The Long Awaited Moment: Triumph and Despair.

A Ranma 1/2 fanfic

Part three of the Nightmare saga.

By: Jason Olin

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Ranma ½ nor the image used for any of my stories. All rights go to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz.

"History has demonstrated that the most notable winners usually encountered heartbreaking obstacles before they triumphed. They won because they refused to become discouraged by their defeats."
-B. C. Forbes

Prologue:

The beginning of April had come at last. With it, the first school bell of the new term. It rang throughout Furinkan High School and the last of the late students scrambled to get to their classes as Ms. Hinako started hunting up and down the halls for delinquents to punish.

Fortunately, Ranma was not one of them today. With the new school year he and Akane were now in their second year. After the showdown at Wraith's castle, both Kuno and Nabiki had had birthdays and were graduating. Kuno's departure from the school made Ranma's life even easier. He didn't have to fight the clueless samurai before class anymore and as such, would no longer be late to class. The downside to this was that the witless wonder had taken up the annoying habit of coming to the Tendo Dojo to challenge Ranma for the Pigtailed Girl and Akane at least twice a week. He seemed particular determined to defeat Ranma with the wedding drawing closer.

The school was abuzz with the news. Try as they did to keep the news a secret until summer break, Nabiki had been paid off to share the news. To make matters worse, instead of denying the rumors Akane had confirmed them and engaged in topics concerning the wedding almost every day during lunch. Much to Ranma's chagrin, that seemed to be all anyone ever wanted to talk about anymore.

Ranma sat at his desk as the teacher came in to conduct class and sighed, none too eager for a new school year. Akane look over at him and gave an encouraging wink. He couldn't help but give a slight smile back. At least they were still in the same classes together. That was something at least. With as much as everything had changed, familiarity in life had become something of a luxury in recent days.

Since the battle at Wraith's castle, Happosai's health had continued to slowly decline. Try as he might to hide it, Ranma was concerned about the old man and how lethargic he'd become. He didn't even go on panty raids anymore. That was the most nerve-wracking part. Wrapping his brain around the idea that Happosai wouldn't survive another year had taken much of the wind out of his sails.

To blow off stress and steam Ranma delved deeper into his training than ever before. He tapped his finger onto his desk, debating on taking some time to go on a training trip this weekend to blow off some steam. He just hadn't been strong enough against Wraith, the boy decided with a frown. If he had, Happosai might not have been injured. Hell, they might not have been kidnapped at all.

He knew with the wedding coming up that his mood should be a little bit better, more excited perhaps. He should be feeling eager to help out with the preparations. And yet all he had were regrets. Perhaps a training trip really was what he needed to work past these issues. If he was still feeling this way when the wedding came then it would be an extremely bad problem.

As the teacher started to conduct class, Ranma turned his inner thoughts off and picked up his pencil to start the new notes of the new school year, all the while praying that it would be far less intense than the previous year.

The time until the wedding continued to tick down.

Chapter 1: Rumblings of War

Two months later. Mid June.

The trees throughout the forest shook as the sound of splintering wood reverberated in all directions as if bemoaning the fate of one of their own. The weapon that had broken the sturdy tree in half fell to the ground, shattering the ground with its weight. The rounded chui's intended target sailed gracefully through the air, moving amongst the trees as the attacker followed.

Retreiving her weapon, Shampoo held both of the mace-like weapons at waist level, tracking Mousse's movements. With a nimble leap into the air she gave chase. The ground shook as she scored a near miss. Mousse barely rolled away as she smashed her weapons into the ground, carving a huge crater into the landscape. Mousse rolled to his feet and shot out a series of chains, forcing Shampoo to backflip away to avoid being ensnared.

Mousse pressed his advantage and charged towards her. He produced two swords from his robes and made contact with her weapons, striking hard enough to force her to one knee. Mousse pressed down, forcing Shampoo further towards the ground before she rolled onto her back, then into a handstand, kicking her legs out as she twirled in a circle. One foot hit him hard in the chest and sent him flying into another tree.

Shampoo charged at him like a furious rhino, using the chui to deflect a storm of knives before plowing the weapon into his chest. But like the graceful swan he used as a basis for some of his attacks, he was already on the move again. His foot used her weapon as a springboard and he was again moving amongst the trees, keeping her on her toes with his long range chains.

