New Friends, Old Wounds
The commander drummed his fingers on his desk. The officer waited nervously, listening to the distant hum of the machine and his superior rapping on the black stone. "What do you suggest we do, hm?" said the commander finally. The officer said nothing. The commander leaned forward. "We cannot allow this to get out of hand. If my inferences are correct, then our entire operation could be in jeopardy! And the news of their arrival will only upset the Master all the more." A thin, humorless smile settled upon his face. "And you know what happens when he gets angry." The officer swallowed and felt a cold sweat break on his brow. The commander leaned back in his chair and steepled his hands in front of him.
After a long moment, he sat up straight and looked the officer in the eye and pointed at him. "I'm giving you full command of my forces for one full day," he said. "Use whatever means necessary, but bring me proof they are all dead!" He procured a dagger from underneath his desk and twirled the point around in his finger. "One day," he repeated. "That's all you've got. If you fail, well." He chuckled and brought his knife in front of his face to stare at it. "Let's just say there won't be a place for you here anymore." He glanced at the officer, then at his watch. "Your day starts now, Lieutenant. Have I made myself clear?" "Inescapably, sir," he whispered. He gave a quick salute and walked out the door. He let out a deep breath he forgot he had been holding. He could still hear the commander's words in his mind: If you fail, well....
He desperately hoped he wouldn't fail.
Akane felt the first ray of sun hit her cheek. It was warm and friendly, and she basked in it for a long time. She knew the sun would soon be obscured by the ever-present smog and clouds, almost completely blocked out. Still, the few rays of sunlight that made it through each morning were a blessing. They were so much different from the rest of the world. "When they leave?" asked Shampoo, who stood behind her. "About an hour ago," she replied.
Akane, Shampoo, and Ryoga stood on he edge of the forest, waiting for Ranma and Mousse to return. They hadn't said why they needed first aid to be ready, but if Mousse made a request like that, there had to be a reason.
"Wait, what's that?" asked Ryoga. Akane followed Ryoga's finger. There appeared to be several large shapes moving towards them. "Is that them, or something else?" he wondered. Akane shook her head. "We'll just have to wait and find out. As they moved closer, they could see the large shapes seperate into smaller shapes resting upon one small shape each; they were carrying something, or someone. By the time the people were thirty feet away, they already knew for certain it was Ranma and Mousse. "This way!" said Akane as she gestured to where Ryoga and Shampoo held some parted foliage. "We've prepared a special area for this," said Akane as she and Ryoga and Shampoo followed them into the small clearing. Eight seperate sleeping bags lay on the ground in two rows, and they set down the unmoving bodies upon them. Akane noticed one bed was not filled.
"Where's the eighth?" she asked. "That's her," said Mousse and pointed at Sheena, who was laying down a blue-haired man onto a sleeping bag. Sheena looked up. "I don't need treatment," she protested. "Sheena," said Ranma. She bowed her head. "Okay, but do them first," she said. "I'm not that bad. Really. Anyways, here's some things we brought that I managed to find. All our weapons are here, too. I'm surprised all our stuff wasn't taken." Akane rummaged through the bag Sheena handed her. She looked at them all for a moment and then asked Sheena what they were. "Let me help you, okay?" she said. "This is an apple gel, and what it does is..." Sheena went off and helped Akane, Ryoga, and Shampoo heal the wounded. Ranma sighed and sat down on the ground, exhausted. Something orange landed in his lap. He looked up. Sheena was looking at him. "Eat it," she said. "It'll make you feel better."
Ranma poked it. It felt like a package of gelatin wrapped in plastic. He hestitantly brought the orb of gel to his mouth and took a bite. Once it was in his mouth, he noticed it had a texture like that of smooth toothpaste, not the gritty kind, but not foamy, and this one tasted like some sort of melon. Ranma quickly finished the rest. "Well, it was good but-" Ranma cut himself off short. "Ohhhh," he said. A feeling of strength and energy surged into his body and he felt completely recharged. "Amazing!" he said. "That was awesome!" He went and got the same kind from Sheena and gave it to Mousse. He ate it, and stood for a while just staring off into space, his hand on his chin. "That's wonderful," he said after a minute of silence. "I wonder how they do it." "It's kinda like eating candy, only it's a lot better for you," Sheena explained. "And the effect doesn't really wear off, except in battle. There's all different kinds. I'll show you later."
Ranma took this oppurtunity to examine the newcomers closely. There was Sheena and Presea, and six others, eight in all. There was a teenage boy, about sixteen or seventeen, with short brown hair that stuck up. He was dressed in a red shirt and gloves and dark blue overalls. Twin swords were strapped to his hips. There was an older woman, whose age Ranma could not really tell; she could be anywhere from twenty to thirty, but she was very beautiful. As he watched, Sheena set down a gunmetal blue staff with a sapphire crystal at the top next to her and moved on. She had flaring white hair and a kind, scholarly face. She wore a white shirt, black trousers, white boots, and an orange robe type garment. There was a young boy, thirteen, Ranma guessed, who had the same white hair and facial features as the woman. At his side Sheena placed a shimmering kendama. Ranma decided that these two snow haired people were probably related somehow. The wore a blue and white outfit that had short sleeves and legs. Ranma moved on.
There was a young man in his early twenties with shockingly red hair, kept out of his face by a white headband that went across his forehead. He wore a strange outfit as well; a salmon colored vest over a black shirt, with salmon-and-black gauntlets and flaring white baggy pants. A sword was sheathed at his waist and a black shield with gold edges and trimmings lay next to him. There was another man that, although didn't look so weird, looked pretty tough. He had to be at least twenty five. He wore his long blue hair in a large ponytail, tied at the bottom, that fell down to his mid-back. He wore a sort of white half-shirt that covered his chest, and brown pants, over which were tied a pair of powerful-looking greaves. His hands were handcuffed together, so Ranma assumed he fought with his legs rather than his hands, and that the handcuffs were a voluntary thing, rather than being forced as if he were their prisoner. The last one was a teenage blonde girl. She wore a long sleeved white, blue-trimmed jacket and dark blue stockings. She had an ornate necklace attached to her throat, and Ranma stared at it for a while. Next to her were a pair of star-shaped chakram. Sheena set a heavy ax down by Presea. Ranma was amazed that that little girl could wield such a weapon. Sheena had difficulty just carrying it. She sighed and sat down on one of the makeshift beds and began to absently shuffle some cards around in her hands as she watched the others work. Every now and then she would call advice to them, but she herself stayed down. Ranma had noticed that all of them had a small jewel attached to their bodies somewhere, but he decided that if it was anything important Sheena and the others would tell them about it later.
When his wife and the the others finished with the unconscious, they came over to Sheena. "Alright, it's your turn," said Akane. Sheena sighed, and removed her long gloves. She undid her ribbon around her waist, and took off her outer shirt. She closed her eyes and hung her head as they examined her. Ranma gasped. There was a huge tearing slash running down her back. "Sheena!" exclaimed Mousse. "How could do this to yourself? Exerting yourself like that could have killed you!" "I'm sorry," she whispered sadly. Tears welled up in her eyes. "But I knew if I put myself ahead of the others, they all might die. I had to save them. I'm sorry." The tears streamed down her face silently. Mousse's face softened. He went over to her and placed his arms around her. She hugged him tightly as she cried into his shoulder. "I'm sorry too," he said quietly. "I know your love for your friends must be strong. I'm sorry I doubted you. But the time for apologies is over. We must first get you treated. No one blames you for your actions. You are truly a good friend. If I never found out another thing about you, that would be enough. I'm sure they love you too. And so we must not let them down. We must keep their Sheena alive and well for them. They need their friend." He looked down at her, and she looked back up. He smiled. She released him, and wiped the tears from her eyes. He let go of her and stood up. "Thank you, Mousse," she whispered. "Anytime," he said. Akane, Shampoo, and even Ryoga, were misty-eyed as they went to administer aid to Sheena. Mousse turned to go, and heard Shampoo whisper to Akane, "You see? I tell you he could be sweet sometimes! Now if only he do this kind of thing for me..."
