The Switch
" "= Talking
' '= Thinking
- -=Change in time and/or location
Chapter 1: The Salesman from China
Here it is, the sequel you've all been waiting for. Thank you all for reading my last story, and for anyone who hasn't read it, I suggest you do, (it's not necessary, but you would have a better understanding) and thank you for your criticism as well, I will try to fix my location problem but I don't really know how close any of the places are to each other, for example, I know that Ukyo's is near Furinkan High, but not the direction it's in. So if someone could help me with locations, I would greatly appreciate it. I also received quite a few complaints (not that I mind, I like to know what I'm doing wrong) about my story being rushed, I'm very sorry (gomen nasai) but it's not as though I haven't tried, I just can't think of anything else to add; So if you have any ideas you'd like me to add please tell me, I will gladly accept any suggestions. Oh, and if you'd like, I've been thinking of adding an extra chapter to Mousse's New Love, where Karen meets Kuno, maybe I'll do a poll…enough of that, on with the story!
(about a month after the events in Mousse's New Love)
It was a pleasant Autumn day in Nerima, and Mousse and Karen had decided to go for a walk, Karen had insisted they go back to the forest (where Mousse trained to master the Amagariken (ch.8, Mousse's New Love) so that's where they were headed.
"It's such a beautiful day, what do you think Mousse? Isn't the weather perfect!?" Karen asked happily.
"Well, it's not raining, and not too hot, so I guess so…" Mousse replied, "It would be a nice day for a picnic, too bad we didn't bring any food…" He added.
"You sure you don't have anything?" Karen asked while pulling on his sleeve. "I thought you said that you always came prepared."
"I do, but if I carried food with me, it would go bad…sorry, but I don't have anything." He said.
"Then maybe we should go back, I could make a special lunch!" She said the last part rather happily.
"Special how?" Mousse asked.
"…uh, well I'd be making it, so…" Karen started blushing "F-forget it, let's just go back so I can make lunch." She said before running off, or, trying to run off, instead she tripped, and ran into someone…"I-I'm sorry! I wasn't paying attention." She said to the stranger.
"No, no, don't apologize. In fact I'm glad you ran into me, I've been looking for you." He pointed at Mousse. "You Mousse, no?" he said.
"Huh? Who are you? And how do you know my name?" Mousse asked the man.
"I salesman from China, I come here to sell exotic merchandise, I sure I have something that interest you." The salesman said as he reached into his bag.
"Salesman from China? But that doesn't explain how you know me." Mousse said.
"Look here. I have packet from Jusenkyo, use and it will cure you." Said the Chinese salesman.
"R-really?" Mousse said excitedly, forgetting his suspicion. "How much do you want for it?"
"For you, I give it free." He said suspiciously.
"Free?" Mousse thought about this for a moment, 'No way, nothing in my life is ever that simple…last time I fell for something like this I ended up wasting my money on a packet that probably wasn't the right one…' "What's the catch? Nothing in life is ever free. I don't trust you…I bet that packet is defective." (Reference to episode 117 'Back to the way we were please'-If you want to know more watch the episode, I do not want to spoil anything for you)
'He's suspicious, I guess I'll have to do this hard way.' The Chinese man thought. "You sure you not want it? I even give you bucket of water, see?" He said as he pulled out a bucket of water from seemingly nowhere.
"No thank you, I'd rather be safe than sorry. At least I'm not a bull riding a yeti carrying a chicken and an eel!" Mousse said, and was about to walk away when…
"That's to bad, all you have do was pour this packet in water," The salesman said while emptying the packet into the bucket, "and then dump it on you, like so!" The Chinese salesman shouted as he splashed the water on Mousse.
"Hey! What are you…" Mousse stopped when he realized what he'd turned into. "I-I-I'M A GIRL!!?" 'she' yelled. "You'll pay for that you stupid…" Mousse was about to strangle the salesman but he wasn't there. "Where did he go!? I knew he was up to no good." While Mousse was furiously shouting, Karen was wondering where the salesman had gone.
'…Why did he come after Mousse? I can understand why someone would be after Ranma, but…' "Ranma!" She suddenly shouted.
"Huh? What about Ranma!?" Mousse asked.
"What if he tricks the others too?" Karen asked worriedly.
