To continue....

---

     A few minutes later, the four of them were in the hospital cafeteria,
sipping a vague coffee-like substance.

    "How--How's Ranma?" Ukyou forced herself to ask.
    "He's fine." Akane replied, just as reluctantly. "He's been asking about
you."
    "Really?"
    "Oh, yes," said Kasumi. "He's been wandering aimlessly around the
house for months. He occasionally calls your name in his sleep."
    Ukyou wisely decided not to comment as Akane was grasping her
coffee mug so tightly that waves were beginning to form in the liquid.
Despite their friendship, Akane still had her knee-jerk feelings of jealousy.
    The interpersonal tension was replaced by an anticipatory tension as
the doctor, still in his scrubs, came up to their table.
    "Kuonji-san?"
    Ukyou looked up expectantly. "How is he? Is he all right? Can I see
him?"
    The doctor's expression was somber.
    "I'm sorry, Kuonji-san. He didn't make it."
    Ukyou's composure shattered. Her face began to crumple. A few
moments later, she was sobbing quietly on her arms.
    She became aware of hands gently helping her to her feet. After a few
minutes she found herself in an unfamiliar bedroom in a house
somewhere. Not caring where she was, she collapsed on the bed and
continued to cry.

    Akane closed the door to her room, Ukyou's sobs muffled somewhat
by the door. She sighed. She couldn't believe it. Konatsu was gone. The
words were incomprehensible. Akane kne that the truth would hit her
sooner or later, but for now, she just felt numb.
    A few minutes later, Ranma came up the stairs. He noticed Akane
standing by the door of her room and heard the sobs coming from behind
it. 
   "Yo, Akane. What's going on?"
   Akane looked up at him with blank eyes. "Konatsu's dead."
   Ranma's eyes widened. "Dead?"
   Akane nodded. "Ukyou's in there." she pointed to the door. "She took the
news pretty hard. She--She saw the car hit him."
   Ranma swallowed, unsure of what to say. Akane looked up at him.
   "Talk to her, Ranma."
   Ranma's expression turned from shock to shame.
   "I-I can't."
   "You have to! You two have been friends since you were kids. Who
else would be a better person for her to talk to?"
   "Well..."
  "She's hurting, Ranma. Hurting as bad as the day you broke the
engagement. You didn't handle that very well, did you?"
   Ranma winced as Akane hit the crux of the matter. She softened her
tone.
   "Talk to her."
   Ranma placed a hand on the knob, swallowed and looked at Akane.
Akane nodded and gave him a small smile. He took a deep breath and
entered the room.

    Ukyou had stopped crying and was curled up on the bed facing the
wall. Ranma walked to the bed and placed a hand on her shoulder.
    "Ucchan?" She stiffened.
   "You're cruel, Ranma." she replied. "Come to see the girl whose so
unlucky at love that she's lost a fiancee and a boyfriend?" Ukyou tossed
his hand off. Ranma sat for a few moments, unsure of what to say.
    Then, in a rare flash of insight, he decided to go with the simplest
gesture.
   "I'm sorry, Ucchan."
   Ukyou turned and sat up. Her eyes were puffy and her cheeks were
tearstreaked. Had she heard right? Had Ranma Saotome actually said he
was sorry?
   "I'm sorry for everything." Ranma continued. "I'm sorry about Konatsu.
I'm sorry about the okonomiyaki incident way back when. I'm sorry I led
you on for so long. I'm really sorry about how I've been treating you. I
was an asshole."
    "You hurt me."
    "I was angry. Everything happened too fast. Fighting Saffron, saving
Akane, the wedding. It was too much. Even a martial artist has his limits.
Something had to give. Unfortunately, it was you that ended up on the
recieving end. I'm sorry."
    Ukyou looked at Ranma, seeing him in a way she had never seen
before. He was vulnerable. She saw the human being behind the bravado
and egotism. The boy--no--the MAN that was trying desperately to find a
way to make everyone happy. The last thing he needed was a twelve
year old promise made by his idiot father weighing him down.
    "I--I'm sorry too, Ranma. I want to be friends again. But, answer me one
question. Do you love Akane?"
    Ranma shifted uncomfortably, stood up and opened the door. He looked
out in the hall and saw Akane blocking the stairs, preventing the rest of
the family from eavesdropping, including herself. Ranma smiled and went
back into the bedroom.
   "I-Yes, I do." he answered. Ukyou nodded.
   "I'm happy for you, really. But for right now, just hold me...Ran-chan."
   Ranma sat next to her and the two embraced, not as lovers, but as the
close friends they always were.

