Okonomiyaki no Namida
Ukyo flipped another okonomiyaki to Ranma, who began to eat
it half-heartedly. He was her only customer in her restaurant at this
hour, all others having gone home or working night shifts. She
checked her watch again. Only ten minutes to closing. The only
sounds in the restaurant were that of another okonomiyaki frying on
the grill and that of Ranma's munching. She looked over at her
fiancee. His face was downcast and his bangs hid the expression on
his face. But his hair couldn't hide the slump of his shoulders. Or
the red outline of a hand on his right cheek.
Ukyo sighed. No prizes for guessing whose hand it was that
had slapped him. Ranma sipped at a glass of water and his right hand
started to steal towards his cheek, but it stopped halfway and he let it
fall on the counter with a dull thump. He looked up uncertainly at
Ukyo, who forced a smile and flipped the okonomiyaki, to keep it
from sticking onto the grill. Then he turned his eyes back to his half-
eaten okonomiyaki and began to divide it into little pieces with his
fork. Ukyo's smile melted away as she saw her childhood friend
looking so dejected. An expression of anger replaced her usually
jovial look as she thought of Akane and her treatment of Ranchan.
She had no right to slap him around like she did! Nobody does that
to her fiancee! Nobody!
But Ukyo just couldn't bring herself to go out on a vendetta
against Akane like Shampoo and Kodachi do. She just was not that
kind of person to repeatedly attempt to injure or kill Akane. She and
her were.....friends. Of a sort. It was only the issue of who gets
Ranchan first that divides them. Otherwise, Ukyo would surely
consider Akane as one of her best friends. Not that she had very
many. After she left her home village to train as an okonomiyaki
chef, she had dressed as a boy. That had, in fact, cut off her ties to
any social standing. She couldn't associate with the girls because she
couldn't go on a relationship with them, and she couldn't hang around
with the guys or else they would find out her secret.
Besides, she was through with boys - at that time, that is. She
blushed and looked at Ranma. He was cutting the okonomiyaki up
into little jigsaw shaped pieces and playing with the pieces, not eating
now. Somehow it bothered her to see Ranma playing with the
okonomiyaki as he was doing now. After all, okonomiyaki was one
of her loves in life. In fact, it is her life. The sight of him playing
with the food reminded her of how she felt Ranma had been treating
her - toying with her feelings, dancing around the edges of a serious
relationship, but never committing himself.
"Ranchan! Eat your okonomiyaki. Don't play with it, okay?",
she admonished.
Ranma peered up at Ukyo. He brought a piece of okonomiyaki
to his mouth and ate it. She sighed and checked her watch. It was
three minutes to closing. Close enough. Ukyo turned the grill off,
placed the okonomiyaki on a plate, and put it on the counter. Ranma
hardly looked at the fresh okonomiyaki as he seemed to lose himself
in his thoughts, playing with his food again.
The way she heard it from Ranma, it had all started when he
was taking a bath and Shampoo, in cat form, had jumped into the
bath, changed back, and had proceeded to try and seduce him.
Ranma managed to escape her, dress up, and run to his room but
Shampoo followed him, naked. Faced with a dilemma, Ranma
couldn't throw her out of the house while she had no clothing. On
the other hand, he couldn't turn her into a cat because of his phobia,
and Shampoo had no intention of leaving her beloved's side.
Thinking quickly, he had went to Akane's room and grabbed some
clothing from her closet, and told Shampoo to dress up in Akane's
clothes. Shampoo complied, but immediately after she threw herself
at Ranma and held him tight. He had pried her off and he tried to
sneak her downstairs, and out the door. But Akane came home, saw
Shampoo wearing _her_ clothing and hugging a thoroughly flustered
Ranma. She had dropped her bags of newly-bought clothing and ran
to her room, crying. After telling Shampoo to go home, Ranma went
to Akane's room and tried to explain it all to her. He left her room
with a slap mark burned into his face and her scathing words seared
into his mind. He had wandered all over Nerima with his hands in
his pockets, or so he told her, and finally ended up in her restaurant -
trying to work out his feelings.
