First off, thanks again to my helpful pre-readers. ^-^

Here's chapter two. Since it's been a few months, if you need a refresher
of what happened in chapter one, it's at:
http://elena.ff6rpg.net/willofch1.html

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this next installment, and I'd appreciate
any C and C.

------------------------------------------------------
Title: The Will of the Father, Chapter Two
Anime: Ranma 1/2
Fanfiction Author: Denise Cameron
------------------------------------------------------

Chapter Two: Two Birds, One Stone; The Breaking of a Young Girl's
Heart

    She walked back inside of her restaurant, mail in hand, to see her
father no longer sitting on the stool. His plate, with the cup and
chopsticks balanced on top, sat just an inch from the still-warm
grill, used and crumb-filled. As she walked further in, closing the
door tightly behind her, she heard the sound of water running
upstairs.

    _Must be having that bath he mentioned earlier,_ she thought.

    After making the phone call, she had spent some time cleaning up
the restaurant and decided to take a quick run to the post office to
see if her shipment had arrived yet. A package of spices special-
ordered from China was due to arrive a week ago, and no one could
figure out what had happened to them yet. There was, however, some
mail shoved in the mailbox that she had pulled out on the way back.
Not her spices, of course, but at least there weren't any bills yet.

    Picking up the dishes, she walked around the bar to the kitchen
where Konatsu was now busying himself with cleaning. She tossed the
mail on the counter, then began filling the sink with hot water,
adding soap before starting the wash. It smelled of flowers and
chemicals, and a single bubble floated in the air before hitting her
shoulder and popping quietly.

    "How long was I gone for, Konatsu?"

    "Just about a quarter of an hour. Don't worry, you still have lots
of time," replied the waiter.

    "Okay. Thanks, sugar."

    As she washed, her mind drifted back to thoughts of Ranma. In all
honesty, she had begun to give up on anything happening. Not because
she believed that Ranma didn't love her; nothing could shake her
belief that he did. But the trouble with Ranma was that he could be so
indecisive, so unwilling to commit. He was obviously afraid to lose
his home at the Tendos, which would no doubt happen if he chose her,
and he wasn't ready to move in with her yet. Plus, he was getting
oddly close to Akane. He had sworn up and down that he had no feelings
for his uncute fiancee, however, and Ukyo believed him. She did trust
him, after all.

    Mostly, she blamed his training, which didn't leave much room for
relationships. Yet she knew she had to respect that. A martial
artist's training came before love for any true martial artist.

    Despite that, she still wished that he would hurry up and master
the Anything Goes school, so he could settle down and marry her.

    She'd let him teach, of course, if he wanted to. One of her
favourite dreams was of the two of them on the road with her
okonomiyaki cart. They'd stop from time to time in small towns where
they would earn lodging and money from Ranma teaching his skills, and
her selling food. They'd have kids of course, later on, but for the
first few years it would be the two of them against the world, love
being the sturdy bond that kept them together through thick and thin,
that made the nights less cold and the sun less scorching.

    Her own private world was almost sickeningly perfect, but she held
onto it dearly, going there anytime she needed a break from her real
life.  She saw it so vividly that she barely noticed that something in
the real world was also vying for her attention.

    Someone was tugging gently on her hair, and she craned her neck to
see Konatsu standing just behind her, holding a strand of her thick
hair in his delicate hand and combing out what looked like a tangle.

    "I'm sorry, Miss Ukyo, I just saw this little burr in your
hair...did something happen while you were out? You've got quite a
few, actually," said Konatsu, taking it out of her hair and holding it
up for scrutiny. Frowning, Ukyo dried her hands, then patted down her
hair quickly, pricking her index finger and pinky lightly as she went.
The picture of her ideal love quickly fizzled to reality.

    "That's odd," she began, trying to tug one out and failing. "Must
be when that gust of wind blew my hair near the bushes," she said,
sighing. She managed to pick out one of the prickly things, taking a
few long hairs with it. For the third time that week, she considered
getting her hair trimmed at least a couple of inches. Ranma liked
short hair anyway, didn't he? But it had taken her years to grow it.

    "Let me do it, I can see where they all are. I don't know how I
didn't notice them when you came in," said Konatsu, gently pulling
them out and finger-combing as he went. "Almost done. I just want to
comb this part... I used to get these a lot, too, but now I always put
up my jacket hood if I have to go near the bushes and trees."

    Ukyo stood quietly as Konatsu chattered on about adding a hood to
one of Ukyo's jackets, then spoke up abruptly when he stopped.

    "Hey, Konatsu? You think Ranma-honey would like it if I cut my
hair?" asked Ukyo, shifting her balance slightly as she stood.

