In the last chapter, I forgot to add underscores to all of the
normally italicized parts. Sorry if that confused anyone, I'm
really not used to working with plain text. 

Anyway...



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Title: The Countdown to Matrimony (Ch. 1 of Part 2)
Anime: Ranma 1/2
Author: Denise Cameron aka Elena99
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Part 2: Mighty Ukyo

Chapter 1: Feminine, Masculine, who Decides?

She was getting nervous now, and she knew it. Her hands, normally so
careful, trembled and refused to obey. Her eyes twitched, and her skin
jumped whenever something dared to make an unexpected noise. Even
Konatsu, her housemate and sole employee, was taking extra steps to
not trigger her.

Standing at her bar, she rested her elbows on the safe portion and
plunked her chin into the rounded formation of her palms. Her large,
anxious brown eyes stared forward at the door, waiting.

Whoever said that waiting was the hardest part wasn't kidding.

There weren't even customers right then. Ukyo's restaurant hadn't seen
a hungry face since she had been on her morning run, and none of them
had managed to follow her back. The run, at least, had felt nice.
Something to take her mind off of things for a while, and let her body
just work.

_Maybe that's why I haven't seen Ryoga. He didn't want to have to deal
with anything, and just kept running. Heh. If anyone could keep up
that sort of pace, it'd be him._ She rolled her eyes to the ceiling,
and thought of his pack that was upstairs. The umbrella was in a
corner in the kitchen, since it was too heavy for her to want to carry
upstairs. She thought it odd that he hadn't come back for them, but
reasoned that he was still too upset to care about it.

"No one's come for a while. Maybe we should advertise? I could go
outside, and see if I could attract customers." Offered Konatsu. He
was always suggesting things like that, when business was slow. Ukyo
touched a finger to her cheek, considering.

"No, thanks. In my condition, it's best to have as few customers as
possible," she replied. _Despite the agony of waiting, that is._

"Do you want me to get anything for you, then? Is there anything I can
do?" he asked. This time Ukyo did turn around to look at her waiter.
In his eyes, there was a look of devotion, and mild sadness at seeing
her upset. Ukyo had no idea what she could say to him, though. She
didn't want to explain that she was upset over Ranma. It had occured
to her, after her visit from Ryoga, that Ranma would no doubt pay her
a visit soon. Despite that she was above such a term as suitor, that
Ryoga had said, she was a fiancee, and Akane would no doubt force
Ranma into telling her to back off.

"No, I'm fine," she replied, turning back to her door. The black
haired man gave up, and sat down on a nearby chair.

_Maybe I should talk to Konatsu, soon...but what if...Arg, I hate this!_
There was an added confusion to the situation. Konatsu's personality,
often feminine as was his general appareance, often made the man hard
to figure out. Ukyo couldn't tell if he liked her as a friend, or had
a crush on her, or respected her as a employer, or was head over heels
in love. Confused signals came off of him in waves, and she wasn't
sure that she wanted to test what talking about Ranma would result in.


As though sensing Ukyo's thoughts, she heard Konatsu get up and leave
the room. Ukyo frowned, but said nothing. She knew she was unpleasant
to be with right then. That probably was why he had opted to leave,
finally. The silence of the room embraced her, and she felt lighter
now that she wasn't being watched.

"I lived most of my life as a boy...so why can't I figure out the ones
around me?" she said to the empty room. Finding the silence annoying,
she began cleaning the counter again, wondering when her next customer
would arrive, and if it would be Ranma.

* * *

"Just so you know, if some dark stranger asks me
I might go...and so...don't blame me
when you're lonely. We're sailing out
to see the ship and me!" 
-- "Red Shoe Sunday", Ranma 1/2

On another side of town, two young women sat inside of an ice cream
shop each eating a sundae of ice cream, chocolate, and fruit. One of
them, Ranma, ate her ice cream as though possessed. Her expression was
of pure bliss, to the amusement and disgust of her companion on the
opposite side of the table.

