Am I Pretty Again Ranma�s Declaration of Womanhood

Mousse was going to work out with the Cologne and Shampoo. He loved watching Shampoo bending and shaping in a hypnotic dance as she paced through her martial arts moves with Master Chang and then sparred with her. Mousse paced along with her and then hit the weight room to try and add muscle bulk to his lean frame. He could now bench two hundred and eighty five pounds; he was proud of himself and wished the Shampoo would look impressed when he told her. Everything he did was with her in mind. He had been very happy to leave his awkward stage behind of being a tall skinny nothing who was all arms and legs. With strict discipline and a punishing regime of weights, cardio and martial arts, his skinny frame had blossomed into lean hard muscles. He would always be lithe, but at least his shoulders were wide and his back straight. His V shaped torso tapered into a small waist, rock hard glutes and long legs. Mousse thought himself to be reasonably good looking despite his horrible vision problem, but that would be rectified, he had been saving up for laser surgery and nearly had enough. However, his main problem was that he seemed to the lack sex appeal that the male Ranma had in abundance. He didn’t think this to be very fair, he didn’t need four fiancées, he just wanted one girl to give all his love to and marry. He looked at Shampoo and his heart melted. ‘Why can’t you love me?’ he thought. His life would be so much better if she did. He would go from being depressed all of the time to being elated. He would be the best husband to her that he could be and never even dream of cheating on her. He had so much love to give, if only, if only.

“What Mousse say?” Shampoo asked bringing him out of his state of reverie.

He blushed when he realized that he had said if only out loud and said, “I was just saying that you look pretty today” and she did. She wore a cropped blue sports cami and mid thigh length bicycle shorts that looked magnificent on her ample curves and left nothing to the imagination. He could almost imagine what she looked like naked and blushed again slightly at this.

“Mousse you have a phone call” Cologne cried to him, effectively breaking his happy little bubble of daydreams.

“Who call you?” Shampoo asked him, she couldn’t remember his receiving a single call since he’d come to live with them.

“I think I know” he said with a frown, but he was surprised to find out that it was Kasumi Tendo.

“Mousse-san I’m sorry to call you so early in the morning, but we’re having a bit of a crisis. Ranko has locked herself in the bathroom and refuses to talk to anyone but you” she explained.

Mousse sighed and got that sucked in feeling again. There was going to be no workout for him that morning nor any teasing peeks at his beloved. “I just have to change and I’ll be right over” he promised. He went to his room and pulled off the black tank top and blue shorts that he had on and slipped into his normal robe and pants. He departed for the Tendo residence and was admitted by Kasumi. He wasn’t surprised to find all of the Tendos and Mr. Saotome huddled comedically around the bathroom door. “Ranko, it’s me Mousse, would you let me in?” he asked, he was rewarded with the lock turning and only he was admitted. She closed the door firmly against prying eyes. She looked upset and wore a modest flowered nightgown. “Ranko what’s wrong?” he asked her.

“I went to get ready for school and they gave me these to wear” she said showing him Chinese clothes that he recognized as belonging to Ranma. “I told them that I didn’t want to wear these. I wanted a girls school uniform like Nabiki and Akane wore, so they started saying that I was unmanly and a disappointment. I’m unmanly because I’m not a man, why can’t I dress like the rest of the girls? I don’t think it’s a crime” she said with a sniffle.

“Ranma always wears these clothes; they’re just what everyone’s used to. I’m sure that they meant no harm” he said.

“I’m not Ranma, no one but you seems to realize that” she said.

“It’s okay; I’ll get it sorted out. I’m sure one of the girls has an extra uniform you could wear” he promised.

“What about for underneath? I certainly can’t wear boxer shorts, that’s perverted” she said and then blushed and looked down “and I certainly need a......” she said and said something in a voice so low that he couldn’t make it out.

“You need a what?” he asked in confusion.

She turned so deep red that she was practically purple, she gestured for him to bend down “I need a bra” she whispered, embarrassed at having to reveal to a male something so intimate.

Mousse bit his lip to stop laughing at how shy and modest she was, she was so unlike Ranma! “I’ll see what I can do” he promised and went out the door. The rest of them looked at him expectantly. “Do either Nabiki or Akane have a spare uniform? She wants to wear a proper uniform like the rest of her gender and proper underclothes” he explained.

