Disclaimer: Ranma ½ is property of Rumiko Takahashi, as well as Viz, Kitty, Fuji, and Shogakukan. I'm just borrowing the characters. Please don't copy or reproduce any part of this without permission.
You can't hide your lyin' eyesAnd your smile is a thin disguise
I thought by now you'd realize
There ain't no way to hide your lyin' eyes…
~The Eagles, "Lyin' Eyes"
"Amnesia, huh? You don't say."
Ranma nodded and rocked back on his seat, breathing in the pleasant scent of warm okonomiyaki.
"How did that happen?" Ukyo asked, flipping one of the pizzas with casual ease as she spoke to the two boys seated at the counter.
"He fell off the roof," Ranma said guilelessly. Ukyo looked up at him sharply. "It was an accident!" he added quickly.
"Oh," she said, though she had a feeling Ranma had something to do with the 'fall'. She glanced at Ryoga, who she noticed looked a little unhappy at the subject. "Poor Sugar. You don't remember anything?"
Ryoga shook his head. "Not really," he said, sounding despondent.
"Well, I'm sure Ranma's been filling you in," Ukyo said cheerfully. "Right, Ranma-honey?"
"Uh, heh. Yeah. Yeah, of course," came the slightly strained reply.
Ukyo raised a speculative eyebrow, and observed that Ranma was suddenly finding the countertop avidly captivating. She wondered on this for a brief moment, then turned her attention to Ryoga.
"So, I guess your staying with the Tendos until you're better," Ukyo said. Ryoga still looked uncomfortable, so she gave him a warm smile—after all, they were sometimes-partners, and when he got his memory back it would be a point in her favor if he remembered her being nice to him through this most recent ordeal.
Ukyo's line of thought was interrupted by surprise as she found herself rewarded with a tentative smile of his own, and was even more surprised at how cute it made him look. She'd only seen Ryoga smile at Akane, and the sidelong view had always made her miss the way it lit up his eyes…
Hang on a sec, sister, she reprimanded herself. Your fiancé is sitting right there. And even if you didn't have a fiancé, Ryoga has that thing for Akane, so let's keep it all in focus here.
"You must be real happy to get to spend all that time with Akane," Ukyo added. She blinked in confusion as Ryoga's smile faded, replaced by a slight scowl.
"What…what's wrong?" Ukyo asked, utterly perplexed.
Ryoga shrugged. "I don't think Akane likes me very much," he said. "And to be honest…I don't know…she seems kind of violent and everything…I'm sorry, Ranma, I know she's your fiancée and all, and I'm sure she can be really nice, but she just…well, maybe she's been in a bad mood or something…"
Ukyo felt her spatula slip from her fingers and clatter to the floor. "Wha…?"
Ranma glanced at her as she recovered, pulling an extra spatula from her bandolier. "Little different without the blinders on, eh Ucchan?" he said wryly.
"Blinders?" Ryoga asked, curious and unsuspecting.
Ukyo flipped the okonomiyaki again before it could get too browned. "I guess…you could put it…that way…" she managed. She felt a sudden twinge of worry course through her. If Ryoga didn't like Akane anymore, then what reason would he have to help her break Ranma and Akane's engagement? She glanced at the bandana'd boy, her eyes wide. What if she had to do it on her own from now on? How could she do it on her own? And…why—how—on earth was Ryoga talking to Ranma so calmly, without even so much as a trace of his usual scowl, talking almost as though the two were-
Then it occurred to her.
Ranma hadn't told Ryoga a damn thing.
"Ranma…" Ukyo said lowly. A dozen different thoughts ran through her head. Why would Ranma do something like that? Was he hoping that Ryoga would unknowingly create some irreparable rift between himself and Akane, so that the Lost Boy wouldn't be an obstacle in Ranma's engagement to the Tendo girl? That didn't seem right, Ranma didn't give the impression that he saw Ryoga as a threat in that sense; and besides, he hardly seemed to care either way about any of his engagements. Besides, Akane wasn't dense enough not to realize something like that going on…was she? Was it because Ranma didn't want Ryoga to remember their perpetual fight? That had never been something Ranma seemed unduly concerned about before either…but what else could it be? And whatever it was, surely Ranma had to know that nearly everyone who had amnesia eventually gained their memory back…didn't he? But if he knew that, then why wouldn't he have…
Ranma noticed the look Ukyo was giving him and began to sweat.
