Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Crystal Hearts ❯ Visitors ( Chapter 4 )

Quick Note: Now that I'm finally getting back into my writing, I decided to rework a few sections of this chapter since I was never particularly happy with it, before I started on the next one. Most of the changes I made are later on, in the second half.

Crystal Hearts
By Esor

Chapter 4: Visitors

Okonomiyaki. For the past two years in the Nerima district of Tokyo, the word has been synonymous with a cute cook, a certain degree of out of the ordinary events, and a bustling little restaurant called Ucchan's. At Ucchan's, customers could always expect delicious food enjoyed in a pleasant atmosphere. The cook, a very attractive young woman named Ukyo Kounji, prepared and served each order with a friendly smile. The only problem with eating at Ucchan's was the fact that Ukyo was a martial artist as well as a cook. In most places, that fact wouldn't matter very much. But Nerima martial artists, especially the females ones with short tempers, were a bit like tornadoes: powerful, dangerous, unstoppable forces of nature. Despite this, Ucchan's had a fair number of regular customers.

On this bright and sunny Saturday, those regular customers of Ucchan's noticed two changes. First of all, a rather striking crystal pendant hung around Ukyo's neck. Second, the typically cheerful cook was, if at all possible, even cheerier than usual.

"Hey Ukyo!" Akane said as she, Ranma, and Nabiki entered the restaurant.

"Hi, guys!" Ukyo said, flashing a bright smile. Ranma waved, then sat down at a table while Akane and Nabiki walked up to the counter. "The usual?"

"Of course!" Akane said.

"Three specials, coming right up!"

"So, how does it feel to be 18?" Akane asked.

Ukyo shrugged. "Feels pretty much the same, actually..."

"Never mind that." Nabiki interrupted, crossing her arms. "Tell us, what's going on between you and Ryoga?"

"Nabiki!" Akane hissed.

"Oh c'mon, Akane. You know you've been dying to find out since last night!"

"Me...and Ryoga? What are you two talking about?" Ukyo asked, puzzled.

Nabiki smirked her classic Nabiki smirk. "I think you know what we're talking about. You and the Lost Boy certainly seem to have gotten pretty close over the last few weeks."

"Ryoga and I are just friends!" Ukyo retorted quickly.

"Really? Then tell me something. What kind of guy buys an expensive piece of jewelry like..." Nabiki gestured toward the pendant that hung around Ukyo's neck. "...that for someone he thinks of as just a friend? "

"I have to admit, she has a point..." Akane said.

"I...he..." Ukyo replied, slightly flustered. To be honest, she didn't have an answer to that question. "...it's not like that!"

"Right." Nabiki said, still smirking.

"It's not!"

"If you say so."

"Quit it, Nabiki..." Akane interjected on her friend's behalf. "If Ukyo says there's nothing going on, then there's nothing going on!"

Nabiki leaned back, raising her hands in defeat. "Okay, okay. I'll leave her alone. But I'd keep my eye on that boy if I were you, Ukyo..."

Ukyo, rather relieved that Nabiki was off her case, tried to focus on preparing food for her friends. After a few seconds, however, her mind began to drift. She couldn't quite get what Nabiki said out of her head. Her and the Eternally Lost Boy? That was ridiculous. She looked up and saw Ryoga standing near Ranma's table, talking. Wasn't it? Yeah, he wasn't that bad looking, and he could be a real sweetheart at times, but it was still a silly idea. Ukyo's hand wandered up to the clear, shimmering crystal that hung around her neck. But what if Nabiki was right? What if Ryoga did have a crush on her? What if...? Ukyo's train of thought was interrupted when Ryoga suddenly glanced up. Their eyes met briefly before Ukyo quickly looked away, blushing.

"Damned bastard..." Shiro Yagami muttered darkly as he walked down the street.

