Wow, I didn't expect to send out Chapter 5 so quickly after sending out
Chapter 4. Well, I am very proud (probably excessively proud v_v) of this
story, and I hope you like reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Plus,
I hope those of you who dislike Shampoo will gain respect for my favorite
character now. ^_^ If you read carefully, you'll notice that I never
actually state how much time passes between certain sections of the fan-fic.
I don't know how long it would take to learn Japanese well or travel to Mt.
Terror, so I left it up to your own discretion (just don't assume the story
takes place over 15 years or something!).
Any C&C should be sent to me privately, since I'm on vacation mode on the
FFML. ^_^ Arigato!
The story of Ranma Nibunnoichi and the characters are the sole possession
of the respected copyright holders, and was all created by the brilliant
shojo manga artist Rumiko Takahashi.
Here Comes Neko!
A Ranma Nibunnoichi fan fiction
By Luna Hinomura
http://fly.to/Luna's
Chapter 5: True Love
The NekoHanten looked as it always had, but for some reason, there were
fewer customers inside. She glanced around, her forehead wrinkled in
confusion. Why had people left? Where was Shampoo? It was the scheduled
time for their departure, yet she was nowhere to be found. She could see
Cologne going about the routine business, ignoring her presence as usual, and
Mousse was gone as well.
"Great-grandmother," Neko called. "Where is everyone?"
Her great-grandmother blinked in surprise at hearing her near-perfect
Japanese. "People haven't been coming," she replied tersely.
"Why?" Cologne didn't reply to Neko's inquiry. Neko set her things down
and sat down at a table instead. "Then I'll just have to wait for Shampoo."
"Don't bother."
"Why?" Once again, she received no answer.
It had taken a long time to improve her broken Japanese, and Neko had
immersed herself in only studying Japanese and Martial Arts. She could feel
her newfound abilities with every movement she made. Her muscles felt
stronger, and
her self-esteem was much higher. Now, she finally knew what it felt like to
be Shampoo.
"Neko!" Mousse cried as soon as he walked in from the back room. "You're
here!"
"Yes, Mousse, where's Shampoo?" she asked, getting up. "I'm becoming
impatient."
"Well... I'm sorry I deceived you... All those times I helped you
train, I never told you..." He lowered his head. "She'd already gone to Mt.
Terror."
"What?!" Neko exclaimed. "Mousse, why would you do such a thing?"
He pushed his glasses higher up his nose. "If I'd told you earlier, you
would have gone after her right away. It's better that you stayed and worked
on improving your skills. You and I both know it'll be more of an even match
this way."
Nodding, Neko considered his words. "All right, then, Mousse," she said.
"Ja matta." She grabbed her spear and backpack, rushing out in a hurry.
"I wish you luck, Neko," Mousse whispered, then turned back to his duties.
* * * * *
Many, many days, passed, and he had eagerly awaited the return of the two
sisters. Each day tore at his heart, and he missed both sorely. Had Shampoo
won? Perhaps Neko hadn't even reached Mt. Terror yet... What if...
What if Shampoo won?
Returning to Joketsuzoku didn't seem too bad, but he had all his hopes
set on Neko. If both he and Neko were forced to return, then he would be
separated from Shampoo while that dratted Saotome was...! Ugh! He threw the
dishcloth he'd been using to dry dishes with into the sink. He was lucky
that all he'd received from Cologne when he told her where her
great-granddaughters had disappeared to were only a few cuts and bruises. If
Shampoo won, he knew the emotional scars would last forever. He locked up
and headed on up to his room. He sighed and crossed out another date on his
calendar. Another day without hearing from or seeing either of them. He
changed into his pajamas tiredly and laid down on his bed. An instant later,
he heard the door of the NekoHanten being unlocked.
Ever since he was a child, he'd had terrible eyesight, and, as a result
his hearing was very acute. He knew that anyone who had a key had to be
either Shampoo or Neko. Cologne was in her own bedroom so... He ran through
the
hallway to the top of the stairs and saw...
Shampoo.
She looked bloody, bruised, torn, and downright depressed. Mousse
gasped. If Shampoo had won the fight, why did she look ready to kill
herself? Did that mean Neko won? But, then, where was Neko? A plethora of
questions rose up in Mousse's mind, but he couldn't bring himself to ask any.
Not when she looked like that. Shampoo's normally proud expression was
gone, and instead of holding her head up high while she walked, she stared at
her feet. She didn't even notice Mousse standing before her until she
crashed head-on into him. For a moment, she glanced up at his face, but
quickly averted her eyes. She said nothing and only headed to her room.
Mousse watched her go and she closed her door with a sigh. He returned to
his own room with even more questions than before.
<What the heck went on at Mt. Terror? Something's definitely wrong. I--
What's that sound?> It sounded like someone was quietly weeping.
Mousse left his room and went to Shampoo's, standing before her door and
listening to her crying. He couldn't stand it, yet he was afraid of what she
might say if he walked in. Finally, he gathered up all his courage and
knocked.
Shampoo stopped crying for a moment, but didn't answer. Mousse opened
the door and found her curled up on her bed in the fetal position. He sat
down beside her. They sat in silence like that for a few minutes,
interrupted only by the occasional sob or hiccough from Shampoo.
He sighed. "What's wrong, Shampoo?" he said, pulling her lifeless body
up by the arm.
She looked at him strangely. "Oh, Mousse!" she cried, collapsing into
his chest. For a moment, he was in shock, but he carefully hugged her,
praying that the moment wouldn't end.
Now he *knew* something was wrong. He couldn't keep her like this
forever. "What happened?" he asked. She didn't answer. As hard as it was,
he grabbed her shoulders and gradually pried her off so he could look in her
eyes.
"Shampoo," he pleaded. "Please, tell me what happened." She looked at
the floor.
"Neko and I are alike," Shampoo said in perfect Japanese. "We're two of
a kind. But Kami-sama was unfair..."
"What?" he said, pulling back. So Neko had spoken the truth: Shampoo
really did know Japanese perfectly.
"Mousse, do you know the last thing Neko said to me?"
"Why would I?" he said, but there was no harshness to his tone. "I
wasn't there. What did she say?"
"I'll tell you what happened..."
* * * * *
Shampoo stared down at Neko, who was standing beneath the short cliff she
was on. "Mei-mei," she called. "Are you ready?" From her vantage point,
she could see Neko take a step back and scan all directions, trying to
determine
where the cry had originated. Her gaze fell upon Shampoo.
"Jie-jie," Neko replied. "Why don't you get down from there?" They both
spoke Japanese between the occasional Chinese words thrown in. To appease
Neko, Shampoo jumped from the cliff, slid down the side on her feet, and
landed gracefully at the bottom. She crossed her arms and glared at her
younger sister.
"You were saying?" she asked.
"It's time to fight," Neko said.
"Fine. We fight!" Shampoo said curtly, attacking Neko as soon as she'd
spoken her words.
* * * * *
"Gomenasai, Mousse," Shampoo said. "I can't remember the entire fight
since it went by so quickly. I can tell you what happened before and after,
though."
"I understand," he replied. "But what did you think of Neko?"
"Her skills and Japanese were much improved," Shampoo said. "We were an
even match, even with my training at Mt. Terror."
"I see. So you won," he said.
"If I won, why are you still here?" she replied. Mousse blinked, then
hung his head
"I'll leave in the morning," he said sadly.
"Don't."
"What? You *don't* want me to leave?" He was *really* confused now.
"Neko had improved, and in the heat of battle, she caught me off guard.
I was thrown to the ground and knocked unconscious." She laughed, a strange
laugh, one that seemed to stem from irony, and not humor. "I lost, Mousse."
"But then--"
"Why am *I* here, and not Neko? When I awoke, Neko was standing above
me. She was turned away from me, and suddenly I felt as if she was scorning
me. I know I did that to her, too, but hear me out. I lashed out at her
with a sweep
kick and knocked her down, too, but I was so groggy I hadn't noticed the
cliff."
Mousse gasped. "The cliff?"
"It wasn't the same one I'd been standing on earlier, but a different
one, one right above a thrashing river. I knocked her off balance, and she
fell over the cliff. Luckily, she was able to grab onto a tree root. I was
very alarmed by that time, mind you, and I immediately reached out and tried
to pull her up.
