Chapter 26 A Day in the Park
That night, as they left the Tendo home to walk home to her restaurant, Ukyo held Ryoga's hand tightly. "Do you see why I like them so much, Father? I wish you had been able to meet Kasumi. Those three girls are all so friendly towards me. Nabiki is usually pretty nice as well, though she hides it a bit. They treat me like I'm one of them. Ranma's mother is so nice as well; she treats me as if I was one of her nieces. We all call her Auntie Nodoka," Ukyo said.
"Yes, they seem to be a very nice group of people. I'm glad you were able to make some friends here. My only wish was for you to find happiness. It sounds like between your restaurant, your friends, and, of course, Ryoga here, that you have," her father replied with a kind smile, "How about you, Ryoga? What do you think about them?"
Ryoga thought for a second or two, trying to ignore the warning squeeze from Ukyo's hand. He answered finally, "Even though I met the Tendos under extremely awkward circumstances, I've come to like them. And after Ranma asked them to forgive me for almost hurting Akane by accident, I realized that Ranma isn't too bad. The two of us had some issues to work out. We all get along pretty well, now. I'd say that we're all friends."
As they entered the restaurant, Ukyo walked with Ryoga toward the kitchen, and the back room where he slept. Ukyo stopped him at the door to the kitchen, and pulled Ryoga into a tight embrace. She whispered, "Thanks, sugar, for everything." Then she kissed him soundly. Ryoga blushed, and tried to keep his nose from bleeding from the feel of her body touching his. Then she said, "Sleep tight, dear. I'll see you in the morning." Greatly daring, he kissed her, not believing that he actually had the courage to do it. Then Ukyo watched as he walked over to his room. She turned to go upstairs, and saw her father watching her with an oddly pleased look on his face. "Oh my, did I forget to tell you that he lives here with me. With his poor sense of direction, it only made sense, especially since I had the extra space," she said with a little laugh. She walked upstairs, followed by her father. Once she reached her living room, she pulled out the blankets for the futon that she had set up in there.
"Ryoga is a very nice boy, Ukyo. I approve of him. He seems to be devoted to you as well. He could hardly keep his eyes off of you tonight," Kuonji said, "You make a very nice couple."
Ukyo blushed prettily and said, "Why thank you Father. I'm glad you approve of him. I rather fancy him, myself." She giggled slightly.
Kuonji asked, "When were you thinking of getting married?"
"I'd like to graduate from high school, maybe start college, first. We haven't talked much beyond that," Ukyo replied.
"Could you tell me more about Ranma? We do have that agreement between Saotome and myself to do something with, after all. While obviously, she can't marry you, and there are no unattached brothers, you do have a few cousins that we could put forward," her father asked.
"Father, my understanding is that the agreement named both myself and Ranma! Besides Ranma is madly in love with someone, and her parents both approve of the match. They're just waiting until Ranchan gets a bit older. I doubt they would be interested in getting in the way of true love. In fact, I know that Auntie Nodoka would definitely be against breaking them up," Ukyo said forcefully, "For that matter, I would be opposed to Ranma being engaged to any of my cousins, as well."
"I had to ask, Ukyo," He said, gently, "We still have to resolve the issue with our honor intact, after all."
Ukyo smiled and replied, "I'm aware of that. The Saotomes are also anxious to do the right thing as well. Father, I'm afraid I'm keeping you up. I know I'm tired. I'll talk to you some more about this tomorrow." She hugged her father.
"Goodnight, Ukyo. I'm proud of what you've accomplished here. See you tomorrow," her father replied. Ukyo disappeared through the door into her bedroom. Her father changed clothing, and went to bed.
Ukyo was pleasantly surprised with how well her day was going. She had suggested that the three of them go on a picnic in the park for lunch. The day was pleasant, a few cotton candy clouds in the brilliant blue sky. She had walked hand in hand with Ryoga over to a spot overlooking the bright, blue waters of the small lake. Once there, she had served the meal that she had prepared. Then she and Ryoga sat together, occasionally holding hands while they ate and talked with her father. The sounds of birds calling, and the occasional splash of a fish jumping, added a nice counterpoint to the day.
"Ryoga, I told my daughter last night that I heartily approve of the match between you. Even though you are a bit young still, I sense a very big heart in you. The two of you make a very attractive couple. I give you two my blessing. Just don't make me wait too long before you get wed. I would like to see some grandchildren while I'm still young enough to enjoy them," Kuonji said with a gentle smile.
Ryoga froze, his mind racing in panic, 'what do I say, marriage, grandchildren!! I'm too young for this.' Finally he stammered, "Thank you, sir. Er, um, we're in no real big hurry, I'm afraid. Uh, we're both a bit young for that right now. Ucchan needs to get through school first, at least." He gazed adoringly at his supposed fiancée, thinking to himself. 'She really is so cute. She's actually prettier than Shampoo. She cares for me as a person. Arrgh, what am I thinking. I love Shampoo, don't I?' He reached over and clasped Ukyo's hand again, and squeezed it affectionately.
