Ranma 1/2 was created by Rumiko Takahashi and its characters belong to her, and her alone. I'm just kinda borrowing them. The story below is for entertainment purposes only, and not to be used commercially. ...Obviously.

"Learning Curve"

Part XIII (v1.4)

by: J. Wagner

Thump, thump, thump.

Ryouga's eyes narrowed, and scanned to his left and right quickly. Snorting, he realized he'd been hemmed in. Ranma was in front of him, hands out, body tensed to strike. Things were bad. Ryouga's left foot pivoted slightly, in preparation to move, but Ranma saw it and compensated appropriately. Shifting a bit, Ryouga took a step towards his opponent, shoulder low.

"Here!"

A flick of the wrist, and the ball was gone. A third year student caught it, spun, and moved down the court. Ryouga heard Ranma hiss in frustration, and move to cover him as the two edged to the left. The boy dodged a cover from another kid, and passed off to another boy who tried for a two pointer. Ryouga saw, the moment that it was off, that the shot would be wide.

"Damn it!" He faked to the right, to get in Ranma's way, but the slightly faster pigtailed boy was headed for the ball, also knowing that it would miss, and got past without missing a beat. Daisuke got his hands on the ball, and instantly passed it off to Ranma.

"Here I come, pig boy!" Ranma charged in, and Ryouga moved to intercept him before he could get halfway down the court. Ranma stopped short, as he always did when faced with a virtual wall of Hibiki, and jumped a bit, trying to get the three-pointer all the way from where he was. Ryouga, however, had both hands up, and one of the meaty palms got in the way of the shot, forcing Ranma to fall earthward, ball in hand, and unable to keep moving.

"You were saying something, transvestite?" Ryouga made a quick lunge for the ball, and Ranma leaned back, avoiding it.

"Shut up, piglet!"

"Watch Hiroshi!" Ryouga yelled, and hopped someone was on Ranma's classmate. Everyone knew Hiroshi was Ranma's favorite carrier in basketball, because while he couldn't shoot worth a damn, Hiroshi was fast, and had a good eye for passing around the ball.

"I'm on it!" A voice from behind confirmed it. Ryouga focused on Ranma, and smiled. Any second now...

"Come on. Come on." Ranma bounced the ball low, in the direction of Hiroshi. Ryouga looked over his shoulder, saw the kid who should have been covering Hiroshi miss the ball, leaving Hiroshi open to get it and head down the court.

Ranma bolted, but Ryouga stuck with him, keeping him covered. Hiroshi paused near the net, as another older boy came to try and block any attempt at a three pointer. As was to be expected, Hiroshi hesitated, and checked to see if Ranma was open. Ducking a bit, and breathing heavily, Hiroshi waited, before passing it off to the team captain.

"Snatch!" Ryouga's right hand found the ball's surface an instant before Ranma's, and the larger boy spun out as Ranma reached for it, keeping his hand low and heading down the court.

"Somebody cover him, damn it!" Ranma headed off himself, but Ryouga had a head start on him. There was no way he'd catch up in time unless someone got in Ryouga's way.

"Oh... shit!!" Daisuke's eyes widened, and he jumped out of the way as Ryouga steamrolled past him without stopping, flexed his feet, and took to the air. The net shook like a leaf, and the ball hit the ground hard and bounced off to the side. Ryouga landed, saw Ranma, and smiled broadly, flashing his canines. Fist raised, he went over to the other juniors and they exchanged high fives.

A few of them, the faces he recognized, patted him on the back. Actual words of praise reached his ears, and Ryouga carefully sorted through the voices for hints of sarcasm or hidden intent. He'd been 'guest' attending Furinkan for weeks now, getting to know people, and going to some of the classes. He'd placed well in the tests they'd given him(the language related part anyway), but his 'at home' education hadn't covered all the little nuances, and it had been recommended that he take classes over the summer to compensate. He'd come close to waving the whole thing off, but...

