Title: Alive
Author: S. Mark Gunther
Part: 2/?
Warnings: Angst, Drinking, Little happiness.
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is not mine. The characters are not mine. Only my
opinions about them and the series, and the plot line therin is mine. Hence 
why I'm still poor. Only Rumiko Takahashi has the money from Ranma and she 
deserves it all. Yes she does.
Summary: Changes, changes, such horrible changes.
Archive: Yes to AAML, and the RAAC archive. Anyone else, ask
first.


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-- Attached file included as plaintext by Ecartis --
-- File: Alive2.txt

Alive
By S. Mark Gunther

     Nabiki found herself looking in the mirror above her dresser. The low, 
the images blurred and out of focus in her eyes as she cried. She winced 
away her tears as best she could and turned back to her bed. Never had she 
felt so helpless against the tide, never had her feelings of helplessness 
overtaken her. She could feel her demons coming back, demons that she had 
long thought she had exorcised from her mind. She could hear the little 
voices whispering into her head again.

     She felt her body fall into the soft bed, her tired bones aching for 
release. All the while she could only think of her problems and the money 
involved behind them. She missed a mother, her mother, and the joy of being 
able to merely be. She saw Kasumi's face in her eyes as she watched the 
eldest Tendou daughter carry him to bed. She saw the joy in her eyes, the 
fulfillment in her face. She wanted that look but she couldn't be Kasumi.

     All at once, she felt her head begin to drift. Her eyes became blurry 
once again but only because of her exhaustion. Nabiki's day had finally come 
to a close.

-----

     Mousse woke up the next morning feeling horrible. His eyes were red and 
puffy, his hands cold and shaky. He looked over and saw Kasumi's spot empty. 
And then he threw up. All over the side of the bed. Hard. Fast. Repeatedly. 
The vomit didn't stop, not when he tried to hold it back, not when he let it 
all go. It just seemed to flow out of him. The anger in his heart, the 
frustration in his nerve, the water and sake in his gullet; all of it seemed 
to flow out of him like a river and he fell back drained.

     The room spun in his eyes. Mousse was sure that this was what it was to 
be close to the end. And then...it stopped. It just stopped. A calm sense of 
self washed over him and he sat up. The headache that remained was evident 
but not enough to hinder his progress. He felt better. The sun warmed the 
room and made it able to be inhabited in comfortably. 'Well, I guess I'm 
still here,' he thought slowly, his mind still shaky and weak from the 
alcohol he had imbibed.

     His legs spoke to him to rise up, to explore his new world. And so he 
did. Walking out of the room, he felt the quiet of the house in mid-morning. 
The eeriness of the house was only amplified by the lack of sound therein. 
He went to the kitchen and found a cheery Kasumi standing by the sink, 
humming a happy tune and washing the breakfast dishes.

     "Good morning, Kasumi," Mousse said shakily. He could feel much of the 
alcohol in his system staying over for another day and it frustrated him 
that he could not make himself seem sober. "Where is everyone?"

     "Oh, good morning Mousse!" Kasumi chirped. "Ranma, Akane and Nabiki 
have gone to school and Father has gone off to run errands. Mr. Saotome has 
gone to his job and it's just you and me here. Would you like some food?"

     "N...no, Kasumi..." Mousse breathed out, "I'm too shaky for food right 
now. I'd like to exercise a little in the dojo if I may..."

     "Certainly. I'll come down with some food for you later on." Kasumi 
smiled a brilliant smile at him, pointing down the hall with her slender 
hand. "Go to that door and work out there. I think the floor is clean but if 
not just blame Ranma, I guess." She turned back to the sink and hid her 
blushing cheeks from Mousse's rapidly sobering eyes. He turned and shrugged, 
walking to the sliding door.

     "Thank you Kasumi," he called over his shoulder as he slid open the 
door to the dojo and closed it. The room was cool and empty of anyone's 
touch. It seemed as if no one had used it in a few days, weeks even. He 
liked the feeling of forgotten emotions he felt as he leaned against the 
door for a moment. He thought about the encounter with Kasumi in the kitchen 
and felt and saw something strange in Kasumi's eyes. Something he had always 
hoped to see in Shampoo's eyes. With an oath to himself he shook off those 
thoughts and proceeded to the middle of the room, dropping his jacket off 
his shoulders as he proceeded to the middle of the room. Soon he was clad in 
only his pants and a sleeveless undershirt.

