When You Least Expect It

*part 5

By Sakata Ri Houjun

AN: This chapter will be really angsty, and also have some spoilers for Chichiri's past. And just to clarify, I've decided that this story somehow fits in between the Fushigi Yuugi series and the OVAs, so Chichiri won't know the truth behind his fiancee's 'betrayal'.

And another warning about how this isn't meant to be taken seriously should also be in order, just so I don't get flamed for bringing these guys together like this.

~***~

~Life is a tragedy for those who feel and a comedy for those who think~

~***~

Alex sat upon Mousse's bed, braiding his damp hair while the Amazon set about preparing two futons on his floor for his guests. The gaijin's amethyst eyes watched Mousse's movements silently as he worked. He felt much more relaxed now that he had washed and bathed, his earlier attire traded for the plain blue tank top and plaid silk boxers he normally wore to bed.

Chichiri was still finishing up his bath, opting to go last because Alex required more time to wash his hair and Mousse couldn't wash in cold water.

Alex finished tying off his braid, slipping his comb back into his open bag that sat next to him. "So," he began lamely, trying to quell the silence. "Is it true that you really can't see without your glasses?"

The Amazon looked up, his curtain of dark hair sliding across his bare shoulder. "What brought this on?" he asked sullenly, hating the topic of his vision impairment.

Alex shrugged nonchalantly. "I find that I can't read without my spectacles, deshi. It was a condition I obtained from staring too long at computer screens, reading multiple lines of miniscule data. I was just wondering, deshi."

Mousse pushed himself to his feet and strode across the pallets to his bed, taking a seat next to the blonde gaijin. He sighed as he removed his glasses, his blue eyes gazing at Alex, but unable to focus on him. "No, I can't see anything without these things. Nothing beyond vague shadows and patches of blurry light."

"And it's always been that way?"

Mousse looked down to his hands, running his fingertips across the smooth circles of glass that were his key to sight. "As far as I know, I was born with my faulty vision. I'm used to it, but to others, especially within my own tribe, it's a sign of weakness."

"But you aren't weak," Alex protested, placing an hand on the taller boy's arm.

Mousse grinned slightly. "I know. I have learned to make use of my other senses in a fight, but more often than not, it is my bravado and optimism that leads me to thinking that I don't need to see in order to defeat my opponents."

"And that's why you remove your glasses?" Alex asked.

Mousse nodded firmly before perching the thick lenses once more on his face. "That and I want to show that I'm not a man who's reliant on anything but himself."

"Your code of pride and honor as a warrior, no da," came Chichiri's soft tenor from the doorway, startling the pair on the bed.

Alex snatched his hand off of Mousse's arm, busying himself suddenly with something in his bag. The Amazon just watched silently as the monk entered his room fully, dressed in a pair of cream-colored pants that he had retrieved from the dimensional pocket within his kasa, the matching shirt hanging open and the damp strands of his undone ponytail clinging to his neck.

Chichiri sat down on one of the futons, folding his legs underneath himself as he met the Amazon's eyes. "I know what kind of price pride brings, no da. I've seen the results."

"So have I," Mousse responded softly. "But it's not so much honor as it is...something else."

"Nani?" Alex queried, turning back to the conversation.

"Love," the monk responded, not breaking eye contact with Mousse.

The raven-haired man seemed to slump then, his gaze growing sad. "Is it that obvious?"

Chichiri nodded. "Hai, no da. One would have to be blind not to notice that you feel something towards Shampoo."

"But, she doesn't even show me friendship in return for the affection I shower her with," Mousse replied, blinking furiously. "I want to become her champion, but she'll never accept me even if I should win. That much she has made clear."

"Then, why do you you remain?" Alex pressed, looking curiously into the Amazon's face.

"Because I have no where else to go. I have left my home and family, my place in the tribe in pursuit of a woman who will never be mine. If I return without her, then I will be ostracized completely, branded an outcast from Amazon society."

Chichiri crawled over to take Mousse's hands in his own, squeezing gently. "I had someone I loved too, a childhood friend I grew up with back in my home village."

Mouse looked up, surprise written all over his features. "You did?"

The cerulean-haired man nodded slowly, closing his eye in pain at the surfacing memories. "She and I were to be married, an arrangement between our parents. I was happy, thinking that she loved me. Unfortunately, that was before I found her, kissing my best friend..."

Alex reached over and clasped his hands around Chichiri's. "What happened, deshi?"

Chichiri looked up, weariness etched into his features. "I confronted him in a fit of rage, and he died, though not by my hand. She was lost to me, in a flood that swept through my village, killing everyone else."

"Gods," Mousse breathed, unable to fathom what he had just heard. "And that's where your..."

The monk nodded again. "Hai, I lost my eye as well, trying to save my friend."

There was an uncomfortable silence, none of them daring to break it until Alex finally cleared his throat. "Well, this is going to sound kind of lame, but at least you both had loves that are flesh and blood, deshi."

Both Mousse and Chichiri turned to look at Alex, confusion now written across their faces. "Excuse me?" Mousse asked.

