============= Part II One More Time ============= Ryouga was having one of those days. Business was incredibly busy at Ucchan's, and it actually managed to drain his endurance. Then it was his turn to do the big cleanup, thanks to some overzealousness and a big gamble in a poker game against Ukyou. Just when he'd finished washing dishes, he accidentally splashed himself with cold water. To add insult to injury, for some odd reason, that night was the night that the gas wasn't working. He was stuck as a pig, and it looked like it'd be that way for a while. It had obviously put him in an incredibly rotten mood, mainly because he remembered all those nights as a pig... with _her_. And finally, he couldn't find his way back to his room. Ryouga sighed, his piggy ears flopping in depression, and faded into unconsciousness. A moment later, through a groggy half-consciousness, he knew he was being held. It was a welcome feeling. Nobody had held him like this since Akane. Then he got whapped by something cold. Ukyou was running her father's cart, back out in the open road. She was confused... didn't she own a resteraunt? She shrugged off the feeling, since she just didn't have time for that. The line was long, in fact it seemed neverending. "Yessir, may I take your order?" "Yessir? Hey, Ucchan, s'me!" Ukyou blinked. She peered closely. "Ranchan? Hey! What'll it be?" "Delux pork okonomiyaki for me and my wife," he said with a smile, pulling Akane next to him (seemingly out of nowhere). "Y-your wife?" "Hi, Ucchan!" said Akane. Ukyou winced at the sound of _Akane_ calling her 'Ucchan'. Who did she think she was? Despite these feelings, she found herself smiling and nodding, waving hello. The sense of a loss of control angered her, as she watched herself pull out the ingredients... Ryouga woke up quickly with a loud squeal and looked around in a panic. Something was hitting him, something was tossing him around. Ukyou struggled to get a grip on the okonomiyaki but it kept on squirming off of her spatula. It started springing around, as if it was alive. Akane and Ranma frowned, looking at her in shame. "Gosh, Ucchan," said an amused Akane, "what's wrong with your cooking today?" "Yeah," said Ranma, "it's just as bad as Akane's!" Ukyou's face was in a panic as she tried to stop the okonomiyaki from squirming, while her ears were tortured by the sound of Ranma and Akane laughing at her. "I-it's a temporary problem, really!" said Ukyou weakly, "I'll have it ready! I will!" "You know, Akane," said Ranma, "I think she's as much a tomboy as you were, maybe more." "Yup!" happily agreed Akane. Feeling a rush of panic, Ukyou looked at herself. There was something... something _wrong_. "Something wrong, Ucchan?" asked Ranma. Ukyou blinked, then felt around her chest. It was... alarmingly flat. Definitely too flat. Oh no... nonono... Ranma blinked again. "Heeey, Ucchan, you're a guy after all!" Suddenly, everyone was laughing at Ukyou. Ranma, Akane, Ryouga, the other Tendos, the guys from high school, middle school, and elementary, _everyone_, at her. Even the okonomiyaki was bouncing up and down. "STOP MOVING!" *WHAP* "BWEEEEEEE!!!" Bwee? Ukyou's eyes opened and she stumbled back and forth unsteadily as she woke up... standing... in the kitchen. "BWEE! BWEE! BWEE!" "Huh?" She rubbed her eyes and yawned. "Oh... Ryouga. What're you doing in the kitchen... what am I doing in the kitchen? How'd I get here?" Ryouga snorted a bit and looked at her crossly. "What? What did I do?" *snort* "I just don't understand you at all, you pig. Let's see about getting some hot water... oh yeah, the gas is out. Hm..." She sat down, thinking of what to do. P-chan sat on his hindquarters and lowered his head, ears slumped down as well. "Bweee." "Yeah, yeah, I know, but you'l just have to live with it tonight." "Bwee?" wondered P-chan. "I had the weirdest dream, Ryouga," said Ukyou as she settled into a chair. "I'll... tell ya about it later." Unable to sleep just yet, the chef and the pig stared idly out into the silent night streets. *** The next morning, Ucchan's opened uneventfully for the early morning crowd. Opening at five in the morning was something Ryouga would rather not do, but it wasn't for him to say. He was grumpy, which was normal, although this morning