     For a moment he thought about going back to his shirt and retrieving a 
weapon but decided against it as he took up a position of readiness. His 
body began to go into the motions of the first form he had ever learned in 
his art, an unarmed defensive form that he had long since mastered. And yet 
through every motion he felt his body stiffening as though he was burdened 
by an unyielding weight. With every movement, Mousse could feel his entire 
body sweat and convulse. Slower and slower became his movements until he was 
moving only as fast as a novice martial artist. He could feel the trickles 
of sweat cascading down his back and he shuddered through the motions.

     Minutes passed and Mousse slogged on, improvising upon maneuvers that 
he had learned as a young boy. Soon he felt himself shutting down inside and 
knelt to his knees, his breath heavy and ragged. For a long moment, no 
movement came from his body as he felt the dizziness overtake him again. His 
body rocked and shook; the remains of the alcohol in his body swayed him 
from side to side like a spar in the rain. With a mutter and an oath he 
shakily stood and turned to the doorway. A softly crying Kasumi stood in the 
doorframe; her body leaned against the wood and her shoulder shaking softly. 
He walked to her and stood wobbly in front of the older girl.

     "How long have you been here?"

     "Long enough," Kasumi said softly as she stepped forward, bringing a 
towel from her hands to Mousse's chest. She pressed the cloth to the slowly 
moving muscles and began to wipe down to his tummy and navel. She moved with 
soft slow strokes, her eyes not leaving their earlier position locked on his 
neck and shoulders. He sighed softly as she wiped the sweat from the Chinese 
boy's body, his nerves and feelings very aware of the stimulation she was 
giving him.

     "Kasumi..."

     "Shh..." She pressed two fingers to his lips, silencing him with a 
touch. "Don't speak. Just let me love you."

     "But I don't love you..."

     "But you yearn for love. You yearned for it last night when you touched 
me. You still need it now. I can see it in your eyes," Kasumi said softly, 
her eyes locking on his. "And so do I."

     "...What are you going to do?" Mousse asked softly, his heart beating 
and his head spinning.

     "This." With that, Kasumi leaned up and kissed Mousse's lips, pressing 
her body against his with vigor. The boy gasped slightly as his lips touched 
her, the warmth of their bodies meshing and merging into something great. 
For a moment he hesitated, almost as if the chains bringing him down to the 
well of despair in his mind made one last urge forward. Then, with a great 
burst of energy, he kissed the girl back, wrapping his arms around her and 
pulling her close. For once, with a woman, he took the initiate and pressed 
the kiss forward more. Kasumi gasped and moaned as the boy's spidery fingers 
felt her soft back and shoulders.

     Mousse stopped kissing Kasumi after a long moment and picked her up 
into his arms. She slid herself into position in the crook of his arms and 
chest, cooing softly as the Chinese boy slid the door closed with his 
fingertips. He laid her down on the middle of the sparring mat and knelt 
beside her. Kasumi's face was flushed and her breathing had turned ragged. A 
deep blush had risen from the base of her shoulders and breastbone to the 
top of her neck and she seemed to glow with energy.

     "You've never been kissed, have you," Mousse remarked slowly, his hand 
touching the base of her neck softly. Kasumi nodded her head in the negative 
and closed her eyes for a moment.

     "I...I'm so ready to find someone Mousse. I'm only 20 and yet I feel so 
old. I feel like I'm an old woman already and I want to have a family. I'm 
ready to find a man who'll love me unconditionally, without all the rules 
and restrictions. I want this. And I want you." She opened her eyes and 
smiles at the boy softly.

     "But why me? Why now?"

     "Why you? Because you're committed to the ones you love. You're 
committed to the people who have your heart. Why now?" A pause happened. It 
gave him enough time to notice her face had blushed over as well as the rest 
of her body. "Why not?"

     "But I'm a young man, Kasumi...I'm not ready to start a family..." 
Mousse said softly, leaning back on his ankles and kneeling. "I'm barely 
able to think straight about my future here. I have nowhere to go, nothing 
else but my store here and..." His voice trailed away; he couldn't bring 
himself to say it again. Not as soon as it was.

     "...And me?" Kasumi said softly, her eyes looking shyly up to his. For 
a long moment, he contemplated a response in his mind and then tossed all 
his canned responses out of the window. He could feel his knees slide his 
body back to her side and his head lower to her mouth. He could feel the 
sweetness of her lips upon his and yet he didn't explicitly do anything to 
set the chain of events off. All he could do is feel and watch. And kiss.

