Author's Note: Hi all. As you can see I've managed to get another chapter out, or at least part of one. The writer's block wasn't as bad as I thought when I stopped thinking about the plotline and instead began thinking about the characters in the plotline. All I can say without revealing too much is that some things have changed and for the better I think. Thank you for reading and I'll get the rest up as soon as I can.
The boy stared blankly at the wall, jaw slack and eyes glazed. Ku Lon was unconcerned. The Xi Fan Xiao technique usually left its victims like this for a time. She tucked away the memory erasing herbal mixture back on the shelf. She was careful in wrapping the delicate rice paper cover over the top. Even breathing in the fumes would cause memory loss. She looked back at the boy. He was still stunned.
Ku Lon didn't want it to come to this, but the boy had simply become too much of a nuisance for her to handle anymore. Ever since her great-granddaughter was sent away for five-year training journey all heirs to the position of Elder must take, the boy had become increasingly agitated. He tried to run after her numerous times, and it got to the point where he was forbidden from even getting close to the village boundaries. Even so, he had to be escorted five times back to his home under armed guard.
She snorted. The boy's infatuation was disgusting to say the least. Running around blindly, crying 'Xian Pu!', and demanding to know where she was taken. The Elder finally got fed up with the entire thing. The memory erasure was only temporary, but it should give them a while of respite from the boy's annoying antics. Using such a technique on a child was highly dangerous, and forbidden in all but the most dire of circumstances, but still a far more painless alternative to what the other Elders suggested.
Hopping closer, she studied the catatonic boy. She could see he was going to be quite handsome when he came of age, having inherited the best features from both parents. Others noticed this as well; she would often hear talk from the warriors about the young boys and which one would braid his hair for one of them first. Mu Tzu's name came up more than once. It is a shame his mother is an outsider, it has made him weak and sightless. If his fool father had simply married within the village the boy would probably not have such a hard time with the other children and most likely already have been promised to another, perhaps even her own great-granddaughter. Marriage to the heir of the only Hidden Weapons Style in existence would be a tempting offer for the parent of any young girl of the village, if only that heir were not so weak. But the way things are at least he would make a pretty husband for a warrior if not a strong one.
The boy stirred. She stood in front of him on her staff, carefully scrutinizing his face for anything that may indicate damage. She sighed in some relief at finding nothing.
"Mu Tzu? Are you awake?"
The boy blinked slowly and looked at the Elder, wiping some drool from his chin with a billowing sleeve of his robe. The uniform of his father's school of combat. She never understood why he insisted on wearing it when he only a dabbler in the art that was his birthright. He was so caught up with Xian Pu he never had time to seriously train.
She narrowed her eyes. Something was strange about the boy, something in his eyes. Not that he was able to see, he was still quite blind, but the frantic, obsessive energy and passion she found in no one else as young as he was completely snuffed out, replaced by an empty detachedness. She always wondered what it would be like if he turned that drive toward his art.
"Yes?" he asked softly.
Ku Lon wondered briefly if wiping his memory clear of her great-granddaughter could have caused such a change, or if she had somehow made a mistake while carrying out the technique.
"Are you feeling alright, Mu Tzu?" she asked. "You wandered in here and bumped your head." He only looked at her with lifeless eyes. "Well, you seem to be better now," she continued, meeting his gaze evenly. "Next time be sure to keep your glasses on your head where they can do you some good."
"Yes Elder, thank you for sharing you wisdom with me," he replied in a respectful, empty monotone. He slipped his coke-bottle glasses over his eyes, which now focused on her own. "May I leave?"
"Yes, of course, child," she said. "Go home now, you don't want to worry your father."
He nodded slowly once, like in a dream, before leaving. The child stood unsteadily at first, and almost slipped, but quickly regained his balance. He looked down at his legs as if seeing them for the first time. He then raised his hands to eye level and stared at them for a moment, turning them around to examine them like they were something totally new to him. His eyes rose to meet Ku Lon's. She saw something else there. Curiosity.