Mousse walked away and let Akane, Shampoo, and Ryoga do their work. Mousse watched them as they began to clean the wound and prepare to sew it up. He turned back to Ranma. Ranma turned back around to see Mousse. His eyes were a bit red, and Mousse noticed. "Oh yeah," murmured Ranma. Mousse placed a friendly hand on Ranma's shoulder. "That wasn't, wrong, was it?" asked Ranma. Mousse shook his head and smiled. "No, my friend," he said, "it just means you have a soul." Ranma nodded slowly. "You are a good man, Ranma, although I don't say it often enough. I remember when I first met you. I doubt you would have had a second thought about sending her away back then. But you have grown. And so have I. I don't think I could have trusted her back then, either." Ranma looked surprised. Mousse let his hand drop. "I am only human, you know. We all have our faults. But the good thing is, we also have the potential to change. So really, what matters is not how many faults you have, but how strong your will and determination to change them. And though we may not ever eliminate all our faults, we will have at least had the want in our hearts." Ranma stared at him. "You are amazing," Ranma said. "You're so insightful, and you just seem to always know just what to say." Mousse grinned and shrugged. "Most of the knowledge, and all of the desire, was always there," he said. "I just learned how to use the knowledge and act out the desire. Eventually I believe you will learn to as well." "I hope so," said Ranma. "I never know what to say." "I think you do," said Mousse, and walked off, leaving Ranma to watch Sheena get treated and to wonder what he had meant.
Akane wiped off the caked blood on her hands and tossed the damp cloth into a bag so no evidence was left behind. Mousse came up to her. "How are they?" he asked worriedly. "They're all fine, although there is some concern about Sheena's wound," she said. "What concern?" he asked. "We're not sure it'll heal properly, or at all. She could get an infection, too. We just aren't equipped well enough to handle that serious an injury. Frankly, I think her wound is worse than any of the others." Mousse swore. After a moment of thought, he punched his fist into his palm. He ran off towards the wounded's place. Akane raised her hand to stop him, but let it fall without saying anything.
Mousse kneeled over Sheena. A sweat had broken over her, and Mousse felt her forehead. He was terrified by her extreme temperature. He gently shook her. Her brown eyes opened slowly. "What is it?" she whispered hoarsely. "Your bag," he said, "what did it have in it? Anything that could heal your wound?" "Yeah, but..." she trailed off. "What, Sheena?" he asked firmly, grasping her shoulders. "Could need it later," she whispered. "What is it?" he repeated. She pointed towards her bag. "Blue bottle," she said. "Water of life." That was odd, he thought. That was what had kept Shinnosuke alive. He wished that he had some of the moss, but they had used the last available on Ranma. He found a bottle of it and put it up to her lips. She pushed it away. "Don't drink it," she said. "Put it on the skin. On the wound first, then the face." He gently turned her over and spilled some of the the water onto her back. The wound reacted instantly. It sealed and vanished as it if had never existed. Mousse was stunned. The water of life never had that sort of effect, according to what he'd heard. He turned her back over and poured some of the water onto her forehead and face. She took in a deep breath.
"It was more serious than I'd thought," she said after a few minutes. Mousse checked her forehead; it was normal. "If you don't mind, I'm going to go to sleep now," she said, and yawned. Mousse nodded and got up. Sheena's head fell to one side and she was fast asleep. Mousse walked slowly out of the area. He wondered if the water of life she had was in any way related to the water of life from the Higo forest. They displayed similar attributes, but Sheena's water was much more potent. Perhaps her water had a higher concentration of the moss. Or maybe there was no relation, and just a coincidence of names.
Wrapped up in his thoughts, Mousse did not notice the rustle of leaves as the stranger disappeared into the brush behind him.
Akane decided to check up on the patients. It had only been a little while since she had finished, but it wouldn't hurt. She got up and walked towards the path that led to the treatment area. Mousse passed her on the path, but said nothing. He seemed preoccupied. She shrugged and kept going. As she came upon the clearing, she noticed that Sheena's bed was damp. Curious, she gently rolled her over, to find her wound had completely vanished. Akane raised an eyebrow, not so surprised at things like this anymore. Next to the bed on the ground she found a glass bottle. Akane wondered if this was the water of life Sheena had talked about. She said it was very strong and could heal wounds instantly and restore a bit of a person's energy. She said it was to be used sparingly, and that she only had a small supply, but in the condition she was in, Akane was relieved Sheena allowed Mousse to give her some.
The others seemed to be doing well, none of them appeared to have any problems taking the stitches and none of the wounds seemed to be infected. It was a good thing they had some antibiotics, but Akane regretted not bringing more. They had run out before they got to Sheena. She decided to leave, and stood up to take one last look at the group. Turning away from them, she began to exit the area. No sooner than she had taken two steps she heard a heavy thud from behind her. She had no time to react before it grabbed her mouth and dragged her into itself. She smelled a horrible rotting odor as its hot, foul breath blew on her face. It chuckled. "You and your friends are going to die!" it growled. "No one can stop us now! Are you ready to die?' it asked saracastically. It raised a knife in the air.
Akane squeezed her eyes and prepared for the blade to plunge into her body. Her muscles were tense as waited, and waited, and waited for what seemed like an eternity. Then her time moved forward again, and she heard a choked cough come from the thing that held her. Something hard prodded her back, and the thing released its grip. She heard a knife clatter behind her and a voice say, "You know, I don't think she is, but I hope you are." Akane turned around. The thing was a green humanoid with pebbled skin and red eyes. Something was coming out of its stomach. Then, with a metallic shing! it went back in, and the monster fell to the ground. The teenage boy stood behind him, clutching his side with his left hand, and his bloody sword in the right. Akane felt a chill run down her spine as she realized it was his sword going through the evil thing that poked her.
He sighed and sat down on his mat, wincing a little. He wiped off his blade on some large nearby leaves. "Are you all right?" he asked. She nodded. "Thank you," she breathed. "You saved my life!" He blushed and looked away, then sheathed his sword and looked up at her. "You're welcome," he said. He extended his hand towards her. She took it and he shook her hand. "My name's Lloyd Irving. What's yours?" "Akane," she said. "Akane Saotome." Lloyd let go of her hand and cocked his head. "Where have I heard the name Saotome before?" he asked himself. Akane ventured to answer his rhetorical question. "Perhaps you know my husband, Ranma?" she said hesitantly. He shook his head. "I haven't heard that name," he said. "I don't know. Maybe I'll think of it sometime." Akane indicated his bed with her hand. "You should get some rest," she said. He chuckled. "Nah, I'm not tired," he said. He saw Sheena's bag. "Wow, we still have that?" he asked incredulously. "Hand it to me." Akane did so and Lloyd looked inside. "Cool!" he said, and drew out an orb of yellow gel. He looked at her and gestured with it. "Lemon," he said. "Just need to heal myself a little, give me back my strength, my 'HP', I guess." He laughed and ate the jelly quickly. He stood up and stretched. "Oh yeah, that's better," he said. He moved around freely with no sign of injury. Akane was astounded. She assumed Sheena had been exaggerating about the items she claimed to possess, and that included these 'gels'. Apparently, she hadn't been exaggerating at all.
"Well, I guess I should introduce you," he said after a few minutes of exercising, "since they don't seem to hae the power to do so themselves. Of course," he added with a grin, "they won't know you've met, so unfortunately, you'll have to actually talk to them later." He made a clicking sound with his tongue and looked at her funny with a grin on his face. "Not always the most pleasant thing, especially with the Professor." Akane just stared at him, but he seemed to find her silence and her utterly confused stare even funnier, and he laughed so hard tears came out of his eyes. Akane could not help but grin, and she too was soon laughing uncontrollably. After a while they ran out of breath, and continued to laugh and cough as they were doubled over, gasping for breath.
