mabli@idirect.com
A Different Brand Of Mousse part 10
A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic by Mark Ferrer
Disclaimer: All rights are reserved to their respective owners. The so
far few and far between original characters are mine. Don't sue me,
please.
Note: I honestly can't tell if I've taken some liberties with some/all
of the characters. Sorry, I couldn't help it.
Thoughts are in <>
Normal dialogue is in "quotes"
Text (panda sign/reading from written material) is in []
Chinese in {}
************************************************************************
So much has happened lately that I've actually had to write it all down.
I doubt I'd ever experience anything like it so it would be a good tale
to tell to anyone interested.
I guess it all started back when a certain pig-tailed martial artist
came to our village. Who knew one little kiss could mean so much?
Somehow, it all ends with a visit from a future self and goddesses.
Meeting my future self was both depressing and uplifting. It showed that
in one timeline, I gained the respect of the village. The downside is
that it was just out of fear and that Shampoo was no longer like her old
self. I can't imagine what it must have been like to see it happen.
Shampoo loved Ranma that much...
There's plenty to thank Ranma though. If he had never came to the
village, everything would have been the same. Shampoo would still be the
undisputed champion of our village. And it would be for the next year,
the one after that and finally she would be made Matriarch.
Now, Shampoo had been forced to improve with all that's happened in the
past year. It also meant that some of the youth of the village could see
beyond the village. But it would still be a while before anything really
interesting happens. The elders still have considerable control over
things. It's just a matter of time before others ask to see the world.
Speaking of seeing the world, there goes my saviors, Urd and Skuld. I've
seen a lot since I joined Ranma's circus but I don't think much can top
two goddesses. I've never been too religious but I can't help but
believe. It's funny, I've always loved mythology but it's something to
actually see it in person.
As for the term, saviors, it's because they're helping get a curse off
me. The curse that's been in place long before I was born. I have no
malice for Urd though. Everybody makes mistakes, especially high
spirited teenagers when it comes to their love lives. Her spell explains
my whole life. 'The Curse of Unrequited Love' is Urd's most powerful
spell as the goddess of love. At least that's what she tells me. Which
is quite often because she's usually drunk and forgets she's already
said it. Skuld rolls her eyes whenever Urd says this to me.
All my life, my focus has been Shampoo. No other girl could catch my
eye. And in return, girls kept meetings with me short and simple. With
all the women in the village, I can imagine just how much power was
being used to keep the spell in place. I guess when I decided to go to
Japan, the power needed was greatly reduced.
But I can't help but wonder about the past lifetimes I've lived. To undo
the spell, Skuld has devised a rather simple solution. I merely go under
a hypnotic trance and tell the life story of the person. A laptop does
the rest while Skuld monitors the systems and Urd monitors how the spell
is weakening. I remember snippets of what I say under the trance but
Skuld and Urd always seem to be near tears at the end of our sessions.
Urd once said to me that lives without any love are ended quickly or
prolonged because the person remains hopeful. With the spell cast, it
made hope seem cheap.
And probably the strangest thing that's ever happened to me is when I
visited myself. In a strange twist of fate, I seem to have gotten some
of the strangeness that hangs around the Saotome and Tendo families. My
future self came back to give me the technique that I would eventually
master. The reason for him stepping it up was to stop what would have
been the biggest mistake of my life: subjecting Shampoo to a loveless
marriage. My future self seemed to have a haunted look to his eyes. But
he walked with confidence that came with the so far unbeatable skills
he'd learned. Though, it seemed like he was missing an important part of
himself.
Even with all that, I envy him. He got closer to Shampoo in ways I could
only imagine. Though there was no love, his diary speaks of times when
it seemed like all was right with the world and Shampoo actually liked
the idea of having him as a husband. Of course those times are few and
far between. The curse would return to it's usual intensity and the
moment vanishes as quickly as it came.
Speaking of curses, my future self also cured me of blindness and
Jusenkyo. If he never walked down his path, I would have never gotten
them. As for the techniques with the black void, I guess it was
inevitable. Ever since I told myself about it, I've been thinking of
looking for the old master. If not just to thank him for choosing me to
pass on his techniques. I had better get going soon if I'm to get there
before he dies. From what I've been told and read in the diary, he
hasn't much time left to live.
************************************************************************
Mousse looked back at the pages he'd used up in his diary. "That's
enough for today I guess." he said to himself, unconsciously scratching
at his cast bound forearm. "6 more months to go."