"Eh, heh. Well, we best be goin' now, Ukyo, thanks for the food and all," Ranma said. He grabbed Ryoga and pulled him towards the door.
"Wait a minute! Ranma!" Ukyo protested, now knowing beyond a doubt that something was up.
"Bye, Ucchan," Ranma said quickly, dragging Ryoga through the exit with him.
"Um…i-it was nice meeting you! Again…I guess," Ryoga managed before being pulled outside.
Ukyo was about to come around the counter to chase after Ranma and make him explain what was going on, but the sight of Ryoga giving her a farewell smile made her stop in her tracks, too surprised to do anything else. A moment later, the two boys were out the door and out of sight, leaving Ukyo still standing behind her grill and wondering what on Earth had just happened.
* * * * * * * * * *
"So, how'd you meet Shampoo and Mousse?"
Ranma shrugged, glancing down at the other boy from his perch on one of the rocks surrounding the koi pond. Ryoga was sitting on the ground, resting against one of the smaller, lower rocks, but being sure to stay a safe distance from the water.
"Shampoo's another fiancée," Ranma explained. For the last hour or so, he'd just been sitting out here talking to Ryoga. At first he'd been worried that something he said would trigger the Lost Boy's memory, but the account of how he'd ended up engaged to Akane hadn't seemed to have an effect, and re-meeting Mousse and Shampoo and Ukyo hadn't, so…
Besides…Ryoga was supposed to get his memory back, not like it would be bad thing…
But all the same, Ranma didn't want him to.
"Another fiancée?" Ryoga said. "How did that happen, if you're already engaged to Akane?"
"Huh," Ranma said. He'd never had to explain his entire situation to someone before, and by doing it he was beginning to realize just how absolutely ridiculous his life must look. "I met Shampoo while me and Pop were in China. We ended up at her village, and there was a tournament goin' on. I was in my cursed form, and she got kinda mad 'cause she was about to win the tournament, and me and Pop sorta…started eating her prize banquet…"
Ryoga listened contentedly. He'd spent much of the past days struggling to remember the answers to those questions of Dr. Tofu's that he hadn't been able to respond to. Not only had the effort made his head hurt, it had frightened him because he found that no matter how hard he tried, he really couldn't remember. Listening to Ranma's stories was an interesting distraction from the uneasiness Ryoga was feeling, and he was glad for it.
Meanwhile, Ranma watched Ryoga as he spoke. Just as he had yesterday while trying to reassure him about the curse, Ranma found his concentration drifting to focus more on the Lost Boy than on the subject he was talking about. Ryoga appeared so calm as he listened; occasionally casting his eyes down to look at reflection of the moon on the surface of the pond, and the movement of the brightly colored koi beneath. Ranma was becoming increasingly perplexed by the activity, and wondered if it had something to do with the amnesia.
Both the pigtailed boy's thoughts and his words faltered momentarily as Ryoga glanced up at him. The look in the Lost Boy's eyes made everything clear. Ranma had never seen Ryoga take interest in things like the pond before because he'd usually been too guarded to do something like that while alone in his presence, whether they'd been fighting or not. Even when Ryoga had slept over, he'd often woken up if Ranma got within a few feet of him. But Ryoga didn't know any better now; he was relaxed, comfortable in Ranma's company, and his eyes shone with understanding over whatever ordeal Ranma was talking about. Not the grudging, limited empathy that he was used to getting from the Lost Boy; but true sympathetic concern willingly given for someone thought to be a close friend.
A pang of guilt accompanied the realization. Ryoga, unassuming and naïve as ever, listening to him with a sympathetic ear and not once finding fault. Ryoga, having no clue that Ranma had stretched the truth about them and anything else pertaining to the Lost Boy. And here, if he were even a tiny bit of what he'd claimed to be to Ryoga, he would be helping him regain his memory, not leading him down an entirely different path…
And just how thin could the truth be stretched before it snapped?