Ryouga looked off to the side, and saw Nabiki and a few of her friends, in their gym clothes, watching the game. He'd been apprehensive about attending high school at all, even if for only a few months, but she'd talked him into it. A little too easily, really. As he thought, she caught him looking in her direction and gave a little wave. Blushing, Ryouga bit his lip and turned back to the tip off and the game.

It hadn't been as bad as he thought it would be, to be perfectly honest. His memories of junior high were nightmarish -vicious, annoying brats, incessant teasing, self-centered cliques, and no incentive to even attend. And though he suspected people still snickered and joked about his directional challenges, it was less hateful and more ...light hearted. He'd focused and started taking it in stride, instead of exploding and making a scene. It'd been difficult at first, when he'd started hearing them, but his experiences with Nabiki, and knowing that she had underwent something similar was the greatest help he could ask for. Having someone he could talk to helped more than he'd ever imagined.

Besides, if he advanced over the summer, he'd be a year ahead of Ranma (who had never bothered to take the placement tests). The thought of being a senior while Ranma was a junior was infinitely appealing, if only as some small manner of payback for Ranma getting better grades in junior high.

Smirking, Ryouga got in the pigtailed boy's face, forcing Ranma to try and side step, throwing off his pattern down the court. Though he hadn't gotten into a real fight with Ranma since... since before he moved in with the Tendos, and he had largely given up trying to kill (or maim) his former enemy turned rival, he still derived a great deal of pleasure from making him miserable, and destroying at least little bits of his happiness here and there.

Attending Furinkan and giving Saotome a little friendly rivalry in the one field he was good at: physical education, was almost as entertaining as trying to pound him into an unrecognizable red blob. Basketball, Soccer, Track... the only sport he shied away from was Crew, for obvious reasons. After gym, he attended some of Nabiki's classes, mostly math and science. He used to go to English class, and the one on Chinese, but after falling asleep listening to stuff he already knew inside out, he got thrown out. It didn't really matter - he didn't have to take those classes when school started next year anyway. It was much more productive to spend that time learning things he wasn't so familiar with.

As Daisuke made an easy two pointer, Ryouga growled, and shook his head. Unfortunately, all the best male athletes were in the Kendo Club, thanks to Kuno and his Clan, and while that generally wasn't saying much, it made a big difference in a team game like basketball. He couldn't carry the whole group himself, not with Ranma and his cadre of buddies against him. It was something he'd have to work towards remedying in the future.

Especially with money being placed on the outcome.

It was... strange that Kuno had been absent for so long, though.

"They're both so good. I don't know who to root for."

"Who'd you bet on?"

"Ranma's team by a six point spread."

"Better cheer for pigtails, then." Nabiki interrupted the two girls, all smiles. "88 - 90. Too close for the spread to pay off."

"We all know who you placed your money on." One of the girls, with long light brown hair, nudged Nabiki and gave her a conspiratorial wink.

"Do you?" Nabiki's smile didn't fade.

"You and Akane are so lucky. All the good guys just fall into your hands." The other girl with short, slightly wavy hair put in.

"You mean Akane's hands." Nabiki corrected her, while keeping an eye on the game. "You'll never see half the student body attacking me every morning begging for a date."

"Or buying pictures of me." Nabiki's mind added.

"With Ryouga around? They'd have to have a death wish." The longhaired girl, Ruka, if Nabiki remembered correctly, giggled. Nabiki found it annoying. She knew this girl, in a way. She was one of Akane's underclass friends, and she was on the mental list of those who propagated the myth of the heartless Ice Queen-Bitch Nabiki behind her back. A minor legend that had only recently began to thaw. And while Nabiki had never outright done anything to dispute her reputation, because of its beneficial, if wrongful, nature, she had always secretly hated it.

Three years ago, when she was a Freshman, trying to make a name for herself, and, she admitted it, trying to get another student named Tatewaki Kuno to recognize her from all the other nameless girls that came in from junior high, she had been quite the opposite. An athlete, an excellent student, and even a tutor - it had lasted for a year, before Akane arrived on the scene, and everything went downhill. It became like home, and she became the 'other' Tendo girl.

