And we're back with another update! This will have to last you about...a month. Yeah. Currently working on other projects!
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Onward!!
Part 7:
Green Flames of Envy
It wasn't true. It just wasn't true! She shook her head yet again to deny as if the memory was nothing more than a dream but it played itself over and over in the back of her mind. The little touches, the glimpses, even the way they moved around the other was a tell tale sign of what she had seen for herself. Especially now, spying on them through open eyes as if she were still the same old Akane.
"Is there something you want Akane?"
She blinked and snapped out of her slight daze. "Huh? What did you say?"
"You've been standing there for the past fifteen minutes...are you okay?"
"What...makes you say that?"
"Oh I don't know...you standing there with glazed eyes wasn't enough of a sign."
"I'm fine Nabiki. Really."
Right. The middle Tendo girl didn't buy it, even as her sister went back to her wandering about as if she were a phantom. Something serious was on that girl's mind but what it was, no one knew. Had she been born a mind reader, she might have known what lie ahead of them. Alas, fate didn't play that card, so she went back to flipping through he text books.
Nearby, Ranma sat near Mousse, his head on his arms, resting on the table. Mousse leaned on his elbows, talking to his lover about nothing in particular; mostly what came to mind as they usually did. Ryoga and Ukyo sat near them, ignoring them for the time being, more focused on what Ryoga was reading from the states. Two weeks ago, they had come back to Nerima and only a day after did they learn Mina was going to the states for college. A week after, she had left with her brother and his friend during the day which had everyone crying at some point.
At least that was the story. In reality she was going to further investigate the location of another possible gateway into the demon realm. If there was a way to get in, perhaps there was a way to place an end to it all without a major fight in the human realm.
"I can't believe she wrote you a letter in only a week..." Ukyo said.
"I know. I thought it'd be a few weeks at least..." Ryoga sighed. "I'll have to write back to her later."
"Write back to who?" Mousse asked.
"Mina."
"She sent a letter??" Ranma asked sitting up. "What'd she say??"
"The usual...she misses us, hopes we're well...invited herself to your wedding..."
"My what?!"
"She got wind of the crystal and called bridesmaid before I could."
"I just love the way you guys do that."
"Oh stop it and take it like a man."
Ranma stuck his tongue out but it was put to better use when Mousse took the initiative and kissed him senseless. Ryoga gagged playfully, sending Ukyo into a fit of giggles. They went unnoticed by the world about them, save one set of curious eyes slanting into an angry glare that could kill if it had that gift. Ever since that day she peered through that damned door, she had wished for a chance to take away from Mousse what he had managed to achieve in days rather than years as it had for her. She still had no results from it.
"Akane...would you please be a dear and run an errand for me?"
"Run it your own damn self!" She snapped, not caring if it was Kasumi or not. Kasumi frowned, taking on a look rarely seen in her frame and it it did it's job; Akane immediately regretted what she had said. "Sorry...Kasumi."
"Akane...I don't know what is wrong with you but you had better get a grip on reality." Nabiki warned from where she sat. "If you don't, you're going to do something you're going to regret and can't take back."
The last Tendo sister glared behind her shameful appearance. How could Nabiki know what she was feeling; what she was going through?! She had no clue of what her supposed fianc was doing behind their backs; going around and engaging in a sinful act with his enemy! No, it just simply wouldn't do for it to continue. She swore mentally in her mind and excused herself from their sights.
"What was that all about?" Ukyo murmured.
"I don't know, but I don't like the way she was looking at those two." Ryoga sighed. "We'd better keep an eye on her..."
"Easier said than done."
"So you guys want to do something tonight?" Ryoga asked. "I personally don't want to be stuck in here."
"Ryoga's right." Ukyo exclaimed. "It's the summer, and we're all old enough to actually enjoy ourselves! Let's go to the club tonight."
"Jeez, it's been a while since we've been there." Ranma sighed. "A long time...you think they'll remember us?"
Mousse took the opportunity to laugh. "Do you really think they'd forget?! Ranma...we were practically doing it on the floor..."
"That's because that bitch thought she could put her hands all over you and get away with it."
"Ahh that's my love." Mousse cried dramatically pulling Ranma to be close in his arms. "He'll kick any bitch's ass if they dare defile my honor with their slut hands! How I love him so!"
"Ha ha. Very funny Mousse."
"What? Was it something I said?"
"Alright enough foreplay." Ryoga exclaimed. "Look, it's millennium night there. You know, techno, frequency...new gear, ya know? Are we in or are we out?"
"I'm definitely in." Ukyo said. "But what about you two? In or out?"
