aheh, oops, forgot to send the STORY. n.n;;
[Ucchan's, 6:30am]
o/" Where it's at... o/"
The last strings of a melody echoed softly in her ears. Ukyou
yawned and woke up, stretching, and hummed the tune. It was catchy...
and if she modified it just right...
"Mmm, mus'be crazy," she muttered. Ucchans never did a commercial
before, and she didn't think they were going to do one now...
========================
The Pursuit of Happiness
Act 1
Part 9
Where It's At
=============
[Furinkan High, after school...]
"Well, you recovered fast," observed Akane, walking up on the fence
behind Ranma and holding his hand. The two walked home at a leisurely
pace, with Akane occasionally wobbling, but getting her balance back
quickly.
"Yeah, didn't wanna miss too much class, y'know?" Ranma's grip on
Akane's hand tightened. He'd heard about what Ryouga was up to, and
there'd be hell to pay. Ryouga was, he felt, lucky to have been
absent from school again. Otherwise, he'd have been beaten into a
pulp.
*
Ryouga wandered, it felt like he'd been wandering endlessly for the
past couple of days. He managed to stay in urban surroundings, so he
hoped that meant that he was still in Nerima. Tired, impatient, and
wanting to find how where the hell he was, he grabbed a passing
student by the shirt.
"Where is Furinkan High?!" he growled.
Daisuke blinked. This was apparently Ryouga. Again. There was a
definite sense of deja vu as Daisuke patiently pointed out the sign to
their left.
Ryouga looked to where the boy was pointing. It was a sign. A
rather large sign. One that read "Furinkan High School."
That's one problem down.
"Hey, you look familiar," said Ryouga.
"It's me, Daisuke. Your classmate?"
"Oh! Sorry about that."
"Well, it's too late for class, the school day is over," said
Daisuke. "Where've ya been?"
"Lost."
"Figures."
Suddenly, Ryouga's hunting instincts told him something he'd want
to hit was nearby. He looked around, scanning with narrowed eyes,
until he spotted two figures walking slowly upon the fence.
One of which he had a problem with.
Ryouga grabbed his umbrella charged, his quarry targeted and
locked.
"RANMA!"
*
The sound of Okonomiyaki frying.
That was the sound that soothed Ukyou's soul. As of late, she
noticed that she was becoming far too easily stressed. What was the
cause of it all? She'd never been as aggrivated before. No time to
dwell on that too much, the okonomiyaki needed grilling.
Scoop.
Turn.
*sizzle*
Inhale the aroma. The grill, the oil, the spatula, the
okonomiyaki.
All are one in the universe.
Add some sauce.
Scoop.
Sliiiiide to the plate.
All done.
She reached over to begin creating another okonomiyaki when
something disturbed the one-ness of her okonomiyaki universe. She
didn't recall having a vending machine in her store....
Tsubasa.
Get spatula.
"Um, Ukyou-sama! Hi!"
Adjust.
Scoop.
"No! Wait! Waitwaitwait! I just came here to talk!"
Heave.
No, wait... something was wrong. Ukyou looked down to where her
spatula was wedged under Tsubasa's costume. It was bent. She cursed
silently as she had forgotten that Tsubasa'd been putting durable (and
sometimes heavy) mecha underneath his disguises lately. Quickly
loosing her zen-like state, she growled and pulled back an arm,
getting ready to slug the face that had just popped out of the vending
machine.
"Waitwaitwait! Please!"
"This better be good, Tsubasa," growled Ukyou. "You bent my
spatula."
"It is! It is! Please! Just listen!"
*
Tanya Noori was upset.
She had -finally- tracked down Hibiki, and was ready to pay him
back for the humiliation he had caused her. But somehow, somewhere
along the line, things went wrong.
First, her undergarments were revealed to the public via an attack
from HIM. Then, some strange girl with a titanic spatula interrupted
the fight and started bickering with him. And finally, as the strange
girl and Tanya were arguing, HE escaped.
Tanya was not amused.
She had, in her haste to find him, rushed out into the city to
track him down. That was a mistake. Being a newcomer to the city
herself, she was fairly lost in a matter of hours as well. Cursing
her luck, she found a nice, clean rooftop to rest in and began her
search once more... which brought her to now.
She had been standing where she had managed to spot her former
significant other several days ago, hoping to see a familiar face once
more. The waiting was killing her.
Suddenly, a face stood out amongst the crowd. Somewhat pale, a
little on the lean side, with unmistakable eyes.
