I do not own Ranma ½, rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi and whatever
companies publishing her work around the world.
for thought, sometimes '' '''' for dialogue
Chapter 5. Life goes on
A few days later, they got good news: Tofu was back in town, apparently from a long training trip in China and Nepal to cure himself from the effects a certain person had on him... They held a small party at the dojo and to everyone's surprise, Ono was able to make an intelligible and coherent conversation with Kasumi, even asked for a date! Soun's wails could be heard in the background about his little (?) Kasumi growing up.
Following day. After school, Akane ran to the clinic. She wanted to talk with Tofu and his colleague about helping Mousse. Working hours were finished by now, so she hoped to get some time to have a little chat with the doctor and do some catch up. She smiled, Tofu was a great friend too, she hoped he would help Mousse. Well, she could use her best smile... she giggled at the thought, her crush long forgotten.
She knocked at the door. The good doctor opened.
"Oh, Akane, welcome! Hope you're not in any serious trouble, are you? Kasumi was telling me some of your adventures".
She blushed a little bit. She had had a great time, well, perhaps not at the moment, but they sure were fond memories. Anyways, she didn't want to live on her past.
"Ah, well, yes, we all had an interesting year since you left...".
They were doing some small chat around Kasumi's cookies, good as always. Tofu went on about where he had been, even his little interview with the Dalai Lama.
"Um, doc, I would like to ask you a favour, if you don't mind."
"Go on, Akane"
"Well, you see.-she explained in short Mousse interest about medicine and his troubles within the Amazon tribe- and, well, I thought you could help him, if you don't mind, you know, teach him something. I believe he already knows something about traditional medicine, but he would like to learn some more. Could you help him, please, please, please?" she gave him her best pleading smile.
Tofu smiled softly. "Of course, Akane. I think I would like a hand with massages. I will ask him if he might be interested"
"Thank you, doc, you're the best! I'm sure he'll be delighted! You don't know how much this means to him"
She hugged the doctor.
Kasumi got up and waved goodbye to the good doctor, Akane by her side. They walked in silence, enjoying the warmth of the sun on their backs.
Kasumi coughed. "May I ask you, why are you helping Mousse, Akane?" -she asked, a little frown on her forehead.
"Well, he's a friend, he's had a hard life and some rough times lately. I just want to help him and make his life a little easier. I think he deserves something better, don't you?"
"I'm glad you're so kind to help your friends. I just wondered why don't you treat Ranma that way too. I would like to think he's a friend of yours, too" Worry was written all over her face. Akane's smile vanished at the mention of her fiancé's name.
"Ranma doesn't need my help, he's made it clear enough a thousand times". That was a sore spot.
"Com'on, Akane, you know that's not true, he seeks your help for school and a lot of other things."
"Really? I couldn't say" Bitterness distilled in her voice, one could almost smell it.
"Now, Akane, that was really mean. You know he helps him whenever you're in trouble".
"I know, sorry- she sighed- Well, I promise I will help him whenever he asks me" She took a deep breath. Good point. He was too proud to ask for help, so she was already free from her promise. Kasumi frowned. She didn't like this too much.
****************
Akane took her books and went to meet Mousse, all eager to tell him about Tofu. Mousse nearly bowed and kissed her feet, he was so grateful, but Akane dismissed it with a wave of her hand and motioned him for the table to get their work done. Weekend was near so he would be able to save some hours and visit the doctor.
The workout was nice too. He needed to have his time all taken, doing something or he'd go nuts. You don't spend 13 years of your life after the girl of your dreams and then quit like nothing has happened.
He had gone through his life over and over again. The first days in his new apartment, all alone, knowing that this independence and his inability to see Shampoo again was his own doing, had tore at his heart. It had been a complete hell. Except for the few hours he spent with Akane, he just wanted to find some dark corner and die. He had been unable to sleep, trying to stop himself from rushing to see her beloved amazon, he had drawn blood from his lips and the palm of his hands trying to control himself.
It was hard, he felt like he had ripped his own heart and then swallowed it.
Well, it tasted awfully. But he had to succeed. He went over all the humilliations he had suffered from Shampoo or Cologne, how he had been the laughing stock of the village, both for his near-sight and his stupid pursuit of the girl of his dreams.
He sighed. He needed to close the door to his past or it will come and haunt him every night. Good thing he had something else to think about, his studies. He had always thought he would be here for a short time, until he could win. no, better not to tread that path. His life had a new goal. He took a deep breath, then another. 'Bie la, Xian Pu'.
************
The following Saturday morning Mousse stepped by Tofu's clinic.
"Good morning, Mousse. I hope you're doing fine. How's your arm?"
"'Morning, doc. It's healing pretty fine, thanks, I have been going easy at work during the week and kept the training at minimun, but I guess I can go all out by now"
"I'm happy to hear that, Akane told me what happened with Cologne. I must say I'm surprised she would react that way. I assume she's getting a lot of pressure from your Council back in China"
"Probably, I guess they're not too happy that she's out of the village for more than one year, still with no clear results, but that's no longer my problem. She expelled me from the tribe" he gave a lopsided, bitter grin.
"Can she do that on her own? I'd have thought it took the Council to decide over such a subject"
"No, in fact it is the Elder's Council who must say if I should be outcasted or not, but, you see, I never cared to make myself too popular back in our village. They have a pretty thick file on me. She must have sent her petition on the day she kicked me out of the Neko-hanten and it must be approved by now, I guess. I don't think I will get a letter from them, anyway".