there was a new source which fueled his irritation. "G'morning, Ryouga," said Ukyou. Ryouga grunted an acknowledgement and started arranging the tables and chairs. Ukyou blinked, then resumed cooking the orders for a few customers that were already waiting. There was something different in that grunt. Ryouga must, she assumed, be upset about something. "Something bothering you?" "What happened last night?" he asked in an irritated tone of voice. "What do you mean 'what happened last night?'" "You were slapping me around with your spatulas... you were COOKING me!" Ryouga's face took on something of a sneer. "I was doing it in my sleep, okay? It was an accident. Didn't I apologize already?" "Ya hear that?" one customer whispered to another. "The lady likes it rough." "Funny, I didn't think she was the type..." "So... what was the dream about?" asked Ryouga. "Nothing, don't worry about it," answered Ukyou. Considering the way that Ryouga's mind worked, she should have seen the next comment coming from a mile away. But she didn't. "It had something to do with Ranma, didn't it?" At those words, Ukyou winced and gave Ryouga a mean glare. "I had a dream about him, so what?" she shot back. "I don't understand what you ever saw in him," grumbled Ryouga. "He was brave, and sweet, and..." listed Ukyou. "He led you on, he lied to you, he was a freeloader..." calmly countered Ryouga. "Oh shut up," sniped Ukyou as she tossed out some okonomiyaki to waiting customers with ease and started on new ones. "It's not like you're any better." "What's that supposed to mean?" wondered Ryouga. "Leeeeet's see," started Ukyou with a smirk on her face. "One," she started, lifting a finger, "You took advantage of Akane over and over..." "I DID NOT!" "...by sleeping in her bed as her 'pet'. Don't you deny it." Ryouga hung his head low in shame. This, of course, gave the morning crowd even more to talk about. "Boy, they're kinky." "That boy is a love slave? What a pervert." "Two," said Ukyou, lifting another finger, "you're totally untrustworthy with a girl's heart. How many times did Ranchan make you fall for him?" "Don't remind me!" "If you were REALLY faithful to Akane, IT WOULD'VE NEVER HAPPENED!" "Didja hear that? That boy has a *boyfriend* and a girlfriend!" "Kids these days, all perverts." "Three," said Ukyou, lifting another finger, "you always picked a fight with Ranma for no reason at all." Ryouga blinked. "No reason? There was plenty of reason! Thanks to him, I've-" "-seen hell, yeah yeah yeah," dismissed Ukyou. "Half the things you blame him for wouldn't have happened if you weren't so much of a jerk to begin with." "Hey!" "Then there's your total lack of direction..." "That isn't my fault!" "Whatever." Ukyou tossed Ryouga a mean grin, while he shot back a bit of a glare, then they both went back to work. "You were as bad as me," he muttered. "Ex-CUSE ME?!" yelled Ukyou. Ryouga pointed a finger at Ukyou. "You heard me." "I most certainly am NOT as bad as you were!" "Let's see... YOU were after Ranma too, for ruining your life. Wasn't that the reason?" he pointed out. "Thanks to him, you've.... oh... seen hell?" "Hey, that's different than- "Then you ambushed Akane while you were pretending to train her once!" "Okay, there was that. Shut up already, I give up." "Ha." Ryouga had the Smirk of the Righteous while Ukyou had the Scowl of the One Ticked Off By The Righteous. "Still... don't see whatever you saw in Akane," muttered Ukyou. "She was sweet, and gentle, and caring," said Ryouga, his eyes getting a bit glazed in sweet memeory. "She was violent," said Ukyou. "Don't deny that. You _can't." "Er..." "And she was short-tempered." "Maybe she was, sometimes," murmured Ryouga. "Her cooking was _terrible_." "Well, yeah. And?" wondered Ryouga. "And she'd kill anyone that would tell her that," replied Ukyou. "She was violent, short-tempered, cooked POISON, and... she was more manly than YOU." "Look who's talking, the girl that Ranma thought was a GUY for so long!" retaliated Ryouga. "You're more of a tomboy than Akane!" Ukyou fumed while Ryouga stuck his tongue out and 'biiiiiiih'ed at her. "OH YEAH!" roared Ukyou. "YEAH!" shot back Ryouga. "IS THAT SO!" yelled Ukyou, putting her face right in front of Ryouga's with the most angry expression