The thought made her grimace, but Nabiki swallowed her pride, and hid her thoughts. She couldn't really blame her little sister. Akane wasn't doing it on purpose, and while she liked being in the spotlight, she never asked for a lot of what happened to her. She was far too clueless and lacking in common sense to have been behind any sort of scheme to throw her older sister into the social backburner, anyway.

Back in the game, Nabiki saw Ryouga make a quick three pointer, taking the lead by one. Checking the school clock, she frowned - time for one last play. Contrary to what Ruka thought, she hadn't bet on the game at all. It was impossible to predict which way it would turn out, only that it would almost certainly be a close game. Which meant that all the idiots who put money on one team far outscoring the other would default to her. That, combined with her normal cut of the proceeds, would be a good day's pickings.

On the court, Ranma broke past Ryouga, and in a remarkable display of not being a ball hog, passed off to one of the younger Freshmen on the lower classman team, who made an easy under the net shot, that ended the game. Predictably, Ranma went up to Hibiki to gloat, and the two started snarling and tossing threats at each other. 'Talking trash' was the phrase, if Nabiki remembered her English slang. They hadn't really exchanged blows, aside from their 'sparring' sessions, in weeks, and after a few rounds, broke off and walked in different directions.

Nabiki caught up to Ryouga before he wandered off and left the school grounds. She took his arm, and turned him around. He smiled weakly, and looked down at her, laughing nervously. "Um... thanks, Nabi-chan."

"I'm buying a leash for you one of these days, Ryo-kun."

"Not again..."

"I mean it this time. A chain one, too, so you won't be able to accidentally 'break' it like you did that last one."

He shrugged. "You'll never..."

"I'm sure Mousse could make one strong enough."

Ryouga snorted in dismissal. "He wishes."

"Oh, don't be so huffy." Nabiki reached into her purse and took out a wad of bills, held in a silver clip. "I cleaned up today!"

"You cleaned up? Ah... you mean we cleaned up." He reached for the yen, but Nabiki dangled it a little out of reach.

"Ah ah ah... the magic word?"

"Oh." Ryouga scratched his chin idly. "Let's see... is it... 'Hey!'"

"What?" Nabiki blinked, and found the stack of money half gone. "Hey!"

"That's what I said." Ryouga thumbed through the money. "Not bad."

"Ryo-kun! How could you?" She looked up at him, eyes growing watery. He wavered for a heartbeat, before handing the yen over.

"Geez."

"You really are a gullible softie, Ryo-kun." She gave him a quick peck on the cheek, and he turned beet red.

"Nabiki! Not in public!" He shrugged into his shoulders, the color slowly fading from his cheeks. He followed her briskly to the entrance to the school. "Nabi-chan! We're still on for tonight, right?"

"Yeah." She checked her watch, and turned around. It was starting to get late. "Why?"

"I dunno... just ...a bad feeling."

***

Saotome Ranma was less than amused.

"What does this stuff always happen to me? Dumb old man. This is all his fault." The younger Saotome rubbed the rapidly healing bump on his upper lip. Why had the stupid spirit panda gotten obsessed with him, of all people? If Genma hadn't stolen his octopus balls then none of this evening's exercise in idiocy would have happened. Then again, when wasn't it Genma's fault?

It was bad enough as it was, virtually an entire night wasted on a date with the... thing, just to get rid of it, without Akane getting mad and hitting him, and Ryouga laughing his piggy ass off. He'd hoped he could just enjoy the fair, maybe... maybe spend some time with Akane without everyone looking over his shoulder and either urging him on, or trying to 'smite' him, but no: of course, the universe conspired to ruin things.

Pulling off his shirt, and tossing it into the nearby hamper, Ranma looked in the mirror, and at the bump below his nose: a goodnight kiss/head butt from the evil spirit-panda before it had gone back into the cursed scroll it came from. Near the end, when it looked like the panda was going to kiss him, actually kiss him on the lips, and he had frozen up, Akane had yelled and...

"This night was... priceless. Simply priceless."

