Special thanks to KaraOhki and Fido for prereading this and convincing me 
that I did a decent job.  I probably wouldn't even consider continuing this 
someday if it weren't for them.

Replaced

by Thom Keehn
zinyadel@hotmail.com
March 31, 2002


None of this belongs to me and shouldn't be considered for use beyond 
entertainment purposes.  This was not meant to generate money and should not 
ever be used in that way.  If you run short on toilet paper, I suppose you 
can use this but I wouldn't recommend it.

This is to be post wedding scene.  Thoughts are in single quotes.

*****

Midday.  A figure dressed in a summer dress with floral patterns that were 
primarily yellow and white walked through the streets of Nerima.  The dress 
had yellow trim along the edges and hung well past the knees.

The young figure looked womanly.  Long brown hair was tied back in a ribbon, 
cascading down the back in a free fall.  A soft, brown hat rested upon the 
person's head, a white ribbon tied about it.  But appearances were 
deceiving, as this was none other than Tsubasa Kurenai, master of disguise.

Tsubasa hesitated in front of a familiar shop.  It had been months since he 
last visited his Ukyou and it had not exactly been a friendly parting.  He 
wondered how things were going for his friend, quietly hoping she hadn't 
succeeded in her pursuit of Ranma.

Tsubasa clenched his fists at the thought of Ranma Saotome.  Ranma had 
tricked him into caring for him, had toyed with his emotions.  After so many 
rejections from Ukyou, he had acted upon a momentary weakness and paid for 
it dearly.  Tsubasa had let himself care about someone else, only to 
discover it was the same culprit that was trying to steal his Ukyou from 
him.

The entire encounter had not gone well and Tsubasa had fled Nerima, not 
wanting to return.  But here he was again despite his convictions.  Despite 
betraying Ukyou, Tsubasa was not about to give up on her.  If only Ranma 
hadn't been there to screw things up, Ukyou would have been his.

Again he grimaced at the thought of Ranma.  The mere mention of the 
pigtailed martial artist angered him to no end.  There was no way he could 
compete with Ranma for Ukyou's affections.  Ranma was everything Tsubasa 
wanted to be: a man who could be a woman.  And what angered him even more 
was that Ranma didn't stop to consider the curse as a blessing.

Tsubasa shook his head to clear away the troublesome thoughts.  He was quite 
aware that standing in front of Uuchan's too long would draw suspicion.  
Ukyou's would-be suitor steeled his nerve, crossed the street and opened the 
door to the restaurant.  The clatter of a tiny bell announced his entrance.

Tsubasa hesitated a couple paces into the room.  Ukyou was standing behind 
the counter tending to the grill.  She was so beautiful, standing there, her 
face a mask of concentration.  It had been so long that he had nearly 
forgotten how wonderful she was to look at.  His knees weakened.

Ukyou flashed her soft brown eyes up at him.  The look of annoyance that 
crossed her face tore through him more painfully than any razor sharp 
spatula could.  "What do you want, Tsubasa?" she demanded.

His mouth opened but no words could come out.  Instead the master of 
disguise decided to take a seat at the counter before his legs gave out.  He 
slipped into his seat, staring at her, feeling light-headed.  She glowered 
at him, but returned her attention to the food frying on the grill.

"I ... I wanted to," he started, not able to sort through his words.  'I 
want to take you home with me,' he mentally finished, but knew saying that 
would endanger his health.

"I have paying customers that could use that space," Ukyou remarked coldly 
without looking up.  "Make an order or get out."

"Fine," he sighed.  "I'll have a pork and shrimp okonomiyake."  She nodded 
and poured an almost perfect circle of batter on the grill.  "It's been a 
long time since I said anything to you."

"Not long enough," Ukyou returned curtly.

"Ukyou, I never wanted to hurt you," Tsubasa declared softly.

"Hurt me?!" Ukyou huffed incredulously.  "You couldn't hurt me if you tried, 
Tsubasa."

"Well then why else would you be so upset?" Tsubasa asked.  He pulled 
himself out of his own little world for a moment to consider what things 
could possibly make Ukyou upset.  "Did Ranma dump you?"

A spatula stopped short of his throat by mere inches.  "Don't you dare 
pretend to know what's wrong with me!" she growled.  The sudden exchange 
caused many customers to silently pay for their meals and excuse themselves 
from the restaurant.  A young waitress happily told each customer to come 
back anytime.

Tsubasa gulped nervously.  For a long pause he said nothing, allowing the 
room and his head to clear up.  The master of disguise knew that saying the 
wrong thing would be answered with a very painful reward, so he chose his 
words carefully.  "I'm only trying to help," he meekly offered.  The spatula 
left it's threatening position as Ukyou returned her attention to the grill.

