Mousse couldn't help but smile. The techniques written in the scrolls were amazing. If he knew of these techniques the first time he challenged Ranma, he would've been able to defeat the pigtailed martial artist easily. He found it ironic that he managed to get the skill that could've given him victory against Ranma now, after he no longer considered him an enemy.

From what he understood of Autumn's style, the basis of her techniques were canine based; the fury slash, the lunar rave, and the howl of the hell hound which he hadn't seen yet...and those were just the ones she told him about or that he had seen in battle. The basis of his style, on the other hand, was avian based. The two were incompatible with each other, so they wouldn't be able to learn each other's higher level moves and incorporate it into their own style. Though, from what he saw, her techniques were pretty advanced already.

He had finally learned something that had eluded him up until this point...ki control. He had seen Ranma and Ryouga use ki techniques all the time, and have even seen the girls tap into theirs on occasion. Mousse could barely contain himself once he saw that was the first lesion taught in the scrolls. It took him a while, but he finally learned how to properly focus it for use. The next lesson was the "crashing albatross kick". A fairly basic move where he focuses his ki into his feet and perform a jump-kick with crushing results. He was able to learn that quite easily.

After that, Mousse's excitement level shot up again. The third lesson was the beginning of he learning the pinnacle of his art form. It was the first of the Phoenix skill sets. Phoenix moves were reserved for the best of the best in his particular style. Was this a mistake, or did Cologne really hold him in that high a regard? Not like he as going to go back and ask her and risk her saying that she, indeed gave him the wrong set of scrolls.

The first of the Phoenix set was the Phoenix Inferno; a literal fireball. He lifted his hands in front of him, inches apart, focusing his ki into a ball between them, as hot as he could. First, there was a small spark, which was followed by several more sparks, until a ball of fire ignited between his hands. He smiled at his accomplishment, but he knew this was the easiest of the Phoenix moves to master. In particular, one of the later lessons was the Heart of Fire...the equal, yet opposite technique to the Soul of Ice, which Cologne taught Ranma. Only after that would he be able to master the really high level skills.

The highest-level, most powerful skill one could learn in the scroll was a team move. When one with the Heart of Fire teamed up with one with the Soul of Ice, they could perform a devastating move called the Twin Dragon's Ascension. As things were now, for him to pull off that technique, he'd have to team up with Ranma. Even though he didn't consider Ranma an enemy any longer, he didn't know if he would be up for anything like that with him yet.

For now, this was good enough. He'd have to play with the Phoenix Inferno skill a bit more in order to get the hang of it.

"AAAAAAAAAAH!"

Mousse looked skyward, his concentration being broken. Looks like the stick-wielding idiot had been tossed or punted into the stratosphere yet again. Why did he have to fly in this direction to disturb him, though?

"Hey, Mousse!" called Autumn, who was in her shop tending to customers. "What in the world was that noise?"

"Kuno," Mousse said flatly.

She thought for a moment, "Oh...that guy with the bokken from the cave, right?"

Mousse nodded. "Looks like he irritated someone to send him on his daily flight across town."

Autumn laughed, "Daily?"

"Trust me. He has getting on your nerves down to an art form. I'm sure you'll see what I mean soon enough."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

They looked up again, "Okay, so what was that?"

Mousse paused, not quite believing what he was seeing. "Is that...Ranma and Akane?"

"Them too, huh? That must be the preferred mode of travel around here." She noticed the worried look on Mousse's face. "What is it?"

"I have this sneaking suspicion the cat's out of the bag. If I'm right, things are going to get real bad real quick..."

-

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

And the Beat Goes On

"Black and Blue"

-

It was a guy's dream...a tame one compared to some but still, no guy would pass up this view. The St. Heberke High School for Girls martial arts rhythmic gymnastics team during a practice session. As a competitive team, they were second to none, thanks to their team captain. With her rigorous training, the team's skill, speed, timing and use of weapons was close to flawless. No one in their region could defeat them in a competition. Of course, hardly anyone has ever actually competed against the team, also thanks to their team captain and her unscrupulous methods outside the ring.

Of course, the part a guy would love would be seeing all of the female bodies in motion as they practiced in their skimpy leotards. Truly, when it came to the skill or beauty of St. Heberke's gymnastics team, Kodachi Kuno's squad was a cut above all the rest. Indeed, when there is an actual event and guys are allowed in to watch, they always give more than the usual attention to her team.

