How could they? "...You see...our mother was a demon. Which makes us half-demons." How could they? Akane lay in her bed, too numb to do much else. Her family, the people she had trusted more than anyone in the world, had been deceiving her for as long as she had been alive. How could they? How could she ever trust anything they every said again? Come to think of it, how could she trust anything they've ever said in the past? What else have they been keeping from her? What other lies have they told, secrets too important to tell? They have no idea how completely they've destroyed the trust Akane had in them. She was lying on her side facing the wall. When she felt extra weight being placed on the bed, she didn't see who sat upon it. She didn't need to see to know who it was, remembering she didn't lock her window. "Ranma, I said I wanted to be alone." "I know," came his reply. "So what are you doing in here?" "I thought we could be alone together." She rolled over enough so she could glare at his back. "I don't think you understand the concept of 'being alone'." "I just don't think we should be shut off from each other in this. I understand what you're going through." "You 'understand'?" she interrupted. "Yeah, I understand. I've been lied to also. I know what it can-" She grabbed him, slammed him down on the bed and straddled his waist. All of the emotions that were bottled up came out in a torrent and she had a very crazed look in her eyes, "You understand??? Don't you DARE patronize me! I just found out my entire life was a lie! HOW *CAN* YOU UNDERSTAND???" "If you wanna take it out on me, that's fine. Just don't shut me out." His words cut her like a knife. What in the world was she about to do? Defeated, she fell back onto her bed. "I-I don't want to take anything out on you. It's just..." Ranma sat up and looked at her, intent to hear out whatever she had to say. She was so torn up; she couldn't even put what she felt into words. She simply wrapped her arms around him and hung on for dear life. It seemed the life she thought she knew was now spiraling out of control and he was her only anchor to sanity. As he wrapped his arms around her in return, a thought occurred to Akane. Ranma was the only person in her life that had ever been completely honest with her from the get-go. It was a biting, hurtful honesty at times, though. She had finally come to respect that about him, though his delivery did demand that he needed to learn tact. Be that as it may, it made her feel a little better. At least there was one person left she could trust. Dreamweaver Studios Presents Ranma½ Legacy Chapter 4 Mousse helped his opponent down from the trap he bound her with to win their duel. He feared something like this would happen. The battle was over but the trouble was just beginning. "Husband?" "Well, husband to be, anyway," she said with a smile. "Let me guess...you're an Amazon from China, right?" "Oh! You know about us already? Makes sense, since you use Amazon fighting techniques. It saves me having to explain how things work. You should be honored to have trained with them. Amazon elders are quite secretive when it comes to their techniques...especially when it comes to outsider males." Mousse shook his head. "I'm not an outsider. I'm one as well." Her eyes lit up, "Even better! I had no idea there were any men in the tribe as strong as you! Very impressive!" He couldn't help but smile at the praise he was getting. It had been a long time since anyone said he was strong. But he shook his head. This was taking away from the problem at hand. "Wait! Wait! Look, we can't just jump into this. I mean we don't even know each other's names!" "I'm Autumn," she said, beaming. "Ah...I'm Mousse," he stuttered. She took his arm and got uncomfortably close to him. "Very nice to meet you, Mousse," she nearly sang. He removed his arm from her person and took a nervous step back, "Now stop that! Look, we can't do this! It...it just wouldn't be right!" Autumn tilted her head to the side and stared at him intently. "There's someone else, isn't there?" "Yes! That's exactly it," went Mousse, nodding intently. "She must really love you..." Mousse turned away, "Well...actually...she kinda...hates my guts." Autumn facefaulted. "Lemme get this straight...you're turning me away? For a girl that doesn't even like you? Okay, what's wrong with this picture?" "It's not as cut and dried as that. Things are complicated." "Really? How so?" Goodie. Explanation time. "You see, the thing is, I haven't exactly followed the rules. I haven't beaten Shampoo in a battle...erm...like I kinda did with you..." Autumn raised her eyebrow, "I take it 'Shampoo' is