Chapter 4: The demands of honor, the demands of life
A/N: Okay, ok, as far as the Nabs angle, this is the _humor_ of the chapter. Ha, ha? Funny? I'm not saying that Nabiki has the resources to make herself into a female Ethan Hunt, but isn't the picture a little priceless? Besides, you're reading too much between the lines. I took extra care to make everything sound much more impressive then it is. In short, all the freaking clinic has on it are a few locks and your basic home alarm system, but I needed all that to sound drawn-out and impressive. I'M A MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE FREAK, JUST BEAR WITH ME!
*******
The next day, Muu Tsu went to school as normal, apologising to his History teacher for a final he had missed the previous afternoon. He agreed to reschedule the exam and perform extra duities around the school. He then joined his JSL group in Calculus, just in time for that teacher's opening instructions. As the instructor droned on, Muu Tsu felt that mischevious urge creep up on him again. He turned to the expectant faces of his charges, and began to 'translate' the sensei's words.
"You will have the full two hours to complete this test, so please do not rush," said the Teacher.
{I am giving you only half an hour to finish this, so you had better get it right,} said Muu Tsu.
"I don't mean to alarm any of you, but as you know, this test determines a good deal of your overall grade. If you fail this test, it is quite possible for you to fail this course."
{If any of you fails this test, I will personally drag you out into the street and execute you myself.}
"Be sure to only mark within the proper areas on your Scan-Tron sheet, and make each mark complete."
{Twenty lashings each for marking outside the circles!}
"If I catch anyone talking or cheating on this test, I will have to send you to the councelor's office, and give you a failing grade."
{Any of you says as much as one word, and I will have you locked in the basement with the cockroaches for two weeks without water, _then_ drag you out into the street to execute you.}
"Other then that, I wish you all good luck. You may begin," concluded the sensei.
{This test is very hard, and I don't expect very many of you to pass. You should have already started, so hurry up,} finished Muu Tsu. The instructor gave Muu Tsu a smile as the Chinese youth bowed lightly and sat down in his place. The older man took a moment to make note of how much of a helpful, curteous student Muu Tsu was. The school board should give him a raise, he thought.
**
Ranma waited around the corner of the school, already done with his few tests of the day. he was lying in wait to test a theory of his. Of course, this theory was only half-baked, but then again what isn't, considering Ranma's ideas? He stared intently at the place where Muu Tsu would exit the building in a few minutes. The theory he had in mind was testing weither Muu Tsu's new abilities were any match for a well-placed Moku Takabisha blast. So intent was his stare, that he lost the focus that would have enabled him to hear someone approaching from behind.
"Watcha doin,' Ranchan?" asked a curious Ukyo. Ranma surprised them both by clearing the ground a full four feet, landing again in a crouch where he stood before.
"Jeez, Ucchan!" he breathed. "You just took about three years off my life, you know that?"
"Aw, you're a big boy, you can handle it," she chided. "You didn't answer my question, though. You look like you're trying a good imitation of Kuno," she said, irking the pigtailed boy and causing him to whirl on her.
"Hey! Since when did people start to compare me with that loser!" he exclaimed.
"Woa, there, Ranma-honey. I think it's time you took a chill pill," she said, looking nervous at the angry glare directed her way. Ranma sighed, and slumped slightly where he sat.
"Sorry about that, Ukyo," he said, his face meaning it. "I've been a little worked up lately."
"A little? You're acting as if your whole world is falling apart," she said, daring to place a hand on his shoulder, blushing as she did it. "You've been defeated before, you know."
"How is _that_ supposed to make me feel better, Ucchan?" he asked, turning back to his point of vigil. "I lost, and nothing's going to change that besided getting him back." Ukyo got to her feet and ground her heel into the ground, bunching her hands at her sides.
"Aargh! If you think that you're whole life needs to revolve around being the best in the world, you're looking for a short, brutal, and unhappy one. Someday you're going to realize just what you really had going for you, Jackass," she spat, stomping off. Ranma blinked, letting the words absorb, and filing them away for later analysis. He watched the retreating form of Ukyo as she dissappeared in the direction she came from. Looking back, he didn't have much more time to think, for soon came the object of his obsession out the front doors of Furinkan High.
"Yo, Muu Tsu, wait up!" he called, rushing out to catch up with him. "I gotta talk with you a minute!" The Chinese martial artist inwardly grumbled, but relented to the pigtailed boy's jabberings. As soon as Ranma caught up to him, though, the anything-goes martial artist's mind took the initiative and began thinking all on its own. It decided to process what he had just heard, along with Nabiki's earlier words, also taking into account a certain level of self-preservation. After a moment of silence, Muu Tsu shuffled his feet and crossed his arms.
"Okay, Saotome, what do you want? I don't have all day, you know; I need to go and help Dr. Tofu today," he said, a touch irritable. Halfway through the Calculus test, one of his students nearly had a heart attack when he saw that he had 'run over' the 'time limit.' It took a little explaining, but he was able to calm down the student. Ranma took a little time to think of what he wanted to say.