However, there was only one guy's attention that held any interest to Kodachi. That, of course, was Ranma Saotome. Just like her and her team, he was just a cut above all the other guys she had met up to that time. Kodachi's philosophy was the best deserved the best. Sure, there were other girls after Ranma's heart, but she was sure that Ranma would recognize who the best of the girls were. Once he did that, he would be with her, as it should be, and they will have their happily ever after.

Just the thought of the two of them together made her laugh manically in an almost insane glee. She stopped and looked around, seeing all of the other girls had stopped practicing to stare at her. "What?" she demanded with the sternest look she could muster through a blush. The other girls immediately went back to practicing. Kodachi busting out laughing, for apparently no reason, was nothing new to them. Sometimes it meant that she had a devilish idea in mind for whatever opposing team they were going against. Sometimes, it just meant that she was going to make life miserable for some unlucky soul. Either way, it was just best to leave her be.

One girl, however, just couldn't. She ran through the crowd and approached the team captain. With a slight bow, she went up to Kodachi and whispered something in her ear. "Are you sure?" asked Kodachi. The girl nodded. "Okay team," Kodachi yelled, addressing everyone assembled. "I'll need to excuse myself for a bit. You keep practicing until I get back." With that, she ran out of the gym.

It didn't take long for her to reach the nurse's office to find what the girl had told her was, indeed true. Her brother was there, apparently having crashed through the roof. This, of course, was nothing out of the ordinary. Tatewaki Kuno had a way with people...whenever he interacted with anyone else, it usually resulted with him being punted into space. Kodachi didn't think there was a building in town her dear brother hadn't fallen into. She had been guilty of punting him a few places herself.

What was out of the ordinary, though, was the incredibly somber look on his face. Something was amiss; she could feel it. He turned to her and nodded, "Hello sister."

"Brother dear, whatever is the matter?"

He put a couple of fingers on the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh. "The heavens have granted me incredible power, for they knew my greatest battle was yet ahead. It would seem that foul sorcerer's spell has neared completion."

Kodachi's eye twitched. She never appreciated how her brother spoke about her beloved. "What exactly do you mean, dear brother?"

"My poor Akane Tendo has succumb to his dark powers. She believes herself to be in love with him and he with her."

Her jaw dropped, "WHAT? Never! My dearest Ranma would never become enamored with that wench."

Kuno's eye twitched. He never appreciated how his sister spoke about his beloved. "Well, if you had witnessed the public display of affection they shared mere moments ago as I have, you would have no question in your mind."

"N-no..." Her blood began to boil and she clenched her teeth, seething in anger, "That harlot! She must have bewitched my darling somehow!" As different as they were, they were related still, so inevitably, some of their thought processes would cross over. She acquired her ribbon from subspace and bounded out of the nurse's office. "Worry not, my love! I shall save you from that hereden's evil wiles! OOOHOHOHOHOHOHO!"

"You shall not lay a finger upon Akane Tendo!" demanded her brother. "I shall defeat the knave, Ranma Saotome, and free her from his spell once and for all!"

----+----+----+----+----

How quickly things change. It seemed like everything was going exactly as she intended. Ryouga had moved into her restaurant to help out, freeing up some of her time. He had even passed Furinkan's equivalency exams so he could enroll in the proper grade. He would've been more attractive to Akane with some education under his belt, making it easy for them to sway her over to his side, which would leave Ranma free for the taking.

All of the preliminaries were put in place. They just needed the time to get their master plan started. However, that plan was derailed before it was even set into motion. Ukyou slouched over in her chair and sighed deeply. Done in before they could even hatch one scheme. What in the world could have happened between Ranma and Akane that they would've confessed their love for each other so soon? Could it have had something to do with whatever caused Furinkan to blow up a few weeks ago? Whatever it was, it was a moot point now.

She stole a glance at the clock over her stove...lunch time already. In a few hours, classes would be over and it would be time for her to open up shop. Her customers would just have to go hungry. She was too distraught to open the restaurant. Besides which, with how she was feeling, she'd make a mess of things anyway, either by burning a dish or snapping at a customer. Better to cool off before having to face the public again.

There was another sigh a couple of tables away from her. Ryouga slouched over in his seat as well, bemoaning the fact that he had failed once again in gaining his heart's desire. Why? Why was it he always had to struggle so hard, to fight through impossible odds, get within an inch of his goal just to lose out in the end? Why did it seem Ranma, in comparison, always had things handed to him, many times without him even appreciating them?

It was that way from middle school when they first met all the way up to now. He always managed to learn new skills like it was nothing. In almost every confrontation, he was able to take out Ryouga with no problem. Ranma had the love of his life...the love of Ryouga's life just fall right into his lap. With nearly no effort at all, Ranma acquired a circle of friends and potential lovers. Ryouga, meanwhile, was always one step behind, always alone, always lost. He didn't think he had one real friend in the world.

