|
|
(Please begin with this midi while you read)
"You're new gypsy is really cute," a man leaned himself against the counter with his hand. He was going bald and his face was in stubby need for shaving. "I'd like to ask how much she charges for a night. My wife's been dead for years . . ."
"She's not for sale," Mousse placed some dishes in the large wooden tub and began to scrub. "Nor will she do any services for anyone besides dance."
"Okay, okay, I get yer point." He placed his pay on the counter. "Was that 57 Gil? There's goes my pay fer the day. I'll be seein ya later."
"Later," Mousse waved lightly.
"Shampoo!" the bartender, which Mousse found out was called Martok, shouted for Shampoo who lazily sat in a chair nearby. "Can you deliver these?"
"Sure," Shampoo took the beer mugs to the table she was directed to.
"She would probably be a great waitress here," Mousse commented.
"No way are we to have a female waiter. I'd be the laughing stock!"
"No, it would just make you popular. More visitors probably." Mousse rinsed off some glass dishes. "More business."
"I'm not going to have Shampoo as a waitress. If she wants to do that sort of business, she can find some other place, but not here."
"Your loss, I guess."
"I didn't hire ya to be givin me advice, boy! I hired you because you're in big-time debt for wreckin up the place!"
"I'm not your slave," Mousse huffed under his breath. "Bastard."
Mousse found his face in the bubbles, a fist pinning him down.
"H-Hey!" Mousse tried to shake him away. "I was only joking, Martok! I was kidding!
OK? OK?"
"Ha HA! Mousse know better!" Shampoo waved a finger at him as-a-matter-of-factly.
Mousse gave her a warm smile. He loved it when Shampoo was like this.
"Hey, when are we going to close?" Mousse asked Martok.
"Pretty soon here. I'll go flip the sign."
Shampoo seated herself at the ber stool in front of Mousse. She placed her head on her hands, her eyes locked on Mousse. Mousse felt himself being stared at. Building a few seconds for the courage, he looked Shampoo in the eye. No, her eyes were elsewhere.
"It was my imagination," Mousse grinned slightly.
But he did feel eyes locked on him, he could have sworn it. He scanned the room quickly from the dish tub. Sure enough, a beautiful woman was staring at him oddly. She had a pale, well-shaped face, and black hair pulled back in a ribbon. Her eyes refused to move, even after he noticed. He continued in his work blushing, wishing that she would stop.
"Shampoo so tired, eh Mousse?" Shampoo snapped her fingers in front of Mousse's eyes. "Mousse? You in there?"
"Wh-What?" Mousse cleared his throat.
"Mousse buy Shampoo a melon on way to castle?"
"S-Sure, if you want."
Shampoo grinned to herself. That's how he was. Most men in this case would have mentioned that the castle would have already have melons, so what's the point of buying one.Closing time took nearly a half hour to clean up. Shampoo helped out a lot with Mousse and Martok, cutting down their time. She washed the tables down hard, and took out the trash into their pile. Martok swept and mopped lightly, re-arranging the tables and chairs the way they should be. Mousse finished up the dishes and cleaned the back kitchen. Altogether, they were glad to get home a little early that night.
"Aiya! See Martok tomorrow, yes?" Shampoo fanned her money as she left with Mousse.
"Yes, of course Shampoo. I'll see you tomorrow sweetie."
"Is pretty late," Shampoo pointed out. "Is fruit stand still open?"
"I don't really know." Mousse kept his hands together at his waist, hidden by his sleeves.
"You want fruit?"
Startled, Mousse and Shampoo whirled around. A weak woman, thin and half-hidden in the shadows held a wicker basket. In the basket there were two melons.
"What?" Mousse asked.
"You wanted fruit, right? I do have two melons here. They are rather fresh and very tasty. The juiciest melons come around this time of year."
"I'll take one." Mousse handed over some of his money (what little profit he made at the bar). He handed the melon to Shampoo with a grin.
"Here," the frail old lady handed Mousse the other melon, unable to resist her arms from shaking. "Take this one too. I've had my share."
"Are you sure?" Mousse asked her before accepting her gift.
"Oh yes," she came to her feet, wiping away some hair from her eyes. She popped her back with her arm and walked away solemnly the opposite direction.