*'allo, Ryo* said Tanya in her native English, watching him from
her rooftop perch, *'ow very nice t'see you 'gain. You'll lead me
t'Ryouga, won't ye? Oi knew ye would.*
Tanya strolled the rooftops, watching Ryo carefully. She knew he
hated Ryouga possibly as much as she did, so he had to lead her to him
eventually. Besides, she figured, all this strolling around would
help her learn where everything was.
Ryo blinked. He had the distinct feeling that someone was
shadowing him. He looked up around the rooftops, suspiciously, but
saw nothing.
"Ryo-sama, what's wrong?" asked Akari, tugging at his arm.
"Hm? Nothing, nothing. Let's go, yes?" Ryo offered his arm and
Akari took it as they walked through the commercial district of town,
taking in the sights and sounds of a fine spring day. She was
thrilled that Ryo had turned out to be such a gentleman, unlike the
mean person they made him out to be. She felt lucky that he was
willing to date her. And he was strong, too! He'd managed to knock
out her sumo pig! No doubt, grandfather would be happy to have such a
polite, strong heir to the sumo pig farm which had been theirs for
generations.
Ryo grinned. Akari was remarkably gullable. Unbelievably,
uniquely, gullable. And so very trusting, as well. He hoped that
neither of his sisters were ever this foolish.
*
"RANMA!"
The boy in question turned around, just in time to dodge an
umbrella swipe to the skull. He saw the attacker, and his battle aura
began to glow. "Well... if it ain't Ryouga... DIE!" He lept from the
fence, towards Ryouga and hammered him with a series of blows. Ryouga
took the hits, but wasn't fazed by them much, and plowed into Ranma,
knocking them both through the fence and into the waterway beyond it.
A pig tailed girl and a fang-toothed girl emerged from the water,
looking furious. They clashed once more, with water spraying
everywhere and the occasional breaking point technique rattling the
earth.
"Ranma! Ryouga! Stop it!" yelled Akane. "Why are you two
fighting?!"
"Stay outta this, Akane!" yelled Ranma-chan.
"This is a man to man fight!" yelled Ryouga-chan.
Nobody appreciated the irony.
With a battle cry, both combatants charged each other once more and
cut a path of destruction through the neighborhood. Akane, frustrated
that she hadn't been able to slow down the situation any, sighed and
followed.
*
"Well.... wow," said Ukyou, unsure of what else to say.
"I... I want you to know," said Tsubasa, his eyes almost ready to
go into tears, "I'll be back some day."
"Hey, if you end up tangled with obligations and all that, I
understand perfectly," replied Ukyou. <No, really, Tsubasa, you don't
have to come back at all.>
"I... I'll never forget you," said Tsubasa, letting a few tears
fall.
"Okay..." As much as Tsubasa irritated her, Ukyou just didn't like
seeing anyone in tears like that.
"Hey, tell ya what," she said, pulling out two small spatulas and
bringing out the ingredients, "I'll make ya an okonomiyaki on the
house, for old time's sakes, okay?"
Tsubasa smiled through his tears. Ukyou had a feeling it was a
mistake already, but grilled the transvestite an okonomiyaki
anyways...
*
"Thanks for being with me today," said Akari, in a timid, shy
voice.
Ryo grinned. "It was my pleasure."
They watched a few trains go by, Akari looking happy and Ryo
looking calm. Finally, her train arrived, and Ryo walked her to the
door.
"See you later," he said with a smile.
They hugged briefly, then she gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Reluctantly, she let go and entered the train, and soon was on her way
back to her grandfather's farm.
Ryo stood there.
The breeze blew by, trains passed, people surged back and forth to
and from the trains.
Ryo stood there.
Two figures, one carrying a bench, the other a shovel, both in
suits, walked quietly behind him.
"Heya, Ryo!"
Ryo narrowed his eyes and spun around, snarling. His umbrella was
raised and spinning madly in his hand. "WHAAAAAT?!?!"
The pair stumbled back, panic-stricken.
"Oh... you two."
"So, that's the girl you're going to hold ransom?" asked one of
them.
"A cute one, too," observed the other.
Ryo's face was locked in a scowl, but he did nothing else.
"Hey, Ryo, are you sure we oughta be doing this?" asked one of
them.
Ryo's eyes narrowed. He grabbed them both by their lapels and
hissed, "Shut up! Both of you SHUT UP!" Ryo pushed them back some
distance away, then strode into the street, saying as he left, "we
proceed as usual, do not question me!"
Above, in the cover of the shadows of the rooftop, Tanya
followed...
*
"YOU'RE GOING TO PAY ONCE AND FOR ALL RANMA!!!" screamed Ryouga-chan
as she lunged around wildly with her umbrella, leaving shattered
telephone poles and deep dents in concrete.
