====================
PART XX
Lost Spirits 
in the Realm of Lost Spirits.
Epilogue#2
====================

And what of Ryoga and Ukyo?

"YOUR ATTENTION, PLEASE!" Grebes called. Silence fell. "The Lord Tinamous has made his decision. He will we wedded to Miss
Ryoga Hibiki...And Miss Ukyo Kuonji."
The two of them stood in stunned amazement, Ryoga-chan not even bothering to lift the spatula from her skull. "Wha.. wha...
wha...?" was all Ukyo could stutter out.
"Thank you for all your co-operation, ladies. In a moment you will find yourselves at your destinations as our way of saying
thank you for being here," Grebes continued. 
Washu jumped to her feet and ran towards them, fading out of sight before she'd taken six steps. 
Tinamous bowed down before the two stunned girls. "I hope you do not think it awfully rude of me to ask both of you to marry
me," he said politely. "We can talk about it over dinner." He called one of the servants over, an elderly lady. "Greta, could
you please show Miss Ryoga and Miss Ukyo their room?"
Greta nodded and smiled pleasantly at the dazed duo. "Please follow me, missies." 
Still speechless, the two followed the old woman down a maze of corridors, before stopping outside a huge set of double
doors. Greta pushed them open. "You should both find some appropriate clothing inside the wardrobes. If you choose an outfit
each, I'll lead you to the baths where you can prepare for dinner. This will be your permanent quarters - I hope you find
them satisfactory."
"Wait a second," Ryoga-chan cut in, blushing a little. "Are you saying we have to share?!!"
Greta smiled warmly. "Of course! You will both be the wives of Lord Tinamous, it is essential that you both bond with each
other as well as with him." She gently pushed them inside and closed the doors. "Call me when you're ready!"

Ryoga-chan looked at the floor, beet-red. Ukyo did the same. After a long silence, Ryoga-chan eventually walked over to the
large wardrobe and opened it. "Ucchan, this one would look nice on you," she said in a falsely cheerful voice, turning
around, holding a long silver dress in her arms. "Uh... Ucchan?"
"Ryoga?" Ukyo said quietly, from her perch on the edge of the four poster bed. "Tell Tinamous about your curse now."
Ryoga-chan blinked a few time. "Pardon?! Did I just hear that right?!"
Ukyo sighed. "You heard me. Tell him the truth and you can go home. It's my own fault he chose me too, I interfered,
remember?"
Ryoga-chan stood in silence for a moment, before walking over to the large bed and sitting down next to her. "Ucchan, I'm not
telling Tinamous about my curse and I'm not leaving here without you."
"But you should just go home. I'm fine," Ukyo insisted.
"Ucchan... I..." Ryoga-chan paused and ran the words through her head to make sure they didn't come out incorrectly. "...I
don't have any home other than Ucchan's okonomiyaki restaurant," she said quietly. "And that isn't home without you there."
Ukyo sniffled and hugged her knees tightly. "Th-thanks... but I still think you should go..."
"Hey. Do you really want to marry this guy, is that it?" Ryoga-chan asked quietly. 
Ukyo looked up in surprise. "Of course not!"
"So shut up," Ryoga-chan berated. "If you don't want to marry the guy, I'm staying. I'm not going to abandon you here, you
got that? We can work something out ... maybe you could hit him with that obnoxious spatula of yours," she added with a grin.
Ukyo couldn't help but laugh. "OK, jackass. Hand me that dress." Ryoga-chan handed her the silver dress, glad to see a smile
on her friend's face again. "One more thing, sugar," Ukyo said suddenly.
"What's that?" Ryoga-chan asked distractedly, flicking through the remaining outfits for something she wouldn't feel like an
idiot in.
"There is no way on Earth that we are sharing a bath, you got that?"

