Thomas_Schauer@ita.doc.gov wrote:

When I first read the story, the impression I recieved from the emotions
when Akane visited the shop, the cave scene itself, and the scene at the
 train station was that Ukyou lied to Ranma in the cave to protect his
marriage.  I could have been mistaken, as I was under considerable
strain at the time.  However, as I am not the only one who had a problem
with it, it apparantly isn't as clear as you would like to believe.
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

Hate to post a "me too" message, but I have to say that this was the
impression I got.

Tom

Well, count me against this opinion, as this exerpt from the cave scene
shows:

It hit her suddenly.  The fact that they had fallen asleep in the same bed
was making Ranma feel guilty.  She was overreacting a bit, Ukyo thought.  Ukyo
tried to work through it.  "If you're talking about last night, Ranma, it
didn't mean a thing.  We were both too tired to realize what was happening."

On the other hand, some amount of confusion is necessary for the
cave scene to have any meaning.

To be quite frank, I even had to suspend a little disbelief at the
plot's base, of Ranma waking up believing he'd had sex with Ukyo.
It's not like he's entirely alien to that anyhow, and not recognize
the lack of evidence. You could of course try and find an explanation,
but that would drag the 'fic in some ...umm... forensics that are
definitely not part of it.

Anyway, I'd say using Kasumi to fix up Ukyo is a good idea, but the
way the final scene is written just makes it look like a plot device.
There are not enough hints of what is to come, and the Ramen guy's
attraction seems to blink out of the blue. Granted, he's shy and
Ukyo herself didn't notice, but *we* should have it pointed out
more firmly to our attention.

I wish I'd be more constructive... Maybe inserting an earlier
scene showing Kasumi is aware of Ukyo's suitor?

Anyways, I liked the story, which tells much because I usually
dislike romance.

A+

J.