Hi!  This is about the fourth time I've sent this story to 
the FFML, under four different titles.  This will be the 
last time; for better or worse, I'm sticking with this 
version.  :)

This is based on my "Thy Inward Love" series and takes 
place about two years after the end of that story.

Any and all criticisms gratefully accepted.

-Richard
sterman@sprynet.com

|------------------------------------------------------|
| All of my fanfics can be found on my fanfic web page |
|  http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/sterman/fanfic.htm  |
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The Ingredients of an Okonomiyaki

by Richard Lawson

Comments & Criticism welcome!
sterman@sprynet.com


Ukyo watched carefully as the batter was poured on the 
grill.  It hissed, then settled into a familiar round 
shape.  Ingredients were added, then it was flipped.  More 
ingredients were added, with flair.  Finally the finished 
okonomiyaki was scooped off the grill and given to the 
waiting customer.

The customer thanked them and took a bite.  He nodded his 
appreciation, then wandered away from the cart.

Ukyo beamed.  "I could do that!"

"Do you think so?"  Father gave her a speculative look. 
 "What's the first step in preparing okonomiyaki?"

This was a trick question, but Ukyo knew the answer.  "Wash 
your hands!"

Father's face was impassive, but she could see the approval 
in his eyes. "What's the greatest danger?"

"The grill, when it's hot, you never ever touch it."

"Hmmm."  Father looked at her for a long moment.  "One last 
rule.  You never use the grill unless I'm here.  Do you 
understand, Daughter?"

"I understand, Father."  She danced on her feet.  "Can I 
make some okonomiyaki  now?"

He began to nod, then suddenly froze, looking off to the 
side.

Ukyo looked that way, and saw nothing but bushes.  "What is 
it, Father?"

Father looked down and started preparing another 
okonomiyaki.  Ukyo frowned at him in puzzlement; wasn't she 
supposed to be making one?  She didn't say anything because 
Father looked very serious.  He flipped the okonomiyaki, 
added some toppings, then reached down underneath the cart 
and grabbed a few of his special spatulas.

Suddenly the bushes exploded.  A large man came shooting 
out, running towards the cart.  He made a flying leap at 
the okonomiyaki on the cart.

Father threw his spatulas at the big man.  Ukyo knew that 
they were just practice spatulas with dull edges. 
 Nevertheless, the man grunted in pain as the spatulas 
struck him.  Father grabbed his largest spatula and leapt 
over the cart.  Soon he and the big man were hard at it.

Ukyo watched them in awe.  Father was very good at 
fighting, and he had taught her a few basic moves so that 
she could defend herself.  The big man seemed to be good, 
too.  It was fun to watch them.

Her attention was suddenly drawn to the bushes where the 
big man had come from. A boy was watching her and the cart. 
 They looked at each other; then the boy drew his eyebrows 
together and gave her a hard smile.  Ukyo shuffled her feet 
and planted herself, excited and determined.  No one was 
going to steal from her father's cart.

The boy bounded from the bushes and ran towards her.  She 
clenched her fists, preparing to hit him real hard.  It 
looked like he was used to it; one of his feet had a large 
bruise on it.

Just as she was about to swing her fists, he jumped.  He 
sailed over her as she shouted.  He landed on the cart, his 
feet perched on the shelf above the grill. He reached for 
the okonomiyaki, then snatched his hand back as he felt the 
heat of the grill.

Ukyo reached up and pulled him off the cart.  He somehow 
twisted as he fell, grabbing her shoulders and bringing her 
down with him.  They wrestled on the ground together for a 
while before the boy ended up sitting on her chest, holding 
her wrists and smiling wickedly at her.

"Enough, kids."  Ukyo looked to see her father with his arm 
around the big man's shoulder.  They both looked quite 
scruffy.

The boy seemed as surprised as she was.  "What're you 
doing, Pop?"

The big man laughed.  "Don't worry, Son.  This is a man 
that respects martial artists."

Father laughed.  "You are both very good.  I haven't had 
such a challenge in a long time.  Here."  He went over to 
the cart, grabbed a spatula, and flipped the okonomiyaki 
towards the big man.  "It's a little..."

The big man jumped, grabbed it out of the air with his 
mouth, and swallowed it almost whole.

"...burnt."  Father looked at the big man curiously, then 
shrugged.  He turned to the boy.  "Would you like one?"

"Sure!"  The boy released her and jumped up.  He watched 
intently as Father began making another okonomiyaki.

Ukyo got up and bounced over to the boy.  "I can cook too!" 
 It wasn't strictly true, but it soon would be.

The boy examined her for a moment, then grinned.  "You 
fight okay, but you're not as good as me.  I'm Ranma!"

Ukyo grinned.  "I'm Ukyo and I make okonomiyaki!"

Ranma beamed at her.  "Okonomi Ucchan."

***

Ukyo grunted as she set down the box of noodles.  This 
refrigerator wasn't as big as the one in her first 
restaurant, and it was sometimes a challenge to make 
everything fit.

The maker of the noodles handed her another box.  "I can do 
this for you, Ukyo- san.  It is a part of my job."

She quirked a corner of her mouth at him.  "Thanks, 
Ikaru-san, but I need to arrange everything just so, or 
it'll all collapse."

Ikaru nodded sympathetically.  "Well, you certainly have 
things well organized. You're real good at that sort of 
stuff."

Ukyo let out another grunt as she set the box on the pile. 
 "You have to be to work in this refrigerator."  She backed 
out and closed the door firmly.  "There. Ready for another 
few days."  She turned to Ikaru.  "See you tomorrow at the 
other restaurant.  I'll have my orders for you there."

"Okay, Ukyo."  Ikaru looked at her for a second.

She looked back at him, idly wondering what was on his 
mind.  Hopefully he wasn't going to ask her why her days to 
pay had increased a bit of late.  She wasn't sure she would 
be able to give him a good answer.

He smiled somewhat nervously.  "Um, I saw your friend the 
other day."

Ukyo's mind raced, trying to figure out which of her 
friends he might have seen.  "Kasumi?"

Ikaru nodded.  "She wanted to buy some of my noodles.  She 
said that you had told her that I made good noodles, and 
she wanted some for her own cooking."  He smiled shyly at 
her.  "I wanted to thank you for that.  Maybe I'll start 
expanding into retail if I get enough positive feedback."

Ukyo smiled happily at him.  "That's good.  Did you sell 
her some noodles?"

"Of course.  Gave her wholesale prices, too, just because 
she was so friendly. We talked for a while.  She, uh, had 
some good advice for me."

Ukyo laughed.  "It was nice of you to give her a good 
price, Ikaru-san.  But be careful; she likes to mother 
everyone.  If you give her a chance, she'll be telling you 
to wash before dinner and making sure you eat right."

"Oh?  Uh, thanks for the warning."  Ikaru paused for 
another moment, looked down at his watch, grimaced, and 
left out the back door.

Ukyo smiled after him.  He made the noodles all by himself, 
and delivered them to her restaurants.  He did a good job, 
and was a pleasant person as well.  A good guy to do 
business with.

Business.  It was always business.  Her whole life was 
business.

Ukyo grit her teeth and spun on her heel.  She strode to 
the front of the restaurant, finding a small bit of comfort 
in the sounds of customers eating her food.  The assistant 
manager was ringing up a sale at the register.  Ukyo waited 
until she was done.  "The noodles were just delivered.  We 
should have enough until Wednesday.  Let me know when you 
open the last box."

Ukyo raised her chin and stared at the ceiling, trying to 
organize her thoughts. "Try to get everyone out of here by 
midnight.  Make sure the grill gets thoroughly cleaned this 
time, and watch the freezer door - it sometimes doesn't 
close all the way."

The assistant manager nodded her head.  Ukyo could sense 
impatience from her, as if she was saying "Of course!  I 
don't need you to tell me what my job is." Ukyo knew, 
however, that things like that tended to be forgotten if 
she didn't spell them out.

Without any further comment, Ukyo turned and left the 
restaurant.  She unlocked her bicycle and began cycling her 
way towards Nerima.

Depression hovered at the edge of her consciousness.  She'd 
been very excited about opening a second restaurant.  She 
hadn't realized how much extra work it would be for her. 
 Things had been so much simpler when she was the only 
person running the restaurant.  Now she had to worry about 
employees that didn't have as hard a work ethic as she did, 
who would let things slide by if she didn't stay on top of 
them.  She had to pay them and give them benefits and 
vacations and cover for them when they called in sick 
(which happened a lot, more so than she had ever thought 
possible - she herself had only been sick a very few times 
her whole life).

Her profit margin had been gobbled up in a hurry.  She'd 
been forced to raise her prices, which had lost her a few 
customers.  It had been easy to save enough money to open a 
second restaurant; now she was struggling to meet expenses. 
Which explained why she was riding a bicycle halfway across 
Tokyo, rather than driving or taking the train.

She gritted her teeth and began pedaling faster.  She lost 
herself in the feel of the wind in her face and the 
exertion of maintaining her speed.  She ran a couple of red 
lights, feeling reckless.

After a few minutes she slowed down.  The rational side of 
her mind reasserted itself.  There was no need to risk her 
life or a traffic violation simply because she was feeling 
a little down.

Her first restaurant came into view.  She rode around to 
the back, dismounted, and locked up her bicycle.  She spent 
a minute composing herself before entering.

She surveyed the dining area, pleased to note that it was 
mostly full.  All reviews of her restaurant had given her 
above average marks, and word of mouth was equally 
enthusiastic, so she was building a steady clientele.  She 
idly wondered whether another price increase would drive 
more of them away.  Ukyo made eye contact with a couple of 
her regulars and smiled at them.  She would have to stop at 
their tables and chat for a moment before they left.