"I...ah, guess I want to first say...sorry for the times I...underestimated you, Muu Tsu," he said at length, sounding as though he were biting his own tongue off the whole time. "I only really figured Ryoga to be my close...equal in fighting, but I guess you proved me wrong the other day."
"Yes. Yes I did, Ranma, so what's your point?" asked the taller boy. Ranma bristled momentarily, then held his breath and counted to ten.
"You're not helping, man. Every fiber in my body is screaming to try and pound the living crap out of you right now, and that's how my old man would have it just fine," Ranma said at length.
"But-?" prompted Muu Tsu.
"But I'd like to think in the three years I've lived here, I would have learned a few things about actin' civilized. Besides that, I've earned a few too many bruises and bad days in the name of Saotome pride. For all being on top's gotten me, I'm not gettin' anything I really want," he said, thinking of Ukyo's words and retreating form, and of the sheer number of times he'd been malleted that week.
"So now you know why I'm not rushing out to fight you, I hope," Muu Tsu said. "I didn't get this way so I could enjoy pounding you into the ground. I don't work that way. All I want from this mess is to win my darling Xian Fu's heart, and make a life for myself with her. That's all that's important to me."
"I...I'm starting to hear you, man," said Ranma. "But for me, pride and family honor (not to mention pressure) demands that I fight you at least once more, in a...fair match, man-to-man. Can you understand that?" he asked. His Chinese counterpart nodded slightly.
"Just like the old days, ring and all," he sighed. Muu Tsu thought it over for a moment, then extended his hand with a smile. "From one warrior to another, once and for all," he said. Ranma smiled and took the hand in a firm grasp.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," he said, the competetive Saotome edge creeping into his expression. Muu Tsu returned the expression, breaking the handshake after a moment.
"Good, because you're not going to get it any other way," he said, turning to walk to the clinic. "No weapons, no energy attacks, just you and me in a ring for all to see."
"Agreed!" Ranma called after him, laughing. "I'll have my people call your people!"
"Time and place, Saotome."
"You got it," said Ranma, watching the departing figure for a moment before deciding to start his own route home. That went a lot better then my first plan would have, he realized. I may face defeat again, but at least I won't look like a punk in the process. He turned to find himself face-on with a smiling female figure.
"Now, that wasn't so hard now, was it?" asked a beaming Ukyo. Ranma crossed his arms and defiantly looked away as a reflex action before replying.
"Aren't you gonna gripe me out for still fightin' the guy?" he asked.
"Of course not, sugar. I know a few things about family pride myself, you know. This way, though, it'll be between you two with dignity. The last thing I want to see is my Ranma-honey so blinded by honor and pride he gets plastered on the front lawn morning after morning like a certain bokken- fighting jackass I know," she replied, giving him a wink. "You did good, sugar. Now, how about I reward that brain of yours for thinking for once?" she asked.
Ranma didn't know about his brain, but his stomach sure appreciated that offer. The pair began a direct route to Ucchan's for a quick bite.
**
A light knock sounded on Xian Fu's door. No sound issued from inside. Ko Lon sighed quietly to herself, before knocking again. A soft voice could barely be heard through the wood.
{Go away, please,} said Xian Fu from within.
{Oh, come now, child. We can't have that at all. Can't your old granny come in to apologise?} asked Ko Lon. At that, she could hear a light rustling inside, then the catch on the door being unlocked. She could have easily broken through the door with minimal effort, but she was hoping to show a better side of herself today. Pushing the door open, the stunted form of the Amazon elder walked into her Great-grandaughter's room and sat next to her on the bed. {You're angry with me,} she said.
"Xian Fu no angry, just confused," said Xian Fu in Japanese, shaking her head and continuing in Mandarin. {Who am I, great-grandmother? If I don't know that, what's there for me in life?}
{Nonesense, child,} remarked the Elder, {You're an Amazon warrior, the best of the tribe.}
{But that doesn't _mean_ anything out here, Great-grandmother! It doesn't make me able to write an equation, or help me to read well. All being an Amazon has done for me since I first came here was set me apart from everyone else in the worst way. I am a disruptive, chaotic, non- contributional menace,} she replied, undaunted by the simple explaination. Ko Lon herself even seemed distraught with those words, for she knew them to be true.
{So how do you intend to fix this?} she asked, ancient eyes intent on younger ones. Xian Fu seemed unsure as how to answer that question correctly.
{I'll do whatever you say I need to, Elder,} she sighed, bowing her head. Ko Lon was immediately disgusted and sorrowed by the display. She knew it was her own fault that the young woman before her was like this. She had wanted to raise a leader, but instead got a machiene only capable of following tradition as law saw fit. Ko Lon took a moment to reply to her decendant and heir.
