Ukyou opened the door to her restaurant and flicked on the light. After the battle between he and Tsubasa, Ryouga disappeared. She tried to follow him to set the misunderstanding straight, but she quickly found that when he wanted to go away, he could not be followed. She had hoped he would've found his way back here, but by the looks of the place, no such luck there either. With a sigh, she closed the door behind her and sat down at the bar.

What in the world was his problem anyway? Okay, sure she lead Tsubasa to believe that she was in love with someone else and sure, she did have Ryouga in mind when she was fabricating that story, but how in the world was she to know that Tsubasa really knew anything about him? As far as she was aware, Tsubasa and Ryouga had never even met until the fight.

She sighed again and looked at her empty shop. She supposed there was no point in going back to school. She didn't really feel like doing anything now, nor did she want to go back and face all of those students and their questions, which she knew would be coming. But she'd still have to open up the restaurant later on. Fortunately, no one ever really bothered her while she was cooking. But now, she had to prepare to do everything by herself.

Ukyou shook her head, trying to get herself out of the funk she was slowly sinking into. So what if she had to run the restaurant by herself? It's not as if she hadn't done it before. She had run the place by herself since she opened up. So what was the big deal about now? It'd be just like old times.

That was, of course, what the problem was. Things would never really be 'just like old times' again, would they? Without the dream of one day being able to care for Ranma the way she was caring for her customers, it promised to be a very long day. And without Ryouga to distract her, which he was very good at, constantly wandering off in between deliveries to customer tables, she would be stuck thinking about all that she fought for in vein. If that were the case, she didn't think she would be able to handle that either. Since she was the boss, she did have the option of keeping the place closed, at least.

Once again, the thought of just up and leaving crossed her mind. Not only was the town filled with memories that made her sad and bitter, but it seemed as though the town brought her bad luck in regards to her relationships between friends and potential lovers. Ryouga's words from before came back to mind. She shouldn't have to run away because of what others made her feel. He was right, of course. She was strong. It may take some time, but she would eventually get through everything that was coming down on her and in the end, make her even stronger. Though, she did wish she wouldn't have to endure that time alone.

At any rate, if Ryouga wanted to come back, he will wander by sooner or later. As she started to put her schoolbooks away upstairs, there was a knock on the front door. Ukyou smiled. "Speak of the devil..."

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"Where do you want to go today?"

-

The, as yet, unnamed newcomer had to admit he was impressed. Following Ukyou back to her place of abode, he expected to find a house or an apartment complex, not a restaurant. There had to have been some wealth for her or her parents to have one. This could be a great opportunity to take and hold her for a ransom...that is, if he were that type of person. Fortunately for her, he wasn't. He despised people like that and despised the thought of having to stoop to such a level. But he had to do what he had to do. Ryouga would definitely come if he had his girl with him, (and he was pretty sure now it was a girl) and the lost boy would be at his mercy.

He grinned at the thought: Ryouga beaten and battered, lying at his feet begging to be put out of his misery. For all the hell he had put him through, the bandanna-clad clod deserved far worse. It wasn't as if he couldn't take Ryouga on his own. Even with Ryouga's near indomitable constitution, he was sure he would be able to defeat the lost boy one on one. But, he had to have an ace up his sleeve he could fall back on, just in case something stupid happened. He came to far now to have anything stupid happen.

He peered around the corner from his hiding spot. It had been quite a while since she entered the restaurant and no one entered or left since. He would need to break inside first to ensure she was alone. It just wouldn't do for someone to jump out of a room to stop him from his odious task. He sighed and steeled himself. "Well, here we go..." He took a step forward and immediately stopped. "Geez, who is this now?" he lamented as someone walked up to the restaurant door and knocked.

----+----

With his schoolbag in hand, Ranma sprinted toward his friend's shop. He didn't look forward to going back home. He promised Akane after the fight that they would wait to stick their noses into Ukyou and Ryouga's business, but he just couldn't wait (besides, anything that could get him out of school was a good thing, in his opinion). So he decided to excuse himself from school during lunch. Much wailing and gnashing of teeth (and probably pounding with mallets) are sure to await him once he returns to the Tendo abode.