    "What? Well... if you don't mind me saying, I think it looks
beautiful like this. Err, but he might like it. It's not like you to
do something like that just for a boy, though. Even if it is Ranma."

    More burrs were placed on the table, and then she felt Konatsu
comb through with his fingers a few more times before picking up the
burrs and tossing them in the garbage can.  She watched as one stuck
to his fingers stubbornly, and he flicked his wrist to shake it off.

    Konatsu's response had deflated her; she didn't like to think that
she was that sort of person, to reinvent herself for another. She
wasn't, was she?

    "It wouldn't be just for him. And I wouldn't do it too short,
sugar. Maybe a few inches."

    "It's up to you. Oh, you know," he began, then stood in front of
her, eyes shining with an idea. "I could do it for you, so you don't
have to spend any money."

    "Err, that's alright, it's not really that expensive." Ukyo took a
step back, touching her hair protectively as she began to reconsider
the idea. "Have you even cut hair before?"

    "Yes. I used to do it for my step-sisters and step-mother... but
they had really awful hair."

    She wasn't sure if Konatsu meant that they had awful hair before
or after being cut, and half-smiled nervously. No way was she letting
her waiter near her hair with scissors, even if he knew more about
haircare then she did.

    "I'll think about it, okay, sugar? But right now I'm gonna go
freshen up. Watch the counter for me, will you?"

    "You can count on me, Miss Ukyo."

    Guessing that her father was still in the private bathroom
upstairs, she dashed into the one that she kept for her customers and
washed her face and hands. Carefully, she smoothed her hair into place
and wondered if she should change her outfit. Deciding against that,
she looked herself over again in the small, age-spotted mirror,
touching her face and hair gently.

    "I wonder... does Ranma really love this face and hair? Just like
this...," she said, changing her expression from sad to happy, mad to
shocked, laughing at herself afterwards. He had never said anything
specific, aside from calling her cute. But what about her was cute?
Everything? A few things?

    "Hmm."

    Pouting, she fiddled with her hair, putting it up in a ponytail,
then down again. She decided to add two thin braids, and was almost
finished when she heard noises in the main eating area. After quickly
checking the toilet paper supply of the bathroom out of habit, she
walked out into the main room.

    Konatsu was sitting on a stool, now wearing a beautiful red and
white kimono. Her father was downstairs as well, and looked much more
refreshed than when he had arrived. His hair, pulled back into a
ponytail, was still damp, but the rest of his appearance was clean and
dry.

    "There you are. They'll be here any moment, you know," said her
father.

    "Shoot, I forgot to put up the closed sign. Konatsu, did you-"
began Ukyo, but was interrupted by her father.

    "Oh, don't bother with that. This won't take long, and I don't
want to be responsible for you losing customers."

    Ukyo looked at the door questioningly, and was about to ask
Konatsu to put up the sign anyway, then thought better of it. If they
hadn't had customers all this time, there wasn't much chance that they
would have any soon. Besides, even if they did, Konatsu could serve
them, and it didn't take much effort to make an okonomiyaki or two.
Her cash register could definitely use any extra stuffing, though she
didn't want to tell her father that.
    "Well...alright. Konatsu, if anyone comes, you'll take care of
them?" asked Ukyo.

    "Of course, Miss Ukyo. That's what I'm here for, after all."

    "Right. Well," began Ukyo, sitting down on a stool and twiddling
her fingers. A quick look at her watch showed that Ranma-honey was
already three minutes late. "I guess we'll just... wait."

    Eyes glued to the door, Ukyo fidgeted, but waited silently.
Tonight, things were going to change. Finally, after all this time,
everything would be set right. She hoped they wouldn't be much later
than the few minutes they were, yet at the same time, she had a
feeling of dread about the coming announcement. What if something went
wrong? What if their fathers decided to fight?

    Letting out a sigh, she began twirling a strand of hair around her
finger, still looking at the door. She willed for it to slide open,
for Ranma to waltz in with his father behind him. But the seconds
ticked by, and soon her eyes became sore from staring. Slowly, she
turned to look at her father, who was poking around in a small bag
that he had on his lap.

    "While we're waiting, Dad...why don't you tell us about the trip
here?"

    Not having to be asked twice, Mr. Kuonji obliged.

                     *     *     *

    "Now we're fifteen minutes late. Honestly, Ranma, what possessed
you to want to take the route near the market place? You knew your dad
would insist on stopping," complained Akane, who was currently walking
beside Ranma, his father on Ranma's other side. She spoke quietly,
though Mr. Saotome wasn't paying attention to them anyway. Instead, he
was finishing off the last of the octopus puffs that he had bought.