Ukyo's forgiveness for her female fiance was rapidly disappearing as Ryoga-chan bombarded Tinamous with a huge variety of
reasons as to why he shouldn't marry her, but just send her home. *If he thinks I'm so bad, why didn't he break off our
engagement?* she thought angrily as Tinamous listened to the small girl's continued insults.
"... And she's totally obsessive, she hunted down this guy for ten years because he dumped her when she was six..."
Ukyo finally exploded as those words vibrated through her ears. "Well, at least I chased him for a good reason, instead of
tracking across the world because he stole a few bits of bread!" she snarled, steam almost coming out of her ears. 
"He ran out on a scheduled fight!"
"YOU were the one who turned up four days late! How pathetic!"
The fork Ryoga-chan was holding distorted into strange shapes. "Pathetic?!! Pathetic is chasing the idiot for ten years,
giving up being a girl because he humiliated you and then falling straight in love with him because he said you were cute!"
Ukyo went white. "What... did... you... say...?!!?!!" she spat.
"Uh... ladies?" Tinamous asked timidly.
"You heard what I said!" Ryoga-chan spat back.
"At least I had the guts to admit I loved him instead of being a spineless jellyfish like you! I didn't turn into a
stuttering wreck whenever I spoke to the guy of my dreams!" Ukyo leaned forward until they were both nose to nose. "You know
what? The only reason my plans to get Ranchan for me and Akane for you never worked was because you were always too scared to
admit you like her. And now they're too close to split up. It's YOUR fault!!" She grinned, slightly maniacally and leaned
forward so they were cheek to cheek. "At least I can get a real man. But once your secret's out, you'll be all on your own
again," she whispered quietly into Ryoga-chan's ear.
Tinamous wisely decided to flee.
Ryoga-chan was shaking like a leaf, her fingers digging deep holes into the table. *She's right... it's MY fault I never got
Akane... I'll be on my own again... all on my own... oh god... I don't want to be alone any more!* A tear trickled slowly
down her face.
Ukyo suddenly noticed the green glow surrounding the smaller girl. "Uh... Ryoga?" Her anger vanished as quickly as it had
popped up. She touched her fiance on the shoulder and the dark-haired girl looked up at her with huge green eyes filled with
unshed tears. "Ryoga, come on you big dummy, you know I didn't mean a word of that..." Ukyo choked out nervously. 
Ryoga-chan pulled away from her, the glow around her getting even brighter. *If she didn't mean it, why did she say it? Why
does it hurt so much?* Tears began to flow down her face. She didn't know what hurt her most, the fear of being alone again
or the fact that Ukyo had just plainly stated that she'd rather marry the Lord of this strange place who she hardly knew over
her. All of a sudden, she just wanted to hurt Ukyo back. Hurt her back as much as she was hurting her now. She clenched her
fists tight. *I will not hit a girl, I will not I will not I WILL NOT!!!*
"Ryoga, sugar... come on, you're scaring me now," Ukyo said, laughing nervously. "Stop glowing like that..."
"Bitch."
Ukyo blinked. "Wh... what did you say?!" she asked, incredulous, grabbing the girl by the shoulders.
Ryoga-chan lifted her gaze to meet Ukyo's, her eyes sparkling dangerously. "You _total_ BITCH!!!" she screamed. "I HATE
YOU!!!" She broke free of Ukyo's grasp and ran away, choked sobs forcing their way to freedom. Finally she collapsed to the
ground. The green glow shone brighter around her until it grew too bright to look at directly. Then a huge pillar of light
enveloped the girl and lit up the sky, before crashing back down to Earth.

"Ryoga!" Ukyo called in worry, waving clouds of dust from her sight. She'd been chasing the girl, trying to get her to stop
so she could apologise. She looked at the debris around her and plodded onwards, looking for the girl. *Did Ryoga do that?*
She thought to herself, thinking about the green glow she'd been following, which had suddenly exploded outwards, taking out
most of the east wing of... wherever this place was. Luckily, nobody else seemed to be here except for her. *Oh, I hope he
didn't blow himself up with that!* She came to an intersection and looked both ways. *Hmm... that way, light and airy. That
way, dusty and demolished. Gee, I wonder?* she thought sarcastically, turning down the demolished corridor. "Ryoga!!!"
She tripped and stumbled. Looking behind to see what she'd tripped over, her spirits brightened when she recognised the small
figure curled up on the floor. To her relief, she didn't appear to be terribly injured by the collapse of the building, but
just plain exhausted, although the dress was ripped almost entirely to shreds. "Jackass," she sighed, kneeling down and
picking up the light body. "What _was_ that you did back there?" After a moment's contemplation, she quickly carried
Ryoga-chan back to their room and placed her carefully on the bed. Then she disappeared in search of water in varying degrees
of temperature.
Wordlessly, she removed the tattered dress and poured the hot water over the girl, who didn't awaken with the change. She
pulled the covers over him and looked at him for a minute. *He looks so sad... I did that to him...* She sighed and brushed
his hair out of his eyes. *No wonder he hates me,* she thought sadly. 