"Was nice of old woman," Shampoo smiled. She waved to her, "Thank you much!"
The old woman ignored her as she continued on her way.
They were silent for a while, the sun completely gone but the sky still a very dark blue. Mousse placed the melon up his sleeve to save for later.
"Shampoo wonder . . . Where Akane go?"
Mousse replied in his doubtful silence.
The streets were so silent and darkened, a little unatural. Even though they were early, no people were rushing home like usual.
"Shampoo," Mousse placed his arm around Shampoo slowly. "I think I-"
"What Mousse doing?!" Shampoo conked him on the head.
"I . . ." Mousse caught himself in the middle of embarrassment. He had hoped that Shampoo would have accepted him just a little bit after a move like that.
"Heeeey," a group of travelers passed them by, their eyes on Shampoo mostly.
"She's pretty hot."
"No kiddin."
"Hey buddy," one of them greeted Mousse and Shampoo with a smile. "She's a gypsy, right? How much?"
"What . . ."
"Your girl there!"
There were four of them. The one talking, shoving the money in Mousse's face had short brown hair, and pretty short. Mousse realized he was a dwarf, but rather thin for the average dwarf. Another who wore armor had his arm wrapped around the only woman in the group, who honestly looked more like a prostitute. The fourth was an elf, with long red hair in a low ponytail and sharp orange eyes.
"Shampoo no for sale!" Shampoo defended herself.
"She's not for sale," Mousse told them as if Shampoo's words weren't enough.
"But we have 983 Gil. We'll give you all of it for her."
"She's not for sale." Mousse and Shampoo continued to walk, giving them the cold shoulder. The redhead whirred Mousse around.
"Don't ignore us, four-eyes. We want a price. We're trying to be nice to you about it. Just take the money and hand her over."
The prostitute moaned as her man kissed her on the throat.
"She is not for sale."
"Fine then."
"We have no choice because of you."
What happened next was a blur to Mousse, as if it wasn't bad enough. Shampoo ducked their attacks, giving them her kicks and punches. Mousse endured most of the hits,
releasing his storm of chains and whatnot from his sleeves. A few other items spilled out as well, a hand mirror, some ribbons, an extra pair of glasses, and his melon.
"Flaun!" the redhead called to the woman. She pulled an object out of her pouch and threw it at the ground in front of Mousse. A thick gaseous smoke spilled out of it, with the shrapnel which he blocked out.
"Moooouse!" he heard Shampoo scream.
"Sh-SHAMPOO!" Mousse punched blindly through the smoke. He hit something on his third attempt, but it only left him behind.
Mousse ran through the smoke to find no one in the streets. At his feet, Shampoo's melon lay smooshed. He kept his head low, his feet planted firmly, his fists at his sides.
"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAMN!!!!!!""Where have you been? Father's been worried." Kasumi jumped to her feet as soon as Mousse stumbled into the castle.
"They took Shampoo," he wiped his sweaty forehead. "I've been looking for her all night. I can't find her."
"Oh my. Mousse, you do look tired. You really should get some rest."
"Not until I find Shampoo!""He has returned?" King Soun shoved some porridge in his mouth at the table. What was not eaten was disposed in the crack in the floor behind him.
"Yes, and he was quite tired. Apparently some travelers took Shampoo."
"'Shampoo'?"
"The gypsy that was with him. The one kidnapped with Ranma."
"Oh yes, yes, her."
"As if things aren't bad enough," Ranma bit into his toast. "We just got back."
"Where is Mousse now?" Akane shyly peeped into the conversation.
"He left to find Shampoo."
"We should send a carriage and help out then.""Ukkyou," Ryoga awoke to his own whisper. His arm supported Ukkyou's head, and bent to pull her in and caress her hair. Ryoga's thoughts began to streak him down heavy
as he remembered the night. He felt over-shocked with guilt, a kind of guilt he had never experienced before.
"You awake now?" Ukkyou mumbled. She planted a kiss on Ryoga's mouth. Ryoga pushed her away slightly, but she felt the hint. "Ryoga? What's the matter, sugar?"
"I'm sorry Ukkyou." Ryoga covered his eyes with his hand for fear that he might cry.
"I am so sorry I did this . . . to you, Ukkyou."
