Chapter 9: Scarlet and Mustard (Part 3)

~ All I ever wanted, was to be at your service,
But now I'm alone cause you were here and you're gone,

And all I ever wanted was to feel I had a purpose,
But now that's all gone

But if you could give me,
Just one love, just one life,
Just one chance to believe in mine
Just one love, just one life
You'd bleed for me, and I didn't dare to notice you,
Now I'm stuck out on a line.
Bleed for me, I didn't care to be with you,
Now you're stuck in my mind…~

- Bleed For Me, Saliva –

…Begin Transmission…

File: MI009

Date: Saturday, March 6th

Time: 17:15

Location: Fountain Café, Nerima District, Tokyo Japan

Subject(s): Subject 001: Akane Tendo, Codename: Scarlet; Target 002: Ryoga Hibiki, Codename: Mustard; Target 000: Ranma Saotome; Target 006: Ukyo Kuonji Codename: Plum

Target(s): Classified by The Butler (AKA Nabiki Tendo)

Objective(s): Classified by The Butler (AKA Nabiki Tendo)

Resuming Phase 007.003 - Date #1 (Scarlet and Mustard)

Resuming Side Mission - RMI001 – Date #1 (Target 000 (AKA Ranma Saotome) and Plum (AKA Ukyo Kuonji))

"I-It really has water fountains…"

"Uh-huh."

"Lots and lots of water fountains!" Ryoga said, looking around the café erratically in fear.

"Yes, Ryoga," Akane responded. "I do believe you've mentioned that several times now."

"B-But, I mean… They're EVERYWHERE!"

Akane rolled her eyes. "Honestly! What did you expect? It's called the Fountain Café!"

Ryoga didn't really have an answer for that. Knowing his luck it should have been pretty obvious that the 'Fountain Café' would inevitably be a café full of water fountains. Still, even if he had predicted it, his deepest darkest nightmares couldn't have held a candle to the reality of the horror he had walked into. The small restaurant was crammed to the limit with all kinds of active water spouting monstrosities. There were naked cherub fountains, traditional bamboo stock fountains, bird baths, and numerous other kinds of fountains, all in an array of materials and colors, from brass, marble and silver to lime green, periwinkle and fuchsia.

It was not done tastefully. The ridiculous eclectic arrangement had been thrown together in a seemingly random, gaudy order, and the floor for some reason was covered in sand. The best Ryoga could assume was that it was supposed to add some kind of unique element to the overall feel of the place. Unfortunately the only thing he was feeling was wet, clumpy, dirty sand seeping into his shoes. Plus, the menu was a joke. It only had four entrees to choose from. Being a café he supposed he could forgive that since the name seemed to suggest they mostly specialized in drinks anyway, but the fact that he'd asked for green tea and gotten a kettle of water and a tea bag was just plain ridiculous. "You'd think a 'café' would actually brew their own tea!"

Despite the fact that the place was clearly awful, it was completely packed with customers. He'd even seen quite a few foreigners in the small restaurant. The main reason he'd noticed them was because they kept staring at him and laughing. At first he thought he was just being paranoid as Akane had insisted on numerous occasions that day, but the more they did it, the harder it was to ignore.

And then there were the water jets. Who could forget the water jets?

"WAH!" Ryoga screeched as a stream of water shot in an arc up and over their table, missing his head by a mere six inches. "WHY DO THEY KEEP DOING THAT?!"

"They're supposed to be fun," Akane said with forced placidity.

"Who says that?" Ryoga whined while ducking under a second spray. He'd given up on predicting when the things would go off. The frequency of their spurts ranged anywhere from 15 seconds to a whole minute. This made them impossible to prepare for, and as a result he found himself constantly on edge.

"Ryoga!" Akane sighed. "Calm down! The water is not going to get you, okay? It's programmed to shoot over you, not at you. Just… Breathe… Relax… Okay?"

Ryoga looked uncertain but finally nodded. "O-Okay Akane. Sorry, I don't know what's with me today. I'm just nervous I guess," he said with a blush as he looked down. "Time to pull it together," he thought.

So far the date hadn't gone at all like he had expected. He'd always imagined a date with Akane would be like waltzing through a dream on fluffy clouds with rainbows and butterflies in sight. Instead it had been more akin to running screaming through a nightmarish maze that he couldn't find his way out of to save his life. It wasn't that Ryoga was not used to his own fair share of chaos and drama. In all honesty he hadn't been the slightest bit surprised when Ranma showed up, bent on ruining Ryoga's date with Akane. That was the exact treatment that fate seemed to heap upon Ryoga, and he was accustomed to a certain degree of it. However, he had always believed that chaos would be vanquished when confronted with true love. Being a romantic at heart he'd always imagined that when he was with the right person, things would just click. The planets would align, everything would go smoothly, and true love would prevail in the sight of any adversity. But the more time he spent with Akane the more he started to feel that things between them would never be simple, and never quite fit.

"Maybe it's because I'm not the one for her…" he thought sadly.

In his mind he violently lunged on the unwanted thought, attacking it with every bit of his imagination and beating it into the dark recesses of his mind. He would not give up. He would not yield. He would have his moment with Akane Tendo, even if it was the last moment he ever had.

With new-found determination, he turned his full attention back to the girl sitting in front of him and smiled brightly, prepared to dazzle her with his brilliant conversational skills and his sharp wit.

"So…" he started speaking awkwardly. "H-How are things?"

"Good. Good." Akane answered. "School's out for a little while…"

"Oh yeah, I was going to ask you how school's been going."

"Yeah well, like I said, it's out…"

"Yeah… Out…"

After an awkward pause, in which Ryoga frantically tried to think of another topic to address, Akane finally spoke up.

"So, speaking of school," she began. "Ever think of going back?"

"Me? No," he answered rather decidedly. "Hard enough to get through middle school when I couldn't make it there half the time," he said with a miserable blush.

"Oh. Yeah, sorry, I hadn't realized…" she trailed off and reached for her tea.

"Ugh. This has got to be the most boring conversation ever!"

"Yeah. Bor-ing…"

"Shut up!" Ryoga growled at Ranma who was sitting with Ukyo at the table next to theirs. "No one asked you!"

"I agree. Seriously Ranma, this is getting old!" Akane grumbled through clenched teeth. "I don't care if you go on a date with Ukyo, just go somewhere else and leave us alone already!"

"Hey, just because your date is so lame doesn't mean mine has to be. I happen to be enjoying myself, and I actually kinda like this place. Isn't that right Ukyo? We're having a lot of fun on our date aren't we?"

Ukyo rolled her eyes. "More or less," she muttered while looking over her menu. "Although this would be a lot more convincing as a date if you'd bothered to change back into a guy."

Ranma looked down to verify her statement. "Oh," she stated simply, reaching over to Ryoga and Akane's table to grab the hot water pot they'd been using for their tea.

"Hey!" Akane immediately protested. "Rude much?!" She shouted, snatching the kettle away. "That's ours! Get your own hot water!"

"Geez, Akane, what's your problem?"