Ranma dodged and threw a few kicks of her own in retaliation,
yelling, "ME?! YOU'RE THE ONE THAT'S GONNA PAY!"
"FOR ALL ALL THE HELL YOU PUT ME THROUGH!" boomed Ryouga-chan,
flinging a barrage of bandannas.
"WHAT ABOUT ALL THOSE TIMES YA SLEPT WITH AKANE, HUH?" Ranma-chan
shot back.
Some distance away, Akane turned red, a little with embarrassment,
and alot with anger. <I did NOT sleep with Ryouga! HOW DARE HE YELL
THAT!> "Ranma, GET BACK HERE!!!"
"FOR RUNNING AWAY FROM OUR DUEL!" Ryouga-chan plowed into
Ranma-chan with a shoulder rush, sending them both into a wall.
"FOR ALL THE TIMES YA MADE ME LOOK BAD IN FRONT'A AKANE!"
Ranma-chan pummeled Ryouga-chan's side with a chestnut-fist attack.
"ALL THOSE LUNCHES YOU STOLE!" Ryouga-chan ignored the punches, and
flung Ranma-chan away.
"YOU STILL CRYIN' OVER THAT, YA BIG BABY?! I DIDN'T STEAL FROM YA
*THAT* MUCH!" said Ranma-chan as she landed, rolled away, and sprang
forward with both feet extended.
"EIGHTY-SEVEN TIMES!" yelled Ryouga-chan, ducking.
Ranma-chan blinked. "You actually kept count?"
"DIE RANMA!" Ryouga-chan caught Ranma-chan by surprise, grabbing
her by the shirt and flung her through the air.
*
Ryo inhaled the cool evening air, idly observing the various
constellations that were revealing themselves as darkness took hold of
the land. He was standing atop a five floor building, enjoying the
scenic view of the night.
He turned, his expression becoming calm yet deadly, and said, "show
yourself."
He was greeted with silence. Ryo sighed, idly twirling his
umbrella, then suddenly swung it hard towards a cluster of shadows by
the rooftop corner, yelling "Ryugeki-ken!" A boomerang-shaped energy
blazed from it and slammed into the shadows, smashing into brick and
metal. As the ki flashed briefly, Ryo saw a shadowy shape jump high
and safely away, landing several feet away from him and in plain view.
"Who...." muttered Ryo, as he examined his visitor. The clothes...
western, British, victorian era, he'd guess, and all covered with a
fine layer of soot. As he stared at this person, realization dawned
on him. "You! Gaijin!" It was the gaijin girl that attended the
reunion lunch! Twirling his umbrella at a blurring speed, Ryo
approached. "Explain and identify yourself," he hissed, halting his
umbrella with it's blade pointed in her direction.
The girl looked defiantly at him, not intimidated at all, and
revealed her own weapon, a broom of sorts, seemingly normal, until he
noticed the brushes shone of metal in the dim light. She held it in a
ready position, watching him warily. "Where is Ryouga?" she asked, in
a somewhat stiff, accented voice.
"You didn't answer my.... Ryouga?" Ryo raised an eyebrow, much
like a Vulcan scientist would when discovering a fascinating new
killer virus. "What about Ryouga?"
The girl drew a line across her throat with her finger.
Ryo smirked. "You? You think you can defeat, no, kill Ryouga?"
He was somewhat annoyed at this new interloper. Ryouga was HIS to
observe, HIS to make suffer, HIS to hurt, and HIS to kill, once all
the amusement of making his life hell was gone. Who was this gaijin
girl to think otherwise?
"I am Tanya Noori. Ryouga..." she struggled for a moment, looking
for the appropriate word, "... dishonored me. He will be punished."
Ryo sneered, "it wouldn't take much to shame _you_, I would think."
"SHUT UP!" She swiped at him with her broom. He blocked with his
umbrella calmly.
Ryo was feeling the surge in him now. One he hadn't felt in a
while. The surge that came with crushing someone's very soul with
harsh words and equally harsh actions.
"Wait," he said, "Ryouga... dishonored you? Perhaps you are his
ex-fiancee?"
Noori tensed for a moment, pulling her broom as if to strike again,
then calmed down. With a withering glare, she said, "I see you did
not beat him."
His features went decidedly hostile.
"Perhaps I do better than you, yes?" she mocked. "I hear he always
beat you, so who are you to tell me?"
Ryo swiped forward with his umbrella, growling in anger. It was
easily blocked. Noori smirked.
