With this snippet, I can say chapter end:
It really was nice to be with friends who had no expectations of her again. Ranma hadn’t realized how much she missed being with friends from Shinjuku until this moment. Jenrya wasn’t a fiancée or a rival, and he was helping her walk even though she was injured. Yeah, she’d prefer to be a guy right now, but the Doc said that she needed some time for her body to recuperate before changing. She didn’t want to be out of the next fight because she didn’t listen to the Doc.
Speaking of Doctor’s orders, Ranma pondered over where to go. The Nekohanten wouldn’t be a bad choice, but she really wasn’t in the mood for Ramen. Plus Ranma wasn’t exactly in any condition to fight Mousse and protect her friends if the blind duck tried anything. Best choice would be Ucchan’s then. Okonomiyaki was delicious, and Ucchan deserved to meet some of her other friends who weren’t related to the mess that Pop set up.
“Doc said I need to eat to help get my energy back, Jenrya.†Ranma commented.
“This is your home, where should we head?†Jenrya was blushing. Well, something he had in common with Ryouga then. Lucky for Jenrya she didn’t like to take advantage of her friends. If it were a fight though, all bets were off.
“I know a good Okonomiyaki place. The owner’s a friend of mine; she’ll probably give a discount.†She’d also probably give Ranma her meal free. One of the best reasons to go there was the good food with the good chef and the good price. “It’s just down this street up here. Okonomiyaki Ucchan’s.â€
“Right, let’s go.†Jenrya continued to help her down the road.
Ranma glanced down at the digimon nearby and nearly burst out laughing at the sight. Terriermon sat on Gatomon’s shoulders like a child would on their parent, and he seemed to be playing with her ears. “Everything alright down there?â€
“Hmm? Momentai! We’re having lots of fun here!†Terriermon continued stroking Gatomon’s ears.
Gatomon snorted and her ears twitched. “Yeah, we’re okay, Ranma. What’s Okonomiyaki?â€
“Oh, it’s awesome; you’ll have to see it when we get it. And this person is the best Okonomiyaki chef in all of Japan.†Ranma said as they stepped inside the door.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that praise, sugar. Here I was thinking I might not see you today.†The chef behind the grill was a brown-haired girl with a bow in her hair and a huge spatula on her back.
Ranma smiled at her best friend. “Hey Ucchan, how’s business?â€
“Lunch rush was rather high today. You came in at just the right time, Ranchan with your friend... and... what the heck are those things?†Ukyo pointed her giant spatula at Terriermon and Gatomon. Maybe it was a good thing that Terriermon had reverted.
“Hey! We are not things! We’re Digimon!†Terriermon said from his perch before leaping up to the counter. “I’m Terriermon and this is Gatomon. And that’s Jian, but he’s not a digimon, he’s my tamer.â€
Jenrya for his part face palmed and muttered, “I think it was obvious that I’m not a digimon, Terriermon.â€
“You never know. She doesn’t know what a digimon is, and we’ve been around for about six years and been on the news and everything! She must have been hiding under a rock or something.†Terriermon cartwheeled across the counter.
Ucchan didn’t seem to know what to make of Terriermon, but she responded. “I was so focused on training to beat Ranma and his father the past ten years that I didn’t focus on much beyond that and school.â€
“Beat Ranma? I thought she was your friend... Why would you want to beat up your friend?†Terriermon was now doing a handstand on his ears.
“Because he is my fiancé and he left me behind!†Ukyo exclaimed and Ranma winced. She hadn’t told Gatomon about that yet.
“I thought Akane-san was Ranma’s fiancée, though they don’t really want it to happen.†Gatomon spoke up.
“Pop engaged me to Ucchan too. And then there’s Shampoo, but let’s not talk about her for now. Ucchan, meet my friends, Li Jenrya, his mouthy partner Terriermon, and my partner Gatomon. We just got done with a big fight and the Doc said I need to eat, and I know the digimon need to eat too. Can we get a round of specials, please? Also, everyone, this is my best friend from when I was little, also my cute fiancée, Kuonji Ukyo.†Ranma needed to flatter her before she decided to wallop Terriermon for not keeping his mouth shut.
Luckily, it seemed to be working. Ukyo nodded. While Jenrya helped Ranma to a seat, he bowed his head. “It’s nice to meet you, Kuonji-san, and I’m sorry for Terriermon. Sometimes he doesn’t know when to shut up.â€
“Hey!†Terriermon turned toward Jenrya using his ears, still staying in the handstand position. “Mo-men-tai, Jian. Momentai! Ukyo here is Ranma’s friend, and she wouldn’t do anything!â€
Ukyo shook her head. “Four Ranchan specials coming up, and want any hot water, Ranchan?â€
Ranma smiled. “Thanks for the offer, but the Doc said that I should probably stay a girl for the rest of the day. I’ll change back before bed. Plus I’m a bit lighter as a girl, so Jenrya doesn’t have as much trouble helping me around, but hopefully he won’t need to after your food is in me.â€
“Yeah, it’s no trouble to help you, Ranma.†Jenrya commented. “But I probably should be heading home in a bit.â€
Ranma nodded. “Right. Well, maybe if digimon are going to pop up here more, you should spend some more time over here. It’s about three weeks before school starts back up again, and I’m sure there’s a place you can stay while you’re here.â€
“I’ll think about it.†Jenrya smiled.