Ranma, still in his playfully mood, took it into careful consideration until one Mousse thoroughly convinced him in the best way he knew how. He kissed him, long and sweetly for an untold time, until Ranma found the strength to break away from his beloved and answer with a gasp for air. "We're in..."
"Great! Let's meet back here in a half hour. Remember, new gear! Look millennium!"
It was still the bewitching hour of six; as if dawn and evening had taken on the same look and grace the day at this time every chance it could. The only thing singular about this evening was the simple fact that tonight they were doing something as young adults for a change, and not some prepubescent adolescents trying to find fun where they weren't allowed. He snorted in his amusement, looking to where his lover had disappeared only minutes ago. He'd been around him too long; long enough to use words that didn't apply to the world of the modern teenager engulfed in their angst and heavy music their only way of escaping. Still, everyone went through it.
But he had to wonder silently; was Akane going through it?
"Going somewhere?" she asked, standing there in his doorway with her arms crossed over her developed body. She had grown, very much so in the past years he had been here. Far different from the girl built as a brick and the fist of a wild mule beckoning to knock him out. Did she even realize how much she had changed; how much they had changed? "Well?"
"Yeah. Mousse and I were going out to the Time Line club downtown," he answered. "It's been a while since any of us has had any type of fun..."
"I see...so it's just you and Mousse?"
"No, Ukyo and Ryoga are coming with us...did you want to..."
"No! No...I'm going out with some of my other friends."
"Oh. So did you want something or...what?"
"Actually...I...came to get the laundry...Kasumi asked me to..."
"Yeah, um...over there in the corner."
Akane moved silently over to where the laundry lay in a bundle wrapping in a bag, twitching her nose upward in disgust when she noticed the sheets were amongst the debris. What he had been doing to get those sheets dirty, she didn't even want to think of, let alone imagine in the presence of Ranma at the moment. Her back turned to him, she didn't notice as Mousse came back into the room, glaring from distance. He turned to Ranma who shrugged and shook his head.
"You have so much Laundry Ranma..." she murmured. "Haven't you ever heard of wearing things twice? What do you do, change every five minutes? Where did all these clothes come from?"
"They're gifts...from the likes of me." Mousse answered, startling her into dropping the clothes back onto the floor. Mousse bowed slightly with a small grin of satisfaction in his eyes, even if she didn't return the same greeting. "Evening."
"You...didn't have to scare me like that!"
"I apologize, but I thought you'd like to know where those clothes came from. I've told you. Are you satisfied?"
"If that's the case, why don't you clean them?! You seem to like buying them for him!"
"Please...I don't want to get into it tonight. We're going out to get rid of that burden and all its stressful side effects like tension...you're free to come if you like."
"Thanks but no thanks. I've already got plans."
The response was a little more than short of crass, but it was accepted as the Tendo girl left the room with the laundry lugged over her shoulder with a growl. Ranma simply shook his head in dejection. She had changed, perhaps on the outside, but the inside was a completely different matter.
"I'm sorry Ranma..."
"No...don't be. Something's bothering her still."
"You think so?"
"I know so...being in this house, you learn to read people as they truly are."
"Ah...so what am I?"
"A curious loving man who has my heart...what else can you be?"
"Lots of things my dear Ranma...our lives are just beginning...believe me, I will own those boxers tonight!"
Ranma laughed, yelping as Mousse drew him off the floor to be lifted so that he sat straddled against his waist. His arms came to rest around his lover's neck, laughing quietly as those hands occupied themselves with teasing his ass. He didn't need much coaxing to kiss Mousse softly in the dimming light of the evening, right in the sights of a hidden Akane, standing behind the door with nothing but a slit to look through. It was enough to show her once again, of how this man had stolen her fianc right from underneath her nose.
"Do you love me?"
"Only if you love me...my demonic darling," Ranma cooed.
"Then I guess you love me, because I certainly love you..."
Enough to tell her, she needed to be at that club tonight.
His hair hung over his weary liquid brown eyes, and over the dark blue bandana he chose to wear instead of his usual yellow printed one. Ryoga was dressed to kill in the open oversized black jersey he had gotten as a gift from Mina. He wore nothing but a white wife-beater beneath it, tucked into his oversized denim blue jeans that were rolled up to cuff around the timberlands he had bought during a trip in America. He wore a silver cross around his neck that hung just above the point where his pectorals began, shimmering in the light as he moved closer to Ukyo.
Ukyo sighed, brushing back her bangs apart from the ponytail she had pulled her hair into. She was dressed in a blue baby t-shirt, that showed off a good portion of her cleavage. Her belly was as bare as bare could be until the point below her navel, where her oversized black cargo pants hung; strung up to hang off her hips and bunch around her new sneakers. She wore a pair of small ball earrings in her ear and the navel ring was another touch that was sure to surprise the others.