    "I forgot it moved, okay? Sheesh. And since when are you so
concerned about getting there on time?" countered Ranma.

    Akane playfully stuck her tongue out at him in response, still
holding one of the sweetbuns that Mr. Saotome had bought to appease
them. They had left the Tendo residence with enough time to get there,
until Ranma had decided that they should take a short cut. She
couldn't blame him for not knowing that it was a bad short cut, since
it was only recently that someone had set up a shop near the road they
were taking. She just wanted to reinforce it in his mind, and vent.

    "Here, can you eat another sweetbun? I can't finish it," she said,
offering him the remaining bread.

    "Can do," he said, gulping it down quickly. She watched with a
mixture between disgust and fondness, then looked back at the road
ahead of them with feelings that didn't match her nonchalant mask.

    It wasn't easy, hiding things from Ranma, nor was it easy to just
outright ignore him. But she had... thoughts, lately. Bits and pieces
of them that she wasn't sure what to do with. She wanted to talk to
Ranma about it, to try and explain what she was feeling and thinking,
but she wasn't ready to. Something wasn't in place yet, or perhaps it
was still her stubbornness at not wanting to admit that their fathers
were right, and that they should get married. She wasn't even sure
herself if it was right, hence the hesitance to speak up.

    On top of that, she was still confused as to why they were going
to Ukyo's. She had a suspicion that Ranma's dad had let himself be
fast-talked into something again, and, as usual, had managed to tie
along Ranma as well. It was just her luck that she had been tossed
into the mix, though she'd admit that it was partially her fault.
There had been the option to say no, and she had not taken it. Perhaps
it was curiosity, or protectiveness, or just not wanting to deal with
her father's begging, but she had not taken the other route. Already,
she was starting to regret it.

    "Hey... Ranma? What are we doing here, anyway?" she asked quietly,
looking up at his father to see if he had heard her. If he had, he
didn't react.

    "Dunno. I'm not sure if I like it, either," muttered Ranma,
kicking a rock so that it bounced off of a nearby lamppost. "Yo, Pop.
What are we doing here? I mean, I know we're going to Ucchan's, and I
know that her old man has something to say, but... there's gotta be
more than that. Are you sure you're not hiding somethin'?"

    Father and son looked at each other, stopping in the street to do
so. Akane stopped a pace ahead, taking a quick look at her watch. She
hadn't meant to start any sort of row between the two of them.

    "What are we doing? What are we _doing_?" asked Mr. Saotome,
laughing. Ranma's eyebrow twitched.

    "You really have no clue, do ya," said Ranma,.

    "Of course I do. We're settling things," answered his father, in a
voice that should have been reassuring, but failed by a longshot.
Akane raised an eyebrow, hoping that he would continue on with words
that were less vague, but he had said all that he would.

    Then, in unison, they began walking again. Ranma guided Akane to
one side, so that there was a full pace between the two of them and
his dad.

    "Maybe we should bail now, Akane," he suggested, looking worried.

    "Hmm, but we're almost there. What would be the point?"

    "Well... dammit. Ya know, I shouldn't have agreed to this. If I
had more time to think about it, I woulda done something. We got roped
in, Akane. Your dad, and mine, roped us in. Again," he said peevishly.
Akane nodded in agreement, bawling up one fist.

    "What could we have done? Say no? They wouldn't have left us alone
about it," she said.

    "Yeah, but maybe we coulda faked sick or something. Got more
information somehow."

    "Information would be nice. But... I just want to get in there,
now, and get this over with," she said.

    "Ya don't even gotta come in, ya know. You could wait at a cafe or
something, we'd find you later," suggested Ranma.

    "I can't do that," she said.

    "What? Why not?"

    "Tendo honour," she replied, remembering what she had said in the
hallway at home. She would do it for the school. It was not just some
errand that she could skip out on; doing something on behalf of the
school was important, even if she didn't care for the task. And
especially if she didn't care to see Ukyo's face right then. She was
learning, lately, that the school could be more important than what
she wanted in life.

    In response, Ranma sighed and fiddled with his pigtail, looking
pensively forward for the restaurant sign.


        *                          *                       *


    A cold draft entered the restaurant, causing conversation to stop
as the sliding door opened all the way to allow three people to
shuffle inside. Ukyo turned away from her still-speaking father, with
a pleasant expression that soon turned into a scowl at seeing the
uncute fiance, who walked in wordlessly. She was followed quickly by
Ranma and Genma, who were equally as quiet as Akane. Only Genma
smiled; Ranma appeared to be fighting to keep a neutral expression on
his face. It was obvious to Ukyo that he was nervous. None of them
took off the coats that they had worn, though Genma at least
unfastened his.

