The First Date

Ukyou studied her bachelor auction date; as if to confirm that it was really him. Ryoga had on an olive green suit that fit his muscular form to perfection, a tie that was just a few shades darker and a white shirt. The colour complimented his tanned skin and brought out the doe like appearance of his surprisingly gentle brown eyes. His normally uneven hair (which she suspected her cut himself) was neatly trimmed and gelled back to uncover his chiseled features. He wasn't even wearing his customary bandana. The polished young man sitting opposite her could easily have been the son of a successful banker and a private school attendee.

Ukyou herself had on a long sleeved soft knit dress that was a dark burgundy in colour, was mid thigh in length, clung to her curves, had a draped neckline that allowed a hint of cleavage to show and fastened at the waist by a patent leather belt. She never wore dresses, but couldn't resist trying it on when she found it for a bargain at a store that was closing. The colour and simple cut of the dress itself had flattered her pale skin and dark hair so much that she couldn't resist buying it. She'd dreamed about going on her first date in this dress and now she was...with the wrong man.

She'd expected for Ryoga to take her to chez McDonalds for La Big Mac and Fries and take her home immediately afterwards, but he'd surprised her by making reservations at a cozy, but nice Italian restaurant that she'd been dying to try. They had ordered a bunch of appetizers to start with, Prosciutto and Gruyere Pinwheels, Antipasto, Olive Crostinis, Pizza Dips and Sausage Tarts and had shared them. She had thought that the normally angst ridden Ryoga would bore her with sad stories about his unrequited love for Akane. Instead he'd kept her in stitches about his adventures in getting lost until their entrées came, veal cannelloni for her and chicken parmesan for him. "So I got lost looking for the john and ended up in the stripper's dressing room by mistake. There she was screaming and hitting me with a heart shaped pillow while my nose bled and I kept apologizing. Thankfully she forgave me and even helped me find the washroom when she understood it was a mistake" he concluded and Ukyou laughed at the image of the shy Ryoga being faced with a half-naked woman, the boy was so naturally modest.

"I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall to see that" she said as she accepted a bite of his food off his fork as if they were already a couple. She wordlessly offered him one in return. She found herself thinking that his unique fang teeth were kind of cute.

Suddenly he turned serious "Ukyou" he said hesitantly. "Why did you buy me?"

She put down her fork "it started when Mousse came up for auction and no one bid on him, Akane leapt right in and bought him. So when you came up I did that same and Shampoo for Kuno by unspoken agreement. I know that this is going to sound weird, but The Tendos', The Saotomes', The Kunos', you and even the Amazons have become like family to me. A weird family albeit but we're always there for each other when someone needs help. So us girls couldn't fail you when no other women know how special and unique the males of our family are" she explained with a shrug, wondering if he understood what she meant.

Ryoga knew what she meant, but had never thought about it that way, Ranma was kind of like the popular brother, Kuno the one into theatre arts and Mousse was, well Mousse. Ryoga missed his family and hadn't seen them in a year as they had the same directional disability as himself. Her words made lots of sense and Ryoga found himself wondering if that is why he always was drawn to this place and these people. He'd always thought that it was Akane, yet this collection of weirdos gave him something that had he could get nowhere else; a sense of belonging. "Is that why Akane didn't buy me?" he asked in a whisper. This is the only time this evening that he'd mentioned Akane out of respect for Ukyou. 'She looks beautiful this evening in that dress and with her hair down' he thought.

Ukyou nodded "she'd have bought you if you had been up first" she said encouragingly.

Ryoga felt his heart flutter and then admitted something that he'd realized lately. "It wouldn't have mattered; she still would have wanted to be with Ranma"

"Like how Ranma wants to be with her?" Ukyou said bowing her head in pain.

"You know?" Ryoga said softly and without thinking put his hand over her's.

"I have eyes. I see how he looks at her, how he worries about her when she's in trouble. He's never been like that with me" she said.

"How did you become engaged to Ranma?" Ryoga asked as he had been curious about Ukyou's attachment to Ranma.. She explained it to him, he frowned at this. "Is an okonomiyaki cart worth the price of your chastity?" he asked.

She flinched as if she'd been struck "It is to my family, I'm disinherited from them until I can make this right, therefore I have to complete my engagement and marry Ranma. Besides I love him" she added.

Ryoga thought about it and said "where did Genma abandon the cart?" he asked.

"What?" the idea had never occurred to her before.

Ryoga shrugged, "Ranma was five and Genma I doubt was a chef, especially not of a specialized food like yours. Therefore they probably made use of the cart until the ingredients were gone and then either sold it or abandoned it, especially if they had no horse or oxen to hitch to. Genma strikes me as being an extremely lazy man" Ryoga said.

"You mean I should find out where it is and get my cart back?" she asked.

"Yes it wouldn't solve your problems with Ranma, but your father and yourself can rejoin your family as his humiliation would be at and end" Ryoga said.

"My father's dead" she said in a small voice "that's part of the reason why I think of yourselves as being my family"

"I miss mine too" Ryoga said. "They're still alive, I just can't find them. We all have the same directional challenge" he explained.

"That must be hard" Ukyou said.

"Makes family reunions hell" he agreed.

"Where do you live?" she asked. He named the town. "What a coincidence, my father and I were travelling in that direction when he gave Genma our cart" she said, wondering if it was fate that she had bought Ryoga.

"Ukyou, I have a proposition for you. We both have to find things we're missing, would you help me look for them?" he as.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Travel together; you aren't going to school because it's the summer. I have a knack for finding things, not places obviously, but if we find your cart I can restore it in no time. I've worked construction jobs for years; that's where I developed my strength training" Ryoga offered. "You could bring your portable grill and go on the road and help me find my home"

"Travel together?" she asked.

"Separate tents of course" he said.

Ukyou seemed oddly thrilled at the idea of just getting away from the sadness of her realization that Ranma didn't love her. It could be her new purpose in life, trying to find her lost cart. Ryoga was a nice guy who could protect her in case of trouble if she really needed it. Not that she really needed someone to look after her like Akane; Ukyou was dangerous in her own right. 'Plus he's awfully good looking' she thought with a blush.

"I-I'm not sure, can I have a night to think about it?" she asked.

"Of course" he said and got the check.

"Thank you, it was a lovely dinner. How can you afford all this?" she asked.

"My grandmother passed away and set up a trust fund for me that I can't access until I am twenty one. I get a monthly allowance from it like a little kid. That's how I can afford to travel" he admitted.

"Trust fund?" she asked in surprise.

"My grandmother had money, my parents don't" he explained.

"What will you do when you go home?" she asked.

"I'll stay there for as long as I can. I get wanderlust" he admitted. "Now come on, let me walk you home" he said and strode in the wrong direction.

"This way Ryoga" she said and took his hand to lead him to her place, he laughed and let her hold it.

When they got back to her place, he went to retrieve his pack "you could spend the night" she shyly suggested.

"I-I can't, I'm waiting for my wedding night" he said with a blush.

Her face went beet red "I am too, I have a spare bedroom" she stammered.

"I'd love to" he said and stepped over the threshold into her apartment.

The next morning she wore a pack similar to his after Genma had admitted on the phone that they had abandoned her father's cart in a forest clearing, which oddly enough was on the way to Ryoga's house. They had both lost something and now they would find them together, not bad for a first date.