This story was inspired by Joseph Palmer's `Red' fic, but not similar in any way to `Red'. Thanks, J. "Namida no Okonomiyaki" -By WebDragon R1/2 = (C) of Shogakukan Comments are welcome, of course. ---------------- Namida no Okonomiyaki (Okonomiyaki Tears) Ukyo flipped another okonomiyaki to Ranma, who began to eat it half-heartedly. He was the only customer in her restaurant at this hour, all others having gone home or to work the night shift. 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 fiance. 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 did that to her fiance! Nobody! But Ukyo just couldn't bring herself to go out on a vendetta against Akane like Shampoo and Kodachi did. She just was not the kind of person to repeatedly attempt to injure or kill Akane. She and Akane were.....friends. Of a sort. It was only the issue of who gets Ranchan first that divided them. Otherwise, Ukyo would surely have considered Akane 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 still is her life. The sight of him playing with the food reminded her of how she had 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 had managed to escape her, dress up, and run to his room but Shampoo had followed him, naked. Faced with a dilemma, Ranma couldn't throw her out of the house while she had no clothing, a fact that Shampoo no doubt took into account when she had planned her ambush. 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, grabbed some clothing from her closet, and told Shampoo to dress up in Akane's clothes. Shampoo complied, but immediately after she threw herself on Ranma and held him tight. He had tried to pry her off, and when that didn't work, he tried to sneak her downstairs and out the door. But Akane came home at that moment - she saw Shampoo wearing _her_ clothing and hugging a thoroughly flustered Ranma. She had dropped her bags of newly-bought clothing and run to her room, crying. After telling Shampoo to go home, Ranma had gone to Akane's room and had tried to explain it all to her. He had 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 had 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 the 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. Kasumi, being as nice as she is, offered to give me a backrub probably she felt so sorry for me. I don't know, but somehow I felt that it wouldn't be the best thing to do...you know, take advantage of the situation like that to get one of Kasumi's backrubs. I dunno. To make matters 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 made 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 door at the top of the flight of stairs, next to the bathroom door. "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 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 sighed as 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 another sigh, his forearms resting on his lap. Ukyo scowled and went to the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind her. She undressed and began to shower. Ukyo felt the stream of hot water running through her hair and down her body, washing away the cares and worries of running her business, 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, put on her pyjamas and exited the bathroom, feeling like a new woman. Ranma was lying on her bed, reading the magazine she had been 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. , she thought. She read the heading and was surprised to find that the meadow was located near her old district. Evidently, Ranma had 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. Ukyo pulled the towel off her hair and let it cascade down her shoulders, still slightly damp from the shower. "I don't know, Ranma. Maybe it's just her", she commented disparagingly. "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 cards with me. Cheer you up." Ukyo produced a pack of cards from under her bed. "I dunno, Ucchan. I'm not really all that good at cards." Ranma said as he slid across to the other side of her bed. , Ukyo thought. "Let's see...do you know how to play Gin?", she asked as she shuffled the cards. "Nope. Isn't it some kinda drink, or something?" Ukyo grimaced and replied, "No. Well, what about....Crazy Eights?" "Nope." Ranma wasn't even looking at Ukyo as he replied, his gaze fixated on the print of the okonomiyaki on the carpet below, his fingers twiddling with the fibres. "Slapjack?" Ukyo was getting a little desperate. Doesn't he know anything? "Slap.....oh, you mean `Slapjack'. Nope." "Blackjack?!" "Reminds me too much of Nabiki." "That's `blackmail', not `blackjack'!" Ukyo bent the cards in her hands, frustration emanating from her. "How about poker?" "Poker? Well...alright. Beats sitting around doing nothing", he said as he sat up on the bed. "Let's make this interesting....let's bet on something." Ranma, always a sucker for a challenge, nodded his head and said, "What can we bet on?" Ukyo smiled. He is so naive sometimes. "Oh, I don't know. I'd bet on money, but you don't have any, right?" He shook his head. Well...what do you think?" "Ummm....it's up to you, Ucchan. Whatever you say, goes." He sighed and his right hand reached up to his throbbing cheek, but, again, it fell away before it could touch the tender skin. "Alright, Ranchan. Let's bet on clothing." "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. , 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 ten minutes was spent playing strip poker, with neither side really gaining much of an advantage, to Ukyo's surprise. 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. , she thought as she looked at him. As if the CD was the last straw, Ranma's resistance to Ukyo's dogged attempts to win broke down and crumbled. She finally scored the winning point in the game. She looked at Ranma, who was sweating profusely and staring at his losing hand. , she thought, 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 clothes 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 summer sky above us And the earth beneath our feet......"> Ukyo manages to get Ranma's boxers an inch down, but Ranma pulls them 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 and relive the moments of childhood again..."> 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. <"Even though reality pulls our hopes back to earth....."> 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. * * * <"Let us run once more through our memories... Feeling the summer sky above us......"> Ukyo unclenched her hands from Ranma's, while looking up at his face, 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 her eyes.... <"And the earth beneath.....our feet...."> Ranma's nose touched the tip of Ukyo's own. In breathless wonder at the beauty beneath him, Ranma let Ukyo turn his head slightly and she began to touch her lips to his..... "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 shivering with fear, hiding under the bed. Ukyo smoothed her hair and stomped out the door. , she thought furiously as she leapt down the stairs three steps 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. , 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", said Ukyo in an effort to comfort her. "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. , Ukyo thought, . 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 with all the thoughtless and senseless things he did. Ranma. Akane's 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 know that he...he wouldn't betray you, Akane. You knew it before and you know it now. Go home and get some sleep. You look a mess. Then the both of you come back tomorrow and have some okonomiyaki on me, alright?" 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. You're not like Shampoo or Kodachi. 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. The two of them looked into each other's eyes, seeing what could have been....and regretting that it could not be so. On an impulse, her heart pounding, she grabbed Ranma and gave him a hug. After a moment's hesitation, Ranma slowly hugged back. Ukyo released him and stepped back. Ranma 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 havea breakdown. She refused to cry her eyes out. She won't cry. Not like Akane. She lay like that for a full half hour, fighting against that urge to weep. And shout. And break various things. When the flood of emotions had subsided in her heart, Ukyo got up on her bed, shivering uncontrollably, 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 clothing. She read her own writing on the okonomiyaki. "For my darling Ranchan", it read, in slightly mushed characters. She unwrapped the okonomiyaki. And she took a bite of it, tasting of her defeat. ------------------- Comments? -by WebDragon (kmark@odyssey.on.ca)