"You don't like it, go somewhere else! I told you before not to bother us!"

"Ukyo and I can go wherever we want on our date. If you have a problem I suggest you leave!"

"Why should we leave? We were here first!"

"So? It's not my fault we just happened to show up at the same restaurant and the waitress just happened to sit us right next to you guys."

Ukyo decided to keep quiet about the fact that Ranma had bribed the hostess to clear off the table right next to Ryoga and Akane. Instead she slammed down her menu with an exasperated sigh. "Ugh! This place is ridiculous. There are only four things to choose from and they're all way too pricey! How is this place so popular?"

"Thank you!" Ryoga exclaimed in agreement throwing his hands up in the air. "I was starting to think it was just me!"

"No, it's definitely not you, sugar." She sighed again. "I guess I'll just get a melon soda or something. Stupid Hyakuen Shop cleaned me out anyway," she said crossing her arms over her chest and glaring pointedly at Ranma.

"Oh, no worries!" Ranma said with a grin as she pulled out several handfuls of coins and unceremoniously dumped them on the table. "I've got this."

"Where did you..." Ukyo started in confusion, knowing full well he had given the last of his money to the boy at the store. However her question was cut off as Ryoga lunged to his feet and pointed at the change accusingly.

"AH!" he exclaimed. "The Hyakuen Shop! The juggling! I can't believe you actually took that money!"

"Why shouldn't I? I earned it fair and square."

"You mean I earned it!" he said, reaching for the pile of money.

"No way!" Ranma said, covering the coins with her arms and rounding her shoulders to block him. "It was my idea!"

"But I did all the work!"

"Oh fine, here." Ranma pouted, producing a single coin and flicking it at him. "Now don't spend it all in one place."

"That's it? A lousy 100 yen piece?"

"Consider it a tip. And here's another one. Duck."

"Duck? What does that- AH!" he shouted, darting under the table, just in time to avoid the coming jet spray that he had been standing in the direct path of. Ranma laughed, Akane rolled her eyes, Ukyo sighed, and Ryoga slunk back into his chair. It was only a moment before his head darted to the side glaring daggers at the table of foreigners that were staring right at him and giggling.

"Okay, that's it," he growled. "I am certain now that I'm not just being paranoid."

"What do you mean Ryoga?" Akane asked.

"Those tourists!" Ryoga said jerking his head towards the group. "They're laughing and pointing at me! I don't get it!"

Akane purposefully looked down, resolute on not saying anything, something that was noticed only by Ranma. Meanwhile Ukyo looked to the table of tourists then back at Ryoga before rolling her eyes and snickering. "Well it's probably because that shirt of yours says 'Diarrhea' in English."

"WHAT!?" Ryoga shouted.

Ranma had just taken a sip of water moments before Ukyo had made her statement and ended up spitting it out all over the table before erupting into uncontrollable laughter. Ryoga glared at Ranma and then slouched low in his chair, blushing furiously. "Oh that's hilarious!" Ranma shouted. "Wait," he said turning to Akane who was futilely attempting to hide a snicker from behind her cup of tea. "Why didn't you know that?"

"I did," she hissed back. "I was trying to be nice about it." She said, tossing a glare at Ukyo.

"Keeping quiet and subjecting him to more humiliation is not what I'd call being nice, Akane," Ukyo argued. "If I was doing something to make a fool of myself I'd expect a true friend to point it out to me!"

The exchange was not missed by Ryoga who immediately wore a stunned and downcast expression. "I'm going to go turn my shirt inside out or… something," Ryoga said sheepishly as he stood up and made his way to the restrooms.

As soon as he was out of hearing range Ranma started laughing again and Akane whacked him with a plastic menu in response. "Honestly Ranma! Why don't you just grow up?"

"Huh? Me? Don't blame me for this! It's not my fault you're date's such a loser."

"Ryoga is not the loser here, you are. All your attempts at making him look bad are just making you look more like a jerk."

"Oh you think I'm the jerk here?" Ranma scoffed. "I'll tell you what Akane. If your definition of a nice guy is Ryoga Hibiki then you're in for a very rude awakening."

"Oh really?" Akane said with a curious quirk of her eyebrow. "And why exactly is that?"

Ranma flinched away slightly. "I-uh, can't say," Ranma answered, slipping back into her seat. "You'll just have to trust me on this one."

Akane couldn't help feeling that there lay the root of their problem. Trust. She believed in Ranma. She knew he was capable of doing the right thing. She knew he had honor, strength, and determination, and when it came to life or death situations she trusted him with her life. She truly believed he'd be there for her when she needed him.

But she could not trust him to be honest with her. Whether it was because he was hiding something from her, or simply because the situation looked really bad and she lacked faith in him, trust was not there, and they were both to blame for that. "He should have told me about Ryoga. Whatever his reasons were for hiding it, I don't care. He should have told me." She wanted to trust him. But…

She shook her head sadly. "How am I ever supposed to trust you if you won't tell me things like this?" she asked more to herself, than to Ranma.

"Things like this? What do you mean?"

"Never mind," Akane said. "Just…" she sighed, blinking back frustrated tears. "Just leave me alone Ranma. This is between Ryoga and me now, and I'm going to do what you should have done a long time ago."

With those words she stood, and Ranma watched as she walked over to meet Ryoga as he exited the restroom and directed him to a new table, away from the water jets, away from the foreigners, and away from Ranma and Ukyo.

Ukyo perked up slightly as soon as Akane left. Ranma continued to glare after Akane until Ukyo grabbed the tea kettle at their vacated table and poured it over Ranma's head. He yelped slightly in surprise turning back towards her, and Ukyo grinned, glad to have his attention finally.

"Well, now maybe we can get back to our date?" she asked hopefully.

"Um, yeah, I guess," Ranma grumbled distractedly. "What do you think she meant by that anyway?" he asked.

The corners of Ukyo's smile twitched. "How should I know?" It grated at Ukyo's pride. She had been patient on their pathetic little excursion, and despite his lack of regard for her feelings or what she wanted to do, she had tried to make the best of the situation. The least he could do was try and act somewhat convincing about wanting to be there with her. Squelching such thoughts, however, she pulled out the cheeriest voice she could muster.

"Anyway, let's see if we can get the waiter over here, okay? Goodness but this place is busy! What should we order Ranma?"

"Uh huh," he replied distractedly, glancing over Ukyo's shoulder towards Ryoga and Akane, laughing merrily at their new table.

Ukyo's eyes narrowed. "That wasn't a yes or no question Ranma-honey."

"Get what you want, I don't care," he responded quick and carelessly. "Hey, do you think we should move to a table over there too?" He looked up to the vents above them. "This draft's really bugging me and I…"

"Okay that's it!" Ukyo finally snapped standing and pulling Ranma with her. "Outside. NOW! You and I need to have a little chat…"

"Ow," Ranma yelped being pulled along by his braid. "Lay off the hair Ukyo!" he whined as she dragged him out of the café.

"Hey Akane…" Ryoga said tentatively.