{I was wrong when I yelled at you last night,} she said. {Not only are you at a mature enough age, you are at a time when you must make decisions for yourself, to learn the consequences for good or ill on your own,} she admitted at length. Xian Fu reached up tentatively with her right hand to lightly massage the side of her neck, unknowingly wrenching the heart of the old Elder. {I am the most wrong for striking you in anger, my child.}
{I spoke out of place, Great-grandmother,} XF said quietly. {It is not my business to question the wisdom of an Elder Amazon. I was punished accordingly.}
{That's not true. Don't ever let that happen again, do you hear me? Not with me, not with anyone else. You have a right to say what you feel in your heart.}
{Even if it is wrong?}
{Only time can tell that, my child, and ultimately, those decisions and consequences are only good or bad as you see them. Everyone in this town has their own set of truths, from their own point of view. I need to stop trying so hard to make you see mine, and let you find it for yourself,} said the Elder, pausing momentarily as she considered another serious error of hers. {It was my arrogance that gave you that curse that your beloved hates so much.}
My beloved... thought Xian Fu. Do I really love him, or love the _idea_ that being with him once was?
After another moment of slience, Ko Lon hopped back on her staff and faced her great-granddaughter one last time before turning to leave.
"I see that you must decide _that_ for yourself as well. Indeed, I shall be very interested in seeing where you take yourself Xian Fu, but believe me when I say now that the choice is yours. A marriage without love leaves for an unhappy life. Now, get ready for your tests tommorrow, and show those Japanese that you're just as smart as they are!} she said, bounding away. Xian Fu stood to close the door, the hint of a smile tugging at her face.
**
"Yo, Doc!" called Muu Tsu from the hallway. "Doc, I'm in, do you need me to run to the store for anything?" he asked. Finding Dr. Tofu in the reaserch room over another microscope, the Chinese youth plopped down into a chair and put his feet up.
"Making ourselves at home, are we?" asked the Doctor, pretending to be annoyed. Muu Tsu removed his feet from the table. "Much better. Actually no, Muu Tsu, the only supply I'm going to need to tap for today is you."
"Ce moi?" asked the boy.
"Yep, I need to take a quart or two of your blood again," the Doctor replied. Muu Tsu grimiced for only a moment, then began to roll up his robe sleeves for a good clean angle. Tofu left the microscope, and brought over the proper collection supplies to the chair where the boy sat. After a moment of difficulty, Tofu managed to strike the right area, and the process began.
"Do you know," Tofu said, moving back to his previous work, "that it is something near impossible to get through any of you super-fighters' skin? The last time Ranma came in for school innoculations I nearly broke the needle giving him the shot."
"That's something interesting," noted Muu Tsu. He idly wondered how he would fare back at the village, even without the latest developments in his abilities. "I guess we've all just slowly grown stronger and stronger without realizing it. So, how's the progress thus far?"
"Excellent, excellent," remarked the Doctor. "You would not believe the effects your blood particulates and plasma have on the baseline formula of the serum. It almost serves as a catalyst, changing not only the formula's contents itself, but helping the cells harmonize and adjust to the extreme changes. It purifies the substance, as you can see," said the doctor, holding up a test tube of his latest results. All Muu Tsu could see was a clear liquid.
"That's great to hear, Doc. Now, what exactly do you hypothesize this batch of serum could do?" he asked, curious to hear the details.
"Well, first let me explain what the origional serum did, and then I'll tell you what's changed. The goals of the project were to enhance spiritual energy above all else, most of the other physical changes were expected side effects. Unfortunately, the first attempt at completing this produced the green stuff, as you saw earlier. The easiest emotions and spiritual energies at a human being's command are fear, anger, sadness, and the extreme versions therof. Unfortunately, they're also the hardest to control once let loose. That is why it ultimately results in dark energies and insanity," he said, turning towards the young man and the tube still running out of his arm.
"The inner light of the soul, as I put it," continued the Doctor, "is indeed released, but not in any way we can deem beneficial." The doctor paused before continuing. "What is created, in essence, is the most ugly and terrifying side of humanity, absolute desolation, absolute hatred, and worst of all, Absolute Terror. Any individual, no matter how noble, that uses this Absolute Terror field in this manner would ultimately be consumed by it, an unstoppable force of evil."
"So, how have we managed to change that?" asked Muu Tsu, the conversation getting more and more interesting with the amount of blood leaving his system. He was feeling a little light-headed, but nothing entirely too unpleasant. The doctor smiled before continuing.
"That's the best part. In essence, what the catalysts have allowed us to do is grant the new serum the ability to harness the exact opposite of the human character. The absolute positive emotions of a human being are released, and undoubtably they are much more powerful, if only harder to control. I intend to call this the Absolute Truth field, in that the true beauty of humanity can be its only savior."
"That's really something else, Doc," remarked the young man, head beginning to sag to one side. Tofu soon realized that he had better stop the collection process before Muu Tsu passed right out.
**
"Good work. Continue to update me on the Doctor's progress. We're going to move back the date until he has finished the perfected serum. No need to waste perfectly good work before its time," said the voice on the other end of the phone.
"Understood, sir," remarked Agent B-12 succinctly.
"Also, find out what you can about that boy. I understand you weren't ordered to monitor the young man or his words in the building until now, but from here on pay attention to every syllable, do you understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"That is all," said the gravelly voice before clicking off.
