Subject: [FFML] [Ranma][dark][lime]Can't Let Go 3/7
From: "Cass Chia" <sailormercury107@hotmail.com>
Date: 12/4/1998, 11:44 AM
To: ffml@fanfic.com


Here's the next part of Can't Let Go.  Please, please give feedback!

Cass & GSL

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CAN'T LET GO 
(A Ranma 1/2 fic by Cass and GSL)

Authors' Notes aka stuff we wanna say now or we might end up being sued 
or flamed:
We have written this story out of fun. In no way do we own the 
characters of this story, they belong to Takahashi Rumiko, Shogakukan 
Inc, Shonen Sunday Comics, and Viz Video.  This story is meant for 
entertainment, non-profit purposes.

This story deviates from the Ranma universe after Ukyou arrived in 
Nerima.  Some of the characters have been given mind-altering drugs by 
us and that's why they act out-of-character.  8-) This is generally a 
dark fic.

Comments, criticisms and MSTs are welcome. You can reach us at 
chiaty@singnet.com.sg
You can view this at http://web.singnet.com.sg/~chiaty/fanfics.htm

We also would like to thank our pre-readers, Justin Baugh,
King Chan, Jed Bidwell, Sam Vere and Arthur Edwards.

[ ] = dream sequence
< > = character's thoughts
{ } = conversations in chinese

PLS NOTE:
We have decided to alter a tiny bit of Part 1.
Originally: When Ranma went to look for Ukyou at Ucchans, he found Konatsu
there, tending the restaurant.  
Now: He went there and found Ucchans closed.  With a sign stating that,
"The owner of this establishment has gone for a short holiday".


Part 3: Deceptions
-----------------------

(In the Nekohanten. The restaurant is closed for the day.)

	Shampoo was the most important person in his life. Since he was 
young, he had made a vow that he would make her his wife. He didn't 
understand why she didn't feel the same way for him. So, he thought 
that by trying harder, he would win her love eventually. While he 
showered her with love and dedication, she rained blows onto him, 
hurting him physically and emotionally. But he would not give up. If 
this method would not work, he would try another. No matter what, he 
would fulfill the vow. He would make Shampoo his.

	A figure entered the Nekohanten. He knew it was her. Without 
a minute of hesitation, he leapt to glomp her, and at the same time 
spouting words of love for her. His action was rewarded with a punch in 
the face and a phrase that he heard often. "{Stupid Mu Tsu.}" He 
slumped onto the floor, wondering if it was stupid for him to love her. 
He observed that Shampoo's steps were heavy, and would lean on the 
nearest objects for support. Then, he heard a cough and immediately, he 
was up on his feet and by Shampoo's side. "{Shan Pu, are you sick?}" His 
hands rose to Shampoo's waist.

	A backhand nudge and he was on the floor again. Her melodious 
voice echoed in his ears. "{What do you think you are doing?}" He put on 
his glasses to have a better look at her. Beautiful was the only word 
he could think of. But he then realized that she looked pale and there were traces of 
blood on her mouth. Again, he rose to her side, 
concern written all over his face. "{Shan Pu! What happened to you?}" He 
wanted to wipe away the blood on her lips but he was sent flying for a 
few meters.

	"{Stupid Mu Tsu, this is of no concern to you.}" 

	"{But Shan Pu, you are hurt. Who did this to you? Tell me, I'll 
kill him for you. Nobody treats you this way and gets away.}" He got up 
and walked towards Shampoo. 

	"{I don't need your help. And stand there, don't come near me.}" 
Mousse stopped and was merely a few paces away from Shampoo. "{I only 
want to do 2 things now. First, I want to rest. And, secondly, I want 
you to be as far away from me as possible.}"

	"{But, Shan Pu...}"

	"{No buts. I don't want to hear your voice.}" She gave him a cold 
stare that should have froze his heart. Seeing that he had not made any 
moves, she tried to make her way to her room.

	Mousse looked at her retreating figure. He knew who had injured 
her and he wouldn't let the matter rest. "{Is it Ranma? You said you 
were going to see him. Did he hurt you because he thought that you had 
poisoned his Akane?}" 

	"{NO.}" She almost shouted and turned to face him. She fumbled for 
words to continue but was interrupted by Mousse. "{I know it's him. And 
I'm going to kill him for that.}" He made a dash for the door and was 
blocked by Shampoo. "{You can't kill Ranma and don't you dare disturb 
him. So what if he had injured me, it was just a misunderstanding. And 
this is none of your business.}"

	"{Shan Pu, I will not forgive him for doing this to you.}" He tried 
to force his way out but was met with a punch on the face. 

	"{I do not care about you, Mu Tsu. I know that you can't even come 
close to hurting Ranma but I won't let Ranma think that I've sent you 
there. I won't let you make Ranma hate me more.}"

	Blood was bleeding from his nose. His nose may be broken but the 
physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional one. "{Why did you 
let him do this to you? Why did you choose him even though he showed no 
interest in you? I'd cared and loved you since I was 3. Why not me?}"

	"{Mu Tsu, listen carefully, I will NEVER love you. If I ever had 
any feelings for you, let me have a horrible death.}" Shampoo gave him a 
deadly stare that showed him how much she meant her words.

	Distraught, he just stood there, making no attempts to wipe the 
blood away from his face. He stared blankly at Shampoo who showed no 
ounce of remorse. She moved away from the door, probably to her 
room. He continued to stare into space until he could no longer feel 
her presence. Letting out an anguished cry, he fled away from the 
Nekohanten into the night that mirrored the darkness in his heart.

---------------------------------------------------------
(Hospital)

	"Where doth the fair maiden, injured by the evil wizard, rest?  
Tell me quick, my lovely angels in white, so that I may shower my love 
and affection upon her.  And she will awaken from her slumber just as 
Sleeping Beauty was awakened by a kiss from her prince.  For I, Kuno 
Tatewaki, the Blue Thunder of Furinkan, am her handsome prince!" 

	"Huh?" wondered the nurse as she stared at this strange man, 
holding a large bouquet of red roses and spouting nonsense.  Whispering 
to the head nurse, she asked, "Did Psychiatry lose one of their mental 
nutcases again?"

	"I'm not sure.  Let me check," replied the head nurse as she 
slowly inched away from him.

 	Just then, Nabiki emerged from Akane's ward.  "Why hello, Kuno-
chan.  Here to visit my sister, no doubt."

	"Yes.  Would you lead the way to where the fair maiden, who has 
captured my warrior heart, rests?"  He was about to quote Shakespeare 
when Nabiki pulled him past corridor after corridor.  