Ukyo walked around the counter and put a hand on Ranma's
shoulder. He started at her touch and he looked up at Ukyo's face.
"Ranchan. It's time to close. Better go home and get some
sleep, okay?", she said.
He stood up, patted Ukyo's hand and began to walk towards the
door. He halted in his tracks about halfway to to exit, and slowly
turned around. Ukyo waited expectantly for Ranma to bid her
goodbye. As always, she would tell him to come back at another
time and see her. Ukyo was getting tired of their "just friends"
relationship. She sighed and wondered how much longer she had to
wait until Ranma said those three special words to her, those words
that would mean the world to her.....
"Can I stay?"
Ukyo started, her eyes going wide, and she dropped her spatula.
Moving almost lazily, Ranma stuck a foot under the spatula and
flipped it into his hands. He handed it back to Ukyo, and turned
around.
"Sorry, Ucchan. Don't wanna be imposing on you any more
than I am already. Thanks for the food. Seeya." He began to walk
to the door.
"Ranchan!! Wait! Y-you can stay. But why?", asked Ukyo.
Ranma whirled around, the expression on his face clearly
indicating that he was pleasantly surprised by Ukyo's consent to his
request. He stuck both hands into his pockets and rocked back and
forth on his feet.
"Well, I don't want to go home right now, Ucchan. Not with
most of the household angry at me. Akane wants to tear me apart,
Mr. Tendo is kinda trigger-happy with that demon head of his, Nabiki
is just waiting to get her money-grubbing claws into me because she
sees me as the reason why Akane's crying. In all the things I've
done, I have never, ever, made her cry this hard before.
She...she...ummm....her eyes were red and sore. She didn't even
move when I walked into her room. Her pillow was drenched! I
mean, I 've never seen such a thing in my life.....a tear soaked
pillow. Then I put my hand on her shoulder.....", Ranma gestured
with his right hand, "and...and she....". Ranma looked on the verge
of breaking down but he regained control of himself.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to,
Ranchan...", said Ukyo. <So I can get you on the rebound, that's
why!>, she added slyly, inwardly.
"Anyways, Nabiki sticks up for her family, if little else. To
make it worse, my Mom called earlier today to say she would be
dropping by for a visit, so I would have to go home as a girl." He
twiddled his thumbs together, hope written all over his face. Ukyo
smiled.
"Of course you can stay, Ranchan. You're welcome to stay
anytime you like. Can you help me close up the restaurant, please?"
"Sure, Ucchan. Anything you say."
The two make short work of their closing duties, taking in the
signs, locking the doors, cleaning the restaurant, washing the grill and
the dishes and putting the cash away into a safe box. Then Ukyo
picked up her plate of okonomiyaki, wrapped it in plastic film, and
led Ranma up the stairs. Ranma looked at the single door at the top
of the flight of stairs.
"Ummm, Ucchan. Do you have another...um...room?", he
asked, his face turning red from embarassment.
"No, Ranma. There's only one room. Don't worry, Ranchan.
Come on, don't be shy. It's just a room." Ukyo pulled Ranma into
her room and shut the door behind her. Oh joy! Ranma, alone with
her, in _her_ room!
Ukyo's room was lushly carpeted, and the carpet had prints of
okonomiyaki all over it, beautifully illustrated by some master artist.
The shelf in the corner of her room held many souvenirs from her
travels, many of them trophies or medals for winning a cooking
contest, or other. Her window had a dark blue venetian blind
covering it. A small TV with a video game system on top of it sat in
the next corner. A stereo system occupied the space next to the shelf,
with CDs scattered all around it. A small pile of books and
magazines detailing vacation spots lay in a heap next to her bed,
within easy reach if one was lying belly-down on the matress, which
had a soft, blue comforter covering the double-sized pillow and the
bolster. A door leading to the bathroom was set in the wall next to
her bed. A calendar was hung next to the door, and a picture of
Ranma on the wall facing the foot of her bed. She blushed when
Ranma's eyes turned to the picture of him.