"What time is it now?"
"Late..."
Ukyo and Ryoga stood downstairs, waiting for the couple to come down from their room. The half hour had come and gone, quickly becoming an hour by the look of the clock. Ryoga neatly rolled his eyes and folded his arms over his chest, well aware of how those two could be longer than they said because of certain activities. Ukyo found it quite amusing, yet she hadn't the nerve to go up there and put a stop to it. She was embarrassed enough as it was with a single mention of the word sex.
"How long does it take to suck a guy off?" Ryoga grumbled. "Jeez they are taking their sweet time."
"They'll be down shortly...I'm sure they're just getting ready."
It wasn't Ukyo who had said that. Ryoga turned his head to find Akane leaning against the wall; her own arms were crossed over her chest. She stayed where she was at, even as he moved away from her slightly, not sure of the off feeling he was receiving.
"Going out?"
"Yeah...we're going to a club down town..."
"I know. Ranma mentioned it."
"To you?! I mean, not that he shouldn't but uh..."
"Yeah he did..."
"So are you coming with Akane or are you sticking around?" Ukyo questioned with her hand on her bare hips. "You might actually have a good time."
"I have other plans," was her excuse. Ukyo waved it off and didn't bother to question her motives, while Ryoga studied her carefully. There was something that was still slightly off about the whole situation, but he still couldn't place a finger on it.
All eyes fell on the staircase when the sound of footsteps rushing down the stairs reached their ears. They weren't the least surprised to find it to be Ranma and Mousse, together no less, but what they were wearing was a total shock.
Mousse had pulled his long hair back into a ponytail, opting to let it hang down his back along side the oversized white baseball jersey with the logo of the store he had bought it from gracing the back of it. He wore a platinum watch on his left wrist and a platinum chain around his neck, adding to the exotic foreign look he was going for. His black denim pants were loose and baggy, not enough so that they would fall every five minutes, and on his feet were the latest sneakers off the market.
Aside him, blushing a bit from the gaping jaws, stood Ranma, with his hair in a slightly longer ponytail than he usually was known to have and with crimson highlights decorating his bangs. He too, wore a jersey, yet it was a nice red, and open to reveal the sheer black muscle shirt he opted to wear. He wore no jewelry, save the crimson colored crystal lying on the middle of his chest and the white gold ring on his left hand; those he never took off. His pants were black denim as well, only not as loose as Mousse's pants happened to be. As for his sneakers, they were brand new as well.
"Wow! You guys look great! Almost American..." Ukyo awed. "Where did you get the gear?!"
"We scrapped up some money and bought them." Ranma explained. "I wouldn't let him buy it for me this time."
"So does that mean..."
"I have a part time job at the doctor's place. He pays me quite well for running errands and stuff. Plus, ya know...the thing."
"Oh right, the thing!"
"What thing?" Akane asked. "And when did you get a job at Doctor Tofu's place?"
"He's had it for the last few weeks." Genma exclaimed proudly as he walked by. "My boy's finally thinking about the future and has decided to get a job and save for the future!"
"My future in getting out of here," Ranma mumbled.
"So shall we get going?" Ryoga asked. "You know, earlier we get there, less line there will be?! Get my drift?!"
"I totally forgot about the lines!! Agh come on before we're stuck behind the losers!"
Ranma grabbed Mousse's hand and ran strait out of the door with Ryoga and Ukyo in tow, leaving Akane behind without so much as a goodbye. They failed to notice the evil glimmer in her eyes as she spied her friends coming up the walkway, barely avoiding the leaping martial artists making their way to the club.
"Where are they going in such a hurry?" one asked. "Hey Akane, do you know where they are going?"
"Exactly where we're going ...change of plans guys."
"So you're finally going to nail Ranma on the dance floor?! Akane that's great!"
Yeah...I'm going to nail him alright...right in the head for humiliating me! Ranma, you are so dead.
TimeLine outside; 10:34 p.m.
"Jeez, look at the line!"
"I know...maybe we'll get in, in an hour."
"An hour?! That's way too long to be waiting outside! It's still as bad to get in as I remember!"
"Wait, how did we get in last time?"
"If I remember correctly, we just stood here and..."
"HEY! It's you guys!" A voice cried out. "Oh wow it's been a long time!"
Ranma turned his head toward the voice only to grin in triumph when it was the bouncer calling to them. They knew the bouncer from their days in school, plus they were once considered VIP's in this place the last time they had come here. Mousse met the bouncer with a firm hand grip from behind Ranma, while Ryoga and Ukyo chose to wave rather than tackle with that hand of his. He had a pretty strong grip, considering the time he had tossed five guys out with only one arm.