He closed up the Nekohanten. The restaurant had lost a good
majority of it's original customers ever since the draw had left. In
fact, as soon as schools and workplaces started for the day, the
restaurant got downright lonely. In the end, he saved more money by only
opening at the peak hours. The good thing is that it gave him plenty of
time with the two goddesses. He had no limits, all he was doing was
retelling a story under hypnosis. But the two always stopped him after
about an hour.
Not having a place to go, he turned in a random direction and
started walking. His thoughts briefly went to the Lost Boy. A part of
him still couldn't believe how easily the other boy got lost. After the
morning rush, there was hardly anyone around. A group of tourists even
asked if they could have a picture of him. They wanted to have a picture
of a 'Japanese' person. He let the photo be taken and offered to give
them a discount at the Nekohanten.
His wanderings finally brought him to the store he most frequented.
An quaint out of the way little shop that he was a preferred customer
in.
"Good morning, Ken." he said, walking towards the owner of the
store.
Ken Tachizawa looked up from his magazine and smiled. This kid was
probably the only reason he never went out of business.
"Good morning Mu Tsu! Guess what, your order came in. Just let me
get it." he said, going to the back of the store.
Mousse sighed when the man left. He had order the weapons in his
latest idea to defeat Ranma but now...
"These things are just amazing. I tried it out on some garbage cans
in the back and the shurikens went straight though." he placed the
gauntlets on the counter. Mousse responded by laying a wad of bills on
the counter. He picked up one of the gauntlets and placed it over his
left forearm. The specifications fit his arm perfectly. And, as ordered,
variable speed launching for the shurikens.
Ken finished counting the money and said, "So, you want any more
shurikens to go with that? At the highest setting, that thing fires as
fast a machine gun. The 30 unit magazine won't last for long."
Mousse smiled. Using his world, he could make more shurikens than
he would ever need. He casually slipped the gauntlets into his void. "No
thanks. I've got enough at home." he paused looking around the store. A
gleam of light caught his eye. "Hey, is that new?" he said, pointing to
a sword in a display case.
"That? Nah, I just found it while clearing out the back. Not too
good a sword. Lots of scratches and nicks. It looks so old too. Why, you
want it?" he asked, wondering where Mousse was getting his money.
Mousse walked over and examined the sword. The balance seemed to be
the only good thing about the weapon. The hand guard had long been cut
off and the hilt seemed to be on it's last legs. A few slow practice
springs finally broke the hilt. The sword clanged to the ground.
"Oh damn. Sorry about that Ken. I'll pay for it." Mousse said,
picking up the broken pieces of wood and the sword by the exposed
handle.
"Don't worry. That thing's a piece of crap anyway. Hell, I was
gonna throw it out." he said, offering a wastebasket.
Mousse threw away the remains of the hilt but held onto the sword.
The metal handle felt icy cold but he couldn't let go. "Can I keep it?"
he asked.
"You sure? That piece of crap? It doesn't even have a proper handle
anymore." Ken answered.
"Actually, with the hilt gone, the balance is even better." said
Mousse, taking a few slow practice swings. "In all honesty, I always
thought that without the hilt, you could tell more about the sword."
"I don't know about that. You want a wrapping for the sword?"
Mousse slipped the sword into his void, his robes concealing the
move.
Ken's eyes no longer looked surprised. He'd seen it done plenty of
times before. "You should go into magic or something."
"It's fun, but where I come from, it doesn't really pay the bills."
Mousse answered, walking out the door.
"Hey. This is Japan. People will pay to see almost anything."
called out Ken.
The door closed before they could exchange any more words.
************************************************************************
No sooner that Mousse, left the store, he was stopped by a cop.
"Kid. You do know that carrying a concealed weapon is illegal.
Right?" the cop said. In the back of his mind, he was wondering where
the sword could be placed to keep it concealed.
Mousse shrugged. "I'm unarmed. Here, take a look." he took off his
robes, mindful of his cement covered forearm and offered them to the
officer. Clad in only a white t-shirt and his black pants, there seemed
no way he could have any weapons on him. The cop patted through the robe
and found no hard objects.
"I just saw you in that store. You paid for some strange gloves and
put them in your robes. Then you did the same with a sword." he cop
said, handing back the robes. <He can't hide a sword in that cast
either.>
"Obviously, I don't have anything on me. And why were you spying
one me anyway?" Mousse asked.
