Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ A Cold Dish ❯ Part Two ( Chapter 1 )

A Cold Dish

By Lord Raa

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Part two

Disclaim-me-do: Artistic integrity? I've heard of it.

Buoyed by the response I received for the last chapter, I have decided to continue this little literary experiment. I shall endeavour to keep you entertained with this somewhat darker then normal tale (for me, at least).

Remember that this will contain "adult" material.

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Invoking the "way of the silent thief", Ranma decided to scope out any changes that had occurred in Nerima since he left. On his casual stroll, he was surprised to find the Ucchan's still open for business as usual.

`Hmm, I wonder what she's up to?' he asked himself.

Slipping around the back of the restaurant, he made his way into one of his previously favourite places to eat. He peeked through the curtains and saw the familiar furnishings and customers.

The place was looking like it had been doing well in terms of custom, though that was more than could be said for the proprietor. Ukyo, having remembered Ranma's words before he seemingly fell off the face of the Earth, had thrown herself into her work. She looked like she could use a rest from the restaurant business - the idea of cooking for others was becoming less appealing as time went on and that was coming across in the slowly declining quality of the food.

The chef's complexion was a tired one. The lack of make up and general skin care regimen was indicative that the restaurant was all she had left, and judging by the way she bid farewell to the last of her customers, the Ucchan's was becoming far too much of a chore to be worth the effort to continue for much longer.

Ranma didn't know how to take this. He'd half expected Ukyo to move on with her life or be happy that he'd disappeared. Anything but her being the shell of the perky girl that was his friend from his old life.

Waiting for the girl to lock up the premises, Ranma slipped behind Ukyo and froze her muscles with a series of shiatsu pressure points.

"What's going on her? Who's in here with me?" she demanded from the apparently empty room.

Ranma came into view in front of the increasingly anxious girl.

"Hello there."

"Ranma..." Ukyo looked at the harsh features of the young man in front of her. Gone was the innocence of the pigtailed boy that vanished so dramatically.

"Yes. Since I was back in the neighbourhood, I thought I'd pop by," Ranma explained as he pulled up a chair and sat in plain view of the visibly shaken girl.

"How - how are your parents?" she asked, remembering why her former fiancé had dismissed her when they last spoke.

"You don't know?" Ranma asked, managing to hide his emotions well.

"I tried to visit them in the hospital, but they said that there were no patients under the name Saotome. Did you move them to another hospital?"

Ranma stood and looked his old friend in the eye.

"Just what makes you think that we're friendly enough to discuss my parents?"

Ukyo flinched away as best she could with her body immobilised.

"You caused the rubble to fall on my mother."

"I didn't mean for anybody to get hurt, Ranma," Ukyo said in a small and sincere voice.

Ranma seemed to ignore the girl's protestation of innocence. "I promised her that I'd avenge my family using the rule of Anything Goes."

Ukyo started to panic. "What are you going to do?"

"You wanted me dead for betraying you. What do you think a fitting response is for the death of my mother?" Ranma gave an evil smirk.

"She's d-dead?" Ukyo whispered in disbelief.

"Yep. Did you know that some cultures are big believers in the idea of `an eye for an eye'? Now that does sound tempting when you consider my folks are dead." Ranma took a step closer. "You know what that would mean, don't you?"

Ukyo gulped and nodded.

"How did you know about the wedding?" Ranma asked, seemingly changing the subject.

"I got an invite from Nabiki."

"I remember you saying something about that before I left. What did it say?"

"It said that if wanted a chance to be with you, then I had to break up the wedding," Ukyo confessed. She was somewhat on the back foot thanks to the new reasoning from her old friend.

"I see, so it was all an accident?" Ranma asked, his eyes glinting with a hint of menace.

"I never wanted to hurt your mother, Ranchan."

"Who said you could call me `Ranchan'?" Ranma asked, this time his eyes glinted with mischief.

"Force of habit, I'm sorry," Ukyo apologised.

"Don't worry, you will be."

Ukyo didn't like the sound of that in the slightest. She had seen some of the things Ranma could do, and if he was so inclined, he could tear her limb from limb without even breaking a sweat. And that was with his "main" arm tied behind his back.

"Ok," Ranma smiled and clapped his childhood friend on the shoulder. Ukyo eyed the contact warily; concerned that she might not make it through the night in one piece.

"If you were manipulated into trying to blow up my wedding, then who pulled the strings?"

"The Tendos - I've seen Akane out walking with boys and smiling like she was never engaged."

Ranma took a deep breath. "I thought so. Well that leaves you with two options."

"And they are?" Ukyo asked, not liking where this seemed to be heading.