They both chuckled. Mousse sighed.
"I guess my grandmother would be worried about me and she might face some trouble, but I think she knew that sooner or later something like this would happen. It doesn't make it any easier, though". He looked at the floor and sighed.
"Well, since you're an outcast now, can't you challenge Shampoo for her hand? You'd be a stranger from 'their' law point of view."
Mousse frowned. "I'd rather you didn't mention her at all, doc. There's.-he took a deep breath- I suppose I was just a fool to pretend that she might like me for who I am, I never wanted to impose myself on her or fight her. I just dreamed that she would love me willingly, but it was just a dream. I just decided I had to wake up before the dream would turn to a nightmare, that's all. So, no, I won't challenge her"
Tofu looked at the young man in front of him. He had gone to a lot of thinking lately to come to this point. And it had been hard, he could tell. If he got to channel his energy, he'd fire a perfect Shi Shi Houko Dan without much trouble (Kasumi had put him on tabs about everyone, so he knew about Ryoga and his trips to Depression Land). Better change the subject.
"So, about medicine, care to tell me what that wonderful grandmother of yours taught you?"
They went over old maps of meridians of energy and the kind. He had some minor knowledge of pressure points and botany, nothing to be surprised, since amazons lived in a very isolated area in the mountains, pretty much the example of a sustainable development society about the use of natural resources (the human resources were another question.). Well, it was nice to be back in town.
************
Their plan had been going on for about a month and Akane felt great. Her grades were getting really high, since she spent a lot of time studying with Mousse and not trying to convince Ranma about the benefits of an education.
The Chinese boy was really smart and knew a good deal about history, biology and chemistry. His worst were maths (who in the world doesn't have problems with maths) and physics. Their talents combined overcame any difficulty.
Well, almost any difficulty. She still had to learn how to control her anger, Mousse pondered. Whenever she failed to dodge his weapons or took too much time (to her reckoning) to learn a move, she got frustrated and eventually angry in a few seconds time. Mousse would try to calm her with words, but it didn't help.
Plus, when they sparred, she tended to rush head-first into the fight and tried to finish it as soon as possible. She had no sense of strategy at all. Mousse had spent the first week from their agreement to this plan to devise something to develop her sense of timing for battle.
Flash back
His work in the bar wasn't so hard that he had to put his brain on it, he mostly worked on auto-pilot. After all, preparing cocktails was a lot easier than some Chinese dishes he was used to cook and work at the Neko- hanten had been a lot harder. This was more some sort of vacation.
So, between margaritas and san franciscos, he tried to think of something useful. Until one day, he just got a good look at the floor. This is maybe one of the things you mostly see, but you just don't acknowledge, because usually, this kind of information is of no use; but this was not a usual occasion.
Black and white squared-pattern. Chess. The master-game of strategy.
He gave out a maniacal laugh, until he noticed the looks he was getting from the clients.
"Hehehe." Man, I should really forget doing this.. He scratched his head and smiled.
The music was loud and people got to their business again. Uffff.
Then he went on his rumbling. Would Akane learn to play chess? She didn't have much patience, well, to be sincere, he would change it to no patience at all. Chess took time to master. The good thing is, she was good at maths and physics, finding the logic and patterns behind the problems, so it might help.
How to present it? That was a problem, too. While squeezing lemons for the caipirinha, he pondered the many ways to face the question.
'Hey, 'kane, would you like to learn to play chess' She's not a 6 year-old, forget it.
'I got this cool game, I thought you may like to play' It's not the Play- station, either.
'I think you need to learn to play chess, so you will be able to plan your fights' Yeah, right, and he would get a nice punch in the stomach, at the very least. At least she had conceeded not to use her mallet.
He remembered the first time they sparred. She was strong, nothing like Ryoga, but still strong (didn't Ranma make fun of her all the time because of that?); she was more or less in his league, and her punches hurt, he had been left breathless after she got a pretty precise hit to his abds.
He sighed. This would definitely help her skill in martial arts. But what to do? He knew she longed to be considered a good martial artist and receive challenges like everyone else did. Wait! He grinned. I've got it!
The following day was a sunny Sunday. He got up late, because he took a long shift at work, but then remembering about his little plan, he smiled and jumped out of bed. He didn't spend much time to get a shower, wear his clothes and make his room a bit tidy, Japanese flats were so damn small.
He phoned to the Tendo Dojo, they were supposed to be meeting in the afternoon, but he just couldn't wait to test his idea.
"Good morning, Akane- she mumbled something that barely resembled a good morning too-think you can spare the morning and rush here? I think you may like this technique I came upon. if you think you're up to the task."
"What? A new technique? I'm on!!!" There was no trace of sleepiness in her voice now.
"Well, yes, I think you might be interested in having a look at it. But it's hard to master, so I won't blame you if you decide not to try."
"No way! You can bet I'll master it today! I'll be there in half an hour". She hung up the phone.
Hook, line and sinker. He smiled, it had been so easy to goad her. He made sure to prepare a lot of tea with a spike of lindon flower to keep her calm. It might be a long day, after all.
She was punctual and wore sport clothes, thinking they would leave for the park soon. She was surprised to see Mousse take a seat by the table, a checkered board and some weird pieces arranged on it.