"Hey guys! What, I don't get no love?!"
"When you ease up on that grip my man." Ryoga exclaimed. "Granted, I'm strong, but you could bruise an ox with that hand of yours. How do you do it Mousse?!"
"Mind over matter." he answered. "That, and being able to take anything since I'm not completely human, remember?"
"Aye! Shit, I forgot about that."
"So what are you guys doing out here with these guys?" The bouncer asked. "Don't you know? They can't get in because they have records of not paying their tabs. You shouldn't be seen here or else you might get confused for a booze hound."
"So where *do* we go?" Ukyo smirked.
"Where else? In the club!"
TimeLine Inside; 11:45p.m.
It didn't take her long to get to the club, and even less time to get in. The bouncer seemed to have an acute fear of her, and so did everyone else who knew about her temper. It was disturbing somewhat to be known for such a thing but it had its benefits, like getting into this place for one. Her friends had wasted no time in getting to the dance floor to catch some of the action going on in the center of it, a place everyone seemed to have their eyes focused on. Curiosity, as before, got a hold of her for those seconds she wasn't concentrating on the task at hand, and she looked to the center, much to her heart's regret.
"Hey, look at those two go!" someone screamed. "They're awesome!"
"You should have seen them the last time they were here!" Another shouted. "They looked like pure sex!"
"Really?!"
"Just watch!"
Akane took that loud advice and watched from the railings where she had wandered in search of them. She should have started where all the commotion was when they had first entered, for there, dead center in the middle of the floor was Ranma and--
"Ryoga??!"
They way they danced so close, it was as if the were joined at the hip. It was a fast song, hence the reason they were gyrating their hips so quickly, but did they have to dance so close? She watched and peered a bit closer.
"Are those his hands on his ass?!"
The music changed, and with it so did the duo. Ryoga excused himself and left to dance with Ukyo next while the main attraction moved in for the kill. Ranma wasted no time in getting close to his lover just as the word to the song filled their veins with the pure urge to move as if they were one.
Closer...
Closer...
Closer...
Closer...Whoo!
It was as if that was their cue to draw all eyes on them. Ranma stood perfectly still; Mousse's hand sat resting upon the crystal he had given him in the beginning of the summer. He smiled, not minding the cat calls they were drawing from their spectators as Mousse took hold of him by the belt loops of his pants to draw their groins together. He started the cycle, moving their hips around in a sensuous circle that had every one screaming. They had no idea.
It was only the beginning.
Turn the lights off in this place
And she shines just like a star
And I swear I know her face
I just don't know who you are
Ranma moved in time with Mousse, not noticing the red emitting from his hands when they took a hold of his lover's. They moved backward in time to the music, lost in each other and the words to the song. Ranma took a moment to break away from Mousse, flipping backward and landing with his hands beckoning for his lover to come to him.
Turn the music up in here
I still hear her loud and clear
Like she's right there in my ear
Telling me that she wants to
Own me...
"I can't stay away from you even if I tried," Mousse murmured.
To Control me...
Ranma beckoned him closer with no more than a look.
Come closer...
He was there and against him, driving him down to the floor and up again, breathing in the gasp from his lips when the heat took hold.
Come closer...
As they fell into their routine, they failed to notice the girl that had approached them in the short beginnings of the song still playing. She had gotten close enough to see the two up close, and to also see the pure expression of freedom reigning clear as day in their eyes.
And I just can't pull myself away
Under a spell I can't break
I just can't stop....I just can't stop....
I just can't stop....I just can't stop....
There was no stopping this. Not now. He was his, and only his, for all eyes to see but never to touch. He grinned against him, spinning him around to press himself and his arousal against his backside curling into him.
And I just can't free myself
No way
But I don't want to escape...
I just can't stop....I just can't stop....
I just can't stop....I just can't stop....
She couldn't help but feel as Ranma himself had sung those words. She kept her gaze upon them, moving wherever their feet decided to take them; however their hips wanted to express themselves. She grew hotter than the floor screaming at the pair, fingers sliding against the hidden skin beneath the thin fabric, stalling at his chest, rubbing maddeningly slow as he arched against him. His head dipped forward to taste him, intoxication clear at the first burst of flavor hitting the back of his selective pallet.
She tore her gaze away from them growling. How could Mousse do such a thing?!
I can feel her on my skin
I can taste her on my tongue
She's the sweetest taste of sin
The more I get the more I want...
Could it get much hotter in here? He decided on a safe yes, groaning softly as his lover kissed the nape of his neck. A gentle taste never seemed enough, but it always got his blood boiling and his body calling for Mousse. The hem of his shirt lifted itself; sensual fingers tracing the soft lines of his abs, pressing and forcing him to move a little faster, a little more desperately, until the need to feel him was too great to resist. He spun and pressed himself into him, shuddering against the thump of the music vibrating alongside the hunger in Mousse's eyes.
