Subject: [fanfic] Ukyou's Other Woman 3/6
From: sebast5228@theonramp.net (Trisha Sebastian)
Date: 7/24/1997, 7:00 AM
To: fanfic@fanfic.com


Ukyou's Other Woman 3/6
by Trisha Sebastian
[insert standard disclaimer here;
Megumi is my character.  Any use 
of her in a fanfic can only be
done with my permission.]




	After Akane and Ranma left to go see Ukyou, I moped around the
house.  Kasumi offered to show me the market, and Nabiki wanted to
go shopping, but I declined.  After what Akane told me yesterday, I had
a lot of things to think about.

	I remember running out of the restaurant, berating myself, for
immediately jumping to conclusions.  Ukyou Kuonji is a guy, therefore,
that woman is not Ukyou.  It didn't dawn on me until later that the
woman knew who I was or that she responded to the nickname.  All I could
remember were her words to me:  "I'm not the Ukyou Kuonji you remember."
The words hammered themselves into my brain until I stopped running.

	Akane and Ranma found me at the bridge overlooking the canal.  They
said that they were friends of Ukyou's and that they told Ukyou what had
happened there at the restaurant.  Akane assured me that I didn't embarrass
the owner of that restaurant at all and that Ukyou insisted that I stay
with them for the evening.  I accepted, knowing full well that I didn't
have any other place to go for the night.  To tell the full truth, I really
didn't know what to expect once I did find Ukyou.  Ranma ran off to tell
the family that there was going to be a guest, and Akane and I walked
home together.

	The curious side of myself asked the question before I even knew
I was asking it.  "You're a friend of Ukyou's right?"  Akane nodded
in the affirmative.  "Has he ever mentioned me?"

	Akane stopped.  I saw a look of indecision on her face before she
answered.  "No," she said, "Ukyou never talked a lot about his past."

	I laughed.  "And don't I know it!  He was always so quiet and
secretive.  It took me about two days to figure out where he was born!"

	Akane gave me a piercing look.  "So you know nothing about his
past or his... childhood?"

	I looked her straight in the eyes and said, "No.  He never told
me anything about his past.  Every time I tried to bring up the subject,
he would clam up and change topics."  I pauses slightly before continuing.
"I do know this: what ever happened, he was tormented by it until the
very last day I saw him."

	Akane swallowed nervously.  "How can you tell?"

	I affected a light tone.  "Oh, lemme see... The last time I 
saw Ukyou, he was training for a challenge duel."  I paused, wondering
how I should put this.  "You know how good Ukyou is.  I knew that he
was a good martial artist, and that he was strong."  I looked over at 
Akane, and she motioned at me to continue.  "There was a large tree
he was squaring off against.  The trunk was about three feet
in diameter.  Ukyou sliced through it like it was nothing."

	I turned to Akane and I saw that she looked uncomfortable under
my gaze.  My heart felt like it was breaking.  "Akane, you must know
the people he was fighting against."  I brandished the letter.
"He said he was seeking peace.  Ukyou said that he'd always miss me.
It's like he's telling me that he'd never see me ever again.  The look in
his eyes that day was a look of pure rage.  My gut feeling is that 
either Ukyou is severely hurt or dead or in jail for murder."  I grabbed 
Akane by the shoulders.  "Tell me that this isn't true!"

	Akane sighed with relief and said, "No, Ukyou's fine.  He's
not dead, and he's a little hurt, but he didn't kill anyone. Just severely
hurt one of them."

	"One?  I asked, my eyebrows raised.  "He had a challenge match
against two people?"

	"Yes," she said.  "They were father and son."

	I could see that Akane didn't want to talk about it, as if she 
knew who the people were and was defending them.  I let the subject drop.
I didn't want to know about the matter from any other person but Ukyou.

	We walked on a couple more blocks, and then Akane asked me a 
question.  "Why did you decide to follow Ukyou all the way here?"

