felt a tingling sensation flow from my heart, through my entire body. It
was indescribable!
"Good, young son-in-law," Cologne said, complacently.
"Now, think of your ancestors. Receive your power from them for they
will feed you the chi you need. No, don't point that at me!"
I felt the flow of chi steadily run through my arms. I thought
about my ancestors and all their hardships. I felt the connection
between them and myself. I pointed my hands towards the sky.
"Now, let out all the energy and shout MOUKO
TAKABISHYA!" Cologne adjured. I clasped both hands together, just
like in the images of my ancestor's memories, and made a fist.
I relaxed my hands and felt the power leave my body,
"MOUKO TABAKISHIA!"
I opened my eyes and looked up. I saw a beam of blue go
straight into the sky and disappear. Then it started to fall down. I
squinted my eyes. It looked like my chi-blast was actually white and
was yellow in the beginning.
As it came closer and closer to me, I realized what it really
was. *SPLAT* A dead duck hit the ground. I picked it up by the neck,
"Looks like we're having Peking duck for lunch!"
"Very good, young son-in-law," Cologne smiled. "You have
learned a very useful technique today. However, it is `takabishya,' not
`tabakishia.'"
"Um, yes, Great-grandmother," I bowed. "Thank you very
much." I felt a little wheezy.
"This is also the LAST thing I teach you," she said to my
surprise. "I believe you are able to learn anything else by yourself.
However, if you need my assistance, I will be willing to help."
"Uh, thank you again, Great-grandmother," I said. I wondered
what she meant by learning on my own.
"Now, get back into the restaurant," she ordered. "We have
customers waiting."
******
Hanny was on a walk to the Nekohanten to have a small chat
with Jack. Like Mike, he also wanted to have a little gathering with
everyone on the fourth. He had even already set up a place and time.
Shampoo greeted Hanny as he walked in, "Welcome to Neko-
Oh, is only you. Why you no at foolish Ukyou's restaurant?"
"I wanted to talk to Jack," Hanny sensed Shampoo's hostility.
It was exactly the same as Shampoo's hostility towards Mike.
Shampoo didn't believe him, "You a spy for dumb Ukyou. I
rid of spy!" She set down the plates and dishes in her hand on a table
and pulled out her bonbori. Hanny summoned the powers from his
gems and retrieved his weapons, ready for a confrontation.
Shampoo lunged in with her right bonbori, "You leaving
now!"
A hand popped out of nowhere to stop the attack before it
even started, "What the hell do you think you're doing?!" It was Jack.
******
"Have a seat, Hanny, I'll be right back," I pointed to an empty
table. I turned to Shampoo, "We're going to have another talk." I pulled
her into the kitchen.
I was mad. No, more than just mad. I was furious. All my
other emotions were set aside. There was only the anger that beat with
my heart.
"What the fuck do you think you were doing?" I squeezed her
wrist even harder. I didn't let go ever since I grabbed her arm. "You've
already attacked one Horseman and you were going to attack another. If
Dan were here, he would have been on your case as well as mine
*SNAP* just like that. Next time you try to attack one of my friends, I
will follow my oath and strike you down."
"Ow. You hurting Shampoo," she tried to loosen my grip. I
wouldn't let go. It was like as if I couldn't let go. I wanted to let go and
stop her discomfort but I really didn't. I was puzzled why she didn't
use an escape maneuver. I had learned many just as a white belt.
"I know I'm hurting you!" I pulled her wrist towards me more,
causing her more pain. I raised my other hand across my body to back
hand her. As my hand moved closer to her cheek, I lost my anger.
My hand stopped an inch away from Shampoo's cheek. She
was crying. I wiped away the tear that was rolling down her cheek,
"Don't cry. Just don't be so violent from now on."
I let go of her hand and left her to sob in the kitchen. I didn't
really care. I didn't think about what had just happened. It felt...
Normal. Like that's how I always acted.
******
I took a seat next to Hanny, "So, Hanny, what do you need?"
