Title: Ranma's… Husband? 12: The Clothes Bandits.

Rating: Teenishish

Disclaimer: What! Did someone say these characters were mine? Because they must be mistaken.

Author's notes: This time we have more info on the Amazons; info I totally, completely made up… but still. I hope you all enjoy it.

Also, we should remember that there are women out there who live in situations very similar to the one Mousse is describing in this day and age.

I also feel that I should mention that I don't completely hate Ryouga; it's just that I find some of his behaviour… questionable.

Percentage of Likelihood That Ranma Will End Up With Various Characters Currently: Kiyoshi 90, Ryu 10, Other 0.

Official Pairings: Akane/Mousse

Other things I think should be mentioned:

1. I thought I might just mention that I don't necessarily agree with the world-views of my characters… e.g. Nodoka's gender ideology. I for one believe that gender and gender rolls are largely the constructs of society and time… that they are cultural much more than they are natural… (But I won't get into this too deeply here) I am also a feminist of the bent that feels that as a part of equal rites should be that a woman should have as much right to be as obnoxious, perverted and stupid as any man.

2. I just thought I should explicitly state that what happens in the heads of individual characters is not necessarily a reflection of the reality of the plot, or even the opinions of other characters. Reality is subjective. Reality is always subjective.

3. WHEN HAVE I EVER SAID THEY'D ACTUALLY GET AWAY WITH TURNING RANMA FEMALE?

4. Female Ranma is incredibly sexy… really, really gorgeous so I'm not going to do away with his cursed form under any circumstances.

Furthermore: I believe in bisexuals. I also do not believe that I should throw myself into a lake of fire just because I'm attracted to girls as well as boys.

If you have a problem with this… well it's your problem isn't it?

If it's in bold italics and being spoken by Mousse, Shampoo, or Cologne then its being spoken in Chinese.

And Finally: THANK YOU ALL FOR READING, IF YOU LIKE IT PLEASE REVIEW. I ADORE MY REVIEWERS.

000

(Ranma POV - he's in his female form here, just so you know.)

After the date from hell they'd all walked back to the Tendou Dojou in silence. It was late and getting dark and Ranma's stomach was rumbling… he had really wanted a cake.

Akane seemed puzzled by something and no matter how often he glanced her way she was never looking at him. She wasn't even properly paying attention to P-chan, who was looking both angry and incredibly smug.

Ryouga really needed to grow up, he was even more immature than Ranma could be (and wasn't it terrible when you knew you were immature). Ryouga'd bitten Mousse when Akane had left him, Mousse had dropped him but you had to give Mousse credit, he hadn't kicked the pig like Ranma would have.

They were almost home when Kiyoshi suddenly stopped and held something out to Ranma, on closer inspection he was holding a bag from the Café where Ranma hadn't had anything to eat.

"I almost forgot. I got you this; I saw how you were looking at mine." He said, which puzzled Ranma… looking at his what?

Taking the bag Ranma peered inside, finding a white cardboard box. He carefully fished out the box and opened the lid. Inside he found a huge, chocolaty thing, exactly like the huge, chocolaty thing that Kiyoshi had been eating earlier.

He was lost for words… he liked huge, chocolaty things.

It seemed to be equal parts cake, custard and cream, with attractive swirls of chocolate decorating its surface… and was that raspberries? Yes! Raspberries spread through the cream.

He was in love… He was in love, and the object of his affections was a cake.

Wow… Kiyoshi had noticed his longing look towards Kiyoshi's huge, chocolaty thing when Shampoo was being a bitch and not buying him a cake.

This had to be one of the most considerate things anyone had ever done for him.

He knew he was staring stupidly at the cake, but he couldn't seem to stop…

Eventually Akane seemed to get sick of his distraction and took his precious cake from him, but before he was forced to do something to her for the insult, she returned it to him all packaged back up and in its bag.

"Umm… thanks." He whispered to Kiyoshi, who said nothing but gave him a soft smile.

He spent the rest of the walk home cradling his huge, chocolaty thing close to his chest.

No one was going to take his huge, chocolaty thing… no one.

When they got home they found a fairly predictable sight; Genma-panda was playing Shougi by himself while Soun snoozed on the tatami, Kasumi was in the kitchen, Nabiki was eating strawberry Pocky and watching a soap-opera with a bored look on her face… the only thing that made it any different than virtually every night since he and his old man had moved into the Tendou Dojou was his mother and Ryu.