"Dang, he's still looking this way. Okay, Ryoga, I'm going to count to three and then we're both going to start laughing okay?"

Ryoga sighed. "Look Akane…"

"One…"

"Do we really need to…"

"Two…"

Ryoga simply set his jaw and let out a long sigh.

"Three!" Akane immediately started laughing. At first Ryoga did not join in, but Akane gave him a pointed look and he reluctantly let out a few halfhearted laughs that seemed to satisfy her only because she was paying more attention to Ranma anyway.

Again Ryoga sighed until a look of satisfaction crossed Akane's face. "Okay, they're gone. You can stop laughing now," she said, failing to notice he had stopped laughing long before. "Now anyway Ryoga, what were you going to say?"

He hesitated for a moment. "I think… This was a mistake. I'm just… Gonna go…"

It gratified him only slightly that she looked genuinely shocked. "What? Why? We haven't even really had a chance to talk yet."

"Gee, I wonder why," he said flatly.

"Look Ryoga, I'm sorry about Ranma. I asked him not to come but…"

"No it's not just Ranma. I'm used to him pulling this kind of thing, but not you."

"Me? What are you talking about?"

"I mean I get it. Kind of. It makes sense. He pulls this kind of thing all the time, using those other girls to make you jealous. I just kind of thought you were above those kinds of games."

Her mouth dropped open for a moment. "Ryoga that's not… I mean, honestly, I asked him not to come…"

"But you knew he would."

She sighed. "I honestly hoped he wouldn't, but…"

"Akane, don't lie to me. You're just trying to get to him through me. I mean why else would you ask me out?"

"Ryoga, I swear, you've got it all wrong. This has nothing to do with Ranma. I was hoping we could talk for a while about… Things…" She bit her lip awkwardly. This wasn't the way she wanted to lead into the conversation they needed to have.

"Oh really?" he asked, clearly not convinced. "Like what?"

"Um, well… Like… How's Akari?"

"You asked me out so we could talk about how things are going with my girlfriend?"

"No! It's not…" she sighed burying her face in her hands for a moment. "This is all getting twisted around. It wasn't supposed to turn out like this."

Ryoga sighed, taking pity on her in her frustration. "Look Akane, its fine. Really. I get it. I know…" he began sadly. "I know you would never really be interested in a guy like me…"

Akane's head immediately shot up. "Now stop that! Honestly Ryoga! Why do you always do that? Acting all down on yourself. There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. Any girl would be happy to be with you if you'd just stop being so negative and have more faith in yourself. What makes you think you're not worth caring for?"

He stared at her unflinching. "I don't think that though. Not anymore at least. That's one thing I learned from Akari. I… Just don't expect you would care for me."

Her expression softened, into that look of pity that he had no desire to see on her face. Especially not when directed at him. He'd wanted her love, not her pity, and if he couldn't have love, he'd have settled for respect, not this careful gentle tone she used, as if comforting a wounded animal. In truth it was that expression and those mannerisms that had attracted him to her in the first place. She'd truly loved him as P-Chan, and comforted him and cared for him. It had been a long time since someone had shown any kindness towards him. But his feelings hadn't just been the feelings a pet had for its owner. He loved her like a man loved a woman, and as a man he wanted her to believe in him, need him, and respect him. Instead she coddled him, and assured him that she was fine, and didn't need his help, and that he was being paranoid about all the people and things that were out to get them. He realized quite clearly now that there would never be anything else she could give him, but her friendship, and her caring. It was something, but it wasn't enough.

"Ryoga," she said, opening her mouth to confirm what he already knew. "I do care about you. Maybe not the way Akari does, but as a friend."

He was right. It wasn't enough. All that remained was him to try and leave with some shred of dignity. "Yep. Got it Akane. Thanks for the clarification. Now if you'll excuse me…" he said standing up.

"No Ryoga wait! Look, I'm sorry but I still need to talk to you about…"

"About what Akane?" he asked tersely.

She could tell she'd hurt him, and that wasn't at all what she had wanted to do. She didn't want to go through with the rest, telling him she knew he was P-Chan and that she never wanted him coming around like that again. Nabiki had insisted she needed to be firm and make her feelings on the matter clear. He needed closure she'd said, but Akane couldn't help hesitating.

"Maybe it's enough to leave it like this. I mean I wasn't completely direct, but he knows I don't see him that way. I don't think he'll push it. Maybe I should drop the rest. If he shows up as P-Chan I can always just talk to him then…"

She opened her mouth to respond, not entirely sure what she would say. Unfortunately she never got the chance to say anything at all, for at that very moment, a nearby waitress tripped, spilling a pitcher of water all over the stunned and horrified form of Ryoga Hibiki.

Meanwhile, Ranma was finding himself in an uncomfortable position of his own, as Ukyo dragged him away from the restaurant, giving his hair a final tug for good measure before finally releasing him.

"Ukyo! Geez! That hurt! What's with you anyway?"

She ignored his question, and instead shot at him with a question of her own. "Ranma, why are you so obsessed with ruining their date?"

"What? I'm not. I'm just…"

"Oh don't give me that. I'm not stupid. Now what is it? Does Ryoga have some ticket for a free trip to China or a new martial arts technique you're after? Is that what this is about?"

He sighed. "No, it's nothing like that. It's just…" he trailed off, casting a wayward look back at the restaurant. "What does she see in that idiot anyway? She can't possibly like him."

Ukyo's eyes narrowed. "Well for one thing, when they're on a date he doesn't ignore her and pay more attention to someone else's date."

"Ukyo, I already told you, it's not that I…" Ranma attempted to interject, but was quickly overridden.

"The way he looks at her, it's like she's the most important thing in the entire universe." Ranma sighed, and looked back towards the restaurant. It was obvious that's where his thoughts and attention truly lay. "You know I for one would give anything to have someone look at me like that," she admitted, more to herself than to him.

He scoffed, oblivious to the point she was trying to convey. "I didn't think she'd be swayed by something stupid like that."

Ukyo flinched and scrunched up her face into a scowl. "You're just jealous."

"J-Jealous! Jealous of what? Some un-cute, unfaithful tomboy…"

"Unfaithful? That's a new one."

"Pheh. Whatever. Not like I care what she does," he grumbled under his breath.

"Sure sounds to me like you do," she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

He regarded her hesitantly for a moment before spitting out, "Okay, so maybe it does bother me a little bit."

"Why?"

"B-Because! He- He's not right for her!"

"So? Why do you suddenly care so much anyway?"

"Geez, Ukyo! Isn't it obvious? Do I need to spell it out for you?"

Her jaw fell open and quivered slightly at the brash way in which he addressed what she most feared.

"It's a matter of… Pride…" he finished, and Ukyo let out a sigh of relief at his explanation. "Last week she was about to marry me, and now she's out on a date with HIM? My biggest rival? I mean what is that?"

"So this is about your rivalry?" she asked hopefully.