she could muster. "THAT'S SO!" snarled Ryouga. "WELL AT LEAST I DIDN'T GIVE UP SO EASILY!" Ryouga blinked. "Give up?" "Yeah, give up. Did you ever tell Akane how YOU felt? No! You never had the GUTS! At least I tried my best with Ranchan!" "And your best wasn't good enough! So there! HA!" "Why you..." "And right now you're EXACTLY the same position as me, so a lot of good your 'best' effort did, eh!" "Ryouga you JACKASS!!!" Ukyou pulled out her Uber-spatula and swung in a manner that would make the baseball players of Japan proud. Ryouga was caught by the swing at full force, and flew off into the sky (at Standard Martial Artist Altitude (known as SMAA, which is why the Nerima residents would often comment on events like this by saying, "boy, he got smaahed")). *** Lost again. If Ryouga wrote an autobiography, he figured that would be the title. His life nowadays was like his sense of direction, incredibly unclear. Clearly, there would have to be changes made in his lifestyle. For the first time, he thought about the future. With no immediate concerns (such as a longtime rival or a love to pine over) he had not much else to think of. So he did what he usually did in times like this, which was wander aimlessly through Tokyo (he hoped it was still Tokyo) and let fate control his destination. He had to go to school again. This much was clear. There weren't much prospects for an uneducated martial artist, really. Not in this day and age. He hadn't gone to school for quite a while, and he knew that he'd probably have to take some sort of test to determine where he belonged... given the odd circumstances of his lifestyle. Of course, this was Nerima, and Furinkan did indeed have contingency plans for situations such as his. After all, it wasn't uncommon that wandering martial artists pass by Nerima and suddenly need education. Ukyou was proof of it. After high school, he didn't know. He shrugged and decided to answer that question another day. With the burning issue of the minute resolved, his mind slinked back to darker issues. In particular, Ukyou's words were nagging at him. It was incredibly embarrasing, the list of stupid things he did, and he hoped that he'd never do them again (or at the very least, if he did, that nobody would point it out to him). Then there was the matter of giving up. He had to admit, that was true. At least Ukyou told Ranma how she felt. Ryouga never managed anything close to that. _Damn you, Ranma_ he thought sadly, _and damn me_. His mind was soon locked on that issue... of giving in with a whimper instead of a bang, and by the time he walked by Hokkaido it was buzzing in his head like flies on a corpse. *** It was nagging at her. She thought she'd killed this issue already, but Ryouga's words were surprisingly sharp to her, bringing back the old feelings. Ranchan was with a girl that was less understanding, less patient, less womanly, more tomboyish, more violent, and was the only person Ukyou knew that ever managed to cook Primordial Soup (complete with budding new life forms). There was no way Ranchan could _possibly_ be happy with her. It had to be a conspiracy or something. They _did_ pull that trick on her once... trying to make her believe that Ranma and Akane really were getting along. Of course, last time it didn't work. They wouldn't be forcing Ranma to try that again, would they? No way. *** As sunset hit Japan, Ryouga was wandering back in the right city again (he didn't know he was ever in the _wrong_ city, he just assumed that parts of Tokyo suddenly became very rural). He really didn't notice this, however, due to his mind still occasionally echoing those nagging doubts. Finally, darkness covered the city, and this finally made Ryouga take a good look around. And when he did, he felt, at the very least, surprised. He was right at the gates of the Tendo Dojo. {The last place I wanted to be at...