Chapter 27 The Return of P-chan
The next morning, Ukyo staggered from her bedroom, and into her bathroom. She stared with bloodshot eyes at the image in the mirror, seeing her hair all askew, her head pounding from her hangover. She swore to herself thinking, 'I'll never drink again since I obviously can't handle it.' After taking several aspirins for the headache, and splashing her face with cold water, she began the slow process of turning back into a functioning human being, serenaded by the sound of her father's snoring. She finally got her hair under control and made her way downstairs to the kitchen. There she began preparing breakfast for the three of them.
She was standing at the sink filling the teakettle with water when she heard a noise behind her, startling her. She whirled, teakettle in her hand, her other hand over her mouth attempting to stifle a scream. As she turned the water sloshed out, pouring all over a surprised Ryoga, instantly turning him into a pig. Ryoga looked up at her with big, sad eyes, and went "Bwee."
"I'm sorry, Ryoga. You startled me. I'll get some water going for you," Ukyo said, stifling a laugh. She refilled the kettle and put it on the stove. Then she heard the sounds of her father's footsteps coming down the stairs. Her eyes grew large. She grabbed the discarded clothing and tossed it quickly into Ryoga's room. "You just stay right there, P-chan," Ukyo said. She filled a small bowl with water, and placed it on the floor by the back door.
Her father came into the kitchen and hugged his daughter. "Hello, P-chan," he said. Ryoga nodded his head, causing Kuonji to laugh. "That's one smart pig. Can I help with anything, maybe pull Ryoga out of bed?" he asked.
"Oh, Ryoga went out somewhere, I guess. He was gone when I came into the kitchen. There's some fish in the refrigerator, and I was going to make miso soup. I've got the kettle on for tea. Is there anything else you'd like?" Ukyo asked. P-chan came over and nuzzled Ukyo's leg. She reached down and picked him up. "What do you need, P-chan?" she asked.
He squirmed in her arms, going "Bwee, bwee!!"
"Actually, I think I would like to make some okonomiyaki, as well," her father replied. He quickly made up some batter, and went into the other room to start the grill. Ukyo grabbed the kettle, and ran into Ryoga's room and poured the warm water on P-chan. She ran back into the kitchen, and put the kettle back onto the stove, blushing at what she had seen.
A few minutes later, Ryoga came out dressed in his clothing. He opened the back door and then closed it. He said, "Good morning, Ucchan."
She turned and kissed him, and said quietly, "I'm sorry about this morning, Ryoga."
He shrugged and said, "It's not your fault, Ucchan. I'm a water magnet; you know that. Any time there's cold water around, I'm going to attract it."
Ukyo started fixing the miso soup. Ryoga went and got three fish out of the refrigerator and took them into the other room to cook on the grill. He said, "Good morning, sir. Do you want to cook these?"
"Good morning, Ryoga. Sure, just put them on the grill. Where'd you run off to this morning? Ukyo said you were gone when she came downstairs," Kuonji said.
Ryoga blushed and said, "I got lost heading for the downstairs bathroom. I opened the back door and walked out. Before I knew it, I was somewhere else. Fortunately, it didn't take me too long to make my way back."
"Do you have any idea why you have such a lousy sense of direction," Kuonji asked politely.
Ryoga pondered the question for a while, and said, "Well, I think it is some sort of curse. I first noticed getting lost when I turned nine. My father said that it was hereditary, and always started around then. I guess he had hoped that I wouldn't get it."
"You know, what you ought to get is a cell phone and a global positioning system. That way, you'll know where you are, and can call for directions," Kuonji said.
"It's worth a try I suppose. But I have a hard time following directions, too. Someone will tell me to go left, and I end up going right. If it was happening to some one else, it would be funny," Ryoga said.
Kuonji smiled, and said, "Well, at least you seem to have a sense of humor."
"Well, it's either laugh about it, or cry about it, and it takes less energy to laugh," Ryoga said, with a wry grin, "It can still get pretty depressing, wandering around getting lost like I do. On the other hand, I've been to a lot of interesting places and learned a lot, so maybe it balances out. The one thing that I've noticed about it is I can always find my way back to someplace I really want to find. It may take me a while, but I eventually get there."
"Everything is ready in here, Ukyo," Kuonji called out. Ukyo came out of the kitchen, carrying the bowls of soup and the tea. They settled down around one of the tables and began eating.
Ukyo said, "Father, I was thinking we could have another picnic this afternoon, or is there some more sightseeing you'd like to do?"
"Actually, I'd like to do a little shopping, take you two out to lunch, and then visit our offices here. I bet you didn't know that we had an office here, did you?" Kuonji replied.
"No, Father, I didn't. Why would a wandering okonomiyaki chef have offices," Ukyo asked, puzzled.
Kuonji smiled. Then he answered, "I've been the head of a restaurant chain for couple of years, the family business as a matter of fact. Your grandfather passed away while you were gone, and I inherited it. Your brothers aren't interested in the business, so it will be yours one day, daughter. Yours and your husband's that is."
Ukyo stammered, "But I don't know anything about running a business."
