Ukyo's Secret Sauce, Part 1

 (Ranma to Ukyo ga Sōsu Sōai?, 乱馬と右京がソース相愛?) is the 19th episode in the sixth season, Random Rhapsody, of Ranma ½ and the 131st episode overall.

Relation to the Previous Episode
None.

Rediscovering the Secret Sauce
One day during Ukyo's and Ranma's childhood, Ukyo is making a secret sauce, much to Ranma's excitement. After Ukyo tells Ranma to calm down and stop jumping around, she looks over at her father who's cooking Okonomiyaki and hopes he doesn't mind her using his "special little recipe" otherwise she'll be in big trouble.

Back to modern day and at Okonomiyaki Ucchan's, Ukyo is removing one of the floorboards of her restaurant and takes out the same pot which was used to make her secret sauce when she was a child and declares to herself that it's time to test it. She then proceeds to remove the covering of the pot and mentions that the sauce has been ageing for the last decade. The time to test the sauce has come and Ukyo puts a wooden spoon into the sauce, followed by putting a small amount of the sauce in the spoon onto her finger and licking it. The taste of the sauce causes a big reaction from Ukyo who then drops the spoon onto the floor.

The Next Day
After the final bell at Furinkan High School rings, Akane and Ranma walk out and Akane wonders what happened to Ukyo as she's never missed a day of school before. Ranma believes that maybe Ukyo got sick. The two then go to Okonomiyaki Ucchan's (which has a closed sign on the door) and check on Ukyo. It turns out Ukyo skipped school because she messed up on the secret Okonomiyaki sauce.

Ukyo offers the pair a taste of the sauce, they both accept and find the taste of the sauce disgusting. Ukyo then wonders why she failed like this after devoting her life to Okonomiyaki (followed to her having a flashback to when she'd finished making the sauce and explaining to Ranma that they have to let it age for a few years). Not understanding what went wrong as she was sure she followed the recipe exactly, Ukyo asks Ranma if she sealed the lid tightly, to which Ranma replies that he believed it was.

As Ukyo continues to worry about her failure of the sauce, Ranma remembers back to ten years ago, revealing that while the sauce was meant to be ageing, young Ranma (who wanted to taste the sauce then and there) knocked the pot over and caused it to spill over. In a panic young Ranma then made his own sauce by throwing all sorts of random items into the pot. Ranma then thinks to himself that if Ukyo ever found out he'd be toast.

Akane then shocks the reminiscent Ranma, by offering Ukyo some porridge she made. Aware of Akane's lack of cooking skills, he asks Akane if she's trying to kill Ukyo. Ukyo doesn't listen to Ranma's warning and agrees to try some of Akane's porridge, however, after having one spoonful of the horrible tasting porridge, Ukyo falls unconscious.

At the Tendo Dojo
Some time has passed and Ukyo is now at the Tendo Dojo with Akane and Ranma. Soun tells Ukyo that as she lives alone, it would be wise for her to live with them until she feels better. Ukyo thanks Soun for the kind offer but says that it isn't that bad, Ranma retorts to this by telling Ukyo that not only is she suffering from the issues with her sauce, but she had Akane's cooking.

Akane is angered by this, while Genma is horrified by this. Ukyo tells Akane not to worry as she's sure she'll feel better soon. Ranma then tells Ukyo is there's anything she needs all she needs to is ask, this makes Ukyo very happy but asks Ranma why he's being so nice all of a sudden, Ranma replies that there's no reason (while saying this Ranma remembers back to him making his own sauce in replace of Ukyo's).

Ranma continues by grasping Ukyo's hands and asking her why she needs to ask that as they've been friends for a long time. Confetti then falls over the two as they look at each other, but this turns out to be from Genma who's throwing it over the two (while holding a sign saying "Oh happy day!"). Soun tells off Genma, who quickly apologises.

Ukyo looks at Ranma and asks him that as she's going to be staying a while if he'll help her, this turns out to be having Ranma move most of Ukyo's belongings into a room for her. Akane asks Ukyo if she's planning on moving into Ranma's room, to which Ukyo replies that she's out of this depression caused by her ruining that sauce. Just then Ranma falls over while moving Ukyo's stuff, but when asked if he's alright Ranma quickly gets up and says he's fine. Nabiki (who's been watching from the door with Akane and Kasumi) asks Ranma if he's hiding something, causing Ranma to fall over again.

That Evening
Akane and Ranma are outside in the Tendo Dojo garden and Akane asks Ranma what he's going to do, along with why he's suddenly being so nice to Ukyo. Ranma says he doesn't know what Akane's talking about, to which Akane says under her breath that she smells a rat. Akane continues by asking Ranma again if he's sure there isn't something he's not telling her. Ranma tells Akane that he's sure and tells Akane not to ask her so many questions.

