Ranma 1/2 Fan Fiction ❯ Forgotten Memories ❯ Rain On My Face ( Chapter 8 )

**** All characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. This is just one of my ideas! So don't judge me just because of my imagination! ^_^ (\/) Cyancat ****

Forgotten Memories

Chapter Eight - Rain On My Face

Shampoo stealthily moved behind houses and buildings that bordered the path Mousse and Tonic were taking. She had no desire to be seen at this moment and it was, she thought to herself, a bit of good practice. It had been quite a while since she had last stalked among the shadows with the stealth of a cat. The last time she had really done something like this was back in Japan... She shook her head to toss away those thoughts, this was no time to reminisce. There was a reason she was stalking in the shadows and it was moving quickly down the road.

Shampoo nimbly followed the two as they chatted down the way. The wind shifted towards her and Shampoo noticed that she could hear them talking.

****

"So..what did the elders tell you?" Mousse asked as she chewed on the melon she had received from before.

"That they aren't happy about what I'm keeping from them...I'm dishonorable to the tribe...I had better have a good reason for putting off the arranged wedding.... They said a lot to me that I really don't care to repeat." Tonic said with a sullen tone in his voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for you to feel bad about it."

"Hey, it was going to happen sometime anyway...I just hope that they'll let me be an apprentice to Ranma or else I'm gonna get thrown into a wedding."

***

Shampoo's ears perked at his words. He had already met with the elder council? They couldn't be that eager to marry off the boy, could they? Shampoo made a mental note to talk to her grandmother as soon as she was done following Mousse. As one of the higher elders, Cologne had to have some say in what was going on and could tell her a few details at least, that is, if they really wanted her to become an elder someday. She watched Mousse as she stared down at the melon pit in her hand for a moment, before winding up and pitching it into the forest beyond them. To Shampoo it seemed that she wanted to throw something else into the forest as she threw it with a bit too much effort.

***

The two walked in silence for another few minutes, both with a determined look on their face. Finally Mousse, couldn't stand it anymore and let loose the question that she'd been burning to ask.

"Tonic, don't you want to get married? I mean, are you sure that you should turn this down just because of an apprenticeship with some guy that you've only known for like.., a week at most! This is a chance that you may never have again. You don't know if you'll ever find someone worth marrying in the future, so why not go along with your culture?"

Tonic stopped in his tracks and stood there, staring at the ground.

***

Tonic seemed to be struggling for an answer, Shampoo thought as she spied on the two. He had really changed since he had left last year, since it used to be that he had a quick answer to any question and now it took him minutes to come up with an answer for nearly any of Mousse's questions.

Shampoo suddenly gasped and clasped a hand over her mouth as she felt a wave of deja vu and realization flow over her. He couldn't..., he wouldn't...,Tonic wasn't going to..., would he? He hadn't known her long enough to do that and she... Mousse...might she feel the same way about Tonic? At fifteen years old, could she decide how to react?

Shampoo knew what was going to happen as she had seen someone act like this before, though this time the boy wasn't four years old and blind as a bat. Shampoo could only watch in a nervous strain as Tonic still wouldn't move from his position with Mousse waiting for an answer, her face showing the many emotions she was going though during the empty silence.

***

Slowly Tonic turned towards Mousse, after what had been an eternity of quiet from the boy and lifted his head up. He took a breath and approached Mousse, gripping her hands as he stood in front of her.

"Mousse, it used to be that I never wanted to marry anyone in my life. I didn't even have crushes on any of the girls here when we were children. I've never wanted to marry Po Mai, what ever the elders say--"

"So that's her name?" Mousse interrupted looking down at her hands covered by Tonic's, as hearing the actual name of the girl sent shivers of resentment down her spine. "Po Mai? She even sounds pretty, you know."

"Mousse," Tonic said through clenched teeth and squeezed her hands, pulling the attention back up to his face. "It doesn't matter what her name is or what she looks like, I don't want to marry her or any girl here from this village! I used to say that I never wanted to marry, but I've changed and so has my mind. I've met a girl and it's her I want to marry."

Mousse's expression changed quickly from surprise to agitation and she stepped back, trying to loosen Tonic's grip on her hands. "So who is this girl you want to marry? Huh? Some person you met on your travels? Just where did you meet her?"

***

Shampoo nearly fell over in shock, hearing Mousse words as she became agitated at Tonic's confession. Could she really be this dense? He was nearly saying it right there, but she wasn't putting the pieces together. How couldn't she figure it out? Then Shampoo quickly realized that Mousse had probably never had a relationship like this before, being only fifteen. There was also the inkling that Mousse carried a few qualities of her parent's demeanor when they used to be that age, if for the fact that they weren't the best ones.

