Chapter 7: A Pact in the Snow.

Two weeks to Christmas.

The entity's shadow found the trip to Japan far easier to arrange than he had first expected. The first time the journey had been made, it had been with just a fragment of his power, a fraction of the soul. It had proved insufficient, demonstrated by the fact that the chef girl had merely wounded the bandanna-clad boy instead of killing him outright. Had more than just a pale shade of the entity been present, that would have been but the first joyous funeral Ranma would have suffered through. And then there was the fact that the armored Chinese man hadn't been susceptible to mental control at all. The best that had been managed was to stir up and amplify his anger to lead to the dramatic confrontation that should have resulted with the deaths of everyone the entity loathed.

This time though, things would be different. The first bit of good news was that the scientist he'd influenced to experiment on Mint and Lime was still under his influence, albeit nominally. The control had weakened in the month since last contact when no further commands had come, but the bond proved far more durable than had first been expected. Still, using the man, Dr. He Jiankui, not that the entity cared for names, as a pack mule would have been a waste. The entity had him move closer to the now springless area that was Jusekenyo to wait until called for. A pawn kept close was the best kind of all. Especially a valuable one that could still be of use later.

For the trip abroad, it turned out there was another far more suitable pawn in the vicinity. Better still, this subject was in a state of mental anguish and quickly deteriorating in mind, body, and soul. Hooking into the damaged mind of the man, if he could still be call as such, and planting the suggestion to go to Japan was simple enough.

With a vessel secured, the entity now existed in two forms: the sleeping baby nestled in the mountain and his dark shadow-like soul, presently latched onto his quickly faltering host. So long as the man made it to Japan in one piece then the entity could take direct action towards the destruction of his enemies.

Luck seemed to come in threes as of late. The ailing man has his own boat for transportation to ferry them over to the island nation from Hong Kong. The dark clothed guards who operated the vessel did all the work. All the entity had to was ride in the shadow of his host, whispering dark commands and suggestions into a mind that was already susceptible to violence and revenge.

It was ever so enjoyable that the direct path to revenge had started so smoothly. Settling in, the shadow quieted his thoughts and settled in to rest, conserving the wellspring of strength for the fun to come.

The meal at Paradise completely shattered any expectations that Kodachi could have asked for. With a warm feeling in her full stomach, she watched as Mikado paid the bill. Despite the rather peculiar owner, the restaurant had been a perfect date spot. With her mood soaring towards cloud nine, she walked a little closer to him on the street than she had before, her shoulder almost touching against his upper arm.

"How did you come to be friends with that… strange-faced restaurant owner?" She asked, trying to fill the quiet between them with conversation. She glanced down at her watch and was a little surprised to see that over three hours had gone by.

"Picolet? Ah, well… My family likes French food." he said shrugging, as if that explained everything completely.

"I…. see. So, your families are friends then?"

"Of a sort," he replied. Her wors were spot on, but after the man's display at the table Mikado wanted to distance himself a little. "Did you enjoy your meal?"

"It was divine. Thank you for an enjoyable afternoon." She snuck another look at him, allowing him to turn the conversation in another direction. "I suppose we should say goodbye then?"

"It's not over quite yet. Allow me to walk you home?"

"Oh? There truly is a gentleman in you, Mikado. It's not just for show, then?"

"Shhh. Not so loud. We wouldn't want my secret get out." He winked playfully, following her lead through the streets that would lead back to the Kuno estates.

To the younger Kuno, Mikado seemed a little more relaxed than before. There was a bit of pep in his step to boot. Clearly, he knew just how lucky he was to bask in her presence. This pleased her ego to the core. Having female sycophants at school who understood just how lucky they were to be at her side was one thing, but a handsome, broad-shouldered hunk of a man was on another level entirely.

"You cad." Kodachi stifled a little chuckle and just shook her head.

"Compliments will get you anything."

"Ha! I'd best keep that in mind."

The exchange of playful words, bouncing banter back and forth was occurring so naturally that neither of them realized it. They talked of little mundane things on the way home. Their favorite foods, TV shows, and novels. What struck Kodachi was just how normal the date experience was. But then, given how chaotic her life in Nerima was, normal was an absolute breath of fresh air.

