Hi. Okay, first fanfic, so C&C is more than welcome.
Also, I hate the title, so if anyone has any
suggestions... This little fic was inspired(?) by the
fact that in all these
"Ranma-Tells-Ukyo-He's-Going-To-Marry-Akane" scenes I
read, Ukyo always offered Ranma a specific favor, and
Ranma always declined (well, the IMBS Ranma didn't,
quite...). Anyway, I always wondered why Ukyo thought
Ranma'd be in need of such a favor. He was the one
getting Akane, after all; she was the one being left
with nothing. So instead, I here I have Ukyo _asking_
for such a favor... And this time, Ranma's answer
might be a little different... (NOT a lemon, btw)
---------------------------------
Ranma 1/2 is property of Rumiko Takahashi. The
characters and situations are used without her
permission, etc, etc. Standard disclaimer.
---------------------------------
Forever One Night
Coming in sight of the Ucchan�s, Ranma hopped down
from the rooftops and slowed to a deliberate walk. He
had thought to get this over with as fast as possible,
but seeing the familiar shop and Ucchan�s smiling face
through the window suddenly gave him doubts. Somehow
he knew that smile would never be the same again. He
sighed, searching for the words he would say once he
got through the door, and wondered once again how
something that brought him so much happiness could
cause so much pain.
Last night had been... wonderful. Somehow, without
warning, after a year of hope and hurt and heartache,
Akane and he had finally admitted their true feelings
for each other. Their love. Love. The word that
came so hard to his lips before now danced on his
tongue as if waiting for the slightest chance to
burst free. He could not repeat it enough. *I love
Akane*, Ranma thought in wonder for the thousandth
time, and the words sent a shiver of warmth down his
spine. He could not repeat it enough, but... not to
Ucchan. Even with his general lack of perception, he
could tell that hearing about what happened between
him and Akane last night would not please Ukyo very
much. Especially taking into consideration what took
place *after* their confession... Ranma felt a blush
creep up his cheeks, and hurried his step. Not that
he was so stupid as to tell Ukyo about *that*.
He reached the Ucchan�s just as the last of the
customers were leaving, dissolving into the twilight
as soon as they walked out the door. The young couple
in front of him was the last to go, and then he was
left alone in the darkened restaurant. Ukyo was just
about to close down for the night when she saw him,
standing uncertainly inside the doorframe.
�Ranchan!� she exclaimed in surprise, quickly making
her way over to him around the counter. �I didn�t
expect to see you so late. Come on in, I�ll get the
oven started in just a sec--�
�Nah, that�s okay,� he said, closing the door behind
him. �I came to... to talk with you, Ucchan.�
A worried expression flitted over her face. �Oh.
Sure, Ranchan.� She looked at him apprehensively.
�Let�s go up to my room, okay? There�s no sense
standing around here in the dark. We can talk there.�
It was a pretty lame attempt at stalling, Ukyo thought
as they headed up the stairs that led to her bedroom.
But there was... something in Ranma�s eyes tonight
that made her dread the upcoming conversation. Coming
into her room, she sat down on her futon, motioning
for Ranma to do the same. Somewhat awkwardly, he
followed her example. There was silence. �So...�
Ukyo said, prompting him. �You wanted to talk to me?
What about?� Please, please, let it not be about...
�Well, about... � He paused, trying to find the
right way to say it, but with no success. �You see...
We�ve been friends for a long time, right, Ucchan?�
Ukyo only nodded, urging him to continue, wishing he
wouldn�t.
�And we�ll always be friends, right? No matter
what?� Damn, this was hard.
�Of course, Ranma-honey. You know that,� Ukyo
replied with a slight tremor in her voice. This was
looking really bad.
Ranma smiled with visible relief. �Good. But, uh,
Akane... Akane and I...� he faltered, �we...�
�Akane.� Ukyo slumped under the weight of that word
and all it implied. �I see.� So this was it. She
had suspected it as soon as he walked in, but she had
hoped... She had known, of course. She would have
been more than blind not to. Still, it had come too
quick, and the slashes of his words had found their
way to her heart with nothing to block them. She had
not expected it to hurt this much. Taking a deep
breath, she closed her eyes and waited until she felt
she could speak again without choking. Then she
screamed, and wept, and raged; then she smiled, and in
that smile she screamed, and wept, and raged, but he
did not hear.
�I understand, Ranchan.� No, she didn�t. Why her,
why not me?
�I... I love her, Ucchan,� Ranma told her
apologetically, as if that made everything all right.
It didn�t. �I�m sorry, but--�
�I know, Ranma. I know.� This time the tears could
not be held back, and she sobbed, crying out her
misery and pain and the unfairness of it all as she
had not done since she was a little girl. Since Ranma
had abandoned her the first time.
�Uh, look, Ucchan, don�t cry... don�t cry, c�mon,
Ucchan...� Ranma stammered, at a loss. He put his arm
around her, trying to comfort her as best he could.