“So Ranma, why do you have more than one fiancée? Aren’t you supposed to only get one who you want to marry after deciding who you love is the best person to be with? Do you have an evil twin somewhere whose child you are carrying and was turned into a vampire?†Terriermon asked.
“Uh... The answer to the first question is that it’s mostly Pop’s fault. He got hungry and promised that I’d marry someone in exchange for food, and he also had that engagement with the Tendou family too. Ucchan’s one of the few who stuck around. And I’d been saying since we got here that I don’t want to marry anyone yet. We’re not even out of school yet, but I have three girls who are here with obligations.†Ranma spoke rather low. She didn’t want to get Ucchan angry, and reminding her about the other girls and her own opinion on the situation was one way to have that happen. “... and evil twin? Where are you getting this from Terriermon?â€
“Well, when Jian is at school all day, sometimes I watch TV and there’s some shows with weird things happening on them...†Terriermon shrugged.
After that, Ukyo came over with four plates of Okonomiyaki, laying them down in front of each customer. “Here you go, four Ranchan specials. So Ranchan, what does having a digimon partner mean?â€
“It means that I am together with someone who is my best friend, and we fight alongside each other. And that we can do a lot together. Jenrya and Terriermon can fuse into a single digimon... or at least they could. That didn’t seem to work today.†Ranma gestured to the other pair. Gatomon had started eating.
“Momentai... we’ll do it again, I’m sure of it. We just need to figure out why it happened.†Terriermon said and then took a bite of his meal. “Oh, this is good, Ukyo! Thank you!â€
“I bet I am the first okonomiyaki chef to cook for digimon.†Ukyo smiled with pride. “Wait, Ranchan you said best friend?â€
“Ah.... Human best friend meet digimon best friend?†Ranma scratched the base of her pigtail and laughed a little nervously.
“Oh... Ranchan...†Ukyo shook her head.
**********************8
Later that afternoon, Jenrya had dropped the pair off at the Tendou dojo, and Ranma went to lie down as she still wasn’t feeling all that well. Gatomon decided that she needed to have a little bit of a talk with Uncle Genma. He put Ranma through so much, and she needed to make sure he knew just how she felt about that. Of course, she still respected the man as he had taught her some.
When she got to the living room, she saw Uncle Genma playing some board game with Akane’s father. She walked up and took a look at it before looking to Uncle Genma’s face.
“Excuse me, Uncle Genma; can I please talk to you outside?â€
“Ah, Gatomon?†Genma looked over at her. “You needed to evolve today and haven’t reverted yet?â€
“Ranma pushed through a bunch of energy at me. I should revert soon though. Still, can we talk outside?†Gatomon did not want to do this discussion in front of Akane’s father.
“I suppose. Tendou, we will continue when I get back.†Genma stated.
“Of course, Saotome, feel free to walk off as you are losing.†Akane’s father prodded.
“I’ll beat you when I get back.†Genma stood up and walked over to the shoji, opening it and gesturing for Gatomon to go first. She did, and Genma followed her, closing it behind him. “So, Gatomon what did you want to talk about?â€
She respected the man, and she even liked Ranma’s father a bit. However, she needed to discuss what happened. “Ranma and I went around today and met up with another old friend or two of his, and during this time I learned quite a bit about how Ranma’s life was without me. It seems like you had a rather eventful time training him.â€
“Yes, and the boy took to the training like a fish to water, even if he’s not as perfect as I want him to be about it.†Genma stated with confidence.
“Right, and Uncle Genma, I want you to know that I love you like family and respect you very much.†She stretched out her hands, wiggling her claws a little bit. “So it brings me no joy to express my displeasure about the Neko-Ken.â€
*******************************88
Just outside the entrance to the Nerima Zoo that night, a small digital field expanded, barely enough to cover the parking lot. A swirling distortion in the air formed, creating a portal of some sort. The portal seemed to spit out two figures. One was human, dressed in shorts over a pair of khaki-colored pants and a grey shirt with a single shoulder pauldron on his right arm. The human also had a red scarft tied around his neck and had a gauntlet over his right arm. The second figure was a purple dragon-like digimon. Its arms and hands were clawed and it had bat-like wings.
