Here's the second chapter. Disclaimer: I don't own Ranma 1/2 or any of the ideas associated with it. Rumiko Takahashi and Shogakukan, Inc. do. Rights in North America belong to Viz Communications ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 2 "Ranma Saotome?" I had to admit seeing him shocked me. When I'd tried to find Ranma, it'd seemed like he'd dropped off the edge of the earth. Even Uncle Hoshi hadn't been able to find any records after junior high. "Yes. Do you know him?" Akane asked nervously. "You could say that. In fact, I think I'll go over and catch up on old times with him," I said, reflexively reaching for my battle spatula. "Don't! I mean...." "What is it Akane?" Ranma and Nabiki seemed to be arguing quietly and were oblivious to Akane and I. Akane lowered her head slightly, refusing to meet my eyes. "Nabiki and Kasumi were going to stick me with the engagement, so I told Dad that I had a boyfriend." She had to mean me. "I, uh, I'm really not ready for a relationship right now, Akane." That was probably one of the biggest understatements of my life. "I know. Neither am I and that's why I need your help. Just don't say anything to anyone and everything will be fine. If Dad finds out the truth, Nabiki will get him to switch the engagement." "Don't you feel bad about sticking your sister with an unwanted engagement?" "I didn't plan on saying anything like that. It just sort of slipped out. Besides, I'm sure Ranma and Nabiki will grow to like one another." I sighed heavily. "We'll talk about this after school. Right now we have to get to class or we'll be late." "Thanks. You won't regret this." "Wai-" It was too late. Akane was already hurrying into the school. My most pressing problem though, was trying to figure out how to keep my secret, when Ranma already knew I was a girl. I decided I'd probably be fine if I avoided Ranma. It had been ten years since he'd seen me and he'd have no reason to suspect a male classmate of being the girl he played with as a child. ================= "Mind if I sit here, Akane?" Ranma asked, easing himself into the seat beside Akane. "Not at all. I'm sure Ukyo doesn't mind either." Great, I should have expected this. Since Akane's the only person he knows in the class, Ranma would naturally want to eat lunch with her. Looks like I'm not going to get a chance to talk to either of them privately. "Ya know, there's something about him that looks familiar." "Well, Ukyo did say he knew you." "Ah, that was a long time ago. I'm sure Ranma has forgotten all about me." At least that was what I hoped. It wasn't looking too likely though. "No, I do know you. You're...You're..." Ranma suddenly stood and pointed excitedly at me. "You're Ucchan from that okonomiyaki cart!" "Don't call me that," I said, angrily slapping his hand away. "So, the two of you do know each other," Akane exclaimed happily. "Yeah, me and Ucchan were friends back when we were kids." "I said not to call me that!" "Huh? What's wrong, Ucchan?" "Don't pretend you don't know, Ranma. What you did on the day you left ended our friendship forever." I'd risen to my feet as well, and gestured at Ranma with my spatula, to emphasize my words. "Just what did you do to Ukyo, Ranma?" Akane asked, her voice heavy with suspicion and tinged with hostility. "I don't remember anything. Come on , Ucc- Ukyo, can't we talk about this?" "I don't want anything to do with you, Ranma. If you don't leave me alone you'll regret it!" That finished our conversation, but I could here the other students around us begin to whisper. ================= "What did Ranma do, Ukyo?" Akane's voice was more compassionate than when she'd asked Ranma the same question, but no less determined. I was surprised that she'd managed to wait until we were nearly at the school gates. "I'd prefer to put it all behind me." Brave words, but I could tell that I wasn't going to. Not when I'd see Ranma every day. "Are you dating Ukyo? "Do you have a boyfriend?" "Akane you said you despised boys." "Who said we were dating?" Akane raged at the crowd that suddenly surrounded us. "You mean it's not true?" a cool voice asked, as Nabiki pushed her way through the mob, Ranma by her side. "Of course-. I mean we aren't that serious." Akane must have realized the same thing that I had. We'd been set up. "You're dating Akane, Ucchan? You could do way better than a tomboy like her," Ranma said, suddenly appearing beside me. "I told you to leave me alone, Ranma!" I swung my spatula around in a wide arc, an attack that Ranma avoided by casually leaning backwards. "Incredible! He's just as good as Kuonji." I scowled at the light-haired boy who'd made the comment. I hadn't even been trying to hit Ranma "I don't want to fight, Ukyo." "Scared? Stop acting like a girl." "Nobody calls me a girl and gets away with it!" Ranma clenched his fists and took a step forward. "What's-" Suddenly, a heavy book bag slammed into my face knocking me to the ground. "Sorry, Ukyo. I was aiming for Ranma." I uttered a heartfelt groan. Ranma was a jerk, but he was right about one thing. Akane was a tomboy. ================= "It's not a big deal. I don't need to see a doctor." Akane certainly was sorry that she'd hurt me. Not only had she apologized, she'd