Disclaimer: I do NOT own Ranma 1/2... If I did, I would have changed a few things ^_^

From the author that brought you "I Really Mist You," "Sub Zero," and "Misty, May, and I" is a new collection of stories based on my favorite Anime series of all time! Ranma 1/2... Ambezua presents to you: "The Ranma Chronicles!" Those of you who are Ranma 1/2 fans all know where the story last left off... A postponed wedding and a host of suitors to deal with, what's Ranma to do? Thankfully, I'm here to give him (and perhaps you, the fans) some closure to this wonderful story. So, without further ado... ^_^ This is the first story in the series,"Ukyo: Okonomiyaki is not Enough"... Enjoy!

Theme song: Dancing all Alone (in my Kimono)

Ukyo: Okonomiyaki is not Enough!

by Ambezua

edited by Gelidus

Ukyo, determined to win Ranma for herself and prove her femininity, decides to take a different approach to Ranma... One that may very well place them all in danger from the Okonomiyaki chief... Who will have the last say: Ukyo, Akane... or Shampoo?

Chapter 1: Dancing all Alone

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A dull silence filled the streets of Nermia as a lone figure stood beside a small street shop. A single drop of water hung from the overhanging sun-shade and glistened in the early morning sun, before falling and landing onto the young woman's shoulder. Her eyes were turned toward the rising sun, but her mind was elsewhere, contemplating the tragic tale of her life and of the one young man who had stolen her heart yet had showed no inclination of returning her affections.

She was Ukyo Kuonji, previously known as Ranma Satome's cute fiance, but currently she felt as insignificant and unloved as the drop of dew which had just landed on her shoulder and sensed to exist without so much as a thought. She briefly considered forgetting the present, and losing herself in the happy past the two of them had shared as friends... Perhaps all she could ever hope to be to him.

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A rustle and the patter of small, sandaled feet: the sounds of two young children without a care in the world busily at their everyday game of "Play Fighting." In an almost ritualistic regularity, the six-year-old Ranma Satome would manage to both outwit and outmaneuver his equally aggressive and unknowingly female play companion, Ukyo Kuonji. As the older Ukyo considered the younger, she could still recall the playful banter she and "Ranchan" would engage in as they played.

"You can't hide forever, Ranchan... I will find you..." the young Ukyo peered through a small shrub, nearly as thick and tall as she was. The forest was rarely quiet, especially when these two were in the general vicinity, but even so Ukyo felt as if there was something nearby which seemed out of place... and rustling in anticipation. As if perfectly on que, Ranma's distinct giggle reached Ukyo's ear, resulting in quick and swift punishment from the small girl.

"Ha, found you!" Ukyo dove over a small stump and into Ranma's hiding spot. Her small arms clutched around his waist as she tried in vain to pin him down.

"Ucchan, s-stop t-that!" Ranma giggled, reaching down and tickling her sides as he had done many times before. Unable to contain herself, Ukyo submitted to his extremely effective tactics and released her grip. With one of his signature grins of triumph, the small boy once again vanished into the sparse undergrowth of the forest.

"No fair, Ranchan... Get back here!" Ukyo cried out, giving pursuit to her playmate as quickly as her legs could carry her.

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"Oh Ranma..." the older Ukyo sighed, recalling quite clearly how captivating his smile was, even if others considered it a cheesy grin at best. Ranma meant so much to her, and it perplexed her to know how little she seemed to mean to him in comparison

"Ranma... Why don't you love me?" Ukyo whispered to herself, before letting her mind wander back to her younger days.

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"Ranchan! Come back down from there!" Ukyo called up to him, while standing at the base of the tree Ranma had managed to climb up into without any apparent difficulty. It was as if the young boy gained a certain amount of satisfaction from keeping her prize just out reach and any possible danger.

"Hahaha! You can't get me!" Ranma jeered, waving playfully at Ukyo from his lofty perch. Below, his little playmate had begun to lose her patience at his antics. She slowly reached towards her vest and took out her spatula, the one she often used to practice making okonomiyaki with her father. She held it in her right hand, and aimed for her friend, who was currently too busy praising himself on his cleverness to notice. With a quick flick of her wrist, the small tool flew towards Ranma...

"AHH! No fair... You can't throw things!" Ranma deftly jumped to the side as the spatula narrowly missed his side and buried itself half an inch into the bark of the tree.

"I can too..." Ukyo looked back up at him, fully expecting him to surrender himself before she had to throw larger, and possibly sharper, objects at him. Ranma, however, had different ideas...

"Then I'm not coming down, hahaha..." Ranma chuckled to himself, leaping to the safety of another tree before resuming his retreat. Ukyo continued to follow, waving her tiny arms in the air.

"Get back here!" she protested, as the chase continued.

---

"Even all those years ago, he would run and I would chase," Ukyo recalled, "I had no idea, however, that I would continue to chase him for the rest of my life..."

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"We will be best friends forever, right Ranchan?" Ukyo asked shyly, her small frame shifting in such a way that could be best described as fidgeting.

"Sure, Uchan... Why do you ask?"

"Oh, nothing..." as the young Ukyo let out a soft sigh, the older one did as well.

---

"Oh Ranchan," Ukyo cried out into the deserted streets, "Is that all I will ever be to you?

Ucchan, your little playmate? What could I have ever done to make things different? What could I have said to have made you mine? Why do you love the one girl in the world who would like nothing better than to see you in pain and misery? Why do you love Akane, and not me?"

