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Mark Ferrer
Mousse looked around at the crowd watching the fight.
<So it came down to this huh?> he mused.
Ranma was on the ground, still reeling from the hits he had taken.
"This is the end Saotome." Mousse said, holding his sword above his
opponent's throat.
-excerpt from a future chapter of 'A Different Brand Of Mousse'.
A Different Brand Of Mousse part 8
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. (It would lower my
faith in
the human race.)
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 {}
Last chapter: We learn of how Urd is connected to Mousse. Mousse tries
his
telekinesis on Happosai. The fiancees wonder how the upcoming fight will
go.
Skuld is sent to Nerima to set everything up to remove Urd's spell on Mousse.
************************************************************************
<Stupid Urd!> Skuld thought darkly. <If she had controlled herself,
she
would have cast the right spell and we wouldn't have to solve a problem
that
started hundreds of years ago! And falling for a mortal too!>
Skuld was walking to the Nekohanten. At the temple, they had searched for
the closest Chinese restaurants in the area and found the ad for the Nekohanten
quite easily. Strapped to her back was her trusty hammer and a backpack
containing her 'magical survival kit'. In other words, it was an air-conditioned
pack full of ice cream.
The current neighbourhood she was in was rather quiet. In fact, the street
she was in was completely deserted. <I wonder where everyone is?> she
thought.
A couple more minutes of walking and she found her answer. A large crowd
of
people was gathered in an open lot cheering for some reason. Curiousity
getting
the better of her, she pushed her way in to the front of the crowd. She
was
slightly shocked by what she saw.
<So many people are here just for a soccer game?> Skuld thought. <Wait,
something isn't right.>
One of the players scored a goal and the crowd erupted in applause. When
the ball came to a stop in the net, Skuld noticed that they weren't kicking
around a ball, but a small old man curled up into a ball. Someone had wrapped
him up in many layers of clear tape. Confused, she tapped some guy beside
her.
"Hey, what's-" Skuld began but the guy was already gone, heading for the
hills. Another guy noticed Skuld and seemed to back away in fear.
"A-Are you a m-martial artist too?" the guy asked, looking at Skuld's
hammer.
"No. Of course not." Skuld answered, trying to sound as non-threatening
as
possible.
"Then what's with the hammer?" he pointed.
"Oh, it's just for protection." Skuld lied. There was no need to tell
everyone that she debugged computers with the hammer.
"Um, okay. I guess I could buy that." the boy said, calming down a bit.
"So," Skuld started, tiptoeing a bit to see the field a bit better, "what's
going on here? Why are people kicking around an old man?"
Seeing that the conversation was heading to known territory, Hiroshi
relaxed even more. "That old guy is named Happosai. He's the neighbourhood
pervert. He steals underwear and cops feels off all the girls and some
of the
women. What they," Hiroshi said, pointing at the players and the ball,
"are
doing is considered justice. Don't worry, people usually beat each other
up as
revenge in these parts."
"Uh-huh." was all Skuld could say. After a moment, she remembered all about
her mission. "Oh yeah, do you by any chance know if there's a chinese restaurant
around here?"
"There's only one. The Nekohanten. It's just two blocks down that street."
Hiroshi said, pointing towards a street.
Skuld smiled and said, "Thanks a lot-"
"-Hiroshi." the boy answered. "It was my pleasure helping out a cute little
girl like you."
Skuld's eyebrow twitched. <LITTLE GIRL!> She fought to control her
annoyance. "Well, see ya around." she said, walking towards the street
Hiroshi
had pointed to earlier.
Call it fate, call it luck but suddenly, Sayuri looked over to her
sometimes boyfriend and saw him talking to a cute little girl. <Picking
up
another girl during our date is he?> she thought grimly. <Well, time
to teach
him a lesson.>
************************************************************************
Mousse whistled a song he forgot the title to as he cleaned the tables
at
the Nekohanten. He was getting really tired of waiting so he had decided
to
start up the restaurant by himself. Instead of wearing his sunglasses,
he was
wearing his normal, extra-thick eyeglasses. The reason for this is that
his
Mind's eye was locked on the kitchen, allowing him to cook using telekinesis.
