Interesting Times

By socchan

Chapter Eleven: Lost Books and Lost Boys

Well past one-thirty on Sunday afternoon, Kuno and Nabiki could be found sorting through an ancient cellar on the Kuno family grounds.

"Tell me why we're here again?" Nabiki queeried.

"Because I hid the book in the one place I knew Kodachi didn't know about," Kuno informed her. "This was it. I was hiding from her in the basement one day when I found a sliding panel that wasn't supposed to slide, and this was it. I knew Kodachi hadn't been here because everything was still intact. I used to hide in here all the time before she managed to hit me with that last spell." Kuno shuddered. "Anyway, I think it's fairly safe to say that she hasn't been here since I hid the book, either."

"Huh…" Nabiki said, turning over a shield. "And you don't remember exactly where you hid the book?"

"Other than it was in this room? No."

"And this place used to be what, exactly?"

"An armory." Kuno said, off-handedly. "It was here that I was first inspired to take up the sword. All these weapons, the great battles won and lost using them, the feeling of strength all but radiating off of them; it was the perfect escape." He sighed, longing for days long gone past. "Too bad I didn't remember this place. I could've gotten some great training done…"

Nabiki shook her head. "Kuno, you are quite possibly the weirdest guy I have ever dated."

"I'm also the only guy you've ever dated."

"Who told you that?!" she demanded, hotly.

Kuno shrugged. "No one, but it seems true enough."

Nabiki massaged her temples. "I hate it when you're right for no apparent reason." Something caught her eye, and a warm feeling radiated off the Wishes in her pocket. "I think I see something." She said, climbing over to a far corner. "Hang on…"

"Be careful, Nabiki; I'd hate to lose the girl I love to a falling sword in my own basement."

Nabiki shook her head. "You worry too much," she said, but was careful anyway. Three shields, a helmet, and an assortment of bokken were arranged just so in a pile in the corner. Carefully, she took the helmet down, shifted a couple of bokken, and managed to free a sheild. There, in the corner, was a very dusty old book. Nabiki pulled it out, and brushed off the cover. "The Compiled Works of Toryu Shen…" she read. "Hey, Kuno!" she called. "I think I found it!"

Kuno walked over and peered over her shoulder. "Yup," he said, "Looks like. I thought I had a reason for piling all that stuff over there…"

Nabiki rolled her eyes. "And you didn't check it earlier, because…?"

"Uh… I didn't feel like it?"

"You are just impossible sometimes!"

"Yeah, I know… but you love me anyway."

"Okay, this definitely isn't Nerima." A new voice said. "Maybe I accidentally wandered into another dimension…"

Kuno and Nabiki's heads snapped up. "Ryoga?!" Nabiki demanded, fairly surprised.

The bandanna'd boy shrugged. "Last time I checked. Say…" he said, addressing Kuno, "Aren't you that incomprehensive bokken-wielding moron with a crush on Ranma's girl side?"

Kuno glared. "Oh, gee, thanks for bringing the 'old' me up. I'll have you know I was doing a pretty good job of suppressing those memories before you brought it up."

"Huh… Guess it is you. Since when did you start making sense, anyway?"

"Since Nabiki granted me a Wish." Kuno replied with a shrug. "What's it to you?"

Ryoga blinked and stared at Nabiki. "Since when are you granting wishes?"

Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Jeez, Ryoga, you really are clueless sometimes. I mean, all those disguises of Ranma's you fell for could've just been a fluke, but this proves it." Ignoring Kuno's snort and Ryoga's glare, Nabiki continued. "So why are you in Nerima this time?"

Ryoga shrugged. "Beats me. I just got this sudden urge to visit."

"Huh… wonder what it means…" Nabiki said absently, focusing on the faint tugging sensation she felt from one of the Wishes.

Ryoga gave a very fang-y grin. "Maybe it means I'll finally beat Ranma this time around."

Kuno and Nabiki exchanged glances. "Uh, Ryoga…" Nabiki said, carefully, "I think we'd better sit down and talk."