"Well, where's that cool technique I should have a look at?"
"Sit down and I will show you" he waved his hand, motioning her for a chair. She frowned, she had readied herself for some good workout and they were going to stay home? She sighed and complied.
Mousse went over the rules of chess, repeating over and over again the moves every piece could perform.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it! Bishops only in diagonal from their start point, towers horizontal and vertical. Get on with it! Is this the oh-so-difficult- technique you told me about? I'll beat you in five minutes"
Mousse bit his lips, trying to suppress a laugh.
"Ok -he sighed- let's get started"
She was out in four, I mean, FOUR movements. She watched the board and then Mousse, clearly astounded.
"I want another try, that was just warming up"
A little better, five moves this time.
"Another!"
That shout, with a growing amount of red battle aura, were felt through the building for about two hours, when Mousse decided enough was enough. That and that he had ran out of tea and he feared the chair would melt under Akane's firing rage.
"Com'on, Akane, let's go out for a run in the park, we can pick up where we left"
She was staring at the board, a look of utter defeat in her face.
"But. but."
"I told you it was a difficult technique. It took me months to learn how to play chess, you cannot expect to master it in one day" She still had that look, like she was about to cry.
"Com'on, we need some fresh air, it will clear up your mind. You cannot face a battle if you're not focused on it, right?"
He pulled her out of the chair. They walked out of the building, heading for the park.
"Chess is more than a game, it IS a good technique, you will know how to use it for your martial arts when the time comes. It's just like a battle, only you just use your mind. Don't worry, you will get the hang of it soon"
They made some stretches and ran around the park at an easy pace, enjoying the nice weather and feeling the late spring air filling their lungs. They jumped over the benches, sending an occasional kick to each other.
Akane's rage was subsiding. She went over the rules, trying to come up with a trick to win. She was munching all the games she had lost (more than 20 was that?) and scowled. She had been too forward in her play and moved her pieces without order or clear purpose.
After an hour running, she said goodbye to Mousse and went home for lunch. Her father and Genma were playing Go. For the first time in her life she paid attention to the game, but after 10 minutes it was crystal clear that the two men didn't give a damn about rules and cheated whenever they could. She sighed and ate her lunch, making some small chat with Ranma and Kasumi.
She met Mousse in the park, the chess game on his bag. They had agreed to play out, just to take in the sun (mostly to avoid internal-building damages, from Mousse' point of view).
So they played. At least Akane tried. She kept losing the whole time and she was getting pretty annoyed, but still held to the board, like the stubborn girl she was. By the end of the evening her battle aura was flaring red and the wood pieces seemed like they would burn some time soon.
"Eh, Akane, let's call it quits for today, okay? It's getting late. We can play tomorrow after doing the homework."
"Fine" she growled.
Uh oh. There might be some cinderblocks turned to dust somewhere in a very near future, Mousse pondered. Well, she will have to think over this. He smiled as he saw her walk home, her head a little bent down. He was so sure it wouldn't take too long before she could put chess to good use.
**********
Umph! New technique indeed! She was moping in her bedroom. Mousse had played a joke on her. What the hell had that stupid game to do with martial arts? She pouted. And the worse is she had accepted the challenge to learn how to play, so she was stuck with it. Big sigh.
So they played a game or two of chess every evening. A week had gone by and he had to buy a new game, the board smashed in splinters in a rage fit from a certain raven-haired girl. He had hesitated between a wooden or a metal one, but opted for the first. Metal tended to stay hot for a bit, after all.
The third week since he moved out of the Tendo's (the second week since they started playing chess) and Akane managed to stay calm and actually paid some attention to the game. There was still hope for her.
End of flash back
Akane sighed, enjoying the bath, today's training had been pretty good. She had learnt a lot of stuff about weapons during this moth (though she was already familiar with archery, bokkens, katanas and the kind) and started wearing shuriken in her arms with a few little tricks to make them available at any time without showing them clearly.
She picked some blind-fighting skills, which were Mousse's speciality, since he had to fight a lot of time without his glasses, so she became more aware of her surroundings and it was difficult to sneak upon her now. She improved her balance to use it in combat.
In exchange she taught Mousse some techniques from her own school of martial arts so he would become more proficient in short range fights while still being able to use his long range weapons.
The best was... that he took her seriously. Surely, being grown in a village where females were the warriors did help. He had not much prejudice about hitting her (seems he was only reluctant to hit Shampoo), even if he pulled his punches to a little up her level of skill. The first days she had been sore from a few well-placed kicks and sported some bruises in her arms from his weapons, but she learnt how to avoid or minimize damage. This was like the basics of martial arts, learning how to take a fall. Yeah, life was just fine.
Oh, well, maybe not everything was fine, she still had to master that dumb (ok, not so dumb) game, though today had not been that bad. It really made her think.
She was going through this musings when she just remembered Ranma. Her fiancée. The man she should be spending her time with, as Kasumi often reminded her in a kind way. Not that Mousse didn't deserve her help, not at all, but she wished Ranma was just a bit like the amazon man. She could not avoid feeling like, somehow, she was betraying Ranma by staying most of the evening with Mousse. Was Kasumi succeeding in her plan to make her feel guilty?