Unfortunately, that meant he couldn't clearly see his current surroundings,
resulting in all the tables he'd wiped to have some missed areas.
A sudden knocking at the door called his attention. Putting the cleaning
rag down, he went to the door to open it.
"Sorry but we're not yet-" Mousse stopped himself before he recognized
the
person at the door. "Hello Skuld."
"Is that you Mousse?" she asked, peering into his thick glasses.
Mousse took off his glasses and allowed Skuld to get a good look of his
face. "When I came to your house, I was wearing my contacts." he lied.
<If that's how thick his glasses are, how thick are his contacts?!>
thought
Skuld. "Mmm, what's that smell?" she asked, a wonderful aroma invading
her nose.
"Best chinese food in the city." Mousse started proudly but finished
unsurely. Shampoo and Cologne were the true cooks. He only cooked on the
really
hectic days.
"Come on in. You can tell me if it tastes as good as it smells." he said,
escorting her to the counter.
Skuld looked around the little restaurant. Everything had been set up for
the first customers of the day. "So, are you going to open soon?"
Mousse walked around the counter and handed her a bowl of the ramen the
Nekohanten was famous for. A set of chopsticks soon followed.
"Yeah. When I finished cleaning that last table, I was about to flip the
sign. Might as well wait until I get my review before I open up." he said,
watching the girl blowing on her noodles.
Skuld placed the food in her mouth and sloshed it around to get the taste.
"Hey, this is good." she exclaimed after swallowing.
"I guess I'm ready." Mousse said, walking over to the door and flipping
the
open/closed sign.
Skuld wondered about his wording for a second and asked, "You're running
this place by yourself?"
"Just for now." Mousse said, peering out the door. "My boss and my...
co-worker are out at the moment."
"Where are they?" Skuld asked in between bites.
Mousse thought about the wording for a second and said, "They're out
training. Can't just let your martial arts skill degrade."
Both looked up to the sound of the door opening as the Nekohanten regulars
came in for food.
"Same as usual?" Mousse asked the small crowd. Skuld noticed that some
of
the customers were spectators at the soccer field.
"We'll have the special today. Yuji's paying today." said the 'leader'
the
group.
"Hey. The old guy looked like he was rolling for the other team." Yuji
said, thinking of his declining bank account.
"Okay, so it's 6 specials all 'round." Mousse confirmed, telekinetically
adding the special ingredients to the basic ramen in the kitchen.
Skuld looked over to the door and more people started coming in. Mousse
looked like he was going to have a lot of work on his hands. Her thoughts
were
interrupted by-
"Whoa! What's that?" exclaimed one of Yuji's friends.
Mousse adjusted his glasses and rung a small bell to gather the attention
of the people in the restaurant. By now, almost everyone that Skuld had
seen at
the soccer game were there.
"I'm kinda shorthanded today so this is how it'll work. You tell me your
order and take a seat. Your food will be delivered through one of the many
techniques of the chinese Amazons." Mousse announced.
Someone ordered a plain ramen and it came to their table via black hole
technique. The crowd applauded while Mousse gave a small bow. A mad rush
went to
the counter as everyone gave Mousse their orders. The kitchen was thrown
into a
flurry of activity. Pots, pans, cooking instruments and food were flying
around,
guided by the boy at the counter.
When the crowd got to their seats, Skuld said, "You sure have everything
under control. How did you do that anyway?" <Maybe he's a god that we
lost track
of?> she thought.
"Magicians never tell their secrets." Mousse quoted from memory. "But in
your case, I'll make an exception. You see, all you do is this-" Mousse
opened
his hand slightly "-and a void opens up. Then, you can control what comes
through like so." a small mint came out with the words 'Nekohanten' on
the
wrapping. "It's as easy as that."
"'It's as easy as that' huh?" Skuld pouted. "Now I'm sure you're a
magician. I should have known you wouldn't have told me."
"Sorry. It would spoil the magic anyway." said Mousse, taking a few orders
from new customers.