Finally, they got up and wiped the the tears from their eyes. "Whew!" said Lloyd. "That's the best laugh I've had in a while. Anyhow, let's meet the gang. This guy here is Genis Sage, one of my first and best friends." He pointed at the boy in the blue. "Twelve, a master of spells, expert of kendama, and resident genius. Only one smarter than him is his sister, Raine Sage." He indicated the white-haired woman. "Also a master of spells, but mostly those for healing. She's pretty extreme. She's crazy about artifacts, archaeology, and studying. I mean crazy. She loves it so much," he looked around and lowered his voice, "I think it's almost orgasmic for her. Ahem. Great friend though. Our beloved Professor Sage is like a mother to us. Very caring, but sometimes too logical. Moving on, we have my dear friend Colette Brunel." He stood in front of the blonde girl. "Very sweet and compassionate. Loves all life. She was going to be the Chosen, before it was discovered to be a fraud. She uses chakram. And now the other side's Chosen One, the one and only Zelos Wilder." He was pointing at the red-haired man. "What can I say? He loves the ladies, and the ladies love him. Well, except for Sheena. I don't think Colette likes him very much either. Total womanizer, but dependable and good-hearted. He uses short sword with shield. Next is Regal Bryant. The president of the Lezareno Company, he was forced to kill his girlfriend-turned-monster using his hands, and ever since has worn those handcuffs that he recieved when he turned himself in. Uses the Traubel style of fighting, using only his legs. Next is Presea. Her sister, Alicia, was Regal's girlfriend whom he killed. She is not very expressive, but is tender-hearted and very caring. Genis likes her a lot. Can't blame him, she's really cute. The thing is, she's twenty-eight. It may seem hard to believe, but because of the Cruxis Crystal, her time stopped for sixteen years. She is a powerful axman. Finally we have Sheena Fujibayashi." "We've met her," said Akane. "She was up?" asked Lloyd. "Yes," she said, a bit wistfully. "She's the reason you're all still alive. She saved your lives, and nearly lost hers in the process. But thanks to your water of life, she appears to be doing just fine."
Lloyd stared at Sheena a long time, a sad look in his eyes. "I love her," he said. He looked at Akane. "Have you ever wanted something so much it hurt?" he asked. Akane nodded slowly, and looked at the ground. "Yes," she whispered. "That's how much I love her," he said, "and I know she loves me back. I've seen it in her eyes before. I've seen it in action a few times before. But this..." He let the thought finish itself in Akane's mind. "Colette likes me too, but I've never seen it really, not like with Sheena. Colette and I have known each other forever. It would almost be like being love with my sister, you know?" Lloyd shook his head and wiped his eyes. "Ahh, I've gone on too much," he said. "We should leave here. If one guy has found us, more are gonna follow." Akane nodded. "I'll go tell my group," she said. "Apparently they didn't hear anything. Meanwhile, you wake your friends up, and get them ready to leave." Lloyd nodded, and Akane rushed off to see Mousse.
Within half an hour, they were gone.
"Geez, that's the weirdest thing I've ever been through," said Ranma after Raine had finished explaining where they were from. Kuno hummed thoughtfully for a moment and rubbed his chin. "Well, Ranma," he said, "What about the time at the bath house with the Shinsengumi girls?" Ranma swore he felt a vein pop out on his head. "I thought we agreed to never talk about that again!" he screamed in Kuno's face. "Ahh, right...." Akane blushed as she recalled the incident. "What happened, what happened, was there something sexy?!" asked Zelos excitedly, who was quickly smacked by Sheena. "Oww," he said, rubbing his head. "Well, there was these crime-fighting girls, and after one of their patrols, they decided to take a bath, and then Ranma was there and he wound up sneaking over to the girls side to get a note, and then he had to talk to this young girl to get it, and then the girl, this Xiaoxing, pulled this wash-and-scrub move on him, and then he fell into the water and changed into a guy and the girls had been talking about themselves, you know, and then they saw him, and they knew he had heard, and he was dazed by the incredibly good-feeling washing technique and got beat up by the girls and tied naked to a telephone pole for five hours before someone actually got him down!" exclaimed Kuno in one long sentence. Ranma felt several more veins pop, and what he thought was a mild heart attack. Ranma thought he heard his head catch fire from his burning face. Everyone else could not keep from laughing out loud. Everyone except Zelos.
Zelos looked love-struck. "Ohhh, what I wouldn't give to get washed by a cute little hunny," he said longingly. After everyone stopped laughing, Raine asked them, "What did you mean he turned into a man when he fell into the water? Was he wearing a disguise or something?" "Oh, that's right," said Shampoo. "They no know about Ranma curse." "Oh yeah," said Akane. She picked up a glass of water. Ranma was sitting with his head down, not hearing anything but the embarassing words in his ears, which is why he was surprised when Akane splashed him with the water.
The entire party from the other world gasped. "What's the idea?" asked Ranma. "We thought they should know," said Ryoga, gesturing to the Sylvarant group, who sat with their mouths gaping at Ranma. "Well, you know," said Ranma as he bent down, "I'm not the only one!" he splashed Ryoga in the face. They gasped again, as Ryoga was now a piglet. "We too, share the curse," said Mousse as he held his arm around Shampoo. "I turn into a duck and she's a cat." For a long time no one said anything. Then Zelos started crying, and Genis said, "That's so cool!" and Raine stared at them eagerly. "Now, now, Professor," said Lloyd, laying a hand on her shoulder. "But I must study them!" she exclaimed. "At least let me run some tests, examine them and...." She kept going. Lloyd looked at the Earth group and jerked his thumb at her. They read it perfectly; it said, "See?!"
"What was that?" said Raine. Zelos continued to sob. Akane explained about the Jusenkyo incidents. Zelos went over to Ranma and placed his hands on Ranma's shoulders. "Waahhh!" said Zelos. "I'm so jealous! I wanna go to Jusenkyo, I wanna go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" "So then, if they turn into these things in cold water, they change back with hot?" asked Raine. Akane placed her finger on her nose. Raine tried it with her tea on Ranma. He turned back into a hot, annoyed, sugary man. "MARVELOUS!" she exclaimed. Lloyd turned his finger in a circle around his ear. And so on and so forth. These sorts of things continued for a while, until they finally wore themselves out and had to go to sleep.
Mousse took on the responsibility of night watchman. He sat, and gazed out across the plain. Nervously, Mousse fingered the leather bundle he carried at his side. He didn't want to have to use them, but things seemed so desperate, he was afraid he might have to take desperate measures. What would remain of his pride, his honor as a warrior if he...
"Hey, Mousse," said a voice, dispelling his musings. He turned to see that the little pink-haired girl was sitting next to him. "Oh, hello," he said softly. "Anything wrong?" She seemed sad. "No," she replied. "Well, okay, a little something. I can't sleep. Too many bad dreams." Mousse nodded slowly. She was a very pretty girl. He wondered how old she was. She looked so young, her face was so soft, but her personality was much more mature, subdued, and her strength was immense. So he asked her. She looked at him oddly. "Promise you'll believe me?" she asked. Mousse smiled and nodded. She stared into the fire. "Twenty-eight," she said at last. Mousse nodded. He was not surprised. "You're not surprised?" she asked. "No, not much surprises me," he said. "I've found that almost anything that might happen usually already has, or will soon."
He hesitated a moment. "You're, Presea, right?" he said after a moment, his face scrunched in uncertainty. She smiled and shook her head yes. He relaxed. "Well, it's good to meet you Presea," he said, and extended his hand. She shook it. "If you need anything, just ask me and I'll do my best to comply," he said. "That is, if you want to ask me, or if no one else can help." "Thank you," she said. "Same thing here. I'd be glad to help you. You're a nice person." He chuckled. "You're a nice person too," he said. Presea looked at the sleeping figures. "You're all nice people," she said. "It's so hard to find really good people these days. I consider ourselves lucky Sheena ran into you first." Mousse looked at her. "I consider ourselves lucky just to have met you all," he said. "Together, I'm sure we can accomplish more than we ever could have alone." "And it's a good thing we met you because we have no idea where we are and we don't even have a map!" said Presea. Mousse laughed. "Yes, those would be a couple of good things to have!" he agreed. Presea rested her head on Mousse. "So tired," she said. She fell asleep, and her dreams were only of all the good people she knew, not of the bad.
Mousse sat with his arm around her, staring off into the distance. He considered, for not the first nor last time, their chance of success. In his mind, it was greatly improved by the arrival of the newcomers. But the odds were still heavily against them. The thoughts of what could happen if they did not win filled him with dread. But he knew that as long as they had any chance, they had to keep fighting with the odds they had. And it was for this reason he was able to maintain his confidence, hell, to just be able to keep going. He stroked the leather bag Presea's hair brushed against. On the inside, he was not always so confident as he was on the outside. Not at all. Mousse sighed, and waited for daylight to come.