	They soon arrived at the hospital cafeteria.  "Why have you 
brought me here?  Have you not heard what the great Blue Thunder had 
said?  I desire a visit with your lovely, graceful sister."

	"Just shut up and listen to me," interrupted Nabiki.  She was in 
no mood to listen to one of Kuno's speeches.  "If you want to punish 
the one that has poisoned Akane, then you have to keep quiet."

	Kuno opened his mouth but a warning look from Nabiki made him 
immediately shut his mouth.  

	"Good.  Now, I have a plan but I need resources.  Resources that 
you have plenty of.  Are you willing to sacrifice a small part of your 
resources for Akane?"

	Kuno nodded, eager to help.

	"I thought you might.  Here's what I need from you..."

---------------------------------------------------------
(Nerima, the next day)

	He was a troubleshooter. He solved problems for his clients and 
in his line of work, he had met many people. Some of them were rich and 
famous while some were scumbags. But this was the first time that his 
expertise was needed by a schoolgirl. He found it amusing at first but 
after having some background check on the girl, he found it refreshing 
to work for such a person.

	He glanced around the coffeehouse. He had never met this girl 
before but a young woman sitting at the back of the coffeehouse caught 
his attention. The unreadable expression on her face stood out from the 
laughing teenagers around her. She smiled and beckoned him 
to join her.

	"Good morning, Mr. Seiyu."

	"You must be Ms Tendo. It's a pleasure to meet you."

	"Same here."

	"You know, I've heard a lot about you."

	"Oh, good or bad?"

	"Mostly horror stories that I could tell to my children when they 
are naughty."

	"Thanks for the compliment. But enough of chit-chat, let's talk 
about what you're here for." Nabiki took a file out of her bag and 
handed it to Seiyu, who is sitting across her. "This is the information 
that I have about the subject."

	He took the file and began to read the contents. The documents 
were neatly organized and contained information that was not readily 
available to the public. Her serious, business-like manner spoke of 
professionalism that signalled that he should not take her lightly.

	"I know you have contacts on both sides of the law and that is 
the reason I'm employing you. They said that you are the best in this 
field and I demand the best services," Nabiki began. 

	"Don't worry, your money will be well-spent."

	"Now, this is what I want. I want all the dirt that you could 
find on the subject. And at the same time, I want you to make life 
difficult for her."

	"Considered it done."

	"But first, you have to get rid of the dried mummy. Brutal force 
is going to get you killed. Battle of the wits is more appropriate. See 
if you could use your contacts and make her visa expire earlier."

	"Shouldn't be a problem."

	"Okay, I would want daily reports on progress that you have made. 
I will give you further instructions on the phone." Seeing a nod, she 
continued, "There's a letter in the file. You are to make sure that 
that letter is published in the newspaper."

	Flipping through the file, he found the letter. He did a quick 
glance to get an idea of what it is about. "Smart. Using the media to 
help you achieve your goals. Cheap and effective."

	"Thank you. Half of the money will be wired to your bank account 
tomorrow and the other half on completion. A word of advice. Don't get 
into a direct clash with her."

	"I understand."

	"Any other questions?"

	"No. But, it's been a pleasure talking to you. I've to get going 
now." Seiyu got up and went off.

	Nabiki was left alone in the coffee house again. Her eyes 
wandered to the busy street outside of the shop while she recalled the 
morning's events:

		"Ranma." She found him in the Ucchan's. Strangely, Ukyou was 
	nowhere to be seen.

		"Nabiki?" He was clearly surprised to see her. 

		"Do you have time? I want to talk to you."

		"Sure." They went to a nearby park. They found a bench 
	where they could sit on and continued with their conversation 
	or rather Nabiki's interrogation.

		"I want to hear your side of the story about the fight. 
	Let's start with 'why you initiated the fight?'."

		"I... uh..."

		"Come on, spit it out. I've got no time for this." Her 
	expression was one of anger and seriousness.

		"I was angry. Angry that Ryouga and Akane are getting 
	along too well."

		"So, jealousy was the thing that started all this."

		"Hey!" Before he could continue, he was interrupted. 	

		"Let's stop this charade. Next question, 'on the night Akane 
	was poisoned, were you with Ukyou the whole night?'."

		"Yes."

		"All you sure? She could have gone out while you were 
	sleeping."

		"Are you suspecting Ucchan?" 

		"I just want to have my bases covered. So, tell me."

		"She tried to put me to sleep and I slept for about half 
	an hour before I was awakened by a nightmare. She was with me 
	instantly when I called out her name and we spent the whole 
	night talking since I couldn't sleep."

		Soaking in the information, she bid her farewell to Ranma 
	and had adjourned to this coffee house.

	Returning to reality, Nabiki sipped on her coffee and began to 
think. Half an hour was too short a time for Ukyou to rush to the 
hospital, poison Akane and rush back to the Ucchan's. She couldn't be 
the one that poisoned Akane. Shampoo must be the one. There was no one 
else.
	
---------------------------------------------------------

(1 day later.  A port in China)

	Cologne heaved a sigh of relief as she stepped down from the 
boat.   The boat had rocked violently even in calm seas, resulting in 
many passengers, including several sea hands, vomiting all over.  
<Weaklings.> she thought as she stifled her own impulse to vomit.  If 
she wasn't in such a hurry, she would have taken the time to find a 
luxurious ship to hitchhike and not this barely floating and crammed 
piece of junk.  She stopped her mental complaining before she wasted 
any more time.  (If she had learned anything in all of her three 
hundred years, it was that complaining was counterproductive.  That and 
the fact that you can still bear a grudge after a century has passed.)  
She picked up her bag and moved quickly in the direction of 
Joketsuzoku.  

	Hours past.  Cologne had travelled past the city and several 
small villages and was now in a flat, slightly forested area.  Its 
name: The Sian Sian Slightly Forested Area.  It's next to 
distinguishing landmarks, like Sian Sian Giant Tree Turned Giant Hole 
In The Ground, Sian Sian Not Very Deep Valley and Sian Sian Village of 
Boring Statisticians.)

	As she travelled, she thought about the letter that was delivered 
to the Nekohanten only a day ago.  In it was a thinly veiled order by 
the Amazon chief to return to the Amazon village posthaste, yet there 
were no reasons given.  Even though it was prudent to keep 
things hush hush, she still would like to know the reason, especially 
since Shan Pu needed her aid now.   <What was so important that 
required my immediate return?  There was no hint of any urgent matters 
in Lao Lao's previous letter.  It couldn't be an invasion by the Musk.>  
Cologne suddenly stopped in mid-step, her raised right foot an inch 
above the ground.  Her instinct was shouting 'danger' and she learned 
to trust it implicitly over the years.  She leaped back a few metres 
and threw a stone at her former location.  "Boom!"  A crater of roughly 
a metre in diameter was formed.  She picked up several more stones and 
threw them at the area near the crater, triggering more explosions.  
<This whole area is full of mines.  I can't avoid them by moving from 
treetop to treetop because the trees are too far apart.  Looks like 
I'll have to walk past the mines.  Easy.>  She allowed her instinct to 
take over as she used her staff as a pogo stick, jumping rapidly.  

