How do I love thee?

Now, while Ukyo and Akane were rivals to Ranma's love, they were in fact as close to being friends as any rivals could be. They spent a lot of time together in school and Akane often accompanied Ranma to eat at Ucchan's, which meant they saw a lot of each other. And while neither Ukyo nor Akane have explicitly displayed their friendship, they knew a great deal about the ongoings of each other's lives. And this was how Ukyo knew that Akane had been having trouble with her English literature course, which every high school junior was mandated to take.

Thus hatched part 2 of Ukyo's plan.

It was really quite easy for Ukyo to plant the idea in Akane's head to ask Ryoga for help in preparing for a rather grueling paper on the poetry of the English Victorian Era. The prompt could not have been timelier or perfect since Ukyo was sure that poetry was something Akane's tender disposition responded well to.

So when Akane had asked Ryoga for assistance, which he promptly accepted though only after a little bit of stuttering and a subsequent back slap from Ukyo, Ukyo found herself walking home alone for the first time in a week.

The walk from school to Ucchan didn't take more than 15 minutes but Ukyo found herself rather bored as she started to make her way to her okonomiyaki restaurant. She fiddled with the strap that held up her spatula and stared up at the sky then she turned her head to watch a stray cat walk into an empty alley. She watched young servers passing out samples outside of coffee shops and saw a child throw a rice crackers on the floor and watched as the pidgeons pecked at it.

Why was she so bored? Ukyo wondered to herself. She wasn't the type of person who was prone to boredom. She always had too many things to do: school, her restaurant, Ranma to even think about being bored. The walk home was generally the only time she had to herself outside of the hectic busyness that was her life and she had treasured it. But now, after only a week of walking to Ucchan's with Ryoga, she felt oddly lonely.

"That jackass," she mumbled under her breath but then started to smile to herself as she remembered how Ryoga had gotten lost in the teacher's lounge earlier that day. She had been idly walking by, on her way to the homeroom class when she had spotted him, an impossibly straight form behind the couch, wearing a lamp skirt on his head. She had no idea how she knew it was him and came to the conclusion that no one else but Ryoga could have ever gotten himself lost and in such a situation. So she had sighed and dropped to the floor and slowly crawled her way to him, tugging on his uniform pants to indicate her presence. When he saw her, his eyes had looked as though they were about to pop out of their sockets. She knew exactly when it had registered in his mind that the person tugging on his pants was hur and that she was there to save him because his whole body had sagged with relief.

Ukyo remembered having felt kind of touched by his absolute trust in her.

They had gotten out of there successfully, having not been caught and then she had yelled at him as she dragged him back to the classroom for lunch. Oh well, at least that jackass is pushing ahead with our plans.

Ukyo's mind cleared and she found herself standing in front of Ucchan's and to her unexpected (redundant, I know) surprise, so were Ryoga and Akane.

"What are you guys doing here?" she asked them, her tone harsher than she had expected.

"Oh hi, Ukyo!" Akane beamed. "Ryoga suggested we study at Ucchan's so that we can also have something to eat."

Ukyo gave Ryoga a pointed glare, noticing how Ryoga was avoiding her gaze. "Did he now?" She pushed through the door, "Well you better come in then." Then as an afterthought asked, "Where's Ranchan?"

Akane huffed, "Shampoo stopped by so I believe he's eating with her." Akane slammed her book down on the counter and sat down but when she turned to face Ukyo, who was behind the grill, her smile had returned. Ryoga sat down next to her.

"You know Ukyo, since Ryoga and I will be studying here, we can help you refresh the course as you work. We can read it to you."

"I don't really need the help but thanks, Akane," Ukyo replied sending her a smile. "What'll you be having?"

"Oh um, I'll have the shrimp okonomiyaki."

Akane turned to Ryoga, who was quietly sitting and watching as Ukyo gathered the ingredients. "And what are you going to have, Ryoga?"

"Squid and peppers," Ryoga and Ukyo replied at the same time.

Akane laughed her eyes sharp as she watched light blushes form on both set of cheeks. "You must come here a lot, Ryoga."

"Oh hahahaha." Ryoga's hand went to the back of his neck. "We're just friends, Akana. Hahahaha, I don't come here that often, just sometimes, you know, 'cause we're friends. Just friends. Hahahaha. You know violent girls aren't really my type. Hahaha."

The tip of the spatula Ukyo had been using suddenly slammed down on where Ryoga's hand had been a second before. Ryoga let out an almost imperceptible squeak.

Ukyo gave Akane a tight smile as she said between gritted teeth, "Excuse us a second, Akane," and grabbed Ryoga by the collar and through a door to the back of the restaurant.

Once the door closed, she turned to Ryoga. "You idiot! What are you doing here?"

"Ugh!" Ryoga was clutched his hair with both his hands. "I failed! I couldn't be alone with her! It was too much! I was with her 5 seconds and I could feel my face turn into a cherry."