    Ukyo missed seeing Konatsu almost drop his tea cup as Mr. Kuonji
stood up suddenly, seeing Genma. She tore her eyes away from their
three guests long enough to notice that her father had taken on a
fighting stance, and looked back at Genma to see that he had taken on
a reactionary defensive stance.

    "Dad, what are you doing?" she asked, one hand holding his sleeve.
The tension in the air was thick, and she felt a sharp flicker of
battle aura around him.

    "Huh?" he answered, looking at her briefly. It was enough to pull
him out of the spell, and the aura softened. "It's just, uh... it's
nothing." Then Mr. Kuonji sat down, and the others relaxed. Ukyo shot
him a nervous glance, knowing full well that what she had felt was not
nothing. She unconsciously picked up one of her throwing spatulas, and
she began tapping it gently against her leg.

    Ranma had obviously noticed, too, and she looked over to see that
he was now standing in front of his father. Genma looked uneasy, but
soon calmed as Akane whispered something to him. What had she said?
Something about settling things?

    "Hey, so we're here now, Ucchan. What's this big announcement all
about?" asked Ranma, pulling up a chair and sitting down. Akane
mimicked his actions, but didn't say a word as she sat down beside
him. Genma sat down more slowly, looking at Mr. Kuonji warily.

    "Don't worry, this won't take long. I appreciate you both...
err... all three of you, coming," said Mr. Kuonji, looking at Akane.
"I'm sorry, Miss, but I don't believe we've been introduced. I'm
Ukyo's father, Binsentsu Kuonji."

    "I'm Akane Tendo. Nice to meet you, sir," she said politely,
holding her chin high. Her father looked like he wanted to ask another
question, but instead turned to Ukyo. She kept her expression blank,
wondering why he had looked to her. Was he surprised, that the fiancee
ended up being someone so small? Or someone as plain as Akane? Was he
wondering why this girl was such a challenge to her? Ukyo turned her
face slowly to look at the girl in question, then looked back to her
knees. Her father had never upheld femininity as a necessary quality
for female martial artists, and although Akane might wear nicer
clothing than she, Ukyo certainly didn't think the other girl was more
attractive because of it anyway.

    The surprise in her father's face, the questioning, felt like a
small thorn in her thigh.

    _She may not look like much, Dad, but she's still enough to cause
problems,_ she thought dryly.

    "So, uhh... Binsentsu, you wanna start, then? It really isn't
about your old cart, is it?" asked Genma, sounding uncomfortable. Her
father bristled as he turned back to Genma.

    "That 'old cart' was my daughter's dowry."

    She thought she heard either Ranma or Akane make a low hissing
noise, and felt a prickling at her side.

    His aura was back up, and she heard Konatsu shift his position so
that both of his feet were on the floor. Biting her lip, she watched
her father.

    "Okay, okay, but you know what I mean. Is it or isn't it?" asked
Genma, twiddling his thumbs. "You said something about settling
things, and I assumed this was about Ukyo and the boy, but if it's
really about the cart, I'd rather just hear it straight out so we can
go."

    The sound of her spatula hitting her leg was the noisiest thing in
the room for a count of five seconds as the two men glared at each
other. Her father, despite his tough appearance, was not normally very
confrontational. However, she did know that he, like everyone, had his
limits. It was no surprise to her that Ranma's father was able to
reach those limits, considering their history.

    The beating of the spatula hitting cloth-covered flesh quickened.

    "It wasn't meant to be about the cart," said her father slowly,
his large, meaty hands on his knees. "But now that you mention it,
_old friend_..."

    "Dad, please-" began Ukyo, but she was quickly cut off.

    "No. I was ready to talk about things peacefully. I was ready to
forgive and forget, assuming that Saotome, here, had come to realize
the mistake he made when he crossed us. But I'm not anymore," said her
father.

    "Now, Kuonji, I didn't come here to-" began Genma. Like Ukyo, he
was cut off, but in a more violent fashion.

    Two chairs tumbled over as Mr. Kuonji leapt at Genma, releasing
air in a loud "Kyah!" that rumbled from the base of his diaphragm.
Fortunately, for Genma, he was just barely slow enough for Genma to
dodge, letting Mr. Kuonji land in the chairs as Ranma scooped up Akane
and jumped clear out of the way. The two men soon were locked in
combat on the floor as Mr. Kuonji jumped again. A kick from Genma sent
the other man flying across the room, but Mr. Kuonji came back with a
punch that knocked Genma to the ground once more, just as he was
getting up.