"That's awful. Being chased all over China with her trying to kill you, then Mousse coming here and doing the same thing…all on top of your own curse and all those engagements," Ryoga said. He tipped his head slightly to one side, his dark eyes shining with compassion.
"You've really had it rough, haven't you?"
Ranma swallowed around his tangled tongue, finding his throat suddenly dry.
"Uh…g-guess so…'course, you ain't exactly, uh, had a rose garden yourself lately, right? L-life's funny, that way…" He quickly turned his head to stare at the wall, the pond, anything but Ryoga's trusting, sympathetic eyes.
But even though he kept his gaze averted and prattled on about whatever, the image burned in his mind, where it conveniently combined with memories of other times…of other deceptions Ranma had exercised on Ryoga…the interrupted dates with Akane, the ploy to steal the Jusenkyo soap, the search for the Nannichuan in the girls' locker room…Ryoga's words, the hurt tone, echoed through his head.
Why did you toy with my emotions like that?
At that time, he'd had the rather lame excuse of finding the Spring. After all, had he waited a few hours, the girls being inside the locker room wouldn't have been an issue. Weak, yes, though it had been an excuse just the same.
But this time…
Ranma tried to push the thoughts from his head. He'd think about it later…
* * * * * * * * *
On the other side of the stone wall surrounding the Tendos' yard, another set of ears listened to the moonlit storytelling with rapt attention.
Shampoo tilted her feline head slightly, allowing her to get a better view of the boys as they went back inside the house. Once they were gone, she climbed on top of the wall. Now lacking the risk of being seen and alerting—not to mention terrifying—Ranma, Shampoo stretched out languidly to think for a few moments.
Cologne had taught her long ago to assemble the facts of a situation before trying to twist things into a serious plot. Knowledge was power, and this last small reconnaissance mission had supplied Shampoo with enough information to form a decent scheme. But it was better, she decided, to organize the facts while they were still fresh in her mind, and let the ideas flow from there.
Ryoga had amnesia. That was known from days ago. Ranma had been telling the Lost Boy things just now that Shampoo was sure Ryoga had known before, and he hadn't remembered her or Mousse, so it was probably safe to say that his memory loss was quite extensive. And that was likely an advantage.
Unfortunately, it seemed that Ranma had already gotten Ryoga firmly embedded in his own camp, which made it unlikely that the Lost Boy would participate in anything that involved him in a way he perceived as potentially negative towards Ranma. Using Ryoga against Akane was therefore also no longer an option, since Ranma (for some reason yet unknown to Shampoo) usually insisted on keeping the overly-violent and decidedly un-fiancée-like girl free from serious harm. So Ryoga was probably not in a position that he could be easily manipulated from.
But Shampoo wasn't dissuaded in the least. From what she'd observed while the boys had been at Ukyo's and from what she'd heard just now, it seemed that she wasn't quite out of advantages yet.
For the young Amazon had noticed that all through Ranma's recollections, he'd conveniently left out anything that involved Ryoga directly—how they'd met Ryoga, how Ryoga had gotten his curse, how Ryoga knew Akane and the others and what his relationship was with each of them…
And Ryoga was acting far more agreeable, sympathetic, concerned…far more friendly than she'd ever seen him act openly towards Ranma before.
Which Ryoga certainly wouldn't be doing if he knew about what had gone on between them in the past.
Which meant Ranma was purposefully keeping Ryoga in the dark.
And chances were that he wanted the Lost Boy to stay that way.
Shampoo stood quickly and shook herself, causing the bells twined in her fur to chime. Then she leapt to the ground and headed for the Café on light feline feet, a pretty plan already forming in her head.
* * * * * * * * *
In her room, Akane sat at her desk and stared out the window, a dark look planted firmly on her face as she thought over the events of the past several days.
