Am I Pretty Again Ranma�s Declaration of Womanhood

Mousse put on his school uniform and frowned at his image, it wasn't that he looked bad in the uniform; it was a plain black with a mandarin collar. Similar to the collars that he normally wore, what bothered him was that there was no uniqueness to this look. He looked like thousands of other high school students and that bothered him. He could see why Ranma had never worn this uniform, the brash boy liked to stand out and wear the more flashy Chinese clothing that Mousse rejected. The uniform originally had been too short in the leg and too large in the shoulders and chest. However with some careful tailoring on the part of Kasumi, it now fit perfectly. He looked foxy according to the reborn Ranma and the rest of the Tendo household were kind enough to agree. Mousse wondered if Shampoo would like his uniform or laugh at him, probably the latter he suspected. He wondered how the hell he got into this situation, all he did was try to be kind to an injured person and look where it got him, protecting the virtue of his transformed sworn enemy. The worst part was that try as he might to hate her, he liked her; she was so sweet and nice to him. He'd never dealt with someone so feminine and demure, Amazon women were warriors and their skills certainly didn't include trying to treat a male right. She deferred to his wishes and did everything she could for him. It was a new experience being treated as a dominate male rather then as a doormat. He picked up his book bag and prepared to go to school for the first time in over a year, but his first stop was the Tendo house to get his charge.

Ranko had taken a bath and wiped off the mirror to examine the male form that she normally ignored. Long black hair fell in wet strands down his back. She examined first his chest and then the rest of his body; she blushed when she saw his cock and balls. She hastily averted her eyes from these and focused on his face. It was a more masculine version of her own with slate blue eyes, the same button nose, baby cheeks, pouty lips and long eyelashes. However there was where the comparison ended, his features were boyish, whereas hers were girlish. Ranma was a very well developed boy with a powerful taut body she observed. She wondered what his personality was like; he had to be charming to have four girls insisting that they were his fiancée. She could appreciate his good looks, but preferred a leaner sort of body on a male she decided and dumped a bucket of cold water over her head.

She squealed and her nipples went hard as the cold water transformed her. It was a stupid curse she thought. She herself had only been born recently when she opened her eyes to see the handsomest face staring down at her. She was lucky in the respect that she wasn't a blank slate; she knew the proper name of things and seemed to have most basis survival skills intact. It seemed to be that the base personality had become dormant, leaving her in control of the body. She examined her now feminine body; this was the one she felt the most comfortable in. She was small, she barely came up to Mousse's shoulder, but buxom with full breasts, a nipped in waist, generous hips and high, full behind. Her body was lush, healthy and nicely toned. She made a mental note that she should start working out to keep it so. Was she pretty she wondered, was her body and personality enough to entice the love a man? Could this weird body carry and birth their children? She wasn't sure who she even was and everyone but Mousse was treating her like she a disease soon to be cured. She felt unwanted, an alien in her own home. Every gesture of wanting to learn womanly skills seemed to offend these strangers she lived with. Kasumi was the only one who seemed to enjoy spending time with her. The middle sister Nabiki was always trying to get her to model for embarrassing photograph, Akane was always yelling at her to 'snap out of it', her so-called father who should love her told her that she was an embarrassment on a daily basis and Mr. Tendo just kind of ignored her. Then there was her Uncle Happi, he seemed to own an endless supply of women's lingerie that he gave to her to wear. She normally wore Akane's clothes and didn't understand why she got so insulted when she made remarks about them not fitting right. Akane was less endowed then she and had a slightly thicker waist, how was telling the truth offensive?

She decided that she needed her own wardrobe to establish her identity. She didn't want to just be a false Ranma anymore.

Ranma touched her breast experimentally and pinched her nipples lightly; it was a pleasant sensation. She blushed when she thought about what she had read about sex on the internet the other day. Sitting down on a bench, she spread her legs and teased open the petals of her sex to examine her soft pink interior. She didn't even know if she was a virgin or how to check for this. She wondered if Mousse knew and blushed at the idea of him examining her this way. This caused her clit to throb. She reached a finger tentatively towards it and just brushed the sensitive tip. She gasped when a bolt of pleasure shot through her. She did it again and this time started to rub it in a circular motion and moaned when pleasure rippled through her, she could feel each rub building up to something that was just around the corner. She pictured Mousse still on his knees before her, watching her rub herself. She could practically feel his hot breath on her exposed genitals and came hard! She was flushed and panted when she stopped cumming and then blushed at her wicked thoughts. She wondered if Ranma had done this to her body and felt disturbed by this. Then she realized that Mousse would be there soon and ran to get dressed.

