Before we begin, let me say that this is a one shot.
    You hear that? No sequels or additonal chapters! Wow!
    The fic is currently untitled so I'm willing to take suggestions.
    And finally, the time frame is about a year and a half after 
Ranma and Akane are married...and the setting isn't Nerima...
----

                        "untitled"
                       by Erin Mills
          based on a character created by Rumiko Takahashi
          

    Malcolm Davis strolled down the busy street. Lunch hour was 
always so hectic in New York. So many people trying to get so much 
done before going back to the daily grind, food actually being the 
furthest thing from their minds. Malcolm grinned. Nobody ever 
realized what an art lunch was. 
    Malcolm was a junior accountant at one of the major publishing 
firms in the city. This position would normally make one think that 
Malcolm was a boring individual. Nothing could be further from the 
truth.
    Those who knew the boisterous red headed one found him to be 
highly adventurous, willing to undertake any physical challenge at 
the drop of a hat. He possessed a razor sharp wit and had a head for 
numbers unmatched by any of the other accountants at the firm. He was 
already due for a promotion and his twenty-fifth birthday was a year 
from now. And through all of this, he had managed to maintain a 
steady pace; brisk but with enough time to enjoy the finer things in 
life. Such as lunch.
    Malcolm rounded the corner, intent on a nice spicy salami sub at 
Kapinski's Deli, when he noticed the sign.
    It was a simple sign, embroidered on a curtain haning over the 
entrance to a small cafe. The sign read "Ucchan's." There was a menu 
on a placard on the sidewalk. Malcolm gave it the once over.
    "Hmmm, okonomiyaki, okonomiyaki, okonomiyaki, and salad," he said 
to himself. "Sounds like a winner to me," 
    Putting Kapinski's out of his mind, Malcolm entered the tiny cafe.
    
    "Hold back the screaming hordes," Malcolm said to the empty room. 
The small room was filled with a few tables and chairs, and a large 
grill taking up the space in the center of the room, a few stool 
surrounding it.
    Malcom looked around at the walls. Some pictures, fine 
watercolors, a few photos. Taking a closer look, Malcolm saw pictures 
of a young Asian woman with short hair, and a young man with a pigtail 
in front of an altar. To one side was a distinguished looking man (or 
would be if he wasn't bawling) and two young women, one with short 
brown hair and a mischevieous expression and the other with longer 
hair and a look of vacant happiness. And on the other side there was 
a...panda? and a middle aged woman with a long wrapped package.
    Next to the wedding picture, odd though it was, Malcolm saw a 
picture of another young woman with hair almost as red as his. 
    <That's strange for a Japanese girl.> he thought. Some other 
pictures; a boy with a lost look on his face and a yellow and black 
bandanna around his head. Another wedding photo, this between a 
purple haired Chinese girl and a boy with inch thick glasses. A 
picture of two girls, one in a table lamp disguse for some...hold it. 
Closer inspection showed that the "girls" were in fact boys. Odd.
    But not as odd as the four foot spatula hanging on the opposite 
wall, next to a picture of a young girl with a white bow in her long 
brown hair.
    "Can I help you?" came slightly accented voice. Malcolm turned to 
see an slightly older version of the girl in the picture he was 
looking at. Even though she was smiling, something in her face hinted 
at sorrow.
    "Oh, hi," he began, "I saw your menu and thought I'd give it a 
shot," The smile turned genuine.
    "Oh yes, please sit," said the young woman, gesturing to a stool. 
Malcolm took a seat, placing his sportcoat on the stool beside him. 
He took a quick perusal of the ingredients.
    "What would you like?" 
    Malcolm smiled at the woman. "Surprise me," The woman looked 
confused. Malcolm took a wild guess and began speaking to the woman 
in Japanese.
[AUTHOR'S NOTE: For the sake of simplicity all future dialogue is 
spoken in Japanese.]
    "Your choice," he clarified.
    "You speak Japanese? Great, that makes it a lot eaisier."
    "Good," said Malcolm, "I like to make things easy on people."
    He watched, fascinated as the woman's hands began to move at 
lightning pace, mixing the ingredients together for a deluxe 
okonomiyaki. 
    "Nice place," said Malcolm, trying to break the ice. "Been here 
long?"
    "No," said the chef. "I just opened last week. It hasn't been 
easy. I can't afford help. Not that anyone comes in."
    "Why not? This place is unique. I like it. It has that homey 
touch and I'm not talking about street gangs either." That got 
another smile out of her. 
    "I'm Malcolm Davis," he said extending a hand. The chef took a 
moment while the okonomiyaki was cooking to shake it.
    "Ukyou Kuonji," she said.
    "Been in the States long?"
    "About a month. I've been busy trying to become a citizen."
    "Emigrating?"
    "Joint citizenship. I figure if I ever go back to...home, it'll 
make things easier, customs-wise."
    "Do you like New York?"
    "For what it is. Tokyo was pretty similar."
    "So," Malcolm said, genuinely curious. "Who're the people on the 
wall?"
    A spatula clanged to the ground. Ukyou blushed in embarrassment 
and dove for it.
    "Oh, sorry," said Malcolm. "If that's a sensetive topic..."
    "No, it's okay." said Ukyou, picking up a new spatula. "They're 
just some...old friends I left behind."
    "They look like pretty nice people."
    "Yes...they were...SHIT!" A pungent odor caught their nostrils. 
The okonomiyaki was burning. Ukyou quickly flipped it onto a plate.
    "I'm usually not that forgetful," she apologized, "I'll make you 
another, no charge." 
    "No, no, it was my fault for distracting you. I'll pay for both."
    "No, that really isn't necessary..."
    "Yes, it is. Don't try arguing with me, I'm from New York." 
Malcolm said firmly, but with humor in his eyes. Ukyou tried, and 
failed, to supress a giggle.
    "You are one of the strangest people I have ever met. And 
considering where I come from, that's saying something."
    "I'm sure you come from a very nice neighborhood with great 
scenery and well manicured lawns." 
    Ukyou looked at him.
    "Boy, are you a rotten liar," 
    They both laughed.
    
