[FFML] [Fanfic][Ranma][Ratatouille] The Secret of Ukyo: Food & Love (second try)

[Wanderer D]

Eh... the first attempt didn't work, eh, sorry
everyone.

Author’s note: 

This story just came into my mind and begged to be
written. You have NO IDEA how hungry I got while
writing this and how many times I had to stop to cook
or eat what I was writing about. Sadly, all the
cheeses are not so readily available but… it was tasty
anyway.

If you’re familiar with Ranma 1/2, but new to the
Secret of Ukyo universe you might want to read the
summary below OR read the original “Secret of Ukyo”
first to get what’s happening. “Ukyo’s Small
Adventure” is useful to have read too but, not really
necessary and again, there is a summary below. There
are hints to a third story as yet unpublished, but
they are negligible to the story other than to add a
little more flavor :)

The usual disclaimers apply, what is not mine is not
mine, no profit intended from the story. Just about
every character in this story belongs to Disney or
Rumiko Takahashi.

I hope you enjoy reading my story. Please R&R! It does
help to know people are reading this! And, if you read
this, thanks to those who have already emailed me
about it! :) Those email make it worth while writing.

Another note:

Ukyo’s Pendant has 5 pre-planed powers in this
Universe. The first is an amazingly strong Telekinetic
power, as revealed in “The Secret of Ukyo” (Or, for
that matter, “The Secret of NIMH”); the second and
third are revealed in this story; the fourth and fifth
will be revealed in a later story.

Summaries of previous stories:

The Secret of Ukyo: 

Shortly after the wedding fiasco took place in the
last volume of the manga, Ukyo, feeling guilty over
her actions and miserable from the cold shoulder Ranma
was giving her decided to make up for the mess by
going to Jusenkyou after the lakes had reformed in the
hopes of getting some Pond of Drown Man’s water for
Ranma, however, while there, she had an accident and
fell into the Pond of Drowned Mouse, getting a curse
herself.

After being forgiven by both, Ranma and Akane, and
making an unusually strong friendship with Nabiki,
Ukyo decided to leave Japan for a holyday in America
with her very distant family, the Fitzgibbons. While
there, she came in contact with Mrs. Brisby and the
Rats of NIMH. At the end of the summer, when Ukyo was
going back to Japan, Mrs. Brisby gave her the
medallion her husband had left for her as a sign of
friendship.

Ukyo’s Small Adventure:

The first story shared by both Nabiki and Ukyo. They
travel to the Big Apple in the hopes of opening
another branch of Uchan’s, which has become a
franchise under the watchful eyes of both
entrepreneurs. While there, Ukyo meets Stuart Little,
his family, and Margalo, and together have to fight an
enemy from the past with the dubious help of a raven
that seems to know a bit too much about everything, as
well as get the restaurant ready for the opening party
in New Years Eve.