Mousse smiled when she flounced out the door to meet him, was it his imagination or were her eyes particularly bright this morning? She caught her breath at how handsome he looked in his uniform.

Cologne was happy when her great-granddaughter arrived home "nihao great-grandmother" Shampoo said brightly, she'd had a good time training with her friends and was in a great mood. There was nothing like training with proper visiting Amazons after being mainly surrounded by weak, useless Japanese women. Shampoo braced herself to push Mousse off of her when he glomped to her as he always did whenever she'd been away. When nothing happened she got confused and looked around for him.

"Where Mousse?" she asked.

"He's in school" Cologne responded.

"School?" she repeated.

"Yes the young fool started attending Furinkan High School this morning. He's got a uniform and everything" Cologne replied.

"But why Mousse want to attend school?" she asked in confusion. She'd thought that the only thing he cared about was her.

"Oh he was quite determined; I even had to pretend I was HIS great-grandmother to help him enroll. They thought that just because he was raised in a 'primitive' village that he was illiterate. I got the Chinese high school you attended to fax his transcripts to them and then they accused us of them being fake because his marks were too high. I pointed out that he has a photographic memory, a genius level I.Q. and skipped a grade, but they still made him take this stupid placement test and he got a perfect score. In the end he was allowed into her grade and placed in her class" Cologne said, being purposefully vague.

"Her?" Shampoo said; she couldn't have been more stunned at this moment if her beloved great-grandmother had admitted that she was a cross-dressing Happosai.

"Yes Mousse's new love interest" she replied.

"Mousse have girlfriend?" Shampoo said in shock.

"I wouldn't go that far but they seem pretty close" Cologne observed.

Shampoo wondered what the hell had happened, she'd only been gone for a few days and now her permanent stalker had undergone an extreme personality transformation. School? A girlfriend? For some reason the idea of Mousse liking someone else disturbed her. She determined that she would get to the bottom of this. "Good for Mousse, this keep him out of Shampoo's hair" she said nonchalantly and went to go unpack.

Cologne couldn't help chuckle at her deliberate deception, but she thought it to be harmless. Shampoo would be startled by who it was and then they would all share a laugh when Ranma was back to being himself. Mousse was way too into Shampoo to develop feelings for the suddenly feminine Ranma. The girl's crush was harmless and would never be reciprocated.

Mousse took to school easily and was able to follow the lessons well enough. He'd always been a good attentive student and applied himself to learn. Just because he was there to act as a bodyguard didn't mean that he shouldn't be a proper student. His petite companion never left his side and he took to carrying both their books, he tried not to notice that on her binder was scrawled "Mousse + Ranko" in a heart shape. He didn't mind it too much; in fact he was flattered that someone thought him cute.

At lunch they opted to sit outside to take advantage of the nice weather. She pulled out her bento box and waited for Mousse to do the same. "Didn't you bring lunch?" she asked.

He blushed "I forgot, I'll get something at the Nekohanten later, I'm not that hungry" he explained and then his stomach growled.

She laughed and opened her bento box "share this with me" she said, "Kasumi always packs too much. We only have one pair of chopstick, do you mind sharing?" she asked.

Mousse was again touched by her kindness, if it had been Shampoo he would have starved. He had a high metabolism that required lots of food to maintain muscle bulk. "Okay, but you eat most of it" he said.