**
"I talked with XF yesterday after the fight," remarked Muu Tsu after he began to feel more like himself.
"Oh, really?" asked the Doctor. "What did she have to say; does she feel any different now that you've defeated her Amazon 'husband'?"
"I'm not exactly sure what she feels, but I know she's awfully conflicted. The dried-up monkey doesn't help matters any with the psychotic grip she has on that girl's life," Muu Tsu answered at length. Tofu chuckled lightly.
"Well, someday she'll have to leave the nest. She can't be Ko Lon's ward forever, and I think she'd better get used to that idea now before the old Elder really is gone, and she'll have no direction to go in life."
"I told her something like that," Muu Tsu affirmed, "but I'm not sure how she recieved it. Xian Fu's always been two minds about everything, one loyally towing the line for the tribe, and the other trying desperately to find her own way. It's the conflict between these two sides that produces most of the wierd stuff she does sometimes, and makes her go a little overboard. I think the reason she does most of the things she does in the extreme, is that she doesn't want anything to do with it, but she'll push it as far as it can go just so she can get it over with quickly."
"That's a very interesting observation," remarked the Doctor.
"I try," replied Muu Tsu. "I mean, I've only spent most of my life watching her, you know."
"Yeah, I know. So, what do you plan to do now?"
"Well, I'm seriously considering proposing to her, if she's in the right frame of mind by the time I defeat Saotome."
"Proposing again? Muu Tsu, do you ever learn?" asked the Doctor before backtracking the conversation. "Waitaminute, did you just say defeat Saotome?"
"Sure did. He and I are going to have one final duel," said Muu Tsu with some measure of pride in his voice. Tofu bowed his head in dissaproval.
"Muu Tsu, what did I tell you about responsibility?"
"I didn't want this fight, he did!" insisted Muu Tsu. "It satisfies honor and leaves no question on the matter. Besides, I think he knows he's going to lose, or is at least ready to accept defeat after he's had a chance to train hard and take me on in a fair fight."
"If you already know you're going to win, why are you fighting?" asked the Doctor sullenly. "You could have easily said no and walked away, without any dishonor."
"I've seen way too many of my friends, including myself, get so carried away by honor and pride that all it leaves them with are bout after bout, backstabbing each other on the street until no one is left with any dignity anymore. All we become are a crowd of animals, tearing up each other's lives and this neighborhood again and again. Through everything I've done here, I consider Ranma a kind of friend. He can be annoying and obnoxious, but he's still a friend. The last thing I want to see is the great fighter and competitor waste his life away with pride, especially on me. This final battle will prove everything."
"It proves nothing, Muu Tsu," countered the Doctor. "You're not human anymore. it may be true and just what you're planning to do, get Ranma away from the 'win at all costs' obsession, but you have to accept that you're not human anymore."
"Nani?" Muu Tsu asked, unsure as how to take that statment.
"You are _not_ human, Muu Tsu. As powerful as all of you seem to be from time to time, you are all still Homo Sapiens. You, however, have changed so dramatically, that at the base level of existence you are no longer a normal human being. That is how the curse was lifted, and that is why you must wield this power with caution."
"I understand that, Doc, but why all the pressure all of a sudden? Do you think I'm going to become a criminal?"
"No, I-"
"I know I'm changing, Tofu. I know that, and I have to live with who I am now. Don't lecture me on how to live my life, Doc. You're my friend, but I'll be damned if you're going to let our age difference make you my father," he concluded, stomping out of the office and out the clinic doors. Tofu sighed and let his shoulders and head slump, trying to understand why Muu Tsu got so defensive so quickly.
After a moment of contemplation, Tofu finished up the day's work, placed the specimens in the storage room, and went home for the night.
**
Later that night...
Lifting the grate off of the vent, Nabiki slowly lowered herself on the series of cables and harnesses she had strapped to herself.
Thank god for all those rapelling classes when I wanted to go Moutain climbing last summer, she thought, touching down on the floor neatly. Looking around, she could see nothing too obvious, other then a specimen holder containing six vials. Three of the vials were of a deep green color, two were red, and one appeared to be half-full of a clear liquid.
Nabs bent to read the labels, which appeared to be scribbled in Muu Tsu's handwriting. Under the green test tubes, were written the words "bad freaking trouble." Under the single clear tube was written, "Not quite done yet," with the current date. The red tubes, however, had the words, "The good stuff!" written on them. Deducing quickly, she snagged one of the red tubes, and placed it in a pouch on her side.
I'm glad I'm starting to get out more, she thought to herself, giving a sharp tug on the rope. As her accomplices hoisted her back through the ventilation shaft, she had another thought. Not as glad as I am though that nobody seems to ever care about air conditioning vents anymore
**
A/N:
As you could probably tell, the theme of this chapter is the futility and stupidity of pride and honor, and how entrenched the Nerimites seem to be in this black hole. Anyhow, next chapter with finally deal with the entrance of the villan (aside from SEELE, which is our main source of evil), and the final metamorphosis of our hero!
