Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Crystal Hearts ❯ On the Mend ( Chapter 2 )

Crystal Hearts
By Esor

Chapter 2: On the Mend

[One week ago]

A short and rather weasely looking man with a bandage on his nose stood just before a large desk in a room dimly lit by several candles. He was fidgeting rather nervously. On the other side of the desk another man sat, glaring.

"So what you're saying, Mr. Yagami," The sitting man began. "is that you ran away..."

"Well...the guy was strong. He..." Yagami said.

"I don't care!" The sitting man roared. "I hired you to complete a simple task. Retrieve a single pendant from a jewelry store. You failed!"

"But sir, I..."

"Silence!" The sitting man stood and walked over to a nearby window, gazing up at the full moon overhead. After a few moments, he regained his composure. "You told me that you could do this job. I am very displeased with you, Mr. Yagami." He fixed the smaller man with an icy glare.

Yagami paled considerably. There were many stories about what this man did to those who angered him. "Please give me one more chance!" He pleaded.

The other man considered this for some, all the while his eyes continued to bore into Yagami. "Very well. You still may prove useful, if I hire someone who is actually competent to work with you. And I have just the person in mind."

"Th-thank you..." Yagami said, relieved.

"I will make these instructions as simple as possible. Once you contact your new 'partner', return to Osaka. If the pendant is no longer there, then bring in as much help as you need and search all of Japan until you find it. Understood?"

"Yes sir. Perfectly."

"Then go. And do not disappoint me again."

With that, Yagami left the room as fast as they possibly could. The other man simply turned his gave once more to the moon hanging in the night sky. He was close to success. He was so close that he could almost taste it. He would let no one stand in his way. Least of all, an annoying bandanna clad boy. If this boy attempted to stand in his way again, he would have to be dealt with.

*****

[Today]

Ukyo stood behind the grill at Ucchan's, happily serving okonomiyaki to her mid-afternoon customers. It had been a week since Konatsu left and aside from the drop in profit that came from the restaurant closing while Ukyo was at school, business was running smoothly. While a few young men were rather disappointed at the departure of "that pretty waitress", the quality of the food and cook's friendly disposition was more than enough to keep them coming back. Movement near the door caught Ukyo's attention. Cook and customer both easily recognized the newcomer by his red Chinese shirt and black hair tied into a pig tail.

"Ranchan!" Ukyo called, waving in his direction.

For a moment, Ukyo thought back on the event that almost ruined her relationship with Ranma. One year, it seemed like such a long time ago. In an act of desperation, Ukyo helped Shampoo and Kodachi crash Ranma and Akane's wedding, attacking Akane in the process. Ukyo was ashamed of what she had done. She had always thought of herself as being above such behavior. But when faced with the very real possibility of losing Ranma once and for all, she lost control of herself. In time, however, Akane and Ranma both eventually forgave Ukyo. Of all Ranma's other fiances, Ukyo liked Akane the most. Under different circumstances, the two of them could have been close friends.

Ranma took his usual seat at the counter, but Ukyo could tell that something was wrong. He wasn't acting like himself. No cheery "Hiya Ucchan!". No grumbling about violent macho tomboys. Yes, something was definitely wrong. Ukyo fixed Ranma's favorite dish and handed it to him.

"What's wrong, Ranchan?" She asked, looking at him with concern.

Ranma turned his head, avoiding her gaze. Whatever was going on, it was serious. Ukyo had never seen Ranma act this way before.

"Ucchan, I..." He lifted his eyes to her face for a moment, then sighed softly and looked away again. "I have...something to tell you..."

*****

Ryoga, meanwhile, once again found himself walking down a city street. He wasn't exactly sure where he was at the time, but it seemed familiar. That of course didn't matter much, considering he had crisscrossed Japan at least a dozen times during his life. The strange sense of deja vu lingered as Ryoga made his way through the city. Ryoga glanced up as he passed a house and froze in his tracks. Through the window of the house, he could see a girl happily talking to someone on the phone. It was Akane. When she noticed him standing outside she waved and hung up the phone. A few moments later, she was hugging him.

"Ryoga!!" She said. "How have you been? I haven't seen you for such a long time!"

Ryoga, for the most part, was in shock. He hadn't expected to see Akane again. When he left to be with Akari, he told Ranma that he was giving up on Akane. Sure it was hard, but he knew that it was the best thing to do. While he was living with Akari, Ryoga tried not to think about Akane much. But now that Akari was gone and Akane was here in his arms, he realized that he still loved the youngest Tendo girl.

Akane grabbed Ryoga by the arm and led him to the house. "Come on in! We have so much to catch up on!" Ryoga followed Akane and sat down next to her when they reached the living room.

"So Ryoga, how's Akari?" Akane asked.

"She...well...we broke up a little while ago..." Ryoga said sadly.

"Oh...I'm sorry Ryoga." She placed her hand on his softly. "I'm sure you'll find someone, you're a very special guy Ryoga. Any girl would be lucky to have a guy like you." She smiled warmly at him.