    "Pop, stop it!" yelled Ranma, looking for a way to neutralize the
fight. Akane was standing once more, her expression showing that she
was not surprised at this turn of events.

    "Dad!" cried Ukyo, holding the small spatula now tightly in her
hand. Konatsu was standing as well, looking at the two men worriedly.
He had moved two of the chairs out of the way, and was trying to get
another one out.

    They continued to grapple on the floor, sometimes one being
beaten, then turning into the beater. They were close to being equally
matched, though it was clear that neither had been in a real fight in
some time. Genma spent his days sparring with Ranma, but mostly
playing games with Mr. Tendo, and her father had not mentioned any
real fights to her in quite some time. Sloppy punches and predictable
kicks were executed in such a way that Ukyo soon saw a pattern.

    Looking at Konatsu, then Ranma and Akane, they silently agreed to
physically get in and break up the fight. They all took on stances,
waiting and watching, looking for the right hole to leap into.

    "Stop whining, Saotome, you deserve this!" yelled her father,
flipping Genma onto his back before aiming for a kick at the ribs. He
missed, only to be footswept to the floor as well. Genma quickly
jumped up into the air for an attack, but his victim dodged before it
hit.

    She watched the two carefully, shifting her balance back and
forth. If her and Konatsu could get at her father while they were
separated, the others should be able to get Mr. Saotome. The four of
them had to be strong enough to keep them apart, though the two
fighting were her and Ranma's masters as well as fathers. That point
made her narrow her eyes. What sort of lesson was this, anyway? She
crossed her arms as she watched, suddenly finding it quite pathetic. A
tap on her shoulder made her look to her left, where Konatsu was now
standing.

    "Miss Ukyo, perhaps we should jump in now?" he suggested, pointing
out that Mr. Saotome was on the other side of the room. Ukyo nodded,
looked at Ranma quickly, then jumped.

    "Go!" she yelled.

    Ranma and Akane managed to grab onto Mr. Saotome's jacket, holding
him back, but Mr. Kuonji barely slipped away from her own grasp.
Konatsu held onto him for a moment, then Mr. Kuonji surprised the both
of them by actually cutting his sleeve with a small, sharp spatula. He
dove for Mr. Saotome, but missed as Akane and Ranma managed to push
him away at the last moment. Konatsu stopped the fight finally by
running in front of Ukyo's father, giving Ukyo enough time to join
them and hold him back.

    "Mr. Kuonji, can we please stop this? The quicker we get to
talking, the sooner we can go," said Akane, as Ranma glared at his
father. Akane had let go, and Mr. Saotome was now sitting in a chair,
fixing his bandana and trying to not look injured.

    Although her father struggled, Ukyo noticed that his aura had
softened in shade, and he was not quite so tense anymore.

    "That man is dishonouring you!" said Mr. Kuonji. "They both are,
father and son! Don't you see that?" Her father managed to pull his
arm out to point wildly at the two. Konatsu quickly grabbed the arm,
apologizing under his breath.

    "No, they're not. Certainly _not_ Ranma, anyway, he didn't even
know about the cart, not until I told him," she said, feeling torn
despite her words. Were they dishonouring her? Was Ranma capable of
that? She doubted it, yet found that her father's words still affected
her the way they did when she was young. "Besides, you're the one that
attacked him. How is _that_ honourable?"

    "It was in defense."

    "Offense is defense, now?" asked Ukyo.

    "Words weren't enough to defend, so I switched to... oh, why are
you making me explain this, girl? Let me go," he began, looking fed
up. "I won't touch him, just let me go. A man can keep himself in
control."

    _Then why didn't you do that earlier_? She thought, slowly
releasing him. He fixed his clothing, then stepped around the two to
sit down once more.

    Konatsu quickly pulled out the chairs, and soon they were all
sitting. There was an extra hole in one of the walls that would need
to be fixed, and a piece of Konatsu's chair had a chip off of it, but
the fight had not done as much damage as it could have, thankfully.
She kept a sharp eye on her father now, and kept a spatula ready.

    Now they sat in silence, minus the tapping of Ukyo's spatula,
waiting for Mr. Saotome and her father to quit staring at each other
and actually say something. Akane was biting her lip, her eyes as
stern as Ukyo's.

    As though sensing her tension, Mr. Kuonji cleared his throat and
leaned back. Carefully, he looked from Ranma, to Akane, to Mr.
Saotome, and took in a deep breath.

    "Nearly a decade ago, Genma, you promised that Ranma would be
betrothed to Ukyo."

    _Finally,_ thought Ukyo, as she tried to keep her expression
blank. Mr. Saotome nodded, his hands planted firmly on his knees.