"I was wondering if you wanted to do something on the fourth
of July," he replied to my surprise. I didn't know Mike and Hanny
thought so similarly.
I smiled, "You too, huh?"
"What do you mean?"
"Mike was just in here and he wanted to do something also
but I already have something planned so you, Mike and Dan will just
have to go without me."
"OK, if you really want it that way," he sighed.
"Yeah, I gotta get back to work," I stood up.
Hanny looked at the clock, "And I should be getting back to
the dojo. See ya there."
******
I chucked the last bag of garbage into the dumpster. Cologne
made me throw out a week's worth of trash in 10 minutes for "training
purposes." It wasn't the weight of the bags, but rather, the smell of
them that bothered me.
I turned around to walk back into the kitchen. I stopped and
looked around to make sure no one was watching me. No one was.
I smiled to myself as an idea popped in my head. Cologne
did say she wanted me to train on my own and I was going to do a
mini-training session right there.
I found a good spot in the pavement where no one would
miss it. I popped a few knuckles and took a few deep breaths. I then did a
few finger exercises until I felt I was ready.
I made sure no one was watching me and then I did it,
"BAKUSAI TENKETSU!" I pointed my finger into the ground.
That was a big mistake. Not only did it feel like I broke my
right index finger, but large chunks of the pavement flew all over the
place. The blast sent me flying over a wall.
If there had been someone who wanted to fight me while I did
that, I would have been fine because my chi shield would have been up.
Unfortunately, it wasn't.
I landed with an oomph. The impact of the landing wasn't so
bad because I landed in a field of grass. I did, however, have many
bruises on my chest and abdomen.
I slowly got to my feet and stumbled back to the restaurant. I
became wiser that day. I learned not to use a technique until I've
properly trained in it. The whole training process for the breaking point
was to make you more resistant to impacts when you use it. I hadn't
had that training yet and wasn't very resistant to impacts like that.
******
I saw Cologne, who had a deprecated look, standing in front of
me when I opened the door. I tried to avoid the lecture she was going to
give me but wasn't able to.
"You used a technique that you learned from your memories,"
Cologne said. "You should always train first before you use a
technique. I hope you have learned something from this."
"Yes, I have," I walked passed her.
Cologne blocked my path with her stick, "Is that all you have
to say, young son-in-law?"
I moved it out of my way, "Yes, it is, Great-grandmother." I
continued to walk. I saw Shampoo, our eyes met. She tried to elude me.
"Wait, Shampoo-chan," I gently grabbed her hand.
"N-no hurting Shampoo," she tried to get away again but I
pulled her into an embrace.
"Listen, Shampoo-chan," I sighed. "I'm sorry for what
happened earlier. I-I just don't know what happened. There's no
excuses. Please forgive me."
"Is Shampoo's fault also," she hugged me back. "Husband
and wife forgive each other?"
"Of course," I gave her a kiss on the forehead.
"Your words are full of lies, Jack! DIE!!!" Mousse pulled out a
bunch of chains again. He threw all of the spikes and hooks on them at
my direction.
I stepped to my right, while still in an embrace with Shampoo,
and easily avoided the projectiles as they hit and stuck on wall.
"HA HA HA! Now I have you. Eh?" Mousse pulled on the
chains. All he got was chunks of wall.
"Mousse, you idiot!" Cologne bonked him on the head.
"You're going to repair that!" She continued hitting him with her stick.
I turned back to Shampoo, "I promise I'll make it up to you. I
have a surprise planned for you."
"Aiyah! Shampoo love surprise!" she jumped up and down in
my arms. Let's just say, it felt VERY nice to have her do that.
******
As I walked down the street, heading towards Tendo Training
Hall, I thought about the events of the day. How both Mike and Hanny
came in to talk to me about doing something special for the fourth and
how both of them were attacked by Shampoo.
Shampoo... Thinking about her makes me smile. Yet, I was
boggled as to my sudden outburst at her. Sure, she attacked two of my
friends, but I don't know why I threatened her like that. Unlike Dan, I
didn't really care much about what I signed.