The cop smiled. He may have lost with the concealed weapon, but he
sure wasn't going to lose this one. "Aren't you supposed to be in
school?"
Thinking quickly, Mousse answered, "I thought the clothes would
give you a clue. I'm a tourist."
The cop's eyebrow rose. "From what I saw, you ordered something by
mail. That takes like two weeks to get in. You'd think a tourist would
at least switch to some local clothes in that time."
<Aw damn. He's got me there.> thought Mousse.
"Oh, hello Mousse." called a familiar voice.
Mousse and the cop turned to it's source and saw a woman in a
kimono with a wrapped bundle and a man in a worn gi carrying a towering
pile of shopping bags and boxes.
Hoping for some help with the matter at hand, Mousse turned his
attention to the Saotomes. "How are you two?"
Genma merely grunted in response due to the mountain of bags and
boxes he was holding.
"We're just fine Mousse." replied Nodoka, ignoring the fact that
Genma was barely visible. "What seems to be the problem here?"
The cop cleared his throat and said, "Truancy matter ma'am. This
boy should be in school right now."
Mousse sighed. "As I've said before, I'm a tourist." He winked at
Nodoka, hoping she would follow the act. "I don't go to school here."
"Ma'am, since you seem to know this boy, could you help me in this
matter?" asked the cop.
"Certainly." nodded Nodoka. "This young man is under my family's
care. He is an exchange student from China and we have been shopping for
more normal clothes for him to wear."
Mousse mentally facefaulted.
"Okay. I'll buy that." said the cop. "Good day to you all then."
Nodoka beamed, "That worked out quite well, don't you think?"
Mousse made sure the cop was out of earshot. "Now that guy's going
to check if our story is true. While he's doing that, he might discover
that I'm not a legal immigrant."
"Then we'll simply make it true. We'll legally put you under our
care and you'll enroll at Furinkan." said Nodoka, resuming her steady
pace, Genma following in step.
Mousse started walking beside the couple. "But-"
"From what I heard, ever since you and that other girl from China
came here, you didn't go to school. Am I right?" asked Nodoka.
"Well yes." answered Mousse. "The Amazon way of education has
served all of us- I mean them, well for the past thousand years."
"Is that so?" thought Nodoka aloud. "Well, entrance into a high
school requires a written test anyway. I guess we'll see how well the
Amazon way does with the real world."
Mousse was speechless. He had lost control of his life so easily.
Then, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Once she sets her mind on something, there isn't much you can do."
Genma whispered.
************************************************************************
Akane sat in school, thinking about what had transpired over the
weekend. The rumor mill had been cranked into overdrive but she
miraculously been spared from most of the gossip. Probably because of
Nabiki's hold over the school population.
Instead, most rumors were about anyone else but her. The question
of what happened to the defeated Amazons, who had quickly packed up and
left the Nekohanten to Mousse. Would they be back? What would their
fellow Amazons think of them? Where will they find a better place for
ramen?
Ukyo's absence was also of big interest. No one had seen her since
the end of the fight. The only think missing from Ucchan's was the
okonomiyaki cart that Ukyo had originally come to Nerima with. Theories
ranged from the mundane- doing a little soul searching, to the strange-
went with the Amazons to become one or as Shampoo's lover and to
misunderstandings-of-Ryogaic-proportions- started looking for Togenkyo
island for the monkey man. But the biggest problems with Ukyo's absence
was the large number of teenagers having nothing better to do. Usually,
they (well, at least the boys) would be at the Nekohanten oogling
Shampoo or at the Ucchan's oogling Ukyo. Now, malls are at full alert,
knowing they had a larger percentage of Nerimans visiting.
Then, there were the rumors about Ranma, who didn't care what was
being said about him at all. The girls swooned at Ranma finally choosing
in a most dashing way. The guys rejoiced at the fact that it freed up a
good portion of the girls who were hung up on him. Kuno even invited
pretty much everyone in Nerima to rejoice the freedom of the pig-tailed
girl and to start planning on how to free Akane from the clutches of the
foul sorceror. Unfortunately, most would be passing up the offer due to
the long flowery letter they received and assumed was junk-mail due to
the thickness of the envelope.
