Subject: [FFML] [R.5][Permanent][part 27]
From: Ryoga P Hibiki
Date: 4/11/2000, 10:21 PM
To: ffml@fanfic.com

Permanent 

Part 27

Okonimiyaki means... What the hell?

	The teacher stood at the front of the room and for once actually held
the attention of most of the room. The object of interest was a sixteen
year old boy who stood next to him with a scowl on his face and a large
spatula strapped across his back. "Class, I'd like to introduce a new
student..."

	The boy spoke up. "My name is Ukyo Kuonji, my hobby's making
Okonomiyaki." He skillfully flipped one over on the grill he had set up
in the front of the room. This impressed most of the students present and
Ranma glanced up from her book.

	"Ukyo Kuonji?" she stared at the boy for a long moment as if trying to
remember something.

	The boy's attention moved to her immediately, she saw Ranma with a large
book propped up in front of her face. The pigtail was unmistakable
though. "Ranma! It's been a long time!"

	Ryoga stopped cold and looked up from his nap in the back corner of the
class. "He knows Ranma?"

	Ukyo's arm flew in a wide arc and Ranma reached up instinctively to
catch the Okonomiyaki. She glanced at it in mild surprise and frowned for
a moment at the smiling face that looked at her on the top of the pastry.
"I know him..." she glanced up at him and smiled slightly. "You're..."

	Ukyo smiled and readied several small spatulas in his hand. "For ten
years I've hunted you!" He threw the razor sharp utensils as Ranma jumped
from her seat and rushed forward missing the weapons without noticing
them. Ryoga caught one and his eyes narrowed as a few other boys
scrambled away from the projectiles.

	"You're Ucchan from the Okonomiyaki cart!" she cried cheerfully as she
appeared out of nowhere in front of the boy. Ukyo jerked back in
horrified surprise.

	Ryoga leaned back and relaxed slightly with a confused look on his face.
He didn't remember any Okonomiyaki cart on any of his travels with the
sorceress. If it was before they met then it was something Ranma could
handle easily on his own.

	Akane blinked at the scene and stood up. "Ucchan? You were childhood
friends?"

	"Yea, for a while anyway," confirmed Ranma cheerfully. Ukyo remained
silent as he watched Ranma in complete shock.

	The male populace of the class gasped in shock, many of their faces fell
at the appearance of this new rival. They turned to see a displeased look
cross Ryoga's features as well. He remained silent though.

	Ranma turned towards the class and smiled. "I met Ukyo when pop and I
were training. Ucchan was a name I came up with. I would come to the cart
and Ukyo and I would get into a fight, when I won I would get free
Okonomiyaki practically every day!" The girl looked proud of this
statement.

	Akane twitched, she had never seen Ranma react to a situation this way.
She was so... cheerful. She shook it off and took in what Ranma had just
explained. "Uh, Ranma? Isn't that called theft?"

	Ranma smiled at her and shook her head. "No, look." She held up the
Okonomiyaki and showed her the face drawn onto the surface. "Ukyo used to
draw little pictures with the sauce. He'd always have one hot n ready for
me."

	"Sounds like a childhood crush to me," noted Daisuke.

	"I never knew Ranma had it in her," agreed Hiroshi.

	Ryoga smiled from his spot in the back of the room. "I know he doesn't
have it in him." He walked up next to Ranma and realized she had frozen
in place. "Forgot about something Saotome?"

	Ranma slowly turned to see Ukyo shaking in place as he slumped against
the wall with a look of complete shock on his face. His eyes were firmly
planted on Ranma's chest and his jaw was wide open. "It can't be..." he
whispered quietly.

	"Ucchan?" whispered Ranma as she noticed this. "I uhh..."

	"Ten years...ten long years, and this..." he stood upright and stared
Ranma dead in her eyes. "It all makes sense now. You didn't even know did
you?" He turned on his heels and walked out the door into the hallway.

	"Ucchan wait!" cried Ranma as she rushed after her.

	"Now see here!" cried the teacher as he stood up from his desk. That was
as far as he got, Ranma looked him dead in the eyes and waved her hand
slightly. The man froze and shook his head, "Um, everyone take your seats
and open your books."

	"What about Ranma?" cried Akane in shock.

	"What are you talking about Miss Tendo?" said the man with a confused
look on his face.

	Akane blinked and took her seat. "Never mind Sensei."



	"Ukyo! Where are you going?" cried Ranma as she chased the boy down in
the hallway.

	"I've been looking for the wrong Saotome," he said coldly as he pushed
open the door to the school and walked out into the courtyard.

	"Wait! Tell me what's going on!" cried Ranma as she caught up with him.

	Ukyo turned to look at her and frowned. "Did you know?"