I stopped walking and looked around. I didn't recognize any
of the building or streets. How long had I been walking? I was in such
deep thought that I didn't keep track of time. Even more importantly,
where the heck was I?
I looked around to find someone to ask directions. A person
running a hot dog stand didn't tell me much other than to buy a hot dog
or leave. Most other people replied the same way. I walked into an
antique store, hoping for some help.
"Welcome to the Feudal Era Shop, young sir!" a small, old
man greeted me. He was bald with a small gray beard. He also was
wearing old Chinese clothes and had a walking stick. "How may I help
you?"
"Yeah, I'm lo- Say, did you say Feudal Era Shop?" I asked.
"Yes, are you interested in the days of old?" he looked excited.
Apparently, he didn't get much business, "Ah! The days of the
samurai! How honor and truth meant something back then. It is hard to
find young people these days that are interested in this. Too much
damn American influence!"
"Uh, yeah, I guess I'm interested in the `days of old,'" I
replied. "Do you have anything that relates to the Three Kingdoms
Period in China?" I had been interested in this era of Chinese history for
years. I even had a computer fighting game based on it.
"My apologies, this is a Japanese store, not a Chinese store,"
he replied.
I nodded, "It's OK. Can I look around?"
"Of course, young sir," he smiled.
I walked around the small room. There were several old things
such as phones from the 50s and broken toys. I looked for about 10
minutes, not really finding anything interesting.
Then, in the back of the room, I found something interesting.
On display was a full set of shiny samurai armor. It looked like it was
new. I was in awe. This was only the second time I've seen a set of
samurai armor. The first time was in the University of Oregon museum
back in Eugene. This thing had everything except a sword.
"Do you like it?" the old man startled me. "I'm sorry, I didn't
mean to sneak up on you."
"Um, it's interesting," I replied. "But I'm not interested in
armor. Besides, it's missing a sword and I don't think I can afford the
650,000 yen for it."
"Ah! You wish for something lighter?" he asked. "I will be
right back." He went back to the front of the store and came back
quickly with a box that looked like it came from a JC Penny store. "I
don't have a sword for this but I'm sure you'll like this if you like the
armor." He lifted box open to reveal a neatly folded black shirt. A better
look revealed that it was actually a set of samurai clothes, very similar to
that of Kuno's.
I felt the fabric, "Wow, this feels like it was hand made."
"You like it then! I'm sure this will fit you perfectly.," he shut
the box. "I will sell it for 5000 yen. And I will not bargain."
"I'll take it! I'll take it!" I pulled out all the money in my
pocket. I was very compelled to buy it, "Here's 5250 yen, keep the
change."
The old man handed me the box as he took my money, "With
this purchase, you get a free surprise gift. It's in the box."
"Uh, thanks!" I headed towards the front of the store, ready to
leave.
"Come again," he waved.
******
I walked out the store. I couldn't believe I just spent about $60
US on clothes! I sighed. It was time for me to try to find my way home.
It was almost sunset.
I saw a parked police car and walked towards it. There were
two policewomen in there, eating some sandwiches.
"Not a very busy day, Miyuki," one of them said.
"Yeah, I kinda like it this way, Natsumi" the other one replied.
"Uh, excuse me, ladies," I tapped the window.
Natsumi rolled down the window, "May I help you, young
man?"
"I'm a little lo-" I began.
"Nihao, Jack!" a familiar voice came from above. Suddenly,
something big hit me, causing me to drop my box and fall down on my
stomach. It was Shampoo, "Where groom go?"
The radio came on, "Miyuki! Natsumi! There's been an
accident!"
"Got it, Yuriko," Miyuki said. "Sorry, we have to go." She
drove off.
"I'm right here. Now, get off of me!" I did a push up, which
caused Shampoo to fall off her bike and onto her butt. I felt a bit of
anger but controlled it this time. I stood up and held out my hand to
help her up, "Sorry about that."