Mousse thought about this for a moment "…Hahaha! Yes, that would be great, I think I'll wait until after he finds Ranma to get my revenge."
'…right, he still doesn't get along with Ranma…' "What about Shampoo? Or Ryoga?" She added.
"Shampoo? Turning into something other than a cat? . . . What if she's…turned into a pig!? That would be terrible!!" Mousse yelled, "I, I mean, we, have to go warn her!"
"What about Ryoga?" Karen asked while following Mousse, "If his curse is switched Akane will find out."
"…Even so…do you really think we'd be able to find him in time?" Mousse replied. "He's probably wandering around in Nagoya now. If you insist then I suppose we can look for him after we warn Shampoo." He…uh 'she' added.
-Meanwhile, wandering around in Nagoya…-
'My dear Akane, why is it so hard to find you? Surely your house is around here somewhere.' Ryoga thought, completely unaware that he was in Nagoya, not Tokyo…
"Excuse me sir, but you look troubled, might I offer my assistance?" The Chinese salesman asked Ryoga.
"I'm sorry, but unless you can tell me how to get to Nerima, I really don't need anything." Ryoga said to the salesman then headed off.
"That's too bad, and here I have one Jusenkyo cure left, I guess I find other person to give to." The salesman turned to walk the other way, but was quickly intercepted by Ryoga.
"J-Jusenkyo cure? Really? How much does it cost?" Ryoga asked rather quickly.
"H-how did you get back here so fast?" The salesman was a bit surprised by Ryoga's speed. "Since you ask so nicely, I give you free." He said as he handed the packet to the clueless Ryoga. 'Two down, two to go…' he thought as he headed for Tokyo.
'With this, I'll finally be able to face Akane, and tell her how I really feel! Oh Akane, my love!!!' Ryoga thought happily while running to find water. "Wait, do I need hot or cold water? Hmm :To use, pour packet into cold water only. Stir into water, and dump on cursed object (WARNING: DO NOT USE ON FEMALES, FOR USE ON MEN ONLY)" Ryoga read. "Cold water? That's odd…oh well, I'm sure there's a reason. Now if I could just find a bathhouse…
-10 minutes later, Ryoga gets lost…-
"…How did I end up in the forest!? I'm never going to find water now!" Ryoga yelled "huh? Hey, there's a river over there, my luck has turned around! Now all my dreams will become possible!" Ryoga shouted before running to the waters edge and filling up his teakettle(the closest thing to a bucket he had) "Okay now I empty the packet into the water, and stir it in…" Ryoga followed the instructions closely before pouring it on himself… "now I should be normal again!" -Splash- "…Quack…QUACK QUACK!!! (huh… WHAT THE HECK!!?)" Ryoga, now a duck, quacked loudly as he ran in circles. "QUACK? Quack quack!?(WHY? Why am I a duck!?)" 'Quaack! Quack quack! QUACK QUACK!!(grrr! That salesman tricked me!! He'll pay for that!!)' Ryoga thought angrily while he started a fire to heat the cold river water.
-Back in Nerima, Mousse (still a girl) and Karen (more worried about Ryoga) arrive at the Cat Café-
"Shampoo!! Are you here!!?" Mousse yelled when he got inside.
"Be quiet! You'll scare away the customers!" Cologne shouted as she walked from the kitchen. "I thought you said you'd never come back here and…Mousse?" She said when she noticed 'her' standing there. "W-what's going on?" She asked.
"I came here to warn Shampoo! Where is she!? This is important!" Mousse yelled.
"What do you need to warn her about." This time it was more of a demand than a question.
"We ran into a salesman earlier, he said he had a cure for Mousse's curse, Mousse refused but when we tried to walk away he dumped a bucket of water on Mousse…and then Mousse turned into a girl instead of a duck…I'm worried that this man may be after the others too, Mousse insisted we come here first, I hope Ryoga's okay…" Karen explained quickly.
"What? A salesman from China? Shampoo is out on a delivery…as much as I hate the thought of leaving it up to you, I can't leave the café right now. You two go find Shampoo and warn her, quickly! She was making a special delivery to Ranma." Cologne shouted as she shoved them both out the door.
"Ranma? She's delivering something to Ranma!? I want him to be tricked!" Mousse angrily said as they ran toward the Tendo's.
