' someone thinking
"someone talking
Just Another Project
Chapter 7
Akane wove her way carefully through the crowd. Both men and women alike stared in fascination at the young woman in the expensive designer dress. She was the pure image of radiant beauty with her pale skin and dark features. Akane, however, was oblivious to everything.
'Oh, great. Where is Mu-mu-chan?' wondered a pensive Akane.
She scanned the area and finally found Mousse standing next to an elderly, but expensively dressed man by a blackjack table. A wide, fake smile plastered over his features as he nodded at whatever the guy was saying. She sighed and made her way over to her "disguised" friend.
When she was close enough to get his attention she waited for him to take notice of her. He finally raised his head and looked her way, their eyes making contact briefly while Akane motioned for him to come over. Mousse excused himself and walked to where Akane was standing.
"Hey Akane-chan. What is it?" asked Mousse as he reached her.
Akane looked slightly anxious "How are you doing so far?"
"Well, I have made some money, but I just lost part of it. Gambling
is about taking chances Akane-chan." answered the boy.
"I know that, it's just that we are here to make money, and if we keep
on winning money just to lose it again this will not work out." said
the girl.
"Well, what do you propose we do?" Mousse asked.
Akane simply stared at him. "We go to plan B..."
"Use somebody else's money." Mousse finished.
Akane nodded and turned in the direction of the bar while Mousse walked
back to the man's side, trying not to trip with the high heels.
"Hito-san, do you wish to play again?" asked Mousse in falsetto.
"Of course my dear Mu Ling." replied Hito-san as he "accidentally"
rubbed Mousse's bottom.
Mousse turned green.
Mousse and Hito-san played for a while until Akane returned looking
crestfallen.
"Mu Ling! I am so sorry. I just lost all of our spending money,
we have no more money to gamble." said Akane as she put all of her acting
skills to work.
"Oh my! Whatever shall we do now?" Mousse was not as experienced
an actor as Akane, and though his role may have been slightly overdone,
it was enough to fool old Hito-san.
"We must return home. There is no point in being in a casino without
having money to gamble." Akane answered.
"Yes, you are correct." Mousse turned to Hito-san looking thoroughly
pitiful. "Hito-san, I am so very sorry I can no longer keep you company.
I do hope you have an enjoyable evening." Mousse tried to muster all emotion
he could as he looked at Hito-san with glittering doe eyes.
Hito-san seemed sad at Mousse's imminent departure, and as Mousse turned
to go he called out to him.
"Mu Ling, dear! There is no need for that. I have plenty of spare
money you can use."
Both "Mu Ling" and Akane shook their heads profusely at Hito-san's
request.
"Oh no, we cannot accept that!" Akane replied.
"Hito-san, no! It is your money, not ours. My honor would prevent
me from accepting such request!"
Hito-san shook his head and hands dismissively. "No, no girls, it would
be my pleasure. By allowing two such lovely creatures to leave I
would be allowing a grave crime."
Both Akane and Mousse blushed on cue.
"We cannot accept that Hito-san..." Mousse began, but he was cut off
by Hito-san.
"I will hear no more about it. Now, you will accept the money
or I will be very upset. You don't want to upset an old man, now
would you? Hito-san asked.
"We would never dream of such a thing." assured him the "girls."
One thought was running though both "Mu Ling" and Akane's minds:
CA-CHING!!!!!
$$$
~0~
Akane stood in front of the bar waiting for the bartender to get her and Mousse some drinks. It seemed Hito-san preferred Mu Ling's bishonen appearance over Akane's feminine one. The bartender went to fetch the bottle of champagne Akane had specified. She had not been enthusiastic about drinking since the moment Mousse proposed it.
"Mu-mu-chan, as a martial artist you should know how toxic alcohol is
to your metabolism." Akane said.
"I know, but people are going to wonder why we never drink anything.
We cannot act out of the ordinary or the guards might notice we are underage.
Don't worry. If you drink very slowly you will appear to be drinking
more than you really are. Just make it look like you are too caught
up in the excitement to really drink. " Mousse told her.
"Fine, but I still don't like it." Akane warily sighed.
"You don't have to." Mousse assured.
