“So, this is the place, huh?”
The young woman pulled open the heavy glass door, on which a large firebird in a trapezoid was painted in red paint that had just begun to peel. Immediately, the thundering rhythm of pop music slammed into her eardrums, and the heavy bassline was almost overwhelming. She was quite impressed at how effectively the brick walls of the building managed to prevent the sound from escaping out to the sidewalk beyond. She wondered if that also had the effect of making it louder inside, because it was almost more than she could tolerate.
The brunette was clad in a pair of kelly green denim jeans and a navy blue sweater. Dress casual, her friend had told her. It’s a party bar; you’re coming to a concert. Take the damn night off. She hoped this was what Ranko had in mind, as she wasn’t used to this sort of thing. Though she was covered from wrists to ankles, she felt positively naked without an oversized okonomiyaki peel strapped to her back.
Ukyo surveyed the room tentatively. Nearly every table and standing space was packed full, and the room was dark save for the colored lights spinning their way around from the ceiling in time with the music. She chastised herself for her foolish expectation; at her place or the ramen joint Shampoo used to run, the staff would just run up to you and get you settled the second you walked in the door. In the chaos of this place, she was relatively certain she could have walked in with a giraffe on a leash and it would take the staff a half an hour to notice.
She wished Ranko would come out and say hello. She felt so out of her element, and she could use a friend to guide her through the unfamiliar environment. In the meantime, she closed her eyes, trying to let the music distract her from the rest of the claustrophobic scene. She hadn’t heard the song before, but whoever the bar had gotten to sing tonight was really good. After only a few seconds, she was able to pick up on the simple call-and-response that the rest of the bar’s patrons seemed to be clued into, and the next time the crowd was summoned to sing along, Ukyo joined them.
“Na, na-na, na, na, na-na, not yours!”
Feeling a bit more centered, Ukyo opened her eyes and scanned the crowd, focusing on anyone who seemed to be standing and moving around. She knew Ranko waited tables, so that was the most likely place to find her. She saw one really short girl with bright blue pigtails carrying a tray full of drinks, and another server that, for a split second before she disappeared into the crowd, Ukyo could have sworn looked just like Akane.
“You think that this is bad? Just wait, ‘cause here’s something for you to know: As soon as I get down from here, I’m headin’ to the studio.”
Ukyo sighed. What’s the point of inviting me if you’re not gonna notice I’m here, Ranko? She began to push her way tentatively through the crowd. She hoped to at least get a better view of the stage, and hopefully find an empty table.
“And once it’s on that record, no one ever will forget it. I’d sign your copy for ya, if you weren’t too broke to get it!”
The blue-haired girl buzzed by again, carrying a steaming pizza high above her head. It ain’t okonomiyaki, but I gotta say, it doesn’t smell half bad, Ukyo thought. She spied an empty table near the stage; it seemed to have a sign on it indicating it was reserved, but at least there was room around it to stand. She headed in its direction, slicing through the crowd arduously.
“You could have just accepted no, and moved on to some other bitch, but now? Your gravestone’s gonna say, here lies that asshole Ranko ditched!”
Ukyo’s eyes snapped up to the stage. Wait, Ranko? Sure enough, she hadn’t recognized her friend from the entrance of the bar, but the girl in the black jeans, red tee shirt and black leather jacket roaring into the microphone was indeed the person that until a few weeks ago, she had known as Ranma Saotome. Well, I’ll be a son of a bitch. She really does sing.
“Well, well, look what the cat dragged in.”
Ukyo whirled, finding herself face-to-face with the girl who had for over a year been her primary rival for Ranma’s affection. The one who won, Ukyo thought, only a little sadly. Ran-chan’s happy, and I guess that’s all that matters in the end.
“Akane.”
The server looked Ukyo over, hoping it didn’t come off too judgmentally. “Hi! Ranko told me she ran into you at the cheerleading thing. How’ve you been?”
Ukyo crossed her arms across her chest, suddenly finding herself wishing she’d not left her spatula at home. “I’m good, Akane. Ranko says you’re good, too. But… are we good? You and me?” Somehow, I don’t think Ran-chan invited me here to fuck up her fiancee, but that doesn’t mean I won’t if I have to.
“Ukyo, I…” Akane’s eyes snapped back at the stage as the sound of a whip snapping sparked from the speakers, followed by the deep thump that accompanied the hot mic drop that was now the signature way Ranko ended Not Yours, Don’t Touch. “C’mon, let’s get you a table.”
