*********************************************************
{Chinese speech}
_Thoughts_
"Japanese speech"
Remember, this is my first 'published' fanfic, hope you enjoy it. Though if you do or don't, send flames, comments or just plain e-mail to: edgestoneVIII@yahoo.com
Until then, later.
***********************************************************************
The night was alive with cool breezes and millions of stars shining brightly in mist of the deep velvety blue sky. The stars looking like woven diamonds in the sky and the full large moon off to the south, the crowning peral. This was the time of the day that he loved most because no matter where he was, the night sky looked exactly like his hometown.
Mousse sat on the roof of his new home, which had been his home for the past two years. Ever since the day he descided to follow the woman of his dreams from his home in China to Japan. He following his dream and she following hers, a young man. Muu Zhu was his name by birth but Mousse was the japanese style he was growing accustomed to. The same could be said about his love and her, dired up old monkey of a great-grandmother.
They were all getting used to living here or so it seems, but he knew better. His love as well as himself was getting tired of living here, they all missed the simply life of Joketsuzoku and their tribe. Or so he thought he felt.
Time can change a person and two years can be a very drastic time especially for all of them had been through. The time was small and almost insignificantly but to him it was more than enough. Because even through all this, they remainded the same as they had been. Though unlike them, he had changed even more significatly than they had.
His face contorted when that thought his personal views on the past years of his life in Japan. Feeling new change within him for the first time ever, Muu lowered himself onto his back. His mind in pure jumbles trying to understand this new train of thought.
_Do I really want to leave?_
His mind raced with that question as it had before but not until now had he ever considered really answering it. Looking back up to the sky, Mousse started to really think about everything that had been happening around him. Then, before he knew it, a low black mist began to envlope him, surrounding him slowly but quickly.
As he was thinking he never noticed the floor of the Nekohanten begin to disappear until all that was left was the mist. The city lights and everything surrounding him all over Nermia vanished. Soon the stars grew brighter and a tall shadow formed out of the mist he was on. It took on the shape of a man but it was too dark to be able to distinguish any of his features.
Any except that it was a he with long hair, the color unknown, but it was tied in long and massive braided pigtail. It swished past what looked like the man's hips or where his belt seemed to be. As he stepped closer, Mousse finally felt the man behind him. Then, almost as quickly, Mousse noticed that he was no longer in Nermia or rather, the city was gone. He started to notice that everything was quite gone, the roof of the Nekohanten he was just on and all buildings, trees, etc.
Feeling a little fear but relying on his martial arts training to keep his cool, Mousse leapt into the air. Sommersulting about three times, he came to land on his feet no more than eight feet than where he was. Two twin katana's appeared out his arms and into his hands to which he now had pointed to the intruder.
"Who are you?" Relying on his japanese, he spoke. But no answer came from the male figure.
Minutes, then hours seemed to pass and Mousse was getting rather angry at the stranger. That is, until he spoke.
{Speak your native tongue.}
To say Mousse was stunned was an understatement, deep down he was starting to feel a little bit worried as to what might happen to him. Shaking off the feeling of fear, he tried to remain as tall and proud on the outside as possible, calling on all his discipline. He looked at the stranger with contempt, his true feelings probably showing in his eyes were hidden by his thick lenses.
The stranger just stood there looking at him without so much as another word until Mousse broke the silence. "Why do you wish for me to speak my language." He again spoke in japanese.
The stranger remained silent yet again.
Time seemed to stand still until finally Mousse gave in and began to speak in Madrian chinese. {"Why you wish for me to speak in my native tougue? Also, how did you know?"}
He spoke. {One question at a time Muu Zhu. First, please, can you put away your blades?}
MuuZhu looked at the katanas in his hands and pondered whether or not to put away his blades. As he looked unto his baldes, he descided to do as the man told him. For some unknown reason he felt as though he could trust this man, and put away his swords.
The stranger talked again. {Thank you Muu Zhu. Now, the reason I asked you to speak in your tongue was to pay you better respect. After all you did not spend your entire youth learning your heritage only to lose it while you were in Japan. Also, as to how I know, well... That's' my secret. For now.}
{What do you mean? Secret?}
The stranger became a little clearer exposing his gajin clothing and some physical detail. As far as Mousse could tell, the man was in deed a man. Standing about six foot two, his hair jet black but the shadows covered his face entirely. He wore loose-fitting black jeans, with a tight black turtle-neck along on top with a long white leather jacket.
The mans' hands were in his pockets, the reassuring Mousse that the man had come here only to talk. Though, Mousse kept his shrunken ready in his long sleeves ready.
