By E-Type.
Herein lies the Disclaimer. I don't own any of the characters portrayed in this story, I just borrowed them for a little while. Their respective owners can have them back when I'm done. No money is going to be made off of this anyway.
Ukyo sat and looked over her grille in depression. Ranma hadn't been by in over a week, and she couldn't figure out where he was instead. She really missed the conversations they had over her grille.
She stood and walked back behind the grille, idly cleaning it while she tried to think of where he might be. She thought about checking with Nabiki to see if she might have some information for her, but she decided in the end that the Tendo girl didn't need any more of her money. Ukyo would like to get some more ingredients that she had seen, she couldn't wait to see if Ranma would like them. He awalsy seemed to like everything she did, except when she started to push the engagement. At that moment she had an epiphany. Maybe if she just stopped pushing him, he might start doing it himself. With that thought Ukyo finished up her grille, grabbed her spatula and headed out into the night, hoping to spot her beloved in one of his usual spots. A minute after wlking out her door Ranma came crashing down in front of her. He was currently a she and sported a mallet inprint on her face.
Ukyo blinked in surprise before shrugging eh shoulders and picking up the petite red head to take her back to her place and await Ranma's return to the land of the living. After giving him a splash of hot water she tucked him into her bed and waited next to him. After a time Ukyo laid her head down the the bed next to him, just letting her eyes rest for a bit. Only a minute she thought to herself as she drifted off.
With a start Ukyo blinked her eyes open and took stock of her situation. She was on her bed, nice and tucked in, a night gown on that she hadn't worn in a long time. Then she realized that Ranma was gone. And there was no note, there was no sign that he had been there. Ukyo scowled at everything in general and toward the Tendo dojo in particular. She rose, prepared herself for the day before she headed down to open her resteraunt.
After serving the morning rush Ukyo shut down a little early and deaded off to school. She looked around for her finiace, but once again he never turned up. Spotting Nabiki Ukyo decided that she had better see if there was an information available. She really missed him, and she wanted to know if something was wrong. Usually Nabiki gave discounts for emergencies.
"Hey, Nabiki, I got a couple questions for you." Ukyo said as she approached the middle Tendo daughter.
Nabiki looked at her for a moment before she grabbed her elbow and dragged her over to a quiet corner of the school yard. Ukyo was a tad startled. Nabiki wan't one to go for privacy all that much unless paid for. Than she started to worry. Thiis must be very serious. Finally hidden amongst the trees Ukyo started off.
"Is something wrong with Ranchan?" Nabiki looked at her long and hard for a moment before a small smile played across her lips.
"Well, he's not in danger at the moment. That might change, but there are some things I need to find out about you before I can tell you everything that is going on. First, if it came down to it, would you be willing to share him with one other wife?"
Ukyo blinked in surprise again. That certianly would be a different course. Now that she thought about it, she shouldn't be surprised that this might happen given how Ranma held his honor as one of his most prized things. One of his only things. And given how his father had thrown his honor around like it was just something that was used to buy more food with, Ranma would feel obligated to do something about it, even though it wasn't his fault. Like given all his fiances, there was really only one of them he could really get rid of, and that was Shampoo, seeing as it was her tribal laws that kept her from going back. Course, it made Ukyo wonder if Shampoo really did want to go back given how much she seemed to enjoy Japan, even though she couldn't speak the language very well, yet. Besides the company she could keep over here.
But that didn't really matter. Ukyo found herself not really too surprised by the question, and that made her pause. It seemed she had thought of that question in the back of her mind for some time now, only it was just getting let out into her conscious thoughts. The question was, could she share him? Was he worth that much to her to allow somebody else to get as close to him as she herself hoped to be? Looking at Nabiki Ukyo started to get a sinking feeling that it was going to be an all or nothing deal, as seemed to be the case in so much of her, in fact, everybody who lived in Nerima's, life.
Ukyo was mildly impressed that Nabiki had just been standing there waiting patiently while Ukyo had let all her thoughts run their course before she came to a conclusion. "Yeah, I would suger, if it really came down to it. It would certainly be better than being by myself. Heck, I might even like my co wife as much as Ranma, seeing as she would be entirely female and not view it as a curse to be one." Ukyo knew she was twisting Ranma's words around in ways that he hadn't intended, but seeing as how it was 'just us girls', Ukyo decided to try a little humour. Surprisingly, it worked.
Nabiki chuckled softly, her face relaxing into a genuine smile that fit her rather well, verses the smirk that usually adorned her lips. "I know what you mean, Ukyo. I know what you mean." Her face abrubtly turned serious once again. "Second thing. You're currently registered as a boy, aren't you." It wasn't a question.
