"How do I ask her?"

A Ranma 1/2 Nightmare saga side story.

By JohnnyReb

Timeline: between A Wraith in the Night, and The Long Awaited Moment

Quote: "Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up."
-James Baldwin

Sitting at the counter in Ukyo's temporarily deserted restaurant, Ryoga stared down at a tabletop calendar, tapping it with his finger. Even now, the Tendo and Saotome clans were bustling with activities, preparing for the special day that had finally come. Ranma's and Akane's marriage was quickly approaching on the winged heels of Mercury and it left precious little time for the Lost Boy to arrange his own plans. After much inner struggle, he had finally decided to ask Ukyo to marry him. It was the riskiest thing he had ever thought of attempting especially given how unpredictable Ukyo could be at times. He had hesitated for three days thus far and he knew his window of opportunity was closing. If he didn't ask her today, not only would the two couples not have a combined marriage but he might never gather the courage to ask her! It was now or never!

Smiling slightly despite his nervousness, Ryoga sat down on one of the customer stools facing the grill and placed his hand on his chin. Time had a funny way of creeping up on people, especially in matters they didn't want to deal with. It seemed like just yesterday he came to Nerima for the first time, eager for a chance at revenge. For two years after that he had chased Akane and fought Ranma at every turn and while it had accomplished him very little in the long run, at least he had finally found a home and friends to call a family.

{Ranma and Akane going to be married soon. I'm very happy for the both of them.}

A life of happiness was in definitely in order! They had all earned it! Weird and terrifying opponents had surfaced over the last year, throwing Ranma and his friends into the snapping jaws of danger and death on more than one occasion. First had come Saffron, the Phoenix-like lord who had matched Ranma blow for blow and nearly killed Akane in a titanic duel both within and outside the great Mount Phoenix. After that hellish battle and the failed wedding that had followed in it's wake, everyone thought life would return to normal. For a time, it did. Then Pantyhose Taro surfaced again under the armored guise of the Shadow Warrior and had nearly crushed them both on two separate occasions. No sooner had they recovered from that ordeal then two new threats, Wraith and his sadistic follower, Zero, had appeared. The enigmatic energy vampire had nearly killed not only Ranma and Akane, but all of their friends as well in a desperate bid for renewed life! In the end however, both of the menacing opponents were destroyed, ending what would hopefully be the last major threat to the lives Team Ranma would ever have to face. Everyone was exhausted and ready for some serious R and R.

Which brought Ryoga to his current conundrum. Over the last eight months hehad grown closer to Ukyo, the chief whom he had nearly throttled during their first meeting two years prior. Part of that shift of affections stemmed from the fact that not only did they work well as a team but the constant dangers that came to Nerima forced the due to rely on each other, stirring feelings previously absent. It was a plane fact that people come together during times of troubles and Ryoga and Ukyo were certainly no exception. They had saved each other countless times not just from enemies, but also from their own depression and anger that had nearly destroyed them both, Ukyo through murder, Ryoga through suicide. It was a unique relationship to be sure, but Ryoga couldn't have possibly loved any girl more. Ukyo was the shinning light of his life and he felt confident it was time to start the next phase.

{And now I'm ready to take the next step but....}

He was afraid to propose to her! There was no shame in admitting that. On one hand, he didn't think she would accept his offer on the grounds of the fact they hadn't been together long enough. But, on the other hand, he felt that he was ready in his heart. That part told him that if he asked, she would accept without a shadow of a doubt. And yet, as much as he wanted to take the chance and ask her, he felt paralyzed inside, unable to make the next move he so desperately need to initiate. His shyness was deadlocking his determination.

"It should be so easy... I already have the engagement ring and everything, I just have to say the words." He tapped his jaw, pondering his problem for several long moments. While his shyness had always been a hindering problem, second only to his terrible sense of direction, it had never affected him so badly before. He had to find a way to breach the last hurdle and fast!

"I'll just practice it a few times until it becomes automatic!" He got down on one knee and practiced his delivering pose a couple of times, trying to picture her reactions and prepare himself in case she said no. He felt foolish and gave up after just a few rehearsals. He didn't need Ranma around to tell him how positively lame he looked.

"This is ridiculous," he cried, slamming his hand down on the counter. "How hard could it possibly be to say 'Ukyo, will you-'"

His words choked up in the back of his throat and his hands dropped to his sides limply faster than Kurumi could polish off an bowl of Miso soup. {I can't even get the words out when I'm by myself! How in all creation can I possible gather the courage to say it to her face?!}

His eyes tightened and he grit his teeth. {Damn it! I've got to be a man!} He ran around the small side wall and into the kitchen and dropped dramatically onto one knee, raising his eyes to where Ukyo would be standing. "Ukyo, will you-"

"Will I what?" Ukyo stepped through the open doorway of her shop, blinking her large pretty eyes in confusion.

