All characters TM & copyright 1996 by Rumiko Takahashi
W*ING Higley Presents:
Melted Hearts
Part 2: Clearing Out Dead Wood
Ucchan�s was not a happy place. It hadn�t been in the three days since it�s proprietor, Ukyo �Ucchan� Kuonji had discovered her fianc�e, Ranma Saotome, sharing a passionate kiss with Nabiki Tendo.
This fact was not lost on Ranma as he entered the restaurant that Thursday morning.
Konatsu grimaced when he was Ranma enter. Part of him was delighted that Ranma had betrayed Ukyo, the other part was angered that he had hurt his Ukyo-sama.
The restaurant was empty, which wasn�t too surprising at it was still early in the morning.
�Uhh, Ukyo-sama...�
Ukyo turned from the grill, then stared at where Konatsu was pointing. The look of sheer guilt on Ranma�s face was all Ukyo needed to reignite the anger that had been slowly building since the scene at the collapsed building. �What do you want, Ranma?� Her voice practically oozed hatred.
Ranma winced as she called him �Ranma� instead of �Ranchan.� �I, uh, I came to talk to you about our engagement.� He found it hard to look her in the eyes.
�You mean the end of our engagement, don�t you? Unless what I saw in that pit on Monday was a mirage.�
Ranma nodded. �Nabiki and I got engaged yesterday.�
�Why? Is she blackmailing you or something.�
He shook his head. �It ain�t nothin� like that. We just....we just realized in that pit that
we cared about each other.�
Now Ukyo became really angry. �Oh, come on Ranma! You can be so dense sometimes. How can the two of you come to care about each other like that in a little over three hours! Besides, you�re supposed to love me!�
Ranma sighed. He was not going to let this conversation/argument head where he knew it was headed. �Uccha....Ukyo, it wasn�t just that time in the pit. But that day, when we thought we were goin� to die, we opened up to each other. We realized that we had been attracted to each other since we first met. We just weren�t able to admit it �till now.�
There was silence for a moment. �And, about loving you. Ukyo, I do love you, but only as a sister. I can�t be your boyfriend, or your fianc�e. I�m sorry.�
Ukyo nodded. �I was afraid you�d say that. But that brings us to a problem. You see, Ranchan, if you�re not my fianc�e, than you�re not my friend either.�
�What?� Ranma said, astonished.
�I...I�m sorry, Ranma. But I can�t be around you unless it�s as your fianc�e. I�ve kept this facade up for far too long.� Tears began to flow, and Ukyo found she had a hard time keeping her knees straight. �I love you, Ranma, I really do. But you can�t, won�t, return my love. I�m sorry, but I can�t be around you any longer. It would be just too painful�
She collapsed, finally. Konatsu rushing to her side to try and comfort her. Glaring at Ranma he said, �I think you�d better leave now, Saotome-san. Lest you wish to hurt your supposed �best friend� anymore.�
Ranma stood there, agape.
�LEAVE!�
Nodding sadly, Ranma turned and left.
Outside, Nabiki waited across the street, out of view of the front of the restaurant. Her worst fears were confirmed as Ranma walked out of Ucchan�s, his face downcast. As he approached her, he buried his face in her shoulder and hugged her tight.
�She....she doesn�t want to be my friend anymore. She hates me.�
Nabiki winced as Ranma emitted a muffled sob. Holding him tight, she tried her best to comfort the pig-tailed martial artist.
*****
Nodoka watched worriedly as her son slowly trod up the stairs to his bedroom. She had never seen her son look more depressed in his entire life.
Turning to Nabiki, she said, �What happened?�
�Ukyo rejected him,� Nabiki replied.
�You mean she cancelled the engagement?� Nodoka wondered how that would cause her son�s depression.
�No, I mean she rejected him completely. She broke off their friendship.� Nabiki shook her head sadly.
�Oh dear. That�s much different.�
�Yeah,� Nabiki said. �I feel bad about this. I wanted Ukyo out of the way, but I didn�t want her to completely abandon Ranma like this.�
Nodoka put a hand on Nabiki�s shoulder. �Do not blame yourself, dear. If it�s anyone�s fault, it�s Ukyo�s.�
�Huh?�
Nodoka continued. �From what I�ve heard from Ranma and Genma, it�s apparent that Ukyo had a fantasy. A fantasy that Ranma loved her. Unfortunately, she let that fantasy become reality for her.�
Nabiki grimaced. �Still.....�
�Do not worry, dear. Give her time. Eventually I think we can patch up the friendship between the Kuonji woman and my son.�
�I hope you�re right,� Nabiki said.
