SHE'S ALL ALONE
Respect
A simple word, a simple title…
WARNING: There are some excessive violent scenes in this chapter which may be a bit squeamish, especially as Ukyo herself is one of those hurt badly in this episode. I suggest you be careful reading this chapter. Also slight nudity as well, I'll post a warning when I get there. (near end of chapter)
But thanks for the reviews! To the one reviewer who felt that that Mikado was a bit OOC, I'll address this.
As far as Mikado goes, his 'challenge' to Konatsu, was more of an invitation. However, in my opinion, Mikado seems to have one answer for invitations, a skate-off. In this case, maybe to impress Konatsu (not knowing he's a guy of course). Notice he doesn't attack Konatsu in the chapter.
And the other thing, why they were seemingly outmatched. Yes, they were on their turf, but remember, Ranma AND Akane have seen their attacks before so pretty know what to expect from them.
Plus the fact I can't stand them. ^_^ Although the violent aftermath maybe stretching it with Konatsu, it was the heat of the moment, the poor guy has been deprived so badly that just a simple charm is worth more than a 1000 diamonds, hence his reaction.
This chapter gets a bit psychological as well with Konatsu being treated. Enjoy!
* * * *
The morning sunrise was a sight to behold in the volcano hull.
And inside, one girl was busy drawing it.
Ukyo was pretty good at art in school, but never really got the chance to do anything more than school sketches. Now, she had pretty much all the free time she wanted.
On a sketchpad, one of the few things not okonomiyaki based she had brought with her after she left Nerima behind, she drew the sunrise which bestowed a glow on the girl's cheeks.
Last night, she had tried to get that energy that Yo had demonstrated, but sadly without success. She simply wasn't in the 'zone' like she was when she beat Joe, but she knew it was possible.
She just had to learn how to do it at all times. Ranchan could burst out punches at the speed of light at the drop of a hit, but he had to get a mainstay of confidence to unleash the Moko Takabisha.
Ukyo didn't think the skills relied on the power of her ego, or on the opposite spectrum, of her negativity, it was something different. It was like using her life energy to get herself stronger.
With a sigh, she began to do an early morning kata, just before she headed to the training school. 5 in the morning, and she was wide awake, and ready to take on the world.
The problem? Was the world ready for Ukyo Kuonji?
* * * *
The answer…apparently not.
Ukyo was a bit surprised when she arrived at the Shaolin school in her cooking gear, but not as surprised as many of the students.
Some of them she knew from Yo's Tea Shop, and whilst they were O.K with her, she wasn't exactly friendly with them, and noticed some hostility in the eyes of a few after her cooking escapades.
However, in a school of hundreds of students, all of them Chinese to Ukyo's surprise, it wasn't just stares. It was glares.
It was bad enough to many of them that a Japanese was getting the same, if not, better treatment than them, especially considering the amount of time they had to cast just to get into the school.
However, it was the fact that it was a Japanese GIRL that had come in.
Some suspected that Yo may have a complex towards her, which was surprising, but maybe…
…but despite many perverted heads in that room, most of them were just angry of the sight that they had to train with her.
All of this tension was of course, unheeded by Mr Yo, who sat at the top of the courtyard, looking on at his students.
Unknown to them, he did have an alterior motive for training Ukyo, but fortunately, it wasn't the Happosai reason.
Yo had brought in many Japanese pupils in one way or another, whilst in Hong Kong after his days in the Chinese Civil War had ended. Some impressive ones included the legendary fighters Ryu Hoshi and Ken Masters, and had helped choreograph fights involving Fei Long and also in America, where he developed the legendary fight scene in Stone Blood, Johnny Cage's most successful movie.
One of his youngest students, Shaoran Li, was pretty much a honour from the famous Li Clan back in China. It was with great happiness that he heard about his work in Japan as well in China, Li was a special one, that's for sure.
However, Ukyo's spirit shown above all of them. His past students were all great fighters with impressive ki, however, natural's were hard to come by. And from hearing the company Ukyo kept, it meant she had to keep up with them.