Those were things he'd have to worry about later, though. Right now, his concern was helping to patch things up between his friend and his rival. He trotted up to the door of Ukyou's restaurant and knocked on her door.

----+----

Ukyou trotted over to the door and unlocked it. Inwardly, she really hoped Ryouga used the time to cool off. With any luck, Ryouga would be calm enough to talk so she could smooth things over. She had gotten used to him being around and would hate to lose such a good friend and employee over such a stupid misunderstanding. She opened the door, "Ryouga!"

Ranma raised his eyebrow, "Not quite..."

Ukyou's shoulders slumped, "Oh...hi Ranchan." Just great...as if she didn't feel bad enough.

"Nice welcome for a friend." Ranma said.

"Sorry. Come on in." She allowed her ex-fiancée in and locked the door behind her. Ranma sat down at the bar, putting his bag down next to him and Ukyou went to the back to get the two of them a drink from her refrigerator. "So, how are things with you and Akane?"

Ranma nodded, "Not too bad. Though, I'm sure she's gonna be angry with me for skippin' school."

"She's right to be," Ukyou said. "From what I've heard, you've been out a lot lately. If you keep this up, you'll have to repeat the grade next year." Ukyou laughed, "If your goal was to be in school as little as possible, you're going at it entirely the wrong way."

"Err..." Wow...Ranma hadn't thought about it like that. His skipping school would ensure him having to go longer? That left a very bad taste in his mouth. School was so boring...it was hard for him to stay still and listen to the teacher drone on and on about stuff he probably would never need in the real world anyway...but choosing between that and having to go to that stupid school longer..."I guess I'm gonna need to do some major studyin' then..."

Ukyou smiled slyly, "You know, you could come over and we could study together."

"Oh yeah?" went Ranma. "That'd be great! I'll...wait...no. I shouldn't. I doubt Akane would appreciate that." Ukyou shrugged. It was worth a try. "So, how about you?" Ranma asked. "What's this I hear about you and Ryouga bein' in love and havin' a baby?"

Ukyou did a spit take, "WHAT? BABY?"

Ranma, now female, made a disgusted face, "Awww gross...aren't you supposed to DRINK somethin' before you do that?" She noted the two drinks on the counter, still unopened.

"Oh geez, sorry! Sorry!" went Ukyou, waving her hands in the air frantically. Quickly, she got a damp washrag and a kettle of heated water and offered it to her guest. Ranma took the rag and cleaned herself off. "I'm sorry about that, Ranchan...I'm sorry!"

"Ugh...don't worry about it..."

"Where in the world did you hear about a baby?"

"It's been running through the rumor mill at school."

"Ranma, hon; you of all people should know better than to believe any of the stupid rumors that go through school. I can assure you, there is NO baby."

"So, you and Ryouga...?"

"Just friends." Ukyou opened her drink and took a swig. "Probably not even that anymore. The other part of that rumor was kinda started by me. I was hoping it would get Tsubasa off my back. You saw how well that worked. Ryouga's probably upset with me now because I used him against Tsubasa."

Ranma poured the kettle of heated water on herself, turning into a male again. "Hey, you shouldn't worry about that too much. Ryouga isn't the kind of guy to hold a grudge...oh wait...yes he is." Ranma thought for a second. "Well...he's not the type to stay mad over something like this...oh...no, he'd do that too." He scratched his head.

Ukyou glared at him, "You're not making this any better, you know."

"Well, let's put it like this; Ryouga can be a reasonable guy when he wants to. I'm sure once he calms down, the two of you can sit down and set things straight. An' I could smack him upside the head to make sure he sits down long enough to listen to ya."

"Sounds good," Ukyou said, without the conviction needed to say she actually believed it. "Of course, that depends on whether he actually comes back for us to talk. Who knows where in the world he is?"

"Feh, one thing I know about Ryouga; he never stays gone for very long." Finally cleaned off, Ranma decided to open up his drink and take a swig as well. As he did, he locked eyes with her. He could see the profound sadness in her features. Could she really be this sad over Ryouga? Even after she said they were just friends? Ranma may have been dense regarding matters of the heart, but he wasn't totally oblivious to them. Surely there had to be more between them than he thought.

