Steal her Heart Away

By: Tomo Kakashi

Disclaimer: I do not own Ranma 1/2.

WARNING: YURI/SHOUJO-AI CONTENT! XianPu/Ukyou. I must say, this is much longer than my usual one-shots.

She was abandonned by her father for not winning Ranma from Akane and I, and her mother died when she was born, leaving her no siblings. She has been all alone, a crossdressing okonomiyaki chef.

And it was pretty hard to steal her heart away.

She and I, we were rivals for Ranma's love. We were so pathetic then, thinking only of how we "loved" him and how we must get rid of all other obstacles...

Ranma was the only obstacle. He was in the way, blocking Ukyou's heart from my grasp. Of course, no one would have guessed that I would fall for her, of all people, but I did.

Great-grandmother truely thought I could win Ranma over with my charm, abilities, and beauty. I thought so, too. Mousse and a few of the others actually thought I would run, crying into his arms after all hope for Ranma was lost, but I most certainly didn't.

And a few even thought that I'd never live without Ranma, or run back to China, branded a failure...I couldn't do that.

And when everyone lost all respect for me, when they thought of me as an obstacle, a bimbo, a fool, a tramp, one woman dared to think of me as a worthy rival, not any stronger than her, but not less strong.

Ukyou was truely the closest thing to a true friend I had ever had. She didn't fear me or anything like that! Sure, we were rivals, but...

We had a connection. We had a connection that none of the other fiancees had. No one else bonded like the two of us did, we were often seen scheming together, sometimes with Kodachi, usually not, but we were often together...

Which was how we actually became friends. Deep down, we kind of knew we had been friends from the begining, just like Ukyou was with Akane...But then again, Ukyou and I grew even closer...One could say we were best friends, even!

But Ranma was still our goal. Both of us still wanted him for ourselves, and wouldn't stop til we got him...

Or someone else did. That was exactly what happened. Akane, the only uncute one of all of Ranma's fiancees, actually got him, while the cutest ones, Ukyou and I, were left in the dirt, still longing for his love and affection.

Ukyou was his friend. She was pretty much his best friend, his only true friend. Ryouga was a friend, but above all a rival...

Ranma and Ryouga, they're a lot like Ukyou and I were. Best friends, yet rivals til the end. Only the two of them are too bull-headed to see it.

What am I saying? Ukyou and I were no different, thinking only of Ranma, just as the two of them think only of Akane.

What's so great about that violent-pervert-girl, anyway? What has she got that I haven't? I'm cute, smart, and strong. In fact, I'm all of those things and more, compared to her! And why didn't Ranma pick Ukyou? She's really the only one of us that truely treated him with respect and concern. He's a fool...

And I need not ask about why he didn't choose Kodachi. That one's pretty obvious.

Kodachi is the only one of the fiancees to still cling to Ranma, even after the wedding! Ukyou began to drown her sorrows in sake, and I locked myself in my room until great-grandmother "straightened me out"...Heheh. it actually had the opposite affect. It helped me realize...That the one I actually love...

Is Ukyou. Not Ranma, perhaps longing and desire, lust and passion, even, but not actual love. Ukyou, Ukyou is love in a nutshell.

So how did I manage to steal her heart away?

Maybe Konatsu, as great-grandmother had done for me, "straightened her out". Though it was obvious he loved her, he knew what was best for her and helped her find her true love. Obviously, that true love was me, her worthy rival and opponent, her best friend, worst enimy.

And so in doing that, he helped me realize that I had stolen her heart long ago. The heart that Ranma had innocently been squeezing, day after day, night after night, was now in my hands, only I could control it now. I chose when to make it ache and when to make it soar. I was the new puppet master, and the best part of it was that she was in control of my heart, as well.

That's how I stole her heart away.

*Owari*