Ukkyou looked confused, but with a grin. "You're always like that. But it's OK, Ryoga. Really." Ryoga nodded with a sniff. Ukkyou slowly moved his hand and placed it on her cheek. His eyes were pink and watery. "Don't feel bad, Ryoga. It's natural that these things happen. Besides, we were both very tired."
"But what if-" Ukkyou placed her finger on his mouth to silence him.
"Everything that happened is fine with me." Ukkyou sat beside him, and cupped his face. "It's my fault too, you know. But . . . I've wanted to do that for you for so very long."
Ryoga sat up and hugged Ukkyou, sniffling on her shoulder, "I love you, Ukkyou. I really do love you. (*Sniff*), I'm sorry I'm such a baby." Ukkyou hushed him as she cradled him.
The door opened, Akari holding onto a wooden tray with dishes for breakfast. When she found Ukkyou and Ryoga the way they were, she dropped her tray with her jaw and slowly left, closing the door behind her.
Ukkyou dropped Ryoga, who was just as startled as she."So who is he?" Akari sat on her chair firmly on the edge, her hands clamped at her knees.
"My name's Ryoga Hibiki," he half-whispered, even more embarrassed than he was.
"Ukkyou, if you had someone else to bring, you could've just said so. I would have let him in, too."
"It's not like that!" Ukkyou waved her hands. "He came in unexpectedly! You see, I was taking a bath and-"
"It's all right, Ukkyou. I just want the both of you to leave."
"HERE!" Ukkyou splashed Ryoga with a bucket of hot water. Ukkyou felt jabbed. "He didn't change back?!"
"It was cold water that changed me that that witch used."
"What?" Ukkyou spun around to find some cold water. She grabbed Akari's glass and poured it on him.
"P-Chan!" Akari scooped him up. "What . . .?"
"It did work.""I was changed into a pig by a witch in the forest only a few days ago." Ryoga hung his head low as he explained his story. "How embarrassing, to think that I become a pig."
"OH!" Akari skipped for joy. "You're the only man for me!"
"What?" Ukkyou placed her hands on her hips. Akari threw herself into Ryoga's
arms.
"It's a dream come true! I never thought I'd be so lucky!"
"What??" Ukkyou grew impatient.
"Ryoga here then turns into P-Chan by water! That's fabulous! I love little piggies!"
Ryoga felt himself melt. He shook his head from his thoughts of a girl smothering him. He was nuts!
Ryoga's eyes met Ukkyou's helplessly. She wasn't upset or jealous, at least she didn't seem to be. She looked thoughtful.
"Pigs huh? Ryoga honey seems to be the choice then." Ukkyou gathered up her few things. "I'm finally going home. I've been enough trouble here, you know?"
"No, it's OK! Please stay!" Akari parted Ryoga. "Please, stay as long as you like!"
"She only wants me to stay because Ryoga would stay, too." Ukkyou sniffed in thought.
"Maybe a few more days couldn't hurt. Are you sure it's all right?"
"Yes, yes! Please do!"
"OK. I'll make us dinner tonight. I know a good recipe!"
Ryoga looked grateful that Akari was off of him. He wiped his nose, sensing it's momentary drain."I'm sorry it has to be like this," Flaun threw Shampoo forward to the slave traders. Shampoo fell forward on her knees, her arms tied behind her.
"You thieving slut! You no own Shampoo!!" Shampoo kicked herself to her feet, swinging them at Flaun the best she could.
"She's a rare catch. A good one," the bald slave trader observed Shampoo past his beer belly. "Arrald carries the best gypsies around, and she's definately one of them."
"So you'll take her?" the redhead crossed his arms in his arrogance. The slave trader rubbed his chin and shook his head.
"She's too aggressive. I don't like that in my women."
"But-"
"I don't want her."
They all glared down at Shampoo hard. The brunette dwarf kicked her in the ankle.
The blonde in the armor pushed Flaun forward. "Then take her. She's really good at that if you know what I mean."
"What?" Flaun slapped him. "How dare you?"
"We need the money," the dwarf shrugged. "You're the only female."
"I'll take her. Just not the gypsy."