She wants to own me...
Here on the floor, he belonged. In his lovers arms away from life's troubles. Ukyo and Ryoga looked on in satisfaction.
Come Closer...
"Mousse...."
She says...Come Closer...
"Smack me if I ever let you get away from me," Mousse groaned. "Oh god..."
And I just can't pull myself away
Under a spell I can't break
I just can't stop....I just can't stop....
I just can't stop....I just can't stop....
There was no telling who started it, or who ended it. Mousse lifted him off of the floor, dropping him on his waist and falling to the floor to grind against him. Ranma lifted his hips, willingly writhing against him, unable to tear himself away from the possessive growls against his throat. The crowd screamed even louder than before, but it fell on deaf ears. He could only hear his own heartbeat thumping in tune to Mousse's silent calls, and only felt his hands lifting him back up and kissing him into a blazing heat that easily seared any and all sense he could muster.
They parted with a teasing lick; Mousse smirking while Ranma blushed under his slight smile.
And I just can't free myself
No way
But I don't want to escape...
"Hot..."
"Hmm. Very. Love me?"
I just can't stop....I just can't stop....
"Love you...forever...."
"Love you too...my heart..."
I just can't stop....I just can't stop....
Unknown to them, Akane had heard every word vowed on that floor. She held a scream in, refusing to let her heart sink just yet and ran away from them under the drowning music.
I just can't stop...
TimeLine outside; 2:34 a.m.
"God, you guys were something else tonight! Come back soon, ya?!"
"We'll be back!" Ranma called back to the bouncer. "Sometime soon!"
"Yeah?! Just let me know and I'll hook you up!"
By now the foursome were half way down the block. It wasn't far enough not to see their bouncer friend toss someone a few feet for trying to sneak in while he was preoccupied. They laughed and went on with their journey home, or at least to someplace where they could crash for the night.
"So were are we headed?" Ukyo asked. "My place or back to your house Ranma?"
"I don't know...whichever is closer I guess."
"Tired huh?"
"Very...but it was the most fun I've had in so long!" he laughed clinging onto Mousse. "I could do this every night..."
"Obviously...you two practically fucked on the floor..."
"Who's to say we didn't?" Mousse smirked. "AH! Hey..."
Ranma pulled his hand back from where it was planted upside his lover's skull. "Shut up..."
"Every time one opens their eyes...there's an adventure waiting for them," Ryoga said. The others quieted at his silent musing, well aware that the solemnity of his nature wasn't something he could just write off. When he said something, he meant it. Happosai had found that out the hard way earlier this week. "Some like to pass you by...others will willingly smack you right in the face. And there are the roundabouts that leave and shoot you between the eyes. Everyday is not promised a written peace. Chaos is strange...and tends to draw out the best and the worst in us."
"....How old are you?"
He shoved Ukyo to the side and walked off with her laughing behind him. "Old enough. I've seen my fair share of adventures...usually minding people who attract trouble."
"We do not!" Ranma and Mousse protested.
"Riiight. Either we're chasing after you...or rescuing the girl who can't mind her business."
Ukyo heartily agreed. "She knew she wanted to go...why'd she lie?"
"Ach, who knows? Hey! I know!"
Mousse stopped short of his next step and almost lit him on fire. That tone of voice couldn't fool him no matter what the excitement was fronting. Ryoga grinned at him. "No. No--Ryoga, NO!"
"What?? It's just a cave. Some hidden treasure...We could go explore it next weekend!"
"When you say cave, I think big ugly thing that lives in it and wants to EAT US."
"But you can handle it."
"So?! Maybe I don't want to--"
"Oh ho! Someone's gettin lazy eh?! What would yer fat'er say against the likes of ye backin' doun to some measley troll?!"
Mousse groaned, sorely tempted to kill him here and now. "Ugh...I hate it when you DO THAT..."
"Do what??"
"I swear, you start speaking Gaelic and---"
Ryoga leapt back full intending on running from Mousse's sprint. However the sudden body that walked from the shadows killed that thought and any sense of fun he might have been having. He stepped back, urging Mousse to do the same. Ukyo hid behind them on instinct alone. The only one who didn't quite budge was Ranma. He remained on the outside of their little circle, pinned by the gleam of a weapon he'd never expected to see so close. The shadowed figure held it up for all to see, though its aim was upon Ranma gripped tight by his sudden fear.
"How...could YOU?!" it screamed. "You were everything....EVERYTHING!!"
"What?! What did I do?!"