'What's he doing?' Ukyo thought, her heart racing. She blushed when she discovered what else she was thinking 'Steady girl, don't lose your cool. You don't need to start a new relationship. You barely got over Ranma and already you're lusting after Ryoga. I mean, sure he's a good-looking, well built hunk, and nice to you.' She said teasingly, "Oh, I don't know sugar. If we got married sooner, I could save paying you that huge salary you earn. Just think of how much money we'd save doing that."
Ryoga choked, and then realized she was kidding. He bantered back, "Hey, you're not paying me that much, anyway. It's a good thing I'm working there for something other than the money."
"Must be the company you keep during the day," she teased back.
Kuonji chuckled at the two of them. "You two already sound like you're married," he said, "This has been a pleasant day. When do you need to get back to the restaurant?"
Ryoga replied, "Actually, just before we left, Shampoo told us to stay away all day. She wants us to have a day for ourselves and to forget about coming to work. She can handle the cooking, and she said something about a friend coming over to wait on the tables. We'll just drop all of this stuff at the restaurant and then go wander around sightseeing. At least that was her suggestion."
"Then, why don't we take her up on that offer," Kuonji said. They gathered up their picnic gear and headed back to the restaurant.
That evening as they wandered back from Tokyo Tower, they found a small restaurant to eat dinner. After ordering, Kuonji asked, "Ryoga, can you tell me a bit more about yourself? I'd like to know the man who is engaged to my daughter better."
Ryoga blushed in embarrassment, not really one to talk about himself. "Er, well, there's nothing much to tell, that I haven't already told you about. Like I said before, I'm a pretty good martial artist. I'm pretty strong, physically. I think I'm honorable. I've traveled around much of my life. I think I mentioned my poor sense of direction. My folks have a house here in Tokyo, but I rarely am there. My father also travels around a great deal, mostly on business, so I don't see him often. That's pretty much my life in a nutshell. The time I've been here is pretty much the longest I've stayed in one place. But then, I think your daughter is a pretty good reason to stay."
"Do you have any plans for the future?" Kuonji asked.
Ryoga thought for a while, and then said, a bit depressed, "Actually, beyond helping Ucchan in the restaurant, I hadn't thought a lot about the future. Even though I'm pretty well read and speak a bunch of different languages fluently, I've never stayed in school long enough to amount to much. I'd be surprised if I can get into college with my record. Unless I can find a job teaching martial arts, I don't know what else I'm qualified for. That doesn't sound like I'm good for much."
"That's not true, sugar. I think you're very special," Ukyo said, sympathetically. She put her hand on his arm and squeezed it in affection. "We never have talked about that much, have we? We just talked about me going on to college. We need to work that out. We should get you into college after you turn eighteen."
Kuonji frowned, and said, "I'm sorry, Ryoga. I didn't know that was such a sore spot with you. You strike me as a young man with a great deal of potential. If there is something my clan can do for you, just let me know."
"Thank you, sir. I appreciate the offer, I truly do," Ryoga said with feeling.
On that note, they finished their dinner and left for Ucchan's. Ryoga looked nervously at the sky, eyeing the clouds. "Uh, looks like we might get some rain, and I forgot an umbrella. We better hurry and get home before it starts pouring," he said. He caught Ukyo's hand and whispered into her ear, "Ukyo, I have a curse, like Ranma. I'm going to lag behind." He let Ukyo catch up to her father.
As they headed toward the restaurant, Ryoga deliberately fell a few steps behind, allowing Ukyo and her father to walk in front of him. It was a fortunate decision, as he felt the first several raindrops. Soon enough water had hit him, that it triggered the change.
Ukyo was talking to her father as they walked. They had just turned the corner onto the street leading to her restaurant when she felt the first raindrops fall. She heard a faint "Bwee" from behind her and casually looked over her shoulder. She saw a small, black pig, with a yellow bandanna around its neck, following some distance behind her. She mouthed, "Ryoga?" The pig nodded. After a few minutes, she turned and said, "Hey, Ryoga sugar," then she stopped and said, "Oh my, it looks like Ryoga wandered off."
"What do you mean he wandered off," her father asked.
Ukyo hesitated as if reluctant to spill a secret. "Well, Father, remember Ryoga saying that he has a bad sense of direction. Well, it's a bit worse than that. One of the reasons that Ryoga has traveled for so much of his life is that he has no sense of direction. He constantly gets lost if I'm not watching. In fact, I remember him telling me of a man-to-man fight that he was supposed to fight with his best friend from junior high. It was in the vacant lot just behind his house and it took him three days to make it there. He showed up on the fourth day, and by that time, his opponent was long gone," she said.