"I don't need your help," she grumbled.  "I dealt with Ranma and if he 
doesn't want to speak to me again, that's fine by me.  It's not like I'm the 
one leading people along and suddenly attempting to get married without 
personally letting my supposed 'best' friend know beforehand.  As far as I'm 
concerned, he's dead to me."

She served up his okonomiyake on a small plate.  Tsubasa nodded graciously.  
"I guess that means that you wouldn't mind me ..." he started, reaching for 
his food.  A small spatula was slammed down, pinning his meal to the counter 
surface and shattering the plate underneath.  Tsubasa snatched his hands 
back, looking up meekly.  He swallowed nervously.  "I guess not."

Ukyou's bottom lip quivered.  Tsubasa tensed up, expecting to be launched 
all the way back home but it never happened.  Instead Ukyou broke out in 
tears and fled the room.

Tsubasa blinked, confused.  The waitress sighed and slid up behind the 
counter to tend to the grill in case any more customers happened to come in. 
  Tsubasa let his worries about whatever Ukyou was upset about slip away, 
preferring to take note of the waitress instead.  It wasn't like he could 
change whatever Ukyou was upset about if she didn't tell him.

Tsubasa smiled at the girl, not knowing what else he could do.  She had 
long, raven black hair and deep brown eyes.  She was wearing a simple dark 
blue kimono with white trim and crimson red flowers arranged about the 
material to draw an onlooker's eye to specific places.  She was quite 
beautiful, though a bit old fashioned for Tsubasa's tastes.

"Hi," he said.  "I'm a friend of Ukyou's, Kurenai Tsubasa.  I don't believe 
I've ever seen you before."

"I'm Kunoichi Konatsu," the girl replied softly.  "Ukyou-sama has taken me 
in to be her waitress in exchange for room and board."

"Ukyou-sama?" Tsubasa echoed.  He frowned.  He supposed it was probably the 
way she addressed everyone.  'There was no way my Ukyou would be ....'

"Yes, she has been ... troubled ever since Ranma-sama and Akane-sama almost 
married," Konatsu informed him.  Konatsu arched an eye at him inquisitively. 
  "She didn't seem to happy to see you."

Tsubasa sighed in relief.  His concerns on Ukyou's preference faded with the 
realization that the waitress did address everyone the same way.  It was 
even better news that Ranma had finally broken Ukyou's heart.  Now there 
were no obstacles to stand between him and his Ukyou.

Tsubasa realized the waitress was waiting for him to respond.  "Oh, well 
Ukyou's my girlfriend," Tsubasa stated.  He then thought about whom he was 
saying this to and decided to amend, "well at least I would like her to be 
my girlfriend.  She's probably just upset that I left her here some time ago 
and haven't talked to her since."

The master of disguise let out a breath slowly, realizing how close he had 
came to upsetting Ukyou even more.  He knew how girls liked to talk and had 
no doubt that this pretty waitress would inevitably relay this conversation 
to Ukyou.

Tsubasa slipped out of his thoughts, noting the appalled expression on the 
girl's face.  "But Ukyou-sama is Ranma-sama's fiancee," the girl protested.  
"Ukyou-sama likes men."

Tsubasa guessed what was distressing the girl.  The poor waitress was now 
worried that her employer had ulterior motives for taking her in.  "Oh don't 
worry about that," he stated evenly, patting the girl's slender hand.  "I'm 
really a guy."

"Really?" Konatsu asked.  "How intriguing."

Tsubasa frowned.  That wasn't the reaction he had expected.  "What do you 
mean?" he asked, confused.

"Well, I'm also a guy," Konatsu declared.

The world spun beneath Tsubasa's feet.  He nearly lost his grip on the 
counter, which surely would have rattled his head off the countertop.  
Instead he staggered backwards off the stool, sending it spinning off along 
the floor into the wall.

"What's wrong?" Konatsu asked, vaulting the counter in one swift motion.  
The expression on her, no his, face was filled with concern.  She, no he, 
approached him, reaching out to him with a slender hand.  Tsubasa backed 
off, horrified.  It was all too much for the master of disguise to deal 
with.

Tsubasa turned and bolted out of the shop, fumbling with the door for only a 
moment.  He dashed down the streets, his sandaled feet slapping furiously 
against the pavement, with only one thought rambling over and over in his 
mind.

'My Ukyou has replaced me.'

*****

Thanks for reading.  Any C&C, flames, threats against my dog (against my cat 
simply will not be tolerated), or promises to damage my crappy car is 
welcome.  I need a reason to buy a new car anyways and the dog needs to 
realize that the front room is not the backyard.

Ciaow


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