"AHHHHH!!!!!!!!!" Ryoga nearly jumped out of his skin. Spinning around, he lost his balance and slammed his head into the grill level cabinet which in turned kicked him off his feet. Looking up at Ukyo from the ground, his face turned a terrible shade of red. Weather it was sheer embarrassment or from the cabinet, he couldn't say for sure. He tried to climb to his feet but he suddenly felt lightheaded and his uncooperative legs went numb, slamming his butt on the floor once again.

Ukyo knelt in front of him and felt his forehead, cocking her head in concern. "Ryoga-chan are you feeling ok? Do you have a fever or something?"
Ukyo's soft touch after such an embarrassing moment only flustered his continued efforts to get a grip on himself. His consciousness slipped off it's footing on his brain and tumbled down into the bottomless pool that was his emotions. Panicked he couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't look into his beloved's beautiful eyes.

"Fine, yes…I needed… I wanted to… Milk! Yes! Going out to get milk! I'll be back!" With all the strength he could muster, he bolted for the door, screaming through the streets with power he had previously lacked.

"Ryoga, wait! You'll get…" She rushed to the doorway, hoping her words could reach him. As she peeked her head outside of the doorway however, she realized there was no way he could have heard her.

"Lost…"

Her soft lips turned down into a concerned frown and she placed her hands on her hips. "What in the world was that about? He knew perfectly well I had three more gallons of milk in the secondary fridge! I swear, sometime I think I'll never understand him!"

____________________________________________________________________________

At speeds that put both Speedy and the Road runner to shame, Ryoga hurled himself down the street, lowering his head in shame. {She walked in at the worst possible time! This is too much to handle…}

Humiliation was nothing new to Ryoga. At the hands of Ranma and his own clumsy nature, he had set himself up as a laughing stock on countless occasions. His emotions were his own worst enemy and his former nemesis had used various disguises to play on his weakness many times in the past, bringing him even further torment. He had been though so much he thought nothing could get to him anymore.

How wrong he was. His embarrassing display before Ukyo wasn't just a bad moment, it could very well prove to be catastrophic. The way he had handled it had only damaged things further. Ukyo was suspicious of him now, eliminating his plan of surprising her. Not only that but if he continued to act too weird she could very well freak out and face her rejection outright.

He was walking a fine line between bliss and destruction. One wrong step and he could ruin everything he had strived so hard to accomplish! He felt angry with himself at his timid attitude. He had never been able to control his emotions and it was driving him crazy.

Almost without thinking he found a small park and sat down, watching the children play around him as his mind whirled. Ukyo was no fool, as strange as he acted, she had, or would, certainly piece things together. He knew he had to act before she clued in on things.

He had started leaving her subtle hints over the last few weeks. He'd started asking her questions, planning and preparing his assault using the information she'd give him. After this fiasco, he knew he was working with borrowed time.

A pair of children threw a ball back in forth in front of him and he couldn't help but put his problems aside a second and smile. The life of a child was such an easy existence with little worries. Totally dependant on their parents, life was easy. The biggest decisions they had to make was what park to play in or what flavor of ice-cream to eat during a hot summer day. The problems and trials of adulthood weren't even faint thoughts in the back of their minds.

Ryoga's jaw tightened. Feeling jealous over the bliss of childhood wouldn't do him any good. The experiences he had survived over the previous two years were more than most people endured in their lifetimes. It was time he started acting like a man and put his childish fears and his intense shyness behind him once and for all!

Determination was a wonderful thing but he knew it would all fade quickly once he returned to the restaurant and gazed into her eyes…

Sighing he rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. He had to find an edge, a way to bypass his shyness. Ukyo wasn't going to wait forever and he owed it to her to come clean and pop the question. He was ready, he knew that in her heart of hearts and he was fairly sure she was ready, but he would never know unless he asked.

He had to find something to draw strength from to beat his shyness. Digging deep into his heart, he thought for an endless moment on a quality he could use to overcome his dilemma.

Fighting!

Ryoga's small fangs poked up from the depths of his mouth. Yes of course!! Why hadn't he seen that before! This was a challenge, a test of his will! All he had to do was focus and treat it like a fight, using his own shyness as an opponent!

A wave of confidence consumed him and he shot to his feet, smiling broadly. Why had this solution evaded him for so long!?