Well, that wasn't exactly true, was it? He looked over at Ukyou. With her recent actions, it seemed as though she was a true friend. She took him in and pushed him into going back to school, even helping him study for the exams. It couldn't take the place of the love he had lost, but it certainly felt good to have someone there to lean on when he needed it.

"Hey," Ukyou said to him, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?"

"Do you mind not blowing up my restaurant? It's all I have left."

Ryouga gave her a puzzled look. She reached into her school bag, which was on the table in front of her and pulled out a mirror. She held it up to him and he saw in the reflection that he was glowing. "Oh. Sorry." He got up and went to the back yard and fired off the excess energy he had built up into the sky. It was strange to him that the Roaring Lion's Bullet would activate on its own like that. Perhaps, the whole thing had him so depressed, he let his control slip and it came to life involuntarily. He'd have to keep that in check. With that taken care of, he went back inside and sat down in the space he had before.

Watching him, Ukyou shook her head and muttered, "Pfft, idiot."

For a mutter, it was quite loud. Ryouga looked at her, "Who's an idiot?"

"You. You should learn to keep your stupid skills in check before you accidentally hurt someone."

"Fine way to talk to a friend."

Ukyou feigned shock, "Friends? Whatever gave you the impression that WE were friends? I was just going to use you to help break Ranma and Akane apart. After that, I couldn't have cared less if we ever saw each other again or not. Friends? Please. I can barely stand being in the same room with you.

"If that's the way you feel about me, then why the hell did you invite me into your home?"

"Weren't you listening? I needed you as a tool to drive a wedge between Ranma and Akane. That's all you ever were. All that other stuff was incidental to the plans we had to formulate."

"So why am I still here?"

"You know? That's a good question. GET OUT!" Ukyou pointed emphatically at the door and leveled Ryouga with the iciest glare she could muster.

What a surprise. It looked as if he was wrong again. He really didn't have a friend in the world. Ryouga stood to his feet, grabbed his super heavy backpack and slung it over his shoulder. He walked over to the front door and opened it. Before he went through, he paused and looked back at Ukyou. "You know, it's easy to see why Ranma chose Akane over you. You like to put on a front like you're sweet and friendly and all that. But deep inside, you really are a fowl person who would use anyone you saw fit to get what you want then throw them away once you didn't need them anymore. When it comes down to it, you're no better than Shampoo."

How dare he compare her to that tramp! Seething with rage, Ukyou picked up the nearest thing, which happened to be her school bag and hurled it at him. It hit the door and fell to the floor, Ryouga having already gone through and closed it behind him. With no one else close by to take out her frustrations on, she slammed her fist into the table, breaking it into splinters and broke down, crying.

On the other side of the door, Ryouga properly placed the straps of his backpack on his shoulders. He could hear Ukyou wailing inside and despite the hateful argument that just took place, his heart went out to her and he wanted to go back in and comfort her. But she had made it abundantly clear that his presence was no longer welcome. With nothing left to do, he began walking, not caring where he ended up.

----+----+----+----+----

Not far away from St. Heberke, Ranma and Akane were trekking their way back to their own high school, returning from the aerial tour of Nerima Ukyou and Ryouga sent them on. It was fortunate for them the occupant of the home they landed on wasn't there. Their heads wouldn't come out of the holes they made, so they forced themselves to fall all the way through. They felt bad for whomever it was who lived there, but not bad enough to stick around for them to come back. The dojo was costing the Tendos quite a bit to repair; the last thing they needed was the added expense of paying for someone else's roof.

Akane shook her head, trying to figuratively and literally, shake the cobwebs out. "Ugh, remind me never to do that again. I'm still picking shingles out of my hair."

Ranma looked at her, hopeful, "does that mean you won't be doing that to me anymore?"

She looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "I won't if you're good."

"Feh, I'm always good. You just need to stop overreacting to stuff."

"ME? Overreact?" She playfully swatted him on the arm. "You must have me mistaken for someone else Mr. Saotome. I never overreact."

"Oh really? I must've been engaged to some other girl named Akane Tendo, then. That girl used to fly off the handle over the littlest thing."

"Well, I guess you could say that I've finally come to appreciate some of those little things. Your honesty, for example; it's a little abrasive." She paused for a moment. "A lot abrasive." She paused again. "Like coarse sandpaper with little, jagged rocks stuck on it."