Ukyo paused for a moment, and glanced back at her shop, the early morning rays just beginning to penetrate the darkness that filled the room. What did Akane have over her? Looks? Hardly... Ranma himself said she was the cute fiance, as opposed to the uncute one. Temperment? Akane would sooner beat Ranma senseless before he had actually ever said anything remotely worthy of the treatment she dealt out rather than say one kind thing about Ranma. Ukyo even admitted to herself that she had occasional outbursts of irrational violence, but no where near as frequently or unprovoked as Akane's. It most certainly couldn't be Akane's superior household training, for it was the exception rather than the rule when Akane's cooking was even remotely edible, let alone her housekeeping skills being tolerable.

Ukyo shook her head sadly, deciding not to try to determine the reasoning inside Ranma's brain and focus on the reason for her dismay: Akane herself. After all, it's wasn't Ranma's fault, right? Ranma's foolishness was a fact of life, something Ukyo had grown to both accept and even appreciate. On the other hand, the tomboy's mere existence and standing in Ranma's life nearly tore her apart. How she could ever be happy while that ungrateful woman held Ranma's heart in her hands, she could never reason out. One thing in Ukyo's mind become certain at that moment... Akane Tendo would need to be dealt with, and in such a way that would not alienate Ranma's affections from herself any further than they already were.

With a startled jolt, Ukyo looked around herself, suddenly aware of another presence in her shop... A strangely fermiliar feeling having lived in Nermia long enough to almost expect a crazy Amazon, raging Akane, or perverted freak to jump out at her at any moment with little or not forewarning. This morning, however, her visitor had a much more civil request.

"Eh... Ucchan? You there?" a laid-back, slightly irritated voice called out to her. The man standing not two meters away from her was the voice of her mind the spring in her step... the one that held her heart in his very hands. It was none other than Ranma Satome, a practitioner of the famed "Anything Goes Martial Arts" which had somehow managed to gather to himself not one, not two, but three fiancee's. In Ukyo's mind, however, it was not a wonder that he has so many suiters... perhaps it was more a matter of confusion that he seemed to only have interest in one of them, the one fiancee that disliked him the most.

"R-ranma?!" Ukyo had to cover her mouth to keep herself from squealing in delight. In a flash, she stood back behind her grill and smiled at her love as she had done many times before. Today, however, Ranma seemed less patient than usual.

"Um... can I get you something?" Ukyo asked, pleading all that was good in the world that he was not just a figment of her over-active imagination.

"Yeah... One seafood okonomiyaki to-go," Ranma sighed, taking a seat at the deserted bar stools with a casual glance in her direction, "Please."

"S-sure Ranma..." Ukyo hesitated to include her oft-used suffix to her beloved's name, "Honey."

On an ordinary sort of day, Ranma most likely would have made some indication of a mild disagreement with the addition of "Honey" to the end of his name, however, on this particular morning, he had something else to discuss... On a more important and personal level. As Ukyo carefully poured the okonomiyaki batter onto the pre-heated grill, Ranma looked up at her with a rather serious expression on his face.

"Ranma-honey?" Ukyo blinked, a bit startled at his intense glare, if that is what one could call it, "Are you alright?"

"I know your probably wondering why I'm here... To tell you the truth, I'm not exactly sure myself... but I have something on my mind, and I think your the best one I can talk to on the subject... You listening?" Ranma didn't seem to acknowledge Ukyo's question, and went directly to the point, "Akane sent me into low-earth orbit early this morning... I mean, come on... Could she at least let me talk before she hits me? Ok, that's not really what I want to talk to you about... It's about Akane."

"I know, Ranma Honey... I haven't exactly been the best friend to you lately, and I don't blame you for being upset with me. But believe me when I tell you that I can't believe anyone who hits you as much as she does, Ranma-Honey, could possibly have any feelings for you..."

Ranma nodded, and pointed towards the okonomiyaki on the grill before me. Ukyo had been absent-mindedly flipping it while the two of them talked, but hadn't noticed that it had already been sufficiently cooked several minutes ago.

"Oh, sorry," Ukyo said quickly, placing it onto a plate and handing it to him. He nodded, then spoke the words that she thought he might never say again...

"Thanks, Ucchan... I owe you one..."

Ukyo's mind swam with many different thoughts, her face slightly flushing as she considered some of them briefly before replying, "Don't worry, Ranma... That okonomiyaki is on the house."

Ranma's face almost instantly brightened up as he looked up at Ukyo, "Oh, come on Ukyo... You know that's not what I meant!"

Ukyo giggled, and waved it aside. Perhaps it was not a lost cause after all... If only she played her cards carefully, she might actually have a shot at this. As the two talked, Ukyo couldn't help but feel like she had once again regained a certain amount of trust and confidence from Ranma... Simply from being there when he needed someone to talk to. All too soon, Ranma had finished his breakfast and gave Ukyo slight indications that he needed to leave soon. Taking the hint, Ukyo took the plate from in front of Ranma and gave him a short bow.

"Thanks again," Ranma waved to her before leaving, "For breakfast... and cheering me up."

"Anytime Ranma-Honey," Ukyo waved back, "Anytime..."

As Ranma jumped up onto the roof of a nearby building and bounded away, Ukyo leaned gently against the doorpost of her her once again empty shop. She sighed in anticipation of their next visit, which a feeling deep inside informed her wouldn't be too far in the future.

"Soon, Ranma," Ukyo whispered to herself, "I won't have to stand here in the mornings, and dance all alone in the afternoons... Soon, it will be the two of us standing and watching the sunrise in the afternoons and enjoying the sunset in the afternoons together. Soon..."

Ukyo considered speaking the words, but instead only spoke them in her mind: "Soon, Ranma... I will be the only woman in your life."

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Ambezua: I'm sorry, but we have run out of time for now... Please, if you have any questions/comments/suggestions... give us reviews! Until next time...