When the pair reached the front gate of the Kuno estate, Kodachi turned to face him, her hands clasped in front of her formally. "Let me once again thank you for an absolutely delightful afternoon," she said. "And thank you for walking me home, Mikado."

"Thanks aren't necessary," Mikado said, closing the distance between them to just a foot or so apart. This was his moment. He'd waited all day for this. It took every bit of willpower not to rush the moment. "All I need for payment is a single kiss from those gorgeous lips."

He leaned in closer to her, closing his eyes. Surely, he'd wooed her enough by now. She'd been afforded the chance to spend an entire afternoon in his company. A kiss was a small price to pay. The distance between their faces closed as a thrill of excitement trailed up Mikado's spine. This was it! His moment was at hand. In a mere moment he'd having his one thousandth kiss.

Something rather peculiar touched his lips. Furring his eyebrows, he opened his eyes and saw, to his chagrin, that rather than the touch of her lips, he was effectively smooching a business card. He drew back, a hand rising to take the card and look at it.

"I will decline, sir," she said, her tone a little cool. When his eyes flicked up from the card to look at her though, the slight chill in the air that certainly wasn't from the December weather passed. "However, you may certainly call upon me again… if you feel confident enough to do so?" The words held both challenge and an apprehensive question to them. He couldn't help but admire the duality.

Mikado looked down at the business card again and saw her phone number was listed. Why in the world was a young girl still in high school carrying around business professional cards anyways? "I uh…"

Kodachi looked up at him, her face a delicate mask of beauty and pensiveness as she studied his eyes and hesitance." The seconds seemed to crawl by as she waited for him to finish.

"I assume, given this," he held up the card between two fingers, "that I'm allowed to call you as well as ON you?"

Kodachi resisted the urge to exhale the breath she'd been holding. "You are free to do so."

Mikado nodded. The mask he wore was once again behind a smile as he decided just what he wanted to do. This woman was a challenge. But unlike Akane Tendo, Kodachi was willing, at least to a degree. He couldn't think of a better conquest for his 1000th kiss. As she'd said the other day, the game was afoot. With the prize a kiss from her softly painted lips, this was a game he intended to win.

"I'll call you tomorrow evening. We need to set up our next date. In the meantime, let me wish you a good evening." He knelt before and took one of her hands in his larger one, drawing it toward his lips. Shortly before making contact, he looked up at her and paused. "May I?"

Smiling just a little, Kodachi nodded. The touch of his warm lips on her palm sent another excited shiver up her spine. So, he can be taught. There is hope for him yet.

Kodachi didn't move from that spot as he rose and turned away. She stood there, watching his back recede until his was out of sight around the corner a few blocks away. Only then did she dash up the main walkway through the house, unleashing the euphoric cackle of absolute delight she was so well feared for. "What a day! Oh what a day!"

"Have a good day at school!"

Ukyo turned, sporting her blue Furinkan boy's uniform and blew him a kiss before waving with the same hand. "Have a good day, sugar!"

Waving, Ryoga saw his fiancée off in what had become a daily routine. Setting the curtain outside the front door, he stepped back into the restaurant and took a left towards the stairs. A moment later, he corrected his steps towards the dining and cooking area instead. Almost without needing to think about it, he started to fire up the stove, not just to warm the cooking surface, but also to banish the chill from his bones.

Dressed much as he always did, except for a white double-breasted shirt with short sleeves. Spinning a spatula around his finger, the learning chef got down to business. He might not be a school student, but that didn't mean that he didn't have homework to do. Being from the Kansai region, Ukyo specialized in Osaka-style okonomiyaki. The thicker dough dish was the main staple of her restaurant and was very popular with the Tokyo crowd. However, every so often she felt the need to expand her business in a way. She'd been on a new idea for the last month or so, practicing the Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki with yakisoba inside.

The brilliant young chef was nothing if not tenacious. After mastering the variations of the dish, she wanted Ryoga to follow suit. Before moving into Ukyo's spare bedroom, Ryoga's cooking skills were almost non-existent. Often lost in the wilds of the country, instant noodles had become a staple.