Akane led her former rival to the empty VIP table in the corner closest to the stage, and Ukyo slipped into a chair facing the stage. Akane set her serving tray down and took a seat as well, with her back to it. For this, I think the girls won’t mind me taking my break a few minutes early.
Akane sighed quietly, summoning her nerves. “Look, Ukyo. I know you had feelings for Ranma, before. Maybe you still do, I don’t know. And… speaking as someone who lost her for months, who didn’t even know if she was alive, I get it. I do. I know I’d be broken-hearted if I was sitting here right now, and it was your ring Ranko was wearing and not mine. She misses you, and she wants to be your friend. I support it, as long as you understand that she’s made her choice. She’s going to be my wife in a few months. Please don’t make things any more complicated for her than they already are.” I have my hands full keeping an eye on Crash as it is.
Ukyo nodded solemnly. “I know. I only got to talk to her briefly, but… there was a light in her eyes I never saw before, and, as much as I hate to admit it, I’m pretty sure a good chunk of it was you. I want her to be happy, and if she says she trusts you, I’ll try to trust you, too. So, I’ll make this agreement with you, Akane. I won’t flirt with her - not intentionally, anyway. I’ll be her friend, and I’ll keep her secrets about her past. I’ll show up and cry at your wedding.”
Ukyo brushed her beribboned ponytail back over her shoulder. She folded her hands and laced her fingers matter-of-factly, sitting forward with a lean over the table to make the seriousness of her statement plain. “And in return, you need to understand that if I ever see that girl cry, even one time, because you hurt her, hit her, cheated on her, or betrayed her, all bets are off, and there is nowhere on this earth you will be able to hide from me.”
Akane reached her hand across the table with a relieved smile. “You’ve got a deal.”
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
Ukyo extended her arm and gave Akane’s hand a little shake, trying not to glare too jealously at the ring on her left hand that matched the one she’d seen on Ranko’s hand. “It’s so weird, seeing her up there like… that. Like, what happened to her?”
Akane smiled broadly. “Ukyo, I don’t know if you can fully understand from just one conversation how much different she is than the person you knew. It’s not like she changed her name, bought a couple dresses, and that was that. She’s fundamentally not the same human being anymore. The things that make her happy, the things that scare her, the things she wants… sometimes I have a hard time remembering that the person who used to be Ranma is even in there somewhere. And I can tell she’s trying as hard as she can to forget.” Especially these days.
“How do you deal with it?” Ukyo smiled up over Akane’s shoulder as Ranko waved to her from the stage, in the middle of some song about sneaking somewhere that the brunette hadn’t been paying much attention to.
Akane beamed, swiveling in her chair a bit to look up at her prize. Despite how empty her heart had been since learning her biological parents had taken a renewed interest in her, Ranko almost always found a way to smile somehow when she set foot on that stage. It did Akane good to see a little bit of happiness in her lover’s eyes, as it had been so rare of late. “I try to let her lead. She’s exploring uncharted territory every day, and sometimes, the best thing I can do is follow her around and marvel with her as she discovers something new about herself. She’s making her whole life up as she goes along, and it’s…” Akane chuckled. “Ukyo, it’s fucking adorable.”
Ukyo’s attention was drawn back to the stage as a stunningly high note poured through the speakers, emitted from the person who had once been her fiancee, a lifetime ago.
“If I’m so good for you, why do you sneak?”
Ranko waved to the crowd from the stage as the song ended, flanked by both of her backup singers. “Hope everybody’s having fun tonight! We’re gonna take a quick break, because I’m pretty sure Jake’s gonna die if we don’t get a beer in him. See you soon, Phoenix!”
Ukyo motioned to the stage with her neck, trying her best to give Akane a disarming smile. “Go. See your girl.”
Nodding, Akane stood, darting toward the steps at the edge of the stage. As soon as Ranko’s feet touched the hardwood barroom floor, Akane’s arms were around her partner. Akane felt a little guilty, conscious that she might be acting just a little more showy about her affection than usual in order to rub it in Ukyo’s face. She quickly forgave herself on the basis that Ranko could use the extra attention anyway of late.
Akane wasn’t wrong, given the emotional tempest that lurked just under the spritely facade her songstress fiancee was doing her best to present. Ranko knew she’d weirded the crowd out pretty badly the other day with her first performance of Freak, and she didn’t need her fans starting to really get worried about her. She had her hands full dealing with her hovering family as it was. It felt nice, seeing how hard everyone was trying to help her, but the happiest she’d been since finding out Nodoka was in town was when she could forget it for a few hours without someone bringing up how scared or stressed she must be.
“I see Ukyo made it! Are you two playing nice?” Ranko smiled hopefully at her fiancee.