"Uh, dear, what do you call this?" Ryoga said, waving his arm around, pointing at the restaurant.
Mid morning found them wandering around the electronic boutique area of Tokyo. Kuonji found Ryoga an international cell phone and a small portable GPS with a good map program. After he had bought them, he gave them to Ryoga. Kuonji said, "Consider this a small present for the care you have shown for my daughter. Since I can't be with her, it's good to see that she has a friend like you around."
"Father, I can take of myself, you know. I'll admit that it's nice to have him around the restaurant, but I did spend several years on the road by myself, remember," Ukyo said, half in complaint.
Kuonji chuckled, and said, "I haven't forgotten, daughter. No matter how old you get, or how good you are as a martial artist, I'll still always think of you as my baby girl. That's how fathers are. It's still a father's wish for their daughters to have a knight in shining armor to protect them."
"I'll do my best," Ryoga said, "Or at least I'll try. If she doesn't want protecting, there's not much I can do. She is a bit stubborn, in case you've forgotten." He chuckled at the expression on Ukyo's face.
"Let's see if we can find a café to eat at," Kuonji suggested, "My office isn't far from here, if I remember the map correctly."
After finishing their lunch, they headed toward the building that housed the local offices of Mr. Kuonji's company. Ryoga excused himself from their company, saying he wanted to try out his new toys. "I'll meet you back home, Ucchan," he said as he kissed her, "You have a good time with your father, dear." He bowed to Kuonji and started off. Ukyo stared at the sky and realized why Ryoga had decided to leave. The rain clouds were beginning to roll back in. She hoped he would make it under cover before the rain started.
Kuonji and Ukyo entered the building and found the directory. It showed that his offices were only one floor higher, so they walked up the stairs and down the hallway to the office. They opened the door of the Kuonji Holding Company office, and walked in. There they saw a small, wood paneled anteroom, with a receptionist sitting at a small desk, cantilevered across one corner. The young lady arose when they entered and bowed. "Welcome to the Tokyo offices of the Kuonji Holding Company. How may I assist you?"
Kuonji said, "I am Mr. Kuonji, and this is my daughter Ukyo. I believe Mr. Higurashi is expecting me."
"Yes, he said to show you right in, sir. May I say that it is an honor to meet the chairman of our company?" the receptionist said, as she led them to a door leading to an inner office. She knocked once on the door, and then opened it in response to a voice from inside. She said, "Sir, Mr. Kuonji is here, with his daughter." She stepped out of the way to allow them to enter. "Would either of you like some tea?" she asked politely as they went by her. Mr. Kuonji nodded in response.
As they entered the large office, they saw an elderly man rising from the chair behind his oversized mahogany desk. On his desk, partially turned to the side, were several photographs. One of them showed an attractive young girl, dressed in a school uniform, a white blouse and a short green skirt.
On one side of the office was an arrangement of comfortable looking chairs and couches, partially screened from view. The man bowed to the two of them. Mr. Kuonji returned the bow. "Hello, sir, and welcome to the local office. I am Higurashi, the manager of this district. It is indeed a pleasure to meet you finally. Please, would you like to sit down over here," he said, pointing to the small alcove. They followed him over, and sat down. Gazing around, Ukyo saw several plaques hanging on the wall. Looking at the one nearest to her, she saw that it was an award for excellence in cooking.
They traded small talk for a few minutes while the receptionist brought the tea in. However, once she had poured the tea, and left, closing the door behind her, Kuonji's gentle mask fell away. "Higurashi, you have been with this company for a long time. My grandfather trusted you, in fact, considered you a friend. I also trust you. However, profits from the restaurants in the Nerima area have fallen. Do you have an explanation?"
"Sir, we were doing quite well, at least until recently. Two young women opened up a café down in Nerima district. Apparently, they are both quite attractive, and that draws in a good crowd. They serve a very good selection of food, mostly okonomiyaki, and ramen dishes. We've sent people in to investigate, but everyone is afraid to talk to them. It seems that one of the partners is a Nabiki Tendo, and no one wants to cross her," Higurashi stammered.
Kuonji stared in disbelief and then began to chuckle as he heard the explanation. "Daughter, it appears that I underestimated you. Higurashi, may I introduce you to my daughter, Ukyo. She is one of those attractive young women giving you such a hard time. In that case, the drop in profit is understandable."
"Thank you, sir," Higurashi said. He turned to Ukyo and said, "Young lady, I'm honored to have met you. You are indeed as they reported."
Ukyo blushed, and then said, "Thank you, sir."
"I wanted to bring my daughter here so that she would know where to go if she needed any assistance. Ukyo, I would like to provide your supplies from our company. We can sell them to you at cost, and that will increase your profits," Kuonji said.
"Well, we're still a pretty small operation. Nabiki handles the business end of things. That's what she does for her share of the profit. I'll talk to her and get her agreement, but I don't see that as a problem. I will insist on good quality ingredients. We've made a name for quality, and I won't see that compromised," she replied.
