Well, I didn't get any replies to that author's note… so… I'm sticking to my use of pronouns. I prefer using the 'he' instead of the 'she'. I don't know, it just doesn't sound right to my ear when I start using 'she' instead of 'he'.

You've all waited patiently!!!

Besides, I told you all that I would upload whenever I felt like it.

- - - -

"I'm dreaming." Mouse stated blankly. "There's no way this could be happening. So it must be a dream." He had his eyes closed. He wished he was dreaming. No matter how much he tried to convince himself that the situation rested only within his imagination, the uncomfortable position he was in kept bringing him back to reality. Giving up, he opened his eyes.

It was dimly lit within the small supply closet that he was sitting in. There were some soft mats under him, but other wise he was leaning against a hard uncomfortable wall. There was light filtering through a small hole on the top of the ceiling which he had made from throwing Kuno's wooden sword through the roof. In fact, that was the only source of light he was receiving.

He'd been in this prison for at least two hours and was ready to get up and stretch. The only problem was that there was no room to stretch, let alone lie down. Looking through the hole in the ceiling, he watched as the clouds began to turn gray. It would probably start to rain soon. Then maybe it would fill up the closet and he'd drown. Maybe lightning would strike the metal roof and cause the whole structure to burn to the ground, including him.

Mousse sighed deeply and shut his eyes. By the time he had calmed down and was ready to sleep, the door was opened and a cool air flew through and over his body. It was definitely going to rain soon.

"Wakey wakey!" Cried Ranma, kicking at his leg.

Mousse glared at his rival and faced away from him. "Go away and leave me alone."

"Fine, if you want to starve." Ranma whistled, twirling a lunch box on his finger tip. "I guess I'll just eat this then?"

"Go ahead."

Ranma frowned. "Oh, come on! Get over it already."

"What is there to get over? Nothing, that's what. I'm perfectly fine. And I'm not hungry either." Mouse replied curtly and flatly.

"Be that way!" Ranma said in a fit of anger and stormed off, only to return with Ukyo, who was wondering what her fiancé was doing leading her to the back of the school. "I'll just have to make you want to eat!" He turned to Ukyo and patted her swiftly on the shoulder. "Make some of your irresistible okonomiyaki!" He instructed.

"Anything for you, Ran-chan!" Ukyo rolled up her sleeves and began slaving away at her portable okonomiyaki grill. With each new ingredient being added, the smell was becoming too much for Mousse. If it wasn't for the sizzling noise, everyone would have heard his stomach growl louder than a lion's roar.

"Can't… give in…" Mousse said to himself. His eyes almost began to water when Ranma all of a sudden waved a fully cooked okonomiyaki in front of his face.

"Come on Mousse, you know you want it." Ranma said smoothly with a knowing look.

"Well…" Mousse was unconsciously leaning towards the warmth but stopped himself. "No! I don't want anything you offer!" He declared as he shoved Ranma's hand away from him. This resulted in Ranma hitting himself in the face with the steaming hot okonomiyaki. He screamed and threw the food to the ground and stuck his face on the cool metal surface of the walls.

He glared at Mousse angrily and looked down at him with puffy cheeks. "Alright, I've had enough. I'll fight you! If you win, you can do what ever you want, I don't care. If I win, you have to let us help you okay?"

"Why?" Mousse asked quizzically. "When did you gain a heart?"

"Since Akane said she'd beat me if I let anything bad happen to you!" Ranma quipped back.

Mousse smirked and chuckled. "Do you always follow her orders like a slave?"

"Yup!" Ukyo responded before Ranma had a chance to react to the insult.

"Ukyo!" Ranma pouted angrily.

Ukyo smiled and laughed softly. "What? It's true isn't it?" She crossed her arms and leaned against the shack. "You know, if you stayed with me, Akane wouldn't be ordering you around so much. I'm a much nicer fiancé, isn't that right?"

"Yeah, that's true." Ranma said thinking over the time spent at the Tendo Dojo.

Ranma found himself face planted into the ground after Akane kneed him in the back of his head.

"I'm sorry for not being a nicer fiancé, but that's not the important issue right now. Ranma! Don't be lazy! Stop lying on the ground and help Mousse!"

Ranma jumped up fuming, but took in a deep breath. "You know what? He doesn't want our help, why should I bother?"

Akane lowered her eyelids frowning. She started to stroll past him and turned around smiling and giggling, catching Ranma off guard. "Okay then, I guess since I don't have to waste my time here, I'll go home and get dinner prepared for tonight!"

Ranma's hairs stood on end. "Wait! I changed my mind!" He turned abruptly to Mousse and pointed a finger at him. "I challenge you Mousse! Prepare to fight!"

- -

Mousse stared across the field at Ranma. He was wearing his red shirt; a target, Mousse decided. Ranma also had a grin planted on that stupid face of his. Mousse eyed him, incensed by the anxiety of the battle. He wondered what the outcome would be, though he was confident in his abilities to beat Ranma. His opponent was different now. Although he had fought Ranma on numerous occasions, Mousse was now female and this was definitely something new.