And here she was, waiting for the drinks, watching the bartender's every move. Mousse had advised her to make sure she never let their drinks out of her sight. He had told her it was extremely easy for some psycho to drug their drinks, and it was basically impossible to tell the difference between a drugged drink and a normal one.
The bartender finished serving her two champagne glasses and gave them to Akane, smiling brightly. Akane returned the smile, thanked him, and returned to where Mousse was currently trying to fend off a slightly drunk Hito-san.
Mousse sighed in relief when he saw Akane heading towards him. He disengaged Hito-san's hands from his broad shoulders and walked towards Akane, disregarding Hito-san who found himself leaning on air and promptly fell down.
"Akane-chan, you have returned with my drink! Thank you so much." said Mousse as he held out his hand to Akane.
Akane side stepped Hito-san's falling figure and gave Mousse his glass. She glanced at Hito-san out of the corner of her eyes, then looked at Mousse in the eyes. Mousse looked back at her pleadingly.
Akane sighed and gave in. "Hito-san, allow Mu Ling and I to call
a cab to take you home."
Hito-san seemed to clear out of his drunk stupor briefly while he answered.
"No, my dear, I am fit enough to stay here."
Akane smiled gently at Hito-san while she helped Mousse pick him up.
"Hito-san, you will not do anyone any good if you drink excessively and
become intoxicated. If something were to happen to you, Mu Ling and
I would never forgive ourselves."
Akane and Mousse carefully steadied Hito-san while they walked towards the casino doors.
"Really, my dear girls, you worry too much. I will be fine." and saying so, Hito-san became unconscious.
Mousse and Akane sighed tiredly and took Hito-san to the doors of the casino. Mousse ordered the guard at the door to get a cab for Hito-san. When the cab arrived they put Hito-san inside and gave the driver the address Mousse found in Hito-san's wallet. Then they stood outside seeing the cab drive off.
"You would be a great Geisha, Mu Ling." said Akane.
"Shut up." growled Mousse as he turned around and walked into the casino.
"No, really. You might even be able to skip your training as a Maiko.
Wouldn't that be great?" said Akane as she followed a grumbling Mousse.
~0~
Akane and Mousse smiled widely at the group of young men vying for their attention. Well, most of them were after Akane, but there were those who seemed to like tall, broad shouldered, muscular women. Mousse and Akane tried to stay away from those. They seemed to be the most perverted for some reason. Plus, getting felt up by men was having a rather damaging effect on Mousse. Mousse swore he would never recover from that trauma. Akane merely smiled and reminded him that he was the reason they were there.
They had managed to accumulate a large portion of the money owed by Mousse thanks to the many perverts in the casino. Akane was sure that within half an hour they would have all they needed. But now, to find another rich perverted man.
"And what would two such beautiful women be doing in such a dreadful
place as this?"
Akane and Mousse simultaneously felt a hand trying to rub their bottoms.
They carefully moved away from the exploring hand and the hands found themselves
rubbing another man's behind.
Said man smiled sweetly at the tall, gaijin man who had felt him up. The gaijin perspired profusely and backed away quickly.
"Er.... excuse me......" said the gaijin.
Mousse and Akane smiled sweetly at the pervert who was about to become their next victim.
"Oh my, are you feeling well?" asked Mousse with fake concern in his
voice.
The gaijin straightened himself and smiled at the Mousse. "Yes, I'm
fine. I'm glad that such a lovely girl would be concerned about my
well being."
Akane and Mousse smiled. This was a pervert, no doubt about it.
"Would you two ladies be as kind as to play a hand of poker with me?"
"Oh, my. We are truly sorry, but I'm afraid that we cannot accept
that. We have lost all of our gambling money and we were just about
to leave." said Akane as she stood up.
"That simply cannot be! I will not allow two such beautiful roses to
leave the garden!"
Mousse and Akane cringed inwardly at the excess of cheese coming from the gaijin's mouth.
"I will be as generous as to offer you both a large sum of money with which you can play. I will not allow you to refuse!" he proclaimed as Akane and Mousse got ready for their performance.
"Well, if you insist ...er ..." Mousse
"Oh, how rude of me. My name is Ken Harrison." said the gaijin
as he bowed.