To think…Ranma had gone and given Ryoga amnesia, then tricked him into thinking the two were friends! How could he be such a jerk? And why was he doing it?
The entire concept annoyed Akane tremendously, but she was even angrier at the fact that Ryoga hadn't only forgotten her, but had apparently forgotten that he liked her as well. He'd always been so nice to her before, so how had all this happened? First the incident with the table, then he'd called her uncute and violent. It was almost unbelievable.
But Akane still wasn't sure that it was entirely Ryoga's fault. After all, Ranma had gotten to him first, so the chance still remained that he had something to do with Ryoga's…ambivalence towards her. She refused to call it anything more than that for the moment.
But what could Ranma have done? They hadn't spent much time together before Ryoga had started acting in such a way towards her.
Maybe Ranma hadn't done anything at all.
So why didn't Ryoga like her? She'd been nice to him until…
Until the table incident. And there hadn't been all that much time between when Ryoga had woken up and Akane's fight with Ranma in the living room.
Of course, that must be it! Ryoga didn't remember, and ever since he'd lost his memory, Ranma had been bringing out the worst in her. Because of Ranma, Ryoga must think that she was mean and didn't like him.
Well, two could play at Ranma's little game, Akane decided. From now on, she'd just make it a point to be doubly nice to Ryoga. And when he was back on her side, she could tell him all about what Ranma had been doing. That would teach him to stop playing tricks at poor Ryoga's expense. And she might just remind the Lost Boy about Shampoo's little killing-with-kindness routine while she was at it, which would surely throw a wrench in the Amazon girl's works for any future plans she might try to involve Ryoga in.
Yes, Akane decided, this was definitely the way to go about handling the situation. And if Ryoga got his memory back somewhere along the lines, so much the better.
It never crossed Akane's mind that by trying to beat Ranma at his own game, she'd be playing with Ryoga's feelings just the same.
* * * * * * * * * *
Just down the hall, another member of the Tendo family had their thoughts full of a certain Lost Boy and his lack of memories.
Nabiki typed a few more figures into her calculator. If she charged Ranma on a daily basis, she might be able to get more money from him than she could if she charged him per week, depending on how long Ryoga stayed amnesic…
Ranma's actions since Ryoga's accident hadn't gone unnoticed by Nabiki. Playing that nice with one of his sworn rivals had been suspicious, but the evidence she'd collected over the past few days—the way Ranma left out any details involving Ryoga while talking to him, how he seemed to enjoy the fact that Ryoga was pointedly avoiding Akane most of the time, the anger he'd shown towards Mousse and Shampoo for trying to win Ryoga over, the way he seemed to be trying to distract the Lost Boy rather than helping him regain his memory—it all added up. Ranma obviously didn't want Ryoga to remember anything. And why should he? Ryoga had forgotten all his reasons to dislike him, had forgotten about his crush on Akane, had forgotten any ties he had with the rest of the Nerima regulars…hell, at this rate, Ranma had it made in the shade.
But Nabiki had caught on. And if Ranma wanted to keep Ryoga in the dark—at least on her part—he'd have to pay. Otherwise, she might just accidentally let something slip out of her mouth that could trigger the Lost Boy's memory. And, of course, she had a fair amount of photographic evidence to back her up if Ryoga wouldn't take her word for it.
Nabiki leaned back on her bed with a happy sigh. She could be gleaning the yen off of Ranma for weeks, so long as Ryoga continued to forget. Oh, the endless possibilities…
* * * * * * * * * *
It was mid-afternoon, and Ukyo was standing behind her grill, flipping okonomiyaki as she usually did. As she cooked, her thoughts were occupied by Ranma, as was also usual.
But the thoughts she was having about him were unusual.
Ukyo had spent most of the day and the night before rolling over the possibilities as to why Ranma would want Ryoga to remain memory-less. Given the amount of time she'd spent on it, she'd come up with several potential reasons.
Unfortunately, she still couldn't figure out which, if any, was the real one.
And although that in itself was perplexing and bothersome, what really troubled her was the morality behind the motive.