"You're with me or against me in my quest for vengeance. Either way you're paying for your part in my family's ending," Ranma explained as he stood behind the paralysed girl.

"Family's ending?" Ukyo stammered out.

"Oh, didn't you know? I'm the last of my bloodline. Why do you think that my mother was hung up about me being a `man among men'?" Ranma's tone became playful. "I asked her about that damn seppuku pledge; do you know what she said?"

"N-no," Ukyo trembled. `Where is he going with this?'

"Better to end the line, than to have it continue as a failure. And you know what? She's absolutely right."

"W-what do you mean, Ranma?"

"I've been training to be the best since before I was old enough to write my name," Ranma casually mentioned as he walked around to stand face to face with the distressed girl.

"I was always taught that second place is a fancy name for loser," he added, waving his finger. "This is why there will be no mercy."

"W-what?" Ukyo whimpered, nearly in tears at this new, vengeful and scary Ranma.

"Mercy is for losers. But," he continued, turning away, "I have always been fair."

"Ranma?" Ukyo asked, with the barest hint of hope in her voice.

"You're someone who tracked me down after ten years. You went through all those hardships and never gave up. What happened?" he demanded turning back around to face the girl.

Ukyo just looked blankly at him.

"I'll tell you what happened: you were manipulated by Nabiki and the rest of those fuckers into becoming little more than their puppet. The same thing happened to the Amazons. You need to be avenged yourself and I am offering you the means to do so. You can join me in victory or them in defeat. The choice is yours and yours alone."

Ukyo mulled the idea over. "_I_ tried to kill you, so does that mean I need to get a bodyguard once you've dealt with the Tendos?"

"If I wanted you dead, I'd have disposed of your corpse by now. Remember, I can disembowel people from across the room, leaving no trace of a weapon and disappear like a ghost. I have learned a lot since I left, Ucchan."

Ranma deliberately slipped into his old habit of calling Ukyo by her nickname.

"Y-you called me Ucchan…"

Ranma smiled at his captive audience. "Yes. I always considered you my friend, that's why you get the chance to join the winning team. I'd much rather have my friends at my side than have them cold in the ground," Ranma explained as he put his arm around Ukyo's shoulders.

"Remember, I'm Ranma and I don't lose."

"I'll help you Ranma," Ukyo agreed. "What are you going to do to the Tendos?" she asked, trying to ignore the strange sensations of physical contact with this new Ranma.

Ranma smiled evilly. "That is the fun part."

Ukyo, unable to shiver in fear, grimaced.

"Don't look at me like that, Ucchan. I'm going to give them all a chance to redeem themselves. Except, perhaps, the Kunos - I never did like them."

Ukyo nodded in understanding. Kuno had been an even bigger pain since Ranma had left, claiming victory over the foul sorcerer.

"One last thing before you go to bed - no one, and I mean _no one_, can know about me being back in Nerima. You have to promise me that you won't tell anyone about my return or plans for revenge. Can you make that promise?"

Ukyo nodded.

"I need to hear the words. If you can't say them, I can make you forget that I was ever here," Ranma insisted, looking Ukyo straight in the eyes.

"I promise that no one will hear about you or your plans from me."

The pigtailed young man smiled as he released the locking pressure points and hitting a few other points. "That's good. Now, let's get you off to bed, we have a lot to discuss in the morning."

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When the morning sunshine filtered through Ukyo's curtains, the young chef stirred slightly.

Ranma, having decided to sleep in another room, knocked on the door. "Wake up Ucchan."

Upon hearing the wake up call, Ucchan blinked and tried to put together the evening's events. `That sounds like Ranchan.'

"Ucchan, naked or not, I'm coming in."

"Ok," Ukyo responded as she gathered the sheet around her chest, though it was unnecessary as Ranma had left her in a decent state.

Opening the sliding door, Ranma smiled and sat down on the futon. "So how are you now?"

"I had the best night's rest I've had in a long, long time. Did you do anything to me?"

Ranma nearly took offence at the question, but quickly realised that the chef was not referring to any sexual behaviour. "I massaged some of your relaxation points to help you rest. To be honest, you looked like you needed it."

"Thanks," Ukyo smiled happily back.

"You're taking today off; we have much to talk about. I'll let you wash up while I make some breakfast. Just don't expect anything fancy."

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After a simple breakfast of grilled fish, rice and instant miso soup, Ukyo sat down to inform Ranma of all that had happened during his absence.

"First thing, where is Konatsu?" Ranma asked.

"He left a few weeks ago to see his family."

"Why'd he do that?" Ranma asked puzzled. "I thought that those assholes treated him like shit?"

Ukyo was used to Ranma using slang, though not the coarse language that now seemed to pepper his rough speech.