Ku Lon remained perched on her staff, pondering over what she witnessed. It was common knowledge that if certain memories were wiped out, drastic personality changes may occur, but she never believed Mu Tzu would be affected so dramatically. Perhaps what the boy felt for Xian Pu wasn't just mere infatuation…
She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of jeering. She sighed. She didn't have to look outside to see what it was. It was Lu and his friends. They had seen Mousse come here and came to bully him as they always did. Although bullying those weaker than oneself was looked down upon for females, males usually did so with impunity. Everyone knew that such was the weakness of males; they can't control their own violent impulses. She supposed she had better go out and stop it.
Mu Tzu stood impassively inside the circle of boys, facing Lu. Lu was the leader of the group, larger than the others. The other three boys were simply toadies, cowards that only moved on Lu's command and only did something when Lu did.
Ku Lon paused at the doorway. They hadn't noticed her yet. She was suddenly struck with a morbid curiosity about how Mu Tzu would react to this. Lu was saying something to Mu Tzu, posturing arrogantly in front of the smaller boy, when he shoved him. Mu Tzu stiffened visibly, turning taut as wire stretched to the breaking point. Assured in his own superiority over the weakling, Lu didn't see it. The toadies were jeering insults safely from the sidelines, waiting for the boy to fall.
Encouraged by his followers, Lu shoved him again. He didn't see the sleeved arm whip up and the iron bar appear in its hand, but he did feel it when the butt end was rammed into his gut. He was doubled over gasping when Mu Tzu brought his knee sharply into his face, sending him sprawling back. He landed writhing and screaming while blood gushed from his nose.
Ku Lon was pleasantly surprised. It seemed the boy finally learned to stand up for himself. Though his motions and choice of weapons lacked a warrior's finesse, they were controlled and very straightforward with no trace of squeamishness at hurting the other boy. Maybe there was hope for him after all.
She wasn't as half as surprised as the other boys expecting easy sport with a weakling, who suddenly turned their leader into a bloody mess lying on the ground. Mu Tzu didn't give them time to react. He swung the iron bar in a wide arc to his right and connected with the side of one of the boy's neck, sending him reeling. He quickly turned and rushed toward the boy who had been on his left, weapon raised to bring down on his head. He instinctively raised his arm to block the attack and screamed as it struck. He fell on his backside and scrambled away while crying and clutching his ruined arm. The last one was running as fast as he could in the other direction. Mu Tzu squinted as if gauging the distance between himself and the fleeing boy and cocked his arm back to throw the bar.
Ku Lon was suddenly there beside Mu Tzu, a withered hand held firmly around the boy's wrist. This had gone on long enough. He had passed from self-defense into brutality. The boy looked up at the Elder and she almost gasped at what she saw. Cold anger and hate was etched onto his face and didn't lessen even as she held him. Although she was much stronger, his arm strained against her grip trying to force it down, his gaze locked on hers. By then the boy had disappeared and the screaming had begun to attract the notice of the villagers.
Finally Mu Tzu's arm relaxed and his eyes became blank again. He stood passively until she released her grip.
"Go home," she said simply.
He bowed and walked away silently, passing the boys he had just beaten. They looked up fearfully and scooted away as quickly as possible as he came near. He ignored them.
A chill ran up Ku Lon's spine. He had definitely changed.
Killing his memory of Xian Pu couldn't possibly have done this. Could it? She wondered.
She shook herself and laughed inwardly. This was obviously a temporary situation. Soon Mu Tzu will be back to his old blind, weak self. Right now the important thing is taking care of the boys he mangled. Perhaps now they would learn to stop picking on smaller children. One could be hiding an iron bar inside his sleeve.
She pogoed on her staff to tend to the hurt boys when she had the crawling sensation that something was watching her. She turned and saw Mu Tzu across the way, a small patch of white against the green and brown of the forest, staring at her. Even from this distance she could see he was smiling.
Cologne opened her eyes. Thunder crashed and rolled outside.