	Ranma blinked obliviously and stopped. "Did I know what?"

	"I can never be sure," replied the boy simply. He paused, "Where is your
father?" He dared to hope that she might help him, perhaps after the old
man was gone they could even rekindle their friendship, as it should be,
not with him as he was now. He knew Ranma would never forgive him though
after he finished what he had to do. All that was shattered in an instant
though.

	"Pop?" she looked at Ukyo quizzically. "Ukyo, he's gone."

	Kuonji froze and stared at her in shock. "What do you mean gone? Did he
abandon you too?"

	Ranma paused and looked at her. "Too?" she thought to her self. "No
Ukyo, I mean he's gone. It happened in China."

	The cry that the boy let out could only be described as anguish and
pain. Everything he had lived for over the past ten years was for
nothing. Now, even revenge was denied him. "No! How could this happen! He
was mine damn it!" He fell to his knees and clutched the dirt while
hyperventilating. 

	Ranma took a step forward and crouched down next to him. "Ucchan? What
happened? Why are you here?"

	Ukyo looked her dead in the eyes with a stare of contempt that faded
instantly. "You really don't know do you?" With that said he stood and
turned his back on her before walking away from Furinkan.

	"Ucchan?" Ranma wanted to follow and find out what was going on, but her
legs would not let her for some reason. She felt her heart tighten
slightly as she watched him leave. Her eyes narrowed as she realized that
she had the answers she was looking for right under her nose.


	Ranma appeared inside the Cat Caf� and cracked her knuckles. "Ranma,
what are you doing home so early?" said Cologne as she hobbled out of the
kitchen.

	"Where is my father?" asked the girl calmly.

	"I sent the fool to take the trash out, he should be back any moment
now. What is this about?" asked the old woman carefully.

	"That's what I mean to find out," said Ranma coldly.


	Genma froze when he saw her sitting at a table waiting for him when he
walked back inside the restaurant. "Uh oh. I don't like that look," he
thought as he glanced towards the door looking for an easy escape.

	"Don't even think about it old man," commented Ranma as she indicated a
seat at the table. Genma took it and stared at her waiting for whatever
it was.

	The panda looked at the pen and paper that was set down before him in
confusion. "What's this for?" said the sign.

	"You're going to tell me what I want to know pop, if you don't I have
other ways of finding out," she told him calmly. The panda froze with a
fearful expression on his face, he knew she was right. "You remember that
boy Ukyo, from the Okonomiyaki cart? He showed up at school today."

	Genma stared at Ranma and tried to mask his surprise. "He?" the animal
thought carefully.

	"I want to know why he was looking for you old man," snapped the girl
angrily. She kept herself under control though as her father might
actually have a reason for this. She couldn't think of a single one
though, but there was always the chance. 

	Genma merely nodded his head and started to write. "He thinks I stole
the Okonomiyaki cart from his father."

	Ranma blinked as another memory came back to her. It was the one of her
as a young boy sitting on top of the cart while Ukyo chased after them
with tears in her eyes. "Pop, I'm going to kill you!" she screamed as she
reached across the table and grabbed him.

	Genma held up a sign and waved his paw around frantically. "But her
father gave me the cart!"

	Ranma paused and dropped him. "What?" Genma might be stupid, but he was
smart enough to come up with a better lie than that. "What do you mean?"

	The conversation was interrupted as a cheerful voice chimed in from the
door. "Nihao!" Talcum marched through the door followed by Ko li. 
	
	"Hey Ranma," noted the girl calmly as she passed by.

	Ranma looked back and saw that her father had vacated the table. She
sighed heavily, only her father would take four hours to take out the
trash. "We'll finish this later old man." She would have to track down
Ukyo later and ask a few more questions. The boy had seemed deeply hurt,
and she was sure there was more to this than a stolen cart.

	Ryoga stepped into the restaurant and sat down across from her. "So did
you catch your old friend?"

	"Yea, it only got more confusing from there," she told him.

	"Really?" Ryoga didn't look surprised and that bothered Ranma slightly.

	"What's that supposed to mean?" she snapped.

	"Well, if I found a childhood friend that I thought was a boy ten years
later and he had breast, I'd probably be confused too." He offered her a
fanged grin as he said this.

	"Shut up Mr. P. I think there's more to it than that," she looked
towards the kitchen and turned a few thoughts over in her mind. "What the
hell am I gonna do about it though? That's the real question."

	"Well, he seemed angry at first, but he calmed down real fast," noted
Ryoga with a shrug. "Maybe he thinks you're cute?"

	Ranma winced at this, it was very possible. Still, it didn't fit the way
he was acting when he left. "What is it that I don't know?" she asked
herself out loud.

	"More than you'd like to think sometimes," commented Ryoga dryly.

