I do not own Ranma 1/2 or any of its characters
-14-
Shampoo's recovery was going smoothly and in a short time since the incident she was back on her feet. Wanting to jump right back into her training, both Ranma and Cologne had to lighten the intensity to ease her back into the routine.
Shampoo and Cologne knew of Akane's visit, but they didn't know the contents of the discussion. Ranma was still trying to come to terms with it himself.
Something broke in him that day, something that hadn't quite repaired itself yet, but he didn't regret his decision. He knew it was for the best, for him and her.
Ukyo had later told him of the fallout between Akane and Ryoga, and though she needed to know, he did feel guilty for the part he played. Ryoga and I have had our ups and downs, he's been a friend, an enemy, but more often than not he's been a pain. I hope this blow doesn't break him; he's extremely sensitive.
On this day, Ranma was doing the last of the cleanup while Cologne and Shampoo were out back training, when the door opened and Mousse walked in. There was a different air about him; his over dramatic persona was absent. With his glasses firmly in place, he approached Ranma.
"Ranma Saotome, I am challenging you to a duel, our last duel. I heard what you said that night, and though I hate to admit it, you were right in a lot of ways. This duel is so I can rest assured that Shampoo is in good hands. It is also for me; so I can close this chapter of my life and move on."
Ranma nodded and followed Mousse out of the restaurant. They walked in silence to an open lot and took their stances.
"Tell me, truthfully. Do you love her?"
"I do."
Mousse attacked, knives flying at Ranma at deadly speeds, but Ranma easily dodged them. Using his immense speed, Ranma tried to close the distance between them. As he neared, Mousse threw some of his egg bombs at Ranma, and when he jumped back to dodge, Mousse followed up by releasing chains in an attempt to bind his opponent.
Ranma's midair specialty came in handy and he was able to circumvent the attack, and turn it against the user by kicking one of the chains back. It stuck Mousse in the stomach, using this opportunity Ranma rushed forward and delivered a flurry of punches. Mousse was sent flying back, releasing smoke grenades in the process.
With limited visibility, Ranma had to rely on his other senses. He heard the sheathing of blades and could only assume Mousse had pulled out his latest weapon. A whistling noise to his left alerted Ranma of Mousse's attack. He dodged the scythe blades that were attached to Mousse's robes,but the blind martial artist's attack continued with his own flurry. Ranma ducked and weaved between them. When the opportunity presented itself Ranma went low and connected a solid series of kicks to Mousse's stomach and abdomen and followed it up with a roundhouse kick to Mousse's face sending him through a concrete wall.
Stunned, Mousse tried to get back to his feet, but faltered.
"It's alright man, you put up a good fight. "
"I'm...I'm… not… done… yet." Each word took great effort to say. On shaky legs, Mousse rose to his feet once again. He tried to step forward and collapsed in a heap.
Ranma moved forward and helped him up. "Come on let's get you back home."
Mousse was taken aback by the show of compassion, and allowed Ranma to assist him back to the Nekohanten. "Be good to her."
"I promise I'll do everything I can to make her happy."
Cologne and Shampoo were in the dining area when Ranma opened the door and sat Mousse down in one of the chairs.
"Aiyaa, what happened?" Shampoo cried.
Ranma looked to Mousse to see how he wanted to handle things.
Mousse just sat straighter in his chair. "Shampoo, can I have a moment of your time, please? There are some things I would like to discuss with you."
Shampoo was surprised by his attitude and the request. Her gaze quickly turned to Ranma, who nodded, saying she should hear the man out. Tentatively, she sat in a chair beside Mousse.
Ranma walked over to Cologne, and asked in a whisper voice, "While they're busy, can we go out back?"
She turned and headed out, sure he would follow after. "What can I do for you son-in-law?" She asked once they were outside.
"I have a question and a request."
"Alright."
"The question is, by Joketsuzoku law after a marriage challenge is issued is there a time limit or deadline in which the marriage must take place?"
"Normally weddings take place soon after the challenger has won, but there's nothing that stipulates how long the engagement can be."
"Okay, and for the request, can you show me that pressure point technique that you used to disable Mousse, and after it's applied, is there a way to nullify its effects?"
Cologne began to explain the technicalities, benefits, and limitations of the technique before showing Ranma exactly how to implement it.
The next week found Shampoo back to normal.
"Those Chinese remedies are no joke," Ranma commented as he inspected the wound, and saw that there was a faint pink scar left.
"We never did find out who that man was and what he was after." Shampoo narrated.