"You son of a bitch!" Flaun found herself chained. The slave trader handed over his money to the dwarf and hopped onto his horse, Flaun shained to him on foot. They left, her glare set upon the blonde. A terrifying, cold stare that Shampoo wished she never performed to anyone.
"You're cuter anyway," the redhead untied Shampoo, bringing her to her feet.
"What are you doing?" the blond barked. "Tie her back up!"
"We really don't own her. Can't she just go?"
"No, I want her for at least one night."
The dwarf grinned with a shrug. "No point in wastin' her." The redhead slung his arm around Shampoo as they left to find an inn for the night.
"My name's Tarventique," he winked at her. "But the guys call me Tarv. What's your name?"
"Shampoo," she knocked his arm off of her.
"OK Shampoo. The dwarf there is Lenui, and the blonde is Orpal." Tarv whispered to Shampoo, "But never call him that. He likes to be called Jay."
The inn inside was very built-up and classy. There were many candles and scrolls and painting on on the walls, and the hard floor deserved a fancy dark rug. The furniture was wooden, possibly oak, and there must have been at least a dozen of other groups in there for the night. Shampoo observed a man playing his flute sadly in the corner, a small crowd around him, anxious to hear him out. Some gypsy girls flirted with a wealthy obese man, one of them shaking her body in a wave that cracked him up into a riot.
"We would like one room," Lenui told the innkeeper.
"That would be 500 Gil. Would you like to have dinner?"
"Sure, after we place our stuff in the room."
A bellhop led the anxious three and Shampoo to the room. Sure, it was spacious. Two beds with plenty of room in between. A table and three chairs in a corner, a painting on the wall of some unheard of perfect place. Shampoo felt trapped for the first time in her life.
"I hear there's a magic show," Jay pointed out. "Wanna go watch it while we eat?"
"Good entertainment is so hard to find these days," Lenui unclasped his armory and tossed it on the floor with thud after thud. Jay proudly kept his on.
They placed their settings down, hiding them under the covers and beds in case someone were to break in. Shampoo found herself in the lobby at the table a few minutes later, wondering how she got there.
The people cleared as the show began.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" a voice scratched as he took his part in the show. "I welcome you all tonight tonight to the Wonton Deluxe Inn for the magic show!"
"Mousse!" Shampoo's eyes widened. She jumped back in her seat, wondering if she said that aloud.
Mousse grinned at Shampoo through his glasses.
"My name is Sir Mousse, and my magic is Dark Magic. You could name anything off and I could give it to you out of no where in front of your very eyes!"
"How 'bout some Gil?!" a teenage boy whooped.
Mousse chuckled. "Nuthin like tha-at. Here. Observe!"
Mousse placed his hands together, his sleeves covering his arms completely. He whipped his hands apart as a mess of tangled ribbons and cards fell out. Mousse threw three small ribons to some young girls in the crowd.
"Geez, you better appreciate this Shampoo!" Mousse thought. "This isn't what I learned this tecnique for. I saw you walking in here with those men. I won't let you be taken advantage of!"
Mousse threw two dolls into his hands, both made of simple potato bags sewn together with some scraps of cloth for clothing, which he offered to some more of the younger children.
"As for the boys," Mousse filled his hands secretly so that the crowd couldn't see. Mousse suddenly unleashed three ropes, one for each man by Shampoo.
"Aiya!" Shampoo was flung through the air. Mousse regained his ropes.
"You should keep your filthy paws off of someone you don't own!" Mousse flung some egg bombs at the group who had taken Shampoo, grabbed her hand, and they ran out of the inn.(Please take a moment to play this midi) Shampoo tried her best to keep up with the clunky Mousse. She felt a sudden gratitude, maybe for the first time for Mousse.
They darted and sped around strange corners to make the route difficult to track them down. Shampoo actually found herself in a mixture of weakened laughs as she ran, but not Mousse until a while later. All that was on his mind was Shampoo's safety.
Mousse came to a slowed pace into an alley with Shampoo.
"What we do in alley, Mousse?" Shampoo sounded doubtful.
"Hey, hold on a sec, Shampoo," Mousse observed the gutters of the builings that surrounded them. Mousse aimed his claw-and-chains up at it, tugged at it for testing, and climbed his way up. Halfway up, he offered Shampoo his hand. "C'mon, Shampoo!"
