What a Drag

“You’re not leaving” Akane snarled at Mousse.

The Chinese martial artist’s mouth was drawn into a thin line as Akane ranted at him, Ranma stood behind her to lend support. Ranma was somewhat in awe of Akane’s maternal streak, it was a mile wide and she rarely ever allowed it to show. She certainly was now that she’d learned of what had transpired between Shampoo and Mousse and saw his swollen cheek.

“What good would it be for me to stay here? I have no money to support myself and no job to even provide you with rent money. I refuse to become yet another burdening freeloader on your household” Mousse snarled back, looking pointedly at Ranma when he said the freeloading part. Ranma had the sense to blush.

“What good would going back to China do you?” she asked.

“I can stay at my mother’s house there” he said.

“Then you become a burden on her” Akane stated in a calmer voice.

“I can work on her farm in exchange for food and lodging, as well as take a job in the village” Mousse informed her. “I wouldn’t even have to buy a plane ticket; I can ship my luggage and fly there to save on costs”

“What will you do for hot water to change back when you get there?” Akane challenged.

“My mother and sisters know about my curse, they’re hardly going to have barbequed duck that night if a white duck with human intelligence shows up on their doorstep” he snapped back.

“Great and while you’re there, do you intend to attach yourself to the first Amazon girl who pays the slightest attention to you and waste another thirteen years of your life in pursuit of her like you did Shampoo?” Akane asked.

Mousse opened his mouth to protest this and then just turned and left to fume beside the kio pond. He was troubled because what Akane had just said had hit too close to home. Is that why he had been drawn to Shampoo, because all of the other girls refused to have anything to do with him?

Ranma turned to Akane “I think you went a little far” he observed.

She sat down “he needs to think about what would be best for him. He’s hurting and confused about who he’s supposed to be right now. His only dream is dead and going back to his tribe with its screwed up society isn’t going to help him” Akane said with a sigh.

“We can’t tell him how to run his life” Ranma pointed out.

“If he was drowning would you throw him a life ring?” Akane asked.

“Of course” Ranma said sitting beside her.

“Well he is drowning in another way and it’s up to us to save him” Akane declared, and then she blushed when she realized that Ranma was holding her hand. She looked at their entwined hands and realized how natural it felt to have his large, warm calloused palm in hers. She knew that she should probably remove her own small hand, but didn’t want to, so she just ignored it. She shivered when Ranma’s lips brushed her ear. “You’re so cute when you get bossy Tomboy” he whispered to her.

She turned her head to look into his eyes, but accidently pressed her lips against his own. She flinched at the feeling of his silken, full lips. Ranma couldn’t believe that he was touching Akane this way, expecting to be killed; he briefly ghosted a kiss against them. Akane didn’t stop him, so he leaned forward and started kissing her softly, his heart beat faster when she kissed him back. She sighed to be receiving the soft, loving kiss that she’d always dreamed of from Ranma and brought her fingers to the nape of his neck to caress the soft hair under his braid. Ranma’s fingers trembled when he reached back and undid his own braid, remembering how people always wanted to stroke Mousse’s own long hair. Soon Akane was running her fingers through his dark locks while their kiss deepened. Their kiss turned hungry and Ranma parted Akane’s lips with his tongue to explore the velvety depths of her mouth. Akane moaned as Ranma started stroking her taut nipples through her shirt and bra. Ranma wrenched himself back with effort. “Akane we have to stop” he said regretfully.

Akane’s bosom was heaving “you’re right Ranma, if our fathers caught us they would force us to marry”

Ranma reached back to re-braid his hair “that’s not the reason, I want our first time to be on our wedding night” he explained.

Akane’s eyes lit up, this was the first time that Ranma had ever voluntarily said anything about them getting married. “So you want to get married?” she asked, too nervous to ask if he wanted to marry her.

“Yes I do Akane” he said and then they shared a chaster kiss and scurried off to dwell separately on what had transpired. Both had forgotten about Mousse.