Ryoga dreamed. The ghostly white figure of Ukyo Kuonji haunted his nightmares. Wearing the silver dress, she looked like an
angel but acted like a demon, stabbing him repeatedly with glass shards of conversation. She floated a little above him,
forcing him to look up to her to try and make his point. She grinned sardonically at him, blue eyes flashing as she spoke
each barb. "...At least I chased him for a good reason, instead of tracking across the world because he stole a few bits of
bread!" 
She glared at him through those dark blue eyes. Ryoga tried to summon up the angry responses he'd returned each blow with,
but they refused to come forth. Instead he heard the weary voice of defeat as he told her the real responses.
*I was hungry... so, so hungry... don't you understand? That was my first meal in six days...*
"YOU were the one who turned up four days late! How pathetic!"
*That's what they all said... taunting me, all of them... some even saying I skipped out on purpose. I had to get away from
them... that's why I chased him so long. I couldn't go back there, I was a joke.* He tried to keep the words inside, but they
spilled out like a waterfall. _Nobody_ knew why he'd obsessively hunted down Ranma. Maybe it wasn't to prove to those other
children that he wasn't a coward, but to prove to himsef.
"At least I had the guts to admit I loved him instead of being a spineless jellyfish like you! I didn't turn into a
stuttering wreck whenever I spoke to the guy of my dreams! You know what? The only reason my plans to get Ranchan for me and
Akane for you never worked was because you were always too scared to admit you like her. And now they're too close to split
up. It's YOUR fault!!" 
*It's my fault... all my fault...* It hadn't worked. He was still a coward, even after defeating Ranma.
 "At least I can get a good man. A real man. But once your secret's out, you'll be all on your own again."
*I've always been alone... I don't want to be alone...* A bitter sob escaped him.
The ghost Ukyo giggled softly at him. "So lonely. But what else is there for a lost spirit like you?" A cold hand cupped his
chin, forcing him to look at her again. "Even in the Realm of Lost Spirits, there's no lost spirit to keep you company. Poor,
eternal lost boy. Alone, even in a crowd." Her expression dimmed a little and she looked even more like an angel. Ryoga
waited for her to act even more demonic. She smiled a little. "You'll always be lonely if you keep pushing me away like that,
dummy. Why can't you be nice like you were by the campfire?"
He hung his head in shame. *I... I'm scared to...* he finally admitted. *I don't want to lose you too!*
The white figure shimmered, fading. "Then don't push me away, bring me closer..." she whispered, before vanishing. And he
found himself alone again.

Ryoga wasn't the only one with nightmares that night. Ukyo dreamed too of the events that evening. But Ryoga wasn't in his
cursed form as he threw razor sharp daggers that cut deep into her soul, standing taller than her in a pale outfit that
contradicted the darkness he was forcing her into.
"... And she's totally obsessive, she hunted down this guy for ten years because he dumped her when she was six..."
Ukyo tried to voice her denial when he cupped her chin gently and forced her to look into his dark green eyes. Weakly, she
spoke the truth instead of the angry words she'd used earlier. *They left me behind after they promised I could go... and
stole my dowry... my honour was gone and so was my innocence...*
"Pathetic is chasing the idiot for ten years, giving up being a girl because he humiliated you and then falling straight in
love with him because he said you were cute!"
*I couldn't be a girl any more... my dowry was gone and I couldn't get married... he was the first guy to see me as a girl
and liked it... he _said_ so... and if I could marry him, my honour would be restored...* Ukyo bowed her head.
The ghost Ryoga frowned. "He's not going to, though. You saw how quickly he backed out of the engagement as soon as he had an
excuse."
*But I don't want to be alone...* Ukyo sniffled and wiped her eyes. 
The ghost Ryoga smiled at her. "Lonely in a realm full of lost spirits, little Ucchan? No wandering soul to keep you
company?" Ukyo waited for him to stab her with the final dagger, to scream that he hated her, he never wanted to see her
again and he was going to leave her here alone. A small tear rolled down her cheek. Ryoga leaned forward and gently brushed
it away. "Why can't you be all cute like you were by the campfire?" 
Ukyo flushed. *I don't want to scare you away... I want you to stay with me,* she whispered.
The pale figure flickered and dimmed. "If you truly want me to stay then tell me. Don't push me away..." he whispered,
disappearing into the night. 