"Ryouga is MINE," hissed Ryo. "You stay OUT of my way, and you
leave Ryouga to ME." He pulled his umbrella back and sprang down to
the streets below, clearly angered. Tanya glared from the rooftops.
{'ey's a bloody arse, the wanker...} She thought for a moment,
thinking of all she'd heard and seen this night. Ryo might prove to
be a costly distraction, especially when he might steal her primary
target from under her nose. No, that would not happen. Arrogant
bastard be damned, she was here to grind Ryouga into the ground. And
God help whoever got in the way.
*
"So, when..." wondered Ukyou.
"It starts next week," said Tsubasa, happily finishing off his
okonomiyaki. He was enjoying the moment dearly, knowing that they
didn't make okonomiyaki this good in corporate caffeterias. As he
ate, a few sensors in his mech/costume beeped. Tsubasa stopped eating
and listened, carefully.
"Tsubasa? What is it?" wondered Ukyou.
"Something's...."
Before he could finish, something crashed through the storefront
window, slammed into Tsubasa (and his costume), and sent them both
barreling through tables and eventually, into the wall. Bits of table
were everywhere, and the dent in the wall was severe.
Ukyou stared. Her restaurant had experienced a little damage
before, maybe a broken door chair or two, but this....
"Ow! Gedoffame!" Ranma-chan shoved the dazed Tsubasa aside. The
vending machine costume toppled over and slammed into the grill,
bending a section of it badly.
Ukyou's eyebrow began to twitch.
"RANMA! YOU CAN'T ESCAPE ME!" Ryouga-chan plowed in soon
afterwards, shattering even more of the storefront window. She landed
on a table (that was shattered immediately) and took another swing at
Ranma-chan with her umbrella. Ranma-chan caught Ryouga-chan's
umbrella hand and forced the umbrella to miss, where it smashed into
another part of Ukyou's grill, crumpling it to the ground.
In the distance, Akane could be heard yelling "Stop fighting, you
two!"
Ranma-chan kept a grip on the umbrella, trying to pull it away from
Ryouga-chan. It swung wildly, left and right, smashing tables,
chairs, and more sections of Ukyou's long grill.
"WHY YOU!" Tsubasa uprighted himself and set a target lock on the
two fighting figures. "DIE!" Suddenly, a barrage of soda cans flew
out of Tsubasa's vending machine costume, battering them both and
exploding on contact, spraying the entire area with cola.
Finally, Akane stomped in, muttering something about stupid boys.
The trio of boys-looking-like-girls froze suddenly, sensing a
supreme amount of female anger nearby. They turned around slowly.
Ranma spoke, very... cautiously.
"Um... Ucchan... why are ya lookin' at us like that?
*
"So, how's things nowadays?" asked Ukyou, sipping on some tea.
"Things are well," replied Akane, drinking hers, "very well."
"Refill?"
"Yes, please."
Ukyou poured the tea calmly, then set it on the table. The breeze
lifted her hair up briefly, and she sighed while enjoying the
sensation.
"Ukyou, what was Tsubasa doing here? We haven't seen him since he
was in the hospital," wondered Akane.
"Him? Oh, he's got himself an internship with Mishima Heavy
Industries. Mech design and all that. Just might end up part of the
permanent staff, he tells me."
"Oh... wow." Akane calmly drank some more tea. "You know... I
never thought of him as the type of guy..... that... well..." started
Akane, looking for the appropriate phrase.
"Hm?"
"The type that was into mecha," answered Akane.
Ukyou nodded in agreement. "True, very true."
The sound of people walking by filtered in. Another cool night
breeze drifted through their table.
"How's your sisters?" Ukyou wondered. "Nabiki?"
Akane smiled. "Well, there's this guy that's trying to get a date
with her... his name's Isamu."
"You think anything will work out?" wondered Ukyou.
"Sure, right, maybe in another reality," mused Akane. Both girls
giggled for a brief moment. "I don't think she ever really wants to
be tied down with somebody."
"Hey, how about Kasumi?" wondered Ukyou.
"What about her?"
"Any progress between her and Doctor Tofu?"
Akane sighed. "No, not really. He's too much of a nervous wreck
when she's around, and she doesn't try anything either."
Ukyou shook her head sadly. "That's a shame. They'd make a great
couple, I think."
Akane nodded in agreement. "I feel the same." A grin slowly crept
across her face. "Speaking of couples that might go well together..."
She looked at Ukyou briefly, then tilted her head towards Ryouga.
"What, Ryouga?" spat Ukyou.
Akane poked her teasingly. "Why not?"
"Out of the question," replied Ukyou with a smirk. "Besides, it
seems he's got a new admirer."