A/N: Okay, ok, as far as the Nabs angle, this is the _humor_ of the chapter. Ha, ha? Funny? I'm not saying that Nabiki has the resources to make herself into a female Ethan Hunt, but isn't the picture a little priceless? Besides, you're reading too much between the lines. I took extra care to make everything sound much more impressive then it is. In short, all the freaking clinic has on it are a few locks and your basic home alarm system, but I needed all that to sound drawn-out and impressive. I'M A MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE FREAK, JUST BEAR WITH ME!
*******
The next day, Muu Tsu went to school as normal, apologising to his History teacher for a final he had missed the previous afternoon. He agreed to reschedule the exam and perform extra duities around the school. He then joined his JSL group in Calculus, just in time for that teacher's opening instructions. As the instructor droned on, Muu Tsu felt that mischevious urge creep up on him again. He turned to the expectant faces of his charges, and began to 'translate' the sensei's words.
"You will have the full two hours to complete this test, so please do not rush," said the Teacher.
{I am giving you only half an hour to finish this, so you had better get it right,} said Muu Tsu.
"I don't mean to alarm any of you, but as you know, this test determines a good deal of your overall grade. If you fail this test, it is quite possible for you to fail this course."
{If any of you fails this test, I will personally drag you out into the street and execute you myself.}
"Be sure to only mark within the proper areas on your Scan-Tron sheet, and make each mark complete."
{Twenty lashings each for marking outside the circles!}
"If I catch anyone talking or cheating on this test, I will have to send you to the councelor's office, and give you a failing grade."
{Any of you says as much as one word, and I will have you locked in the basement with the cockroaches for two weeks without water, _then_ drag you out into the street to execute you.}
"Other then that, I wish you all good luck. You may begin," concluded the sensei.
{This test is very hard, and I don't expect very many of you to pass. You should have already started, so hurry up,} finished Muu Tsu. The instructor gave Muu Tsu a smile as the Chinese youth bowed lightly and sat down in his place. The older man took a moment to make note of how much of a helpful, curteous student Muu Tsu was. The school board should give him a raise, he thought.
**
Ranma waited around the corner of the school, already done with his few tests of the day. he was lying in wait to test a theory of his. Of course, this theory was only half-baked, but then again what isn't, considering Ranma's ideas? He stared intently at the place where Muu Tsu would exit the building in a few minutes. The theory he had in mind was testing weither Muu Tsu's new abilities were any match for a well-placed Moku Takabisha blast. So intent was his stare, that he lost the focus that would have enabled him to hear someone approaching from behind.
"Watcha doin,' Ranchan?" asked a curious Ukyo. Ranma surprised them both by clearing the ground a full four feet, landing again in a crouch where he stood before.
"Jeez, Ucchan!" he breathed. "You just took about three years off my life, you know that?"
"Aw, you're a big boy, you can handle it," she chided. "You didn't answer my question, though. You look like you're trying a good imitation of Kuno," she said, irking the pigtailed boy and causing him to whirl on her.
"Hey! Since when did people start to compare me with that loser!" he exclaimed.
"Woa, there, Ranma-honey. I think it's time you took a chill pill," she said, looking nervous at the angry glare directed her way. Ranma sighed, and slumped slightly where he sat.
"Sorry about that, Ukyo," he said, his face meaning it. "I've been a little worked up lately."
"A little? You're acting as if your whole world is falling apart," she said, daring to place a hand on his shoulder, blushing as she did it. "You've been defeated before, you know."
"How is _that_ supposed to make me feel better, Ucchan?" he asked, turning back to his point of vigil. "I lost, and nothing's going to change that besided getting him back." Ukyo got to her feet and ground her heel into the ground, bunching her hands at her sides.
"Aargh! If you think that you're whole life needs to revolve around being the best in the world, you're looking for a short, brutal, and unhappy one. Someday you're going to realize just what you really had going for you, Jackass," she spat, stomping off. Ranma blinked, letting the words absorb, and filing them away for later analysis. He watched the retreating form of Ukyo as she dissappeared in the direction she came from. Looking back, he didn't have much more time to think, for soon came the object of his obsession out the front doors of Furinkan High.
"Yo, Muu Tsu, wait up!" he called, rushing out to catch up with him. "I gotta talk with you a minute!" The Chinese martial artist inwardly grumbled, but relented to the pigtailed boy's jabberings. As soon as Ranma caught up to him, though, the anything-goes martial artist's mind took the initiative and began thinking all on its own. It decided to process what he had just heard, along with Nabiki's earlier words, also taking into account a certain level of self-preservation. After a moment of silence, Muu Tsu shuffled his feet and crossed his arms.
"Okay, Saotome, what do you want? I don't have all day, you know; I need to go and help Dr. Tofu today," he said, a touch irritable. Halfway through the Calculus test, one of his students nearly had a heart attack when he saw that he had 'run over' the 'time limit.' It took a little explaining, but he was able to calm down the student. Ranma took a little time to think of what he wanted to say.
