your mysterious 'pig-tailed
girl's' name was? All you ever call her is pig-tailed girl. And occasionally the pig-tailed goddess.
And the pig-tailed kettle girl, once or twice . . .."
Kuno shook his head, a noble expression on his face. "Nay, for she is as beautiful to me as the
pig-tailed girl as she would be with another name. If she sees fit to tell me who she is, she will. A
rose, by any other name, would smell as sweet."
Ukyo rolled her eyes towards the heavens, and shrugged. "Yeah, whatever."
Ryoga understood exactly what Ukyo meant-- and not for the first time, wondered how Kuno
could be such an idiot. He shook his head, looking down at the ground. Even I'm not that stupid;
and I admit, I can be pretty blockheaded sometimes. He looked back up, just in time to catch
Nabiki's unflinching gaze on him. Her eyes felt like hot pokers, and yet like a bucket of ice water,
all at the same time. He shifted uncomfortably and when he looked back again, she was amiably
chattering away with her older sister. Ryoga blinked, wondering if he had just imagined it, and
turned away.
Later that evening, they discovered a tiny natural spring that constantly renewed itself, large
enough for one person, in a clearing near the camp and decided to make good use of it. Kasumi,
Nabiki, Akane, and Shampoo had already had a quick soak in the blissfully hot water, and it was
Ukyo's turn now. She stripped, laying her clothes in a neat but unfolded pile, placing her spatula
nearby within easy reach in case she needed it. She untied her hair ribbon, and bound it up again
so that her long, thick hair was in a pile on top of her head, up out of the water's range. Then she
eased herself into the water, wincing as the heat touched bruises and scrapes, but ultimately
relaxing. She felt the day's tension drift away with the accumulated dirt and grime of the journey,
and sighed happily. Yes, this was definitely heaven, right here. Softly, Ukyo began to hum, and
spun a web of daydreams about finding Ranma.
Ryoga was sitting on an old log, some distance from his tent, carefully mending up a tear in one
of his shirts. He didn't remember where he'd learned to sew; it must have been somewhere in his
wanderings. It was a good skill to have, since he was never in one place long enough to have
someone else do it for him, and he was always tearing his clothes on something or other. While
his body could take whatever beatings the world had in store, his clothing wasn't quite so
fortunate. He realized his mind was wandering, but it didn't really matter. He didn't really have
anything to think about, so why go to all the trouble? The clearing was getting darker and darker
by the second, and all the fire back at the camp was doing was throwing weird shadows into the
surrounding trees and undergrowth. Ryoga wasn't afraid of the shadows, just . . . a little uneasy.
Even after years of wandering alone, he still hated the firelit darkness. Something about it
triggered something in his mind that made him shrink away. He hurried to finish his work and get
back to the camp, setting the last few stitches in a haphazard manner. He stood up, folding the
shirt as he did so, and turned to return to his tent. He stopped short, frozen to his spot, because a
shadowy figure was blocking his way, leaning against a tree.
"Ryoga." It wasn't really a question, more like a statement of fact, and it was said in a voice as
smooth as silk and slippery as a stick of butter.
Ryoga felt his heart speeding up-- he could hear the blood roaring in his ears as he prepared
himself to fight if need be. "What do you want?" he asked loudly, hoping his voice would carry
back to the camp and warn Akane of this new danger. Is this one of the trials that Dr. Tofu was
talking about? I didn't think we were close enough . . . The figure seemed to unfold, arms and
legs becoming discernable. Ryoga noticed that it was carrying something in its hand that looked
uncomfortably like a kind of club, and backed away. "H-Hey! Who are you? What are you trying
to do?"
The figure didn't respond, only took a slow but steady step forward. Ryoga stood his ground,
despite the pounding of his heart, and tried to calculate his opponent's next move, so he could be
ready. He saw the figure in shadow stop its implacable advance, raise its arm with the club
towards Ryoga's head, and turn on the flashlight.