her name?" Mousse nodded. "Okay...so she doesn't like you AND you haven't followed the rules to prove yourself worthy of being her consort. This just gets better and better." She's really going to love this part. "I wanted her to be with me out of love, not because of some stupid rules. Unfortunately, before it could happen, someone else came along and defeated her. She's intent on marrying him instead." Autumn rubbed her temples, as if she developed a headache. Yup, she did like that part. "It sounds to me like you already have three strikes against you." "But it's a stupid situation. Ranma...that's the name of the guy who beat her...he doesn't even like her that way. He already has a fiancée and they're deeply in love. Sure, they put on a false front for everyone, and fight all the time, but it's plain to see for anyone who doesn't have blinders on. I thought for sure she would've come to that realization by now but she hasn't." Mousse shook his head. "She's chasing after someone who's in love with someone else. All she's doing is setting herself up for a broken heart. She's being such a fool..." Autumn nodded, "You know what? I agree with you. She is being a fool. The thing is, you're doing the exact same thing she's doing. So what does that make you?" After that, she walked away, leaving Mousse stung by her words. ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** The noon hour arrived upon Nerima. On the grounds of Furinkan High School, Ukyou Kuonji sat alone, eating her lunch. Something was going on and she wasn't sure if she liked it. Ranma and Akane were absent from school. She had heard the two of them got caught up in a fight between Happousai and Taro, a couple of dangerous figures to be sure. It could have been that they were injured. It was a possibility in any fight and it wouldn't be the first time for either of them. But she couldn't shake this sinking feeling that there was something else going on. She got that feeling from time to time, but it was never that powerful before. Time was short. She felt if she had any chance of getting Ranma to marry her, she would have to move quickly, or else he'd be lost to her forever. She'd have to come up with a plan of some sort to get Ranma to her side, but with how busy things have been with school and her restaurant, there would be no way she could come up with anything of use before she was too late. She needed help. As if on cue, the brick fence that separated Furinkan's grounds from the outside exploded. Through the smoke came the powerful form of Ryouga Hibiki. Sometimes, things just had a way of working out so conveniently. With a smile, she stood up and trotted over to meet him. He helped her before to try and break up Ranma and Akane. She knew she could count on him to help and not double cross her like a certain purple haired Amazon floozy she knew. For his part, Ryouga looked in really bad shape. He was breathing hard and sweating profusely. For someone in his condition to have been that tired from something as simple as destroying a brick wall, he had to have been through the ringer. "Hey, Ryouga," greeted Ukyou, a look of concern on her face. "Are you okay, sugar?" Ryouga looked at her, his eyes slightly glazed over. "U-Ukyou? What are you doing in Hokkaido?" She glared at him, "You're at Furinkan High, dummy." "Furinkan? I finally made it back!" Ryouga set his heavy pack to the ground and sat down next to it." "So, where have you been to this time?" Ukyou asked, deciding to have a little small talk to break the ice before asking him for help. Ryouga blushed furiously, remembering the goings on of this particular trip. "Erm...you know...here and there." He wiped the sweat from his brow, "I'm so thirsty...I haven't had anything for the last week...do you have something I could drink on you?" Ukyou did have some green tea with her lunch, but, "Sorry, hon. I just finished drinking what I had." His head drooped. "*Tsk*, just my luck." Overcome by thirst and fatigue, Ryouga passed out. "Ryouga!" Ukyou checked his pulse. It was still beating, but it was growing faint. After so long without anything to drink and sweating as much as he was, he must've been severely dehydrated. True, they weren't that close, but she'd be damned if she wasn't going to help someone who needed it. The plots could wait; his health came first. At least she was a strong one herself. Carrying him shouldn't be too big of a problem. Unfortunately, she didn't know where he lived, nor did she know of anyone who did. There was only one thing she could think of. "Guess I'll have to bring you home with me." She started running as fast as she could with the extra weight on her back. Stealing a glance and her once and, hopefully, future partner in crime, she added with a mix of jest and worry, "You better hang on. If you die on me, I'm going to be really ticked off." ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** Mousse sat in his room, meditating. He had been doing that a lot lately. The words of that girl, Autumn, were still ringing in his ears. She just didn't understand. What he was doing was different. Shampoo was going to need him to support her, once that mess with Saotome came to a head. It was inevitable, Mousse thought, that Ranma would confess his love to Akane and once that happened, she was going to need him to be there for her. A nagging question came to mind, though...would she really? Even if Ranma declares his love for Akane, or even one of the other girls, would Shampoo really come to him for support? Or would she spurn him again, as she'd done so many times before? "…She is being a fool. The thing is, you're doing the exact same thing she's doing. So what does that make you?" Great. His thoughts were going around in circles. Not getting any benefit from his meditation, he stood up. The day was over from the time he started his meditation, so there really wasn't anything left for him to do but go to sleep. Why was it so bright, though? He looked out his window, "I can't believe it. The sun's up already? I've been up all night?!?" Though he wasn't ready for it, a new day had begun. This was punctuated by a rapping at his door. "Mousse! Get up, boy!" Mousse sighed and he opened the door to Cologne, who was on the other side. "I'm up already." "Good," she said. "Tell me, how did yesterday's challenge go?" "I won." "I would expect nothing less. Still, you do not look like someone who just won a challenge." Mousse sighed. "There were some things she said that got to me. Not to mention some complications that came up in the end." Cologne smiled. "She's one of us, isn't she?" Damn. Why did she have to be so wise and perceptive? "...yes." "I thought so. And since you defeated her in combat-" "I know, I know." "You have a decision to make, my boy. I know you have an interest in Shampoo. And while I'm actively trying to help Shampoo get Ranma as a husband, I haven't stood in the way of your pursuit either. Unfortunately, the two of you are so bound to your paths, there are certain things neither of you have come to realize yet. But now, you have another path you can choose to take. The path you choose could lead you to the realization you've missed up to now." Mousse practically had question marks dancing over his head. "What are you talking about? Is this a riddle of some kind?" Cologne shook her head, "I can't give you the answer to that just yet. You must make your decision. Will you continue chasing Shampoo? Or will you consider life with this new girl? I will grant you your answer if, and only if you make the right choice. Now then, it's time to open up. Get to work, boy." The two went downstairs to the main dining area. Cologne entered the kitchen to check on the dishes she started before fetching Mousse. Shampoo had just taken down the last of the chairs that was stacked on the dining tables and began wiping the table down. "Good morning, Shampoo!" Mousse said, with a smile. Not returning the smile, Shampoo nodded her reply. "Shampoo clean off all the tables already. Open door, okay?" Oh yeah, he could definitely feel the warmth from that greeting. "Okay," Mousse said, his smile falling from his face. He drug his way over to the main entrance, undid the locks and open the doors to greet the first morning customers. Imagine his surprise when he was greeted on the other side by "...Autumn?" She blinked in surprise as well, "Mousse? What are you doing here?" "I live here!" She took a step back and looked at the front of the building again. "Really? This is where you live? Wow, I had no idea. Guess I would've recognized it if I came from the back like last time." "What are you doing here?" Mousse returned the inquiry. She shrugged, "I'm hungry. I heard this was one of the best restaurants in town, so I decided to give it a try." "Oh! Okay! Well, please come in!" Mousse stepped out of the way and allowed her to enter. He noticed that Shampoo was paying unusually close attention to them while they were talking. "Welcome to Nekohaten," said Shampoo with a manufactured smile. "Please have seat." As Autumn sat down, Shampoo studied her, and her eyes lit up in recognition. She walked over to the counter between the dining area and the kitchen as if to get a menu. "You know Mousse, hmm?" "Yep!" blurted Autumn. Mousse signaled her to stop, but she continued, "We're getting