"If we hadn't been so exhausted by our battle, she would have been able
to climb out easily. As it was, we had completely used up all our strength
and stamina.
"Then, she asked me, 'Do you love Ranma?', and I replied, 'Yes, of
course.'
"Her last words were, '*True* love means loving someone enough to let
them go.' Then, she smiled very serenely, and let go of the tree root. I
tried holding onto her wrist, but I lost my grip, and she fell into the
river. I've cried a lot since then, Mousse, and I still haven't used up all
my tears.
"I tried looking for her, but I found no signs of her. The only thing I
found is this," Shampoo said, reaching into her backpack and drawing out a
long, light-pink feather. "It doesn't look like any bird feather from a
species indigenous to Japanese." She smiled crookedly. "At first, I thought
it was a feather from an angel come to collect Neko's beautiful soul. I
still don't know what to think."
Mousse took the feather carefully in his hands and turned it over a few
times. Having been able to see his own feathers many, many times as a duck,
he knew what duck feathers looked like. And if this was a light-pink duck's
feather...
Was Neko alive?
He closed his eyes. Who knew? She might or might not be. Shampoo
didn't know Neko's cursed form, so she would never guess what had happened.
"There's more," Shampoo said. "She's probably told you how she knows
more about me than anybody else, right?"
"Yes..." he replied slowly.
"You don't know how deep her words stabbed into my heart."
"What do you mean?"
"You think she meant I have to love Ranma enough to let him go to Akane.
I know Ranma loves Akane. Any fool could see that. It was fun, for a while,
chasing after him with Great-grandmother, but the pain of disappointment was
not
worth the brief joy I received from tormenting him. I don't know if Neko
knows this, Mousse, but she probably does. I loved you, once, a long, long
time ago."
He nearly fell off the bed. Had Neko knocked Shampoo so hard that she'd
gone crazy?
"When we were kids, the only reason I wanted to defeat you is because I
didn't feel I deserved you. Plus, it was hard growing up under
Great-grandmother's governing. It seemed that if I revealed my true feelings
to you, I would be branded a failure forever.
"I came up with a plan to make certain you would end up with Neko,
because I thought that Neko deserved you more than I did. But you were so
stubborn." She turned her red-violet eyes towards his face and smiled
warmly. "You've
always been stubborn."
"And...?"
"I loved you enough to let you go, and it was a mistake. I told myself I
would never make that mistake again, that I would never let the next man I
loved out of my sight." She scoffed. "What a joke. Look at how Ranma hates
me. I
*am* a failure Mousse. I've only been delaying the inevitable. I thought
that by treating Neko harshly, she would turn to you for comfort. I thought
that by being cruel, I could be kind...
"But there's still more, Mousse. *I* know more about Neko than anyone
else as well. Neko loves you too, and we've come full circle. She loved
*you* enough to let you go. She knew you loved me, and she probably knew I
loved you
once, too. And now she's gone, and it's not fair. It's not fair!!" she
buried her face in Mousse's chest once more.
Mousse sighed and closed his eyes. Neko loved him. Loved him! Shampoo
wasn't the only one who had been foolish. <How could I have been so blind?!>
he thought, ignoring the pun. "I'm sorry, Shampoo. I should have known."
She sniffed and wiped away a tear. "I should have, too."
The sound of a cat meowing caused him to pause, and he turned an ear
towards the window. He didn't hear anything more, except the flapping of
wings. Was a cat chasing a bird away from its nest in the middle of the
night, or...? He smiled.
"Let's go back to Joketsuzoku together, Shampoo," Mousse suggested.
"Maybe Neko's not dead. You never know."
"I think we should, Mousse, but there's still something else I have to
do," she replied. "I want to talk to Akane. Whatever she says, no matter
how painful it is, I will endure. She will be the one to make my decision.
Maybe
then, I can restore my pride, and I can return to Joketsuzoku with honor. I
will talk to Akane tomorrow, Mousse. Go to bed." She gently pulled away
from him. "I'm tired."
Mousse nodded, but paused at the door. "Oyasuminasai," he said. <Good
night, my love...>
End of Chapter 5