Chapter Three
Ranma was almost done. He had one more stop, and there it was, right there - Ucchan's. He was hungry, but wouldn't allow himself to be pursueded into eating his childhood friend's okonomiyaki. Not today. Possibly never if she took it too hard. Any other time he would have turned away and decided to get icecream, but he was already too far into it to do otherwise. One more fiancee and then he just had Akane. He swallows. Yeah, she could be a bitch, but she had such a nice smile. "Alright, I may be a while."
Ryoga nods understandingly and takes a seat beside the outdoor sign.
The pig-tailed boy enters the cafe, and is immediately greated by the pleasant aroma's of Ukyou's homemade pancakes. The said chef stands behind her bar-type grill with her spatula at the ready. Sitting on one of the stools is an older patron busy eating his own meal. Ukyou glances up as Ranma enters and smiles. "Hiya Ranchan. How are you?"
He sits at the far end of the counter and smiles. "I'm okay. I need to talk to you though. Do you mind? I mean...if you're busy I can come back later.."
"No, its okay." The brown haired girl flips the okonomiyaki and sheaths her spatula. "What's up?"
"Um, well. I've been having a very hard time for a very long time, and thought it was about time to try and fix it."
Ukyou nods, and takes a seat infront of him. "Go on."
Ranma glances nervously over at the customer and is relieved to see he isn't paying attention. He looks back at her. "You know how my dad and your dad made that deal, right?"
She nods slowly.
"Well, its about that."
Silence.
"I..." Ranma swallows trying to wet a quickly drying throat. "You're a really good friend Ucchan. I mean, beyond that. A best friend. Before any of the martial arts training you were there. It means a lot to me."
"Ranchan, what're you..?" He holds a hand up. "Hold on, let me finish. I will never try to do anything that will hurt you, and that's why this is so hard. Um, I...I'm never good with words but I have to try, right?" He laughs nervously. "Ucchan, I...um..." 'Oh great, I get this far and end up stumbling over my tongue. What kind of martial artist am I??'
"Ranma," Ukyou smiles sadly. "I think I know what you're trying to say. "Our parents made that deal - we didn't. And your father did break it when he ran off with you and my dad's cart. I just, well...I never wanted to see it that way. You mean a lot to me and I wanted us to get married so we could stay together forever. It hurts when I see you with Akane, but...it also makes me happy to know I still mean so much to you. You don't want to get married, right?"
Ranma nods. "I...I don't want to lose you though."
"I don't want to lose you either Ranchan. We're still going to be best friends, right?"
"Yeah! Totally! Gee Ucchan, you really know me well. Thanks a bunch!"
The chef pulls her spatula out. "You're welcome Ranchan. If you ever need help, I'm there for you, okay?"
"Me too. I have to go..." He stands and hurries from the store, pausing to wave before he steps outside.
Ryoga hops up at the sight of his friend. "Hey, how'd it go?"
"It feels like I got run over by a car. I'm beat."
"Breakfast now?"
"Yeah. Where to?"
The bandana-clad boy scratches his chin thoughtfully. "There's this really nice Teriyaki place up the street. I think..."
"You think?"
"Well, sometimes I end up in restraunts a couple of continents apart from where I thought they'd be..."
Ranma takes him by the arm. "Don't worry, I'll find us a place that isn't that far away, but you gotta pay cuz I'm broke."
"Fine..."
--
It isn't too long till they find their place and a nice booth within. They sit down across from each other and flip through the menus.
"Is it just me, or is this all written in chinese?"
Ryoga nods. "Yeah, imagine that...chinese teriyaki. What'll you have?"
"I don't know...maybe this one that has this scribbling here." Ranma points at an appetizer.
"You seriously can't read it?"
"No. Can you?"
"Yeah of course. After all, I get around. I just thought you would have known some chinese after all that training over there."
"Er, I was training, not studying. If I could read chinese, I wouldn't have gotten into so many bad predicaments."
"Well, what you're pointing at is an appetizer, and a not very good one either."
"Hm.." Ranma turns the menu upside down and stares at it. "This helps a little, but I think I'll just get whatever you get."
"Good idea." Ryoga flags down a nicely dressed waitress and orders for them. Once she's gone he turns back to Ranma. "So..."
"So...?"
"So..."
"So...?"
He glares. 'This isn't getting very far...' "You're free.."
Ranma looks at him startled. "Um, yeah I am."
"No more Shampoo...at least for a while, and Ukyou will leave you alone.."
"But there's all those other fiancees out there that I don't even know about yet. What if they come around?"
"If you're fast enough it shouldn't matter."