***************
She left the question open for the following day. Still, school wasn't a great opportunity to try and talk to him about any issue, innocent though might be, 'cause invariably, Kuno, Ukyo, Shampoo, Ryouga or someone else would make an appearance and snatch him from her, or he would put into work his big mouth and after hearing the first insult she would ran away. She no longer had the energy to feel angry. She had enough at venting her little frustrations in her sparrings with Mousse.
How could they be so different? When they were training, Mousse would be really helpful, making comments about what she was doing wrong and ways to correct it and in time she did the same about his ways, it took most of her stress away and brought her a little of self-confidence. Why couldn't Ranma do the same?
With this question in mind, she decided it was time for a sparring match with the pig-tailed martial artist. Mousse had a test to take, so he would spend the evening studying. She headed home and once there, motioned for the kitchen, to find Mrs. Saotome with an apron and helping Kasumi with the dinner.
"Hello, Akane, dear. Would you like to give us a little help with the cooking?" she said with a warm smile. She certainly didn't give up the idea to make of Akane a great cook.
"Er, well, I think I will pass, if you don't mind, I was thinking about asking Ranma to spar with me..." she scratched her head nervously.
"Certainly, you should spend as much time as you can with your fiancée". Nodoka smiled. They made such a cute couple!
Akane gulped and left, a slight blush in her cheeks. She changed into her gi and went to the dojo. Ranma was already there, going through a kata. She watched as he went through the moves, swiftness, strength and grace in every turn. She did wish she could learn to do that with his ease. Once he had finished she coughed to get his attention. "Um, hi, Ranma"
"Hey, Akane"
"Um, I was... thinking if we could spar a bit..."
"You kiddin'? Geez, Akane, you're too slow and too much of a klutz to spar with me..." he said while making faces.
Akane crossed her arms over her chest and breathed deeply.
"I guess I'm not too much of a martial artist to your standards, but I do want to get better. So, I'm asking you again, would you care to spar with me?". She was as near to begging as her pride would allow her.
"Nope, why would I want to waste my time with an uncute tomboy like you?" I really don't want to hurt you, when in the world will you understand that?!.
Akane frowned and willed herself not to cry, she breathed raggedly while her battle, crimson aura flared around her.
"Fine, have it your way".
She left the dojo. She trodded to her room and sat on her bed, holding her knees. All my efforts to no avail... should have known better. She changed her clothes and went for a walk. She didn't want to be caught by either Kasumi or Nodoka, she was not in the mood to face Ranma's mother. She went to the library and spent the evening there, going through some old, overused-martial arts essays. Perhaps she would find something interesting.
************
Nodoka walked up to the dojo, with a bowl of cookies for the martial artists. She frowned when she saw Akane was not there.
"Son, would you happen to know where is your fiancé? She told me you two would be sparring and I brought you some cookies".
"Aw, thanks, mom, they're great -Ranma said, snatching the bowl from his mother's hands and gulfing them down.
He was not escaping that easily, the look Nodoka was giving him told very clearly.
"Aw, she's too weak to take my blows, I'm better off training by myself..."
"Son, I hope you'll understand than if you take up the dojo, your students will be under your level. This is a good chance to train and spend some time with your fiancé too"
"Ok, mom, I'll think about that".
Nodoka left for the kitchen, shaking her head. Too stubborn....
************
Akane was taking notes. Surely the trip to the library showed to be pretty useful. She got a pair of books about kung fu, nothing new, really, but it didn't hurt to review the basics. She had taught Mousse almost everything she knew, though she recognised she still had a lot to learn about weapons and about her own school, but she didn't have any illusions about her father or Genma teaching her.
So she'd have to find something new in another place or stick to weapons. Even if her family school had a tendency to use them, she did not like to depend on them. It was better to come up for many different types of defence, relying on a single weapon made one helpless once disarmed.
Well, perhaps she had already learnt something from chess, although it was indeed a bitter pill: she just didn't think when she was fighting and she left herself open. She had always believed that the first to strike was more likely to win if he struck hard enough, but after more than a hundred defeats in chess to Mousse in less than three minutes, she had finally began to prepare carefully the battles.
And not only at chess. The spars were a little less violent and took a lot longer, since she tried to save her energy for a last blow and tried to dodge more.
She understood why Mousse had been so bent on her learning to play and could not help but smile at his intelligent move. If he had openly told her she didn't know a word about strategy, she'd have exploded like a nuclear bomb.
So they played chess everyday after studying and the last evening had not been that bad, she still lost, but after 25 minutes and Mousse had lost some important pieces.
She'd had a look at chess manuals, but they were so boring. so she stuck to kung fu and the Northern White Crane School, perhaps the best to learn how to dodge and strike with swift, precise movements, just what she needed.
Well, this was nice. Perhaps in time she might come upon one of Happosai's scrolls and have a look at them, to see any kind of technique the old letch might have developed. It might be something perverted, knowing him, but perhaps she could put it to good use.
It was late when she got back home and headed straight for the kitchen. She made some tea and heated some leftovers in the microwave oven. The evening had proved to turn up right in the end.
AN2. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I read recently that Kempo was developed from Kung fu by a Japonese monk or similar, so by reading about kung fu, Akane's getting information about the basis of her own form of martial art.