But when Ukyou could no longer hold their gaze, Ranma knew there WAS more...just not what he thought. Part of her sadness came from their own history and their failed engagement. Guilt began to overwhelm the pigtailed martial artist, knowing he was partly responsible for her dower mood. He could kill his father for all of those fiancées he saddled Ranma with. Ukyou, especially, didn't deserve any of the pain she was going through. Ranma was determined to make things right with her and he was determined to make sure his father would as well.

Ranma stood up, "Guess I'd better go. Maybe I could sneak back into school without anyone noticing."

"Hey, Ranchan...thanks for trying to help." Ukyou said with a weak smile.

"Hey, what're friends for?"

----+----

Ranma ran out of Ukyou's restaurant, headed back to school. By this time lunch was over and Akane would have noticed he's missing. Talking about making amends, he knew he'd have to do some serious smoothing over so Akane wouldn't be too upset with him. Stupid girl would probably yell at him for leaving school, then punt him right back out. He loved her, but man, could she be irrational.

As for Ukyou...he really did feel bad about everything that happened between them. As much as he wanted to make it up to her, he had no idea what to do about it. He thought helping her and Ryouga get together...or get back together would help things, but looking at her, he suddenly felt that wouldn't be enough. Of course, he and Akane would give them a push to get together (He refused to call it 'matchmaking'. The word made him cringe.) but he had to do something more.

Suddenly, he stopped. "Aww man...I left my stupid school bag at Ucchan's place..." Spinning on his heel, Ranma started right back to his friend's restaurant. He shook his head. By the time he got back to school, all the classes would be finished and Akane would browbeat him in front of the entire student body. He may as well go right back home after leaving Ukyou's.

He walked back up to the door and checked it. Fortunately, it was still unlocked from when he exited through. He wouldn't have to wait for her to come and unlock it, which would save him precious few seconds. He opened the door and closed it back behind him. "It's just me, Ucchan! I left my bag..." Ranma gasped as he saw Ukyou unconscious with some strange guy hovering over her. "HEY! What do you think you're-"

Without a word, the intruder charged the handle of the umbrella he was wielding with his ki and dashed forward, striking Ranma in the gut. The force of the attack knocked Ranma backwards through Ukyou's front door. He came to rest on the sidewalk just in front of her doorway.

"So sorry," said the intruder. "But I can't afford any interruptions right now." He scooped up Ukyou's unconscious form and slung her over his shoulder. He then, pulled out a note and dropped it on Ranma's torso. "When you wake up, make sure Ryouga gets this." And with that, he calmly walked away.

----+----+----+----+----

In the front yard of the Tendo home, Kasumi tended to a garden she started. Money had been tighter than usual because of how much it took to rebuild the dojo; so in an effort to offset some of the food expense, she began to grow some of her own vegetables. She found, though, that along with saving a bit of money, the garden had the added benefit of being very relaxing. She hummed to herself as she watered the plants.

Things have been so peaceful since the incident with Arame but it's been rather contentious between her father, Mr. Saotome, Akane and Ranma. Since finding out the young engaged couple truly are in love and want to go through with the wedding, their fathers have been trying to push them into getting married right away. Ranma and Akane insist they want to wait until they, at least, finish high school. Kasumi agrees with her sister and soon to be brother-in-law, however, the elders of the house refuse to give in.

She sighed and continued humming. She, too, hoped that once Ranma and Akane finally admitted how they felt about each other, things would calm down. Truth be told, they have SOME, as their friends no longer show up and break things, but it's still a bit too rowdy for her tastes. Fortunately, no one was home at the moment, but just thinking about it raised her stress levels. At any rate, they were all due home at any moment and the battles were sure to begin again. So she got in all the relaxation she could before then.

Speaking of their friends, "Hello Ryouga."

Ryouga, who was passing by the front gate of the Tendo property jumped, as he didn't expect anyone to address him. "Ah...Kasumi." He bowed respectfully to the eldest Tendo sister. "What are you doing here?"