Ryoga smiled back. She was just as kind, sweet, and beautiful as he remembered her. Maybe, just maybe, it wasn't too late. He could still tell her how he felt about her. There might still be a chance for the two of them to be together. That's when he looked down to her hand on his and noticed the diamond ring for the first time.

"Hey Akane...what's that?" He said, gesturing to the ring.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" She said excitedly. "You'll never guess what happened! Yesterday Ranma proposed to me!"

Ryoga suddenly felt cold inside. "And you...you accepted...?"

"Yeah! We're engaged! A real engagement, not one arranged by our parents! I'm so happy, Ryoga!!" Akane threw her arms around Ryoga again, who felt his world shatter into pieces around him. He could hear it in Akane's voice. See it in her eyes. The one thing that he'd always pretended not to notice. She loved Ranma.

The rest of the conversation was a blur to Ryoga. His mind kept centering around one thing. Ranma proposed and Akane accepted. The few hopes that he had began to entertain again of maybe winning Akane were dashed. The only thing he could ever be to her was a friend. He was alone again, just like always. When Akane went into the kitchen to get something to drink, Ryoga stood up and went to the door. He could already feel his ki building, surging within him. If he was lucky, maybe he could be out of town before he ran into anyone else, especially Ranma. He lifted his backpack and left quietly.

*****

"I...I love Akane..." Ranma said.

Ukyo closed her eyes, silently trying to fight off the feeling of emptiness spreading through her.

"And she loves me." Ranma continued. "The other day...I proposed to her. We're gonna get married..."

Ukyo's hands balled into fists at her side. This couldn't be happening. There was no way Ranma could choose Akane over her. She was the cute fiancé.

"I never meant to hurt you Ucchan. I really didn't. I care about you, and I hope we can still be friends..." Ranma said hopefully.

Friends. That was all Ukyo had ever been to Ranma. A friend. She had never wanted to admit it, but the truth lay right before her. He was marrying Akane. The contest was over and Ukyo Kounji had lost. Her thoughts once again went back to the events of last year. She recalled all the pain, the anger, and the shame. There was no way she would let things play out like that again. She unclenched her fists, took a deep breath and looked into Ranma's eyes.

"I'm...happy for you. Both of you..." She said with a tiny, sad smile.

Ranma looked back at her with concern. "Are you gonna be okay?"

Ukyo looked away, unable to meet his gaze any longer. "Yeah...I will be..."

"I gotta go, Ucchan. We'll talk later, okay?" Ranma grasped her hand with a friendly squeeze. Then he left the restaurant.

Ukyo watched sadly as ten years of her life walked out the door. She was completely alone. First she lost Konatsu, and now she had lost Ranma. Part of her wanted to just break down and cry. But that wasn't an option at the moment. It was the middle of the afternoon, one of the restaurant's busiest times of day, and she had a job to do. Her hands began moving almost unconsciously, preparing the meals that her hungry customers came to eat. After wiping away the single tear that rolled down her cheek, Ukyo pushed all thoughts of Ranma into the back of her mind.

*****

The world is a cold, dark, and lonely place. This was the mantra that Ryoga Hibiki lived by. It was the one constant in his life. Luckily, he'd been able to make to a forest where he could safely release a few Shishi Houkoudans. After that he spent the next several hours wandering without bothering to care where he was headed. Daylight vanished into darkness as the trees and grass of the forest eventually gave way to telephone poles and asphalt, but Ryoga barely noticed.

Ryoga did, however, notice the delicious aroma of food that lingered in the air. This in turn, drew his attention to the gnawing hunger in the pit of his stomach. He followed the scent back to a little restaurant which was thankfully still open. There were only a few customers left, finishing their meals. Behind the counter, a girl with long brown hair tied by a white ribbon stood, her back to Ryoga, cleaning up the kitchen area of the restaurant. Had Ryoga not been so emotionally and physically exhausted, he probably would have realized where he was and just who was standing in front of him. But instead he just sat down at the counter.

"Um....excuse me...." Ryoga said hesitantly.

"Be with you in a minute, sugar." Ukyo replied. She then wiped her eyes on her sleeve. There weren't many customers left to occupy her attention, and Ukyo had found herself thinking about Ranma again.

The facts finally came together in Ryoga's mind. "Ukyo? Is that you?" He said.

Ukyo turned around and looked at the lost boy, startled. "Ryoga? When did you get back?"

"You mean I'm still in Nerima?" Ryoga asked glumly.

"Yeah. Didn't know that was such a bad thing." Ukyo joked. She knew how Ryoga dealt with his depression and didn't want to risk destroying her store by telling him about Ranma and Akane's official engagement just yet.

"Sorry. It's just that I wanted to away from here." Ryoga looked down. "I was at the Tendo Dojo earlier, and..." He trailed off, his body beginning to glow faintly.

Ukyo realized what must have happened and quickly cooked up something for him to eat along with a glass of water to drink. Hopefully the food would help him calm down. Ryoga, after managing to get himself under control, thanked Ukyo and started eating.

"So...I guess you heard by now..." Ryoga said between bites.

"About Ranma and Akane? Yeah, I did." Ukyo replied.

