Leif sat in his bedroom, Saturday having come a bit too early for his tastes, yet it was actually too late. He glanced at his travel alarm. It read, much to his dismay, 10:45. "Darn it. I slept through it. Now, I'll have the chance of being forced to explain something." The akage ran his fingers through his hair, finishing his casual dress of khakis and leather jacket. After disengaging the light switch, he sauntered into the hallway. The lights were mostly off in the bedrooms, and the hallway light left on. "Odd, I guess they must be out." After traversing the stairs with a still-present caution, he slunk down the hallway, when the voice that doomed him announced, "Good morning, Leif." It was Kasumi, walking out of the kitchen. "Um, thanks?" Kasumi smiled at him. "I was going to wake you, but I thought you needed the sleep." Leif resisted the subconscious urge to roll his eyes. "I've already cleared out breakfast, but I can whip you something up if you would like." His face gave a half-hearted almost-smile and replied. "Sure. Thanks." After walking into the living room, he found it empty. The Shogi board was stowed in the corner, the cushions replaced, and the TV on. A forecaster was pointing to the eastern portion of Honshu. "…And both the greater Tokyo area and Yokohama will be experiencing the blunt of this slow-moving storm. Expect a cold, long drizzle without any real rain to speak of, clearing up later this evening." Leif spoke to himself. "An English day, then. I guess I just bring the clouds with me." His thoughts were pushed aside. "Leif, will this do?" He about faced to see Kasumi, a tray in hand. In it was a fork, a bowl containing steamed rice topped with a couple of scrambled eggs and garnish and a cup of Oolong tea. "That's great Kasumi. Thanks a lot." He grabbed a cushion and sat at the table as the tray was laid before him. "Where is everyone today?" Kasumi tilted her head slightly, as if trying to remember. "Let's see. Akane and Ranma went to see that new movie, Nabiki was out with her friends, and Mr. Saotome and my father went to the airport to speak with Mr. Schlüter before he left. I don't really have any errands to run, so I'm staying here for the time being." Leif nodded. "I think I'm going to go for a walk." Kasumi blinked. "In this weather?" "Sure, why not? I've been in this type of weather before. It doesn't really bother me."
After a quick trip to his room, Leif had swapped out his standard black jacket for a weatherproofed duster coat of the same color. "I'm leaving Kasumi; I'll be back in a bit." He slid the front door closed, and walked down the steps. His breath vaporized, leaving small ephemeral clouds of mist within the air. "It must be around forty degrees out here. No problem." The air was cool, almost cold, with a slight breeze and high humidity. He closed the gate behind him. "I know I've been by the school, to Dr. Ono's, and to that clothing store, but I still don't really know my way around here yet." He took his map out from one of the inside pocket of the coat, flipped it the colored area designating the Nerima ward, and found the street intersection of the Tendo house. "I can find my way back." He walked on to the street perpendicular to the front of the house, and disappeared into the mist.
Leif didn't really feel like rolling up his sleeve and checking his watch, but he had guessed that he had probably walked for about a half hour. During that time, a few cars passed him, but nothing much. He had seen about ten people here and again, but no one noticed him. Most people weren't as stupid as he was in this weather. He spent most of his time just enjoying the silence of the moment, the quiet whispering of the wind interspersed with other sounds. The occasional thought popped into his mind, mostly concerning the past few days' events. "One thing about the Tendos and the Saotomes is that their daily routines are never quite…routine." His idea was interrupted by a loud clang up ahead. There were two cats, one attacking the other. The assailant had just knocked over a garbage can on to the other cat with uncanny accuracy. Leif ran forward. The large calico was batting the other cat, which he could see was a smaller pinkish near-albino cat. "Hey, knock it off!" The calico looked up, then disregarded him. "Get away from her, dang it!" Leif lightly kicked the calico. It stopped, looked at him with almost contempt, and daintily walked off into the distance. Leif picked up some of the things that had fallen out of the can, and put the lid back on. He got on his knees and examined the albino feline. It was dirtied, had slash marks across its body, and most likely had a head injury, from the can falling on it. The cat was frightened by Leif looking it in the face, and tried to get up, yet could do nothing more than merely twitch on the pavement. Leif checked his pockets, and found an antiseptic towelette in his wallet. He tore it open, threw the wrapper in the trash can, and examined it. It was somewhat old, but still clean. He picked up the cat, which offered little resistance. It was female, as he had suspected, and had a plain collar of chain with a charm on it. No address. He ran it over the cat's wounds, to which she squirmed, and then tried to get some of the mud from between her fur. "You're just like Kiko back home then. She doesn't like to be cleaned either, except if she does it herself. Come on, I need to address some of those injuries back home, and then find who you belong to." He cradled the cat in his arms, and started walking back to the house.