{For now Mousse, let me have that and my identity a secret please. >From you at the moment.}
Mousse did not like this but he still could not shake that feeling of recognition and calmness that the man was giving him. All his instincts told him to watch out, that this man meant a significant change. To him and to the rest of his life, but he felt at ease.
{Muu I wish to talk to with you at the moment. Tell me, why did you change?}
_CHANGE?_ Mousse could not understand what this stranger was talking about, how had he changed? Was he still respectful to his love, to... his elders and superiors? Mousse got it, or so he thought.
{No Muu, I mean the change from who you were as a child? You had great dreams and goals. Why did you change?}
Mousse was in total shock, what did this man mean? And how does he know he changed since childhood? Had he known this man in his youth and can not remember him? He still wondered though: HOW HAD HE CHANGED?
The stranger began to speak again. {I mean Muu, how did you become the slave you are now?}
{Slave?} Then it hit what 'he' was referring to, his love and devotion to his beloved Shampoo. Mousse began to become outraged and angered at the insult just thrown not to him but his love. {How dare you insult my...} He spoke. {Shut up Muu!} His voice barely above a whisper but the glow of dark purple in his eyes pretty much stopped him. Mousse present train of thought lost its steam as fear began to replace his anger.
Moments went by as the two males just stood where they were, just staring at each other. Mousse kept regarding who this 'person' could be to invoke such emotion over him and for him. He kept looking into the shadows that covered him hoping that maybe, just maybe he'd recognize him. He stayed like this, just staring at him, until he spoke again.
{Listen Muu, please.}
Mousse wanted to leave but he would give this 'person' one last chance, also allowing him to try and figure out who he is. Mousse answered. {Ok.}
Mousse heard a sign. {Listen Muu for I don't have time to tell you all but I will come again and again til you return to your real senses. Then maybe all of your senses will return to.}
Mousse was puzzled by this.
{Muu Zhu, try to remember how and who you were before you met XianPu at the age of three. Think of the kind of boy you were, and the kind of man you wanted to become.}
Mousse stood then but hesitated until he let himself try and see what this stranger was talking about. Nothing happened at first but then without warning, he was almost thrown back as something caught on to his robes and pulled him back. When the movement stopped, Muu Zhu was seeing himself at the age of two.
The sun was bright and the wind cool. The nearby trees blew with the wind as the scent of millions of flowers came with it. Muu Shu was sitting with his father, more by his knee listening to him tell stories. Stories of long ago males who proved their worth as warriors and men who could not be tamed by women. MuuZhu could almost picture himself as one of them, the great legendary males who were men but helped the Amazons avert disaster.
Muu's father stops his reading and begins to tell him of another male that not recently passed away. Around the time he, Muu, was born and was married to sister of one of the tribal elders. A man named LiKai who was an unmatched warrior and no Amazon female could tame, all but one. The Amazon he was married too, only because she loved him and he loved her.
MuuZhu being the child he was disliked the idea of love, he felt that it weakend warriors, but even he knew his role in the tribe. He would always be less superior to the women, especially the one he would marry, if he married since he didn't want to. He went outside and he began to imagine himself as the warrior LiKai that his father just told him about. He began to punch imaginary opponents in front and behind him.
Five months pass in the blink of an eye as bandits began try and raid the village. MuuZhu was behind his father's right leg as female warriors were fighting off the male bandits. He sees his mother taking on at least three of the men and she seems to be having a bit of a problem against them.
His father grabs away from his leg and tells him to stay where he is as he is about to help his mother. As soon as he leaves the hut, Mousse saw something he'd never seen his father do. Out of nowhere a rather large sword escapes from the fold of his white robes and strikes one of the bandits through his midsection. Then as quickly his father jumps away, no other female seeing this, especially his mother.
His father is back by lil MuuZhu's side while his mother finishes off the remaining bandits. Within minutes the rest of the women have ran off the others and they all cry out in victory. Mousse notices that his mother is looking at his father and they are both smiling. She knew that his father, her husband, had just saved her.
The next day we see lil MuuZhu is asking his father to train him in what he saw the other day. His father goes and asks his wife knowing the ways of culture he entered when he married her. Muu's mother says yes and he starts down the path that will lead him to become a master of the Hidden Weapons Martial Arts, like his father.
A year passes and Muu is now three and very good with wooden weapons his father had made for him to learn. MuuZhu is walking outside the village throwing pulling in and out a two long wooden sword his father gave him, practicing his father's techniques. In a year alone he had advanced almost impossibly quick, faster than his own father. Muu is a master of all the wooden-weapons representing every weapon known to the Amazons and outsiders. But then he sees 'her,' a little girl with long deep lavender hair practicing with a pair of bondari on top a boulder. His world from there changes.