"Shut up, porkchop!" Ranma kicked off the last of his clothes, and turned on the shower, letting it run through his thick hair.

"Don't be mad, cross dresser. I'm just pointing out what a nice night it was watching you try and French kiss a bad drawing."

"Shut your hole, Bacon breath!"

"She-male!"

"Pig fetish!"

"Oh, that's a new one." Ryouga frowned as Ranma turned off the shower, and relaxed in the furo, the steam turning him male before his ankles even got below the surface. "Hey, did I say I wanted your Sideshow Freak self in the same bath as me?"

"Hey, and I don't want to end up smelling like pork products!"

"Why you... the stage entrance is in the back, bearded lady."

"Bearded lady?"

Ryouga frowned. "That didn't work, did it?"

"Eh," Ranma said and yawned. "At least you didn't call me a 'villainous sorcerer.' I hate that."

"More than being called a She-male?"

Ranma growled.

"I didn't think so."

"Why do you call me that, anyway." Ranma's hand uncurled from the fist it had been in. "I'm a guy, damn it!"

"And I'm not a pig. What's your point?"

Ranma frowned. "Just... don't call me that."

"What? She-male, transvestite, cross dresser, pervert, freak show...?"

"All of them!"

"Nah." Ryouga smirked, cruelly. "I like calling you those things. I'd consider stopping, if you did the same, but I don't think you could go a day without calling me something insulting."

"You're such an asshole."

"And you're most comfortable in ladies' underwear."

"Look... Ryouga, I'm really not in the mood for this right now." Ranma held up his hands, in a gesture offering a truce. "Can't I just sit here and enjoy the water? In silence?"

"Whatever." Ryouga raised his hands and rested them behind his head, looking up at the ceiling. The two sat there, in total quiet, for all of a minute.

"So..." Ranma started, voice more casual.

"So..." Ryouga mimicked. "Did you actually kiss that drawing? We left after you two stood there for five minutes without moving."

"After half an hour it head butted me, so I ended up kissing it on the forehead."

Ryouga smiled, and Ranma noticed it wasn't the normal cruel smile he used when the two talked, or did anything together. "Akane must've been relieved."

"Why would that tomboy...?"

"Don't pull that crap with me, Saotome. Save it for school. ...Save it for Shampoo." Ryouga didn't hide the anger in his voice at that last part. "You're digging your own grave, you know."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't. So you didn't kiss the ...whatever it was?"

"Nah. Not really." Ranma cracked a grin, and pointed at the lost boy's face. "Did you know that you've got red smudges on your face?"

"Er," Ryouga replied softly, quickly dipped his head into the water, and started vigorously rubbing his cheeks and the side of his mouth.

"I was only kidding." Ranma smiled sardonically. "Yeah. You and Nabiki must've loved that movie you went to."

Ryouga laughed nervously, as he tended to do when thinking about those kinds of things in front of other people. "It... it was ...dark."

"Must've been."

Ryouga bit his lower lip.

"Looks like she's a real dynamo." Ranma chuckled. "Then again, knowing you, all she'd have to do is touch your hand now and then. Seriously: did you see any of the movie?"

"How dare you, Saotome! Making such statements..."

"Oh, right. Ryouga the perfect gentleman." Ranma rolled his eyes. "I hate it when Akane calls you that."

"I hate it when anyone calls you that," Ranma amended, a little too quickly.

"You've got real interpersonal problems, you know that, Saotome? I mean, I've spent my life wandering around Japan aimlessly, but sometimes you're more lost than I'll ever be."

"Hey!"

"I know Akane likes you. I know you like her. It wasn't exactly obvious when I fist showed up, and maybe you two didn't like each other back then, but now..." Ryouga tapped his finger on the side of the furo while Ranma rolled his eyes. "Now it's obvious to everyone."

"Listen, you," Ranma began. "Akane and I don't..."

"Want the engagement?"

"Damn straight!"

"That doesn't change the facts." Ryouga explained. "Besides, what does it matter if I know?"

"Nothing... really." Ranma 'hmfed' and leaned back into the hot water.