AN 3. If someone doubts you can lose a game of chess in 4 movements, it's perfectly possible. I did the first time I played. Obviously, I'm not too proud of it, but I'm humble enough to recognize it.
for thought, sometimes '' '''' for dialogue
Chapter 5. Life goes on
A few days later, they got good news: Tofu was back in town, apparently from a long training trip in China and Nepal to cure himself from the effects a certain person had on him... They held a small party at the dojo and to everyone's surprise, Ono was able to make an intelligible and coherent conversation with Kasumi, even asked for a date! Soun's wails could be heard in the background about his little (?) Kasumi growing up.
Following day. After school, Akane ran to the clinic. She wanted to talk with Tofu and his colleague about helping Mousse. Working hours were finished by now, so she hoped to get some time to have a little chat with the doctor and do some catch up. She smiled, Tofu was a great friend too, she hoped he would help Mousse. Well, she could use her best smile... she giggled at the thought, her crush long forgotten.
She knocked at the door. The good doctor opened.
"Oh, Akane, welcome! Hope you're not in any serious trouble, are you? Kasumi was telling me some of your adventures".
She blushed a little bit. She had had a great time, well, perhaps not at the moment, but they sure were fond memories. Anyways, she didn't want to live on her past.
"Ah, well, yes, we all had an interesting year since you left...".
They were doing some small chat around Kasumi's cookies, good as always. Tofu went on about where he had been, even his little interview with the Dalai Lama.
"Um, doc, I would like to ask you a favour, if you don't mind."
"Go on, Akane"
"Well, you see.-she explained in short Mousse interest about medicine and his troubles within the Amazon tribe- and, well, I thought you could help him, if you don't mind, you know, teach him something. I believe he already knows something about traditional medicine, but he would like to learn some more. Could you help him, please, please, please?" she gave him her best pleading smile.
Tofu smiled softly. "Of course, Akane. I think I would like a hand with massages. I will ask him if he might be interested"
"Thank you, doc, you're the best! I'm sure he'll be delighted! You don't know how much this means to him"
She hugged the doctor.
Kasumi got up and waved goodbye to the good doctor, Akane by her side. They walked in silence, enjoying the warmth of the sun on their backs.
Kasumi coughed. "May I ask you, why are you helping Mousse, Akane?" -she asked, a little frown on her forehead.
"Well, he's a friend, he's had a hard life and some rough times lately. I just want to help him and make his life a little easier. I think he deserves something better, don't you?"
"I'm glad you're so kind to help your friends. I just wondered why don't you treat Ranma that way too. I would like to think he's a friend of yours, too" Worry was written all over her face. Akane's smile vanished at the mention of her fiancé's name.
"Ranma doesn't need my help, he's made it clear enough a thousand times". That was a sore spot.
"Com'on, Akane, you know that's not true, he seeks your help for school and a lot of other things."
"Really? I couldn't say" Bitterness distilled in her voice, one could almost smell it.
"Now, Akane, that was really mean. You know he helps him whenever you're in trouble".
"I know, sorry- she sighed- Well, I promise I will help him whenever he asks me" She took a deep breath. Good point. He was too proud to ask for help, so she was already free from her promise. Kasumi frowned. She didn't like this too much.
****************
Akane took her books and went to meet Mousse, all eager to tell him about Tofu. Mousse nearly bowed and kissed her feet, he was so grateful, but Akane dismissed it with a wave of her hand and motioned him for the table to get their work done. Weekend was near so he would be able to save some hours and visit the doctor.
The workout was nice too. He needed to have his time all taken, doing something or he'd go nuts. You don't spend 13 years of your life after the girl of your dreams and then quit like nothing has happened.
He had gone through his life over and over again. The first days in his new apartment, all alone, knowing that this independence and his inability to see Shampoo again was his own doing, had tore at his heart. It had been a complete hell. Except for the few hours he spent with Akane, he just wanted to find some dark corner and die. He had been unable to sleep, trying to stop himself from rushing to see her beloved amazon, he had drawn blood from his lips and the palm of his hands trying to control himself.
It was hard, he felt like he had ripped his own heart and then swallowed it.
Well, it tasted awfully. But he had to succeed. He went over all the humilliations he had suffered from Shampoo or Cologne, how he had been the laughing stock of the village, both for his near-sight and his stupid pursuit of the girl of his dreams.
He sighed. He needed to close the door to his past or it will come and haunt him every night. Good thing he had something else to think about, his studies. He had always thought he would be here for a short time, until he could win. no, better not to tread that path. His life had a new goal. He took a deep breath, then another. 'Bie la, Xian Pu'.
************
The following Saturday morning Mousse stepped by Tofu's clinic.
"Good morning, Mousse. I hope you're doing fine. How's your arm?"
"'Morning, doc. It's healing pretty fine, thanks, I have been going easy at work during the week and kept the training at minimun, but I guess I can go all out by now"
"I'm happy to hear that, Akane told me what happened with Cologne. I must say I'm surprised she would react that way. I assume she's getting a lot of pressure from your Council back in China"
"Probably, I guess they're not too happy that she's out of the village for more than one year, still with no clear results, but that's no longer my problem. She expelled me from the tribe" he gave a lopsided, bitter grin.
"Can she do that on her own? I'd have thought it took the Council to decide over such a subject"
"No, in fact it is the Elder's Council who must say if I should be outcasted or not, but, you see, I never cared to make myself too popular back in our village. They have a pretty thick file on me. She must have sent her petition on the day she kicked me out of the Neko-hanten and it must be approved by now, I guess. I don't think I will get a letter from them, anyway".
