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[Ranma][Fanfic] A Different Brand Of Mousse - Parts 1-3

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Mark Ferrer

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Aug 31, 1998, 3:00:00 AM8/31/98

This is my first fanfic so give me lots of contructive critisism.
Privately if possible. About how the paragraphs are split, I know they
suck, that's what the critisism is for. This is also a repost because I
see that many might have missed this fic because of my forgetting to
finish the subject line and the fact that it was pointed out that the
previous version wasn't too good.

A Different Brand Of Mousse

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 need all my money
for anime!)

Note: I've taken some liberties with some/all of the characters. Sorry,
I couldn't help it. This fic also has small crossovers that usually
don't have any big bearing on the fic.
Thoughts are in <>
Normal dialogue is in quotes (duh)

It was a rainy day in Nerima. The students in Furinkan High were
cooped up in the school during lunchtime looking out at the never ending
rain. The contractors renovating Ucchan's were taking a break, still
amazed at the damaged it sustained without crumbling to pieces. Soun and
Genma were as usual playing shogi.

At the Nekohanten, two fighters were squaring off. The lull in
activity had prompted Mousse to try out what his latest training journey
had brought with it. Today was the day, if Mousse won, he could date
Shampoo. If he lost, he would no longer be allowed to ask Shampoo on a
date. He had clearly set it up that he could still be allowed to marry
her. Shampoo was breathing lightly while Mousse was panting hard and his
clothes were in disarray. Shampoo couldn't believe that Mousse was able
to slip in the being able to marry her part. Cologne agreed to the terms
telling Shampoo secretly that it meant he no longer had the privilage of
dating with her. It was a step closer to the day when Mousse fought over
the privilage of marrying her and losing. Mousse couldn't believe he had
gone for a whole half-hour against the one he loved. His training
improved his endurance and he was coming closer and closer to being able
to knock Shampoo unconscious before his instincts took over.

<He's gotten better...> thought Shampoo. <...but not good enough.>
She rushed at Mousse with her bonbori, who was too tired was knocked out
the door, turning into a duck in the pouring rain. Shampoo looked around
at the restaurant and saw that their fight didn't affect the diner at
all.

<Good. I won't have to get Mousse to clean anything.> she thought.
A ringing phone called her attention and the promise of more customers
called Shampoo to attention and she ran to the phone.

Mousse got up waddling back into the restaurant. <At least my
glasses weren't broken> he
thought. Suddenly, he was grabbed by a hooded blur. He opened his beak
to quack but it was
quickly tied up. He tried to fly away but he was placed in a box. He was
slightly relieved that the box had holes in it but he started thinking
the worst. Out of one of the holes, he could see part of the face of the
person who ducknapped him. "You're a hard person to find, Mousse." he
said. Mousse saw him place something into box through one of the holes.
He turned in the small box to see what it was but blacked out at the
smoke coming from the object. <This kind of thing doesn't happen to
me...> he thought before losing all consciousness. The hooded man looked
to see if anyone was missing and disappeared.

****************************************************************************

Mousse woke up to the sound of birds chirping. He couldn't hear any
sounds of a city so he
jumped up to see where he was. He was in the middle of a clearing in a
forest back in human form. He took a deep breath of the sweet air.
<Hmm,> he thought. <the air's too sweet to be Japan. Could it be China?>

"Welcome back to China." a voice behind him said.

Mousse took out his glasses to see a masked man approaching him. He
dropped into a defensive position and said, "It's nice to be back but
I'd like to return to Japan if you don't mind."

The masked man put up his hands and said, "I am not asking for a
fight young man. At least, not yet anyway."

Mousse lowered his guard. He couldn't believe that he was actually
going to trust the man. "Why did you bring me here?"

"I want to help you." the masked man answered. "You have been
ignoring your training far too long, you are cursed and you cannot see
without your glasses. I am going to try to solve every one of your
problems."

Mousse laughed and said, "Why would you want to help me?" Absently,
he was cycling through all the people he knew and tried to match the
voice to a face. he screamed mentally.

"I'm going to help you because you have the potential to be the
most powerful human on earth. Does that sound to your liking?" he asked
calmly.

Mousse gave a small nod.

"First, I want to test your current fighting ability." He seemingly
grabbed two swords out of thin air and slashed them at Mousse.

<He knows Hidden Weapons...> Mousse thought. He let his chains fly
out from his robes but
they were dodged and got lodged deep into the tree behind the masked
man. "You've always relied too much on your chains Mousse." the man said
sternly.

<How does this guy know me? Dammit! I know I've heard that voice
before...> Mousse threw
some shurikens at the man then took out two huge battleaxes. He tried
getting as close as possible to do the most damage but just ended up
cleaving both swords in two. The masked man then threw some shurikens of
his own at Mousse. He threw them like he had an endless supply.

<There's something different about his style.> Mousse noted. Mousse
ducked, jumped over and batted back as many shurikens as he could. He
threw both axes at the man.

The masked man stood at the perfect position for both axes to pass
by inches past his head. <Love that sound!> he thought. He snapped out
of it just in time to dodge the potty trainers Mousse threw.

"Mousse, try to counter this!" he said. Again, from thin air, he
took out two huge spiked balls and swung them around his body.

<How the heck do I get past those?> Mousse thought. He
experimentally threw another potty
trainer at the masked man. The spiked balls smashed the potty trainer
into dust. He threw knives but they deflected off and almost got him
instead. He took out the toy duck that sprays gas but the
whirling spiked balls acted like a fan and blew it all back a Mousse.
Mousse fought back the sleep instinct and jumped as high as he could. He
was directly over the masked man when he felt himself being lifted
higher off the ground. <Whoa! He's lifting me up with the wind coming
from the balls!> Mousse started to panic. <Damn, no choice but to try my
final attack.> He got all his weapons ready for the rarely seen...
"HIDDEN WEAPONS FINAL ATTACK. EVERYTHING, INCLUDING THE KITCHEN SINK!!!"
he yelled. The masked man below saw his view of Mousse blocked by
thousands of objects coming at him. All the weapons rushing at him
blocked out the sunlight in the spot he was in.