~0~
Mousse, or rather Mu Ling, stood next to the now drunk Ken Harrison. No, wait, not drunk, just "Happy," as Harrison-san himself put it. He was the only man Mousse knew that claimed to be a decent, generous gentleman as he tried to feel up the nearest figure that resembled a woman. Said figure usually being Mousse, as Akane had decided to sit at arms length of this "Happy" fellow.
Akane and Mousse were managing to get a small but continuous trickle of money from Mr. Happy-man himself. Still, they were rather anxious to get all the money Mousse owed to the mafia and go home.
"So -hic- are you girlsh having fun -hic-?" asked a very drunk Harrison-san.
"Tons." answered Akane, rather bored.
"Ditto." said Mousse tiredly as he swatted Harrison-san's hand away
from his "bosom" yet again.
Harrison-san either ignored or didn't notice their tone of voice. "Yeshhhh,
loadshhh and loadshhh of funnnnnnn!!!"
He dived towards Akane's bosom. Akane moved to the side, and Harrison-san
found himself groping the sofa. He picked himself up and dived towards
Mu Ling this time. Mu Ling put "her" hand up and Harrison-san's trajectory
was stopped abruptly with a resounding smack in the forehead.
Looking at Akane Mousse saw her griping the metal stress balls tiredly. 'Oh, that's right. Akane-chan is doing that project of hers.'
Mousse looked back at the pathetic excuse of a man snoring at his feet. Said man suddenly turned green and Mousse was able to remove his feet from the gagging man. Barely. Mousse snorted in disgust and exasperation. He looked back at an amused Akane.
"Could I use those?" He asked, pointing at the metal balls.
Akane threw the stress balls at him.
Mousse caught them. "Thanks Akane-chan."
"Anytime, Mu Ling." Akane answered.
Mousse sighed and looked back at the vomiting man. His fist clenched around the stress balls.
~0~
Akane and Mousse were walking home. It had been a long and tiring day. They had managed to get all of the money they needed and it was now resting comfortably in the mafia's hands.
"Interesting day, huh?" said Akane.
"Very, I never would have guessed that there were so many perverted
men." Mousse answered as he wiped the makeup of his face.
"In particular Harrison-san, I believe. He seems like a true
pupil of Happosai, don't you agree? I mean, remember the photograph?" Akane
asked.
"How could I NOT remember it?" said Mousse.
Harrison-san is insisting on someone taking a picture of
Akane, Mu Ling, and himself. They finally agree and pose for
the camera. Akane and Mousse realize that the picture is only an
excuse for Harrison san to grope them as they feel his hands "exploring."
They both "accidentally" grind their elbows into his head.
"What about his poetry, Akane-chan?" said Mousse.
"Shakespeare he is not." she answered.
Mu Ling and Akane sit rigidly with frozen smiles that somehow
resemble grimaces. Harrison-san is on his knees looking like some
failed Romeo. He is sprouting poetry left and right, comparing Mu
Ling and Akane to "vivacious carnivorous roses, beautiful and dangerous."
A group of people are surrounding them, watching Harrison-san make a total
fool of himself.
"And here I thought Kuno was bad....." said Akane.
"So did I, but tonight left me speechless." said Mousse.
"Yeah, and he was very close minded."
Harrison-san is arguing with Akane and Mu Ling, who both
look ready to clobber him. He is criticizing everything about them: their
clothes, their lifestyles, their hobbies, etc.
"Women are not meant for fighting, so it's useless to study martial arts. Leave that to the big men, little ladies. Even on your best day you couldn't overpower a man."
Akane is fuming and trying to get to Harrison-san, while Mousse is holding her back.
Akane: "Let's see how I can overpower YOU, big man."
Mousse: "Calm down Akane-chan."
"And he somehow seemed to have all of the most unhealthy traits
I've ever seen."
"That man will not get to old age." stated Mousse.
"Probably not." responded Akane.
Akane and Mousse are staying as far away from Harrison-san
as possible. He is smoking, drinking, swearing, lying, and groping
a passing girl. Akane and Mousse look at him in disgust.
"He did seem to think highly of himself, nonetheless." said Mousse.
"No kidding, I don't think there is anyone else who has an ego his
size...." Akane stated.
Harrison-san is rambling on and on while both "girls" watch
him completely bored.