    "You remained friends?" Malcolm asked. Ukyou nodded.
   "Unfortunately, I fell in love with him all over again. Seeing him
vulnerable like that did something to me. But I refused to allow myself to
destroy his happiness. So, a few years down the road Ranma and Akane
were married. They invited me to the wedding. Akane looked so
beautiful..." Ukyou trailed off, lost in memory. Malcolm became acutely
aware of the ring box in his pocket.
   "So that was it then?" 
   Ukyou snapped back to reality. "Not quite. A year later, Ranma and
Akane had a son. Hang on." Ukyou vanished into the kitchen. A few
minutes later she reappeared with a photo of a two-year-old boy with
black hair and hazel eyes.
    "This is Kaneda, their son. I was a little depressed, knowing that he
wasn't mine, but I learned to deal with it. Then, I made a mistake. The
mistake that caused me to leave Japan."
    "What happened?"
    "I went home..."

    Ukyou stepped onto the train platform. The air was thick. Thick with
sights, smells, and sounds that brought back a thousand memories. Had it
really been seven years? Seven years since she set out on her search
for Ranma. Oh, she'd visited from time to time, but never more than a day
or so. School and the business had kept her busy. In fact, she hadn't
seen her family in nearly three years.
     Well, now she was out of high school and on summer break from
college. So now seemed like the perfect time for an extended visit. The
restaurant was doing well enough for her to close down for a few days.
She hefted her backpack and began walking towards her villiage.

  There it was. The Ol' homestead. It looked pretty much the same as
when she'd left. It looked a bit more weatherbeaten, but that was to be
expected near the coast. She smiled. It was good to be home.
   She bounded up the steps to the porch and raised her hand to knock.
   "May I help you?"
  Ukyou turned to see an eighteen year old boy in a school uniform looking
at her. His inqusitive brown eyes identified him to her immediately.
Her brother.
   "Akira?" she asked.
   "Ukyou?" he responded.
   The two siblings rushed towards each other and embraced.
   "It's been a long time." Ukyou said when they released each other. Akira
smiled.
   "Yes it has. All the bruises have disappeared. See?" Akira held up an
arm. Ukyou giggled, remembering how badly she used to beat up her
brother.
   "Are Mom and Dad home?" she asked. Akira's smile faded. Ukyou
frowned, panic beginning to flood her senses, as well as memories of
Konatsu. "What happened? Are they all right?"
    "They're fine." Akira reassured. "Mom'll be thrilled to see you. Dad...will
be surprised. C'mon in."
   Ukyou followed her brother into the house, a little less enthusiastically
than before.

    "Akira was right. Mom was thrilled. She fawned over me all day. Dad
was out selling, so he didn't get back  until night fall..."

    The sliding door to the Kuonji home opened, admitting the large form of
Shiro Kuonji.
    "Hi, Dad!" Akira called. Madoka Kuonji walked into the front hall from the
kitchen.
    "Hello, dear." she said to her husband. Shiro smiled.
    "Hello, yourself." he replied, giving her a peck on the cheek.
    "I have a wonderful surprise for you."
    Shiro quirked one eyebrow. "Really?"
    Madoka nodded and stood to one side, revealing Ukyou framed in the
doorway of the kitchen.
    "Welcome home, Father." she smiled.
   Shiro's expression changed from happiness to anger to coldness in one
second.
    "What is she doing here?" he asked his wife. "I thought we discussed
this."
   "H-hai." Madoka answered. "But when she arrived, I--"
   "Never mind. Just get her out of my house." Shiro stormed down the hall
and out to the backyard. Ukyou frowned, confused.
   "What's going on?" she asked. Madoka cast her eyes downward.
   "You'd--better go." she said quietly. Ukyou blinked.
   "What? No! I'm finally home again. I thought you both would want to see
me! Now, what the hell is going on?"
   "Dad's very angry with you, Ukyou-chan." Akira answered. "He won't
tell us why."
    Ukyou set her jaw in determination. "Well," she said. "I'm going to get
some answers." She exited the kitchen and followed the path of her
father.

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