Hi, I rewrote a little of this and tightened up a few lines. What do ya'll
think? Send back to z_haneyrm@titan.sfasu.edu
p.s. I'll also be posting a picture based on the Hidden Talents series.

Howdy all!!!! This is a follow up to Hidden Talents, part one. I decided
to just finish this one up, cuz I had the idea for it running through my
head for the past couple of days. This will make my second FINISHED fanfic
and C&C would be much appreciated. This story is very much on the romantic
side. I guess you can peg that down to me being a softie and also a member
of The Defenders of Ryoga and Ukyou. Uhhh... I don t have much more to say
other than yes, Ukyou and Ryoga are both a tad OOC and I have no real
defense for that. About all I can say toward that is ask weather or not
you personally have ever been with someone late, late, late into the night
or morning and just felt yourself let go. Oh yeah, and actually pay note
to the disclaimer, it might enlighten a few things.



Disclaimer : All characters noted herein are property of Rumiko Takahashi
and Viz Video. The situation of Ryoga and Ukyou's living arrangements
(and Ranma's job) are a set up from Marisa Price's  "A Lesson In Love"
.
Note: These events do NOT happen in A Lesson In Love. Consider it a type
of alternate borrowing. Also, just because events to Hidden Talents One
are referred to, does not mean that all Hidden Talents stories are
interconnected.  



Hidden Talents

part, the second

 



    Ukyou Kounji quietly walked through the halls of her home and
livelihood.It was about one a.m. on an early Saturday morning. Ucchans had been
closed for about two hours and Ranma and Ryoga had finally finished
cleaning up less than an hour ago. Ukyou paused in the darkness, clasping
her arms about her as she felt a slight chill. "Lord, its cold," she
thought to herself. A small voice in the back of her mind whispered about
the niceties of a warm bedroom and snuggling with Ryoga. She felt a blush
pass over her face. Even now, thinking about "their" bed still made her
feel self conscious.
      She walked through the main dining room in comfortable silence.
Without any light or sound, she slowly passed the grill, absently running
a hand over the cool metal surface of one of her passions. Continuing
through the room, she passed a glance over one of the newest attachments
to her restaurant. She smiled fondly as she gently breezed by the dark
grand piano that her uncle had sent her. Ever since setting it up in the
dining hall and making  "Friday Formal" , she had enjoyed a nice upswing
in business on Friday nights. She grinned again at how Ranma and Ryoga
still chapped at each other. She recalled Ranma's complaints on having to
do all the tables while Ryoga simply had to play the piano, and Ryoga's stout,
slightly snooty reply, on how it was a lot harder then it looked. She was
glad that her uncle had thought of her when he had stumbled onto the
instrument, and even gladder that she now had a perfect excuse to
make Ryoga play the keys. As she exited the dining room, she noted with
satisfaction that both of the guys had done a very good job cleaning up,
and business would be ready to go in the morning.
	She gracefully walked up the stairs and passed the room she now
shared with Ryoga. Again, a ghost of a smile whisked over her face as she
recalled how long it had taken to convince Ryoga to just move his small
amount of gear and clothing into her room with her. She almost laughed as
she recalled the exact words she had used to describe the scene to Akane,
later. "After three hours of patient, logical reasoning, it took about
five minutes of kissing, and I had him ready to agree to move to Hawaii!!"
She ignored the small voice inside that told her to just go to bed and get
some rest. Her purpose was almost at hand, and she was not about to lose
the private time that she had. She headed towards the attic and the small
storage room that had once been Konatsu's, and later, Ryoga's. Now, she
had converted it into her own private room. A room that no one entered but
her. Opening the door, she entered. She looked around  and settled herself
onto a stool and proceeded to work......

       Ryoga Hibiki lay asleep, dead to the world. He slowly reached his
arms out and wrapped them about Ukyou. A part of his mind reported,
however, that Ukyou seemed a lot..... cooler, then usual. Also... smaller.
And, well.... fluffier. And, hey, this is a pillow!! Ryoga woke with a
start and lifted his head. Bleary eyes scanned the bed and the room. No
Ukyou. He slowly sat up and tried to brush the sleep out of his mind, so
he could think."Let s see," he mumbled to himself, "I played three sets,
helped Ranma clean up, came up here, told Ukyou good night and just
crashed. She said.....",  his brow furrowed in concentration. "She said
she was going to lock up and take care of a few things and then come join
me....."  He glanced at the clock. 3:30 a.m. He shook his head and checked
again. 3:31 a.m. Wide awake now, Ryoga hopped out of bed, wondering where
Ukyou was and slightly worried. He stepped into the hallway, with the
smooth grace and silence of a master martial artist and scanned up and
down the hall. No sound, no light, no sign of Ukyou. Ryoga waited for a
moment and opened all his senses. He heard a faint shuffle from..... the attic?
Ryoga wondered for a moment and realized he hadn t even been up to the
attic since Ukyou had "persuaded" him to just move his stuff into her
room. He slowly headed up the stairs and quietly opened the door. Ukyou
was sitting on a stool in front of him, her back to the door. He couldn t
quite tell what she was up too.
	He softly cleared his throat and saw her freeze.......