"I win Mousse." he yelled and he spun the balls so fast that all
the weapons lost their momentum and were harmlessly blown off to the
side. Mousse stared in shock as all his weapons missed their mark. He
was still in the air when the masked man said, "You have a lot to learn
still." He slowed the spinning balls down to let Mousse land on the
ground.

"The problem with that attack is that you really do use all your
weapons." he said thoughtfully. "I will teach you that attacks the will
allow you beat any of your rivals. In a short while, you may be able to
beat Cologne or Happosai." <The perfect bait.> the masked man thought.

Mousse, still shaken from the fight asked, "This may sound weird
but, could you help me get them all back?" The masked man closed his
eyes and concentrated. All of Mousse's weapons seemed to fly up and go
into a pile near them. "That is one of the techniques I will teach you.
For now, put all your weapons back, then got to the hut at the end of
the trail." He pointed to a trail going deeper into the forest and
walked to it.

<Any technique that might help me win Shampoo's hand...> Mousse
thought. He started the long and tedious process of replacing all his
weapons back into his robes. <It'll be a while before I ever use that
attack again...> He looked up at the huge pile of weapons in front of
him. Mousse reviewed the fight and the way the masked man moved. his mind screamed.

****************************************************************************

Mousse made his way to the trail the masked man had pointed to
after about three hours of
repacking every weapon he had. Like after every fight, he felt as if he
was missing at least one of his weapons.

<I've gotta start cataloguing my weapons> he thought glumly. He
estimated that he would spend at least an entire 24 hours recording all
his weapons. He looked up at the sun and tried guessing where in China
he was in but came up empty. he
thought. At the end of the trail, he came upon a small hut. Guessing it
was the masked man's, he made his way inside.

"Is anybody home?" Mousse called it, opening the door slowly. "Come
in!" he heard, the voice being muffled by the walls. Mousse looked
around the strange hut. Everything looked brand new, except for the hut
itself. The hut also seemed a lot bigger than the outside had led him to
believe. He saw a chair and sat down in it. He continued looking at his
new surroundings when a door opened, the masked man exiting from it. He
noticed that the door was flush to the wall and was well hidden.

"How do you like it?" the masked man asked. "It's... nice." Mousse
said unsurely, looking at the multiple weapons on all the walls.

The masked man pulled up a chair and sat down in it. "It's nice to
see a fellow artist who trains in the Hidden Weapons." Mousse said
humbly, "It's amazing what you did out there. Who taught you?"

The masked man seemed to think about it a bit then said, "I trained
under the same sensei as you. He trained me for a while, then I left and
travelled the world to test my skill. Thinking back, I think forgot to
tell you my name. I guess I was just anxious to meet you. My name is
Gel."

Mousse nodded and asked, "If you don't mind my asking, how do you
know me?"

"A valid question, but unfortunately, I don't think I should answer
that for you right now. You'll just have to trust me." Gel said, almost
pleadingly.

<'You'll just have to trust me.' Famous last words.> Mousse
thought.

The sound of a kettle boiling interrupted their conversation and
Gel said, "Just wait a sec, I'll be right back." Mousse nodded and
stared as Gel opened the door with a well hidden doorknob. The door
swung back shut, becoming one with the wall.

<This place is weird. How the heck is it that the outside is so
small the the inside is so big?> Mousse thought. He looked around, it
looked like a weird type of bachelor pad. He saw some trophies, animal
heads, and ornate weapons. What he couldn't find were photos. There
wasn't a single photo in the house. At least in the living room and
dining room which he was currently in. He walked up to a display case
with strange looking weapons. He carefully scrutinized them with his
glasses on.

In the kitchen, Gel grabbed two tea kettles and got ready to leave
when, he felt a strong wave of nausea. He managed to save the kettles
from spilling and put them on the counter. He took a couple minutes to
get over it and checked an electronic device on his upper arm. <Damn,
not much left.> he thought. Composing himself, Gel came back in to see
Mousse admiring one of his weapons on display. He smiled and said, "I
won that from a secret tournament for more exotic martial arts." Mousse
admired the sword. It was perfect size and weight for him and had ornate
carvings on the hilt and the blade. Gel went over to the table and
placed two kettles on it. From thin air, he took out two cups.

"Would you like some tea?" he asked. Mousse made his way over to
the table and sat down.

"Sure. I haven't had any good tea since I left China." he said,
taking an offered cup. Mousse drank some and said, "This is good tea,
but I don't think I can finish to kettles full."

Gel smiled and said, "One is for drinking. The other is for
something else..." Gel poured more tea for himself. "Mousse," he said,
"I know of your curse." "Would you like to be cured of it?" Gel asked
calmly.

Mousse almost choked on the tea. "Yes!" Mousse said anxiously. Gel
nodded his head and from out of nowhere, he took out another glass and
splashed Mousse with cold water.

"Quack, quack, quack!" Mousse quacked angrily, nearly making his
glasses fall off. "Calm down Mousse. This is how to cure you." Gel
soothed.

He picked up the second kettle and dumped its contents onto Mousse.
Human Mousse reappeared and said, "Hey, you could have at least warned
me first!"

Gel chuckled and said, "Sorry, it's just been a while since I've
seen anyone change with a Jusenkyo curse. Forgive me."