Finally, there was Mousse. Someone had finally beaten Ranma to
submission. With the new tricks pulled from his sleeves, it seemed that
Ranma had finally met his superior. There was also talk of the
interesting new happenings at the Nekohanten. The new way of ordering
food had become a Neriman landmark. Of course, the quality of the food
had decreased a little but there was no doubt that Mousse managed to
stay in the black. Then, there were the sightings of mysterious
foreigners that frequented the restaurant who people claimed had an
angelic beauty to them. Even Gosunkugi had no solid evidence to their
existence. For some reason, their images didn't develop on film,
sparking the idea that they were another being, a vamipire being near
the top of the list of possibilities.
The pint sized teacher frowned as she walked in. The rumor mill was
also quite loud today. "Good morning class." she shouted.
With typical Neriman speed, they jumped into their desks, fearing
the wrath of the ki-sucking kid that was their teacher.
Hinako smiled and looked out the door. "You can come in now."
Mousse looked into the class with his mind's eye. The general mood
was one of curiousity. He stepped inside and wrote his name on the
board. His writing was barely legible with his left hand but no one paid
any notice.
"Class, this is our newest student, Mu Tsu." said Hinako,
presenting him to the class. "Why don't you tell the class more about
yourself?" He looked at the varying reactions of the class. Some seemed
to be staring right into his eyes, still amazed that he no longer needed
his glasses and other stared at the cast his forearm was now encased in.
<Most people know me already.> "First of all, you can just call me
Mousse. I don't mind it. Well, I come from China. What else... I work at
the Nekohanten. Uh... Miss Hinako, most of your students know all there
is about me. Do I really have to do this?"
"Yes. Of course." she said glaring at the taller boy. "Look,
someone has a question about you."
Everyone looked at Hiroshi.
"I just want to know why you still have long hair and you're
allowed to wear your normal clothes."
"The, uh, principal said if I found a coconut with an excemption
note, I'd be okay."
Ranma suddenly awoke, "How'd you find it?"
<Should I tell them about the Mind's Eye?> "Luck?" Mousse said,
hoping people bought his story.
"Hmm, come to think of it, Mousse is the only student who has an
exemption note for his hair and clothes. Where's yours Ranma?" said
Hinako, taking a look at her records.
"Uh, me and the Principal reached an understanding."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Sure."
"I'll check his with him later on. Mousse, take an empty seat and
we can begin class."
************************************************************************
Mousse frowned at the horde of boys hounding the lunch lady. He
wasn't the only one as the girls looked on in their line up for food.
From the ceiling hung huge signs saying "Boys" and "Girls" in
Hawaiian. Though no one had ever checked to see if that's what they
really said. Some had a sinking feeling the signs might mean something
like, "Perverts", "Idiots" or "Ranma's Harem" or something of the sort.
"Last chow-mein bread of the day!" shouted the lunch lady. With a
throw that would shame most American quarterbacks, the flying piece of
bread was launched into the air and directed into Mousse's hands via
telekinesis.
The horde looked at their new competitor as he walked off to pay
for his purchase.
<As if Saotome wasn't bad enough.>
<That's cheating!>
<He's got money to buy out the whole cafeteria.>
************************************************************************
Mousse sat in the shade of a tree, far enough from the crowds yet
still close enough to get to class when the bell rang. He reached into
his clothes and took out a bento with chow-mein in each compartment.
<Ah, chow-mein with chow-mein bread.>
"Chow-mein with chow-mein bread?"
<That's funny, I though I didn't say anything.> thought Mousse.
<Hey, that wasn't my voice.> Looking around, he saw Ranma and Akane
approaching him. "And what's wrong with liking chow-mein?"
"Absolutely nothing man. Hey, I guess we'll be sharing a tree."
said Ranma, sitting back against the tree.
Mousse frowned at the mental picture. "I'd rather eat my lunch."
"Me and Ranma usually sit here. I guess you can sit here too." said
Akane, taking a seat between the two.
"If you want me to leave, I can." said Mousse. "I wouldn't want to
intrude."
"Nah, it's fine. I wanted to talk to you anyway." said Ranma.
Mousse handed Ranma a coconut.
"I faked it. I bought a coconut and put the note inside it."
"Hey, thanks man." said Ranma, shaking his nut. <How did Pops say
to tell if it's ripe?>
"So, Mousse, why are you in school?" asked Akane, handing Ranma his
bento.