"So?"

"So what?"

"So, do you like her?" Ryouga asked, more forcefully than he had intended.

"I... I suppose... sometimes." Ranma sighed. "Not all the time, though!"

"Not all the time?" The lost boy sounded lost. "What does that mean?"

"Well, you know..."

"Obviously not, or I wouldn't be asking."

"Akane can be... she can be strange sometimes. It's like we can only be nice to each other when no one else is around."

"Your problem is that you care too much what other people think." Ryouga pointed out. "I mean, if you like her and she likes you, what does it matter that you were engaged by your parents?"

"It does matter." Ranma stressed. "Pops has been telling me what to do my whole life!"

"I'd be happy if I were in your shoes, Saotome." Ryouga grumbled loud enough for the other boy to hear. For a few seconds, they just sat there, in silence.

"P...provided Nabiki was in Akane's shoes." He added. "Or something like that."

Ranma inclined his head. "I still don't see why you care what happens between me and Akane."

"Normally, I wouldn't. It is your business at this point." Ryouga paused. "But Shampoo is a friend. I know you're not interested in her..."

"She's cute." Ranma interrupted. "But I don't wanna be no Amazon man living in China. Especially not if what you've told me about Mousse's childhood is true. Plus, she's just not my type."

"Then you need to do something about that!" Ryouga said, straight out. "Put your foot down and tell Cologne that Akane is the only fiancée you have."

"I... I don't think that'll help." Ranma sunk lower in the furo. "Besides, what if it pisses off Akane? Pops and Mr. Tendo will dance around celebrating and making wedding plans and... and I may like Akane... but I don't know if I want to marry her..."

Ranma's sentence trailed off, and he watched his former enemy, wondering if what he'd just said would make him angry, too. Ryouga was looking at him, as if making some kind of judgment while mentally reviewing everything that had been said. After a few seconds, Ryouga's face became serious.

"It ... is a big step," The lost boy admitted. "Almost a year ago, I'd probably have jumped at the chance to marry her, and I hardly even knew her."

"Hey, man... why don't you talk to her anymore?"

"What're you talking about?" Ryouga asked, instantly defensive.

"I mean you don't talk to her much. Sure, you nod and sometimes say 'Yes, Akane-san,' 'Ok, Akane-san,' and stuff like that. And you don't go out of your way to ignore her... But, well, you know what I'm saying."

Ryouga closed his eyes and snorted softly. "Yeah... I know."

"Well?"

"It's very awkward for me... Especially when she has that little pig with her. I don't like pigs, Ranma. I didn't like them before, and I don't like them now. Akane I just... we just don't have a lot in common. I know it sounds stupid, but... the only reason I liked her, back then, was because I was P-chan and because she was nice to me... him... like that."

"Yeah, but she wants to be your friend..."

"I'd like to be her friend, too!" Ryouga's eyes snapped open. "I just... I just don't know what to say."

Ranma smirked. "Sounds like me and Nabiki. Nothing in common. Frankly, I'm surprised you and her..."

Ryouga's eyes narrowed. "Watch your words, Saotome."

"I'm just being honest." Ranma admitted. "I mean: she's not really my idea of a normal girlfriend or anything. She's definitely more ... ah... feminine... than Akane, but she still can't cook, at least as far as I know, and she's bossy, and overbearing, and... I dunno. I figured you'd prefer a nice normal girl or somethin."

"Nabiki is a nice girl." Ryouga said, eyes half lidded.

"What about that time she sold you to the Kendo Club for their practice Tourney?"

Ryouga shrugged. "I didn't mind."

"Or when she used you as muscle to get those three guys to pay up what they owed her..."

"They had it coming."

"Rented you out as a bodyguard..."

"I got paid, too, you know."

"Rebuilding the damaged part of the school..."

"Community service."

"Handing out fliers for the Tendo Dojo..."

"I didn't mind."

Ranma frowned. "Oh? What about that time she had you come into school as P-chan, do tricks for all the girls, and then sold all those P-chan plushy dolls?"