Ukyo caught sight of Konatsu and nodded at him.  He was 
busy running around the tables, serving food, making sure 
everyone had what they needed, and making pleasant small 
talk.  Konatsu had a real gift for customer relations, and 
his tips were simply staggering.  He insisted that all of 
his tips be put into the company's coffers.  Like Ukyo, he 
was much more interested in the company's welfare than his 
own.  Since Ukyo *was* the company, it showed a devotion to 
her she appreciated very much.  His work ethic was the 
equal of her own, and she could count on him to run the 
restaurant by himself.  Ukyo hoped that she would someday 
be able to insure that he was adequately compensated for 
all of the work he did.

Konatsu came up to her and bowed slightly, his kimono 
rustling.  "Hello, Ukyo. Business is good today.  The chef 
wants to leave early tonight because he needs to take his 
daughter to the doctor early tomorrow morning."

Ukyo stifled a sigh.  "All right, give me a moment to 
change and I'll take over the grill.  Oh, and give tables 
six and eight free desserts with my compliments."

Konatsu bowed again, then moved quickly but gracefully away 
to pick up some more orders.  Ukyo allowed herself a moment 
to admire his form.  He still liked to dress as a woman, 
and he pulled it off admirably.  He was lithe and winsome, 
and when he danced from table to table, helping the 
customers as much as he could, he was poetry in motion. 
 Ukyo had no romantic interest in him at all, but she did 
admire him aesthetically.  He was a good friend, too.

She had so many "good friends" she wanted to scream.

Ukyo shook herself before that train of thought could 
continue its oft-traveled, depressing journey.  She turned, 
opened the door to the stairs, and climbed to her room on 
the second floor.

She began changing into her chef's outfit.  Halfway 
through, she caught sight of herself in the mirror and 
stopped.  She walked slowly towards the mirror, watching 
her image move uncertainly towards her.  She placed her 
hands on her dressing table and leaned forward until she 
and her image were an arm's length apart.

She examined herself closely.  Three years ago, after being 
told that she was "cute", she'd finally embraced her 
femininity.  While she had never made any particular effort 
to show off her good looks, neither had she tried to hide 
them, either.  And she *was* attractive, of that she was 
fairly certain.  Not a knockout like Shampoo had been, but 
still plenty good-looking.

She leaned a little closer and scrutinized her face.  It 
seemed to her that she was beginning to develop some worry 
lines on her forehead.  And were those creases at the 
corners of her eyes?  She spent a long time trying to 
determine if her skin was becoming wrinkled.

She barked a laugh at herself.  Over the hill at nineteen.

She eventually realized that she was wasting a lot of time 
and gave up.  Besides, she thought to herself as she threw 
on her cooking clothes, staring into mirrors was a good 
indication of narcissism, something she had no interest in 
becoming a part of.

Ukyo went downstairs and relieved the chef.  He murmured 
his thanks.  She nodded and stepped behind the grill.

She looked around.  Ingredients *here*, spatulas *there*. 
 Batter on her left, cooking oil on her right.  Heat pus  
hing against her face.  Her mind clearing, her gut 
tightening in anticipation.  This was her one true joy in 
life.  All the cares of the world faded away as her mind 
slipped into the discipline of cooking.

Konatsu gave her an order.  She nodded and picked up the 
ladle.  Batter was quickly and efficiently poured on the 
grill, shaping itself exactly to her desires.  As she put 
on the proscribed ingredients, another order was placed, 
and then another.  She began those preparations, at the 
same time making sure the first okonomiyaki received all 
the attention it was due.  She served it up, flipped 
another, and took note of another order waiting for her. 
 Her breathing quickened as the challenge grew more 
complex.  But it was all well within her abilities, and she 
smiled as grabbed the ladle once again.

The hours slid by as Ukyo moved with the rhythm of her 
restaurant.  She was almost disappointed when the last of 
her customers left.  She and Konatsu were soon cleaning up 
and putting the restaurant in order.  With no small regret, 
Ukyo forced her mind out of the almost-euphoric trance it 
had achieved during the cooking and began thinking of what 
she needed to do tomorrow to keep her business afloat.

Konatsu put the last of the glasses away, and smiled at 
Ukyo.  "Another day successfully completed.  We live to do 
battle again tomorrow."

Ukyo laughed; it was an apt analogy.  "That we do."  She 
looked at him, and put a teasing tone into her voice. 
 "Will you be seeing Fumiko tonight?"

He blushed furiously.  "Actually, there's something I've 
been meaning to tell you."

Ukyo raised an eyebrow.  "Yes?"

"Um..."  He looked down at his feet.  "I... I'm going to be 
moving in with Fumiko.  We'll be renting a new apartment 
together starting the first of next month."

"Konatsu!"  Ukyo grinned from ear to ear.  "That's 
wonderful!  When's the marriage?"  She meant that in a 
teasing way.

To her surprise, he turned a darker shade of red.  "We were 
thinking maybe next spring."

Ukyo's mouth dropped open.  "Konatsu!"  She was repeating 
herself.  To add variety, she flung herself at him and 
hugged him fiercely.  "That is *so* great! I'm happy for 
you."

"Thanks, Ukyo."  He pushed her away and looked into her 
eyes.  "It would never have been possible if you and Ranma 
hadn't gotten me away from my family and into a good job. 
 I owe you both so much."

Ukyo smiled widely.  "You owe me nothing.  My business 
wouldn't be where it is today without you."  She stepped 
away and pointed to the front door.  "Now, get out of here 
and spend some time with your fiancée.  All work and no 
play makes Konatsu a dull kunoichi."

Konatsu laughed, bowed, and left.

Ukyo's smile faded as melancholy filled her soul.  How had 
Konatsu done it? Found true love when he was as busy as 
Ukyo.  It should have been harder for him, since some of 
his idiosyncrasies were not widely accepted.   Yet he'd 
found time to fall in love.

Ukyo sighed.  Why couldn't she do the same?

She locked up and turned out the lights.  She made her way 
upstairs, got ready for bed, and crawled underneath the 
covers.  She always turned off the heat at night in an 
effort to save a few yen; tonight, for some reason, she was 
especially chilled.  How long had it been since she'd had 
someone to share her bed with?  A year, it had been at 
least a year.  Kaneto had been a very nice guy, if a little 
wild.  They'd had some very good times, but in the end he'd 
gotten bored with her rigorous lifestyle, and she'd gotten 
fed up with his irresponsible actions.  They'd parted more 
or less amicably, and Ukyo had not found anyone to replace 
him.  There was a price she was paying for choosing to live 
as she did, spending sixteen hours a day or more trying to 
keep her restaurants in business.  Part of that price was 
loneliness.

Something tapped against the window of her bedroom.  She 
looked over at it, alarm filling her.  The alarm grew when 
she saw someone hanging upside-down just outside the 
window.  For a second she panicked; then she realized who 
it had to be.

She got up, shivering slightly in the cold air, and turned 
on the bedroom light. This didn't especially help, since 
the window merely acted as a mirror.  She went over and 
opened the window, allowing the light to illuminate the man 
hanging around outside.

"Ranma, what are you doing?"  She wasn't mad, exactly, just 
tired.

Ranma himself looked weary.  "Uh, hi.  Sorry to disturb 
you.  Can I come in?"

Ukyo stifled a sigh and stepped back from the window. 
 Ranma flipped himself inside.  Another time she might have 
admired his dexterity; now she was too depressed and too 
exhausted to be able to generate any strong feelings.  "Do 
you know what time it is?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry."  Ranma looked even wearier, and 
embarrassed.  "I didn't know where else to go."

Ukyo rubbed her arms, and went over to her closet to pull 
out a robe.  "How about home?"

He didn't say anything as she put on her robe.  Frowning, 
she turned around to see Ranma looking quite miserable. 
 "Well, you see, that's the problem. Akane... Akane threw 
me out."

This managed to penetrate Ukyo's tired haze.  "What!  What 
happened?"  She went over, closed the window, pulled him 
over to the bed, and sat down with him, holding his hands. 
 "Tell Ukyo all about it."

Ranma sighed, but Ukyo could see that he was glad she had 
asked him; he wanted to talk.  Slowly, the story emerged.

***

Ranma poked at his food unenthusiastically.  Akane's 
cooking had gotten much better since their marriage.  That 
still meant it was pretty awful.  She was still quite 
touchy about the subject, too.

Soun seemed to be struggling as well.  After a couple of 
bites, he stopped eating and started playing with baby 
Nouma.  The newborn was months away from eating solid food, 
so was spared any of his mother's fare.

Akane was mechanically eating her food, glaring at the men 
around the table. She'd only gotten back from the hospital 
two days ago, and had insisted on fixing dinner.  Ranma's 
offers to prepare dinner had been coldly rebuffed.

Ranma steeled himself and took another bite.  The worst 
thing was that he never knew what to expect when he bit 
into her food.  This time, something liquid squirted inside 
his mouth, burning his tongue.  He used all of his control 
to keep from gagging.  He swallowed and quickly drank some 
tea.  Unfortunately, Akane had prepared this as well, and 
it was much too strong.  Ranma began coughing, quickly 
grabbing his napkin and covering his mouth.

Something bounced off his head; he wasn't sure what.  He 
looked up at a furious Akane.  "Is there something wrong 
with my cooking?"

Ranma tried to speak calmly and reasonably.  "I didn't say 
anything."

"You're certainly making quite a scene.  You don't have to 
be so mean!"  This last she said in a voice close to tears.

"Akane, please."  He tried to keep his own resentment at 
her unfair accusations out of his voice.  "I just swallowed 
too quickly and got something caught in my throat."  He 
felt bad about the lie, but he needed to calm her down 
first.