Mousse looked down at himself. He still couldn't explain it but
sometimes, when he turned back, he was naked and other times he had his
clothes on. This time being one of the latter. "Am I really cured?"
Mousse asked.

Gel threw the remains of the cold water at him and then finished
his tea. Mousse stood stunned, not only at the ice cold water, but the
fact that he was no longer a duck. "This is amazing!" he said, dancing
around in joy. He yelled at the top of his lungs, danced the Macarena.
He pretty much acted like a complete idiot. Meanwhile, Gel continued
drinking tea.

After a good five minutes of the craziness, Mousse finally calmed
down and asked, "Gel, can you tell me how to cure others? I need to cure
my beloved Shampoo."

Gel put his cup down slowly. He mention of 'Shampoo' seemed to
lower his spirits. "The cure for each Jusenkyo curse is different. It
took me a long time to learn of just the cure for you."

Mousse slumped his shoulders at the fact that he couldn't give
Shampoo the cure. "Don't worry, you'll find a cure for Shampoo."

Gel got up and said, "Let's start with your first lesson." He
walked, not waiting for Mousse and stopped just in front of the house.

He waited until Mousse was beside him. "Look closely at what a true
master of the Hidden Weapons technique can do." Mousse instinctively
stepped back. Gel spread his arms and a black hole formed before him.
Mousse had no idea what was going to happen next.

"Unlike you, I do not keep my weapons in my clothes. I keep them in
this, a dimensional closet if you will." Gel lectured. "Come with me
Mousse." Gel said, stepping into the hole. Mousse cautiously stepped in
behind him.

On the other side of the black hole was a warehouse looking
building. "That is where I keep my weapons." Gel pointed. "But look
around." Mousse saw that they were standing in an open field. It look
untouched by humans. In the sky, he saw three moons.

"In the void, you are like a god, you can create almost anything
you desire. Some of the more complex things require you to know exactly
how it operates." Gel paused when he saw Mousse's confused look. "Please
observe."

Gel closed his eyes and in front of him formed a TV. "Another
limitation is that to make energy in here, you need to know how to
generate energy. Maybe with a hydro-electric dam or something. I myself
do not know enough to make a TV. If you open it up, you'll see that it's
empty. I just know what it's like on the outside." Mousse picked up the
TV and opened it up with a sharp tap. There was nothing in it.

"This is all amazing but how do you make your own black hole?"
Mousse asked. "That's what the spell is for." Gel said, taking out an
ancient looking manuscript and giving it to Mousse.

"Come back outside, you can't make a black hole in another black
hole." Gel said, leaving Mousse again.

Mousse looked over the piece of paper as he walked back through the
hole. He couldn't even to begin to decipher what it said. <Can a human
possibly write this?> he thought. He came out and gave it back to Gel
and asked, "How do you make it?"

"Simple," Gel said, reading over the ancient manuscript. "You stand
perfectly still and keep your mind clear of all thoughts while I read
the incantation. Concentrating on what I say will also help." Mousse
nodded and sat down.

Gel read quietly and smoothly, walking around Mousse in a wide
circle. <What the heck is he saying?> Mousse thought.

"Keep your mind clear." Gel whispered before continuing his
chanting. Mousse mind cleared as he listened to Gel chanting softly. The
words seemed to evoke strange memories to him but put them aside,
remembering to keep his mind clear. He felt as if he was in the
darkness, floating around aimlessly at the sound of Gel's words.

"Mousse. It's done" Gel said, tapping him on the shoulder.

Mousse opened his eyes to see a swirling black hole in front of
him.

"The next step is for you to learn to control the void. That is
done by you stepping into it and commanding it to follow you." Gel read
off the sheet. He looked up and said, "This part is completely up to
you. If you succeed in controlling it, you'll have full control. If you
fail, you disappear forever. There is no halfways. Only true masters of
Hidden Weapons can fully control it. Think of this as another test."
Mousse took a deep breath and stepped in.

***************************************************************************

Time seemed to stand still as Mousse floated in his new toy. He had
no idea which way was
down. He was weightless. He was in complete darkness and unsure of what
to do next.

<How the heck do I do this?> Mousse thought. Seeing no other
alternatives, he decided to copy what Gel showed him with the TV.

He thought of a flat, grassy plain like he saw in Gel's world. He
was buffeted by high winds. He felt his glasses slip off in account of
the tremendous wind. The wind blasted him around for a few more seconds
then he suddenly found himself face to face with the ground. He got up
and looked around. It was still dark but he felt something solid
underneath him. He promptly emptied the contents of his stomach onto it.
He got up and wiped his mouth with a tissue from his robes and took out
another set of glasses.

<Now for the light.> He remembered the sun Gel had and it appeared
in the sky. It was so hot and so bright that Mousse immediately made it
disappear. He concentrated on making it exactly like the outside world's
sun. Eventually, the temperature got comfortable and the brightness
practically the same as the sun. He looked back at his surroundings and
saw that they were in black and white. There was nothing around for 50
meters. He was on a circular spot of ground covered with grass. He
concentrated again, thinking of the mountians and valleys of his
homeland and the circular spot became larger and spread out onto the
horizon, becoming hills and valleys as it went. Colour came to his
surroundings and Mousse took a good look around. At his feet were the
glasses he had lost while floating around. He placed it in his robes and
took another look at his world. It now looked exactly like Gel's world's
rolling hills and valleys except for Gel's changes. "All in a day's
work." Mousse said to the wind. He looked back to the opening and
stepped outside.

***************************************************************************

He stepped outside world had turned dark so he fell over in agony.
He tried thinking what could have caused it but nothing came to mind. He
felt strong arms carry him up and towards Gel's hut before he lost
consciousness.

