Dawned What Unexpected Friendship

After the poetry reading at Ucchan's, Ukyo found herself inadvertently avoiding Ryoga. She had been mostly quiet as Ryoga and Akane worked on the assignment. His body had continued to face hers but Ukyo had kept her head down, working on orders for the restaurant. When Akane and Ryoga had finally finished for the day, she had shooed them out with a halfhearted smile and closed the restaurant doors.

She had felt tired, her body was stiff from avoiding the lost boy's gaze, not that it was on her very much she thought, remembering all his furtive glances to Akane and subsequent blushes that for some reason annoyed Ukyo.

She had gone to sleep that night and dreamt of some strange standoff between Ryoga and Ranma for Akane's hand. They were to fight each other, which was not unusual but the fact that they had weapons and their choice of weapons were. Ranma had picked an amberjack, a giant gray-blue fish with a yellow strip down its middle and Ryoga had selected an Alantic Bluefin tuna, a gray fish as large as he was. They had stood facing each other, both holding their respective fishes by their tail, the fishy bodies flung behind their backs. At first they had merely stared at each other, then they both let out simultaneous battle cries and to Ukyo's surprise started banging the fish against a giant teddy bear that appeared out of nowhere, with Akane's name emitting from the opened lips of both boys. When the seams of the teddy bear started to rip and its stuffing began to flow, Ukyo found herself suddenly standing between the two of them, being slapped in the face by giant fish.

She had woken with a start. The alarm on her clock was beeping, a harmless reminder for her to go to school. Groaning, she slapped the snooze button, wrapped her blankets securely around her, turned around, and immediately fell back asleep.

…

Ryoga was confused. He had gone to school early that day, as he had done the day before due to his ability to get lost and because he and Ukyo had been arriving separately since Ukyo needed to make her monthly supply runs for the restaurant in the morning. He had walked through the classroom doors quite happy, having been immensely satisfied with his study session with Akane yesterday and the following walk home where he had had some alone time with her. Akane had thanked him prettily and had told him how impressed she had been with his knowledge on poetic structure as well as his beautiful reading voice. Ryoga had used every fiber of his being to beat down a blush and a stammer. She had turned to go into the house when he had reached out suddenly, taking her hand with trembling fingers and noticed how prettily the brisk weather painted her nose and cheeks. He then quoted a well-known Shakespearean line "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate…" (said in Japanese, not English )

Ryoga had actually been surprised when the words had left his lips for he hadn't even known that he had memorized those words but he had been glad he did for the timing could not have been more perfect. Akane had blushed prettily and thanking him again, he saw her almost accidentally bump into the door frame as she walked into the house. She had turned back for a second and he had seen embarrassment on her face but then she had smiled, said her farewell once more and ran in, closing the door behind her.

He had affected her! For once, it was she who had blushed! Ryoga could not have been happier if his pig curse had lifted.

But now Ryoga was frowning. He had walked into class early and had sat down at his desk and watched as his classmates came in one by one, everyone except the girl whom he had wanted to talk to. He had half wanted to run back to Ucchan's after his brief moment with Akane, to tell Ukyo the good news but thought to leave it until the following school day, where he was certain he would see her.

But when the final student walked through the doors, there was still no Ukyo. And then the teacher followed, closing the door behind her, signaling that everyone who was going to be there that day was there. Where is she?

Ryoga chanced a glance at Ranma and Akane. They too were looking at Ukyo's empty desk.

"Hey, Ryoga," Ranma hissed, "where's Ukyo?"

Ryoga shrugged. He felt his brows knot in worry. Ukyo would have told him if she wasn't coming to school that day, or at least he felt like she would have. They had gotten rather close in the past 10 days mostly due to the close proximity her plan had forced upon them but also because well, it was kind of easy. Sometime in the past week and a half, he had started to see her as a friend.

…

By lunch time, Ryoga came to the conclusion that Ukyo was sick. No one else had heard from her and if she had been out for some other reason, she would have told someone. Thus, by the time his second to final class ended, Ryoga had decided to stop by Ucchan's before he had to head over to the Tendo house to continue with his study sessions with Akane. Since his final class was a study period, Ryoga left the school grounds early and made his way to Ukyo's. Once there, he noticed that Ucchan's was closed.