"Is OK," she smiled and reached up to grab my hand. She
spotted the box, "What this? Is gift for Shampoo?"
I quickly grabbed the box, "N-no, this is for me. It's not for
you. I have something better for you... Later."
She winked at me, "OK, Shampoo waiting."
I looked at her bike, "How did you know I was here?"
She clasped my hand with one of hers while she walked the
bike with the other, "Shampoo making delivery." I saw two metal
boxes with Chinese written on them.
I put my box on her bike, "OK, I guess I'll follow you since
I'm a little lost."
Shampoo nudged me in the ribs with her arm, "Wife spend
time with husband!" Calling me "husband" and referring to herself as
"wife" was slowly becoming very abrasive to me.
******
With the help of Shampoo, I made it back to Tendo Training
Hall in less than an hour. After the usual greeting from Kasumi, I put
away my newly acquired clothes and headed to the training room to see
Mike and Hanny train.
When I opened the door, a HUGE amount of battle aura
overwhelmed and blinded me. When my eyes adjusted, I saw Dan and
Ryouga sitting across from each other, just staring at each other.
"Yow!" I stepped in. "You guys need to calm down." As I
came closer, I saw that both of them had bruises and bandages on
their body in several places.
"Jack!" Dan hopped to his feet. "I found your attacker and I,
uh, avenged you!"
"You have only dishonored yourself!" Ryouga jumped
between us.
Akane walked into the room, "Hello, Jack. I'm glad you're
home. I have something for you."
"What you know about honor, P-Chop?" Dan ground his
teeth.
Ryouga made a fist, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"P as in pork," Dan answered, "chop as in yummy, yummy,
yummy."
"How dare you! And in front of Akane!" Ryouga was about to
pound Dan into the ground.
Akane stepped in, "Stop it, you two! Ryouga, sit in that
corner. Dan, sit in that one. You are just as bad as Ranma!"
They gave each other one more look of disgust and moved to
their respected corners.
I turned to Akane, "What is it that you want to give to me?"
"This," Akane handed me a bottle with a white aura floating in
it. "It's the bottle."
"I found it a few nights ago," Ryouga answered the question
that I was about to ask. "But that wretch, Ranma, stole it away from
me!."
"Thank you, Ryouga," I popped the top off the bottle. The
white aura floated out of the bottle and dispersed in the air.
I heard Ranma cheering from across the dojo, "Yes! I'm a guy
again!!!"
"You remember wrong," Dan said. "You leave bottle when you
go find bathroom. Then Ranma take bottle away."
"Are you saying that I'm a liar?" Ryouga shouted.
"Ha! Ryouga only stupid!" Dan smirked.
They were about to get into another altercation, but Hanny's
call stopped them, "Hey, Jack! Didn't hear you come in. We need your
help in the kitchen. Oh, and bring Dan too!"
I looked at Dan, "C'mon, you're coming with me."
******
I walked into Tendo Training Hall's kitchen, "What is it?"
Hanny and Mike were wearing very colorful aprons.
"We are cooking tonight," Mike answered. He handed me a
blue apron, "Here, put this on."
I reluctantly put it on, "Right, what are we making tonight?"
"We are making the same thing Akane tried to make," Hanny
answered for me. "Here's an apron for you, Dan"
"The Horsemen do not cook!" Dan exclaimed. He probably
just wanted to get out of wearing a pink apron.
"Do you want to eat Akane's food again?" I retorted.
Dan grabbed the apron and put it on, "I'm going to make the
salad with Mike."
I grinned as I tied my apron on, "See, I knew I'd change your
mind. Besides, part of the agreement we made with Tendo-San was that
we'd cook once in a while."
The next few minutes seemed extremely fun. As Dan would
say, the Four Horsemen worked as a cohesive unit. It was nice having
the four of us corporating like that. Kasumi helped show us where
everything was in the kitchen. Dan and Mike worked together to make
the chief salad, dressing and gravy while Hanny and I made the
hamburgers and the mashed potatoes.