married!" Mousse's shoulders slumped. Looked as though he wouldn't have to make any decisions after all. Hearing that, Shampoo would do whatever she could to help that marriage along. For her part, Shampoo looked as though she had taken a jolt of electricity from an unprotected wire. She turned her head back to their guest, "Married?" "Well, I challenged him to a duel and he beat me. That whole Amazon law and all," Autumn relayed with a smile. "Of course, that all depends on the very important decision he has to make." Instead of a menu, Shampoo grabbed a set of her bonbori and leapt into action, crushing the table Autumn was sitting at. Autumn managed to jump out of the way and she fell into a defensive stance. Mousse jumped in between them, "Shampoo! What are you doing???" So this was the Shampoo Mousse was going on about. Autumn raised an eyebrow, "What in the world are you attacking me for? Unless...you're not jealous, are you?" Beneath his thick glasses, Mousse's eyes widened. Could it be? He remembered when Shampoo had worn the reversal jewel and suddenly became cold and distant towards Ranma. It drove him so crazy that he actually began pursuing her. Could it be that the thought of losing him to someone else would have the same effect on Shampoo and she would pursue him the same way? "Stop stupid talking! Shampoo not care who stupid Mousse get married to!" Mousse facefaulted. So much for that idea. Cologne appeared from inside the kitchen, alarmed by the commotion. "What's going on out here?" Surveying the damage, Cologne caught sight of the girl that had challenged Mousse before. So, that was his new wife-to-be, hmm? But what in the world was her great- granddaughter doing? "What is the meaning of this, Shampoo?" "This girl from Shishuei-liao village!" answered Shampoo. "She from enemy tribe!" Mousse's and Cologne's jaws dropped. "Enemy?" wondered Autumn. Her eyes widened as well, "Y-you're from Joketsuzuko?" As her answer, Shampoo charged, "SHAMPOO KILL!" Shampoo swung the bonbori in her right hand in a blow that would've crushed Autumn's skull if it connected, had Autumn not ducked. As if in a dance, Shampoo changed the arch of her swing so that the next attack came from above and struck with her left hand. Sensing the shift in motion, Autumn lurched backwards, allowing the bonbori to harmlessly embed itself into the floor. Using the momentum she gathered, however, Shampoo balanced her weight on the bonbori on the floor and hit her enemy in the chest with a jump kick that propelled her through the wall next to the front door. Autumn picked herself up off the ground and shook the cobwebs from her head, preparing for the next attack. She didn't have long to wait, as Shampoo flew out of the fresh made hole, pressing her attack. To the untrained eye, it would have looked as if Shampoo's swings were wildly thrown, but Autumn could clearly see the well trained pattern they followed. Hopefully, she would be fast enough to dodge them long enough to counter. She drew two short swords from her sleeves. Both had half of their blades going straight out for stabbing, with the other half curved into a hook. Predicting her opponent's swing, Autumn managed to hook both of Shampoo's bonbori. With her midsection wide open, Autumn landed a kick to Shampoo's stomach, causing her to crash into one of the light poles that paralleled the street. Autumn stored Shampoo's bonbori in the folds of her sleeves where she wouldn't be able to get to them. With her disarmed, she wouldn't prove as dangerous. As she readied herself for Shampoo's next attack, Autumn caught a glimpse of Mousse, who ran out of the restaurant to watch the fight. Even though he did try to step in and protect her, it was clear by the look on his face that he still cared about her...despite the fact that she, only a few moments ago, said she didn't care for him. It was clear this wasn't a battle she could win. Even if she did defeat Shampoo, she ran the risk of alienating Mousse. With a last, longing look at her fiancée, she turned to one of the adjoining rooftops and hopped away into the early morning sky. "Coward!" crowed Shampoo, as she picked herself up off the ground. "You not get away Shampoo so easily!" "You've done quite enough already, Shampoo! Get back inside," ordered Cologne. "...Yes, great-grandmother," growled Shampoo. As Shampoo begrudgingly did as she was told, Cologne turned her attention to Mousse. "Well boy, this new development certainly does complicate things. It just makes your decision that much more important." Mousse slapped his forehead. As if things weren't difficult enough... ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **