Ukyou lay on her bed, marveling at the changes in her life. Ranma - her Ranchan - was out of her reach. Forever. And there was a horrible ache inside her. A hole that no one else could fill.
          And there was guilt. Because, even though Ranma was with Akane, she felt guilty being with Ryouga. Even though it was perfectly platonic. He seemed to cause a different sort of ache inside her. One that made her want to lose herself in his eyes. One that made her want to kiss him. One that made her forget, for a little while, that Ranma Saotome ever existed.
          And that made her feel even guiltier.

          "Ryouga!" The spatula slammed onto the grill, sending a spray of okonomiyaki batter all over the counter. "You…you…you jackass!"
          The lost boy looked up at the red-faced chef. "What did I do?"
          "How could you get lost on the way to the freezer?"
          He looked down at the bowl of batter in his hands. "Sorry."
          She stormed out from behind the grill and ripped the bowl from his hands. Stomping off in the direction of the kitchen, she mumbled something about line of sight and leashes. He gulped.
          "I'm sorry Ukyou!"
          "Outside." Her face was set in a determined mask.
          He followed her meekly, wishing desperately for rain. Then he thought about pork okonomiyaki and changed his mind.
          She tossed his umbrella to him. "Okay Hibiki, there's only one way we're going to be able to make this work. Anytime we drive each other crazy, we fight."
          "The Akane school of resolving things?"
          Ukyou saw red and charged.
          He easily sidestepped the blow, deflecting the spatula with his red umbrella. He watched her movements, her anger telegraphing her moves to him. Dodging, deflecting, blocking her as though she were a beginner. Suddenly, the reason he and Akane always lost to Ranma became clear.
          "Damn it! Fight!" she panted.
          "I don't want to fight you Ukyou."
          "Don't humor me!"
          "I'm not."
          She threw her last volley of mini spatulas at him, roaring with anger as his umbrella knocked them aside. Growling in frustration, she leapt at him, surprising him and knocking them both to the ground.
          The lay there, her above him, silently. Her breathing was fast and labored.
          "Feel better?"
          She licked her lips nervously, "No."
          "Sure?" Using his back and leg muscles, he stood, still holding her in his arms.
          "I can see why Akane finds Ranma so damn frustrating." She meant to sound angry, but instead sounded teasing.
          Ryouga looked at her just as she licked her lips again. "And vice versa."
          "Wha…?"
          Their lips met, neither sure who was kissing whom. He pulled back. "I thought…friends."
          She straightened her shirt. "Right. Friends." Picking up her giant spatula, she walked back into the restaurant.

          "He's so…so…" Ukyou stopped, completely at a loss for words. Finally she nodded, "He's a jerk."
          "A jerk?" Akane tried not to laugh.
          "A complete, total jerk," she nodded emphatically. "Do you know what he did?"
          Akane bit her lip, "What?"
          "He wouldn't fight me. He just dodged." Ukyou's eyes widened. "It was like he didn't want to fight me."
          "Maybe because you're a girl?"
          "No. He wo…" Comprehension dawned. "We've turned into you!"
          Akane finally laughed. "No. You haven't called him a sex-changing freak. And he's way to polite to call you uncute."
          "Plus, I'm not." Ukyou couldn't help the dig. "I can't believe we've become you guys."
          "Relax Ukyou. First of all, it isn't permanent. Second, you're overreacting. I think you're just nervous about starting a new relationship."
          "No."
          "It's not easy to start over. To be vulnerable and open yourself up to someone."
          "I'm not like that." Defenses firmly in place, she ignored Akane's words. "And I'm never going to turn into you! I would never treat anyone as badly as you treat Ranma." At Akane's stricken looks, she started to apologize. "Oh, Akane…I'm sorry…."
          Akane didn't hear her. She took off for the school, leaving Ukyou behind.

          Ryouga sat at the table across from Ranma. Even their uneasy friendship was gone, so that sat in uncomfortable silence.
          Unable to stand it, Ranma spoke, "What did you want P-chan?"
          "I think Ukyou's mad at me."
          "Why don't you sleep with her? Hasn't that worked for you in the past?"
          Ryouga ignored the remark. "She's mad all the time. The smallest things set her off. I can't seem to do anything right."
          "Sounds like my life." He smiled a silly grin. "At least, until lately."
          "Right. She's acting like Akane. And I don't know why. At least Akane had jealousy as a reason."
          A thought occurred to both boys. Ranma shrugged. "Does she know?"
          "No. She thinks we just kissed."
          "Does she suspect?"
          "I don't think so."
          Ranma glared, "Have you been talking about Akane at all?"
          "No! We don't talk about you guys at all. You're the last people we want mentioned." Ryouga sighed. "Your problems stopped when you guys admitted how you felt, but I don't think that's what she wants. Se said she wants to be friends."
          "So you're friends," Ranma didn't get the big deal. "Obviously something else is the problem."
          "Right. Because Akane meant it all the time when she said she hated you." Ryouga glared. "You just don't want me to be happy at all, do you? You've got Akane, but you're still not happy. Well, I'm going to tell her how I feel."
          Ranma shrugged, "Okay."
          "I'm not as stupid and stubborn as you Ranma. I can admit my feelings."
          "Like you did to Akane?" Ranma could feel his anger start to heat up as he thought of the times he'd caught "P-chan" with Akane, of the one time he'd caught Ryouga with Akane. "Yeah, no secrets there, eh Pig-boy?"
          "Obviously she thought I cared more than you did."
          Ranma seethed. "Outside."
          "All right Saotome, I could use a good fight."