They both chuckled. Mousse sighed.
"I guess my grandmother would be worried about me and she might face some trouble, but I think she knew that sooner or later something like this would happen. It doesn't make it any easier, though". He looked at the floor and sighed.
"Well, since you're an outcast now, can't you challenge Shampoo for her hand? You'd be a stranger from 'their' law point of view."
Mousse frowned. "I'd rather you didn't mention her at all, doc. There's.-he took a deep breath- I suppose I was just a fool to pretend that she might like me for who I am, I never wanted to impose myself on her or fight her. I just dreamed that she would love me willingly, but it was just a dream. I just decided I had to wake up before the dream would turn to a nightmare, that's all. So, no, I won't challenge her"
Tofu looked at the young man in front of him. He had gone to a lot of thinking lately to come to this point. And it had been hard, he could tell. If he got to channel his energy, he'd fire a perfect Shi Shi Houko Dan without much trouble (Kasumi had put him on tabs about everyone, so he knew about Ryoga and his trips to Depression Land). Better change the subject.
"So, about medicine, care to tell me what that wonderful grandmother of yours taught you?"
They went over old maps of meridians of energy and the kind. He had some minor knowledge of pressure points and botany, nothing to be surprised, since amazons lived in a very isolated area in the mountains, pretty much the example of a sustainable development society about the use of natural resources (the human resources were another question.). Well, it was nice to be back in town.
************
Their plan had been going on for about a month and Akane felt great. Her grades were getting really high, since she spent a lot of time studying with Mousse and not trying to convince Ranma about the benefits of an education.
The Chinese boy was really smart and knew a good deal about history, biology and chemistry. His worst were maths (who in the world doesn't have problems with maths) and physics. Their talents combined overcame any difficulty.
Well, almost any difficulty. She still had to learn how to control her anger, Mousse pondered. Whenever she failed to dodge his weapons or took too much time (to her reckoning) to learn a move, she got frustrated and eventually angry in a few seconds time. Mousse would try to calm her with words, but it didn't help.
Plus, when they sparred, she tended to rush head-first into the fight and tried to finish it as soon as possible. She had no sense of strategy at all. Mousse had spent the first week from their agreement to this plan to devise something to develop her sense of timing for battle.
Flash back
His work in the bar wasn't so hard that he had to put his brain on it, he mostly worked on auto-pilot. After all, preparing cocktails was a lot easier than some Chinese dishes he was used to cook and work at the Neko- hanten had been a lot harder. This was more some sort of vacation.
So, between margaritas and san franciscos, he tried to think of something useful. Until one day, he just got a good look at the floor. This is maybe one of the things you mostly see, but you just don't acknowledge, because usually, this kind of information is of no use; but this was not a usual occasion.
Black and white squared-pattern. Chess. The master-game of strategy.
He gave out a maniacal laugh, until he noticed the looks he was getting from the clients.
"Hehehe." Man, I should really forget doing this.. He scratched his head and smiled.
The music was loud and people got to their business again. Uffff.
Then he went on his rumbling. Would Akane learn to play chess? She didn't have much patience, well, to be sincere, he would change it to no patience at all. Chess took time to master. The good thing is, she was good at maths and physics, finding the logic and patterns behind the problems, so it might help.
How to present it? That was a problem, too. While squeezing lemons for the caipirinha, he pondered the many ways to face the question.
'Hey, 'kane, would you like to learn to play chess' She's not a 6 year-old, forget it.
'I got this cool game, I thought you may like to play' It's not the Play- station, either.
'I think you need to learn to play chess, so you will be able to plan your fights' Yeah, right, and he would get a nice punch in the stomach, at the very least. At least she had conceeded not to use her mallet.
He remembered the first time they sparred. She was strong, nothing like Ryoga, but still strong (didn't Ranma make fun of her all the time because of that?); she was more or less in his league, and her punches hurt, he had been left breathless after she got a pretty precise hit to his abds.
He sighed. This would definitely help her skill in martial arts. But what to do? He knew she longed to be considered a good martial artist and receive challenges like everyone else did. Wait! He grinned. I've got it!
The following day was a sunny Sunday. He got up late, because he took a long shift at work, but then remembering about his little plan, he smiled and jumped out of bed. He didn't spend much time to get a shower, wear his clothes and make his room a bit tidy, Japanese flats were so damn small.
He phoned to the Tendo Dojo, they were supposed to be meeting in the afternoon, but he just couldn't wait to test his idea.
"Good morning, Akane- she mumbled something that barely resembled a good morning too-think you can spare the morning and rush here? I think you may like this technique I came upon. if you think you're up to the task."
"What? A new technique? I'm on!!!" There was no trace of sleepiness in her voice now.
"Well, yes, I think you might be interested in having a look at it. But it's hard to master, so I won't blame you if you decide not to try."
"No way! You can bet I'll master it today! I'll be there in half an hour". She hung up the phone.
Hook, line and sinker. He smiled, it had been so easy to goad her. He made sure to prepare a lot of tea with a spike of lindon flower to keep her calm. It might be a long day, after all.
She was punctual and wore sport clothes, thinking they would leave for the park soon. She was surprised to see Mousse take a seat by the table, a checkered board and some weird pieces arranged on it.