As the sun rose almost imperceptably above the horizon, the group set out again, covering the remains of their stay. They walked according to Mousse's direction, first going north, then northwest. After about an hour of traveling, he abruptly called the group to a halt. "Dammit," he whispered to himself. "What's wrong?" asked the blue-haired man, Regal. "I, I can't read this," said Mousse fearfully. "I don't know what this word is! Mort never taught me this!" "May I see?" asked Raine. "Sure," he said, and handed her the book. She leafed through it. "Hmm," she said. "Sorry, but I can't read it." "It's alright," he said, taking the book back from her. "I'm the only one who can read German here. Not many now it these days." He scoffed. "Einfach meiner Fuss!" he muttered. Colette looked up. "Ah, what did you say?" she asked. He looked at her.
"Oh, nothing," he said. "Just angry. It means 'easy, my foot!' in German." "Say it again," she said eagerly. "Einfach meiner Fuss?" he said, puzzled. Her eyes went wide. "What's the word you can't read?" she asked excitedly. He showed her in the book. "That one," he said, pointing to the word that read "Zusammenprall." "I know what it means literally, but it doesn't make sense," he said. "What does it mean?" asked Kodachi. "It means, reflected together, or bounce together," he said. Colette was confused. "I can't read it," she said. "Well, like I said, not many people know German," he said impatiently. "Not that," she said. "I can't read the characters. Say it out loud." "Tzoo-zahm-man-prahl," he said, drawing out the sounds, saying the syllables seperately. "Oh, I know what that means!" she said. Mousse looked at her incredulously. "You do?" he asked in disbelief. "Yep," she said. "In the language of the angels it means impact." Mousse said it. "Impact. Impact. Im-pact," he repeated.
"It makes sense," said Taro. "After all, an impact occurs when two things bounce off each other. Or into each other." Mousse laughed. "Of course!" he said. "It's so simple! I just always assumed it meant to bounce alongside each other, not into each other. How did you know that? What else do you know?" Colette shrugged. "Say something to me," she suggested. "Okay," said Mousse, rubbing his chin. "Am Wochenende besuche ich Freunde." She replied, "On the weekend I visit friends." "Wirklich? Ich finde das macht Spass, aber ich lese nicht gern, und ich glaube Lloyd werdt sag so auch." "Really? I think that is fun, but I don't like to read, and I believe Lloyd will say so also." Lloyd laughed, then flushed hotly as he realized the joke. "Hot damn, you can speak German!" exclaimed Mousse.
"I guess so," said Colette, "although I know it as the Angelic Language, from whence our language, Sylvish, or Tethe'allan, was derived." Ryoga pondered this. "Derived, huh?" he said. "That's interesting. English, the predominant and most important language on Earth, and German happened to once be the same language, over a thousand years ago, until the Anglo-Saxons split into the Anglos and the Saxons and their language developed seperately. I think it is no coincidence that two languages from two supposedly 'completely different' worlds could possibly develop exactly the same way, especially considering that they use many of the same expressions. In fact, other languages, such as Japanese, which is the language most of my friends here were raised on, could possibly be a language in your world too. It probably is. Take a look at Sheena's last name. 'Fujibayashi'? That's definitely Japanese." "What are you suggesting?" asked Zelos. Ryoga stayed silent for a moment. "I'm merely drawing a conclusion based on evidence," he said finally. "What's that?" asked Hinako. "That there is no way our two worlds are not directly related and intimately connected," said Ryoga, crossing his arms over his chest. "And the languages prove it. Our worlds are not as unrelated as we think."
There was a hushed moment as the cold, huddled group considered the facts. Ryoga was right. There was no two ways about it. At that moment, a distant cry alerted them to their surroundings. Mousse looked at the book. "Well, in that case, we have to find somewhere that 'delves deep where the impact revealed the riches of the Earth below'," he said. The cry sounded again. "I suggest we start looking."
There were no objections.
"Fine, then. In accordance with your will, all five of you will fight me, and we'll each use one weapon. As a token of my good faith, choose your own weapon as well as mine. As you said, the only rules are as thus; while your weapon is usable, all your hits must be with a weapon. Once your weapon is destroyed, you may use your body. Combatants must either be knocked unconscious or forced to admit defeat to be defeated. Defeated combatants are not to be hit. The stakes are as thus; if the Shinsengumi win, I will pay double your tuition fee, and you will teach me everything you know. But if I win, I pay half the fee and you teach me everything you know. Winner also pays any hospital bills. Are we all agreed?" The girls nodded their heads. "Then let's fight!"
Mousse marched alongside Shampoo, sweeping the ground for any clues as to where they were going. He found himself thinking of the time he fought the Shinsengumi girls. He quickly remembered what he was supposed to be doing, and buried the memory as fast as it had arisen. He told himself he was not trying to forget, he was only putting it in its place. He had no right to forget it. But right now he had a job to do, and that was to find the place they were supposed to be looking for.
Mousse still was a bit shocked about the revelation Ryoga had pointed out. It was obvious they were not from this world; none of them knew anything about Earth's history, and too much of their own to be faking it. No group could come up with that on the spot and have all their stories exactly match (Lloyd doesn't count, though, because he knows zilch) and no imaginary world would have ever been dreamed up in that much detail, except for maybe Lord of the Rings. Mousse didn't think they had the time or the will to make everything up.
He felt someone tap his left shoulder. He looked left to see Shinnosuke standing there. "What is it?" asked Mousse. "I said," said Shinnosuke, "I forgot what we were doing, but I found this. Does it mean anything?" Shinnosuke handed him a shiny, oval stone. It was black and had swirls of amber hues spiraling in it. It was quite beautiful, but Mousse knew nothing of it. He told Shinnosuke so, who shrugged. "Maybe someone else knows?" he suggested. "Maybe," said Mousse doubtfully.
"Anyone know what this is?" he asked loudly waving the stone in the air. Everyone turned and glanced at it. One by one, they shook their heads no and resumed searching. Lloyd stared at it for a few moments. "Wait," he said, walking over to Mousse. He took the smooth object from his hand and inspected it closer. "Know anything?" asked Akane hopefully. "Yep," replied Lloyd. "This is a refined piece of inhibitor ore." Raine squinted at it. "Ah, yes, I see now," she said. The rest of Lloyd's companions made similar affirmations of recognition. "Inhiba-what?" asked Ranma, dumbfounded. "Inhibitor ore," said Raine, "is a special type of metalloid that, when carved with specific runes, enables an Exsphere to be mounted onto the skin without negative consequences." Ranma stared, then began to sob. "Why me?" he asked himself. "What he means," said Akane angrily, "is that we have no idea what you're talking about, and we would like for you to explain it to us." Raine looked at Lloyd. "It'll take a while," said Lloyd unsurely. "Don't worry, we've got a while," said Taro. "Explain it to us while we keep searching,' suggested Ukyo.
And so Raine and Lloyd expounded the basic mechanics of Exsphere purpose, usage and history unto them, and they proceeded to be in awe. "Intriguing," said Ryoga. "As a matter of fact," said Zelos, "Lloyd and Sheena were on a journey collecting all the Exspheres in our world
. Together. Alone. With each other. In the dark wilderness." Zelos sighed and looked wistful. "Uhhhhh," said Ranma. Suddenly realizing the embarrassment on Sheena's and Lloyd's faces, and the shock, understanding, and confusement that had settled on everyone else's faces, Zelos said, "Uh, what I mean is, maybe they have some extra ones they might, be, willing, to, let, you, use?" He flushed hotly and smiled sheepishly. "Uh, yeah," said Lloyd, awkwardly fumbling through his pockets. "I've got some if y'all wanna use 'em, but uh, you're gonna need more ore to make more Key Crests, so, yeah." "Alright," said Mousse, "Keep an eye out for anything like this or any other clues. Let's go!" The others filed out silently and began to sweep the ground.
Zelos came over to Lloyd and Sheena and said, "Sorry about that guys. I got carried away in the passion of the thought. And I forgot you wanted to kinda keep it under wraps." "Huh?" said Lloyd. "Keep what under wraps?" asked Sheena slowly, or perhaps, nervously. "Oh come on," said Zelos, throwing up his hands. "Everyone can tell. Well, at least I can." "Tell what?" asked Lloyd, genuinely confused. You idiot! thought Sheena desperately. "Now, now, everyone knows that people in love deny it," said Zelos with a shrug, "so I must have hit it pretty close to the mark for you to get embarassed. And it's not like love is a bad thing." "Oh, that," said Lloyd, finally realizing what he was talking about.