	Suddenly she stopped.  Her instincts were telling her that there 
were no more mines ahead.  But she had better make sure.  A couple of 
pebbles bounced onto the grass unharmed.  <Did my enemy ran out of 
mines or is this just a warning of what I will face in my trip home?>  
Not knowing the answer, Cologne adjusted her backpack and kept walking.

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

	Cologne had reached the end of the Sian Sian Slightly Forested 
Area.  She paused as she wondered which route to take.  One would lead 
to the Sian Sian Not Very Deep Valley, the other to the Black Forest 
(so named for the owner's penchant for blackforest cake).  The valley 
route would be an easy path but she would be clearly seen by anyone 
perched on the other side, while he or she remained unseen.  Taking the 
path through the Black Forest, would take her longer to reach the 
village but her chances of being ambushed would be less, especially if 
she kept to the shadows.

	Her mind made up, she turned to the path on her right and walked.  

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

	Ryouga sat in the Akane's hospital ward.  How long has it been 
since Akane's accident?  He didn't know.  He spent most of the past few 
days and nights in here, keeping a vigil on Akane.  He only left to 
bathe, change clothes and rest (with one of the Tendo sisters leading 
the way back to the Tendo house).  He wanted to avenge Akane by 
pummelling Ranma and Shampoo until they had to seek intensive care but 
he didn't.  Not because Nabiki said that she would deal with it.  But 
because he wasn't sure if he could find his way back to Akane's 
hospital ward if he left to fight them.  As much as his heart wanted 
vengeance, his heart needed to be with Akane more.

	He stared longingly at Akane.  Why hadn't she come out of her 
coma yet?  The longer she remained in this state, the lesser the chance 
that she would eventually wake up and the longer her recovery period 
would be when she awakened.  Ryouga held one of Akane's hands and 
raised it to his cheek.  <You have to wake up.  Your father needs you.  
Your sisters need you.  Your friends miss you.  And... and I need you>  
Falling to his knees, he pleaded, "Please Kami-sama, please make Akane 
wake up. Please.  I'll do anything if you grant me this wish.  
Please..." Unable to continue, he broke down and cried.

	He didn't know how long he knelt there, still holding onto 
Akane's hand and sobbing.  Only when he heard a girl's coughing, did he 
become aware of his surroundings.  "Akane?" he asked hesitantly.  <Oh, 
please let it be her.>

	"Uh no.  It's Sayuri actually," replied Sayuri gently.  She saw 
as her words took away the light in Ryouga's eyes.  Blinking away 
tears, she quickly placed her bouquet of pink tulips in a vase, dumping 
away the previous occupants.  "Have you eaten?" she asked Ryouga as he 
sat in the chair next to the bed.

	Silence.  Uncomfortable silence.  Ryouga was again in his own 
world, a world that only housed Akane and him.  Sayuri sighed as she 
began telling interesting and funny events that occurred today in 
school to Akane.  Neither Akane nor Ryouga had any reactions to her 
tales.  When she had ran out of stories, the hospital room was once 
again silent, except for the machine that kept on pumping oxygen into 
Akane's body and the EKG machine.  Feeling terribly out-of-place, she 
rose from her seat and was about to leave when she heard Ryouga whisper 
to himself, "I wish I could do something for Akane".

	Sayuri felt hot tears streaming down her cheeks as she imagined 
how Ryouga must be feeling right now.  She placed a hand on his 
shoulder and said, "There is something you could try.  I'm not sure if 
it would work but ".

	"Anything.  I'll try anything" interrupted Ryouga.

	Sayuri nodded and grabbed her purse.  "I'll go buy the supplies 
we need.  Stay here."  She glanced at Ryouga, his eyes filled with hope 
and determination, and she ran out of the room.

---------------------------------------------------------
(China, The Black Forest)

	It was half an hour before nightfall by the time the ancient one 
had covered half of the Black Forest.  She had been in the woods for 
hours and yet no ambush.  <Maybe he or she had expected me to take the 
valley route.  Nah.  Just because I haven't encountered any traps here 
doesn't mean I won't.>  A glint in the treetops caught her attention.  
She swung her staff and deflected the dagger that was sent flying 
towards her heart.  She eyed the nearby trees as she adopted a ready 
stance.  "{Who dares to attack an Amazon Elder?  Come on out!}"

	Leaves rustled as a figure leaped down.  He wore a floppy green 
hat, a black mask and was dressed in loose army fatigues, enabling him 
to blend with the surroundings.  

	Further thoughts were interrupted as the man started throwing 
daggers and darts at her.  Cologne rapidly whirled her staff in circles 
in front of her, deflecting all of the aerial weapons.  <Time for a few 
ki blasts> thought Cologne as she tapped into her ki reserves.  Just as 
she was about to release her ki attack, two bowling balls came flying 
out of the man's sleeves and headed towards her chest.  Cologne quickly 
aimed her ki blast at one of the bowling balls and simply leapt out of 
the way of the second bowling ball.  

	And so the battle raged on.  Every time she prepared to launch a 
ki attack, the attacker would send some objects flying towards her.  
Even if her ki blasts got past his weapons, the distance between the 
two martial artists enabled him to get away in time.  He was purposely 
keeping a distance from her <as if he knows that I'm almost invincible 
in close proximity battles because of my skill with pressure points.  
And he isn't letting me have the time to build up my ki reserves so 
that I can launch more powerful ki attacks.  Who is he?  From his 
attacks, I know that he is from the school of Hidden Weapons, but there 
are so many Hidden Weapons experts around.  There are ten alone in 
Joketsuzoku and many more in the Hidden Weapons martial arts schools 
throughout China.  And half of them have grudges against me.  However, 
I can only think of one who would need to wear that ridiculous green 
hat>.  

	"Rowllll!"  A tiger roared in the bushes nearby.  The attacker 
turned his head to the direction of the roar.  Seizing the opening fate 
had presented her, Cologne leapt in front of him and hit him on his 
stomach with her staff.  Winded, he took a few steps back but Cologne 
had already yanked off his mask.  