Someone took a seat next to Skuld and said, "There's no such thing as real
magic you know."
"Hello Nabiki Tendo." said Mousse.
"Hello Mousse." she said cooly. <Time to find out the truth.>
Mousse saw a questioning look from Skuld and he said, "Skuld, I'd like
you
to meet Nabiki. Nabiki, this is Skuld."
The girls looked at each other and seemed to be sizing each other up.
Nabiki smirked at Mousse and said, "So I guess this is proof that you're
over Shampoo?"
"What?!" Mousse exclaimed. He looked briefly at Skuld and said, "No no
no.
It's nothing like that. She's just visiting."
Nabiki merely raised her right eyebrow.
Trying to get back into the conversation, Skuld said, "Uh, who's Shampoo?"
"Mousse, I'm shocked!" Nabiki said melodramatically. "You didn't even tell
your girlfriend about your first love. I guess you haven't gotten that
far yet."
Trying to steer the conversation away from where it was headed, Mousse
said, "Anyway, why are you here Nabiki Tendo?"
"I heard about your fight with Ranma." she said idly, resting her chin
on
her hand. "I also heard about what happens if you win."
"Yeah. Took a while didn't it." said Mousse, wiping at an imaginary spot
on
the counter.
Nabiki slammed her hands onto the counter. "'Took a while?' What the heck
are you talking about?! How can you treat an engagement so casually?"
Some of the customers at the tables looked over to the commotion but as
soon as they saw that Nabiki was involved, they started ignoring what was
being
said. It wasn't worth it getting to Nabiki's bad side.
"Engagement?!" yelled Mousse. He almost lost control of the flying objects
in the kitchen.
<Hmm, this sounds like something out of Urd's romance novels.> thought
Skuld. "Who's the girl?" she asked. <Mortal romances are so interesting.>
Nabiki was slightly surprised that the little girl beat her to the punch.
"Yeah Moussie, who's the lucky girl?"
"I'm obviously missing something here. What's going on Nabiki?" Mousse
asked exhaustedly.
"How about a special first?" asked Nabiki, smiling cutely.
Almost instantly, a black hole appeared on the counter in front of Nabiki.
She stepped back a bit and the void brought forth a bowl with the chopsticks
placed across the rim.
"So this is the new technique, eh Mousse?" she said amusedly. She snapped
the chopsticks apart and sampled some of the ramen. "Well, according to
Ranma,
if he wins, you teach him your new skills-"
Mousse nodded.
"-and if you win, you become a Saotome and you get to choose which of us
Tendo girls you want to marry." she examined him for his body language.
"How the heck did Ranma mess up my request?" he sighed, rubbing a temple.
He gave a long sigh before continuing, "The original idea was if I won,
he would
finally choose which girl he wishes to marry. It would have shown Shampoo
that
he didn't truly love her the way she thinks he does."
Nabiki stared down at the steaming bowl. "Now my dad and that overgrown
panda are discussing it with the old pervert to make it solid. You'll be
expected to choose one of use and become a Saotome. Refuse to and we would
be
dishonored. Actually, when I really think about it, you can't really refuse.
Once the three of them set their minds on something, they are virtually
unstoppable. They'd probably drag you in kicking and screaming."
<Whoa. Urd's novels never got this interesting.> thought Skuld. <Maybe
I
should stick around and see what happens in the end.>
"I guess I'll have to pay Ranma back a bit more than I planned." mused
Mousse. "Do you have any plan to get me out of this?"
"No. Not right now. I'm thinking of one though." Nabiki got up and gave
a
small nod to Skuld and Mousse. "Not that you're not a good catch but I
can't
really imagine you with any of us. I hope you two have a good future together."
She couldn't help but get in that last part before leaving.
Mousse blew a sigh of relief and said, "Sorry about that Skuld. She's quite
a character."
"She kinda reminds me of someone I know." Skuld mused.
"I forgot. What were you here for anyway?" asked Mousse.
"I'd have to talk with you alone about it." answered Skuld mysteriously.