-WD


“Secret of Ukyo: Food and Love”
By Wanderer D


"Why do I always get a sense of foreboding every time
we step into an airport together?" Ukyo looked at her
ticket, a frown forming as she waited for the boarding
to begin.
“Well… it is simple.” Nabiki smirked as she looked at
the long line of passengers. “It involves mice, rats,
China, America, super-powered martial artists, cute
little girls, magical girls, cats, chipmunks, bats and
canaries. Not to mention ravens.”
“Yes… about the ravens…” Ukyo said, turning to glare
at her friend.
“I am as much in the dark as you are.”
Ukyo sighed, glancing at Nabiki. She knew, just knew,
that Nabiki was that annoying raven that had
constantly been badgering her when Chiyo-chan and
Makoto had brought the Rescue Rangers to help find
Maya’s daughter. 
She had been sure ever since her visit to New York and
the discussion she had had with Margalo about the
raven that had tricked her… but she had no proof.
Nabiki could speak with animals and had some
previously unseen powers… but again, Ukyo had no
proof. She had dunked Nabiki in cold water, but it
hadn’t produced any results, and Nabiki had bathed in
HOT water immediately after with nothing happening
again. So… she had no clue how to prove it.
“Anyway, don’t be so gloomy. I’m sure you’ll have
another chance to chat with your feathered friend.”
Nabiki opened a little booklet. “And look, so many
places to visit this time! Not that New York was dull,
but… well, we didn’t have much time to visit, did we?
So, besides checking places for our new restaurant, I
have made sure we have enough time to visit… the
Eiffel Tower…” she sipped through the pages. “So many
sights! The food! The people! The river!”
“I don’t speak French.” Ukyo sighed. “And I would hate
to have a translator running behind us.”
“That is why I secured these from Cologne.” Nabiki
pulled out two pills and offered one to Ukyo.
“Uh… what is it?”
“Simple! Magic pills that transcend language
limitations.”
“This seems very, very convenient.” Ukyo took another
look at the pill. “Hey… this looks like a jelly bean.”
Nabiki snatched it back. “So it does, so it does.”
“Did that thing actually work?”
“Eh… no. I was just going to watch you speak Japanese
to a random French person. See what happened.”
Ukyo was about to retort when the stewardess announced
the plane could be boarded.
“Relax, Ukyo.” Nabiki patted her back. “We’re going to
Paris, most people will be able to speak English, and
yours is quite good.”
“I still don’t like not being able to talk in the
local language.” Ukyo groaned.
“Well… use your amulet if it’s so much of a problem.”
Nabiki sighed. “Look, I did some checking on your
amulet after what Foxglove said… it took some doing
but I have found out that it does enable you to
comprehend and even speak other languages. Whoever
made it sure knew what he or she was doing.”

-o-

Ukyo glanced at Nabiki. Her business partner slept,
allowing her more time for introspection. After
Nabiki’s sudden revelation they had to stop talking as
the area became more crowded and they were ushered
into the plane. Once airborne, Ukyo didn’t dare talk
about her amulet. She took the red jewel between her
fingers and gazed deep into it. How much of what
Nabiki said was true? The amulet had amazing powers,
and she had been already saved by it a couple of
times. It had saved Mrs. Brisby’s family, revealing
amazing but dangerous powers.
Jonathan Brisby had made it as culmination to his
adventures. Adventures where he had met amazing
creatures, such as the Great Owl… impressing even the
Rats of NIMH and they were nothing to scoff at, being
able to produce magic and technology of their own, and
even they knew little about the amulet Brisby had
given her as a sign of friendship.
She sighed, looking outside her window to the endless
mass of clouds. She closed her eyes and drifted off to
sleep, wishing she knew more about the amulet, about
NIMH, about France… there was something else about
what Nabs had said but… but…
“Ukyo,” A nudge. Elbow on ribs. She ignored it.
“Ukyo!” Another nudge, this time some light and smells
creeping into her mind. Ukyo slowly opened her eyes
and stretched in her seat.
She heard the rattle of the food cart being pushed
down the hall.
“Awake already?” Nabiki smiled at her, “Look, gourmet
food.” She motioned with her head towards the cart as
is stopped. “Chicken, beef or veggie?”

-o-

After finishing their meals, getting them picked up
and ordering drinks, Ukyo looked at Nabiki. “So, Nabs,
where in Paris do you want to set up a Uchan’s? And…
are you sure that it’s actually profitable? I mean…
France…”
“Oh, nonsense, U-chan.” Nabiki shook her head. “I know
French cuisine is very famous and restaurants there
have it tough, but if the French really enjoy good
food, they will appreciate yours. It’s different,
true, but then, Japanese food is on the roll right
now, so to speak, and Uchan’s has a definite advantage
over your regular maki-parlor.”
“A martial art style dedicated to cooking? The
influence of real Chinese Amazonian cuisine?  An
Okonomiyaki family tradition? All of our restaurants
have serious fire power?”
“I was talking about me.” Nabiki said with a smile,
eyes glinting. “The infamous mercenary, Nabiki-sama,
from Furinkan High.”
“And I was talking about the less obvious factors,
Nabs.” Ukyo laughed.
“Never the less, don’t forget I’m on your side,
U-chan.”
Ukyo nodded noticing that the airplane seemed to tilt
slightly as the seat-belts sigh lit up.
“Please prepare for landing, make sure your seats are
in the upright position…”
Ukyo looked out of the window, it was night time and
she could see golden lights illuminating the ground,
miles beneath the plane. She looked at Nabiki in
surprise. “How long did I sleep?”
“Around twelve or so hours.” Nabiki said. “You missed
a couple of interesting films.”
Ukyo shook her head, still amazed by the time she had
spent asleep.
“Oh, Ukyo?” Nabiki called her attention. “Votre
Français s'est amélioré beaucoup depuis que vous vous
êtes réveillé.”
“Que voulez-vous dire? N' avons nous pas parlé
japonais?” Ukyo blink-blinked.

