Chapter 6 - Secrets Revealed! Mousse Is...

�So, you can�t drain my blood...� Mousse muttered, a grim smile on his lips. *Not that it does me much
good, seeing as I�m losing blood so fast - but at least I won�t be on the menu..*
�Alright, I want you to tell me exactly why not,� Akari stated in a calmly venomous voice.
�I don�t see why I should tell you anything,� he smiled back icily, noting the anxious glint to Akari�s
eyes.
�I may not be able to drink your blood, but I can still kill you,� she hissed, her eyes narrowing and
flashing dangerously as she drew the dagger.
�If it�s a fight you want, it�s a fight you�ll get!� he snarled, drawing out several blades of his own.
*Of course, if I don�t finish this soon, I�ll have lost too much blood from these injuries - damn they
hurt! I just hope she fights worse than she does magic...* he thought to himself, already feeling
slightly faint from the blood loss.
*Damn, I forgot what a good martial artist he is! There has to be some trick I can pull to give me an
advantage - wait! I know!* Akari smiled slyly, picking up a vase, which had amazingly remained unscathed
during the explosion, with a tendril of blood. �You know, I have an even better idea,� she said, grinning
at Mousse�s shocked expression. �Either you tell me what I want to know, or I�ll be having roast duck for
dinner tonight.�
�Not a good idea, I�d probably poison you. Still, I guess there�s nothing to lose...� Mousse said
thoughtfully, backing away a little. *It might even give me a chance to heal some of these wounds,* he
thought quickly, before clearing his throat. �*Ahem* You cannot drain my blood because of the events
which occurred 4000 years ago. At that time, the Amazon village of Joketsozoku was besieged by an evil
two-headed dragon. Many brave warriors died fighting the beast, until at last all hope seemed lost. In
desperation, the council of elders sent the brave male warrior Po Shin to beg help of the great soceress,
Ku Rim Pu of the mountain. She consented, on the condition that Po Shin become her husband, to which he
readily agreed. Ku Rim Pu destroyed one of the dragon�s heads, and the dragon, sensing its impending
doom, pleaded for mercy. The villagers agreed to spare the dragon, on the condition that it live as a
mountain, using its powers to protect the area,� Mousse paused and shifted his stance.
�Nice history lesson, but what does it have to do with here and now?� Akari asked acerbically.
�Po Shin and Ku Rim Pu became the spiritual protectors of Joketsozoku, and their children after them, and
their children after them, and so on to the present day. I am the latest in that line, the 88th protector
of Joketsozoku, and it is my duty to destroy any supernatural threat to the tribe or it�s allies. That
included Ranma and Akane, much as I hate to say it,� Mousse finished with a coldly venomous glare, noting
that he had managed to stop most of the internal bleeding.
�Well, in that case I�ll settle for simply killing you, which will be much easier once you�re a duck!�
Akari smiled unpleasantly, drawing back the vase and preparing to throw it over Mousse. Suddenly,
something small blurred through the air, striking the vase and causing it to shatter, the water inside
splashing uselessly on the floor.
�Sorry, but there�ll be no more death in the dojo tonight,� said a mysterious, yet vaguely familiar,
voice from the shadows. �Now I suggest you get lost, unless you want to spend the rest of your life in a
prison cell.�
Akari noticed the faint sound of sirens, scowled, and disappeared into the night.
�Thanks,� Mousse said to the mystery figure, glancing at the symbol engraved on the shuriken which lay
amongst the shattered remains of the vase. �Nabiki,� he added softly, before keeling over to lay
unconscious on the floor.
�You�re welcome, Mousse.�

�Spatula-girl!� yelled Shampoo as she entered Ucchan�s through the side wall, effectively scaring away
all but one of the morning crowd.
�Shampoo! What�re you doing here you jackass?!� yelled Ukyo, grabbing her giant spatula.
�Y�know, there�s a door not ten feet away. An useful invention, you might want to try it one day,� added
Ryoga, slightly annoyed at having his first decent meal that week interrupted.
�Shampoo sorry,� mumbled Shampoo, eyes downcast.
�What?� Ukyo nearly dropped her spatula in surprise.
�Huh?� Ryoga looked more closely at Shampoo. Her clothes were crumpled, her hair was tangled and her eyes
were red from... crying? Yes, definitely - he could make out the tear tracks on her cheeks, now that he
was looking more closely.
�Spatula-girl, lost-boy, Shampoo have big bad news to tell. Is both sitting down?�
�Tell us what�s wrong sugar,� Ukyo said quietly, sitting down.
�Airen.. Ranma... and Akane... is dead,� Shampoo choked out quietly, lowering her head.
�No... no way...� gasped Ukyo.
�Shampoo no lie about this, spa - Ukyo.�
�Ranchan and Akane-chan are... how did this happen?!� Ukyo yelled.
�Shampoo no sure, Ukyo and Ryoga come with to hospital and ask Mousse - uh, why Ryoga glowing?� Shampoo
blinked.