Ryouga bristled a little. "Well, that... that wasn't so nice."

"And then there were the P-chan 'Dance Dance Revolution' tapes she sold last week."

Ryouga raised an eyebrow.

"Or the pictures she sells..."

"What?" Ryouga held up his hand. "Pictures? There's no way she'd sell..."

"There are actually pictures?" The pigtailed boy just smiled. "Really? I was making that one up."

"Rrraaannnmmaaa...." The lost boy snarled, fist clenched.

"A joke!" Ranma made little warding gestures. "Just a joke, man! Be cool!"

Ryouga finally crossed his arms and went back to sulking.

"The point is," Ranma said, starting over. "That she isn't a normal nice girl."

"I don't care," Ryouga said with a huff. "I'll admit... she isn't the most scrupulous of people, and she is still a little obsessed with money, but I don't think she's as bad as she used to be."

"And I'm happy when I'm around her. That's all that matters," Ryouga said, with finality, as he got out of the furo. As Ryouga dried his hair with a large yellow towel (he called it 'mustard' colored), Ranma thought about what the other boy had just said. He was happy being around Nabiki. Was that really all that mattered? In a way, it was easy for Ryouga to say that, neither of them were engaged. Still in thought, Ranma hardly even noticed when Ryouga wrapped the towel around his waist and headed for the door.

"Wait!"

"Yeah?" Ryouga's voice didn't seem that patient.

"Do you still hate me, Ryouga?"

The lost boy seemed a bit surprised by the question. "I don't hate you... not anymore, Saotome. You just test me sometimes... you don't know when to stop pushing people until they're already off the cliff."

"Yeah... I... I know." Ranma looked away, at the fogged up window.

"And you did Curse me. Let's not forget that."

"You're the one who followed me to China."

"Oh please." Ryouga shook his head. "That could have been anyone standing there that day. It could have been some villager, minding his own business. You could've killed somebody, broken their neck, and you wouldn't even have known."

"I... I didn't mean to!"

"Doesn't change facts. Sure... I was late to our duel..."

"Four days late."

"But you knew about my directional problem. You sure said so enough when we fought back then in junior high... you knew, and you still left with your father."

"You didn't have to follow us!"

"You don't get it Saotome." Ryouga said, voice sad. "...I did. I did have to follow you... you were my enemy- you were my goal. This sounds stupid, but I really don't think I had anything better to do with my life."

"Hey." Ranma rubbed his upper lip nervously with his thumb, not used to making any sort of apology. "Look, I'm sorry 'bout knocking you into the pool, ok?"

"I know you are. If you weren't..." Ryouga didn't feel the need to go there in any more detail. Instead, he 'hmfed' and left without another word. Ranma sat in the furo, alone, and thought.

***

"Ok. Here's one." Mousse poked the fire with one of his swords, before twirling it in his palm and burying it into the soft ground. "What do you call a room with fifty lesbians, and fifty politicians?"

"Oh brother... what?"

"A hundred people who don't do dick! HA!"

"Ugh!" Ukyou groaned. "Yes. That was bad. Much worse than mine. I concede defeat."

"Victory!"

"Don't let it go to your head or anything. By tomorrow, I'll have something much worse than that thought up." Ukyou looked into the pot that was warming over the flames. "Looks done."

"Excellent." Mousse started spooning out the trail soup. It was warm, and while many orders of magnitude better than Akane's cooking, and far from the worst thing Mousse had made in their little trip, both silently knew that they looked forward to the days when it was Ukyou's turn to make the food.

"How far are we from Jyusenkyou, do you think?" Ukyou broached, like she did every day.

"Well, we're definitely in the Baiyankara Range. Nekonron should be around here somewhere... they kind of skirt the edges of the Jyusenkyou area, all the way to the other side of the mountains, but travel around a lot. I wouldn't mind stopping by there to see the place for myself, but they're not particularly friendly to Joketsuzoku now a days."

"No one seems to be very friendly to Joketsuzoku around here."