Mousse awoke to the smell of food cooking. It smelled like a dish
from the Nekohanten. Gel
came in and said, "Congratulations, you were able to make your own new
world."

Mousse nodded and tried to speak but nothing came out.

"You can't say anything for a little while. After making your
world, you lose touch with this one and coming back after the first time
may mess you up a bit." Gel said, looking Mousse over like a doctor.
"The Black Hole can be used by anyone, but only people who have the
power of telekinesis can utilize it fully."

Mousse eyebrow twiched in question. "I know that you have latent
telekinetic powers. The fact that you're so good at Hidden Weapons
proves that. I want you to try and do what I do. Gel pointed took out a
throwing knife and threw it at a wall where it stuck in halfway to the
hilt. Gel raised his hand and it snapped out of the wall and into his
hand handle first.

"I'm a natural at this. I have a good feeling that you're a natural
too." he commented. He put it back into his void and said, "Let me go
get dinner."

Mousse looked at the hole caused by Gel's knife. He took out his
own knife and threw it onto the wall. <If he can do it, I can too.> He
concentrated and tried making it come to his hands. It didn't budge. He
thought of how he made his world within the void. He thought again and
saw it twitch and it flew back to his hands. <Not bad.> he thought.

Dinner was full of talk about the new techniques Mousse was
learning. He found out that when you combine well controlled telekinesis
and the use of the black void, you would become a very formidable
opponent.

"You could move the void wherever you want, meaning that if you
stepped inside and made it move somewhere else, you had the power to
teleport. It can also be made invisible to the untrained eye. With
telekinesis, you could form a barrier to shield yourself from attacks. A
counter to ki attacks or projectiles is letting it go into your void and
turn it around so that it comes back towards the person who
made/threw/launched it." Gel had said. Mousse asked about being able to
beat people up using telekinesis alone. When Gel answered yes, Mousse
immediately thought of the possibilities that were being opened to him.
He could easily take on Ranma and anyone else he wanted to beat.

<A good test would be fighting Cologne or Happosai.> he thought.

Gel meanwhile looked at his excited student. <Mousse... you are my
only hope.>

****************************************************************************

Back at the Nekohanten, Shampoo slumped tiredly in her chair. She
and Cologne had just closed down the Nekohanten after a record breaking
sales rush. The storm was only the calm before the storm. As soon as it
had stopped, customers flooded in like a tsunami. Maybe the fact that
Ucchan's was closed for temporary renovations had also helped up that
record. Her whole body ached after waiting tables, cooking and making
deliveries all day. The fact that Mousse had left, leaving her alone to
work didn't help the fact either. If she wasn't as fit as she was, she
would have probably fainted from exhaustion hours ago. <Mousse is dead
when he comes back.> she thought fiercely.

****************************************************************************

Mousse lie awake in Gel's sofa-bed wondering what to do with his
new powers. He was well on his way to mastering his new techniques. In
less than a week's time, he would be able to return to Japan again.
Tomorrow bring in the more advanced techniques of using the Black hole
and
telekinesis. Why is Gel so confident about my abilities? Who is he? How
does he know so much
about me and my situation? were just some of the questions he had in his
head. He took out a watch and found that it was 12 o'clock. Seeing that
he couldn't sleep, he decided to plan out his next moves, as he always
tried to do. He would go back to Japan and challenge Ranma as soon as
possible. He would send out invitations to the fight to everyone he knew
in Japan so that everyone can see his final victory.

<It was going to be great. When I get Shampoo, I'll return to the
village and we'll get married. I'll be her husband and then...> He was
stunned at what he had finally realized. If he went back, he would be
treated like a lower form of being. He would lose all the standing he
had in Japan. In Japan, he found that both genders were guaranteed equal
rights. He had a say in the matter. His words could have some impact in
the conversation.

<What am I thinking? Of course I want to go home...> He couldn't
believe what he was thinking. Still Japan exposed him to other cultures
and opened his eyes to how large the world really was. He thought back
to his time in his native village. It now seemed smaller compared to
Japan. He remembered that when he wasn't chasing Shampoo, he was treated
like an outcast. He could feel people staring at him as if he didn't
belong there. People grew quiet when he came around. He could still
remember the time he challenged Shampoo and got knocked into the trash.

** <Ohh, that hurt> Mousse thought. His world was spinning so he lay
still in the garbage heap. He was extremely lucky to land in a heap that
didn't smell too bad. He tried recollecting his thoughts to what
happened. <Cologne must have taught that move to Shampoo.>

"Hey, did you hear? The 'blind bat' challenged Shampoo again."

<That voice!> Mousse thought. <It could only be Blush and Soap.>
Mousse kept quiet as the
voices approached.

"That fool tried to win Shampoo again? How long did it take for her
to beat him up again?" Blush asked.

"Only about 10 seconds." Soap answered, "Poor Shampoo. She has to
deal with that guy almost everyday."

"I hear ya," Blush agreed. "Ever wonder why he's still here?" Blush
asked.

"Cologne instructed everyone to be quiet about it. I wonder why she
did it." Soap trailed off. The two girls turned the corner and their
voices became indistinct.

<What was that all about?> Mousse asked himself.**

end flashback

Mousse thought. He got up and
walked over to the open window. <This is nice...> he commented, looking
at the stars feeling the
wind gently blow into the hut.

***************************************************************************

Gel walked into the living room where Mousse was sleeping on the
sofa bed. He hefted the water filled bucket he was carrying and splashed
the sleeping boy. Mousse was awakened instantly and tried jumping off
the bed to face his attacker. Unfortunately, he fell off, landing on his
head, making a big bump on his head.

"Time for more lessons." Gel announced in a loud voice and walked
outside.

Mousse groggily dressed up and walked outside. "Is that how you
wake all your students?" he asked, his eyes still not completely open.