It worked to an extent; she merely glared at him and went 
back to her dinner.

Ranma sighed silently, then stood up.  "I've got to get 
ready for class tonight."

Soun smiled brightly at him.  "Ah, Son, you're doing such a 
wonderful job. You've got more students than I ever had. 
 The School is lucky to have you."

Ranma gave him a weak smile before turning to enter the 
dojo.  Soun was right, he did have a lot of students.  Many 
of them were former classmates at Furinkan, wanting to be 
able to do the things they'd seen him do during his 
tumultuous education.  Somewhat to his surprise, he'd 
turned out to be a good teacher, patiently instructing his 
students on the tenets behind the Anything Goes School of 
Martial Arts.

Ranma spent the next two hours teaching a beginning and an 
intermediate course.  When they were gone, he spent another 
hour working out by himself, trying to clear his head of 
the unpleasantness over dinner.  Two years of marriage to 
Akane had still not taught him to adequately deal with her 
mercurial nature.  While that was part of what he loved 
about her, sometimes it was very, very frustrating to have 
to deal with.

His sense of duty eventually forced him to return to the 
house.  Akane shouldn't have to tend to the baby all by 
herself.  Newborns needed constant attention, and Ranma was 
determined to do his fair share.

He went upstairs and found Akane sitting in the nursery, 
which happened to be her old room.  She was nursing the 
baby and rocking him at the same time.  She looked up, and 
Ranma was shocked to see tears on her face.

"Well, did you enjoy spending so much time away from me?" 
 Her voice sounded cold and angry.

Ranma grimaced, fighting his own anger and guilt.  "I was 
just teaching my classes."

"Which ended an hour ago."

"I need to keep myself in shape as well."  He stopped 
himself before he made more excuses.  This was not the way 
to try and make Akane feel better.  "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?"  Her voice was getting louder and more hysterical. 
 "Sorry for what? Sorry that you have such a bad cook for a 
wife?  Sorry that we had a son that needs to be taken care 
of?  Sorry that you married a miserable hag?"

"Akane!"  He clenched his jaw, tried to calm himself. 
 "Don't do this.  Remember what the sensei said?  The 
post-something depression?"

"Admit it Ranma!"  Akane stood up, still holding the baby 
carefully, Ranma was glad to note, despite her anger. 
 "You're sorry we had Nouma, aren't you?  Sorry that we got 
married.  You'd rather be out fighting with someone than be 
spending any time with me!"

He couldn't control his anger any longer.  "Don't say 
that!"  He was shouting, but was beyond caring.  "I love 
you!  I love our son!  Don't ever try to tell me what I'm 
feeling!"

"Love?"  Akane threw the baby's pacifier at Ranma.  Nouma, 
his nursing interrupted by all of Akane's motions, began to 
squirm.  "What do you know about love?  Love to you means 
being able to have sex on a regular basis.  Well, I'm sorry 
that we haven't been able to do that for the past few 
weeks.  You'll just have to go elsewhere to find 'love'."

Ranma was so angry that he was able to understand the truth 
behind the phrase "seeing red".  He took several shuddering 
breaths, trying to control his fury. And his pain.  She'd 
hurt him terribly just now.

"I do love you."  He spoke quietly, slowly, pronouncing 
each word carefully. "At least, I loved the woman I 
married.  I don't know how I feel about the person standing 
in front of me right now."

He regretted the words as soon as he said them.  He saw her 
eyes widen, and he knew that he'd just hurt her as well.

"Get out!"  She picked up one of the baby's toys and threw 
it at him.  "Get out of my house!  Get out of my life!" 
 The baby started crying, which only caused Akane to shout 
even more loudly.  "I want you out, Ranma!  Just... OUT!"

Ranma bit his tongue, shaking with anger over the injustice 
of it all.  A book hit him squarely in the forehead, and 
that was enough to make him spin on his heel and storm out 
of the room, down the stairs, and through the front door.

He walked, and left his life behind him.

***

"Oh God."  Ukyo drew a deep breath.  What Ranma had just 
been through sounded thoroughly awful.  If that's what 
married life was like, perhaps it was best that she'd 
missed out on it so far.

She focused on Ranma.  He seemed beyond pain or anger, 
beyond any emotion, really.  He just looked tired.

He looked up at her.  "I need a place to spend the night. 
 Can I stay here?  My mom's place is clear across town, and 
I don't want to disturb her this late; she's due any day 
now, and she needs her sleep."  Ukyo looked at Ranma 
steadily for a minute.  Obviously, he needed some help with 
what he'd just gone through.  Also obviously, they were 
both too tired to really be able to discuss it rationally. 
 "Sure."  She frowned; she had precious little space here 
on the second floor.  The only spare room she had was being 
used by Konatsu.  She didn't feel comfortable offering it 
to Ranma, even if Konatsu was unlikely to return tonight.

"You can sleep on the floor in here," she decided.  She got 
up and pulled some extra linen out of the closet, along 
with a blanket.  "I'm sorry; this is the best I can offer."

"Hey, that's okay.  It's very generous of you, actually." 
 He took the linen for her and began arranging a place for 
himself at the other side of the room.

She went over and turned off the lights.  She crawled back 
into bed, sleep beginning to overtake her already.  She 
heard Ranma fumble about and take off his clothes.  Ukyo 
picked up a pillow and threw it at him.  He spun and 
plucked it out of the air, then murmured his thanks.

She drifted off to sleep, thinking about married life. 
 Ranma and Akane had a son now.  Ukyo wanted to have a 
child someday, although not right now.  But someday. 
 Having a child could only happen if you had sex, of 
course, which meant having a boyfriend.  Her mind, losing 
its rationality as she drifted off to sleep, filled her 
heads with memories of Kaneto in bed with her.  Except he 
had a pig-tail; when had he grown that?  She couldn't 
remember.

Ukyo woke a while later to the sound of a crash.  She 
turned her head and opened one eye to see Ranma, in the 
darkness, bent over her dresser.  He spoke to her, sounding 
more asleep then awake.  "Bathroom?"

"Down the hall to your right."  She couldn't remember if it 
was the first or second door, so she decided to close her 
eyes again and let Ranma figure it out for himself.  He 
should know where it is, since he lived here.  Didn't he? 
Maybe they weren't married yet.  She'd think about it some 
more in the morning.

Every time she thought she was about to fall back asleep, 
something brought her back to the edge of consciousness. 
 The bedroom door opening.  Another door, down the hall, 
opening and closing.  Yet another door opening and closing. 
 The sound of the toilet flushing.  The bathroom door doing 
its thing again.  The sound of someone entering her room 
and closing the door.  Someone crawling into bed with her.

She turned around and put her arms around him, nestling her 
head on his shoulder.  He responded by wrapping his arm 
around her shoulders.  Their feet touched, and they wrapped 
their legs around each other.

She sighed happily, putting a touch of pleasure into it. 
 This felt *so* good. How long had it been since she'd made 
love to him?  She couldn't remember. Maybe it was time to 
reacquaint herself with the experience.

She kissed his shoulder, somewhat surprised to find that he 
was wearing a tank top.  When had he ever worn one of 
those?  Boy, that was strange.

He turned his head and kissed the top of her head.  He 
dropped his head back on top of the pillow, which she took 
to mean he was too tired to go any further. She could 
accept that; maybe they could do something in the morning.

She raised herself up and kissed him.  He responded, and it 
went on for a while. She broke it off, trying to respect 
his desire for sleep.  She snuggled up to him, enjoying the 
feeling of his body next to hers.

"Love you, Sugar," she mumbled happily, letting sleep 
overwhelm her.

"I love you, Akane..."  He trailed off into sleep.

Something about that bothered her, but she was asleep 
before she could figure out what it was.

***

Ranma couldn't think clearly.  A woman's body next to his, 
it had been a while since she'd hugged him like this.  The 
bed was too small, it was the bed of the beach house where 
he'd first discovered her body, then it was her bed at 
home, but that was even smaller, and then it was the new 
bed, the one they used in the room they made their own. 
 This one was the right one.

He was aroused, they were kissing passionately, their 
clothes were off, her skin on his, electrifying, good.  His 
hands roamed over her body, enjoying its softness.

Then they were deep into sex, she was groaning tremulously 
as he began to build towards to a climax, succumbing, 
feeling wonderful.  He could smell the sea, the sea always 
made him think of sex with her, the salt reminding him of 
the salt of her body, slick with sweat.

Then they were lying next to each other, their arms wrapped 
around one another, and the love they shared saturating the 
air around them.  She told him over and over that she loved 
him, that she needed him and would always be there for him. 
He smiled, and told her that he loved her.  The joy that 
filled him was as pure as he had ever felt, and he was glad 
that she was there to share it with.

***

Ukyo woke before her alarm could go off, as she usually 
did.  The first thing she became aware of was that her 
right arm was asleep.  The second thing she noticed was 
that the reason for that was she had fallen asleep with her 
arms around somebody.

Then, like a bolt of lightning, she realized who it was 
that was lying next to her.  The memories of last night 
flooded over her, along with tinges of guilt.

She disentangled herself from Ranma and sat up, staring at 
him.  He began to stir.  She moved as far away from as she 
could.  He opened his eyes, saw her, and smiled.

Then a look of pure horror came over his face.  He rolled 
over quickly and fell out of her bed.  He scrambled over to 
his clothes, picked them up, and jumped into her closet, 
closing the door behind him.

Ukyo couldn't help but smile.  Ranma had a tendency to 
over-react, which got him into trouble more often than not. 
 Perhaps it was just as well that he had reacted this way; 
it was best that they not treat last night like something 
that should be repeated.  They'd actually kissed, if she 
remembered correctly, and it had felt good, too.  It would 
be too easy to carry it too far.