    "But I told you then that the boy was already engaged," said
Genma. "That was long before we met you."

    Her father nodded solemnly, not looking Mr. Saotome in the eyes.
Instead he looked at the floor, as though lost in thought, and put his
hands on his knees. When he looked up, his expression deadly serious.
She stopped her tapping, waiting to hear what he would say next. An
odd realization struck her; the two men were sitting in the exact same
position, now. Even their postures were similar. She swallowed hard,
then shifted the spatula from hand to hand, starting the tapping anew.


    "We can end this all now, on good terms," began her father.

    Mr. Saotome raised an eyebrow, gesturing in a way that invited her
father to continue.

    "I propose..."

    Ukyo sat on the edge of her seat, hands clasped so tightly
together that her knuckles turned white. Almost time... almost time...
but why did her father look so serious? And why was he refusing to
meet her gaze? She heard Ranma shift in his seat, and Akane sighed
loudly.

    "...to break off this engagement. Your son no longer owes anything
to my daughter, nor my daughter to your son."

    "What? No!" cried Ukyo, who grabbed her father by the elbow of his
gi sleeve.

    The sliding door to the okonomiyaki restaurant opened then,
causing all eyes to turn around and look at it. Mr. Saotome grunted,
and Ukyo frowned as she looked at the young man who took a timid step
inside. He was tall, but very scrawny, his long hair covering part of
his face.

    "Umm..." he began, looking awkwardly at the faces in front of him.


    She didn't notice his uniform, that of a postal worker's, at
first. Her brain was still trying to process the statement that her
father had just made. Realizing that she was holding his gi sleeve
very tightly, and that her eyes were wide as an owl's, she pulled back
and tried to focus on the person who had just walked in.

    "Can this wait?" she asked, irritably.

    "It'll take just a moment, if you please," said the intruder. She
glared at her father questioningly, but he said nothing.

    "Give me one minute. No one get up," said Ukyo to her guests,
walking over to the postal worker quickly. He was holding a small
package in his arms, and seemed to grow more nervous as she
approached.

    "Miss Kuonji? There was a mistake at the post office, we tried to
catch you while you were there but no one let me know until later,"
began the young man.

    "Mistake? You're interrupting me for a mistake, now?" She said in
a harsh whisper.

    "I'm sorry, but I didn't know...I mean...how was I supposed to-"
he began again.

    "Right, right, I guess. Well," she said, looking back at her
father anxiously. He was twiddling his thumbs, looking at the floor.
She tried to look at Ranma, but his face was currently blocked by his
father. Her heart was beating fast. "Hurry then, sugar, cause this
is...just hurry. Is that for me, what you have in your hands?" She
briefly considered pushing him out the door, but held herself in
control. If she expected control from her father, she could control
herself, couldn't she? But she was her father's pupil, and daughter,
after all. Gritting her teeth, she watched the boy expectantly.

    "It's for you, yes," said the young man, holding out the package.
He was actually someone from her school, too, she realized. An
underclassman, Yoji Kann. Her embarrassment at the situation deepened,
and she wondered how much he had heard. Did he understand what was
going on here? She didn't think the door had been opened before her
father's announcement, but if he had been standing out there... the
wood of the door was far from thick.

    "My spices?" she asked, looking at the return address. Konatsu, no
doubt hearing the word spices, joined the two of them.

    "That's the company, alright. Let me take it to the kitchen. Why
does it look like it was opened?" asked Konatsu, tentatively touching
the side of it that was ripped, and re-taped.

    "Err... well, there was a mistake. There's a ramen shop around
here, called the Cat Cafe, you know it?" he asked. Ukyo nodded without
really listening, shifting her feet uncomfortably. In her mind, she
tried to piece together what she could possibly say to her father,
wondering if there was anything that could be done. Ranma wouldn't
accept it, would he? Another peek towards him reminded her that he was
blocked, visually, by his father.

    She turned back to look at Yoji, realizing that she probably
should have listened.

    "What was that, sugar?"

    "The Cat Cafe. They accidently got your spices," he said.

    "Oh," she said lamely. Her hands were starting to clam up, and she
could feel her battle aura prickling. Yoji blinked, and backed up by
one step.

    "One of their workers came earlier to get a package. Yours was
right beside it. I guess he can't see very well, I mean he has those
thick glasses and all, so he took yours too, by mistake. Another
worker there brought it back in today. But I had it in the back, cause
I wanted to explain to you what happened, and my Dad wanted me to make
a suggestion to you." _Mousse,_ she thought, after hearing him talk
about the glasses. _Then...Shampoo, maybe? Arg._

    Ukyo nodded as Konatsu left with the package, heading for the
kitchen. Yoji's voice was getting more nervous now; she wondered even
more just how much he had heard, but didn't dare ask.