In the picture, he was looking off to one side with a smile, his
eyes wide and bright. Ranma chuckled and he walked up to the
photograph. Ukyo went to her closet and pulled out a futon. She
placed it next to her bed and she put her plate on the floor next to it.
Then she grabbed a fresh change of clothing.
"Ranma. I'm going to have a shower now. You just make
yourself at home." She turned about and gave him a wink, her hair
swirling about her pert body.
"Alright, Ucchan." Ranma didn't even notice the wink as he sat
down heavily on Ukyo's bed and heaved a sigh, his forearms resting
on his lap. Ukyo scowled and went through the door.
She locked the door behind her, undressed and began to shower.
She felt the stream of hot water running through her hair and down
her body and she sighed in pleasure. It always felt good taking a hot
shower after a long day. She finished in short order, dried herself off
and exited the bathroom, feeling like a new woman.
Ranma was lying on her bed, reading the magazine she was
reading the night before. Ranma, upon hearing the door open,
immediately got off Ukyo's bed and onto the futon on the floor, but
Ukyo saw him anyways. Ranma pretended not to notice Ukyo's
amused look and he concentrated on the travel mag in his hands. He
turned the page and a picture of a vast meadow leapt out at him.
Ukyo walked over and sat next to him, still drying her hair with a
towel. <Oh, how beautiful!>, she thought. She read the heading
and was surprised to find that the meadow was located near her old
district. Ranma evidently read it too and he started to comment on it
to Ukyo, but Ukyo patted his leg and nodded in understanding.
"Yes, Ranchan. I know." She cast her thoughts back over the
years, to the days she and Ranma spent enjoying the sights and
sounds of a meadow. The same meadow in the magazine, in glossy
color and two dimensional, couldn't even begin to compare to the real
thing; the heady aroma of summer grasses and clumps of wildflowers
mixed with the chirp-chirp of crickets and the songs of birds taking
flight through the air, soaring in the warmth of the streaming sunlight
unhindered by any clouds in the blue, blue sky.
Ranma's eyes seemed clouded over as he stared sightlessly at
the picture of the meadow, his thoughts as far away as Ukyo's. Ukyo
giggled and the sound, like the tinkling of bells, brought Ranma back
to reality. Ranma sighed, shut the magazine and let it fall to the
floor.
"Ukyo, why do things have to be so complicated? Why can't
we just become like kids again, and not have to worry about things
like school, and stuff like fiancees and all that...", he said in a wistful
voice.
"What do you mean, Ranchan?", she asked as she snuggled a
little closer to him. Ranma seemed not to notice, his eyes fixed on
the small space between his resting hands.
"I mean, Ukyo...why does she have to overreact to everything I
do?"
Ukyo grimaced. Akane. It always kept on coming back to
Akane. She let out a little sigh. <The mood isn't right yet. He's
still moping on about Akane>, she thought. Ukyo pulled the towel
off her hair and let it cascade down her shoulders, still slightly damp
from the shower.
* * *
Ranma gulped and tried to look anywhere but at her. Her
pyjamas were decorated with small triangles and little pink hearts
against a blue background, and the way that her long hair framed her
cute face made him shiver with excitement.
* * *
"I don't know, Ranma. Maybe it's just her."
"You're probably right. I mean, it's not REALLY my fault that
Shampoo runs after me day and night, right? I mean, if she would
just see MY side for once..."
"Ranchan. Let's just _forget_ about Akane and the whole thing,
alright? Come on. Play poker with me. Cheer you up." Ukyo
produced a pack of cards from under her bed.
"What will we bet on?" Ranma said as he slid across to the
other side of her bed.
Ukyo smiled. <He is so naive sometimes>, she thought.
"Oh, I don't know. I'd bet on money, but you don't have any,
right?" He shook his head. "Well....how about clothes?"