We showed everyone what real, well, sorta real American food
really tasted like. I wondered where they got the money to buy the
hamburger meat. After all, meat is VERY expensive in Japan. Everyone
liked it, especially Ranma but he could have been just happy that he
was a guy again. Ryouga even stayed for dinner. Of course, everyone
had to separate him and Dan every 5 minutes.
It seemed that Dan and Ryouga abhorred each other. Ryouga
might have even hated Dan more than he hated Ranma and me
combined!
Dinner went well except for the out bursts that Dan and
Ryouga would make. The four of us, and Akane helped Kasumi clean
up after dinner. It was an end to a rather peaceful evening at Tendo
Training Hall.
******
It was a beautiful afternoon the next day. The birds were
chirping, the sky was cloudless and it was only 70 degrees outside! Too
bad I was stuck inside.
I gathered Dan, Mike and Hanny into my room to show them
what I bought yesterday. I held up the shirt, or uwagi, to my chest,
"What do you think?"
"Looks good," Dan said.
"Where did you get that?" Mike asked.
"How much did you pay for that?" Hanny questioned.
I rolled my eyes, and sighed, "So nosy. Turn around while I
change into this."
Hanny turned around, "Are you sure it will fit? You're pretty
big for an Asian." It was true. I don't think many samurai a few
centuries ago were 6' 1" tall.
After Dan and Mike turned around, I put on the uwagi and the
hakama, or pants. I then put on the rest of the outfit, including belt, and
a few other things. When I was done, there were some small wooden
sticks at the bottom with a piece of paper with a diagram on it.
"OK, you can turn around now," I said.
"Cool! You look just like Kuno!" Mike said.
"Yeah, you do," Hanny had a grin on his face.
"You look good," Dan smiled.
"I find it strange that it's such a nice fit," I said. "But it lacks
something. I can't put my finger on it."
"Maybe it's the sword?" Dan suggested. He was right! It just
didn't feel right without the sword. I summoned mine and strapped it
on around my waist, samurai style curving up.
"What do you think now?" I turned in a circle.
"Now you look like a samurai, sorta," Dan replied.
"You look too tall to be a samurai," Mike laughed.
"Yeah, and who ever heard of a Chinese samurai?" Hanny
laughed with him.
I scratched my chin, "I guess you're right. That is kinda an
oxymoron, isn't it?"
"Hey, what's this left in the box?" Hanny picked up the sticks.
"Oh, it's supposed to come with a surprise gift," I answered.
Hanny examined the diagram on the paper, "Looks like it's a
sword rack. Too bad it didn't come with a sword!"
I shrugged, "Hey, the Japanese know how to do business!
Want to help me put this rack together? It doesn't look too
complicated."
The rest of the afternoon, we spent putting together my sword
rack. It was a simple wooden rack designed for two swords. I set my
sword on it. It looked like it belonged there but lacked a partner. Strange
thing is, it should have disappeared as soon as I let go of it but it didn't.
******
I was throwing out trash bag again. Cologne must have saved
up weeks worth of trash to just torment me with the task of expunging
it! However, I did take this chance to practice a technique that I
haven't trained too much in.
I had a bag of chest nuts out and a bucket of cold water. I
started a fire with a lighter. I recognized a few of the characters on the
bag. Two of them was the characters of the name of the city I was born
in, Tianjing, or tenshin in Japanese. This showed me that Japanese and
Chinese weren't that dissimilar.
I was doing this because a few of my ancestor's memories
gave me the idea to train in this. I dumped the nuts in the fire and took a
few deep breaths. This helped me prepare myself, as well as let the
chest nuts heat up a bit. I then tried to grab the nuts out of the fire as
quickly as I could.
Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough and burned my hands. I
quickly put both hand in the ice cold water next to me. That was one
reason I had the bucket out with me, it wasn't just for putting out the
fire.