Mousse scratched his head and said, "Well, this place is pretty busy. The
only time I've got to talk with you alone is when I close up for the day."
"I think I could keep myself busy until then. Just tell me where's the
nearest power outlet. I gotta check my e-mail." said Skuld, taking out
a very
thin laptop. It felt ice cold since it was right next to the ice cream
in her
bag.
"There's one right behind the counter." Mousse held out his hand to plug
in
the power cord.
Skuld set up her equipment at the corner of the counter and was soon doing
her thing.
"Well, she looks happy." though Mousse aloud.
************************************************************************
Ranma was sitting cross-legged in a meditative trance. Cologne was in front
of him, balancing her staff on one finger.
"Ranma. Creating Mouko Takabisha was quite an achievement. It brought you
to a new level of understanding in your road to be the greatest fighter.
Now, I
believe it's time you go onto the next step in your understanding of ki."
Cologne looked over to where the rest of the group were resting. They were
all watching from about 10 metres away.
"The downside to the technique you and Ryoga use is that you draw the power
from yourself, resulting in draining some of your power. There is another
way of
gathering ki. It's the method Happosai and I use. I believe it's what Mousse
had
used against you in your last fight. Instead of using your inner strength,
you
harness the power around you. Take a bit of life force from all the living
things around you and you have a large amount of power you can use."
<I think I've heard this from a movie before.> thought Ranma. "In our
fight, he threw a small ki blast but the explosion was pretty big." he
commented.
"That is correct Son-in-Law. You are lucky that he didn't collect enough
ki
to make a very large blast. Try to imagine the energy surrounding you collecting
into a ball between your hands." instructed Cologne
Ranma nodded and closed his eyes. If he had opened them, he would have
seen
faint wisps of energy flowing around him.
<Excellent Son-in-Law.> thought Cologne.
The wisps of energy started collecting in a revolving ball between his
hands. As more energy went into the ball, the brighter it got.
"Open your eyes Son-in-Law." commanded Cologne.
Ranma's eyes bulged as he saw a basketball sized ball of ki between his
hands. Normally, he would be straining to keep the ki blast in place, collecting
energy.
Cologne looked deep within the glowing orb and said, "Stop collecting
energy and fire it off into the sky."
Ranma rose his hands to the sky and let go of the ball. The rush wind by
the speeding ball created a vacuum, rustling Ranma and Cologne's hair.
"Wow. All that power and I'm not even tired." commented Ranma.
"You must practice on gathering the ki from the sources you want. Look
at
the area around you." pointed Cologne.
Ranma looked at the patch of grass around him. The grass seemed drained
and
wilted compared to the area of grass farther away.
"Didn't I drain some of your energy?" asked Ranma.
Cologne shook her head and said, "I know how to block its effects. Girls!
You can come over now."
"That big blast Ranma! You beat Mousse for sure!" exclaimed Shampoo.
"Next time, you must control where you get the energy from. You wouldn't
want to drain any of the lovely girls here." said Cologne, motioning to
the
young women around him.
"I'll make sure." said Ranma confidently.
************************************************************************
"What the heck is that?" asked Mousse, looking over Skuld's shoulder.
"That's an emoticon. It's a smile." answered Skuld.
"A smile? How?" asked Mousse. He had seen computers but never been this
close to one before.
"Turn your head sideways." Skuld moved a bit so that Mousse could see it
better.
Mousse turned his head and smiled. "Oh I get it now. Cute."
"Excuse me?" asked a slightly shaky voice from the counter.
Mousse left Skuld and went to the head of the counter. It was Soun Tendo
with a ball of bandages, presumably Happosai, riding on his shoulders.
"What can I do for you Mr. Tendo?" asked Mousse, adjusting his glasses.
He
wasn't about to say anything but Happosai looked like a cross between and
alien,
a mummy and a baby riding on Soun's back.
"I've come to discuss your proposal. I want to know why you want to be
a
Saotome and be engaged to one of my dau-" he was silenced by the old pervert
slamming his head onto the counter.
"SO IT'S YOU!!!" announced the wrapped mummy, pointing at Mousse.