Ukyo nodded, getting an inkling of where this was going and wondering how they were going to pull it off. She had been registered as a boy since she was seven, when being a girl that had her fiance run away from her had been too much for her father to bear and changed her gender. It was amazing what money could do for you when you didn't want to be hassled by red tape. Ukyo herself hadn't realized that until she was much older, but it was still a lesson that she remembered well. It just wasn't something that she was willing to try on Ranma, given how little regard he had for money, never really seeing a need for the stuff with his abilities to either live of the land or make a quick few dollars whenever he needed to with basic labour.
Nabiki started wrapping up her questioning. "You see Ukyo, if you were to marry him you would have to do it as the groom, with Ranma taking your name. If he married a Tendo she would take the Saotome name. Shampoo wouldn't really change given she doesn't have a last name. But that's beside the point. What I'm getting at here is that it would be fairly easy to get married to his girl side. She would just have to get registered, and with your connections I'm sure that could be taken care of quickly, especially for something of this importance. The final thing, though, is who does he actually want to marry. That's what Ranma is trying to figure out now. That's why he hasn't been by in a while. He hasn't gotten to you yet. He's been working the the Tendo's and now he's with Shampoo. It should start for you in another day or two, depending on how much they have to work today. Ranma is only counting time that he actually gets to spend talking with the girl instead of just working with her, like in Shampoo's case, or going to school like my sister and I."
Ukyo absorbed all of this and realized something. "So, has he decided on anybody yet?"
Nabiki shook her head in a negative. "He said he'd tell everyone what he thought at the end of it all. It's been almost sickening watching what Shampoo has been doing since she's been getting her turn. Akane was almost as bad. She was actually sort of nice to him, it was really strange. I think it would have been better if Ranma hadn't announced the whole thing, but he didn't consult with me beforehand. His loss."
That was when Ukyo realized something else. "Nabiki, I hate to be rude, but what are you gettig out of all of this? You haven't even charged me for anything."
Nabiki gripped Ukyo's shoulders and stared into her eyes, the fire burning in those dark depths arresting the okinomiyaki chefs attention better than any spoken word could have. "I'm wagering all I have, Ukyo. My family and the happiness of just about everyone I care about is resting on the events that are about to take place. No amount of yen is worth the happiness of my family or myself. Especially myself. I haven't had happiness since Mother passed away and I will do anything to get some of it back. So hope, Ukyo, that you never cause me to lose some if I happen to gain my happiness, or you will have more of an enemy than you will know what to do with."
Ukyo stood frozen solid, shaken from the intensity radiating from the middle Tendo daughter. Nabiki had a much higher interest in this than Ukyo had ever suspected. There was a heart buried under her sharp business sense after all. It had only taken the trheatening of everything that she held dear to realy get it to come out and assert itself before it was lost in a hollow shell. Ukyo felt incredibly relieved at that. Nabiki was certainly someone that would be almost unstopable if they lost everything but their drive to be successfull at something. Even at the cost of anything or anyone. Ukyo's father was an excample of what could happen to those that allowed business to take over, and Ukyo had no intention of ever letting something like that happen again if she could help it.
All of that was pushed aside for a few moments as she realized that Ranma was going to be coming over to live with her for a little while in a day or two, and she was going to have to get things ready for him. She couldn't just have him sleep with her, he would need his own bed. Well, she supposed she could have him sleep with her, after all, they were fiance's and all. Plus, it was something that had been taking up much of her time at night when she couldn't sleep. Just thinking about Ranma's chiseled body was enough to...Ukyo cut that thought off and buried it deep before it surfaced at a most inoportune time.
The Kounji girl quickly turned and headed off before the blush raging on her face became obvious to every person in the district.
Ukyo sat waiting patiently behind her grille. Today had been one of the slowest that she could remember, and she was starting to get bored out of her mind. It had been some time since her last customer, so when she heard the tingle of someone stepping through her threshold she looked up in happiness. And blinked in shock.
Ranma had just walked through the door with Nabiki hanging on his arm. Then she noticed the laughter Nabiki was just barely supressing, along with the supremly embarassed look Ranma sported. Ukyo removed her hand from her battle spatula, not even rememering gripping the thing and waited to see what happened. After another couple of steps Nabiki couldn't hold in her laughter and doubled over in mirth. Ranma stood there blinking at her for a moment before he blushed crimson, a chuckle coming from him also. He heaved a sigh before he started patting Nabiki on the back, for she seemed to be laughing so hard she was caughing ever once in a while. Ukyo smiled slightly once she realized that Nabiki was just teasing the pig tailed martial aritst. After a minute Nabiki calmed herself down and straightened, her eyes still dancing.
"Ranma, that had to be one of the funniest things I've ever seen." Nabiki said. Ukyo's eyes bugged out when she realized that Ranma hadn't yet removed his hand from Nabiki's back. That was something that she had never seen him do before. Usually he wouldn't touch anybody unless it was in a fight or it was the only thing he could think of doing. Yet, here he was, with no cause or need, with his hand resting on Nabiki's back. The pair walked over to the counter and sat before Ukyo, Ranma's hand finally being removed once they sat down. Ukyo's eyes remained widened when she realized that Nabiki had just let him do that to her. Usually she liked her personal space and wasn't very touchy feely, even with other girls. Let alone Ranma.