Ukyo was a natural because she actually invented her own martial art. However, it was HIS style, not hers, which was the focus.
And his style was VERY brutal.
It would be interesting to see how she would cope.
The girl was pretty nervous, although Yo did notice off the back that Ukyo had decided to tie her hair back, unknowing that this was actually a regular dress for her, i.e. the look she had when she first entered Nerima (looking like a boy).
"I have done a lot in my time…but this could be the most surprising development of my old life." The ancient fighter smiled to himself.
One of the first problems that Ukyo was going to encounter was the fact that when addressing his students, Yo spoke Chinese. Ukyo, whilst studying both English and Chinese in school, was hardly an expert, so how would she do?
Yo addressed the student, and they made a formal show of a traditional martial arts bow. Ukyo pretty much didn't need a translator for that, she stood at the far north-west of the school, next to some of the boys, obviously not appreciative. Maybe because she was a girl, or the fact she didn't wear the traditional martial arts gi or Shaolin robes that the rest wore. What was the master playing at?
Yo then made a difficult Chinese sentence which basically meant go into basic katas. Now, Ukyo knew katas, but she obviously didn't have a clue about which one, from what Yo-sensei said.
So, she was basically just watching in time with the majority of students, and hoping no-one would pick on her 'weakness'.
Sadly, Ukyo Kuonji had never been that lucky…
* * * *
"Tofu-sensei, will he be all right?" Akane asked as she and Ranma waited inside the room, where Dr. Tofu was trying to scan the mind of Konatsu.
The good doctor was a master of detecting kinetic energy as well as acupuncture points on the body. However, he was not a mind reader.
And that was the problem. Whatever went wrong with the normally docile ninja was in the head, and aside from takes of increased blood pressure, Tofu couldn't really do anything more than give him a cold compress.
Konatsu, was actually looking more like a boy than usual, was pretty much very quiet. He quietly rubbed his stomach where Ranma had hit him, yes, it hurt, but not as much as what happened.
"Akane-san…Ranma-san…what did I do?"
The poor guy looked heartbroken. Heck, he probably looked worse than Ryoga on his worst days.
Akane smiled politely, hoping to reassure the ninja. "It's O.K, Konatsu. All you did…" she chose her words carefully.
"…was put some sense into two misguided creatures."
"Geez, way to lay it on thick Akane…" Ranma grumbled.
One fist to the face later, and Ranma decided to shut up.
"As for as I can see Konatsu, is that it was simply an increased emotional rage, caused by…what happened Akane-chan?" Tofu asked.
Akane explained the incident at the rink, how Konatsu got challenged (which Tofu DIDN'T laugh at, considering Ranma's curse, nothing surprised him anymore), and how Konatsu snapped when Azusa broke the makeshift charm.
Tofu sighed. "So that's what triggered it off. However, from what you tell me, not even that would have Konatsu 'snap' like that right?"
Ranma nodded. "Yep, he's pretty docile, he'd probably cry…he's definitely more girl than someone else here…"
Ranma suddenly then had a second matching black eye, and definitely decided not to talk for the rest of the day.
Tofu nodded. "Either his bond towards Ukyo-chan is too strong, or there is something deeper to this…"
And just as Tofu was trying to think…
"Oh, there you are!"
Tofu's glasses turned Mousse-like.
"Akane-chan, I've just finished work and otosan told me that you were here, so I've brought some left-over okonomiyaki for everyone. You two Tofu-sensei!"
Akane slapped her head. This was going to explode in three…two…one…
"K-K-Kasumi? Why…Why fancy seeing you today of all days!"
Shame Konatsu hadn't been privy to what happened whenever Kasumi called round, otherwise he may have understood why Ranma and Akane dragged the poor ninja out of there.
As Tofu began to destroy Betty the Skeleton and eat plates thinking they were okonomiyaki, the two engaged fiancées sighed.
"Any chance of a breakthrough is over for today…" Akane said.