"I live here, silly."

"You...you do?" He took a look at the sign that was beside the gate and, sure enough, it read 'Tendo School of Anything Goes Martial Arts.' Ryouga shook his head. He was hoping to have gotten out of the city by now.

Kasumi turned to him and gave her usual smile, "Would you like to come in and have some tea?"

Ryouga couldn't help himself, "S-sure. Thank you. How did you know I was out there if you weren't even looking?"

"I figured you would be walking by around this time. You've walked by the front gate three times in the last half hour."

"I see..." Ryouga cursed inwardly. Stupid sense of direction. Kasumi lead him to the den where she bade him to sit at their dining table. She, then, went into the kitchen and put a kettle of water on the stove. Two cups were taken down from the cabinet, as were some fresh sprigs of tealeaves. Ryouga looked about the house and sighed. He hoped he would never have to darken their doorstep again. That place brought back so many memories, memories that were, now, painful for him.

He turned behind him to look at the steps going upstairs. It was just up those stairs that Akane cradled him in his pig form the first time. The kiss on his snout was what sealed the deal for him. It was the first time any woman ever gave him such attention, as a man or a pig. He swore he would've done anything to get Akane to be his girlfriend. And he did do just about everything...except the one, simplest method that probably would've sealed the deal. He just couldn't bring himself to say those three little words to her face to face. The simplest of methods turned out to be the hardest thing for him. And now, it was too late.

Now, to add insult to injury, life had decided to play its cruelest joke of all. Before, when he had his chances, he wanted very badly to spend time with her...any time at all. Doing so, he had hoped to get comfortable enough around her, so he could muster up the courage to tell her just how he felt. But before that could happen, something stupid would always happen. Ranma or someone else would interfere, or he would get lost someplace. Now that his chance was gone, he couldn't get lost to save his life and with his new class schedule, he was going to be spending all sorts of time with her.

Life really, REALLY sucked.

Kasumi sat down across from him, poured him a cup of tea and handed it to him. "Thank you," Ryouga said, as he took a sip.

"You're welcome." Kasumi took a sip of her tea as well. "I haven't seen you in a while. How have things been?"

Ryouga blushed slightly. "Erm...not that good. I dunno if you heard, but I kinda...almost...blew up the town."

Kasumi raised an eyebrow. She knew she had felt something looming over her since Arame's first appearance, but she didn't know what it was. "I see. I'm guessing, then, that you're doing better?"

He nodded, "Somewhat. I mean, I'm still feeling kinda bad, but back then, I was downright suicidal. Fortunately, someone snapped me out of it before I did anything too bad."

"That's good to hear." Kasumi remembered when Ranma was training to use the Shi Shi Houkodan after Ryouga beat him with it. From what she understood, one had to be feeling very bad in order to use it properly. It didn't take much to figure out what, exactly, Ryouga could've been feeling bad about. "I guess you heard that Ranma and Akane have finally admitted that they're in love with each other, hmm? You must've really loved her."

Ryouga blinked. "H-how did you know?"

Kasumi smiled again, "I would be a very bad caretaker if I didn't notice these things."

He stared down into his tea, "It's too bad Akane never noticed."

"I can't say whether she noticed or not," Kasumi started. "But I can tell you this; she saw you as a very good friend. Once a woman sees you as a friend, it's hard for her to see you as much else. You could move heaven and earth to prove your love for her, but to her, a friend is what you are and, likely, what you would always be." Well, that made Ryouga feel a lot better. Even if he did muster up the courage to tell her how he felt, he still wouldn't have had a chance in hell with her. "I wish I could've said something better, but that's just the way things are."

"I see..." Ryouga's shoulders slumped.

Kasumi reached across the table and gave Ryouga's hand a reassuring squeeze. "It's okay to be upset about losing someone you love, but it's not the end of the world...so you shouldn't go causing it." Ryouga sweatdropped. "I firmly believe that there is someone for everyone. It's just a matter of finding her. And I'm confident that you will. Just you see."