"I... I'm hopelessly in love with anime characters, finding that no one in real life is worth my time, deshi." He hung his head in self-condemnation. "That sounds so shallow, saying it out loud, especially after hearing both of your tales, deshi."

After another brief pause of silence, Mousse started to laugh, startling the scientist and monk. "Mousse, are you okay, no da?" Chichiri asked in concern.

The Amazon removed his hand from their grasp, waving it in a comforting motion that signified his well being. He took a couple of deep breaths before answering. "I'm fine. It's just..." He began to laugh again.

Alex furrowed his brow in anxiety. "Just what, deshi?"

"Just that, between the three of us, we make for a pathetic bunch of lovers." He started up on another round of uncontrollable laughter. Chichiri and Alex exchanged a look before also succumbing to the contaigious hilarity.

"Yeah," Alex added between giggles. "Here we are, a bunch of good-looking guys, all surprisingly single, deshi."

"I agree," Chichiri interjected, now holding his sides. "I've never even been kissed and I had a fiancée, no da."

"Well, I've had no experience whatsoever in that department myself," Mousse spoke up, his laughter beginning to die away.

"Me either, deshi," Alex supplied with a shrug.

Mousse smiled slyly. "Suppose this is a sign from the gods that we aren't meant to be with women?"

Both Chichiri and Alex jerked away, shocked. "Nani?" they screeched.

Mousse held up his hands. "I'm kidding."

"Oh," the monk replied, his body relaxing visibly.

"Yeah." Alex scratched the back of his head lightly, looking up at the ceiling. "Not that I haven't entertained that thought myself, deshi."

"Excuse me?" Mousse raised an eyebrow.

The scientist lowered his hand. "What? I said I was attracted to anime characters, I didn't specify which gender, deshi."

"So, you like guys, no da?"

Alex shrugged. "I don't know. I have just about as much luck with women as I do with men, deshi. But I find certain bishonen beautiful, just like certain bishojo." Both the monk and the Amazon fell silent, neither really looking at Alex, or at each other. Alex sighed in frustration. "I should have kept my mouth shut, deshi."

Mousse spoke up first. "No, no. I'm used to it, really. I mean, what with my rival Ranma being chased by both genders and all."

"And I have no room to criticize either, no da," Chichiri spoke softly, keeping his gaze downcast.

"Doushite?" Alex asked.

"Because..." the monk trailed off slowly, trying his best to word what he said next right. "There is someone back home whom I'm attracted to, no da."

Mousse blinked. "You're both attracted to men?" Both Alex and Chichiri hung their heads, caught. Mousse expelled a breath he'd been holding. "Well, then, I suppose I should confess that even though I do love Shampoo, I've been finding myself leaning in the other direction as well as of late."

This brought his friends' eyes back up to him. "You too, no da?" Chichiri asked.

Mousse nodded. "Although I have my suspicions that it's mainly due to the fact that the only woman I have ever loved refuses to give me the time of day. But I've never acted on it."

"Me either, no da," Chichiri added, blushing slightly. "I'm a grown man, and it feels strange that I like him like I do, no da."

Alex leaned forward in interest. "You said you've never had any experience, deshi?"

Chichiri nodded miserably. "It wasn't proper for fiancees to have relations prior to their marriage, and I've been living as a monk since then even though I do have the freedom to let myself love."

Mousse sighed. "So I guess it's safe to say that all of us have absolutely no experience with guys or girls?"

Alex smiled. "Hai, we're all virgins, deshi."

Mousse frowned as he plucked a pillow from his bed, smacking the blonde gaijin firmly across the face with it. "That's not something to brag about."

The monk quickly snagged one pillow from the futons on the floor, blindsiding Mousse. "Well, it's true, isn't it, no da?"

Alex scrambled off the bed and onto one of the futons, snatching the remaining pillow on the floor, only to peg Chichiri with it. "Oi, I can fight my own battles, deshi."

The cerulean-haired man spun around, directing an attack on Alex now. "I'm trying to help you, no da."

Mousse hit Chichiri in return. "We've already established earlier that Alex isn't a weakling."

What followed next was a flurry of pillows, flailing limbs, and a lot of protests from all three participants. Eventually the weapons were abandoned in favor of a more direct approach as Chichiri tackled Mousse to the ground, Alex joining in on ganging up on the Amazon. The three grappled for a few moments more until the gaijin and the monk succeeded in pinning the strong warrior to the futon, Alex having to use his whole body weight in order to restrain the strong Amazon immobile while Chichiri held down his legs.

The blonde scientist grinned in triumph at Mousse, breathing heavily from the playful fight. The Amazon met that sparkling amethyst gaze, feeling his face grow hotter from their close proximity and the feeling of the gaijin's breath wafting across his lips.

Then, without warning, the raven-haired youth leaned up and planted his lips firmly upon Alex's.

~***~

Sorry about the cliffhanger, but it was getting kind of long and I wanted to space out the chapters and the action. But don't worry, Chichiri's not going to be left out of the action. In fact, it's only really beginning.