BGF0TZ0V@umiami.ir.miami.edu

This is my first attempt at fan-fiction.  I hope you all enjoy it.                               
			       
Original characters copyright Rumiko Takahashi.
			       
			       [RANMA 1/2]
			  Ryouga: Lost and Found

	Ryouga half-walked, half staggered.  He was lost, but that was par 
for the course.  He did not know where he was going, but for now, Ryouga did 
not care.  He only wanted to keep walking.  He was glad of his poor sense of 
direciton for a change.  The hot sun beat mercilessly down upon him, and
forced him into a nearby alley, which offered shade and relief from the heat.
	He sat down and leaned against one of the buildings framing the
alley, almost totally spent.  This situation with Akane was taking its toll on
Ryouga.  He sighed loudly.  "Any victories I achieve over Ranma for her are 
short-lived and quickly forgotten.  Certainly, I spend a lot more time with 
her than Ranma, but that's as P-Chan and that doesn't really count."  He  
closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the wall.  "Ranma does not 
deserve her.  He insults her and mistreats her.  If Ranma had any feelings 
for her, he never expresses it."
	Ryouga's face darkened.  Then it becaimed pained.  "Hypocrite.  Like I 
could ever bring myself to do so either.  I can take Ranma's most powerful 
attacks and still come back for more, but one Akane could destroy me with one 
word.  P-chan or me, it doesn't matter which, neither one of us can 
communicate my feelings for Akane any better than the other."  He imagined 
his hopes for happiness with Akane as a condemned prisoner at the gallows, 
waiting for the trapdoor to open.  It was inevitible, and the waiting was 
probably the worst part.
	Then Ryouga heard the crying.  It had been going on for a while, but 
only now did he notice it.  He stood up and looked around.  Anything to keep 
himself from dwelling on his last thought.  The source of the crying was 
nearby.  He decided to look for it.  He realized it was a soft sobbing of a 
little girl.  After stumbling about in his search guided by sound, he 
eventually found the source.
	A little girl, who couldn't be any older than seven or eight was
the end of an alley, clutching a doll tightly to her chest, and she was 
indeed crying.  "Don't worry," the girl said as she cradled her doll in her 
arms, "Mommy will find you something to eat..."  She stopped as she noticed 
Ryouga and froze.
	Ryouga blinked.  "Umm...are you alright?"  The child didn't respond, 
still regarding Ryouga with wide-eyed fear.  
	"I'm not going to hurt you."  How many times have I said that, he 
asked himself.  He then remembered what the little girl was saying to her 
doll before she noticed him.  "Are you hungry?"   The girl nodded slowly.  He 
rummaged in his pack for food, but came up empty.  "Strange, thought I had 
some food in here somewhere..."  He gave up with a sigh.  "Must have forgotten
to stock up."  He thought for a second.  "I can get us some food, if you come 
with me I'm..."
	"NO!  I'm staying here!  I want to stay lost!" The girl stomped her 
foot on the ground to emphasize her point.
	Ryouga was bewildered and did not know what to do.  He was previously 
unaware to the fact that being lost was a good thing.  "Why?"
	Aparrently, the girl did not want to answer, her defiant silence the 
first clue.  Ryouga adopted a worried expression.  He had to do something.  
Then a thought occurred to him.  "If you promise to stay here, I'll come back 
with some food, okay?"
	Ryouga looked at the little girl hopefully.  "Okay," the little girl 
said quietly.
	"Good!"  Ryouga turned to leave.
	"Sir?"
	Ryouga turned back around to face her.
	"Could you hurry?  Hanako is really hungry."
	Ryouga nodded grimly and took off in a run.

	After a minute of running, he fully realized what he just did.  He 
promised a little girl, who was apparently lost and wanted to stay that way, 
that he would find food, bring it back and find her again, and do all of it 
quickly.
	Ryouga wanted to cry.