	"{Why Mu Tsu, has the little duck finally found the guts to fight 
me?  Too bad you're going to end up as my dinner!}"  Cologne's face 
contorted into what might have a smirk on a younger face.  (But on her, 
it only made more wrinkles appear).  <Why would he suddenly want to 
fight me?  He knows he is no match for me unless>

	"{Ahh.  But I don't need to fight you.  You are going to surrender 
or...}" Mousse pointed to a large tree that was almost completely 
obscured from her line of sight by two other oak trees.

	Cologne nearly gasped.  Shampoo, her beloved granddaughter, was 
tied to the tree by chains, her head hanging down as though 
unconscious, her cheongsam bloodied and torn and small puddles of blood 
surrounded her.  Cologne tightened her grip on her staff as she 
struggled to keep her anger in check.  She had never thought Mousse to 
be capable of hurting Shampoo so severely.  But everyone has a limit to 
how much one can bear.  Apparently, she had pushed him too far with the 
daily verbal taunts and insults and physical blows, (not to mention 
working day in day out with zero pay).  

	 The Amazon elder quickly gathered her ki and unleashed a 
gigantic ki ball zooming towards Mousse.  "{You know as well as I do, 
Amazons NEVER surrender!}"

	Mousse jumped up to a height of 5 metres and managed to avoid the 
blast and the many smaller ones that followed.  Heavy steel chains shot 
out from his sleeves and they twisted and bent to form a sealed cage 
with Cologne in it.  "{And how do you intend to get out of that, revered 
elder?}" laughed Mousse as his chains continued to wrap around the cage.  
"{Don't bother trying the 'Breaking Point Technique', I've placed a 
charm on them, hiding their breaking points.  In two minutes, you'll 
run out of oxygen.}" 

	Cologne started to spin, faster and faster until she became a 
blur of brown, black, white and yellow.  Still twirling, Cologne 
stretched out her withered, dry hands and they moved with the grace of 
a dancer, forming complex patterns in the air.  Whenever her hands 
touched a chain, it would rust and turn to red dust almost instantly.  
Within the space of a minute, the cage had decomposed into a red ring 
of dust around her and on her body and hair.  

	"{'The Angel Dances of Death'.  There are other less impressive 
ways of getting out of the pitiful trap but I thought that you might 
want to know that you stand absolutely NO chance to win,}" commented 
Cologne. 

	"{That remains to be seen,}" replied Mousse as he once again jumped 
up and threw several of his designer egg bombs at her.  Cologne too 
leapt up and thus an aerial battle had begun.  They exchanged blows and 
kicks, with Mousse suffering more injuries.  Whenever the pull of 
gravity was getting too strong, they would use a tree branch, tips of 
bushes or treetops as trampolines to propel themselves upwards.  Mousse 
leapt forward, claws extended but Cologne maneuvered her small body 
past him.  She swung her staff with all strength and hit him on the 
back of his head.  Landing on a nearby treetop, she expected that blow 
to knock him out but he had only fallen to the ground, head first.  She 
watched as he picked himself up and started attacking a small, 
withering bush.  <So, his contact lenses have fallen out> thought 
Cologne.  

	Soon, Mousse realized that it wasn't Cologne he was attacking and 
started searching for the spare pair of spectacles that he always kept 
in his right sleeve.  Or is it in his left sleeve?  Finally, he found 
it!  Just as he was about to wear it, Cologne landed down next to him 
and kicked it away.  The sound of glass shattering informed the nearly 
blind Amazon that he was going to remain nearly blind unless he could 
find his way into an optometrist shop.  <I knew I should have brought more 
pairs with me!> 
	
	Cologne laughed behind him.  Mousse spun around and threw ten 
wooden stakes (autographed by a certain Sarah Michelle Gellar) at the 
direction of the laughter, only to be hit by a huge blast of leaves.  
His back ached with the myriad of deep cuts caused by the leaves.  He 
blocked out his pain and slowed his breathing, trying to utilize his 
other senses to compensate for his lack of sight, to 'see' without 
actually seeing, to be like a bat, to see with his inner eye, to... 
(well, you get what I mean).

	His ears picked up the sound of objects slicing through the air 
and he ran to the left instinctively, avoiding another blast of leaves. 
A blast of hot air rushing near warned him about the incoming ki ball 
and he just managed to step past it.  He threw several stakes at the 
surrounding area in retaliation.  Blows and kicks came at him at 
amazing speeds and it was all he could do to block each and every one.  
But he soon failed to block one blow, then another and another.  His 
entire body hurt like hell and he knew he would be unconscious from the 
pain soon.  Putting all his energy into one last effort, he threw 
himself at Cologne and tried to strangle her.  Only to have his legs 
swept out from under him and as he fell into a kneeling position, he 
heard her whisper, "Goodnight, fool".  And he could feel no more.

---------------------------------------------------------
(Meanwhile, back in Japan)

	When Nabiki entered her little sister's hospital room, she 
couldn't believe her eyes.  The floor was littered with colourful paper 
cranes of various sizes.  Some were wrinkled and ugly, as though the 
person who made them was an amateur, others were perfect.  She blinked 
in surprise as she took in the rest of the room.  Sayuri and Ryouga sat 
in a corner, surrounded by papers and were silently folding paper 
cranes.

	"What is going on?" asked Nabiki.

	Ryouga answered in an almost cheerful voice, "Sayuri came up with 
an idea.  If we can fold a thousand paper cranes and put them near 
Akane, she might wake up!  We have 900 or so more to go.  Do you want 
to help?  Akane will recover faster if more people helped out."

	Sayuri cringed at the glare Nabiki was giving her and decided to 
leave.  "I uh have something on, so I'll uh come back tomorrow to fold 
more paper cranes.  Bye!"  With that, she rushed out of the room.

	However, Nabiki had followed her out of the room.  She motioned 
Sayuri to follow her.  Once they were far from Akane's ward, Nabiki 
whirled around and reprimanded Sayuri.  "What did you think you were 
doing?  You know as well as I do that the paper crane idea would never 
work.  Why did you raise his hopes up like that?"

	"How do you know it wouldn't work?  Anything is better than just 
sitting there, waiting for Akane to wake up.  Ryouga was so despondent 
just now.  He was like a living corpse.  But when I mentioned this 
idea, he was alive again.  Didn't you notice the light in his eyes?" 

	"When he finished folding a thousand paper cranes and Akane 
doesn't wake up, what do you think will happen to the light in his 
eyes?" 

	A brief pause as Sayuri considered what Nabiki had said.  She 
hadn't realized what it might do to Ryouga if her idea didn't work.  
However, there was no way in hell she wouldn't admit that.  "What makes 
you so sure that this idea won't work?  Why are you cursing your own 
sister?  Don't you want her to wake up?" she retorted and left.