Akane nodded with a grin. “So far. She says I’m not allowed to hurt you.”
Squeezing her lover tight, Ranko leaned into Akane’s ear and spoke as quietly as she could and still hope to be heard over the Michael Jackson song that pounded from the speakers during the band’s break. “Not even if I ask really nice?”
“Ranko!” Akane gasped and gave her a playful, ever-so-gentle swat on the shoulder. “You’re so bad!”
Biting her lip, Ranko cracked a coy smile. “Mm. Just like that, Akane!”
“You little shit, I’m gonna get you!” Akane giggled, putting her arm around Ranko and leading her toward the VIP table as the remainder of the Dapper Dragons began descending the steps.
“Uk-chan! You made it!” The brunette chef stood as Ranko pulled her into a tight hug. “What do you think? I mean, it’s not the fanciest bar in the world, but it’s home. Did you catch any songs?”
“Here and there.” Ukyo turned her eyes to Ranko’s companion as the three took their seats around the VIP table. “Me and Akane were having a chat.”
“Well, stick around, and I’ll bust out some of my favorites for you. We just did a pretty full set, but around here, nobody seems to mind if I repeat the greatest hits.” Holy fuck, Ranko thought to herself. I actually have hits. Plural.
”Gods, it’s crazy to see you in here! Like, old world meets new world, ya know?” Ranko beamed, looking around at every beer ad and bar stool in the place proudly, as if they were treasured heirlooms and souvenirs of a life well-lived.
Ukyo smiled, fully understanding the look in her former fiancee’s eyes. She’d had to reboot everything in her life before, too, and she knew how big a deal it was to be able to take pride in even the littlest things again. There was a certain demeanor about her that Ukyo recognized. When a person had paid for every centimeter of ground they’d gained in blood and tears, they just looked at things with a different measure of appreciation and gravitas.
“It’s… It’s really good to see you this happy, Ran-chan. Ranko. I gotta get used to that! But seriously. If there’s anybody who deserved a chance to start over…”
“I have my good days and bad,” Ranko said wistfully. The last few, not so great. “But this place? These girls? Music? Things with Akane?” Ranko flushed brightly, looking down at the table a bit and fiddling idly with the red ribbon in her hair. “... Other things? It couldn’t be better, Ukyo. It’s everything I could have wanted, and I never even knew I wanted most of it. Stuff I would never have even dared to dream.”
“I couldn’t be happier for you, Ranko. Really. But hold that thought a second?” Ukyo stood, looking around the crowded room as people took advantage of the band’s break to order drinks or change their vantage point of the stage. “Where the hell is the bathroom in this place, anyway?” Finally spying the restroom sign just beyond the stage in the direction Ranko pointed, Ukyo hurried in its direction, trying to beat the throng of revelers who apparently had the same idea for how to spend the band’s break.
She was just a few steps from the door with the feminine icon on it when something slammed hard into her left side, knocking her off her feet. She yelped as her hip hit the floor with a loud thwack, and she looked up into the bright stage lighting, shielding her eyes with her hand in an effort to better make out what had upended her. “What the hell?!”
As her eyes adjusted to the light, she could make out the figure of a tall blonde man offering a hand down to her. “Shit, I’m really sorry! Are you okay,” the man asked with a smile.
Blushing, Ukyo took the hand that was offered, letting herself be pulled to her feet. “Yeah, I’m alright, just… watch where you’re going, okay?” She corralled a few strands of hair that had been knocked free of the white ribbon restraining her ponytail and tucked them behind her ear.
“I saw you hanging with Akane and Ranko in VIP. Friend of the family or something?” He tousled his hair nervously.
“You could say that.” Ukyo smiled up at the young man, brushing off her jeans. “Me and Ran-chan go way back. Name’s Ukyo. Ukyo Kuonji.”
With a grin, the guitarist nodded. “Well, it’s good to bump into you, Ukyo Kuonji. My friends call me Crash.” He blushed a little bit. “So I guess if I don’t give you any other name, you’ll have no choice but to be my friend.”
“Fair enough, Crash,” the brunette replied with a nod and a shy, simpering smile.
“Are you seeing this, Ranko?” Ranko looked up from the basket of chicken tenders she’d just set about devouring as Akane nudged her with her elbow.
The redhead turned, watching as Ukyo and Crash took turns laughing and blushing out of earshot. Gasping, her head rocketed back around to face Akane with her jaw hanging open. “No fucking way! You don’t think…?”
Akane flashed a satisfied smirk. Gods, I hope so. Two birds with one stone.