A few minutes later, Ryoga's outraged cries rang through the Kuno estate. "What?! He's gone?! How dare he do this to me—when I finally found my way back here, he's gone! And imagine, leaving Akane like that! Why I should—"

"Ryoga!" Nabiki shouted. "Calm down! Ranma didn't leave Akane behind."

"You mean he brought her with him?!" Ryoga screeched.

He sounds as if he can't decide which is worse, Nabiki thought, wryly. "No, he didn't. Akane left the same day for an all-girls boarding school. She said that she was tired of all the fights, fiancées, and kidnappings, and needed a break, so she left. It appears she has been planning this for a while."

"Oh…" Ryoga said, deflating a bit. "Now what am I going to do?"

Kuno and Nabiki exchanged a look. Kuno tentatively raised a finger, and turned it in a clockwork motion, quirking an eyebrow. Nabiki rolled her eyes, and nodded almost imperceptibly*. Kuno made a motion with his hands as if rubbing a lamp. Nabiki smirked ever so slightly, and nodded again. A slight smile touched Kuno's face as well, and he nodded in return. Ryoga noticed none of this exchange, as he was busy continuing his tirade and sinking deeper and deeper into a deep blue funk. Nabiki didn't notice until he started glowing faintly blue. "Yow! Ryoga! For God's sake, calm down! I still haven't told you the good news yet!"

"What good news?" Ryoga moaned. "How can there be any good news when I will never see Akane again? No, wait, maybe someone finally knocked off Happosai, that would be good news. Or maybe Taro decided his name wasn't so bad after all, and decided to stop terrorizing us. Or maybe I'll sprout wings and fly the next time I get splashed with cold water!"

"I have a way to keep you from getting lost, and you don't think it's good news?!?!" Nabiki roared. Ryoga stopped wallowing in self-pity and gaped openly at her. Nabiki crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him, embarrassed. "Dumbass…" she muttered.

"Wait, what was that about me not getting lost?" Ryoga asked, quickly.

"Kuno mentioned getting a Wish from me?"

Ryoga frowned and nodded. "Yeah…"

"It appears I have one for you as well." Nabiki stated evenly.

"Wait, how do you know it will cure my sense of direction?"

Nabiki shrugged. "Call it a hunch." In all actuality, she had slipped briefly into neko-vision and seen a faint yellow glow around the lost boy's body, but Ryoga didn't need to know that. She had a feeling she knew what color the Wish would turn out to be, too. "Do you want it, or not?"

Ryoga looked her straight in the eye. "If you give me a wish…" he said, carefully, "What do I have to do in return?"

"Drop your vendetta against Ranma. You can still be rivals, but will have to be a friendly rivalry."

Ryoga looked at her helplessly. "What about Akane?"

"Akane's a big girl; she can decide who she wants on her own."

"What if I don't accept the terms?"

"Then you don't get the Wish." Nabiki was dancing on thin ice now, and she knew it, but she knew that this had to work, for Ranma's sake as well as her sister's. Besides, she could always fall back on threatening to reveal who 'P-chan' really was. "I don't think it's really that big a sacrifice. Ranma gets to live without constantly glancing over his shoulder, wondering if you're planning to kill him, and you get a sense of direction. From what I heard, your family can't find their way worth beans, either. Wouldn't it be nice to see them again? To help them find their way?"

Ryoga still looked hesitant. "But if I stop trying to get revenge on Ranma… what do I have left?"

"For crying out loud, Ryoga, is that all?" Nabiki demanded, annoyed. The lost boy flinched, and she immediately softened. "If revenge on Ranma is all you live for, what do you have left when you finally defeat him? There has to be more to live for than just revenge. If there isn't, what does everyone else live for?"

Ryoga sat in thought for a long moment. "Okay," he said at last, "I'll do it."

Nabiki let out a breath of relief. "Thank you, Ryoga. You don't know how much this means." She handed him the claw, and he slipped it around his neck. "Feel any different?"

Ryoga got a strange look on his face. "Yes, actually. Wow… so this is what it feels like to know right from left."

