Chapter 31

After a while, everyone decided to stay for the show in the big tent. They had gotten free tickets so why not enjoy it. Ranma sat in between Kodachi and Shampoo who were hugging his arms. Nabiki sat in between the trio and the duo of Akane and Ukyo. She noticed that the two would take a peek at the three and growl softly. Nabiki stayed out of it and ate her popcorn. From the back Mousse watched with an evil grin. It would be time to put his plan into action.

The lights suddenly went out on everyone and Ranma was suddenly splashed with cold water. This caused her to jump up and look for the jerk that did it. However, that put him in a weird situation. The performers thought that she was volunteering for something and immediately grabbed her. She was shackled to a spinning wheel. That's when the main attraction was revealed. It was a white duck with coke-bottle glasses. Everyone in the crowd was jumping in their seats while Ranma was confused. The duck then took a knife and tossed it at the restrained Ranma. It got real close to her and some strains of her hair was cut.

The duck gave Ranma and evil glint and threw another one. Seeing that this knife would kill her, she quickly used her momentum to start spinning the wheel. The knife missed and hit the wheel. The duck growled and pulled out a bunch of knives from out of nowhere. Seeing that done by a duck, Ranma realized who he was actually dealing with. The duck launched all the daggers just as Ranma's head came up. In an amazing show of skill, Ranma caught all the daggers in her mouth. This gained her some applause as the duck steamed at the fact that his plan was foiled. Ranma quickly freed herself and bolted from the tent. Shampoo, Kodachi and Nabiki followed while Akane and Ukyo continued to watch the show.

It did not take them long to find Ranma. Kodachi pulled out a thermos, as it has happened before on their dates. She poured it over her and Ranma returned to normal. Now normal, Ranma faces the group.

"Shampoo, I think you need to call the old bag. Mousse is up to something and it might be very dangerous." Ranma stated. Shampoo nodded and asked Nabiki for her phone.

XXX

Indeed, Mousse was planning something. He managed to grab both Akane and Ukyo, knocking them out with darts. He had them both in a large aquarium and was threaten to splash them with water from Yazunīchuan (Spring of Drowned Duck) if Ranma did not give Shampoo up. He was eagerly waiting for Ranma to come and try to save his fiancée. He waited and waited and was starting to get annoyed. That's when he heard the flaps open. Mousse turned to face his opponent.

"That's far enough Ranma. One step closer and I will turn your future wife and her friend in ducks!" Mousse shouted.

"Put your glasses on fool." A very angry voice said. Mousse did as he was told and went white as a sheet. Standing in front of him was Cologne. She was holding a bucket of the Yazunīchuan and the box filled with water balloons that he filled with the same water. Cologne glared at Mousse who was sweating. Before he could take one step, Cologne doused him with the bucket of Yazunīchuan. He was turned into a duck and quickly thrown into a cage. She freed the two girls before dragging the box and the cage back to the Nekohanten (Cat Café).

XXX

Cologne waved good-bye to one of the couriers that she usually hired. That courier was taking the box of balloons back to China to the Jusenkyo guide. She locked up the café and walked over to Mousse. He was seated, refusing to look at either Shampoo or Cologne.

"I know that your interest in my great grand-daughter have made you look foolish before but I would have never believed that you would have done something so stupid. The elders back home are not happy with you. You are lucky that I was called or else I was not going to bail you out once you were turned into the police." Cologne said. That surprised the near blind teen.

"Are you saying that you would have allowed me to be arrested?" Mousse asked.

"Yes. We have made a good life here. You, coming in and rocking the boat, would have destroyed all the work that we have gained. I can't have everyone in Japan thinking that we are as foolish as you." Cologne said.

"I did it all for Shampoo! She doesn't need to be with that half-man!" Mousse shouted.

"Enough Mousse, you have brought enough problems to us as it is!" Shampoo shouted.

"But Shampoo,"

"I don't want to hear it!" Shampoo snapped. She gave Mousse the dirtiest looks ever. "I have told you time and time again, I do not like you in the same way. I never have and I never will. You were a good friend until you started to treat me like some doll. I am a Joketsuzoku (Chinese Amazon) and proud of that fact. You could never see that and it was why I ended our friendship. Ranma doesn't see me that way and it was the reason I returned here."

"But why him? Do you really believe that he will confirm to our ways? You are only setting yourself up for heart-break." Mousse argued.

"What makes you think that I want him to change to our ways?" Shampoo asked. Mousse looked at her in confusion. "I have learned a lot in this country and I believe that it would beneficial to the village if we set up a branch here. We can have our old ways mixed in with the new." Mousse looked at her with shock at that statement. He looked at Cologne.

"Are you really going to allow this to happen? Do you hear what she is saying?" Mousse asked with shock.

"I do and I couldn't be more proud. My great grand-daughter is showing some great leadership qualities. I dare say that your relationship to Ranma is changing you for the better." Cologne said.

"I will not accept this! Shampoo belongs with me!" Mousse exclaimed. That's when Mousse was slapped across the face by Shampoo.

"I've had enough of you saying that I belong with you! You will never have my heart or respect! You are just a stupid male that just wants to show everyone that he got the most worthy girl of the village! You're pathetic!" Shampoo shouted. She stormed off and made her way to her room. Mousse sat there and touched his cheek. Cologne just looked at the boy and shook her head.