     Kasumi kissed him back softly yet urgently. Her unique womanly scent, 
one so long repressed behind the smells of the kitchen and the home, began 
to waft from her body and assault Mousse's senses. It was all he could do to 
not touch her more and she didn't try to urge him. She knew he would succumb 
to him eventually and was content to softly touch him with only her lips. So 
many things ran in her mind as she kissed him that she let go of her 
feelings and just enjoyed his feather soft touch and the warmth of the room. 
Her body floated on a cloud of desire; it was all she could do to keep 
herself in the here and the now.

     The sun warmed the room and their bodies warmed one another. Each could 
feel them drawing closer to the other but not wanting to go to fast. Kasumi 
could see a grimace of pain on his face and stopped kissing him for a moment 
to push him back. "All you alright Mousse?"

     "Yes. My back is just a little stiff from my workout. And...And kissing 
like this is kind of uncomfortable."

     "Then lie here with me."

     "Are you sure no one will hurt me if I do this?"

     "I am sure no one will hurt you, Mousse. Everyone in the house is 
gone."

     "But what about you, Kasumi?"

     "What part of you can I hurt, Mousse?"

     "My heart. The one damn thing that I want to rebuild first." Mousse 
sighed and slid down onto the floor next to her. The two young people stared 
at one another for a moment and smiled softly. Kasumi's smile was filled 
with hope and wonder, Mousse's was trying vainly to hide the conflicting 
emotions in his heart and mind. Moments passed and nothing was said.

     "Mousse?" Kasumi finally said softly.

     "Yes?"

     "Have you wondered why I came to you like this?"

     "Yes."

     "Do you have an idea as to why?"

     "No."

     "Do you want to know why?"

     "Not right now." He slid a hand to his hair and wiped it out of his 
eyes. She did the same and their hands met for a long moment as they both 
looked at each other. "Eventually I want to know, but I think I already 
know."

     "I see." At that she came up to a sitting position and took his hands 
into hers again. "Mousse, I'm sorry I came onto you like this. I...I'm not 
sure what came over me. Except for..."

     "Except for what?"

     "...Except for how much I'm attracted to you." At that she stood up and 
hurried from the room, leaving a shocked Chinese boy laid out on the 
practice mat. All Mousse could do was shake his head and sigh softly to 
himself.

-----

     "...So you're telling me that you'll have all the information for me 
tomorrow?" Nabiki said softly to the younger boy in front of her. With his 
head nod, she handed the first year student a small stack of yen notes. 
"This is the advance. The rest will come when you deliver me the goods. Now 
go." As the boy ran off, she tidied up her notes and made her way to the 
main walkway leading to the school gate. Soon she made the turn towards her 
home and noticed a tall, slightly sullen looking Chinese boy leaning against 
a light pole.

     "Nabiki," Mousse called out to her. "It's time to go to Ukyou's."

     "So soon?" She said back as she came up on the boy, noting with more 
then a small amount of relief, that the martial artist seemed much calmer 
then the night before. He had a sedated expression on his face, almost 
suggesting that he had gotten over his issues from the night previous.

     "There is no time like the present. Besides, we need to talk." Mousse 
said as he started out towards Ucchan's. Nabiki followed him silently and 
for about a block there was no speaking between them.

     "You wanted to talk?" Nabiki asked as they stood at a kitty corner 
waiting for the light to change.

     "Yes," Mousse said as they crossed the street. "I wanted to apologize 
to you before I tell you more about what I wanted to do today. I was drunk 
last night and I lost my sense of self for a while. I...I didn't mean to 
threaten you like that, Nabiki."

     "It's no problem," Nabiki replied glibly, "Assuming you can pull this 
off."

     "Oh it will be pulled off, trust me."

     "And how are you so sure about that, Mousse?"

     "Because you're helping me." Mousse replied to this as they came ever 
closer to Ucchan's. Children coming from their schools were running in the 
nearby playground, providing the white noise necessary for their speaking. 
"You wouldn't help me if you didn't think my plan had merit."

     "True. But your plan could just as easily fail. How will you convince 
her that it is in her best interests to do as you say?"

     "Because I'll tell her that it will allow her better access to Ranma." 
At that Nabiki stopped dead in her tracks and looked hard at Mousse.

     "Please tell me you're joking."

     "Not at all."

     "You're joking, Mousse. You're telling me, Akane's sister, that you're 
going to entice Ukyou Kounji, her rival, into a business agreement for 
nothing more then a shot at the very thing my sister wants?" Nabiki said 
softly, her breathing slow and heavy as she tried to comprehend the boy's 
words.

     "Exactly."

     "It will never happen."

     "And why is that?"