practically dragged me off to see her family physician. I'd managed to dig in my heels at the door to the clinic though. "Stop being such a baby. That's a nasty bruise and you should have it looked at." "Well, Akane. What seems to be the problem? I hope you're not injured again." The bespectacled young man certainly wasn't what I expected. However, it seemed that Akane thought highly of him. "Hello, Dr. Tofu. No, sir, I haven't been- I mean, Ukyo is the one that got hurt." "So I see. Come in and I'll have a look at it." I didn't have much of a choice after that, so I soon found myself sitting in his examination room. "That's quite a bruise. How did you manage to pick it up?" "Someone accidentally hit me in the face with a book bag." "Akane, right?" "What?" Luckily, Akane's sudden exclamation covered the choking sound I made. "With a bruise this size, who else could it be?" "Um, well..." Akane clasped her hand uncomfortably and looked away. "Akane isn't that bad, Doctor." "You mean it really was Akane? I was just joking. There's nothing wrong with being active, though." "That's right." "Glad to hear you agree. Now just hold still a moment and I'll put this salve on." Dr. Tofu reached out to adjust the angle of my head, and then his hands paused abruptly. After a moment, he started moving again and began rubbing the salve on. "You're Akane's friend, aren't you?" "Yes, I suppose so." "Then you know that honesty is very important to any friendship. It's not a good idea to keep any unnecessary secrets." "What do you mean, Dr. Tofu?" My whole body felt like it turned to ice at the sound of Akane's voice. "Oh, nothing really. Just giving a little advice. There, I'm all done. You can go now, Ukyo." "Thank you. I'll keep what you said in mind." It took an effort of will to keep from running out of the office but I managed. The doctor was right though; I'd have to tell Akane sometime, just not now. ================= The next morning came far too early for my taste. I still hadn't decided what to do about Akane, let alone Ranma. Then there was Nabiki. She must have been the one to tell other students that Akane and I were a couple. Bluntly, I was in no mood to deal with Kuno and the rest of Akane's fan club. Sure enough, there came the horde...running straight past Akane towards me. "What the?" It didn't really matter. Akane had gone through this by herself before I arrived and I could do the same. It was over in a few seconds, unconscious bodies strewn across the school yard. "Villain! The hour of judgment is at hand." Kuno declaimed, posing dramatically. "I should've known that this was your fault." "One such as you could never defeat Akane and win the right to date her. I shall prove your treachery upon your body." "Did it ever occur to you that Akane doesn't want to be beaten up?" I asked wearily. "Never! A tigress such as Akane can only be won through force of arms!" Kuno cried, charging forward. This time I had the timing down right. Just before he came within striking distance, my spatula connected with his skull and stopped him in his tracks. "I told you that Akane was more trouble than she was worth." Without looking at Ranma, I holstered my spatula and trudged into the school. ================= I managed to avoid talking to Ranma for the rest of the day, but there was someone I needed to speak to. It was beginning to seem that Ranma didn't know my true gender, but there was someone who did. Mustering my resolve, I knocked firmly on the door to the Tendos' house. Within moments, the door slid open. "Oh hello, Ukyo. Are you here to see Akane?" Kasumi asked politely. "No. I need to speak to Genma Saotome." "Follow me. I'll see if he's available." As I followed Kasumi into the living room, I wondered if there was the hint of a frown on her face and a tinge of displeasure in her voice. I doubted it. "Mr. Saotome, there's someone here to see you," Kasumi said, addressing the shorter of the two men sitting at the shogi board. "Who is it, Kasumi?" Genma didn't really look any different than I remembered. Maybe he was a little older and a little flabbier, but just a little. "It's me. Ukyo Kuonji." Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nabiki descend part way down the staircase and then start back up when she caught sight of me. "U-Ukyo. Just wait a second. I can explain everything," Genma stuttered, his face pale. "I don't want any explanations. I'm just here to say I don't want anything to do with you or your son ever again." "Saotome, is there something I should know about?" Soun Tendo growled. "Absolutely nothing. Just some matters best left in the past." Genma gave me a sickly grin that I did my best to ignore. "I couldn't agree more." "I don't. You said something happened on the day I left, but I don't remember anything. Just waving at you from the top of your yattai, as you ran after me." Ranma scratched his head in puzzlement. "There's something wrong about that." "Sounds to me like you stole her family's yattai," Nabiki commented, stepping out from behind her fiancé. "That's not true! Ukyo's father-" "Shut up!" I yelled, bringing my spatula down on Genma's head. The impact sent a satisfying tremor back through the spatula and into my arms as Genma sank