�I think so. Now, what shall we do about the Chinese girl and this Kuno woman?�
�Actually,� Nabiki said, �I�ve already taken care of Shampoo. Last night in fact.....�
*****
Shampoo hummed happily as she mixed her ingredients together in the giant bowl.
�Greedy girl seduce airen. Shampoo no like that, so Shampoo make extra-special passion spice to steal back Ranma.�
What Shampoo was doing, actually, was taking every single love potion and passion spice in her great-grandmother�s pantry and mixing them together in a sort of �love potion cocktail.� It was powerful enough that whoever drank it would fall head over heels in love with the first person they saw, a fact that was not lost on Nabiki Tendo as she spied on Shampoo from inside a ventilation shaft in the Nekohenten�s kitchen.
�Shampoo, we�ve got an order for two bowls of ramen,� Mousse called from the dining area.
�Alright, soup be ready in two minutes.� Shampoo pulled two bowls from the cupboard, then paused. �Shampoo hungry. Have bowl for herself.� With that, she placed a third bowl down and proceeded to fill all three with ramen soup.
�Shampoo, you�ve got a customer!�
�Coming.� Shampoo grabbed a menu and bounded towards the dining room. Nabiki smiled to herself, all four bowls were identical. Unhinging the grill on the air duct, Nabiki silently lowered herself into the kitchen, grateful that her years of calisthenics allowed her to fit into the ventilation shaft. Making sure that no one was watching, Nabiki crept over to the three ramen bowls and grabbed the one Shampoo had intended for herself. Being careful not to spill any of it, she swapped it out with the bowl of passion spice.
Hearing footsteps, Nabiki left through the back door moments before Shampoo returned. From the window, she watched as Shampoo grabbed the two bowls of ramen and carried them back out to the dining room. When she returned, Nabiki smiled as she began to unwittingly down the bowl of passion spice.
After a few sips, Shampoo found that she had to put the bowl down and grab the counter to steady herself. Slowly, a burning passion began to consume the Amazon.
�Oh, no. What happening to Shampoo?�
She felt light-headed, no longer able to stand on her own legs. �Mousse,� she called, sealing her fate.
A worried Mousse rushed in. �Shampoo, what�s wrong?�
Suddenly, Shampoo�s head cleared. All she felt now was intense desire. Desire towards a certain black haired, bespectacled Chinese boy.
�Shampoo, what�s wrong?� Mousse repeated.
�Nothing wrong now.� Slowly, Shampoo regained her balance and began to slink seductively towards the duck boy.
�Uh....um....Shamp-....Shampoo.....� Mousse�s voice trailed off as the Amazon beauty wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. His glasses fogged over, Tofu-style, as the kiss lingered. His body went completely limp. Mousse had longed dreamed of this moment, and finally after seventeen years of waiting, his dream was coming true.
Finally breaking the kiss, Shampoo led Mousse upstairs, toward her bedroom. Mousse made no effort to stop her.
*****
Nodoka chuckled. �What did Cologne do when she found out?�
�I�m not sure, exactly. But my contacts at the Chinese Consulate say that Cologne notified them this morning that she was returning home, with her grand-daughter and her new husband.�
�Mmm, sounds like Mousse was treated to the Amazon version of a shotgun wedding,� Nodoka said.
�Something like that, although I doubt he tried to get out of it.�
�Now all that leaves is the Kuno woman.�
Nabiki sighed. �There�s not much we can really do about her, Auntie. We�ve tried to have her committed in the past, but her wealth and power keeps her from getting the help she needs.�
�That�s all right, dear. Two-out-of-three isn�t too bad.�
*****
�Don�t forget our date tomorrow, Ranma-kun.� Nabiki smiled at Ranma as they stood on the porch of the Saotome home.
�I�d never do that, Nabiki-chan.�
�I know. Now come here and give me a goodbye kiss.� Yanking him by his Chinese shirt, Nabiki began another passionate kiss.
Form inside the house, Nodoka and Genma watched the young couple with concern.
Turning to her husband, Nodoka said, �I believe it is time we had a talk with our son.�
To be continued.....
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