"Yes! Er… No! I mean… Look, before they left, Ryoga and I had a little chat. I told him that if he didn't come clean to Akane about… something, that I would tell her myself. And so far, he hasn't made any effort to tell her the truth. I'm just sticking around to make sure he does the right thing. It's the honorable thing to do," he finished, pointing to his chest proudly as if his explanation marked him as the epitome of nobility and warranted him accolades of praise.

Ukyo gave him a flat, unimpressed glare. "You're talking about his pig curse aren't you?"

"Ye-agh no! Uh… What? How did you-?"

"Oh please," she said, rolling her eyes. "Shampoo let that slip months ago. And besides, it's not like either you or Ryoga are any good at hiding it."

"Hmph," Ranma said, crossing his arms over his chest, and muttering under his breath. "Managed to keep Akane in the dark about it long enough."

"So let me get this straight. Akane finds out about Ryoga's curse and then you'll be satisfied? We can stop following them?"

"Well yeah! Obviously! I mean at that point their date would pretty much be over anyway so… Wait. Where are you going!?"

"I'm going to tell Akane about her beloved P-Chan," Ukyo said, her hand already reaching for the doorknob to the café.

"Wait. Ukyo… Stop," he protested without any real conviction. He had to admit he felt a bit conflicted about stopping her.

"Why?" she asked, exasperated. "I thought you wanted her to know?"

He contemplated it momentarily before sighing heavily. "Yeah, I do but it would be better if it came from him. Besides, I kind of told him I'd give him a chance to do it on his own, and I feel like the least I can do is give him the time I promised."

"Well you never said anything about me, did you?"

"No but… Come on Ukyo, just leave it alone."

"Ranma!" she said throwing her arms up in the air. "This is ridiculous! This is the first afternoon I've had off in over a month! Do you really think I wanted to spend the day running around trying to sabotage their date? That's hardly my idea of a good time!"

"Gee, really?" Ranma asked in a flat tone. "You always seem eager to do exactly that when I'm out with someone. Not to mention destroying my wedding. I guess it's just my business you like messing with then, huh?"

"T-That's different!" she insisted. "The wedding… I… I did that for you, Ranma!"

"Really? Because I don't recall asking for your help!"

"You're not honestly telling me you wanted to go through with marrying Akane?"

"Well I guess we'll never know, now will we, because none of you ever give me a chance to actually make up my mind. You all complain because I'm indecisive, but then the minute I get an opportunity to make an actual choice everyone jumps in and ruins things before I can!"

She blinked back tears. "R-Ranma…" she muttered sadly.

He felt a bit guilty for upsetting her, and his expression softened momentarily before he shook his head. He had made a choice, and he knew what he really wanted. He wanted to be with Akane, but Ukyo and everyone else just kept getting in the way of that. It wasn't all Ukyo's fault, of course. She was just one of the many people interfering. But it was hard enough to stay on good terms with Akane, and he realized trying so hard to stay on good terms with other girls and spare their feelings only cost him points with her in the end. "Sorry Ukyo I just…" he trailed off, not really knowing what else to say. He shook his head finally. "Go on home if you want. I'm going back inside," he said finally as he turned and opened the door.

Ryoga had imagined the horror of that very moment numerous times, and in all his imaginings it never ended well.

He expected screaming. He expected her to stomp on him, or punch him through the roof. He expected the ground to open up beneath him and swallow him up. What he did not expect was to hear a soft placating voice reassuring the waitress not to worry about the spill, and for two gentle hands to carefully pick up his trembling body and deposit him back into his chair, along with his clothes. He was still in shock as the hot water from their teapot hit his back and he transformed back into his regular shape. With the increase in his size he found himself once again sitting face to face with Akane, and immediately took note of her expression. Her lips were scrunched up as if she'd been sucking on a lemon, and her eyes were narrowed, not necessarily in anger, but certainly in annoyance. And she wasn't saying anything. She just sat there, staring, waiting for an explanation. The explanation she obviously deserved.

He opened his mouth, hoping to stammer out something that would make it all okay. But in the end, all that came out was, "Y-You're taking this a lot better than I expected."

She laughed without humor and quirked an eyebrow. "And what exactly is it you expected Ryoga? For me to tell you how disappointed in you I am? That I can't believe I trusted you? That what I told you as my pet was never meant for your ears? That those were my private thoughts and experiences, and you had no right to them? Should I point out that I thought we were friends, and that you betrayed me, violated me, and abused my kindness?"

"Um… Yeah…" he squeaked nervously, his throat suddenly feeling incredibly dry. "Something like that."

She huffed and crossed her arms, slouching back into her chair and looking away. He watched as she slowly calmed herself again, though he knew it was in thanks to no actions on his own part. "Yeah, well fortunately for you Nabiki told me this morning, so I've had a good amount of time to stew on it and come to terms with it. A bit."

"Y-You knew?"

Still looking away she responded. "Yep," she drawled the single syllable word, popping the 'p' at the end. "All except…" the outline of her tongue swirled in her mouth and she puffed out her cheeks briefly, breathing out her agitation. Then her eyes turned back to him with a look of determination. "All except why."

"Why?" he asked.

For Akane the moment was proving more challenging than she'd expected. Knowing of his betrayal was one thing, but actually seeing the transformation made it completely real for the first time, and all the more painful. No more denial. No more excuses. This was the truth. This was her reality.

"Why did you do it Ryoga?" she said, her voice raw, dripping with venom and the choked sound of restrained sobs.

"I-I don't know!" he stammered in raised panic. "I mean… I do… I guess… But, what am I supposed to say? Is there really a good explanation for all of it?"

"No, there certainly isn't." After a moment of contemplation she started to shake her head. "And you know, I think that's the thing that bothers me the most. You know better! You're not some sleazy pervert like Happosai or Ra…" she checked herself realizing insulting Ranma at the moment would not be a good idea. Besides, Ryoga had clearly proven himself to be a much greater pervert than Ranma ever appeared to be. "What I mean is… I thought better of you!" With a reluctant sigh she released some of her anger. "To be honest I still do. I don't… I don't know why you felt you had to do this Ryoga. I think you knew it would hurt me. I don't… I don't understand."

Ryoga wanted to crawl into a tiny little hole and simply shrivel up and die. In truth he hadn't known that. Or at least he'd never truly allowed himself to dwell on the fact. He loved her and wanted to be close to her. His presence had comforted her. She had wanted him. At the time that was all that mattered. It had all been innocent in his mind. The last thing he'd ever wanted was to hurt her.

Yet on some level he'd always known it was wrong. If he hadn't, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to keep the secret. He knew there would be no future for him and Akane if she ever found out. For that reason his driving force had always been to find a cure so she'd have no way of ever knowing. He knew all along that what he was doing was unforgivable, but he'd never allowed himself to fully realize that truth, pushing it back into a corner of his mind where all the mistakes he'd made were easily blamed on Ranma Saotome.

Akari had tried to explain to him that there was a difference between love and obsession. "Love is nurturing," she'd said. "It helps the other person as much as it helps you. But obsession is one sided and dangerous. It doesn't really make room for the object of your affection to grow, and it doesn't truly take their best interests to heart. Love puts the other person's feelings and needs before your own."