Harrison-san: "Did you know I come from royalty? Of course you knew!! Anyone can tell by just looking at me. My posture! My elegance! My charming good looks! My delicate and perfect taste in clothes! Only the best, only the best!!! Don't you agree girls?"
Akane & Mu Ling: "Whatever."
Akane and Mousse shuddered remembering the most unusual Harrison-san.
"He seemed to like you quite a bit Mu Ling, don't you agree?" asked
Akane.
"I don't even want to remember." groaned Mousse. "How can you stand
these shoes? They are killing me!! Plus these clothes are suffocating me,
and never mind the make up! "
"Hey! We women pay a high price to be beautiful. Maybe now you
can understand us a bit more." said Akane.
"Well, I know I don't envy Ranma's curse!" Mousse replied.
"Like turning into a duck is any better." scoffed Akane. "Aren't you
afraid someone might want to eat Duck a l'Orange when you get wet?"
"Well, I guess there IS a possibility..... Gee Akane-chan, thanks for
reminding me, I can sleep soundly tonight." said Mousse glumly.
"Don't worry, just stay away from restaurants." said Akane between
laughs.
"You forget I work and live in one." responded Mousse.
"That's right.... although I don't think Shampoo and Cologne hate you
THAT much." said Akane.
"You'd be surprised." said Mousse.
~0~
"Here we are." said Mousse as they stopped in front of the Tendo
Dojo
Akane yawned and rubbed her eyes. "I guess I'm a bit more tired than
I thought I was."
Mousse nodded and also yawned (Why is it that we tend to yawn when
we hear others yawn?)
"Well, I'm off. I've got to get some sleep." said Mousse as he turned
to go.
Akane looked after Mousse thoughtfully for a second. "Wait Mu-mu-chan."
Mousse turned. "What is it Akane-chan?"
"Well, we're both exhausted, and it's late . If you go to the
restaurant at this hour Cologne and Shampoo will give you hell. Why don't
you stay here?" proposed Akane.
Mousse raised his eyebrows. "You sure? I mean, your bed is kind of
small, I don't think we would both fit very well....."
Akane threw the stress balls at Mousse.
Mousse caught the balls "Hey I was just kidding!!!!!"
Akane smiled. "Well, seeing as the guest room is currently inhabited
by the Saotomes, the only place I can offer you is the Dojo."
"That's good enough for me." said Mousse.
"Great, I'll bring you a sleeping bag." said Akane as she headed for
the house.
"Akane-chan." said Mousse suddenly.
Akane turned. "Yeah?"
Mousse looked pleadingly at Akane. "Could you possibly find something
for me to wear? Other than a dress, that is?"
Akane laughed. "I'll do my best."
~0~
After giving Mousse a sleeping bag, some extra pillows and covers, and some old clothes that no longer fit her father, Akane headed for her room. She found herself facing Ranma on the top of the stairs.
"Ranma! You scared me. What are you doing here this late?" asked Akane.
"How's Mousse?" asked Ranma.
Akane was confused at his question. "He's fine."
"Akane.." Ranma drifted off.
"Yeah?" said Akane.
"Do...... D-do you like Mousse? I mean, really like him?" Ranma asked
nervously.
Akane stared at Ranma. "What do you mean?"
"Answer me Akane, please, do you like him?" asked Ranma.
Akane looked into Ranma's eyes, unable to decipher what it was that
he was feeling. "Yes."
Something flashed in Ranma's eyes for an instant. "Oh. Well, it's late,
you should sleep."
Akane felt like something was left incomplete, like there was more
to talk about. "Ranma....."
"Goodnight Akane." He said as he went into his room and closed the
door.
"Goodnight Ranma......"
And saying so, Akane went to her room for a night of a troubled
sleep.
~0~
HI YA!!!! I'm alive!!!!! I'm alive!!!!!!!!!!!Bwa-ha-ha!!!!!!
Er.....I'm ok..... really.....just a bit..... happy? Life is not very nice sometimes, proof of that being my sudden block out.....but I hope I still have somone out there willing to read my works...... Please?
I have to thank my 3 wonderful proof-readers again!!! they deserve all of my respect for not killing me after months of silence....
Well, if u'r reading this, u deserve it too!
'neways, here is the latest chapter! enjoy!!!!!
Review or else!!!!!!
*or else I'll beg*
Ciao!
Meztli