-o-

Ukyo walked into the hotel suite and fell like a brick
on one of the beds. “Mine.”
Nabiki shrugged and gave the bellboy a tip, closing
the door behind her. She went to sit on one of the
chairs outside in the balcony. She could see Paris
stretching before her, a sea of golden and white
lights in dark velvet.
“Uyko, you are missing the most amazing sight.”
“It’ll still be there in the morning.” Ukyo groaned
from the bed.
“Nonsense. Get up. We need real food after that
plastic excuse from the Airline.”
“But…”
“But nothing.” Nabiki glared at Ukyo. “You are in
PARIS! You slept thirteen hours in the plane!”
“Learning French apparently.” Ukyo moaned.
“That’s your amulet, not you. Now… change clothes.
We’re going out. I saw an interesting place on the way
here.”
“What’s it called?”

-o-

“Ratatouille.” Ukyo looked from the sign sporting a
rat with a spoon, to the long queue of people waiting
to get in. “We could come back tomorrow.”
“Ukyo, it’s 7:00PM over here. We can wait. It looks
good.”
“Sigh, I guess it’s a good idea to see what the
competition has…”
“Well spoken!” Nabiki grinned. “Besides, I’ve heard
from a reliable source that this place is run by the
most amusing chefs.”

-o-

“Well, it was bound to happen.” Alfredo Linguini said
as he skated into the kitchen. “Our first oriental
guests.”
“Well, they are costumers, and we shall treat them as
such. What did you expect?” Colette asked, looking
into the dining room from the kitchen’s windows. “Hm…
there is something familiar about that one there…” she
said looking at one of the two girls as they studied
the menu. “But from where?”
“Well, no matter.” Linguini said, as they put down the
menu.  He started skating out calling over his
shoulder, “I think it’s time I take the order. Ready
to impress some international costumers, Little Chef?”
Colette smiled as the Little Chef ran up the small
ladder to the window and looked at the two costumers.