Ukyo's eyes flickered open, taking in the darkness of the room and estimating the time to be early am. With a yawn, she
stretched, realising she'd fallen asleep at the ornate desk that stood next to the huge bed. She cast her eye over the boy
sleeping there with a small and desolate smile. *As if you'd want to stay after the things I said to you,* she thought
grimly. She reached a hand out to flick a wayward lock of hair from his forehead, then jumped back, startled as his eyes flew
open. "S-sorry sugar, I didn't mean to wake you..." she apologised quickly.
"I was just waking up anyway," Ryoga said with a yawn. He thought back to the ghost Ukyo and the advice she'd given him. 
"Ryoga, I..." Ukyo began, then stopped as he gently took hold of her hands, blushing a little.
"Ucchan, I know I said some nasty things to you earlier and I'm sorry," he said sincerely. Ukyo blinked in surprise and he
quickly continued before she could cut in. "There's no way I could hate you and... and I'm sorry I called you ... you
know..." he trailed off and looked at her in the darkness for a moment before he realised he was still holding her hands.
"Um..." 
They sat in total silence for a few minutes, neither wanting to be the first to speak.
"Ryoga, you won't leave me here alone, will you?" Ukyo asked suddenly, pleading him with her eyes.
"I said I'd stay here and I will," Ryoga promised. He looked down and sighed. "I guess that means I'd better turn back," he
said ruefully, swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. He looked around the room, noticing for the first time, the single
bed. "Where were you sleeping?" he asked curiously.
"On the desk," Ukyo admitted. "And you don't have to wander off - I have cold water here."
"You sleep on the bed," Ryoga offered. "I'll be fine on the floor."
Ukyo remembered the ghost Ryoga's comment about being all cute at the campfire and the advice he'd given her. "Don't be
silly," she chided, smiling a little. "Washu said you were getting a cold and I don't want you falling ill here."
"I'll be fine," Ryoga insisted. "Besides, where would you sleep?"
"We'd both be girls, right? We can share the bed," Ukyo teased. Ryoga froze. Totally. "It was a joke, you big dummy," she
said with a laugh. "Ryoga? Ryoga? Snap out of it!" She smacked him lightly upside the head.
Ryoga blinked and jumped off the bed, picking up the glass of water. He paused before tipping it over his head. *I was always
too scared to tell Akane how I felt about her. Well, I won't be a coward anymore!* The glass trembled and he glared at it.
*So maybe I'll still be a little bit of a coward...* he admitted before turning to face Ukyo. "Hey, Ucchan?"
"Yeah?" She looked at him, a teasing smile still on her face. 
*She really is cute when she smiles...* "You don't know any French, right?" he asked.
Ukyo frowned, puzzled by the question. "No, why?"
"Nothing. Je t'aime, Ucchan." Hoping Ukyo couldn't see him blush in the darkness, he poured the cold water over his head. 

End Part XX Epilogue#2
Final song - We All Fall In Love Sometimes

And that's it for Volume 2!!! Yatta yatta! I did it!
Just a few points here. I know I said Keiko would appear in this one, but I couldn't find the right entrance for her, but she
will appear in Volume 3. Cologne said they were leaving for China, which is true, but don't think that's the end of the
Chinese Amazons.... because I'm planning things concerning Happosai and some more spring of drowned girl water. ^_^ Plus,
find out who Yukio-chan is! There will also be the final showdown with Jodie and Kodachi as soon as Ryoga and Ukyo manage to
find their way out of the Realm of Lost Spirits. Mulder and Scully will still be chasing down those turtles, Salem may
recommend a certain okonomiyaki restaurant to a certain teenage witch and her aunts and don't think you've seen the last of
Vega! I do these things for a reason!

PS - Je t'aime is French (duh!) and means, essentially, I like you. Can be applied romantically, although I'd use Je t'adore
as I love you instead of Je t'aime. 
Send your undying love to me, and your undying hate to someone else. Please don't flame me! I'm on a roll here and I really
like writing this fic!!!! (And to think I started out by planning to keep it down to two volumes... what was I dreaming?!)
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Member 30 of SSoAGMA, Deadly Everyday Object Weaponary Technique, Dragon Warrior Style
Mousse no miku; Generally dangerous English otaku; Supporter of cliched pairs;
Member of the Chan club; WoS; SCG; COURT; SOotCiP;CotMHW - Launderer of the Robes of Death;
Head Castrator of the Hotnit Feminisation Project; Keeper of the Moneybags for the Hotnit Fan Club;
4th Gen. EOE; Image Consultant For "That Guy"; #WASHU#;AKPReSS, Gen. Div.; SLAP;
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Coming soon to list near you.. the legendary 50 foot sig of Team Chan !