	He never ran so fast in all his life.  However, Ryouga couldn't 
remember the last time he had to do something this important.  
	Unfortunately, food establishments continued to elude Ryouga.  He
passed by four bookstores, two pachinko parlors, and even an electronics 
store.  No food, however.  The panic was rising with each footfall, as was 
the fear that the decision he made was the wrong one.  He stopped to rest, 
finding himself in front of one of the bookstores he recognized as one near 
the alley he found the little girl.
	Ryouga fought to think clearly.  "Damn but this is the wrong time for
this!"  He closed his eyes tight and tried to concentrate.  Then he sensed
something.  Ryouga could *smell* food, but just barely.  He had a vague idea
where it was coming from.  He opened his eyes, and tried to follow the faint 
aroma, but quickly lost it.  This brought Ryouga to a conclusion.  "My eyes
are deceiving me.  Perhaps if I used my other senses to find my way..."
	He untied one of his bandanas and retied it as a blindfold.  His 
sense of direction did become somewhat more focused, but was still about as
clear as Lake Erie.
	Still, it instilled Ryouga with newborne confidence and he once again
resumed his breakneck pace.  That is, until he had a short but meaningful
relationship with an unyielding metal lamppost.

	The lunch rush had finished dying down and there were only a few
customers left.  Ukyou appreciated the steadily increasing patronage, and
growing number of regular customers, but all this work was exhausting.
She took the opportunity to allow herself to relax.
	She managed to get a full three seconds of relaxation in before 
Ryouga burst through the door, encouraging Ukyou to break several Olympic
high jump records, a testament to the power of complete surprise.
	Ryouga stood in the doorway, looking as if he had been hit by a
freight train no less than six times.  Okay, maybe seven.  His blindfold was
still in place. 
	"AT LAST!  FOOD!"  Ryouga had picked up and lost many different food
aroma trails, but managed to find his way here by what could only be 
described as blind luck.  Even though his sense of direction was improved 
while blindfolded, he was not likely to attempt that again.
	Ryouga began to stagger about, knocking over tables and chasing away
the customers who were formerly sitting at them.  Once Ukyou overcame her 
surprise at Ryouga's battered appearance and frantic demeanor, she made her 
way over to him.  "Ryouga, calm down!  If you'll only sit down, I'll get you 
something..."
	"NOT FOR ME!  FOR A LITTLE GIRL WHO WAS LOST AND WANTED TO STAY LOST
AND HER DOLL WAS HUNGRY AND..."
	"Okay!  Okay!  Calm yourself, please!"  Ukyou untied Ryouga's  
blindfold.  She looked about.  "So where is the little girl?"  
	The question caught Ryouga off-guard.  "What?"
	"The girl.  Where is the girl?"
	Ryouga's eyes widened, then he hung his head.  "I'm not sure," he 
murmured, "she stayed behind, and..."
	"WHAT?!  You mean to tell me that you found a lost little girl AND
YOU JUST LEFT HER THERE?!"
	Ryouga felt absolutely wretched.  He was hearing verbal confirmation
that he made the wrong choice.  His voice was barely audible.  "She didn't
want to leave.  I didn't want to force her..."
	Ukyou saw that Ryouga's decision was not one born of lack of
consideration.  "Look Ryouga, I..." She stopped, realizing that
the restaurant was absolutely silent.  Glancing about revealed that Ryouga
had driven everyone off, emptying the restaurant.  She gave an exasperated
sigh.  At least some of the customers were honest enough to leave some sort
of payment.  "Okay, Ryouga.  I'll help you find the little girl again."
	Ryouga's face lit up.  "You will?  Thank you Ukyou!  I would be in
your debt."
	Ukyou went into the kitchen to gather some food together for this
girl.  "Ryouga?" she called out.
	"Yes?"
	"You said she wanted to *stay* where she was?"
	"Yes."
	Ukyou considered that for a moment as she quickly finished packing
away some okonomiyaki.  She stepped out of the kitchen.
	"Okay.  Let's go."
	She set about closing the shop, struggling to shut the door that
would never be the same after its chance meeting with Ryouga.  After a short
but furious struggle, she finally convinced the door to stay closed so she
could lock it.  Then she turned and was surprised by what she saw.
	Broken windows, bent lampposts, indentations in brick walls, and 
other assorted manifestations of property damage presented themselves as 
incontrovertible evidence of the trail Ryouga blazed to get here.
	Ukyou smirked and turned to Ryouga.  "Maybe it won't be so hard
to find the girl after all."