Ranma asked incredulously, "Are you trying to summon him for round two?"
"Course not, just curious, he did seem intent on finding that person."
Suddenly, as if by a cruel twist of fate, the door violently swung open and in the door frame stood the cursed Jusenkyo man.
Ranma shot Shampoo a look that screamed, 'told you,' and Shampoo looked properly abashed.
"I finally found you, coward!"
"Coward? How do you figure, pantyhose freak?"
"Don't call me that!"
"Then don't go around wearing pantyhose as if it were an accessory."
"Boys, if you are going to escalate things, please do so outside as to not wreck my establishment." Cologne said from the stairs.
"And give this coward another chance to run away?"
"The battle was over. You were unconscious, there was no running away."
"Liar and a coward, I see."
"Just what I need, another delusional adversary. If you were conscious when I left, what is my cursed form?"
"Semantics, none of that matters." He brushed the argument away. "I'm here for my quarry."
"Which is what? Or who?"
"Like you don't know."
Cologne had had enough. Zipping across the room in a blur of movement, she pressed the pressure points on the man's back causing temporary paralysis. "I am much too busy for this nonsense. You!" She pointed her staff at the stranger. "Who hurt my great-granddaughter. Who are you after?"
By her tone and the dead stare she held him with, the man answered, "Happosai, the man who named me."
"Happosai! Happosai!" Ranma shouted incredulously. "If you had just said that from the start, we would have been all too happy to gift wrap and deliver the old lecher to wherever you wanted...but after what you did…" Ranma's voice turned cold and deadly, "you'll get the old man, but he'll be just out of reach, and before you can make a move he'll be gone again. That is the gift I will give you now."
With his promise uttered, Ranma went to work. It took longer than he thought to locate the panty thief, but all Ranma had to do was follow the female cries of outrage and he soon caught up to him. "Hey you leech. I have a favor to ask of you."
Happosai stopped and faced his young disciple. "What's in it for me?"
"I know of a nice red lacy beauty, as you call them, and I'll liberate it for you."
Happosai turned his puppy dog eyes on Ranma. "I love the red lacy ones. What do you need?"
"We have this guy tied up at the Nekohanten, he hurt Shampoo pretty badly a while back, and apparently he's been looking for you for some reason. He's desperate to get his hands on you actually. As retribution for his actions against Shampoo, I want to tie you up along with him so that you are there but just out of his reach, and as you are so slippery to catch, I expect you'll escape before his paralysis wears off leaving him with nothing all while tipping you off to his plans."
"That's it?"
Ranma nodded.
"And I get a red lacy beauty?"
He nodded again.
"Well come on sonny, let's go!"
Ranma and Happosai entered the Nekohanten and the old lech immediately recognized the intruder.
"Pantyhose Taro. You've been naughty to have injured the lovely Shampoo."
"Don't call me Pantyhose Taro!"
"But that's your name. I agonized for days to come up with it."
Ranma couldn't help himself at that point and began laughing. "Your name is Pantyhose Taro. And you go around wearing the things, all while trying to get people to not call you that."
"SHUT UP!" Taro grawled out.
"Why are you looking for me anyway?" Happosai ignored Ranma's outburst.
"I want you to change my name."
His reply was immediate. "I won't."
Ranma cut Taro off. "'Kay you perv, the deal was we get to tie you up to him and leave you and his desire to change his name just out of reach. He should be paralyzed for a few hours so feel free to torment him for the full duration before making your escape."
Happosai willingly stood still while Ranma, using pantyhose as the medium, tied him to Taro. Then lining up his shot to pass through the open door, kicked the bundled mass out, using Taro's face as the point where his foot connected.
"Well Shampoo, I think that interlude answers your questions of who he was and what he wanted."
He looked over at her. She looked shocked, angry, and amused all at once. Definitely a ridiculous situation that could have been handled a lot smoother.
"Shampoo, will you come with me? I need to buy a red lacy bra and panty set."
Her eyes narrowed at him. "Why do you need to buy a red lacy bra and panty set?"
"It was the deal I made with Happosai. I told him I'd get him a red lacy bra if he let me tie him up, but the panties I'm throwing in because he named that jerk Pantyhose."
Shampoo giggled. "Let's go then."
They walked down the street, hand in hand. "Shampoo?"
"Hm?"
"Will you come away with me tomorrow?"
"Of course, I'll go anywhere with you."
"Great, we'll leave in the morning. You'll need to pack though."