"I...ah, guess I want to first say...sorry for the times I...underestimated you, Muu Tsu," he said at length, sounding as though he were biting his own tongue off the whole time. "I only really figured Ryoga to be my close...equal in fighting, but I guess you proved me wrong the other day."
"Yes. Yes I did, Ranma, so what's your point?" asked the taller boy. Ranma bristled momentarily, then held his breath and counted to ten.
"You're not helping, man. Every fiber in my body is screaming to try and pound the living crap out of you right now, and that's how my old man would have it just fine," Ranma said at length.
"But-?" prompted Muu Tsu.
"But I'd like to think in the three years I've lived here, I would have learned a few things about actin' civilized. Besides that, I've earned a few too many bruises and bad days in the name of Saotome pride. For all being on top's gotten me, I'm not gettin' anything I really want," he said, thinking of Ukyo's words and retreating form, and of the sheer number of times he'd been malleted that week.
"So now you know why I'm not rushing out to fight you, I hope," Muu Tsu said. "I didn't get this way so I could enjoy pounding you into the ground. I don't work that way. All I want from this mess is to win my darling Xian Fu's heart, and make a life for myself with her. That's all that's important to me."
"I...I'm starting to hear you, man," said Ranma. "But for me, pride and family honor (not to mention pressure) demands that I fight you at least once more, in a...fair match, man-to-man. Can you understand that?" he asked. His Chinese counterpart nodded slightly.
"Just like the old days, ring and all," he sighed. Muu Tsu thought it over for a moment, then extended his hand with a smile. "From one warrior to another, once and for all," he said. Ranma smiled and took the hand in a firm grasp.
"I wouldn't have it any other way," he said, the competetive Saotome edge creeping into his expression. Muu Tsu returned the expression, breaking the handshake after a moment.
"Good, because you're not going to get it any other way," he said, turning to walk to the clinic. "No weapons, no energy attacks, just you and me in a ring for all to see."
"Agreed!" Ranma called after him, laughing. "I'll have my people call your people!"
"Time and place, Saotome."
"You got it," said Ranma, watching the departing figure for a moment before deciding to start his own route home. That went a lot better then my first plan would have, he realized. I may face defeat again, but at least I won't look like a punk in the process. He turned to find himself face-on with a smiling female figure.
"Now, that wasn't so hard now, was it?" asked a beaming Ukyo. Ranma crossed his arms and defiantly looked away as a reflex action before replying.
"Aren't you gonna gripe me out for still fightin' the guy?" he asked.
"Of course not, sugar. I know a few things about family pride myself, you know. This way, though, it'll be between you two with dignity. The last thing I want to see is my Ranma-honey so blinded by honor and pride he gets plastered on the front lawn morning after morning like a certain bokken- fighting jackass I know," she replied, giving him a wink. "You did good, sugar. Now, how about I reward that brain of yours for thinking for once?" she asked.
Ranma didn't know about his brain, but his stomach sure appreciated that offer. The pair began a direct route to Ucchan's for a quick bite.
**
A light knock sounded on Xian Fu's door. No sound issued from inside. Ko Lon sighed quietly to herself, before knocking again. A soft voice could barely be heard through the wood.
{Go away, please,} said Xian Fu from within.
{Oh, come now, child. We can't have that at all. Can't your old granny come in to apologise?} asked Ko Lon. At that, she could hear a light rustling inside, then the catch on the door being unlocked. She could have easily broken through the door with minimal effort, but she was hoping to show a better side of herself today. Pushing the door open, the stunted form of the Amazon elder walked into her Great-grandaughter's room and sat next to her on the bed. {You're angry with me,} she said.
"Xian Fu no angry, just confused," said Xian Fu in Japanese, shaking her head and continuing in Mandarin. {Who am I, great-grandmother? If I don't know that, what's there for me in life?}
{Nonesense, child,} remarked the Elder, {You're an Amazon warrior, the best of the tribe.}
{But that doesn't _mean_ anything out here, Great-grandmother! It doesn't make me able to write an equation, or help me to read well. All being an Amazon has done for me since I first came here was set me apart from everyone else in the worst way. I am a disruptive, chaotic, non- contributional menace,} she replied, undaunted by the simple explaination. Ko Lon herself even seemed distraught with those words, for she knew them to be true.
{So how do you intend to fix this?} she asked, ancient eyes intent on younger ones. Xian Fu seemed unsure as how to answer that question correctly.
{I'll do whatever you say I need to, Elder,} she sighed, bowing her head. Ko Lon was immediately disgusted and sorrowed by the display. She knew it was her own fault that the young woman before her was like this. She had wanted to raise a leader, but instead got a machiene only capable of following tradition as law saw fit. Ko Lon took a moment to reply to her decendant and heir.