He looked as if he were about to cry himself, and that
made Ukyo smile slightly through her tears. After a
while, the tears abated, and she leaned her head into
his shoulder, waiting until she had regained some
semblance of control over herself.
�It�s okay, Ranchan,� she said finally. �I�m... I�m
h-happy for you. We�ll always be friends, after all.
It�s what you said, right?� Ukyo took a breath,
forcing the hurt to stay down. �And as friends...
Ranchan... would you do me a favor?� She lowered her
head, afraid to look at him. �Would you... kiss me?�
Seeing him start, she desperately continued. �I don�t
mean it like that, it�s just... this is my only
chance, you know? Soon you�ll go back to Akane, and
from then on we�ll simply be friends, but tonight...
please... Just one kiss, so I�ll know... how it could
have been.�
Ranma looked at her then, sitting next to him. She
seemed so small, a huddled figure cloaked in chestnut
tresses. The favor she asked... it really wasn�t that
much to give, after all he had taken. �Okay, Ucchan,�
he said. Ukyo stared up at him in hopeful disbelief,
lips parted in surprise. He closed his arms around
her and kissed those lips, gently. For a moment, Ukyo
froze, fearing that if she moved at all, he might
change his mind. Then she acted, coming in closer and
meeting his light kiss with her own far more ardent
one.
Finally, slowly, they broke apart. An unreadable
expression moved behind Ukyo�s eyes. �Dammit,
Ranchan,� she said, and this time it was she who met
his startled mouth with hers. Ranma tasted salt on
his lips, and realized that it was her tears. He had
been taken aback by the passion in her kiss, the sheer
hunger of it. But now he saw how much she needed
him... needed this. All her life, he had given her
only disappointment. For once, couldn�t he give her
something more? Holding her slight form in his arms,
Ranma came to a decision. He let her next kiss carry
him away, let it take him into its tempest, let
himself return her fervor. They fell on the futon,
together, caught up in the flurry of folly.
�I... love you, Ranchan,� Ukyo whispered to him, and
Ranma kissed her in reply. For deep in his heart, he
knew he loved her, too. Not like his love for Akane,
born of passion, of romance; but with a love born of
trust, and friendship, and need.
At one point, Ranma paused. �Ucchan, this... your
first?� She smiled a little sadly, and nodded. �Are
you sure you want it to be... like this?�
The same sad smile. �I never wanted anyone but you,
Ranchan. If this is the only way I can have you, then
it�s enough.�
Ranma simply held her tighter, and whatever his
answer was, it was lost to them both.
And then it was over. They lay silently for a while,
neither quite daring to speak. Then Ranma hesitantly
turned to face Ukyo. �Ucchan... you know that this
can�t happen again. This is just--�
Ukyo shook her head and pressed a finger to his lips.
�Shh, Ranchan. I know.� Closing her eyes, she
slipped her free arm about him. �But for this one
night... you�re mine. Let me have what illusions I
may.�
They left it at that.
--------------------------
The morning sun in his eyes woke Ranma from his
sleep. Blinking, he sat up groggily, not
understanding where he was. Something stirred at his
side, pulling at the sheets. Still somewhat drowsy,
Ranma looked in confusion at the girl next to him...
and remembered. Smiling, he got up off the futon,
careful not to disturb Ukyo. She moaned softly but
didn�t wake. He dressed quickly, then walked over to
the window and looked out at the sunlit street in
satisfaction. He felt good this morning, for some
reason. Coming back to the futon, Ranma crouched down
before Ukyo�s sleeping form. A haunting smile played
over her lips, and her lashes were sticky with tears.
He tenderly brushed her hair away from her face,
tracing the line of her cheek. Then he leaned down
and kissed her on the forehead, like a child, and
left.
As he closed the door behind him, he almost thought
he heard Ukyo whisper �Thank you, Ranchan. I�ll
always remember.� But maybe it was just the wind.
---------------------------------
Notes: I don�t really know what I�m supposed to say
here, so you can skip this if you like. This fanfic
doesn�t really have a point, I�ll concede that.
However, people have said the point is that Ranma�s
friendship with Ukyo is stronger than his love for
Akane. Maybe. Maybe not. It can also be about Ranma
expiating his past mistakes. Throughout the fic, he
compares Ukyo to a child, a little girl. Perhaps he
thinks that by doing what he did, he in part made up
for what he did before. I, personally, thought it was
about a nice thing Ranma did for Ukyo. That is, until
I showed it to a friend, and she said �That Ranma sure
is a jerk! What a pervert!� Okay, when I thought
about it, what was nice for Ukyo wasn�t necessarily so
for Akane. However, I started it siding with Ranma,
and I still do. I think what he did was right, under
the circumstances. He didn�t do it because of any
lechery; in fact, not once does he really think of
Ukyo in romantic terms. I�d like to hear what you
think about it, though.
---------------------
K-chan
---------------------
"There are two things I cannot stand: one is
intolerance, the other is hypocrisy."
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