MuuZhu confronts this little girl the next day.
(He is walking toward the little girl as he sees that her teacher, an old woman on a staff has left. MuuZhu is a little nervous but he approaches her little by little. Within seconds he is about five feet away. His mouth opens for him to talk but everything stops as someone is now standing before him. The same man who was with him earlier.)
His road down memory lane is interrupted by his authoritve voice. {Muu Zhu! Wake up!}
Mousse is back again standing where he w=nce was and now is again, in front of the stranger. He is about to speak when the stranger begins to talk first.
{So now you remember the day everything changed.}
Mousse is still confused and it shows in his face as it contorts with his eyebrows raising. Then he could hear an anger filled sign coming from the tall shadowy man.
{Muu, Muu, Muu. What are you not seeing what I'm trying to show you? Do you at least remember how you thought before you met Shampoo?}
Mousse speaks. {Yes.}
The stranger signs. {Good. At least you still remember how you used to be.}
{Yes, they were foolish dreams.}
{...} Silence comes from the stranger but then a whisper comes from his side, though they quickly turn into shouts of rage. {..foolish dream?...FOOLISH dream...FOOLISH DREAM???? NEVER CALL YOUR CHILDHOOD DREAM FOOLISH!! You had the potential.}
Now it was Mousses' turn to remain speechless for a brief moment, {What do you mean? Potential?}
{Why do you think your father and your mother both gave you permission to learn the art you know? It was because they both saw the potential to learn such a forbidden and dangerous art as the one you learned. Remember it took your mother years to convince the elders to finally allow your father to teach the other children your art. Even then he did not teach them all of it to them, except you.}
Mousse was truly speechless, he had wondered why by the time he was six so many others were taught later than him. Why he had always trained away those first three years of his life, earlier than everybody else. After those three years, every boy that wanted to learn could be taught. Then when he was twelve it was finally allowed to be used in the male Amazon tournament to which he won the next year at the age of thirteen, the youngest male ever.
{MuuZhu, its time for a change. You'll still respect your betters but you will no longer take the abuse you take from Xian Pu. You can and no longer have to take it. You've been to passive to them and they have take to much advantage over you. Its is no longer a place your being kept to but demoted to slave. You have to grow and maybe go away, perhaps a training trip to clear your head and get back down the path you had wanted to lead.}
Mousse began to feel a little different now, almost as though he was remembering everything he was taught as a youth. EVERYTHING. Every law and moral of his past. His training, everything how it should have been had he never met Xian Pu. He would remember her but he would no longer have to take their abuse.
He almost glowed with the change and then he fell to his knees, Mousse, no MuuZhu he was once again. He felt as though a great weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Getting up, he still felt love for Xian, but he now remembered his dignity as an Amazon male too.
The mist began to leave as well as the stranger but Muu cried out to him before he disappeared.
{Tell me, who are you?}
The stranger smiled and walked out of the shadows to reveal Muu Zhu though a little bit older. To say that the young Muu was stunned would have been an understatement. They both just stood there, in the middle of nowhere as ti seems. Then the older Muu Zhu spoke.
{Remember what you have Muu Zhu. Become the warrior you are and was meant to be. In reality you are better than Xian Pu. But you have given her too much respect and have made her spoiled for it. To defeat her means to bring her back to reality and remember she is good, but others are better. Remember she used to practice as you used to everyday, perhaps 'our' leaving and her defeat will change you both for the better, if not to survive as we all have to change.}
Mousse or Muu Zhu finally understood what his shadow was trying to tell him, it was time for a change.
_I thought I wanted to leave, but all I would've done is run away from my destiny._
He looked up and screamed.
{I WILL CHANGE!}
Then he felt a slap to his face as the sunlight filtered into his once closed eyes.
"Wha...What?"
Mousse was in his bed being propped up but his elbows seeing nothing but blurs. The sun touched his still sleepy eyes making his blurred vision worse, so in reaction he closed them. Shaking his head he almost felt something snap in his head. Pain washed over his eyes and he rubbed them furiously as he now sat up.
"Get up stupid duck boy. Shampoo sent up here by Great Grandmother to wake up help. So Shampoo say wake up."
She emphasized her words with another slap but this time found her hand stopped a few inches away from Mousse. Looking at what stopped her, she saw that her wrist was being held tightly by Mousse's hand. His left still over his eyes as he spoke.