I did this over and over again for a few minutes. I could grab
all the nuts but I'd always get burned. I just wasn't fast enough yet. I
had to train more. I did, however, gain a little speed and a lot of heat
resistance in my hands.
******
It was finally the 4 of July. I was excited but nervous too. I
had planned this for days. I couldn't wait to surprise Shampoo.
Everything was planned out very well, but not perfectly.
I wore a nice pair of dark blue jeans and a nice white shirt. My
hair was well combed and I even used gel on it. I had shaved a few
minutes before, even though, there wasn't much to shave. In my hand
was a small bouquet of flowers.
The cool, early evening breeze blew by me as I walked to
Nekohanten. I was in high spirits, ready for a nice night out on the town
with Shampoo.
Shampoo greeted me as I walked into the restaurant, "Jack,
what you doing here?" The restaurant was empty, which was strange
because 6:00 should have been a very busy time.
I handed her the flowers, "Here, this is for you."
Happiness sparkled in her eyes, "Husband take wife on date?"
"Uh, yeah, that's my surprise," I nodded. I still wasn't
comfortable being called "husband."
"I so happy!" Shampoo glomped onto me. "Ranma never take
Shampoo on date. Great-grandmother, Shampoo go on date with
groom now!"
"Have fun," Cologne replied from the kitchen. I heard her
muffle something from the kitchen, it was probably Mousse.
"Let's go," I smiled. We walked out the door arm in arm.
******
Shampoo and I had a nice, quiet walk to the movie theater. We
talked about China, martial arts, the upcoming Olympic games and a lot
about my life in the United States. She really wanted to know what
American life was like.
When we reached the movie theater, I bought two tickets to
Rumble in the Bronx. It seemed fitting. After all, Jackie Chan is
Chinese, like both of us, and it's also a pretty good martial arts action
film.
We picked a pair of seats in the back, so that we wouldn't
bother anyone. We didn't pay attention to the movie much because we
were too busy paying attention to each other. Throughout the movie,
Shampoo dipped her popcorn in her soft drink. I found that really
strange but figured that the popcorn was just too salty.
When the movie finished, I had to get some water in the
bathroom to cool off from all the excitement in the theater. After that,
we walked together to the restaurant we were going to have dinner in.
******
"What we doing here?" Shampoo pointed at the sign. We
were in front of Ucchan's. Apparently, she was not too fond of this
place.
"We're having dinner here," I smiled, "Ladies first." I opened
the door and motioned for her to walk in. She reluctantly walked in.
"You're early," Ukyou greeted me, "Hey, what is SHE doing
here?" Shampoo ground her teeth and gave Ukyou a look of animosity.
Ukyou returned the expression.
"Early? What do you mean by 'early?'" I raised my eyebrow. I
had no idea what she was talking about.
"You know! The game!" Ukyou replied. She still didn't clear
anything up.
"What game?" I scratched my head.
"The all night card game that Hanny set-up for tonight, you
jackass!" she shot back.
My eyes flared up, "So that's what Hanny planned for the
fourth! Guess, we'll be joining you guys."
"Yeah, yeah," Ukyou started making another order of
okonomiyaki. "Just have a seat. We'll start in about an hour when we
close. And make sure SHE behaves."
"Groom sitting here," Shampoo tapped a seat next to hers. She
had already picked out a table while I was talking to Ukyou.
"Oh, one deluxe okonomiyaki and, of course, one pineapple
and ham one also," I said as I walked to Shampoo. I took a seat across
Hearts for whatever reason. He was very adamant about it. I thought I
finally had him this time because of Ukyou's presence.
"Well, I guess you're out this game," I frowned. "Only means
that I have a better chance of winning!" I reached for the cards but
Ukyou snatched them off the table with one of her spatulas before I
could lay my hands on them.
"Just cause you have a silly green cap on doesn't mean you
are dealer," Ukyou stated.
"You no telling Jack what to do!" Shampoo protested. It was
nice of her, even though, it was futile.
"It's my place and you will obey my rules here or you can
leave," Ukyou argued. "We're going to play Feud now."