"Well, where's that cool technique I should have a look at?"
"Sit down and I will show you" he waved his hand, motioning her for a chair. She frowned, she had readied herself for some good workout and they were going to stay home? She sighed and complied.
Mousse went over the rules of chess, repeating over and over again the moves every piece could perform.
"Yeah, yeah, I get it! Bishops only in diagonal from their start point, towers horizontal and vertical. Get on with it! Is this the oh-so-difficult- technique you told me about? I'll beat you in five minutes"
Mousse bit his lips, trying to suppress a laugh.
"Ok -he sighed- let's get started"
She was out in four, I mean, FOUR movements. She watched the board and then Mousse, clearly astounded.
"I want another try, that was just warming up"
A little better, five moves this time.
"Another!"
That shout, with a growing amount of red battle aura, were felt through the building for about two hours, when Mousse decided enough was enough. That and that he had ran out of tea and he feared the chair would melt under Akane's firing rage.
"Com'on, Akane, let's go out for a run in the park, we can pick up where we left"
She was staring at the board, a look of utter defeat in her face.
"But. but."
"I told you it was a difficult technique. It took me months to learn how to play chess, you cannot expect to master it in one day" She still had that look, like she was about to cry.
"Com'on, we need some fresh air, it will clear up your mind. You cannot face a battle if you're not focused on it, right?"
He pulled her out of the chair. They walked out of the building, heading for the park.
"Chess is more than a game, it IS a good technique, you will know how to use it for your martial arts when the time comes. It's just like a battle, only you just use your mind. Don't worry, you will get the hang of it soon"
They made some stretches and ran around the park at an easy pace, enjoying the nice weather and feeling the late spring air filling their lungs. They jumped over the benches, sending an occasional kick to each other.
Akane's rage was subsiding. She went over the rules, trying to come up with a trick to win. She was munching all the games she had lost (more than 20 was that?) and scowled. She had been too forward in her play and moved her pieces without order or clear purpose.
After an hour running, she said goodbye to Mousse and went home for lunch. Her father and Genma were playing Go. For the first time in her life she paid attention to the game, but after 10 minutes it was crystal clear that the two men didn't give a damn about rules and cheated whenever they could. She sighed and ate her lunch, making some small chat with Ranma and Kasumi.
She met Mousse in the park, the chess game on his bag. They had agreed to play out, just to take in the sun (mostly to avoid internal-building damages, from Mousse' point of view).
So they played. At least Akane tried. She kept losing the whole time and she was getting pretty annoyed, but still held to the board, like the stubborn girl she was. By the end of the evening her battle aura was flaring red and the wood pieces seemed like they would burn some time soon.
"Eh, Akane, let's call it quits for today, okay? It's getting late. We can play tomorrow after doing the homework."
"Fine" she growled.
Uh oh. There might be some cinderblocks turned to dust somewhere in a very near future, Mousse pondered. Well, she will have to think over this. He smiled as he saw her walk home, her head a little bent down. He was so sure it wouldn't take too long before she could put chess to good use.
**********
Umph! New technique indeed! She was moping in her bedroom. Mousse had played a joke on her. What the hell had that stupid game to do with martial arts? She pouted. And the worse is she had accepted the challenge to learn how to play, so she was stuck with it. Big sigh.
So they played a game or two of chess every evening. A week had gone by and he had to buy a new game, the board smashed in splinters in a rage fit from a certain raven-haired girl. He had hesitated between a wooden or a metal one, but opted for the first. Metal tended to stay hot for a bit, after all.
The third week since he moved out of the Tendo's (the second week since they started playing chess) and Akane managed to stay calm and actually paid some attention to the game. There was still hope for her.
End of flash back
Akane sighed, enjoying the bath, today's training had been pretty good. She had learnt a lot of stuff about weapons during this moth (though she was already familiar with archery, bokkens, katanas and the kind) and started wearing shuriken in her arms with a few little tricks to make them available at any time without showing them clearly.
She picked some blind-fighting skills, which were Mousse's speciality, since he had to fight a lot of time without his glasses, so she became more aware of her surroundings and it was difficult to sneak upon her now. She improved her balance to use it in combat.
In exchange she taught Mousse some techniques from her own school of martial arts so he would become more proficient in short range fights while still being able to use his long range weapons.
The best was... that he took her seriously. Surely, being grown in a village where females were the warriors did help. He had not much prejudice about hitting her (seems he was only reluctant to hit Shampoo), even if he pulled his punches to a little up her level of skill. The first days she had been sore from a few well-placed kicks and sported some bruises in her arms from his weapons, but she learnt how to avoid or minimize damage. This was like the basics of martial arts, learning how to take a fall. Yeah, life was just fine.
Oh, well, maybe not everything was fine, she still had to master that dumb (ok, not so dumb) game, though today had not been that bad. It really made her think.
She was going through this musings when she just remembered Ranma. Her fiancée. The man she should be spending her time with, as Kasumi often reminded her in a kind way. Not that Mousse didn't deserve her help, not at all, but she wished Ranma was just a bit like the amazon man. She could not avoid feeling like, somehow, she was betraying Ranma by staying most of the evening with Mousse. Was Kasumi succeeding in her plan to make her feel guilty?