"Actually, you're my first student." Gel admitted. He motioned to a
large tree and they sat down underneath it.

"This isn't going to be a physical lesson as much as a spritual
lesson." he said, looking at Mousse as if he was transparent. "Your
eyesight is what causes you most problems, correct?"

Mousse nodded.

"There's a way to overcome that weakness but it will involve some
pain. Would you still like to continue?" Gel asked.

"What would you have to do?" Mousse asked, slightly concerned. "I
will have to make our minds join for a little while. It is necessary to
give you the Mind's eye to cure your problem." he said, still staring
though Mousse.

"Mind's eye?" Mousse asked, completely confused. "Very few people
have that power. It allows you to see better than anyone in the world.
It allows you to see more than a normal person's eyes. With it, you
could be watching something happening on the other side of the world as
if you were really there." Gel said.

"That kinda sounds a lot like what TV's are for." Mousse said,
getting even more confused than before.

"It's better than TV, I assure you. Would you like a
demonstration?" he asked.

Mousse nodded again.

Gel moved closer and touched his hand to Mousse' face in something
like a Vulcan Mind Meld. Mousse jumped back instinctively at what he
saw. He saw images of things happening around the world and beyond. He
saw Ranma getting booted into the koi pond, Shampoo on her delivery,
American astronauts in a space shuttle, people fighting in a war,
foreign looking people having a picnic, people in dark rooms making
multibillion dollar deals, aliens conversing in an alien language, the
latest Playboy photo shoot...

Gel sat back and looked as Mousse sat, trying to understand what
had just happened. "So, with this power, you can see everything?"

"Practically." Gel said, looking at Mousse normally again. Mousse
silently thought of the possiblities of it all.

Gel broke the silence by asking, "Do you want me to give it to
you?"

Mousse nodded and asked, "You mean you can't learn it?"

Gel looked grave and said, "Unfortunately, no. It is made
magically. No one knows how to make any more. Because of that, it must
be given to you. It has only once happened that a person was born with
it. When I give it to you, I will lose the power. Would you still like
to continue?"

"Why are you doing this for me?" Mousse asked.

Without warning, Gel place his hands on Mousse's temples and closed
his eyes. Mousse couldn't even get a startled gasp when the pain flew
through his body. It felt like his head was being pounded by
sledgehammers at amaguriken speed. The pain subsided and he saw Gel
slumped over him, breathing hard. He moved to put Gel back in his seat
when Gel's mask fell off revealing who he really was.

End Part 1

C&C? Send 'em to ma...@idirect.com

Author's Notes: I know this is the looks like normal 'something happens
and someone solves everything for everyone fic' but there is a twist.
Mousse is probably my favourite character and I think it's about time
for him to have things happen to him. Old enemies, fiancees, etc. The
price of earning his powers will be shown in later parts.

ma...@idirect.com

A Different Brand Of Mousse Part 2

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 Notes: I got a lot of critisism. Now, let's see if it was
constructive by writing this next chapter. If this one sucks as much as
the last one, I leave it to the fact that I'm an idiot.

Last Chaper: 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.

***************************************************************************

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.

The new images bombarding his mind broke through and 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 promply 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, putting on his glasses. "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, an 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 twiched. "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
embarrasing 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 shiatsu technique. 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 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 transfered 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 sudden 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. The farther
I get from my orignal timeline, the less time I have. The final
technique I need to teach you is how to teleport. 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.

"Like I said, there's not much time." the older one said, "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."

With that, the Older Mousse started fading away. "Remember, if you
force yourself on Shampoo, she'll be the one who pays." the older one
said before fading completely. The crystal in his hand fell softly onto
the grass, it's time travelling properties allowing it to stay in the
new timeline.

Mousse picked up the crystal and held it tight. <I'm sorry but I'm
going to beat Ranma and take him away from Shampoo.> 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 revealing 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. He thought of
his training and 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, pointing behind him.

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.

****************************************************************************

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
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.

****************************************************************************

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, Mousse 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.

"We'll 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 his limp chains
on the grass. He also noticed that there was a growing set of bystanders
watching the fight. What he didn't notice 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 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 Mousse.

"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 gras 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."

Mousse looked at Ranma, who was charging at him. He raised his
hands and pushed Ramna 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. 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 love Akane." With that, 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.

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, exhaused by the blast. 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 section
of the news.

"So Ranma, I heard you almost got beat up by Mousse today. Any
truth to the rumor?" 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. 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." she 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."

Nodoka 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."

Nodoka smiled and said, "Your whole story is summed up in one
sentence? 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, <Anyway, 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 remebered 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 face looked surprised
for 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. The young woman 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
eyepiece 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 now." 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 and said, "So, where do you want me to begin?"

End Part 2

Author's Notes: Thanks to all your critisism, I was inspired to make
this one as soon as possible. Just don't expect part 3 to come out so
soon. I need to get my life back for a while. I just know I'm really
gonna get it for making the Older Mousse go by so fast. The fact that
everything's moving so fast is that I like things fast and furious. I'll
try my best to slow it down. Oh, by the way, 25 thousand yen is about
300 American Dollars. I used old figures from the nearest school
textbook. The exchange rate comes from '93.

Don't forget to tell me the good, the bad and the ugly of this fic at
ma...@idirect.com
Previous parts can be requested through e-mail also.

ma...@idirect.com

A Different Brand Of Mousse

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. (Hmm, this
disclaimer leaves room for crossovers doesn't it?)

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 incoherent babble: It seems that I haven't much of a life to
begin with so it took me real quick to get everything back in order.
Here's part 3. Oh yeah, I almost forgot again, this fic will be crossing
over with OMG some time. I just don't know when, but sometime.