	Ryouga was anxious to get back.  Ukyou became aware of this when he
picked her up and carried her when she started to lag behind.  At the moment,
she was doing her best impression of a banner in a storm gale, almost 
perfectly parallel to the ground with her arms around Ryouga's throat, hanging
on for dear life.  The looks she saw on the faces of the people they shot
past only added to the embarassment she felt in her current position.  Ukyou
was certainly not happy, and took it out on Ryouga whenever he began to
deviate from the "bread crumb" trail they were following back.
	Eventually, they were able to find the alley Ryouga originally found
the girl in, or so he swore.  Ukyou was naturally skeptical until they spied
the girl down at the end of the alley.
	The little girl was happy to see Ryouga.  "You came back!  Did you
bring food for Hanako like you promised?"  Once again the girl held out her
doll.
	Ryouga gestured to Ukyou.  The smile on the girl's face faded when
she saw Ukyou, cradled her doll back to her chest, and took a step back.
	"It's okay," Ryouga offered, "This is Ukyou.  She owns a restaurant
and she brought the food I promised to get you."
	When Ukyou produced the okonomiyaki, the girl overcame her suspicions
and quickly grabbed it.  She made quite sure that in her mind, the doll had 
eaten her fill before she ate any of the food herself.
	Ukyou took a good look at the girl who was eating ravenously.  The 
dress she was wearing was a little dirty, but not worn.  Her hair was unkempt 
but not wild.  Basically, it didn't seem that the girl had been on her own for 
very long.
	"So what's her name Ryouga?"
	He felt a pang of guilt.  He never really asked.  "Umm..." He pointed
at the doll, remembering what the girl called it.  "That's Hanako."
	The little girl giggled.  "And I'm Saya."  Ryouga was grateful for
the save.
	"Where do you live?"
	Saya looked as if she was about to say something, but stopped 
herself.  Her eyes acquired a faraway look and remained silent.
	Okay, Ukyou thought.  "What is your family name?"
	The girl remained quiet, eyes downward, cuffing the dirt with her 
shoe.
	"I need to know your family name so I can take you back to your
parents."
	"No!  I...I mean, I don't have any parents."
	Ryouga blinked.  "You're an orphan?"
	Saya slowly smiled and nodded.  Ukyou was suspicious.  Why was it 
so important to stay lost if she didn't have any family that would consider 
her as such?  She felt the girl wasn't telling the whole story, or was making 
part of it up.
	Ryouga was also thinking, but not along the same lines as Ukyou.  He 
was coming to a decision, and this time, he was pretty sure of it.
	"Well, Saya," he began, "If you don't have a family, then you need 
someone to take care of you.  If you'll let me, I will."  
	Saya looked up at Ryouga.  "You want to take care of me?"
	Ryouga nodded.
	"Why?"
	"Well you can't live by yourself at your age.  Someone needs to look
after you."
	The girl considered that.  "I...won't be in your way?"
	Ryouga's brow furrowed as he wasn't sure what she meant.  "No, of 
course not."
	That seemed to reassure the girl and she smiled.  Meanwhile, Ukyou was
dumbfounded.  She could not believe what Ryouga had just done.  Finally, she
found her voice.
	"Ryouga?  Could I talk to you for a second?"
	She took Ryouga aside before he could even reply.  She spoke in what
was meant to be a whisper but was slightly too loud to be categorized as such.
	"Are you crazy?!  What do you mean by saying you'll take care of her?"
	"Just what I said.  I'm going to take care of her."
	"We need to tell the authorities about her!  She's a missing girl!"
	"She said she was an orphan.  That means she has no family.  How
could she be missing from a home she doesn't have?"
	It was obvious to Ukyou that Ryouga didn't even have an inkling of
suspicion in Saya's story.  It was no wonder he was so prone to falling for
disguises as he was.  Ukyou took another approach.
	"Okay.  Someone had to have been taking care of her recently.  Her
clothes are too new for her to have been wandering for long.  Her hair is
too neat and she's too clean."
	"Are you saying that she's lying about not having a home?  Why the
devil would she do that?"  Ryouga was getting irritated by Ukyou's line of
reasoning.  "If a little girl like that had a home, she wouldn't just leave
it for no reason!"
	Fine, Ukyou thought, third and final attempt.  "Explain then why it's 
so important to her to stay lost.  Sounds like running away to me."
	Ryouga merely looked at Ukyou.  He had to admit he didn't have an
answer.  "Look Ukyou, you have to admit that for now, someone has to mind the
girl whether or not she's telling the truth.  If we find that she has a 
family, then we return her to them."
	"And if not?"
	"We'll worry about that when it happens.  Anyway, by having the girl
around, we'll learn if her story checks out."
	Ukyou sighed as she looked back at Saya.  The little girl was
chatting with her doll.  "Just why is this so important to you?"
	Ryouga was silent for a moment before he answered.  "It's not an easy 
thing to be without a home or family.  For whatever reason, that little girl 
is without either.  No one as young as her should be without them if possible.
I mean to provide them, even if only temporarily."
	Ukyou was impressed by his sincerity.  "All right Ryouga.  So you're  
going to take care of her.  But she needs a place to stay!  You can't just
wander around taking her with you!"
	"I'll find a place."
	"Maybe once, but you'll probably wouldn't find it again!  No.  She'll 
sleep at my place.  I guess I'll have to get used to sleeping on furniture 
for a while.  Next problem is you need to be able to buy the things she 
needs."
	Ryouga didn't have to check.  He knew he didn't have much money on
him.  "I guess I'll have to get a job.  I'm sure that I can find something."
	Ukyou knew she was going to regret this, but, "You might take too 
long to find work.  I guess I could use a hand at the restaurant.  You 
willing to work for me?"
	Though the offer was unexpected, Ryouga accepted.
	"Good."  She walked back to Saya.  "Still hungry?"
	Saya nodded.  Ukyou didn't really bring much food, but that was
intentional to coax the girl to accompany them, at the very least, back to the
restaurant.  "Want to come to my restaurant?  I can get you some more food
there."
	Saya was still wary of Ukyou, and looked at Ryouga who she now
seemed to trust.  When he nodded, she agreed to go with them.  Ukyou smiled.
	"Come along, Ryouga.  We're going back to the restaurant.  You've
got work to do, after all."