	Nabiki stared at the departing figure, mulling over Sayuri's 
speech.  She slowly walked back to Akane's ward.  She had to think of a 
way to hint to Ryouga that the paper crane idea would not work.  These past 
few days, seeing how concerned Ryouga was about Akane, when most of 
Akane's admirers had stopped visiting or sending flowers after the first week, 
had softened her heart somewhat towards the lost boy.  Not that she would 
admit it to anyone.  Soon she reached the ward.  As she stepped in, Ryouga 
had just finished folding another paper crane.  It was baby blue and only the 
size of half her palm.  Even from here, she could see the effort he had put 
into creating it.  With practice, his cranes would become as beautiful 
as Sayuri's.  She watched as he placed it on the floor and wished out 
loud that Akane would wake up.  She stood there in the doorway, 
watching Ryouga fold more cranes with the same gentle touch as he did 
the first.  

	"Ryouga," Nabiki called out.  "I'm not good at this origami stuff 
but I can still help out.  Do you need any more paper?"

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

(China, The Black Forest)

	Cologne tied up the unconscious Mousse up with tree vines and 
sealed his pressure points to make sure he couldn't move.  She was very 
tempted to send him to meet Yan Luo Wang (Lord of Hell) but she wanted 
to leave that pleasure for Shampoo.  <I won't seal off the point that 
controls his vocal cords - I want to hear him beg for a quick and 
painless death.>  

	The attacker taken care of, Cologne rushed towards her grand 
daughter. She stopped momentarily, inches from Shampoo.  Something felt 
wrong.  (She had felt this way before, when she had fallen into a trap 
set by Happosai.)  She had the distinct feeling that this fight wasn't 
over.  But Mousse was secured and unconscious.  Still, perhaps she 
should survey the surrounding area, just to make sure.  Just then, 
Shampoo moaned softly, as if in great pain, her face kept hidden by her 
long purple hair.   Concern for her great granddaughter made Cologne 
rush forward and blasted the heavy chains into tiny pieces.  
Unsupported, Shampoo fell to the ground, on her knees.  
	
	"{Oh, my dear child,}" murmured Cologne as she hugged her tightly, 
her wrinkled hands fondling the back of Shampoo's head.  Cologne's 
instincts were practically screaming "danger" now.  

	"{Great Grandmother,}" whispered Shampoo as her arms snaked 
around Cologne's withered old frame.  

	<That's not Shampoo's voice!  And her hair is softer!> Cologne 
realized with a start.  She tried to pull away but Shampoo had already 
stabbed her back with a dagger.  A quick slash at Cologne's throat 
ensured that she wouldn't live to see another sunrise.

	As Cologne laid there, her blood dyeing the grass red, all she 
could think of was how foolish she was to be tricked like that.  
Instincts made a good martial artist into a great martial artist, not 
to mention, an alive one.  Could it be that she was so old that she had 
forgotten the importance of heeding her instincts?  Had she become 
foolish with age, like Happosai?  The distant laughter of the fake 
Shampoo could be heard in the distance, fading away gradually into 
silence.  As her spirit risen from her body, she glanced back as 
'Shampoo' freed Mousse.  <I will never rest until I get my revenge!> 
swore Cologne as she followed the guards Niu To and Ma Mian into the 
depths of hell.

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

	Shampoo took a last look at Cologne's body.  She wasn't breathing 
but with her skills, who knew if she was faking death or not?  
Shrugging, Shampoo picked up Cologne's feet and started dragging her 
backwards to where Mousse was tied.  

	"Hurry up and free me!" 

	"What!  No 'I'm happy to see that you weren't killed by 
Cologne'?"  Shampoo pouted prettily.

	"Just untie me and then undo the pressure points like I taught 
you," said Mousse exasperatedly, trying hard not to show how weak he 
was.

	A few minutes of cutting away at the vines and poking at pressure 
points, Mousse was free.  With all his injuries, he knew he wouldn't 
last long without seeking medical attention soon.  Grunting from the 
effort, he shakily raised a hand and searched for something.
	
	"Here, let me help you," said Shampoo as she fished out a brown 
pill from Mousse's belt.  She placed it in his mouth, watching amazedly 
as he swallowed it and his injuries began to heal rapidly.  "What was 
that pill?"

	"Senzu.  It can heal all wounds.  It was handed down in my family 
for generations.  As far as I know, that pill was one-of-a-kind."  He 
rested briefly before continuing, "But it'll be a few days before I'm 
back in top form."

	He looked at Cologne's body.  "Is she dead?"

	Shampoo nodded.

	"Damn it!  I wanted to kill her myself."

	"Well, I've heard that even after a person dies, he or she is 
still aware of what is happening, for a while anyway."

	"Good," muttered Mousse as he moved closer to the corpse.  "It's 
time for some payback".  He kicked it as hard as he could.  It rolled 
slightly away from him.  Frowning, he kicked it again and again.  But 
this only fueled his boiling rage.  Holding a large screwdriver, he 
remembered all the injustices he had suffered because of Cologne, that 
old crone.  It was her who had persuaded Shampoo to reject his 
advances, her who had planted the thought that 'it didn't matter if 
there was no love between a couple, all that mattered was that a 
husband had to be strong' into Shampoo's mind.  

	"{Did you think that I was going to sit there and let you abuse me 
forever?  Did you think that I was a spineless fool?  Did you?}"  Mousse 
screamed as he plunged the screwdriver deep into Cologne's cheeks, 
eyes, mouth and nostrils.  He kept thrusting the object in, then 
pulling it out and impaling it again into the cooling corpse.  He 
didn't care if her blood spattered onto him or that he looked raving 
mad.  All he cared about was to inflict pain onto Cologne, to make her 
feel a small portion of what he had gone through. 

	All this while, Shampoo had moved to sit under a large tree, 
lighting up a small fire, giving Mousse some space to vent out his 
anger.  She understood his need for revenge, all too well.

	By the time he stopped, she had almost fallen asleep.  "All done?  
Rest now, Mousse.  We'll bury her in the morning."

	Mousse barely registered her words as he sat down opposite her, 
not wanting to look at the corpse any more.  Suddenly he blinked and 
asked, "Aren't you going to remove that ridiculous purple wig?"

	"Don't you think purple hair suits me?" asked Shampoo as she 
fingered a lock and winked at him.

	"No."

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

(2 days later, in the privacy of Nabiki's room.)

	Nabiki was sitting on her bed and was listening intently on the 
phone. She was also taking down notes as the other speaker continued 
talking, "The old mummy had left Japan."

	"Good work. I didn't expect you to work so fast."