"Man, she was horrified when I told her that," he said with a slight smile, shaping dough over the grill.

This was the sort of challenge he could get behind. One that didn't involve quests for revenge or facing monsters, ghosts, an Orochi, Mint and Lime and countless other problems. These days, the biggest obstacle to his peaceful new life was simply having a bad sense of direction. He still trained hard to keep up his strength, but for almost a month now, it had felt more like a hobby than a necessity.

Ever since Happosai's funeral, the pair had done their best to live together in a sort of hybrid living arrangement. While they were romantically involved, Ryoga's near crippling shyness had somewhat stalled things. He'd nearly run away in embarrassment after asking her to dress a little more femininely. She'd stopped binding her breasts in tape, but now he had to look at her bras when it came time to hang the laundry.

Still, that aside, the days were peaceful and profitable. Another year or two and she might just have her restaurant paid off.

"And now for the sauce!" Reaching over, he tried to grip a glass bottle of dark sauce. It slipped from his fingers and tumbled to the floor, shattering. Cursing under his breath, Ryoga turned down the grill and reached for a dustpan to scoop the glass shards up with. Bending down, he felt a slight stitch in his side from the wound Ukyo had given him. Wincing a little, he paused in mid bend, holding onto the counter with his free hand.

The wound had long since healed into a thin line along his side. It ached on occasion, though he did his best not to let it show. A part of him knew Ukyo hadn't fully forgiven herself for lashing out at him. He'd known her for a long time now. They'd spent a lot of time together during the various schemes to break up Ranma and Akane. Ukyo wasn't above being a bit of a vindictive plotter, and she wasn't one to back down from a challenge, but she certainly wasn't someone who lashed out unprovoked like that. Helping her understand that he didn't view the attack as being her fault, and that she shouldn't blame herself was a very slow, ongoing process.

"If only she could have seen herself as I did. It was like she was possessed or something…"

He glanced down at the shard of glass. From this angle the sauce pooled out onto the floor looked like blood. A tremor ran through his body, visibly shaking his torso. Suddenly, Ryoga saw Zero, glass piercing his neck and heart, draining his vital fluids all over the floor. The look of horror and anger twisted the man's face to the point that he didn't even look human anymore. The mask of torment was ghoulish and macabre. The visage of the dying man was so crisp in its horror.

"No! Not again!"

"You did this to me, boy!" Zero gasped, his voice a rasp as he tried to breath through his torn trachea. "You murdered me." Crimson pooled down from his throat with every step, spurted out down across his chest and soaking his clothing. Each uttered word hacked speckles of vitality onto Ryoga's face. "The blood that falls…is entirely on your hands."

Ryoga's eyes widened as he gave a throaty gasp and fell backwards onto his rear. Back pedaling a few feet until his back hit the wall, it took his brain a moment to catch up to the fact that what he'd just seen had been entirely in his mind. It had felt so real. He'd been sure the warm sensation of Zero's blood had been painted all over his shirt and skin. Glancing down though, he saw the white chef shirt was clean of any such disturbing stains. "Shit…"

The battle in his mind began again, just as it had the other three times he'd thought of his deceased enemy and had this kind of reaction. He clutched at the back of his head, sinking his fingers into locks of dark hair as if trying to tear the memories away. Shaking eyes stared at the floor, far away from the mess of glass and sauce. "I had no choice. It was an accident. I'm not a murderer." He repeated this over and over like a mantra, ten times straight before the urge to be sick all over the floor passed.

It was true that he hadn't killed the man on purpose. Of that there was no question. But that did little to quell the guilt that rose inside of him during moments like these.

"Hey Ryo-chan. I left one of my textbooks behind and-" Ukyo appeared from around the corner before Ryoga could get up and attempt a feign of nonchalance. "Honey! What's wrong? Are you alright?" She dashed over to him and knelt, scraping the bottom of her large combat spatula onto the floor.