***

Tonic had to laugh a little at Mousse's agitation, but kept his grip on her hands and forcibly pulled her towards him until she was leaning up against his chest. She looked up at him confused and met his deep blue eyes, knowing that she just melted every time he looked at her.

"Mousse, there's only one girl that I've met on my trip that I was even interested in. Ever since I held her hands, I knew that she was special to me somehow. Now that I've spent time with her, traveling by boat and hiking across the land, through the forests, I've realized that I...I love her."

Mousse blinked a few times in utter disbelief. Everything was finally coming together in her brain, the pieces fitting together like a puzzle, but, she realized in a panic, that meant that he was talking about...! Mousse fumbled for her brain to work, so that she could say something to him! "But, but that would mean that...that you were..., you're talking about...about me?!"

"I was, Mousse. I've been trying to figure out my feelings for you ever since we started hiking through the forests. There was something that dug at me every time I looked at you. When you spoke about the stars that one night, my heart fell even deeper for you. Mousse, I love you. And I know that it may seem like a big jump in the short time that we've known each other, but I want to know if you feel the same way about me. Even if it may hurt me, just say it, because I want to know. I realize there's nothing I can do to change your mind in this, but I want to give you this..." Tonic paused, his eyes still locked with Mousse's in a deep stare.

He released her hands and placed his on the sides of her face. Slowly he lifted her startled face and leaned down towards her, their lips meeting in a overpowering kiss. Mousse's eyes popped wide with shock as Tonic pressed his lips against hers, but her own feelings took over, drowning herself in the wonderful sensation that she felt. Knowing that this wasn't a dream like the ones she had before, but the real Tonic holding her and kissing her so deeply, Mousse could only slowly close her eyes and wrap her arms around Tonic's neck.

***

Shampoo took off at a blind run, away from the scene, away from what was happening before her own eyes. She couldn't stand to be there another moment, feeling more a voyeur every second that passed by. It was just too much for her as it reminded her of a past from long ago that she had been made to forget. Shampoo realized that she could no longer follow Tonic and Mousse and figured out in her mind that they were probably staying at Tonic's home. She knew where he lived and in so, could sneak by at any time, just that this time seemed to be the worst time for her.

Thunder crashed in the sky above and Shampoo slid to a stop, staring up at the sky, dark clouds quickly moving in from the west.

"Dammit! I forgot all about the monsoon season coming!" Shampoo growled with contempt. Looking up once more she took off again at a run, trying her best to head off the weather. "I can't stand this season because you never know when its going to-"

Thunder cracked above her and a drench of rain instantly fell upon the village.

"Meoow!"

Shampoo could only groan as best a cat could do. 'Great...just great. This is all I need.' she thought as she sat in the rain, her fur drenched thoroughly, 'Turned into a cat in the middle of the village just because of a stupid rainstorm! How could I be so stupid?!'

Shampoo slowly stood up and walked down the road, feeling more depressed with every step she took. Shampoo walked along, not really caring where she went, figuring that she deserved this, after doing what she did to her daughter Mousse, getting drenched in the rain was at least some kind of punishment on her part.

As she walked, her head began to feel dizzy and light, as if something was trying to make her fall asleep right there in step. She realized that she must have spent too much time in the rain, but was not able to think any further on the subject as she suddenly collided with a thick furry post. Shaking her head, more trying to rid her head of the cobwebs that were building to cloud her mind, Shampoo looked up at the object she had collided with. She stared for a few moments through slitted eyelids before succumbing to the darkness that took over her head. The last thing that she thought to herself before falling limply to the ground was that 'What is a panda doing here?'

*****************

"I'm not worthy to be called an Amazon! I wasn't even there for my mother as she lay dying on her death bed. How could I call myself a good son to her or even one of the Amazon if I dishonored like this?" Mousse said, holding his head in his hands, fighting back more tears that were forming in his eyes.

Shampoo sat beside him, contemplating the boy sitting on her bed. What was it about him that made her heart pound as she saw his pain so evident in his words? He wasn't acting like the Mousse she had grown to know and it was like he was showing to her parts of him that he had hidden away for years. Why was it now that he had come to tell her of his mother's death, when she had been herself contemplating her life here in Nerima?