Mousse just gave him a confused look.
"You did this to me! You did something that stopped me from moving!" yelled
Happosai.
People started leaving the restaurant in fear of the ancient pervert. Not
without paying of course. They knew they would be tempting a cruel fate
if
Cologne ever found out that they left without paying.
"It was such a nice day, it would have been a waste if you spoiled it for
those girls." said Mousse, confident of his new abilities.
Happosai gave him a withering stare (as best he could with bandages on)
and
readied himself for his attack. In a burst of speed, he had jumped towards
an
unprepared Skuld. Seeing what was going on, Mousse put up a telekinetic
barrier
in front of the girl, which Happosai promptly ran into.
Not caring what stopped the U.F.O., Skuld took out her hammer and struck
it
with all her might.
"Wh-what is that?" she asked, still pressing her hammer onto Happosai's
head.
"Resident pervert." answered Mousse.
************************************************************************
Ranma kept blasting ki balls up into the air. With each blast, he grew
more
and more confident of his abilities. The power he felt coursing through
his body
gave him a big ego boost after his near defeat at Mousse's hands.
"Your getting much better Ranma." commented Cologne. "Try doing it without
draining any of us." she motioned for the others to come withing arms reach
of
Ranma.
The pig-tailed boy concentrated a bit more than his previous attempts and
he fired a blast up into the sky once again.
"Did I drain any of you guys?" asked Ranma.
The group gave a simultaneus, "No."
With a confident smirk, Ranma said, "Well then, I guess we better be going
back. I know I can beat him now."
"Are you sure about that son?" asked Genma. "You said before that that
Mousse boy was a much greater challenge now."
"I know what to do. He's over-confident. I'll just finish him off with
one
blast." he said, starting towards the campsite.
"What now great-grandmother?" asked Shampoo.
"These were all the techniques I'm willing to teach Ranma. I've already
told him enough for a well trained Amazon should know. Knowing him, he
would
probably be able to hold his own against Mousse." said Cologne, following
the
boy.
"But will he win?" asked Akane.
"Of course Ranma will win." answered Genma. <He must.>
Akane looked at Ukyo. Their eyes met in agreeance. They would see this
to
the end no matter what.
************************************************************************
In the now empty Nekohanten, Soun, Mousse and Skuld were examining the
fallen pervert.
Happosai slowly got back to his feet and asked, "Where did you learn to
do
that?"
"It doesn't matter where I learned it." Mousse answered.
"Have you mastered that technique of yours?" the old man asked again.
"No, but I'm on my way to it." Mousse answered warily. <What could he
be
leading to?>
Happosai nodded thoughtfully and turned to Soun, "I agree to the terms
of
the fight. If Ranma is defeated, Mousse becomes a Saotome."
"What?!" Mousse exclaimed.
"The School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts incorporates many styles in it.
If you became a Saotome, the skills you have learned will be added to the
school's teachings. It would also give the school a better chance at surviving
well into the future." preached the old pervert.
<This sounds awfully very familiar.> thought Mousse. "I mean no disrespect
but I never asked to join the school. The terms Ranma and I agreed to was
that
if I won, he would have to choose a fiancee. That's all."
<I can't believe Genma and I never thought of doing that.> thought Soun.
Skuld just sat back watching the affairs of the mortals. <Better than
soaps.>
<If he wins the fight...> thought Happosai. "Well, if you do beat Ranma,
the offer still stands."
Mousse breathed a loud sigh of relief. <I thought he was going to challenge
me or something.>
"Now that that's over. It's time to pay you back for what you did to me."
Happosai said, tearing off his bandages and getting into a fighting stance.
"Bye-bye." Mousse said, opening up a void and willing it to engulf the
old
man. The other side of the void opened up in a random place, dumping him
out.
"Wh-where did he go?" asked Soun.
Mousse couldn't tell if it was anger or extreme happiness so he cautiously
said, "Somewhere far far away."
"Oh thank you!" cried Soun, tears of happiness running down his cheeks.
"I'm free, I'm free, I'm free." he said, running out to the streets yelling
like
a madman.