	I thought about it for a while.  "When I got the letter, I felt
this sense of fear that I'd never see him again.  And I knew that it wasn't
right for him to go away without at least telling me."  I looked down at 
the ground.  "I was afraid for him, and I was angry at him."  I laughed
a little harshly and Akane jumped back a little.  "And that's when
I figured out that I had fallen in love with him."

	Akane looked uncomfortable.  "How do you know?"

	I smiled.  "It's a feeling that you never forget when it hits you.
All of a sudden, you want to be with the person you love all the time.  
You find yourself fantasizing about what might have been, or what might be.
And most importantly, you feel as if you'd protect this person under any
circumstances."  I stopped in my tracks, turned around and looked back
in the direction of the restaurant.  "I love Ukyou.  I would follow
him to the ends of the earth.  And though I don't think I could kill,
anyone who has ever harmed Ukyou will have to deal with me."  I looked
at Akane.  "You feel that way about Ranma?"

	Akane's reaction surprised me.  "That baka?" she replied, incred-
ulous.  "Of course not!  I'm not in love with that insensitive jerk!
We're not even going out!"

	"But he lives with you?"

	She stopped walking to look at me and I shrugged.  Akane started
to laugh and then she smiled.  "Well, yeah, he lives with me.  You see...."

	Akane proceeded to explain the circumstance of Ranma and his 
father living with them at their house, the martial arts school, and the
promise their drunken fathers had made.  I, in turn, explained all about
how I met Ukyou and our friendship.  By the time we had reached the dojo,
we were good friends.  I got to match faces with names, but I was very 
tired from the my trip.  So after dinner, I begged off a bath and 
went straight to sleep.

	I looked at the clock in the living room.  Kasumi was cleaning
up the dining table and Nabiki was in her room.  Tendou-san and Saotome-
san were playing shogi on the porch.  Akane and Ranma were still out; they
had missed lunch.  I got up hurriedly and went to the front gate.  No
sign of either of them.  I walked slowly back to the living room and
was about to plop back down on the rug when Kasumi stuck her head in the
doorway.

	"I have found that a tranquil work out will always calm my
nerves when I'm worried about anything," she suggested.  She gestured
towards the dojo.  "You are free to use it, as our guest."

	I looked up in surprise.  I hadn't noticed it much, since it
was well after dark when we got here, but then I remembered that Akane 
said it was the part of the house she was the most proud of.  I bowed
in gratitude and hurried off to change.

	I entered the dojo somewhat cautiously.  From what Akane
told me, and from the looks of the fight outside this morning, the
dojo took a lot of beatings.  This morning, Ranma had narrowly
missed falling into the koi pond by crashing through the roof of the
dojo instead.  Saotome-san called a draw at that point, because as he 
punched Ranma towards the pond, he had to turn sideways to absorb Ranma's
kick.  As as a result, he sent himself sprawling across the porch.

	I bowed to the shrine, and started my work out.  Usually it
calms me, but as I kicked and punched, I realized that much of my
routine was full of things that Ukyou had taught me.  There was a spare
2 x 4 on the floor, and picking it up, I went through the katas again,
swing it around like one would a spatula.  As I finished up with a vaulting
spin kick, I heard the door slide open.  I turned towards the door to 
find Ranma watching me.

	"Not bad," he said, as he entered the dojo.  He was dressed in
his Chinese shirt and trousers.  "Mind if I join in?"

	"Of course not," I said, out of breath.  "It's your dojo, or 
at least it will be."

	Ranma flushed and looked down at the ground.  I instantly regretted
the words as they came out of my mouth.  "Sorry, Ranma," I apologized.
"I didn't mean to stick my foot in--"

	He interrupted me with a brief shake of his head, and said, "It's
okay, Megumi."  He started up with an intricate kata that defied description.

	I tried to breach the silence again.  "I mean with the kind of stuff
you can do, it would be a shame if you didn't have a dojo to teach in."