    "Suggestion?" she prompted.

    "Yeah. He thinks maybe you should try coming about an hour earlier
than normal to check on packages, that's all. The Cat Cafe sends
someone out not long before you do, and this way..." he began, and
Ukyo listened to him for a moment, then found that she was looking
more towards her father and the others.

    "An hour early. Okay. Listen, Yoji, we're discussing something
important here, and we need to continue," she said, guiding him back
towards the door roughly. "Tell your Dad that I appreciate the
suggestion; I'm sure the branch manager knows what he's talking
about."

    Instead of walking out, as she hoped he would, Yoji quickly lifted
a piece of paper up to her chin level, pointing to a line.

    "Sign there first, though, please?" he asked.

    "But I-"

    "Miss Kuonji, with all due respect, if I go back without it
signed, I'll have to march right back here in the cold and ask you
again," he explained, his expression pained. She took the paper, and
the pen that he handed to her soon after, and pressed it against the
wall to sign. Her signature was bumpy, from the wall, and rushed. When
she was done, she shoved the paper and pen back at him.

    "You didn't make Mousse sign that paper," she accused, making Yoji
blink again, hard. She wondered if it was actually a flinch.

    "He ran off too fast. Look, I...I'm sorry. I'll go now. Bye," he
said. The cold wind bit at her hands and face as he opened the door
and ran out, hastily closing it behind him.

    The room was incredibly quiet as she turned to her father, feeling
as though every muscle in her body was as tense as they could get. He
was looking at her with a reasonably calm expression, though she
noticed that he was sweating. Taking one step, then two, she walked
silently until she was standing directly in front of him.

    "What you said...," she began, looking at him. He started to say
something, but Ukyo quickly forced a large smile on her face, then
turned around, blocking her father from the others as much as she
could with her small frame. "Isn't he a kidder? He doesn't mean it.
He's still upset, about the cart. It's just another stupid revenge
thing, that's all," she said, feeling her father grab her by the waist
and try to move her.

    "I meant what I said," her father tried to say.

    His voice was low, and troubled, as though not wanting to have to
tell her that she was wrong. It occurred to her that he was just
realizing what she thought the discussion was about, and it pained
her. They had been waiting for two separate events.

    A wave of nervousness passed through her, and the others watching
looked at her warily, as though watching a loose dog that might be
friendly, or might be vicious. Konatsu quickly went back to his seat
without a word.

    "He's still doing it. Crazy talk, that's all it is. You don't
believe him, do ya, Ranma-honey? You know my dad, he does this. Such a
kidder," she said again. Ranma, who looked like he was trying to
disappear into his chair, grimaced.

    "Uhh...sure, Ucchan But umm... heh. I don't remember him joking
all that much," he said, his smile forced. "In fact...you used to
complain about how serious he was all the time."

    Beside him, Akane rolled her eyes, her hands neatly folded on her
lap. Ukyo forced her smile to remain.

    "Well, you were just a kid, you didn't know him that long," she
said quickly. Her father finally stood up, lifting her in the air and
sitting her back down in her chair as though she weighed nothing. The
movement made her feel all of seven years old, and she hated it.

    "Ukyo," he began.

    "It's okay dad, you don't need to explain. We all know that this
meeting was really to settle things, right? To convince Ranma's dad to
stop harping on the engagement between Akane and Ranma? Because you
know ours is real. It may not be the first one, but it's the real
one," she said, running out of air by the end of her sentence. Her
father shook his head slowly, and she could feel her heart beating
fast again.

    "This was never...," he said, taking a step back. Ukyo stood up
once more.

    "Yes it was. It had to be. It _has_ to be," she said angrily. Her
father took on a defensive stance, and she felt her hands tremble.
Quickly stilling them, she balled one hand into a fist.

    "Now _you_  listen to me, I tried to be gentle with you, but I'm
not going to stand for my own daughter telling me what to do," he
said. The forced smile had left Ukyo's face.

    Unsheathing her spatula, she took a step towards him as she began
to speak, her voice coming out deep and hostile.

    "Take. It. Back."

    The words were simple, commanding, but her father held firm.

    "I cannot. You're suffering here! This foolishness just can't
continue."

    Without thinking, she struck him in the shoulder out of rage, and
he quickly dodged a second strike. The  others wisely jumped out of
the way, moving the chairs with them.

    "This isn't the time to fight! Don't make me get angry with you,"
said her father.

    "Angry? Angry?! Dad! How could you do this to me? You came back
into my life only to mess it up? Only to-"

    Ranma used the lull in her attack to take her spatula from her and
place it on the ground, out of her reach. She fought to maintain her
composure, her teeth clicking together sharply.