"Really?" Akane leaned forward, smiling. "Who is she?"
"I dunno, some crazy girl with a broom. Noori was her name. Must
be a fiancee or something."
From across the room, Ryouga shouted, "I do *NOT* know that
girl!!!"
"GET BACK T'WORK!" bellowed Ukyou, flinging a throwing spatula in
his general direction.
"Hey! Careful with those things!" he yelled back. As Ryouga
kneeled back on the ground and picked up some nails and lumber, Ranma
muttered, "told ya to just keep quiet and get this done."
"Shut up, Ranma," growled Ryouga.
"Shh! She's gonna hear!" hissed Tsubasa.
*WHAP**WHAP**WHAP**WHAP**WHAP**WHAP**WHAP**WHAP**WHAP**WHAP**WHAP*
"I said GET BACK T'WORK! NOBODY'S LEAVING UNTIL EVERYTHING'S
FIXED!" Ukyou swung her spatula menacingly one more time, scowling,
and made sure all three boys went back to work with repairs.
"Sorry about this, Ukyou. I just don't know what got into those
two today," apologized Akane. "For some reason, Ranma thought Ryouga
was hitting on me."
ednote: slept with....?
From the front where the boys worked, there was a brief scuffle and
some hissed whispering between Ryouga and Ranma, but a spatula
shuriken from Ukyou quickly silenced them. "Quit fooling around!" she
yelled. "GET BACK TO WORK I SAID!" She sighed once more as she sat
next to Akane again. "Boys, can't live with'em, can't live
without'em."
"Yeah, tell me about it," said Akane, smiling.
Ukyou paused, her mouth half-open in mid-thought. "Ah... say,
Akane, I got this idea, tell me what ya think..."
"I'll be glad when this is over," muttered Ranma.
"Shut up, or she'll think of something worse!" hissed Ryouga.
Just then, Akane started giggling. Ukyou's grin became dangerously
mirthful, much like a shark smiles before dinner.
"I think," said Tsubasa, "we're in trouble."
*
TWO DAYS LATER...
The Tendos and Saotomes sat in front of the television, with the
exception of Ranma, who was sulking in the back.
"Don't believe she made us do this..." he muttered.
"Oh, come on Ranma, it isn't THAT bad," teased Akane, while Nabiki
got the VCR set to record, and Soun and Genma smiled proudly at their
son's pending 15 minutes of fame.
"Here it comes!"
"Aw man, this sucks!"
-------------------------------------------------------------------
(camera fade in to TSUBASA in girl's uniform, standing at a typical
Nerima streetcorner. Cue somewhat hip-hop-ish beat)
TSUBASA
There's a destination a little up the road, Where the Saotomes and the
Tendos go, A place that's run by Miss Ukyou, The music wails and the
batter flows! Passin' out sake and okonamiyaki, Two hot griddles and
a spatula, Leave a tip and just lick your lips, a-just lick your lips!
(camera switches to Ranma and Ryouga standing in front of Ucchan's
with sunglasses and swaying to the beat.)
RANMA & RYOUGA
WHERE IT'S AT! She got two hot griddles and a spatula! WHERE IT'S
AT! She got two hot griddles and a spatula! WHERE IT'S AT! She got
two hot griddles and a spatula! WHERE IT'S AT! Two hot griddles and
a spatula!
(camera switches to Ryouga, walking through the inside of Ucchan's)
RANMA
It's a hot little spot at the side of the road, Where's the music's
hot and the drinks are cold, Members only, we emphasize it, Don't
break the rules or Ukyou fries ya!
(camera switches to Ryouga, also walking through the restaurant)
RYOUGA
Stay out late, Feel the groove, Ukyou, With her martial-arts moves!
Get all artistic with the sauce, Just remember one thing -- UKYOU'S
THE BOSS!
(camera switch to RANMA, TSUBASA, and RYOUGA standing in front of
Ucchan's restaurant)
RANMA, TSUBASA, and RYOUGA
WHERE IT'S AT! She got two hot griddles and a spatula! WHERE IT'S
AT! She got two hot griddles and a spatula...
(scene and music fade)
-------------------------------------------------------------------
"Oh god, I don't wanna go to school tomorrow," muttered Ranma,
dying from embarrassment. "This ain't fair."
-end pt 7-
- part 7 epilogue -
"Hey, Ranma, nice commercial, man!"
"SHADDUP, HIROSHI!"
----------- LEGAL STUFF -----------
"Two Okonomiyaki and a spatula"done by Ryan Mathews (thanks =)
modified from "Where it's at" by Beck
-end part 9-