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A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic by Mark Ferrer
Disclaimer: All rights are reserved to their respective owners. Only the
original characters are mine. Don't sue me, please. (I'm saving up for
a
DVD player.)
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"
Author's Intro: Around March (1998), I first thought of this idea of
Mousse learning some kick-ass techniques. Then a while ago (November or
December 1998), on the FFML, there was this whole discussion on Might vs.
Right. Well, here's my point of view.
Last Chapter: A Masked Man arranges it for Mousse to be taken back to
China to teach him new skills to defeat any of his enemies. He has not
shown why he is doing all this. He and Mousse were having a talk and his
mask fell off.
************************************************************************
With great power comes great responsibility. - Uncle Ben, (Spiderman)
Powers corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. - (I forgot.
Sorry.)
MORE POWER!!! - Tim Taylor (Home Improvement)
For the next few minutes, Mousse stared at the person in front of
him. He blocked out all the new visions slamming into his mind and looked
straight ahead. He didn't think it was possible, but it seemed that it
was. In front of him was a man, obviously middle-aged with grey hair that
made him seem distinguished. He had Chinese features and his hair was down
to his back. He was looking at himself, without needing his glasses. The
shock overcame him and the new images bombarding his mind broke through.
He struggled to bring back the image in front of him. He screamed as his
mind painfully told him that there was way too much information streaming
in. Slowly, the images slowed and he saw only an older version of himself
in front of him.
He gently shook the other Mousse, who promptly put a hand to his
face. The Older Mousse no longer felt the mask on and saw Younger Mousse's
shocked expression.
"So now you know." he said, taking out glasses from thin air. "I
assume you want to know the whole story now?" he asked, at the still
gawking teenager. "Okay, here goes."
"Two years from now, you take the chance of leaving Ranma alone with
Shampoo and leave to train with our old master in hopes of finally
learning a new technique that might beat Ranma. It was as if fate was
guiding you... er, us because at the time, old master was willing to teach
anyone who beat him his techniques before he passed on."
** "Why do you want to learn these techniques?" an old man said.
Mousse sized up his opponent and said, "To win the hand of the woman
I love."
The old man's brow raised in question. "You mean if you beat her, you
get to marry her, correct?"
<How did he know?> Mousse thought. "Yes. And you promise that you
teach me your techniques?"
"Try your best." the old man said, getting into an attack position.
**
"The old man could have beat me in a heart beat, but he wanted to
have a little fun and see how long I withstood his irritating attacks.
I
was lucky there was no one else to see what had happened. He kept giving
me soft punches and kicks until they wore me down. That was the most
embarrassing fight of my life. He waited me out while I threw everything
I
had at him. I even tried the Hidden Weapons final technique but they were
countered easily. The only thing that kept me going was my love for
Shampoo. He had never seen such determination. I guess I was lucky that
he
didn't meat Ranma yet, huh?" he paused.
Younger Mousse nodded as Older Mousse continued his story. "He agreed
to teach me his techniques on the grounds that when I finish my objective,
I allow him to wipe my memory clean of it with that special shampoo. I
learned them all and went back to Japan to challenge Ranma and Shampoo.
Beating Ranma was very easy. When Cologne saw the techniques I was using,
she called off the fight and made Shampoo marry me... Damn I was a fool."
Older Mousse grimaced.
The teenager looked at his counterpart with a confused look.
"The whole time, I expected Shampoo to be happy but it turned out she
was completely devoted to Ranma. We were married in China for only a week
before I found out her true feelings about it. The Mind's eye allows you
to see everything and I saw Shampoo and Cologne talking. She was ready
to
kill herself but Cologne wanted us to have children so I could teach the
tribe, thus making us the most powerful people in the world. When I found
this out, I went back to the old master to erase my
memory and found that he had died days earlier from cancer. I asked anyone
in the village who could do it but they were all honour bound by Cologne
to never do anything that might jeopardize me passing the techniques on.
The only solution I could think of was to somehow change everything so
that Shampoo would never experience such sadness and here I am."
Younger Mousse looked thoughtfully for a minute and asked, "Why are
you teaching me these techniques then?"
Older Mousse sighed and said, "I know how stubborn you are. I am you.