Nabiki's unruffled countenance peered back at him through the eerie light, the angle of the
flashlight turning her face into a myriad of strange shadows. At first he was relieved, but as he
realized who was standing in front of him, he wasn't so sure that he wouldn't have been better off
facing some sort of monster. Instead, he had to face a monster of a different sort after all, he'd
been on the wrong end of Nabiki's deals before. After a few moments, Ryoga judged himself able
to speak again, and asked, "Well, what is it? What were you trying to do?"
Nabiki's lips curved into a slow smile. "Hold your horses, pig-boy. By the way, you really should
have seen your face just then. I think I'll treasure it forever."
Ryoga was slightly embarrassed, and felt that he had to defend himself. "Well, we ll need to be
prepared, for when the trials come." He paused while something nagged at the corner of his mind,
and then her exact words hit him in the brain at ninety miles an hour, like a bullet train. "P-Pig-boy? P-P-P . . . Don't call me that!" His voice rose without him meaning to yell, and he knew that
he probably looked a little wild, but he didn't care.
Nabiki raised an eyebrow, calm as ever. "Oh? Why not? Ranma calls you that all the time. Don't
overreact, Ryoga."
Ryoga blinked, realizing that if Nabiki hadn't meant the nickname as anything or than just that, a
harmless insult, he had nearly blown his cover. "Ah . . . Well, um, Ranma just calls me that a lot,
and it's annoying." He laughed, a tinny-sounding noise, and he was already rubbing the back of
his head with one hand. "I usually end up punching him when he calls me that, after all."
Nabiki nodded, appearing to be satisfied, and focused a long, concentrated look upon Ryoga. Her
gaze was so intense that Ryoga fidgeted underneath it like a naughty elementary school boy with
his hand caught on the fire alarm trigger.
Nervously, Ryoga shifted his weight to the other foot. "So . . . what did you need from me,
again?"
Nabiki leaned against her tree again. "Oh, I was just bored, and wanted someone to talk to."
Ryoga didn't quite believe that, but since he couldn't think of any way to call her bluff, he
remained quiet. Nabiki spoke up again, "So, tomorrow you all set off on the last day's journey to
the peak, hmm? Nervous?"
Ryoga tilted his head to one side, quizzically. "No, not really . . . it's the girls who are nervous,
since all of them want to be the first one to find Ranma. It's like some big competition to them."
Nabiki made a rude noise, her expression sardonic. "Everything is some big competition between
those three." Suddenly, Nabiki stopped leaning against the tree and took a step forwards, so that
her face was close to Ryoga's. "Akane had better be the one to find Ranma, pig-boy. After all,"
and she leaned forward to whisper in his ear, the arm air from her breath tickling his skin, "You
wouldn't want my little sister to be cross with her P-chan when she finds out who he really is,
now would you?"
Ryoga blinked, staring over her shoulder for what felt like an eternity. The roaring in his ears
made it impossible for him to hear anything else, or even think clearly. She could do anything
with her knowledge; for all he knew, she could have already told his secret to anybody she chose.
He took a few stumbling steps backward, and then turned blindly and ran, as fast as his legs
would carry him away from Nabiki Tendo.
After a few minutes he stopped, pressing his forehead against the cool, rough bark of a tree to
catch his breath. After a while, his thoughts stopped running around in circles and he could think
clearly again. It wouldn't have been so bad if Nabiki hadn't done it in such a truly frightening
way. Ryoga realized that he should get back to camp and try to act as if nothing was wrong
After all, Nabiki wouldn't have told Akane yet, not if she wanted Ryoga to help Akane find
Ranma. So he began to find his way back towards the campsite, when he realized that he had no
idea where it was. He turned around, frowning. "Where the hell am I? I could have sworn my tent
was this way." He turned around again, panic beginning to rise. If he wandered off now, he'd
never reach the mountain, and never find the cure that Ranma had been talking about! He leaned
against the tree again, closing his eyes, and tried to think of the way he had come, but to no avail.