	"Here you are Ukyou.  Next three orders."  
	Ryouga deposited the orders nearby and left to go back to tending to
the customers.  After a week, Ryouga had more or less gotten the hang of his
new job.  The service in her restaurant hadn't improved much, since Ryouga
would always take the scenic route to his destinations in the restaurant, but
he did manage to alleviate Ukyou's workload and that was enough.
	However, Ryouga working here was a constant reminder of the fact that 
Saya was still not with the family Ukyou was positive she had.  She felt
guilty because she was giving Saya shelter, thus keeping her from her real  
home.  Not only that, she had given Ryouga a job so he could pay for the 
things Saya needed without the injury to his pride that charity would bring.  
	Saya stayed in the restaurant during the day, tagging along with 
Ryouga and occaisonally helping him out in the restaurant.  The regulars
took a liking to her and her "older brother."  At least that's what Saya
had started calling Ryouga.  Of course, that didn't help matters any.  Still, 
she was determined to set things right eventually.  In the meantime, she had 
to finish these orders before they started to accumulate.

	Ranma had finally arrived at Ukyou's restaurant.  It took him a while
to get here, the extra time spent making sure Akane didn't notice him 
sneaking off.  "I hate it when she decides to ambush me with a lunch she
made herself," he thought.  "At least I'll get a good meal here.  Besides,
I haven't seen Ukyou for a while now, so I'll make the most of this visit."
	He was surprised by the crowd that filled the restaurant.  It hadn't
been this busy for a while.
	"Hello Ranma.  You're going to have to wait for a table for a little
while.  There aren't any available at the moment."
	He turned to see Ryouga carrying a tray of food.  What's more, he was 
carrying a little girl on his shoulders who was holding a doll in one arm and 
one of those classic, curved Coca-Cola bottles in the other.  The girl and 
the doll were both wearing one of Ryouga's bandanas.  Ryouga dropped off the 
food to the customer that ordered it and Saya gave him the Coke bottle,
which produced a chuckle from the customer.
	Mere surprise had become obsolete.  Ranma was forced to upgrade to 
astonishment (v2.1).  He stopped Ryouga as he passed by again.  "Ryouga,"
he paused as he looked at the girl on his shoulders for a second, "what are
YOU doing here."
	"Working," Ryouga replied testily.  "We can't all be freeloaders, 
Ranma."
	Ranma made a face.  He gestured towards the girl.  "Who's the 
passenger?"
	"I'm Saya Hibiki," the girl chimed, "Ryouga's my older brother!"
	Now even astonishment was threatening to become insufficient.  "I...
I didn't know you had a younger sister, Ryouga.  Is the rest of your family
here?"
	"Umm...I have to get back to work."  Ryouga was very uncomfortable
with this conversation.  Fortunately, Ranma didn't followup on that last 
question.  "I was wondering where you've been hiding.  You know Akane had
been giving me a lot of flak lately.  She thinks I did something to P-Chan."
	Ryouga stiffened.  The past week, he had completely forgotten about
Akane!  He couldn't believe he could do such a thing!  He felt the urge to
...well..he wasn't sure what he had to do to make up for lost time but he had 
to do _something_.
	Then he felt Saya tugging at his headband.  "What's wrong Ryouga?
You okay?"
	The urge to do something with regards to Akane completely 