Even if I tell you what to do, you probably wouldn't understand. Another
reason is that the old man wanted his techniques passed on. I am honour
bound to hold the vow."
Older Mousse looked at Younger Mousse and prayed he wasn't making the
biggest mistake of his life. He had a sinking feeling though that he had.
Younger Mousse looked up at the sky and then used the Mind's eye to look
in on Shampoo. She was waiting tables at the Nekohanten.
<Maybe he's right...> he thought. <No! I have to beat Saotome. Then
everything will be alright...>
"What about my cure of the duck and the Mind's eye?" Younger Mousse
asked.
"Since I was shown to be such a powerful fighter, the tribe pitched
in an helped me and Shampoo find cures. The only cure they could find was
for me. As for the Mind's eye, Cologne had an eye all along. She had it
in
a pendant. I had to wear that damned thing for a whole year before it
transferred completely from the pendant to myself."
Both of them sat quietly, Younger Mousse trying to put in order what
was happening and the older one hoping for the best that things would end
up different from his timeline. A piercing sound made both of them look
around for the source of the noise. Older Mousse took out a small crystal
from an arm band and said, "This is what brought me here and keeps me from
being erased from existence. It's made from the same material as the Magic
Mirror which Cologne had given to Happosai. I don't have much time left.
You see, the farther I get from my original timeline, the less time I
have. And judging from this," he said, raising the crystal up to the
light, "I've got very little time. The final technique I need to teach
you
is how to teleport. It's pretty easy when you think about it, all you have
to do is think of a place, bring your Black Hole there and step through
it. Just be sure that your thoughts never waver or you may teleport to
places you do not want to be in."
"Shouldn't you stay and keep track of my training?" the teenager
asked.
The Older Mousse looked at the device and said, "I have about an hour
left before I disappear." He looked at his younger self, "I guess I better
help a bit. So, what do you want help with?"
Younger Mousse thought carefully and said, "The barrier. I could
probably learn all the other things you've taught me within time, but the
barrier alone should be enough to beat Ranma."
"Good idea. The barrier also helps with telekinesis anyway." said
Older Mousse. "Get ready."
The teenager concentrated and imagined an invisible barrier all
around him. He gave the nod when he was ready.
The man took out a bucket of water and threw the contents at his
younger self, who promptly got drenched.
"Well, at least you're not cursed anymore." said Older Mousse,
smiling knowingly.
************************************************************************
Flashforward a while later...
"I think you've got the basics now, Mousse." said Older Mousse,
smiling proudly.
"No. Just one more time." said Younger Mousse determinedly. He is now
wearing a yellow rainjacket and the ground around him is extremely wet.
Older Mousse sighed and threw yet more water at his younger self.
The water flew towards the teen and stopped in mid-air. Both Mousses
stared in amazement at the floating puddle of water. Suddenly, the water
sped towards its thrower, drenching him.
"What comes around and all that." commented Younger Mousse.
Older Mousse wrings out his hair and smiles, "You've mastered the
barrier and are on your way to mastering telekinesis. Just don't get
cocky." With that, a void forms over Younger Mousse and a flood of water
slams him, knocking him down.
Younger Mousse lies face up, looking at the clouds go by. It doesn't
matter that he's soaking wet. All he knows is that he'll finally be able
to beat Ranma. Suddenly, a new train of thought pops into his head. He
sits up and asks, "What's the future like?"
"Have you ever heard of the possibility that no matter how small a
change, the future will be completely changed? For example, if I cut one
of these trees down. The ripples it causes in the fabric of space and time
could affect things on the other side of the world." Older Mousse asked
thoughtfully. "This is just a theory but it still scares the hell out of
the people in charge from my time."
"Wait a minute. Do you mean to tell me that the general public was
told the people have the power to go back in time?" asked Younger Mousse,
walking towards his counterpart.
Older Mousse smiled and said, "One of the good things about the
Mind's Eye is that you can see behind closed doors. It's amazing what
governments are doing behind them." He took out his time travelling device
and said, "The crystal is of unknown origin. It's what makes time travel
possible. The other electronics help you choose your time and displays
how
much time you have left, which is about 5 minutes for me."