Although he hadn't come far, the forest was thick and all sight and sound of the camp had been
wiped out by the dense foliage. Ryoga straightened again. "Well, nothing for it but to guess and
hope I go the right way. I might try marking the trees so I don't wander around in circles." And
so he began to walk, every so often kicking at a nearby tree, causing slight dents in the bark to
mark his trail and releasing his frustration at the same time.
After a while, he began to hear something-- it sounded for a while like a low buzzing noise, or a
bird, perhaps, but as he drew nearer it began to sound more like someone humming. Ah, that'd be
Kasumi, cleaning up the dishes after dinner, Ryoga thought as relief came pouring over him.
He'd actually managed to find his way towards the camp! He began to move more quietly, hoping
that no one would notice him returning so they wouldn't know that he'd wandered off again. The
humming had stopped, and soon, he saw a clearing ahead, and pushed his way into it. And
blinked-- this wasn't the camp . . . This was the hot spring they'd found earlier, and it looked like
no one was using it! This is the perfect way to relax me, and take my mind off of . . . off of . . .
oh, well, never mind that. As he moved towards it, he began pulling off his clothes, depositing
them at random intervals as he made his way towards the pool. Finally he had stripped off
everything except his bandanna, which he left on.
Ukyo soaked in the hot spring for a good fifteen minutes with only her eyes and nose just above
the water, low enough that anyone watching would think there wasn't anyone in there at all.
Eventually, she reluctantly prodded her weary muscles into motion, and she began washing her
clothes in the water. When she finished, she laid them out on the rocks to dry. She stayed in the
water for a few moments more, and then sighed and raised herself up and out of the spring. She
turned back towards the camp, and froze.
Ryoga stared at her, just after parting the bushes in front of him and stepping through.
Ukyo stared right back, having frozen just as she stepped out of the water.
". . ." said Ryoga.
Ukyo blinked once. Then she blinked again, to make sure that she wasn't hallucinating or
anything. Her mouth moved, and her face began to turn a cute pinkish color, though try as she
might she couldn't get herself to move enough in order to look away.
". . . gaaah . . . !" said Ryoga finally, clamping a hand to his nose before the blood could trickle
out.
Ukyo then regained control of her body, bent down, and scooped up her spatula in one fluid
movement. "You . . . you . . . you HENTAI!" *claaaaaaaaang*
Under the tremendous force of the blow, even Ryoga wobbled a bit. But he quickly found his
balance again, and scrambled into his pair of pants. Ukyo grabbed the nearest item of clothing,
Ryoga's shirt, and flung it over her head. Then she went in for another blow. But Ryoga's
reflexes were faster than her enraged ones, and he caught her wrist as it descended upon him,
spatula in hand. Ryoga's own temper was rising; after all, she hadn't exactly been trying not to
see him, either. "Look, I was not trying to . . . to spy on you or anything!"
Ukyo struggled, trying to get her wrist out of Ryoga's iron grasp. "Let me go!"
Ryoga watched her intently. "You aren't going to hit me any more, right?"
Ukyo's eyes narrowed. "Just let me go!"
Ryoga let go of her wrist, and she stepped backwards a pace. Ryoga tried again, since she still
looked quite pissed off. "I really wasn't trying anything. I just got lost, and, and . . ."
Ukyo clenched her teeth, "Oh, suuure, you got lost! That's your excuse for everything! I'm sure
you 'got lost' after fixing the roof, so you couldn't come in and say goodbye properly, right? And
you just happened to 'get lost' this morning while the rest of us had to work and break camp,
right? Can't you think of anything better than that?"
Ryoga's face heated in embarrassment and anger. "So what if my sense of direction isn't too
great? It's not my fault! At least I'm not a girl who dresses like a boy, and thinks that'll make
some guy fall madly in love with her, even though he never looks at her except to get food!"
Ukyo's jaw dropped, and her fingers twitched around the handle of the spatula. "Oh yeah? Well
maybe so, but at least I can talk to Ranchan without stuttering and stammering like the village
idiot! I, at least, can tell him my true feelings for him!"