Back in Osaka, he was important. Well, maybe important wasn't quite the right word, but he had connections. Not that his new "partner" gave a damn, of course. Yagami hated way that arrogant hotshot bossed him around. He had to go out and search the streets while that lazy asshole made another report to their boss, probably taking all the credit. Yagami absently scratched his slightly crooked nose and scowled. It was all because of that stupid kid with the bandana. If he ever got his hands on that brat, he'd...

Yagami instantly froze as his gaze drifted over the window of a small restaurant across the street. Beyond the glass, the cause of all his recent troubles stood next to a table, talking with another young man. Yagami resisted his initial impulse to rush across the street and attack the youth, barely. He was under strict orders "not to do anything stupid" if he found the kid. Despite how much he hated it, he knew from experience that he couldn't handle this guy in a fight. His "partner", however, was more than capable of taking this punk down. Noting the sign hanging above the door, Yagami smirked as he watched the young man turn and look at something at the other end of the restaurant.

"Don't worry, kid. You'll get what's coming to you soon enough..." Yagami muttered before turning and walking away.

"Okay, that's one original Okonomiyaki and one with......pork." Ryoga shuddered involuntarily as he handed the customers their food.

For perhaps the fourth or fifth time that day, Ryoga considered asking Ukyo to remove pork from the Ucchan's menu. He knew she wouldn't do it of course, the pork topping was one of their biggest sellers. And he wasn't afraid of accidentally winding up on the grill, either. Ukyo knew about his curse, so she would recognize him if he wandered into the restaurant in pig form. But the thought of serving small chunks of an animal he was so closely acquainted with unnerved him.

"Hey Ukyo!" Ryoga heard Akane call from the doorway.

Ryoga watched calmly as Akane and Nabiki headed over to the counter to talk with Ukyo. It was strange, a little over a year ago Ryoga would have been rendered a haplessly grinning idiot at the mere sound of Akane's voice. Now he found that a warm, friendly affection had slowly replaced the feelings of unrequited love that once surged within his heart. Smiling, Ryoga walked over to the table where Ranma sat to take his order.

"Hey, over here!" Ranma called as Ryoga veered off to the left. Ryoga, after several subsequent minor course adjustments, succeeded in reaching the table.

"Your usual order?" Ryoga asked, and was greatly surprised when Ranma suddenly punched him hard on the shoulder. "Ow!! What was that for?"

"For making my life a heck of a lot more difficult!" Ranma replied.

"What are you talking about?" Ryoga asked, rubbing his shoulder.

"What were you thinking, giving Ukyo that pendant? Ever since last night, Akane's been bugging me to get her something nice like that!"

"It's not my fault if you're not living up to Akane's standards!"

"If you want to romance Ukyo, fine, go ahead. Just don't make me look bad in the process!"

Ryoga's retort died somewhere between his brain and his lips as he stared at Ranma for a moment. "Romance Ukyo? What the hell do you mean, 'romance Ukyo' ?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Ryoga. We all saw you give her that pendant."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

Ranma rolled his eyes. "No guy buys something that expensive for a girl unless he's...ya know...romantically interested in her."

"But I didn't buy that pendant. An old man gave it to me for beating up some robbers about a week before I came back to Nerima."

"Wait...you mean you're not trying to win Ukyo's heart?"

"No! I just gave it to Ukyo because I thought she'd like it!"

"Uh-oh. Nabiki and Akane were convinced that you have a secret crush on Ukyo...and they're talking to her right now..." Ranma looked toward the counter. "Ryoga...Ukyo's staring at you, man..."

Ryoga glanced up in Ukyo's direction. For a moment, his hazel eyes locked with her blue ones, then she blushed and quickly looked away. Ryoga, gaping, continued to gaze at her for a few more seconds before turning away as well.

"Such a blush for someone who's just a friend?" Nabiki questioned as Ukyo turned her eyes away from Ryoga's face.

Ukyo replied with a frosty glare in Nabiki's direction, as Akane giggled. "Shut up, Nabiki." She then reached up, tucking the crystal pendant, cause of all the speculation about her personal life, into her shirt and out of sight.

