"Fast as I Can: Part 2"
by Jennifer De Salme a.k.a. Mercedes
matoko_hibiki@excite.com
http://www.oocities.org/isis_shadow5

DISCLAIMER: Yadda, yadda, yadda... read the first part.

Note: 'text' = thoughts, text = emphasis, *text* = noise/action
******

Ryouga awoke slowly, the sun shining in his face. For a moment, he experienced that slight amnesia that you get sometimes when you sleep somewhere unfamiliar. For Ryouga, that meant any place with a roof and a soft bed, as opposed to open sky and hard ground.

He lay there, blinking at the ceiling, trying to remember where he was. A faint, but enticing, smell from the other side of the door wafted into the room, making his stomach gurgle with hunger.

Okonomiyaki.

His memories from last night came back piece by piece as his mind started working again. He'd stopped to get his bearings and found himself in front of Ukyou's restaurant. She'd invited him in, given him a meal, and listened to him talk about Akari.

Akari. He took a deep breath and let it out. It had hurt to leave Akari, even though he knew it would have been wrong to stay with a woman he didn't love. To find out that she was not the one he was meant to spend his life with hurt even more. There had been a special place in his heart where Akari, and at one time, Akane, had resided. Now that place was painfully empty.

His stomach growled again, reminding him that his heart wasn't the only thing that felt that way. He rolled out of bed and scanned the room for his pack. He found it lying next to the door and opened it, removing his last set of clean clothes.

'Okay, next question, where's the bathroom?' He vaguely remembered Ukyou pointing it out to him last night, but he had no idea where exactly it was in relation to his room. He opened the door and stepped out into the hall, clean clothes draped over his arm. There were only three other doors besides the one he had just exited. He stared at them uncertainly. 'There's not that many; how hard can this be?'

He walked across the hall and opened the door across from the guestroom. A broom handle *clonked* him on the top of his head. Rubbing the new sore spot, he pushed the offending tool back in and shut the door.

'Ouch. Closet.'

He kept one hand on the wall as he moved onto the next door. Opening it carefully, he peered in. Another bedroom, sparsely decorated, but with a familiar, abnormally sized spatula leaned up against the dresser.

'Heh, no question whose room this is.'

Again he closed the door, headed for the next one... and was again rewarded by the resounding *thwack* of the wooden handle hitting his head.

Growling slightly, he shoved the broom back in the closet again. Opening the next door, he examined the room. Bed, lamp, bedside table, his backpack propped up against the wall...

'Damnit!' Ryouga slammed the door shut and turned around. He glowered the other three innocent seeming doors.

"Why can't I ever get anywhere?" He growled quietly, heading for one of the doors.

After several more attempts (he resisted the urge to turn that cursed broom into tinder), he was eventually greeted with the sight of the sink and other bathroom amenities. Closing the door behind him, he headed over to the tub and set his clothes down. Wordlessly, he filled it, stripped down, and sank gratefully into the hot water.

Letting his eyes fall shut, he leaned back and sighed happily. This was one luxury that he sorely missed when he traveled. Food and drinking water were easy enough to come by if he looked hard enough, but hot baths couldn't be found beneath rocks or behind trees. Although, he was still wondering why someone had built that woman's public bath out in the middle of nowhere…

Once he felt his tired muscles finally relaxing, Ryouga finished his bath and changed into his clean clothes. Picking up his dirty ones, he exited the bathroom. Taking a deep breath, he headed towards the door he thought belonged to the guestroom.

"WHERE THE HELL AM I NOW?!"

Ukyou sighed and rolled her eyes . Well, the jackass was awake, finally. She should have known Ryouga would never make down here on his own.

"I guess I'd better go find him before he gets completely lost." She wiped her hands off and exited the grill area while shouting behind her, "Konatsu, you have the grill."

"Yes, boss!"

The brunette chef walked upstairs. After checking the rooms, and finding them Ryouga-free, she walked back to the stairs and stopped.

"Ryouga?" She called out loudly. "Where are you, ya jackass?"

"If I knew, would I have just asked?!" His voice was slightly muffled, as if coming from the other side of a door. Ukyou frowned in thought for a moment, then groaned and shook her head. Walking to the closet, she opened the door and smirked at the fuming Ryouga.