"Maybe not dearie." Said a familiar voice, which still scared all three of them out of their wits.
"O-O-Obasan!" Ranma said. And got an all too familiar whack with the cane.
"I found out what was going on here…your sister drives a hard bargain dearie…" Cologne said to Akane.
Akane sweatdropped. "Nabiki oneechan…"
Cologne chuckled. "Ah well, I guess let's see what's wrong with the poor dear…"
Ranma looked on weird. "You think you can see what's wrong with him?"
"I'm a practitioner of 3000 year old Amazon martial arts, I know many techniques involving mind reaching…" Cologne said.
"…these techniques hopefully more useful than made up dragons and phoenixes…" Akane quipped.
The matriarch sweatdropped. The techniques of Ling Ling and Lung Lung weren't her tribes most proudest achievements, but she continued.
"As it seems the doctor is…occupied, is there anywhere else you think would be good for me to treat him?" Cologne said.
Akane nodded.
"The place where it started."
* * * *
After her first night at the Shaolin School, Ukyo had made one quick conclusion.
It sucked.
O.K, so it was just the first day, but it wasn't the training which was the main problem.
It was the other students.
O.K, he knew one major problem was that she was no expert in Chinese, and found it difficult to struggle with the katas. Although to her surprise, she was actually more than capable keeping up with them, despite based her style of fighting on weaponry.
She COULD fight hand to hand, this was proven when she and the poor dolt Ryoga were in the tunnel of lost love, she just preferred her own style more…plus the fact that compared to the other girls, she didn't fight as much anyway.
However, every time she missed a slight step in the katas, she heard snickers in the background, next to her, it was like they were all around her.
Fortunately, Yo hadn't chosen her to spar this time, but she knew she would.
She grabbed her uber spatula and made a few chosen swings.
She hadn't got the hang on that ki energy trick yet, it was like she had to be at a certain level of consciousness to execute it. Angry and rage possibly, or guts and determination.
Either way, she had to get there, and then work it down so that she could execute it as quickly any time, like she was making one of her okonomiyaki.
"Pathetic."
Ukyo stopped and turned.
One of the boys from the tea shop she noted, and out of all of them, had shown the most hostility towards her. The guys name was Gen, and was one of the better students as far as she knew, specializing in crane-stance kung fu.
However, the fact that he spoke to her in Japanese meant that this was serious.
"Pathetic." He repeated. "You swing your impliments like you are a master of weaponry. Warriors fight hand to hand, warriors fight with shinai, sai, bo, katana…not overgrown ichimonji."
Ukyo tried not to rise to the bait, but her natural stubborn temper was unearthing.
"And…what do you know? I'm a self-taught martial-artist…" Ukyo started, but the guy wasn't going to let her have the time of day.
"Ah, that explains you're sloppy style. Why the master saw you as something special is anyone's guess. Maybe he hasn't seen any women in years…then again, you barely pass as one."
That hit a nerve.
"Listen, you jackass! I don't have to listen to this crap! If you want to say something, say it and leave me alone, otherwise this spatula will sent you to the kamis above…or below…"
Gen chuckled. "Oh please…without your weapons, you would not be a match for anyone here, and we have children here. Never mind me."
Ukyo realised what he was up to then. Ukyo was pretty much one of the few people in Nerima who used their brains a bit, and quickly worked out what he was doing.
She should have walked away.
However…
"Oh, is that a challenge?"
Gen smiled.
"Yes. Tomorrow in the courtyard at 6am. We'll spar off. The Master has given his blessing…kami knows why…I'll beat you in 10 seconds."
"Make it 11 then, I want 1 second for you, and 10 for push ups." Ukyo smirked.
Gen slightly bit his tongue there, but smiled. "Very well…don't run away little girl."
With that, he left.
Ukyo cursed. Why did she let herself get intimidated? She wasn't sure if she could take him on with her hand to hand skills.
Ukyo looked at the candles. Now wasn't the time. She needs sleep…
…and let her spirit guide her tomorrow.