“I think that she would fit into my old one” Kasumi volunteered.

“I can help with the bra and panties” said Happosai as he hopped through the window. “Why does Ranma need them?” he asked and the others quickly brought him out to speed while he sorted through his lingerie collection, until he brought out a cute set of virginal white panties and a bra. “32DD ought to fit her, I have a good eye for ladies sizes” he said as he presented these to Mousse. “Hot dog, Ranma’s become a sweet young thing again” he said his eyes lighting up in anticipation of getting the gullible girl to pose for lingerie shows.

Mousse could sense what he was thinking and stooped down to his eye level. He bowed to him formally and said “Happosai, Grand Master of the martial arts school of Anything Goes I would like you to swear on your honour as a martial artist that you won’t attempt anything with Ranko that you wouldn’t Kasumi”

Happosai opened his eyes wide in shock, no one had ever made this request of him, they normally just pounded on him and sent him into the stratosphere. He could never do what he attempted with the other girls to Kasumi; she was the sweet great-grandchild he’d never had. “So she’s really like Kasumi then?” he asked, referring to the other girl’s innocence. Mousse nodded. “Very well I won’t interfere with her and will aid in her protection” he agreed.

Pair of knee socks and black flats were donated to the growing pile of clothing and Mousse knocked on the door to gain admittance. “I got these for you” he said and held them out, “I’ll send Kasumi to help you with anything that you might be unfamiliar with”

“Thanks Mousse” she said with gratitude and impulsively gave him a hug.

“It’s no problem” he said with a blush.

Ranko went into Kasumi’s room with her and watched her transformation in the mirror. The lingerie fit her perfectly and so did the dress, she looked cutely feminine and adorable she thought. The blue uniform went well with her glorious hair and blue eyes. She frown and touched her braid, she didn’t like it that much. She undid the hair tie and shook it loose. “Kasumi do you know how to do hair?” she asked.

“I can cut it, but can’t style it too well” she replied. “What did you have in mind?” she asked.

“Just brush the kinks out of it and perhaps add a hair band” she explained.

“Sure I can do that, I believe that I have a hair ribbon that would match your uniform” Kasumi said and went to fetch it.

“See crisis averted, just listen to what she’s saying and respond, don’t think about what Ranma would want, he’s another person” Mousse lectured. They all turned when Ranko came out, all jaws dropped at how cute she looked with her hair down and a neat bow tied onto the side of her hair ribbon.

She smiled shyly at Mousse “do I look okay?” she asked.

“You look beautiful” he said honestly.

“Would you walk me to school?” she asked.

He looked at his watch and realized that it was too late to work out “sure why not” he replied. So he had the honour of escorting three hot girls to school.

“Will you come pick me up to walk me home?” Ranko asked.

“I don’t think that I can, I have to work for a living” he replied.

“Oh okay” she said sadly.

“Well, I suppose I could” Mousse said hating to disappoint people.

She lit up and said “thank you so much Mousse-kun.”

“Hey no problem” he replied feeling it weird that he found her really cute.

When he returned he couldn’t see Ranko “are you looking for Ranko? If so she’s in the nurse’s office with Akane” Nabiki explained.

“Is she ill?” Mousse asked.

“A guy kicked her can; she didn’t even try to defend herself. You’re not Ranma’s only enemy, he has them here at school also” she explained and led him to the nurse’s office. Mousse sucked in his breath in rage at her black eye and torn dress. She looked pitiable.

“He didn’t rough her up that much because she wasn’t hitting back. The only hard punch he landed on her was just enough to give her the black eye” Akane explained.

Mousse sat down beside her “are you okay?” he asked her.

“It was horrible, he kept on accusing me of things I can’t remember doing and then attacked me” she sobbed.

“Ranko why didn’t you clean his clock? You have martial arts moves that haven’t even been invented yet” Mousse inquired.

“I hate violence, I don’t remember any of that nor want to use it” she explained. “Ranma must be horrible if people hate him so much” she sniffled.

Mousse felt compelled to put his arm around her and did “Ranma’s not a bad guy; he’s a better martial artist then most people and likes to brag about it. That pisses a lot of people off and he has a lot of cute fiancées that other guys want and that pisses them off too” he explained.