The cat came to as Leif reached the front gate of the house. "It's okay, don't worry girl. I just want to help you." The cat relaxed. Leif felt better than he had been earlier, possibly because of the cat. "Kasumi, I'm home." She walked in to greet him. "I found her about six blocks away, hurt. Would you mind if I put some antiseptic on her and look for her owners? She's got this chain around her neck, so I don't think she's a stray." The cat stayed calm. Kasumi beamed and then became slightly more serious. "Oh, that's so kind of you, Leif. Although I should warn you, Ranma doesn't like cats." One of Leif's red-orange eyebrows rose slightly. "Is he allergic?" "Not really…more afraid than anything else." Leif grew slightly confused. "Ranma, the martial artist extraordinaire, afraid of common housecats?" Kasumi nodded meekly. "I'll keep that in mind, then."
Leif set the cat down, and hung up his coat. He then hoisted the cat up, carrying it carefully to the bathroom, where it laid it down in the bathtub. "You just wait there a second, okay?" The cat gave no complaint. In the medicine cabinet behind the mirror was a brown bottle of hydrogen peroxide, the formula H202 in large Roman letters above the Japanese text. (It was three percent.) He opened it, and carefully rinsed the cat's wounds as the liquid fizzed. Most of the small incisions were almost entirely clotted, so the cat was in no further danger of infection. However, it was still muddy and a bit scuffed. Leif took the cat out of the tub, turned on the water, mixing the faucets until it was lukewarm. He took the nozzle of the shower head, and sprayed the cat. It hollered, and suddenly, its shape changed. There, no more than two feet away from Leif, was a girl about his own age, with nearly purple hair and a smile on her face. And she, of course, was not wearing any clothing.
Leif's mind had gone into a more than momentary mental shock after he fell backwards onto the tile floor. After his breathing slowed down and he blinked, he sighed slightly. The girl nodded her head and addressed him. "Thank you. You living with Tendos?" Leif watched her hair follow her head as it tilted slightly. "Yeah, I'm an exchange student." She smiled. "You know, you are cute as Ranma?" She slinked forward on her hands. Leif pushed her away, and started to stand up. The girl laughed, and with seemingly little effort, grabbed him by the collar, yanked him to the floor, and hugged him with a heavy grasp. "Wait!" Leif, to his surprise managed to dodge a kiss and get up. Subconsciously he touched his face, revealing a small trickle of blood originating from his nose. His face gained a temporary look of irritation and slight disgust. "I'm Leif; would you mind telling me your name?" She nodded. "Shampoo." Shampoo looked at him. "Could you take Shampoo to Cat Café?" "I think I've heard of it. But how are you going to get there, unless you were planning to borrow some clothes?" "You know Ranma's curse?" "Yeah, the Jusenkyo thing, right? How does it work backwards?" Shampoo then subconsciously placed her hands on her hips. Leif's eyes stayed carefully glued to her face, noticing that one of the welts on her face was analogous to one she had had as a cat. "What, you stupid? Cold water is the reverse." "Then hold still." Leif took the shower nozzle. Shampoo's vocalized protest quickly turned into a meow before the end of the word. "No hard feelings, okay?" Leif picked up the scowling cat, dried her off, and carried her out the door.
A few seconds later, he had his duster back on and stood at the front door. Leif checked his watch and then lightly yelled into the next room. "Kasumi, I found out who the cat belongs to! I'm returning her and then going out for lunch!" Leif, trusty map and somewhat-squirming cat in hand, managed to find the restaurant in question about a mile away. As soon as Shampoo noticed the sign above the entryway, she hopped up to his shoulder and lightly licked him on the cheek. Leif simply rolled his eyes. "You're the new one at the Tendo household, aren't you? Then pray tell, what are doing with my granddaughter?" Leif looked to see a crinkled crone of a woman, undoubtedly ancient, and undoubtedly short, perhaps two and half feet tall with a large gnarled staff nearly twice her height. "I found her, I guess, jumped by another cat. I treated her wounds and she asked me to bring her back home." Leif kneeled and the cat hopped off his shoulders and ran inside. The crone raised an eyebrow. "Interesting. I told her not to do deliveries in this weather, but oh well. Thank you, Mr. Zahn." Leif's eyes twitched slightly. "How did you—?" She chuckled. "Well, Leif, news travels fast. I'm also up to date on things related to my future son-in-law. Thanks for the trouble." "You're welcome, um..." The woman nodded. "Cologne." Leif blinked, and watched as the woman went inside. Leif checked his watch. It was a little past one. "Something that Gosunkugi boy said the other day...I guess I could pay Miss Ukyo a visit."