Mousse swallowed the morsel in his mouth. "I kinda got railroaded
into it. Oh, and Ranma, you're my brother now."
************************************************************************
"We're home!" said a cheerful Skuld, carrying a tub of ice cream in
her hands. Urd followed her in and went straight into her room, eager to
sleep off the effects of an alcoholic power source.
"Welcome home Skuld." said Belldandy, her words carrying through
the house without her having to raise her voice. "I've been meaning to
ask, where have you and Urd been going the past couple days?"
Unable to lie, Skuld replied, "A nearby restaurant. Me and Urd have
been helping the guy set up, he's running the whole thing by himself."
"That so nice of you." said Belldandy. <But why would Urd help?
*sigh* Must be another lover or something. But why would she get Skuld
into that kind of thing, unless...>
"Sister, is there something wrong? Your face is all red." observed
Skuld, concern evident in her voice.
"No, everything's fine. Skuld, how are you doing these days? Have
you made any friends since you came to earth?" asked Belldandy, hoping
to set her mind at ease.
<Well, there's that nice man at the ice cream shop, and Mousse...>
"I've met some people. Like I said, me and Urd have been helping that
guy at his restaurant."
"How did Urd come to know this person?"
Skuld took a moment to compose her words, "They knew each other
from a while back. Now they're resuming their... uh... relationship."
<Their relationship? How could Urd involve Skuld in something like
this?> "And how did you get into this?" asked Belldandy, fearing the
worst.
"They said I'd be of great help to them. Put a new twist to
things."
Belldandy's face reddened but she fought to keep it under control.
"Could tell Urd to come here, I want to talk with her."
"Oh that. Urd's really tired, I think she went to bed already."
said Skuld, not noticing her sister redden even more. "If you need me,
I'll be in my room."
<Someone actually tired out Urd. And Skuld is helping out Urd with
her former lover.> "Oh my."
************************************************************************
Thankfully, Ranma had experience in shocking revelations, so he
merely said in a slightly louder voice, "What do you mean you're my
brother?"
"Your parents adopted me so that I can legally stay here. And I'm
in school so I don't grow up to be an idiot." said Mousse before
starting his meal.
"Mousse, when you introduced yourself, shouldn't you have written
'Saotome' as your last name?" asked Akane.
"I don't want too many people knowing that I'm now a Saotome. No
offense Ranma but being a Saotome seems to bring quite a bit of trouble
and I'd like a peaceful life if you don't mind." he stated
matter-of-factly.
"No offense taken. But I don't think that idea works, trouble will
find you anytime it wants to." with that, Ranma started shovelling food
into his mouth.
"I hope you're wrong." said Mousse, remembering the impromptu
adventures and challenges that came easily to his new brother.
************************************************************************
A deep, tired voice called the Tendo dojo. Kasumi didn't recognize
the caller and was about to say that Ranma was still at school. But the
tired sounding voice said, "No. I want to talk to Soun Tendo."
<A challenge to Father?> "Okay, I'll put him on. Please wait a
moment."
"Father phone for you." called out Kasumi.
Soun came and took the receiver from his daughter. "Hello. Who is
this?"
"Tendo." said the tired voice. "I have news. The former Amazon
known as Mousse is now a Saotome."
Soun cycled through all the voices he had heard in his life.
"Genma? Is that you? What's happened to you?"
"Nodoka."
That was a good enough answer for Soun. "So what's this about that
boy?"
"The boy is now officially a Saotome. Meaning that Ranma's loss to
him doesn't really count as a loss for the school. I've talked with the
boy and he says he's willing to add that Hidden Weapons style of his to
our school. I just thought you'd like to know."
"Ah, that would be a great addition to our school. Is that all? I
wouldn't want to keep you from your wife."
"No no. I need some rest." Genma took what he felt was a dramatic
pause. "Soun, perhaps we should engage my new son to one of your
daughters, to make the union more complete."
"I don't see a problem with that. If you want, we could do the same
thing as with Ranma, have Mousse staying here. Besides, that would give
you more time with Nodoka."
<Maybe all this activity might burn off some of this spare tire.>
thought Genma. "Okay, that's what we'll do. To our school."
"To our school." repeated Soun.
************************************************************************
End Part 10
Author's note: Don't think that I just put the OMG tag up there just to
get a bigger audience. Next chapter, it'll be more OMG oriented.
Besides, it's about time for a certain someone to show up again...