"Fast enough?" Ranma blows his straw wrapper at him. "What do you mean by that?"
"Dunno.." Ryoga counters, glaring down at his lap. He didn't want to think of Ranma going back to Akane. He was the first person he had ever been that close to - in human form, and he felt something special when he was with him. Ever since that night..
"Oh shit." Ranma swears under his breath.
"What?"
"Akane!"
"What about her?"
"She's here! She can't know I'm here! I'm not ready to talk to her yet!" He ducks beneath the table. "Cover for me! Please!"
Ryoga looks back over his shoulder and sees the said fiancee enter the restraunt. She looks around, sees him, waves, and hurries to join him.
She sits in Ranma's seat and smiles. "Hi again."
"Er, hello Akane. What a pleasant surprise!"
"Yeah it is, but I was kind of looking for you. I still haven't found Ranma, and was told you've been with him."
"What, me?" Ryoga feels Ranma grab his ankle beneath the table. He laughs nervously. "Who said that?"
"Mrs. Wirimato. She said she saw you and Ranma go to Ucchan's."
"Oh, yeah...-that-. We ran into each other and I asked if we could get something to eat. See, its been a while since I've been in town, and wanted to see Ukyou-san."
"Do you know where he is?"
"Uh, no. He left again."
Akane narrows her eyes. "Is he avoiding me?"
"Um, I don't know. He hasn't said anything to me..."
She eyes him. "He isn't just making you say that is he?"
"N-no."
"Fine. Well, if you see him tell him that I don't care. He obviously doesn't care if he keeps avoiding me."
"He didn't -say- he was avoiding you..."
The waitress shows up with two plates of gioza and sets them on the table. Akane eyes them. "Hungry?"
"Uh, heh-heh...heh..yeah, I eat like a pig sometimes." 'Oh man, I can't believe I just said that.' He felt like crawling under the table with his friend.
"Well, I have to go. It was nice seeing you again Ryoga."
He watches her go, and once she's out the door he gives a deft kick.
"Ow!" Ranma climbs out from underneath rubbing his nose. "What was that for??"
"Cutting off the blood circulation to my foot and making me lie to Akane."
"Well you weren't very good at it any way. Don't know why I tried." He pokes the food with his chopsticks. "I hope I'm making the right decision."
"Well, you'll know tonight, right?"
"Yeah...tonight..."
Ranma was almost done. He had one more stop, and there it was, right there - Ucchan's. He was hungry, but wouldn't allow himself to be pursueded into eating his childhood friend's okonomiyaki. Not today. Possibly never if she took it too hard. Any other time he would have turned away and decided to get icecream, but he was already too far into it to do otherwise. One more fiancee and then he just had Akane. He swallows. Yeah, she could be a bitch, but she had such a nice smile. "Alright, I may be a while."
Ryoga nods understandingly and takes a seat beside the outdoor sign.
The pig-tailed boy enters the cafe, and is immediately greated by the pleasant aroma's of Ukyou's homemade pancakes. The said chef stands behind her bar-type grill with her spatula at the ready. Sitting on one of the stools is an older patron busy eating his own meal. Ukyou glances up as Ranma enters and smiles. "Hiya Ranchan. How are you?"
He sits at the far end of the counter and smiles. "I'm okay. I need to talk to you though. Do you mind? I mean...if you're busy I can come back later.."
"No, its okay." The brown haired girl flips the okonomiyaki and sheaths her spatula. "What's up?"
"Um, well. I've been having a very hard time for a very long time, and thought it was about time to try and fix it."
Ukyou nods, and takes a seat infront of him. "Go on."
Ranma glances nervously over at the customer and is relieved to see he isn't paying attention. He looks back at her. "You know how my dad and your dad made that deal, right?"
She nods slowly.
"Well, its about that."
Silence.
"I..." Ranma swallows trying to wet a quickly drying throat. "You're a really good friend Ucchan. I mean, beyond that. A best friend. Before any of the martial arts training you were there. It means a lot to me."
"Ranchan, what're you..?" He holds a hand up. "Hold on, let me finish. I will never try to do anything that will hurt you, and that's why this is so hard. Um, I...I'm never good with words but I have to try, right?" He laughs nervously. "Ucchan, I...um..." 'Oh great, I get this far and end up stumbling over my tongue. What kind of martial artist am I??'
"Ranma," Ukyou smiles sadly. "I think I know what you're trying to say. "Our parents made that deal - we didn't. And your father did break it when he ran off with you and my dad's cart. I just, well...I never wanted to see it that way. You mean a lot to me and I wanted us to get married so we could stay together forever. It hurts when I see you with Akane, but...it also makes me happy to know I still mean so much to you. You don't want to get married, right?"