She sat up silently from her bed and reached for the staff by her bed. Lightning flashed, illuminating the hall brilliantly in blue-white light as she silently checked each room. Lin-lin and Lan-lan slept in Shampoo's room on a spare bed. The girls slept fitfully, tossing and turning and mumbling. Nightmares.
She sighed, thinking again about what the girls had gone through, what they had witnessed, only to come here where the nightmare was still walking and talking. But she wasn't going to send them to the village just yet. Mousse was still out there somewhere and there's no telling what he may do if he caught them.
She sighed again, but it came out more like a growl. She searched everywhere for the boy but there was no physical trace of him to be found. The only clue she had that he even existed was the people she questioned who saw or spoke to him, and the list wasn't encouraging. Ukyo and her transvestite waiter/waitress, Ranma's mother, and Nabiki Tendo. Ukyo and Konatsu liked him, if only because he left a considerably large sum for his meal. Nodoka said he was a nice young man and asked if Cologne knew him; she told her they were acquaintances and bade her goodbye. Nabiki was the most puzzling. When asked, the girl studied Cologne thoughtfully through half-lidded eyes for a moment, probably wondering why she would possibly be interested in him, before demanding five thousand yen for the information. Cologne grudgingly paid the sum and the girl told her he stopped by with Nodoka a few weeks ago to change into something dry after he was caught in the rain. Cologne felt the girl was keeping something from her, she could see it behind the girl's carefully neutral expression. But the girl kept her cool under the Elder's scrutiny. It was an admirable feat; most would have buckled under the pressure. Cologne felt Nabiki would have made an excellent Amazon.
The boy was getting close to Ranma. Her stomach clenched at the thought. Bringing her future son-in-law into the tribe was more important now than ever. With all the Elders dead except for herself and many the tribe's warriors along with them, it was very possible the Amazon people wouldn't recover from this blow unless they brought in new, powerful blood, even if it was male.
She contemplated the matter. The village would have to wait. They could take care of themselves; Mousse won't go back for them until he dealt with her, she knew. And he wouldn't deal with her until he dealt with her great-granddaughter. Her stomach clenched tighter. She had a good idea of what that animal would do to her if he managed to defeat Ranma for the right to her hand.
Then there was really only one thing for her to do. Make sure Ranma didn't lose.
Mu Tzu watched as the blur he assumed to be mist creep along the ground from the springs, only to be burned away by the rising sun. Bamboo shoots reached up dozens of feet into the air. He was careful to stay away from the springs' edges, being familiar with the old legends regarding the place. He fingered the length of chain he kept in one sleeve of his voluminous robe, drawing security from its feel.
They were late. Mousse shivered inside his robes from the damp air and raised a hand toward the sun to feel how high it had risen. His mother would be waking shortly. He swept his myopic gaze across the grounds and made ready to leave. He never believed the Elders would be so petty as to play such a simple practical joke.
"Are you ready, child?" inquired a reedy voice.
Mu Tzu whipped around, a knife slipping into his hand. He sheathed it when he saw the origin of the voice. Four figures appeared out of the rapidly dissipating mist, hunched and wizened by age. He strode forward cautiously, as wary of the Elders as he was of the springs.
"I am here as you asked," he replied. "You say if I do this you promise to let my mother and I leave this place?"
One of the old ones nodded. "Yes. You will be given your freedom, and no longer be considered one of us."
He tucked his hands back in his sleeves. "Good. Now what is it I have to do?"
"Come closer," she beckoned.
Mu Tzu walked forward cautiously, trying his best at scanning the ground and keeping his eyes on the Elder at the same time. The mist seemed to thicken and gather in tendrils around his ankles. He kicked at it. He thought he could actually feel it. The Elder towered over him perched on her staff, though her aged body couldn't have been any taller than his.
"What do I have to do?" he asked. Everything suddenly seemed in focus now.
The Elder looked down impassively. He glanced at the three others, all watching him.
He took a half step back. Aren't there five Elders?