	He looked up at me in surprise, and then continued with the kata,
his face wiped of all expression.

	I turned to leave.  "I don't want to bother you."

	"Wait!" he said.  I turned back around to find him looking at me
strangely.  "I gotta question."

	"What's it about?"

	"It's about Ukyou."

	I gave him my full attention.  "Go ahead."

	Ranma put his hand behind his head, and scratched it for a while.
He opened his mouth, thought better of it, then closed it again.  His feet
traced a pattern on the floor and then he turned away.  "Nah, never mind." 

	He went back to his kata, leaping spectacularly across the dojo,
landing on one foot, turned and punched from the position.  Then he dropped
to one knee, swept his foot out and rolled over onto his feet.

	I shrugged.  "If there isn't anything else--"

	"You love Ukyou, don't you?"  Ranma was still engrossed in the kata,
kicking and punching and leaping, but the air was heavy with the inquiry.

	"Yes.  I do."  I wasn't going to make any excuses, nor give
him less than the truth.

	"Well, what if... he don't love you?"

	I paled.  I hadn't thought of that before.  I slumped against the
the sliding door, and slid to the floor.  In all the conversations we
had together, Ukyou had never mentioned loving any one, much less liking
any one.  In fact, there was this one girl he told me about who kept 
pestering him with gifts and letters.  The look of disgust on his face
told me that Ukyou didn't go for the hearts and flowers routine.  The 
intensity in his eyes told me that if he ever did like anyone, it would
be with a quiet passion.  Then it hit me.

	I lifted my head towards Ranma and said, "He's engaged, isn't he?"

	Ranma turned back towards me so quickly that he lost his balance
and crashed into the wall.  I continued on quickly, so I could get the
words out of my mouth.  "That's why he came here.  He had to fight for 
this girl, fight for her hand in marriage.  And that's why he didn't want
to see me last night.  Because he's ashamed to face me, because he didn't 
tell me before.  And now I can never see him again...."  I ran out of the
dojo, my eyes filled with tears.  I stumbled across the lawn, into the
house and up the stairs.  I passed Akane in the hallway and she grabbed
me shouting, "Megumi!  What's wrong?"

	I hiccuped and sobbed, "Ranma said...  Ukyou's engaged...."

	Akane set her face in anger and tore down the stairs.  I heard the
door slam and as I ran into her room, I heard the sounds of shouting and
crashing coming from the dojo.  I threw myself across the bed and sobbed.
Last night when I unpacked my things, I had taken out the one picture I
had of Ukyou, at my brother's birthday party.  My dad had one shot left,
and he had grouped us hastily together.  My arm was around Ukyou's and his
head was tilted towards mine.  We were happy in that picture.  I was
miserable right now.

	Akane called me down to dinner several times, and once I heard
Ranma's hesitant step outside the door, but I made no answer.  I just
kept staring at that picture, wondering how foolish I could have been
to follow a person I barely knew all the way over here.  My eyes were
red and puffy when I heard a knock at the door.  "Come in," I replied,
listlessly.

	The door opened behind me, and a voice I hadn't heard in a while
said, "Hello, Megumi."

	It was Ukyou.



TO BE CONTINUED.......

Author's Notes:

7-24-97

This chapter took longer to write than usual.  I really didn't know where
I wanted to take this one, but once I started writing yesterday, it
all fell into place.

Also, because of some help from our resident Vulture of the Press, Mike
Loader, I'm changing Megumi's name for Ukyou from Uk-san to Ukkun.
Makes more sense, ne?

Everything will be corrected by the time I post this to RAAC.  In fact,
I'm thinking of sending the prologue and first two chapters today.
When they'll get there is anybody's guess.

Remember, comments and criticisms go to <sebast5228@theonramp.net>
since I'm not subbed anymore.  Flames can be put in the trash where
they belong.


Foxtrot the Furryous, CBTFH, ret.