Within the district of Nerima, destruction of public property at the hands of various martial artists with extraordinary abilities was common. The city government needed to do something in order to keep all of the town facilities going. Hence the creation of a crack team of construction workers that were able to repair structures almost as quickly as they were destroyed. It would take martial artists to undo the damage done by martial artists, which is why N-MARC was created.

Thanks to the quick work of Nerima's Martial Arts Repair Crew, it only took one week for Furinkan High School to be reconstructed. Much to the dismay of Furinkan's student body, not only was the school back in business, but their principal was right at the front door to greet them with more threats of buzz cuts for boys and bowl cuts for girls.

Among the students taking the long walk back to their classes, one Hikaru Gosunkugi hobbled in on crutches, covered almost head to toe with bandages. He thought back on the memory of his beloved Akane giving him the beating of a lifetime. He smiled, reveling in the fact that she actually touched him. Hopefully, her touch won't result in so many broken bones next time.

Also, among the throng of students heading back to school was one Tatewaki Kuno. Unfortunately, the kendoist was suffering from missing time. He couldn't recall how he came back to town from his sojourn. He didn't know why he woke up that time in the middle of Furinkan's soccer field so tired, nor the reason why his alma mater was burned to the ground. No doubt, that knave, Ranma Saotome had something to do with both.

During the time school was being rebuilt, however, he came upon an interesting discovery while practicing. He raised his bokken, focusing into it. It began to glow a light blue, with electrical bolts crackling from it randomly. With a smile, he lowered his bokken back to his side. It seemed as though the heavens themselves had imparted him with a gift. Truly, he had earned the moniker of Blue Thunder. He couldn't wait until his next meeting with Saotome. With his new power, he would smite the foul being for sure. The mere thought of it caused Kuno to laugh manically. As they usually did, the other students gave him a wide berth.

Looked like it was going to be another typical day.

Dreamweaver Studios Presents

Ranma½

Legacy

Epilogue

Mousse sat in his room, contemplating his decision again, along with its consequences. There was no doubt in his mind what was going to happen once he said what he was going to do. Once he made his intentions known, he knew there wouldn't be any turning back. Reaching into his sleeve, he pulled out a locket with his favorite picture of Shampoo. He smiled, fingering the ornate carvings that framed the tiny picture.

"Well, no sense putting this off any longer..."

He returned the locket back to its place in the subspace beneath his robes and stood to his feet. With one last look around, he went through his door and downstairs to the restaurant. As usual, Shampoo was wiping off the last of the dining tables, getting ready for the breakfast crowd.

"Good morning, Shampoo," said Mousse.

Shampoo looked over to him and nodded her reply. "Shampoo finish wiping down the tables. You just open door, okay?"

With a nod, Mousse undid the lock to the front door and slid it open, marking to the rest of the world the Cat Café was ready for business. Taking a deep breath, Mousse asked, "Where's Cologne?"

"Great Grandmother? She in kitchen."

"Thanks."

Shampoo tilted her head to the side. It was odd enough that Mousse hadn't been clawing at her for the last couple of weeks, but for him to actively seek out her great grandmother? This was quite bizarre. She wondered if it had anything to do with that girl from the enemy tribe. Unable to help herself, after Mousse entered the kitchen, she went to the door to eavesdrop.

The kitchen was a delight for the senses. With 3000 years of Amazon culinary history on her side, Cologne was able to tantalize the pallets of her customers with flavors never dreamt of before. With her uncanny speed and senses, she was able to prepare numerous dishes at once, to perfection. Even while busy with the preparation of breakfast, she was able to detect Mousse's presence.

"Yes, boy? What is it?"

Unfazed by her addressing him without even turning to see who it was, Mousse informed her, "I've finally made my decision."

This caused Cologne to pause and give him her full attention. "Go on."

Mousse paused for a moment. Even though he knew what he wanted to do, he still found the words fighting to keep from being verbalized. Finally, he just came out and said it, "I want to be with Autumn."

"I see," said Cologne. "You know what this means, right?"

"Yes. It is not permitted for us to be married, as we are from enemy tribes." Mousse paused a moment more, perhaps thinking if he didn't say the words, it wouldn't be real. But it was too late, whether he said the words or not. "If I want to follow through with our engagement, as the one who started it by defeating her, I must renounce my position as a part of our tribe...and I do."

Cologne nodded and gave him a sad smile, "I can tell the words were hard for you to say."

"They were. I may not have seen eye to eye with the tribal elders on many things, but the tribe has always been my home. I wish I didn't have to give up my past in order to pursue my future."

"It was a difficult decision to have to make. I certainly don't envy you for having to face it." Cologne checked on one of the soup pots on the stove and turned the fire down under it. "It takes a strong man to make such a hard choice. I wish we didn't have to loose such a strong man, but you do have to follow your own path."

"Huh," went Mousse. "That's a surprise. I always thought you hated me."