"Lesbian," I mumbled under my breath and turned my head.
"What was that?" Ukyou said in askance.
"I said let's begin!" I opened up a bag of chips. Not only did I
find that I was in love with Shampoo today, but I found that I hated
Ukyou also.
"We'll just warm up with this and then switch to poker,"
Ukyou smiled. "That's when we start the betting and gambling."
We played over 10 games of Feud. Hanny and Dan lost the
most. Mike made it to Emperor status while Ukyou and Shampoo won
four in a row. I didn't do that bad and actually one three in a row.
We switched from Feud to poker after about an hour of
Feud. We had gone through six bags of chips, four bottles of soda and
four cans of dip. We divided the poker chips evening and began. It just
so happened that I was dealer for the first round of poker.
"Alright, everyone," I grinned. "The ante is 5 chips. The name
of the game is Texas Hold `Em poker. Nothin' neat, nothin' fancy."
"Whoa, you want a cigar?" Hanny joked.
"How you playing that game?" Shampoo asked.
I explained the rules to my favorite poker game and dealt
everyone int. I won the first few games, mostly because I was the only
one who has ever played it before. After a while, Ukyou started a nice
win streak. She won 14 times a row, plus a lot of money, mostly mine.
"I'm out," Dan said. "No more money." Dan went broke first.
For the rest of the night, he just ate chips, drank soda and talked.
"Here, Mike, you can have my money, I quit," Hanny quit a
few rounds after Dan. They weren't the best nor smartest poker players.
"Wow, thanks, Hanny," Mike said sarcastically. "One whole
chip! I think I'll cash in now."
"Well, it's just the four of us now," Ukyou stated. We went
through hours of playing, talking, eating and drinking. We played five
card stud, seven card stud and five card draw. Dan and Hanny left after
about an hour of watching the four of us play. Ukyou was accruing a
nice sum of money.
My luck ran out on me, "Well, looks like I'm out of chips.
Guess I'll sit out now."
"No, groom have Shampoo's chips," Shampoo pushed all her
chips over to me. It was a pretty big pile, considering that all the chips
were divided among three people.
"You don't have to do that, Shampoo-chan," I pushed it back.
Shampoo put her hands on mine, <No, it's OK. A wife must
make sacrifices for her husband.>
<Thank you, darling,> I stopped protesting. Her words hit me
hard, right in the heart. I couldn't argue with that.
"What are you guys saying?" Ukyou asked.
"Yeah, speak in Japanese!" Mike agreed.
"Alright, alright!" I went back to the game. Shampoo sat close
to me for the rest of the night. The three of us went back and forth in
playing. Just when it looked like Mike was about to lose, he had a
stroke of luck and won all my money away.
"This time, I'm out for sure," I pushed the table away from
me. Shampoo was still clinging onto my arm. I felt like James Bond at
the casino with a group of girls around him.
"We'll it's just you and me," Ukyou said. "You up for Black
Jack?"
"Sure," Mike shrugged. I don't know if it was the glare, but I
saw a gleam of happiness in Mike's eyes. He was so prude, that playing
cards one on one with a girl was fulfilling for him.
I paid careful attention to the game. If I was right, Mike would
do exactly what I knew he would do. Mike bet extremely high stakes
and purposely went over 21 a lot. He won a few games, but that was
because he hit 21. In just a little over half an hour, Ukyou won all of
Mike's money because he let her win. I don't know why she didn't
protest. Maybe she didn't notice or maybe she's just too nice a person.
"Wow, it's almost 2:00 AM!" I looked at the clock. "Mousse
probably is still up worrying about you, Shampoo-chan."
"Ha! Great-grandmother help Shampoo," she ensured me.
That probably meant the she put him asleep.
"Well, thanks for a great time, Ukyou!" I said. "We gotta go.
You can go home without me, Mike. I have to walk Shampoo-chan
home."
"It's OK," Mike said. "I want to stay behind and clean up with
Ukyou. You can go without me."
