enter the fifth.

Chapter 5: Focus

 [Mousse didn't want to leave the confines of his room, in fact he hadn't left
it since he arrived over a week ago.  With no one else around and his sudden
sneezing fit, he really needed to find some klennex.  Still blindfolded it
wasn't surprising that he ran right into a old man with dark glasses.
Fortunately neither fell over.]

Mousse:  I'm really sorry sir ma'am person.. uh sumimasen!

Person:  That's okay, I guess neither of us were looking where we were going.
(starts chuckling)

Dr. Tofu:  (walking in) I see you've meet Mr. Shin.

Mr. Shin:  How many times have I told you to just call me Po, Tofu-chan.

[Mr. Shin's laughter is very guttural, which seems vaguely familiar to Mousse.
It kinda reminds him of Cologne's, but without the shivers running down his
back.  Dr. Tofu hand Mousse a box of klennex.]

Dr. Tofu:  I heard your sneezing fit, thought you might need this... and what
brings you by today Mr. Shin?

Mr. Shin:  Miss Kasumi saw me in the marketplace and she wanted me to give you
these.

[Mr. Shin gives Dr. Tofu a bunch of carrots, clearly reflected in his now
steamed glasses.  Mousse has enough sense to jump for cover as Dr. Tofu starts
dancing.]

Dr. Tofu:  (dancing) I better put them in water so they stay nice and fresh.

Mr. Shin:  (waiting for him to leave) Such a strange aura about that one.  You
can come out now Mou-chan.

Mousse:  (dusting himself off) Thanks, I.. hey wait.  How'd you know who I am?

Mr. Shin:  I may be blind but I ought to know the boy I helped raise.  Although
I admit your aura has changed a bit.. seems.. feathery?

Mousse:  Huh?  I'm sorry, but do I know you?

Mr. Shin:  I didn't think it was possible for YOUR sight to get any worse.  You
don't recognize your uncle Po?

Mousse:  (tick) Po? (tick) Uncle Po?  (click) Uncle Poshin!  It's been so long,
and well.. I'm wearing a blindfold.

Poshin:  Haha, does it help your sight any?

Mousse:  I guess not.  Are you still blind uncle?

Poshin:  As a bat, but I'm still more than a match for you.  Why are you wearing
a blindfold Mou-chan?  Does this have something to do with that girl you were
always chasing.. that one with the nice purple aura.. you know, that one that
liked to beat you up?

Mousse:  (quietly) Shampoo...

Poshin:  Yeah, that's the one.  Seen her lately?

[It didn't take long for Akane to change into her training gi.  Ranma had been
silent the entire way home and it was starting to annoy Akane.  He just sort of
sat there as she set up some bricks.  They were the only two in the dojo which
only made the silence more uncomfortable.  Ranma was the first to break.]

Ranma:  He WAS alive when we left this morning right?

Akane:  (quietly) It just sort of slipped out.  I wasn't thinking.

Ranma:  I kinda figured that after you decided to fight Shampoo.

Akane:  (angry) What do you mean by that?  You don't think I can win?

Ranma:  Not really.  If you wanted to call off our engagement there's easier
ways then getting the crap beaten out of you.

Akane:  I'm doing this for you stupid!  I.. oh never mind, you wouldn't
understand anyway.  Just let me practice in peace.

[Ranma gets up and starts to leave, but turns back before he's gone.]

Ranma:  I hope you win Akane, you make a better fiancee..

[Akane just freezes, speechless.]

Ranma:  (in the distance) Even though she cooks better.

Akane:  (snapping into a scowl) Idiot.

[She finishes setting up the bricks and makes a few practice swings, before
breaking it.  She sets up a second stack twice as high and begins taking
practice swings.]

Akane:  (thinking) How does he keep doing that.  Why does he keep doing that?
I'll show him, and her.

[Akane raises her hand as thoughts of Ranma, Shampoo, and Mousse run through her
head.  Ranma's words came back to her.]

Ranma's voice:  (ethereal) ..you make a better fiancee.

Akane:  HaiiiiiiiiyaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHH!!!!!!

[Cut to Dr. Tofu's clinic shortly thereafter.  Ranma's leaning in the doorway
while Akane sits in a chair letting Dr. Tofu examine her.]

Dr. Tofu:  (holding Akane's hand) It looks worse than it actually is, but I
wouldn't try to use it for at least a couple weeks.

Akane:  But I have to fight Shampoo this weekend.

Dr. Tofu:  How good's your left hand?

Ranma:   It's probably as bad as her right ha..

[He doesn't get to finish.  A rather large mallet imbeds itself in Ranma's head,
swung by Akane's left hand.]

Akane:  You were saying something Ranma?

Ranma:  My head.. on fire.. brain.. everything going dark.. feels like I.. I..
ate your curry.

[Akane proceeds to nail him with the hammer in both hands.]

Akane:  (wincing) Ah.. my hand!

Dr. Tofu:  Hmm...