"So I guess this is where we say goodbyes then." said Younger Mousse
solemnly.
"Mousse, I want you to promise me that you won't make the same
mistakes I did and that you'll pass those techniques along. I know for
a
fact that you will fight Ranma, just remember; if you force yourself on
Shampoo, she'll be the one who pays." said Older Mousse.
"Does it really get that bad?" asked the teenager.
"Unfortunately, yes." answered the man. He detached the time crystal
from it's housing, causing his body to lapse in and out of reality. "A
souvenir." he said, throwing the crystal to Younger Mousse. A pair of dark
black sunglasses followed the crystal.
"What's this for?" asked Younger Mousse.
"Right now, you're relying completely on the Mind's Eye, so your
natural eyes are looking all around. Doesn't look too good." answered the
elder Mousse. "Bye Mousse. Try not to screw up too badly."
With that, the Mousse from the future faded from existence.
Mousse stared at where his older self had been. <So, this is it.> He
put on the sunglasses and took out a mirror. The black shades were almost
completely opaque but since he no longer really used his natural eyes,
it
didn't matter. He examined the crystal noticing how much it looked like
a
diamond. Hold it tightly in his hand he thought, <I finally win.> With
that he entered his void and teleported back to what he hoped would be
Nerima.
Mousse found himself walking down a drugstore down the bathing
supplies aisle. <I've really got to focus.> he thought. He opened up
the
void once more and tried to think of Nerima.
He now found himself walking down a city street. It didn't look like
Nerima. "I hope I'm at least close to it." he said, looking for the wearer
of the red Chinese shirt who always stood in his way. He saw a blur of
red
and ran towards the source of it.
A redhead was running away from him followed by a girl in a skimpy
black battlesuit. The girl in the black battlesuit shouted, "Akagiyama
Missiles!" and a barrage of missiles flew towards the redhead. They all
missed their mark and caused lots of damage to the city street.
<This is not Nerima.> he thought, opening the void again and
teleporting.
He now found himself standing in front of a fireball. Instinctively,
he formed a barrier to protect himself. He watched as the
flames were blocked a few foot from his face. The fire subsided and he
saw
an angry looking girl with black hair. She was dressed in a skimpy type
of
high school uniform.
"Get out of the way!" she yelled.
He turned an saw what could only be described as a monster readying
to punch him. He quickly raised his hands forward and tried a ki blast.
The monster's fist hit Mousse shield while Mousse's blast tore through
the
chest of the hulking monster.
<I'm outta here!> thought Mousse stepping back through his void.
Five girls looked at each other in disbelief. A guy came out of
nowhere and blasted away the monster they were fighting and
disappeared as quickly as he appeared.
"That guy reminds me of an old boyfriend." a tall girl with brown
hair said dreamily. The others facefaulted.
Mousse stood in his world and concentrated on the picture of Nerima.
<No way I'm going to chance it again.> he thought fiercely. He
concentrated on the front of the Nekohanten and opened the void in front
of him. "This better work." he said.
Mousse now found himself where had wanted to be all along. The sun
was starting to set. He saw a blur of purple and followed it
instinctively. <Ranma must be going home now.> he thought, running
slightly behind Shampoo as to not be noticed. <I wonder how I did that
ki
blast from before though. Probably has something to do with the new
techniques...>
************************************************************************
Ranma and Akane were walking home from school on their usual route
when a familiar figure glomped onto Ranma.
"Ranma happy see Shampoo?" Shampoo asked, in her normal, bubbly self.
Ranma glanced over to a fuming mad Akane who malleted Ranma to the sky.
"What you do that for?" the irate Amazon asked. Akane was about to
answer when Ranma was dropped right between them.
"Pervert-girl getting weaker." Shampoo teased. <What the heck's going
on?> Akane thought, <he couldn't have come back this quickly.>
Ranma got up into a battle stance and said, "Who did that?"
From behind a corner, Mousse appeared. "Today, I shall win Shampoo
from you and marry her."
"You'll never beat me Mousse." Ranma said confidently.
He glanced nervously back at Akane who looked ready to mallet him
again.
"Ranma, you can fight for Shampoo all you want. It's not as if I
care. I'll see you at home." she said through clenched teeth.
