As with the last chapter, I will explain the points reviewers made with chapter two. One point that pretty much everyone made was Akane's reaction to the revelation. I would like to say that the style of Rumiko Takahashi with this anime is a little wild and sometimes a character or characters will react in a totally unexpected way. I chose to take that route with Akane. I hear what everyone's saying about how she should have been furious at the thought of a boy peeping at her while she's getting dressed. I understand this. If a boy was peeping at me, I would be furious too.

Mousse's Ploy

Part One

"Welcome to- Ranma!" Shampoo glomped Ranma as he and Akane walked into the Cat Café. Akane glared at the Amazon while Ryoga (as P-chan) snickered into the crook of her elbow.

It had been a week since Akane discovered Ryoga's secret. With this knowledge, she observed how Ranma and Ryoga acted toward one another with new eyes. Some comments Ranma made to Ryoga had been so obvious, Akane couldn't believe how oblivious she had been. She did, however, act like she usually would have. She knew she would have to tell Ranma she knew the truth eventually, but for now she was having too much fun.

When Shampoo finished glomping Ranma, she led them to a table where she eagerly awaited their orders. Ranma sensed that Shampoo would ignore Akane's order if he went first so he said, "Akane, go ahead and order first."

Akane was surprised at Ranma's generosity. She suspected the reason behind it was to make sure Shampoo didn't ignore her order. She put her order in. While Shampoo was writing down Ranma's order, Akane asked, "Do you know where Mousse is, Shampoo?" The Hidden Weapons Master was usually near Shampoo.

"Shampoo no care where stupid Mousse is," she replied. "I place orders now."

As Shampoo headed for the counter, she frowned thoughtfully. She hadn't seen Mousse for a few days. She knew he hadn't given up pursuing her. What was he up to?

Mousse stared at the countless springs before him while a guide stood behind him. "Jusenkyo," he said softly.

"Is sir sure he want to do this?" the guide said.

"Oh, yeah," he answered. "Just lead me to that spring and I'll take care of the rest."

As he was carefully lead across the grounds (he had his glasses on properly), Mousse prayed this plan worked. If it did, he would finally win Shampoo's love! 'I wonder if Shampoo has noticed I'm not there.'

"Here sir is the spring you seek."

"Excellent." Mousse reached into one of his voluminous sleeves and pulled out a box the size of a shopping basket, already stamped and addressed. He handed it to the man.

"When I surface, put me in this box and mail it."

"I no understand sir, but I do it."

"Good." Taking a deep breath, Mousse jumped into the spring before him.

Three Days Later

"Excuse me, miss."

Shampoo looked up from behind the counter to see a mailman on the other side, a box in his hands.

"This package is for you."

"Thank you," Shampoo replied, taking the box. The man bowed and then left the café.

The Amazon looked at the package. The return address said it was from China. A package from her tribe, perhaps? Intrigued, she took it into the back and opened it.

Sitting inside the box was a handsome white cat with deep blue eyes. A combination of adoration and irony washed over her. On one hand, the cat was adorable. On the other hand, receiving the cat was ironic because her cursed form was a cat. Nevertheless, she exclaimed, "Oh, you is the cutest!"

In response, the cat lowered its head in the box and came back up with a note. She took it, opened it, and read.

My dearest Shampoo,

Please accept this cat as a token of my love. I hope to visit you soon.

Love,

Mousse

P.S. The cat's name is Moonbeam. He is well-trained.

'Hmph. I knew he still love me.' Seeing as how the cat had delivered Mousse's note, it was obvious he was well-trained. As she stared at the note, a wonderful idea came to her: Moonbeam could be the café's mascot. Surely, people would come to the restaurant to see the white cat.

Reaching under the table, she pulled out a camera and held it up to her face. "Moonbeam, Shampoo want to take pictures. You pose for me, yes?"

Moonbeam saw the camera, leaped out of the box, and struck a pose. She snapped a picture and the cat struck another pose. A total of six pictures were taken before all the film was used up.

Shampoo stroked his head. "Good boy," she praised. "You stay here. Shampoo go back to work." Moonbeam obliged by going under the table and curling up for a nap.

As soon as Shampoo's footsteps had faded away, Mousse cracked open an eye. His plan was working so far! Shampoo had fallen for his cat form. Everything was going smoothly.

He had heard rumors that each Jusenkyo spring could curse more than one person at a time. That was why he had tried to splash Ranma with water from Spring of Drowned Duck. This rumor gave him the idea that maybe he could rid himself of his current curse by jumping into a different spring. This prompted him to seek out Spring of Drowned Cat.

He figured if he had the same curse as Shampoo, she would eventually love him. Apparently, his idea had worked. He had jumped into the spring and he came out as a cat and not a duck. Truthfully, he loved his new curse. His vision was several times better than when he was human or a duck. His hearing wasn't too bad, either. He didn't understand why Shampoo hated her curse.

Mousse yawned and fell asleep, dreaming of Shampoo being his fiancée.

Shampoo worked until mid-afternoon when another waitress came on duty. Then she grabbed the camera (noting that Moonbeam was asleep) and raced to a one-hour photo lab. After that long hour, she received the pictures. She opened the packet and admired Moonbeam's pictures, which were right on top.

As she walked home, admiring the pictures, an idea came to her. An idea that involved Ranma. It was known that Ranma was afraid of cats, a true stumbling block for her because of her curse. However, she did occasionally use her curse to punish Ranma when he was mean to her.

Her idea was to use Moonbeam to punish him instead of herself. Since the cat was well-trained, he would listen to her. She just had to make sure Moonbeam didn't push Ranma over the psychological edge because then only that girl, Akane, could bring him back. She didn't want to push them even closer together.

Shampoo hated the idea of Akane being Ranma's fiancée. She had tried several plans to drive them apart. But they all failed because Ranma would rescue Akane or vice versa. This new idea, however, was perfect.

'Shampoo marry Ranma,' she vowed. 'No matter what.'

I want to say right now that I am a Shampoo/Mousse fan. I believe they belong together. Therefore, Shampoo's reaction will be a little unexpected and OOC. Please, just accept this and enjoy the conclusion to Mousse's Ploy.