She bit her lip, trying to remember if it *had* gone too 
far.  She was fairly certain it hadn't; surely they would 
have stopped long before it had reached that point.  She 
did a quick check of the physical evidence just to make 
sure.  She nodded, satisfied.  A kiss was as far as they'd 
gone.

Still, that was plenty far enough, especially given Ranma's 
sense of honor.  She chuckled, remembering the look on his 
face, as she got out of bed and put on her robe.  She'd 
probably have to calm Ranma down a bit, but it would 
probably help him to realize how much he needed Akane.  Now 
that she thought of it, she could remember him mumbling 
Akane's name.  He had been thinking of her as he'd fallen 
asleep.

Some melancholy filled her as she went down the hall to the 
bathroom.  It had felt wonderful to have someone in her 
bed.  Not for the physical pleasures, but because of the 
shared intimacy and affection.  She really missed that, 
much more than she missed sex.

She shook her head slightly; she wasn't willing to break up 
a friend's marriage just to meet her need for love.  She 
truly had given up on Ranma.  She liked Akane, and if they 
weren't exactly friends, they got along well.  Ukyo had no 
desire to make her miserable.

She washed herself quickly, put her robe back on and went 
back to her room. Ranma was gone, which surprised her a 
little.  She thought he'd at least say goodbye.

After dressing, Ukyo went downstairs and prepared herself a 
quick breakfast.  As she was finishing, someone rapped on 
the glass of her front door.  She looked up to see Akane 
peering into the restaurant.  Ukyo wiped her hands and went 
over to unlock the door.

Akane came in, her baby in a stroller.  She looked 
frightful; her eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks were 
puffy.  It wasn't hard to imagine that Akane had spent the 
night crying.  Ukyo winced inside; if she had any desire to 
have an affair with Ranma, it was excised by the sight of 
Akane's misery.

"Is Ranma here?"  Her voice was tremulous and anxious.

Ukyo thinned her lips.  "He was.  I let him sleep here last 
night.  He left, though, while I was taking a shower.  He 
didn't let tell me where he was going."

Akane studied Ukyo closely.  Ukyo returned her gaze calmly, 
trying to let her know that nothing had happened between 
her and Ranma.  Nothing *had* happened, not really.

Akane deflated a little, and hung her head.  "I see. 
 Thanks, Ukyo, for taking him in last night.  If you see 
him, let him know..."  She stopped suddenly, choking off a 
sob.  After a moment, she continued.  "Let him know that 
I'd really like him to come home."

Ukyo reached out and squeezed Akane's arm.  "Of course, 
Kiddo."  She paused a second.  "He loves you, you know. 
 He'll be back."

Akane gave her a weak smile.  "Thanks, Ukyo."  Her smiled 
faded and she looked down again.  She turned the stroller 
around and left the restaurant.

Ukyo locked the door and sighed heavily.  She hoped Ranma 
and Akane could work their problems out.  Their love had 
been a year in the making - and realizing. It was as strong 
a love as Ukyo had ever come across.  It would be a 
terrible tragedy if it came to an end.

Ranma needed a home.

***

"Ranchan!"  Ukyo waved at him across the playground.

He saw her and came running up.  "Hiya Ucchan!"  He threw a 
punch at her left shoulder.  She brought up her forearm and 
knocked it away.

"Not bad!  You're learning."  He then threw a punch at her 
right shoulder, so quickly she didn't even notice until it 
connected.

"Ow!"  She rubbed her shoulder and frowned at him.  They 
would wrestle all the time, and she'd win once in a while, 
but she got the feeling he was just letting her win.

His grin faded.  "I'm sorry."  He reached up to rub his own 
shoulder.

"Don't worry."  She reached out to touch his chest. 
 "You're it!"  She turned around and ran away.

"Hey!"  She heard him run after her.

They ran out of the playground.  She ran down the street, 
squealing with laughter.  She ducked to the side and ran up 
the hill.  There was a good trail through the trees that 
she followed.

Ranma dropped from a tree in front of her, and she 
screamed.  She couldn't stop herself and crashed into him. 
 He held her up, and they ended up clutching each other.

He grinned at her.  "You're it."

She gaped at him.  "How did you do that?"

He released her and looked around.  "Pop and I have our 
camp in these hills. I've explored all over.  You took the 
long way here."

She frowned.  "What do you mean, your camp?"

Ranma looked back at her.  "Pop and I always camp out.  We 
never stay anywhere for very long."

"Wow!"  She looked through the trees, trying to find the 
camp.  "Neat!  I wish I could live like that.  When do you 
go home?"

Ranma looked at her blankly.  "Home?"

"You know, your house."

Ranma frowned.  "We've stayed in other people's houses 
before."

Ukyo examined him closely, trying to see if he was fooling 
her.  "Don't you have a house of your own, Ranchan?"

"No..."  He trailed off uncertainly.  "I, uh, don't think 
so.  Sometimes, though..."  He stared off into space.

Ukyo thought about it.  Camping out would be fun.  Would 
she want to do it all the time?  She wasn't sure. 
 Sometimes it was nice to go home and play by herself in 
her own room.

Ranma shook himself and grinned excitedly.  "Hey, I found a 
secret place. Sometimes I go there when I want to be alone. 
 But I don't mind showing it to you, Ucchan!"

Ukyo grinned back at him.  He was a neat guy, to show her 
his secret place.

He grabbed her hand.  Together, they ran down the trail.

***

There was a pounding on the back door.  Ukyo shook herself 
and looked at the clock: delivery time.  She went to the 
back door and let the noodle man in.  She began to think of 
what needed to be done today; she had a full schedule, as 
usual.

Several cases were dumped into her freezer.  She went to 
her desk and got out the order for next week.

She handed it to the delivery man, smiling.  "How's 
business, Ikaru-san?"

He smiled.  "It could be better.  It's tough to operate a 
business on your own; it's hard to compete against the 
corporations."  His smile faded.  "Would I lose you as a 
customer if I raised my prices?"

Ukyo laughed.  "Actually, it would give me the excuse I 
need to raise my prices, too.  Besides, your noodles are 
the best.  I only use the best ingredients in my 
okonomiyaki."

Ikaru bowed at her compliment, then took her order and put 
it in his book.  "I don't see how you do it; running two 
restaurants all by yourself.  It's such a cutthroat 
business."

Ukyo allowed some pride to show.  "Well, I do okay because 
I make the best okonomiyaki in the world."

Ikaru chuckled.  "Well, that helps.  I always thought, 
though, that one of the reasons your restaurant became 
popular in the first place was that there were two bright, 
beautiful, cheerful women greeting the customers and making 
them feel special."

It was Ukyo's turn to chuckle.  "I'll tell you a secret 
about Konatsu some time."

"Okay."  With seeming reluctance, Ikaru took his dolly and 
headed towards the back door.

Ukyo smiled after him, then went back into the freezer to 
rearrange some of the boxes.  Konatsu arrived, nodded at 
her somewhat dreamily, quickly went upstairs to wash and 
change, then helped her open the restaurant.

After the lunch rush, she went over to her second 
restaurant.  She found everything in good order there, 
which was a pleasant surprise.  She went into the small 
office she had there to do some bookwork.

A knock on her open door made her look up.  The assistant 
manager smiled apologetically at her.  "There are some 
people here to see you."

Ukyo raised her eyebrows, wondering who it could be.  She 
stood up and went to the dining area.  Her heart sank when 
she saw who was waiting for her.  Akane still looked as if 
she had been crying continuously.  Kasumi was standing next 
to her, holding her hand.

Ukyo walked slowly up to them, thinking.  They probably 
wanted to talk with her somewhat privately.  Her office was 
much too small to accommodate them.  A booth in the dining 
area would have to do.  "Good afternoon.  Can I offer you 
some tea?"

Akane looked like she was going to refuse, but Kasumi 
overrode her.  "Yes, Ukyo, that would be lovely."

Ukyo looked around the restaurant.  They were in a bit of a 
lull right now, caught between lunch and dinner.  She 
pointed out a table and asked them to sit. She turned to 
the assistant manager.  "Please have some tea served to 
table four.  Also, try to seat people away from us as much 
as possible.  Let me know if that becomes a problem."

The assistant manager nodded her understanding.  Ukyo 
gathered herself and made her way back to the table.

Akane was wringing her hands while Kasumi was speaking to 
her in a low voice. Ukyo understood Akane's pain; she knew 
what it was like to have someone run away.

Akane spoke quickly, fearfully.  "Have you seen Ranma at 
all today?"

Ukyo shook her head sadly.  "Not since this morning."

Akane leaned forward.  "He didn't leave a note, did he? 
 Something you might have missed?"

Ukyo sighed.  "Not that I've seen.  I can call and find out 
if anyone's found anything."

"Would you?"  Akane sounded hopeful.

"Sure."  Ukyo got up just as the tea arrived.  She went 
over and called her first restaurant.  She had Konatsu do a 
somewhat thorough search, and even sent him into her room. 
 He found nothing, as she had feared.  She thanked him, 
hung up, went back to the table, and shook her head as she 
sat down.

Akane stifled a sob.  Kasumi's eyes lowered for a moment; 
then she looked at Ukyo.  "We'd very much like to find 
Ranma-kun.  He missed his afternoon class, something he's 
never done before.  We're very worried about him, and would 
like him to come home."

Ukyo sighed again.  "I know.  Truly, I wish I knew where he 
was.  I never got the chance to even talk to him this 
morning.  I would have told him to go home. If I do see 
him, I'll make sure he does."

Akane reached across the table to grab Ukyo's arm.  "Do you 
know where he might be?  Any place he might go and hide?"