He'd been a selfish fool. He could see it now. But in the end, maybe he had grown, because in that moment, he didn't really care if she hated him. All that mattered was that she was hurt deeply, not because of something Ranma had said, but because of something he himself had done. There was no pinning it on Ranma this time. It was no one's fault but his own. Akane didn't have to hate him. He hated himself enough for the both of them.

"I'm sorry Akane," he whispered meekly. "Truly I am so, so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. I just wanted to be close to you and…" he swallowed and switched his line of conversation. "I vowed several times to stop coming around you anymore, but it seemed no matter how hard I tried to stay away I'd end up back here, and before long I'd be in my cursed form again, and then you'd find me and seemed so happy. I just couldn't bear to leave you then. I didn't want to hurt you by leaving. Plus, a part of me knew it was the only way I could… I mean that you would…" he sighed, turning red and downcast but determined that he would finally be honest about how he felt. "I thought it was the only way we could ever be together, regardless of how unnatural it was. You-You make me happy Akane."

Akane gave a sad smile looking at his downcast face. "Ryoga, thank you. That's very sweet, and it means a lot to me. You've always been so good to me. Which is why this was such a shock to me and… But… You know… I… I mean I care for you, I do, but not like…"

Ryoga held up a hand to stop her. "Yeah, I know. It's… Okay. Let's just… Not talk about that."

"Okay," she smiled, and though the moment was awkward, and devastating, he found that he could still breathe, and his world wasn't truly crumbling. She had after all kind of forgiven him. And she did care about him. Not the way he wanted her to, but the fact that after everything she still cared even a little bit meant a lot. And he found that her friendship did mean something after all. Losing the chance for her love was bad enough, but losing her completely was what he had truly feared.

He had never honestly expected her to return his feelings for her, but he'd also never expected her to forgive him if she found out the truth about P-Chan. He found now that he was strangely relieved to have both his secrets revealed to her. It was a large weight off his shoulders. And he was happy almost just to find out that she did care for him in her own way. It wasn't what he hoped for, but it was certainly better than nothing.

For the first time in a long time he felt free. If she wasn't going to return his feelings, then on some level he'd needed her to reject him. He knew he'd never be able to move on as long as the possibility of Akane was out there somewhere. Finally he knew her true feelings, and regardless of how badly they hurt, he knew it was going to be okay and that it would give him the opportunity to actually let go.

"T-Thank you, Akane," he whispered. "For your forgiveness, and for your honesty. Your friendship means a lot to me as well. I don't wish to lose you as a friend either. Although I hope you'll understand if I don't come around for a while."

"Of course," Akane said. They both stood to leave then, and after a moment of hesitation, she leaned over to give him a light hug and a quick kiss on the check. "Goodbye Ryoga," she whispered before pulling away.

And that, of course, was the moment that Ranma and Ukyo had decided to re-enter the restaurant.

"AKANE!?" Ranma screeched as he darted across the room and forcefully yanked her away from Ryoga. "What do you think you're doing?" he shouted at both of them.

"R-Ranma look, it's not…"

"It's not what it looks like?" he finished for her. "Yeah, right. That one never worked for me either. Come on, we're leaving," he announced as he grabbed her arm and started dragging her out of the restaurant.

Slightly bewildered Akane fell into step behind him. "You're making a scene!" she hissed to him looking at the awkward pitying glances the patrons gave her.

"I don't care!" he hissed back.

But Akane did care. She was embarrassed for his sake, all too aware of how the whole situation appeared. So she followed him willingly, trying to look calm, and smiled reassuringly at those who happened to catch her eye, so that no one would misunderstand what was happening. It wasn't until they were outside that she resisted him and with a sudden movement she expertly wrenched her arm free from his grasp and glared at him.

"Well that was awful! She exclaimed. "What do you mean by acting like that in front of all those people? Can you imagine what they must think?"

"I already told you, I don't care!" he yelled back at her.

"I can't talk to you right now," she growled turning and walking away from him.

"Hey! Where do you think you're going? I'm not finished!"

"Well I am finished and now I'm going home," she yelled back, but he quickly followed after her. "Just leave me alone, Ranma."

"Wait, why are you so mad at me? You're the one kissing another guy."

She rolled her eyes. "It wasn't like that."

"How can it not be like that? Did you kiss him or didn't you?"

"It didn't mean anything!" she insisted.

He snorted. "It's not what it looks like! It doesn't mean anything!" he said in a singsong voice. "Sound familiar?"

"Now that you mention it, yes, I believe it does have a familiar ring. Tell me Ranma, with the shoe on the other foot, how exactly does it feel?"

"So what, you're doing this to get back at me?"

"No, actually, I did it because I was trying to straighten out something you should have taken care of yourself."

His face twisted into a look of disgust. "You mean, you kissed Ryoga because I didn't? What in the world is that supposed to mean?"

"No! Ugh! You're such a… Never mind! Just… If you're going to leave me to fight my own battles, don't complain about the way I do it and then butt in after the fact. You just end up in the way. You almost ruined everything!"

"Ruined what? Your date? You can't tell me you actually like that idiot?"

"What difference does it make to you?"

"You're my fiancé!"

"Oh please!" she laughed halting in the middle of the street and turning to face him. "I'm only your fiancé when it's convenient for you which is maybe 10 percent of the time. But when it's not convenient you deny it to the world! Besides, being engaged is only a temporary status. Eventually you either get married or you break up. And Ranma, we did not get married." She said pointedly.

"So what? You trying to force me to make a choice just like everyone else now?"

"Do what you want Ranma, but while you're busy making up your mind don't expect me to sit around and wait."

Time: 18:00

End of Phase 007.003, Mission Status: Complete

End of Phase RMI001, Mission Status: Failure

Ukyo couldn't help feeling heavy watching as Ranma and Akane left. Ranma had completely forgotten about her the moment he'd stepped into the restaurant. He hadn't even thought to say goodbye. But then she noticed Ryoga and her heart sank even further. He hadn't said anything the whole time Ranma was yelling at them. He hadn't attempted to stop Ranma from leaving with Akane. He'd just sat there, looking lost. And that's when she realized, what really had happened. Akane kissing Ryoga had an air of finality to it. It wasn't the start of something, it was the end of a dream never to be realized.

"It isn't right," she whispered to him. "But you know what sugar? They don't deserve us."

"No," he whispered in disagreement. "I'm the one that blew it. It was always me. I never deserved her." Ryoga moped.

"A-Are you going to be okay?" she asked. It seemed a stupid question, but it was all she could think of.

Ryoga blinked, coming out of himself and honestly taking a moment to think about it. With a faint quirk of a smile he nodded. "Yeah actually. I think so. It wasn't really as bad as I thought. In a way I'm… Relieved. It's like… Now I can finally move on with my life."

Ukyo was surprised to find she actually envied him for getting the closure she didn't think Ranma would ever be able to give her. Her eyes started to well up slightly, but she tossed her head and cleared her throat. It had just been a bad day, she reasoned. Things would look up. And in the meantime…

"Come on Sugar," she said without thinking. "Let's get out of here. I'll make you some real food or something."