Shampoo had no choice but to accept his hand. They swiftly met the roof, clear and a clean sky.
They got situated, although the air hung in a muggy cloud among them. Mousse wiped his forehead lightly with his dirty sleeve.
"It's pretty hot," Mousse whewed. "Let's just wait a few minutes for them. I'm tired of running."
There were silent for a few minutes, getting themselves comfortable on the hard roof. In the corner, there was an abandoned nest with a flock of feathers caught up in the tangles. The breeze began to updrift, bringing them down to a new cool.
Their ears were open for whatever signs of the men for them to take cover, but none came.
"Shampoo have lil' secret, Mousse," she hugged her knees, neither one of them making eye contact, sitting by each other. Mousse gulped hard, his heart pumping at a new uptake. "Shampoo think she in love."
Mousse felt his face grow hot. Was this finally the chance? Would he tell her how he really felt? "Y-Yeah . . . ?"
"Shampoo no stop thinking about man-" she rested her face on her knuckle. "Darling Ranma." Mousse felt as if a statue weighed him down. He shook his head to the side so that Shampoo couldn't see. Shampoo took no notice as she continued to talk dreamily. "Ranma so smart and strong. When Ranma helped Shampoo, Shampoo knew Ranma was only man for her." Mousse squeezed his eyes shut, hoping his eyes wouldn't give in. The clouded up with tears and began to sting. He felt a hot tear roll down his cheek, which he quickly wiped away before Shampoo could have a look at it.
Shampoo heaved a sigh.
"D-Do you think.... he likes you, Shampoo?"
"Maybe some. Not too too much since spirit invade Shampoo's body." Shampoo twirled her finger through some leaves. "No one love Shampoo."
"But I love you, Shampoo . . ."
"Mousse is only one who love Shampoo."
Mousse's heart skipped a beat, his face bright red. "Whuh?"
Shampoo began to laugh a healthy laugh. "Of course, Mousse joke!" She waved her hand at him casually. Mousse chimed in too, with her laughing, his more nervously forced.
"Yeah, yeah. Of course!"King Bakuchioh called the priestess into the throne. She entered silently, the only noise was echo of her walking stick. Old and fragile as she was, Cologne glared up at the king in confidence.
"Priestess Cologne," King Bakuchioh sat at the edge of his seat. "You have served us well, but we need your cooperation once more."
"How may I serve you, Your Highness?" she somewhat curtsied from her pole.
"The spell you have cast earlier . . . We are missing her, you see. Is there any possible way to track her down?"
"Hmm, it has been years." Cologne opened her hands, her arm still wrapped around her stick, as a book out of nowhere appeared, floating above her hands. The pages inside were a thin, bendable glass. As the pages flipped, Cologne's eyes filled with delight. "This is the spell I used on her. I write down every spell that I use. By using this, I could track her down. My magic has flowed through her veins, and yet it will be easy this way."
"By doing this, you shall be highly rewarded. Please take this opportunity to fill whatever your desires may be by doing this favor for me."
"Yes, certainly," Cologne bowed. And her, the book, and her pole all disappeared.
"It has been a while, eh?" King Bakuchioh asked one of his guards.Mousse sat in his room at the palace, at the edge of his bed. The luxury of this place was over-whelming. The simular cranberry cloth that bathed the bed, wooden floors rewarded by unusual rugs, large windows and the balcony that always led him to dreaming of the moon.
Mousse appreciated that he had vision again, rather than missing the world.... the moon and Shampoo.The palace was warm and fairly dark.
And then there was a blood-curdling scream.
Shampoo rushed out of her room, and found herself winding down the empty halls alone, fearless. Her feet pounded on the marble floors, the candleabra rushing past her in a blur.
There was a voice, faint and high, like it was a distance away. Shampoo followed it, which led her to the throne room. Outside of the doors, three guards lay dead, soaked in their own blood.
Shampoo examined them closer, searching for any weapon available.
"Fresh kill," Shampoo tossed one of the soldiers back onto the floor.
It was singing. The singing of a lovely voice, a little off-key. Shampoo couldn't make out the words. During the singing, there was another cry.
Shampoo kicked the door open, fire flared in her eyes.
