Sugar Stories

“It’s not fair! She made me lose on purpose! I was doing just fine with my training until she got here, you know,” Mousse complained to Ryoga as they sat soaking side by side in the Tendos’ tub. The warm water was a welcome relief to Mousse’s sore back, in addition to its usual curse-reversing properties. But even more than that, the bathroom was probably the only place Mousse could go right now to be free of Cologne’s oppressive presence in the house.

“Maybe you’re just letting it get into your head too much,” Ryoga said, leaning his chin on his arms at the edge of the tub. “She seems normal to me.”

Mousse slammed his fist on the tile. “That’s because you don’t know her like I do! She’s already made up her mind that I’m not good enough for Shampoo, and she’s determined to rub it in for the rest of my life!”

Ryoga frowned. “I doubt it. She probably has better things to do.”

“Hey!” Mousse protested. “If you’re gonna mock me too, I’ll kick you out of the tub, do you hear me?! I’m warning you, Hibiki—”

Sighing, Ryoga sat up straight again, looking up into the steam that swirled around their heads. “Why don’t you do something to prove her wrong, then?”

“Yes, I agree,” said another voice. “You must redouble your training. No excuses! If you’re really confident as a martial artist, a few judgemental looks from that old Granny won’t bother you at all anymore!”

Slowly, shakily, Mousse and Ryoga turned their heads to find that they were not the sole occupants of the tub. A third party was smiling brightly at them over the soupy bathwater.

“Konatsu?!” Mousse balked, raising his pointer finger. “When did you get here?!”

Ryoga jumped back, folding his hands together in penance. “F-forgive me, Akari! This is all a huge misunderstanding! Please believe me—I never meant to get in the tub with another woman!”

Konatsu waved them off with a well-manicured hand. “I was here first, you know! But really, why all the fuss? It’s not as though I’ve never seen a naked man’s body before—and I’m definitely not interested in them. So let’s share! Mi baño es su baño.”

Ryoga unclenched his hands and sank uneasily back into the water.

“Uh…but isn’t this Ranma’s baño?” he asked.

“Don’t worry so much about the minute details, Charlotte. It’ll give you wrinkles,” Konatsu said, shrugging Ryoga off. “Now, Moussey, let’s get back to the problem at hand, shall we? We’re all dojo-mates now, after all. We need to help each other with our troubles!”

“Really…? You’re going to help me?” Mousse asked. He pointed at himself in disbelief.

“Mmhmm! And I’ve got just the thing, too…tadaa! You’ve got mail. A summons, to be precise! I was asked to deliver it to you,” Konatsu said, somehow producing a letter and holding it up. No one questioned why she’d brought it in the tub with her, although they probably should have.

“Wh…what’s this? It’s all soggy,” Mousse said, taking the wet paper into his hands and fumbling for his glasses. The letter fell apart as he tried to unfold it.

“Ah. So it is,” Konatsu nodded. “My bad. But don’t worry—I remember what it says! ‘Meet me in the alley near the vending machine behind the cake shop at twenty-one o’clock.’”

“A challenge letter? For Mousse?”  Ryoga asked. “Weird…he doesn’t have that many enemies.”

“Who can say if it’s from a friend or a foe?” Konatsu said. “I mean—I can say—but I won’t. That would ruin the surprise.”

“A challenge…I don’t care who it’s from! I don’t even care if they addressed it to me by mistake—this is my chance to win a real fight! I’ll prove I’m not useless!” he said, standing up and clenching his fists.