"talking"
'thinking'
flashback
my first Ranma fic, pretty short, but...oh well. I worked pretty hard so I hope you like it!
------------------------ -------------------- ----
It was a cold November night, the wind was blowing harshly, sending snowflakes pounding into the windows of the small okonomiyaki shop. Ukyo stood behind the grill, absently tapping her fingers on it's smooth surface, staring off into space. There hadn't been a single customer stop by Ucchan's all day, and Ukyo was getting tired of waiting.
"Probably because of the weather...," Ukyo tried to convince herself, without much success. There had been much worse days in the past, and she had still had customers then. 'You haven't had nearly as much business since Ranma and Akane got married...' Ukyo thought gloomily.
As much as she hated to admit it, Ranma and all the crazy people who seemed to come along with him had been the major source of income for her. But since the wedding, Ranma actually was able to stand Akane, and there was no reason for him to run to Ucchan's.
Shampoo, seeing that Ranma really did love Akane finally gave up and went back to China with Mousse, Cologne leaving with them. Ukyo had heard rumors that Shampoo and Mousse were to be wed soon. But it wasn't like the three of them were really good customers anyway.
Ryouga had disappeared all together. Ukyo recalled a conversation she had had with him shortly after the wedding:
Ukyo got up from her seat, and began to slowly make her way towards the exit of the church. Watching Ranma and Akane marry hadn't been as painful as she thought it would be. At least it was Akane Ranma married, and not someone like that hussy, Shampoo. Ukyo stopped to talk to Ranma and Akane, and give them her best wishes.
"Take good care of Ran-chan now, Akane. He's really helpless, you know," Ukyo said to Akane, with a smile.
"Don't worry , I can handle him," Akane answered, and smiled as she gave Ukyo a hug. Ukyo watched the newlyweds walk out the church doors, hand in hand. She stayed where she was for a few minutes longer, staring at the spot where the couple had just stood. But a sudden noise pulled her out of her daze.
Ukyo saw Ryouga sitting alone in one of the pews. Out of anyone, he had taken the marriage the hardest.
"Hey, Ryouga," Ukyo said cautiously as she walked up to the said boy.
"Oh, hey Ukyo. I thought everyone had left already...," he trailed off. There was an uncomfortable silence before Ukyo decided to speak again.
"So, what's next for you? Where are you planning on doing?" Ukyo asked the lost boy, trying to make conversation.
"I don't know where I'm going," Ryouga began, "but I know that I'm not staying here," he said almost angrily. Ukyo smiled knowingly.
"I know what you mean," Ukyo said. "Every moment that we've ever spent in Nerima has been focused on Ranma and Akane. This whole place is just a reminder of what we could never have,"
Ryouga sighed and stood up. "All I know for sure, is that I'm never coming back here again," Ukyo nodded. She herself had contemplated moving out of Nerima, but she knew in her heart that no matter where she went, she couldn't forget the past.
"Just take care of yourself, sugar," Ukyo said as Ryouga walked down the aisle of the church. He turned his head slightly to smile back at her, before disappearing through the doors.
That had been nearly half a year ago. In that expanse of time, she had grown accustomed to the loneliness, and had even stopped thinking about Ranma every minute of every day. She knew she could never fully forget about Ranma, but she had decided that the best thing to do was not to dwell in the past, and in what might have been, like she had done so many times before.
The clock on the wall chimed loudly, signaling that it was seven o'clock. Signaling that it had been more than twenty-four hours since her last customer had stopped in.
'If no one comes in the next half hour, I'm closing up,' ukyo thought, defeated. 10 minutes passed, then 20, and finally at seven-thirty Ukyo gave up and began to put away the batter, condiments, and silverware. She was almost finished when the bell above the door jingled, signaling that someone had entered. Ukyo sighed, more than a little irritated that the person had waited to come until she had cleaned everything up.
"What do you want," Ukyo asked as she fired up the grill, not bothering to hide that she was pissed off.