{I was wrong when I yelled at you last night,} she said. {Not only are you at a mature enough age, you are at a time when you must make decisions for yourself, to learn the consequences for good or ill on your own,} she admitted at length. Xian Fu reached up tentatively with her right hand to lightly massage the side of her neck, unknowingly wrenching the heart of the old Elder. {I am the most wrong for striking you in anger, my child.}
{I spoke out of place, Great-grandmother,} XF said quietly. {It is not my business to question the wisdom of an Elder Amazon. I was punished accordingly.}
{That's not true. Don't ever let that happen again, do you hear me? Not with me, not with anyone else. You have a right to say what you feel in your heart.}
{Even if it is wrong?}
{Only time can tell that, my child, and ultimately, those decisions and consequences are only good or bad as you see them. Everyone in this town has their own set of truths, from their own point of view. I need to stop trying so hard to make you see mine, and let you find it for yourself,} said the Elder, pausing momentarily as she considered another serious error of hers. {It was my arrogance that gave you that curse that your beloved hates so much.}
My beloved... thought Xian Fu. Do I really love him, or love the _idea_ that being with him once was?
After another moment of slience, Ko Lon hopped back on her staff and faced her great-granddaughter one last time before turning to leave.
"I see that you must decide _that_ for yourself as well. Indeed, I shall be very interested in seeing where you take yourself Xian Fu, but believe me when I say now that the choice is yours. A marriage without love leaves for an unhappy life. Now, get ready for your tests tommorrow, and show those Japanese that you're just as smart as they are!} she said, bounding away. Xian Fu stood to close the door, the hint of a smile tugging at her face.
**
"Yo, Doc!" called Muu Tsu from the hallway. "Doc, I'm in, do you need me to run to the store for anything?" he asked. Finding Dr. Tofu in the reaserch room over another microscope, the Chinese youth plopped down into a chair and put his feet up.
"Making ourselves at home, are we?" asked the Doctor, pretending to be annoyed. Muu Tsu removed his feet from the table. "Much better. Actually no, Muu Tsu, the only supply I'm going to need to tap for today is you."
"Ce moi?" asked the boy.
"Yep, I need to take a quart or two of your blood again," the Doctor replied. Muu Tsu grimiced for only a moment, then began to roll up his robe sleeves for a good clean angle. Tofu left the microscope, and brought over the proper collection supplies to the chair where the boy sat. After a moment of difficulty, Tofu managed to strike the right area, and the process began.
"Do you know," Tofu said, moving back to his previous work, "that it is something near impossible to get through any of you super-fighters' skin? The last time Ranma came in for school innoculations I nearly broke the needle giving him the shot."
"That's something interesting," noted Muu Tsu. He idly wondered how he would fare back at the village, even without the latest developments in his abilities. "I guess we've all just slowly grown stronger and stronger without realizing it. So, how's the progress thus far?"
"Excellent, excellent," remarked the Doctor. "You would not believe the effects your blood particulates and plasma have on the baseline formula of the serum. It almost serves as a catalyst, changing not only the formula's contents itself, but helping the cells harmonize and adjust to the extreme changes. It purifies the substance, as you can see," said the doctor, holding up a test tube of his latest results. All Muu Tsu could see was a clear liquid.
"That's great to hear, Doc. Now, what exactly do you hypothesize this batch of serum could do?" he asked, curious to hear the details.
"Well, first let me explain what the origional serum did, and then I'll tell you what's changed. The goals of the project were to enhance spiritual energy above all else, most of the other physical changes were expected side effects. Unfortunately, the first attempt at completing this produced the green stuff, as you saw earlier. The easiest emotions and spiritual energies at a human being's command are fear, anger, sadness, and the extreme versions therof. Unfortunately, they're also the hardest to control once let loose. That is why it ultimately results in dark energies and insanity," he said, turning towards the young man and the tube still running out of his arm.
"The inner light of the soul, as I put it," continued the Doctor, "is indeed released, but not in any way we can deem beneficial." The doctor paused before continuing. "What is created, in essence, is the most ugly and terrifying side of humanity, absolute desolation, absolute hatred, and worst of all, Absolute Terror. Any individual, no matter how noble, that uses this Absolute Terror field in this manner would ultimately be consumed by it, an unstoppable force of evil."
"So, how have we managed to change that?" asked Muu Tsu, the conversation getting more and more interesting with the amount of blood leaving his system. He was feeling a little light-headed, but nothing entirely too unpleasant. The doctor smiled before continuing.
"That's the best part. In essence, what the catalysts have allowed us to do is grant the new serum the ability to harness the exact opposite of the human character. The absolute positive emotions of a human being are released, and undoubtably they are much more powerful, if only harder to control. I intend to call this the Absolute Truth field, in that the true beauty of humanity can be its only savior."
"That's really something else, Doc," remarked the young man, head beginning to sag to one side. Tofu soon realized that he had better stop the collection process before Muu Tsu passed right out.
**
"Good work. Continue to update me on the Doctor's progress. We're going to move back the date until he has finished the perfected serum. No need to waste perfectly good work before its time," said the voice on the other end of the phone.
"Understood, sir," remarked Agent B-12 succinctly.
"Also, find out what you can about that boy. I understand you weren't ordered to monitor the young man or his words in the building until now, but from here on pay attention to every syllable, do you understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"That is all," said the gravelly voice before clicking off.