It was weird enough with his mother around but coming home to find her and Ryu sitting at the table and giggling over what appeared to be his baby pictures, was just too much.

000

(Ryu's POV)

Ranma was glaring at him with 'her' arms crossed under her breasts, a bag hanging from one of her wrists; she was slightly damp so the fabric of her clothes was clinging to her enticingly and outlining her form… he felt his mouth go dry…

Oh… WOW!

Suddenly she started to blush and averted her eyes. He knew it was wrong, that she was Kiyoshi's fiancée, but he just couldn't tear his eyes away from her…

That was until Kiyoshi stepped in front of her, with his very best 'you have 30 seconds to live' glare in place… oops.

Ryu quickly shot Kiyoshi an apologetic smile and determinedly looked anywhere but at Ranma. Unfortunately that ended with him looking at Nodoka, who was giving with a raised eyebrow and an altogether too knowing look.

Double oops.

Nodoka just shook her head at him and turned her attention to 'Ranko', who she gave a large, gentle smile.

"Hello, Ranko. Did you have a good day? I was getting a little worried… school ended hours ago." She said, patting the tatami next to her.

"Hi Auntie Saotome. Sorry we're late." She said as she sat next to Nodoka, her voice sounding tired and a little sad.

"Oh, Ranko. Did something happen? You're all damp…" Nodoka asked, her face and voice reflecting deep concern.

"Oh this… I… um… I fell in a fountain." Murmured 'Ranko' fiddling with the bag, which she'd placed on her lap.

"Oh… Ranko? Was someone bullying you?" whispered Nodoka to Ranko, obviously trying to be discrete so she wouldn't embarrass the 'girl'.

"What?... No, no, no… it was all a misunderstanding." Spluttered 'Ranko' giving Nodoka a strained 'reassuring' smile.

Nodoka nodded at her, but her expression showed that she thought 'Ranko' was lying.

Before anyone could say any more Kasumi stuck her head into the room to tell them that dinner was almost ready. Nodoka immediately started to pack up the photo albums, shooting Kasumi an apologetic smile.

"Don't worry about it Auntie Saotome." Kasumi called over her shoulder with a sweet smile as she left.

A soft 'whump' came from the opposite side of the table and Ryu looked over to find his brother had stopped doing his 'loom and glare' routine and was instead going with 'sit and glare'. What did Kiyoshi think he was? He might look, but he wasn't going to touch… Ranma was Kiyoshi's fiancée.

Dinner was odd… he couldn't put his finger on why, but it was odd. Maybe it was because neither Ranma nor Akane said anything, and both seemed to be caught up in some inner puzzle. Kiyoshi didn't say anything either, but Ryu was used to that.

The strange air around Ranma and Akane seemed to be contagious, so by the time dinner was over everyone was staring into space contemplating something.

The food was excellent and Ryu would have been feeling full and content if it wasn't for the glares he was getting.

Kiyoshi had spent the entire meal levelling him a fairly solid glare… not his worst, mind you, because Kiyoshi's worst glare could leave a person a nervous wreck, but a solid low-level glare.

The panda was also glaring at him, but the panda's glare was something else entirely… Ryu had never found pandas particularly intimidating before, but now…

The third and final glare was being levelled at him by the Tendou patriarch. It was the strangest glare he'd ever received… and he'd received a lot of glares. Soun was sort of… wavering around the edges, and his face looked a little odd, sort of like he was wearing a Noh mask.

Blech… creepy.

He didn't get what everyone's problem was; it wasn't like he was even doing anything.

While everyone was still sitting and digesting, Ranma fished a white cardboard box out of the bag 'she' had on her lap. When she opened it Ryu saw that it contained some sort of extravagant cake thing.

The panda obviously liked the look of it, but before he got anywhere near her, Ranma elegantly extended her leg and kicked him in the head.

"Ranko!" admonished Nodoka.

"This is mine. He can get his own." Snarled Ranma, holding the cake close to her body.

"But Ranko, he's only a panda… he doesn't know any better." Said Nodoka, gently.

"Doesn't matter, this is mine." Asserted Ranma, fishing a white plastic spork out of the bag as well.

"Ranko…" sighed Nodoka, shaking her head.

Ranma ignored her and proceeded to eat the cake, making quiet mewling sounds of pleasure as she did…

Ryu felt his mind start to go to a bad place.