Mousse didn't have time to react before a tall form emerged from the mist, spinning a staff that struck him in the side, sending him flying through the air. Reacting out of blind instinct, Mousse flung the chain from his sleeve toward what he thought was a tall bamboo shoot. The chain caught and held. He used the momentum as the bamboo bent and righted itself to swing himself up and wrap his legs around the shoot, leaving him hanging upside down.
He didn't have time to feel relieved at his save before he heard shouts coming from the Elders. He tilted his head up to see two of them arguing, one holding the other back and talking rapidly while the other three ran or hopped to the edge of the spring.
Suddenly enraged at his betrayal, Mu Tzu held his arms out and a storm of blades, spikes, and chains flew out. The Elders easily blocked his attacks, but he kept flinging his motley assortment of weapons. He was vaguely aware through his haze of anger of the impossibility of escape from the Elders.
Under the hail of weapons the tall Elder had had enough and moved forward, striking the bamboo with the sharp point of her staff. Mu Tzu paused in his assault as he felt his support collapsing beneath him. Another jab of the staff and the bamboo stalk was pushed neatly from the break, sending its length plunging into the spring, Mu Tzu with it.
Mu Tzu screamed as he rushed toward the spring and got a final wild, upside down look at the Elders and the rest of the world before the water covered him, the light of the sun fading from under him as he was dragged into the bottomless dark.
Mousse opened his eyes. Thunder crashed and rolled outside.
He no longer screamed when he had the nightmares. They were always the same tired, old horrors playing themselves out again and again. It was more ritual than anything; the nightmare would emerge from the black edges of sleep, perform, and return. He couldn't remember when it stopped dancing and cavorting in his mind, taunting him with his memories, and instead became a business appointment that would arrive punctually almost every night. But it was still a nightmare, even if it was a particularly mild one compared to others he had, ones that involved demon elders, water that came to life in the form of reaching tentacles, and a duck that would either swallow him whole or fly into his mouth and force its way into his belly.
He sat up in his bed and set his feet down on the rich maroon carpet that covered his room. He turned the lamp on, which almost managed to light up the room but left dark corners and edges. The light hit the chandelier a good twenty feet above him and the crystals sparkled softly. He stayed in one of the more lavishly appointed suites in Tokyo at the modest price of a few million yen a night. He knew they would have charged him much more if they hadn't known exactly who he and his family were. As it was, they gave him a large discount on their best room and a very attentive, very frightened personal staff.
He walked over to the balcony door and stepped out, almost immediately getting soaked by the driving rain. It pleased him. Even after all this time he couldn't quite accept the fact that he was no longer cursed.
He opened his eyes. The magnificent Tokyo skyline paled in comparison to nature's lightshow above it. Lightning dueled in their delicate swordplay, flashing blue and white as they danced around each other, lighting up the sky.
He felt the sudden urge to draw it. He wanted to run in, grab a sketchpad and pencil, and draw the lightning. But he didn't move. He was still enjoying the feeling of cold water on his skin.
Inevitably he even became bored and stepped back in. After toweling off and putting on a pair of pants he flopped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. He was bored. Completely and utterly bored. The past few weeks trudged on while he recovered. The nightlife bored him and while practicing his art helped pass the time he couldn't get nearly the workout he wanted. At least he wasn't coughing up blood anymore.
Cloth rustled gently at the far corner of the bed and a small, dark shadow with gold-green eyes detached itself from the rest. The shadow padded over to him and leaped onto his chest. Mousse smiled and scratched it behind the ear. The black kitten mewed and began purring softly, eventually falling back asleep.
He didn't know why he took in the stray. Maybe it was the simple need for companionship, but he doubted it. Mousse found it in an alley while taking a walk, gazing steadily up at him with slitted eyes. He had stopped and stared back. He didn't know how long he stood there staring at an alley cat like an idiot before he picked it up and took it home. He named it Lucifer. It seemed to like the name.
He sighed heavily. Even raising a pet, something he had never done until now, was beginning to become routine. He enjoyed the company the little cat provided but he was still bored most of the time.
"What do you think, Lucifer?" he asked absently.
The cat opened its eyes at the sound of its name and closed them again when he saw nothing of importance. It stretched and shifted into a more comfortable position.