"N-nothing. It's nothing. I'm alright. I promise." He tried on a weak smile and looked up into her concerned green eyes. "Really, I'm fine. I just…" He wanted to lie to her, say he tripped or something. It would have been so easy to do. The problem was that lying wasn't something Ryoga was particularly good at. Besides, there was no way in hell he was going to lie to Ukyo. Never to her.

Ukyo sighed and fully knelt, drawing Ryoga into a hug. She draped her arms around his shoulders, drawing his head close enough to whisper into. "I'm here for you," she soothed, feeling him tremble as he wrestled with these emotions brought on by the gods knew what. "I'm here for you, sugar."

A hand reached up to gently hold her between the shoulder blades. He needed this. Her warmth, her presence, even the scent of her vanilla shampoo wafting from her long brown hair. "I know."

"If you ever want to talk about it, you'll always have my ear. You know that, right?"

"Thanks, Ukyo." Resting his cheek against hers, the Lost Boy sighed and willed himself to relax.

Whatever he was wrestling with, Ukyo could feel the burdensome emotions being locked back away inside of him. She turned her head a little and kissed his cheek. "How about I stay home today? We'll run the restaurant together." she suggested, leaning back, holding him by the shoulders. "What do you say?"

"That's kind of you. But I know you have a big math test coming up." Slowly, Ryoga started to draw himself to a standing position, helping her up by taking both her hands in his. "You're the brains of this outfit. You need to study. Off to school with you."

A slight blush colored Ukyo's cheeks. Ryoga wasn't one to initiate physical affection that often on account of his shyness. For him to go a little authoritarian in the moment really appealed to her ideal vision of masculinity in a man. The increased tempo of her heart came as she stared up into his eyes for a few heartbeats.

Traumatic situation aside, I sure would like to see this side of him more often. Outwardly she said, "Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. Don't forget your textbook. I'll see you this afternoon."

Releasing her right shoulder, his hand cupped her cheek. Despite herself, Ukyo melted into the touch, nuzzling into the grip of his hand, showing just how good it felt to be shown affection after so many years of denying her femininity, seeking revenge, then chasing after her former fiancée for any sort of attention she could get.

"Alright, sugar. See you this afternoon." Ukyo reluctantly backed up, retrieved her book and held it up to show him before blowing another kiss and setting off, closing the door behind her.

Ryoga waited a handful of heartbeats before balling his hand into a fist and swinging it up into the side of his head. "Damn it all! I didn't want her to see that! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

The other three incidents he'd managed to keep the panic attack to himself. The cat was out of the bag now and he had no one to blame but himself. At least when he looked at the mess on the floor again, there was no adverse reaction. Retrieving the dustpan from the floor, he started to clean up the mess.

"Things are finally calming down at last," he said. "We're working on living together, getting closer…. And now this happens. Terrific." His mood fell at breakneck speed and for a single moment he was tempted to just let a perfect Shishi Hōkōdan erupt from his body, if for no other reason than to banish his lingering anger, depression, and frustration. But to do so would cost Ukyo her restaurant. This establishment was the source of her income, independence, and future dreams. There was no way in hell he was going to lose control and cost her everything.

Cleaning up his mess, Ryoga deposited the glass and paper towels soaked in sauce into the wastebin. That done, he realized his Okonomiyaki experiment was still on grill, completely burnt on the bottom. Gritting his teeth, Ryoga was denied an outlet. When a customer came in a few moments after that, Ryoga denied himself the desire to scream in frustration. Instead he wore a crisp mask of a smile and got back to work.
_

When lunchtime came to the students at Furinkan, Ukyo approached Akane with her lunch in hand almost as some sort of offering. "Hey, Akane. Lend me your ear and I'll share my lunch with you. How's that sound?" Biting her lip, the vulnerability showed in her form rather than her words.

Nonplussed, Akane had accepted. Ukyo often joined the pair for lunch, but it wasn't often something like this came up. Ranma, feeling some sort of tension in his former fiancée and childhood friend, had excused himself to go eat with Hiroshi and Daisuke instead.

The pair found a quiet spot on the campus green, under the shade of a large oak tree. Ukyo leaned against the tree, adjusting the collar of her boy's uniform and sighed a moment, seemingly arranging her thoughts.