When she made those noises she sounded like she was… heh, heh, heh.

Ryu's mind picked up where it had left off and started to undress her in his mind, not caring at that moment that she was actually a boy.

The sound of growling woke him up out of his fantasies…

He never knew that pandas could growl.

He also quickly became aware that Kiyoshi's glare had been upped a notch or two, even if Kiyoshi himself was turning bright red.

Err… Oops?

After Ranma had finished her cake Nodoka sent her up to have a bath, before going to help Kasumi with the dishes in the kitchen.

Akane and Nabiki had both gone upstairs to do their homework, and the panda and the Tendou patriarch had gone back to the Shougi board to continue their eternal game.

Ryu started to snicker; Ranma was going to be in for a shock when she tried to get dressed.

When he and Nodoka had gotten home from their shopping trip they'd found the house all but abandoned, Kasumi and Nabiki were both elsewhere, Ranma, Akane and Kiyoshi hadn't returned and both Soun and the panda had been fast asleep next to the Shougi board.

Nodoka had gotten him to drag the bags up to 'Ranko's' room, where she'd proceeded to throw away all of 'Ranko's' old clothing and put away all the stuff they'd bought.

And they'd bought a lot of stuff, more clothing than even Kana had had, and she'd been the sort that had to have the latest fashions the minute they were released.

They'd probably gone overboard, but it had been fun, and every time they were ready to stop one of them had seen something so cute that would just look wonderful on Ranko. Ryu suspected that Nodoka had always wanted a daughter.

They'd tried to keep their purchases at least mildly sensible, even though there were a fair few cute and frivolous things the majority weren't too confining, and could be fought in if they had to be.

Nodoka had bought a couple of things for herself, one of which was a silk blouse in the most beautiful cornflower blue, that Nodoka said was the exact same colour as a blouse Genma had bought her when they were first married.

Ryu just wished that Nodoka would have let him take a peek in the bags that she'd come out of the lingerie shop with… it would have made up for him having struck out with the cute girls that had been eyeing him when he was standing in front of that shop.

"What are you snickering at?" asked Kiyoshi, looking unamused.

Ryu was just about to tell him about Nodoka's surprise when the air was rent with a piercing scream. It was coming from the bathroom, and it sounded as though it was Nodoka.

They were up and heading towards the scream before they even had time to think. Surprisingly they were elbowed out of the way by the panda, who was moving faster than anyone would expect a panda could move.

They were almost at the bathroom when a naked young man with a bandanna in his hair came barrelling past them holding a towel over his… bits.

The boy was gone before his presence even registered with Ryu, but Ryu recognised him… it was the pervert who'd attacked Ranma. Torn between chasing after the young man and seeing what was wrong, the decision was made for them when they heard 'Ranko' shriek:

"MAAAAAAuntie Saotome!"

000

(Ranma's POV)

The huge, chocolaty thing had been delicious. It was probably the best cake Ranma had ever had…

Yum.

He was still thinking about it as he stripped out of his still slightly damp clothes and began to scrub down. He looked at the steaming bath with vague longing, but he probably shouldn't risk it with his mother in the house.

Sighing he rinsed himself off with cold water before grabbing the shampoo, just as he was lathering his hair P-chan wandered into the room looking confused. The pig gave a little 'bukee' of annoyance before shaking his head and climbing into the bath.

Seconds later Ryouga was leaning against the side of the bath glaring at Ranma.

"Hey, Ryouga." He said, giving the pig-boy a little wave whilst rearranging himself slightly so Ryouga wasn't getting as good a look.

"What was that about earlier Ranma? You were quite happily off with Shampoo while that pervert was clinging all over Akane." Spat Ryouga.

"I wouldn't say I was 'happily off with Shampoo'… and Mousse was hardly clinging to Akane…" he replied, not really wanting to have a fight with Ryouga when his mother was in the house.

"You are supposed to be Akane's fiancé; you are not supposed to be letting her go out with perverts!" snarled Ryouga who leapt to his feet and was looming over Ranma.

Ranma averted his eyes… sure he'd seen it all before, but after the Koi-Rod incident he wasn't comfortable with a naked Ryouga being anywhere near his naked female-form.

"As far as I can tell Mousse isn't a pervert (unlike certain people), and it's none of my business what Akane does. Anyway, you're the one that's always telling me that I don't deserve her." He snapped back at Ryouga.