[Mousse and Poshin continued their conversation in Mousse's room while Poshin
began smoking on a long pipe.  Mousse sat there quietly after explaining his
blindfold and the recent fight.  He expected Poshin to call him a fool, or at
least childish.]

Poshin:  How long has it been since I've seen you?

Mouse:  (surprised) I suppose it's been about ten years?

Poshin:  Well then I suppose I should help you with something I should have
helped you with ten years ago.

Mousse:  Uncle?

Poshin:  I always knew your vision would give you difficulty, neither seeing
clearly nor being blessedly blind like myself.  Someday I was going to try to
help you see how I saw.  Even though your sight, as limited as it was, would
have made it hard.

Mousse:  You mean the auras?  You can teach me that?

Poshin:  The auras are learned, not taught.  (smoking the pipe) Does your recent
blindness cripple you?

[The memory of his last fight ran through his head.  In those last seconds it
felt like he could sense her attack.  The kick was instinctive, but so was
stopping it.]

Mousse:  (hesitating) No.. total blindness is barely a step below my natural
vision.  It's being away from Shampoo that makes me feel crippled.

Poshin:  It is your thoughts of Shampoo that cripple you.

Mousse:  So you're saying I could do it if not for her?

Poshin:  You could have done it ten years ago, but you were too enamored with
her and still too young.

Mousse:  (lost in thought)...

Poshin:  The tree that doesn't bend will break, Mou-chan.  Let her go.

Mousse:  I have!

Poshin:  (inhaling deeply from the pipe) Have you?

part the fifth.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----

enter the sixth.

Chapter 6: Alpha and Omega

[Akane just looked down as Dr. Tofu tended to Ranma's head injuries.  Her hand
was throbbing but her thoughts were more concerned with her fight with Shampoo]

Akane:  (thinking) I can't fight her with my hand like this.  I can't back out
of it either.  This is a battle of honor.. I'm supposed to be fighting in
Mousse's place, maybe I can find someone to fight in mine.

Ranma:  Ouch!

Dr. Tofu:  You're going to have to hold still Ranma.

Ukyou:  (popping her head in the door) I thought I heard ya in here Ran-chan.

Akane:  Ukyou?  (thinking) Maybe.. no, that's no good.. if only I knew where
Ryoga was.. if only he didn't wander off so much.

Ukyou:  Hiya Akane, what happened to your hand?

Ranma:  She had a disagreement with a brick.

Akane:  More like a brickhead.

Ranma:  Maybe you should've used your head instead of your hand, it's alot
thicker.

Akane:  (turning red) I don't have to sit around for this.

[Akane gets up and leaves the room, knocking Ranma's bandaged head on the way
out.  He's about to follow, but Dr. Tofu holds him by the bandages and continues
to wrap them around his head.  Ukyou decides to follow Akane, leaving Dr. Tofu
and Ranma alone.]

Dr. Tofu:  Hold on Ranma, this'll just take a second.  Then you can go chase
Akane all you want.

Ranma:  (wincing) Ouch.  What makes you think I'd want to chase her anyway?

Dr. Tofu:  (wrapping Ranma's head) This was her chance to start settling things
Ranma.  Think about what it's like for her to be engaged to someone with two
other fiancees.

Ranma:  Well it's not my fault girls keep trying to marry me.  I'm not looking
for them or anything.

Dr. Tofu:  I suppose that's true, but you haven't exactly deterred any of them
either.

[Akane marches into Dr. Tofu's front room followed by Ukyou.   Akane sits by the
door trying to get a grip on herself.  Ukyou takes up a seat next to Akane.  A
worried look crosses Ukyou's face as she looks at Akane.]

Ukyou:  (biting her lip) Akane.. you.. you love him don't you?

Akane:  [clearing throat] No!  No.  I mean.. well what makes you think I'd love
an insensitive jerk like him?

Ukyou:  (look of concern) The fact that you're on the verge of tears right now?
(thinking) Oh god, she does...

Akane:  (wiping her eyes with her sleeve) I am not.  I just got too close to
some of the herbs Dr. Tofu keeps.

Ukyou:  You lie almost as bad as Ran-chan. (thinking) She's got it bad.

Akane:  What do you know anyway?  He calls you the cute one.

Ukyou:  (strained smile) I know Ran-chan, and I know.. and I know what he really
thinks.  Even if he's to stupid to know himself.  (thinking) This is my fault, I
never thought about Akane.

Akane:  (upset) So what does he really think then?

Ukyou:  (thinking) Do I tell her?  It's been so long.. I.. NO!  Stop thinking
like that, you owe it to her.. to them.  Who am I to stand in the way of what
they have?  (clearing her throat) He.. he likes you.  No, Ran-chan.. he.. he
loves you.

[Akane eye's widen in shock drying up what would have been torrent of tears.
Her mouth moves but no words come out.]

