Most of the characters mentioned here are property of Rumiko Takahashi from the Ranma ½ series, such as Ukyo, Ranma, Akane, Ryoga, Shampoo, Mousse, Cologne, Kasumi, Kuno, Nabiki, and the other Furinkahn students.

Chapter Three: Reappearance

It was raining hard. It was late. And lights were still on at the Tendo's house. Akane and Ukyo were laughing their heads off.

"So you punched her on the nose?!" yelled Akane, as tears rolled down her face.

"No, I didn't!" exclaimed Ukyo. "I just tried to fix it! But it looks like the operation was a total failure!" she said as she burst out laughing.

Ranma stood against the wall silently. He only smiled.

".Well, I better get going" giggled Ukyo, as she tried to stop her laughing.

"Yeah, it's kind of late." Said Akane, trying to control herself.

"So, did Ryoga show up to pick up his stuff?" asked Ranma to Ukyo.

".No, he didn't. You sure you told him?" replied a confused Ukyo.

"Pretty sure" assured Ranma.

".That's odd." Said Akane.

"Don't worry" began Ranma. "He's probably lost. He'll show up sooner or later."

Ukyo smiled and nodded.

"You're probably right. After all, that kid has no idea were Japan's capital is." she said with a giggle.

Thunder roared.

"You'd better get going" said Akane. "The rain will just get stronger."

"Yeah" said Ukyo as she picked up her things and stuffed them in her backpack.

"Well. I'll see you tomorrow." Said Ukyo as she walked out of the door.

Ranma and Akane waved her off.

Ukyo started running toward her restaurant. As she turned on one corner, she heard a little sneeze. She looked down and saw P - Chan.

"What on Earth are you doing here?" she asked.

P - Chan turned around to see Ukyo. He giggled nervously.

"Is this your idea of fun, P - Chan?" she asked angrily.

P - Chan shook his head.

"Oh, well. guess it'll be you and me again, boy." Ukyo told the little pig.

Then, she grabbed P - Chan.

The rain was getting harder.

"We'd better hurry." Ukyo said.

Then she took off.

She was about to continue running trough the rain, when suddenly she stopped. The alley. It was right in front of her. Ukyo remembered, how some nights ago, she had felt that terrible presence right before she found P - Chan. That presence, that had scared her so much.

Ukyo was about to turn around and go on the long way. But instead, she thought to herself:

"I have to control myself. I'll do this. And I'll get this fear off me once and for all."

She looked at her arms, and found an impatient P - Chan staring at her. He urged her to hurry.

"All right." Ukyo said. "Let's do this."

And then, she began to run trough the alley.

The first few meters she felt nothing, except the drops of rain that fell on her face and P - Chan's head pressing against her chest. But then. she felt it. The presence. Again, temperature dropped. The wind blew harder. And Ukyo panicked.

She was almost through the alley. But she was crying and she was trembling all over, and that slowed her down. And the few seconds that she was slowed down, she heard a voice in her head. The voice was dry, scratchy, and horrid. It was an old voice. But it was evil. So evil inside it, that when Ukyo heard it, she began to scream.

The voice said:

"Keep away from this alley, my resting place, little brat, or I will butcher you! I'll take out your intestines and hang them in my wall! I'll drink you alive! GO NOW!!!"

"STOP IT!!" screamed Ukyo hysterically.

Next thing she knew, she was out of the alley, lying on the floor. Rain fell hard on her. She was pale, she had goosebumps all over, and her breathing was incredibly speeded up. She then began to cry over, and over.

P - Chan, pressed himself against Ukyo's chest. He felt her fear. And she felt his fear. P - Chan had also noticed the presence, and he was scared to death as well.

"Oh, P - Chan!" sobbed Ukyo as she hugged the little pig.

"I was so scared, P - Chan. I was so scared!" she wailed.

The little pig was shaking all over. He hugged Ukyo. After sobbing and crying for a long time, Ukyo finally yelled:

"I'm never crossing that alley again. Never!"

Ukyo started back home again. She was still scared. She was still shaking. P - Chan held tightly to Ukyo's arm. He too was still scared.

Rain fell hard on them both. The wind roared. But the evil presence was gone, and that was all that mattered.