"You ruined it all...EVERYTHING...I don't understand....weren't we enough?!"
"Wha?! I don't even know you!"
"You might not....but your fianc DOES!! DIE DAMN YOU!!"
The world tipped itself again, and left him dizzy as he tried to make sense of it. The sounds of scuffling, screaming, and someone running away made it harder to see. He opened his eyes and winced at the throb in the back of his skull. Yeah, kissing the concrete like that wasn't a good way to conserve someone's mind.
"Ow..."
"Ranma! Oh god....are you okay?!"
He nodded as best he could, grunting when he was hauled off of the floor and held tightly. Bits of the world came back with the scent of him, and the scent of something else staining his hands. A single shot had rung out into the night, followed by the cry of the wounded. The gun fell onto the ground, its sound drowned out by the heavy footsteps running away from the sight of emerald eyes glowing angrily. Those eyes now looked at him in worry, scared for him rather than himself. He wanted to smack him and kiss him all in the same breath.
He settled for straitening himself out and pressing his hand firmly against the wound.
Ryoga winced under the loud howl that pierced the night. It wasn't Mousse's howls of protest that made his spine snap in the unbearable anxiety of it all. It was the silent threat that sliced through the cool air; a promise that would be taken up upon if something was not done about this.
"Craaaaap....this is going to suck SO bad...."
Midday...
"Ow...stop touching it!"
"Just sealing it off...ah...there! Good as gold."
He shrugged, sighing as he tested the wrap of bandage upon his left shoulder. It was a good hold and wouldn't come undone easily, like he'd expected from the likes of a man who knew how to wrap almost any wound he'd acquired himself. He thanked him quietly and moved along with the others in the direction of what clearly was no longer a safe place.
Three trips into the night had him worn and ready to go back to sleep. The first trip involved a phone call that landed him in the local ER. The paramedics were rather concerned about the amount of blood he'd lost, but the wound itself wasn't anything more than a flesh wound. The bullet had grazed his left shoulder and took a nice chunk of it with it, but it didn't do any internal damage. Everything worked fine, moved fine, but there was the contending feat of getting stitches.
"They just put the S-T in front of what it is..." he muttered. "Humans..."
The second trip was a trip out of that ER with a bottle of pain medication and worrying doctors watching them go. They had wanted to admit him overnight of precaution's sake, but Ryoga nor he would have any of it. No one else need afford the moment of realization that the horns on his head were his and his alone. Somewhere in the midst of getting to the hospital, they had decided to make an appearance. He'd come in with them and left with the doctors and patients alike wondering if they were clipped in or screwed in. After that interesting and awkward moment, they'd traveled to Ukyo's home and crashed there for the night.
Getting up from that blissful darkness hurt more than his arm did at the moment. Had he the time, he might have slept three days away. But there were more pressing things to worry about and deal with, lest they truly become a burden. It was the only reason for this final trip, walking against a harsh heat that did nothing more than further his temper. His lover walked aside him, worried and irritated himself. He could find no fault in his silence, although he didn't quite notice it when his arm flared up again.
He made an effort to rip it off and scratch it, but was stopped by a single hand.
"Mousse. Take it easy..."
"I'm fine Ranma...It just itches!! A LOT!"
"Guys, why are we headed for his house this hour in the day?" Ukyo asked from behind. "Why not wait a little longer? Shouldn't we find the asshole who did this?!"
"No need. We already know who did this...or what did this," Ryoga sighed. "I've heard of demons manifesting from strong emotions, but I ne'er thought I'd see one for mi'self. Anyhow...that thing was trying to kill Mousse, and would just as easily have killed Ranma. Emotions are unstable...and demons born from them are probably more dangerous than anything."
"Do we need to--"
"No. We know where it is...its just a question of sealing it or killing it. It was a good thing Mousse moved in time...quick thinking..."
"Stupid person." Mousse growled. "Will this thing ever stop itching!?"
"As soon as you stop thinking about it." Ranma said, placing a hand on top of it. There was a strange glow, red as usual, but there was something about it that made Mousse raise an eyebrow. That sharp itch diminished itself quickly, leaving no more than a faint buzz worthy of a gnat. He could easily ignore it, and did so as he kissed the back of his hand.
"Mousse?"
"Come on...adventure is about to smack us dead in the face."
Ranma took off after Mousse with Ryoga and Ukyo tagging along from the rear. They didn't stop running, even as they approached the closed off gates to the Tendo Dojo. That wasn't a problem for them. Mousse took the lead in leaping the fence and running to the back where the pond was. As usual, the side doors were opened, revealing Genma and Soun over their usual game board, fighting over who cheated as they usually did. Happosai was hoping back and forth with a huge load of ladies underwear in his sack, screaming his usual "What a haul! What a haul!" and neatly avoided Kasumi in her daily routine of cleaning the house. Nabiki was at the table yet again, flipping through her magazines rather than her textbooks and Akane--
"Ranma my boy! Where have you been?!" Genma shouted out when he caught sight of them. "Do you know what time it is?!"