"That's okay Ukyo, you don't have to worry about me. I'm okay. Really."

"Oh hush," she assured him abruptly. "You'd be doing me a favor. I…" she trailed off, finding it difficult suddenly to speak without her voice choking. "I really don't want to be alone right now," she finished.

He looked up at her, trying to gauge whether or not she was telling him the truth before nodding and standing. "Yah sure Ukyo. Might as well." As soon as they left the restaurant, Ryoga turned left and started wandering off. Despite herself, Ukyo giggled, quickly grabbing his arm and pulling him back in the opposite direction.

"This way silly," she said.

"Oh yeah. Sorry," he mumbled.

As they walked along they made an attempt to talk about anything but the events of the day. They'd easily fallen into a comfortable flow of conversation, as they'd spent time together in the past and already knew a bit about each other's mutual interests. Neither of their hearts were fully in it, but the communication did at the very least provide a welcome distraction for both of them.

"So where have you been this past week?" Ukyo asked.

"Traveling, the usual," he shrugged. "After the whole mess here last Saturday I went to find Akari," he flinched slightly, quickly changing the subject. "After that I ended up traveling around Kyushu."

"Kyushu? Yikes. That's a far distance to travel in a week. But still, that's nice. I remember it being lovely there this time of year," she said whimsically.

He looked over at her. "You miss traveling around?"

"Sometimes. It was more a training, searching thing at the time but I liked seeing different people and places. It's good for business too actually," she shrugged.

"I know what you mean," he said. "Not about the business part, but the traveling. It's a pain how I get lost when I'm trying to find somewhere specific, but when I don't have any plans or anything, it's kind of nice to just see different places. I was surprised by Kyushu actually. Rather busy for a place that's supposed to mostly be farm land. But I did find a nice rural village with the friendliest people. They talked kind of funny though. With weird accents and strange sayings." He perked up then as if realizing something. "Kind of like you actually."

Ukyo responded by slapping him on the back of the head. "Excuse me? I do not talk weird! I'm Kansai! Where I'm from everyone talks this way!"

"I know I was just saying it's different. Why'd you have to hit me?"

"Hmph," Ukyo responded.

"I didn't mean it's bad how you talk, honest. Just different. Like the people I met in Kyushu."

"You sure you weren't in Osaka dummy?"

"I was in Kyushu I tell you! See?" He said pulling a bag from his pack. "I even bought this tea there as a gift for Akane!" His agitation dissipated the moment he mentioned her name and Ukyo watched as his face dropped. She immediately felt bad for him again. She searched for something to say to comfort him but could think of nothing. Then her eyes fell on the bag he had produced and she brightened up.

"Hey! Let me see that! Oh I recognize this logo. A woman from my village used to make this mushroom tea mix. I grew up with this stuff! It was so good! Ah how nostalgic!"

"Maybe it's the same lady, and she moved to Kyushu!" he reasoned.

"Yah," Ukyo said rolling her eyes. "That must be it... OR you wandered into the Kansai district and thought you were in Kyushu."

"I did not!" Ryoga yelled.

"Calm down Hon I'm just giving you a hard time. But tell me about this place in… Kyushu? Did people seem well? Did the cherry blossoms bloom there yet?"

"Cherry blossoms? I don't know. What's the big deal about cherry blossoms anyway?"

"Pheh. Typical of a guy. I wouldn't expect you to appreciate it."

"I can appreciate it! I just never saw the point in making such a big deal about cherry blossoms in particular. I mean they only bloom for a short time and they're so plain and colorless. I always preferred the plum blossoms. They're more colorful and lively, and they last longer."

"Yes well, clearly you've never seen them bloom in Osaka. When it does, it's just magical!" she sighed.

"You miss your home?"

She thought about it for a moment and then shrugged. "Sometimes. It's not really home anymore though. You know, home isn't really a place, it's a feeling. And well… Both of my parents have passed away, and they were what made Osaka home to me. I don't feel any closer to them when I'm there than I do when I'm here. I feel close to them because I cook okonomiyaki. That's what us Kuonji's do." She laughed then humorlessly as a thought occurred to her. "You know what I do miss? I miss our cart! Curse Genma, taking off with it like that. You know my father and mother built that together when they got married so they could start cooking for customers. And we spent more time around that cart than at home. Most parents track their kid's growth by marking it on a wall. My parent's marked mine on one of the support posts of our cart. It bore our name, it carried our memories, and that if anything is home to me." She shook her head. "It wasn't much of an inheritance, but it was my inheritance, and it meant something to me. It still frustrates me thinking of how he just stole it and then tossed it aside like it was nothing."

Ryoga didn't really know what to say to that, although he was surprised to find that he wished he could avenge her somehow. It was an injustice, but short of fighting Genma Saotome he didn't know how to fix it. And really, all he wanted was to stay as far away from the Tendos and Saotomes as possible. Plus, Ukyo took care of herself. She'd probably be offended by the idea of him fighting on her behalf. After all, she had trained for a whole decade so she could avenge herself, and had instead decided to let it go. What would him doing anything on her behalf accomplish?

Still, he just wished he could do something for Ukyo. As impossible as it seemed, her company had been making him feel better, and he only wanted to cheer her up in exchange.

"Well… Here," he said, handing her the bag of tea mix, lamenting the fact that he couldn't give her something more meaningful. "You take it. I know it's not much, but I figure it might be nice to have something to remind you of your home, and your childhood I guess," he sputtered awkwardly.

Her eyes immediately brightened. "Really? You sure? I'll pay you…"

"No, don't worry about it. I was just going to give it away anyway. If it makes you happy at all I'm glad for you to have it."

She smiled. "That's so sweet. But I'd like to give you something in exchange…" She reached into her pockets, trying to think of something, and her hand immediately found a stack of papers and a coin. "Ah! Of course!" she said, pulling out the five yen coin she'd gotten from Nabiki and handing it to him.

Ryoga raised an eyebrow. "Um… Thanks?"

"I know, that's basically what I said when I got it from Nabiki. But it's like a good luck, pay it forward thing? I don't know. Someone does something you appreciate so you pass it on. Next time someone does something nice for you, give that to them as a way of showing your gratitude." She smiled a little uncertainly, but the act was somehow contagious, and he found himself grinning back at her.

"Okay then. Thank you Ukyo," he said pocketing the coin. "How'd you get it from Nabiki anyway?"

"Oh, just delivered some food to her, and agreed to put up these flyers at my restaurant. Sounds kind of interesting actually. Hey you should come!" she said pulling out one of the flyers and quickly handing it to him. "Be my plus one. You're supposed to bring a date, and as I highly doubt Ranma plans on taking me," she trailed off with a sigh. "Well… If he doesn't, it would be nice to get out for a change and do something fun. With a… Friend," she said hesitantly.

He nodded noncommittally. "It would be… Nice I mean. I just… Don't know if I'll want to be back around here anytime soon."