As they reached the restaurant, Ukyo turned and squealed with delight. She thought quickly, 'What kind of sickly cute name would a girl name a pig, well, duh, of course,' she thought. She said, "P-chan, where have you been, you naughty pig? She picked up that small, wet pig and cradled it in her arms. "Father, I'd like you to meet P-chan, my pet pig. He's very intelligent, but he wanders off all of the time. He always finds his way back, though. Isn't he adorable?" she enthused as she hugged the pig tightly to her chest.
"Uh, yes, I'm sure, Ukyo," Kuonji said, a little uncertain. 'Why does that pig have a nose bleed,' he wondered as he followed his daughter into the restaurant. "Do you need to go looking for Ryoga?" he asked.
Ukyo set the pig done and said, "I may go out in a bit if it stops raining, but I'm not worried. Ryoga will be here in the morning, I can almost bet on that. He's done this before, and always turns up. Even though he gets lost easily, he can always seem to find this place."
"Well, you know your fiancé best, I suppose. He's a big, strong martial artist, so I expect he can take care of himself, after all," he said with a sigh. P-chan scampered off into the kitchen.
"Why don't you go upstairs, Father? I need to make sure P-chan has some water, and then I'll be right up. There's some sake in the cabinet in the living room, if you want any," Ukyo said. Her father nodded and walked upstairs. She went into the kitchen and put a small kettle of water on one of the burners. "Can you take care of this P-chan?" she said. She wasn't surprised to see him nod. "Don't come up right away and make sure you close the back door, loudly. That way Father will think you came in." She quietly opened the back door and ran back down the street and grabbed Ryoga's clothing. She quickly ran back, and entered the open door. She dropped the clothing onto the floor next to P-chan and quickly ran upstairs. She grabbed a towel from the bathroom and began drying her wet hair. Her father was sitting on the sofa, drinking sake. He had changed out of his damp clothing. A second saucer was on the table next to the bottle. "Thanks, Father. I'm going to get out of these damp clothes first, then I'll come join you," she said as she entered her bedroom.
A few minutes later, Ukyo came back out, dressed in her pajamas, with a robe over them. She sat down next to her father, and joined him in a nightcap. "Ukyo, what do you think we should do about the engagement? It is really your honor that is at stake, after all. I recovered the yatai some time ago, after you left on your search, so your dowry is intact. It was mostly symbolic of the agreement, after all. The insult was Gemna Saotome leaving you behind in the dirt, leaving you to the ridicule of your friends in the village."
"I imagine knowing Auntie Nodoka that she will provide sufficient punishment for all of Saotome's actions. I doubt his death will be sufficient for her, so there's something else she is planning. If you talk to Nabiki, I'm sure she will help negotiate something that satisfies both Auntie's sense of honor as well as mine. I will want to at least know what she plans, if not help. Ranchan was innocent, she doesn't need to be hurt, no matter what happens to her father," Ukyo said, finally, "And I also want Ranchan to remain my friend, so her honor can't be damaged. She feels very strongly about her honor."
Kuonji replied, "Well said, daughter. That seems like a good place to end up. If that satisfies your honor, then I will state that your oath has been kept."
They heard the sound of a door shut. Shortly, Ryoga poked his head into the room, and said, "Sorry I got lost, you two. You turned a corner, and suddenly vanished. Oh, listen, Ukyo, P-chan escaped out the door again. Sorry about that. You know him though, I'm sure he'll wander back."
"That's all right, Ryoga. I just glad you made it back. That storm sounds like it's getting worse. You're right about P-chan. He'll be back, I'm sure," Ukyo said. She stood up and walked over to Ryoga. She held him in her arms, and said, "I was worried about you, baka. Don't run off like that again." She kissed him, passionately.
He blushed, thinking, 'What's going on with her? Does she really mean that?'
"I'm sorry, dear. Mr. Kuonji, I had a wonderful time with you today and at dinner. Thank you. Ucchan, could you join me for a second downstairs?" Ryoga asked.
She nodded and followed him downstairs. As they went into the kitchen, Ryoga turned to Ukyo and said, "Thanks, Ukyo. No one except my parents has ever cared like that for me before. I just had to tell you that." He steeled himself, and then held out his arms. She came to him and allowed him to hug her.
"Ryoga, you're a really nice guy. I'm glad you're my friend," she said softly. Then she kissed him again. 'I guess that sake must have hit me harder than I realized,' she thought with a mental giggle. "Goodnight," she said to the extremely confused Ryoga. Ukyo went upstairs. "Goodnight, Father," she called as she entered her bedroom.
Later, before she went to sleep, Ukyo pulled out her diary and began to write. She wrote:
What a wonderful day. Ryoga was such a gentleman, so attentive. He's so cute; even those little fangs of his. Father seems to like him. He's happy that I'm engaged to Ryoga. When we talked about our life together, I felt so warm and happy inside.
Then we kissed, in front of Father. And then again when I kissed him goodnight. I felt something tingle. Does that mean I'm actually falling for him? But what does he feel for me?"
She closed her diary and hid it away. She finished her saucer of sake and turned her lights out, and went to sleep.