Prevous chapter: Mousse comes back to Japan and fights Ranma. During the
fight, he sees that Shampoo has absolutely no feelings for him (aww).
Gets advice from Nodoka Saotome (yup, Ranma's mom) to make him choose.
Goes to Nabiki for help.

****************************************************************************

"So, where do you want me to begin?" Nabiki asked, heading towards
the restaurants.

Mousse thought about it and said, "I don't know. I guess you should
start from the beginning." He followed and thought, <Great, she's going
to try and sponge on me now.>

Nabiki nodded and said, "Well, Ranma and his father arrived here
about a year ago. He was coming to honour an agreement between our dads
to marry their children to carry on the Anything-Goes art. Me and Kasumi
picked Akane for the arranged marriage because she had a problem with
boys."

Mousse brow raised and said, "She doesn't like..."

Nabiki cut him off with her hand and said, "My sister is not like
that. She had to fight a whole bunch of guys every morning before school
because of a speech made by Kuno that only people who can defeat her
have the honour of dating her. Anyways, a few weeks later Ryoga came to
settle a feud with Ranma because Ranma had deserted a pre-arranged fight
and had accidentally pushed him into the spring of drowned pig."

"I already know that. How about if I just tell you what I know
about him and then fill me in on anything I don't know?" Mousse asked.

"Fine by me. What do you know duck-boy?" she asked.

"I'll have you know I'm cured." Mousse said, "I already know he's
got a girl form and he's a heck of a fighter. What I need know is how he
got involved with all the trying to get him?"

Nabiki saw a coffee shop first and started leading Mousse towards
it. "Since you know about Shampoo, I'll go on to the others. Tatewaki
Kuno hates guy Ranma because he's engaged to Akane. He likes Ranma's
girl form because of the bod. Kodachi Kuno hates the girl form because
she thinks girl Ranma's after guy Ranma. Kodachi likes Ranma's guy form
because of the bod." she said, easing herself into a chair near the
windows. Mousse sat across from her and said, "So, both Kunos like and
hate Ranma at the same time. Heh, my duck form was a lot easier."

They were interrupted by a waitress coming to take their order.
Nabiki ordered an expresso and Mousse ordered some tea. Nabiki turned
back to Mousse and said "Okay, back to the task at hand. Ukyo got
engaged because Ranma's father, Genma, wanted her dowry, an okonomiyaki
cart. Genma took the cart but left Ukyo behind. She repressed her
feminity and dressed as a boy and practiced her okonomiyaki martial art.
She came to Nerima to settle the score buy Ranma found out that she was
a girl and said she was cute. That got to her good side real quick."

The waitress came back with their orders. This time, she took time
to scrutinize the two. <Hmm, that's one of the martial artists that hang
around here. These two look to be planning something big. Good thing I'm
leaving in four days.>

Nabiki waited until the waitress left before saying, "That's
pretty much it, is there anything else you have in mind?"

Mousse thought back and asked, "Tell me about Ranma's relationship
with his mom."

"Why?" she asked. <Damn, I must be losing my touch if he keeps
surprising me like this.>

"I met her today in a park. I noticed that I've never seen her
around at your house. I guess my curiousity's just getting the better of
me." Mousse answered.

"Well, she doesn't know about Ranma and Genma's curse. Ten years
ago, Genma made a promise that when he came back with Ranma, her son
would be a man among men. If not, she would make them commit seppuku.
It's kinda hard to be a man among men with a curse like Ranma's..."

"What's seppuku?" Mousse asked.

"Sorry, I forgot. It's an old Japanese tradition that when you
are greatly dishonoured, you must commit seppuku, suicide. You take a
small knife, a tanto, and disembowl yourself. If you hesitate or try to
escape, someone, usually a family member, conveniently standing over you
will cut your head off. Nodoka will be the one to watch over the both of
them. The bundled package she's always carrying around is a katana. It's
the Saotome sword and she has it ready to use it if she sees that Ranma
isn't a man amongst men. Whenever she comes over to my house, Ranma and
Genma go into their cursed forms to disguise themselves. Ranma pretends
to be our cousin from the country and Genma is her pet panda."

Mousse looked slightly overwhelmed by all the information. Nabiki
noticed this look and asked, "Do you need me to repeat any of this?"

Mousse snapped out of it and said, "No, I'm okay. I just have a
lot of work to do." He finished off his tea and got up. "Thanks for the
info. Now, how much to keep your silence?"

She smiled and said, "Not many people remember about that. Any
amount will do... but if someone were to give me a higher amount, I may
have to tell them what I know."

Mousse gave her an unsurprised look and placed another nugget on
the table. "You're paying for my tea right?"

"But of course, Mousse baby. Anything for my best customer." she
said with all the sweetness of Kasumi.

Mousse left the cafe and took out the recorder he hid in his
robes. "I had no idea Ranma had such an intersting life."

****************************************************************************

Nabiki held both nuggets in her hand. <Mousse is planning something
big... Looks like I'll also be doing a lot of work.> She got up and
payed for the both of them. <How the heck did he get these?>

****************************************************************************

Ranma walked the streets of Nerima deep in thought. <Damn, where
the heck did Mousse learn those moves? I've got to learn a counter or
something.> He looked up from his walk to notice that he was approaching
the Nekohanten. <Cologne might know but I don't want to have to owe
her.> He turned around and walked another way. <At least Mousse has
nothing to fight for anymore. That should give me enough time to learn a
weakness or something.>

"Ranma!" a voice called out from nowhere.

Ranma looked for the owner of the voice to see Mousse coming
through his void. <What the heck's that?> Ranma thought to himself.
"What could you possibly want Mousse?" Ranma said, irritation showing in
his voice and face.