That's right, he thought to himself Konatsu was visiting family and would be back in a week and Ukyo generally only opened for dinner when Konatsu was gone during the week days.

The set of stairs to the side of the restaurant led to Ukyo's apartment, which sat right above Ucchan's. Once at the top of the stairs, Ryoga knocked but no answer came. He knocked again but again nothing. He looked up; there was an open window that he was sure led to Ukyo's bedroom. Debating for a second whether he should just leave, Ryoga squared his shoulders in decision and jumped, landing on the window sill, crouching low with his hands grasping the sides for purchase. The window wasn't very large, perhaps 3 by 3 feet but it was of sufficient enough size to let him through.

Once inside, he found himself in strangely dark room; the light from the outside barely illuminated the place since Ukyo's window faced away from the sun. He had never been in Ukyo's bedroom before. It was fairly simple, with very little adornments. It was clean and straight to the point, much like the owner herself. There was a wardrobe at the far end of the room and a desk with only a lamp and a book atop it. An unadorned chair sat next to the table and across from it was a twin sized bed. The bed caught Ryoga's attention for several reasons; one being that it was the only part of the whole room with any type of decoration. It was littered with pillows, about 5 from what he counted, and the pillow sheets and blanket were white but scattered in swirling patterns were pale pink flowers. In any other girl's room, Ryoga wouldn't have thought twice about its being there but this was Ukyo's room and flowers had seemed far too feminine for the girl he knew.

The second reason was due to the very girl herself. A pillow was lying carelessly on the floor and two other pillows lay precariously close to the edge of the bed. The blanket was mostly bunched up to one corner and on the middle of the bed, was a still form. Ukyo was lying on her side, a pillow under head but just off center and another was held firmly between her arms. Her hair was loose, it was the first time Ryoga had ever seen it thus and it spread out in silky waves on top the sheets. She wore light green shorts and a slightly large white t-shirt, which must have rose up slightly during her sleep for Ryoga could see half of her pale, flat stomach.

Ryoga blushed, immediately turning away from the sight. Why was she still in bed? She couldn't be feeling well if Ukyo Kuonji was still in bed in the middle of the afternoon. Ignoring the flush on his face that he was sure was the result of his being in a girl's bedroom while she slept, he walked up to the sleeping form and reached over to shake Ukyo's shoulders in an attempt to wake her.

At first, Ukyo did not budge but then as he continued to shake her and whisper her name, Ukyo suddenly turned around. Ryoga not having expected the sudden movement was dragged onto the bed, one hand that had been on her left shoulder was now wedge under it and his body was squished between the wall and the sleeping girl.

So surprised was he that Ryoga's mouth shut tightly and his whole body stiffened, fear tingling his spine as he waited for the girl to wake up and inevitably hit him, possibly with a fury he had yet to experience from her. But again, her eyes did not open. As quietly as he possibly could, he tried to remove his hand from under her but found that he could not due to the awkward angle of his body's position and the limited space between them. Finally having given up, Ryoga raised his free hand slowly and reached across to gently touched Ukyo's shoulder. "Ukyo," he whispered and found himself staring at her face. A moment ago, her expression had been impassive and he had remembered idly thinking that she had looked peaceful but now a crease had formed between her brows and her lips were turned slightly downward into a frown.

She's dreaming, he thought. He continued to watch in silence as Ukyo's face shifted again, the frown having disappeared and her bottom lip was now between her teeth. The crease between her brows remained. Ryoga watched, horrified as tears started falling from her closed eyes, making her lashes stick to her cheeks as the drops drew a wet path down to the sheets below.

Ryoga was immobilized. He had seen a girl cry before but the girl had always been Akane and his first thought was to either punch Ranma, who was usually the reason for her tears or to comfort her. But this time there was no one to punch and the girl who was crying was not Akane.

His eyes roamed her face; taking in features he had never previously given much more than a glance. The Ukyo before him now looked vulnerable and he felt a tiny but odd tug at his heart. What could have rendered such a strong girl like her into such a state? he wondered and before he knew it, his free hand had moved up her face and his thumb gently brushed away the tear that was falling down her right cheek.

Ryoga immediately retracted his hand and flushed a terrible shade of red as soon as his actions registered in his mind. Though Ukyo was not awake and hence, no one had seen his rather affectionate display, he was incredibly embarrassed.