"You have to admit that Ryoga's not that bad of a guy, Ukyo..." Akane said with a mischievous smile. "I mean, not only is he kinda cute, but he's a lot nicer and more polite than a certain martial artist I could name..."

"He's also dense as a brick wall." Ranma said loftily as he approached the counter, having overheard Akane's comments. "Ryoga's completely clueless. You shoulda seen the blank look he gave me when I mentioned him trying to hit on Ucchan, here..."

Despite herself, Ukyo sighed slightly in relief, thankful that it seemed as if Ryoga didn't have a crush on her, after all. She didn't need another friend and employee harboring feelings for her. Two friendships had already been nearly ruined, and a third completely lost, due to unrequited love. Even if...

"Heck, I betcha he doesn't even realize that girl is flirting with him..." Ranma said, bringing Ukyo's reflection up short as she looked once more in Ryoga's direction.

Across the restaurant, Ryoga stood taking the order of a girl around their age with rich shoulder length black hair. Clad in tight fitting clothes that hugged her rather ample curves closely, the girl leaned forward, accentuating those aforementioned curves. She fixed the nervously fidgeting young man before her with a smoldering gaze through half lidded green eyes, her full red lips tugging into a seductive smile as she spoke.

"The hottest girl in the restaurant, and that moron's probably got no idea she wants him..." With a knowingly confident smirk, Ranma continued, utterly oblivious to his fiancé's deadly glare. "If it were me over there, I'd wouldn't need someone to..." He paused as his brain finally caught up with his mouth. "Uh...I mean..."

"Ranmaaa..." Akane growled angrily, clenching her fist.

Any other day, the resounding thwack of Akane's fist against Ranma's skull would bring a smug smile to Ryoga's lips. At the moment, however, the Lost Boy's attention was quite effectively diverted by the generously proportioned young woman sitting in front of him.

"Um...would you like something, miss?" Ryoga asked, wondering why the girl seemed to be staring at him rather hungrily.

"Well, you for one..." She said with a wink, immediately bringing a bright blush to Ryoga's face.

"I...uh...I w-was talking about f-food..." Ryoga stuttered, looking down at his shoes, pointedly avoiding the girl's eyes.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're pretty cute when you blush?" She giggled, causing Ryoga to blush even more. "My name's Rei...Rei Kusanagi. What's yours, handsome?"

"R-Ryoga Hibiki..." Ryoga stammered. "A p-pleasure to meet you, Miss Kusanagi..."

"Why so formal?" Rei cooed. "I was hoping we could get to know each other a little better, Ryoga. If you're not busy..."

"Order up!" Ukyo called from the counter, cutting off Rei in mid sentence.

"I...uh...need to go get that..." Ryoga said with a small amount of relief.

A brief look of annoyance crossed Rei's face as Ryoga began to back away from the table. "Ah well...I need to go, anyway." She stood and tossed the Lost Boy a rather sultry look before leaving. "See you around, Ryoga..."

The morning pressed gradually on, as mornings often do, into afternoon. Other customers came and went, the crowd slowly diminishing down to a few quiet patrons. With nothing else left to do at the moment, Ryoga and Ukyo stood behind the counter, washing dishes. Ukyo cast a tentative glance to where Ryoga stood, not very far away, drying plates as she handed them to him. Unconsciously, she tugged the teardrop pendant from her shirt with her free hand, toying with it for just a moment. Ryoga had been quiet for quite some time, absorbed in his own thoughts.

Certain events of the day, namely Ranma's misunderstanding and Rei's blatant flirting, weighed rather heavily on Ryoga's mind. Since the day he discovered that girls weren't very disgusting, after all, romance had never been the young man's strong suit. Much of his experience in the area up until this point revolved around jealousy, loneliness, and heartbreak. True, Rei was extremely attractive, and seemed to be a nice enough person, but Ryoga didn't feel comfortable whatsoever under her aggressive attentions. Despite all the time he had spent with Akari, Ryoga had not changed very much from the shy, introverted boy he'd been two years ago. Even if he did find the confidence to pursue another relationship so soon afterwards, he was sure he would rather not rush into something he might regret later. As far as Ukyo was concerned, Ryoga felt a special kinship with the cute, perky chef. She had been through much of the same hardship as he had, while maintaining an infectiously upbeat attitude. They were far more alike than he once thought, and if anyone could understand how he felt sometimes, it would be her. After spending so much time with Ukyo, Ryoga now felt oddly protective of his friend, willing to do whatever he could to look out for her.

