This is not the first time I post this to the FFML.

Last time Gary Kleppe and a few others gave me some advice on making it 
more interesting to read.

Here is my latest attempt.

=======

  The blind truth

By: Andrew M. Petalik

Flying through the air, Mousse wondered where he would touch down this
time. Shampoo usually put him on a direct course with some kind of cold
water. Whether it was a pond or a drinking glass, he invariably got
wet... or so everyone thought.

Mere moments after he became airborne, the look of blind adoration he
used around Shampoo disappeared, replaced by an expression of cold
calculation. 'What new stunt can I pull for the next time,' he thought
to himself.

He had gotten Shampoo so worked up that she had forgotten that it was
his turn to do the clean-up around the restaurant before blasting him.
If he stayed out for a couple of hours, she would get stuck with the
clean-up, which would infuriate her even more. 'And that's what it's all
about,' he though to himself. 'Keep her mad, keep her stupid. The old
ghoul will have to deal with Shampoo instead of moving her own plans
forward.' Mouse smirked as he imagine Cologne berating her great
granddaughter for losing her temper... and worse, wasting her time.

It was all part of the plan.

Mousse actually took a moment to enjoy the passing scenery as he
reflected on his orders.

---

At a secret gathering, Mouse stood before several older men, dressed in
the same style of robe that Mousse usually wore. They were whispering
quietly to each other. Finally, the man in the middle addressed him.
'Mousse, we approve of your idea. Pack your things and go to Japan.
Continue your sharade of being Shampoo's suitor. Your objective is
simple: keep Cologne in Japan... or more appropriately, out of China. Do
anything you can to keep her distracted. Run as much interference as you
can.'

---

Mousse remembered when he had been first ordered to get close to Cologne
through Shampoo. Attempting to court her put Mousse in a perfect
position to spy on the elder matriarch... or so they hoped. Not terribly
successful, but it did occasionally garner results. Shampoo had treated
him badly, even back then, but he had been nowhere near as annoying as
he was now. It had taken him years to perfect his act of insipid adoration.

Ranma's appearance was like a gift from the gods. When Shampoo went
tearing off after him, Cologne's iron fisted control of the tribe
slipped. She had invested a lot in Shampoo. Shampoo's easy defeat at
Ranma's hand had shattered her plans of installing her great
granddaughter as her successor. There was no way the other elders would
accept such a disgrace as a member of the council.

When Shampoo returned in defeat again, Cologne was completely thrown.
Her great granddaughter, the strongest of the young warrior women...
defeated by some lowly outsider woman? Again! Totally unthinkable.
Totally unacceptable. Totally inexcusable.

Cologne was assigned the dubious duty of punishing Shampoo for her
failure. This diverted the elder amazon's attention completely. She made
restoring Shampoo's honor her primary concern. This quickly led to
getting her great granddaughter cursed and following her back to Japan.
His leaders nearly threw a party the day she left.

It's not like they were badly treated... but a golden cage is still a
cage. Freedom is the ultimate desire for those who are not free. Now,
many years after the inception of the secret male revolution, a chance
had been handed to them on a silver platter: Cologne had just left for
Japan, with no set time of return. The remaining elders were still
enormously powerful, but it was Cologne had always been the driving
force behind the strict adherence to their ancient customs. The
direction of the council wavered... and the men plotted and prepared.

The problem was, a coup takes time and they weren't even close to being
ready. Keeping Cologne away would be paramount. Hence, Mousse's standing
orders became to keep both Shampoo and Cologne in Japan for as long as
possible. 'Forever would be nice,' one of them had commented.

Now that the truth about Ranma was known and Shampoo's goal had gone
from kill to marry, Mousse had to make sure that Shampoo didn't get him
that way either. To make matters more complicated; he had to make sure
that none of the other women got him either. Any form of closure would
mark the end of everyone's stay here. He wasn't just here to sabotage
Shampoo's plans... but everyone's plans. Maintain the status quo. As
long as there was even a chance that Shampoo could land Ranma, she and
Cologne would stay put.

Mousse grinned to himself as he realized that if anyone figured out what
he was doing, they would all come down on him. There probably wouldn't
be enough of him left to fill a tea cup.

Mousse flared his robes to slow his descent just as he touched down
gracefully beside a restaurant with an outdoor terrace. He calmly made
his way to a waiter he knew fairly well. Reaching into his robes, Mousse
pulled out a coin and flipped it towards the man.
Catching the coin out of mid-air, the waiter stashed it in his pocket,
then grabbed a glass of water and raised his eyebrow.

Mousse spread his arms wide and said, "hit me baby."

One splash later and Mousse transformed into a duck. With a burst of
strength that a real duck would be envious of, he launched himself into
the air.

Mousse slowly made his way home, continuing an act that he was so sick
of; but dared not give up. Too many people were counting on him.

His final thoughts before getting completely back into character were:
'One day my love, I will bury you... and you'll take your great
grandmother with you. I can almost see the looks in your eyes as you
realize that I was the one who destroyed you both. Only then you will
know how much I truly hate you Shampoo."

-- 
  ___________
 / Here lies:\  Law of Probable Dispersal:
|   Andrew    |    Whatever it is that hits the fan 
|             |    will not be evenly distributed.
|   I think   |       
| he's hungry | Time is an illusion; lunchtime, doubly so.
|             |                 -- Ford Prefect



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