"Mousse, you could never dishonor your mother." Shampoo slowly placed a hand on the boy's back, trying somehow to comfort him. "You've been nothing but a great son to her. She told me this many times during the past years and I don't doubt that she knew that you would always bring honor to her."

"How can you say that? You hardly even knew my mother and yet you speak for her as if you were her. She was the only person left that even cared one bit for me!" Mousse turned to stare angrily at Shampoo and met her soft, violet eyes. He couldn't bear to look at her while feeling this way and stammered an apology. "I...I'm sorry that I bothered you Shampoo. I'll leave you alone now."

Mousse tried to quickly get off her bed and out of the room, attempting to hide his face as more tears were forcing their way out. He was then stopped by a hand on his arm as he stood up and turned to see Shampoo gripping his arm tightly.

"You're...you're not bothering me." Shampoo stuttered, her cheeks blushing bright red. Releasing his arm she looked up to see confusion written all over his face. "I truly am sorry about your mother's death, but if you want to talk more about it, you can stay. I talked all night with my father when my mother died and it helped. Are you sure you want to go?"

___________**____________**________________

Shampoo shook her head as she came out of her dreamy sleep. 'Gods, it's still so clear in my memory that it pains me every time I see his hurt face.' she thought as she shook the sleep from her head.

Though now a nasty headache was taking the place of her sleep filled mind and it was becoming overpowering. Stretching out her body, Shampoo froze in place and quickly realized that she was still in her cat form! Looking around, she realized that she wasn't at her home, so grandmother hadn't found her, but then who did? She had been placed in a basket next to a fireplace with a fire blazing and a blanket covering her. Where ever she was, at least these people knew how to treat a sick person, ah cat, and decided to see which member of the village had taken her in. Walking towards a pair of doors opened with a slight crack, she heard voices arguing. She stopped in mid-step as she recognized a voice and then two, her eyes opening wide with fear and shock.

Rushing to the door, she confirmed her fears as she saw the people she had recognized, argue right before her. Ranma and Akane were both shouting at each other and towards Ranma's father in his panda form, who kept holding up signs at them. Shampoo's memory suddenly flashed as she remembered the last thing she saw that night before she passed out, a panda. Gods, it had been Genma she had bumped into! Why was this happening to her now?! Just when she thought she had begun to forget about him, Ranma had to come along and dredge everything up again and then bring her daughter along too. Now to be picked up at her lowest state and to be found by Genma, they had to think she was the worst person in the world.

Turning to leave the house, her ears pricked up as she noticed that the fight had come to a stop and they were now moving towards the door and her! She dashed to the basket she had woken in and clamped her eyes shut, feigning sleep.

"So why do you think that this cat you brought home is Shampoo?" She heard Akane say as she walked through the doors. There was a silent pause and she guessed that Genma had answered with another sign. "Just because it's the same color as she was in her cat form doesn't mean that its her! I mean, Shampoo would never let herself be caught out in the rain like that!"

"You never know Akane! It could have just been bad luck." Shampoo heard Ranma say, though it was from a much further distance and in a meeker tone. Was he still scared silly at the sight of a cat? Maybe she could use this to quickly get out of the house before they found out that it was her and not just another cat. She tensed up her muscles, remembering where the front door was and guessed where Akane and Ranma could be standing as best she could from the sound of their voices. She was trying to figure out how she was going to get through the door when she heard the sound of it slowly opening. This was her chance! She bolted out of the basket and under the skirts of Akane who had been standing beside her. She swerved to pass by Ranma and laughed to herself as he jumped up and nearly made it through to the second story. Streaking towards the opening door, she could hardly tell who or what was there as the sun was shining directly behind them, blinding her, but she had to keep going. She was nearly through the door and outside when suddenly she felt herself being quickly grasped by the middle and picked up from the ground. She growled angrily at whomever had picked her up and was just about to start clawing her way out from the grip, when she was suddenly face to face with the person who she hadn't expected to see, her daughter.

********_______________________________********

"Ryoga, I swear that you're rubbing off on me!" Ukyo griped at the man beside her as they stood with luggage in hand in an airport that did not look familiar. "Just where did we end up?"

Ryoga looked around them, confused at the surroundings "Ukyo, I... I think we're in Tokyo."

"Really?" Ukyo exclaimed in surprise and looked around, realizing that Ryoga was right! "I don't believe it! Do you think we came here on accident? I mean we've never been able to go where we actually wanted to go on the first try. Ryoga, are you losing your touch?"

"I.. I..don't know! This never happened to me on purpose before. Maybe we'd just better get back to Ranma's before we end up somewhere else. We still have Mousse to deal with."