Ukyo and P - Chan only had to walk one more block before they reached Ukyo's home. As they got closer to their destination, Ukyo noticed a strange figure standing in front of her house. She stood still. P - Chan looked at Ukyo impatiently. He wanted to get some place safe. But Ukyo was still scared. And that strange figure standing in front of her home didn't help in calming her down.

After watching the figure for a long time, Ukyo finally managed to summon all her courage and get close. As she got closer, she began to see what the figure was. It was not the shape of a human.

"...Oh, my God..." Ukyo murmured.

Indeed. It was the wolf. It was the wolf Ukyo had seen some months ago. She still remembered it. Although she hadn't thought much of it lately, it still had been in her mind.

"...The wolf!" she finally blurted out.

P - Chan looked at her, and then he looked at the wolf, and at the same time, the wolf turned around, and looked at them both. It took a few steps back, and it began to whimper.

"No, no, please, no" begged Ukyo "please don't run out on me again...easy boy..." she said.

The wolf whimpered even more.

"Please stop that!" yelled Ukyo, as a tear rolled down her cheek.

The wolf howled. Then, it turned around and ran.

Ukyo fell to the ground, defeated. And with this, the wolf stopped. It turned around and saw Ukyo's desperate face. And it saw the little pig pushing her back with his nose, as rain fell on both of them.

The wolf stood still and silent for a moment. It began to whimper again. And then, it walked toward Ukyo. It stopped right in front of her.

Ukyo lifted her head up and came face to face with the wolf. She wiped off her tears and fisted her hand. Then, she put it under the animal's mouth, so it could smell the hand.

The wolf stood still for a moment. And then, without sniffing Ukyo's hand, the wolf began to lick it, showing by this that it trusted Ukyo.

Ukyo smiled at the wolf, and petted it's head.

"...Do you want to spend the night with us, boy?" she asked.

The wolf wagged it's tail softy, and barked.

"I'll take that as a yes" said Ukyo smiling, as she got up the ground, and opened her house's door.

Ukyo left P - Chan and the wolf in her bedroom while she took a bath. During this time, P - Chan stared at the wolf, without even blinking. The wolf just stared out the window, motionlessly. When Ukyo went out of the bathroom, she fixed supper for her, and her two companions. However, the wolf didn't even took a bite of Ukyo's okonomiyaki.

"I see you don't like human food..." she said softly. "I'm so sorry, sugar, but that's all I have. You won't find meat in here..."

The wolf emitted no sound. Instead, he went beside Ukyo, and sat next to her. P - Chan found this move rather suspicious, and growled at the wolf.

"P - Chan, stop it." Said Ukyo. "This here is our special guest. We mustn't mistreat him. Besides, it could probably chew your head off without any trouble at all..." said Ukyo as she grinned.

The wolf barked at P - Chan. The little pig got scared.

The wolf noticed P - Chan's fear. The wolf walked next to him, and licked it. Ukyo laughed.

"You see, P - Chan?" she blurted out "It likes you, so don't be rude."

P - Chan stared at the wolf. He noticed something strange in it. However, he had found out that it wasn't a danger at all.

Ukyo yawned.

"Well..." she began "It's school day tomorrow, and I got to get to bed."

Ukyo got under the sheets and turned the light off. P - Chan jumped to her bed, and lay next to her.

"You're still scared too, huh?" she asked the little pig quietly.

P - Chan nodded.

The wolf, who was laying on the floor, lifted it's head up, looking puzzled.

Ukyo looked at it, and then said, with worried words:

"Something terrible... happened today..."

The wolf whimpered. It walked towards Ukyo's bed, and after staying put for a little while, it ventured and jumped up the bed.

Ukyo giggled.

"You want to sleep with us too?" she asked happily.

The wolf heard this, and leaped back to the floor.

"No, it's ok. You can sleep on my bed. The more the merrier... and the safer." She whispered to the wolf.

Up leaped the wolf again. He curled up at Ukyo's feet and laid it's head softly on one of Ukyo's legs.

Ukyo smiled, and said softly to P - Chan and the wolf:

"Good night."

And then she fell asleep. Although she was scared to death in the beginning, something about this strange wolf gave her a safety feeling. This wolf, that was so strange, and so mysterious, had stayed with Ukyo. And Ukyo felt that the reason it had stayed, was because it wanted to protect her in some way... but what way was that?