to his knees. A curious sense of inevitability came over me. I'd tried to avoid this and I'd thought it wouldn't solve anything, but it was happening anyway. "I'm challenging you, Ranma. We're going to finish this." "Do you want time to get ready? I'm not going to make this easy for you." I shook my head. "No. Lets do it now." ================= The almost dreamlike clarity persisted as Ranma and I stood across from one another in the Tendos' yard. I automatically assessed the terrain. The koi pond in particular would be a significant obstacle. The Tendos and Genma, watching from the patio wouldn't. Satisfied, I set myself and waited for Ranma's attack. It didn't come. Ranma remained in the same relaxed, unready stance. "If that's the way you want it." Rushing forward, I launched a short downward chop at Ranma's head. It whistled by the end of Ranma's nose as he took a short step backwards. My next blows seemed to miss by ever smaller margins but Ranma remained casual." "You're not bad." As he spoke, Ranma leapt over a sweeping sideways strike and then twisted like a snake in midair to avoid my follow through. "Good enough to beat you," I snarled, as Ranma danced away from my attacks like a phantom. Waiting for me to tire or overextend myself, I realized. With my teeth bared, I struck at Ranma with every ounce of my strength. Then, even as my spatula passed through the space Ranma had occupied, I began to wrench it around, fighting the momentum of my own weapon to reverse its path. To me it happened in slow motion, although to the watchers it must have been almost a blur. Ranma launched himself towards me in a flying kick, while my spatula lazily retraced its course. Even the dual impact, as Ranma's foot slammed into my jaw and the flat of my blade connected with his chest, seemed to stretch over a dozen heartbeats. Then the moment was over. I crashed into the ground, while Ranma flew backwards in a graceful arc. Using my spatula as a lever, I clambered to my feet just as the waves from Ranma's impact in the koi pond began to subside. I noticed something was wrong right away. The person climbing out of the pond had the same clothes and hair as Ranma, but was a lot shorter and more curved. "Ranma? You-you're a..." "A girl? I know you've suffered, Ukyo, but look at me cursed with this body, yet I take it in stride. If you still want revenge, go ahead. I won't stop you." "Fine by me." "Wha-" While Ranma stood frozen in surprise, I wound up for another swing. "Hold it!" Suddenly, Ranma wasn't the only person frozen as Nabiki stepped off the patio and angrily stalked towards us. "Nabiki? Stay out of this. It's none of your business." "Try growing a spine, Ranma. None of this is your fault and the two of you know it." There it was. The realization that had ended my quest for vengeance the first time. It wasn't Ranma's fault and it wasn't mine. "She's right. I suppose I'll be going," I said, sheathing my spatula. "The only one I can blame is Genma and I don't see him around." #That's right, I'm just a panda.# I stared at the huge black and white animal holding the sign in disbelief for a moment before shaking my head. I didn't want to know. "Come on, Ucchan. I want to make this up to you." "Well, you could pay my family back the cost of the yattai." Ranma scratched the back of he-, I mean his head in embarrassment. "Er-, I don't exactly have that much money." "I guess you'll need a job then." I tried to hide my grin and failed miserably. "I have the perfect idea." ================= "That's so cool," I said, raising a kettle of hot water and preparing to pour the contents over Ranma. Even after several demonstrations, the though of water-based curses was still hard to swallow. "Hey, stop doing that!" "Sure. You make a cute girl anyway." With an angry scowl, Ranma snatched the kettle out of my hand and poured the hot water over himself. "Anyway, if you want to pay me back, how about working off the cost of the yattai in my restaurant? Does that sound fair?" "I guess so," Ranma answered uncertainly. "And how long do you think that would take?" Nabiki asked, settling herself onto the porch beside Ranma. I performed a quick series of calculations in my head. "Around three years, I guess." Nabiki raised an eyebrow while Ranma squawked incoherently. "I had to figure in the interest," I protested. "It's still absurd. Three months is more than fair." "Don't I get a say in this?" Nabiki paused to consider Ranma's question. "No." "All right. I suppose it isn't really Ranma's fault." "Ranma works five days a week. He gets Mondays and Wednesdays off." "Mondays and Thursdays. Wednesdays are busy. What about tips?" "He keeps them. He does need some spending money." I had a pretty good idea who Ranma would be spending that money on. "Deal. I'll provide the uniform." With a smile, Nabiki reached out and shook my hand. "A pleasure doing business." ================= Well, now you know why I'm sitting here in the middle of the night writing a letter I'll probably never send. I suppose if I was being honest with myself I'd call this a journal or a diary. Since I don't feel any need to be honest, I'll probably be writing to you again in the future. End Chapter Two Prereaders David Johnston Ranma