Mina-san, Ohayou!
This is the 1.5th draft of this story. That means I first wrote
one half of it, then let it lie around for some time, and finally
wrote the rest, skimming the first half again and polishing it a
bit.
C&C, as always, higly appreciated.
The Understudy
It was evening and Ukyou was putting out the trash behind her
restaurant, when she heard something landing softly behind her.
She knew that footfall by heart and there was a bright smile on
her face, when she turned to face her visitor. It fell, as she
actually saw him.
"Oh, Ran-chan! That looks bad." She rushed forwards to gingerly
touch a purple bruise on his cheek.
Ranma looked at her, surprised. Apparently, he didn't even
realize what she was talking about. He reached up to his cheek
and then a short flash of remembrance came over his eyes.
Obviously, neither the bruise, nor it's cause were among the
foremost thought on his mind.
"Oh, *that*!" he laughed. "That's nothing."
"It's not nothing!" said Ukyou concerned. "You don't bruise
easily. It was *her* again, wasn't it?"
"Yeah, yeah," said Ranma, not really interested in discussing it.
"I was talking without thinking again. Or rather, I *was* thinking
- only not about what I was saying; And it showed in my words, so
she showed *me*."
"What were you thinking about?" inquired Ukyou.
Ranma looked at her for a second before answering. Then he said
"You. I was thinking about you."
Ukyou smiled brightly. It was nice to know that he thought about
her, when he was away.
"Ucchan..." he began. "Um, Shampoo tried something stupid again,
today. Nothing really happened, and even Akane took it pretty
much in stride - but it got me thinking. I was... I was thinking
about my three fiances. And about the future; About choices;
Where this all leads to." He paused. "And then I had to think
about you."
Okyou noticed that he had gotten unusually serious. She got
uncomfortably aware of the fact that Ranma thinking about his
relationships was a rather uncommon thing. Whatever he had
thought of must have been pretty important to take precedence
over a beating from Akane.
And he had been thinking about her. She felt her knees go
a bit weak.
"Ucchan." He held her hand.
Ukyou shivered with tension. Whatever he had to say now, would
likely send her into blissful exhiliaration or soul-tearing
despair. She forced her voice to sound normal, as she said "What
is it, Ran-chan?" A tight knot was forming in her chest.
"I... I want you to do something for me." He paused. "Um,
please, Ucchan, you've got to find someone else whom you can
love."
For a second, the night itself seemed to hold its breath. When
time finally started again, tears welled up in Ukyou's eyes.
"Y-you're telling me you don't w-want me?"
"No, Ucchan!" Ranma grabbed her shoulders. "That's not what I
meant. I just... Look, all three of you are playing this 'Oh,
he'll chose me, of course'-game, and I'm not really doing anything
to end it. But in truth I have no *idea* what I'll do, when the
day finally comes."
He looked at her earnestly, willing her to understand his
position. "I thought about what would happen when I actually
chose one of you. What would the other two do?" He laughed
sadly. "Most probably try to kill the chosen girl - no, don't say
anything. Anyway, I could handle *that*. But after that? Who
will take care of the broken hearts of these two girls? Shampoo
has Mousse, who adores her and he's a damn good fighter to boot.
I think she secretly likes him a lot. Akane - heck, she had to
beat them off with a shovel, before I arrived and they realized
they couldn't beat me. She could easily find someone to whom she
could turn her heart. That leaves only one girl..." He looked
her staight in the eyes. "Whom could *you* turn your heart to?"
"Well, I..." The pause in her answer grew longer. Finally she
slumped.
"There's no one, is there?" Ranma softly asked.
"No," said Ukyou very quietly. After a pause "Konatsu is sweet
and everything, but he's not..." She looked at him.
"Not me?" Ranma laughed. "Nah, only I am me - thank god. But
that's the point, Ucchan. I want you to find someone who's *not*
me, to take care of your heart if it comes to the worst." He grew
very quiet. "I have no idea how I got here, but my situation is
impossible. One way or another I'm going to hurt two girls I care
very much for in the worst possible way. I'm pushing the moment of
decision away as long as I can, but one day it'll be there. I
couldn't bear the thought that one of you three would have nobody
to turn to, in case I cannot choose you when the decision is upon
me."
"Does that mean you *would* choose me, right n..?"
"NO!" Ranma yelled, before she had even completed her question.
Ukyou's heart skipped, but she realized that he had not answered
the question - he had refuted it completely.
"Ucchan, *please*. Stop this. I'm trying to make you
understand." He was very urgent, and she knew he depended on her
to take this weight from him. She sighed; This was going to be
hard, but she had to show him that she understood - and cared.
"Yes, Ran-chan, I'm sorry." She looked to the ground, then up
again. "I won't pressure you... and that includes not making you
feel guilty about my fu- my future in case..." She gulped
audibly, then continued in a small voice. "Give me time."
Ranma grabbed her hands and squeezed them. "All the time you
need, Ucchan. I only needed you to understand. I'm sorry if I
hurt you with this."
She touched his cheek again. "You did the right thing, Ran-chan.
That's what I love you for."
Ranma smiled at her. "Good night, Ucchan."
"Good night, Ran-chan," she said softly and watched him bounce
away over fences and roofs. Then she turned back home.
As she entered the _Ucchan's_, Konatsu was still there, waiting
for her. He shot her a smile, as radiant as a sunrise. And for
the first time in a long while, Ukyou noticed it.
<It's true,> she thought. <He *is* 'sweet and everything' - and I
shouldn't really care that he's no Ranma>
Konatsu knew not how it came about, but his heart soared with the
clouds, when Ukyou returned his smile and told him it was nice of
him to wait for her.
The End
This story was triggered by a sentence in part 6 of Zen's *great*
fanfic _Between a Truck and a Hard Place_, err, I mean _Rock_. :)
I'm not going to tell you what the sentence was, so you have to go
and read it now.
Ranma comes across as a bit too thoughtful and articulate, I think
as I re-read this now. Please tell me how it worked for you.
Sebastian