	Ukyou suddenly sat perfectly rigid. She heard Ryoga clear his
throat again and felt a quiet despair run through her, "Damn," she
thought, "why couldn t he have stayed asleep? I didn't want anyone to
know....." She slowly turned on her stool, her pallet and brush lying in
her lap. "Hi," she whispered.
	 "Hi," Ryoga replied, just as soft. He advanced towards her and
lowered himself next to her stool. His eyes scanned the room and took in
the many easels and pieces of art hanging on the walls and stacked on
boxes.
	"Uhhhh..... couldn't sleep?"  she asked casually, praying against
hope that Ryoga wouldn't look to hard at the paintings.
	"Yeah....," he gently ran a finger over her cheek, "I missed you.
Do you know it s almost 4?" 
	She started in genuine surprise, "No, no I didn't. I'm sorry you
woke up Ryo-chan. I know how hard you worked tonight..." 
	Ryoga just shrugged. "I'm ok." He turned his head and gestured
toward the walls with his hand. "I never knew you painted." He looked at
Ukyou with slightly confused eyes.
	"Well,"  she laughed nervously, "I guess you could just call it a
hidden talent of mine."  
	Ryoga looked around the room again and suddenly, his eyes
narrowed.  "Oh no,"  Ukyou thought, despairingly, "He sees..."
        He stood and began to nonchalantly walk around. "Wow," he
said, as he took in all the pieces on the wall and began to shuffle
through the stack on the boxes, eyes hoping to see a certain image. "These
are all pretty good. How come you never told anyone you painted." He
pointed at the canvas on the eisl, "I'm sure Ranma and Akane would like
that one." The half completed painting was of Ranma and Akane standing
side by side. On the wall behind him, were paintings of Shampoo, Kuno,
Mousse, Kasumi, Nabikki, self portraits of Ukyou, Akane, and Ranma. Lot's
of Ranma's. A small, tired, and sad voice popped up in his mind. And no
Ryoga's.
	"Well," she said, hesitantly. "I found out that I loved to paint a
little after I got to Tokyo. I guess I never told anyone about it because
I ve just been to busy. And..... well," she looked around helplessly, "I
never thought I was any good at it, really." 
	"No",  Ryoga said, a little sadly, "these are all really good.
Really. You should be proud of these." He looked around again, hoping to
see a picture he hadn t seen before, but to no avail. For some reason he
couldn't fathom, there was not a single picture of him. His eyes took in
the room and saw paintings of literally everyone that they knew yet
not a single painting of him. He felt an old pain and resentment that 
he had thought he would never feel again as he saw the numerous
portraits of Ranma. He turned and slowly began to walk out of the room.
"Goodnight, Ukyou." He waved his hand slightly and headed out of the room.
	Ukyou saw the slump in Ryoga's shoulders and knew exactly what he
was thinking. She saw the old pain on his face and felt her heart almost
break. "Ryoga, wait," she called, pleadingly. 
   	Ryoga slowly turned his head. She jumped up and went to him and took
his hand. "I've got a painting I'd like you to see." She tugged him toward
the far end of the attic, he followed, half-heartedly. She stopped in
front of a large footlocker and slowly popped the latches. Opening the
top, she reached in and took out a large canvas. "Ryo-chan," she whispered
as she held the canvas to her chest and slowly turned around, "I know this
painting isn t that good, but what do you think of it?" 
	Ryoga gasped as he gazed at a painting of himself. At least, he
thought it was of him. It was a masterpiece of a painting, bold colors,
with beautiful details. Ryoga didn t know art very well, but even he could
tell that someone had poured their soul into this. It showed a young,
strong man with dark hair and a yellow bandanna. It showed his face, it
showed his fangs. What confused Ryoga were the wings. Beautiful feathered
wings were on him. Wings that allowed him to fly. "Why do I... why did
you... this is.... "
	"Do you like it Ryo-chan?" Ukyou's voice trembled and Ryoga was
startled to notice that her eyes were tightly shut while she waited his
judgment. He reached out and took the painting in his left hand and
enfolded Ukyou into an embrace with his right. "The painting is beautiful,
Ukyou. But I don't look that good. Why did you paint it like this?" 
	"You silly," she whispered. "Don't you get it? That's how I see
you." 
	Ryoga paused for a moment, stunned, as he gazed at the painting.
"Then why isn't this one out?" he asked, trying to collect his thoughts.
	"Cuz it's not good enough." Ukyou's eyes were now open and
staring straight into his own. "That's why none of them are out, none of
them do you justice." 
	Ryoga looked into the footlocker and say that there were at least
a half-dozen more paintings inside it. He shook his head in amazement. He
had had no idea that she had seen him this way.
	"Ryoga,"  she began.
	Ryoga's lips met hers and cut her words off. He set the painting
down and encircled his arms around her. After an eternity of seconds, he
pulled back and stared at her. "Thank you," he whispered, "This is much
more than I deserve. You are much more than I deserve." He whispered the
last with emphasis. Ukyou stared into his eyes and saw the sincerity and
love there and leaned forward and kissed him again. She looked around the
room and back at Ryoga. "Ryo-chan, I'm tired. Let's go to bed."  Ryoga
nodded and the two turned to leave the room.


	Saturday night at the Ucchan. 2 am. Any late passerby would have
seen that the lights were on and that soft piano flowed out the door.
Anyone going by the windows who peered in would see two young people. One
playing a piano, and one painting, both creating beauty.