It was Akane that spoke first. "I'm a little surprised you asked me out here," she said, arranging her long blue dress out around her as she sat on a small blanket she'd borrowed from a friend. It was big enough to sit on and drape around her shoulders to ward off the chill.

"Oh yeah? Why's that?"

Akane faltered a moment. "Well… because… I didn't think you liked me very much. I mean, I know you're with Ryoga now, which is great by the way. I think you two are wonderful! I just mean, that… I assumed you'd always view me as the girl who…"

"Stole Ranma away from me?" Ukyo supplied with the barest ghost of a smile.

Akane nodded quietly, looking down at her own bento as it rested on her lap.

Ukyo didn't reply right away. She glanced up towards the canopy of the tree, watching the sunlight filter down through the somewhat cloudy sky and the bare branches. After a few moments she said, "If it gets too cold for you out here, let me know and we can go inside."

Akane nodded. There was no way she was going to do that though. She was a martial artist too, trained to handle all sorts of situations, even cold weather.

"Even after Ryoga confessed his feelings to me in the hospital, I was still a little sore with you for a while," Ukyo confessed, turning her green eyes over to look at Akane. The short haired girl looked back. "Though, I'm a practical girl, Akane. Always have been. I was always destined to be stuck in the childhood friend-zone. Besides, the facts are the facts, you know? You were engaged to Ranma first."

"Well, to be more precise, either myself or one of my two sisters were promised to be," Akane corrected.

"Point. But it's easy to see he cares for you. No guy goes out of his way to annoy and pester a girl like that if he has no interest." The smile grew into a self-deprecating look. "I wasn't exactly nice to you all the time, come to think of it. I was a schemer. I can admit that now. I used Ryoga to help me push you and Ranma towards splitsville more than once. The irony is that somewhere along the way, amidst all those schemes, he fell for me."

The smile turned rueful as she looked at her friend. There was guilt in her eyes as the two looked at one another. "But despite all my attempts and meddling, you never stopped being my friend. Sheesh. Talk about killing a girl with kindness. You're formidable, Akane." She paused again and took a breath. "And for what it's worth, I'm sorry for being such a jackass."

Akane shifted a little, realizing this was the sort of conversation to be had facing her former rival standing. She left her box on the blanket and stood, an inch or two shorter than the chef. "You had a fair claim on Ranma too," she reminded without need. "He was strung along in both our cases, promised off as a baby and then again as young boy. It wasn't his fault."

"I know," Ukyo assured her. "His old man was to blame. But that's not why I called you out here to talk. As I said, I'm a practical girl. I've made peace with losing Ranma to you. I have a business and future to think about, and my boyfriend."

Akane nodded, a little relieved the conversation was shifting to Ukyo rather than the past. A cold breeze blew by and Akane tried to resist a shiver. To her mild vexation, Ukyo didn't so much as cross her arms. Her short blue locks were carried with the wind, and she drew a hand up to smooth the hair away from her eyes. She didn't ask why Ukyo had called her out here. The fact that she'd chosen a remote corner of the yard out in the December weather spoke volumes as to how sensitive it must be. She patiently waited for Ukyo to broach the subject on her own.

"I need some advice concerning Ryoga," Ukyo said after she'd organized her internal thoughts. "I had to come back home to grab a book I forgot for class. I found him huddled on the ground and drenched in sweat."

Akane's eyes widened a little. "Something like a panic attack?"

Ukyo shrugged her shoulders in response as she leaned against the tree. "It could have been, I suppose. He tried really hard to play it off… but something had him spooked bad. He doesn't know this, but I saw him like that once before. I heard the sound of broken glass and a sort of strangled cry from his bedroom. I peeked in and saw him hunched forward in bed."

"And he won't tell you what's bothering him?"

Ukyo gave a simple shake of her head. "But I have a suspicion. I think he's…" she swallowed visibly, a lump in her throat. Despite the chill in the air, beads of tears appeared in the corners of her eyes. She fought them back and tried to keep her voice steady. "I think he's reliving the moment when I cut him."