A shaky sigh escaped from her slightly parted lips but the tears had finally stopped. Ryoga watched again fascinated as her face returned to the normal state of rest he had seen earlier. It again looked peaceful but a trace of the former sadness remained. Perhaps it was the familiarity of the emotion or perhaps it was his recent realization that they were friends but whatever it was, Ryoga suddenly realized that he didn't like its presence on her normally positive and straightforward face.

With his new found awareness regarding the sleeping girl, Ryoga took a harder look at her. Had she always looked like this? Her lashes were long and she had a small and slightly upturned nose. Her lips were narrow but full and her bangs fell gracefully across her forehead, softening her features and casting them slightly in a mysterious shadow.

For once at that very moment and probably for just that moment, as they both lay in her bed, facing each other, Ryoga could not for the life of him see her as anything but a woman.

Ukyo suddenly shifted and Ryoga found that she had freed his hand from beneath her. As he had grown uncomfortable with his thoughts, he immediately took the opportunity to get up and off the bed in the fastest speed his body would allow while also retaining the silence. He headed toward the window almost at a run but when he reached it, something compelled him to turn back and when he did, the form that lay on the bed appeared small and helpless to him, almost like a child's and he felt an odd impulse to rush back and – do what? his inner voice asked him. Ryoga shook his head, trying to free himself from the weirdly overpowering feeling of protectiveness for the girl still lying asleep. He looked at her still form for a second longer.

They had shared a moment even if she had not been awake to realize it. His face burned and Ryoga took that as a cue to leave. Crawling out the window and closing it behind him, he jumped back onto the street. He did not turn back even once as he ran toward any direction not caring where his lack of sense would take him.

…

Ryoga found his way to the Tendo house later that night. He had been an hour late due to his poor sense of direction and the fact that after he had run away from Ukyo's, he had found himself in a part of the neighborhood he rarely ventured. Akane had forgiven him immediately when he had murmured a sincere apology and they had sat at her living room table.

Akane's oldest sister, Kasumi had walked in, asking Ryoga if he wanted some tea, to which he politely declined.

For the next hour or so, Ryoga kept his focus purely on the work, trying his hardest to avoid looking directly at Akane. Ukyo wasn't there this time and he couldn't have brought himself to ask her to come, especially not with what had happened in her house only a few hours ago. He felt his mind revert itself back to the time in her room.

"Ryoga, does this make sense?" Akane's voice cut through his unwanted thoughts and he silently sighed in gratitude. He hadn't wanted to go back there.

Ryoga turned to look at what Akane pointed to and leaned forward onto the paper, making a few remarks when he heard the sliding doors behind him open and a large weight fell on his head. A black pig tail suddenly crowded his vision and a second later so did Ranma's upside down face, a pair of blue eyes staring right into his.

"Hey Ryoga, did you see Ukyo today? I stopped by her place just now and Ucchan's was closed." Ryoga felt heat flood his face as he tried to swipe Ranma off his head but Ranma had jumped off and landed next to Akane.

"Ucchan's wasn't open?" asked Akane, immediately following it with "That's right, she wasn't in school today." Her face looked concerned, "I hope she's okay."

She's still not up?

"I don't know, you jerk. I hadn't seen her today." Lies. Lies. Lies. His face burned even more.

"Do you think she's sick? Maybe we should go over there now to make sure she's okay."

"Were you not listening to me, Akane? I said I was just over there."

Akane gave Ranma an annoyed glance, "if she's sick, Ranma, she may not be able to open the door or she'll be asleep and won't hear it. Honestly." She turned to Ryoga and smiled, "I think we can stop for now since tomorrow is the weekend. Will you be able to help me on Sunday so we can go and check on Ukyo?"

All Ryoga could answer with was a nod. He frowned. Could she actually have been sick? He had been so caught up in the strange situation with her that he had completely forgotten the reason he had gone to her house in the first place.

Ryoga and Ranma watched as Akane ran up the stairs to put away her books and rushed down a moment later. The trio then promptly made their way to Ukyo's. When they arrived, the scene before them was just as before, Ucchan's sat dark and quiet and no light came from the rooms above. Ryoga noted that the window to her bedroom was still open.

"Hey Ukyo!" Ranma banged on her apartment door. "Open up!"