"How could you get lost in the closet, stupid?"

He shoved past her and out into the hallway. "It was dark and I couldn't find the door, all right?" He growled at her resentfully. "I didn't think you'd want me bakusai tenketsing the wall."

She shook here head. "For once you may have done something intelligent." Before the angry young man could answer, Ukyou grinned sweetly and started down the stairs. "Come on, sugar, I'll make you breakfast."

Muttering angrily under his breath, Ryouga tossed a hand full of wood chips into the closet and followed her downstairs into the dining area. As Ukyou returned to her place behind the grill, he slumped onto one of the stools on the other side.

Gazing down at the counter, he let himself sink into self-pity and depression. Not only had he managed to get himself lost on the top floor of the relatively small building, but he'd embarrassed himself in front of someone he knew. Being laughed at was not the most pleasant way to start the morning.

After a few moments, a plate was slid into place next to his arm. He looked up to see Ukyou's smiling face.

"Eat up!" She gave him one last grin and returned to filling orders.

He looked back down at the okonomiyaki, and for a moment considered not eating it out of spite. But the tantalizing aroma of the freshly cooked pancake made his mouth water and reminded how good a cook Ukyou actually was. Giving into his hunger, Ryouga picked up his chopsticks and began eating.

"Enjoying your breakfast?" The chef's question barely penetrated and Ryouga nodded as he continued eating.

"How would you like to be able to eat like this on a regular basis?"

He stopped eating and looked up her, one eyebrow arched suspiciously. Swallowing the food in his mouth, he asked, "What do you mean?"

"I've been looking for another part-time employee." She flipped the okonomiyaki in front of her onto a plate and handed it to Yasubi to finish off. "It would just be waiting on tables and a few miscellaneous duties; no cooking involved, but it would take a load of Yasubi and Konatsu's shoulders, not to mention my own." She tilted her head to the side. "Would you be interested in the job?"

Ryouga returned his gaze to the food in front of him. It was good, the best meal he'd had since leaving Akari. Taking another bite, he chewed slowly. Slowly, a frown creased his forehead. He swallowed and looked back up at her.

"How would I get to work? I can't exactly... commute... every day." He tapped his chopsticks lightly on his plate.

Ukyou's smile faded at that one. 'He's right. He couldn't even find his way to the bathroom this morning. He'd neverbe able to get here from his own house... wherever that is...' Then another idea came to her.

"You could live here with me!"

He coughed in surprise and took a sip of his tea. "Excuse me?"

"Oh, don't be a pervert." She sprinkled some toppings on the batter in front of her. "What I mean is, you could move into the spare room permanently. It used to be Konatsu's, but since he moved in with Yasubi, I've just been using it as storage space."

Another grin met his perplexed expression. "That way, even you should be able to find your way to work in the morning, and the work you do will pay for your room and board."

Ryouga's face took on an expression of intense thought. He turned his gaze down to the remains of his breakfast and began to finish it off. After a few moments of his silence, the chef shrugged and brought her attention back to the grill in front of her.

"I'll do it."

Ukyou blinked and looked over at the lost boy. "Wha? You mean, you'll stay here?"

He nodded. "On one condition, though."

She raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "And what would that be, sugar?"

He snarled and leaned forward, showing his fangs. " Don'tcall me 'sugar!'"

****
Nearly a month later

Yasubi entered the kitchen with a stack of letters in her hand. "Hey, everyone, mail call!"

She handed Konatsu and Ukyou their stacks and sat down at the table, accepting the cup of tea that Ryouga offered her. "So, either of you get anything interesting?"

Ukyou leaned back against the sink. "Bills, bills, junk mail...How do these people get my address anyway?" She tossed the pile onto the table.

"What I don't understand is why Konatsu is still getting his mail sent here." Yasubi looked sharply over at her beau. The feminine young man blushed slightly and looked down at his small pile of envelopes.

"I just never got around to sending people our address."

The auburn-haired woman arched an eyebrow, but surprisingly kept her mouth shut. Konatsu studied the top letter for a sec before looking up at his employer. "This one is yours, Ukyou. It must have gotten mixed up with mine."

"Are suggesting that I got the letters mixed up?" Yasubi said menacingly. Konatsu gave her his most innocent look.

"Why, how could you ever even suspect such a thing of me? We all know that you never make mistakes."

Yasubi "humphed" and turned back to her employer.

The chef smirked and took the letter from her "waitress." She flipped it over a few times. "Hm, no return address..." She carefully ripped open the envelope and pulled out the sheet of paper folded up inside. Her eyes widened as she read its contents.

"Who's it from, boss?" Yasubi questioned.

Ukyou simply stood there, ignoring the question. She finished reading the letter and lowered her hand. After a few moments of her standing there silently, the other three began to look worried.

"Ukyou?" Ryouga stood up and walked over to her, placing a hand on her arm. "Who's the letter from?"

She handed the paper to him and replied shakily, "My--my father."

Ryouga blinked and looked down at what she had handed him.

"Well, what's it say, Ryouga?" Yasubi prompted impatiently. Ryouga glanced at Ukyou for permission, but the woman seemed lost in her own thoughts. Shrugging, he read the letter aloud to the others.

"My dearest Ukyou,

"First, I must apologize for never replying to your letter. Yes, I did receive it, but stupidly ignored it. Only recently did I find it hidden away and read it again. I've written to the address on the envelope in hopes that you still have your restaurant there.

"The purpose of this letter is to inform you that I will be coming to Nerima to visit you. I am anxious to see your restaurant and to hear how your dealings with Ranma Saotome are coming.

"I love you and I will see you soon.

"Your Father, Hiroimono Kuonji"

The three looked over at their friend and employer. It took her a moment to shake herself from her reverie and notice them staring at her.

"What?"

"Um...what's your father going to do when he finds out that you're no longer engaged to Ranma?" Ryouga's expression looked slightly troubled as he held up the letter.

"For that matter, why doesn't he know that in the first place?" Yasubi said sharply.

"Well, as to why he doesn't know," she grimaced, "I haven't had contact with my father in over four years. That letter that he's talking about was one I sent him when I first got here telling him that I had arrived in Nerima and met with Ranma." Her face took on a slightly angry expression. "To tell you the truth, this is the first I've heard from the old man in over seven years."

Ryouga gave her a sympathetic look, knowing exactly how she felt. He was lucky if he managed to accidentally bump into one or the other of his parents every couple of years. Even then it was rarely for more than a few hours before they lost each other again.

"What are you going to do?" Konatsu asked quietly. Ukyou shrugged.

"Knowing my father, he's already left. It could be anywhere from a few days to a few weeks until he arrives depending on how he decides to travel." She sighed. "Damn it all, just as my life was starting to feel normal..."

The other three watched as Ukyou sank into the chair Ryouga had vacated and leaned her face into her hands wearily. No one spoke. Ryouga frowned worriedly at her as Konatsu and Yasubi shared a glance.

After a few moments of silence, Yasubi cleared her throat uncomfortably. "Yes, well, we'll see you two tomorrow morning, okay?"

Ukyou made no response.

"See ya." Ryouga gave them a distracted half smile and a wave before turning his attention back to Ukyou.

As the odd couple left the restaurant, the bandanna'd young man sat down in the seat next to his friend. When she didn't move, his concerned frown returned.

"Ukyou?"

"Hmm?" She murmured behind her hands.

"This is bothering you a lot more then you're letting on, isn't it?"

She took her hands away from her face and placed them on the table, weaving her fingers together tightly. With a heavy sigh, she looked up at him. Although her face had little expression, her eyes glimmered slightly with unshed tears.

"He abandoned me, Ryouga. He let a little girl run off on a stupid vendetta caused by the cowardice of a stupid man." She shook her head and closed her eyes for a moment. "No, not only did he let me, he encouraged me to chase after Ranma and his father. Then, when I actually go and do it, he refuses to speak to me."

Her jaw tightened, but her eyes remained closed. Ryouga sat quietly, waiting for Ukyou to continue. She sounded like she had been holding this in for long time. The young man knew from personal experience how resentment could fester into something worse when held inside.

Finally she opened her eyes and met his brown-eyed gaze. "Seven years, Ryouga. I haven't heard from my father in seven years. Before that, I heard from him only rarely and it was usually just a short note encouraging me to keep looking for Ranma and to avenge the Kuonji name."

A tear slowly trickled down her face and she brushed it away roughly. "I wrote to him almost constantly up until I arrived in Nerima. Even after the jackass stopped writing back, I still wrote to him, hoping to hear news from home, anything to give me a reason to make the vendetta against the Saotomes have more purpose."

The tears were flowing freely now. She slammed her fist into the table in frustration and tried to wipe away the tears. Ryouga watched her silently, the constant sorrow in his own heart surfacing in response to hers. He resisted the urge to comfort her and simply listened.

"And now that--that jackass thinks he can just waltz back into my life like he'd never left it, or me, out in the cold... alone..." With a frustrated growl, Ukyou covered her face with her hands again, her shoulders shaking silently as she cried.

Ryouga didn't know what to do. His heart cried out in pain, sympathizing with the sorrow he heard in her voice. He wanted to comfort her; to make her feel better, but the young loner had no idea how one was to go about comforting a crying woman. After a few moments of silence, something sifted through his tangled thoughts.

Taking a deep breath, he reached out and took one of Ukyou's hands in his own. Half expecting to be on the receiving end of a battle spatula at any moment, he drew the hand away from her face and held it gently.

She looked up at him curiously, tears still making wet tracks down her cheeks. Her gaze met his as he struggled to tell her something, anything, to make her stop crying.

"I-I understand, Ukyou." He said quietly, looking down at the table. "My parents may not have left me on my own intentionally, but I do know what it's like to be alone for so long."

He looked back up, meeting her now dry-eyed gaze. Her eyes were red and her face tear-stained. She sniffed and gave him a questioning look.

Taking that as a good sign, Ryouga continued.

"If it helps," he lifted his other hand to her face, brushing gently at her remaining tears, "you're not alone, now. You have friends, Ranma, Akane, Konatsu..."

He stopped as she brought her free hand up to cover his on her cheek. She smiled slightly.

"I have you." Her voice was wondering and she blushed slightly.

Ryouga felt his own face heating up. Not knowing how to respond to her quiet statement, he nodded and gave her a hesitant smile, fangs barely showing.

They probably would have continued to sit there staring at each other had the natural order of things not come back into play. Ukyou yawned, freeing the hand that lay on her cheek as she stretched her arm behind her head. Ryouga brought his hand back down to his lap, though he continued to hold her other hand loosely.

He cleared his throat somewhat self-consciously. "Guess we'd better get to sleep now, huh?" He said. She nodded.

"Yeah, long day tomorrow."

"Good-night, Ukyou." Ryouga rose from his chair to leave and stopped short when he realized that Ukyou had not let go of his hand. He looked back down at her, meeting her gaze for a moment.

"Thank you." She squeezed his hand.

He gave a questioning look. "For what?"

"For being my friend." She stood and smiled, letting go of his hand. "You can be a jackass sometimes, but thanks just the same."

He frowned at her for a moment before her smile got to him and he returned it with his own toothy grin. "Your welcome, I think."

She laughed and shoved him towards the door to the living quarters. "Go get some sleep, Ryouga. Yasubi's got the day off, so I'm getting you up extra early!"

Ryouga mock-groaned and she giggled again as he walked up to his room. Ukyou followed right behind him to make sure he actually got there. Both had slightly bemused expressions, as if they realized that something had just happened, but they had yet to determine just what that something was.

***

A loud banging woke Ukyou from her restless sleep. She blinked wearily in the darkness before rolling over and turning on her beside lamp to look at her clock.

'Three a.m.' Ukyou groaned and stumbled out of bed. 'Ugh, what jackass could be knocking my door at this unholy hour?' Throwing dressing robe on over her pajamas, she walked out into the hallway.

Whoever it was started banging again as she entered the dining area. She flipped on the lights and unlocked the front door. "I'm coming! You had better have a good reason for waking me up at this hour or I swear I'll-" Her tirade was cut short as she stared at the man standing on her doorstep.

"Hello, daughter."

Ukyou gaped, her mouth opening and closing silently.

"Don't stare at me like that, you look like a fish out of water."

His comment shook her out of her stupor and she snapped her mouth shut. Her father was here? Already?! But...

"Aren't you going to invite me in?"

"Oh!" She gasped and hurriedly opened the door the rest of the way, letting him into the restaurant. "Of course, I'm sorry! This is just so... unexpected..."

"You got my letter, didn't you?"

"Yes, just this afternoon, but I didn't expect you for another couple of days at the very least!"

He chuckled. "Well, you know your old man. I always liked to be a bit early."

She gave a nervous little laugh and shut the door.

"Ukyou, who are you talking to...?" Father and daughter turned to look at the sleepy-eyed young man who just entered from the living area.

"Um...Father, I'd like to introduce you to Ryouga Hibiki." Ukyou fiddled with a strand of hair nervously. "Ryouga, this is my father, Hiroimono Kuonji."

Mr. Kuonji frowned at the younger man. "And just what is your connection to my daughter?" He turned to Ukyou. "Why is he here so early in the morning?"

"Um, well," she bit her lip and looked down at the floor. "He lives here."

The older man glared sharply at his daughter. "He what?"

Ukyou's eyes widened as she realized what it must sound like to her father and hastened to reassure him. "No, no, it's not what you think! We're just friends, Father! He works for me."

"Then what is he doing here, now? Why isn't he at his own house?" He was angry. Very angry.

Ryouga looked worriedly at the older man as Ukyou stumbled for an answer. She seemed to be having a hard time explaining Ryouga's presence to her father. His first thought was to wonder why she hadn't kicked him out of the restaurant, yet, but figuring she had her reasons, he went onto his next question. Why didn't she just tell him about Ryouga's... problem? He decided to take the pressure off her.

"Sir?" He said, catching the attention of the two Kuonji's. "I'd g-get lost on the way to work if I didn't live here, sir."

Mr. Kuonji's frown deepened. "What do you mean?"

"I -- have trouble getting places." Ryouga rubbed the back of his neck nervously as he continued. "I get lost very easily and if I had to travel any distance to get here, it may be weeks before I make it. Your daughter is letting me stay here so that I won't get lost on my way to work." It wasn't the whole story, but he wasn't about to admit that he had no idea of how to get to his house, anyway.

"So you see, Father, its nothing to worry about. Just making sure my employees can do their job." She cast Ryouga a grateful look. She hadn't wanted to mention his lack of directional sense to her father without Ryouga's permission, but the young man had taken the decision out of her hands.

She noted the thoughtful look on her father's face when she looked back at him. He seemed to be deciding whether or not this was a valid excuse for some strange young man to be living under his daughter's roof. Finally, the older man nodded.

Ryouga mentally sighed in relief. Facing the wrath of an angry father was not something he wanted to experience.

Ukyou smiled slightly. "Why don't I make a bed up for you and we'll talk in the morning, okay, Father?"

"Very well. After you, daughter." Ukyou nodded and led the middle-aged man upstairs. Ryouga stood where they had left him, puzzling over Ukyou's friendly attitude towards the man she had only hours ago confessed to hating. After a few moments, he shook his head and decided to think about it in the morning.

When he reached his room (which thankfully only took him a few minutes to find), he saw Ukyou exiting and closing the door behind her.

As he approached, Ukyou looked up at him wearily.

"Well, good-night, Ukyou." The young man moved to reopen the door. He stopped as she placed a hand on his arm. He turned his head and gave her a questioning look. "My father is sleeping in there tonight." The brunette let go of his arm and walked into her own room, shutting the door behind her.

Ryouga stood in the hallway blinking for a moment. He frowned and spun around, knocking on Ukyou's door. "Hey, where am I supposed to sleep?"

The door opened and before he could react, a pillow and blanket came hurtling at him. Fumbling, he caught the bedding and returned his attention to her door only to see it shutting behind her.

His face settled into a disgruntled frown and he walked down the hall to the stairs in hopes that he could make it to the couch and get some sleep before Ukyou woke him up in the morning.
*******************************************

At last! The long awaited Part 2 is up! Now, Part 3 on the other hand…. That may be a little while… ~_~;; Like what I did with her father? I thought it would give a little insight as to why she was so bitter about Ranma and not just the fact that Ranma left her behind.

C&C Welcome!

-Mercedes matoko_hibiki@excite.com