"Higurashi, I think we're done here. Make sure you take care of my daughter. I imagine she'll have Miss Tendo do the negotiations. Don't try to pull anything on her. She'll break it off in you," Kuonji said. He rose and bowed politely. Ukyo stood up quickly and followed him out the door. As he left the building, he turned to his daughter and said, with a great deal of pride, "Ukyo, I'm proud of you. If your little restaurant is doing enough business to cause Higurashi a problem, then you are indeed worthy to be my heir. He's one of the best managers this company has had. That's one reason why I never came to Tokyo. With him here, there was never any difficulties. I was afraid he might have started to slip. I'm glad that's not the case. Use him as a mentor, there is a great deal that he can teach you." On that note, they walked companionably toward Ucchan's. Fortunately, the rain had come and gone while they were talking to Higurashi.
As they turned onto the street leading up towards Ucchans, Ukyo saw an extremely unhappy looking small pig sitting on the corner. The pig cried, happily, "Bwee!" as it saw Ukyo. The pig came running, and jumped into Ukyo's arms.
"Hello, P-chan, I missed you," Ukyo said, mischievously kissing the pig on its snout. The pig froze in shock. "Did you have a nice day?" she asked, not really expecting an answer.
Her father shook his head and said, "You know, you talk to that pig as if you expected it to understand you."
"Father, you'd be surprised. He's a very smart pig," Ukyo said, with a giggle.
As they entered the crowded restaurant, Shampoo greeted them, "Nihao, you two. Ryoga told me to tell you that he needed to run an errand. He thought he would be back by now, though."
"Well, he'll turn up when he wants to, I suppose," Ukyo sighed, "Looks like you could use some help." Just then, Ranma came walking out of the kitchen, wearing one of Shampoo's waitress uniforms.
"Hey, Ucchan, Mr. Kuonji. How was your day?" she asked pleasantly, as she walked by carrying a tray of food, heading for one of the booths.
"Hi, Ranchan. Thanks for helping out," Ukyo said.
"No problem. Shampoo said she wanted ta give you two as much time as she could together. I couldn't turn her down when she said that," she said as she came back from the booth. Ranma smirked when she saw Ryoga, and said, "Hey, cute pig. Is it your pet?"
Ukyo sweat dropped and then said, "That's right. You haven't met P-chan have you? I found him a while ago. He likes to wander off, though, so I'm never sure when he's going to be around. Listen, sugar, I'm going to go change, and then come back down and help Shampoo. Here, why don't you take P-chan into the back while I do that." She handed the pig to Ranma who held him gingerly. Ukyo went upstairs, while Ranma went into the back.
Ranma took Ryoga into the little cubby and put him on the ground. "Sorry, Ryoga, I don't have any hot water right now. I'll get some started, okay?"
Ryoga nodded and curled up on the ground to wait. Ranma went back into the kitchen and started some water on to heat. Several minutes later, Ukyo came into the kitchen. She said, "What did you do with P-chan?"
Ranma smiled and said, "I put him in his room. I've got some water on to heat, but it's not ready yet. I don't think Shampoo knows about this."
"Ranchan, I'll take over. You can go home if you want," Ukyo said, "Father said he was tired after the long day."
She came over and hugged Ranma, and then turned in surprise as she heard an angry "Bwee" from behind her. P-chan came over and tried to bite Ranma on the leg.
"Hey, settle down. She was just thanking me, ya stupid pig. What's gotten into ya, anyway?" Ranma said, "Hey, listen, if he's gonna act like this, I'd better leave. See ya around, you two." Ranma went and changed back into her clothing, blew a kiss at Ryoga and waved goodbye as she went out the door.
By that time the water was warm enough, so Ukyo took the water and Ryoga back into his room. She poured the water, and turned her back while Ryoga scrambled into his clothing. "What was that all about, Ryoga? Ranma is my friend, there was no reason for you to attack him?" she said, angrily.
"I'm sorry, Ukyo. I saw Ranma hugging you and for some reason I saw red," Ryoga said shamefully, "I'll apologize the next time I see Ranma."
Later that evening, once they closed the restaurant, Ryoga, Ukyo and her father shared a brief dinner. Mr. Kuonji retired upstairs claiming an exhausting day. Once they finished washing up, Ukyo hugged Ryoga and said, "Thanks for another good day, Ryoga. It's been fun hanging out with you like this."
Ryoga blushed and then replied, "Ukyo, I've enjoyed it too. I feel very comfortable around you and your father. I like him."
"That's wonderful. I think he respects you as well," Ukyo said, "I think it's getting pretty late. Why don't we get to bed?" Then she blushed as she realized what she had said. Ryoga smiled briefly, and then kissed his erstwhile fiancée. They headed off to their respective bedrooms, after sharing another brief smile.
Downstairs in his cubby, Ryoga was still wide-awake staring into the ceiling. 'Ukyo is so beautiful. When we kissed, I could feel something spark between us. She likes me for who I am. Already what I feel is different than the obsession I used to have with Shampoo. Am I falling in love with her? I know I felt warmed when she held me,' he thought. Finally after tossing and turning for what seemed like ages, he fell asleep. The last thing he remembered was her smiling face as she kissed him.