"I hope you're ready, Mousse." Ranma taunted. "It's hand to hand combat, you know."

"I know!" Mousse replied back agitated by the fact that he didn't have any weapons. He eyed the scene around him. A crowd had formed; most of them decided to have a picnic and show. Of course Ukyo was the only person to profit off of this. Everyone was eating her Okonomiyaki. Those lousy morons. This was all just a show for them. They didn't understand the turmoil he was going through! Moose smirked wickedly. They won't be so happy after they see Ranma beat up to a pulp.

With new vigor, both sides prepared for battle.

No warning was given when Ranma all of a sudden made for a dash towards Mousse. A fist was brought up and thrust at Mousse's body. There was an impact and a cloud of dust rose. When everything cleared, Mousse was nowhere to be found. Ranma looked all around him, but all he saw were his classmates.

"Up here, idiot!" Mousse cried as he plunged to the earth, ready to kick Ranma's face into the dirt. Just as he landed, Ranma jumped away and gained a fair distance between the two.

Mousse was sweating slightly. It wasn't because he was tired or because it was hot, because it was in fact a rather nice day. There was even a nice cooling breeze. But, the point was, Ranma almost got him!! How could he let him get that close? He narrowed his eyes at the Japanese martial artist. He'd just have to show him how ruthless a Chinese Amazon could be!

Mousse leaped at Ranma and started to assault him with kicks, punches, sweeps, and anything he could think of. He was gaining confidence as a swift kick ripped a hole in Ranma's sleeve. His attacks were making Ranma back up into a tough spot, trying to keep away from the audience, yet fighting the crazy Amazon.

Ranma was starting to get rather annoyed. Mousse was dishing out moves so rapidly; it was becoming hard to counter. Rising one of his legs, he caught Mousse in the stomach and quickly gave a one two punch, sending Mousse flying backwards.

Ukyo, from a distance smiled happily at Ranma's comeback. "You go Ran-chan! Show that girl who's boss! Don't let that no good Amazon beat you!"

"Ukyo, don't you think this is a little wrong? We're trying to help Mousse, not kill him." Akane held her hands tightly. She frowned. "Why does Ranma always have to resort to fighting?"

There was a sizzle, and a new presence was made. "He's stupid, that's why." A rough voice replied. Cologne's walking stick was standing straight up on Ukyo's grill, sizzling away as Cologne rested on the top. Shampoo was at her side, watching the fight. "What does that boy think he's doing? Does he know what he's getting himself into?"

"Duck boy is in our way again, Great Grandmother." Shampoo said angrily.

"What are you two doing here?" Akane asked as she stood in front of them. "Are you here to send Mousse back to China?"

"In due time. We have a bigger problem right now. We must stop that battle! This is for son in law's own good." Cologne barked, jumping off of the grill.

"Why? Ran-chan's doing just fine." Ukyo responded as she watched Ranma attempt a heel kick at Mousse. "He's going to win, that's for sure."

"That is problem!" Shampoo said, crossing her arms across her chest.

"What could possibly happen?" Akane asked, half curious, half worried.

"If and outsider defeats an Amazon from our village, she must hunt that person down if the outsider was a woman and kill her, but, if the outsider is a man, then she must hunt him down and marry him. That is our code, and it will not change." Cologne explained.

"We know this… but… Mousse is a guy!" Ukyo said, disbelievingly.

"Yeah, well, Ranma's a guy, but that doesn't stop Kuno, and every other hormone driven male." Ryoga said, surprising everyone with his sudden appearance.

"That is a different story. We may talk about son in law's hobbies some other time; right now, we must focus on the problem. If Ranma defeats Mousse, then Shampoo's engagement will be nullified and Mousse will instead take her place as his fiancé."

Akane looked fearfully at Ranma. He was steadily gaining the upper hand. She shut her eyes, trying to think of ways to prevent that awful fate… for both Ranma and Mousse! "Ranma… you idiot."

- -

Mousse dodged another one of Ranma's high kicks and jumped back to a safer distance. He couldn't keep this up for much longer. Neither of them really had much damage, but the wear and tear of their stamina was something else. He was more agile in a female shape, but more susceptible to injury when a stronger attack came his way. Mousse quickly scanned his surrounding, trying to find a way to prevent his defeat. All he could see were Ranma's school mates eating their okonomiyaki, and hardly paying attention to the fight at all. Then an idea struck his mind.

"Ranma, prepare for your demise!" Mousse hollered as he ran the opposite direction from Ranma. He reached into his sleeves to take out his glasses, and put them on as he raced around the ring of spectators, with dirt trailing behind him.

A large yell of outrage came from the students as they found their food covered in dirt and grass. When everything cleared, Mousse was once again out of sight. This time, Ranma was ready for an airborne attack. He looked up, but was caught off guard when a shower of chopsticks came at him. He quickly split them in half as he ran his hand through them in a slicing movement. The chopsticks landed around him as Mousse threw the second wave.

"This was supposed to be hand to hand!" Ranma yelled as he destroyed the chopsticks in one move. "You're cheating! That automatically means I win!"