She picked up her chopsticks, scooped up a piece of barbequed squid and held it towards him "We're sharing this equally" she said firmly and smiled when he allowed her to feed it to him. He hummed in appreciation when the well made fish melted in his mouth and wondered if she knew that she got a dimple in her right cheek when she smiled. He didn't object when she alternated between feeding herself and then feeding him until the food was done. He packed the empty bento box away for her and they sat together in companionable silence just enjoying the warm sunshine. She tilted her head back and let it shine onto her upturned face. At moments like these Mousse ceased to think of her as Ranma and just saw how the sun transformed her loose, wavy hair into red fire as it blew gently in the breeze. How dainty she looked as she leaned back slightly with her legs extended before her and her tiny feet jiggling slightly to the tune of an unheard song. She turned to him and opened her vivid blue eyes to look at him; he could see the innocence of the soul contained within. She seemed at peace with herself and content to be in his presence. She looked like a sweet young girl experiencing her first curse. "It's all an illusion" he reminded himself. Soon Ranma would reclaim his body and this Ranko would cease to exist as if she'd never been. Leaving Mousse with only the memory that there was a girl who cared about him and thought him wonderful.

"Ranko, I have to stop by Chinatown after school to pick up some spices for Cologne, would you like to come with me or should I drop you home first?" he asked her.

"I would love to go with you!" she said excited about the idea of going.

Mousse could hardly keep up with the exploring Ranko, she was everywhere at once. She wanted to try every type of food she was unfamiliar with, sample every spice and try on all the clothes she saw. She amused him. Running into people he knew while in the presence of a girl who wasn't Shampoo was an experience. People kept on questioning him about her in his native tongue but seemed to be skeptical that he was just acting as her bodyguard. Still, she was cheerful, happy and got smiles from people even if she couldn't understand them. "Why does everyone keep talking to you in Mandarin?" she asked.

"They're wondering who you are" he explained. "They're used to seeing me in the company of other people and are curious as I'm normally a loner"

"Oh that makes sense" she said and then blushed. "Do you mind if I ask you a question?" she asked hesitantly.

"Sure" he replied.

"What's it like to kiss someone?" she asked.

He looked at her to see if she was serious and then thought for a second "I'm afraid I don't know myself, I've never kissed anyone" he explained 'not for lack of trying' his brain added.

"Really? With the way you look, I assumed that you were beating girls off of you" she said.

"Sorry, I'm normally the one being beaten off" he muttered, but glowed at her compliment.

"Pardon?" she asked, but luckily got distracted. "Oh that's pretty" she exclaimed and stopped in front of a window to examine a peach-coloured lace trimmed dress. Mousse frowned and touched his wallet. He had nearly enough for his laser eye surgery with his wages from last night, but wanted to do something nice for her. Everyone seemed to treat her as an annoyance that would go away when the illustrious Ranma returned to brighten everyone's lives, but Mousse had come to know her as an individual and liked her. She deserved to be treated well and he knew how to do it. He knew the store owner; he sold quality clothing for discount prices and would always give the Amazons a further discount out of respect. Oh he knew this store really well; it was a favourite of Shampoo's and a trip into it meant new clothes for her and an empty wallet for him with barely a thank you.

"Would you like to try it on?" he asked.

"I would love to, but I have no money" she said, barely able to tear her eyes away from it.

"I've got money, let's get you some new clothes" he said and then blushed when the petite girl was suddenly hugged him and exclaimed how wonderful he was.

She tried on several outfits, he got to know her style and kept bring more dresses over for her to try on. She like modest, but figure skimming dresses with clean lines and subtle feminine touches, a bit of lace or ruffles trimming them. In the end she chose three that she loved the best: one was the peach one, a jade green dress with a ruffled bottom and a midnight blue sundress. Then they started arguing about how many she was allowed, Mousse wanted to buy all three, but she insisted that that was too much and she would just take one. He was amused by this turn of events, normally Shampoo chose whatever she wanted and he had to come up with a way to pay for them. Eventually the kindly owner said that he was having an unannounced two for one special and only charged him for two dresses. He'd always felt sorry for Mousse, he so much the patsy when it came to Shampoo. The owner was happy for him that he'd found a genuinely nice girl.

Holding her bags they exited the store, only for him to be hustled into the boy's store across the way. "What are we doing here?" he asked.

"I want to see what you look like in Western clothes" she replied. He tried to refuse, but she pouted and he gave in. Now it was his turn to be the model. She exclaimed while he tried on various jeans and t-shirt combinations, combat pants and khaki pants. He felt like a fool but enjoyed being admired. Finally he came out in the black business suit and white dress shirt she'd insisted he try on. "Well?" he asked striking a pose.