"Yeah, that," Sheena fumed as she hit Zelos over the head. "You know," he said, wincing, "they say you also are the meanest to the ones you love." Sheena hit him again, harder. "Well then THEY must be WRONG!" she shouted. "Maybe you're right," Zelos groaned. "I swear, even Lloyd is better than you are," she grumbled. "Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Lloyd asked himself, hurt. "At least Lloyd is nice, funny, polite, generous, caring, and definitely more manly than you, not to mention handsome, bold, and oh." Sheena stopped herself. "So, who's the one exposing your love?" asked Zelos, grinning mischeviously as he propped himself up on his elbow. "Um, uh, ah, well, that is," Sheena stumbled. "Gee, if I didn't know better, I'd say you really like Lloyd," said Zelos. "I like her a lot, too," agreed Lloyd. Sheena blushed, then yelled, "So?! It's not like love's a bad thing!" and ran off.
"Now isn't that what I said?" Zelos asked. Lloyd was too busy watching Sheena run to answer him. "Aw, great, now they'll be inseperable," moaned Zelos. "I want some, too!" "Hey, Sheena's mine!" exclaimed Lloyd. "You can have Colette." Zelos eyes gleamed. "Colette is a cute little munchkin, isn't she?" he squealed. "Why don't you want her?" asked Zelos angrily. "She's too close to me," said Lloyd, a little disgusted. "I've known her since birth. It'd be like marrying my sister." Zelos thought a moment. "Seles and me?" he asked himself. "Ewwww," he said, grimacing. "Okay, I see your point." "And who knows?" said Lloyd. "They say opposites attract." "Hey, that's true, I-" Zelos stopped and glared at Lloyd. "What's that supposed to mean?!" "Just what I said!" said Lloyd, laughing and took off. "Why you little!!!" Zelos ran after him.
Raine looked up to see Zelos chasing Lloyd. Zelos seemed upset and Lloyd was laughing. "Men," she sighed. "They never grow up." "Boys will be boys," said Presea. "Where did you hear that?" asked Genis. She pointed. "Ukyo said it," she explained. Raine watched them run unitl Zelos tripped and hit his head. "OW!" he yelled. Raine snorted and crossed her arms. "I suppose it's true," she said with closed eyes.
Zelos stood up and rubbed his head. "Ohh, my beautiful face," he groaned. "Stupid Lloyd! What made me trip anyhow? I'm gonna smash it good for smashing my face! I even bled a little! And I bet there's dirt!" He peered closely at the ground. He saw something large and lumpy half-buried in the dirt at a forty-five degree angle. He pulled it out of the ground easily. It left a perect hole the exact shape of the thing in the barely moist soil. "What is it?" Zelos wondered. He brushed off some dirt and saw dull gray rock mixed with a dull gray metal. Seeing Zelos stare so hard at something made Raine worry, so she went over to him. She looked over his shoulder at the rock. "Hmm," she said. He looked and saw her. "What is it?" he asked, handing over the heavy lump to Raine. She hefted it and looked at it closely. The other began to gather around, seeing that they found something.
"It appears to be just oridinary rock and metal," she said at last. "Is that significant?" asked Lime, speaking up for the first time. "The actual materials are not, but the fact they are together may be," replied Raine, still studying the rock. "What do you mean?" asked Mint curiously. Raine turned the rock over in her hands and looked at the ground. "Well," she said, "finding rock and metal together in a lump isn't always meaningful, but considering our circumstances, and the fact it was found on the surface might indicate-" "A meteorite," finished Genis. A lightbulb clicked on in Mousse's mind. "Can you tell where the main body is?' he asked eagerly.
"Assuming there was a main body," said Regal. "No," said Genis, "if Zelos found it on the surface, the impact couldn't have been too great. The only explanation for its shallowness is that it was a fragment that was thrown off the main meteor when it struck the ground." Raine turned to Zelos. "Where did you find this?" she asked. "Right here," he said, pointing to a small hole in the ground. Raine walked over to it and carefully inserted the rock back inside. "It'll be a while," said Raine as she began to pull out various tools. Genis began to take measurements, and he and his sister began to talk quietly in their own language of math.
The others dispersed and talked quietly amongst themselves while they waited for the siblings to finish their calculations. Ryoga walked up to Ukyo and took her over to a tree, where he talked quietly to her and held her hand. Akane sat in Ranma's embrace. They said nothing, but simply watched the half-elves work. Mousse was smiling as he talked to Shampoo and handed her a flower. She laughed softly and hugged him. Regal and Presea watched Raine and Genis, both of them with more than academic interest. Zelos talked to Colette seriously, without humor or lewdness. Colette stared at him amazedly and nodded her head. She smiled and accepted the gift he gave her. Taro talked casually to Kodachi, who agreed to his statements. Kuno was playing a children's hand game with little Hinako. He seemed more amused than anything. Shinnosuke, Herb, Mint, and Lime, having been left with nothing else to do, played cards and exchanged jokes. Lloyd watched them all for a few minutes, and decided he'd better talk to Sheena.
He found her sitting a few yards away under a tree, toying with Corrine's bell. She didn't seem to notice Lloyd come up. "Do you miss him at times like this?" asked Lloyd somberly. She looked up at him sadly and nodded. He sat down next to her and watched Genis and Raine. "I know it's not the same," he said after a moment, "but maybe you'd be willing to let me help fill the void." Lloyd looked at her. She had put the bell away and was looking at him. She nodded slowly. "Yes, I'd like that," she said. He smiled and placed his arm around her. She hesitantly rested her head on his shoulder. "Do you, uh, miss anyone?" asked Sheena. Lloyd nodded. "Who?" He looked at her, then back up. "My father," he said. Sheena looked up at Lloyd, who looked down at her. "Which one?" she asked. He looked away again. He sighed, looked around, then finally looked back at her. "Both of them," he said at last. "Do you ever wonder what your mother was like?" she asked. "Sometimes," said Lloyd. "Sometimes, like when I get mad at Kratos, I think of her." Sheena was a little confused. "Why?" she asked. He paused again. "Because," he said, "when I think about some of the stuff Kratos did to make me mad, I think about my mom, and wonder why she loved him. Then I realize that she loved him because, although he has his faults, he really is a good person at heart, and everything he does is for the good of others. And then I'm not mad at him anymore, and I start to miss him. And that makes me miss Dirk, too." He blinked back tears.
Sheena resumed her seating position, and Lloyd dropped his arm. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "You once told me it was okay to cry," she said. "Now it's my turn to tell you that. Just cry if you want to." Lloyd sat for a moment, and then a tear trickled down his face. "I miss them so much," he said. "Especially Kratos. Because I know he can't come back." The tears began to roll down his face. Sheena offered her arms and he gripped her waist tightly and hugged her. "Why did he have to leave?!" he choked angrily. "He had his path to take," said Sheena, "and you had yours." "Doen't mean I have to like it," he said. "No, it doesn't," she whispered. She caressed his back as he sobbed into her shoulder. After a minute, he released her and wiped his eyes. "You okay now?" Sheena asked. "Yeah," said Lloyd, and sighed heavily. "Yeah, I'm okay." "Good," said Sheena, "because it looks like they're done."
"So?" asked Mousse when Raine and Genis reached the others. "Were you able to gather anything?" Raine nodded. "Yes," she said. "In fact, we managed to narrow down the search area to a one-mile radius approximately three miles from here." "Wow!" said Ranma. "You guys are brilliant!" "Tell 'em something they don't know!" exclaimed Lloyd. They blushed. "Well then, let's get going," said Mousse shouldering his pack and positioning his bundle under his arm. "Lead the way, Professor Sage." The rest of the group made ready to leave, and Lloyd walked alongside Genis and Sheena when they began to walk.
Lloyd leaned over and whispered in Genis' ear. "You should tell Presea how you feel," said Lloyd. "I don't think you'll be disappointed. I've seen how she looks at you, and I can tell she has feelings for you too." Genis looked at Presea. "You think so?" he asked. Lloyd nodded. "What about you, Sheena?" asked Genis. "Do you think I should tell Presea how I feel about her?" Sheena nodded as well. "I don't think you should hold it in," she said. "When the time is right, you should let her know about your love. Lloyd and I learned that." Genis gasped. "You mean you finally said it?!" he asked. They nodded. "That's great!" he said. He sighed. "Alright. Next time I'm alone with her, I'll say something." Lloyd smiled. "I'm glad," he said.