* * * *
Cologne left Ucchan's with some hidden resolve and a more meaningful explanation. Konatsu had returned there to his quarters, hopefully a good night's rest would get the poor boy back on track.
Cologne had scanning the boy's mind and body with various acupuncture and aromatherapy techniques, some dating as long as 3000 years. The secret to mind scanning was not too dissimilar to various techniques that Shampoo had used on Akane in the form of mind control and manipulation.
Cologne's years of life and experience in her art was proven in the methods as even Nabiki had to be impressed by the way Cologne simply switched from one part of the brain to another. Emotions appeared everywhere, and Cologne was searching…
…when she scanned the past, Konatsu's mind was a blur. A memory of nothing but red…
Hopping back to the Cat Café, Cologne would indeed follow Akane's advice about 'where it started'.
But not at Ucchan's, at where it really started.
The Konoichi Tea Shop.
* * * *
"Things are more problematic than I thought with Ukyo gone. I'm not sure if Konatsu is up to working…" Nabiki said as she, Kasumi, Akane and Ranma headed back home.
Home was a bit different ever since Nabiki and Kasumi had taken over Ucchan's. The family were pretty much to themselves because of Happosai doing his usual panty raids, leaving Genma and Soun to their never ending games of go/cheating at go.
This also meant that Genma and Ranma's fights were less frequent, but Ranma seemed to focus on training a lot more. They speculated why, Soun saying that maybe he's taking his role as the heir to the Anything-Goes school more seriously than they thought. Genma felt that he was simply trying to get as good as his father.
Akane knew the real reason.
He was doing it to get his mind off other things.
And another problem presented itself at the front door…although Akane didn't see it that way.
"P-Chan?"
Ranma nearly fell head first on the pavement. It had been a while since he saw Ryoga, perhaps not since the wedding. In his heart, he wondered if Ryoga had indeed given up Akane for the pig-farmer Akari.
However, it seemed that it all led back to the Tenjo dojo.
"P-chan! I haven't seen you in forever!" Akane hugged her pig pet, as Ranma looked on disgusted.
"I guess like boomerangs, they always come back, right P-Chan?" Ranma said to the pig who responded with a growl and a raspberry.
"Stop picking on P-Chan you idiot." Akane said. "Come on baby!" Akane took P-chan in, as the two other Tendo sisters (as Kasumi came in, Genma and Soun immediately rejoiced…) entered, Ranma decided it was time to clue the lost boy on what had gone on since he'd gone.
Besides it had been a while since he got a good fight…
* * * *
It was rotten having a nice comfortable sleep to be ruined, but P-Chan had been much more nervous with his routine of 'sleeping' with Akane.
It didn't help when he went out the window and Ranma was there waiting for him. Catching the pig in mid-air and dumping it in the Tendo's hot bath was not the best idea either.
"RANMA, WHY YOU…" A foot to the face shut the lost boy up, and Ranma put his hand over his mouth.
"Shhh…not so loud! You and one are going to have a talk…" Ranma said. He ignored the fact that he had left the room because of his dad's panda snoring…
After dragging the lost boy out to the outside around the koi pound, Ranma and Ryoga began to talk.
Or rather talk whilst trying to kick their teeth in of course…
"So…(dodges a punch)…Ryoga, how come…(evades a kick)…you're back? Miss being…(jumps to a tree) the little piggy?"
"Shut up Saotome! I'm back for one reason and one reason only…to beat you! Once I do that…"
To Ranma's surprise, Ryoga stopped talking. Ranma hopped back down off the true.
"…once you do that…"
Ryoga lifted his head, and Ranma could have sworn a tear fell from his eye to accompany his smile.
"…my life will be complete."
Ranma shrugged. "Ah well…I guess whatever that means I dunno…but hey, if that's what you want to do, go ahead, been a while since I've got a good warm-up."
Ryoga chuckled. The two always could never stop fighting, but in their deepest hearts, there was some camaraderie between them.