Mousse turned his head to see the books piled on his lamp table. The Illiad, Seven Military Classics, all five books of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Trilogy, and many others lay there, all read through from front to back. He was really bored.
He suddenly thought of Nabiki, the girl he met in Nerima. Warmth rushed to his face as he recalled that moment in the bathroom. He wondered if she still remembered him as well as he remembered her. He flicked his wrist and the card she gave him snapped into existence between his first two fingers.
Tendo Information Service. Perhaps it's time to schedule an appointment.
A loud crash of thunder almost drowned out the telephone's first ring.
"Yes?"
"The report is in, sir," Mori replied on the other end.
He liked Mori. Efficient, unflappable, professional, and gifted with an uncanny ability to gather information, the old man was the consummate personal spy. He had to be. He was previously under the employ of the late Yakuza crime boss Jinai for three years, a black-tempered, and some say insane, man that went through employees like a wino went through cheap alcohol. That Mori managed to survive for three years where few lasted three months made him a legend in some circles. After Jinai's unfortunate death involving an American car he owned, (apparently faulty American engineering was all the evidence the police needed) Mori hired his services out to various other Yakuza, always carrying out his tasks impeccably and only moving on when a better offer was made. He wouldn't betray his employer, but he would not stay any longer if he could do better elsewhere. That was another reason Mousse liked him. He was loyal only to coin, which made him all the more trustworthy, because he knew no one would pay him as much as Mousse for such a simple job.
"Go ahead."
"The restaurant has remained quiet for the past few weeks. It is no longer open for business, though there are people still inside. Occasionally one of the girls would leave for supplies, or the young lady would go to one of the local high schools, but that is all."
"They haven't seen the old one?"
"No sir."
"You're certain."
Mousse could almost hear him draw up in indignation. "I am most certain, sir."
"Is there anything else?"
"The men are demanding double for their services. Nerima makes them nervous."
That was just like Mori. There was no roundabout way of doing things with him.
"Very well, you have my pin number." Mousse made to hang up the phone and paused. "One more thing. You said the girl went to of the high schools. Which one?"
"I believe it was Furinkan, sir."
"How often does she go?"
"Everyday, sir"
"Thank you Mori. Pay the men and keep them watching the place. If anything happens I want you to report immediately."
He hung up. It looked as though he would have to postpone that appointment with Miss Tendo. Lucifer was awake again, standing on his chest and sniffing curiously at his face. It batted at his nose. He pushed it away in annoyance and the cat latched playfully onto his hand with its paws. He was suddenly glad he declawed the thing earlier. Even so, it took some shaking to disengage the creature. It landed on its feet smoothly, looking back with the smug expression all cats have. Sometimes Mousse thought the kitten was more intelligent than it looked.
"Furinkan High School," he mused to himself. The corners of his mouth turned up. "I think maybe it's time I got myself an education."
"Mr. Sun?"
The voice swam through the strains of violin that for the moment made up Mousse's world. He opened his eyes and saw the secretary halfway standing up from her chair, as though she was about to stand up and walk over to him. He wondered how many times she called his name. He removed the headphones.
"Yes ma'am?"
"The vice principal will see you now," the small, waspish woman said, sitting back down with an annoyed expression. "So take that thing off and mind your manners."
He ignored her and walked past into the office before she was finished speaking. She wasn't the only unpleasant member of the staff he had met. It seemed everyone employed by the school was generally unhappy and more than a little tense. Sometimes he would overhear pieces of conversation that would mention 'principal', or 'little girl', or 'martial artists.'
The vice principal was a short, nervous man with a long nose and a pair of huge two front teeth. He reminded Mousse of a rat.
"Good morning, Mr. Sun," he said. He gestured to a chair. "Please have a seat."
Mousse took a seat and waited for him to continue speaking. He noticed the man had a nervous tick below his eye that would also make his nose twitch. The vice principal more and more resembled a rat wearing a suit.
