Akane Mu: Disowned

Mousse laid Akane on his futon and sat down beside her, simply because there was no where else to sit in the small room. She turned away so that he couldn’t see her. “Akane, I would never even think to ask you this question under normal circumstances, but I’m afraid that all modesty must be cast aside for the moment. Are you a virgin?” he asked.

She sat up in outrage and almost slapped him “what kind of question is that?” she demanded, her face flaming at having a male ask so personal a question.

“A very important one when it comes to straightening this mess out. If you are indeed a virgin, a simple doctor’s examination will clear up this matter, then your father should allow you to come home” he pointed out.

Akane’s hopes surged, of course, it was so simple! “Yes, I am” she replied. “I can go to Dr. Tofu and get him to examine me; he can write daddy a note swearing that my hymen is intact. Daddy would have to believe me then” she cried.

“We’ll go right after we straighten up” he said and handed her his hairbrush. She automatically started brushing her hair, her face had lost its hopeless expression and she looked more like herself. Mousse found himself examining her; in her sleeveless blouse with its Peter Pan collar and modest denim skirt, he found it hard to believe that her own father thought that she was sexually active. Her face was more that of a child’s then a woman’s, she normally dressed neatly but modestly and she embarrassed easily. She reminded him of his youngest sister. Not year’s wise, but maturity level. She had an innocence about her that had been untouched by life; she had been protected by her father and older sisters and now Ranma. Everything about her appeared virginal, boarder lining on girlish.

Then again Mousse had to consider that his own upbringing had been different. It wasn’t unusual for children as young as twelve to sexually experiment together, to get married at fifteen and to have children at sixteen. As an Amazon male, it was his job to pleasure the superior females on demand. Disownment was a foreign concept to him, being sent into exile simply meant that you couldn’t live in the village and had to build your hut elsewhere.

He walked her to Dr. Tofu’s clinic and then went to pick up her suitcase, in hopes that he would be returning them both soon. Soun Tendo met him at the door, all he had to say was “if you were a proper Japanese boy, you could have married her and spared her this dishonour and ours”

“But because I’m not Japanese, I would still humiliate her if I married her?” Mousse asked. “That’s a tad racist don’t you think? We’re both considered to be Asian”

“Yes but you’re the wrong sort” he said with narrowed eyes.

“Then I guess you don’t want to know that I’m half Caucasian as well as being Chinese trash?” he challenged, Soun just shut the door in his face.

At the clinic, Akane’s cheeks glowed as the handsome Dr. Tofu examined her in a place no one ever had before. She was embarrassed, but felt elated at the same time that this would provide proof that she remained untouched. She got redressed, sat down and waited for Dr. Tofu to return, her heart was hammering in her chest. He sat down at his desk and played with his glasses for a few seconds. “I have some good news and some bad news. Which would you rather hear first?” he asked grimly.

“Bad” Akane said feeling the grip of panic.

“You don’t have a hymen; it’s most likely because of your love of sports and martial arts. The good news is that I could see no sign of recent sexual activity and can write a note to that effect” he said.

“So there’s no proof that I’m actually a virgin?” she said with her heart plummeting.

“It’s fairly common not to have a hymen. A quarter of females are born with little or no hymen and it can tear due to strenuous sports, erosion by use of tampons or penetrative masturbation” Dr. Tofu explained. “Surely your father must understand that?”

“Daddy’s very old fashioned, he wouldn’t believe it without seeing proof” Akane said sadly. She knew that her hopes of going home were slipping away and she had nowhere to go.

“He’s not a monster, he’ll calm down in a few days” Dr. Tofu said soothingly, positive that Soun would see the light and come begging for his youngest daughter to come home. “In the meantime do you have somewhere to stay?” he asked out of concern.

“I-I don’t know” Akane said, feeling like she was going to cry as she was escorted into the waiting room. She felt grateful that Mousse was waiting for her with a suitcase she recognized as being her own. “How did it go?” he asked, expecting her to give him good news. He was ready to walk her home, he felt responsible for her as it was his fault that she had been disowned.

“I don’t have a hymen” she said numbly, she was past the point of embarrassment. She noticed that Mousse looked grim but unsurprised at the news.

He led her back to the Neko Hanten “You can stay in my room while I sleep on the couch until Shampoo and Cologne get back. They’re the ones who decide if you can stay or not. But I’m sure that you’ll be home by then” he said to bring her hopes up.

Akane felt numbness setting in; she was in shock and felt like she was in a bad dream. Just yesterday she had a loving family, a handsome fiancée and was one of the most popular girls in school. Now all she had was a former enemy of her fiancé, ex-fiancé. Her world had collapsed like a house of cards. Now she didn’t have a home or even a last name, Akane X was all she was. She knew that the gossip had probably already started. Akane disowned because she was caught in bed with a guy after a wild night of having sex. The good girl had gone bad. There were so many girls who were jealous of her, who would love to smear her reputation all over town. Akane had no one.

Mousse took her into the kitchen and made her some tea, while the silent Akane wondered what to do. She couldn’t continue to stay in an apartment alone with a male; it could tarnish her reputation even further. Besides, there was no way that Shampoo and Cologne would let her stay even if she wanted to.