Ryoga didn't even flinch; his eyes, though, registered Ukyo's blow in a way that almost made her
regret saying it. "Yeah, and what good did that do? That didn't change the fact that he doesn't
love you! I at least still have a chance with Akane!"
Ukyo didn't reply. She just stared up him, the spatula sliding from nerveless fingers. The look on
her face made Ryoga rethink what he'd said to her, his anger cooling off a little. Maybe that was
hitting a little too harshly . . . Just before he gathered the courage and dignity to attempt an
apology, Ukyo's eyes suddenly hardened. Before Ryoga knew what was happening, she reached
back and then slapped him, hard, across the face. Then she brushed past him, hurrying back
towards the campsite.
Logically Ryoga, whose strength was well known throughout many places, shouldn't have been
able to feel that slap as anything more than a brush against his skin. But despite logic, the place
on his cheek felt numb at first, and then began to sting and throb painfully. He took a few steps
after her, and called out, "Hey, Ukyo, wait! I need someone to take me back to camp, or I'll get
lost!"
Ukyo was far enough in the bushes that Ryoga could no longer see her, but her heard her harsh
reply, hoarse from yelling so much. "Find your own damned way back to the camp!"
Ukyo was about to storm back into the campsite, when she realized that she was still wearing
nothing except Ryoga's shirt. It went down to mid-thigh; it wasn't that it was revealing or
immodest. But if she came in, naked except for Ryoga's clothing . . . well, she'd never be able to
live it down. Shit, she thought vaguely. What am I going to do? Maybe Ryoga's wandered off
again by now, and I can go back and get my clothes . . . She waited for a few more moments, to
make sure that he was good and gone by the time she got back to the spring. She found herself
thinking that perhaps she'd overreacted-- after all, she had seen just as much of him as he had of
her. And she'd said some pretty awful things to him. Ukyo sighed and turned to go back to the
pool to collect her things, and almost ran into Ryoga. She stifled an involuntary gasp of surprise,
but the only sign of startlement that he showed was to blink. He took a step backwards,
cautiously, and held out a small bundle to her. Without saying anything, he brushed past her and
into the camp, heading straight for his tent.
Ukyo watched him go with mixed emotions. I've never seen him like this. I've seen him
depressed, and excited, and battle-angry, but never hurt-angry like this. I wish I hadn't . . . She
just then remembered the bundle he had shoved at her before he left. She looked down at it, and
it unrolled a little in her hands. Ukyo's throat closed up briefly; he had brought her her clothes.
She put them on, though they were still damp from being washed, and then entered the camp
quietly, hoping that no one saw her. It didn't seem that anyone did, and she slipped over near
Ryoga's tent, and hung the shirt on the peg outside. She started to leave again, and then paused,
glancing back at the entryway to the tent. He really did look upset . . . perhaps I should
apologize. She cleared her throat, and was about to call out to announce her presence--
"Spatula girl? Where you go? Shampoo want sleep now! Is late!" Shampoo's voice carried across
the dark campsite, mingling with the other nighttime sounds of the forest.
Ukyo sighed, took another glance back at the tent flap, and then turned away to head back
towards the tent she shared with Shampoo.
Ryoga lay in his bed, after watching Ukyo's silhouette leave the door of his tent. He could tell it
was her, standing against the flickering firelight; he'd recognize the shape of that spatula
anywhere. For a brief, hope-filled moment, it had seemed like she was going to come in. If she
had, then Ryoga would have been able to apologize to her. He hated having her mad at him, and
hated being mad at her in return. It left him with a cold, heavy lump in the pit of his stomach that
kept him from sleeping-- as it was right now. Besides Ranma, Ukyo was probably one of the
closest things he had to a friend right now. That friendship, which had developed only in a matter
of days, gave Ryoga something to depend upon, something he could count on. But recently . . .
He couldn't tell if it was because tempers were short, or that she was worried about Ranma, or
what, but she seemed edgy and easy to set off, not like usual at all.