“Well, Monodramon, we’re back on Earth.â€
“Yeah, Ryo, it’ll be good to see everyone again...â€
It really was nice to be with friends who had no expectations of her again. Ranma hadn’t realized how much she missed being with friends from Shinjuku until this moment. Jenrya wasn’t a fiancée or a rival, and he was helping her walk even though she was injured. Yeah, she’d prefer to be a guy right now, but the Doc said that she needed some time for her body to recuperate before changing. She didn’t want to be out of the next fight because she didn’t listen to the Doc.
Speaking of Doctor’s orders, Ranma pondered over where to go. The Nekohanten wouldn’t be a bad choice, but she really wasn’t in the mood for Ramen. Plus Ranma wasn’t exactly in any condition to fight Mousse and protect her friends if the blind duck tried anything. Best choice would be Ucchan’s then. Okonomiyaki was delicious, and Ucchan deserved to meet some of her other friends who weren’t related to the mess that Pop set up.
“Doc said I need to eat to help get my energy back, Jenrya.†Ranma commented.
“This is your home, where should we head?†Jenrya was blushing. Well, something he had in common with Ryouga then. Lucky for Jenrya she didn’t like to take advantage of her friends. If it were a fight though, all bets were off.
“I know a good Okonomiyaki place. The owner’s a friend of mine; she’ll probably give a discount.†She’d also probably give Ranma her meal free. One of the best reasons to go there was the good food with the good chef and the good price. “It’s just down this street up here. Okonomiyaki Ucchan’s.â€
“Right, let’s go.†Jenrya continued to help her down the road.
Ranma glanced down at the digimon nearby and nearly burst out laughing at the sight. Terriermon sat on Gatomon’s shoulders like a child would on their parent, and he seemed to be playing with her ears. “Everything alright down there?â€
“Hmm? Momentai! We’re having lots of fun here!†Terriermon continued stroking Gatomon’s ears.
Gatomon snorted and her ears twitched. “Yeah, we’re okay, Ranma. What’s Okonomiyaki?â€
“Oh, it’s awesome; you’ll have to see it when we get it. And this person is the best Okonomiyaki chef in all of Japan.†Ranma said as they stepped inside the door.
“Well, I’m glad to hear that praise, sugar. Here I was thinking I might not see you today.†The chef behind the grill was a brown-haired girl with a bow in her hair and a huge spatula on her back.
Ranma smiled at her best friend. “Hey Ucchan, how’s business?â€
“Lunch rush was rather high today. You came in at just the right time, Ranchan with your friend... and... what the heck are those things?†Ukyo pointed her giant spatula at Terriermon and Gatomon. Maybe it was a good thing that Terriermon had reverted.
“Hey! We are not things! We’re Digimon!†Terriermon said from his perch before leaping up to the counter. “I’m Terriermon and this is Gatomon. And that’s Jian, but he’s not a digimon, he’s my tamer.â€
Jenrya for his part face palmed and muttered, “I think it was obvious that I’m not a digimon, Terriermon.â€
“You never know. She doesn’t know what a digimon is, and we’ve been around for about six years and been on the news and everything! She must have been hiding under a rock or something.†Terriermon cartwheeled across the counter.
Ucchan didn’t seem to know what to make of Terriermon, but she responded. “I was so focused on training to beat Ranma and his father the past ten years that I didn’t focus on much beyond that and school.â€
“Beat Ranma? I thought she was your friend... Why would you want to beat up your friend?†Terriermon was now doing a handstand on his ears.
“Because he is my fiancé and he left me behind!†Ukyo exclaimed and Ranma winced. She hadn’t told Gatomon about that yet.
“I thought Akane-san was Ranma’s fiancée, though they don’t really want it to happen.†Gatomon spoke up.
“Pop engaged me to Ucchan too. And then there’s Shampoo, but let’s not talk about her for now. Ucchan, meet my friends, Li Jenrya, his mouthy partner Terriermon, and my partner Gatomon. We just got done with a big fight and the Doc said I need to eat, and I know the digimon need to eat too. Can we get a round of specials, please? Also, everyone, this is my best friend from when I was little, also my cute fiancée, Kuonji Ukyo.†Ranma needed to flatter her before she decided to wallop Terriermon for not keeping his mouth shut.
Luckily, it seemed to be working. Ukyo nodded. While Jenrya helped Ranma to a seat, he bowed his head. “It’s nice to meet you, Kuonji-san, and I’m sorry for Terriermon. Sometimes he doesn’t know when to shut up.â€
“Hey!†Terriermon turned toward Jenrya using his ears, still staying in the handstand position. “Mo-men-tai, Jian. Momentai! Ukyo here is Ranma’s friend, and she wouldn’t do anything!â€
Ukyo shook her head. “Four Ranchan specials coming up, and want any hot water, Ranchan?â€
Ranma smiled. “Thanks for the offer, but the Doc said that I should probably stay a girl for the rest of the day. I’ll change back before bed. Plus I’m a bit lighter as a girl, so Jenrya doesn’t have as much trouble helping me around, but hopefully he won’t need to after your food is in me.â€
“Yeah, it’s no trouble to help you, Ranma.†Jenrya commented. “But I probably should be heading home in a bit.â€
Ranma nodded. “Right. Well, maybe if digimon are going to pop up here more, you should spend some more time over here. It’s about three weeks before school starts back up again, and I’m sure there’s a place you can stay while you’re here.â€
“I’ll think about it.†Jenrya smiled.