As they continued on, they encountered more debris and evidence of shrapnel. "It would appear your calculations were correct," said Regal. "It looks that way," agreed Presea. After a few more minutes of walking they came upon a tall ridge. "The crater," explained Raine. "Let's go," said Ranma. He nimbly leapt up the slope, and the others followed likewise. There was a group gasp as the party reached the top. "Wow," said Colette. "That can't be, can it?" said Raine in awe. "It is," said Genis. "Is what?" asked Akane, not taking her eyes off the land in front of her.
"When I felt the stone, I noticed a faint trace of extra mana in the rock," said Genis. "I just ignored it, but this..." He trailed off, shaking his head. "There's no doubt what this is," said Raine. "But," said Genis, looking at his sister, "how is that possible? I didn't think it existed here. Unless our worlds are really that entwined, it doesn't seem possible." "Likely," said Regal, "It's not likely. But it is possible. The proof is right there." "Wait a minute," said Kodachi, holding up her hand. "What are you talking about?" "What's mana?" asked Hinako. "Is it like ki?" "I forgot," said Genis, hitting his forehead. "You don't know anything about our world." "No, mana is not like ki," said Raine. "Not exactly. Mana is the source and essence of life, at least in our world. It is what makes life live. It is more essential to life in our world than water is. It's actual form, however, when concentrated, is similar to ki. And when you concentrate it even more, it actually takes on a solid form. That meteorite there contains a lot of highly concentrated mana, which gives of a purplish glow. Mana also enables people like Genis and me to use spells. Although our spells aren't like what you've told me about. No, our spells aren't evil and demonic, and most real spells are actually more physical manifestations than anything else. Show them, Genis."
Genis pulled out his kendama. He closed his eyes and began to swing the kendama ball back and forth. A red circle of runic symbols appeared around him and began to rotate. Genis opened his eyes. The ball landed on the top kendama cup. He raised the kendama high. "Fireball!" he yelled. A trio of flaming projectiles burst from the air in front of the kendama and flew off into the night sky. They arched through the air and finally exploded after a few seconds. "Oooo," said Hinako. "Your fireworks are cool!" Genis blushed. "They're not fireworks!" he said. "They're weapons!" "It's alright dude, we know," said Zelos, patting him on the back. Genis suddenly straightened, as if he had been poked. "How did I do that?" he asked mysteriously. "Huh?" said Lloyd. "I thought there was no mana here for me to use," said Genis. "There's that rock..." "That's nowhere near close enough for me to use." "I guess it means there is mana here, after all," said Colette. "Yeah," said Genis, still a little weirded out.
"So then, what does that rock have to do with anything?" asked Ranma impatiently. "Well, that rock could have probably come from only one source," said Regal. "And we thought that that source didn't exist here," said Colette. "But if our worlds are really as intertwined as we think," said Presea, "then it's possible it could have crossed over some how." "So what is main mana source?" asked Shampoo. "It's called Derris-Kharlan," said Lloyd. "It's a comet made almost entirely of mana. It's where an organization of half-elves that evolved using special Exspheres live. They're called Cruxis, and they deceived the people of our two worlds into believing they were a divine association of angels protecting the Goddess Martel. Like we said earlier, the real purpose behind the world regeneration was to keep Mithos' sister Martel alive until a suitable body for her could be found. The real Goddess Martel actually has nothing to do with Cruxis or Mithos. But the people were not wrong to believe in Cruxis. Everyone needs hope, needs their beliefs. Otherwise challenges would seem insurmountable and life meaningless. But even though we exposed Cruxis, that doesn't mean they don't stop believing in the Goddess. And I guess we all believe in her. I dunno about you."
Mousse pondered for a moment. "That was well said, Lloyd," said Mousse. "You're right. Whether true or not, our beliefs are what keep us going. It took me a lot longer to appreciate and respect that than it has taken you. You're very wise for your age, Lloyd." "Hehe, thanks," said Lloyd. "Now if only you could be wise when you wanted to," chuckled Genis. "Hey, shut up, Genis!" Lloyd said playfully and tackled him. Mousse laughed and shook his head. He sighed deeply. "What shall we do next?" he asked the group. "It will be dark soon," said Raine. "I suggest we rest somewhere below the ridge and head in tomorrow morning." "Any objections?" asked Mousse and looked around. Everyone shook their heads no. "Alright, then let's go make camp," he said. "Lloyd, Genis, knock it off and come help set up camp!" yelled Sheena. "Coming!" said Lloyd and got off of Genis' back. "Dammit, Lloyd, why do you gotta play so rough?" asked Genis, rubbing his back. "I wouldn't if you wouldn't make fun of me so much and learned to shut your mouth!" said Lloyd. Genis looked hurt. "Aw, come on man, you know I'm joking!" Lloyd said, tousling Genis' long white locks. "If it really bothers you I'll try to remember to go easy on you." "Thanks Lloyd," said Genis. "I'll try to remember to think before I insult you again!" "Hey!" said Lloyd. "Just kidding," said Genis, slinking off to his sister's protection.
Within half an hour camp was set up, and Lloyd almost had a fire going. Well, sort of. "Dammit, why won't it light?" grumbled Lloyd. "Did you remember to use tinder instead of trying to light the logs?" asked Genis. "Duh!" said Lloyd. "When I learn something important, I don't forget it! At least, not that fast." He sighed and stood up. "The leaves and grass won't light. I wonder why, though? They seem to be dry enough. Humph." he kicked a rock at his feet into a bush. "Could you try a dose of your fire on it?" asked Mint, who had been watching. "I suppose," said Genis. "I'll have to be reeeeaaaallly careful though." He drew out a tiny amount of mana and focused it into flame. Once he had it, he aimed it at the wood and fired it. A large burst of fire rocketed out of his kendama and smashed into the wood, lighting the logs instantly. "Nice shot!" said Lloyd. "Now if only we had some hot dogs...." Lloyd wandered off in search of some food, and Genis followed him.
Genis could not help but watch Presea. She was laying on a sleeping bag, staring at the stars. Genis swallowed, his heart thumping as he watched. Lloyd noticed. "Hey, uh, I heard Presea's volunteered to be the night watch tonight," said Lloyd with a nudge to Genis' ribs. Genis spun and grabbed Lloyd's shoulders. "You'd better not be screwing around with me!" he warned. "Don't worry!" said Lloyd as he held his hands up. "I wouldn't dare challenge the guy who could stick a blade of lightning through me when he's pissed off!" Genis let him go. "You're really serious?" he asked. Lloyd made a sign over his heart indicating he was telling the truth. "I wouldn't lie to you about something serious like this, Genis," he said soberly. "You're my friend. I want you to be happy. You should talk to her." Genis nodded. "Ok," he said, "I'll do it. Tonight I'll tell Presea how I feel. Wish me luck." Lloyd raised a glass to Genis. "May all th eluck in the world be with you tonight," said Lloyd. "I'll be praying for you, buddy." "Thanks Lloyd," said Genis, and went off to organize his thoughts.
Genis stared at the smoldering fire from under his sleeping bag. He looked around at the others. They were all asleep. Time to make my move, he thought. He quietly got out of the bag and moved soundlessly over to the log where Presea sat, staring off into the distance. He sat down next to her. She jumped up, her hand going for her ax. Then she saw who it was, and her hand dropped. "Oh, Genis," she said. "You, uh, startled me." Genis smiled. "Sorry," he said. "Listen, can I talk to you for a minute?" She sat down. "Sure," said Presea. "What do you want to talk about?" Genis swallowed and looked at his feet for a moment. He had gone over this a thousand times. He had refined it down to the last detail. But when it came right down to it, he was so nevous he had o hold his hands to keep them from shaking.