Friends . . . Ryoga thought about that for some time. After a while, it had gotten quite easy to
think of Ukyo as just that: a friend. She didn't act like any of the girls he knew, not even Akane,
so it was simple to not think of her as one; so, Ryoga didn't get nervous around her. But tonight
he'd gotten a rude awakening, a reminder that Ukyo was very obviously female. Just thinking
about it made Ryoga's face start to heat up again in a flush. Not that she isn't pretty, or looks like
a guy, or anything, Ryoga thought, but it just seems almost unnatural to think of Ukyo like that.
It's like . . . it's like she's something different altogether, and no one should have the right to
look at her. Ryoga began to get angry at himself for taking advantage of her, before he shook
himself to his senses. Well, she saw just as much of me as I saw of her, if not more-- there was
still that bit of her still hidden by the rocks when she stood up-- so she should apologize first.
Ryoga snorted, the injured pride returning, as he pushed thoughts of nobility and compassion
from his head. Dumb girl, he thought stubbornly, as he rolled over to try and get comfortable
enough to fall asleep. It's not as if she'w sweet, or kind, or beautiful like Akane. After all, she
keeps trying to hit me for goodness' sake! Despite the relative comfort of his bedroll, it took him
longer than he would have admitted to finally succumb to sleep and when he finally did drop off
into slumber, his dreams were filled with his long-haired Akane.
Akane surveyed the scene, dismayed. This was not going at all the way it was supposed to be
going. Ryoga was calmly re-packing his bags for the trip on one side of the camp, and Ukyo was
on the opposite side of camp, filing her spatula to get rid of the various nicks and dents in it. That
wasn't the bad part-- No, the bad part was that neither of them had given each other so much as
a glance the entire morning. Once their eyes had met, when Ukyo was dishing out breakfast to
everyone, and Akane had caught her breath hopefully. The very next instant, however, Ukyo's
eyes had hardened, Ryoga had sniffed in a stubborn fashion, and turned away to eat his breakfast
as far away from the cooking stove as possible. Akane sighed, watching them with a worried
expression on her face. And things seemed to have been going just fine, two nights ago . . . She
shook her head, grimly, her resolve strengthening. It was time things started going right, for a
change. It was time she took matters into her own hands.
Ukyo gritted her teeth, leaning into the heavy file for her spatula. That stupid fang-boy just had to
have a hard head, so that she'd have to spend this time fixing her spatula instead of relaxing, or
sleeping late, or talking to Dr. Tofu. That man was really amazing to talk to; he knew the most
interesting things, and could keep Ukyo fascinated for hours. Ryoga liked talking to him too, and
sometimes he'd-- Ukyo shoved the thought away and shook her head to clear it. That jackass
wouldn't even leave her thoughts alone! She looked over her shoulder and glared across the camp
at him, for good measure. He was taking his tent down, and Ukyo watched him for a few
moments, while her unwarranted anger cooled off, and although she didn't notice it, her
expression turned from one of hostility to one of almost wistful sadness. With my temper, came
the soft wisp of thought in her mind, I might have lost myself a friend last night.
Ryoga, although outwardly calm while he packed his bags, was a turmoil inside. At breakfast this
morning, Ukyo had dished up his plate for him, as she had for the rest of the camp, and met his
eyes briefly. But before Ryoga could react, her eyes had turned cold and Ryoga could do nothing
but try to save his dignity, sniff, and stalk off to eat in his breakfast before she could whack him
over the head with her spatula which, although he didn't see it then, he was sure was hiding
somewhere about her and within easy reach. Ryoga finished packing everything, but had a gap in
the top of the bag. He frowned; he was fairly sure he'd packed everything. After racking his
brains and looking around, he finally remembered the final events of the previous evening; Ukyo
still had one of his shirts. Ryoga began to turn a little red again, as he realized that a dripping wet,
athletically fit, naked girl had been wearing his shirt. Swallowing, he decided to just not ask her
what she'd done with it. He didn't think he'd be able to wear it ever again, not without remember
that horrible night.