Ranma turned back to Mousse and asked, "How about the vacant lot?"
"Let's go then." said Mousse, taking the lead.
<When Mousse loses, I'll pay him back for leaving when he did.>
Shampoo thought evily.
************************************************************************
Ranma and Mousse stood facing each other. The only current spectators
were Shampoo and Cologne.
"I fight for the right to marry Shampoo." Mousse announced.
"Shampoo, if Ranma wins, he has no claims on you. But to risk his
chance to marry you would mean he knows something
that can put him on equal footing with the son-in-law..." Cologne
whispered to Shampoo.
Mousse took out a staff and threw it to Ranma. "Might as well help
you out a bit Saotome." he said confidently.
Ranma caught it and broke it on his knee. "I do not need any help to
beat you Mousse." he said. <All I really have to do is knock off his
glasses anyway. Hey, when'd he start wearin' sunglasses?>
"Let's see." Mousse said, charging at Ranma with lengths of chain
coming from his now invisible void. Ranma dodged easily enough and tried
the Amaguriken on Mousse. He hit the Chinese boy a couple time before he
felt his fist hit something between him and his opponent.
<What the...> he was forced to dodge another set of chains came from
Mousse. Ranma couldn't believe that Mousse still hadn't retrieved the
chains from before and was already trying to get him with another set.
Mousse stopped attacking, and waited for Ranma to finish dealing with the
another set of chains. He looked around and saw that there was a growing
set of bystanders watching the fight and that Nabiki Tendo was there
taking bets. <Hmm, might as well give the crowd a little show.> he
thought, looking at a pile of chains he had left on the ground.
From out of nowhere Ranma coming up to him and attack with another
Amaguriken, which once again hit the barrier he formed around himself.
"What the heck are you doing Mousse?" Ranma asked, frustrated by the fact
that he couldn't hit Mousse.
"Watch this." Mousse said simply as he moved the limp chains on the
grass with his thoughts. Ranma faced the mass of chains, which were moving
about like metallic snakes. They took turns attacking Ranma, who dodged
them easily but when
they all started to attack at the same time he couldn't help but take some
hits. Mousse tired of this game and bid them to return to the void. Ranma
rubbed his elbow and turned back to his opponent.
"That was a cheap trick Mousse." he said slowly. "I think I'll have
to go all out on you."
"By all means, try Saotome." Mousse said confidently. Ranma came in
close and let loose another Amaguriken, which was once again blocked by
some object that he couldn't see. Mousse took a set of shurikens and threw
them at Ranma. This time, when Ranma tried to dodge, Mousse guided them
right to him. They were about to hit Ranma when a bonbori knocked them
out
of the air.
"What are you doing Shampoo?" Mousse asked, confused by her actions.
"You no hurt Ranma. I no let you." she said confidently.
Mousse looked into her eyes. They were near tears. <She doesn't want
this. Why didn't I listen to myself?> he thought.
From the corner of his eye, he saw a flash of light and his barrier
was struck by Ranma's Moko Takabisha. Ranma's smile turned into a confused
frown when he saw that Mousse hadn't even been touched.
"Stay out of this!" Mousse shouted, throwing a ball of ki the size of
a fist at Ranma. Ranma simply moved his head to dodge it.
"That's the biggest you can make?" he said confidently. Suddenly, he
was thrown back by the shockwave of the blast.
He got up and looked at the hole caused by the blast. There was a black
spot on the grass 20 feet in diameter. <How did he do that?> Ranma
thought.
Mousse turned his attention back on Shampoo. "Shampoo, if I win
against Ranma, would you marry me?" Mousse asked pleadingly.
Shampoo shook her head and said, "No Mousse. I never marry you. Even
if Mousse do beat Ranma. Shampoo care for Ranma more than Shampoo honor."
Mousse looked at Ranma, who was charging at him. He raised his hands and
pushed Ranma away using telekinesis. Ranma was thrown back to the wall,
where he stuck for a second then slid down.
"Ranma, I forfeit the match. I don't want to win." Mousse said
dejectedly.
He turned back to Shampoo and said, "I love you more than I can say.
I do not wish to see you so sad because of me. You should know that he
could never love you as much as he loves Akane." Taking a final look at
the girl he loved, he stepped back into his void.
"Shampoo go check on Ranma." Shampoo said worriedly.
Cologne looked at the damage to the lot caused by the two fighters.
<So, Mousse has finally given up on Shampoo. Those techniques... There
must be some way for the Amazons to have that power. If son-in-law were
to
learn them, he would be a worthy husband for Shampoo.>
The old crone looked at the crowd. They still hadn't vacated the
area. They were all shocked by the fact that it looked like Ranma had been
beaten by Mousse, supposedly one of the weakest fighters in Nerima. She
smirked when she saw people slowly snap out of their shock and go to
Nabiki to claim their bets.
Cologne pogoed to where Ranma was lying in Shampoo's arms. She smiled
and said, "Shampoo is still yours son-in-law."
Ranma got up shakily and said, "Do you know any counters to Mousse's
new moves?"
"The only way to ever beat Mousse is to learn the same techniques."
Ranma sighed and walked home. <What do I do if I ever have to fight
him
for real?> he thought.
************************************************************************
Mousse looked at the world within his void. "What good are these
powers if I can't even use them to do anything! I'm just stuck like I was
before I learned anything." he shouted to the countryside.
The wind blew, blowing his hair and robes around as if in sympathy
for his situation. "Shampoo truly loves Ranma but she will be devastated
when he realizes his feelings for Akane..." Mousse looked around his
world. <A world at my command yet I still can't find happiness.> He
gathered his ki and fired a depression blast straight up into the sky.
He
slumped to the ground, exhausted by the blast. <I wonder why I can do
ki
blasts now. I always tried but it never worked...> He wondered if it had
to do with his new power and technique. With that, he fell asleep.
************************************************************************
Ranma was at the Tendo's living room as Kasumi was tending to his
wounds. He had many cuts from the fights with the chains and his hands
were numb from punching Mousse's barrier. Kasumi packed up the first aid
kit and went back to the kitchen. Ranma looked at his bandages when Nabiki
came in and sat in front of the TV to watch the business portion of the
news.
"So Ranma, you got beat up by Mousse today. Is he getting better or
are you getting worse?" she asked, looking at the TV.
Ranma flinched as if he was punched and said, "I won. He gave up."
"But Ranma, you were down and he just gave up. I wouldn't call that a
true win." she said, looking back at the injured martial artist who had
flinched again.
"You didn't have to fight you know." Akane said, walking into the
room. "If you just swallowed your pride and let him beat you, you could
have gotten rid of Shampoo completely."
Ranma was about to respond when Soun barged into the living room and
said, "I hear you've been fighting over Shampoo again. What do you have
to
say for yourself?" Genma-panda was standing beside him waving a sign that
said, "Explain, boy!"
Ranma stood up and said, "All that matters is that I was the one who
won."
"With the prize being Shampoo." Nabiki said dryly, looking back to
the TV.
With a defeated sigh, Ranma left for his room. <I had to win for the
honour of the Saotome school.> he thought.
************************************************************************
Mousse woke up to a gentle rain falling from the sky. His world was
dark and it looked as if the light rain was a precursor to the rains to
come. He materialized the entryway and stepped outside. It was another
clear morning in Nerima. The void had opened up in the shopping district
of Nerima. He was wandering around, still confused as to what he should
do. He knew that Shampoo had no feelings of love for him but he didn't
want her spending any more of her life waiting for Ranma to make his
decision. He was so engrossed in thought that he didn't notice someone
was
speaking to him until they tapped him on the shoulder.
"You seem very sad for someone around here." a kind sounding voice
said.
Mousse looked around and saw that he was in a small park near the
edge of the shopping district. Everyone looked happy and carefree while
he
stuck out like a sore thumb. He looked back to the person who talked to
him. She was a middle-aged woman with dark red hair. She wearing a
traditional looking kimono and carrying a long, wrapped bundle.
"I'm in a real bind." he answered meekly, "I don't have any idea how
to solve my problem."
The woman looked thoughtfully for a moment and said, "Maybe I can
help you out. I don't have anything better to do."