By chance he snared her around the waist. Landing on a branch, he grabbed the chains in hand and swinging hard, threw her into a series of tree trunks, battering her body from one to the next. She grunted in pain, rolling with the impacts to minimize the damage. Struggling would have just caused more pain and damage.

The two had been training in the mountains of Japan for the last week while Cologne and some temporary hired help attended to the restaurant. After the battle at Wraith's castle, they had both reached the conclusion that they were sorely in need of training. Everyone else had seemed to advance and they had no intention of falling behind. It wasn't just Cologne's insistence either, it was their Chinese Amazon pride as well.

Still, this wasn't the main reason for the intense training trip. Word from back home had arrived and the news was grave. It had been more of a warning than a letter of correspondence. Tensions with the Musk Dynasty were flaring up again after months of silence. According to the note, that had been written in the tribe's elder words for sake of security, the ruling council was preparing a preemptive strike in case war truly seemed inevitable. If war came, the Amazon's were determined to cripple the enemy with a first strike.

After reading the note, Cologne had ordered them to go train in order to hone their skills. If war came they would have an obligation to return home and help to defend their homeland. This was an especially important act as Cologne was a member of the council and Shampoo was her rightful heir. Returning home without being in peak battle readiness would be unacceptable.

On their trek up into the mountains Mousse had told her all about Emperor Herb and the terrifying power's he'd seen the Dragon Lord use against Ranma. Mousse was absolutely convinced that Herb had enough power to match the ruling council. Shampoo hadn't even tried to suppress the shiver his words had created. The battle over the mystical lands of Jusenkyo seemed closer than ever, especially with the third nation in the region, the Phoenix Tribe, now in remission after Saffron's god-like body had been destroyed.

Finished battering her through the tree line, Mousse pulled up sharply and drew her to him. Love her though he did, he couldn't pull any punches. Not only would it have rendered any training ineffective, but she would have noticed and taken it as an insult.

Shampoo rode the chains up into she was within range. Flexing her arms, she used all her strength and broke the bonds that contained her, clothes-lining Mousse and throwing them both to the ground. They touched down lightly and Mousse sent his chains out again, finally knocking her weapons from her hands. Undaunted she attacked him again, switching to unarmed strikes, she aimed for his face, leaving herself open to a sweep kick that knocked her on her back.

Rolling side over side, she stood up as Mousse advanced, weaving her way inside his defenses to grab his shirt and throw him to the ground, repaying the favor. Grunting Mousse chucked out a few exploding eggs, distracting her long enough for him to stand up and rob her of any advantage.

Then, as if by means of a hidden signal, the two bowed to each other and dropped their guards completely. As Mousse took a deep breath, the playful ball of lavender bound forward and jumped onto him, forcing him to the ground as she sat on his chest, leaning down over him with a mischievous glint in her eye.

"What I want to know," she said in her native tongue, "is just how the hell you manage to confuse people with potted plants and yet when it comes to fighting you are as graceful as a hawk in the air?"

Content to let the girl he loved more than any other get the last blow in, he simply smiled and pushed his glasses up onto his forehead. Even he didn't need them to see her when she was that close. He simply shrugged as she settled in, secretly enjoying the feeling of her butt on his chest. Her long hair draped over them like a veil and she continued to smile.

"You got some good hits in today."

"You did too," he replied.

Shampoo had secretly cared about him as a friend for years but had not even thought of him as a worthy mate until after his battle with Torisan the bird-man on their Tokgenkyo adventure. In that battle he had endured terrible agony just to keep her safe. That was when the spark of love had first started to burn in her chest. After Ranma had tossed her aside for Akane, Shampoo's feeling of self-worth had gone down considerably. Not content simply to defeat Ranma for her hand, which he somehow had, Mousse had challenged Shampoo to a match as well, restoring her confidence and turning the spark in her heart into a blaze.

She had been so very glad. While the women of the Amazon tribe were powerful and in charge, there were times where they liked to be fought for and dominated. Therefore, when Mousse had challenged her and savagely beaten her up, she had felt pleasure along with the pain of each blow. She knew in her heart that it was love and not abuse that fueled his actions.

It had been the one match she'd been glad to lose, though at the time she'd given it her all.

Now they were a couple and Shampoo had finally allowed herself to see the strong and manly qualities hidden behind Mousse's handicaps and incompetence. She finally understood the joy of being wanted for who and what she was.