Just then Ranma falls off the bird feeder which he was sat on, causing Akane to ask Ranma if he's sure about what he just said. Ranma gets up and tells Akane that it's hard to explain the relationship between him and Ukyo, continuing by telling Akane she wouldn't understand. This worries and surprises Akane.

A Little Later
Ranma has decided to take a bath and is about to leave when Ukyo appears. Ranma asks Ukyo what she's doing, to which Ukyo replies she can't lie around doing nothing and tells Ranma to turn around so she can clean his back. Ranma panics and is against this, while Ukyo tries to convince Ranma by saying that they grew up together. An extremely angered Akane then walks in and attacks Ranma.

Later on and Ranma is about to go to bed (while wondering why Akane never listens to what he has to say before she hits him), however, when he enters his room he finds Ukyo lying in a bed next to his. Ukyo says she's been waiting for him and it'll be just like when they were little kids, sleeping next to each other when they were camping. Once again Ranma panics, backs away and says he'd better not, this causes Ukyo to asks Ranma what he's waiting for while also telling Ranma to not say that he's shy again.

After muttering to himself that this isn't good, Akane appears and hits Ranma over the head with a mallet. Ranma shouts at Akane that he wasn't doing anything, but Akane shouts back telling Ranma that he was going to. Soun then pats Ranma on the back and asks him that for someone who's living in his fiancé's house what he's thinking, quickly followed by sending Ranma flying through the roof of the Dojo. While Ranma flies off he screams that it's not what it looks like.

Next Morning
Akane is doing some early morning training and shouts that even if they are friends, Ranma shouldn't be sleeping with a girl next to him. Akane then kicks the tree she's stood in front of, and Ranma falls out of the tree (still wearing his pyjamas from last night). After quickly deducing that Ranma slept in the tree all night, Akane tells Ranma if he keeps this up he'll catch a cold. Ranma replies that he can't do anything about it until Ukyo feels better.

Hearing this, Akane asks Ranma when he thinks Ukyo will leave, but doesn't get an idea. Just then a pinky-purple fog rolls past. Ranma and Akane have to hold their noses at the awful smell coming from the fog. The source of the fog and the smell are from the cooking of Ukyo's secret sauce. Ukyo apologises and explains that she wanted to make breakfast for herself and that although it was a mistake from long ago she still has her pride. Ukyo continues by saying that despite everyone saying it's horrible, she still has to eat it.

Soun, now holding a microphone, says he's never seen anything quite so brave, while Genma holds up a sign saying "A true professional". Ranma, however, panics and runs towards Ukyo and takes the Okonomiyaki from her and eats it himself. After sarcastically saying it was delicious, Ranma collapses causing everyone to worry and Kasumi says she'll make him a bed.

At Furinkan High
Ranma is lying on his desk when Hiroshi and Daisuke come over and ask him what's wrong with his face as it looks like he's been trying Akane's cooking again. Ukyo looks on at Ranma while thinking about the fact he saved her from eating the Okonomiyaki, while Akane is at her desk sharpening a pencil until it's extremely short thinking to herself that something isn't right.

Ukyo and Akane are then on the roof, where Ukyo asks Akane what she wanted to talk about. Akane asks Ukyo if she thinks that Ranma's been acting strange lately, to which Ukyo replies she guesses he has been a little bit, to which Akane says she thought so. Ukyo then has a flashback to when she and Ranma were children and she tells Ranma that she'll let him have the first taste of the sauce when it's ready, but for a price. Ukyo continues by telling Akane she recalls making a really important promise to Ranma, which turns out to be Ranma promised if the sauce was good he'd look after her for the rest of his life.

This makes Ukyo believe that Ranma now wants to spend the rest of his life with her and is more depressed that she ruined it, to which Akane isn't surprised that this was caused by another one of Ranma's promises.

Now at the water fountain outside, and Ranma is taking some Antacid to try and stop the pain from the sauce. Akane tells Ranma that's what he gets for eating that sauce and the maybe it hurts because he has some explaining to do. When Ranma enquires to what Akane means she expands on her initial comment by indirectly mentioning she knows about Ranma's promise to Ukyo when they were little.

Ranma then remembers back and says it was something he'll never be able to forget. Akane then asks Ranma why he agreed to it as he thought Ukyo was a boy at the time, to which Ranma replies that that hasn't anything to do with it. Akane agrees with Ranma, and Ranma continues by saying that he can't do anything to hurt Ukyo. Just then some Okonomiyaki flies towards Ranma, which he catches and it turns out to be topped with the Secret Sauce.

Ukyo then emerges from behind a tree and declare she's decided to get rid of her sauce, as she has to put her career as an Okonomiyaki chef before her happiness and they only way she can do that is to have Ranma say the sauce is horrible. Ranma eats the Okonomiyaki, but to the surprise of Akane and disappointment of Ukyo, Ranma can't bring himself to say the sauce is horrible and says that it's actually kind of tasty (although he obviously finds it disgusting).