Throwing his lingering fears out the window, he ran down the street with reckless abandon, chasing his rekindled dream, allowing his feet to carry him as if they had wings. A blissful feeling found it's way into his head and he smiled, the solution to his greatest challenge had been solved and the weight of embarrassment and self doubt dissipated into thin air. Nothing could possibly take away from his happiness…

….until he realized he was lost.

Skidding to a halt he turned his head from side to side frantically. Panicking, he realized the area did not look familiar to him. It wasn't fair!! He turned down a side ally, pleading to the powers above to lead him in the right direction for once.

He caught sight of a girl with long hair turn a corner and his heart skipped a beat. {Ukyo?!} Dropping into a dead sprint, he peaked around the corner, not wishing to just run up to the girl if she was in fact a total stranger. He watched intently, doing his best to ignore the odd looks passbyers gave him.

Fate had decided to be kind to him for a change. Turning to the side, Ryoga saw it was in fact Ukyo, no doubt looking for him. Her concern for him almost made the boy cry out with elation but he remembered his plan and found his focus. He had to do it! It was now or never. Ever second he waited made him more indecisive.

"Ukyo," he called, walking out from around the corner and waving. {This is a battle, stay focused, don't give in! Stay focused!" With shaking hands, he took the small ring case out from his pocket and hid it behind his back, casually so he wouldn't attract her attention.

"Ryoga!" Ukyo sighed with relief and cocked her head cutely to the side. "That was close. You ran out so fast I couldn't find you. I didn't want you to end up spending the night in a tent outside Osaka tonight."

Ryoga smiled, shaking his head. "Sorry to worry you. I just had an important decision to make." {Don't lose it now, Hibiki, stay calm! You can do this!}

"A decision?" Ukyo blinked. "What kind of decision could have made you that flustered? What answers did you find?"

"Well, that depends on you actually…"

"Huh?"

Nearing the edge of his limits his emotions flared up and strained the very limits of his self control and composure. He fell to one knee, more out of weak legs then of actual ceremony. The city pedestrians stopped and watch him oddly, some with concerned looks on their faces. As red as his face was, it wouldn't have surprised him if they tried to administer first aid at any second. Gritting his teeth, he brought the hand hold the ring box out from behind his back.

{Do it Ryoga! You want to! Now!}

"U-ukyo…" he gulped. Taking a deep breath, he summoned words from his heart, and for the first time ever, his discipline won, Ko'ing his embarrassment, allowing his voice to function normally. "I've found happiness with you, more than I've enjoyed previously in my life. You've been a wonderful girlfriend and despite all the problems and threats we've been through lately, I would be lost without you in my life. I'm no good at expressing myself, at least not easily, but I have something to ask you. I was afraid to ask originally, but I realized that if I was going to be hurt and rejected, I wanted it to be done so by you."

He opened the box, allowing the ring to catch the waning sun. As he brought it up it sparked with a magical light, one that brought tears to Ukyo's eyes in an instant. "Ukyo, will you marry me?"

Choking back tears, Ukyo half tackled him to the ground, implanting kisses all over his face. "Yes, oh yes!!!"

The crowds on the street cheered and clapped but the happy couple barely noticed. As the sun lowered itself into the horizon like a dying phoenix, the two held each other and kissed the kiss of lovers. Neither wanted to move and neither did except to tighten their embrace of the other. Staring deep into her teary eyes, Ryoga felt the last of self control melt and he too started to cry.

Joy emanated from them both, pushing out the nightmarish memories of the previous battles they had suffered. Strong as evil was, it was moments like these that proved love was the only thing strong enough to dissipate the intangible evil that cursing their destines. Their love radiated out in the form of energy and in the Tendo Dojo across town, Ranma stopped in the middle of his evening practice and read into the energy, grinning wider as he pieced it together.

{Good job, Ryoga. You did it.} Whistling happily, he tightened his belt and headed for the house. "Akane, you'll never guess what just happened…"

The end.

Authors notes:

This is the second of three planned side stories for the Nightmare saga. I'm sure more than a few of you who are reading this will get that warm and fuzzy feeling. I certainly did while writing this. My inspiration came from my darling girlfriend Janine, for whom I've received many warm and fuzzies from. This story is dedicated to you sweetheart, I hope you enjoy reading it.

For those of you who really enjoy my series here, the completion of the third story is almost at hand. I'm planning to make this a six story series, with three side stories to boot. I apologize for the slow production rate as of late, but the army takes up much of my time. Thank you for your patience and I'm thrilled to have you read my work!

Any idea's, gripes, or compliments can be left at my email address: HyperRyoga@aol.com

Till next time,

JohnnyReb