****Note: Yes I know that all these characters and more belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. She is a god send to us all!!!
When I Thought I'd Lost You
Ch. 9
Mousse turned to look at Shampoo as she laughed on his bed and smiled slightly. But now his mind was racing, wondering if everything that had happened was really true. He just couldn't believe everything that happened to him was right.
"Shampoo?"
"Yeah, Mousse." Shampoo rolled over on her side and stared at him, her head propped up with an elbow.
"Well...it's just that..after all these years, after everything thats happened to us, you finally now tell me that you love me and for some reason my mind can't comprehend that its real. I can't believe all this is true." Mousse looked down to the bed as he couldn't bear to look at Shampoo anymore, for fear she'd start to hate him again.
He felt Shampoo move on the bed and then there was a hand on his head pulling it up and the next moment, he found Shampoo's lips upon his and her arms pulling him closer. He too wrapped his arms around her and held her tight, like their kiss. For Mousse, it was as if time had stopped and all there was in the world was Shampoo and him. It was almost as if Shampoo's lips hungered for his as she pressed tightly against him and would not let go.
It was not before long, that the need for air caused them to stop and break off the kiss. He opened his eyes to see Shampoo staring back at him with a twitch of fear in her eyes, yet they were alive with hopefulness. Shampoo took his head in her hands and leaned it towards her own so that their foreheads touched.
"Mousse? Do you still think that this isn't for real?"
"No, I see its real now. Sorry, I'm always looking for the bad side of everthing. It was just that I kept thinking about us and I wondered about the tribe. We both know how the elders will react to us and I have yet to defeat you or Ranma."
"You shouldn't be scared about them."
Mousse guffawed at her remark and looked up at Shampoo.
"Who said I was scared, I'm just worried that I won't be able to stay with you."
"Then don't worry about them Mousse," Shampoo put a hand on his arm and gripped it softly. "They're nothing compared to what we've been through in the past and I'll always stay here with you. I'm here with you Mousse. I don't care what Grandmother or the elders say, I'm not gonna let you leave me alone again!"
Mousse looked at Shampoo with an eyebrow raised, a little confused. "Again?"
"Oh, um...it was a dream I had while you were still out. It's been haunting me since then."
"What is it that haunts you from this dream?"
Shampoo sighed and then started to unravel the details of her dream. Mousse sat silent beside her and listened to her words. As she finished, she sighed once more, almost as if she was letting a weight off her shoulders.
Mousse took her hand and squeezed it tightly.
"Shampoo, you say that I'm scared of the elders and then you say you're scared of a dream you had. Maybe you need to take your own advice."
"But it was so real! I could have sworn it was and then you disappeared and I was alone..."
"Hey, you're not going to left alone again. I could never leave you out of my own accord. They'd have to use a hundred thousand wild horses to keep me away from you. And so you know, I swear for now on, I'll stand up to what ever comes our way and I won't back down."
"You'd do that for me?"
"In a heartbeat." Mousse smiled at Shampoo and squeezed her hand again. "I don't think I'll be disappearing anytime soon."
Shampoo squeezed his hand back, smiling back up at him, and she then suddenly stood up off the bed and started to pull Mousse off the bed as she held onto his hand.
"Come on Mousse! You've been locked up in here too long, lets get you moving again!"
Mousse could only slightly protest as Shampoo pulled him off the bed and out of the room and down the hall. He saw how bright her smile was now and he wasn't going to be the one to dampen her spirit now that he had finally sparked her back into life.
Cologne stood cooking in the Nekohanten. Since Shampoo hadn't come back from her night walk last night, she had put two and two together and figured that she had gone to Mousse. Something had happened between them, she knew that much at least. As she stirred a pot of boiling ramen noodles, she felt a presence that she had not felt for a while, enter the Nekohanten. Turning to the dining room, she had to quickly regain her composure as she saw the person she thought she'd never see enter the store, even Japan nonetheless.
"Elder Lu Xan! What a pleasure it is to see you! I never expected to see you here in Nerima!"
A woman turned in place to look at Cologne. Her appearance was proud and statured. She dwarfed Cologne with her 5' 9" height. Her hair, graying of age but reminiscent of purple flowed past her waist and stopped halfway to her knees. Her face wore a fond smile and kind eyes and it could be seen that in her younger days, she was a very beautiful woman. She wore a long red robe that went well past her feet, but yet clung to her like a dress.