When Ukyo woke up, the wolf was not there. It wasn't beside her, looking out for her anymore.

Ukyo began to call it.

"Wolf? Where are you buddy?"

She looked for it all over her house. She found nothing, except a vast feeling of emptiness. The wolf had gone, and it had left Ukyo and P - Chan alone.

Ukyo sighed, and then went to change herself into her school uniform. And it was of to Furinkahn once again... and again with a feeling of having achieved nothing at all, except more questions.

"Hey there, Ucchan" greeted Ranma.

"...Huh? Oh, hi" answered Ukyo. Her voice was very unenthusiastic and cold...

Ranma looked at Ukyo puzzled.

"What's up? Is something wrong?" he asked.

Ukyo didn't answer. She just looked away and then reached her backpack.

"Oh, I get it" began Ranma as he saw an angry P - Chan looking at him, "You found this little jerk again, and that's why you're upset, eh?" said Ranma, grinning at P - Chan. The little pig squealed angrily.

Ukyo tried to smile, but she couldn't. She had to many questions going on in her head. Why did the wolf return? And where had it gone? What's going on in Nerima? Why are people getting bitten? By who? By what?

All these questions gave Ukyo a headache. She headed towards the girls bathroom without saying anything to Ranma, who was poking P - Chan in his stomach. When Ranma and P - Chan saw Ukyo go without saying a word, they looked at each other, puzzled.

"What's wrong with Ukyo?" asked Ranma in a worried voice.

The little pig looked at the floor. He didn't understand everything, but at least he had been following the facts closely, so that made him the only... individual who kinda knew what was going on with Ukyo.

"...Well??" asked Ranma again, impatiently.

P - Chan looked at Ranma, and then at a hose. Ranma immediately got the idea.

"All right" he said "but you're gonna tell me everything you know, understand?"

Ukyo got kicked out of three classes during the day. And all for the same reason: she seemed to be daydreaming and wasn't paying any attention to the lessons at all. She was, of course, pissed, she had a terrible headache, and she was so confused, so sad, and so scared, all at once that she was feeling sick as a dog. Indeed, this was not her day.

As soon as the bell rang, she picked up her things and went home without saying good - bye to anyone. When Ukyo got home, she went straight to her room and laid in bed. All she wanted to do, was to sleep all day without doing anything or knowing anything. She just wanted to rest. She fell asleep almost as soon as she stopped thinking about her day and her questions, and began to concentrate on sleeping.

Ukyo woke up at 7:00 p. m. But she didn't wake up by herself. Someone was knocking at the front door.

Ukyo grumbled and got up. She went to the door and said angrily:

"Go away, we're closed. We'll open up in two days, so save your money and go order some pizza."

"Is that the way you treat your costumers, Ukyo?" asked a voice from behind the door.

Ukyo recognized the voice. She opened up and, and saw Ryoga.

"What do you want? You woke me up, you know..." she growled.

"I'm sorry. I know that you've had a lousy day, but I need to speak to you." Said Ryoga calmly.

"How the heck do you know I had a lousy day??" demanded Ukyo.

"Ranma and Akane told me. That's why I came here to see you. They asked me to get you to their house. They're concerned about you" explained Ryoga.

"Get me to their house?! YOU?!?! How in the world are you going to get me to the Tendo's place when you get lost in every corner??" exclaimed Ukyo, getting angrier.

Ryoga looked at the floor and blushed.

"In fact, how did you managed to get here? Did they draw you a treasure map??" asked Ukyo sarcastically.

"Well... I did leave the Tendo's place at 4:30..." said Ryoga, still looking at the floor and smiling shyly.

Ukyo rolled her eyes.

"Makes perfect sense." She said.

Ryoga raised his sight and looked seriously at Ukyo.

"Please Ukyo, stop complaining and come with me. After all, you know the way, don't you?" said Ryoga insistently.

Ukyo looked at Ryoga for a while. After having cooled down and having thought about it really carefully, she decided to go.

Ukyo led the way, and she and Ryoga reached the Tendo's place in less than ten minutes...

"Okay, why am I here?" asked Ukyo to Ranma and Akane.

Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga looked at each other, as if they were consulting each other.

"...Well??" asked Ukyo again, beginning to lose her temper.

Ranma looked at Ryoga one more time and nodded.