Her speech had its intended effect. Ryouga could feel his spirits lifting already. "Thanks Kasumi. You're the greatest."

"I'm hoooooome!"

Great...she's hoooooome! Ryouga felt his lifting spirits crashing back to Earth. Kasumi noticed his declining mood immediately, "Oh dear..." Akane walked into the den with a scowl on her face, muttering things about stupid fiancées not listening and various unpleasant ways to use mallets under her breath. It starts as soon as one of them entered the house. Kasumi took a deep breath, trying to keep her own stress level in check. "Is something wrong, Akane?"

"Just that idiot fiancée of mine! He skipped out on school today! You see, we think that Ukyou and Ryouga are a couple, but something happened between them earlier this morning. Ranma and I wanted to help them straighten things out, but since we've missed so much school lately, I suggested that we stay and finish out the day. But that moron disappeared at lunch and I haven't seen him since!"

"Oh my...you and Ukyou, Ryouga?"

Akane blinked, "Ryouga? Where?" Kasumi pointed right in front of her. Akane looked down at the table between her and her oldest sister and noticed for the first time that Ryouga was sitting there. "Ryouga! How long have you been there?"

Ryouga sweatdropped again, "Err, long enough to hear you mutter about stupid fiancées not listening and various unpleasant ways to use mallets under your breath?"

She shrugged and sat down next to him, "Listen, I'm glad I found you! I saw what happened earlier at school today. Why did you just leave Ukyou there like that after you beat Tsubasa?"

The sadness was being slowly replaced by anger. "Was there some reason why I shouldn't have just left her here? She used me! AGAIN! Even after what happened a few weeks ago, she used me, telling Tsubasa some story about how we were in love!" asked Ryouga.

Akane blinked again, "Story? So you two really aren't married and have a baby?"

Ryouga turned beet red, "B-BABY? No! Of course not!"

"Ah...I thought so," she said, nodding. "It was just some silly rumor the others at school were passing along." Oh great...two days at the school and they were already spreading rumors about him. "At any rate, I think you should really go talk to her. She was very upset when you left."

"Oh, SHE'S upset? After she used me to fight her battles for her, SHE'S upset? Forget it!"

"You know," Kasumi interjected, "it could be that the whole thing is a misunderstanding. Small things do have a bad habit of getting blown way out of proportion, especially around here. I think you should go talk to her just to see what she has to say for herself before you decide not to see her anymore."

"She's right," added Akane. "That's pretty much what she said when she ran off after you. She was very sad and wants to apologize."

He wasn't aware of any of that. She was really sad over what happened? Maybe there was something to what Kasumi and Akane were saying. If she really was sad over what happened earlier, then maybe it was a misunderstanding. Now that he was thinking about it, she try did say that she would never do anything like that...of course, that was before she did something like that. Still, he guessed it would be a good thing for him to hear her side of things just to be fair. With a sigh, he stood up and turned to Akane, "Okay, then. I'll talk to her again. Can you lead me there?"

Akane smiled, "No problem!"

----+----+----+----+----

Ranma opened his eyes and groaned in pain, wondering who ran him over with that truck. He pushed himself up into a sitting position and noticed he was in front of Ucchan's Okonomiyaki. The front door was smashed in...no, wait! It was smashed out. That's right, he remembered now. Ukyou had been abducted by some strange dude...obviously a seriously strong dude to have knocked him out that easily. He held his stomach that was still aching from the strike.

"Huh?" He looked down, noticing his hand brushing against a piece of paper. He opened it up and took a look.

"Long time no see, Ryouga," it read. "You have been a very difficult person to track, but now that I have found you, it's time we took care of some unfinished business. Attached to this letter is a map with the spot where you can find me marked. And just to make sure you don't blow this off, I have...persuaded your lady friend to grace me with her company. If you know what's good for her, you won't keep us waiting too long.

-Signed

An old friend."

Ranma balled up the letter and dropped it on the ground. So, it was Ryouga this guy was really after, hmm? That was just too bad. He stood up and began running to the spot marked on the map. This guy was going to get a whole lot more than he bargained for.

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+----