"Oh, Elder Xu Lon, I am sorry for the abrupt appearance, but I do mean well. I came because of a few reasons actually. One being the message you sent me about my son. How is Mu Tsu?"
Cologne regarded the elder before her for a moment. "How about you sit down and I'll bring you some tea? You must be tired from your trip. I can tell you everything you need to know then."
"Very well, Xu Lon."
Later On...
Lotion sipped her tea and then placing her cup back down to it's saucer, she sighed in relief.
"So my son will be alright. I am pleased. I was so worried about him. When I got your message about him, I nearly fainted."
"You shouldn't worry so much about him. Mousse, well even with his flaws and blindness, he is a strong young man. Even I can admit that."
"Yes, I know. As an elder of the tribe and a newly appointed one as that is, I have to set an example. Worrying over a son, a male of the village, can not be a high setting standard. But...he is my only child, even if he is a male and any mother would worry about her child."
"Yes, I know what you mean. I still think about my daughter everyday. Whenever I look at Shampoo, I see so much in her that is my daughter."
"That reminds me dear Cologne. How has Shampoo been doing? Has she married that boy yet? We've all been wondering that."
"Well, she...wait a minute, We?"
Lotion laughed nervously and sipped her tea again. "Yes, we as in meaning all of the elders. We all traveled here." Cologne nearly fell off her chair as she heard the news, it was such a shock to her system. What troubles were going to happen now?
"You, you what?"
"Well, out of normal circumstance, we wouldn't leave the village much less China, but we feel that it is as if we are missing out on what's happening in the world outside of us and we wanted to come and learn more."
"If they have all come, then were are they?"
"You know how Elder Lu Fa loves the marketplace and finding new things to buy? Well, she kind of saw that place you call a 'mall' and she took off like a flying halberd. Took the rest of the elders with her too." Lotion rubbed her temples with a hand and sighed. "I do hope that everything is alright with them."
"I'm sure they'll be fine."
"So how is Shampoo doing?"
Cologne searched her mind for something to explain Shampoo's 'condition' at the moment. What could she say?
"Ah, Shampoo, she has been working very well to try and marry the man that defeated her, but there have been troubles."
"Troubles? Like what?"
"Like the man already has two other fiances and lives at a dojo with one of them and her family."
"Oh my. Hasn't she tried to get them out of the picture?"
"Many times, but it seems that the boy always rescues them or destroys Shampoo's plot or in some cases, my plots, altogether. He is an odd boy, in more ways than one."
"Then bring me to Shampoo. I must have a talk with that girl. I can go and find the rest of the elders and we can help out the girl."
"I don't really know where she is at the moment. You know how young girls are." Cologne lied, trying to give herself sometime to come up with a plan to at least help out Shampoo and Mousse.
"Yes I do know. I could vanish for weeks on end when I was that age. Well, there's no sense in sitting here all day waiting then." Lotion stood up and straightened her robe, "You said that Mousse was at a hospital right? Could you take me to him? I'm sure he'd love to see me again."
"Are you sure you don't want to rest some more? Maybe you like to find the rest of the elders and bring them here so they too can rest?"
"Nonsense Cologne. They're fine and they can find the place on their own. I did. Anyway, I would like to see how this new surgery has helped my son. It's been at least three years since I saw Mousse last. I wonder if he's changed at all."
Lotion made her way to the door and opened it. She stepped out and looked around her before turning back and looking for Cologne. Cologne sighed and hopped on her cane after Lotion. Cologne just hoped that Shampoo had enough sense to leave the hospital and head back to the Nekohanten, but if she didn't, she hoped Lotion wouldn't react too badly to Mousse and Shampoo's new relationship.
"So tell me Cologne. What more can you tell me about this boy that Shampoo is to marry?"
"Well, its really complicated to explain him."
"How do you mean? He is a man after all, how could he be that much trouble?"
Cologne saw a red speck quickly heading their way followed by something big, white, and black. She smiled to herself as she realized who it was. Perfect! Now she could get them off Ranma having to marry Shampoo!
"Well, here comes your explanation, Lotion." Cologne pointed a gnarled finger ahead of her at the quickly gaining pair of she-Ranma and Genma-panda.
"Come on old man! Forget it! I'm not gonna propose to her because of this!" Ranma screamed behind him at the tumble of fur that was his father.