"Yeah, I understand that," she said sympathetically. "But… It'll be okay Ryoga. You'll see. Besides, you still have your other girlfriend right? Akari was it? Now that you know how things stand with Akane, you can really focus on making that relationship works. I mean, at least you have someone right?"

He shifted uncomfortably. "That's… Over actually."

"Really? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know… Last I heard…"

"Yeah well it just kind of happened this week so…" he trailed off and shrugged.

"W-What happened? If you don't mind me asking that is."

"Akari was really sweet, and caring and, cute and… Really I don't know what's wrong with me. I really did like her. But after everything that happened at the wedding last Saturday I realized that whatever I felt for Akari wasn't enough to make me stop thinking about Akane. I realized I just didn't love her like that so I felt it would be better for both of us to end it. I mean, I'd hate for her to be strung along the way I was. Just… Didn't seem right. Although maybe it would've worked out better if Akane and I had talked before…" he took a moment to think about it before shaking his head. "Then again… I still don't think it would've made a difference in the long run."

Ukyo put her hand on his arm in a comforting gesture. "I think that's really very noble of you Ryoga to end it then. Geez, I wish Ranma would do that. Just make up his mind and be honest about it. Let everyone else off the hook you know?"

He cast her an unsure glance. "Why don't you end it then?"

She looked startled. "I-It's different. You know. I mean he and I have a history. And I… Well I just think that maybe if he really thought about it he'd see that… Well it's just I've been here for him, and she doesn't care about him like that…"

"Ukyo, you should know… In Jusendo… I mean she almost died trying to save him. She acted knowing it would most likely cost her life. I'm not saying you wouldn't do the same. I don't know, maybe you would, but it's not something he's going to just forget about or discard. Besides... I feel like an idiot. I already knew how she felt about him and I still didn't give up. I just had to keep hoping, even when I knew it was pointless. I wish I'd really just walked away and kept some of my pride. At least then I could've said it was my choice."

She simply stared for a moment trying to decide whether to go forward with the conversation or simply change the subject. Could Ranma and Akane actually be in love after all? She hadn't wanted to believe it or accept it, but even she had noticed that things had been different since Jusendo, and since the wedding. She hadn't wanted to hang around Ranma and have her suspicions confirmed. She hadn't wanted to leave her restaurant at all that day, and wouldn't have if Nabiki hadn't forced her to. And then she'd actually gone out with Ranma on what she thought was a real date. She'd foolishly started to hope again against all reason, thinking things were starting to look up. But if anything the date with him had been confirmation that no matter how she tried, she couldn't hold his attention. He only had eyes for Akane. Which would have been okay if Akane didn't feel the same way. As long as it was one sided she could hold onto hope that he would give up on Akane and see how much Ukyo truly loved him and was truly devoted to him.

But Akane had risked her life for him? Was that not proof of love? Was that not proof of her devotion? If Akane could give him those things, than what more could Ukyo offer?

She swallowed hard, hovering on the precipice of denial and acceptance. Forward or backwards? She couldn't decide. But looking to Ryoga she had hope for a moment that whatever she chose, maybe she didn't need to do it alone. They were after all in the same situation. Maybe they could rely on each other. Maybe they could get through this together.

"And you honestly feel that it's better this way, knowing that you have no chance? Facing the truth?" she asked in a low whisper.

He thought about it for only a moment before nodding. "The longer I held onto her the harder it was to let her go. Right now I feel like my heart has been ripped out of my chest and trampled on. But I know that I'm never going to feel worse about it than I do today. I know that tomorrow it will be just a little bit better. I suspect that in many days from now it won't hurt at all. And there's a sense of peace and a sense of freedom in that knowledge," he hesitated briefly before saying his next words, while looking directly into her eyes. "She can't keep hurting me the way he's hurting you."

She gasped a painful breath at his words, and a look flashed in her eyes that warned him he was going too far. But he paid it no heed.

"I always hated the way he treated Akane. I was sure I could treat her better, and that she deserved better. I hated to see her hurt by him. But she's come to accept and understand him, and now I see that he makes her happy. I do believe his intentions towards her are good. But I still can't forgive him, because even if he does make her happy, he'll end up hurting you instead."

"W-Why would that matter to you?" she asked breathlessly.

"Because you're a good and kind person Ukyo, and I care about you. You deserve better. You deserve to have him feel about you the way you feel about him. I don't want to see you hurt anymore. You are my friend too, and it's like you said in the café: 'If I'm doing something to make a fool of myself, I'd expect a true friend to point it out to me.' And Ukyo… We all know how this ends. It's Ranma and Akane. It's always been the two of them, and the only thing we can do now is control when and how we accept that."

She bit her lip and nodded slowly, taking it in. She still didn't know what to do. Was he right? Could she really just give Ranma up? Would she be happier if she just tried to move one?

As she considered, they rounded the corner, and she saw the Ucchan's Okonomiyaki sign. The name of it knocked her backwards again. Ucchan. That's what he called her. Didn't that mean she was precious to him? Wasn't that something?

Maybe it was friendship and nothing more. She just wasn't sure one way or the other, but it was clear she wasn't going to be able to make a decision about him that very moment. She stepped forward to unlock the door to her place and smiled at Ryoga, hoping to change the subject one last time.

"Well look at you all eloquent and insightful. Hard to believe you're the same guy that's always tongue-tied and tripping over words when a pretty girl smiles at you."

He blushed and rubbed the back of his head, looking away. "I guess it's just different with you," he said. "You're a lot easier to talk to than most girls. I don't feel threatened by you like I do them. I wonder why?"

She smiled at him encouragingly, until he snapped his fingers.

"I know! It must be because you act like a boy!"

That was of course not the right thing to say, and she told him so by hitting him over the head.

Time: 18:30

Date: Saturday, March 6th

Time: 18:35

Location: Tendo Compound, Nerima District, Tokyo Japan

Subject 002: Tendo Nabiki

Target: Classified

Objective: Classified

Phase 008.001

Back at the Tendo household, Nabiki sat at her desk, listening to music and scribbling in a notebook. A beep on her laptop sounded and she looked up to the screen which displayed a map of Tokyo. On the map was a single red dot hovering in the general location of Ucchan's Okonomiyaki. As she watched the dot began to move away, and she smiled.

"So it worked then," she said, tapping the dot on the monitor once for good measure. "We got you now."

Her thoughts were interrupted as the front door downstairs banged open loudly, followed by a rather loud commotion. Curiosity taking over, she left her room and made her way to the stairs in the hallway. At the bottom she could hear the conversation between Ranma and his father taking place.

"Finish packing your things," Genma said, thrusting Ranma's traveling pack into his arms. "We're leaving immediately on a training trip!"

Nabiki's forehead creased. This was a slightly unexpected development. She wasn't entirely surprised at Genma wanting to get out of the house. It was obvious he wasn't used to having his wife around so much, and her presence had been an awkward adjustment for him. Clearly he wanted to get away and was hoping to take out some of his frustrations on his son. As for Ranma, she couldn't care less if he was around for the next week or two, but she didn't know how it would affect Akane. They had been getting along well lately and…

It was at that moment that she took note of the expression on Rama's face. It suddenly twisted from a frustrated scowl, to an eerie, malicious grin, that made it clear he had plenty of frustrations of his own that he'd be happy to take out on his father. "Pops," he said. "That's the best idea you've had in a long, long time. Let's get out of here."