          Ukyou paced the restaurant. Where the hell was that stupid boy? No one had seen him all day. Knowing him, he'd wandered off and she wouldn't see him for months. Not that she cared.
          A soft groan came from the stairwell. She rushed over to see Ryouga lying there, obviously in some pain. "Ryouga-honey? What happened?"
          "Ranma and I had a little match."
          "Who won?"
          "Called it even. Hope he got home okay."
          "Silly. What were you two fighting over?"
          " 'Sbout you."
          "Ran-chan was fighting over me?" Her eyes lit up. "Really?"
          Ryouga looked down at his hands. "Ukyou…"
          "That means he doesn't really love her. I knew he couldn't really love her. I knew he loved me!"
          "Uk…" he gave up. Struggling, he stood and made his way to his room. "Goodnight."
          She didn't even hear.

          Ranma took a deep breath and began his kata. Saturdays his father slept late, so he was able to do some warm ups before his involuntary morning swim. He was just a few moves into it when he noticed her. "Hey Ucchan."
          "Ran-chan!" She ran to him and hugged him tightly. "Oh Ran-chan! I knew you'd come to your senses!"
          "Wha…?" He disengaged himself from her embrace. "What are you talking about?"
          "The fight you and Ryouga had last night. He said it was about me." Hope warred with confusion in her eyes.
          "It was about you Ucchan, but it wasn't over you. I love Akane. Ryouga just misinterpreted something I said and we both needed the workout. You're my best friend, Ucchan. I thought we had this resolved."
          "We do. I just misunderstood what Ryouga…" she looked up in shock. "Oh God! Ryouga!" She bounded up to the rooftop and disappeared into the sunrise.

          Ryouga climbed the tree and settled his pack in the vee of one of the branches. Resting on the strongest limb, he leaned against the trunk and closed his eyes. He should be far enough away to sleep. She wouldn't realize he was gone until now at least. She had school and the restaurant, so she couldn't afford to come looking for him.
          He should be safe here. Here, where no one could hear his heart shatter.

          Ukyou searched all of Nerima, her heart beating wildly. What had she done? Maybe she had become just like Akane - so afraid of accepting what was right in front of her that she lost it completely. She sat down on one of the park benches with a sigh. She was exhausted. She'd been looking for hours. He was nowhere to be found. Apparently his skill for getting lost was helping him this time.
          Should she follow him? Should she stay? How did she really feel about him? If she were still in love with Ranma, wouldn't it be better to stay and let Ryouga find happiness somewhere else? With someone else?
          She sighed. She should just put her feelings aside. She had school to attend and a business to run. It had been his decision to leave without telling her all the facts. He apparently didn't have strong feelings for her if he could just walk away. So, it was his fault he was alone out there. She just needed to chalk it all up to experience and move on.
          After all, she'd been taking care of herself for a long time. She didn't need any man, much less a species changing, eternally lost martial artist. She could handle anything. Even something that hurt this bad.

          Ryouga walked. He had perfected the art of being lost over the years. He didn't think while he walked, he only walked. It was like training. You didn't let the outside world get in the way.
          At least, that's how it had been before Akane. Sure, the underlying hatred of Ranma had guided him, but he never consciously thought of Ranma as he made his way. With Akane, he'd spent too much time thinking about her, ending up in strange places and even stranger situations.
          And now, with Ukyou on his mind, he could do nothing but think. He'd made the wrong decision. He was sure of that now. He'd assumed, for obvious reasons, that she was still in love with Ranma. But that didn't mean there was no hope for him. Hadn't Akane shown him that?
          So he'd left her, the woman he was slowly coming to love, to fall for his arch-rival all over again. He was stupid. He was dense. And, he looked around, he was lost. The sign said "Hiroshima". Damn it, he knew Nerima was around here somewhere.

          Ranma nudged Akane and motioned to Ukyou. She looked sad. "Still no word from Ryouga?"
          "No." Ranma sighed. "Stupid pig-boy disappeared and hasn't called her or written. She's like a zombie."
          "Nabiki said that business has dropped off at the restaurant. Apparently nobody wants to deal with her attitude. But Kunou invited her to the dinner party. I asked her to go shopping with me this afternoon."
          "Oh, that should be great. The ultimate tomboy playing fashion consultant. She'd be better off with a blind bag lady."
          Akane bit her lip to hide it's trembling. Why could he hurt her so badly? "Don't worry, Ranma. Wasn't it you who said she'd be cute no matter what she wore?" She stood up, ignoring the hand he reached out to her. "Why don't you just go comfort her? I won't mind at all."