One phone book and several minutes later, Leif found himself at a restaurant, Ukyo's Okonomiyaki, at which he might feel moderately more welcome. After sliding the door open, he walked inside to find the establishment empty. "Hello?" Leif then heard the clunking of stairs and then Ukyo Kuonji appeared, her hair still slightly wet.
"Oh, Leif? Nice to see you. Sorry, I was upstairs. Did you come for food or for conversations?" Leif glanced at the placards at the side wall. "Will both work?" "Sure." Ukyo fired up the gas beneath the counter, as Leif held out his duster's tail and sat a stool. "So, I hear ya' really lost it Monday. Our crazy school gettin' to you, or what?" "No. It's nothing. It was more exaggerated than anything. I'm fine." Ukyo raised her eyebrows slightly. "Sure doesn't sound fine. Are you sure you're okay? You seem kinda out there." Leif looked up at her. "My morning was only moderately disturbing. I went for a walk. I found an injured kitty. I took it home, washed it, and it changed into girl named Shampoo who after trying to tackle me asked if I would take her home. I ended up doing just that." Leif had managed to explain his day as of yet without changing his tone of voice. "Hmm... What'll you have, sugar?" "The special, hold the onion, and add..." Leif hesitated. "...noodles and lots of shrimp." Ukyo nodded. "Knowing Shampoo, it sounds like you're in good with her. Did you enjoy the little liaison?" Ukyo cocked a sly grin. Leif stood up, slammed his hands on the table and moved his just a few inches in front of Ukyo's face. "And what exactly do you mean by that?" Ukyo just blinked at him and glanced briefly downward. He looked down and noticed his palms, face down, rested on the griddle surface at the back of the table. Leif's eyes widened slightly and twitched as a now steaming hissing sound was burning the moisture from his hands. He got up, without a word, and asked, "Would you happen to have a sink I could use, please?" She looked right, gesturing at the sink behind the counter. Leif briskly walked over there. Using his forearms, he turned on the cold water and let his hands be splashed with the appropriately icy water. Ukyo chuckled slightly. "Zahn, you're weird as anyone else around here, but in your own, special way. Order's ready."
Leif sat back down as his order was placed in front of him. "Ukyo, do you have any silverware…like…a fork or a knife?" Ukyo looked at him. "Yeah, but what kinda person eats okonomiyaki with a—…" Leif interrupted her. "I do." Ukyo shook her head. After a few bites, Leif looked up. "You know, with all the stress in my life recently, if I was 20, I'd be asking for a shot glass filled with 80-proof." Leif smirked and laughed quietly. "…but instead, could I get a glass of water?" Ukyo stepped over to the sink and started talking. "I don't really have a lot of customers today; it's the weather over anything else. So, even if it's just for entertainment, would ya' mind telling me what's been going on, sugar?" Leif frowned ever so slightly. "I really don't like where this is headed. Perhaps…sometime later, okay?" Ukyo smirked. "I don't think someone is telling me the whole truth. Of course, I can find out what the heck has been going on with Leif lately myself if I have to." She smiled. "Sure." Leif went back to his plate and started eating.
A few minutes and one "thank you" later, Leif's spirits and wallet were slightly lightened as he started walking home. "I still have some homework to do. I really hate Riemann sums. Useless, useless, and useless." His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of loud, odd-sounding footsteps in the distance. He looked behind him to see nothing. "That's odd. Hmm…" He shrugged and walked on. A few seconds later, he quickly turned around, duster trailing behind him. There was a flash of something reflective at the next street corner which quickly disappeared. "Someone's following me, huh? Well, I know just the place to meet him." Leif took out his map, quickly glanced at it, and grinned.