***************
She left the question open for the following day. Still, school wasn't a great opportunity to try and talk to him about any issue, innocent though might be, 'cause invariably, Kuno, Ukyo, Shampoo, Ryouga or someone else would make an appearance and snatch him from her, or he would put into work his big mouth and after hearing the first insult she would ran away. She no longer had the energy to feel angry. She had enough at venting her little frustrations in her sparrings with Mousse.
How could they be so different? When they were training, Mousse would be really helpful, making comments about what she was doing wrong and ways to correct it and in time she did the same about his ways, it took most of her stress away and brought her a little of self-confidence. Why couldn't Ranma do the same?
With this question in mind, she decided it was time for a sparring match with the pig-tailed martial artist. Mousse had a test to take, so he would spend the evening studying. She headed home and once there, motioned for the kitchen, to find Mrs. Saotome with an apron and helping Kasumi with the dinner.
"Hello, Akane, dear. Would you like to give us a little help with the cooking?" she said with a warm smile. She certainly didn't give up the idea to make of Akane a great cook.
"Er, well, I think I will pass, if you don't mind, I was thinking about asking Ranma to spar with me..." she scratched her head nervously.
"Certainly, you should spend as much time as you can with your fiancée". Nodoka smiled. They made such a cute couple!
Akane gulped and left, a slight blush in her cheeks. She changed into her gi and went to the dojo. Ranma was already there, going through a kata. She watched as he went through the moves, swiftness, strength and grace in every turn. She did wish she could learn to do that with his ease. Once he had finished she coughed to get his attention. "Um, hi, Ranma"
"Hey, Akane"
"Um, I was... thinking if we could spar a bit..."
"You kiddin'? Geez, Akane, you're too slow and too much of a klutz to spar with me..." he said while making faces.
Akane crossed her arms over her chest and breathed deeply.
"I guess I'm not too much of a martial artist to your standards, but I do want to get better. So, I'm asking you again, would you care to spar with me?". She was as near to begging as her pride would allow her.
"Nope, why would I want to waste my time with an uncute tomboy like you?" I really don't want to hurt you, when in the world will you understand that?!.
Akane frowned and willed herself not to cry, she breathed raggedly while her battle, crimson aura flared around her.
"Fine, have it your way".
She left the dojo. She trodded to her room and sat on her bed, holding her knees. All my efforts to no avail... should have known better. She changed her clothes and went for a walk. She didn't want to be caught by either Kasumi or Nodoka, she was not in the mood to face Ranma's mother. She went to the library and spent the evening there, going through some old, overused-martial arts essays. Perhaps she would find something interesting.
************
Nodoka walked up to the dojo, with a bowl of cookies for the martial artists. She frowned when she saw Akane was not there.
"Son, would you happen to know where is your fiancé? She told me you two would be sparring and I brought you some cookies".
"Aw, thanks, mom, they're great -Ranma said, snatching the bowl from his mother's hands and gulfing them down.
He was not escaping that easily, the look Nodoka was giving him told very clearly.
"Aw, she's too weak to take my blows, I'm better off training by myself..."
"Son, I hope you'll understand than if you take up the dojo, your students will be under your level. This is a good chance to train and spend some time with your fiancé too"
"Ok, mom, I'll think about that".
Nodoka left for the kitchen, shaking her head. Too stubborn....
************
Akane was taking notes. Surely the trip to the library showed to be pretty useful. She got a pair of books about kung fu, nothing new, really, but it didn't hurt to review the basics. She had taught Mousse almost everything she knew, though she recognised she still had a lot to learn about weapons and about her own school, but she didn't have any illusions about her father or Genma teaching her.
So she'd have to find something new in another place or stick to weapons. Even if her family school had a tendency to use them, she did not like to depend on them. It was better to come up for many different types of defence, relying on a single weapon made one helpless once disarmed.
Well, perhaps she had already learnt something from chess, although it was indeed a bitter pill: she just didn't think when she was fighting and she left herself open. She had always believed that the first to strike was more likely to win if he struck hard enough, but after more than a hundred defeats in chess to Mousse in less than three minutes, she had finally began to prepare carefully the battles.
And not only at chess. The spars were a little less violent and took a lot longer, since she tried to save her energy for a last blow and tried to dodge more.
She understood why Mousse had been so bent on her learning to play and could not help but smile at his intelligent move. If he had openly told her she didn't know a word about strategy, she'd have exploded like a nuclear bomb.
So they played chess everyday after studying and the last evening had not been that bad, she still lost, but after 25 minutes and Mousse had lost some important pieces.
She'd had a look at chess manuals, but they were so boring. so she stuck to kung fu and the Northern White Crane School, perhaps the best to learn how to dodge and strike with swift, precise movements, just what she needed.
Well, this was nice. Perhaps in time she might come upon one of Happosai's scrolls and have a look at them, to see any kind of technique the old letch might have developed. It might be something perverted, knowing him, but perhaps she could put it to good use.
It was late when she got back home and headed straight for the kitchen. She made some tea and heated some leftovers in the microwave oven. The evening had proved to turn up right in the end.
AN2. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I read recently that Kempo was developed from Kung fu by a Japonese monk or similar, so by reading about kung fu, Akane's getting information about the basis of her own form of martial art.
AN 3. If someone doubts you can lose a game of chess in 4 movements, it's perfectly possible. I did the first time I played. Obviously, I'm not too proud of it, but I'm humble enough to recognize it.