"Clean up, eh?" I smiled. "OK, see you around!" Shampoo
and I left Ucchan's after a night of fun.
******
Mike and Ukyou spent almost an hour cleaning up the table.
They didn't say much, other than the occasional "thanks." They were
both too tired to say anything. After cleaning up, Mike got ready to
leave. Before that, he had to do something that he has wanted to do for
quite a while.
"Ukyou," Mike said.
"Yes, Mike," Ukyou turned to him and smiled. "Is there
something else you need.?"
"Well, yes," Mike nodded. "I-I just wanted to..."
"Go on, I'm listening."
"...To tell you that... I have feelings for you."
Ukyou wasn't surprised. Hanny had told her about Mike's
feelings for her a while ago. She just took it as a crush that he'd
overcome. Then she thought about her and Ranma. She thought about
how she felt and how Mike must be feeling the same thing. However,
she had to show that she was totally devoted to Ranma.
"Michael," Ukyou put a hand on his shoulder. "I know you've
had for a while now, but I'm sorry to say that I don't feel the same way
about you as you do me. Please don't feel all upset, we can still be
friends."
"OK," he nodded. He was a bit heartbroken, "I better leave
now. Bye."
"See you later, Michael," Ukyou showed him the way out.
Mike walked home, head down lower than his usual slouching walk. A
tear slowly flowed down his check as he took a look at the stars, and
took a fresh breath of cool, late night air.
******
I walked Shampoo back to Nekohanten. The stars were out in
a clear and cloudless sky. I enjoyed the fresh, late night air, but I was
also very tired.
Shampoo noticed it, "Groom sleeping with wife tonight, yes?"
"No, not tonight," I shook my head and chuckled. It felt like I
was going to say that a lot in the future.
"OK, wife obey husband," Shampoo frowned. She unlocked
the back door and was about to go in.
<Shampoo, wait,> I stopped her.
<What is it?>
I paused for a second, <I-I have to tell you something.
Shampoo-chan, even though I've only known you for a little while, I
think I...>
<Yes, go on,> her eyes started glittering. She knew what I
wanted to say to her.
< I just wanted to tell you that I... love you,> I did it. It was
very difficult but I let it all out. Shampoo was ecstatic.
<You really mean it?> Shampoo jumped up and down.
I nodded my reply, <Yes.>
<I'm so happy! Wo ai ni,> she glomped onto me.
<Hey, listen, Shampoo-chan,> I began. <I'm really tired and I
need to get home.>
"Is OK," she smiled. "Shampoo have great time. Good night."
"More like good morning," I chuckled. I gave her a good night
kiss, "Bye." I began walking back to Tendo Training Hall
End Part X
Finished 7/25
Author's afterward: This is the part where the samurai stuff sorta comes
in. Well, as you can see, I'm not much of a romance builder. God, does
this look as dorky as I feel right now? This took a while to get out
because my dumb dad formatted my hard drive on accident!!!
God, this took me a while to write. I know this is not long at all. In fact,
I wanted to cut down the size of my stories by a lot. I'm thinking that
50k is a good limit. Anyway, I just didn't make any time to write this. I
had to upgrade my computer, volunteering, martial arts and of course,
the heat right now is just killer. I'll try to write a little quicker from now
on.
At first, I was going to put in a water fight to show how well the
Horsemen work as a unit. But then, I thought about how long it would be
and decided to leave it out. I also was going to have Jack get into a
good, clean sword fight with Nodoka but also thought that that would
take too much room. Also, yes, that is a reference to You Are Under
Arrest! I have wanted to put Miyuki and Natsumi in there for quite a
while now but I couldn't think of a good way to do so.
Preview of Part XI: The Horsemen FINALLY leave Nerima for Nekomi
City!
______________________________________________________________________________
Member of the #ShAS#: Shampoo Appreciation Society - Our favorite femaline!
jackji@efn.org - Jack Ji - http://www.efn.org/~jackji