"It's the Elders. They insist on fighting the Musk whenever they show up, they provoke the Phoenix Tribe, and they bully the Shichi Fukudoujin." Mousse rolled his eyes and continued. "One of these days, they're going to bite off more than they can chew. I think they already did with Saotome. Trying to get that guy to commit to anything is like moving a mountain."

"I still can't believe that he and Ryouga-kun got drunk back at that stupid race. Or that I had to drag you in the right direction... honestly, someone needs to glue those glasses onto your face, sugar."

"Those trees looked just like the goal post! Identical! Down to the smallest detail!"

"You're hopeless." She patted him on the shoulder, and started eating. He came close to flinching at the statement, but gave her a small smile instead. She hadn't meant it, of course, but the jibe hit close to home. He took a tentative sip of the soup, before consigning it to being a little too hot. As he stirred the contents of the bowl slowly, his eyes caught sight of a tall Chinese oak, and remembered.

It had been years ago.

Mu Tzu had strained his small body to its limit, reaching on tiptoe for the next branch. His fingertips just brushed it, only inches out of reach. High above, tauntingly, the highest branches of the tree danced in a sudden spring breeze, tantalizing him with brief glances of the sky beyond. On the bridge of his nose, his glasses almost slipped, and he had to draw back his hand to steady them on his face.

He steadied himself and looked down - the ground seemed unusually far away. He knew he should be happy that he'd gotten this far; most boys his age certainly wouldn't have been able to double his feat, and only a few girls of the Joketsuzoku of the same generation. After all, two branches down, a climber had to swing carefully around the trunk, moving from one side of the tree almost to the other.

But this limb, he just couldn't reach, and the trunk was too thick to possibly shimmy up to a better position. Mousse was foiled, and he knew it. He'd simply have to wait until he grew taller, if he ever did. The alternative was...

To jump for it.

The branch was thick, and he'd have to jump pretty high, but if he could snag it, he might be able to pull himself up. And if he missed, he'd defiantly fall. He was still staring up at the branch, trying to decide where to go next, when he heard the voices from below start up again.

"Mu! Hey, Mu! Come down! Were going to play Amazons and Musk!"

Why were they bothering him? Couldn't they see that he was busy?

"Come on, Mu!"

"Hold on!" Mousse called out and looked down reluctantly. Six boys from his generation, three of them his year-brothers, and three girls all stood below. Way below, Mousse amended that. He suddenly started to feel more than a little dizzy, and he quickly adjusted his glasses again to keep them from falling.

"Give it up, Mu Tzu!" It was the group's unofficial leader, Tso Pu. "Even I can't reach that one!"

Unlike Mousse, Soap was seven years old, a year older than himself and most of the other children, but Soap was about a solid head taller than the boy. And everyone liked Tso Pu, and not just because she was female and strong.

"Yeah, come on, Mousse! Before you hurt yourself."

That was Shan Pu, Tso's sister by one less year. Shan was his height, and age, and Mousse secretly admired her purple hair and dark brown eyes. He liked the way she laughed, when she wasn't laughing at him.



"Oooh, Shan is worried about poor blind Mu Tzu!" Another girl called out, her voice mocking.

"No I'm not!" Shampoo yelled, too quickly.

He turned his face to the bark so they wouldn't see his angry and embarrassed blush. Frowning, he turned back to the branch, and jumped as hard as he could. That would show them.

All of them.

He managed to get his arms around the branch, as the crowd of children turned deathly quiet down below. Scrambling for a hold, Mousse realized his timing was off, and that his fingers had never quite met up around the thick branch. There was nothing to grab onto, and only pressure and his nails on the bark kept him in place. But it was pressure he couldn't keep up for long.

He looked down, and that was worse. He was hanging above and off to the side of the limb he had been standing on. If he freefell, he'd have no chance of landing on it - he'd have to fall the whole way down, and probably break something. On the positive side of things, at least he's shut up the others. Only a moment seemed to pass, and then a voice spoke up.

"Mu Tzu, you stupid male, hold on! I'm coming up to get you!"

Tso Pu.