disappeared.  He turned to Ranma.  "I've been busy with important matters," 
he said simply.
	Ukyou poked her head out of the kitchen.  "Ryouga!  Stop slouching 
and get back...hey!  Ran-chan!"
	Ranma smiled.  "Hi Utchan."
	"Grab a seat," she beamed, "I'll be right out!"  She popped back into
the kitchen.
	Ranma looked at Ryouga expectantly.
	"The couple over there just left their table," Ryouga said, "Give me 
a second to clear it."  He proceeded to do so, scooping up his gratuity when 
he was done.  He gestured for Ranma to take a seat. 
	"You do good work, Ryouga.  You can expect a tip from me."
	Ryouga scowled and left.  Ranma wasn't sure but he thought that 
Saya was giving him the evil eye as well.  He waited patiently for Ukyou, who
emerged a few minutes later with one of Ranma's favorite dishes.  She placed 
it on the table, and sat opposite him.
	Ranma ate heartily until he noticed that Ukyou wasn't as cheerful as
she usually was.  Her face bore a clouded expression.  He stopped eating.
	"You okay Utchan?"
	She looked over at Ryouga and Saya, who was still perched on his
shoulders distributing Coke bottles to another table.
	"Did you meet Saya?"
	"Ryouga's little sister?  Yeah, why?"
	"That's not Ryouga's little sister."
	Ranma blinked.  "She's not?"
	"No.  Saya is hiding something.  She says she has no family, but I
don't think that's true."
	"Wait a second.  If she does have a home, then what is she doing with
Ryouga?"
	"Well, when Ryouga found her, she was in fact lost, but she said that
she wanted to stay that way..."
	"Ah...that would explain why she's hanging around with him."  Ranma  
nodded.  "Makes sense.  Best way to stay lost."  
	"Let me finish!  Ryouga stumbled in here, and dragged me over to her 
so I could bring her food, since it seemed Saya hadn't eaten for a while.
Then when the girl says she has no family, Ryouga decides to take it upon
himself to take care for the girl."
	"Just like that?"
	"Just like that.  He wouldn't listen to me when I tried to convince
him that the authorities are the best ones to handle the situation, or when
I brought my suspicions about the girl to light.  And now whenever I bring it 
up, Ryouga gets angry and turns a deaf ear to me."
	"What makes you so sure the girl has a family?"
	"Several things, but the most important is this:  Why would a girl
that has no home be so adamant about staying lost?"
	Ranma considered that.  "Guess you're right.  But I'm not the one you
need to convince."  He gestured to Ryouga, who was approaching their table
with Saya still on his shoulders and four brand new orders in his hand.
	"Traffic's backing up, Ukyou.  You need to get back to work."  He
gave her the slips with the orders on them and went to write up a check for
another table.
	"You're right Ran-chan," Ukyou said, "I'll do something about it 
soon.  But for now, I have to get back to work.  Come back again soon, when 
we have more time to talk."  She went back to the kitchen.
	Ranma set about finishing his meal quickly.  Ryouga returned to his
table, eyes on his pad as he penciled something on it.  "That'll be 1250 yen."
	Ranma's eyes widened.  He didn't have that much on him.  He didn't
expect to have to pay.  "What are you talking about?"
	Ryouga looked up and blinked.  "Sorry.  Wrong table."  He started to
walk off when Ranma stopped him.
	"So what do you want me to tell Akane about P-Chan if she asks?"
	Ryouga spoke over his shoulder.  "Tell her that P-Chan is sorry, but
someone else needs him now."