"Wow, you lost her friendship and her respect in one night." Cologne mocked. Mousse just looked up and glared at her. "Glare at me all you want but you did this to yourself. You can use the spare room upstairs. You are confined to the café until I get word from the council about your recklessness." Cologne walked away and left Mousse alone. She could feel the anger roll off him and knew that he would do something stupid. She just hoped that he would be humbled by his choice.

XXX

Ranma was leading the class today. Happosai had to step out for a while so he took over. He used this to test out his first ever kata that he created. Everyone was following his movements and Ranma would stop to correct a few stances. They would go through these forms for a while when the doors were thrown open. The students turned to the disturbance and saw Mousse standing in the door way. The students were prepared to fight but Ranma backed them down and told them to move to the side. They did as he told them and watched.

Mousse just glared at Ranma as he slipped out some weapons. Ranma just got into his stance and readied himself. Mousse just rushed Ranma in a rage and swung his weapons. Ranma dodged the slashes and stabs. Using the Kachū Tenshin Amaguriken (Chestnuts Roasting over an Open Fire Fist) and his Aikido skills, he quickly disarmed the weapons in his hands. Still using the skill, Ranma used his Tae Kwon Do skills to hit Mousse with several kicks in seconds. Mousse was sent flying into the wall of the dojo. He slid down and landed on his knees.

Mousse didn't stop and launch some chains at him. Ranma easily dodged the attack and rushed Mousse. He slammed him into the wall and began to unleash a barrage of punches on Mousse. The Chinese male defended himself as best he could but it was not enough. Ranma ended his combo with a right cross that knocked Mousse down on the ground. Ranma stepped back and gained some distance just in case he got back up. Mousse struggled and tried to force himself to his feet. Ranma sighed and got into his stance.

As Mousse prepared to attack, he was suddenly flipped in the air and sent flying into the koi pond. He changed into his curse form and was quacking angrily. He stopped his quacking when he saw the face of the two elders, Happosai and Cologne. The old leech turned toward the woman.

"I trust that you will keep him on his leash?" Happosai asked.

"Don't worry. His punishment will be swift and unpleasant." Cologne said with an edge. She grabbed the duck and dragged him away. Happosai went back inside to deal with his students.

XXX

"You never fail to amaze me boy. You disobeyed a direct order from me. That does not make me happy." Cologne said.

"I don't care! That fool has poisoned dear Shampoo's mind! She's not thinking straight and I will show her when I defeat him!" Mouse shouted but regretted it because of the injuries that he suffered.

"I don't think that would be wise. Especially since the elders actually think the Shampoo's plans are wise. In fact, they are considering sending a small group of female Amazons to test her theory." Cologne said. Mousse looked at her with shock. Cologne suddenly got serious. "Now for your punishment. For recklessly putting others in danger with Jusenkyo water, you are sentenced to be a servant of mines until you turn twenty-one years of age. After you have served out your duties, you will be set free. By that, I mean that you will be allowed to live your life by yourself without our aid."

"You're banishing me from the village?!" Mousse exclaimed.

"No, you'll still be an Amazon but we will no longer aid you. Your actions have brought shame to the village and we will not allow that to stand. After you have served your time, you are on your own." Cologne said.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Mousse asked.

"You did this on your own. You could have lived a comfortable life and just been Shampoo's friend but you couldn't and this is the result of your actions." Cologne said. She threw him an apron. "Now mister part-time, it's time to get to work in the kitchen." Mousse was very depressed and made his way to the kitchen. As he stood there, he only blamed Ranma for what happened. If he was not in the picture, then Shampoo would love him and they could live happily. He was the only one that could make her happy. He would not allow Ranma to destroy that dream.

He had time now and he would be close to his dear Shampoo. He had six years to change her mind. He would succeed, he had to.

XXX

Ranma was working on perfecting his first kata. He still felt that it wasn't ready even though he showed it to the students. If he couldn't do it in a certain time and if it wasn't fluent enough, it wasn't ready. Once he felt confident in the kata, he would move on to the next one. Kasumi entered the dojo and saw Ranma doing his kata. She just watched and thought that it was a beautiful dance of moves. After it was done, Ranma relaxed and Kasumi clapped.

"That was beautiful Ranma." Kasumi said.

"You think so? I feel a little more confident in it but I don't know if it's ready yet." Ranma said.

"You're putting too much pressure on yourself. You will get, I know you will." Kasumi said.

"Thanks Kasumi. Say, would you like to try it?" Ranma said.

"Oh, I don't think so." Kasumi said with a wave of her hands.

"Come on, just try it out." Ranma egged her on. He quickly appeared at her side and began to lead her to the middle of the floor. Kasumi protested but Ranma was having none of it. Ranma held onto her, which made Kasumi blush a little. Ranma began to move and Kasumi followed. She was a bit clumsy but it only made the two of them chuckle and giggle. As they performed the kata, Akane watched from the doorway. She was going to train but she caught sight of the two.

She wasn't happy that Ranma was showing Kasumi a bit of martial arts or the fact that he was so close to her. It didn't look like Kasumi minded because she was laughing just like him. She crushed that jealous feeling that she was having and just waited for them to finish. She didn't wish to get into any arguments with either of them. She was already on thin ice with everyone in the house. She turned when she heard an oink. She looked down to see P-chan and was instantly happy. She cradled the little pig into her chest and felt a little better.

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Authors' Notes: Sorry everyone, work has been a bitch. I've been very busy and it has affected my writing schedule. Anyway, I got this chapter done and I hope you enjoy it.