"Clothes?! But...", he spluttered.
"Don't worry, Ranma! I won't take advantage of you if you
don't take advantage of me, right? Besides, I can trust you, right?
Right?" She made a cute moue with her mouth at him, and he burst
out laughing. <Good. He's finally loosening up.>, she thought.
"Let's make a deal. The loser won't have to take off his, or her, last
piece of clothing. He, or she, will have to eat this okonomiyaki."
Ukyo grabbed the plate and put it between the both of them, on the
bed.
"But it's cold!", exclaimed Ranma.
"That's because you never ate it, idiot! It was for you!", she
retorted.
"It...it was? Sorry, Ucchan."
"Forget it. Let's play."
Ranma nodded and the contest began. The next hour or so was
spent playing strip poker, with neither side really gaining much of an
advantage. Ranma was down to his pants and Ukyo clutched a hand
across the bra covering her breasts. The teeter-totter balance was
paused for a moment as Ukyo turned her stereo system on, popping
in a CD titled "Romantic Theme Songs", and equalizing the tune until
it was a perfect background music. <Just stacking the odds in my
favor, sweetie.>, she thought as she looked at him.
At long last, after a full half hour of sparring, Ukyo finally
scored the winning point in the game. She looked at Ranma, who
was sweating profusely and staring at his losing hand. <Usually he
plays better than this...>, she thought, <Could it be...that he was
distracted? But what?> She knew the answer even before she had
asked herself that question, and Ukyo resolved to net Ranma.
Tonight. Ukyo threw her hand down, slowly stood up and walked
around the bed, to Ranma. He looked up with some trepidation,
dressed in his boxers and nothing else.
"U-Ucchan? What....what?", he asked. Ukyo gave him an evil
grin and she knelt down beside Ranma.
"Now. Ranma. Take off your boxers."
"WHAT? No way!" He started to edge away from Ukyo.
Ukyo merely matched his pace and she put her right hand on his
shoulder. While Ranma looked at her right hand, trembling ever so
slightly on his body, her left hand snaked down and grabbed the top
of his boxers. Ranma yelped in fright and held onto his boxers for
his dear life. Then Ukyo was on top of him, growling and wrestling
with Ranma, half-heartedly trying to pull his boxers off, laughing
good-naturedly as she did so. The two disappeared, in a tangle of
limbs, into a mock battle in which they let out all their cares and
worries with giggles and heartfelt laughter.
The song on the CD floated through the room and the two could
still hear it despite the ruckus they were causing with their struggle.
<"We run hand in hand through meadows of green
Feeling the earth beneath our feet
And the summer sky above us......">
Ukyo manages to get Ranma's boxers an inch down, but Ranma
pulls it back up just as quickly.
<"We share a secret among the tall grasses
And swear our friendship for all eternity
Breathing the sweet summer air
And laughing out our love of life.....">
* * *
Ranma gets a mouthful of Ukyo's hair, and he spits it back out.
However he can't help but _wonder_ at how soft, and silky, her hair
was. Not to mention her skin.....
* * *
Ukyo was on top of Ranma, having too much fun to stop and
think about _what_ she was doing with Ranma, straddling him and
touching him like this. To her, there was nothing but the thought of
playing with her childhood friend, like they used to so long ago.....
<"The years pass and we grow apart
Time has not been kind to us
I wish I could live forever, dream forever
But reality pulls our hopes back to earth......">
For moments, just moments, they forgot their ingrained, adult
roles and became, once again, the Ranchan and Ucchan of a decade
ago, rolling about in a good-humoured wrestling match in a
meadow....
<"Then one day you and I meet
In the meadow of greenery, amidst the dandelions
Which release their fluffs and
We both watch them spiral to the heavens in
A dance that only we can understand........">
<"Come, take my hand....">
Ranma grabs Ukyo's hands in his own and immobilizes them.
The two of them are still laughing like a couple of idiots. Ranma
rolls over so that he is on top. Ukyo didn't notice, or didn't care.