"Have a bad day?" a familiar, almost meek voice asked
'That voice...,' Ukyo thought, 'I know that voice!' Ukyo whipped around and was greeted by the smiling face of Ryouga. "Ryouga! What are you doing here!" If Ukyo recalled correctly, Ryouga had said that he was NEVER going to come back to Nerima.
"You know, old habits die hard...," he said sheepishly. "When I fall for a girl I fall hard. I can't leave it alone. Could I have a shrimp okonomiyaki please?"
"Ryouga...you know that you can't have Akane, right? She is married," Ukyo said as she poured the batter onto the grill.
"I'm not here for Akane. I'm here for...someone else," Ryouga said, a blush creeping over his features. Ukyo couldn't help but notice how cute he looked when he blushed.
"Who is it then? I mean, you did say you were never coming back to Nerima again. This girl must be pretty special. How did you meet her? "Ukyo asked; now she was very interested. She flipped the okonomiyaki and began to add the condiments.
"Well, I already knew her from before, you know, when we all were after Ranma and Akane," Ukyo handed Ryouga his meal. "While I was traveling by myself, I started thinking about everything that had happened. I started to think about my 'friends' and realized that I'd never really had any except for one person. One girl. I started think about her-"
"Who?" Ukyo interrupted, her head propped on her elbows, listening intently.
"I'm getting there...anyway, the more I thought about her, the more I found that I liked her. I remembered her long hair, and her beautiful eyes. I was just too infatuated with Akane at the time to notice. I thought about all the crazy things we'd done together, but I was too busy thinking about defeating Ranma to notice how fun she was. Not to mention she was one of the best cooks I've ever known,"
"Not as good as me, though," Ukyo interjected defensively.
"I think her cooking is just as good as yours," Ryouga said teasingly, smirking slightly. Ukyo crossed her arms and glared at him, but noted how adorable is fangs looked as he smiled at her. "Back then, I ate, drank, and slept winning over Akane, and defeating Ranma, so I could not taste her heavenly concoctions," Ryouga continued. "I realized that I was in love with this girl, and that I needed to come back to Nerima to find her,"
"Oh, Ryouga, That's the sweetest, most poetic thing I've ever heard!"Ukyo gushed, and somewhere, deep down, she almost felt jealous that now Ryouga had found someone, and she was still alone. She mentally smacked herself. She should be happy that Ryouga found someone to love, even if she still had no one. "So, what are you going to do about it"Ukyo said quickly, to keep herself away from those thoughts.
"Do about what?" Ryouga asked, genuinely oblivious to what Ukyo was asking.
"What are you going to do to get this girl?" Ukyo asked, trying to keep her temper under control.
"I...don't know. I haven't really thought about it," Ryouga said dumbly.
"You are impossible!" Ukyo cried, exasperated.
"What do you think I should do about it?" Ryouga inquired.
"I think you should go to her, right now, and let her know how you feel. Let her know you love her,"
"What if she doesn't love me back, though?" Ryouga asked timidly.
"Trust me, all any girl wants is to be loved," Ukyo said quietly. Ryouga smiled knowingly.
"Thanks Ukyo, for the okonomiyaki," Ryouga laid down the money to pay for his food. "And also, thanks for listening. It's nice to know I have a friend," he finished quietly. Ukyo smiled slightly. It really was good to know you had a friend.
"It's no problem. You stop by anytime you want, sugar" Ryouga stood and headed for the exit . "Before you go, is there anything you else you want?"
Ryouga stopped, thought for a moment, and walked back to Ukyo.
"Just one thing," he said. He leaned down a gently placed a kiss on the stunned okonomiyaki chef's lips. It was a short, but in that small expanse of time Ukyo figured out who it was that Ryouga had come back for. They pulled away, and Ukyo looked up at Ryouga to see him lightly smirking, his fangs poking out of the corners of his mouth. "Thanks for the advice Ukyo, it really works charms,"