"…What about Ryoga? Shampoo is smart, she wouldn't be easily fooled, but Ryoga…if I dresses up and said I was his mom he'd probably believe me…can't we find Ryoga first?" Karen asked.
"We'll never find him in time, Shampoo is closer!" Mousse replied.
Unfortunately for him, they were already to late to help either Ryoga or Shampoo…
"OINK!!OINK!!!(Stupid man!! I make you pay!!!)" Shampoo was oinking loudly while running after the salesman, but unfortunately for her, he was too fast and got away. "Oink…oink…(Come…back…)" She oinked tiredly before stopping to rest, it was right about then that Mousse and Karen ran by…
Mousse stopped and quickly turned around when he noticed the pig. "…You…wouldn't happen to be Shampoo…would you?" he asked the pig.
"Oink…!(stupid)" Shampoo responded by kicking his face.
"Ow! Why'd you kick me?" Mousse asked while he rubbed his forehead. By now Karen had noticed, and, needless to say, wasn't to happy about the kick to the face Mousse just received.
"Hey! Don't treat Mousse that way!" She yelled at the pig.
"Oink!(hmf!)" Shampoo turned her head and ignored them.
"Ohh! Stop actin' all high and mighty!" Karen said angri1y.
"…It's definitely Shampoo…if he was able to trick her, then he's probably gotten the others too." Mousse said. "Come on Shampoo, we should go back to the café. Maybe Cologne will know more."
"Oink!(No!)" Shampoo refused.
'I had a feeling this would happen' Mousse thought. "Then I guess you'd rather be a pig than a cat. I mean, sure Ranma won't be afraid of you anymore…but at least you were still cute." Mousse said casually.
"Oink!? Oink…oink.(What!? Fine…I'll go.)" She reluctantly agreed, and then followed them.
Once they reached the Cat Café, and Shampoo and Mousse were returned to normal, Cologne asked them to explain exactly what had happened, starting with Shampoo.
"All right Shampoo tell you what happen." She started, "I was making special delivery for Ranma, I just finish delivering when strange man appear. He say he from China, that he came to sell 'exotic merchandise', then he say have packet from Jusenkyo. I refuse when he says is free, I knew he was up to something but when I go turn around to leave he jump me and splash with water. Then I was pig!" She explained. "Why he turn me into pig!? Now Ranma never love me!" Shampoo yelled unhappily.
"hmm…all right, now it's your turn Mousse, how did he trick you?" Cologne asked.
"I wasn't tricked! It was the same as what happened to Shampoo, he said he was a salesman from China, then tried to 'give me' a 'cure' I knew something was up when he offered it for free, so I declined it, and tried to leave, but when I turned my back to him he splashed water on me…that's really all there is to tell." Mousse explained.
"…he's come to Japan for you two, then he'll probably go after Ranma too, if he hasn't already; and if my premonition is correct, will most likely become a cat." Cologne said.
"A cat!?" shampoo yelled. "Why you think that?"
"Shampoo, your worst fear is for Ranma to dislike you, therefore by turning you into a pig, that just may happen. As for Mousse, well, you look like a girl anyway…" Cologne explained.
"Hey! What do you mean, 'I look like a girl anyway'? I do not!" Mousse protested.
"We must go tell Ranma! I no want him be scared of own reflection." Shampoo shouted.
"All right, but hurry you may already be to late." Cologne said.
'I really don't want to help Ranma but…I can't let that salesman get away with this!' Mousse thought before following the others out the door.
-While Mousse, Shampoo, and Karen were heading to the Tendo's, the salesman was already arriving there…-
"-Yawn-What a great day for a nap…if I leave now I won't have to eat Akane's cooking." Ranma said to himself as he walked out of the house.
"Hello sir, you wouldn't happen to be Ranma Saotome, would you?" the Salesman asked.
"Yeah, I'm Ranma, what do you want?" Ranma replied rudely.
"I've been sent here to deliver this." He said, showing Ranma a red packet. "It from Jusenkyo, you put in cold water, then dump on self. Then you be cured." The salesman said.
"Really!? You serious?" Ranma yelled excitedly.
"Why would I lie? Use this packet, and never turn girl again." 'no, instead you turn to cat.' He added mentally.