{I'll be down in a minute Xian, please let me get over this pain in my eyes.}
Shampoo became furious that Mousse was holding her hand and talking to her as though they were equals. Her face became red as a tomatoe and left hand went to strike Mousse with a bondari over his head. Before her weapon even struck, Mousse threw a shrunken out of his pillow with his other hand that disabled Shampoo it.
With the other hand out of the way, Shampoo could see that Mousse's eyes were crying, but instead of tears they were tears of blood. He held eyes closed tightly as the light in the room hurt them still. Shampoo's face lite in alarm as her eyes went wide and finally realized that maybe Mousse was in 'real' pain.
"Ayiah! What wrong with Mousse's eyes?!?!"
{Argh. Nothing Xian, please just leave me be.}
Shampoo didn't believe Mousse for a minute and left the room, going down the stairs to the kitchen as quickly as possible. Reaching the floor in record time, she ran for the kitchen doors already finding Cologne at the stove preparing the food for the day.
Cologne stopped what she was doing and turned toward where her granddaughter just entered the kitchen. "Aw Great-granddaughter, has that good for nothing, lazy duck alre..."
Her words stopped as she the face of Shampoo and saw worry. Her face began to mirror her granddaughter. "What's wrong Shampoo?"
"It Mousse! Mousse's eyes bleeding!"
"What?!?"
With that said, Cologne moved faster than her Great-granddaughter, hoping on her staff up toward the attic, Mousse's room. Reaching the door, she slammed it open and saw Mousse was sitting upright facing the window. Both his arms went toward his eyes as his hands covered his face, his eyes in particular.
"Mousse, what is wrong boy?"
{Honored Elder?} MuuZhu spoke as he turned his head toward where he thought he heard Cologne speak. Facing now his mirror, his left hand still over his eyes he spoke. {I'm sorry to disturb you, it was nothing, just woke up with a... like this.} _And a new look on my life._
Cologne noticed that Mousse was still covering his eyes and hoped over toward where he was facing. Stopping there for a moment, she continued to hop, not making a sound but Mousse now acknowledging her presence and movement. She did not miss this but put it aside for later investigation.
Finally in front of Mousse, she blocked the rays of the incoming sun and noticed his face soften with the darkness. Looking up toward to Shampoo, she motioned for her to close the window in the room. Shampoo did as she was told. As Shampoo moved around to close the shades, Cologne took another notice that Mousse knew that Shampoo was walking around the bed. She found this now more intriging.
"MuuZhu, tell me. What happened here?"
MuuZhu was a bit stunned to hear Cologne use his chinese name and pronounced it with a bit of what sounded like respect. So, he decided to calm himself and answer the Matrich.
{Elder, for some unknown reason I awoke with pain in my eyes after I had... it just pained me when I was awakened that is all. As for the blood, I have nothing to answer you with, it was just like this as I tried to open my eyes.}
This surprised Cologne that Mousse would use her official title and not her name as he had for the past two years since they arrived in Nermia. Though what she also noted was that he stopped short of saying something else. She decided to continue speaking to him and Shampoo in their native tongue.
{Tell me Muu, what were just about to say?}
{Uh...}
{MuuZhu?}
{It started hurting after I awakened by Shampoo after an unusal dream I just had.} He sounded a bit more timative than ususal.
{Tell me about it.}
{I can not Elder.}
{Why not?}
MuuZhu remained slient for a moment remembering everything he had learned in his dream. Remembering that it was time for a change, perhaps this was a part of it. _No time like the present. Gotta make plans though._
{Please Elder, allow me to tell you later in private. Please can you first examine my eyes.} He whispered to her.
Cologne nodded and respected Mousse. It had been a long time he had shown any respect to her and which is why she hadn't shown none to him. She guessed it was time to change for the moment to help this young Amazon, though male, still under her care. She nodded and whispered back to Mousse. {Ok, young Amazon. I will respect your wishes if you promise to keep your own words.}
Mousse nodded back to her and she started to hop back to get a better look at his eyes. She asked Shampoo to stand by the doorway in case she was going to need any of her herbs and medicine to help him. She hated to admit this but she had a soft spot for the boy as she felt a grand motherly role on him, strict with the role of being another mother to him. To try and make him show some respect for her and his superiors.
In truth, when Mousse was little she had hoped that he and Shampoo would've married as their friendship had grown strong. She had even seen a fire in his eyes of an undefeatable warrior as she had seen in her sisters' husband. Yet the boy had seemed to have lost it when he let his love cloud his judgement and weaken him. Sure their were times he had shown that light again time and time again, but never against where he needed it.
