yoiko@earthlink.net (Yoiko) wrote:

Ranma:  KLEPPE?  The guy with the puns!

Yoiko:  The very same. ^_^

Hehee! Cool, I'm interdimensionally notorious! :-)

Yoiko:  Mousse's robes are like a box of chocolates... ^_~

I have a response here, but it would be in poor taste even for me. :)

       "And you think that would interest me?" Mu Si tried to sound
more confident than he really felt. Tsubasa evidently didn't think much
about offering a recovered alcoholic a drink.

Ranma:  Recovered?  Sounds more like wishful thinking to me.

Probably....

       Mousse folded over the top of the cardboard box. This was
finally the last one. Packing up the Nekohanten had been like emptying
his robes; every time it looked like he might be almost done, something
else turned up in an unexpected place.

Yoiko:  The Nekohanten is like a box of chocolates, too?

Yeah, and it's got nuts in it. [Gary runs as he is attacked by the
Shampoo fans.] :-)

       Shampoo came in from the back room. "Thank you for packing
boxes, Mousse. Real estate agent say will deliver to post office
tomorrow morning."

Ranma:  Whoa!  She said thank you?

Ryoga:  Well, he is helping her move.

Ranma:  Yeah, but she just thanked MOUSSE!

It's just basic politeness; still, I may re-think whether she should
have said that.

       "I'm going to seal up the boxes. I've got this really strong
tape, the kind they call --"

Yoiko:  Waaa-haha-

Ranma:  PLEASE!

Ryoga:  I bet he's using DUCK tape!!!

Yoiko:  Waaaaa-hahahahaha!  Waa-waa-waaaa-hahahahahaha!

Ranma:  Aargh!

Yoiko's quacking up!

       He stood in the rain, roses scattered at his feet. The only
sounds in the cold night were the constant downpour and the howling of a
distant dog. The one Mousse loved had left him, maybe forever. And even
if she did come back, she wouldn't love him. The dream would forever
be... a dream.

Ranma:  That's really pathetic.

Ryoga:  What do you know, you insensitive jerk?

Yoiko:  Here, have some Milk Duds.  No fighting till the fic's over.  I
agree with Ryoga, this was a depressing bit.  Very well done, imo.

Thank you!

       Hideki laughed loudly. "My life? It is nothing special. The
house of Shiratori is an unexciting place, my dear interviewer, where
the unusual never happens."

Ryoga:  Azusa doesn't live there?

He's just trying to be modest.

       A young woman entered the living room, sliding quickly over to
Hideki and kissing him on the cheek. "Hi, Daddy!" Her thick, wavy brown
hair and wide eyes looked Occidental. Ryoko recalled Hideki mentioning
that his first wife had been an American.

Ranma:  How many wives has he had?

Ryoga:  Why, Ranma?  You taking notes?

Yeah, Ranma. At least he's only had one at a time! :-p

       Stephanie was a plaque, colored bright sky blue. Graceful
pictures of birds in flight adorned it. Mousse read the words on it. *If
you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it's yours. If not,
it never was.* With the heavy leash chafing against his neck, Mousse was
not pleased by the irony.

Yoiko:  He's picking up on a lot of irony in this story.  I think usually
he's kind of blind to that sort of thing.

Ryoga:  I think usually he's just kind of blind.

Ranma:  Ironic, isn't it?

:D

       Azusa giggled. "Those birds on Stephanie are so cute, aren't
they!" She flipped a deadbolt into place, locking her room shut.

       Mousse noticed that one of the shelves was empty except for a
small velvet pillow. "This is Michelle's place," Azusa said. "She was
one of my best friends until she got lost. Isn't that sad, Claudette? I
hope someday she'll come back. I miss her and worry about her."

Ranma:  Where's Charlotte's place?

Ryoga:  Shut UP!

       Azusa took a large blanket from a closet. Folding it over twice,
she set it down in a corner. "You can stay here tonight, Claudette." She
unhooked the leash from around Mousse's neck. "Tomorrow I'll get you
somewhere better to sleep. Goodnight!" She turned out the light and
slipped into her bed.

       Mousse sat on the blanket and waited. He would leave when the
time was right.

Ryoga:  Heh, good luck.  It's not as easy breaking out of that place as
you'd think!
                               ______

       Hours passed. The pale rays of the moon shone through the single
window in the room, casting a stream of light on the adjacent wall.

       Mousse looked at Azusa. She seemed to be sleeping peacefully.
Her breathing was so soft that Mousse had to listen closely to hear it.

       He examined the window. It was a single pane of thick glass,
with no opening mechanism. He thought for a moment. He could smash
through the glass, but that would probably wake Azusa. It would be
easiest to simply leave through the door.

Ryoga:  Tried that.  That wakes her up, too.

Ranma:  So how DID you get away?

Ryoga:  You don't want to know.

Ranma:  Did it have something to do with bath time?

Ryoga:  SHUT UP!

As I recall, he never got taken to Azusa's home; he ended up going home
with Akane every time.

Ranma:  Whoa.  She's putting DOWN the chair?  Without bashing a few heads a
few hundred times first?

Hmmm....

       "Look, Azusa, I don't like doing this," Ryoko said, a bit
angrily.

Ryoga:  Why should she be angry at Azusa?  She just lost her family and her
"friends" all in one fell swoop.  I think she's entitled to be upset.

Ryoko's just a bit tired of always having to do a thankless job.

       Mousse couldn't help feeling sympathy for Azusa as he watched.
Everything that she cared about was being taken away from her, because
of her father's mistakes.

Ryoga:  Does she lose the house, too?

Nope. They took her stuff because it's where her dad hid his bank
sigils.

       "Sorry, Azusa." Ryoko said. She and the agents carried most of
Azusa's collection downstairs. The other agents set Azusa down carefully
and followed.

Ranma:  They had to set her down carefully.  She could still explode.

Got that right! :)

       "Claudette, you don't want to leave me, do you? I'll get you a
nice bed, and some fish... I'll get you whatever you want."

Ryoga:  Do ducks eat fish?

Yoiko:  I dunno.  I know they eat cracked corn...and the plants at the
bottom of lakes...  I don't know about fish, though.

Neither does Azusa, apparently.

       "What's that, Claudette? You want me to come with you?"

Ryoga:  What's that, Lassie?  Timmy fell down the well?

It's Dad! He's trapped down in Deadrock Canyon!

       Azusa stared with big eyes at the long-haired man in the Chinese
robes covering himself with a hastily-grabbed towel. "Oh, Claudette!"

Ranma:  If he's in his robes, why is he covering himself with a towel?

Yoiko:  He's very shy. ^_~

Editing mistake.

Yoiko:  Nice closure there.  All in all, I liked it.  This is my favorite
of the HaM series so far. ^_^

Thanks! When I get all 10 written, I gotta set up a poll on my web site
for people to vote on their favorite...

Yoiko:  And that's it for this one, folks!  Hope you enjoyed it!

I did! A funny MSTing with some good C&C inside. Thanks for doing this!


Gary Kleppe
http://www.execpc.com/~kleppe/comics