"I'll take it!" Ranma yelled as he swiped the packet away from the salesman and ran back in the house to try it…
-a short distance down the road-
"Do you think we'll make it in time?" Karen asked Mousse, they were almost at the Tendo's.
"I hope so" he replied.
"But didn't you want him to be tricked?" Karen asked curiously.
"If we're lucky we'll arrive as the salesman is leaving." Mousse replied. –THWAK!- Shampoo hit him over the head. "Ow! What did you do that for Shampoo?" He shouted while rubbing his head.
"That what you get for talk bad about Ranma! We here, I no see man! Maybe we make it in time." Shampoo said when they arrived at the dojo.
"MEEEEEOOOOOOW!!" A load screech could be heard from inside the Tendo's house.
"…You think that…" Karen started.
"Judging my the loudness of that meow, I'd say yes, it's safe to bet that Ranma is now a cat…" Mousse answered.
"Ranma, Shampoo help you!!!" Shampoo ran into the house, and the others followed. When they got to where the meow came from, they found a cat with a pigtail lying on the floor unconscious.
"Ranma! Here!" Shampoo said as she poured hot water on him.
"AAAHHHH!!! CAT CAT I WAS A CAAAAAAT!!!!!" Ranma screamed when he came to.
Calm down, you're okay now." Karen said, holding her hands on her ears.
"Yeah Ranma, there's no need to scream so loud." Mousse said.
"Huh? Mousse, Karen, and Shampoo too? What are you doing here?" Ranma asked.
"We came to warn you about the salesman, but fortu-" Shampoo started glaring at Mousse "-UN-fortunately, we were too late." Mousse said.
"How did you know about him?" Ranma asked.
"…" Mousse didn't answer.
-Splash- Karen dumped a bucket of cold water on Mousse and Shampoo. "See, this is how they know, but they were splashed from behind, they didn't actually fall for the salesman's tricks, you must be stupid." Karen said bluntly.
"W-What!?" Ranma said. 'I thought she was timid…'
"Hey! What did you do that for?" Mousse shouted.
"Oink!!(Stupid girl!)"
"Sorry, but if left up to you we would be here for hours, we should regroup at the Cat Café tomorrow and try to figure out what's going on, we should look for Ryoga too…Since Mousse is a girl, Ranma's a cat, and Shampoo's a pig the…That means Ryoga's a duck…I think…" Karen said.
"Ryoga will probably be here in a week." Mousse said.
"A week?" Karen asked.
"It usually takes him a week to reach his destination, even if it's only a couple feet away…" Mousse explained.
"Oh right, he gets lost easy. Come on Mousse, we should go home, I mean, back to your house, we'll have a better chance of figuring this out without those idiots.(Karen's still angry at Shampoo for hitting Mousse earlier, it would have broken out into a fight if Ranma hadn't Meowed)" Karen said while attempting to drag him out the door.
"Now I agree that Ranma's an idiot, but Shampoo isn't…okay, she wouldn't want to help anyway…" Mousse gave in and let her drag him out the door. '…why do I always listen to her?' Mousse wondered while he followed her down the road. "So we're going to the Cat Café tomorrow?" He asked.
"uh, yes, I want to find out more about this man, I'll make him pay for what he did too you!" She said angrily.
"You make it sound like he tried to kill me, turning into a girl isn't that bad, at least I can still use my weapons." Mousse said.
"It is that bad! Why couldn't you have turned into a cat instead? You were much cu-…Uh-nevermind that! We'd better get foam haster, I mean foam faster, no HOME faster, we need to find a way to locate the salesman." She said awkwardly.
'…was she about to say…cuter?' Mousse wondered.
End of chapter 1
Author's Notes: F-I-N-A-L-L-Y!! It took much longer than expected but here it is. I hope I did better this time, and please tell me if you notice any mistakes. This chapter was over 3000 words, wow, that's my longest one yet! I don't want to rush and I still have to do a little work with the plot, so don't expect me to update as often as I did last time. And if you know any decent Chinese names please tell me. On a side note, since I have watched almost all the Ranma episodes (not the OVA's) and the first two movies now, I will be referencing to them a bit more(in other words, if the current situation is familiar to something in the series, Mousse, or the other characters will remember it) but I will try my best not to spoil anything for you, if such a thing occurs I will put the episode number, and name, nothing more. Remember to review if you like my story, or if you have any questions or complaints too.