<"Let us run once more through the meadows of green.....">
Ranma and Ukyo stilled their laughter for a moment, and the
hauntingly sweet melodies of the song permeated the atmosphere
about them, enveloping them in its music. Suddenly, Ukyo realized
that Ranma was....was....
* * *
Ranma looked down with wonder at Ukyo beneath him, their
faces only inches away. Ukyo looked so....beautiful, with her long
hair splayed out beneath her, her sparkling eyes meeting his own,
their breath and heartbeats quickening as one.
<"Feeling the earth beneath our feet......">
Ukyo unclenched her hands from Ranma's and she put them
behind Ranma's head. Ranma didn't resist as she pulled his head
closer...and closer, her lips reaching up to meet his own, desire
lighting the fires in both their eyes....
<"And the summer sky.....above us.....">
Ranma's nose touched the tip of Ukyo's own. In breathless
wonder at the beauty beneath him, Ranma turned his head slightly and
began to touch his lips to hers.....
"HELLO!? IS ANYBODY HOME?! UKYO?!"
Ranma's fevered brained registered those words quicker than
Ukyo's did. Akane! He practically teleported off Ukyo and had his
clothing on in seconds. Ukyo lay on the floor, wondering what in
hell she did wrong. Then, those five words made their way to the
forefront of her mind, and she finally realized why Ranma looked so
panicked. Horrified, she sat up and had her clothing on in record
time. Ranma was almost gibbering in fear, hiding under the bed.
Ukyo smoothed her hair and stomped out the door. <Akane,
you...you....hussy!!!>, she thought furiously as she leapt down the
stairs three at a time.
She saw Akane's shape in the darkened dining area, silhouetted
against the moonlight streaming in through a glass window. Seething
with fury, Ukyo slapped the light switch several times before finally
turning the lights on. Her face resembling Soun's demon head, with
bared fangs and dilated pupils, she whirled on Akane, ready to give
her a piece of her mind. What she saw was not what she had
expected to see in Akane.
Akane didn't even have matching clothing on, a clear indication
that she had hurriedly put her current ensemble together. Her hair
was mussed up and uncombed, her eyes bloodshot and red around the
edges. She had been crying. Badly. And she looked like she was
about to break down. Upon seeing Ukyo's angry face, Akane yelped
in fright and took a step back.
Ukyo softened her expression. <Oh, Akane...>, she thought
as she looked at the disconsolate girl before her, looking so lost and
forlorn. And frightened.
"U-Ukyo! You scared me!" Akane blinked her eyes rapidly,
trying to adjust her eyes to the sudden light.
"S'all right, sweetie. Now you just go and take a seat and I'll
bring you a drink. Or something." Ukyo put her arms around Akane
and guided her to a seat. Akane grabbed Ukyo's hand as she left to
get Akane a drink, looking up at Ukyo with a pleading expression.
"Ukyo! D-Do you know where Ranma is?! I couldn't find him,
and I've been searching, and searching! I even went to Nekohanten
but he wasn't there!"
"You went to Nekohanten? After what Shampoo did? That
must have taken some serious guts, girl."
"How did you know about...about that? Did Ranma tell you?
Was he here? Where did he go? Oh, Ukyo!" She started to cry
again, but Ukyo patted her hand and stilled her tears.
"He...he was here." Ukyo hated to lie to Akane, especially
now, but she would only be aggravating the wound by telling her that
Ranma _is_ here. In her room, to boot. And they were all
alone....and they were about to....Ukyo brushed that thought away.
Now was not the time to think of such things. She looked at Akane,
who looked on the verge of another breakdown, and she smiled
inwardly, wistfully. <How I wish I were you, Akane>, Ukyo
thought, <How I...how I wish I had Ranchan's....Ranchan's...>.
She stopped her thought, unable to even finish her thought.
"Ukyo. I...I said some terrible things to him. And I hit him.