Mousse took out a piece of paper, gave it to Ranma and said, "I've
come to issue a formal challenge. In a week's time, we will fight in the
vacant lot near your house. If you win, I'll teach you my new moves. If
I win, you must choose a fiancee."

"WHAT?! Who's putting you up to this?!" Ranma yelled. <If it's pops
or old man Tendo, I'll... I'll...>

"These are the terms of my challenge. Do you accept?" Mousse asked,
ignoring Ramna's questions.

Ranma took the paper and said, "I, being the heir to the Saotome
School of Anything-Goes Martial Arts is honour bound to accept." He felt
like beating up Mousse for his arrogance but he knew he couldn't do
anything.

Mousse nodded and said, "Well, then I'm off." He materialized the
void once again and was about to enter when he said, "You should know
that I will be inviting certain people to the fight. You don't mind
right?"

Ranma stared at Mousse and said, "Your confidence will be your
downfall Mousse. I don't care who shows up, I won't lose."

"Either way, you better start thinking about who you like the
most. It should be obvious but I know how thick you are. I'm giving you
the week to choose, not to train." with that, he walked in and
disappeared.

<Life never gets boring.> thought Ranma, putting the challenge
letter in his pocket.

****************************************************************************

Ukyo looked at the challenge letter Mousse had given to her. "So,
you're fighting Ran-chan again?" she asked, looking at the Chinese boy.

"Yeah, I have to. I want to end all this useless waiting." Mousse
said tiredly.

"Take my advice Mousse, you should look for new people other than
Shampoo. You deserve better." she said in a motherly voice.

Mousse seemed to think about her word for a moment, then said,
"Don't worry, I've given up on Shampoo. I'm fighting Ranma for somehing
else right now. It concerns you so I hope you'll show up."

"Don't worry, I'll be there for Ran-chan. Oops, sorry. I'll be
cheering you both on." said an embarrassed chef.

"I hope you'll forgive me afterwards." said Mousse said, leaving
through his void.

Ukyo thought, <Waitaminute! How'd he do
that?!" She inspected the place where Mousse had once occupied. <This
fight's going to be interesting.>

****************************************************************************

"Hello, Shamoo?" Mousse asked unsurely.

"Shampoo no forgive you for leaving Shampoo yet." Shampoo said
coldly, ignoring him as much as possible.

Mousse sighed and said, "I'm sorry Shampoo but I need to speak
with you and Cologne."

"What do you want to talk about duck-boy," Cologne said, throwing
a bucket of cold water at the boy.

Mousse looked down at himself and thought,

Both women gawked at the wet boy.

"So, you have found the cure, have you Mousse?" Cologne said,
looking at Shampoo, who threw more cold water at Mousse just to be sure.

"Mousse give Shampoo cure?" Shampoo asked cheerfully, forgetting
that she was trying to ignore Mousse earlier.

Mousse shook his head and said, "I'm sorry Shampoo but I was only
able to find the cure for myself. It seems as if every curse has a
specific cure."

Shampoo's shoulders slumped and she returned to ignoring Mousse
as much as possible.

"It seems as if there have been many happenings to you over the
past few days." Cologne said thoughtfully, "have you come to return to
your old job?"

Mousse took out the invitation and said, "I'm inviting you to the
fight at the end of the week between me and Ranma. I suggest you come
because it concerns you greatly."

Shampoo, who had been listening to the other two, came in and
asked, "Why you fight? You lost chance for Shampoo?"

Mousse smiled secretively and said, "Only Ranma and I know the
prize for the winner." The void materialized behind him and he walked
backwards into it.

Shampoo was surprised but Cologne looked deep in thought. <Is
this what Lather saw when he was little?> she asked herself.

** A middle-aged looking Cologne looked through the village they had
laid waste to. They had completely devastated the village. As she looked
through a barely standing house, she heard crying. She looked around to
find that the voice was coming from a hidden compartment under the
floor. With a punch, she opened it to reveal a baby boy.

<Hmm, just a boy. Perhaps he would make a good servant.> she
thought.

"What have you found there Cologne?" asked someone from outside.

"It's a baby. The villagers must have hidden him here while
fighting. What should we do with him?"

The owner of the voice came in to the batter house and said,
"There seems to be a strange field around him." The elder took the baby
from Cologne and coddled him. "Yes, there is something magical about
this little one. A very powerful spell has been cast on him. We shall
raise him to see if he has any latent powers. He could be of use to us."
The elder left carrying the baby.

Cologne looked around at the ruined house. <Perhaps there's still
something here.>

In the village, the wisest Amazons took turns trying to learn the
secret of the magic surrounding the boy. All they were able to find out
was that it the boy was completely emersed in the spell.

The elder who had taken the baby from Cologne, Lather, held up
the baby for everyone to see. "Hear this, this boy is to be raised as an
Amazon, no one will reveal the true nature of his beginnings. He will be
given to the family of Cream. Come and claim your first child Cream.

Cream came up to where Lather was standing and took the baby.
"For now and forever, this baby will be called Mousse." **

Cologne thought of Mousse's new powers. <Could this be what
Lather had told us about?"

****************************************************************************

Mousse sat down cross-legged to concentrate on the position of
his next target. he thought absently. He stretched the Mind's
eye to look for Ryoga Hibiki.

****************************************************************************

Ryoga looked at the two piles of wood he had already cut up. They
were already knee high. <Maybe a few more.> He readied the next piece of
wood on the tree stump and pulled back his arm. He chopped the wood and
the two pieces fell into one of the two piles.

"Oh my! I don't think I need that much wood!" a voice from behind
him exclaimed.

Ryoga turned to see Akari Unryuu coming towards him with a tray
of lemonade.