          Ukyou barely acknowledged Ranma and Akane's argument. After so long, it was easy to tune them out. Instead, she concentrated on the evening ahead. When the invitation had come, she'd wanted to refuse. But deep down, her desire to be strong was clamoring to get out. The strength that let her survive Genma's leaving her behind would get her through this. So she'd accepted.
          And so this afternoon, she was going shopping with Akane. And she was determined to have fun. Her sad eyes traveled over to the arguing couple. That is, if Akane had cooled down.
          She flinched as she felt the reverberations from Akane's mallet connecting with Ranma's skull. Make that cooled down a lot.

          The dark blue dress clung to her like a second skin. Ukyou appraised herself in the dressing room mirror. * Hmm, not bad. Not bad at all. *
          "Akane?"
          "Yes?"
          "Ryouga's been gone for two weeks."
          "Yes."
          She poked her head out of the fitting room. "Does this look like I'm getting over it?" She stepped out and twirled around.
          "Wow! Ukyou, you look fabulous!" A small feeling of doubt and worry entered Akane's mind. "Ryouga's going to be sorry he missed this."
          She smiled. "Thanks Akane."
          Akane smiled back until Ukyou disappeared back into the dressing room. "I only wish Ranma could miss it too."

          * Next time, I come with the group. * Ukyou sat nervously on the edge of Kunou's couch. Where were they? The door chimes rang and she breathed a sigh of relief. As soon as Ranma appeared behind Kunou, she stood.
          "Ranchan! I'm so glad you're here!" She linked her arm through his and led him back to the couch.
          She avoided looking at Akane and Nabiki after the initial looks they gave her. She knew what she was doing was wrong. Latching onto Ranma wasn't alleviating the pain of being there alone or of Ryouga being gone. And if the look on Akane's face was any indication, it wasn't doing much for her pain either.
          Ignoring the tightening in her stomach, she talked animatedly with Ranma about school until Kodachi's name was mentioned and the arguing began.
          Time to soothe the waters, she thought as Akane glared at her fiancé. She sighed. "I haven't seen Kodachi in quite some time. Is she still doing gymnastics?"
          Kunou answered her, his voice laced with worry. Silence fell over the group. Ukyou couldn't help but stare at Akane, who was deliberately avoiding eye contact with Ranma. Had she ever looked that sad?

          Ryouga stared at the darkened restaurant. He'd made it. He'd realized that staying away wasn't going to solve any of his problems. It hadn't worked with Akane, and it wasn't working with Ukyou.
          He wasn't going to run away again. That's what he'd done. Rather than fight for her love, rather than face Ranma down, he'd taken the easy way out. Jusenkyo should have turned him into a chicken instead of a pig.
          But he was home now. Home.
          And he'd make it up to her. Somehow.
          If she'd let him.

          Ukyou didn't know what hit her. Her head hurt like hell. It felt like her brains were trying to crawl out of her ears and find their way home. Using her own spatula against her, that was low.
          A policeman helped her to her feet and guided her down the stairs. She smiled at him. As horrible as her head felt, her heart felt lighter. She was a survivor. She didn't need him. She'd been right all along.
          "I'm to take you home, Miss Ukyou."
          She laughed at Sasuke, "On a bike? In this dress?"
          "I'm sorry, Miss Ukyou, but Master Kunou, he doesn't let me drive the car."
          "That's okay, Sasuke. The night air will do me some good."
          She slid her arms around his waist and closed her eyes. Her head was pounding. But she felt alive.
          "We're here, Miss Ukyou."
          "Thank you, Sasuke." She climbed down and stopped. The soft light of the street lamp cast a golden glow on his sleeping form. "Ryouga?"
          Now her heart matched the rhythm of her head.
          "Ukyou?" He opened his eyes to make sure it wasn't a dream. He stood up, unsure of how to proceed.
          "You've got a lot of nerve."
          "You're right. I'm a jackass."
          "That's my line."
          He bowed his head. "I'm sorry. I promised to give us a chance, and I ran away at the first sign of trouble. I ran away the minute I thought you were still in love with him. Maybe you are, but I think it's worth trying to find out."
          "You leave me again and I'll hunt you down."
          "Ukyou, I get lost on the way to the next room. I might not be able to help leaving."
          She thought for a minute, surprised at how much she'd missed him. Not just that she'd hated being alone, but she'd actually missed Ryouga. "It's not going to be easy."
          "No."
          Her smiled disappeared and she tilted her head. "Ryouga? Do you promise to come back?"
          "Every time."
          "You hungry?"
          " A little. I heard there was a place around here that made a decent okonomiyaki."
          "Just decent, huh?"
          "That's the rumor."
          "You believe all the rumors you hear?"
          "I also hear the chef is absolutely gorgeous."
          "Well, that one you'd better believe."