Akane, sitting across from her, frowned. Although she was enjoying the
ice cream as well, she ate more slowly, occasionally raising an
eyebrow at Ranma when she felt it warranted. The latter,
unfortunately, was not terribly affected.

"Ya know, you're the one who suggested ice cream. You don't have to
keep giving me that look," said the redhead, stopping her eating to
shake a finger mockingly at Akane. She smirked, and rolled her eyes.

"It doesn't mean you have to keep eating like that. Don't you have any
shame, Ranma?" asked Akane.

"Nope," replied Ranma happily. But she did duck her head, no doubt in
case Akane decided to smack her for having a smart remark. She
declined, however, and Ranma soon resumed position.

Akane continued eating her ice cream, trying not to watch the mess her
fiance was making. It wasn't really that much of a mess, but something
about it was just too unladylike. It didn't matter that the red haired
girl was really black haired Ranma, and most certainly a male. Right
now, Ranma was female; most likely, the people around her assumed she
was a she. It was beyond Akane why she didn't get that.

They finished their sundaes and rose from their benches, Akane lagging
behind slightly. Trying not to look at Ranma grinning sweetly at the
cashier, she managed to overhear Ranma swaying him into a discount. As
usual. As they left the restaurant, Akane shook her head. _They'd never
give me a discount if I acted all girly like that. Then again, I
wouldn't stoop to that over ice cream. Really!_ She wasn't angry,
though; soon she let it go, as they walked down the sidewalk, Ranma
walking in long, mannish strides while Akane swayed elegantly along
beside.

"Hey, do you want to go anywhere else while we're out?" asked Ranma.
Akane was then torn between two decisions, and rubbed her chin as she
thought. On the one hand, she liked having someone to spend time with,
and she did want to go to one of the shopping centers downtown. On the
other hand...she had promised Kasumi that she would be home early, to
help clean. _It's still early though...we have plenty of time. Besides,
Nabiki should be home by now._ Akane nodded, making her decision.

"Let's go downtown, I need to pick up a few things anyway," said
Akane. Nodding agreeably, Ranma lead the way.

On the next street over, they came to a small clothing store that
Akane liked, and she tugged Ranma easily into it. While Akane browsed
through the clothing, Ranma seemed more reluctant, preferring to keep
to one side or answer her if Akane asked what she thought of
something. Seeing a blue and grey outfit that she liked, Akane went
into a dressing room to try it on. Once done, and satisfied, she came
back to see Ranma waiting semi-patiently by the counter, tossing a
balled up paper she had found somewhere into the air and catching it.

"Done?" she asked, looking at the clothing Akane held.

"Yup, for this store anyway. Just one more stop to make," she replied,
then went to the cashier to pay. _Eep, and that will be the last stop.
I need to watch my money more_, she thought, as she looked at the
receipt. Frowning, she followed Ranma out of the store.

As they exited, Akane noticed a small commotion further up in the
street; people were dodging out of the way, and she thought she heard
something about a pig. Before she could brace herself, Ranma had
pulled her towards the other side of the walkway, probably so she
could easily protect her if need be.

"Watch out, Akane. Somethin's coming," said Ranma, looking defensive.
She allowed herself to be protected, despite that she didn't feel the
need. _Best to wait and see what it is first_, she reasoned.

As the crowd parted in front of them, Akane and Ranma both crouched,
ready to pounce or flee as was needed. Whatever was coming wasn't big.
It made people walk to one side, and turn around with annoyed and
curious expressions on their faces. Occasionally, it made someone
stumble, or curse, but no one seemed hurt. So far. The lack of
screaming women following it ruled out Happosai. What else was small
and ran that fast, to cause commotion? Could it be a child? A wild
animal?

Finally, the wave of parting people came to them, and Akane tensed in
preparation, her eyes narrowed in expectation. Ranma was quite tense
as well, eyes intent on the same spot. It was coming in three...two...

