Chapter I
He had been found laying facedown in the dirt just outside her restaurant. Unconscious and difficult to move, Ukyo had somehow dragged Ryoga inside and put him on a mattress on the floor of stockroom. He had been there for three days.
The moment he woke, Ryoga was dazed and confused. He wandered out to a full restaurant of patrons.
"Well, welcome stranger," Ukyo said. "Back to the land of the living," she added, as she peppered some batter and then used a spatula to flip a customer's order of Okonomiyaki.
His mind hazy, Ryoga asked, "W-what happened? How did I get here?"
"I dragged your sorry butt in three days ago," she said, passing an order on a plate to another customer. "You were a sorry sight on my doorstep, and blocking customer access."
Ryoga rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry 'bout that, I honestly don't remember a thing." He looked around. "Can I help? For saving me, I owe you."
"Well, sure," Ukyo said, "you can serve customers. I could use the help with a packed house."
For the next couple of hours, Ryoga waited on customers, filling orders, and helped Ukyo where he could. Uyko was pleased with his efficiency. And when the day began to run down, Ukyo finally had a moment to sit down and take a rest.
"You okay?" Ryoga cocked his head. "It was very busy today. Is it always like this?"
She shook her head. "I would like it to be, but not this busy. There's a medical conference taking place in town for the next couple of days and my business has boomed. I seem to have a reputation for the best Okonomiyaki around."
"A good reputation is hard to develop," Ryoga agreed. "I always try to keep one myself. But that stupid Ranma keeps making a mockery of me. One day, he'll get his due. I promise!"
"That's a difficult promise to keep. Ranma is a difficult opponent. Maybe you just accept reality, sugar, and give Ranma the win. Move on to something else to conquer."
"No!" Ryoga said adamantly. "You know what he did to me. He needs to pay for it." Ryoga stopped and noticed Ukyo was in pain. She rubbed the back of her neck. He went over. "You worked pretty hard today. I know some special techniques. Do you mind?"
Ukyo didn't know what to expect, but when Ryoga put his hands on the back of her neck and began to rub and kneed with his fingers, she moaned pleasurably. "Oh, my…that's heaven, Ryoga," she said. "You have magic hands."
He stopped, feeling embarrassed. He had acted on impulse to help Ukyo. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so…"
"It felt good Ryoga," she told him. "Where did you learn how to do that? I feel better already."
Ryoga took a step back. "I was on a journey and I came across a small village. I was near death and the villagers helped me. They gave me food, water, and lodgings for a couple of weeks. As repayment, I helped out with the doctor of the village. Modern medicine says take a pill and feel better, but he used—what's that word used….Anyway, he helped heal people by using only his hands, rubbing with his fingers. He said what makes the body, heals the body."
"So it was a form of massage therapy. I've had a few massages, they always feel good. But nothing like yours. You're good with your hands, sugar."
Ryoga blushed.
Just then, a familiar face entered the restaurant, pushing up the door curtain. Ranma Saotome walked in with his red, sleeveless shirt. The weather was warm, so it was suitable. "Hey, bacon bits—long time no see," he said. "Did Ukyo find you sifting through her trash again?"
"You shut up! That was only once!" Ryoga shouted. He pointed. "And I was P-Chan at the time!"
Ranma waved his excuse away. Ryoga sneered. Ranma sat down at the bar and smiled at Ukyo. He looked around, then back. "I knew I'd miss the crowd," he said. "Perfect timing. I'll take two Okonomiyaki's to go, Ukyo, and lots of your special sauce."
"Two orders, coming up," she said, and then began a new mixture of batter. She then poured it on the hot table and it began to sizzle, as she peppered it with ingredients. "Say hello to my helper for the day, he's been a god-send."
Ranma laughed short. "You had Ryoga serving tables all day? Why? Couldn't pay?"
"For your interest, Ranma," Ryoga said, "I've been here for three days!"
Ranma's brow rose. "You have? I haven't seen you around. I've been coming here for the last three days to pick up some orders for Mr. Tendo. There's a medical conference in town, at the Tendo Dojo, and the council has sponsored it. I was asked to help out with some food service deliveries." Ranma looked at her. "You never told me bacon-breath was here." He eyed her. "There isn't something going on I should be made aware of, huh?"
Ukyo looked shocked. "If I didn't need his spatula, Ranma, I'll hit you so hard right now," she said defensively. "I helped him to recover from exhaustion when I found him outside my restaurant, and Ryoga's been unconscious in the back stockroom for the last three days."
"And as a thank-you, I helped Ukyo out today," Ryoga added.
Ukyo boxed up the Okonomiyaki order for Ranma and slammed the two boxes on a side table. She was mad. Ukyo liked Ranma, and they had a long history, so any hint of her liking anyone else was out of the question. She was also engaged to Ranma.
Well, so were so many other girls, supposedly. Arranged marriages.
Ukyo's neck suddenly seized up on her and Ryoga was quick to help. He pressed his hands against the back of her neck and kneed the flesh. She didn't resist, expressing bliss. Then just as quickly, she gasped, and pushed Ryoga way. Her face went beet red.
Ryoga stumbled back and crashed into a set of baked goods in a corner.
"I knew it!" Ranma said. "There is something going on between you two. Ha!"
They both denied it categorically. Especially Ukyo, who said, "You have it all wrong, Ranma," she said, stumbling over her words a little. "Ryoga is a practitioner of massage therapy now. He said he learned the art from a village doctor."
Ryoga dusted himself off. "And he taught me a few other things. He said I can use it as a defensive technique, too. He told me his brand of medicine was developed form an ancient martial arts. A form of pressure point technique, not unlike my Bakusai Tenketsu. I can break rocks and large structures with a single finger, but this technique can shatter hard substances, like bone."
"You never told me that," Ukyo said shocked.
"He only showed me once," Ryoga said. "Someone in the village had accidentally fallen into a bog and the material had hardened around his knee. With a few strategic points, the doctor was able to release the man without harm. But he said his technique was only for medicine."
"Oh, great! And he showed you?" Ranma huffed. "You may be dumb, but to show you a dangerous technique like that—even once—is a recipe for disaster."
Ryoga shook his head. "Unlike my other techniques, I haven't perfected it yet," he said, but then produced an evil grin. "But I would make an exception with you. Come practise with me, Ranma. And I'm sure I can pick up quickly. Ha-ha-ha!"
"No way," Ranma said, picking up his order. "I'm not letting you anywhere near me with that. If I ever need an adjustment or a massage, I'll go to Dr. Tofu. " And Ranma left.
Ukyo turned to Ryoga. "Are you telling me the truth, Ryoga? Can that technique the doctor taught you kill someone?"
Ryoga shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "'The Hellfire Technique', he called it."
She asked why. And he told her.
To be continued...