Akane felt for the girl. Guilt was tugging at Ukyo's face. "Oh Ukyo…"

"I don't… know what else it could be… you know?" Ukyo reached a thumb up to wipe away beads of emotion before they could fall. "And he doesn't really touch me. He hasn't tried to kiss me or cuddle much…"

"You know how shy he is," Akane reasoned. "I don't think he's trying to keep his distance because of… you know. Ryoga wears his heart on his sleeve. When he looks at you, I see the affection there."

Ukyo looked away. It wasn't the action Akane had been hoping for. "I just wish he were a little more assertive. I want him to show me he wants me so I can put this stupid guilt to rest. He tells me that it wasn't me." Ukyo looked back at her one-time rival turned friend and pointed to herself for emphasis. "That I wasn't at fault and that I seemed like one someone else. But…"

"Ryoga isn't a very good liar. If that's what he's saying, I think you can believe it."

"That's true," Ukyo conceded. For a moment her eyes went far away. "This morning he got a little assertive. It was kinda sexy…" Both palms rose to cup her warming cheeks. "I just want to tell him 'More of that please!'. You know?"

Now it was Akane's turn to sigh. "I can relate. Ranma's been a bit distant since Grandfather Happosai's passing. He's always been dedicated to martial arts but lately it seems like he's taken it to another level entirely. We don't spend as much time alone together as we did before. When he's not training, he seems to be brooding. It's like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders."

Hearing that made Ukyo feel a little bit better. On the one hand, misery loves company. But she felt guilty for thinking that. "Men really are clueless when it comes to us girls, aren't they?" Ukyo said, rubbing at her narrow chin as a thought suddenly struck her. "Sounds like we'll need take the reigns and pull them in the right direction! A distraction of feminine charm will do Ryoga and Ranma some good."

Akane's brown eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that boys are stupid," Ukyo said, smiling and winking one eye to show some of that was meant to be humorous. "We'll be old maids before they get their butts in gear at this rate. I'm going to seduce Ryoga. If I have to force him out of his comfort zone and plug every nosebleed with tissue then by the gods, that's exactly what I'm going to do! I think you should do the same. Corner Ranma and remind him that you have needs. You deserve the attention, Akane."

"I suppose I can try…"

"There is no try, girl. Do, or do not!"

Akane giggled, bringing one hand up to her mouth. "Star Wars quotes aside, you're right."

Something white danced down from the tree above. Ukyo looked up and saw small flakes of snow dropping to the sky. Holding out one hand palm up, she caught a few of the flakes and watched them dissolve into a small puddle against her skin. It wasn't cold enough to stick, and the pleasant display wasn't likely to last long, but that didn't mean it wasn't a sign either.

"Would you look at that! It's the first snow of the season. I'm going to take this as a good omen," Ukyo said, extending her hand to Akane to shake. "Let's make a pact, Akane. Right here and now. We're going to make inroads with our men before Christmas, come hell or high water. We'll motivate one another, bounce ideas back and forth, and report on progress in the love department. Deal?"

Akane nodded with enthusiasm and gripped Ukyo's hand, sealing the pact under the soft picturesque white as it fell around them. "It's a deal!" She added a bit of a grip to their hand lock, smirking at the chef. "We just gotta fight to win."

Ukyo returned the smile and held the handshake for a moment before relaxing and drawing back. "Thanks for taking the time to talk to me today. I feel a lot better. The strength of female friendships huh?" She leaned down to pick up her flat bento box containing a handmade okonomiyaki and held it up to chest level. "Let me keep my promise. We can go heat this up in the home economics' classroom and eat together."
As the frozen droplets of water fell and melted on the ground around them, the two girls made their way back inside with lunches and blanket in hand. With a common goal to work for, their motivations and attitudes buoyed, turning the day completely away from glum and frustration. Fifty percent of the two pairings were now on the right path, as far as the girls were concerned. All that remained was to bring the boys onboard. Whatever burdens the pair were going through, Akane and Ukyo were willing to shoulder it as well.

It was the best laid plans of chefs and martial artists. As wild an unpredictable a place as Nerima was, there was one thing true above all others: chaos hath no fury like women wanting attention.