Mousse sat at the kio pond wondering what to do. Somehow the idea of China was becoming less and less appealing and he wasn’t sure he could get a job to remain in Nerima. He only was here on an employment visa and didn’t have a lot of skills or education to recommend himself to a potential employer. It would just be a matter of time before he was deported. He’d never told anyone the real reason for coming to Nerima and his reluctance to go back. When a male Amazon reaches the age of sixteen, he was expected to act as pleasure slave to whichever unmarried warrior wanted him. Should a child result from their copulations, they would be acknowledged as being fatherless until the warrior married and the child would automatically become his. Mousse couldn’t do this; he’d sworn his virginity to Shampoo a long time ago nor could he forfeit a child of his blood. So he’d come to find Shampoo in hopes that she’d been the warrior who claimed him, only to find her wanting to claim another.

“Hi Mousse” someone said.

He looked up to see Dr. Tofu “hello Dr. Tofu?” he replied back politely, wishing he could just be left alone with his thoughts.

“Is Kasumi here?” he asked.

“No she’s at the library” Mousse offered.

Dr. Tofu breathed a sigh of relief “that’s good, I tend to get a little.....crazy around her and I need to talk to you” he said.

“What do you want with me?” Mousse asked.

“Kasumi told me about your predicament and I thought that I might be able to help. I’m in need of a new assistant and wondered if you might want the job” he said. “Your duties would consist of answering phone calls, scheduling appointments, general cleaning, autoclaving instruments when necessary, watering the plants, assisting the nurses etc. The base salary isn’t great, but there semi are annual raises if you work out” Dr. Tofu said. He told Mousse his potential salary. Mousse was surprised, it was pretty generous considering.

“Why me?” he asked.

“You need a place to work and a place to stay, I can provide both” Dr. Tofu said.

“Where would I stay?” Mousse asked.

“I converted the upstairs of the clinic into four small one bedroom apartments. They are pretty tiny, but good for a single person or a couple and one of them is vacant. It’s fully furnished and you could move in today if you want. I would hold back a portion of your pay cheque for rent” he explained. “Would you be interested? I can show it to you right now” he said persuasively.

“But you could get lots of people for this job” Mousse pointed out.

“Yes, but I like you and don’t want you to have to run back to China with your tail between your legs. I’m trying to give you a choice, should you choose to accept my help” Dr. Tofu said having a seat beside the confused boy.

Mousse examined the kindly man beside him, his offer seemed too good to be true, but he knew him to be honourable. Dr. Tofu smiled back and stood up “before you decide, let me show you the hovel you’ll be vacating.” Dr. Tofu led him to the clinic, up a private entrance at the side of the building, and through a bright, clean hallway. He reached a red door that was uniform to the other three on each side , inserted a key and pushed it open. “Here we are. I’ll warn you it’s not Buckingham Palace, but it’s yours if you decide to take it.” Dr. Tofu said, he was right, it was a small place. They entered into a rather decent sized living room/kitchenette combination that was divided by a wall. The kitchen appliances weren’t high end, but worked. There was a small wooden table with two chairs in the far corner. The furnishings for the living room were a comfortable looking blue loveseat and arm chair. Someone had built a window seat below the largest window. Off to the right was a small bedroom that contained a lacquered pine double bed and a matching small desk, dresser and bookcase. The closet was small but adequate for Mousse’s needs. The toilet room was tiled in white and looked to be recently cleaned like the rest of the place. The same could be said of the shower (there wasn’t room for an onsen). Mousse realized that when Dr. Tofu looked at this place, all he could see was an average apartment. What Mousse was seeing was that it could be a place of his own. It wasn’t spectacular but it was bright, airy and clean. Not to mention that it would be close to his work. He could live here, he could invite guests over, he could have girls come here and no one would bother them. This thought gave him a nosebleed.

Dr. Tofu chuckled knowingly; quite certain what direction Mousse’s thoughts were going in. “I take it you’re interested?” he asked handing him a tissue.

“Yes very much so, but I still don’t get why me?” Mousse replied feeling a little overwhelmed.

“Us girls have to stick together” Dr. Tofu replied.

A light bulb went off in his head “you don’t mean that you’re a drag queen?” he asked.

“Yep, it took me years to realize it. I don’t go in for stage performances, I’m into fetish. I go to fetish nights as Mistress Demonica. She wears a Faith Hill wig, thigh high lace up leather boots and a leather cat suit or corset and mini skirt. She’s well known for her lashes and I don’t mean the ones on her face. She’s the mistress of the bullwhip and can snatch a cigarette out of someone’s mouth without a scratch. She also teaches SM 101 classes on proper sterilization of equipment and how to play safely” Dr. Tofu admitted.