-o-

“Ladies, I welcome you again to La Ratatouille, as you
might have guessed, the ratatouille is our specialty,
alongside the Linguini Soup. Today we also have our
chef’s take on the classic Raie au beurre fondue, if
you feel like fish.”
The young lady with the short black hair spoke first,
surprising Linguini with her almost flawless French.
“I would like to taste your chef’s take on the Raie
au, starting with a Fois gras de canard Maison. I will
leave to you the choice of wine.” She smiled.
“Surprise me. How about you, Ukyo?”
The girl with the long brown hair contemplated her
choices for a moment, before answering with an even
better French. “I wouldn’t dare skip a chance to taste
your two specialties, the soup and the ratatouille.”
“Your dinner will be ready shortly, ladies.” Linguini
bowed, picking up the menus and skating back into the
kitchen.
“Well Colette, Little Chef, here’s the order.” He put
it down, looking at Colette. “By the way, I found out
the name of the one with long hair. Ukyo. Does that
ring a bell?”
Rémy shook his head as he started preparing the ray
for the fondue. Colette was another matter.
“Ukyo… Ukyo… hmm…” her eyes opened wide and she ran to
the window, looking out. “Oh, my God! Ukyo!”
Rémy and Linguini looked at her as she raced to the
side of the kitchen and opened her backpack, quickly
sorting through to find an international chef’s
magazine. She shifted through the pages, then ran back
to the window. “It’s her! Ukyo Kounji!”
“Eh… who?” Linguini asked, looking down at the Rat
Chef, who only shook his head and shrugged, still
concentrating on the Ray. He was now contemplating a
selection of pepper and stealing glances at the soup,
making sure to give it a stir from time to time. Rémy
gave Colette a glare and the Sous chef quickly started
working on the Ratatouille.
“I’ll be right back,” Linguini said, skating out to
tend to new costumers.
“Ukyo Kounji… do you know what this means, Little
Chef?”
The rat rolled its eyes and shrugged, spreading his
arms. Clearly, he didn’t.
Putting the ratatouille into the oven, and quickly
dispatching a couple of orders, she showed the rat a
picture of Ukyo in front of her restaurant.
“She has been interviewed three times in Gastronomica!
Global Chefs has a section on her recipes! She is the
owner of a franchise of very successful Japanese
restaurants.”
Rémy looked from the picture to her and made hand
motions that Colette was very familiar with.
“And?!” she sighed. “She’s a woman! She could work in
any restaurant in the world and chose to make her own,
since she was 16! She has the skills and drive to make
it so far!”
Rémy made a throwaway gesture and motioned towards the
food.
“If you say so, Chef. But I would like to talk to
her…” Colette sighed wistfully.
“I could always ask her to stay until later, or come
back.” Linguini said, picking up the next batch of
dishes and laying down the next three orders.
“Would that be alright Chef?” Colette asked the rat,
who just looked at her and nodded with a smile.
Colette, a smile spreading across her face as quickly
as a look of resolve, turned back to the food. “Good!
Let’s impress her!”
Rémy could only shake his head.

-o-

Rémy and Colette looked at the couple of young women
as they ate their meals, exchanging knowing glances at
the looks of delight both women shared when eating
their food.
“Well, Little Chef, I guess we did impress them.”
Colette said, stretching a finger for Rémy to hi-five.
They watched Linguini ask them for desserts, and also
mention that one of the chefs would be interested in
meeting them. After a short talk, Linguini left them
talking and skated towards them.
“What did they say?” Colette asked.
“They said they would be delighted to meet you,
however, they cannot stay too late or come back
tonight since they just arrived a couple of hours ago
to France and are a bit tired.” Linguini said.
“Oh…” Colette looked downcast.
“… But, they liked the food so much they asked if they
could meet you when things calmed down a bit.”
Colette looked up in surprise then down at Rémy. The
rat thought for a moment before nodding, indicating
that he would hide.
“But don’t you want them to meet you too?” Colette
asked. “That’s a fellow Chef out there.”
Rémy nodded, but made soothing motions with his hands,
indicating himself, then the kitchen and shrugging.
“If you say so, Little Chef.” Linguini nodded and
after a moment, so did Colette.

-o-

“That was amazing.” Ukyo said, nursing her wine. “I’ve
never tasted anything like it.”
Nabiki nodded. “I hope all of our competitors are not
this good.”
Ukyo shook her head. “No… this is gourmet food. The
real deal, the chef behind those doors knows what he
or she is doing, whoever it is could be working in a
five star restaurant.”
Nabiki nodded. “I am told that one of the people here
is none other than the son of the late Auguste
Gusteau.”
Ukyo’s eyes widened. “Really? I have one of his books!
He’s one of the chefs I always wanted to meet!”
Nabiki nodded, rolling her eyes. “Yes, yes, along with
Gordon Ramsay, Ainsley Harriott, Vic Cherikoff…”
“Okay, okay…” Ukyo shushed her, blushing.
“Jamie Oliver…”
“Okay, I get the point. But he was one of the best
cooks ever.”
Nabiki nodded, still smiling. “… Martin Berasategui…
Adrià Ferran…”
“I said…”
“Erm… ladies?” Linguini asked, stopping next to their
table. “If you would come with me, I shall introduce
you to one of the cooks, Colette Tatou.”
Ukyo glared at the smirking Nabiki as they stood up
and followed the waiter.