Watching what transpired Nabiki struggled with a sense of worry and guilt that was becoming all too familiar to her. "What am I doing to them?" she whispered.

Time: 18:40

…End Transmission…

Author Notes: Thank you so much to everyone that's been reviewing this over the past few years. Your support and interest has been amazing and I'm so grateful for it. I only wish I was a more faithful updater, because I hate leaving you all hanging. It's been too long, and I am sorry. I also hope this chapter was worth the wait. If not, hopefully the next one will be more to your liking.

Speaking of reviews, I feel now would be a good idea to address something, because some of you have expressed concerns about the whole matchmaking thing. I really would just like to encourage everyone to not judge the idea before you see the results, because you don't exactly know where I will go with the idea. After the fact, feel free to tell me what didn't work, like with these last three chapters for instance. I'm interested in your opinions. But I would like to venture the guess that this didn't turn out the way some of you were expecting. I mean it's not like Nabiki and Akane set Ryoga and Ukyo up on a blind date or anything. It's more like Nabiki was in the backdrop playing puppet master and orchestrating some 'chance encounters' that led to the two of them having a moment where they were able to commiserate with each other and support each other. It doesn't have to evolve into anything really, but in a moment of vulnerability, it was nice for the two of them to have someone around to talk to, and as they make good friends at the very least, I don't think it's too far-fetched for Nabiki to assume arranging that encounter was a good idea. She also didn't throw Ryoga and Ukyo together, expecting a new love interest would cancel out the old love interests they had, cause clearly that would not work.

Which brings us to another point, my reason for having Akane and Ranma date other people, and specifically having Ranma date his other fiancés. Some people have said that this is a bad idea, and though I see why you think that, I have to respectfully disagree. If Ranma actually had the opportunity to spend uninterrupted time with each of his fiancés, and everyone involved made a sincere attempt to be civil and not so grabby, imagine what could be accomplished! He'd get a chance to actually relax a bit and hopefully speak his mind, and the girls would get a chance to see if being in love with him was really enough to base a whole relationship on. Basically, how do they know it's going to work with him if they've never even spent any real quality time with him? I think a date with him would be rather illuminating really. I was trying to show with the Ryoga/Akane date and the Ranma/Ukyo date, that the two couples weren't really all that compatible. If any of that sunk in for Ryoga or Ukyo than all the better for easing their heartbreak I guess. It's a gamble for Nabiki and Akane to take, I admit, but remember that Akane's true objective is for Ranma to figure out who he wants to be with, and be happy, even if that means he's going to be with someone else. Therefore it only seems fair he should be allowed a trial date with each of them. Whether or not he actually wants to date the other girls is his call. I mean look how he spent his date with Ukyo? Chasing after Ryoga and Akane. That speaks volumes, and if Ukyo was paying attention, which I think she was, progress of a sort has been made.

Anyway, getting off my soap box now. There are a few other things I wanted to say about this chapter. I did once upon a time spend some time in Japan, and some of this story reflects that. For instance, my love of Hyakuen stores and Ryoga's Diarrhea shirt. When I called it an Engrish shirt I wasn't miss-spelling English. If you want a laugh go look up Engrish in your web-browser. There is a rather humorous webpage devoted to some hilarious things people have found in foreign countries involving things written in offensive or not so coherent English. Oh the stories I could tell of my own experiences with this, such as the sign above a water faucet that said "Please don't screw over the tap." Or the warning sign that confusingly stated "Please be sure of your footing because the accident cannot be assumed in the case thereof." Or the Neo-Japanese Fooding restaurant I found. Ah, good times. It's basically the equivalent of people walking around with Chinese character tattoos that either mean nothing at all, or say something really embarrassing. Anyway, there was a store across from my dorm house where us foreigners liked to frequent because they had the most hilarious T-Shirts that said funny things in English similar to 'Diarrhea.' That's where the idea for his shirt came from. It's completely plausible based on my experience that he would pick up something at random that would cause the obnoxious foreigners in the café to laugh at him.

The tea Ryoga gives Ukyo is something I tasted at a flea-market in Kyoto (still technically the Kansai district). I don't remember the details but I tried some and it was really good. She sold the ingredients and instructions on how to make it, but I knew it wasn't something I'd be able to figure out. But it made enough of an impression for me to slip it into a story! As for the way Ukyo speaks, using Osaka-ben, Ryoga certainly knows what that is. However, he isn't making the connection that, 'people in this area speak Osaka-ben, therefore, I must be in the Kansai district!' He's instead thinking, 'gee, this isn't what people in Kyushu are supposed to sound like.' If my Japanese didn't suck, I would most likely sound like Ukyo, and speak a bit of Osaka-ben, because that's how my host family talked, and I did spend most of my time in the Kansai district (Osaka and Kyoto specifically). So… Yeah… Nandeyanen.

Am I back? I hope so. The next chapter is one of my favorites, and having a piece I enjoy working on usually helps me move things along quicker. Large chunks of it are already written after all. I struggled with this chapter, particularly at the end. I like Ryoga and Ukyo as a couple, but they don't compel me the way Ranma and Akane do. There was a lot more that could be said in the RyUk scenes, but ultimately I tried to just get through it, and make it short, sweet, and believable because I know they aren't the characters we really want to spend a lot of time on. However, it does of course need to be addressed for this story to work and there were certain plot points in their conversation that I needed to hit on.

I'm sorry about Ranma and Akane ending on yet another misunderstanding. The two steps forward five steps back routine is getting old, and I promise to put an end to it in the next two chapters. I was originally going to drag it out to the end, but I recognize now that it's too much, so I plan on re-writing a few things so all goes a bit smoother from here on out. However, there is still the current hurdle to get over, so we're not in the clear just yet… At the moment Akane is feeling a bit betrayed and worried about the fact that she and Ranma don't seem to have a lot of trust in their relationship. She's was a bit torn between being really mad at Ranma for not telling her about P-Chan and amused by the way he was messing with Ryoga. So at the end she's not so much mad about him and Ukyo, or the fact that he's mad at her for kissing Ryoga. It mostly comes down to trust. That being said, if you're annoyed with yet another fight on their behalf, keep in mind that this fight came from the whole P-Chan debacle, and that little dilemma could have ended soooooooooo much worse.

Hope this chapter was worth the wait. If not, hopefully the next one will be more to your liking. Whenever I finish it that is. Please give me a review. Honestly without them this chapter would never have seen the light of day. I love hearing from you. Also, not quite satisfied with the P-Chan reveal? I did originally have a different take on that final confrontation, that was a tad more vindictive but slightly less realistic. If you want to see it, give me a review, tell me what you think, and sign off with the phrase 'scene please!' Yep. Bribery. I went there. Again.

Okini!

~ C ~