Mousse pointed a finger heatedly at Ranma. "Those weapons are my hands. They are a part of me!"

"I don't care! We had an agreement!" Ranma whined.

- -

Overhearing their conversation, Akane tensed up. She turned to Ukyo. "He's going to win! Ukyo, we have to do something!"

"But what?"

"I have a plan!" Akane said as she grabbed some Okonomiyaki. "Ranma! He's right! Weapons are a part of him, and you should respect that! Here! Use these!"

Akane threw the okonomiyaki, aiming for all his vital areas. Instead of catching them, Ranma was forced to dodge them. Ukyo, understanding Akane's motives, began making more okonomiyaki.

As an okonomiyaki flew over his head, Ranma shouted angrily at the girls. "Are you trying to help me or what!? Get some aim Akane! You're aim is worse than Ryoga's sense of direction!!" With those words said, he found himself hit in the face with a piping hot okonomiyaki, which just happened to be on fire.

In an instant, his whole body was inflamed and he ran around like a madman.

"Here, Ran-chan!" Ukyo shouted as she threw a bucket of water over Ranma's head.

Ranma took the bucket off and threw it aside. He glared at them, now soaking wet, and a woman. "Thanks a lot… guys."

Ukyo smiled happily. "No problem honey!"

Ranma growled and turned back to face Mousse. He might have been disgruntled, but that didn't mean he still couldn't beat Mousse. "Hmph, I'm the heir to the anything goes martial arts, and I guess," he said, charging towards Mousse, "Anything goes!!"

Ranma attempted to take Mousse down with middle turning kick when Mousse suddenly countered with a butterfly kick hitting him square in the cheek. Ranma landed a fair distance away, rubbing the soreness from his face. "Oww…" Ranma stood up, dusted himself, and tightened his loosening belt. "This'll be harder as a girl…"

Ranma was more confident in his abilities as a woman than Mousse. He was quite sure that Mousse stood no chance against him. Besides, he had the time to practice. Ranma had often trained in female form just in case incidents like this occurred. By focusing on his short comings as a woman, Ranma understood his body more. Mousse had only what… a few days? Ranma had months of experience, and experience pays off handsomely.

The battle went on for another hour, both sides panting heavily as they rested on their knees. Ranma frowned, whispering, irritated, to himself. "Why is this taking so long?!" Then he sighed heavily. He had been going easy on him the whole time.

Mousse slowly stood up, sweat dripping down his face. Mousse had pride in himself, but he wasn't so hubris as to not know when to throw in the towel. That didn't mean he was going to forfeit anytime soon, especially to Ranma.

He reached out his hand to Ranma and tried to smile nicely. "Truce?"

Ranma watched Mousse's eyes skeptically. He knew Mousse could pull some sneaky stunts in hopes to drive Ranma into a false sense of security. Ranma wasn't stupid, and he was wondering if Mousse thought he was. Ranma didn't take the hand but stood up all the same. "You mean as a draw?"

"Uh, yeah. If you think you can make room in the ego inflated head of yours for a draw." Mousse stepped back one step, never easing himself in case Ranma decided to pull a stunt over him. He did feel a little better however; when they both were girls, Mousse was still taller, though, not by much. It was still comforting.

--

"What's happening?" Akane asked worriedly as she couldn't make out what the two fighters were saying.

"Mousse is losing." Shampoo said simply.

"What…? How?" Akane turned to face Shampoo, but she was no longer standing next to her, instead she was halfway through the air to the other two martial artists. Before she knew it, Shampoo and landed a kick on Mousse's back and he fell forward.

--

The wind was knocked out of him. He turned around on his back to find Shampoo literally clinging on to Ranma. She cooed on how he was victorious and had beaten the weakling Mousse. It wasn't in Mousse's nature to stay angry at Shampoo for too long, but his insides boiled as he watched her.

He reminded himself of her beauty, skill, and his love for her. If he didn't care anymore, who was he then? He wouldn't have a point to his life as of current and would probably have been better off going back to China. Then he remembered how he enjoyed it here.

First thing first:

GET AWAY FROM SHAMPOO AND COLOGNE!

When this was all over, he'll be head over heels for Shampoo again and everyone will be back to normal. The question was, for how long would this last?

His brain was spinning with his thoughts. He needed to turn back into a man, and to do that, he had to trek back to the cursed springs in Jusenkyo, which was back in China, and he was supposedly avoiding China, right? But then, if he stayed in Nerima, then he would always be this way, wrong in every sense possible. He knew what he had to do, but it was all so unclear to him. What was he supposed to do exactly?

He decided to stop thinking on this topic before he brain exploded and turned his attention to one thing.

He needed help.

And he sighed.

- - - -

Hey, I finished this! I started this chapter a while back, and just… didn't know what to do with it half way through. It looks like I BSed it all the way to the end!

You know, I kind of miss the Ryoga from chapter 1. I made him so weak to pretty girls :D And how he confused you readers into thinking it'll be a Ryoga/Mousse. haha.