"Warm this…BAKUSAI TEN-KETSU!"
"Kachu Tenshin Amaguriken!"
And then two frying pans smashed their thick skulls together, courtest of Genma panda and Akane…"
"Hey Ranma, keep it…Ryoga?"
Ryoga froze a bit seeing Akane. Ranma noticed it as well. Normally, Ryoga would turn into the shyest person he knew just from hearing Akane's voice. But now, it was an aura of sadness…like whenever he said he was leaving her.
"Hey, how come you're back? I haven't see y…"
"Akane-san, you may never see me again after this. But I did want to give you one thing before I left…"
Instead of his usual bunch of souvenirs, seemed to be a simple letter. He handed it to Akane and nodded.
"W-what's this?"
"That letter reveals my truest path. My feelings, my hope, my dreams and my fears. I think you have a right to know about my life Akane-san, I've held it in long enough."
Ranma was a bit shocked. "Ryoga…"
Ryoga turned to Ranma. "Ranma…I swear if you don't make her happy, don't let me know about it. I postpone this fight to another time…"
With that Ryoga bid a final sayonarra to the Tendo family and headed into the night.
"Geez…what was that all about…" Ranma said.
Akane clutched the letter, not sure what it was all on about. She wanted to open it, but…why would Ryoga give it to her?
"I'm not sure if I should…"
Sleep first, think later, Akane decided. Whatever it was, it had to be important, if it stopped those two fighting.
* * * *
The next morning, Nerima and Mt. Aso were two different regions of Japan, but various things that would happen would affect both regions.
In the early hours of the day, a beating drum and some flames signalled the beginning of a 'duel.'
This wasn't a sparring match, this was a full contact fight to knockout. Yo had given the word and the order that it would take place.
And besides, considering the match itself, all the students were looking forward to where Gen would personally kick Ukyo out of the school himself.
Gen was the first there, dressed in a blue chinese robe with white sleeves. He made a few warm-up katas and showed his skills using his hands in thrust techniques, probably knew some pressure points as well, a certain girl thought to herself.
She knew she wasn't getting into anything smart. She wasn't ready for a hand to hand fight with someone who had much more experience and skill than she did. Ukyo's advantages in a fight were usually her creativity in her style. However, she couldn't do that, so she had to rely on her strength and endurance. In the grand scale of things back home, Ukyo was probably quicker than Akane, but not as quick as Shampoo or Kodachi. Her strength however was probably close to Shampoo's level, training with a heavy spatula for 10 years did that to the muscles.
Now, she needed to get beyond that. Maybe this was the first step.
NOTE: VIOLENT/SLIGHTLY NUDITY FROM THIS POINT ON IN THIS FIGHT BETWEEN GEN AND UKYO.
Ukyo entered the courtyard, dressed in a robe herself, a red robe with green leggings which made a few (actually, a lot) of the men gasp in surprise. Ukyo never favoured her looks much (except when Ranma was concerned sometimes) and had been called unfeminine many a time because of her dressing as a boy.
Scratch that notion.
They may still hate her guts, but she looked…pretty at least. Her hair was still tied back, but that didn't seem to matter.
It didn't to Gen away, who looked ready to tear her guts out.
The grandmaster, Yo, stood up and made the motion. The shifu went to the centre to judge the fight.
"The rules were decided and agreed by both of you. Nothing less than a knockout will determine the victory. Full contact rules allowed. Ready?"
Both nodded.
"Bow."
Ukyo did, whilst Gen simply put his fists together. They then both bowed to Master Yo, who bowed back.
"BEGIN!"
The crowd came alive as Gen sneered.
"Shall I drag it along, or shall I end it quickly?" Gen said to Ukyo.
'Cocky bastard.' Ukyo thought. 'Well, here goes girl.'
Gen was obviously waiting for her to make the first move. Ukyo knew she shouldn't, because he probably knew half a dozen counters. Still, she'd like to see what he did.
Ukyo swung a punch towards Gen, who smiled.