Leif adjusted his coat as he sat down on one of the benches in the middle of Shakuji Park. He felt unusually smug, but managed to at least keep the semblance of attention. After changing which leg was crossed parallel to the ground, he sighed slightly and checked his watch. The sky was slightly lighter than before, and slightly warmer as well, but still thoroughly overcast. "I'd figured my unbeknownst assailant would have been here by now." Leif's thought was not in vain, as without warning, a "thwack" came from the bench, about a foot to the left of him. He turned to look, and embedded in the wooden backrest was a steel throwing knife with a crimson ribbon trailing from it. Leif got up. "Listen, I know you've been following me, so show yourself!" Nothing happened. Leif saw a flash of something white from the trees, and moved a few feet as two more throwing knives hit the side of the bench where he had been sitting. Out from the thicket of trees just off the path emerged what Leif had been seeking. It was a moderately-sized domestic white duck wearing thick coke-bottle lensed glasses. Clutched between two of the primary feathers in its right wing was a throwing knife.
Leif stood in disbelief. "All this time, I've been stalked by a duck?" The duck dropped the knife, and then proceeded to quack at him while flailing its wings. Leif simply watched. The duck, as if struck by inspiration, went behind one of the trees. Leif tilted his head slightly as he heard the clanging of something metallic, the din and sight of hissing steam, and then the rustling of something cloth. A young man about Leif's age, perhaps a bit older, emerged from the tree. The teen was wearing a long, white, baggy robe with a geometric emblem. He had long, loose black hair, and, as Leif noted, the same thick glasses resting on his forehead. "I've finally found you, Leif Zahn. So nice of you to wait for me. Ranma would have simply run back home." Leif approached him. "And you would be…?" The man smiled, and placed his glasses on the bridge of his nose. "The hair of the inferno itself…ah, forgive me. You may call me…Mousse." Leif blinked. "First Shampoo, next Cologne, and now Mousse. What next?" Mousse chuckled a few times, then pointed his right index finger at Leif, his loose sleeve barely keeping up. "However, your actions towards my significant other are unacceptable. I will not be some wittol who idly stands by and allows this to happen!" Leif was befuddled. "And that would be…?" Mousse sneered. "Don't mock me, Leif! My girlfriend, the cat called Shampoo." "What are you talking about? Why are so upset?" Mousse bared his teeth. "Why must you patronize me? You brought Shampoo home with you, took her to bath with you, and saw her in the nude, you lascivious bastard! I heard…I heard that she even kissed you." The robed man was now noticeably quivering with rage. Leif know that behind those opaque glasses rested eyes of flame. "Cologne told me all about it. Do you know how long I've been trying to get into her good graces? And you, Mr. Famous Exchange Student have to go and muck things up. You will not leave this place conscious. I shall guarantee that."
"I suppose, by this point, negotiation is out of the question." Leif sighed to himself. "I'll tell you right now that you're angry out of an exaggeration. However, you don't seem too receptive to ideas right now, so why don't you just cut with the accusations and attack me?" Mousse flashed him a toothy grin. "Gladly, Mr. Zahn." Mousse crossed his arms, his hands and wrists disappearing into the loose sleeves of his tunic. They emerged with two throwing knives, similar to those that were still in the park bench behind the pair. Leif put up his hands…and realized something was amiss. He turned around, quickly glancing at the fountain and its environs. His staff was noticeably absent. Then, it dawned on him. "I left it…at the Saotomes…" "Oh no…oh no." Leif started laughing, somewhat uncontrollably. "How could I have been so…" His thought was interrupted by the flash of a knife being twirled in his opponent's right hand. Mousse effortlessly stopped it so that it stood blade up, between his index and middle fingers. And just as effortlessly, it left his fingers. Leif launched himself to the right, throwing himself onto the pavement, as the first knife flew silently above the middle of his back. A swift right kick into the ground pivoted Leif, who was still prone, sideways just enough to dodge the second knife, which hit brick with noticeable "clink". He did a half-roll face-up, and with a backwards roll, found himself in a crouch, facing his feathered assailant, who was still beaming his demonic grin. His left palm found one of the plain steel knives with accompanying streamer and he quickly switched it to his right hand as he got up. Mousse stood hands clasp in front of him, as if patiently waiting. Leif cocked his elbow, and with a substantial amount of effort, flung the knife directly at him. Mousse cocked a grin as, instinctually, his left arm reached out and caught the projectile by the handle, the blade still pointing toward him. "Not bad, Leif. Not bad at all. However, I think I'm done playing." The knife returned to the overgrown sleeves while his right hand returned with something else in his grasp.