"Ukyo, I saw a wolf the other day." Said Ranma.

Ukyo opened her eyes widely, and dropped her jaw.

"...You WHAT?!?!?" she exclaimed.

"Really, it was a big wolf..." continued Ranma.

"When did you see it??" demanded Ukyo.

"Uhhh...." began Ranma as he looked Ryoga. "well, I was standing in front of the main entrance, and then I saw a huge wolf running by..."

"WHEN!!??" repeated Ukyo, desperately.

Ranma concentrated his gaze on Ryoga once more. Of course, the story Ranma was going to tell was just a mere fairy tale to get Ukyo's attention and make her speak.

"Yesterday..." he said.

"Why didn't you tell me??" asked Ukyo, getting mad.

"Uh... well, you were not very nice with anybody today..." said Ranma, watching his words, because any wrong statement could cause a catastrophe.

Ukyo blushed and looked away.

"...It's just that... I had a terrible episode last night..." she began.

Ranma, Akane, and Ryoga paid close attention to what Ukyo was about to say.

"...Yesterday, when I left, I ran into P - Chan in the corner, like I told you earlier... We then both entered the alley that leads to my house... but as soon as we started crossing it, it got cold. It got dark. I was scared. The most horrible sensation you could ever imagine struck me. I was so desperate... all I wanted to do was to get out of there... but the road, despite being about 13 feet long, seemed endless. The walls got smaller. I panicked. So I began to run. And then I heard a voice... a voice that wasn't human - don't ask me why I know it, I just do... - told me that if I ever crossed that path again, I would face the most horrendous death of them all. All sorts of images raced through my mind in that moment. I imagined the monster. I imagined it killing me, tearing me limb by limb. And when I couldn't stand the voice any longer, I found myself out of the alley, with poor P - Chan trembling by my side. The voice disappeared, and so did my illusions. I remember what I imagined, but I don't recall any images at all. Fear was killing me. That was when P - Chan and I ran home..."

Ukyo stopped as a tear began to roll down her cheek.

Akane went by Ukyo's side and hugged her. Ranma, who was shocked by Ukyo's story, turned to face Ryoga, who had an expression on his face that said: * I know how she feels. *

Akane calmed Ukyo down. She wiped her tears, and then she continued speaking:

"But that's not all... when P - Chan and I got home, we saw the wolf. It was standing in front of my door. It was about to run away once more, when it stopped and came near me... it licked my hand, and then I invited it to enter."

She stopped to blow her nose.

"You won't believe it... but he actually got inside the house... I was so surprised, and so happy that I had finally found the wolf. I couldn't believe myself. I thought I was dreaming..."

She stopped. Ukyo realized she was going in circles.

"Sorry, let's not waste our time. Anyway, the wolf got in, and I offered him some okonomiyaki. He didn't eat any...

P - Chan was hostile at first, but then the wolf licked him, and P - Chan cooled down. I... I think he liked the wolf" giggled Ukyo.

Ranma gave a quick glance at Ryoga. He was blushing.

"After that, I got to bed with P - Chan, and the wolf climbed up. When he laid next to me, I forgot all about the voice and those horrible images. I felt so safe... so secure that I fell asleep almost immediately...

But when I woke up, the wolf was gone... it left me alone... I felt... desperate, because I thought I was close to find an answer... but it left me...."

Ukyo sighed. She had stopped her crying, but she was still sad and confused. Ranma and Akane were shocked by Ukyo's story.

"...I know I was kind of a pain in the fanny today. I'm sorry..." apologized Ukyo.

"You don't have to apologize" replied Ranma. "You had the right, after all..."

"Yeah, but I shouldn't take it out on you guys..." said Ukyo.

Akane patted Ukyo on the back.

"Take it easy. We're here if you need us, ok?" said Akane.

Ukyo smiled.

"Thanks, guys..." she said happily.

"Are you feeling better now, Ukyo?" asked Ryoga calmly.

Ukyo nodded. Indeed, she had not yet found an answer to her questions. But at least she knew that she had her friends support, and that gave her confidence and security.

"Do you want to go to your home?" asked Akane. "You can spend the night here... I'll talk to my dad."

Ukyo smiled once again. She nodded, accepting the invitation. A tear rolled down her cheek.

"You're all my best friends... thank you..."