"Your test scores are very impressive, Mr. Sun, and I'm sure that…"
Mousse tuned the rat's voice out and let himself drift. He had never been to a public school, and so far he had no idea what he missed by never taking it. They had scheduled him to come early in the morning to take a placement test that would have been better suited for lab animals, and then made him wait for over an hour while they graded and checked it twice. The test was so simple he deliberately missed a few so that he wouldn't be recommended for a higher level education at another school or university.
He nodded and pretended to look interested at the vice principal's words. His plan had been simple. Find Ranma and when Shampoo showed up, defeat him and claim her as his fiancé. Simple. And as a bonus he would learn what it was like to attend a public school. Now he was thinking if it wouldn't have been easier to simply challenge Ranma at some random time.
"…so we created a schedule that is concurrent with your abilities as a student."
The man slid a sheet of paper across the desk. Mousse took it and gave it a quick glance. He had to stifle a laugh. He could imagine what Provost Stukov would have done if he saw this list of classes. The diminutive, unkempt man would probably rant and rave, screaming in a mix of English and Russian the way he does when he's angry, before he passes out or lunges across the desk to strangle man who would give one of his students such elementary classes. The last part was a stretch of the imagination but it was still funny.
Mousse, still grinning at the mental image of his teacher actually committing any form of violence, didn't hear what the vice principal said.
"Excuse me," he said.
"I said your locker number is on the sheet and you must get your books from the depository on the first floor," the vice principal said. He twitched. "You might want to hurry, your first class begins in five minutes."
Mousse stood and bowed. "Thank you, sir."
The halls were empty save for a few stragglers rushing to their classes before the bell rang. Mousse took his time passing through. He knew he wouldn't be missing anything of importance. He glanced at his schedule sheet. English with Ms. Ninomiya Hinako was first. He paused near a window. His near transparent reflection stared back at him, dressed immaculately in a dark blue suit worn by students and hair combed and bound back neatly. He brushed some imaginary lint from his shoulder and straightened his jacket.
Perfect, he thought, pushing his glasses up further along his nose. The bell rang. He shrugged, unconcerned, and took his time going up the two flights of stairs leading to his class.
Mousse was fifteen minutes late for his first class. He was expecting the lesson to be well under way, so he was surprised to find that the room was still alive with the noise of students still chattering amongst themselves. The noise lulled for a moment as the students stopped talking to see the newcomer, but quickly picked up where it left off. He walked to the back of the class, conscious of the curious looks the other students gave him. He sat beside a skinny, hunched boy with dark rings under his eyes. The boy glanced at him nervously before turning his attention back to a thick, black bound book he was reading.
Mousse pulled out his own English book. He froze in disbelief when he saw the cover. On the front was a picture of a sailboat tossing on a bright blue sea with a sunrise in the background. Above it, emblazoned in bright yellow were the words, 'Sunlize!', and below that 'Engrish Revel 3'. Stukov would have cried.
"I can't believe we're late again! Why do you always have to pick on Ryoga whenever you see him?"
"Aw calm down Akane. It's not like the teach is gonna be there anyway. And besides he was the one that started it."
"Ranchan! I brought you a lunch, what took you so long?"
"Oh, hey Ucchan, I just got held up that's all."
Mousse tore his unbelieving gaze from the book and looked up to see Ranma, Ucchan, and the pretty girl wielding the huge mallet from outside Ucchan's restaurant. Ucchan still had that huge spatula strapped to her back over a boy's uniform. The girl was dressed normally in a blue school dress while Ranma was dressed in an old-fashioned red Chinese shirt with small wooden pegs used as buttons and loose-fitting pants.
Mousse smirked. Target acquired.
Ranma leaped over the desks, turning his body smoothly in midair to land in the seat in front of Mousse. He twisted around to face him.
"Hey how ya doin'?" he greeted cheerfully. "You new here?"
"You could say that," he said, grinning.
A confused look passed over Ranma's face. "Do I know you from somewhere?"
"Mousse!" Ucchan cried, running up.
Mousse turned and bowed his head. "It's good to see you Ucchan. How's business?"