   The next hour passed in conversation. No other customers came in, 
despite the amount of people walking on the sidewalk. Malcolm ate and 
enjoyed his okonomiyaki. He told Ukyou about his job and life and by 
the end of the lunch hour, they were in the first stages of becoming 
friends.
    "Listen," said Malcolm as he paid for his lunch. "Have you been 
out much since you got here?"
    "Not really." Ukyou replied, looking at the floor.
    "Tell you what then, tonight, after you close up I'll take you 
out for a quick lesson in New York Nightlife."
    "I...I couldn't," Ukyou began, "I mean, I've got so much to do 
and I'm open 'til eleven and..." She looked at Malcolm. "Aw, what the 
hell. Be here at eleven,"
    "Great," said Malcolm. He turned to leave. "Oh, by the way, who's 
`Ucchan'?"
    "Me," said Ukyou with a slight smile. "It's a...er...nickname."
    "Well, I'll see you tonight...Ucchan." Malcolm smiled, waved and 
left. Ukyou waved back.

    Soon after Malcolm left, Ukyou snapped into a feeling of panic.
    <What did you think you were doing?> she thought. <How could you 
betray Ran-Chan like that? He'll never forgive you!> Ukyou felt the 
slide into the depression she dealt with night after night ever since 
she left Ranma and the others. 
    <First, you leave him without even saying good-bye, and now 
you're going to betray him and date this strange gaijin-->
    "Shut up."
    Ukyou looked around for the source of the voice. It took her a 
moment to realise it was her old voice. The voice she had back in her 
teen years in Nerima. Even now she could hear it in her head.
    <Ran-Chan is happily married to Akane-chan. You left to try and 
make a better life for yourself. You now have a business and in a 
couple of months, you'll be a citizen of America, and you've just 
been invited out by a not wholly unattractive native. So stop feeling 
sorry for yourself, go find a nice outfit, and get ready for God's 
sake!>
    Ukyou hung the "Closed" sign in the window, hauled in the 
placard, and cleaned up the cafe. She went up the back stairs to her 
modest apartment, found her wallet and went back downstairs. She 
looked at the wedding photo on her way out.
    "I hope you two are happy together," she said with genuine 
feeling. "I know I've always felt that you would be."
    She locked the door from the outside and hailed a cab. The phone 
started to ring, but she let it go. She had a schedule to keep.
----

    There, a future Ukyou story that is not the least bit depressing. 
I might write more, but not for a while. I hoped y'all enjoyed it. As 
always C&C  is accepted.

    Oh, as an added bonus, here's an inside joke to tack onto the end 
of the last sentence...

    "Halfway across town, Chris Willmore slammed down the phone. 
Honestly, you'd think that a restaurant called "Ucchan's" would serve 
okonomiyaki, but they wouldn't answer the phone to let him confirm!"

                        ^_^
                        
                                    ---Erin 2.5