Mousse sighed and said, "I want to show a girl that the guy she likes
doesn't like her and never will because the guy is in love with another
girl yet isn't willing to show it because of his pride."
The lady smiled and said, "Your whole story is summed up in one
sentence? Hmm. Well, I have a feeling that you have some interest in the
girl who you're trying to show that the guy doesn't love her, correct?"
Mousse nodded.
"Ah to be young again..." Nodoka said wistfully. "I think the only
way to solve the problem is to get the young man to profess his love to
the one he truly loves. Do that and everything should work out." she said.
<That might actually work.> Mousse thought, "Thank you. I will try
your suggestion. My name is Mousse."
"My name's Nodoka Saotome. I wish you luck." she said, walking off.
<Saotome?!> Mousse thought. <I think I need more information if I'm
going to pull off this plan.>
************************************************************************
Mousse walked up to the gates of the Tendo Dojo. So many times, he
had just barged in. This time, he was actually going to knock. After
knocking, he was greeted by Kasumi. "Hello, you're one of Ranma's friends
aren't you?"
Mousse nodded, surprised at Kasumi's hospitality. He remembered all
the damage he'd caused before to the Tendo house and grounds.
"Would you like me to get him for you?" she asked.
Mousse shook his head and said, "I didn't come to meet with him
today. I've come to speak with Nabiki."
Kasumi's expression looked surprised for a a second but quickly
turned back to the normal smile she always wore. "Please come in then."
she said, opening the door. She walked him in to the house and called
Nabiki down. "She'll be down in a minute. It was nice to meet you Mousse."
she said, leaving for the kitchen once again.
Nabiki came down to see who had come to visit her. She was surprised
to see Mousse fidgeting at the bottom of the stairs. <What could be
going
on?> she thought. "What can I help you with Mousse?" she said, almost
matching her older sister's sweetness.
Mousse looked around and said, "This isn't the best place for us to
talk business. Would you mind if we went somewhere else?" Nabiki nodded
and called out to the rest in the house that she was leaving and coming
back later.
************************************************************************
The two walked down the streets of Nerima. Nabiki leading Mousse to
the shopping district, more precisely, the restaurants.
"This is probably your strangest request yet but here goes." Mousse
started, "I need you to tell me everything you know about Ranma and his
family. Tell me as much information possible."
Nabiki's face of seemingly perpetual calm betrayed the emotion of
total surprise for a second. She regained her composure and said, "That
kind of info doesn't come cheap. There's a lot to tell." She opened her
hand face up waiting for payment.
Mousse took something from his void and placed it in her hand. She
almost fainted at what Mousse put in there. In her hand was roughly a
ping-pong ball sized lump of what looked to be gold.
"What's this?" she asked.
"It's gold." Mousse said simply.
"I'm afraid that I'll have to look up it's authenticity before I can
tell you anything." she said, leading him towards the jeweler's shop.
"I expected that." Mousse answered. <Man, I hope I was able to make
the gold well enough.> he thought.
************************************************************************
The chime of a bell informed the jeweler that he had customers. He
came out from the back of his store and saw a couple come in. "Hello, what
can I do for you two? A engagement ring perhaps?" he said kindly.
The two looked at each other briefly. Nabiki took out something from
her hand and placed it on the counter. "I'd like to know the quality of
this nugget." she said calmly.
The man took out a jeweler's loupe and examined it carefully. "This
nugget is easily 23 karats. I'll give you 25 thousand yen for it." he said
thoughtfully.
Nabiki's eyes widened and agreed took the nugget. "I'll let you
know." she said, dragging out Mousse.
When they were outside, Nabiki asked the question on the top of her
mind. "Where the heck did you get this?" she said, pointing to the nugget.
Mousse looked unsure and said, "I... uh... remember when we all went
to Togenkyo Island? Well, I stumbled in on a treasure vault. I took a
couple things. They won't miss a thing."
<I'll buy that for now Mousse. Who cares as long as it's real.> she
thought, looked at the nugget and the panicking martial artist. She put
it
carefully in her pocket, making sure it was there, "So, where do you want
me to begin?"
End Part 2
Author's Notes: A loupe is the eyepiece thingy that a jeweler puts on to
examine his wares.
--
Mark Ferrer