"Oh, it's great," she said. "Did you just enroll here?"
"Just today. My family insisted I catch up on missing school time so here I am."
"Uh, Mousse, about that okonomiyaki you ate, I think you paid a little too much…"
Mousse waved his hand dismissively. "It was worth every yen, Ucchan. Don't worry about it."
"Well okay, if you say so," she said. "But it still feels like I'm overcharging."
"Like I said, don't worry about it."
"Hey, yeah that's right, you're Mousse," Ranma said, butting in. Man, I almost didn't recognize you."
Mousse shrugged. "It has been a few weeks since last we met." He leaned forward. "Tell me, how is your fiancé doing?"
"Huh? Oh." Ranma laughed. "Which one?"
Mousse blinked. Which one? What does he mean?
"Who's your friend, Ranma?" asked the pretty girl with short hair.
"Oh yeah, Mousse meet Akane, Akane meet Mousse," Ranma said.
She smiled and nodded. "Hello Mousse."
He smiled back. "Hello Akane." She was very cute, and somehow familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he'd seen her before.
"So, where is the teacher?" Mousse asked.
Ranma shrugged. "She probably overslept again. She does that sometimes."
Mousse was beginning to suspect that everything he heard about the quality of Japanese schools was a bunch of crap.
"Good morning class!"
The talking immediately stopped while everyone scrambled for their seats. Mousse looked around confusedly. Why should the students be concerned about such a lax teacher?
His mouth dropped open when he saw he short figure striding out of the door to the front of the class. It was a little girl. She couldn't have even been into her teens yet, but she carried the enrollment pad and teacher's edition of the textbook all the students had. He looked around and saw that everyone was paying perfect attention to her. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. She was still a little girl. He turned his head to look at Ucchan and pointed at the teacher. She nodded soberly at him. Stukov would have wept uncontrollably.
"I see we have a new student!" Hinako said, marking the attendance sheet. "Will Sun Mousse please stand up?"
Mousse put on his best smile walked to the front of the class. "Hi."
"Hi Mousse!" said the entire class. Some of the girls leaned over their seats to talk to each other. They giggled while stealing quick glances at him. Mousse felt his face turning slightly red.
"So do you want to tell us about yourself, Mousse?" asked the teacher, looking up at him with open curiosity.
He cleared his throat. "Well, I was born in China but my family and I moved around a lot."
"Really? Where?" she asked again, eyes wide.
"Nowhere in particular," he said, and began counting off his fingers. "We've been to the United States, England, France, Russia…"
"Wow really!?" she exclaimed. She wasn't alone. The rest of the class was also leaning forward in interest.
Feeling more confident, he nodded. "Oh, yeah. We were traveling performers, so we were always on the move. Would you like to see a trick?"
He flicked his wrist and colorful strips of silk tied end to end flew out to be caught by his other hand. He then gathered the cloth and brought his hands together. When he flung out his arms a single, pure white dove flew up and out the window. He bowed to the wild applause of the class.
"That is so cool!" Hinako exclaimed, jumping up and down and eyes shining. "Do another, please?"
"Shouldn't we be starting class now?" he replied dubiously.
"Just one more. Please?"
"Well, alright I guess…"
And so half of the class period passed on with Mousse performing various magical tricks to the delight of the class and teacher. He didn't mind, he enjoyed the applause and admiration, and he doubted if he would have learned anything from the class anyway. He was about to pull a bouquet of roses from a coffee cup when the P.A. turned on.
"Will da new student please report to da principal's office immediately."
Mousse paused in his trick and shrugged. "Well, I guess I'd better get going." He looked at the suddenly gloomy class. He didn't like the way they were looking at him. It almost looked like…pity.
"Come back soon, Mousse!" Hinako said cheerfully, oblivious to the sudden change in mood in the class. "Okay class, open your books to page fifty-five…"
Mousse was finally convinced. Everyone in the school was completely insane.
"Aloha!"
He winced at the horrible Hawaiian/Caribbean accent the man seated across from him had.
"Hi," he said.