“So you know about Ranma and myself?” Mousse asked.

“Small scene, new virgins don’t remain a secret for long” Dr. Tofu said. “Now that I’ve trusted you with my secret, do we have a deal?” he asked holding out the key.

“What secret?” Mousse asked taking it from him.

“That’s the spirit” he said approvingly. “The clinic closes at six and I leave at seven after completing my paperwork for the day. You boys can practice to your heart’s content, but keep the music low. Miss Yamada lives beside you, she’s a school teacher. Mr. Toyohashi lives across the hall, he’s a banker. The final unit is rented to a young couple, Mr. and Mrs. Honda. I have some old plates, cutlery and pots and pans you can have, not to mention old sheets for your bed if you’ll accept them. I also have a TV that I never use, its nothing special, but it works. Cable and utilities are included in the rent” he said. “I have a commercial washer and dryer in the basement that I use for wash patient’s gowns and bedding. You can use that off hours, but don’t tell your neighbours that I’m letting you do it. Just make sure that you don’t wash any of the medical clothes with yours” he said conspiratorially. Mousse tried not to laugh; he was actually whispered that part as if the other tenants could hear him. “How does that sound?” he asked.

“Wonderful, I’ll take the job and the apartment” he said.

“Good, feel free to paint, but light colours please” Dr. Tofu requested.

“Of course” Mousse assured him.

“Great, you can start the day after tomorrow to give you a day to settle in. However I need you to come with me in the morning to get your work visa transferred to my name. I’ll meet you here at eight” he said exiting the place.

Mousse walked through the place over and over again. He touched everything that he encountered and discovered that the loveseat was a pullout couch, perfect for overnight guests. Finally he flung himself on the bed and sighed. He finally had a place of his own. He was home!

Shampoo could only stare out her window while Mousse talked to Cologne when he came to get his stuff. She couldn’t bear facing him after she’d made such a fool of herself. He seemed to be in good spirits and even caused her great-grandmother to laugh. She’d been mildly shocked that Dr. Tofu and Ranma were assisting in the move. Mousse glanced up once and she ducked so that he wouldn’t see her. She was surprised when he seemed disappointed by this. He left after giving Cologne a quick hug, this surprised Shampoo.

She went downstairs, “what that about?” she asked her great-grandmother.

“It seems that Mousse isn’t going to China after all, Dr. Tofu gave him a job and a place to stay. Looks like he’s out of our hair and won’t disturb you and your airen anymore”

“No want Ranma” she said reflecting on the night before.

“You are under kiss of marriage still, you have to” Cologne said sternly.

“Then find way for me to get out of it. Marrying him is no longer an option” Shampoo said with a glare, all she could think about was Mousse. Cologne blinked in surprise that Shampoo was defying her, she never had before.

Mousse and Ranma were painting his place and he looked quite the sight. He had his long hair pulled back in a ponytail and wore a baseball cap backwards to protect it. Both he and Ranma wore gis that they had rescued before Kasumi could throw them out. Mousse carefully spread the subtle off-grey that he’d chosen over the walls and looked pointedly at his painting buddy, who lay on the slip covered couch and seemed to be surfing the web on his cell phone. “You know Ranma, when I volunteered to pay for pizza and soft drinks if you would help me paint; I actually was expecting you to help me” he pointed out.

“I don’t know why you bothered picking an off-grey to cover white; there isn’t much of a difference. Why bother to paint at all?” Ranma complained.

“I like the subtle different, its more soothing then white” Mousse replied. “Now come grab a brush so we can finish this tonight so I can move in tomorrow”

“Just a sec” Ranma said and then whooped with triumph. “Found it! What do you think of this ring?” he asked holding the screen towards Mousse.

Mousse looked at the ebay site and noted the small white gold ring with the tasteful princess cut diamond. “Sorry Ranma, I still don’t like men” Mousse joked.

Ranma rolled his eyes “not for you, idiot, I want to buy it for Akane. I’m going to ask her to marry me”