Ukyo began to shake her head and then froze.  Akane grew 
excited.  "You do know, don't you?  Where is he?"

Ukyo licked her lips.  "It's a place back in Kansai.  It'd 
be awfully far for him to go just to be alone."

"That might be just right, though."  Kasumi spoke serenely, 
as always.  Ukyo had gotten to know Kasumi quite well in 
the past couple of years - they had become good friends - 
and Ukyo thought she could see Kasumi getting a little 
excited herself.  "If Ranma-kun was feeling depressed about 
what was happening here in Nerima, he might want to go far 
away to think things through."

"The Saotome Secret Technique."  Ukyo frowned, thinking.

Akane tightened her grip on Ukyo's hand.  "Could you call 
and find out?"

Ukyo shook her head slowly.  "No, there's no phone."  She 
thought about it, then decided.  "I'll just have to go 
there and see for myself."

Akane jumped up.  "I'll go with you."

"Akane-chan."  Kasumi stood up as well, grabbing her 
sister's hands.  "He may not be there.  If he does come 
back, you should be home to meet him.  Ukyo has very 
generously volunteered to go find him.  Let her do that and 
we'll wait here."

Akane glared at Kasumi for a bit, then lowered her eyes. 
 "All right, Older Sister."  She looked over at Ukyo. 
 "Thanks, Ukyo.  You don't know how much this means to me."

Ukyo could guess.  She stood up.  "I'll give you a call 
tonight and let you know what I've found."

Kasumi gave Ukyo a big, friendly smile, then gently guided 
Akane out of the restaurant.

Ukyo watched them go, and stood thinking for a long while. 
 She didn't have time in her schedule to find a boyfriend, 
yet she was making time to go on a possibly fruitless quest 
halfway across Japan to try and help Akane and Ranma.  It 
made her angry for some reason.  She'd thought that by 
giving up on Ranma's love, she'd no longer have to center 
her life on him.  Yet here she was, dropping everything to 
run to his aid.  It wasn't fair.  If she was going to go to 
this much trouble for him, he ought to have married her two 
years ago.

She shook herself.  She wasn't being very nice.  If any of 
her friends had been in trouble, she would be doing 
everything she could to help them.  She wasn't obsessing 
over Ranma, just helping a friend in need.  They would do 
the same for her.

So why weren't they?

Ukyo chuckled.  It wasn't their responsibility to fix her 
up with a boyfriend. She'd probably hate it if they tried. 
 She'd have to work this out on her own.

But damn, it has hard enough trying to keep the restaurants 
going and Akane and Ranma happy without adding singles bar 
hopping on top of it.

Ukyo blew out a breath, and called the assistant manager 
over.  There were a lot of instructions to be left with her 
and Konatsu before Ukyo could go to the train station.  To 
perhaps go on a wild goose chase.

***

Ukyo held her hand over the grill.  It seemed hot enough. 
 She took a cup of batter and dumped it on the grill.  The 
batter hissed and splattered and ended up looking like a 
yucky blob.  Ukyo growled at it, then started throwing some 
seasoning at it.  She grabbed a spatula and flipped it 
over.  She wasn't entirely successful; half of the 
okonomiyaki broke off.  She ended up with a pile of burning 
batter.

"You stupid thing!"  She pushed it to the side, off the 
grill, and dipped the cup back into the batter, preparing 
to try again.

"Ukyo."  Father gently wrapped his hand around her wrist. 
 "You're trying too hard.  Why don't you go and play, work 
off some of this energy, and we'll try again when you're a 
little calmer."

Ukyo scowled at the remains of her earlier attempts at 
cooking, then brightened at the thought of going to play. 
 "Okay, Daddy."  She jumped off the stool. "I'll go play 
with Ranchan."

"Ukyo."  Her father's voice sounded strange.  "Do you like 
Ranma?"

Ukyo nodded enthusiastically.  "He's my best friend, except 
when he beats me up, and then he's a stupid nasty boy."

A corner of Father's mouth twitched.  "I see.  What you 
think about becoming his fiancée?"

"Fiancée?"  The word was new to Ukyo.

"That means that when you grow up, you two would get 
married."

"Like playing house?"  Ukyo considered this.  "I don't 
think Ranchan likes to play house."

"Ah, so."  Father smiled in a sad, funny way.  "Think of it 
this way; you and Ranma would be together forever."

"Really?"  Ukyo thought about this, and decided she liked 
it.  Having Ranma to play with whenever she wanted sounded 
like fun.  "Okay, Daddy."  She frowned suddenly.  "I don't 
have to kiss him, do I?"

Father chuckled.  "Only if you want to.  You might not mind 
so much in a few years."

"Bleah!"  She stuck out her tongue.

Father reached over and patted her head.  "Okay, I'll talk 
with his father. Don't mention it to Ranma until I tell you 
it's okay."

Ukyo nodded seriously.  Secrets.  She was good at secrets.

She ran away from the cart, looking for Ranma.  She went to 
the playground but he wasn't there.  She ran to the camp he 
and his father had made, but it was empty.  She frowned, 
trying to think where he could be.

She had an inspiration.  She ran towards the hills at the 
edge of town.  She ran down a trail, then veered off 
through the underbrush.  The hill was steep, and she 
scrambled along it until she came to a small hole.  She 
wiggled through it, then stood up.

The cave was actually pretty big.  The light was dim; Ukyo 
knew from experience that it was only bright in the cave 
when the sun was shining on this side of the hill.

Ranma was huddling against the wall.  Ukyo grinned and 
skipped over next to him. "Hi Ranchan!  I've got a secret!"

"Hello, Ucchan."  Ranma seemed subdued, which puzzled Ukyo. 
 He was usually so happy.

Ukyo tilted her head and examined him.  He had a bruise on 
his cheek, which was not unusual.  He and his father were 
always fighting, and Ranma usually was on the losing side. 
 The bruises seemed to disappear almost immediately.  Ukyo 
was jealous; she'd had a bruise once, and it had hurt for a 
week.

She fell to her knees in front of him.  "What's the matter, 
Ranchan?"

"My father hit me."

"He hits you all the time.  You hit him back.  My daddy 
says that's what you do when you're in training."

"I know."  Ranma sniffed.  "I just sometimes wish it didn't 
happen so much. There used to be..."  He trailed off, 
looking wistful.

Ukyo wrinkled her forehead, then leaned forward to poke 
Ranma in the chest. "Used to be what?  More food?"  He and 
his father were always mooching food off of their cart.

"No, not that."  He looked down at his feet, thinking. 
 "It's just, when I got hurt, I remember that there was 
someone I could go hug.  It made me feel good. Then they 
went away and now I've got no one to hug."

Ukyo thought about it.  She cuddled with her father a lot, 
but Ranma's Daddy didn't seem like the cuddling type.  Who 
could Ranchan cuddle with?

The answer came to her in a flash.  She grinned, then 
leaned forward to hug Ranma.  He struggled a little bit, 
but she pinned him against the cave of the hall.  Normally, 
Ukyo would never have been able to hold down against his 
will - and she'd tried plenty of times.  Ranma seemed to 
lose interest in resisting her, however, and for a minute 
she held him in her arms.  He sighed and went limp.

Ukyo grinned happily.  She was being Ranchan's Daddy now. 
 She was a grown-up and he was a little kid and she was 
being big and strong for him.

She wondered if this was what marriage was like.

Finally Ranma squirmed out of her grasp.  "Okay, stop. 
 Guys aren't supposed to do this."

Ukyo released him and sat back up.  "What do you mean, 
Ranchan?"

He smiled suddenly.  "Hey, Pop taught me something new 
today.  Let me show you." He grabbed her hand and pulled 
her to the cave entrance.

Ukyo smiled at his back.  Ranma was so fun to be with.  She 
liked to play with him and she liked to be with him.  It 
was going to be great to be his fiancée.

Soon she would have him all to herself.

She giggled as Ranma lifted her to the light.

***

Ukyo looked up and down the street in front of the train 
station.  There was a lot that was familiar, and a lot that 
had changed.  She'd tried not to think much about her days 
here; the most painful thing that had ever happened to her 
had occurred very close by.

She walked down the street towards the hills.  The town had 
begun to encroach upon some of the forest, but a lot of it 
was too steep for the town to find a purchase.  That made 
Ukyo feel good; she liked the forest here.

The light was beginning to fade.  Ukyo zipped up her coat; 
it was getting cold, too.  She began to jog, and soon 
enough found the trail.  It was still well- used.  She 
tried to remember where to turn off.  She found a likely 
place and crashed through the underbrush.

The branches scratched her face and tore at her coat.  She 
gritted her teeth; she didn't remember it being this hard 
to get through before.  She peered through the gloom, 
wondering if she would have to spend the night in town and 
try again in the morning.

She was about to do that when she noticed something higher 
up on the hill. Making her way there, she saw that someone 
had torn up the side of the hill. Hunks of dirt and rock 
were strewn about a hole.  Now that she thought about it, 
it had been a tight fit when she was six.  An adult 
wouldn't have been able to enter unless the entrance was 
widened considerably.  Such a feat was easy for certain 
martial artists.

Ukyo peered through the hole, but all she saw was 
blackness.  She remembered it being an easy drop when she 
was six, which should mean that she could reach the bottom 
of the cave with her feet now.  She sat on the edge of the 
hole and slowly stretched her legs.  Her feet met solid 
rock.  She carefully put weight on them, then lowered 
herself into the cave.

She still couldn't see anything.  She cautiously made her 
way forward, crawling on her hands and knees.  She kept 
hoping her eyesight would adjust, but it continued to be so 
dark that she couldn't see herself.  She finally came to 
the back wall of the cave.