>From the opening sea of people, a small, black piglet flew out, a
yellow and black bandanna around it's neck. Akane immediately relaxed,
recognizing it as P-chan. Although he often dissapeared, he had been
gone for quite a while this time. Relieved to see that he was okay,
she smiled, opening her arms to the pig.

"P-chan! I was wondering where you were," she cried to the animal, and
watched as he ran by them, then stopped. Slowly, he turned his head,
looking at Akane with large, sad eyes. Beside her, Ranma sighed, and
muttered something Akane didn't quite catch.

"P-chan? Come here, P-chan," she called. P-chan hesitated though,
turning his body towards her, but not approaching. People around them,
recognizing Ranma and Akane as the "owners" of the pig, scowled but
didn't stick around to comment. Akane was too worried to pay
attention, anyway. Why wasn't P-chan coming to her?

"P-chan? It's Akane. Don't tell me you don't remember me," she said,
taking two steps closer and kneeling, to be closer to eye level. The
small piglet seemed to be fighting something. Again, he turned towards
Akane, then looked to her shoulder, as though to look at Ranma. With a
weak, pained squeal, P-chan turned tail and ran back in the direction
he had been heading. Startled, Akane got up to run after him, but
Ranma pulled her arm, staying her. Quickly, P-chan disappeared into
the crowd.

"Hey! What was that for, Ranma?" asked Akane as she turned to look at
her, surprised to see seriousness in her face.

"Let 'im go," she said.

"But...he looked hurt. I should go after him," she countered, freeing
her arm from Ranma's grip.

"He didn't come when ya called, what makes ya think he's gonna when
you go after him?"

"Well true...that was odd, for P-chan," said Akane quietly, looking in
the direction which P-chan had run off into. The piglet had
looked...sad. Like he was going to cry. She felt Ranma tug on her
sleeve, then let go. Turning around, she saw the redhead walking in
the opposite direction, towards the other store.

"Do whatcha want. But I don't think he wants company right now," said
Ranma. Looking sour, Akane shook her head, but realized that Ranma was
right. P-chan had not responded to her at all the way he usually did;
could it have been a different pig? But he wore P-chan's bandanna.
Expelling heavy air, Akane looked at Ranma, and decided.

"I should go after him, just in case. I'll meet you back home later,
okay?" she said, watching Ranma's back. The redhead slumped her
shoulders for a moment, then looked back at Akane. Her clear
demonstration of dislike for this plan was lost on Akane though, as
she was still focused on P-chan.

"Whatever. Later," said Ranma, as she strode away.

"I won't be long," promised Akane. Choosing her path, Akane headed in
the direction P-chan had sped off towards, wondering why Ranma always
became annoyed when it came to her pet. P-chan had never done anything
to him, had he? With a determined look on her face, Akane headed off,
using the slightly confused pedestrians as her guide.

* * *

Ranma kicked a rather innocent looking rock, sending it flying. It
missed hitting anyone, and bounced harmlessly off of the side of a
building. Her expression was unreadable; upset, yet calm. Inside she
fought for a decision. She did want to go after Akane, she really did.
She even wanted to help her, in a way. But not to find P-chan. Or
Ryoga, the pig's true identity. Really, she was helping by not going.
Ryoga needed to be kept away from Akane, to make a clean break. The
more Akane saw P-chan, the likelier she would eventually find out the
truth. That had to be stopped; things were messy enough as it was.

_Maybe I should go with her. If I can keep her from catching up, maybe
stupid Ryoga will learn to lay low while in pig form for a while_, she
realized, then raised a hand to brush away some hair from her face.
Deciding that it was better then letting Akane catch the pig, she
turned around and headed back where they had seen P-chan. Akane was
already long gone; she was almost as fast as Ranma, especially since
she had been doing more training lately.