"So you be da new keike, dat right?" The darkly tanned man was comically dressed in a flower print shirt and shorts, and in place of a topknot he had a miniature palm tree on top of his head.
"Yes, that's right," he answered.
"Dat be good, so you like Furinkan so far, do you keike?"
A faint throbbing materialized in Mousse's head. The man's mix of Japanese and bastardized Hawaiian/Caribbean was beginning to grate on him. Even the room, set in a tropical beach motif complete with sand and a wall painting with surf and bright yellow sun, was obnoxious.
"Yes, it's a very nice school."
"And you be a good student, right? You follow da rules, right?" The eyes behind his shades looked at him eagerly.
"Yeah," Mousse said slowly, suspicious.
"Good!" The principal exclaimed, jumping up. "Then you know dere is new rule for new students!"
"There is?"
"Yah." He pulled out a pair of scissors and shaver. "All boys get buzz cuts and all girls get bowl cuts!"
Mousse stared at him flatly. Insane.
"So we begin now, yah?" The principal said, a gleam in his eye.
Mousse had enough. "You're absolutely right, principal, I should follow the rules. But can I ask you something first?"
"Yah, go ahead," the principal said, delighted this one was going ahead willingly.
"I noticed your door is rather heavy. Is it soundproofed by chance?"
"Ah, yes da door is soundproofed," he said, confused at the question. "Can't be havin' da keikes distracting da ones in class. Why you want to know?"
"No reason," he said. His lips thinned into a cruel, white smile as he stood up. "I just don't want anyone to disturb us."
Outside the principal's office, the various students called in were growing nervous. It had already been half an hour since the new guy went in. Some looked at each other and shook their heads. Who knows what that maniac was doing to the poor guy.
They jumped in surprise as the P.A. speaker crackled to life.
"All students and faculty please report to the auditorium for an emergency meeting."
The students turned to each other in confusion. That didn't sound like the principal's voice.
The auditorium was filling rapidly with students and teachers happy to be away from their daily lessons. Ranma slouched lazily in the chair between Ukyo and Akane, while searching warily for Kuno. He didn't feel like fighting that idiot today.
"So what do you think?" Akane asked.
Ranma shrugged. "Who knows, probably the principal just playing a joke or somethin'."
"I don't know, it didn't sound like his voice." Her hands twisted in her lap worriedly. "I wonder what he did to Mousse."
Ranma glanced at her, and for a moment was caught up in how cute she looked when she was worried.
"Aw, he'll be alright Akane," he said, shaking his head to lose that feeling he got whenever he thought she looked cute. "I think he can take care of himself."
Akane opened her mouth to ask him why when the lights suddenly dimmed and the curtains raised to reveal the principal standing behind a podium. There was a collective gasp from the audience. He was bald.
"Good morning ke-, er students of Furinkan," he said. The lights from the ceiling reflected off his head. He was sweating profusely and wiped his forehead with the sleeve of the suit he wore in place of his Hawaiian outfit.
"Whoa," Ranma breathed. Ukyo and Akane could only nod mutely in agreement.
"It has come to my attention that I have not been setting a good example for my students," the principal said haltingly. He glanced nervously toward the back and licked his lips. "So I have decided to strive to become the role model a principal should be."
The audience was completely mute.
"It will take much effort to accomplish this however, and I must leave the school for a time. So in my absence I have appointed someone to take my place. Please welcome my junior administrator, Mr. Sun Mu Tzu."
The principal stepped away from the podium as Mousse walked out of the back. He stopped at the podium and smiled at his captive audience.
Ranma leaned forward in his chair. No way.
"I guess you were right, Ranchan," Ukyo murmured. "He can take care of himself."
"Greetings my fellow classmates," he said. "Since the principal will be absent for a time, I will be in charge. If there is anything at all you need or would like to ask me, please feel free to drop by my office. Any questions?"
The auditorium was still silent.
Ranma watched as Mousse's eyes roamed the audience, until they rested on him. He felt a chill sliver up his spine as Mousse smiled thinly.
"Very well. School dismissed."Top of Form
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