Any way she looked at it, it seemed to return repeatedly to a common theme: Ranma was using Ryoga for what appeared to be a purely selfish reason in a rather un-nice way. The concept troubled Ukyo deeply—surely her Ranchan wouldn't really do such a thing, would he?
But…if he was, what would Ryoga do when he found out?
Ukyo frowned thoughtfully. Even if Ranma was doing something along those lines…did that mean she should take it upon herself to tell Ryoga before something serious happened? That seemed like the right thing to do—after all, Ryoga was completely helpless in the matter…but Ranma was her fiancé, so her first loyalty should be to him. And that meant she should let him play the course as he wanted to.
But if she did that, and Ranma was trying to do something that would keep Ryoga and Akane apart for good, then that could seriously up the ante for Ukyo. After all, it didn't seem likely that she'd successfully be able to push Akane off on anyone else—Kuno would never work, and Mousse was probably too obsessed with Shampoo to even think about changing his mind. Plus, she rarely associated with either of them for personal reasons (bottom line, they both creeped her out a little, and although Ukyo wanted to be the one to marry Ranma, she liked Akane enough not to try to hitch her up with guys she herself found a bit unnerving). Ryoga was definitely the best bet, and without him in the running, she'd have to rely on winning Ranma over completely on her own as opposed to by possible default.
And though Ukyo didn't want to admit any true caring for Ryoga on her part, she did think it would be pretty hard on the guy if he lost any chances at Akane for good. Sure, the Lost Boy could be a damnably frustrating, idiotic, stubborn, hopelessly naïve, annoying jackass at times…but he could also be friendly and helpful and sensitive and kind, and she had to give him credit for being so easily willing to risk his own safety for that of others (even if the 'other' was usually Akane). She was a little bothered over the issue with his curse—using it to sleep in Akane's bed hardly seemed honorable, and it certainly wasn't healthy. But whenever Ukyo thought about it, her mind would return to the night when Ryoga had slipped on the secret and she'd found out the truth about P-chan. Her initial intention was to hit him and then go tell Akane, but the immediate look of dismay-become-despair in Ryoga's eyes had stopped her short. He'd been so earnest when he explained to her how it had all gotten started and how much he regretted it. Ukyo had encouraged him to tell Akane himself, but he was too afraid that she would hate him.
But it was Ryoga's expression and tone that had convinced Ukyo of exactly how serious the situation was. They'd reminded her of when they'd been at Togenkyo, right before he'd done his Shi-shi Hokodan—the sudden, hollow uncaring look in his eyes, the stark hopelessness in his voice—both had been so terrible that she'd wished to never experience them again. But she had that night.
And then she had known. Although Ukyo didn't really think Akane actually would hate Ryoga for it, she didn't dare take the risk.
Because if Akane did hate him for it…
Ukyo didn't even want to think about it.
The idea of that was intolerable to her. Ryoga didn't deserve it. It was a mistake, a bad mistake, and it was wrong of him; but Ukyo could understand why and how it had happened. Besides that, Ranma knew about Ryoga's curse and he hadn't told Akane, either.
And deep down, Ukyo couldn't really condemn Ryoga for the act. It was a move of desperation on his part, and she, like everyone else—Shampoo, Kodachi, Mousse, Akane, Ranma, all of them—had had her own share of them. Ryoga's was no worse than any of theirs.
Ukyo sighed heavily, though the sound was lost within the sizzle of grill. She hated the idea of interfering directly with Ranma's plan (whatever it was) because he might hold it against her later…but she hated the idea of Ryoga winding up with all of his hopes crushed, too. And even if Ranma didn't intend to split up Ryoga and Akane permanently, it could very well happen by accident alone. The Lost Boy's attitude in reference to the youngest Tendo girl had been proof enough of that possibility's existence.
A frown stamped itself across Ukyo's features. She reminded herself that people with amnesia almost always regained their memories. It had only been a few days since Ryoga had lost his, so maybe he would remember everything on his own if he had a little more time. If he didn't, then she would take things upon herself. That way, she might not have to interfere with Ranma. And surely nothing could go that wrong in a few days…