When she remained silent, he turned around and was surprised by the awe in her face "you look wonderful" she said clapping her hands. He really did look good and had no clue about it.

"Really?" he asked dubiously.

"Please buy them Mousse" she pleaded.

He looked at the price tag and realized that it was going to be a longer while before he got his laser surgery. "Okay I will" he agreed. He went to put his uniform back on while she wandered around the store. Finding a sweater would match his eyes, she ran back to the change room with it. She went to rap on the door to see if he was decent, he hadn't locked it and it slowly swung open. Ranko froze when the sight that greeted her eyes was a pair of hairless round, muscular ivory hued buttocks. She turned as red as a tomato but couldn't stop staring. Mousse brushed his hair out of the way from his bent over position and registered that Ranko was staring transfixed at his butt and that this was the wrong day to go commando. He'd forgotten to put his clothes in the dryer the night before and had no clean underwear. Ranko gulped pulled the door closed and then had a seat in the nearest chair to pull herself together. She was horribly embarrassed to be caught peeping at her friend like that. Mousse joined her soon, he didn't seem angry, merely amused.

"I'm so sorry" she said, her face still bright red.

"It's okay, you're hardly the first girl to see my bare butt" he commented.

"What?" she said in shock.

"I grew up with three sisters" he explained.

"Mousse why do you have a tattoo on your butt that reads made in china, in Japanese?" she asked.

Now it was his turn to blush "I belonged to the Chinese circus for a short time and there was a show in Nerima; I was trying to get revenge on Ranma and attempted to do so by turning Akane into a duck. It was never my intention to really do it. As usual it ended in my defeat. I was depressed and went drinking with a friend, to make long story short we ended up in a tattoo palour and both of us asked for something Chinese. So for some reason I ended up with' made in china' on my rear, written in Japanese. I guess that the tattoo artist really had a sense of humour" he explained. "You're the only one who knows about my tattoo besides him and my friend"

"I'll never tell anyone" she promised.

"Good, lets go get some ice cream" he suggested.

Shampoo was walking through the Dragon Mall when she saw them; she was surprised by how different Mousse looked in a school uniform. He looked handsome she thought. Shampoo could only see the back of his companion's head; she had red hair she noted. Uncommon for Japan, perhaps she was a foreign exchange student she reasoned? Mousse looked relaxed in her company and seemed to be enjoying himself, she could tell from how he was smiling and laughing at what she said. This was a side of him that she never got to see because he normally became clingy around Shampoo.

Curiousity won out and she went over to introduce herself to his friend.

Mousse looked in surprise to see Shampoo walking towards them "Shampoo?" he said.

The person opposite him swiveled and Shampoo was surprised by who it was "Airen!" she cried in shock.

Ranko could only look from one to the other and realized that Mousse had a girlfriend, a bolt of jealousy shot through her. She got up and glared at the other girl. "Mousse who's your friend? She looks cheap with her paint on clothes and slutty makeup" she declared, staring distastefully at her attire.

"Why Airen say that?" Shampoo asked hurt.

"What's an Airen?" she demanded.

Mousse was somewhat amused to see the most dangerous woman in his tribe being insulted by her husband this way. He held the same opinion about the majority of her Nerima clothes. "It means beloved husband, Shampoo's one of Ranma's fiancées" he explained.

"What you mean Ranma, she's Ranma" Shampoo declared.

"No she's Ranko, you'd better have a seat, we have a lot to explain" Mousse suggested.

Afterwards they walked Ranko home, she was skipping ahead relieved to find out that Mousse was single. If Shampoo didn't want him, she did!

Shampoo and Mousse walked at a more sedate pace "I don't like it, he's no good to me like this" she said in Mandarin. "He'd better get back to normal soon"

"Until he does, I promised that I would guard her" Mousse said.

"It's your duty as an Amazon to protect my husband" she ordered.

"I don't give a damn about Ranma, its Ranko that I've sworn to protect" he hissed.

"They're the same person" she said dismissively.

Ranko turned around and flashed a sweet smile at him; she was trying on a straw coolie hat at a stand and she looked adorable in it. He smiled back fondly "no they're not" he answered