"What are you going to do now?"

Ukyo remembered the conversation she had with Ranma earlier that day. "Move on, I guess." She laughed a soft, bitter laugh. "There's not much more I can do. After devoting over a decade of my life to Ranma, this is how it's going to end." She shook her head. "It's hard, but it's the best thing to do. What about you?"

Ryoga moodily poked at his food. "That's what I've been asking myself. For the past several years, I always had a purpose, something to focus on. Getting revenge on Ranma, telling Akane how I feel about her, making it work with Akari. But I never succeeded at any of it." His lips curled into a self mocking smirk. "And now I don't have anything..."

The two victims of love sat in silence for a few minutes. The few remaining customers in Ucchan's paid their bills and left. Eventually, Ryoga finished his food also and was preparing to leave as well when a hand on his arm stopped him. Ukyo bit her lower lip nervously. She had an idea, and she wasn't quite sure how Ryoga would react to it. But frankly, she didn't want to be alone right now. She needed a friend, and from the looks of it so did he.

"Hey Ryoga..." She began. "...you can stay here, if you want..."

Ryoga stared at her for a moment, confused. "Stay here?"

"Yeah. I mean, you don't really have anywhere else to go right now, right?"

"Well...no..."

"You could stay in Konatsu's room. And I could use some help around the restaurant. So what do you say?"

Ryoga thought about it. She was right, he didn't have anywhere else to go. He could have tried to find his way back to his house, but the prospect of spending the next few months wandering Japan didn't seem very inviting.

"Sure, why not?" He said.

Ukyo smiled warmly. "Great! You can get settled in once I finish closing up." Her quick mind was already working out all the details. She stood and turned around, accidentally knocking over the glass of water on the counter. "I'm glad you said yes Ryoga. Let's see, you can probably work as a waiter. Assuming you can find the tables without getting lost, that is. And of course you're going to have to come to school with me too..."

Ukyo turned back around, wondering why Ryoga had become so quiet only to discover that he had vanished. There was a small puddle on the counter right in front of Ryoga's seat, on which his clothes now lay. The pile of clothes shifted slightly, and a small black piglet wearing an yellow and black bandanna poked it's head out from under them. Ukyo picked the piglet up by the bandanna and took it into the kitchen where she splashed a glass of warm water on it. Within seconds, P-chan transformed back into Ryoga, who crouched in Ukyo's kitchen naked and blushing furiously.

"Can you get me my clothes please!?" Ryoga pleaded.

Ukyo allowed herself to glance at Ryoga's muscular body a little before walking around the counter to get his slightly damp clothing. She handed him his clothes and stole one more quick peek before giving him his privacy. Ryoga came walking out of the kitchen a few moments later, his head hung low and his shoulders slumped.

"So...now you know my secret..." Ryoga said despondently.

Ukyo smirked at him. "It's no big deal. I knew already."

Ryoga looked up sharply. "You knew?"

"Well, yeah. First of all, there's the fact that you're so afraid of the water. Second, Ranma was always calling you things like 'P-chan' or 'Pig boy'. Third, P-chan and Ranma got along just about as well as you and Ranma. And fourth, you both wore that same, stupid bandanna."

"Hey, my bandanna isn't stupid!" Ryoga retorted.

Ukyo ignored that comment. "Considering how many Jusenkyo victims are already living in Nerima, it wasn't all that hard to figure out. I'm actually kinda surprised Akane hasn't noticed this stuff yet."

"So you knew all this time..." Ryoga stared at the floor. "Then why didn't you ever say anything?"

"Don't get me wrong, at first I wanted to beat the living daylights out of you. But you were my best chance at getting Akane away from Ranma. Had she known about your curse, you would have been one dead pig. As I got to know you better I realized that, aside from this, you're a really good guy. With all our plotting and scheming, you were the first real friend I had in a long time."

An awkward silence followed. Ryoga wasn't quite sure what to say. All this time, she had kept his secret. She knew that he was P-chan, yet she still became his friend.

Ukyo interrupted the silence. "Let me show you to your room. We can talk about this later." She then started up the steps, checking behind her every few seconds to make sure Ryoga didn't make any wrong turns.

"Thank you Ukyo...for everything." He said once they were standing outside of his new bedroom.

"No problem, sugar. What are friends for?" She replied, giving him another of her warm smiles before heading off towards her own room.

Ryoga walked into the room and sat his backpack, containing the majority of his worldly possessions, on the floor. Just a little under an hour ago, he thought he had nothing. He thought he was doomed to spend his days alone. But he now knew that even if he didn't have the person that he loved, he still had a friend. He still had someone he could depend on. Someone to help him through the pain and the sadness. Maybe the world wasn't quite such a cold, dark, and lonely place after all. Unknown to Ryoga, in her own room just down the hall, Ukyo was thinking the exact same thing.

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Author's Notes:

Thanks for reading chapter 2 of Crystal Hearts! Ryoga's now living and working with Ukyo! But what about Yagami and his myterious employer? And why does this mytery man want Ryoga's pendant so much? I can't reveal everything just yet, so keep reading! Ja ne!