Ukyou wakes from an uneasy sleep around three in the morning, tosses for
a few minutes, then sits up, glancing to Ranma, who is sleeping curled
up on her side. She can't see the long length of Akane's shorn hair,
tied at both ends with little ribbons clutched to her chest because her
back is to her. She hears the deep even breathing of the males on the
other side of the blanket, lays back down, tosses for a few more
minutes, then gives it up, pulls her blanket around her and catfoots out
of the tent. She stands outside of the entrance for a second, looking
around the camp, sees a pile of blankets close to the fire, the lumps
under it suggesting two cuddling shapes.


(Well, at least they came back to the camp.) Ukyou smiles. Shiro is
sitting leaning against the large trunk of one of the trees sheltering
them, Rhiannon reclining against him, her head resting on his chest.
There is apparently one other of their party who has given up on sleep.
Ryoga is sitting, a blanket loosely draped around his shoulders, working
on his dragon. Ukyou comes to the fire, shivering violently in the cold
air and pours herself a cup of tea, then sits by Ryoga, watching him
work. He finishes his sanding, then hands it to her, keeping his eyes
down. She takes the figure from him, examining it's gracefully fierce
figure closely in the firelight.


"It's beautiful!" She tells him, tries to hand it back.


"You can keep it, if you'd like." He tells her, his voice and face
bashful.


She holds it to her chest with both hands. "Thank-you, Ryoga." And bows
to him. She continues to shiver, not seeming to be able to get warm.


"Are you O.K., Ukyou?" He asks, concern playing across his features.


"Yeah, just cold, I guess." She tells him, placing the dragon in her lap
and pouring herself another cup of tea.


Ryoga takes one side of his blanket and holds it open, offering to share
his body heat, a tentative look on his face. Ukyou blushes, then shrugs
off her blanket, drapes it over Ryoga's and sits in close to him,
shoulder to shoulder, each holding one side of the blankets, keeping
them held closed between them. They sit in silence for a few minutes,
Ukyou's shivers finally subsiding. She turns her head slightly as she
sips her tea, studying Ryoga's profile in the flickering light.


(You know, he really is handsome.) She thinks. (And so lonely, just like
me.) She finishes her tea, puts the cup down, thinking about herself and
Ranma.


(Well, there's only one way to find out.) She tells herself. She moves a
little, snuggling closer into him, he moving his arm out of the way and
encircling her back, making room for her. She moves her arm and
encircles his waist as she angles her head so that her cheek is resting
against his shoulder. He becomes very still, and she can hear his
heartbeat speed up slightly beneath her ear. (Well, that's a good sign.)
She takes a deep breath.


"Ryoga."


He turns his face to her and she moves up to kiss him. He freezes as her
lips touch his own, a momentary look of panic flashing across his face.
Ukyou draws back from him a little, taking this in, then knows
instinctively that he has never kissed a girl before. She smiles at him,
he blinks back, unsure, then reaches up and places her forefinger on his
chin, pushing down a little to make him part his lips, then leans in
again to show him how. They both close their eyes as their lips touch.


It is a gentle and caressing kiss, full of both of their subdued longing
and passions. She breaks it, sits back, shocked at it's effect on her,
he still sitting bolt upright, eyes closed, a little tremble running
through his frame. He finally opens his eyes, meets hers for the first
time since his fever. She's not sure of the look in them.


"Ukyou?" He questions in a fierce whisper.


She blinks back at him, wide-eyed, unsure of her own reaction.


(Wow!) Just about described it.


He reaches out and pulls her back to him, repeating the kiss, this time
a little more fiercely. She puts her hand to his chest, pushes him back,
a little overwhelmed by his passion. He all but leaps out from under the
blankets, backing away from her, embarrassed panic on his face.


"I..I..I'm sorry, Ukyou. I didn't mean too, not after Chiesai's warriors
and all. I didn't mean to frighten you!"


Ukyou takes a few quick breaths, pulling the blankets around her, trying
to decide whether to tell Ryoga it was O.K. or not, confused that her
own passion rose to meet his own.


She decides and starts to carefully mimic the same movements he used to
offer her the sanctuary of his blanket a few minutes earlier.


"Come back, Ryoga." She tells him.


He moves back to her, his face closed and guarded, this time he
shivering. Ukyou cuddles close and snakes her arm back around his waist
to help return the body heat she'd borrowed.


After a few seconds, he places his arm back around her, leans his cheek
against her hair.


"What are you thinking?" She asks him.


"I'm not sure." He responds quietly. "How about you?"


(Good question.) She sighs. "I think we both need to see Akane and Ranma
together again, and make sure of our feelings before we decide whether
this should go any farther."


"O.K." He tells her, thinking that that kiss had broken through the
infatuation which has held him captive to Akane. He was just annoyed
that he was once again a rival with Ranma for a woman's affection. He
starts to withdraw his arm from around her, not wanting to push
anything.


"You can keep it there, if you want to." She tells him shyly, not moving
her own arm from around his waist. "I think I'm scared about tomorrow."
She confesses quietly, her face troubled.


"What, about dancing in front of all those people?" He asks,
intentionally misunderstanding.


She smiles, not fooled. "Yeah. I guess so."


"Well, don't. You've gotten really good." He smiles back.


"I just think I need someone to hold me tonight. If you don't mind."


He gives her a little squeeze. "No, I don't mind."


They sit together for a while, Ukyou becoming heavier and heavier
against him until she slips into sleep. He waits until he's sure that
she's asleep, then lowers them both back onto the ground, pillowing her
head on an outstretched arm and drifts off, too. For the first time in
over a year, his dreams filled with an image of a woman other than
Akane.

--Excerpt from "Chiesai: Dreams of Darkness" chapter 13 by Shannon M.
Richmeyer