"Hello Akari. I didn't hear you come up." he said unsurely.

Akari was still looking at the two piles of wood. "Ryoga, maybe
you could take some wood on your travels and sell them. I can't possibly
use all this wood by myself."

"That's a good idea." Ryoga said, clearing a way for her. He gave
her the chair he had been sitting on. He sat on the ground.

Akari set the tray down on the tree stump and poured out two
drinks for them and sat down. "What's bothering you?" she asked,
concerned.

Ryoga looked at the two piles and said, "Doing this kind of work
clears my mind. I don't always do it because something is bothering me."

Akari seemed satisfied with the answer and looked at the chair she
was sitting in. "Ryoga, where did this chair come from?"

Ryoga looked shyly and said, "Oh, I made it while I was here. I
guess it's a talent."

Akari seemed impressed and said, "Can you show me?"

Ryoga took a pile of wood and in a couple minutes, had fashioned a
small chair from the wood and sat on it.

"That's very good. It looks very strong." she said.

"Yeah, it is." he said, putting his hand behind his head and
laughing.

"Am I bothering you two?" asked a voice.

Akari turned around while Ryoga looked behind her.

"What are you doing here Mousse? Did you get lost or something?"
Ryoga asked.

"No, I'm not lost. I just need to speak with you, privately if
possible." he said, looking at Akari.

Akari stood up and said, "I was about to check on Katsunnishiki
anyway. It was nice meeting you..."

"Mousse." the Chinese boy answered.

She left the two, heading for the famous Unryuu pig stys.

"Two girls... you're beginning to be like Kuno." Mousse said after
deciding Akari was no longer within earshot.

"Hey, it's not like that!" shouted Ryoga. "Me and Akari are just
friends!"

"Whatever." Mousse said tiredly, "Anyway, I've come to invite you
to a fight at the end of the week between me and Ranma. When I beat him,
maybe you can finish him off if you want to."

"Why should I come? I want to beat him myself!" Ryoga said,
slightly quieter than before.

Mousse looked at him and said, "This is important. You'll just
have to trust me. So, are you coming?"

Ryoga thought about it and said, "I'm coming because I want to see
Ranma beat the crap out of you. I still haven't completely forgiven you
for placing Akane in danger with that bomb from before."

Mousse nodded and said, "As long as you're coming. You might want
to bring Akari. She could be interested too." Mousse materialized the
void in front of himself and said, "If you're not there, I'll come and
pick you up."

Ryoga gawked as Mousse stepped through a hole in mid-air and
vanish. <I'm coming for sure now!> he thought. <Maybe Akari would like
to come with me. She deserves a break from raising all these pigs all
day long.> "Hey Akari, you're not doing anything next week are you?" he
called out to the girl.

****************************************************************************

In the Tendo Dojo, Genma-panda and Soun were shogi, in a world all
their own, trying to hide their plans from each other. <If I can
distract him, I can get at least three pieces back.> Soun thought. <If I
can sneeze hard enough, maybe I might be able to blow my pieces forward
and his back.> Genma thought, <This panda form must be good for
something.>

"I'm home!" Ranma called out.

Ranma caught both men in mid-cheat. Soun in mid-fake-point and
Genma-panda in mid-fake-sneeze.

<Damn, better cover up the cheat.> Soun thought. He placed the
hand he was going to use to point and put it behind his head. "So,
what's new today Ranma?"

Genma-panda covered his cheat with a fake yawn, then joined Soun
in asking Ranma, [Yes, anything new?] in sign format.

Ranma looked at the two and said, "Mousse challenged me. Hey
Pop, I think I need to go on a training trip for this one."

[Mousse?!] Genma signed.

"Yeah, he has some new moves that almost beat me last time."
Ranma said, sitting down beside the shogi board.

[Sure.] Genma signed.

"Ramna, you'll go with your father and Akane. You two need some
time to get to know each other better." Soun said, hoping Akane wouldn't
be too upset with him.

"Dad! I have school. What are you going to say to Miss Hinako?
She won't like me and Ranma being gone for so long." Akane scolded her
father.

"Akane, it's really important that I go train. How could I ever
call myself the heir to the Anything-Goes Martial Arts Dojo if I can't
beat Mousse?" Ranma asked.

"Fine, but I'm not going. I don't care if you two fight for
Shampoo." she said, starting off to her room.

Ramna turned and saw the two men coming towards him. "It's not
like that!" Ranma shouted. "We're fighting for something different!"

"What are you fighting over this time then?" asked Akane, who
hadn't completely left.

"If I win, Mousse will teach me the moves he used on me earlier.
That way I could show I'm worthy of the Saotome school." Ranma said
confidently.

"What if he wins?" Akane asked.

"Uh, if he wins, he uh..." Ranma trailed off. <Oh great, think
of something. Off the top of your head.> "If he wins, he uh... becomes
the heir to the Saotome school?"

"HE WHAT?!" Genma shouted.

<Hey, when did pops turn human?> Ranma thought absently. "He,
uh... wanted to join because he... wanted to get engaged to a Tendo
girl?"

"HE WHAT?!" Soun shouted, going into demon-head mode.

<Oops.> Ramna thought. <Note to self, never think of something
off the top of your head.>

****************************************************************************

End Part 3

Author's Notes: Heh heh heh, as you can see, I like to twist things
around. Heck of a twist huh? How do I come up with them? So, it so good
that you had to be hospitalized after being stunned at reading such an
amazing piece of literature? (Author's head gets as big as a house) Was
it so bad you banged your head on the nearest wall to try to erase your
memory? (Author packs up and gets lost to become a hermit) Tell me at
ma...@idirect.com. BTW, here's something I forgot to put at the end of
the last part. If you want any previous parts, you could email me for
them.

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