A slight breeze cut through the restaurant, causing both Ukyo and Ryoga to look towards the front door. A tall, dark skinned man stood in the doorway, clad in a black leather jacket, jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. Oddly colored steel gray eyes slowly swept across the room, cautiously scrutinizing everything in sight. The stranger's gaze settled on Ukyo and, with a slight smirk, he began walking towards the counter, his black boots making little sound as he crossed the room.

"Welcome to Ucchan's Okonomiyaki!" Ukyo chirped in English as the man sat down. Ukyo made it a point to learn how to take the orders of any tourists that might happen to come by the restaurant. "Can I help you?"

"I believe you have something I want." The stranger said in perfect Japanese, his eyes never leaving Ukyo.

"Um...excuse me?" Ukyo asked.

"That pendant." The stranger pointed to the teardrop shaped piece of crystal hanging around Ukyo's neck. "I want it."

"Um...it's not for sale if that's what you're asking."

"That's quite alright, I don't have much money with me, anyway." He smirked.

"Wait a second, just who are you?" Ukyo asked.

"That's not really all that important." He shrugged. "But I've been tracking your boyfriend here all across Japan for nearly a month." He turned his head and looked at Ryoga. "You've got a pretty powerful guy rather upset with you, kid."

"H-he is not my boyfriend!" Ukyo fumed indignantly under her breath. "Why do people keep thinking we're together!?"

"What the heck are you talking about?" Ryoga asked the man, puzzled.

The stranger raised one eyebrow. "You really don't know anything about this, do you? Hmm. It's probably better this way. Why don't you two just hand over the pendant so I can be on my way?"

"Listen, I don't know what your problem is, but I'd like you to leave." Ukyo said stiffly.

The stranger stood up and glared at Ukyo. "Sorry young lady, but I'm afraid I can't leave without that pendant. Trust me, it'll be a lot safer for you in the long run if you just cooperate now."

"I suggest you get the hell out of here, right now." Ryoga said angrily, stepping around the counter. No way would he let some stranger just waltz in and harass his friend like this.

"And if I don't?"

"I'll throw you out." Ryoga replied, crossing his arms.

"Today's young people." The stranger sighed. "Why do they always have to do things the hard way?" Quick as lightning, his arm suddenly lashed out, attempting to snatch the crystal teardrop from around Ukyo's neck. Ryoga reacted swiftly, however, grabbing the man's arm just as his hand closed around the pendant. "Heh. You're pretty fast..." He said calmly as he released his hold on Ukyo's crystal. The stranger then grasped Ryoga's arm with his free hand and turned, hurling Ryoga into the air.

"Ryoga!!" Ukyo shouted, watching as the young man twisted his body in midair to land on his feet. The stranger, meanwhile, hadn't moved from his place near the counter, standing there watching the younger martial artist. She could tell from Ryoga's dark scowl that the move surprised, and definitely angered him. Ryoga hurled himself at the other man, unleashing a flurry of punches and kicks. Ukyo was shocked to see the stranger dodge and block each of Ryoga's attacks with what could only be described as near Ranma-like agility. He seemed to be watching Ryoga intently the entire time, studying him. After a few moments the stranger lashed out with his foot, slicing right through his opponent's onslaught to land a clean kick to the shoulder, sending Ryoga crashing into the restaurant's grill. Finally snapping out of her daze, Ukyo pulled her combat spatula from beneath the counter as Ryoga pulled himself off the wrecked piece of metal. If she didn't do something soon, the two fighters could wind up destroying her livelihood. Besides, it was as good a time as any to test out the brand new weapon.

"Hey!" Ukyo leapt over the counter, spatula raised high above her head. "NO FIGHTING IN MY RESTAURANT!!"

The edge of the massive utensil missed its target by inches as the dark skinned man leaned back. Ukyo used her downward momentum to spin on her heel, bringing her other leg up into swift roundhouse kick. Her kick was blocked, but Ukyo quickly planted both her feet firmly and swung the spatula back up, across the stranger's waist. He dodged the attack once again, and was preparing to counter when Ryoga, back on his feet, renewed his assault with a flurry of razor sharp bandannas. As he had with Ukyo's attacks, the mysterious martial artist dodged Ryoga's projectiles, allowing them to slice through several chairs and tables as they spiraled around the room.

Ukyo and Ryoga attacked in unison, driving the stranger back with punches, kicks, and spatula slashes. They pressed their advantage, attacking swiftly, but still not landing a solid hit. It was Ukyo who broke through the almost impenetrable defense first, slicing through the man's shirt and leaving a long, shallow cut across his chest. The temporary distraction was enough to allow Ryoga to slip in with a hard punch to the jaw followed by the duo delivering a pair of kicks to the abdomen. The man tumbled away, sliding across the floor from the force of the impacts, but recovered his footing quickly while clutching his stomach in pain. When Ryoga attacked again, however, the stranger ducked under her swing and tripped him, sending the over aggressive Lost Boy crashing into, and through, the wall. Ukyo grabbed a handful of her throwing spatulas, preparing to hurl them at the man when his own hastily thrown knife forced her to leap back to avoid being struck.

The stranger took the momentary confusion to swiftly make his way to the door. "Not bad, kids." He said, wiping blood from his mouth with a surprising grin. "That's the most fun I've had for some time. But you can bet this isn't over..." With that, he turned and disappeared. Ryoga and Ukyo both ran to the doorway to chase after him, but it was too late.

"Damn. He's gone..." Ryoga said, frustrated. He punched the wall to his right, cracking it, then winced slightly and then touched a hand to his shoulder.

"Are you okay, Ryoga?" Ukyo asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine..." He lied.

Ukyo reached over and pulled back the collar of his shirt to reveal a rather ugly bruise on the shoulder where Ryoga had been kicked, bringing a frown to her lips. Ryoga was one of the strongest, no, the strongest guy she knew. This was a young man who had been slammed face first into solid rock, repeatedly, and walked away. A guy who could take almost inhuman amounts of punishment and barely flinch. She didn't want to think about who could possibly be strong enough to bruise Ryoga like that with a single strike. With a resigned sigh, she looked around her beloved restaurant, surveying the damage done during the unexpected fight. With her wrecked grill, many broken tables and chairs, not to mention the large hole in the wall, Ucchan's would likely be closed for several days of repairs.

Turning her attention back to Ryoga, Ukyo poked at the spreading bruise experimentally. "That looks really nasty..."

"Really. It's no big deal..." Ryoga said, suppressing a shudder of pain as she touched his shoulder.

"Don't play macho man with me, Hibiki." Ukyo said. "Sit down and let me get some ice for that." As she walked back into the kitchen, she happened to glance at her reflection in the mirror. A stray ray of light struck the crystal pendant around her neck, causing it to glow for just a moment. Ukyo couldn't help but wonder who the stranger was and why he wanted it so badly. Once again, her hand almost unconsciously found its way to the piece of jewelry. There was something going on that she didn't know understand, something big. And she had the feeling that whatever it was, this was only the beginning.

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Author's Notes:

Okay, time for the happy disclaimers and whatnot. I don't own Ryoga, Ukyo, or any other characters in Ranma 1/2. Now that that's out of the way, thanks for reading chapter 4 of Crystal Hearts! It seems as if that trouble I mentioned in the summary is finally starting to catch up with our favorite quasi-couple. Tune in next time to find out what happens next! Ja ne!