"OKAY, I get the message."

"Still, when I felt like the world was closing in on me and I couldn't believe in anyone, I knew I could trust you. You would be truthful with me no matter what. You have no idea how comforting that was." She smiled. "I guess with all that I've been through, I really AM a different person.

"Does this mean you ain't gonna hit me over silly stuff anymore?" Ranma asked her, hopeful.

She held up her right hand and gave him a pledge, "Absolutely! I promise I will never 'fly off the handle' and hit you again."

Ranma smiled, "That's great to hear!"

"...unless you really deserve it."

He stopped in his tracks, "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Whatever I want it to!" She stuck her tongue out at him and began running. She didn't take too many steps before a familiar looking club appeared out of nowhere and clocked her right between the eyes. She fell over seeing stars.

"AKANE!"

She sat up and shook her head clear. "Ouch, what hit me?" She looked at the offending object and knew exactly whom it was that threw it. Looking up towards the end of the block and sure enough, there stood insanity incarnate, Kodachi Kuno. Akane glared at the gymnast, "What do you want?"

Kodachi twirled her ribbon as she spoke, "I have come to do what I should have done a long time ago, Akane Tendo. You have tainted my dearest with your vile presence long enough. The time has finally come for me to purge this world of your existence so that I can finally have my darling Ranma at my side!"

Akane stood up and glared at the gymnast, "You're crazy!"

"Yes, that I am," said Kodachi. "Crazy in love!" She grabbed another pin and press what looked like a button on its neck, making spikes protrude from the body. She hurled it at Akane, hoping to hit her again, but Akane managed to dodge out of the way. Kodachi gave chase and the battle began in earnest.

Ranma ran after Kodachi to put a stop to the escalating fight, "Come back here! There's no way I'm gonna let you hurt Akane!" However, Ranma's senses alerted him that he was also in danger. He halted her pursuit and jumped back just as the older Kuno sibling seemingly dropped out of the sky in a ball of lightening, leaving a crater in Ranma's path. If he had continued after Kodachi, that could've easily been his head. Ranma narrowed his eyes, "Kuno..."

The would-be samurai smiled, "Let us leave them to their own devices. I have no doubt that Akane Tendo shall emerge victorious in this confrontation. For now, I shall be your opponent. And do not think this to be like our other encounters. I have been merciful up until now, but that time has passed. You have no idea of the depths of my power, Saotome. It's time that I showed you."

Ranma raised an eyebrow. "You mean that ability you got to toss around lightening? Gimme a break. You've tried that already."

Kuno blinked. "I have?"

Interesting. It looked as though Kuno forgot all about their battle in Arame's cave. "Yeah, and I managed to beat you anyway." Of course, Ranma exaggerated a little in regard to the outcome.

That deflated Kuno a bit. He didn't know if he should believe Ranma or not on whether he managed to defeat Kuno yet again, even with his new abilities. Just the fact that the pigtailed martial artist did know about the new powers meant he no longer had the element of surprise on his side. Kuno steeled himself and put all the distracting thoughts out of his head. "So, you already know of my new abilities. It matters not. All that matters in the end is the outcome of this encounter. For the sake of love...for the sake of my love, I must destroy you! En Gardé!"

----+----

"It looks like you were right to come out here to try and find Ranma and Akane," Autumn said, perched on the roof of a corner store watching the proceedings below.

Mousse, who sat beside her, shook his head. "I knew this was going to happen at some point. I didn't think it would happen this soon, though." He had figured the big blow-up would start by the hand of one of the Kuno siblings. But both at once? That was beyond even his expectations.

"Should we go down and help?"

"No. You're probably looking at the two proudest martial artists in town. They'd take it as an insult if we tried to help them now. Especially Ranma. Besides, it's just the Kunos." Mousse shrugged. "Even with Kuno's new power, it should be too much trouble for them to handle. We can step in to make sure no one gets seriously hurt, but for now, we can just sit and watch. I'm sure Ranma and Akane will make sure things don't get too out of hand, and will beat them soon enough."

"You sure have a lot of faith in them," Autumn said with a smile.

"Nah. I just know this because Ranma's done it to me so often."

"I see. Well, since we're just sitting here and watching for now," she rummaged through the depths of her sleeves and pulled out a steaming hot bag. "Like some popcorn?"

Mousse nearly facefaulted, "You keep hot popcorn in your robe?"

Autumn shrugged, "Yeah. Why not? Want some?"

"Sure, why not?" He grabbed a handful and popped one in his mouth. "Mmm, buttery."

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+----