She was trying to play hero. The taller girl was already climbing up the tree.

"No," Mousse thought, desperately, "No way! I don't need to be saved by a girl! I may be male, but I'm not helpless!"

With a snort, Mousse swung himself and dropped. The children below gasped like a crowd watching a circus performer as he hit the next branch, feet first, and teetered there for a long, terrible moment, before finding his balance. He may have been male, and too young to start formal martial arts training (even if he had been a girl), but he had watched countless fights, and practiced by himself whenever he could. He stood there, fighting the urge to hug the branch and breathing harder than he ever remembered. Below, he sensed a restless pause.

"Wow."

He peered down. That had been one of the girls. Shampoo? He wasn't sure.

"You were lucky," Tso yelled up, after letting go of the tree and landing on her feet near the others, "You should have waited for me to help you. You shouldn't even be trying to climb by yourself. We're supposed to play together! Will you come down now?"

Mousse bit back an urge to dare Tso Pu to duplicate his feat. It would be great if Tso tried and failed, but what if she managed it? Or did better? Right now, at least somebody was impressed by Mu Tzu... and a girl somebody, at that!

"Okay," he called down. "But I don't want to be Musk this time!"

He started the descent. He had played Amazon and Musk many times, and like all boys, he had to play as the Musk raider, or warrior, or slaver, or whatever name the girls wanted to call them. It wasn't just the monotony of the part, but its dullness and the fact that it offered no real challenges or incentives. Carefully, he jumped the last few feet and landed on the soft ground, facing the others.

"You get to be Musk, 'Moo,'" Plun said, and smiled. Plun was an ugly girl, with the face of a bat, minus its good features.

"I said I didn't want to be Musk," Mousse repeated, keeping his voice level.

"We voted, Moo," she called him that stupid nickname again, and he started to fume. "We voted, and you have to be Musk."

"Yeah. It was a fair vote," Shan Pu added in, meaning, of course, that the girls had decided it without asking him or any of the other boys. The tone in her voice was clear - so she didn't like him. His momentary elation faded, but his stubbornness remained.

"I didn't get to vote!" He blurted out, without really thinking.

"If you really want to then," Tso Pu addressed the other girls, "All in favor of Mu Tzu being Musk?"

All the girl's hands went up. ...Of course.

"All opposed?"

Mousse raised his hand defiantly. The other boys simply looked away. They were clearly too afraid or just too whipped to speak up. Mousse silently cursed them.

"I was Musk the last time! All of us were!" He swept his hand out, indicating the other boys. "We're always the Musk!"

"But you're just sooo good at it, Moo. You'll probably grow up to be one, I'll bet."

"You take that back, Plun. You take that back right now!" Anger boiled through Mousse's veins so fast, it felt like his scalp would pop off. Plun hesitated. Mousse realized his voice had come out calmly, not like he was mad at all, the way Elder Cologne's voice came out when she was really angry. It had a similar effect, too, freezing the other girl in her tracks. He made a note to remember that in future dealings with Pun - she was, basically, a coward and a bully, unless someone stronger came in and gave her some courage to latch onto.

"That's enough, Plun. You shouldn't say things like that," Tso Pu finally spoke.

"I'm... sorry," Plun mumbled reluctantly, "What I meant was that you're good at playing one of them. Because you're male, and you run fast and stuff."

"I tell you what. I'll be a Musk, too." Tso didn't stop when the other girls seemed about to interrupt. "Just to show everyone that the roles aren't set in stone. Okay, Mu Tzu?"

Mousse blinked at the older girl. What was... then it hit him. She hadn't saved him in the tree, so she would save him now. How typical of her.

"Fine," he said, having no choice at all.

"Hey, Mousse," Ukyou nudged him, and Mousse quickly returned to the present. "Your soup is getting cold."

"Oh. Thanks, Ukyou." He looked from her to the tree, to the horizon. With his free hand, he slid his thick glasses up and onto his forehead. The stars were just beginning to come out, now that the sun was gone, but Mousse didn't really want to see them.