At the sound of his name, Mousse, still in his duck form and still inside the bag, started to squawk and holler, making such a racket that passerby had to cover their ears. Ukyo and Ryoga rolled their eyes in annoyance and quickly headed off down the road.

"I thought that sleeping pill was supposed to work on him for six hours Ukyo!"

"How am I supposed to know how fast he can come out of a sleeping trance? He's a duck for Kami's sake! I'm not a vet. Anyway, we've gotta call Ranma and tell him about this. He can't bring Mousse and Shampoo back here and expect to see the same Mousse from years back."

"Yeah, good idea. I'll call him once we get to the-"

At Ryoga's sudden break in words, Ukyo looked behind her and could only hold back for a moment before she burst out laughing at the sight of the wet piglet beside her. He stared menacingly at the old woman across from him that had just thrown out her daily dish water. She squinted down at him before turning around and heading back into her home.

"Oh Ryoga, if it isn't getting lost that's your problem, getting splashed is!" She said after catching her breath, only to start laughing once again. Ryoga snorted angrily, more at his problem then at Ukyo's laughter.

A few hours later, Ukyo and Ryoga stumbled upon the home of the Tendo dojo. Ryoga, still in his pig form, took off at a run for the bathroom, leaving Ukyo standing at the doorway with all of their bags.

"Hello? Soun? Anyone here? Ryoga and I are back!" Ukyo yelled into the empty hallway as she dropped all her bags, save for one.

She heard the stomping of running feet on the wood floors of the Tendo home and Ukyo smiled. Kneeling down, she anticipated to see their son Taka run round the corner towards her, but was mortified at the sight that did round the bend. It wasn't her son as she had hoped, but Soun with full flowing rivers of tears cascading down his face. Before she knew it Soun was hugging her way too hard and crying to her about what had happened while they were gone.

"Oh, Ukyo! You're a life saver! Its been so hard to look after these kids by myself! I'm so glad you're back!" Soun whined in his usual fashion.

"Soun, It couldn't have been that bad! It was just three kids. You had to take care of your three daughters so what was the difference?" Ukyo tried reason with the man while trying to get out of his grip. She heard laughing coming from the hall ahead of her and looked up to see Kasumi peeking around the corner.

Kasumi stifled a laugh and stepped forward, placing a hand on her father's shoulder. "I guess Shouji and Kisa are too much like Ranma for Soun to handle. Dad, let go of Ukyo. Remember her condition?"

Within a second was unlatched from Ukyo and standing in the hall, looking as if he hadn't even been crying and whining. "Yes, yes of course. I'll be leaving you girls alone now." And with that he was out the front door.

Ukyo stared at the front door for a moment, laughing inwardly at the old man before turning back to Kasumi. "Was it really that hard on him?"

"Well, I don't think so. He called me as soon as all of you left and begged me to come over and help take care of the kids. I think he's realizing that he's getting old and doesn't want to face the truth. But anyway how was your trip?"

"Surprisingly quick. I figured that Ranma and Akane would get back before we did. Have you heard from them recently?"

"No, they haven't called us. Should they?"

"No, its all right. I just wondered. We have to call him before he gets back."

"Whats wrong? Did something happen? Didn't you find Mousse?"

"Yeah we found him all right," Ukyo said as she lifted the bag higher so Kasumi would notice it. "Well, physically at least."

"You mean he's in there? Why didn't he come in his normal form?" Kasumi questioned, pointing to the bag.

"Because he doesn't remember us or even his past with Shampoo. We had to kidnap him just to make sure he came with us." Ryoga said rounding the bend, rubbing his hair with a towel.

"Oh my, thats horrible! How did this happen?"

Ukyo sighed. "We don't know, but hopefully we can figure out something now that we have him here. Maybe something around here will pop a picture back into his memory."

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Well, what do you think? I don't really know about this chapter. I still feel that it doesn't sound right, but there's no other way for me to say this stuff. I guess until I get an epiphany and rewrite the chapter, we'll have to settle with this.

Also, I would like to request that even though its only two pictures ( there will be more later on) could some of you maybe tell me what you think of the pictures that I did of Mousse and family? They're at media miner dot org, but I really want to see what people think of my work. So could you help me out? Thanks so much for your time.

There will be another chapter put up sometime during the Christmas break I have from Dec 15-Jan 4, so look forward to the actual confrontation between nearly everyone!

Thanks!!!

^_^ (\/) cyancat