Really hard this time. I just want to say...say that I'm sorry. Sorry
for...for all the things I said to him today. I know it's not his fault
that Shampoo tries to get to him, but.....but....I'm the je-jealous type,
Ukyo. I got too angry this time. I should have trusted in him, Ukyo.
I should have trusted in him....I 've been searching for the whole
day, Ukyo!", she said disjointedly, punctuating her monologue with a
sniffle every now and then.
Ukyo looked long and hard at Akane, the girl who was her
friend, yet wasn't. She thought of how fast Ranma had jumped off
her the moment Akane came into the restaurant. She thought of how
much Akane figured in Ranma's life, and vice versa. It must have
taken one hell of alot of determination, and resolve, for her to search
all over town for Ranma in that getup she was wearing. And for her
to walk into Nekohanten and ask Cologne, or even Shampoo, where
Ranma was......Ranma, the one who always teases her. Ranma, the
one who always makes her angry for all the thoughtless and senseless
things he did.
Ranma. Akane's fiancee. <Fiancee....>, Ukyo thought.
Ukyo squeezed Akane's hand. Ukyo did the one thing she felt
she had to do, the one thing that her heart told her was the only thing
to do. Akane looked up at Ukyo, wiping her eyes with the other
hand.
"Akane, Ranma is probably home by now, waiting for you. Go
home, Akane. Make up to him. You knew that he...he wouldn't
betray you, Akane. You knew it before and you know it now. Go
home and get some sleep, okay? You look a mess. Then the both of
you come back tommorow and have some okonomiyaki on me,
okay?"
Akane looked up at Ukyo, tears beginning to flow again.
"Th-thanks, Ukyo. Yours was the last place I looked for
him...because I felt that you wouldn't take advantage of....of this
situation to get him. Not like Kodachi or Shampoo. Thank you,
Ukyo."
Akane got up and bowed to Ukyo. Ukyo escorted her to the
door and gave her one of her jackets, for the night was cool. Akane
turned about and waved goodbye to Ukyo. Then she turned around
and started to walk home. Ukyo shut the door and ran up to her
room. Ranma was crouching behind the bathroom door, fearfully
peeking out. He quickly ducked behind the door as soon as Ukyo ran
in, but he realized his mistake and came back out, tentatively.
"Is she...is she gone, Ukyo?"
"Quick, Ranma! She's going home down the street! If you
hurry, you can still catch her! Go!" Ukyo opened her window and
pointed outside. A breeze blew in and ruffled her long hair.
"U-Ucchan. But...but what about...?"
"About what, stupid?! Just go and get Akane! She's walking
home alone, you know!"
"Alone?! That idiot! Doesn't she know that it's dangerous to
walk alone at this...." His voice trailed off as he saw Ukyo looking
at him, her gaze inscrutable and unreadable. "Ucchan....I'm..."
"Go, Ranma. I won't repeat it again."
Ranma got on the window sill and looked back at Ukyo. Ukyo
pointed out the window again. On an impulse, Ranma stepped back
and gave Ukyo a hug. Then he got back on the window sill.
"Ukyo. Thank you." With that, Ranma leapt off into the night.
Ukyo shut the window and locked it. She drew the blind across
it, then she ran downstairs and shut the unlocked window that Akane
used to gain entrance to her restaurant. Then she made sure that all
the windows and doors were locked securely before she headed back
upstairs and fell on her bed.
She had let Ranma go. Her best friend and fiancee was
_within_ her grasp! And she let him go. To Akane. She started to
shake with the effort of holding in all the tears, but she refused to let
herself have a break down. She lay like that for a full half hour,
fighting against the urge to weep. And shout. And break various
things.
She got up on her bed, and she was surprised to find that she
had fallen upon her okonomiyaki. Luckily it was wrapped in plastic
film so it didn't stain her PJ's. She read her own writing on the
okonomiyaki. "For my darling Ranchan", it said.
She unwrapped the okonomiyaki.
And she took a bite of it, tasting of her defeat.
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Let me know what you all think of it.....WebDragon