She turned and sat against it, pondering her choices.  She 
didn't know if Ranma was still here; he could be very quiet 
when he wanted to be.  She wasn't sure she wanted to go 
blindly searching for him, either.  That was a good way to 
get hurt.  She wished she had thought to bring a 
flashlight.

Ukyo finally decided to wait for Ranma to open up.  He had 
to know she was here. She would give him time to think 
about what, if anything, he wanted to say.  If she didn't 
hear from him after a while, she'd leave and try again in 
the morning.

She closed her eyes, actually enjoying the isolation.  Most 
of her worries were halfway across the island.  She let 
them seep out of her mind into the darkness of the cave. 
 If Ranma wasn't here, this was still a good experience for 
her.

he should maybe do this more often.  If she could find the 
time.

She heard something rustling in the cave.  For the first 
time, she wondered if perhaps a wild animal lived here. 
 That would be good, she thought wryly, to get bitten by 
some diseased creature.  Still, if there was an animal in 
here, it surely would have made itself known long before 
now.  It had to be Ranma.

Even though she was expecting it, Ranma's voice made her 
jump.  "What are you doing here?"  To Ukyo's surprise, 
Ranma was female.  Ukyo didn't remember it raining today.

Ukyo kept her voice light.  "Trying to help you, Sugar. 
 There are a lot of people who are very worried about you."

There was another long silence.  Ukyo waited patiently.

When Ranma spoke again, she sounded fearful.  "Oh, Ukyo, 
what have we done?"

This wasn't what she was expecting.  "What?"

Ranma continued as if she hadn't heard her.  "I can't, I 
won't.  I mean, I'm married.  Even if I'm no longer worthy 
of her.  Oh, Akane."  This last was said in a voice full of 
despair.

Ukyo's puzzlement only increased.  What was Ranma talking 
about?

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."

She had more to say but was interrupted.  "Didn't mean a 
thing?  Ukyo, how can you say that?  It means everything."

Something hit Ukyo in the chest.  It fell into her lap. 
 She felt for it, and picked it up.  It was a ring on a 
chain.  Ranma's wedding ring.

Ukyo drew a deep breath.  She *was* taking this seriously. 
 "Ranma, listen to me.  It was a mistake.  You certainly 
didn't intend for it to happen.  You've broken none of your 
vows.  In fact, I'm certain you thought I was Akane.  I 
heard you mention her name just before I fell asleep."

"It doesn't matter what I thought, it's what I did that 
matters.  I betrayed Akane.  What the hell good are my vows 
now?"  She sounded close to tears, something Ukyo would 
never have expected from Ranma.  "I don't deserve to be 
Akane's husband.  I don't deserve to be your friend, 
either."

Ranma's voice deepened into anger.  "In fact, I don't 
understand how you could do this.  You said you'd given up 
on me.  Yet you jumped into bed with me at the first hint  
 of trouble between me and Akane.  I thought you were my 
friend.  Did you come here expecting that I'd fall into 
your arms?"

Ukyo found herself getting angry as well.  "Why are you 
taking this so badly? Hell, it's not like we had sex or 
anything.  Don't flatter yourself so much. Just because we 
accidentally fell asleep in the same bed doesn't mean that 
I'm about to return to the days of pining over you.  I've 
moved on with my life, Ranma, so don't think that I want 
anything other than your friendship.  I'm not sure I even 
want that if you think so little of me after we made one 
mistake."

Silence descended again, which was just as well.  Ukyo 
struggled to bring herself under control.  She was angry, 
but also very sad.  She had come here to help a good 
friend, and that friend had instead assumed all sorts of 
bad things about her.  Had taken the tiniest of mistakes 
and turned it into a reason to doubt her friendship.  If 
that was what Ranma thought of her, what did everyone else 
think?  Did she really have any true friends?  Despair 
began to rise in her, to the point that tears came to her 
eyes and trickled down her cheek.

Ranma finally spoke in a quiet voice.  "What did you say?"

"Oh for crying out loud."  She got up and began to crawl 
towards the hole. She'd had enough of trying to help out 
others.  A life of service to other people had gotten her 
zilch; it was time to reassess that life.  Or to see if 
life was worth living.  She squelched that thought; she was 
stronger than that. At the same time, it was frightening to 
realize how tempting that option was.

A hand grabbed her elbow as she crawled.  She gave a small 
screech and turned her head in that direction.  She 
couldn't see Ranma; she wondered how she had known where to 
reach.  She must have done it by the sounds Ukyo was 
making, which was still quite impressive.

"Ukyo, please tell me.  This is important.  Are you saying 
we didn't... didn't have sex last night?"

A light finally dawned in Ukyo's mind.  Suddenly everything 
made sense, and a bit of relief percolated through her. 
 "Ranma, of course not.  We just slept together."

Her voice sounded uncertain.  "But I remember... I mean, I 
was so sure..."

Ukyo turned herself so that she was facing in Ranma's 
general direction, and held her hand.  "Ranma, trust me, I 
would know if we'd done *that* last night. We just fell 
asleep, that's all."  She stopped, and forced herself to be 
honest. "We may have kissed each other good night, but even 
then, we were too tired to know better.  And you definitely 
called me Akane.  If you remember anything more than that, 
it must have been a dream."

Another silence for a long moment.  "You're sure, Ukyo?"

Ukyo growled.  "I am absolutely certain, Ranma.  I'd go 
into some physical details, but I don't think you want to 
know."

Ranma snorted and chuckled, more in relief, Ukyo suspected, 
than anything else. "Okay, I believe you."

"Good."  Ukyo tried to move past her anger.  "Is that it? 
 Can we go home now?" Not the most tactful way to say it. 
 Ukyo was low on tact right now.

Ranma's breath seemed to catch for a moment.  Ukyo took 
this to mean that there *was* more that was bothering her. 
 "Tell me, Sugar.  What is it?"

"This is so hard, you know."  Ranma's voice was quiet, and 
a little strained. "I thought it would be different then it 
was.  I mean, we were already living together.  We would 
just be sleeping together, too.  I thought that would be 
the biggest difference."

Ukyo frowned in the darkness.  She didn't have any 
experience to draw upon.  "So what was it really like?"

"It's... it's like you're both one person.  You know about 
every single thing the other person does, and they know the 
same about you.  There's no such thing as privacy any more. 
 I gotta check with her before I do anything.  And it's 
just going to get worse, because now we have a baby.  Not 
that I had much freedom before that.  Sometimes it feels 
like I'm being strangled, that all the fun in life died 
when I got married."

Ukyo was glad Ranma couldn't see her face.  She was 
absolutely furious.  She used all of her willpower to keep 
herself from trembling in anger.  Ranma had it all: a good 
wife, a loving family, a steady job, and the occasional 
zany adventure to add spice.  Yet all she could do was 
whine.  Ukyo yearned for all that Ranma had, so much that 
it sometimes gnawed her stomach late at night.  Was Ranma 
truly so blind that she didn't know how good she had it?

Ukyo opened her mouth wide so that she could draw several 
deep breaths as silently as possible.  When she thought she 
was under control, she spoke. "Ranma, you brainless idiot." 
 Very good, she thought to herself, you've done a good job 
at containing your anger.  Still, she reflected, it was 
perhaps for the best.

"Let me put it this way: I have a... a magic mirror.  You 
could use it to go back in time.  There you are, on the   
rooftop, ready to propose to Akane.  Do you stop?"

Ukyo heard Ranma draw in a sharp breath.  "No!"

Ukyo grunted.  "That didn't take long.  Why not?"

"Because..."  Ranma trailed off, evidently thinking, then 
continued after a minute.  "Because proposing to her was 
one of the best moments of my life.  And we've had lots of 
other good moments, too.  And I'd never trade any of that 
to... to live in this damn cave."  Ranma laughed 
humorlessly.  "And I am a stupid idiot, aren't I?"

"Damn straight, Kiddo.  Life isn't always fun and games. 
 You gotta give some of that up if you want to be married 
and raising a family.  The rewards you get from that kind 
of life are a lot more satisfying."  Or so I understand, 
she thought to herself.  There was a good chance she'd 
never get to find out on her own.

"Thanks.  That helps."  Another hand covered hers.  "Ukyo, 
I apologize.  I was thinking all sorts of horrible things 
about you.  I should have known better.  I was just so g  
uilty, I wasn't thinking clearly.  If I had, I would have 
realized that you would never take part in an affair. 
 Forgive me; I will never doubt you again."

Ukyo felt a tension drain out of her.  She was glad to hear 
that.  "Okay, silly, I forgive you.  Here."  She extricated 
her hands and gave Ranma back her wedding ring.  "Put this 
on.  You and Akane are meant to be together.  You would 
never willingly betray her.  Trust me, I tried very hard to 
excise her love from your heart.  It just isn't possible."

Ranma took her hands away.  Ukyo guessed that she was 
putting the chain back around her neck.

Ukyo reached out and grabbed Ranma's shirt.  "Now, let's 
get out of here."  She gently pulled Ranma towards the 
hole.  "We need to get you home.  Akane has been worried 
sick."

"Ukyo."  Ranma's voice was serious and affectionate at the 
same time.  "Thanks for coming all this way to find me.  I 
don't know what I would have done if you hadn't come to 
save me."

That's me all right, Ukyo thought.  Always ready to nail 
myself to a cross so that everyone else feels better.  Ukyo 
bit her lip.  She was being unfair.  She should let herself 
feel good that Ranma and Akane appreciated her efforts as 
much as they did.  They liked her, and counted themselves 
lucky to know her. That should make her feel good.  She was 
just in a bad mood.