Was nowhere in sight.
"It's after twelve and I was OUT all night for once," Ranma answered. "Not babysitting the old freak like you begged me too so you could go learn another secret technique to beat him."
"Ah ha! I knew you two were up to something!" Happosai pelted Genma in the back of his head with his fist. "So that's why you tried to sneak out! My own students turning on me?! It's disgraceful I tell you!"
"We're sorry master!"
"You're gonna be sorry when I get through with you!"
"Hey Ranma, do you know what's wrong with Akane?" Kasumi asked. Something wrong with Akane? It was clearly news to him, seeing the puzzled look he tended to get when something wasn't adding up. She didn't think it added up either. "She came home last night in tears."
"She wasn't with me last night," Ranma mused, "She said she was going out with her friends..."
"But you both went to the TimeLine...didn't you?" Nabiki asked him as he made his way into the house with the others. Again he blinked in confusion. "I overheard her say there was a change in plans. She wanted to go to the TimeLine for some reason. I figured it was because you were going?"
"No...we didn't see her--"
"AH! Mousse--what the hell happened to you?!"
He clearly was not expecting Nabiki of all people to take any interest in his wound. Kasumi, yes...Nabiki...Weird. Very Weird. However strange it may have been, she was clearly upset by it and wanted information. "Um...I was shot??"
".....WHAT?!"
"It's nothing major..."
"Nothing Major?!" Happosai cried leaping into the room to jab him in the head. "You could have been killed! Do you know what that could do to the order? To the world?! What about...mmph?!"
"Can it yah old freak!" Ryoga hissed clapping a hand over his mouth, "Or do you want to blow it for them?!"
"Someone tried to shoot you?" Soun asked. "Do you know who?"
"No we don't," Mousse lied. No use in upsetting him any further than he appeared, or getting anyone else riled up about this. "Look, I need a moment to breathe...and where the hell is Akane anyhow?!"
"She's in her room, crying for all we know," Nabiki sighed, seemingly uninterested in why her sister was so sad. "She came home...screaming It's all over or something like that. I thought she had broken up with a boy or something, but then I remembered she has a fianc and hasn't gone out on a date yet."
"Oh dear," Kasumi sighed turning toward Ranma. "You don't think..."
"I don't know..."
Ranma bit his lip in silent thought. Why would Akane change her plans and go to the Timeline with her friends? Was she that determined to find out about what he didn't want to share with her? He had his reasons as did the others, but it looked as if she wanted in on something she would never understand. How could she? She never once tried to get to know him for who he is. If she did, then maybe she'd have known.
His thoughts flew back to the far corners of his mind when the sound of heavy footsteps were heard coming down the stairs. It was Akane, in shambles and a disarray from her clothes to her face. Dark circles where under her eyes, telling the story of a night that had taken its toll on a poor girl and something more to those who looked closely enough. Mousse growled softly, accidentally bringing her attention to himself and drawing out the anger she had kept bottled up for so long. Her fist tightened on the banister, cracking it with its abnormal strength when sparks of mutual hate flared up.
Ranma sighed, caught in the middle of it yet again.
"What are you doing here?! Don't you spend enough time here as it is?!" she spat. "Go home already!"
"What home?! You make it pretty obvious that I've no home here! If you wanted to see, to really see, open your eyes fool! You didn't have to follow us...you would have seen with your own eyes what was and wasn't meant to be!"
"What are you talking about?! I didn't--"
"You said you were going there," Nabiki interrupted, not in the least bit amused at being made a fool. "Don't fucking lie about it either. You had to have gone! You wouldn't have come home like that if you didn't see!"
"So what if I went?! I didn't see you..."
"It was pretty hard not to see us," Ryoga said quietly, getting closer to Akane until they were only centimeters apart. She opened her mouth to say something, but he shut it with a single finger pressed against her lips. "Everyone saw us...we were in the middle of the club. Now...whatever you saw, or heard, you will keep it to yourself. YOU my dear," he hissed pushing her to sit upon the staircase, "are in very deep shit right now."
"Why are you doing this?! Ryoga, you hate Ranma!"
"Hey, don't bring me into this. Things change...you need to change too."
"Change?! Oh you mean like Ranma and Mousse on the dance floor dancing together as if they were fucking?! Oh, but I'm sure they've already done that too since they spend so much time together!! Tell you what, you and Ukyo can find Ranma and Mousse a house for wedding gift, because they are not staying here!!"