Ryoga willed the flush on his cheeks to die down, and turned to take down and pack up his tent--
and saw the shirt, hanging neatly outside the tent-flap. Grimacing slightly, he reached out to take
it with a remarkably steady hand, folded it up, and stuffed it inside his pack. Mechanically, he
began to take down the tent. But although he seemed busy, his mind wasn't on his work at all. So
that's what she was doing outside my tent last night; returning my shirt. And here I thought she
was going to apologize, too. Ryoga felt like kicking something, hard, and had to settle for
clenching his fists. When he opened them after a good thirty seconds, he saw that there were four
little crescent-moon shapes on each hand where his nails had dug into his palms. He expelled the
breath he'd been holding in a long, drawn-out sigh, and glared across the camp at Ukyo, only to
find her looking back at him. Ryoga blinked-- that couldn't be right; she didn't look ticked off,
she looked . . . almost sad. He felt his unwarranted anger dissipate like the smoke of last night's
campfire. This time, her eyes didn't get all hard like they had this morning, and she simply looked
away and looked back down at her spatula. Ryoga, brows furrowed, watched her for a moment
while she worked, before going back to packing up his tent.
Ukyo let out the breath she'd been holding as she felt Ryoga's gaze finally leave her. It was
getting harder and harder to deal with this; the whole thing was just getting to the point where
thinking about trying to apologize to him made her feel sick to her stomach. The more she
delayed, the worse it was going to get. Ukyo closed her eyes, and forced herself to think. Ryoga
was probably feeling just as bad as she was, after all; he was a nice enough guy, surely he felt a
little guilty about walking in on her. It was just that . . . well, the way he had completely ignored
her earlier, when she had given him his breakfast, it just made her want to pound some sense into
that rock-solid head of his. Hello, you jackass, wake up and apologize for oggling me like that!
Sometimes men could be such idiots. But then the very next instant after thinking about how
much he should be groveling at her feet, begging for forgiveness, a feeling of wretchedness would
come over her for not apologizing to him for her behavior.
Ukyo lay down her spatula and file, and curled up, hugging her knees to her chest, as an almost
tangible feeling of depression set in on her. God, I want Ranchan back! He'd listen to me, be able
to set things right again! He'd hold that umbrella over me, wouldn't walk in on me while I was
bathing. He'd come back inside after fixing that roof to say goodnight, even if his curse got
activated because of the rain. Please . . . Ranma, come back to me! Ukyo closed her eyes again
on the tears that threatened to spill, and put her face into her knees. She stayed that way for a
while, until the heavy, unbearable feeling of depression passed. Then, once her thoughts weren't
running around in circles like so many trapped mice, came the rationalizing Yes, but Ranma would
never have apologized to me if he did leave without saying goodbye. And he would never have
picked up my clothes for me at the hot spring pool if he had walked in on me. And he
certainly would never have held the umbrella over me if it meant 'fessing some sort of true
feelings. She made a frustrated noise, deep in her throat, and then lifted her head off her knees as
an idea came over her. I have to get to Ranma before Akane and Shampoo, when we find him. I
have to! He has to see that I love him more than they do, that he belongs with me! She stood up,
briskly, and began to walk back and forth, the wheels in her head almost audibly turning. It was
one against two; she'd have to beat both Akane and Shampoo, at once, in order to reach him
first. She wouldn't be able to do it by herself. And those two made up two of the three people
available to help, so that only left--
Ukyo closed her eyes, hardened her resolve, and then opened them again, with a smile on her lips.
She quickly made her way across the campsite, towards the only single tent in the camp.
"Ryoga," she called as she neared, "I have a proposition to make . . ."
Ryoga rubbed the back of his head with one hand, uncertainly. "Well, I don't know, Ukyo. I
don't really want to hurt Akane at all."
Ukyo smiled, patting him on the arm reassuringly. "Oh, yeah, don't worry. All you have to do is
keep her and Shampoo from reaching Ranchan when we find him. And just think-- when I reach
him first, you'll be there to comfort Akane."