The reason she approved of Ranma was because he too had that same spark she had seen with Mousse. The difference was that his was on almost twenty-four hours a day. It never left him especially around the Tendo girl he was 'offically' engaged too. It was a shame that he showed great disrespect for her laws and ways. She had at first thought she could change him; in the tricks, training, and other times, but no such luck.
_Hmm. Maybe his name does truly suit him. Wild Horse! Indeed._ Noticing Mousse, she acknowledged she had let her thoughts get the better of her. _Time to get back to business._
Cleaning out the dired blood that had covered his eyelids, Cologne spoke. "Ok Mousse, open your eyes. Slowly, please."
Mousse did as he was told and had to close his eyes quickly as the light felt as though it were piercing needles. But he did not let that stop him. Blinking a few more times he tried and tried to open them and within moments he had them open entirely. Unfortunately he still saw darkness, though that was because of the room.
Cologne nearly gasped when she saw Mousse's eyes. His spark had all of sudded become a burning bonfire. She could see that whatever he had dreamed had a profound affect on the young lad. Then almost as quickly, the fire resumed its spark nature as it died down but did not diminish as it had before.
Mousse spoke. {Elder, Cologne, can you please open the shades to the room, I'd like to see with the light on. Or am I blind?}
Cologne nearly lost it to that one, she could tell he was joking but it was a good one. "No Mousee, you are not blind." Turning over to look at her great-granddaughter, she made a suggestion to open the curtains. Shampoo did as she was told.
When the curtains opened, Mousse noticed something almost immediately, he could see. He could see as clear as the day, as he had been able to before he was three, before he... met XianPu, Shampoo. He looked down and began to wonder something, had his love blinded him like this? Not knowing what to day, he did the only thing quickly he could think off, as well as allow him to help him with this.
As he moved away, Cologne wondered if the light was still affecting him in someway. She knew of no herb or medicine that she had that could help Mousse. The only things she had were for other uses and none seemed to connect with him. She did the only thing possible.
"Mousse, you are going to Dr. Tofu's. None of what had happened to you at this moment is of what I know of. Maybe... the good doctor can help you." Cologne ordinarily hated modern medicine but she had to recognize its uses. Especially when it came to Dr. Tofu, he used the ways of the old and mixed them with the ways of the new. A good combination in her book.
Just as Mousse had wanted, he nodded and went for his robes with his eyes closed, trying to remember if it was still where he had left it last night. Cologne beat him to it, she threw it to him. What he managed to see was that Cologne had thrown him one of his less used robes, a deep black silk robe. This was one of his more dangerous robes since in it contained most of his bladed weapons; spears, swords, shrunkens, etc. He didn't mind though, he had no reason to use them and kept quiet as he began to dress in this solid black robe.
"Get dressed Mousse. Shampoo!" Shampoo looked directly at her great-grandmother and waited for her order.
"Please take Mousse over to the Tofu's office, please."
She almost groaned at the thought but kept it to herself. So she answered her with a nod and,"Yes Great-Grandmother."
Looking over to Mousse she spoke. "Come stupid Mousse. Shampoo have to take you to Dr. Tofu, so move lazy butt."
Mousse put on his robe and quickly took out a pair of sunglasses out of his sleeve, along with a leather thong. Putting on his sunglasses, he proceeded to tie in the thong, pulling all of his hair back into a nice long ponytail. This almost made him look like a totally different person, almost looking alot like Ranma.
Shampoo was stunned with his new look and spoke. "Why Mousse do that?"
{Do what Xian?}
This only increased Shampoo astonishment, that he had answered her decently without his usual words of love or calling her beloved. That he had called her by her real Chinese name. Shaking out of it, she continued. "Forget it Mousse, time to take you to doctor."
She grabbed his arm and took him down the stairs, then out through the front doors of the restaurant. Cologne too was taken back by Mousse's new look when he passed her. It was already seven and the breakfast crowd was barely gathering, so far she had two young men in business suits. There never was too much of a crowd as no one wanted Ramen for breakfast anyway. Though this time even the calm suits were too stunned by his appearance. They were regulars.
The one in a grey suit spoke over to Cologne as though he knew her. "Isn't that the young boy who usually helps out here? Mousse I think his name is."
Cologne was in so a state of shock she answered without even knowing. "Yes."
She started to think out this new turn of events and what they could mean.
To Be continued...
***********************************************************************
Author's note: Well guys and gals, what do you think? Remember to send the flames and what other to edgestoneVIII@yahoo.com
Oh yeah, if your wondering why there's' no posted tease for the next part, its because i usually write of the top of the bat. In other words I just wing it. Later.