"What is the meaning of this?!" Soun cried. "What is going on?! Akane, I thought you understood that they are friends!"
"Friends? Friends?! My ass! Ranma and Mousse aren't friends! They're lovers!! Ranma is a jerk who is a fag marrying this asshole who ruined everything! You could have told me instead of me finding out like this RANMA."
"You're not going to deny this are you boy?" Genma asked. Ranma couldn't help but wonder at the sudden seriousness of his father as he looked at him with his arms crossed. "You're not going to deny what she claims, are you?"
"....no. I'm not. I love Mousse and frankly I don't care what any of you think anymore. So you know what, if you can't take it then screw you. I'll find my own place, my own family...my own life!"
No one could say anything to Ranma, or had the opportunity to, for as soon as he finished he ran strait up the stairs past Ryoga and Akane. Mousse ran up the stairs behind him, smoothly avoiding the arm reaching for him and darting out of sight in one fluid motion. Ukyo and Ryoga remained where they were, staring at the other rather than at the person who had started a chain of events. She herself, happened to be staring at the wall angrily.
"YOU IDIOTS!" Happosai cried angrily. "Do you realize what you have done?! You've destroyed the order after I specifically told you not to! For every time the demon marks his mate of eternity, he lies in WAIT until his destined chooses to reveal their love! Prying eyes who break the silence invite the other realm to ruin what has been everlasting! MORONS!!"
"What are you talking about?" Nabiki asked. "What demon?"
"Mousse! Mousse is a demon! Always has, always will be!! Ranma's the one who's his mate of eternity!"
"Whoa...calm down. Just explain this to us...slowly. Okay?"
"Both...have souls older than time," Happosai explained as calmly as he could manage. "Cologne and I know because we have seen these two in other people, living other lives! Man or woman, both found each other, always Msu as a demon and Ranma as his mate. Only thing is, they were always male!"
"Is that a bad thing?"
"No. It wasn't. Not to us anyhow and not to many others. However, when someone of a jealous tongue exposes them, their souls begin to fade and their current bodies die before the true mating can be achieved! Joining both demon and mate would mean the end of a vicious cycle."
"What cycle?"
"The cycle of needless death! If they die before Shinjuku gates open to reveal the Demon king, then he will kill everything in his path until the gate disappears and with it his reign on earth. Then the cycle will begin again and it will end again and we all know who to blame if these two die..."
"Master...you mean the old stories where true?!" Soun cried. "Everything you said was true?!"
"He's not kidding," Genma sighed. "We should have seen it coming."
"You idiots didn't want to listen, now deal with it!" Happosai roared angrily. He smacked them each a good one upside their heads and hopped up the stairs, not wasting the opportunity to glare at Akane where here eyes were burning into the wall. "Jealously...isn't pretty on a young lady," he hissed. "Neither is her temper. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and focus on what is important."
"I don't...know what you mean...."
"Yes you do." Ryoga hissed moving past them both. "Snap out of it and grow up!"
"Ranma..."
"Mousse, I meant what I said. I don't care who knows anymore. I will scream it from the rooftops and the highest point earth has to give me if I have to...I love you, and I don't care what anyone says. I will never leave your side, no matter what the circumstance."
"You really mean that don't you?"
"Yes! I truly mean it. I've always known it...somehow. Mousse, Msu...I don't care what happens between us...I will always be there for you. I vow this on the very blood flowing through my veins. I give myself to you."
Mousse moved forward, taking that youthful face into his hands to kiss a tear of mixed emotions away from him. Sadness, Happiness, Bitterness; he could taste it all in that one tear. Ranma's hands moved from his sides to rest upon Mousse's, still caressing his face in that gentle manner he'd grown to know from the inside out. His eyes fell slightly, heavy with the weight of love at its heaviest moment until finally those velvet lips caressed his in a kiss that said so much.
"Nothing will come between us...nothing. I won't allow it. You are mine and mine alone and I am yours and yours alone."
"Yes..."
"This chapter is over...it's time to move on to the next."
"As long as you're by my side...I don't care."
"Forever?"
"Ever after."
Mousse embraced him, burying his nose into the ebony locks, filled with the sweet smells of the previous night flowing all around them. His eyes closed; a tune brought to life through his voice to sing a silent song filled the room in the next few minutes, distracting to the mark that made itself known on Ranma's shoulder. They stayed lost in the other's essence, unaware of the spying eyes in the doorway, as noticeable as day. Ryoga looked to Happosai's snort, agreeing with the little man for once in his life.
"I know...what do we do now?"
"They've made the vow...but will it be honored is the question."
"For some weird reason....I think it just might."