"I think that they've fallen ill. I guess that he also thinks that family is important," Ukyo shrugged before realising what she was doing.

Ranma pretended not to notice the gesture before moving on.

"What's Ryoga been up to?"

"That jackass has been wandering around as always. Though he hasn't been trying to date Akane. I think he found a girl to go steady with," Ukyo reasoned.

Ranma snorted. "That idiot? He'd pass out from blood loss the moment he saw her panties. Speaking of which, what's the Old Freak been up to?"

"Nothing much, other than the weekly raids. He stole the last of my panties last month and I haven't bothered to replace them," Ukyo mentioned. She knew that Ranma didn't need further explanation as to why her under garments were for males.

Ranma nodded. "He still at the dojo?"

"I think so. I doubt that Mr. Tendo has the guts to throw him out. I haven't exactly been round there to find out for sure."

"Have you talked to any of the wannabe puppet masters?" Ranma asked, getting up from his seat.

"To be honest, I've tried to avoid them. We never really got on and you know about the damage we caused," the chef explained.

"What did they say about me?" Ranma asked, now pacing.

"They barely acknowledge that you ever existed," Ukyo answered, noting the increased frustration in her friend. "Please don't break anything."

Ranma looked at the whitening knuckles on his now clenched right fist. "I make no guarantees."

"Please don't break anything in _here_," Ukyo asked again.

Ranma turned to the girl. After a moment, he smiled. Then he sniggered before bursting out into laughter.

"Alright, Ucchan, I won't break any of your furniture. But seriously, have ANY of the Tendos said or done anything to make you think that they're sorry about how they treated me?"

"I honestly don't know, Ranchan," Ukyo apologised. "Like I said, I try to keep away from them."

"Well, then I guess it's up to me to find out," Ranma gave his friend a smirk.

"How will you get into their house?" Ukyo asked.

"The same way I got in here," Ranma answered before shimmering and fading from view.

"I thought that you promised not to use that technique?" Ukyo asked, a little confused.

"I did. I also promised someone who I respected a hell of a lot more than my old man that I would avenge my family," a disembodied voice called out.

"But…" Ukyo was interrupted by a poke in the arm before she could make her point.

"She wanted me to avenge my family using one rule: Anything Goes."

Ukyo knew that the term "Anything Goes" encompassed a lot. To think that this new, angry Ranma had been given carte blanche to avenge his parents' deaths was terrifying.

"Not that I'm anything but grateful, why did you give me the chance join you?"

"That's a very good question," Ranma, replied falling into view in his seat. "While it would be a lot easier to gut you all like fish and then follow my parents into the next world, is it right to kill those that are merely bit part actors in a poorly scripted play?"

"Bit part?" Ukyo was a little indignant at having her relationship with Ranma trivialised so much.

"Oh yeah, to the Tendos, you've never been more than a supporting act," Ranma answered before taking a sip from his drink.

"But why would they treat you so badly?" the chef asked Ranma.

The young man considered this for a moment. "I think that it's because I came in out of nowhere and turned their world upside down. I mean, Akane was the school idol when I first showed up; she was `the best martial artist in Nerima' and all the guys wanted to date her. I showed her just how much Bokken Brains was holding back and that I was a much better girl, even though I was a guy. It's understandable why they'd be upset, but also a major mistake to allow their need for attention to result in people's deaths."

Ranma held Ukyo's hand in his. "Especially the remaining family of someone who can now cripple a person from 15 metres with empty hands."

"I see," Ukyo nodded. "But that while that explains Akane, what about the rest of the Tendos?"

"Maybe Pops screwed over Mr Tendo once or perhaps they're just complete bastards?" Ranma hazarded, shrugging. "I'll find out their secrets when I check out their house."

"It'll be nice to have some dirt on Nabiki for a change," Ukyo considered.

"That's true. Her days of blackmail will be coming to an end soon enough," Ranma smirked.

"Are you going to turn her in to the cops?" Ukyo asked, enjoying holding hands with her ex-fiancé.

"Where's the fun in that?" Ranma asked. "Remember that one of the elements of Anything Goes is to get enjoyment from what you do. Why'd you think that Pops was greedy any that the Old Freak's a pervert?"

Ukyo remained silent as the words sank in. `This isn't like Ranchan. Has he turned evil or something?'

"Is something wrong, Ucchan?"

"You seem different, Ranchan. What happened to you while you were away?"

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To be continued…

This chapter was pre-read and VAGUELY approved by Chi Vayne, Ghost in the Machine and Taxzombie.

If there is anything that you feel the need to discuss with me, then drop me a line.

You all should know how to contact me by now.

Until the next time.