Ranma nods. "I...I don't want to lose you though."
"I don't want to lose you either Ranchan. We're still going to be best friends, right?"
"Yeah! Totally! Gee Ucchan, you really know me well. Thanks a bunch!"
The chef pulls her spatula out. "You're welcome Ranchan. If you ever need help, I'm there for you, okay?"
"Me too. I have to go..." He stands and hurries from the store, pausing to wave before he steps outside.
Ryoga hops up at the sight of his friend. "Hey, how'd it go?"
"It feels like I got run over by a car. I'm beat."
"Breakfast now?"
"Yeah. Where to?"
The bandana-clad boy scratches his chin thoughtfully. "There's this really nice Teriyaki place up the street. I think..."
"You think?"
"Well, sometimes I end up in restraunts a couple of continents apart from where I thought they'd be..."
Ranma takes him by the arm. "Don't worry, I'll find us a place that isn't that far away, but you gotta pay cuz I'm broke."
"Fine..."
--
It isn't too long till they find their place and a nice booth within. They sit down across from each other and flip through the menus.
"Is it just me, or is this all written in chinese?"
Ryoga nods. "Yeah, imagine that...chinese teriyaki. What'll you have?"
"I don't know...maybe this one that has this scribbling here." Ranma points at an appetizer.
"You seriously can't read it?"
"No. Can you?"
"Yeah of course. After all, I get around. I just thought you would have known some chinese after all that training over there."
"Er, I was training, not studying. If I could read chinese, I wouldn't have gotten into so many bad predicaments."
"Well, what you're pointing at is an appetizer, and a not very good one either."
"Hm.." Ranma turns the menu upside down and stares at it. "This helps a little, but I think I'll just get whatever you get."
"Good idea." Ryoga flags down a nicely dressed waitress and orders for them. Once she's gone he turns back to Ranma. "So..."
"So...?"
"So..."
"So...?"
He glares. 'This isn't getting very far...' "You're free.."
Ranma looks at him startled. "Um, yeah I am."
"No more Shampoo...at least for a while, and Ukyou will leave you alone.."
"But there's all those other fiancees out there that I don't even know about yet. What if they come around?"
"If you're fast enough it shouldn't matter."
"Fast enough?" Ranma blows his straw wrapper at him. "What do you mean by that?"
"Dunno.." Ryoga counters, glaring down at his lap. He didn't want to think of Ranma going back to Akane. He was the first person he had ever been that close to - in human form, and he felt something special when he was with him. Ever since that night..
"Oh shit." Ranma swears under his breath.
"What?"
"Akane!"
"What about her?"
"She's here! She can't know I'm here! I'm not ready to talk to her yet!" He ducks beneath the table. "Cover for me! Please!"
Ryoga looks back over his shoulder and sees the said fiancee enter the restraunt. She looks around, sees him, waves, and hurries to join him.
She sits in Ranma's seat and smiles. "Hi again."
"Er, hello Akane. What a pleasant surprise!"
"Yeah it is, but I was kind of looking for you. I still haven't found Ranma, and was told you've been with him."
"What, me?" Ryoga feels Ranma grab his ankle beneath the table. He laughs nervously. "Who said that?"
"Mrs. Wirimato. She said she saw you and Ranma go to Ucchan's."
"Oh, yeah...-that-. We ran into each other and I asked if we could get something to eat. See, its been a while since I've been in town, and wanted to see Ukyou-san."
"Do you know where he is?"
"Uh, no. He left again."
Akane narrows her eyes. "Is he avoiding me?"
"Um, I don't know. He hasn't said anything to me..."
She eyes him. "He isn't just making you say that is he?"
"N-no."
"Fine. Well, if you see him tell him that I don't care. He obviously doesn't care if he keeps avoiding me."
"He didn't -say- he was avoiding you..."
The waitress shows up with two plates of gioza and sets them on the table. Akane eyes them. "Hungry?"
"Uh, heh-heh...heh..yeah, I eat like a pig sometimes." 'Oh man, I can't believe I just said that.' He felt like crawling under the table with his friend.
"Well, I have to go. It was nice seeing you again Ryoga."
He watches her go, and once she's out the door he gives a deft kick.
"Ow!" Ranma climbs out from underneath rubbing his nose. "What was that for??"
"Cutting off the blood circulation to my foot and making me lie to Akane."
"Well you weren't very good at it any way. Don't know why I tried." He pokes the food with his chopsticks. "I hope I'm making the right decision."
"Well, you'll know tonight, right?"
"Yeah...tonight..."