**
"I talked with XF yesterday after the fight," remarked Muu Tsu after he began to feel more like himself.
"Oh, really?" asked the Doctor. "What did she have to say; does she feel any different now that you've defeated her Amazon 'husband'?"
"I'm not exactly sure what she feels, but I know she's awfully conflicted. The dried-up monkey doesn't help matters any with the psychotic grip she has on that girl's life," Muu Tsu answered at length. Tofu chuckled lightly.
"Well, someday she'll have to leave the nest. She can't be Ko Lon's ward forever, and I think she'd better get used to that idea now before the old Elder really is gone, and she'll have no direction to go in life."
"I told her something like that," Muu Tsu affirmed, "but I'm not sure how she recieved it. Xian Fu's always been two minds about everything, one loyally towing the line for the tribe, and the other trying desperately to find her own way. It's the conflict between these two sides that produces most of the wierd stuff she does sometimes, and makes her go a little overboard. I think the reason she does most of the things she does in the extreme, is that she doesn't want anything to do with it, but she'll push it as far as it can go just so she can get it over with quickly."
"That's a very interesting observation," remarked the Doctor.
"I try," replied Muu Tsu. "I mean, I've only spent most of my life watching her, you know."
"Yeah, I know. So, what do you plan to do now?"
"Well, I'm seriously considering proposing to her, if she's in the right frame of mind by the time I defeat Saotome."
"Proposing again? Muu Tsu, do you ever learn?" asked the Doctor before backtracking the conversation. "Waitaminute, did you just say defeat Saotome?"
"Sure did. He and I are going to have one final duel," said Muu Tsu with some measure of pride in his voice. Tofu bowed his head in dissaproval.
"Muu Tsu, what did I tell you about responsibility?"
"I didn't want this fight, he did!" insisted Muu Tsu. "It satisfies honor and leaves no question on the matter. Besides, I think he knows he's going to lose, or is at least ready to accept defeat after he's had a chance to train hard and take me on in a fair fight."
"If you already know you're going to win, why are you fighting?" asked the Doctor sullenly. "You could have easily said no and walked away, without any dishonor."
"I've seen way too many of my friends, including myself, get so carried away by honor and pride that all it leaves them with are bout after bout, backstabbing each other on the street until no one is left with any dignity anymore. All we become are a crowd of animals, tearing up each other's lives and this neighborhood again and again. Through everything I've done here, I consider Ranma a kind of friend. He can be annoying and obnoxious, but he's still a friend. The last thing I want to see is the great fighter and competitor waste his life away with pride, especially on me. This final battle will prove everything."
"It proves nothing, Muu Tsu," countered the Doctor. "You're not human anymore. it may be true and just what you're planning to do, get Ranma away from the 'win at all costs' obsession, but you have to accept that you're not human anymore."
"Nani?" Muu Tsu asked, unsure as how to take that statment.
"You are _not_ human, Muu Tsu. As powerful as all of you seem to be from time to time, you are all still Homo Sapiens. You, however, have changed so dramatically, that at the base level of existence you are no longer a normal human being. That is how the curse was lifted, and that is why you must wield this power with caution."
"I understand that, Doc, but why all the pressure all of a sudden? Do you think I'm going to become a criminal?"
"No, I-"
"I know I'm changing, Tofu. I know that, and I have to live with who I am now. Don't lecture me on how to live my life, Doc. You're my friend, but I'll be damned if you're going to let our age difference make you my father," he concluded, stomping out of the office and out the clinic doors. Tofu sighed and let his shoulders and head slump, trying to understand why Muu Tsu got so defensive so quickly.
After a moment of contemplation, Tofu finished up the day's work, placed the specimens in the storage room, and went home for the night.
**
Later that night...
Lifting the grate off of the vent, Nabiki slowly lowered herself on the series of cables and harnesses she had strapped to herself.
Thank god for all those rapelling classes when I wanted to go Moutain climbing last summer, she thought, touching down on the floor neatly. Looking around, she could see nothing too obvious, other then a specimen holder containing six vials. Three of the vials were of a deep green color, two were red, and one appeared to be half-full of a clear liquid.
Nabs bent to read the labels, which appeared to be scribbled in Muu Tsu's handwriting. Under the green test tubes, were written the words "bad freaking trouble." Under the single clear tube was written, "Not quite done yet," with the current date. The red tubes, however, had the words, "The good stuff!" written on them. Deducing quickly, she snagged one of the red tubes, and placed it in a pouch on her side.
I'm glad I'm starting to get out more, she thought to herself, giving a sharp tug on the rope. As her accomplices hoisted her back through the ventilation shaft, she had another thought. Not as glad as I am though that nobody seems to ever care about air conditioning vents anymore
**
A/N:
As you could probably tell, the theme of this chapter is the futility and stupidity of pride and honor, and how entrenched the Nerimites seem to be in this black hole. Anyhow, next chapter with finally deal with the entrance of the villan (aside from SEELE, which is our main source of evil), and the final metamorphosis of our hero!