As she sat on top of him, her hands brazenly traveled along his chest, feeling the hardened muscles beneath of the man that was hers. He pulled her down and the two of them kissed as his hands wrapped firmly around her waist. She practically purred as he held her, moving to rest her head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"I noticed your punches were slightly off track today," he said, stroking her hair. "What is on your mind? The possible war?"

She shook her head.

"Ranma and Akane's wedding then," he correctly guessed. "Do you feel conflicting emotions about it?" He almost didn't want to know the answer.

Shampoo sat up quickly and her eyes widening. "No! Don't be silly. I'm fine with how things have gone and I have absolutely no regrets concerning Ranma. You are the man worthy of my hand and no one else."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "So what about the wedding exactly were you thinking about?"

"Well, for starters I hope we will still be here to actually see it and not traveling on our way back to China."

"The council won't commit to war easily," Mousse assured her. "Even if we do go to war it won't be for months yet. Herb only recently recovered his strength from Taro's attack. I am willing to bet the defeat humbled him. He'll be cautious and take time to check and re-check his plans, if it does indeed actually come to war at all."

"Something just doesn't feel right Mousse." Her voice was thick with frustration. "All these attacks lately and now the war with the Musk…"

"Actually, the animosity brewing with the Musk has been coming for decades," he reminded her gently. "I'm more than a little bit surprised that open warfare with Herb Musk hasn't occurred before now, considering past battles against his father."

Shampoo blew out and exasperated breath. "I know that! It's just… everything is all too convenient, almost as if it was arranged one event after another. Doesn't it feel that way to you? I mean, we'd never even heard of Wraith or Zero before. How did they know to look for people like us in Japan to begin with?"

Mousse pursed his lips in thought. "I honestly don't have an answer to that."

"I just get the feeling it's not over yet," she whispered darkly. "It's like a terrible feeling in the back of my head, sending chills down my spine. I can't explain it any better than that.

"All the more reason we should train hard then," he reasoned. "Let's make sure your bad feelings don't become reality. We can help our friends and make sure the wedding goes off without a hitch. Then we won't have any regrets if we do get recalled home."

"I need some new moves too," she said with a sigh. "Akane and Ukyo have one-upped me in that category."

"You'll get there," he said smiling, radiating confidence for her abilities. "It's just you spent so much time vying for Ranma's affections that you neglected your training. We'll fix that up in no time.

She nodded and slapped her cheeks. "Enough doom and gloom for one day," she decided. Let's go take a bath in that nearby spring."

He took the hand she offered and stood up. "Good idea. You wash my back, I wash yours?"

Shampoo smiled seductively, stripping off her sparring clothes and sliding her panties down her legs right in front of him. "Play your cards right and I may let you wish my front as well…"

Ironically, Shampoo and Mousse were not the only ones out training that weekend. In another part of the forest even deeper in the mountains, Ranma was training in absolute solitude. Sitting on the ground cross-legged, he had been hard at work since Friday night training not just his body but also his mind as he battled to get rid of the nagging guilt and sense of weakness that had been plaguing him relentlessly.

While they didn't know exactly what was going on, his family had been largely supportive of his decision to go train in seclusion. No one wanted to stress Ranma out and make him back out of the coming wedding. Even Genma hadn't asked to come along. Perhaps he understood that his son had a lot of issues to work through and the only thing that could give him the chance to do it was space.

There was no way Ranma would ever do that, but he wasn't about to tell them that.

He pictured Wraith in his mind, replaying his thoughts from the fight in Germany over and over again. Gritting his teeth, the boy could almost feel those terrible claws touching the skin on his neck again, preparing to pierce his flesh. If Akane hadn't saved him, Ranma's life would have ended right then and there.

With a tranquility shattering howl, Ranma raised both hands and slammed them into the ground, releasing the angry energy inside his body and letting it expand and swirl like a storm around the limits of the clearing where he now sat. Slowly rising to his feet, he concentrated, keeping control of the power in order to avoid devastating the entire mountain.

The problem, he concluded finally, was that his weakness was succumbing to enemies initially because he was never prepared for the unexpected and the foe would use whatever trick or attack they specialized in to catch him off guard. If he was to keep another Wraith or Taro from happening again then he would have to train to expect the unexpected.

Raising his palm skyward, Ranma released the energy into the atmosphere, a look of utter seriousness on his face. "Never again."

Never again would the lives of his friends be placed in danger because of his arrogance or unpreparedness. Never again would he be unable to defend them due to his own weakness.

Wiping the sweat off his brow, Ranma dropped into a low combat stance and began to train again.