************************************************************************
"AAAAAAHHHHHH-" Happosai's cries were silenced when he hit the sand.
Looking around, he saw he was at a secluded beach. It looked like he was
at a
film set until he saw a symbol that made his heart go aflutter.
"A PLAYBOY PHOTO SHOOT WHOOPIE!!!!!!" he shouted.
************************************************************************
Mousse had walked outside to watch Soun singing and dancing in the streets
on his way home. A quick look at a pocketwatch showed it was only 5 minutes
before he had to close. <Might as well just close up.> he thought. <Skuld's
been
waiting all day anyway.>
He flipped the sign closed and bid the objects in the kitchen to clean
themselves and go back to their proper place. Skuld was still at the computer
doing god-knows-what.
"So what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" he asked, pulling up a
chair next to Skuld.
Skuld hesitated for a moment and said, "This might sound a bit personal
but... do you have a girlfriend?"
"Heh. I wish." scoffed Mousse.
"Have you ever had a real girlfriend?" she asked.
"No." he answered. "Where's this going?"
"Have you ever seen my sister before that night you brought her to my
house?"
"Well, I had a dream once where I saw someone who looked kinda like her."
Mousse answered warily.
"In that dream, was there a person named 'Falcon' or 'Malcolm'?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. How did you know that? Are you one of those psychics
or
something?"
"Or something." Skuld muttered under her breath. "Do you believe in-"
Suddenly from Skuld's laptop, an intense while light projected from the
screen. A tanned beauty slipped through the screen and took a moment to
fix her
clothes before looking around.
"Whoa, what's going on?" asked Mousse.
"Oops. Did I come at the wrong time?" Urd asked sheepishly.
************************************************************************
Akane looked as Ranma excitedly packed to go back to Nerima. If she didn't
know any better, he was glowing. A side-effect of Cologne's new training.
She
cautiously walked up to her fiancee.
"C'mon Akane. Start packing. I want to get this over soon." Ranma said.
"I
wanna swipe that arrogant look off Mousse's face."
"Ranma... don't you think this is too soon? It hasn't been a week yet."
Akane asked.
Ranma stopped packing and turned to her. "Akane, don't worry. I'll win."
"But-"
"I'll win. Simple as that." Ranma said, his ego swelling.
Akane looked her fiancee over. The past few days, Ranma was very worried
about being able to win. As if losing one fight would be a great black
mark on
his win-loss record. Now, he seemed confident enough to go against anyone,
or
maybe even everyone. Was it part of the training? Could it have affected
him
somehow?
Shampoo wondered briefly why Ranma seemed so happy so suddenly. She pushed
it into the back of her mind. Her great-grandmother has been wrong before.
Ranma
will win.
Ukyo watched as Akane talked to Ranma. They had conferred and decided to
talk to Ranma about his change in attitude. After some arguing, Akane was
chosen. Ukyo unconsciously readied herself for the worst as Akane came
closer.
"So?" she asked.
"He's set on going." Akane answered. "We might as well go on with this.
There's no telling what's going to happen."
"Okay."
Cologne watched her son-in-law order the others to hurry up. She briefly
wondered if teaching Ranma a different way to gather ki was a good idea.
She
truly believed that Ranma needed a new way of harnessing ki. The problem
with it
was that it had to be taught with a steady guiding hand. The new power
at a
student's fingertips have corrupted many people. At this point, she wasn't
sure
if she would be able to deal with Ranma if she tried to stop him. His mind
was
set on defeating Mousse. The saying, 'Absolute power corrupts, but absolute
power corrupts absolutely.' came to her mind. Cologne had no doubt that
Ranma
would eventually get over this power rush but would he do it before the
fight?
Genma smiled at his son's achivements. Ranma had far exceeded himself in
terms of his development in ki. 'This old man still has some tricks up
his
sleeve.' He thought to himself.
End Part 8
Notes: YES!!! Finally done. Writer's block really delayed this part. I
started
this thing in October '98 and only picked it up again around the beginning
of
March. C&C to mabli@idirect.com