    "I'm doing this because you deserve better. I'm going to find you
a new fiance, my dear, and this time one that's better suited for
you."

    "You're WHAT!? No! I refuse!"

    She shook with confusion and fear. He didn't already have someone
in mind, did he? They had been lucky the first time around, since
Ranma was just so lovable. He could not expect her to have to go
through that again and perhaps not be so lucky. He couldn't expect her
to give up Ranma.

    "It has to be someone who is _good enough_ for you," he continued,
his eyes caring but his words stinging her heart. "A martial artist,
one who will _honour_ you. Who will _encourage_ your practice of
okonomiyaki Martial Arts." He paused in his speech, and suddenly she
recognized an old look on his face. He honestly thought he was doing
something good, here, that it was for the best. There was no doubt in
his expression; he had made up his mind. Filled with despair, she let
a few tears crawl down her cheeks as she watched him.

    She was beaten, and torn, but she refused to give up.

    "But that's Ranma."

    "Ranma belongs to another," said her father.

    An uncomfortable silence filled the room, and Akane and Ranma
tried their best to not look at each other.
    "He does not! That's false, it's not real, it's just -"

    "An arranged marriage?" suggested her father. Ukyo glared at him,
embarrassed, but temporarily silenced. Her toes were suddenly the only
thing she could look at as she tried to think of an intelligent
retort.

    "Listen, Ucchan... we should really go, me and Akane and
Pop...lemme know how it works out, okay?"

    Ranma gave her a small bow as he said this, grabbing his father by
his jacket sleeve, then Akane by the wrist. Akane took back her arm
quickly, though Ukyo noted that she had taken his hand and began
walking beside him before they got to the door.

    "No, Ranma-honey, wait! Don't go. He doesn't mean it," she shot a
look over at her father, then back to Ranma. "He _won't_ mean it, when
I'm done with him. Konatsu, don't let them-"

    The word 'leave' wasn't out of her mouth yet, and they were
already out the door. Konatsu gave her an apologetic look, but she
didn't feel anger towards him. Three martial artists against one ninja
who had not done much training lately wasn't fair, no matter how much
it ultimately disagreed with her need to have Ranma not leave. Feeling
as though she would empty the contents of her stomach then and there,
she turned a level gaze on her father and slowly picked up her
spatula, careful not to take her eyes off of him.

    "Miss Ukyo, please don't do anything rash," begged Konatsu,
sounding insecure. Was he scared that she was going to reprimand him?
But she wasn't paying attention to her waiter.

    "You deny the command of your father and master?" Mr. Kuonji's
voice was forceful, but there was a hint of regret in it.

    Expertly, Ukyo raised her spatula, eyes still smoldering. How
could he do this to her? Why? After all the years that she had
suffered over a promise that her father had made on her behalf. Back
then, she had been just a child, willing to trust her father in
whatever he said. But now...

    Now, she was on her own, her own person. She had lived away from
home for nearly two years, had set up her own business, and still went
to school. She was independent. She didn't need her father coming back
into her life, only to ruin it. Who did he think he was? Her father,
certainly, and master, definitely. But that did not give him the right
to dictate her life. No one had that right.

    Yet she did not know how to answer the question properly. Could
she deny his command? He had raised her on his own; her mother had
long ago divorced him. Ukyo had last seen her when she was only four
years old, and could not even remember what she looked like. All her
life, her father had been her sole parent, her caretaker, her boss,
and her teacher. All her life, he really had been allowed to dictate
what she could do. But should that go on, still? What would happen if
she went against him?

    Could she go against him?

    In one swift movement, she threw the spatula behind her, watching
as her father's eyes widened. She heard Konatsu catch the weapon
easily. Deliberately, she walked up to her father and glared at him.

    "I may be your daughter. And I may be your disciple." Raising her
right hand in the air, she slapped him soundly across the face,
causing him to have to move his head to compensate. "But not by
choice."

    Without another word, she walked away, head held high. She did not
hear either of them move as she walked up the stairway, entered her
room, and closed the sliding door behind her as gently as she could
muster. Then, she sat down on her still rolled-up futon, and wept.

------------------------------------------------

Notes: This one leaves a few questions unanswered, I know. Anyway,
there will definitely be a chapter 3 and 4, probably further than that.

- Denise

             .---Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----.
             | Administrators - ffml-admins@anifics.com |
             | Unsubscribing - ffml-request@anifics.com |
             |     Put 'unsubscribe' in the subject     |
             `---- http://ffml.anifics.com/faq.txt -----'