	"Actually, she left after receiving a letter."

	"Doesn't matter, as long as she is away."

	"The boy has not returned to the Nekohanten for a couple of days 
already."

	"So, she is all alone now."

	"Yes. Now, the whole of Nerima believes that she poisoned her 
love rival after that letter was published in the newspapers. Now, 
people shunned her. Nobody goes to her little shop anymore. Some people 
were even scolding her publicly while others would gossip behind her 
back. I even saw some kids threw stones at her and called her a 
murderer."

	"This is good news."

	"There is even something better. Some wise kid had come up a poem 
about her. Have you heard about it."

	"Yes. Something that goes along the lines of: 
		'Shampoo is her name, 
		Killing is her game.
		You may think she's a babe,
		But rivals, she maims.'"

	"Yes. But she is having some promotions to draw her customers 
back. And you know how people tend to be forgetful especially when they 
have something to gain."

	"Well, if she wants customers, we give her customers. Treat your 
friends to a meal in her restaurant. You know what I mean."

	"I understand. I'll tell them to stay there as long as they can. 
You know, I have a friend from the Ministry of Health department." 

	"Sounds good. Remember, she is a very skilful martial artist and 
could easily beat your friends into pieces. So tell them not to get 
into a fight with her."

	"I'll remind them."

	"You have done a great job, Seiyu-san."

	"Thanks."

	"If you have nothing else to report, then let's call it a night."

	"Hai. Ja mata, Ms Tendo."

	"Ja mata, Seiyu-san." Putting down the phone, she couldn't help 
but feel guilty about Shampoo's situation. She was the engineer for 
Shampoo's miseries after all. She did have a heart unlike what others 
perceive her to be but she just refused to let her emotions show. 

	Then, she remembered, pity for the enemy is the surest way to 
defeat. Shaking her head violently, she tried to convince herself 
again. There was always a reason for everything that she did, always 
some sort of justification. When she conned someone out of their money, 
it was to put food on the table for her family. And this was no 
different. She was doing this to avenge for her little sister. It was 
Shampoo who had raised the stakes. "Don't blame me."

---------------------------------------------------------
	
(20 hrs have past.  Nekohanten.)

	<Stupid Mousse. Don't know where he has gone?> If only he was 
here, she wouldn't need to do these menial tasks. There was very little 
to do actually, since she had little customers nowadays. Ever since an 
article implicating her as the one who poisoned Akane was published, 
her life turned for the worse. Nobody would eat at the Nekohanten 
initially, only when she hired some skimpily dressed waitresses, did 
some of the male customers returned. Business was bad but the stares 
were even worse. Everywhere she went, she could feel the cold stares 
that were directed at her. And the poem that was going around was 
frustrating her. She hardly left the Nekohanten now. 

	In spite of the unhappiness in her life, she had never allowed 
herself to cry. She was an Amazon, a person who was strong and 
honourable. Crying was a sign of weakness and that should never be 
condoned with. So, even when she was depressed or when her heart was 
shattered by Ranma's words that he hated her, she didn't allow herself 
to appear weak.  

	"Boss, those people are here again." A waitress in a bunny suit 
whispered to Shampoo.

	A frown formed on Shampoo's face. "Stupid people. Come here, stay 
long, no buy food and take all the place."

	"Yeah, they occupy all the seats and disturb any customer that 
comes in. And they also disturb us. If this goes on, we'll not be able 
to carry on working here."

	"No need worry. I take care it." Shampoo identified the leader of 
the group and walked towards him. "What you want?"

	The leader appraised her for a moment, then he began, "How about 
ramens for all of us? Is it alright with all of you guys?"

	"Hai." About 20 men chorused.

	"No. Why you make trouble?"

	"Trouble? What trouble? We're just here to eat." The leader 
replied innocently. Unknown to Shampoo, he had made a sign behind his 
back. One of his men slipped into the kitchen, following his signal. 
"So, are you going to cook for us?"

	"No, you go now."

	"What if I don't?"  

	"Then, no blame Shampoo." She took out her bonbori and moved 
threatening towards the leader.

	"Excuse me. Can I speak to the owner of the restaurant?" A 
uniform-clad man was standing in the doorway. In spite of the tensed 
atmosphere, he remained calm. Shampoo began to walk towards him and he 
assumed her to be the owner. "I'm an inspector from the Ministry of 
Health. We had received numerous complaints from your customers that 
they had food poisoning after their meal here. So, I'm here to do a 
hygiene check."

	"Yeah. I had diarrhoea after I ate here," the leader initiated. 
This was followed by the consenting nods of his followers. "Yeah, me 
too."	

	"Hey, you frame me." Shampoo tried to make a threatening move 
towards the leader but was stopped by the inspector who was pulling her 
arm.

	"Let's just check the kitchen." It was spoken in a commanding 
tone and Shampoo had no choice but to obey. 

	She brought the inspector to the kitchen and he began ransacking 
the place. Soon enough, he found a dead rat amongst the meat 
ingredients. He brought out the rat and showed it to Shampoo. "Can you 
explain why is this found in your freezer?"

	Shampoo was dumbfounded, mouth agape. Before she could come up 
with an excuse, screams were heard. They rushed out and to Shampoo's 
horror, rats were running around the place. Her waitresses were 
standing on top of the tables and the gangsters were all laughing.

	"I think any explanation is useless. Be prepared to close down 
the shop." The inspector said before he left in disgust. 

	She knew she was being set up. The gangsters must be the 
culprits. But before she could have her way with them, they had ran 
blindly out of the shop. The waitresses too followed suit after 
shouting words of quitting. She turned dejectedly back to the dinning 
area. Rats were still running around the place but she didn't care 
anymore. All the unhappy events had finally taken the toll on her. 

	Nekohanten was the only thing that distracted her from her 
unhappiness. She had immersed herself in work so that she could ignore 
all other things. But now even Nekohanten was taken away from her. 

	She has nothing now, no friends, no work and no family around. 
There was nothing she could busy herself with, nothing that she could 
do except to let her emotions take charge. She slumped to the ground, 
and allowed herself to cry at last.

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

	The lunch crowd had left. The dishes were washed, the floor 
swept, the tables wiped, and now what was there left for him to do? He 
paced about Ucchan's to find some task that he could bury himself in. 
There was nothing, he had cleaned every inch of the place.

	"Ran-chan, why don't you take a rest?" Ukyou spoke amusedly 
behind the cash register. She was tabulating the restaurant's lunch 
earnings. 

	"Nah," he replied absently. His face brightened as he thought of 
something. "Do you have anything for me to do?" He stared beseechingly 
at her. 