	It was morning.  Ryouga was already preparing the restaurant for the
day's business, letting himself in with the copy of the key Ukyou made for 
him.  He was in a good mood, whistling a familiar tune as he waited for Ukyou 
to show up with Saya.  He looked forward to seeing Saya.  Ryouga had to
admit that he enjoyed looking after the girl, and the past week had been some
of the happiest days of his life.  In retrospect, he should have known it 
wouldn't have lasted.
	Ukyou walked in with Saya.  Instead of the happy girl he expected to
see, he was confronted with a crying Saya instead. 
	"What happened?"  Ryouga was visibly upset by Saya's distress.
	Ukyou looked equally miserable.  "Her doll.  It's missing."
	Ryouga looked again and noticed that the doll was in fact gone.  He
walked over to Saya and tried to comfort her.  She clung to him as she
continued to cry.
	"Remember how she fell asleep in the chair here last night?"
	Ryouga nodded.
	"Well I carried her home without waking her.  She...must have dropped
it on the way."
	Ryouga sighed.  Buying a new doll was pointless.  Saya was too
attached to Hanako for that.
	"I'll...go look for the doll," Ukyou offered.
	"Okay."
	Ukyou left, leaving Ryouga with Saya.  He wanted to do something to
alleviate her distress.  He began to seriously consider changing into P-Chan
for Saya and keep her company until Hanako was found.  
	But if Hanako was never found, Ryouga had to stay as P-Chan, or she'd
be miserable again, which meant that Ryouga would never return, which would
also make her miserable...
	Ryouga was definitely in a quandry.  At least he thought so until
Ukyou returned with Hanako in hand. 
	Ryouga was most relieved.  "Look Saya!  Ukyou found Hanako!"
	Saya turned to look, wiping tears from her eyes.  Her misery turned
to joy when she recognized her doll.  "Hanako!"  She ran and grabbed the doll
and danced happily about the restaurant with her.
	Ukyou took a deep breath.  "Saya?"
	The girl turned to her, a big grin on her face.  "Yes, big sister?"
	Ukyou winced.  Saya obviously now thought highly of her for finding
her doll.  It made her feel that much worse.
	"How did you feel when Hanako was missing?"
	The smile on Saya's face faded a bit as she remembered.  "I was very
sad, big sister."
	Ukyou built her courage up for the next question.  "Don't you think
your family feels the same way about you being missing?"
	Saya looked up quickly at Ukyou.  She looked as if she was about to
give her usual denial of relatives when it seemed that something registered
and changed her mind.  "Yes...Tomoko-chan must be very sad too."
	Ukyou sighed.  Her little gamble paid off, but a glance out of the
corner of her eye revealed that Ryouga had realized what Ukyou had done.  She
tried her best to avoid his gaze.  She'd give him the chance to yell at her
all he wanted later.  She felt she deserved it.
	"We need to take you back home, Saya.  Where do your parents live?"
	Saya shook her head.  "My parents died when I was very little.
My older sister Tomoko takes care of me."  Tears began to well up, "She must 
be very sad.  I didn't mean to hurt her.  I only wanted to make her happy."
	Ryouga stepped forward, pointedly ignoring Ukyou.  "Why would leaving
make your sister happy?"  Ryouga wiped the tears from Saya's face.
	"I heard neighbors talking about Tomoko-chan.  They said if it wasn't
for me, she could get married and be happy."  She sobbed, "I hold her back,
they said...I'm in her way."
	Ryouga smiled and shook his head.  "No.  I'm sure that Tomoko cares
more about you more than anything else.  It's great that you want to make her
happy, but there are better ways to do it.  She misses you."
	Saya looked up at Ryouga.  "I should go back, right?"
	Ryouga nodded.
	"But won't you be sad that I'm gone, Ryouga?"
	"I will miss having you around all the time, but I can always visit
you."
	"Promise?"
	"Absolutely!"