Mouse was concerned about Akane. He had already suspected that her hymen might not be present. In his village, it was rare for a girl to be intact after years of rigorous training. Shampoo hadn’t had one; it was how tight she was that had twigged him to her virginal state. Shaking these thoughts from his head, he focused on his silent, petit companion, she held her cup in one tiny hand while her other cupped her chin. He placed a phone in front of her. She looked at him questioningly.

“You probably have phone calls to make” he said, picked up his tea and went into the living room to give her some privacy.

With trembling hands she dialed home “Tendo residence” Kasumi’s voice said when she answered.

“Kasumi, please don’t hang up. I need to speak with you” Akane begged.

Akane could hear Kasumi suppress a sob and then softly said “I’m sorry, I have to hang up. Those are father’s orders, bye Akane” she said and softly set the phone down.

Akane burst into tears and dialed again, only the answering machine pick up this time. She picked up the phone to call Yuka, but then set it down; she didn’t want to give even her best friend prior knowledge of her shame. She went into Mousse’s room and opened her suitcase. She took out everything that her sister had lovingly packed and set them on the futon. Two school uniforms, three blouses, four t-shirts, three sweaters, two pairs of pants, two skirts, her jogging uniform, ten pairs of panties, ten pairs of socks, two bras, two pairs of pajamas, her tooth brush and her old cherished teddy bear: were all that she owned in the world. Not much for sixteen years. She looked to see if Kasumi had included a note, but there was nothing. Mousse came in to find her putting things back into her suitcase. He handed her what looked like a dried mushroom “you should try and get some sleep, you had a shock and need to relax” he explained.

Akane went to take it, but then hesitated. “It’s not going to make me fall in love with the first person I see or something?” she asked, wary of Amazon mushrooms from experience.

Mousse smiled “that’s just a myth. Don’t you think that if those existed I would have slipped one to Shampoo a long time ago? No, all those mushrooms do is trigger hormones and produce a state of, well, lust” he explained. “This one only makes you sleep for a few hours and you’ll wake feeling refreshed.”

Trusting the boy, she took the mushroom and was soon asleep. Mousse softly closed the door behind him and wondered what to do about her. There was one way to allow her to stay, but should he invoke it?

Akane hardly wanted to leave the place for fear that people would see her and start yelling “slut” so she hid out in the apartment for the next few days lying listlessly on Mousse’s futon. She would only leave when Mousse dressed her up in some of Shampoo’s outgrown clothes and dark glasses. Two Chinese people walking together didn’t attract very much attention.

Shampoo and Cologne hadn’t been happy to learn that the Shampoo’s greatest rival had been living in their apartment. They called a tribal meeting right away. Akane gulped as she was led before the stone faced women, for once seeing a resemblance between the elder and the younger.

“Why is it that you have been allowing our enemy to stay in our home?” Cologne demanded of Mousse in Mandarin.

“She was disowned because she did me a favour when no one else would, I have a responsibility towards her” he replied and then turned to Akane and said in Japanese “I have to speak Mandarin for now” she nodded.

“She can’t stay here!” Shampoo said.

“She has nowhere else to go” Mousse cried. “Would you have her live in the streets, look at her? How long do you think that she would last?” he demanded. Both females turned to look her and realized for the first time how impossibly young and vulnerable Akane looked. “Besides, I thought you were good at helping young girls in trouble?” he snapped and looked at Shampoo, she turned pale.

“Don’t go there” Cologne said in a warning tone of voice.

“Let her go to a friend’s house” Shampoo snarled.

“Where? Once people find out the reason why her own father disowned her, she won’t be welcomed anywhere” Mousse said.

“This isn’t even your apartment” Cologne pointed.

“No, but it’s where I live, therefore I invoke the right to offer her the protection of the Mu family” Mousse declared.

That made Cologne take notice, it was his right to offer this to anyone he felt needed help. “She’s not our responsibility, only yours” Cologne said cautiously. “If we allow her to stay, you will be held responsible for her actions and she has to sleep in your room”

“Done” Mousse said.

Cologne turned to Akane and said in Japanese “Akane, you are allowed to live here, but you have to agree to certain things. You are to help out in the restaurant when not in school; you’ll be compensated for your time. Our names are actually Ku Lon, Xian Pu and Mu Tzu, you will learn to address us by these” Akane nodded to this. “You are to stay away from Ranma; he’s not longer your fiancé, so there is no need for you to see him” Akane flinched at this rule, and then nodded. “Good, you are to stay in Mousse’s room with him”

“What?” Akane said in a startled voice.

“He had offered you the protection of his family name, which would normally mean that you live with them in their hut. As he doesn’t have one, you must share his room” Cologne couldn’t help chuckling at how pale the girl turned at this suggestion. “I don’t mean that you have to sleep in the same futon together, I’m sure you can find a way to divide the room to preserve your modesty” she assured her.

“So if I have the protection of his family, am I engaged to him or something?” Akane asked. All three women cracked up at the expression on Mousse’s face at THAT suggestion, even Akane.

Cologne was still chuckling when she said “no, you just live with them and sometimes people take their last name to show respect to their benefactors.”

Akane looked at Mousse “your last name is Mu?” he nodded. “It’s as good a surname as any” she observed.