	"Well, ummm," Ukyou looked around the restaurant, there was 
really nothing that she could ask him to do. "You know, you haven't 
practiced for a very long time."

	She saw the change of expression on his face to one of his 
depressed mode. She mentally berated herself and tried to reverse the 
situation, "Why don't you bank in the cash receipts for me?"

	"Um, sure." He tried to smile but failed miserably. He didn't 
practice anymore. Every kata reminded him of how he single-handedly 
injured a loved one. It also reminded him of the Tendo dojo and the 
dodging matches he had with Akane. All these memories once treasured 
were a stigma of how much he had lost.

	Mechanically, he walked over to Ukyou who handed him an envelope 
filled with cash. "I'll be back shortly," he said as he slipped the 
envelope into his pocket.

	Walking out of the Ucchan's, he was temporarily blinded by the 
glaring sun. It was also another fact that he had hardly left the 
Ucchan's. People were staring at him in a funny way. And what was worse 
was the way they talked behind his back.

	"That's the guy with multiple fianc�es."
	"He nearly killed his fianc�e." 
	"That Shampoo girl poisoned the fianc�e because of him."

	He kept his head low and hastened his steps. But every word 
plunged the knife deeper into his heart. Feeling worse that an animal, 
he was therefore not very happy when his path was obstructed

	"Ai-ren," Shampoo didn't glomp him this time. She knew that it 
would aggravate his anger towards her.

	He brushed her aside. Undeterred, she approached him again. "I no 
guilty, me no poison Akane. You believe."

	Ignoring her pleas and losing all patience he had for her, he 
pushed her down to the floor. "I never want to see you again or hear a 
word from you again." His words were so cold that it could have frozen 
water to ice.

	Cold was what she felt but it was not because of the weather. 
Frozen on the floor, she watched dejectedly at her ai-ren's retreating 
form. People around her were showering her with gossips and insults. 
She ignored them as she continued to sit there unmoving. 

	After a while, people started to disperse and Kasumi came into view. 
Shampoo was slightly surprised to see her. Getting up from the ground, she advanced 
slowly to the eldest Tendo daughter.

	Kasumi's face wore a sad expression. As Shampoo neared, she 
turned to another direction and walked away from her. Shampoo stopped 
dead on her tracks. Tears began to glimmer in the corner of her eyes. 
<Even Kasumi hates me.>

	Dejectedly, she trudged back to the Nekohanten. The cat caf� was 
newly and severely vandalized. Obscenities were written all over the 
walls. Words such as killer, slut, bitch were screaming in blood red 
colour. Windows were broken with pieces of glass lying everywhere. She 
gasped at the sight and screamed in frustration, "AAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" 

	Still screaming, she ran into the Nekohanten. Closing the door 
firmly behind her, she began to weep. For a long time, there was only 
silence and the sobs. Her self-indulgence was finally interrupted by a 
knock on the door.

	It was a postman. He had a registered letter from China addressed 
to her. Taking the letter from the postman, she quickly closed the door 
and opened the letter.


		Shan Pu,

		Days ago, the Musk dynasty began to attack the village 
	again. We asked your great-grandmother for help and she came 
	back immediately. 

		Talks were unsuccessful and in the end we had to fight. 
	Our villagers fought bravely. However, we were greatly out-
	numbered and Elder Khu Lon sacrificed herself to save many 
	others. 

		Her act had deterred the Musk forces but it may not be 
	long that they attack again. That's why we couldn't send a 
	person to inform you. Although we know that we need talents 
	now, we could not ask you to come back until you accomplish 
	what the law dictates.

		Rest assured that Elder Khu Lon would be given a 
	warrior's funeral. Her life will be remembered and her 
	teachings will be followed. The village mourns for her death. 

		Elder Mei Mei


	Hands trembling, the letter slipped to the floor. Shampoo's face 
was a mask of grief and injustice. Her legs gave way and she slumped 
heavily to the ground. "No. No. No...," she muttered under her breath 
with each word spoken in greater intensity than the previous. Then 
finally, all her emotions, the sadness, the injustice cumulated to one 
word, "NNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!"

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

(The next night.  10p.m.)
  
	Tick tock. Nekohanten used to be bristling with activity. There 
were sounds of cooking, people eating and people shoving around. 
Occasionally, shouts of "Stupid Mousse" could be heard ricocheting the 
restaurant. Now, the only sound heard was that of the grandfather 
clock.

	Tick tock. Her heart beat seemed to be pulsating according to the 
clock's cycle. Its slow rhythmic beat seemed to echo in her ears, 
signifying that she was very much alive. And this made her sad because 
the one person that she was closest to, didn't have a beat anymore. 

	Tick tock. Time passed slowly for her. She stood by the window, 
looking out at the moon above her. A year ago before she left for 
Japan, her great-grandmother had said something that she hadn't 
forgotten. <When you're weak or homesick, look up to the sky. When you 
see the moon, remember that I'm too looking at the same moon. No matter 
how far apart we are, take consolation that I'll be with you 
spiritually. The moon will be my proxy. When you see the moon, it's as 
good as seeing me.> It used to cure her homesickness but now the moon 
stood as a reminder of Cologne, a woman she loved so dearly. She felt 
her eyes began to moisten with the wetness of her tears and she 
fiercely wiped the moisture away.

	Cologne, her great grandmother had died and she couldn't even pay 
her last respects. Damn the Amazon laws. Why couldn't she return to the 
village without bringing Ranma as her husband? There were so many 
things that she wanted to tell her. She needed her here, to advise her, 
to teach her. Most of all, she missed her.

	A sniff later, she broke down into tears. She had cried more in 
these few days than she had in a lifetime. Loneliness was all that was 
left after the crying. She had no friends here. Everybody had just 
passed the death sentence on her without a trial. She didn't belong to 
Japan. Joketsuzoku village was where her heart and soul was, where her 
friends and relatives were and where Cologne was resting. And yet, she 
couldn't return to her home, the place that she longed for.  

	All her grievances were bottled inside her, waiting to erupt. And 
there was nobody to turn to for her sorrows. She wished that somebody 
was with her now. Even to be glomped by Mousse sounded appealing to 
her. She desperately needed someone to talk to.

	She tried to approach Ranma again to explain matters to him but 
what she got were insults and that he never wanted to see her again. It 
broke her heart. Coincidentally, she met the nice Kasumi on that day. 
Even the kind and oblivious Kasumi had ignored her. This, she suspected 
was the worst punishment that Kasumi could ever deliver.