Ryoga's face took on a look of consternation. "But . . . but I don't want to cause Akane any kind
of pain! But then, if she reaches Ranma first, I'll have no chance . . . but if I have to hold her
back, she'll hate me . . ." Ryoga closed his eyes, an obvious battle of morality going on in his
head.
Ukyo tilted her head to one side, trying to sound as comforting and matter-of-fact as possible.
"Look, you're infinitely better for her than that Ranma is, right?"
Ryoga nodded, cautiously. ". . . hai . . ."
Ukyo pressed onwards. "So this will eventually be for her own good, right?"
Ryoga nodded again, cautiously. ". . . hai . . ."
Ukyo smiled triumphantly. "So there's no problem! No pain, no gain, I always say. This little
drawback will be good for her. She'll thank you in the end, after all. Right, honey?" Her eyes
bore into him.
Ryoga fidgeted slightly, avoiding her gaze. " . . . Yeah, guess so." he said, reluctantly.
Ukyo beamed. "Yatta! I knew I could count on you, Ryo-chan!"
Ryoga frowned, suspiciously. "Why're you being so nice all of a sudden?"
Ukyo blinked her eyes, innocently. "What do you mean, Ryo-chan?" She pretended to think
about it for a moment, and then said, "Oh, are you talking about that little mishap at the hot
spring last night?" She waved a hand negligently. "That's all in the past, sugar. Forget about it."
She turned away to walk back towards her tent. "Seeya in a little bit, when we leave."
Ryoga watched her go, feeling a little like someone had opened up his skull, let loose a tornado
inside it, put his head back together, and then pounded him a couple times for kicks. He had a
vague sense that he'd just let himself get duped, but he couldn't really see anything he could do
about it, so he let it lie. Ryoga knew that he wasn't the most intelligent of people, and that it was
easier just to let some things go. Out of habit, his hand slid up the the back of his head, in a
puzzled fashion. So now not only did he have to obey Nabiki and help Akane be the one to find
Ranma first, but he also had to help Ukyo be the first one to find Ranma. He sighed and leaned
down to pick up his pack. "This is all giving me a headache."
"Bye-bye!" Kasumi called cheerfully, just as she would if she were sending Ranma and Akane off
to school. "I hope you all have a good time!" The four of them, Akane, Shampoo, Ukyo, and
Ryoga, were finally ready to leave, and everyone else was seeing them off. Akane was in the lead,
and ignored the rest of the party, walking quickly. Ryoga was right behind her, quite aware of the
stern, icy cold look Nabiki was fixing on the back of his head. Ukyo was close behind the two of
them, glancing speculatively at Akane, as if judging her. Shampoo brought up the rear, and
glanced back once towards the others.
"This isn't some sort of pleasure trip, sis," drawled Nabiki, giving her sister an amused glance.
Kasumi didn't even notice her younger sister, as was usual.
Kuno sniffed loudly, "Farewell, Akane Tendo, thou who art lovelier by far than . . ."
Dr. Tofu sighed, his expression worried. He called out towards the four younger travelers, "Good
luck! Be careful, and stay on guard!"
" . . . and none can challenge my claim to her glorious beauty . . ."
Shampoo smiled, reassuringly. "You no worry! We be right back, with Ranma, just you see!"
And with that, she and the others disappeared around a bend in the trail.
Dr. Tofu looked after Shampoo, his expression unreadable. "She . . . she looks so much like . . ."
Nabiki, who was standing in-between Dr. Tofu and Kuno, raised one quizzical eyebrow. "Hmm?
Who does Shampoo look like?"
Dr. Tofu shook himself, glancing at Nabiki out of the corner of his eye. "Ah . . . never mind."He
turned back towards the camp-site, walking briskly, followed closely by Kasumi, who was still
smiling cheerfully.
Nabiki looked after him, a mildly curious and puzzled expression on her face. "Odd," she
murmured under her breath, and then started to follow her sister.
" . . . and when you return, you will be so radiant that none will be able to deny your perfection!"
"Just shut up, Kuno-baby."
The Eye of the Beholder, by Tori-chan: email me at saezuru@hotmail.com