Tsubasa was floating above the throne steps, King Soun slumped in his chair, six guards dead and torn, and Ranko at the base of the stairs. In between Ranko and Tsubasa, there was a glow of black and blue energy."Twas a petal for me, and two for you dear. Whenever will the moon come? I miss ye thoughts on life and love. And our chatters of weather o'er tea."
"Chi power! Lots of it!" Shampoo stopped herself. She gripped the dagger in her hand tightly before she threw it at Tsubasa.
It missed. There wasn't enough power in her throw, but Tsubasa noticed it. She continued to ignore it as Ranko yelped.
"What?!" Ranma dashed in. Ranko looked at him over her shoulder weakly. Her hand somewhat reached for him, but quickly returned to her side.
"You cut that out right now!" Ranma kicked Tsubasa hard in the side. She ceased her battle as the blue energy drained itself back into Akane.
"Damn!" Tsubasa huffed as she returned to her feet.
"The king!" Mousse flipped. "King Soun is dead!"
"He's not dead," Tsubasa wiped her mouth. "It is merely your imagination."
Ranko felt herself falling back. Ranma pounced behind her and held her up.
Tsubasa patted her side lightly where Ranma had hit her. "Bastard!" She pointed to the floor. The floor lifted in several chunks in a straight line right towards Ranma and Ranko. Ranma threw themselves aside.
Ranko lifted her hand to Ranma's face.
"R-Ranma . . . . She tried to . . . take my soul from me-e-e."
"She's not takin' nuthin', Ranko. Just hang in there, OK?"
"Nn," her hand dropped as well as her consciousness.
Tsubasa glared at the dagger, a glint in her eye. The dagger began to shake, tapping against the floor, but was soon high enough from the ground. It was at eye-level, twisting to the side so that the point was aimed for Shampoo.
"You are a vile bitch," Tsubasa spat. Her hand outstrecthed towards Shampoo, and the dagger flew.
Shampoo tried to block the dagger with her own chi powers, and stepped aside, but the dagger was still after her.
"Aiya!" Shampoo fell for the floor.
"Ack!"
The blood dripped onto the floor.
Mousse yanked the knife out of his arm. It instinctively pulled itself from his grip, and aimed for Shampoo again.
Mousse stepped in the way again, but used his powers against Tsubasa and managed to stop the knife half an inch from his leg.
"Shampoo no let you do that!" Shampoo jumped to her feet and grabbed the lifeless blade. She twirled it easily, and crushed it. Ranma gently set Ranko down on the floor away from everyone else.
"I do not need to finish this now." Tsubasa clapped her hands. "Just wait until my uncle hears of what you've done."
Tsubasa disappeared.It was silent.
Too silent.
"King Soun!" Ranma came to his side. He shook him by the shoulders lightly, and then heavier. "King Soun, snap outta it!" There was no response.
"He is dead." Mousse clasped his arm. Shampoo patted Mousse's shoulder lightly as if in encouragement, and rushed up the stairs to meet Ranma.
"Did not king have three daughters?"
Ranma felt his heart skip a beat.
"Princess Kasumi and Princess Nabiki!" Ranma leaped down the stairs, past Mousse who was aiding his arm with what little magic he knew. Ranma scooped Ranko and carried her on his back. "God, she's heavy!" Ranma felt weighed down. "Mousse, Shampoo . . . I don't want us to split up. Let's search the castle and see what else is going on. We need to find the other two princesses." He shifted Ranko on his back and waited for the other two to follow.
The lights went dead. All of the candles suddenly hushed to a darkness that even gripped Ranma's fear.
"Ha ha ha ha ha," there was a faint laughter, but definite to the unsure mind, that echoed off from all of the halls.
"This no happen," Shampoo placed her hands on her hips.
"It's . . . . dark," Mousse gripped his arm. "I can't see."
Shampoo blew into her hand, a flicker of blue flame at first, but then a ball of light floating above her hand.
"Light is Shampoo specialty," she chimed proudly.
So there were three of them moving. One beautiful magician who had a confusing heart, one injured man in a robe, and one ex-night of King Bakuchioh, with the princess unconscious on his back. They stepped down into a hallway of darkness, the blue flame echoing from their gloomy, half-seen faces; each with an anxious heart.