'Easy block.' He thought. 'I'll block it with both hands, snatch her arm via the crook and smash it, before tossing her over for a thr…"
…was what he was thinking. Instead, when he double blocked, he had been forced back and landed on his backside.
'Crap!' he thought. 'She's strong! Very strong!'
Ukyo smiled. 'Good. He got a surprise. Let's hope he gets a few more.'
Gen got up and shook his head. "Luck! I won't be fooled twice!"
Gen made the first move, with two open handed strike, which Ukyo used her forearms to block. Gen felt like the bones were made of steel, but he gritted his teeth and aimed a kick designed to break her shins.
Ukyo jumped high…very high, as the crowd now realised that this girl was a bit more formidable than they expected.
'How did she do…'
Gen was on the defensive as Ukyo slammed her fists in an ax-handle smash into his guard. Gen knelt down and absorbed the attack before hitting a sweep kick which floored her. He went for an open handed chop to the chest…
…and was caught by a strong arm.
"Heh, gotcha." Ukyo said, before she swung the Chinese boy across the courtyard, nearly ripping the arm out of his socket.
Gen skidded to a halt, cradling his shoulder.
'I'm done for if I get in too close, she's catches me and her strength will beat me. I'll have to use skill now.'
Gen went in not too close and made Ukyo go back thanks to quick viper stabs with his hands, and spinning roundhouse kicks making sure Ukyo couldn't get an opening. Ukyo jumped and went for a flying thrust kick to the head.
It was slightly sloppy, which made Gen block with one arm and catch her in the chest with a palm strike…
…he then turned it into a claw slash, shredding the front of her robe…and the straps holding her breasts.
The slash nearly drew blood as well as Ukyo shrieked and flew back, landing hard on the unforgiving ground…and the crowd were just as bad.
"You….You asshole!" Ukyo screamed, not caring who heard her.
Gen smiled. "Well…so you are a woman under that after all…"
Ukyo nipped up trying to cover up…but realised something.
Who gives a shit who sees you? That's not going to affect you…
Ukyo instead of trying to find with a handicap, decided to continue with her stance, as Gen cursed slightly. He'd hoped that she'd freak and cry or something, but not to be the case.
Gen pressed the advantage with two under strike aiming for her chin, and a kick to the shins which Ukyo barely brought up her leg to block.
Another claw slash was brought and this time…it did draw blood…
…to Ukyo's face.
Gen smiled. Now the girl would be angry, and an angry opponent was always much easier to beat…(obviously this guy hadn't been to Nerima much)…
…which was why he was surprised when Ukyo ducked under his arm and nailed a spinning roundhouse kick to the back of his skull.
Gen felt blood rising from his mouth…
"You…you…"
One thing Ukyo felt she was good at was focus. Even if Ranma was around, she could handle anything as long as she was focused. Sure, she was getting a bit mad at Gen, but being angry would only lead her to making mistakes. Instead, she would use that…
Yo smiled as Ukyo's battle aura flared up. Gen took a step back.
"What…what wizardry is this?"
This is what Yo-sensei meant. At when my peak is upmost, I can unleash ki…it's a matter of time of perfection to using it whenever I want…
Ukyo ran, whilst thinking this, for Gen, his body seemed to move in slow motion.
…but for now…
Gen's claw swipe aimed at her chest again, and tore part of her robe…but Ukyo ignored the pain. Her aura was making her near invulnerable…
…and then…
"Wh…what is that?" one of the students asked.
Ukyo's fist was glowing red. The fire of the pheonix could not burn much brighter than this.
Ukyo spun once and smashed her punch across Gen's chest, and the warrior felt intense heat crush it.
Ukyo then jumped up and the fire-fist technique this time hit him in the chin. The rise from the jump combined with her battle aura sent him high into the sky, looking for an early bath.
However, Ukyo wasn't finished.
With a battle cry, as he fell down, Ukyo super jumped and caught him on her back. With a yell, she landed on her knees, Gen strapped across her back, as the Guillotine Backbreaker move made him scream in agony.