Finally, he gathered all the courage he had, and looked at Presea. "I'm not good with words," he said. "I find it best to say exactly what I mean without any ado. Presea, I love you. I've always loved you, and I want to be with you as long as I can." Presea looked at him."I," she began. "Shh," said Genis, putting a finger to her lips. "Don't think. Just tell me how you feel." Presea looked at him, her eyes glassy sapphires. "I, I love you too," she said. "But, I mean, what about age? Doesn't it bother you?" Genis shook his head sadly. "It's not how old you are on the outside but on the inside that counts," he said. "Look at it this way: Our bodies are both young. We'll both grow some more. And as for your age, you'll probably live longer physically than most other humans, because you did not age during your lost time. And as for me, well. As for me, I'm too old on the inside. I feel so much mature than the first day I set out with Lloyd and Colette, even though it's only been a year since then." "Yes, well," said Presea, looking at her feet, "what about your life span?" "What about it?" said Genis. "Presea, look at me." She looked into his eyes and he grasped her hands.
"It doesn't matter how old I'll get," he said. "The thing is, anyone could die at any time. But besides that, no matter how long I live after you die, I"ll always be in love with you. I could never love another. So please, let the time between now and then, at least, be filled with your love." Presea sighed. "Oh, Genis," she said, closing her eyes and leaning forward. "Presea!" he said. He kissed her lips, and held her tightly to his body, and she held him back. He looked a her, a little stunned. "Your kiss tastes just like I dreamt it would," he whispered. "Same here," she said, and pulled him back in. She kissed him again, tenderly, passionately. "I love you, Genis," she whispered into his ear as she hugged him closely. She smiled with joy. Suddenly her eyes flew open again and she released him. "What's wrong?" he asked. "Shh!" she said, her ears on alert as she scanned the surrounding foliage. He followed suit.
"Listen!" she whispered. "Do you hear that?" Genis heard it, a faint rustle that didn't quite match the wind. "Should we wake the others?" Genis whispered. She shook her head. "Not yet," Presea said. She then tiptoed closer to where the noise was coming from. There was suddenly a whizzing noise behind her, followed by a gasp from Genis, and the first thing that popped into her head was the word, "Distraction." She turned around in time to see a rope tighten around his waist and jerk him back into the foliage. "Intruders!" screamed Presea. She lunged in the direction Genis went and took a huge horizontal swipe with her ax. It passed through several massive trees, felling them instantly. Presea thought she heard someone swear in surprise. The others were already up. She raced into the forest after Genis. Lloyd soon came after her when he realized Genis was gone, as did Raine, Sheena, Colette, and, for some reason, Kodachi. Presea, who was leading, suddenly came to halt. "I lost them," she said. Colette listened carefully. She pointed with her finger; the person was hiding in that direction. Presea understood. She intended to be the one to get Genis back. "Fan out and search," said Lloyd. Presea indicated with her hand she wanted him to come along.
They pretended to methodically search the forest, while Presea and Lloyd slowly, indirectly approached the attacker. Finally, Presea could hear it too. He/she/it was in a bush next to Lloyd. Apparently Lloyd knew too, because he indicated he would take care of it. She nodded her assent. He walked in front of it, acting as though he never saw the bush. After he passed it, he stood up and sighed. "I guess we lost it," he said, winking at Presea. "Let's regroup with the others and see if they found anything." The group responded, moving out,back towards camp at a sign from Presea. As soon as Lloyd was sure he was out of sight of the bush, he ducked behind a tree and quietly drew his Kusanagi Blade. There was a rustling sound, and Lloyd saw a figure emerge from the bush and head towards him. He waited until it passed by and then lashed out at it with his sword. There was a cry and it stumbled face first into he ground. Genis was on the ground, knocked out and gagged.
Lloyd was suddenly aware of other presences. He did the only thing he could think of: he picked up the body from the ground and pressed his sword against its throat. "Don't come any closer, or this one gets it!" he said threateningly. He desperately hoped that these guys had some respect for life and weren't unfeeling monsters that didn't care if one of their own died. He also hoped they spoke his language. It seemed as though the others hesitated. Then one took a step forward. He swiveled to face it and pressed the sword against his captive's neck harder, just enough to draw blood. Suddenly there was an unexpected noise from his captive; it was crying. "Please," the female said, "don't kill me. We didn't mean any harm. I don't want to die. Guys, please, do what he asks." Then she began to cry again, a pitiful sound that tore at his heart and made him regret hurting his friend's captor. Then he remembered what they had done, and steeled himself. "If you didn't mean any harm," he growled, "then why did you kidnap my friend?!" She continued to sob. "We'll tell you," said another female voice, this one more mature, obviously a bit older, "as soon as you release our friend." "How do I know you won't murder us the second you have her back?" he asked angrily. There was a pause.
"How about this, huh?" said Lloyd. "I pick up my friend, and take him and your friend back to my camp with me, and you come after I do? Then we're all fair." There was another pause, during which all Lloyd could hear was the thumping of his heart and the sobbing of the girl. "It is acceptable," said the voice. Lloyd slowly bent down and picked Genis up, putting his small friend over his houlder. He never took his sword's tip off the girl's neck. Then he was up again, and held the blade against her throat again. He slowly backed up, and she backed up with him. He perceived that some of the figures moved to make room for him. He never took his eyes off them, all the way back to camp. He always kept his eyes on them as they followed.
Lloyd emerged at last into the light of a rekindled fire. The others sat around, wating, their weapons drawn. "Lloyd, what's going on?" asked Colette. "I don't know," he said, "but it seems we've got some talking to do." "Talking is nice," said the girl tearfully. Mousse jerked his head up. "No," he said softly. He got up and maneuvered around to see the girl's face. "What the hell?" he said. It was Xiaoxing. "Mousse?!" said a voice from out of the woods. Mousse stared at the young girl's face, and found himself irrevocably drawn back to that day, only four years ago, when he fought the Shinsengumi girls.
There was a sharp whok as the tip of Mousse's rod connected with the underside of Megumi's chin. She stumbled backwards and the others rushed in. He held his rod horizontal against his chest and dealt two blows each to Asuka and Ryoko with a back and forth motion of his staff. Mousse rolled out of the way as Xiaoxing's rope sailed past his head. He put his rod in and the rope twirled around it and caught. He jerked his rod back and snapped it forward again, tossing Xiaoxing into the air. The cord unwound and she landed deftly on her feet and began to quickly wind her rope up again. He saw Asuka heading for him and jammed his pole into the ground. He nimbly scaled it, hands alone, until he was raised erect in the air with his hands on the top of the rod. Upside down, Mousse saw the ninja approach him. Just as Asuka lunged to swipe the pole out from under him, he pulled it out from under her. She stumbled forward, and Mousse raised the pole high above him in the air before he brought it crashing down upon her. She crumbled under the powerful blow. Turning her over with a flip of his staff, a dealt a fast hit to her temple and she was out cold. Distracted by dealing with Asuka, Megumi managed to deal a rain of quick hits on Mousse's abdomen with her bare fists, and Ryoko topped it off with a powerful vertical slash with her wooden sword that knocked him to the ground.
He rolled backwards and was on his feet in an instant. Megumi attempted to smash her hand into his head while he was down, but hit the floor instead. Mousse took this oppurtunity to deal her a good, solid smash on the back of her skull. She groaned in pain, and he finished it by pressing his staff into her gut and driving her all the way into the wall. With another temple blow, she was out. Ryoko rushed up and began to hack furiously at him. He dodged or blocked them easily, using small movements that wasted little energy. He saw his opening; she left her stomach relatively unguarded. Maybe, he thought. In a momentary shift in her attacks, he swiftly dealt a hard strike to her stomach with the end of his rod which caused her to double over. He moved his staff down and put it between her legs. Then he lifted up, and his entire rod was pressing against her body, and he threw her over his shoulder with a massive spatula style flip. Just then Xiaoxing's rope wound itself around his waist and she pulled him in. Her hands, however, were both pulling. He saw only one way out of this. Again, he put the rod against his attacker's belly, but it was parallel to her body, not perpendicular as it was last time. Faced with such a light opponent, his next move was easier than it would have been with any of the others, and, thankfully, it would cause less damage. Mousse wanted to inflict as little damage as possible on his opponents, especially since they were all women. With his rod against Xiaoxing's stomach, he began to spin. Holding his rod at one end, he spun it in a giant circle. It kept going faster and faster.