Cologne laughed. "Hated you? Really, boy, do you really think I would allow you to live with us, let you follow through with your schemes to take Shampoo for yourself if I hated you?"

"Er..."

"I know I've been extra hard on you since you've been here, but you needed it. I absolutely hated to see such potential go to waste. And the way you were chasing Shampoo...groveling and sniveling at her feet...it was disgusting. I was hoping that with you here, you'd become a real man, a person any woman, Amazon or not, would be proud to call her husband. And I must say, you've made real progress, since you've been here. Your many battles with Ranma have sharpened your skills to a point, and you're a lot less whiney too, thankfully."

"Whiney?"

"However," Cologne continued, "I've noticed that your progress had slowed down. You had become too focused on splitting Ranma and Shampoo and your skills haven't made any noticeable improvement. If you were still with the tribe, you would've learned many advanced techniques, by now. But you had tunnel vision...none of those other things mattered to you. If anything, that Autumn girl freed you from that and you're able to see these things for yourself again. It's my hope that now that you're free from Shampoo and Ranma's shadow and are starting on your own path, you will improve and live up to the potential I've always seen in you."

Mousse was speechless. He had no idea she thought so much of him. All he could think of to do was bow to her, "T-thank you..."

"Mousse."

"Hmm?"

-BOP!-

He rubbed the sore spot on the back of his head where she hit him with her cane. "HEY! WHAT IN THE WORLD DID YOU DO THAT FOR?" For some unexplained reason, his eyes began to burn. He took off his extra thick glasses and rubbed his eyes. When he opened them, he found he could still see without his glasses. He looked around with his eyes wide, not believing what he was experiencing. "I don't believe it! I...I can see! What did you do?"

"It's a gift," said Cologne. "The part of the brain that controls your optic sensory is located in the back of your head. It was an easy matter of striking the correct pressure spot with enough force to correct your impairment."

He picked up an empty can and tried to read it. "I can tell this is a can of something now. Though I can't read what's on the label unless I hold it close to my face."

"Chances are your vision is so bad, you'll always need glasses. At least you won't be blind without them."

"I...I don't know what to say..."

"Thanks would be a good start," she said.

"Thanks!"

"Oh, and before I forget..." She went into her robes and pulled out a scroll. "Here."

"What's this?"

"The scrolls containing the advanced skills of your fighting style. You've earned these."

He bowed again, this time keeping an eye on her to be sure she doesn't bop him on the head again, "Thank you, elder...for everything."

"You are quite welcome, boy. Now go on. Your new life awaits." Again, Mousse bowed to her and, putting the scroll into his robe, he left the Nekohaten for the last time. 'I am proud of you, boy. As Shampoo's great grandmother, I'm bound to help her get the husband of her choice in any way I can. Even still, a part of me wished you could've won her over. She's as blind as you were. Perhaps one day something will force her to open her eyes as has happened to you.'

----+----

Mousse was gone?

FINALLY! One of her obstacles was gone! Shampoo was so elated; she did a traditional tribal dance of joy. When the first customer came in, she gave him the biggest, warmest smile she had ever given anyone. In fact, business was very good that day; the extra 'bouncy' service Shampoo was giving that day drew in customers from off the streets.

So she was losing the best friend she ever had...someone who's been there for her since childhood. Her smile faltered slightly.

She shook her head clear and beamed brightly at everyone who came in. What did that matter as long as, in the end, she and Ranma were together?

Just three obstacles left.

----+----+----+----+----

Somewhere in spirit world, well outside the perceptions of normal humans, was what appeared to be a large, bustling city where the DemCo home offices resided. Deep in the bowls of the cluster of buildings was what could only be described as stable. Each stable had a different sort of demonic beast the company kept...some were the pets of DemCo employees, others were used for really nasty jobs DemCo would occasionally be commissioned with.

And on the subject of 'nasty jobs', for her punishment, Arame was assigned the job of cleaning that stable. For this job, she wore a barely there DemCo issued janitor's uniform and used what looked to be a toothbrush for the actual cleaning.

She had just finished her work for the day and had plopped herself down next to the entrance back into the main complex. She was tired and covered in a thick, dried layer of filth. Of course, that's the condition one usually ends up in after you clean up after a three-headed hellhound the size of a horse. She doubted she'd ever be clean again.

"Enjoying your new assignment?" teased a male demon, walking into the stable eating a snack bar. "Whew...what an interesting smell you've discovered."

"Ha ha...very funny, Saishi," Arame deadpanned. "It's those damned Tendos...from Moriko down to that Akane girl. I wouldn't be in this predicament if not for them. If they would've just died like they were supposed to..." She trembled in anger. "I'm not done with them. I promise you, I will have my revenge against them all!"

"Sure. Right after you're done with your 500 year assignment of cleaning Cerberus poo." He finished the snack bar and dropped the wrapper next to Arame's feet. "You missed a spot."

"-Grumble-"

----+----+----+----+----

----+----+----+----+----

-fin