�A-Akane-san...� Ryoga muttered through clenched teeth, the sound catching in his throat. He squeezed his
tear-filled eyes shut against the pain, the sheer, unutterable pain of his broken heart, which had
shattered like glass on the rocks when he heard the dreadful news, that his Akane, his one true love, was
dead, and he had done nothing to stop it. The shards dug deeper, twisting into his very soul as the
secondary shock of Ranma�s death hit him. Ranma Saotome, his worst friend and best enemy, was dead. The
overwhelming darkness of the emotions he was now feeling was too much, even for him, and it overflowed
the boundaries of his control, the depression rolling off him in waves, the negative ki barely contained,
coruscating like blue lightning around his body as it threatened to boil over - yet he felt no compulsion
to let it go.
Ukyo clicked into semi-professional mode immediately. �NO SHISHI HOKODANING IN THE RESTAURANT!!!� she
yelled, whacking Ryoga into the street with her spatula.
�Is no nice to do that to friend.�
�Hey! You have no idea how expensive the repairs would be!�
�Um... it bad when Ryoga no release ki, right?�
�Right. Why do you ask?�
�He no releasing ki. Shampoo think he go boom soon,� Shampoo replied, pointing to the intensely glowing
Ryoga.
Ukyo gasped and ran into the street, Shampoo close behind her. �Ryoga you jackass! Let it go!� she
yelled, reaching out to shake his shoulder. When her hand met his flesh however, it was like receiving an
electric shock. Ukyo froze as depression poured into her, stirring up her own emotions and thoughts about
what she had just learnt. Ranma, her one true love and life-time friend, had been the first person to see
her as a girl for ten years - and he liked her. He called her cute. He�d always referred to her as the
cute fiancee, and was always kind to her, no matter what, even when she was scheming or trying to break
him and Akane up. Akane, who was the closest thing she had to a real friend at Furinkan, other than
Ranma, even though they were both competitors for his heart. Out of all the fiancees and obsessed
stalkers Ranma had accumulated over the years, Akane and Ukyo were the only ones to be anything like
friends. There was Shampoo, but she was more of a some-time ally, most-time deadly enemy, and was only
barely civil when they teamed up. Ukyo felt like the ground had collapsed beneath her when she heard
about Ranma and Akane dying, and like she was now cast into a deep pit of despair. She wanted out, and
she suddenly knew how to get rid of at least some of that negative energy.
Shampoo blinked as she watched Ukyo freeze up, then grab onto Ryoga so that the pale blue glow surrounded
them both and grew in intensity. Shampoo realised with a start that their depression was combining to
create a double shishi hokodan - if they released it. She realised she wanted them to release it, rather
than blowing themselves up. She had already lost two people she cared about, she didn�t want another two
of her friends leaving her.
Were Ukyo and Ryoga her friends? Yes, she supposed they were - or at least, the closest things she had to
friends in this damn country. Even in China, she didn�t have any real friends as such. People respected
her as the strongest warrior of the tribe, and were at least civil - in fact, most people sucked up to
her, which was annoying as they were anything but subtle. The exception was Mousse, and she didn�t want
to think about that right now... Anyway, everything had changed when she had followed Ranma to Nerima.
Here, people treated her like everyone else, rather than someone to be respected. In fact, Ranma and
Akane both started out treating her like a nuisance, someone to be got rid of as soon as possible. She
couldn�t blame them for this attitude - after all, she had first seen Akane as an obstacle to be
eliminated, killed if necessary. Back then, she would have been glad to see Akane dead. But now...
Now, the fact that both Ranma and Akane were dead left her feeling like a black hole had been punched
into her heart, its cold wind howling across her soul, making it barren and bereft of all positive
emotions, leaving her with only pain and misery to feel. All night she had been crying, unable to sleep
for the tears and the nightmares, yet still her sadness was raw, stinging like a fresh wound to her soul.
Holding back the tears which threatened to overwhelm her once more, Shampoo grabbed onto her friends,
allowing her depression and ki to mix with theirs into a seething whole.
The three as one yearned for release from their emotions, and yelled to the empty sky as one voice,
�ULTIMATE SHISHI HOKODAN!!!!!!!�
A _HUGE_ pillar of blue-white ki shot miles up into the atmosphere, burning a hole in the cloud layer on
the way. On the ground below, the three teenagers sagged slightly, leaning against each other in the
silence. Moments later, the ki returned to earth, crashing into the ground and taking out all the
buildings for half a mile - except for Ucchan�s, which remained miraculously unscathed. Ukyo, Ryoga and
Shampoo sighed, exhausted, and keeled over to sleep in the large crater they had created.
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Member 30 of SSoAGMA, Deadly Everyday Object Weaponary Technique, Dragon Warrior Style
Mousse no miku; Generally dangerous English otaku; Supporter of cliched pairs;
Member of the Chan club; WoS; SCG; COURT; SOotCiP;CotMHW - Launderer of the Robes of Death;
Head Castrator of the Hotnit Feminisation Project; Keeper of the Moneybags for the Hotnit Fan Club;
4th Gen. EOE; Image Consultant For "That Guy"; #WASHU#;AKPReSS, Gen. Div.; SLAP;
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Coming soon to list near you.. the legendary 50 foot sig of Team Chan !