To avoid the crowd, Ranma jumped on the roof of a nearby cart, then
leapt out over to a fence, running along it's thin surface smoothly. _I
should be able to overtake her, from up here._ She ran quickly and
gracefully, getting the occasional look from people on the street, but
not from many. Most people in Nerima knew of Ranma Saotome by now, and
weren't quite as impressed by a woman - or man - running on a fence.

She didn't think she'd be able to find P-chan easily, but she did see
Akane after a few minutes. The girl was staying towards the side of
the road, stopping at every crossroad to decide which way to go. The
cold feeling of rejection that she had felt, after tugging Akane's
sleeve and her not following, came back as she looked at the girl.
What did that idiot need, a written invitation? They were supposed to
spend the late afternoon relaxing, not chasing after stupid P-chan.
Eyes narrowed, she watched Akane still, following her efforts.

In a few cases, Akane was even stopping people to ask them, but as
more and more of them shook their heads no, Akane's face became
sadder, and more determined.

_Well that's whatcha get for not listening to me and going after P-
chan_, thought Ranma, not feeling as irritated as she sounded in her
head. She didn't want Akane to be upset, unless it was upset at giving
her the brush off. And that was not the case, here.

Without a second thought, Ranma continued to follow her, keeping an
eye out for P-chan as well. _With his luck, Ryoga's probably at the
other end of town by now. Feh._ Seeing Akane change directions, Ranma
leapt off the gate, ran onto the road, then began following on the
road herself. Despite her lack of luck, Akane kept up at the same
pace.

It looked like it was going to be a long evening.

* * *

Panicking, the small black piglet let out a fretful squeal, then dove
down underneath another cart. Running at full speed, he came out the
other side, scrambling as quickly as his little legs would take it.
Ryoga tried to keep himself close to the shadows as he ducked
underneath another cart, then turned left. He had to turn off
somewhere; it was possible for him to keep up this pace as a human, no
problem. But as a pig, that was another matter. He would have to stop
soon, and rest. Already he was going almost as fast as his human
counterpart could go; he was confident he had outrun Akane and Ranma,
at least. He wasn't even entirely sure they were following, but he had
a feeling Akane might be.

They had surprised him, appearing like that. Then the way Akane had
called to him...looking at Ranma and seeing the cold look there was
the only way he had been able to run. However badly he wanted to be in
Akane's arms, he knew it just wasn't right, and he wouldn't be happy
that way. It just wasn't...right...

"Hey look mom, a pig! Isn't he cute?" he heard a little girl call.
With another squeal, Ryoga dodged the arms of the offending human, and
ran off into another direction. The last thing he needed at this point
was to be adopted. He needed protection; a hiding place.

His nose caught the scent of food, familiar and at the same time he
was unable to place it. Running at full speed again, he found the
building that was the source of the smell. Despite having a bad sense
of direction, his sense of smell rarely failed him; there was
definitely food in there. Good food. But unfortunately, there was also
a door to go through. After taking a few steps back, he charged and
rammed his head into the door, hoping the owner of the place would
open it to check on the noise. Nothing happened immediately, and he
panicked as he heard the girl start to catch up with him. Stepping
back again, he prepared for a fierce run, and managed to sail through
just as the door was opening. A squeal escaped his mouth as he
realized that he was now inside, but not necessarily for long.
Quickly, he spotted a stairway and scrambled up it, then spotted a
doorway that was just open enough for him to enter.

"Hey, is anyone there? Hello?" called a familiar voice below. Female.
A few steps, and then the front door closed.

"I could've sworn there was something there. And I thought I heard a
squealing...I must be going crazy." That was all he heard as he
trotted further into the room, hiding under what he thought was a
table against the far wall. It was a dark room, chilly but warmer then
outside. Deciding that it would be a good place to rest, Ryoga leaned
against the wall, then curled up into a small ball. It wasn't long
before he fell into a deep, exhausted sleep.


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