"Yeah, it was rather hilarious." Ranma said, a smile on his lips. He reached into his pocket and took out a small wad of yen before setting it before Ukyo.
She looked blankly at the money for several moments before she looked up at Ranma and Nabiki, her eyes flicking back and forth between the two. "What's this for, Ranchan?" Ukyo asked.
"To pay for the food that I'm about to order." Ranma said as if it was perfectly obvious, despite the fact that he had never paid for any food from Ukyo in his life. "You should have seen what happened outside just now. It was one of the funniest things I've ever seen." Ranma continued.
Ukyo could see how hard he was trying to supress the urge to roll on the floor laughing hysterically. She poured the batter while glancing over at Nabiki to see how she was reacting. Nabiki was smiling broadly, something that Ukyo didn't think she had ever seen before, and gazing at Ranma with something more than just mirth. Ukyo wasn't sure she really wanted to figure out what was in that stare, so she returned her attention back to Ranma before he started talking again.
"Yeah, I was walking along with Nabiki here when I saw Kasumi heading toward us. She was sorting through her bads and not really looking where she was going when Nabiki latched onto my arm and winked at me. I decided to play along and hugged her back." Ukyo finished the okynomiyaki and flipped it onto a plate in front of her fiance. He sent her his best smile while he grabbed his chopsticks, causing her heart to flutter. She would never get used to that smile. He continued between bites. "Just when we were a few feet in front of her Nabiki suddenly leans in and starts whispering in my ear. Kasumi notices this and looks at us for a moment before she realizes who it is, and she gets the funniest look on her face that I have ever seen. It was if she couldn't believe that I was actually doing something like that with Nabiki. I don't know why everybody keeps reacting like that, but it sure is funny to watch." He started digging into his food, polishing it off in a few seconds before finishing his story.
"Anyway, I was holding in my laughter when I suddenly hear Kuno approaching. He sees Nabiki on me and gets the same expression that Kasumi has. Now, imagine this, Ukyo. Kuno and Kasumi standing next to each other with the same expression on their faces. That has to be the strangest thing ever. Kuno turns to Kasumi to ask her something when her face returns to normal and she smiles at us. Kuno seems to have been physically hit by her smile and starts laughing. Nabiki and I know what's going to happen now and we were thinking about going in to rescue her when the unthinkable happened." Another okynomiyaki sailed to a stop in front of him, causing a short pause in the storytelling while he stuffed his face. "Kasumi frowned slightly at him before Kuno said," Ranma pitched his voice to sound more like the insane kendoist, "And who is this fiar maiden who seeks my devine person? Surely your presense beside my glorious self is your unspoken request for a date with me! Very well. I accept!' Kasumi was looking positivly sick by now, and I could see Nabiki was going to go over there and get her sister free when the unthinkable happened."
Ukyo leaned forward, wondering what Kasumi would do when confronted by somebody as stupid as Kuno.
"She reached into her bags and pulled out this stick of bread, but I'm not sure if it was regular bread. She wacked him over the head with it so hard he actually fell down, letting Kasumi continue on her way. Kuno didn't even say anything, I think getting hit by Kasumi must have really messed with his head. Hopefully it will do us some good."
Ukyo just shook her head, trying to hold in her laughter. For somebody like Kasumi to actually hit Kuno must mean he was getting worse, or Kasumi was being affected by all of the violence that constantly went on around her. Either way, Ukyo really wished she could have been there to see it. "So," Ukyo asked, "how was her swing?"
Ranma thought about it for a moment before replying. "Good power and execution, but she needs to work on her follow through. She obviously has enough to actually let Kuno feel it, even after all the things that have hit him over the ages. Must have been all the house work she does. That's hard work she does."
The Kounji girl boggled at her two customers before she fell to the floor laughing, holding her stomach. Ranma and Nabiki leaned over the counter, looking down at her. "You alright?" Ranma asked, looking a little worried. There were many sharp things that Ukyo kept close to her person. If she wasn't careful there would be many pieces of her left.
She waved him off, using the counter to try and stand streight again. She hiccuped every once in a while as she tried to get control of herself. Finally calming, she finished another two okonomiyaki and presented them with a flourish to her guests. The pair smiled their thanks and appreciation while they polished the delishous meals off.
"So, what did you two come over here for?" Ukyo asked while looking at Nabiki from the corner of her eye.
She was rewarded when Nabiki's eyes narrowed slightly in irritation. Ukyo gaped at this slightly. Nabiki was getting annoyed that Ranma was going to be spending time with her. What did that mean? Did Nabiki fall for him too? Was Kasumi now the only girl that didn't want Ranma for one reason or another? Ukyo shook her head, hoping that she had just read her wrong but getting a sinking feeling in her stomach.
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