-o-

The kitchen was small, but completely functional. It
also had strange little contraptions, like a small
ladder on the side of the door that piqued at Ukyo’s
interest. However, she was a bit surprised when
introductions were made and she found out that
Gusteau’s son was none other than the waiter.
“I didn’t inherit my father’s gift for cooking, I
guess.” Linguini said, chuckling. “If you will excuse
me, I will see the last of the costumers off.”
“I am honored to meet you, Miss Kounji!” Colette said
as soon as Linguini skated out, shaking Ukyo’s hand.
“I have followed your career as much as I can without
learning Japanese.”
“I am honored as well, to meet such a fine cook!” Ukyo
said with a smile. “The ratatouille was amazing… and
that soup…”
“I am glad you liked it,” Colette said, returning the
smile. “It was a pleasure to cook it for you.”
“Is it your recipe?” Ukyo asked, looking around,
tilting her head. There was something here that just
felt familiar somehow.”
“Ah… no.” Colette said. “I’m afraid the recipe belongs
to our Little Chef, who is absent at this moment.”
Uyko looked up at a patch of plants that decorated the
wall almost up to the ceiling. Had something moved up
there? “Really? Too bad,” Ukyo said, turning to look
back at Colette. “Listen, I am a bit tired, but I
would love to meet the other chef too.”
“Um…” Colette looked at Linguini who had just closed
shop and skated back inside. Linguini shook his head.
“That might prove difficult, our Little Chef is very
shy.”
Nabiki smirked. “I bet he is, some of the magazines
that have covered La Ratatouille have commented on the
fact that he is known only to you two and the former
critic Ego.”
Collete and Lignuini smiled sheepishly.
Ukyo nodded. “I would very much enjoy talking to you
two later when I am well rested and I can actually
enjoy your company fully.”
“I would be our pleasure,” Colette said, elbowing
Linguini into stammering his acquiesce.
“I will be in Paris for a few days, so I will drop by
in a couple of days. See you then.” Ukyo said, waving
a bit and following Nabiki and Linguini out of the
kitchen.
Colette sighed and leaned back, looking up as Rémy
jumped into the small elevator and then jumped on the
counter.
“So… what do you think?” Colette asked.
Rémi shrugged and smiled sheepishly making so-so
motions with his hands.
Colette chuckled as she got back to work. “I guess it
takes more than fame to impress you, Little Chef.”

-o-

“That was a nice dinner, wasn’t it?” Nabiki sighed as
they walked slowly back to their hotel.
“Hmm hm.”
“The ray was just right, not too tough, and the
fondue…”
“Yeah…”
“And all those dancing beans, magnificent. Never come
to Paris without watching the Can-can done by beans.”
“Hm.”
Nabiki stopped and watched Ukyo as the pensive chef
stopped, looking back towards La Ratatouille. “There’s
something strange going on in there.”
Nabiki groaned and held Ukyo’s eyes with her own.
“Look, we have time. Don’t go all crazy right now, ok?
First business, then pleasure.”
Ukyo sighed and nodded. “Sure Nabs. Lead the way.”

-o-

That night Ukyo turned in her bed, unable to sleep. On
the other bed, Nabiki slept, probably spent from the
flight. Finally, after tossing around yet again, she
sat up and ran a hand through her hair. “Damn
airplanes always do this to me.” She muttered, sliding
out of bed and carefully making her way to the
bathroom.
Once she had closed the door as silently as she could
she looked at the clock. It was already too late. One
in the morning and an early start in a few hours. Ukyo
sighed and looked at herself. She didn’t look
completely tired, and she wasn’t feeling it either.
But what to do?
She sat down on the edge of the bathtub, her thoughts
drifting to the presence she had felt inside the
restaurant. “La Ratatouille… what are you hiding
there, Colette? Linguini?”
She looked at the clock again.