Combined with her battle aura, the heat on her back was more intense than a thousand suns. Mercifully, Ukyo stopped and Gen happily passed out.
Ukyo caught her breath. That battle aura…the energy in her punch…it had exhausted her.
But she had won.
"Is this…is this how Ranchan and the others feel in the heat of battle?" Ukyo said to herself.
She turned and bowed to Yo…and then heard it.
A clap.
It started small, but then more…and more…
Ukyo turned around and the whole school was applauding her. Whether they liked her or not, they truly realised something.
She was special.
Ukyo smiled, and although tired, managed to bow to everyone of them. A couple of boys came up and took a groaning Gen out of the ring, as Ukyo sighed.
And realised her next problem.
"Damn…now I need to pay for the robe…" Slashed by Gen and burned pretty much from her battle aura, it was time to empty the pockets…
…but she didn't care. Respect, she had won that. That was more than any martial arts victory.
By the time she had left, she was thinking more what to do with her life…
…and she wasn't the only one…
* * * *
"I'M BACK HERE?"
Loud voice. Check. Avoiding water spurt? Check. Extremely confused lost boy wondering why he was in Nerima? Check and mate.
Ryoga had left the Tendo's last night to go back…somewhere. He'd hoped he hadn't done a stupid thing given Akane that…but in his heart, he knew it was right. He just hoped…
Tired and hungry, Ryoga decided to stop by the nearest restaurant. He looked up…and gave a sigh of relief that it was Ucchan's, rather than the cat café.
He wondered if he should…nah. Ukyo and Ryoga…had a strange relationship. It was more a comrade thing between the two, usually teaming up to break up Ranma and Akane. The time in the Tunnel of Lost Love had been a literal nightmare for the two of them at times, especially when the ghosts got confused…
…but at least Ukyo hadn't tried to cook him…yet.
Entering the restaurant, he expected to see Ukyo behind the grill and that guy…what's his face…Konatsu in that drag act of his.
Instead, it was a surprise and a half that manning the grill was Kasumi Tendo, elder sister of Akane. And behind the tills, Nabiki Tendo.
"Am I in the Tendo Dojo?" Ryoga wondered out loud.
"No, you're not Ryoga. This is Ucchan's…anything you want?" Nabiki Tendo said. Morning classes were over for the college student, and she now had a free period for her to continue making money, and fortunately, Konatsu had returned his usual genki self, despite his recent problems. You couldn't really fault the poor guy…
Ryoga was still very confused. Fortunately, Nabiki read him like a book.
"I guess you're confused eh Ryoga? Well, you know the drill. I'll explain…for a fee of course." Nabiki said.
Ryoga sighed. However, as he was here, he might as well hear the story…
* * * *
Leaving the restaurant after a vegetable okonomiyaki and a talk with Nabiki, Ryoga wasn't really as confused…just surprised.
Ukyo had left? That may have been a problem before…one of Ranma's fiancés gone meant a smaller chance Ranma would hook up with Akane.
However, that didn't matter now to Ryoga, he thought with a small blush.
But still…
"O.K, so where are the mountains?"
* * * *
Next chapter;
Ukyo has the respect she wanted, but after another week goes, she feels she needs to leave. With a goodbye, she heads to the source of Yo's skills…China.
Cologne also makes a trip…to Konatsu's origins. What will she learn about the genius ninja?
And what is in the letter Ryoga gave to Akane? His true feelings? The fact that he is P-chan? Or…something else?
* * * *
Another chapter in the bank! Yatta!
I hope everyone is enjoying this fic, there are still plenty more chapters to come, so I hope you guys and gals don't get bored! Trust me, there will be plenty more darkness to come from my sick and twisted mind…
Ah, Ryoga. Now that he's introduced, this fic is going to become more fun. And there are other characters still to be introduced that may or may not have a big part in the storyline, both from manga and anime, so…
For now, see you next week! Ookini!