     "Because I'll never go through with it." And at that she began to walk 
away from Mousse but was stopped as a small rope looped around her wrist and 
caught, holding her in place. She looked back and saw that it came from 
Mousse's sleeve, a small tight grin glazing his face as he held the thread.

     "As I said last night, you have no choice in the matter." He gave a 
sharp tug on the rope and pulled her closer to him. "Now follow me to 
Ucchan's and I'll explain everything to you."

     Nabiki sighed heavily and nodded to the Chinese boy who let go of the 
thread and walked on to Ucchan's. Soon the pair came to the small cafe and 
saw that it was closed. Mousse's keen eyes (now snugly behind a pair of 
extra strength glasses :D) spotted a small bench directly across from the 
storefront and they both made their way to it. Sitting down, Nabiki took out 
a small notepad and began writing in it.

     "You want to tell me what you have planned in that head of yours?" 
Nabiki asked, rather irritated at the turn of events.

     "Sure." Mousse popped a piece of gum into his mouth and began chewing 
on it as he spoke. "The first part of my plan has us dangling the carrot of 
Ranma in front of Ukyou's eyes to get her to bite on it and do what we want. 
That will assure we both have a stable cash flow on hand for the second 
part."

     "Which is?"

     "The finalization of the Ranma and Akane relationship. Rather, the nice 
big push for them to stop acting like two fighting maniacs and express that 
they really love one another."

     "Keep talking..." Nabiki said, her pen now lay down and her eyes firmly 
locked on the front of Ucchan's.

     "Nabiki, it's no secret that both Ranma and Akane love one another. Or 
could love one another under the proper circumstances. Whatever the case may 
be, they're it. What I propose is a way to get them together with the least 
amount of issues. And to do this, money will be needed. As will a kitchen."

     "A kitchen? Why?"

     "Do you need to know everything now? Just listen to me, Nabiki." And 
she did.

     "The bottom line is that to get Ukyou out of the scene we have to give 
her an alternative to Ranma Saotome. And I have the alternative."

     "Whom?"

     "That boy who always works at her place. Ko..Ko-something..."

     "Konatsu?"

     "That's it!"

     "Konatsu and Ukyou...that's going to be a very hard sell considering 
she desires Ranma alone."

     "That's part two of the plan." Mousse asked as he looked over at 
Nabiki. "As she works with me and Konatsu, I'm going to help him seduce her 
and win her heart the old fashioned way. While, on the other hand, I'm going 
to take Akane under my wing and show her how to cook."

     "You? Showing my sister how to cook??" Nabiki laughed slightly.

     "You don't honestly think it was Cologne doing all the cooking while 
Shampoo was off trying to make Ranma her husband, do you?" Mousse answered 
looking dead at Nabiki with a wide smile and a sharp glint in his eyes. 
"I've more skills and more patience then you'll ever know, Nabiki."

     "We'll see." She adjusted the purse strap on her shoulder and sighed a 
little. "So let me get this straight: You want to take over part of 
Ucchan's, sell your restaurant and use the money to build this one. All in a 
plan to play matchmaker for two relationships that do not exist right now?"

     "Well, there are 2 other things in this."

     "What other things?"

     "For starters, the money you make will be enough to assure me a fair 
bid with your father concerning Kasumi...if things go the way I think 
they're going to go," Mousse said with a slight blush, "And then it will 
also be for me for when I want to sell out my half of the business to you to 
start my own school of martial arts later on."

     "You know, you're really trying to build an empire here," she said 
softly after a moment's reflection.

     "All I can do is try to improve the world I live in now that Shampoo 
has left my life. And if you can meddle in people's lives, so can I. Like I 
said, you took the time to intertwine yourself into my life so now I'm going 
to make sure we're tied to the hip until I say otherwise." They both fell 
silent for a long moment.

     "Well I guess we can try it, but I make no promises." Nabiki said, a 
slight bit of cautious optimism permeating her voice. Mousse nodded slowly 
as they watched Ukyou come up to the front door of her shop, a slightly 
underfoot Konatsu just behind her.

     "That's all I ask from you, Nabiki."

     "Then before we go to Ukyou with this crazy scheme, can you answer me 
this one thing?"

     "What?"

     "How are you?"

     "What?"

     "I mean what I say. How are you doing?"

     "I...I'm ok. For today, I'm ok. It still hurts inside to be alone..." 
Mousse said softly as he began walking towards the cafe, "But I'm determined 
not to let this get me down." Nabiki secretly smiled as she trailed behind 
Mousse on their way back across the street to talk to Ukyou.




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