Ukyo rolled her eyes but was silent as she thought. She looked over at Ryoga, drawing nervous circles on the wall. "Stop that! You're going to push through the concrete. Let me just think for a minute." Ukyo paced. They needed a quick fix. The genderless blobs and Ukyos were not working with Akane and she knew that they hadn't been for a while, which was fine then since the first part of the plan was to get Akane somewhat interested in him from afar, limiting most one-on-one contact with her. But now…

After a few minutes, Ukyo turned back to Ryoga. "I know what we can do. You're here anyways so when you're helping her, talk to me. Don't face her, face me and talk as if you are reading to me. Since you guys are both sitting on the counter, it'll work and I'll tell Akane that I changed my mind and I would like a refresher so she won't think anything of it."

Ryoga's hands grasped Ukyo's. "Ukyo, that's genius!"

Ukyo rolled her eyes and removed her hands from his grasp, walking toward the door. "Hurry up, jackass," she called over her shoulder. "And once this study session is done, you and I will have to talk about how we can change this behavior of yours. It can't always be the three of us if you're ever going to get her to agree to go to the Cherry Blossom Festival with you."

Ukyo smiled as she walked back to where Akane sat. "So Akane, I've changed my mind. I think a refresher for the material would be good for me. Since you guys are here already, Ryoga can just help the both of us."

Akane smiled, "That's great, Ukyo!"

Ryoga sat down directly across from where Ukyo stood.

"Alright, sugar, start reading."

He pulled out a sheet of paper from his bag as Ukyo finished gathering up the ingredients. He turned the paper over and started to read the prompt. "Analyze Elizabeth Barrett Browning's Sonnet 43."

"Hmm, a simple enough assignment," said Akane as she watched Ukyo whisk the eggs.

Ukyo nodded, "It gives us some freedom on how we approach the topic. Read the poem, sugar."

Ryoga looked at Ukyo, reminding himself to keep his focus on her as he cleared his throat.

Sonnet 43 by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1806 - 1861

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.

Ryoga felt his voice soften as the theme of the poem registered in his mind.

I love thee to the depth and breadth and height

He spoke slowly. His exposure to English in the past few years had been limited hence, the foreign words came to him at a measured pace.

My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight

He felt tingles as he continued to read out the words.

For the ends of being and ideal grace.

I love thee to the level of every day's

This is how I feel about Akane… he thought and he felt as though his heart was swelling to double its size.

Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.

I love thee freely, as men strive for right.

Oh Akane! If only you knew!

I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.

I love thee with the passion put to use

If I could only look at her, then she would understand.

In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.

But Ukyo's plan, I cannot forget the plan. If I looked up and speak to her, I will freeze. No, better not too!

I love thee with a love I seemed to lose

Forgive me, Akane! One day soon, I will stare into your eyes and read this poem, memorized to the very depth of my soul!

With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,

Forgive me!

Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,

But Ryoga was still compelled to look up and when he did, his eyes fell upon Ukyo's, who seemed frozen, staring, her cooking forgotten. His eyes could not tear away from hers as he finished the last line of the poem...

I shall but love thee better after death.

A soft blush started to form on Ryoga's cheeks as he finished the final line. So strong were his emotions, emotions he had formed by combining the words of the poem and thoughts of Akane but he had projected them to the wrong girl. And yet… Ukyo… Ukyo who stood there in her okonomiyaki costume with her hair tied in the usual manner and two spatulas held in her hands. Ukyo who was certainly not Akane but who watched him with wide eyes and flushed cheeks. A pink tinge colored her face, a color that dimensionalized her in a way Ryoga had never thought would come to be in his imagination.

"Oh, Ryoga," breathed Akane, "That was beautiful."

Startled Ryoga turned to look at Akane. He remembered her then, this beautiful girl. This love of his life. Oh Akane. He wished to hold her and breathed the words of the poem to her again. He laughed awkwardly and placed the paper on the counter. He cleared his throat and started to analyze the poem line by line.

…

Ukyo gulped as Ryoga explained the how the poem was written in iambic pentameter. The topic was harmless. But why then was her heart beating so wildly?

When Ryoga had started reading, she had at first paid him very little heed. But then his voice had ebbed to a soft melodic tone and the words, while still mostly foreign, had grabbed at an emotion in Ukyo that she was, in all honesty, unfamiliar with. The poem was beautiful. His reading of it was beautiful. And thus, she had found herself staring at him, having abandoned the task she had been doing to listen to the lost boy quote words of untouchable but immensely relevant feelings to all present. She had watched his bent head, the light fall on his dark hair and had felt as though her heart was expanding beyond what was physically possible.

Such beautiful sentiment. Her thoughts, as he continued to read, had run to Ranma. Would he ever know just how much I love him? Would he ever feel this way for… me?

She had started to feel a little melancholy as her comprehension of her feelings for the pigtailed boy deepened with each line Ryoga read. And she had been about to stop him, to tell him "no more", to do something else, anything else when Ryoga had suddenly looked up and his eyes had met hers. And in them, she had seen the same depth of feeling that she felt reflected in her own soul. And perhaps even… a realization? The color in his eyes had changed, a green she had never seen before.

And then it suddenly felt as though he had been reading the poem for her the whole time. As if those beautiful words were meant for her. As if someone in the world… no, the awkward, sad, lost boy in front of her had tied upon the ridges of the words a pain in her heart she had never truly recognized. Her heart. This pain... Was this what it felt like to be loved?