Hearing that Ranma likes the sauce touches Ukyo, who hugs Ranma, while Akane hits Ranma over the head with the Okonomiyaki Sauce pot. Akane tells Ranma she hopes he's happy now that he has to spend the rest of his life with Ukyo. Ukyo then declares that it looks like she'll have to put her happiness over being an Okonomiyaki chef after all, to which Ranma asks what they're talking about. Akane angrily tells Ranma not to play dumb, while Ranma stares confused.

At the Tendo Dojo Again
Ukyo tells Ranma she's delighted he remembered their promise from so long ago, she continues by saying she might not be much of a good woman now but she'll be an excellent wife. After looking around Ranma asks Ukyo if she's sure they made this promise, to which Ukyo asks Ranma if he really doesn't remember the promise. Just then an angered Soun appears and asks Ranma if this is true. Ukyo then makes more Okonomiyaki with the ruined sauce, which distracts Soun with it's horrible smell.

Once cooked, Ukyo says that Ranma ate the Okonomiyaki with the ruined sauce and said it tasted good so he couldn't have done it if it wasn't for love. Soun then chases after Ranma, while Nabiki and Kasumi watch from outside the room all this is going on in, with Nabiki saying things are getting more complicated.

Akane, meanwhile, is outside breaking some cement blocks while thinking about how stupid Ranma was to make that promise to Ukyo when they were kids. Akane then begins to imagine Ranma leaving her for Ukyo, before quickly deciding she's not the one who should apologise. Just then Ranma comes falling from the sky and lands right next to Akane. Without realising who he's in front of, Ranma begins to apologise to Soun, but stops when he notices he's in front of Akane. Ranma then asks why he's apologising to her, to which Akane says she has no idea and maybe it's because he's a complete idiot.

That Evening
Ranma tells Akane that it was him who made the horrible batch Ukyo's been using since he spilled the first one. When Akane asks what made it taste so terrible, Ranma says it could've been either the insect wine or maybe the powdered cuttlefish. Akane continues to enquire by asking Ranma about the promise he made to Ukyo, to which Ranma reveals he'd forgotten about it. After Akane calls Ranma an idiot, Ranma says he'll explain it to her and apologise as a man's got to take responsibility for his actions.

Ranma goes to see Ukyo and tells her they need to talk. However, Ukyo tells Ranma he's just in time as she's finished making dinner and it'll be just the two of them. Ukyo then takes Ranma's arm and makes him sit down. Ranma tries to apologise to Ukyo, but she's too interested in being a good wife so doesn't pay attention to what Ranma's trying to say. Ranma then gets distracted and begins to just eat the meal Ukyo has prepared, but Akane appears and angrily tells Ranma that there's something he was going to explain to Ukyo.

Once again Ranma tries to tells Ukyo, but begins getting fed making Akane hit him again. Finally, Ranma and Akane take Ukyo away from the table and explain about Ranma ruined the sauce and didn't remember the promise, with Akane also explaining that Ranma was being nice out of guilt. Ukyo, however, doesn't believe this and decides that Akane put Ranma up to this.

Ukyo then angrily looks at Akane and tells her that if she thinks Ranma's just going to run back to her she's dead wrong as she'll (Ukyo) do anything to protect what's hers. As the pair continue to try and convince Ukyo, Nabiki appears and says it's time Akane and Ranma told Ukyo the truth. Nabiki explains that although she may know the two are engaged but the truth is they're married (Akane and Ranma look on in disbelief at the over-the-top way Nabiki just announced this), with Soun saying that it's the truth while Genma holds a sign saying "I didn't know!".

Akane tries to get Nabiki to wait a minute, but Nabiki whispers to Akane telling her to go along with it as she's got nothing to lose. Akane decides to play along (as does everyone else but Ranma) and tells Ukyo she's sorry as they should've told her earlier. Ukyo, however, looks on unconvinced while Ranma begins shouting that it's all lies, causing Akane to hug him saying they can't hide the truth anymore (Ranma asks Akane if she's gone crazy).

At first Ranma is still confused about what's going on, but Akane convinces him to play along. Ukyo asks what they're talking about, to which Ranma says they just had an argument like an average couple. The Tendo family and Genma begin to compliment the two on their marriage. While Ukyo thinks to herself about how she's not going to stop until she unmasks their lie.

Quotes

 * You... You made it... Are you trying to kill her?!! - Ranma when he hears that Akane made the porridge she's offering Ukyo.

Trivia

 * When Ranma eats the Okonomiyaki with his horrible sauce on it, Genma can been seen crossing himself.
 * The english dub of this episode includes a rather rare instance of there being a notable long delay between Genma holding up a sign in panda form before it being translated, with there being a 4-5 second wait between Genma showing the sign and it being translated when everyone decides Akane and Ranma are married.
 * When Akane hits the cement blocks the flash that appears on the screen includes a Chibi Akane.