"You're welcome," she forced herself to say.  She 
positioned herself under the hole and slowly straightened 
herself.  She lifted herself out of the cave, then reached 
down to pull Ranma out of the darkness.

***

Ukyo ran blindly down the road, tears streaming down her 
face, sobbing hysterically.  She bumped into somebody, and 
ran around them before she could find out who.  Somehow she 
made her way home, and burst through the front door. Father 
was in the kitchen, and she ran over and clutched him. 
 "Daddy!"

He knelt down and hugged her.  "Ukyo!  What's wrong?"

"He... he... he... he left me!"  She sobbed into his shirt. 
 "He left me behind! He was supposed to take me with him, 
he was supposed to be my friend forever and ever, he was 
supposed to marry me."  She broke down into sobs again.

Father's voice, she somehow noticed, was very quiet.  "Who 
left you?"

"Ranchan!"  He waved goodbye to her as his father ran with 
the cart.  He seemed happy to be leaving her.  Her fiancée. 
 Gone.  The tears continued to flow out of her; she was 
never going to be happy again.

She cried and cried, the world coming to an end, her 
six-year-old heart broken. She'd found someone to be her 
special friend, and he'd run away, and she had nothing 
left.

Father let her cry.  When he finally spoke, he sounded 
angry.  "Did they take the cart?"

"Uh huh."  She stopped sobbing and looked up at him.  He 
was hugging her gently, but his face was mottled with rage.

"He's a martial artist.  His word is supposed to be 
sacrosanct.  He's forsaken his honor."  His eyes glinted. 
 "I should have known when he and his son tried to steal 
our okonomiyaki that first time.  I thought he was just a 
wandering  ronin of the ancient kind, trying his best to 
feed his son.  Now I know he was just a thief, worming 
himself into a position where he could steal as much from 
me as he could."

Ukyo sniffled, thinking.  Ranchan's father was a thief.  It 
was okay to hate him.  Ranchan had become her friend only 
so that he could help his father steal the cart.  He didn't 
really like her.  In fact, he had been glad to leave her 
behind.  Waving at her.  Taunting her.

He would pay.  She would make him pay.

She wiped her eyes and looked up at her father again. 
 "Daddy, can you teach me how to fight with spatulas the 
way you can?"

He looked down into her eyes, his eyes smoldering but his 
face softening as he talked to her.  "Of course, Ucchan. 
 We need to make sure no one can ever again steal from us."

Ukyo felt a blackness rising in her, born of the pain of 
betrayal and loss.  It dampened the pain by promising her 
that she would have her revenge.  She remembered how easily 
Ranma had beaten her when he really tried.  If she focused 
herself, dedicated her life to revenge, she would be able 
to defeat him.  Be patient, the blackness told her.  Wait 
long enough, prepare hard enough, and Ranma would be hers.

Ukyo embraced the blackness, finding that the pain grew 
less and less as she imagined the look on Ranma's face as 
she beat him senseless.  She smiled, a dark smile that felt 
unnatural on her face.  But it was right, she would become 
hard and cold like her smile, and she would make them feel 
pain like she had felt pain.

And she would never let anyone into her heart ever again.

***

Ukyo and Ranma had to wait an hour and a half for a train. 
 They used the opportunity to clean themselves off as best 
they could, Ukyo running interference while Ranma used the 
hot water in the women's rest room to turn male.  The ride 
back was long as well.  They rode in uncomfortable silence, 
Ranma sensing Ukyo's bad mood and not much in a position to 
be able to do anything about it.  He certainly had worries 
of his own, Ukyo had to admit.

The train finally pulled into Nerima.  Even this late at 
night there were plenty of passengers.  Ukyo and Ranma 
shuffled through the crowd as best they could, finally 
stepping onto platform.

Ranma looked around, and locked his eyes off to his right. 
 Following his gaze, Ukyo saw Kasumi, Tofu, and Akane. 
 Baby Nouma was there, too, bundled in layers of cloth in a 
stroller.

Akane gave the handles of the stroller to Kasumi and ran 
towards Ranma.  She slowed to a stop about three feet away 
from him, looking at him fearfully.

Ranma broke the silence first.  "Akane.  About last night, 
I'm sorry.  I love you, even when you're mad.  I get mad 
too, and I say stupid stuff.  It don't mean nothin'."  He 
reached a hand out and placed the tips of his fingers 
underneath her chin.  "I'm sorry.  I love you."

"Oh Ranma."  Akane jumped into his arms.  The force knocked 
them to the ground, Akane landing on top of Ranma.  People 
in the crowd gave them a strange look.

Akane didn't seem to notice.  She lifted her head and 
stared into Ranma's eyes. "I was the one who was being 
mean.  I was feeling bad for no good reason, and when you 
tried to comfort me, I yelled at you."  She dropped her 
head onto his chest and started to cry.  "I'm so sorry.  I 
let things get out of hand, let little things build into 
bigger things until I drove you away.  How can you love 
someone like me?"

"Akane!"  Ranma spoke sharply, angrily.  "Shut up!  It's 
that post... post- giving-birth whatsis talking again.  You 
gave me love, and happiness, and friendship, and a great 
family to be a part of.  You gave me a son.  How could I 
not love you?"

Akane seemed to almost scream out a sob.  She clutched 
Ranma and sobbed into his chest, while Ranma stroked her 
hair and spoke comforting words to her.

Ukyo found that she was crying as well.  Kasumi and Tofu 
had come over beside her, bringing the baby with them. 
 Ukyo looked down at little Nouma, who was fidgeting as 
much as he could in the layers of cloth.  Ukyo unstrapped 
him from the stroller and picked him up, cradling him in 
her arms.  He opened his eyes, which were still baby-blue, 
and almost seemed to focus on her.  Ukyo knew he was still 
a few days away from truly being able to see, but it made 
her feel good to think that he was looking at her and 
finding a friendly face staring back at him.

The sobbing slowed, then stopped.  Ukyo looked up to see 
Ranma and Akane regaining their feet.  Akane sniffled and 
glanced at Ukyo.  "Maybe this whole thing wouldn't have 
happened if I hadn't tried to cook.  I mean, Ukyo can cook, 
and Shampoo could, and Kodachi..."

"Akane..."  Ranma stopped, considered his words, and spoke 
again.  "Do you enjoy cooking?"

Akane wiped her eyes and looked up at Ranma.  "Enjoy?  It's 
just something that I have to do.  It's what wives are 
supposed to do."

"Says who?"  Ranma drew her eyebrows together.  "How often 
does Nabiki cook?"

"She's not married yet."

"And when she and Kuno do get married?  Do you see her in 
the kitchen?"

Akane considered that.  "I, uh, suppose not."

Kasumi spoke up.  "It seems to me, Akane, that you want to 
cook because Mother was such a good cook, and you saw how 
much joy her cooking brought to the family.  What you 
forget, though, is that the reason she was such a good cook 
was because she liked cooking.  You look on it like a 
chore, a duty to be performed.  You get angry because you 
don't see your family responding the way they did to 
Mother's cooking, so you try harder.  The harder you try, 
the less you like it.  It's a vicious cycle."

Akane frowned.  "So, you're saying that I should learn to 
like it?"

Ranma shook his head.  "I think it's too late for that.  I 
think you're always going to hate it.  You should give it 
up.  I don't mind cooking so much.  I'm never going to be 
as good as Kasumi, because I don't sing to my food or 
nothin'."  He glanced at Kasumi and smiled briefly.  "But I 
do okay.  Let's just say that I'll do the cooking and the 
dishes, and we'll have you do some other chores instead."

Akane glowered at him for a moment, then hung her head. 
 "You're right, Ranma. Cooking has always made me feel 
miserable.  I feel like a failure for giving it  up."

"Hey!"  Ranma reached out and stroked her cheek.  "Remember 
when I tried to learn how to do Ryoga's Shishi Hokodan?  I 
tried and tried, and could never do it as well as he could. 
 So I gave it up and learned a different technique.  A true 
martial artist recognizes their limitations, and instead of 
trying to surpass them, instead finds ways around them."

Kasumi beamed at him.  "Ranma has made a good point, Akane. 
 Find something else around the house you enjoy doing, and 
do it well, and in that way contribute to the family's 
well-being."

Akane looked up at Kasumi, then over at her husband. 
 "Ranma, just when I think I've got you figured out, you do 
something that surprises me.  Sometimes you act like a 
total jerk, and sometimes you act all kind and 
understanding and wise.  I like it a lot when you act this 
way."

Ranma smiled.  "Enough to forgive me when I act the other 
way?"

"Of course, silly."  Akane stepped into Ranma, wrapping her 
arms around his neck.  "If you'll forgive me when I act so 
stupid."

"Always.  I love you, Akane."

"I love you, Ranma."

They kissed, while Ukyo did her best to stifle a sob.  She 
decided that marriage was an okay thing after all when it 
made two people feel this way about each other.

"Do you see, Ukyo, what a good friend you are?"  Kasumi's 
voice was very soft and gentle, seeming almost ethereal, 
barely audible.  "Akane and Ranma had a very bad argument, 
and it could have gotten out of hand, but you helped them 
rediscover how much they love each other.  You are a 
wonderful person, so full of warmth and kindness that you 
make everyone around you feel good.  Your family life will 
be full of joy and love, because of you.  You've planted 
quite a crop with your seeds of love.  Be patient, and you 
will reap a generous harvest."

Ukyo sighed, looking down at the baby.  He seemed to be 
intently studying her face.  Kasumi had advised patience. 
 She'd spoken of Ukyo's family, as if there was no question 
about Ukyo starting one.  Ukyo had no idea how Kasumi had 
known what she was feeling, but she was thankful for the 
words.  They were something to build upon.