"Ranma!" Akane chided, "You're going to wake the whole neighborhood."

"Who's asleep at this time?"

Akane blushed and her voice rose "well you're being too loud!"

"Who's the loud one?"

"Urg! You… you!"

Ranma mimicked her words and stuck his tongue out at her.

All of a sudden, a light went on behind the door and it quickly opened. Ukyo was standing in her doorway, her eyes puffy and her nose pink. Her blanket was wrapped around her shoulders. She looked as though she just got up, which was probably the case Ryoga thought.

"Ukyo," Akane said, immediately stopping her fight with Ranma.

"Hey Ucchan, you don't look so good." He "uft"ed when Akane's elbow made contact with his side. "What'd you do that for?" he grumbled.

"What are you guys doing here?" Ukyo asked, looking at the two and her eyes fell on Ryoga but quickly moved away back to the others.

"We were worried about you," said Akane as Ukyo stepped aside to let them in. Ukyo removed her blanket and gently placed it on a chair near the door.

"You were?"

"Yeah, Ucchan, you weren't at school and when I came by to see what's up, Ucchan's was closed."

"You were worried too, Ranma?" she asked. Ryoga noticed her voice had softened and she was looking at the pig tailed boy with a gentle gaze.

"Why wouldn't I be? Ya know you're my friend."

"Oh… right." Ryoga saw Ukyo's shoulder sag a little. She signaled all of them to take a seat at the low rectangular table in her living room as she proceeded to gather some snacks.

"Are you feeling better, Ukyo?" asked Akane.

Ukyo turned and smiled at her, setting down a plate of green tea mocha in front of them "I was just feeling a little under the weather today but I think I'll be fine soon."

Ranma stuffed a particularly large green cake into his mouth. "That's good 'cause it's the weekend ya know and we're heading over to the hot springs tomorrow and don't want ya to miss out."

"Oh, that's right," said Ukyo. "Don't worry, Ranchan, I'll be there."

They spoke for another 15 minutes after which Akane mentioned Ukyo having to get some more rest if she was going to be able to go the natural hot springs in the mountains with them the following morning. Akane and Ranma said their goodbyes and headed toward the Tendo house but Ryoga lingered a minute longer.

He looked at her. Once their friends were out of ear shot, he asked, "Are you really okay?"

Ukyo turned, a little surprised to see he was still there. The face that looked back at her was oddly serious and full of concern. Her thoughts abruptly ran back to the day before and she tamped down an unexpected burst of nervousness. "I'm fine, sugar." She smiled and worried that it hadn't reached her eyes. "I guess I just needed some rest."

She watched as Ryoga just nodded, his gaze suddenly on the floor near her feet. An awkward silence seemed to come between them. Then Ryoga looked up. "That's good," he said, smiling. "I have some good news for you too." And he proceeded to tell her about his moment with Akane the previous night. He was smiling widely, his eyes far away, back to the night before as he finished his tale.

Ukyo smiled back but felt that the lines around her lips were tight. "That's great, sugar" she said, her voice weak. She smiled again, a small one this time as though as she felt weariness take over her body. Ryoga looked at her and nodded, mumbling that he had to get back home if he was going to get there in time to wake up early the following morning. He turned to leave but something stopped him.

He stood there for a minute, not saying a word, and Ukyo's brows knotted. "Ry—."

"Feel better, Ukyo," he said quietly, without turning around.

"Wha—" But he was gone and all see saw a tiny gray form, running in the distance away from her house.

Despite her confusion and weariness, she let out a small laugh.

The idiot had gone the wrong way.

…

Writer's notes: Firstly, thank you everyone for all your comments! I enjoyed reading them! If you have any questions, you can ask me there and I will answer via these little notes.

Some of you might think that what Ryoga said to Akane was quite mean since in Sonnet 18, Shakespeare is actually saying that beauty is fleeting and that she is only important now because he writes of her and only through here will she receive a vague immortality, vague because it could be applied to any beauty. So I did this on purpose because while slow, ultimately, I want Ryoga and Ukyo to get together and I've saved a poem that's more fitting for when that finally comes to fruition.

Ryoga is just being a little dummy; he just remembered those two lines and nothing more so it's safe to say he didn't even know what the poem was about just yet.