} he thought, looking miserable. "JERK!" "IDIOT!" Ryouga's eyes narrowed. That was Akane... and Ranma... fighting? He entered the gates cautiously and leapt into a nearby tree. From that vantage point, he had a perfect view of the main room. From that area, he could plainly see Akane having another yelling match with Ranma, although Ryouga was too far away to hear properly on what they were arguing about. An internal battle began to rage in ernest as he saw Ranma start yelling back at her in an even louder voice. She didn't deserve this, not Akane. He cursed Ranma repeatedly as the argument raged. Didn't he tell Ranma to treat her good? Didn't he?! Ryouga could watch no longer, and was getting ready to join the fray (and bludgeon Ranma into a pulp). Then there was silence. Ranma, looking a bit embarrased, said a few quiet words to a fuming Akane, who was turned away and fuming. Then, she turned to him with a softened expression, and said a few quiet words of her own. They walked to each other slowly, muttering what apparently seemed like apologies, then joined in a hug. After a while, they talked again, their voices becoming light and carefree, then became more teasing as Ranma ran from Akane cheerfully, towards the dojo, and Akane chased after, laughing. Ryouga could feel the love. It was slowly drowning all his anger in a sickening flood of love, generated by the loving couple that had raced off. Ryouga knew, what he just witnessed, it was true love. He felt tired. Revenge seemed a faraway thing. Anger was a distant echo. The time for fighting, he knew, was over. It was all over. Any dreams he had in the past, over. And he found himself almost ready to just quit. That moment of rare introspection was shattered as two feet slammed into Ryouga's skull from above. Apparently, both parties were taken entirely by surprise, as they both scrambled, lost their grip on the tree, and fell to the ground below. As he struggled to get up, Ryouga felt a solid *CLANG* on his head. "Ryouga you IDIOT! What're you doing here?" "U-Ukyou?" Realizing that they were obviously making alot of noise, the two scrambled up and into the night before Ranma or Akane came out of the dojo to check. *** "So, what were you doing there?" asked Ryouga. "Just passing by, that's all," replied Ukyou. "And you?" "Oh, er, same thing, same thing." They both sighed as they looked out of Ucchan's front window, gazing at what few stars were visible with all the city lights obscuring the night sky. "Hey, Ukyou, could you help me join Furinkan High?" "Join?" She looked at him strangely. "What do you mean, join?" "I... wanna go back to school." "Oh?" "Yeah. You might say I'm starting over." "Me too," she said quietly. "What?" "Nothing, nothing. We'll take care of it tomorrow, okay?" "Thanks, Ukyou." "No problem, sugar." She stood up, yawned, and stretched. "Oh well, guess I'll turn in for the night." "Hey, Ukyou," said Ryouga, his face looking a bit tense. "Hm? What now?" "I'm... sorry about what I said today." "Oh." She hadn't been thinking of that, and really forgot about it until he brought it up. Her mind was stilll somber from what she'd seen at the Tendo residence. Watching those two, it was hard for her to take, but it was clear that they were in love. Her dream was dead, long dead, and she realized she'd best start moving along in life. It didn't make it any easier to be around Ranma, and her feelings for him didn't just change instantly, but it was, in her mind, a small step towards moving on. It was also a good idea to not make any more enemies, and with that in mind... "I'm sorry too, Ryouga. See ya later." Ukyou left for her room, leaving Ryouga in the darkness, staring out at the infinite night sky. The world... was indeed a cold and lonely place, and big too. Science could back him up on this fact, since a great majority of outer space was cold enough to be lethal to most life forms on earth. At the moment, however, Ryouga was just thinking along philosophical lines. "Ukyou?" he said quietly. Ukyou was about to close her door when she heard Ryouga call out, desperately. "Ukyou? Ukyou? Where are you?!" Hearing the desperation in his voice, she quickly rushed out and found him still out in the storefront. "Ryouga?!" she said, rushing to him. "You okay?" "Yeah... um..." He looked distinctly embarrased. "Hm? What? Hey, what's bothering you?" "Could you show me where my room is? I can't seem to find it and I don't wanna end up sleeping on the floor here again." _This_ is what he was shouting about? Now where's that spatula... *CLANG* "IDIOT!" *CLANG*CLANG*CLANG* "DON'T SCARE ME LIKE THAT!" "Ow! Cut it out, you violent manic!" *CLANG* -end part 2-