Genma-panda grumbled loudly and then taking a mighty leap ahead of him, threw this panda arms around Ranma's legs. Ranma screamed as he went down to the ground and they skidded across the street, stopping just at the feet of Lotion and Cologne. Looking from their position, Ranma smiled apologetically at Cologne and then stood up, kicking away Genma from his grip on his legs.
"Hey there Cologne. Sorry about interrupting you, but he's been chasing me for three miles now."
"Cologne? Do you know this young woman? Who is she?"
Cologne smiled brightly and cleared her throat. "Elder Lotion, this is Ranma. Ranma, this is another elder of my village, Lotion. She is MOUSSE'S mother." she emphasized loudly.
Ranma's eyes popped for a moment and Genma was instantly behind him, sign in paw. 'So nice to meet the mother of Mousse' It read. Ranma rolled his eyes at Genma, but he had understood Cologne's direction.
"Um..yeah, nice to meet you. I'm Ranma and this is my father."
Lotion double blinked at the pair. "How...is that...possible?"
"Oh, its nothing really. We're just cursed, that's all."
"Cursed? From what? A witch?"
"Nope, ever heard of the Jusenkyo Springs?"
"Yes, but they are quite a fairy tale to begin with."
"Well, you're looking at two people who can tell you wrong. You see originally, he," Ranma gestured to the rolling figure of his father, "is actually a man about 50 years old." Genma quickly stuck up a sign, 'I am NOT 50 years old!'
"Anyway and then as for me, I'm actually a guy too, I'm 17 years old. I fell into the spring of drowned girl, he fell in the panda one. We only change form when we get hit with cold water. We change back to original form with hot water. Get it?"
Lotion shook her head, understandably, but then looked to Cologne confused. "Cologne, then how is she to explain why the man Shampoo to marry is troublesome?"
"Because, my dear Lotion, this is the man Shampoo's supposed to marry."
"You're kidding right?" Her eyebrow twitched nervously.
"I wish I was, but this is the man that defeated Shampoo. I have seen it with my own eyes."
"Come on Mousse! Let's get you out of this place." Shampoo said as she pulled Mousse along behind her towards the front doors.
"Shampoo, I'm not supposed to leave until they release me! I could get sick again, you know."
Shampoo whirled about and stepped up in front of Mousse, a fire of anger burning in her eyes. "Don't you ever say that! You are not getting sick again, you hear me!"
Mousse could only smile back at Shampoo, as he saw the determination in her flare up again. She wouldn't give up on him anymore. "Yeah, I hear you Shampoo, but its not me who's in control you know." he said as he pointed to his chest, where the stitches still lay imbedded.
"Fine then. We won't go home, then. We can just walk around the hospital. Would that be all right with you?"
"Yeah, sure thats fine." Stepping outside, Mousse looked around the grounds and saw the lilac trees that he'd been staring at before. He suddenly had an inkling to race.
"Well, Shampoo, you know what?" Mousse said as he slowly slinked forward towards the purple trees. Shampoo had turned her back to him and was looking around herself, in the opposite direction.
"What is it Mousse?"
"You feel like a race?"
Shampoo double blinked, confused. Race? She started to turn around towards Mousse and said, "Yeah, I guess so."
"Thenlastonetothepurpletreesisawetcat!" Mousse quickly yelled out as she spurred ahead towards the trees.
Shampoo's jaw dropped for a moment, then she fumed at Mousse for another second and then took off after him, determined to close the ten foot gap between them.
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Well, finally another chapter up. I thought I'd never get it up. This is probably the last one that I will put up before my move back home from college, and at home, my computer doesn't have internet, so I'm going to have to work around this so that I can move files from my comp to my other one at home that does have internet. Oy!!
Anyway, if you noticed before, in the past chapter, I put in a little mentioning of a few characters that should sound familiar to some of you, like Tenchi, Ryoko, and Ayeka (I can never spell her name right, that is if it isn't.) Just wanted to have a little cameo of some other anime in here for fun.
Now we are going to have to deal with all the elders around Nerima. What will happen, do you think? Also, I'm staying with the hair products/make up names for the rest of the elders, makes it just a bit easier to work with in making up names.
Also sorry before to butterfly, I didn't mention anything to you and I should have. Thanks so much for your comments and I am bedazzled that you and many more have actually read this story and said that it's one of the best they've read. I just get so happy when I see that people really think that way about my stories. Anyway, again thanks and stay tuned for another chapter soon!
^_^ (\/) cyancat