	Tomoko Maigo, Saya's older sister, could not thank the two of them 
enough for taking care of Saya and bringing her back safe.  They spent some 
time talking, most of the conversation belonging to Ryouga and how he went on 
about what a remarkable girl Saya was.  Eventually, the two left the 
reunited siblings, and were walking back. 
	The trip back was silent.  Ryouga hadn't said a word since they
returned Saya to her home.  Ukyou was afraid to say anything for fear of 
getting her head bitten off.  Finally, she mustered enough courage to speak.
	"You haven't yelled at me yet.  I know you want to."
	Ryouga blinked, his train of thought derailed, splashing down into 
Ukyou's stream of consciousness.  
	"What are you talking about?"
	"You're still angry with me about hiding Saya's doll, aren't you?"
	Ryouga looked at Ukyou for a second, then suddenly chuckled.
	Ukyou was miffed.  "What's so funny?"
	"I'm not angry with you.  I was at first, but I guess you were only
doing what was best for Saya."
	Ukyou was nonplussed.  "Thank you Ryouga."  
	Ryouga sighed.  "I just miss Saya, that's all."
	"You really liked having her around, didn't you?"
	"Yeah.  It was nice to care about someone without having to worry
about her caring back."  Alone again, he thought.  No Akane and now no little 
sister.
	"Well, you don't have to work for me anymore if you don't want to,"
Ukyou said.
	Ryouga pondered that for a moment.  He didn't mind working at Ukyou's
restaurant.  Generally the people who ate their were nice, and he had gotten 
to know some of the regulars the past week.  
	"I appreciate the gesture, Ukyou, but you need the help.  Besides,
I like working for you at your restaurant."
	She smiled at Ryouga.  "Well, shop's closed tomorrow.  I'm getting 
some rest, and I know you deserve a day off."

				  THE END.


Story by Orlando de la Cruz

Please send any compliments, comments, corrections, and criticisms to:
orlando@ids.net  (though this may change soon)