	She looked down at the street below her. It was tempting to jump 
and let all matters end. Her mind failed to register that her room was 
only 2 floors high and death was not guaranteed. She climbed onto the 
window's sill. She stood up and her balance was wavering as though she 
would fall off any minute. Recovering her balance, she closed her eyes 
slightly to enjoy the cool night breeze. She was becoming lightheaded. 
Just a step forward and all her unhappiness would cease.

	Crrreeeeeeekkk. It was a foreign sound. It threw her off the 
rhythm of her thoughts. Curiousity piqued, she reopened her eyes and 
turned her head back. Her senses heightened to pick up other alien 
sounds. Her trained ears caught the soft footsteps of an intruder and 
this prompted danger signals in her brain. Suicide forgotten, she 
jumped back into her room and went in search for the intruder.

	Slowly descending the stairs, she kept her body low and her 
senses up. The area was dark and she squinted to look for the intruder. 
Her steps were slow and deliberate, just like a cat preparing to leap 
at a mouse. She tried to stay calm and started to rationalize the 
situation. Who would enter the Nekohanten uninvited? Enemies? Robbers? 
Whoever it was, it certainly won't be friendly, her mind concluded.

	Reaching the bottom of the stairs, her sense of danger heightened 
considerably. There was still no one in sight and she could hear no 
other noise except her own heart beat. For a moment, she wondered if 
the intruder had heard it too. The front door was ajar. She knew at 
once that the creaking noise was emitted when the door had been pushed 
open. Squinting and feeling her way in the darkness, she took 
calculated steps towards the dinning area.

	Thud! Something had dropped onto the floor. She focused all her 
attention at the direction of the noise. Then she saw a movement out of 
the corner of her eyes. She swiftly leapt onto her prey, hopping to 
surprise it. Landing perfectly, what she met wasn't a person but a cat. 
It gave a soft meow and proceeded to rub itself against Shampoo. Her 
guard let down, she bent to pick up the cat. Sensing another movement 
behind her, she was knocked unconscious before she could see what 
attacked her.

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

	<OUCH! My hands hurt.> This was the immediate thought she had as 
she regained consciousness. Her hands were tied behind her back. As she 
laid on the floor, her body rested on her hands, making it extremely 
painful for her. And it was this pain that roused her from 
unconsciousness.

	Slowly, as her mind began to operate, she became dimly aware that 
she was naked and her private parts were being fondled. She couldn't 
see the offender as she was blindfolded. But she felt lips on her 
breast, one hand squeezing her other breast slightly and the other hand 
at the region where her legs met.

	Anger and shame consumed her. Doing a fast sit-up, she attempted 
to throw the offender off balance. Then, she tried to roll onto her 
side to distance herself away from the person. It was not successful, 
she felt a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and shoved hack to the 
floor. She tried to get up again but was pushed down. 

	Slap. It was the most painful slap that she remembered. Her 
cheeks burned and tears threatened to flow but she contained herself.
A kick to her chest sent her sweeping the floor for a few metres. Bones 
aching, but sensing a chance of opportunity, she tried to rip the 
restraints that tied her hands. She wasn't known for her brute 
strength, that was Akane's department. And the fact that the restraints 
were tied securely had rendered the attempt a failure. 

	Footsteps neared and the failure to free herself panicked her. A 
punch to her face broke her nose and she could almost taste her own 
blood. Then, her body was met with a flurry of punches and kicks. 
Despite her injury, she never stopped her attempt to free herself. As 
the beatings got more aggressive, her efforts redoubled. Finally, maybe 
Cologne was blessing her, she broke free of the ropes.

	Immediately, she took off her blindfold but she couldn't see 
anything until her eyes began to adapt to the surroundings. In this 
sightless state, she was tackled to the floor. But soon her vision got 
clearer, the intruder had wore dark clothes and had a ski mask over its 
head. She was pinned to the ground and a gun was pointed at her temple. 
She heard the safety catch released. How ironic it was for her to be 
killed by a rapist when she tried to jump off the building earlier. And 
now she waited for the end.

	But that never came. Instead several knives whirled above her to 
where the intruder was standing. It leapt away and more knives 
followed. "Mu Tsu," she called out, never been more relieved to see 
him. He was standing on a table, sending weapons out of his sleeves 
towards the intruder. And he was a sitting duck. 

	Mousse was leaving himself wide open to be shot at. Shampoo 
realized the precarious position that he was in, leapt at him, bringing 
him down to the ground with her. As if on cue, a bullet whizzed past to 
where Mousse used to be.

	Several bullets flew past above their new hiding place, which was 
an overturned table. Mousse adjusted his glasses to look at Shampoo. 
"{How are...,}" he couldn't finish his words as he stared at her naked 
body. Screaming "HENTAI!", she proceeded to bonk him on his head.
 
	Running steps were heard. "{He is getting away. Shan Pu, stay 
here.}" He ordered before he ran after the intruder. On her part, 
Shampoo managed out a soft "No." but Mousse had gone too far away to 
hear her. Taking a nearby tablecloth, she wrapped herself and staggered 
after Mousse.

	"You didn't have to enjoy it." Mousse reprimanded a figure in the 
dark alley behind the Nekohanten. 

	As the person came under the streetlight, it was obvious that he 
was the intruder.  "You wanted it to be convincing, right?  Besides, 
one must find pleasure in one's work."  It leered as it remembered the 
look, feel and taste of her supple body.  "Don't worry, she's still a 
virgin."

	"Enough talk.  Let's finish this before she comes," barked 
Mousse.  

	The intruder pointed his gun at Mousse's abdomen area and fired a 
shot.

	He fell to the ground and watched the intruder disappear into the 
darkness of the night. He tried to keep his breathing regular and 
applied pressure to his wound. Shampoo would be coming out any moment, 
he thought. He wouldn't want to die before his plan was completed.

	True enough, Shampoo appeared seconds later. When she saw that 
Mousse was hurt, she hurried back to the Nekohanten. He panicked. Was 
she going to let him bleed to death? Then, Shampoo reappeared with some 
tablecloths and staggered towards him. After covering his wound with 
the tablecloths, she cradled his head onto her lap. "{Don't worry. 
I've called the ambulance.}" She managed a smile for him. Assured, he 
lost consciousness and the last thing he remembered was the sound of 
sirens. 


End of Part 3.


DICTIONARY:

1. Sian: A slang word for boring or bored.
(So you know the mood I was in when I was writing this)

2. Niu To and Ma Mian:  it is the belief of Taoists and generally known 
throughout the Chinese population that when a person dies, his spririt
will be escorted into hell by two guards, Niu To and Ma Mian.  Nu To means
Cow Head literally.  He is a man with the head of a cow.  Ma Mian means
Horse Face literally.  He is a man with the head of a horse.