Mousse clenched his right fist, put it up to his left shoulder, and simply remarked, "Catch". A pair of oval, whitish stones flew at Leif, who simply crossed his arms in front of him. One of the two eggs detonated against his left arm, the other hitting him softly, but squarely in the chest. The blast and burning embers of black powder singed him, leaving the akage stunned and temporarily blinded. Just as his mind started unfogging itself, Leif was hit with another pair of impacts. The two chain-link bolas that had shot out of Mousse's sleeves had started wrapping themselves around the midsection of his coat. Although his hands were free, the youth could do nothing about the chains, which tightened in opposite directions. As he tried to wedge his fingers between one of the loops to try and relieve his ribs, the two diamond-shaped weights ran out of chain and hit him, both in the center of the chest. He gasped for breath only to find that his wind had left his chest. Mousse had started laughing in a chilled and repetitive manner. Within moments, Leif found his feet leaving the ground as the chains tightened laterally. The self-proclaimed practitioner of the "dark arts" now had his quarry spinning in tight circle of no more than ten feet as if he were participating in the human hammer throw. Mousse edged back towards the thicket, and at the appropriate time, the ends of the chains detached themselves from him, leaving his catch flying at the nearest tree. Leif, still bound, hit the oak. Every part of his body burned momentarily…until his spinning grey-and-white phosphenes in his eyes went entirely black.
Leif awoke to silence. Even before he opened his eyes, he felt the cool rush of evening air wash over him. Although his chest and limbs were in the grey area between numb and burning, his head was worse. The teen just laid there, his head in too much pain to conceive of any conscious thought. Little by little, some of his senses returned. Although most of him was lying on the cobbled-brick pavement, his legs were elevated on something. So was his head. His slowly breathed in, only to have his nose sting, though he couldn't tell if it was the result of smelling something or just the after-effects of the impact—perhaps it was both. Suddenly, Leif's eyes sprang open. He found himself staring at a sunset partially obscured by the heavy, partially-overcast sky, while the top of a tree occupied the lower portion of his visual range. His head slowly fell to the right, at which he felt what his head was leaning on. "Fabric? It's…warm." He thought he heard a muted sniffle as he stayed where his was, his mind literally empty.
A few minutes later, Leif started to notice that the muscles in his arms and legs no longer felt like lead. As he started to lift his head up, a pair of hands helped him sit upright. Needles and pins of numbness ran through his head before they resided and were promptly replaced by throbbing blood vessels. He glanced slightly down to see his bowed legs resting on top of a small backpack. "I'm so glad you're awake." The female voice barely fazed him, but as he started to turn around, she added, "No, wait, stay there. I'll come around." The girl got up and walked around to the front-left of Leif's view. She was wearing a white, button-up blouse and a long blue skirt. It was Hiroko Yamane. "What happened, Leif?" Leif glanced his blank eyes at her and said nothing. "I was walking home and I found you unconscious. Are you okay? Can you understand me?" Leif managed to get something like a nod out of his neck. He blinked a few times, then inhaled sharply. "Wait a minute…I was laying on her skirt!" He rolled his eyes to the right slowly as his still-headache-racked brain produced the thought. "Do…you need me to help walk you home?" Leif opened his mouth momentarily and closed it. "Cer…tainly." She smiled weakly. Leif firmly added, "Not." Leif put a hand down, and with some effort, managed to slowly stand up. His head felt like it was weightless. As he started to fall over, Hiroko quickly stood up, and caught him. "You silly." She shifted from her improvised hug, placing Leif's left arm behind her head and her right arm under his right armpit, trying to prop him up. Leif, his head significantly less clouded, felt the unwanted embrace, and coldly added, "Leave me…alone." He pulled his left arm away, shoved her arm out from under his, and walked away from Hiroko, leaving the girl with a wistful look on her face.
By the time he reached the Tendos, Leif's incoherency had faded to a simple severe headache. The front gate and front door proved to be no difficulty. He slipped off his shoes and began climbing the staircase, when he heard the sounds of plates clinking together, signaling either the beginning or end of the evening meal; he didn't care. Pushing the strange thirst in his mouth aside, Leif opened the door at the end of the hall. He was going straight to bed, so he left the light off. After closing the door behind him, Leif began walking over to the head of the bed. His head tingled again, and numbness crept into his limbs. "Wait…not…" His feet gave way, his body collapsing on the floor as blackness overtook him.