Ukyou:  (beginning to tear up) I admit..  I wanted to win his heart.. but I
can't take something that he's already given to someone else.  I.. I've known
for awhile.  The things he does for you.. the way he looks at you when he thinks
nobody's watching.. it hurt a little.. but I never thought that you loved him
back.. that maybe someday he'd move on.. (breaking into tears) oh Akane, I'm
sorry.. I.. I never thought about you.. your feelings.. it was wrong of me.
(pause) Can you forgive me?

Akane:  (look of concern) Ukyou.. I don't know what to say.. yes.. I mean,
there's nothing to forgive.  I always thought of you like Shampoo but I guess
that's where I was wrong.

Ukyou:  (wiping the tears away) You two should be together.  No matter what
Shampoo says, what I've said, or even what you two say.

Akane:  (slight smile) Ukyou.. thank you.

Ukyou:  So what does this mean for us?

Akane:  Friends?

Ukyou:  (smile) That'll be a nice change.

[The two sit, content with their new found understanding.]

Akane:  (hesitating) Ukyou.. I don't suppose you.. you would..

Ukyou:  (cutting in) No.  Put that thought out of your head right now, I'm way
out of practice and even if I wasn't.. I.. I couldn't take the responsibility.

Akane:  (lowering head) I understand.. but still.. if someone doesn't fight then
Shampoo wins by default.. just think it over.

Ukyou:  Well, I'll think about it.

[The conversation comes to an abrupt end as Ranma enters the room, his head
wrapped with bandages.  He's about to say something but all his danger senses
all trip at once.  Akane and Ukyou are smiling at him, together.]

Ranma:  (thinking) Uh-oh.  This can't be good.

Ukyou:  (turning to Akane) We'll talk later, I still gotta check on Mousse.

Akane:  (cheerful) How about tomorrow?  The shop?

[Ranma looks on with his eyes wide, thoughts quickly slipping from his mind.]

part the sixth

---------------------------------------------------------------

enter the seventh

Chapter 7: A New Hope

[The morning comes quietly as Tofu begins his morning exercises.  It's late in
his set even though you wouldn't notice due to his lack of strain.  His
companion however is definitely showing fatigue.]

Mousse:  (huffing) You do this every day?

Dr. Tofu:  (one handed pushups) I do it to relieve tention, I've never had
anyone join me though.

Mousse:  I still feel tense.

Dr. Tofu:  Well, I never said it helped.

[Mousse groans and collapses to the ground.  Dr. Tofu changes hands and does
another set while Mousse gets up to a sitting position.]

Dr. Tofu:  You souldn't try to exert yourself so much, your injuries have just
healed.

Mousse:  (putting on the blindfold) I can't stay idle, I need the practice.

Dr. Tofu:  (pausing to look up) Still going to wear that?

Mousse:  It helps me think.  Uncle conviced me I didn't need it, but he said it
might help my sight.

Dr. Tofu:  (one-armed shrug) Well, you have stopped talking to the plants.

Mousse:  (slight smile) I've decided to leave this weekend.  I know I've been
kind of a burden on you.

Dr. Tofu:  I like to help people, it's what I do best.

Mousse:  You've helped me more than I can ever repay you.

Dr. Tofu:  (stopping) Repay me by staying healthy and not letting people beat
you up all the time.

Mousse:  You think I let them beat me?

Dr. Tofu:  I saw your first fight with Ranma, and a couple of the ones after
that.

Mousse:  So you saw I wasn't even close to winning those.

Dr. Tofu:  It's true, I saw you beaten rather soundly.

Mousse:  ...

Dr. Tofu:  I also saw you holding back.  Skill in weapons are meant to kill...
you use them as distractions.  You could have ended those fights in blood.

Mousse:  So you're saying I should have killed them?

Dr. Tofu:  I'm saying you shouldn't have faught them.

Mousse:  I had to fight... Ranma.. Shampoo..

Dr. Tofu:  As I understand it, you challenged them.

[His words sink in quietly.  He sits there as images of his life pass by, the
challenges he made, the battles he faught, and the faliures that followed.]

Mousse:  (slowly) I grew up in a village where fighting was everything.  It
dictated our laws, our lives, even our loves.  I took up my art when I was very
young, the other children liked to practice new moves on me because I was weak..
Shampoo in particular.  I wanted to learn the strongest arts, the ones that
would make me the strongest fighter, the one that would make them stop.

Dr. Tofu:  Did they stop?

Mousse:  Most did.

Dr. Tofu:  ..but not all of them?

Mousse:  Shampoo... too proud.. she challenged me once as I was still learning.
She just kept coming at me, I had to do something.. and I did.. it was mostly an
accident but she cut her arm on one of my blades.  I still remember her running
off crying.  The scar is gone, she probably doesn't even remember the fight.
That's when I learned the danger, but to abandon my art at that stage.. no one
else would have trained me.

Dr. Tofu:  You're afraid you're going to hurt someone again.

Mousse:  I don't want to kill anybody.  I.. I just want to be happy.



[Unfinished Shampoo scene of quiet reflection.]

then part the seventh

-------------------------------


           --.\\ousse \_ee
   http://www.pixi.com/~mousse/
   ...ducks are people too.