Xiaoxing was trapped at the edge of this centrifuge Mousse had created, and was completely at his mercy. Mousse watched the rope as it unwound, unwound, and unwound until it finally left him. He drove his heels into the ground and stopped as hard as he could. This launched Xiaoxing across the room, towards the wall next to Aoi, who, Mousse noted, had not done anything yet. In the split second between the time Mousse stopped and the time Xiaoxing hit the wall, Aoi decided to intervene. She stepped in front of her small friend as she hurtled towards Aoi. Aoi extended her arms and caught Xiaoxing in her arms, forcefully driving them both into the stone wall. They slid to the floor. Xiaoxing moaned, and retched, vomiting on the floor between their legs. Then she slumped to the side and did not move. Aoi gently set her aside and drew her wooden sword for the first time. Ryoko had recovered from the throw and was on Mousse again. Aoi then came forward to aid her captain. The two of them worked together admirably, responding to and coordinating with each other. At some point they pressed him against a wall and together performed a huge vertical slash. The attack broke his rod in half, and now he wielded the two halves as twin swords.
They continued to attack and parry, each one intent on wearing his or her opponent down. Mousse finally recognized he'd have to use force. At the first chance he got, making sure he was near one wall, broke into a run for he opposite wall. Aoi and Ryoko gave uncertain chase. When Mousse was five feet from the wall he jumped, and spun. Body facing the ground, head looking towards his opponents, he planted his feet firmly on the wall like a swimmer and shoved off. They realized too late what he was doing. Aoi said nothing; she simply pushed Ryoko out of the way. Aoi knew she could not dodge in time. Mousse kept his weapons at his chest until he reached his target. Then, with a broad swipe with is twin weapons, he sent Aoi across the room. Mousse landed, and balanced one of his swords like a spear. Holding the blunt edge forward, he carefully aimed and launched the wood at Aoi. It smacked her in the forehead before she could react, and she was out. That only left Ryoko. He was not sure if he could win, the way things stood. So, he took his two rod halves and flung them at a wall. They shattered inot hundreds of fragments. He cracked his knuckles and held up his fists. There was no smile upon his lips, only the straight face of a true warrior, betraying no emotions, only readiness for battle. The same look adorned Ryoko's face.
Mousse punched and kicked at Ryoko. She blocked the hard hits and struck back with a fierce two handed swing. Mousse blocked it with one hand and punched Ryoko in the face with the other. She staggered, but did not fall. Again, she lunged at him. He lifted himself bodily into the air. He grasped her shirt in mid-flip. He landed behind Ryoko and threw her in front of him. She skidded on the floor and got up. Mousse attacked fast with multiple hits. Ryoko ducked and dodged and suddenly drove her sword inyo his chest with a powerful thrust. She landed several more hits on his face and many on his chest and abdomen. He finally broke away from her attacks. He wiped the blood dripping from his face, but more flowed steadily. Then, with a flurry of fists and feet, he tested Ryoko's guard to its max. For a split second she let it down, and he tore through it. Unable to block, she was pummeled down by his rock hard fists and steel feet. The last blow to her face blew her back. She stayed down for a while. Mousse watched to see if she would admit defeat. But it seemed she was only gathering her strength, for she unexepected leapt up and smashed her knuckled into his face with tremendous force. He fell down, amazed by her strength. It was a struggle to get back to his feet even. But once he was up, he was alright. Ryoko stood there, a bizarre look on her face. He raced forward, fist up. Her eyes closed, and she began to fall. Mouse was upon her quickly, but his fist opened and he caught her fall. Her eyes went dark, Mousse slung her over his shoulder, and he raced to the hospital.
Little did he know it, but Ryoko was now thinking of the exact same incident.
Ryoko opened her eyes slowly, painfully. Her vision was blurry, then settled into some sort of focus. One eye was swollen almost completely shut. She heard the rhythmic beep of a machine, and realized she was in a hospital. How did I get here? she wondered. She tried to move her head, but just a slight movement sent streaks of white hot pain tearing up her neck and into her head. She sucked in breath between clenched teeth. Her entire body ached. It felt as though she had been in a blender after being beat up by a gang of boxers. Moreover, she didn't remember anything about fighting, and that was what scared her the most. She tried to raise herself into a sitting position, but a hand quickly pressed on her breast and gently forced her back down. The owner of the hand stood up over her, so she could see him. The first thing Ryoko noticed was his eyes, because they were red from tears. He smiled faintly. "Don't move," he said softly. "You've taken quite a beating." Ryoko smiled weakly and looked at him. "Looks like you have too," she said hoarsely, taking in his cuts and bruises. The young man seemed confused. "Don't you remember?" he asked her, brushing his long black hair out of his face. "My name's Mousse," he said. "Mousse," she repeated. That name triggered a landslide of memories, which came flooding back to her in a rush.
"I remember everything now," she whispered. She remembered the fight, the final pucnch she threw, and then her feeling of extreme exhaustion and defeat when she saw him recover from it. She also remembered well how gently he caught her. She realized she had been staring off into space and then moved her eyes to one side. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, exhaling loudly. She managed to rub her eyes gingerly with her left arm, which hurt less than her right. "So you brought me here?" she said. He nodded. She yawned. "God, it felt like I died back there," she moaned. She glanced at him and he averted his eyes. He seemed uncomfortable. "What's wrong?" she asked. He said nothing. "Come on, tell me," she prodded. "You did," he said quietly. "Huh?" she said, confused. "You died that night, on the fight floor," he said, looking at the ground. She stared at him, shocked. "They said, when I brought you to the ER, you were what they called "clinically dead." You had been for twelve minutes. It took me twelve minutes to get to the hospital. They said," he paused, coughing, wiping his eyes, "they said there was no hope for you. I insisted, and, and...." He seemed at a loss for words. He blinked back tears, and said, "I don't know what happened in that room, but somehow, you survived. They resuscitated you against all odds. I killed you, Ryoko. I knowingly endangered you to the point of death. I can't live with that."
Ryoko shook her head sadly. "Mousse, come here," she said. He came over and knelt next to her. "It's alright," she said. He shook his head. "No, it's not, I-" She held a finger to his lips. "It's alright, Mousse. I knowingly endangered myself. I knew before we fought, there was the possiblility of death. I haven't fought someone like you in a long time, and for that I thank you." Something rung in her mind like a bell. Mousse noticed it in her eyes. "What?" he asked. "The others, are they, uh?" she asked, frightened. He smiled again. "They're all fine," he said. "They'll be out of the hospital in two days. Perhaps three days for Xiaoxing. Seems I hurt her insides a lot with my centrifuge attack." His face grew grim. "You however," he said somberly, "will need to stay here for a minimum of three months. Doctor's orders." She swore softly, and smiled. He didn't. "You shouldn't have fought me," he said. "And you?" she asked. "How are you?" "They gave me a few stitches and some bandages," he said tonelessly. "Well, at least you'll have time to learn everything I know," Ryoko said. She indicated the room with her arm. "Looks like I'm gonna be here a while." Mousse grinned. "You're lucky," he said. "Three month break, all expenses paid. All you could ask for is for it to be fun." Ryoko laughed.
"So what did you tell them happened?" she asked. Mousse looked at the ceiling. "Oh, I said it was a gang attack and I managed to save you guys before you got beat up too bad," he said, smiling mischeviously. Ryoko rolled her eyes. "Did Midori help you carry us?" she asked. "Yeah," said Mousse. "What was your story for her?" Ryoko asked him. "Date," he said. "Came back from the movies and ran into you guys. Actually had to kiss to get the doctors to believe my story." Ryoko gawked. "I'm serious!" said Mousse. "He's right!" said Midori, who had been sitting on the other side of Ryoko and had gone completely unnoticed by either of them. How does she do that? Ryoko wondered. Judging from his confused expression, Mousse wanted to know the same thing.
And so, Mousse visited Ryoko in the hospital, along with at least on of the Shinsengumi girls, and he learned from her literally everything she knew that was of value or interest to him. Mousse still could not forgive himself for hat he had done, and so in exchange he taught Ryoko everything she wanted to know from him, as well as any of the other girls who were interested. Three days after Ryoko was released from the hospital, Mousse was forced to leave on urgent business. The Shinsengumi had all agreed he was like family to them, and they promised to never forget each other. After that heart-wrenching day, Mousse was gone from their lives, and they from his. One thing led to another, and Mousse was always kept busy. They never saw each other again.
Until now.