-o-

>From the outside, the small restaurant seemed
completely quiet. Inside though, a troop of rats
washed the dishes, cleaned the ovens, and took stock
of the remaining food in the fridge. In the dining
room, Linguini carefully arranged the seats and tables
while Colette calculated the day’s earnings. Rémi
overlooked the procedures with a satisfied smile, arms
crossed and nodding.
>From one of the small ventilation shafts in the
kitchen, Ukyo, in mouse form, watched in wonder. “I
knew something here was strange.” She breathed,
noticing a very strong smell, tearing her eyes away
from the kitchen towards the cupboard. Her mouth
started watering as the smell drafted all the way to
her hiding place. “Cheese…” Ukyo took two steps
forward and stopped. “No… I mustn’t. Damn that
Monterrey Jack and his cheese appreciation classes…”
another whiff. “Oh gods… Cremeux de Saint Parthem…”
she gulped and looked down at the horde of rats
working in the kitchen. “How can they even resist?!”
she looked away from them to Colette, Linguini and the
rat they were talking to, then back to the rats below.
“Would they notice? I mean, surely the other rats have
taken free bites, right?”
She took as much care as she could opening the
ventilation shaft just a small creak, allowing her to
slide inside. Once in, she looked back and slowly
pulled out her spatula, wincing when it touched the
metal with a small ping. A quick look revealed that
no-one had heard her.
Hiding among the plants, she spied for the best way
down. There was a small elevator designed for the
rats, no doubt, but that was too obvious. She looked
down from the plants. The sink was there, but it was
full of rats cleaning. There was, however, a wooden
beam that followed around the top of the kitchen to
where the fridge was.
Ukyo made her way on the beam, each little slap her
feet did on the wood resonating on her ears like drums
accusing her of stealing. Ukyo breathed deeply,
relying in her martial arts training to calm down and
reach her objective. Jumping down to the top of the
fridge and next slid down to the handle, where she
could see the cupboard where the cheese was stored.
Below her, she could hear the rats announcing their
success in each of their tasks.
Looking back towards the cupboard, she caught another
smell emanating from it. “P'tit Berrichon! No, no…
what am I going to do…” Ukyo salivated as she
contemplated her options… she surreptitiously looked
at the rats before gathering her courage and jumping
onto the cupboard. She landed, looked around ensuring
she was alone, and turned to look at the cheese.
Her mind blanked as she went from sniffing one to the
other. Her eyes widened as she ran from the P'tit
Berrichon to the Cremeux de Saint Parthem. She ignored
the cheddar completely as she beheld all the other
cheeses. “Rogeret, Cap Gris Nez, Liersois, Tommette de
Corbière, Carré de Roncq, Poiset au Marc...” Ukyo
listed as she sniffed each cheese in turn, mind
twisting and turning at the prospect of tasting each
and every one of them.
“You… have a pretty good nose, you know?” a voice
interrupted her musings.
“Aaah!” she shouted, snapping out her spatula into a
defensive position between her and the young rat that
was reclining against the door of the cupboard. “Don’t
do that!” she shouted as her brain went into overload.
“I didn’t do anything! I swear! I was just smelling
them! Honest!”
The rat was by now making soothing motions with his
hands as he walked around Ukyo in a non-threatening
manner.
Uyko glanced behind him as several rats crowded
outside, some curious, others obviously angry.
“Here, try telling me this one.” The rat said, picking
a piece of cheese from the pile. He handed it to her.
Ukyo took it in one hand, feeling the smooth dough and
the softness of the cheese. She smelt it slightly.
“Clacbitou… I think.”
The rat smiled from ear to ear. “Amazing! Try it,
you’ve earned it!”
Ukyo put it into her mouth, the cheese melting into an
explosion of sublime flavor. It wasn’t strong, but at
the same time her taste buds were exploding in