	"Mr. P, shouldn't you be getting to work now?" grumbled Ranma angrily.

	Cologne sat on the counter sipping tea. "This could be interesting."


	Akane Tendo walked through the streets of Nerima towards her home. She
paused when she saw a familiar looking boy in the street with a large
metal spatula strapped across his back. He turned and glanced at her as
she approached, but quickly looked away uninterested. "Hey, you're that
guy Ukyo, Ranma's friend aren't you?"

	The boy frowned at her. "I wouldn't call her a friend at the moment."

	Akane blinked at this. "Why not?"

	Ukyo sighed and hung his head. "Who the heck are you anyway, why are you
bothering me about this?"

	"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry. It's just that Ranma is probably my
best friend. I'm a little worried about her," said Akane in
embarrassment. 
	
	Ukyo laughed out loud at this. "Why am I not surprised?"

	"You aren't angry with her about something are you?" said Akane with a
worried look on her face.

	Ukyo looked at her and paused in thought. "No, I'm not angry, not with
her anyway."

	Akane grabbed him by his arm and smiled. "You've got to tell her that
then! I know it's none of my business, but I've never seen her look that
happy before! When she saw you it was like she was a child again! Like
she forgot about her problems completely!"

	Ukyo looked at her as she released him. "Ranma isn't happy you say?"

	Akane blushed and looked around as if checking that no one would hear.
"Well, I wouldn't say she's unhappy. She's just so serious all the time,
it's like she's been depressed or something. She's getting better since
she came to Nerima. I think it has to do with her father dying in China."

	Ukyo looked at Akane and sighed again. "What kind of person is Ranma to
you? I haven't seen hi-uh, her in years."

	Akane blinked and stepped back from the boy. "Well, she's really nice. I
think I trust her more than anyone else I know. She goes out of her way
to do things for people sometimes. I think she's probably the best friend
I've ever had. You wouldn't believe some of the things she's done for me
in the past."

	Ukyo smiled at this, "Try me."

	Akane laughed nervously, she had been speaking literally about the
disbelief. Somehow she doubted if she had been a sorceress back when she
knew Ukyo. Not from the way she had described things anyway; if Ukyo
didn't know he wasn't going to find out from her. "Well..."

	"Evil demon!" screeched a familiar voice. Akane stopped her conversation
and whirled around with a shocked and horrified expression on her face. 

	"No! Not now! It isn't even night time!" cried Akane. Ukyo gasped as he
caught a glimpse of the black scar hidden behind her thick bangs.


	Keiko dropped her shopping bag as her eyes fell from the cute boy that
walked by her to the strangely familiar figure walking with him.  "It
can't be!" she gasped. "Evil demon!" She pointed towards Akane and saw
the girl grow rigid for a moment.

	Auska pushed her glasses up her nose and frowned. "Where? It's too early
for that Keiko!"

	"I guess evil does not know the difference between night or day!" cried
the girl dramatically as she pulled a ring from her pocket. She placed it
on her finger and jumped into the air as her clothes vanished only to be
replaced by a green dress and long sword. "Foul demon! I, demon slayer
Keiko shall teach you to defile the sacred sanctity of the shopping
district! How dare you tempt innocent young men so!"

	Akane cursed under her breath and dashed into the crowd leaving Ukyo and
Keiko behind. The boy was looking at the demon hunter in shock. "Uh, did
you say tempt young men?"

	She blushed slightly and smiled at him. "I hope that evil monster didn't
hurt you good sir."

	Ukyo frowned at her and glanced into the crowd searching for Akane.
"What the hell happened to her?"

	"The cowardly beast ran away," said Keiko proudly.

	Ukyo merely shook his head and turned away. "Whatever." He started to
walk off and glanced upwards. He stopped as a figure appeared on the
rooftops. Just as quickly it was gone. "Who?" 



Keiko stood next to Auska and smiled broadly as she lifted her shopping
bags back into her arms again after changing back to her so called,
'civilian identity'. "So?" asked her companion.
	
	"So? So what?" muttered Keiko.

	"Did you get his number?" squealed the girl cheerfully.

	"No, he wandered off before I could ask him. He was a real babe too,"
grumbled Keiko a little dejectedly.




	Up on the rooftop the white cloaked figure watched the scene again in
silence. His smile widened slightly. "Ranma? I wonder what her connection
is with this demon? I suppose I'll find out soon enough, my role as
passive observer will end soon." he thought to himself before he vanished
in a wave of light.

	TBC...

	Next time: More Ukyo, and Ranma grows closer to learning the truth, or
does she? All kinds of gender confusion to come.

	C&C to Carrotglace@juno.com

	URL: Http://www.geocities.com/misatira/




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