"You don't! You really, really don't! I saw you making eyes at that boy earlier… How Akane must feel…" Ryouga wailed, clenching his fists.

"Hey! You just accused me of being off with Shampoo, and now you're saying I was making eyes at Kiyoshi… make up your mind Ryouga." Ranma snapped, starting to get angry.

"Well you are a pervert. And Akane needs a real man!" Ryouga declared, puffing up his chest.

"What, like you pig-boy? Trust me, you aren't Akane's type." He scoffed, which probably wasn't a good idea from the way Ryouga lunged at him.

They scuffled for a minute, as Ranma tried to regain his balance on the soapy tiles, Ryouga gained the upper hand for a moment and had him pinned…

Ranma was going to pulverise him, he really was, because if he wasn't mistaken he could feel Ryouga's… dangly bits… pressing into his naked thigh.

"You're useless Ranma. You're not even a man… you might as well just stay like this." Ryouga hissed, his breath brushing Ranma's face.

Ranma felt like his skin was going to crawl off. Whatever 'feminine instinct' he'd inherited with his female form was shrieking at him… for a second he was frozen, unable to move, as some deeply seated innate fear overtook his mind.

It was just a second… but that second seemed to stretch into forever…

A slight change in Ryouga's expression seemed to indicate that he'd seen something in Ranma's face… he eased up on the pressure that he was using to keep Ranma pinned and that was enough to snap Ranma out of whatever fugue he'd been in.

He was just about to splatter Ryouga across the bathroom when the door opened and his mother stepped into the room wearing nothing but a towel…

She looked at them and they looked at her…

"IIIIIIIIIYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

Ryouga sprung off of Ranma and raced out of the room, pushing Nodoka aside somewhat roughly, and grabbing a towel on his way out.

Nodoka lost her balance and slammed hard against the ground, she blinked stupidly at Ranma for a minute before her eyes rolled back into her head and she fainted.

"MAAAAAAuntie Saotome!!!"

He shrieked, almost calling her 'mother'. He crawled over to her and was wondering how to check if she was ok when his father, Soun, Kiyoshi and Ryu thundered into the room…

He was immediately aware of his nudity, and curled into himself trying to shield his female-form from their eyes… Ryouga didn't seem to be all that good for his mental health.

Soun was staring stupidly, Ryu was staring lecherously, his father had rushed over to his mother and was gently patting her cheek with one of his big panda paws to try and wake her, and Kiyoshi rushed out of the room.

A couple of seconds later Kiyoshi returned with a big, fluffy towel that he handed to Ranma while averting his eyes. Ranma took it gratefully and wrapped it around his naked body.

He'd just managed to cover himself when Akane, Nabiki and Kasumi piled into the bathroom as well… the now highly claustrophobic bathroom. There was no way that it was supposed to fit that many people.

He was going to have to chuck them all out soon… the confrontation with Ryouga had left him deeply desiring another bath.

000

(Kiyoshi's POV)

It had been pretty crowded in the bathroom for a while everyone was trying to see what had happened. Though Ranma's father hadn't let anyone but Ranma and himself anywhere near Ranma's mother.

Eventually Ranma's mother had come round and explained what she'd seen, so now he and Ryu were on pervert patrol.

He couldn't believe it… that bandanna'd pervert had some nerve… that was twice he'd tried to force himself on Ranma in as many days.

After Nodoka's explanation she'd been feeling a little weak so Genma (still in panda form) had picked her up and taken her to her bed in Kasumi's room. Everyone had been surprised at the gentleness he used when handling her, even Nodoka herself who had not expected to be picked up by the panda.

After his father had left with his mother Ranma had thrown everyone out of the bathroom so he could have another bath… Kiyoshi didn't blame him, if some pervert had attempted to force himself on Kiyoshi, he would surely be trying to scrub his skin off.

Ryu and he had checked the entire house, leaving only the garden, when they stepped into the back yard they found a towel floating in the koi pond but no sight of the pervert. They also found Akane's pet piglet quivering in the water… obviously the pervert had frightened him into the pond when he'd run through.

Ryu leant over and picked the piglet up, which gave him a truly, deeply resentful look, and they were about to go back inside when they heard a truly dreadful shriek.

"IYYAAAHHHH! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CLOTHES?"

000

(Mousse's POV)

"IYYAAAHHHH! WHAT HAPPENED TO MY CLOTHES?"

Shrieked Mu Tsu, staring in horror into the chest in which he usually kept his possessions… they were gone, they were all gone… all that remained was that… outfit that Xian Pu had made him wear the day before.

He should have known that something was odd last night when Xian Pu had made him dinner.

After the… date… yesterday Xian Pu had dragged him back to the shops where she had bought him the clothes, only to discover that they were already closed. He'd spent the next forty minutes pleading with her and had been convinced that she was going to give up her stupid plan to give him to Saotome.

Shudder.

When they'd gotten back to the Cat Café she'd acted all sorry for what she'd done, and had even offered to cook him dinner. He'd been flattered, thinking that maybe she was finally seeing how loyal and devoted he was, and had readily accepted.

He remembered feeling unusually sleepy after he finished the dumplings she'd prepared for him, and he'd been about to ask if she'd slipped him anything when he'd suddenly fallen asleep.

The next thing he knew it was the morning, he was wearing nothing but the panties from yeaterday and all his clothed had mysteriously vanished.

"Oh good, you're up! Hurry up and get dressed, we have a long day ahead of us… we must buy more clothes if we want you to seduce my husband" Xian Pu had obviously wandered into the room while he was distracted by his horror.

"Xian Pu… what did you do? Where are my clothes? Did you drug me last night?" he whimpered, shocked that she'd do such a thing to him.

"Don't be silly Mu Tsu, what does it matter what I did? I got rid of your clothes… they obviously aren't going to work if you are to seduce my husband… you must look more feminine." She stated, picking up the ridiculous outfit and throwing it at him.

"Get dressed, I don't have all day." She declared, and flounced out of the room, not letting him say anything more and obviously not caring what he thought.

He stood there for a minute staring at the wretched outfit before giving in and getting dressed. He loved Xian Pu, it didn't matter what she did to him… and it was her right as a woman of the Amazon tribe to do as she wished with him.

In Amazon society he had no rights of his own. He was male, and therefore property. If he was married he'd fall under the protection of his wife, but as he wasn't and wasn't living with any female member of his immediate family Ku Lon was the one in charge of his wellbeing… And Ku Lon didn't really care what Xian Pu did to him as long as he could still work.

He sighed as he started to get dressed in the horrible pink and white thing. Things were so much different in Nerima than they had been back home… living in a patriarchal society was difficult to get used to.

Ranma, for example, had learned the martial arts for his own honour, instead of to augment the honour of his mother's family and the honour of his future wife…

It was weird to think that all these men were wandering around everywhere in charge of their own household, in charge of the finances, and owning their own property. Mu Tsu couldn't get used to it, and frankly he didn't want to… how could they live like that? It was unnatural!

And the money they earned! By Amazon law Mu Tsu wasn't even allowed to be paid for any work he did at the Cat Café, since it was owned by his guardian Ku Lon… if he'd been married the money would have gone to his wife, since he wasn't allowed to have any money of his own.

If he needed anything Ku Lon was supposed to supply it, but he did keep a little money squirreled away… even if it might get him into trouble… because his mother sent him a little bit every now and then, and Ku Lon occasionally gave him some spending money.

He finished getting dressed and pulled on the canvas shoes… they were surprisingly comfortable, as were the… well… the panties. They were made out of some soft stretchy fabric, and even if they were pink they had no lace or other scratchy bits (since he'd chucked a fit when Xian Pu had handed him the little, pink, lacy g-string that she'd wanted to buy), and were frankly much more comfortable than the traditional underwear he usually wore.

How embarrassing.

He sighed again when he started to arm himself. These skimpy clothes had no room for his usual assortment of weapons, so he had to be creative. He was forced to leave behind most of his usual weapons and instead focused on small discrete things he could hide in his shoes or in the hems of his clothing.

He was finally ready and was just about to leave the room in search of Xian Pu when he remembered the bracelet…

He'd hidden it under his futon when they'd returned to the Cat Café, afraid (as ashamed as the thought made him) that Xian Pu would try to steal it…

It was beautiful… smooth and silver coloured, and the only present he'd received since the little gifts his mother used to give him when he was a child…

He wasn't allowed to own property; but since Akane, who was female, had given it to him on an actual date he wasn't sure if Ku Lon could legally take it from him. He hoped not, because just looking at it gave him an odd, warm feeling.

Jewellery was usually one of those things a woman gave a man when she was interested in him in Amazon society… or when she was claiming him for herself, though he understood it was the reverse in Japan. And even if he knew Akane wasn't interested in him any more than he was interested in her, the fact that someone had given him a piece of jewellery, and what's more a bangle (which was a sign of the highest regard amongst his people) left him feeling sort of floaty.

Amazon women used jewellery to display their status, the more they had and the more expensive it was, the higher they were amongst the hierarchy. The gifts and jewellery they used to adorn their husbands was another way they showed their rank… Mu Tsu could remember the soft clinking of his father's many golden bangles whenever he thought of his home.

His father had more bangles than any person, male or female, in their entire village with Mu Tsu coming a close second… and since they (technically) belonged to his mother he was allowed to wear them in public.

His mother was both one of the most important women in the village, and one of the most loving. She loved to give jewellery to her family in order to show how much she valued them, and when they were in public together they sparkled like a thousand suns.

Of course his jewellery hadn't really been his, and when he was practicing martial arts or staying with Ku Lon it all stayed locked up in his mother's house.

Xian Pu had a dangerous obsession with status, he thought as he walked out into the restaurant looking for her.

The way she had acted yesterday… even though he loved her, he knew that any self respecting Amazon would have found it embarrassing. She'd been trying to get Ranma to buy her jewellery… it just wasn't on.

If she truly loved him she should have been buying it for him, which was a thought that gave him momentary hope before he remembered one of the worrying things about Xian Pu.

She was absorbing more and more of the culture of Japan, and moving away from the traditional Amazon way. He was getting worried about her and was thinking of bringing it up with Ku Lon.

She was acting more and more like… well… yesterday was just part of it.

The way she acted with Ranma… it was like she wanted to be his wife in the Japanese way… She seemed to want him to take care of her… Like with the jewellery…

It was like some of the women that he'd met here in Japan. The ones that dripped with gold and diamonds. Some of their jewellery was very… tacky, but they seemed inordinately proud of it any way. He'd seen them sometimes, comparing what their husbands or boyfriends had bought them and had understood that it was some kind of competition.

It was weird behaviour to see in women… he would have found it more normal if they had been men, but back home people were more subtle about that status stuff.

Anyway, Xian Pu was becoming like one of those women… and he didn't like it. Behaviour like that… well it really was unnatural in a woman.

When he spotted her standing impatiently outside of the Café he had a sudden, and inexplicable, feeling of nervousness. He felt his chest become tight for a second and thought for one horrible moment that he might faint. Why he was reacting like this he couldn't understand… he loved Xian Pu… he did.

Suddenly the pressure eased, and he looked down to see that he was unconsciously rolling the bangle on his wrist…

"Xian Pu no have all day stupid Mu Tsu!" snarled Xian Pu when she saw him – she tried to always speak Japanese when they were in public.

"Sorry Xian Pu, but I was having trouble fitting my weapons in this outfit." He said, quietly for some reason unable to meet her eyes.

"Xian Pu no care! We need get going, Xian Pu want buy many clothes." She huffed.

"I really am sorry." He whispered, hoping she wasn't mad at him.

"It ok. Xian Pu find Mu Tsu money when she take clothes, so Mu Tsu pay for many new clothes." She smirked, taking out the little silk purse in which he kept the approximately ¥102, 129 (appx vista currency converter AUD $1026, USD $845. 628) he had saved up.

"What! No! Xian Pu, that's mine." He wailed, horrified that she'd take his savings.

"Is no. Mu Tsu no allowed have money. So belong Xian Pu now. Mu Tsu agree else Xian Pu tell Great Grand-Mother." She threatened.

"O… OK Xian Pu, the money is yours now. Please don't tell Ku Lon." He pleaded, not wanting Ku Lon to find out what he'd been doing. You could get in very deep trouble if you were an unmarried Amazon male and you were caught with money.

"I no tell Great Grand-Mother if Mu Tsu do as Xian Pu say. Mu Tsu come buy clothes and Mu Tsu seduce husband, if Mu Tsu no do as Xian Pu say… Xian Pu tell on him." She smirked, looking unattractively self-satisfied. Not that he found her unattractive, because he loved her… it didn't matter how she treated him.

"I… I… I, um… I'll do what you say, Xian Pu. I promise." He whispered.

"Good. We go now. Come on stupid Mu Tsu." She declared, grabbing his arm and dragging him towards the shops.

What had he gotten himself into…

But he loved her… it would be ok, it had to be.

000