ecstasy. She let her spatula fall from her hand as she
sank down on the cupboard. “That is amazing…”
“It is isn’t it?” The rat said, ushering the other
rats out. “Come on out, we need to talk, miss…?”
“Ukyo.” Ukyo said, standing up and strapping her
spatula on her back.
The rat blink-blinked and said nothing until she was
outside and he had locked the cupboard.
“That’s interesting, today we had a guest with the
same name.” the rat said.
“Oh, that is, because I came with her, yes. Heh heh…”
Ukyo smiled, a bit unsure. “She named me, as you can
imagine. Eh, what is your name?”
The rat, who had been staring at her shook his head
and stood straighter. “Oh, sorry, how rude of me, the
name is…”
“Rémy!” Someone shouted and both turned around to see
a big rat followed by a group of rats including a
really, really big one. “Is this the thief I heard
about?” The rat asked, glaring at her.
“I didn’t steal anything!” Ukyo complained.
“Silence!” The rat retorted. “This place is our
hideout, we don’t want any thieving mice sticking
their noses inside!”
“Um… dad?”
“What, Rémy?”
“It’s okay, really.” The rat said. “She hadn’t stolen
anything and she has a nose almost as good as mine.”
The big rat growled, but looked at Ukyo in a slightly
less hostile manner before looking back at his son.
“If you insist, Rémy, this is your place after all,
just warn her not to bring more mice here!”
“Dad…”
“Rémy, listen to me, mice also need a lot of food, and
like us they have big families. I know you are aware
of that, you have to realize that if she brings more
friends…”
“I won’t! I swear!” Ukyo interrupted. Both looked at
her. “I’m on my own in Paris, other than Ukyo and
Nabiki, I came here because they said the food was
good and I wanted to take a look.”
Rémy looked at his dad who just shrugged. “I think we
can trust her, dad.”
The big rat sighed. “So be it. But I will be
watching!” he turned around and started marching away.
“We already took our payment for tonight Rémy. See you
tomorrow!”
“See you tomorrow, dad!” Rémy waved at their backs as
slowly all the rats marched out.
Rémy turned back to Ukyo with a soft chuckle. “Heh,
that was my dad, Django.”
“He seems to care a lot for you.” Ukyo said with a
smile.
“He sure does.”
The door to the kitchen banged open and Colette and
Linguini walked in.
“All in all a good day.” Linguini said.
“Good? Are you kidding? We met Ukyo Kounji!” Colette
answered, picking up her bags.
Linguini looked at them then, and smiled. “Well Little
Chef, we’re off. Are you coming with me to the flat?”
Rémy shook his head, motioning towards Ukyo, who just
smiled and waved.
“Oh… oh…” Colette said, leaning down and looking at
the pair. “She’s cute, Little Chef, where did you find
her?”
Rémy and Ukyo shared a look, and the rat shrugged.
Colette chuckled. “Fine, fine, don’t tell. Are you
ready Linguini?”
Linguini, who had been looking at the pair oddly
nodded. “Eh, sure. See you later eh, Little Chef?”
Rémy nodded and both walked out, leaving Ukyo and Rémy
alone.
Something clicked in Ukyo’s head. “Wait… you are the
Little Chef? The secret cook of La Ratatouille?!”
Rémy smiled and shrugged. “Is it so hard to believe?”
“I just never thought a rat could cook for humans…”
Ukyo started then closed her mouth. “Under… uh, normal
circumstances.”
“Well, it’s not really normal circumstances, last time
they closed the restaurant I was working in…” Rémy
looked at her so intently that Ukyo blushed and looked
away. “Um… how about we talk this over some Fond d'Or
and a cup of Rose wine?” he suggested.
“I…” Ukyo looked at the clock. It was two in the
morning… she looked back at Rémy’s brown eyes. “Um…
sure.”
“Great!” Rémy almost shouted. “Let me make sure it’s
warm enough. There’s tables up there, be right back!”
Ukyo watched the rat run around the kitchen with a
smile and started walking towards the makeshift
elevator. “Nabiki is going to kill me… but…” She
looked back as she was pulled up. “I think it’s worth
it.”
-o-

End Chapter 1



      
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