"Which one is right?" Nabiki asked quicly. Ryoga held up his right hand. She grinned. "Good boy!" Ryoga looked irritated.

"Shall I walk you to the door?" Kuno asked.

Ryoga smiled a bit. "I'd say I'd show myself out, but I don't know how I got in in the first place. By all means, show me, and maybe I'll remember the next time I visit." Nabiki grinned, and followed the two to the entrance of the house.

When they opened the door, they were quite surprised to find someone already there, about to knock. "Mousse!" Nabiki exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

Mousse also looked surprised, before smiling, crookedly. "Looking for you, as a matter of fact. You weren't at the dojo when I stopped by, so I figured you'd probably be here. I wanted to say 'good-bye' before I headed out."

"For where?" Nabiki asked, before she could stop herself.

Mousse shrugged. "Nowhere in particular. Somewhere in China, is suppose. I quit the Nekohanten, so they can't stop me." Mousse looked slightly pained saying this, but determined nonetheless.

"Did it work?" Nabiki asked, quietly.

Mousse started. "The Wish?" He broke into a grin. "If Shampoo doesn't respect me after how I quit, she never will."

"Say," Ryoga said, making Mousse notice him for the first time. "If you're leaving, could I come, too? I want to do a little sightseeing now that I can actually recognize what the sights are. Plus, I need to look for my folks somewhere, and I suppose China's as good a place as any to start. Besides," he smiled crookedly, "It's lonely as hell traveling alone."

Mousse snorted. "You would know." He looked at him more carefully. "All past differences aside?"

"You got it." A fang glinted in the light. "I want to find out who this 'Ryoga' person is, exactly."

"As long as you don't interrupt my search for 'Mousse'." Glasses flashed with confidence.

Ryoga held out a hand. "Deal."

Mousse took it, gave it two hard shakes, then he let go. "Ready to leave?" he asked. "My train leaves in two hours."

Ryoga rolled his eyes. "With my lifestyle, you're always ready to leave."

Mousse grimaced. "Good point. C'mon, we can swap stories on the way." He turned to the gate, Ryoga jogging a few steps to catch up with him.

"Well, that turned out pretty well." Kuno commented.

"Yup," Nabiki replied with a nod. "About as well as anything can in Nerima, anyway. C'mon," she said, walking towards the gates.

"Where are we going?" Kuno asked.

"The ice cream parlor. Digging up ancient books of magic and saving would-be rivals from fates worse than Akane's temper is hungry work, and I expect you to pay."

Kuno grinned and caught up with her. "Alright, but only if we get to share one of those cutesy 'couples' milkshakes."

=^-,-^=

A couple people were wondering how exactly the Wish affects Mousse. Basically, the various disabilities that Takahashi-san gives her characters seem to me to be metaphors for their real problems. Therefore, metaphorically as well as literally, Mousse can't see past his own nose. He is blinded by his feelings. Ryoga can't find his way or himself. Ranma can't understand the female sex, and therefore, can't understand his own emotions. And I'm not entirely sure about Kuno, but it seems to me that he's trying to compensate for something with that bokken of his. Okay, so that's probably not the problem most of you were thinking about (and after saying something like that, I'm seriously considering changing this story's rating) but give me a break! I'm still working on him. Kuno's hard enough to portray correctly, let alone understand. I mean, Ranma was easier to figure out than he was! Ranma! Anyhow, topic at hand. All the Wish really did was help Mousse to 'see' past the wall of his feelings. Okay, 'nuff playing 'psychoanalyst'. Hope that cleared things up for you! Next time you see Ryoga and Mousse will be in the sequel (if I write it). Only a couple chapters left to go. I love to hear anything you have to say ^_^, so please, drop me a line or a review. Thanks for listening!

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ is property of Rumiko Takahashi, and therefore, not mine. I make no claim of it, and this piece of fan fiction is written purely for entertainment, not for money. The Cat's Wishes and Cursed Whisker powder are my concepts, and Carmella is my character, so you'd better ask before using them—or at least give me some credit. Thanks much!

--socchan