Akane and Ranma finally broke off.  Akane looked at her 
husband's face for a few more seconds, smiled, then turned 
towards Ukyo.  She gently took Nouma from her and clutched 
him to her, as if needing to feel him against her heart. 
 She looked up at Ukyo and grinned, her eyes watering. 
 "Thank you, Ukyo.  >From the bottom of my heart, thank 
you."

"Mine too."  Ranma came up behind Akane, putting his hands 
on her shoulders. "I'm glad you were able to find me.  I 
was acting like an idiot and you set me straight."

Ukyo's bad mood couldn't withstand the affection she was 
feeling from the Tendo clan.  It evaporated, leaving her 
with a soaring heart.  "Always glad to help a friend."

Akane bit her lip.  "I wish there was something we could do 
to repay you."

Kasumi smoothly interjected.  "Now, now, friendship means 
that nothing is owed when one friend helps another.  We'll 
find ways of returning Ukyo's friendship by helping her out 
once in a while.  For now, let's get you home.  I think you 
could use some rest."

As usual, no one could argue against Kasumi's words.  Akane 
fussed with Nouma, carrying him with her as she followed 
Tofu to the car.  Ranma folded up the stroller and put it 
under his arm.  He looked into Ukyo's eyes for a long 
moment, then smiled somewhat sadly.  He hurried after 
Akane.

Kasumi reached over to hug Ukyo.  Ukyo fidgeted.  Sometimes 
Kasumi acted like her friend and sometimes she acted like 
her mother.  Mothering was a big part of Kasumi's 
character; Ukyo wondered when she would have children of 
her own.

Kasumi released Ukyo, smiled brightly at her, then walked 
after her husband and sister.

Ukyo went off to where her bicycle was chained up.  She 
wasn't looking forward to a long bicycle ride late at night 
through the cold.  She fought off the melancholy that 
wanted to reclaim her soul.  She'd done good today.  She'd 
helped a family get back together.  Kasumi had told her to 
wait, that good things would come her way.  So stop feeling 
bad, she told herself, and let yourself enjoy the moment.

Still, the sight of a loving family together pulled at her 
heart, making her wonder if she'd ever find the same.

Ukyo found her bicycle, still in good shape, she was 
thankful to notice.  She unlocked it and pulled the chain 
out.  Someone walked up to her while she was doing this. 
 The train station was a little more empty than it had been 
a few minutes ago.  Still, there were plenty of people 
around, so she shouldn't have to worry.  She did wish that 
she had some of her throwing spatulas with her.

She slowly stood up, grabbed the handlebars of her bike, 
and turned with it in the direction of the person standing 
near her.  She looked into his face, and it took a second 
for it to register with her.  "Ikaru-san?"

"Good evening, Ukyo-san."  He looked very nervous.  She 
also noticed that he was dressed in a good-looking, casual 
outfit.  She'd seen him so much in overalls that she hadn't 
really noticed that he was actually fairly attractive.

She shook herself, and gave him a bright smile.  "Meeting 
someone from the train?"

"No.  Er, yes.  In a way."  He wrung his hands together, 
quickly noticed what he was doing, then clasped them behind 
his back.

Ukyo blinked at him.  "What do you mean?"

"Well, uh, it was kind of strange."  He glanced around 
nervously, bringing his eyes to her face and then as 
quickly looking in another direction.  "I was just shutting 
down for the night when, uh, your friend arrived.  She told 
me that she was on her way to the train station, to meet 
her sister's husband.  She, uh, told me that you were going 
to be there, too, and, uh, that you'd need a ride back to 
your restaurant."  His face was turning slightly red. 
 "That it would be late, and cold.  I've got a truck, you 
see, and her family's car wouldn't be able to fit you and 
your bike."

Ukyo narrowed her eyes.  Kasumi.  She was going a bit too 
far with this mothering kick of hers.  She needed to get 
pregnant very quickly or Ukyo was going to kill her.

Ikaru blanched when she narrowed her eyes, and backed away. 
 "Uh, well, if you want to ride your bicycle, that's fine 
too.  I'm, uh, sorry to have bothered you."  He turned 
away.

Ukyo felt a sort of panic begin to rise.  "Wait!"

He turned back towards her, his eyes still a little wide.

Ukyo considered him for a moment.  Things started falling 
into place for her a little bit.  He was often 
complimenting her, calling her beautiful and smart and all 
sorts of things in a roundabout way.  She had always 
thought good things about him, too.  For some reason, 
however, she had never made the connection that he was male 
and she was female.  He had simply been a business 
associate, nothing more.  Now that the scales had fallen 
from her eyes, she was beginning to see a bit more 
potential to their relationship.

She forced a smile, and found that it wasn't very hard to 
do.  "I really wasn't looking forward to having my face 
frozen.  If it's not too much trouble, I'd really 
appreciate being given a lift home."

He looked at her for a moment, then smiled back, to her 
eyes looking somewhat relieved.  "It, uh, would be my 
honor.  Here."  He took the bicycle from her and started 
wheeling it to the parking lot.

They walked to his truck.  He put her bicycle in the back, 
then rushed over to unlock the passenger side door and open 
it for her.  Ukyo climbed inside.  As he went around to the 
driver's side, she noticed a bundle of flowers sitting on 
the front seat.  She picked them up.

He opened his door, climbed in, noticed her with the 
flowers, and turned beet red.

She smiled at him.  "For me?"

"Uh, yeah.  I mean, I wasn't sure, uh, if it would be too 
forward of me.  I, uh, thought it might be a bit much, you 
know, for just a drive home.  Uh, if, uh, it's too 
familiar, uh, I mean..."

He was babbling.  She decided to put an end to it.  She 
brought the flowers to her face, sniffing them while 
looking into his eyes.  "Thank you."

He swallowed.  "You're welcome."  He started up the truck 
and pulled out of the parking lot.

Ukyo continued to hold the flowers to her face, letting the 
fragrance overwhelm her.  She tried to figure out what she 
was feeling.  The whole situation was a little forced, of 
course.  This was certainly something she had never thought 
of happening.  Yet, she was not unhappy.  Her heart was 
racing, and the depression was gone, replaced by a nervous 
excitement.  This, she decided, was a good sign.

She decided she wanted to find out more about Ikaru.  Her 
first impression was that he was friendly, intelligent, 
dedicated, attractive, and a little shy.  He was no Ranma, 
of course.

Which, she was coming to realize, was probably a good 
thing.  For the very first time, she entertained the 
thought that perhaps it was best that she and Ranma had 
never ended up together.  He tended to act without thought, 
to think of himself before thinking of others.  He ran from 
his problems sometimes, and ignored the consequences of his 
actions.  He had hurt her terribly because of that, all 
those years ago.  He'd just done the same thing to Akane. 
 Akane was able to forgive him because she tended to do 
some of the same things herself, and because she often gave 
Ranma good reason to want to be alone.  Ukyo wouldn't have 
been able to put up with it.

Also, Ranma's curse tended to bring a certain level of 
zaniness and instability into his life, which both he and 
Akane accepted.  It made for an exciting life, but that 
wasn't what Ukyo was looking for.  Ever since Ranma had 
entered her life, he'd brought her mostly hardship.  It 
wasn't his fault, and he also gave her his friendship, 
which she valued very highly.  He'd helped her out on a few 
occasions.  But a lot of the pain she'd felt between six 
and seventeen could be traced in one way or another to 
Ranma, to the way he lived his life.  Ukyo no longer wanted 
any part of that.

She had been quite attracted to Ranma at one point, but 
attraction wears off after a while, leaving behind the 
reality of who the other person was.  And Ukyo needed more 
than Ranma could give her.  It was just possible that Ikaru 
could do what Ranma couldn't.  Maybe when Ukyo needed so  
meone to give her comfort, love, and a certain measure of 
dependability, Ikaru would be there.

Her first restaurant pulled into view.  Ikaru parked the 
car in front, then got out and helped her get the bicycle 
out of the back.  She thanked him, and they stood for a 
moment facing each other.

Ukyo smiled shyly at him, poking her forefingers together. 
 "Why don't you come by this restaurant tomorrow for 
dinner?  I'll cook us up some okonomiyaki and you can taste 
for yourself how good your noodles make my food."

Ikaru closed his eyes for a second before opening them.  "I 
would like that very much, Ukyo-san.  Is around five okay?"

"Five it is."  That was safe, dinner at her own restaurant, 
nothing too serious yet.

Ikaru bowed to her, then got into his truck and drove away.

Ukyo wheeled her bicycle around the back, bringing it 
inside her restaurant. She put the flowers in a vase, 
filled it with water, and put it in the center of the 
grill.  She hadn't turned on the lights, but enough light 
came through the windows from the street lamps that she 
could see all right.

A lot had happened to her in the last twenty-four hours. 
 She'd explored many extremes of her character, and not 
found all of it to her liking.  She needed a moment to 
balance herself.  She walked out into the dining area and 
stood for a few minutes in the center of her restaurant, 
looking around at everything, taking it all in.  She had 
come close to committing adultery, she had traveled halfway 
across Japan and back, she'd pulled a friend back from the 
brink and helped him get back together with his wife, and 
she had perhaps started something very good with Ikaru. 
 She had found reason to despair, and reason to hope.

Her restaurant, however, had remained unchanged.  It was 
what she lived for. She was, first and foremost, an 
okonomiyaki chef.  She took different ingredients and 
combined them and made something wonderful out of them. 
 Some of the ingredients might be unsavory and bitter when 
tasted individually.  If she worked hard enough and blended 
them properly, she could make them taste delicious.

All it took was a spatula and a little love.

Smiling to herself, she took the flowers off the grill and 
brought them with her on her way to bed.

~*~