“So Ranma, why do you have more than one fiancée? Aren’t you supposed to only get one who you want to marry after deciding who you love is the best person to be with? Do you have an evil twin somewhere whose child you are carrying and was turned into a vampire?†Terriermon asked.
“Uh... The answer to the first question is that it’s mostly Pop’s fault. He got hungry and promised that I’d marry someone in exchange for food, and he also had that engagement with the Tendou family too. Ucchan’s one of the few who stuck around. And I’d been saying since we got here that I don’t want to marry anyone yet. We’re not even out of school yet, but I have three girls who are here with obligations.†Ranma spoke rather low. She didn’t want to get Ucchan angry, and reminding her about the other girls and her own opinion on the situation was one way to have that happen. “... and evil twin? Where are you getting this from Terriermon?â€
“Well, when Jian is at school all day, sometimes I watch TV and there’s some shows with weird things happening on them...†Terriermon shrugged.
After that, Ukyo came over with four plates of Okonomiyaki, laying them down in front of each customer. “Here you go, four Ranchan specials. So Ranchan, what does having a digimon partner mean?â€
“It means that I am together with someone who is my best friend, and we fight alongside each other. And that we can do a lot together. Jenrya and Terriermon can fuse into a single digimon... or at least they could. That didn’t seem to work today.†Ranma gestured to the other pair. Gatomon had started eating.
“Momentai... we’ll do it again, I’m sure of it. We just need to figure out why it happened.†Terriermon said and then took a bite of his meal. “Oh, this is good, Ukyo! Thank you!â€
“I bet I am the first okonomiyaki chef to cook for digimon.†Ukyo smiled with pride. “Wait, Ranchan you said best friend?â€
“Ah.... Human best friend meet digimon best friend?†Ranma scratched the base of her pigtail and laughed a little nervously.
“Oh... Ranchan...†Ukyo shook her head.
**********************8
Later that afternoon, Jenrya had dropped the pair off at the Tendou dojo, and Ranma went to lie down as she still wasn’t feeling all that well. Gatomon decided that she needed to have a little bit of a talk with Uncle Genma. He put Ranma through so much, and she needed to make sure he knew just how she felt about that. Of course, she still respected the man as he had taught her some.
When she got to the living room, she saw Uncle Genma playing some board game with Akane’s father. She walked up and took a look at it before looking to Uncle Genma’s face.
“Excuse me, Uncle Genma; can I please talk to you outside?â€
“Ah, Gatomon?†Genma looked over at her. “You needed to evolve today and haven’t reverted yet?â€
“Ranma pushed through a bunch of energy at me. I should revert soon though. Still, can we talk outside?†Gatomon did not want to do this discussion in front of Akane’s father.
“I suppose. Tendou, we will continue when I get back.†Genma stated.
“Of course, Saotome, feel free to walk off as you are losing.†Akane’s father prodded.
“I’ll beat you when I get back.†Genma stood up and walked over to the shoji, opening it and gesturing for Gatomon to go first. She did, and Genma followed her, closing it behind him. “So, Gatomon what did you want to talk about?â€
She respected the man, and she even liked Ranma’s father a bit. However, she needed to discuss what happened. “Ranma and I went around today and met up with another old friend or two of his, and during this time I learned quite a bit about how Ranma’s life was without me. It seems like you had a rather eventful time training him.â€
“Yes, and the boy took to the training like a fish to water, even if he’s not as perfect as I want him to be about it.†Genma stated with confidence.
“Right, and Uncle Genma, I want you to know that I love you like family and respect you very much.†She stretched out her hands, wiggling her claws a little bit. “So it brings me no joy to express my displeasure about the Neko-Ken.â€
*******************************88
Just outside the entrance to the Nerima Zoo that night, a small digital field expanded, barely enough to cover the parking lot. A swirling distortion in the air formed, creating a portal of some sort. The portal seemed to spit out two figures. One was human, dressed in shorts over a pair of khaki-colored pants and a grey shirt with a single shoulder pauldron on his right arm. The human also had a red scarft tied around his neck and had a gauntlet over his right arm. The second figure was a purple dragon-like digimon. Its arms and hands were clawed and it had bat-like wings.
“Well, Monodramon, we’re back on Earth.â€
“Yeah, Ryo, it’ll be good to see everyone again...â€