“Do you hate me?” she asked

“No I like you” he answered truthfully and they left.

“That’s the guy who punched me” she said when they walked past the school yard. Mousse took one look at his smirk and then suddenly he had the young fool by the collar and was punching him and yelling at him. He blinked in surprise; he hadn’t even remembered approaching him nor yelling “you will leave this girl alone from now on” He released him and rejoined his female companions.

“That was so brave” Ranko said admiringly. “I hate violence but it was so sweet that you did for me” Mousse could only blush.

“I think that we’re ignoring the big picture” Akane said. “Ranma’s enemies aren’t going to stop attacking Ranko just because she’s lost her memory. They’re just as likely to attack her female form as her male” she pointed out. “She’s a sitting duck like this; she’s going to need a bodyguard until she gets back to normal”

Mousse had thought the same thing, but his head still spun when Ranko turned those large, innocent eyes on him and said “Mousse would you be my bodyguard?”

So many things went through his mind at that time ‘guard an enemy who stood in the path of my true love, ridiculous. In this form I could kill her if I wanted and claim my bride’ but then he realized that that would be like stepping on a smurf at tantamount to slaughter. “Ranma I can’t be this for you, the nature of my relationship with Ranma prevents this” he explained.

“I thought that you understood that I’m not him?” she pleaded.

“I do understand, but Ranma holds something that I want, so I can’t be your bodyguard” he said.

“What is it? If you tell me what it is, I’ll find it and return it to you right now” she said so earnestly that it almost broke his heart.

“It’s more complicated then that” Mousse said with a fond smile, he almost wished that she was a real girl as he stroked her cheek. She blushed at the contact.

Akane said to Ranko “come on let’s go ask Kuno”

“Who’s he?” she asked. Mousse paused at this, in his minds eye he saw Ranko alone with the crazy kendo while he pushed her down as she screamed helplessly, tore her dress and underwear from her body and forced himself into her....”

“Wait I’ll do it!” he cried hastily, which was exactly what Akane was hoping would happen. She would much rather trust the safety of her amnesiac fiancée to the Shampoo obsessed Mousse then the perverted kendoist. “Only Cologne has to agree, I can’t do it without her permission”

Cologne didn’t believe them at first when the three teenagers came to see her and proposed their plan. What convinced her was the pitiable sight of the Ranma. She knew that her son-in-law wouldn’t get a black eye from a single punch and would rather die then wear the get up that she had on. Everything about Ranma was different, the way she talked and held herself, her body language, even the way that she walked. It was like someone had replaced her with a rather beaten up traditional Japanese beauty. It was....disturbing.

“So you want Mousse to attend school with you and follow you around?” she asked.

“Yes, I know that it’s an awful inconvenience for poor Mousse-kun, but would you mind? He’s already agree” she simpered, flashing him a bright, smitten smile.

“Mousse’s paid to be a waiter here” she pointed out.

“Yes, but he explained to me that it’s the dinner rush that you really need him for, I’m prepared to assist him during this time and you don’t have to pay me” Ranko offered.

Cologne studied her shrewdly; another cute girl waitress would be good she reasoned. “Okay, but you do get to keep your tips” she agreed.

She widened her eyes when the young woman bounced and clapped her hands “thank you so much ma’am, you’re the best” she cried happily. Cologne did have to admit that it was better then being called the old ghoul.

“You don’t mind?” Mousse asked; he’d hoped that she would reject Akane’s idea.

“No, it would be good husband training for you. Besides someone has to keep an eye on Shampoo’s airen until she gets back to normal” Cologne said.

“Thanks for that” he said coldly and was about to tell her what to do with THAT idea when he was dragged away by a joyful Ranko.

She took his arm and pulled him towards the door “come on Mousse, Ranma has a school uniform in his closet that looks like it’s never been worn. You can wear it” she cried.

Mousse compared his body to Ranma’s and retorted, “I’m sure it’ll fit like a glove” imagining it bagging on him.

“Don’t worry we’ll make it fit” she said happy that her new friend would be looking out for her. He was awfully cute she thought with a blush.

Cologne watched the teens rush away and then had the best laugh that she’d had in over one hundred year. She wished that Shampoo hadn’t gone on her friend’s training mission now. Wouldn’t she love to know that her new competition for her airen’s love was Mousse?