Chapter 6: Neko-Spawn
Ranma silently prowled along the inner hallways of the bottom
floor of the Tendo Dojo. It had been a full hour since he had made
use of the Cat-fist, and he had since been unable to recover his
former self. Visibly bored in the feline sense, Ranma began to play
with his chains as if they were nothing more than a tail as Soun
sighed, watching.
He managed a brief look outside, and noticed that Mousse had
since removed himself from the porch overlooking the koi pond, for
some higher ground. He was on the roof.
Soun couldn't blame him, really. Ranma would hiss and yowl
whenever he would come near, but it didn't seem as if he wanted to
hurt him, as long as he kept away. Soun, on the other hand was given
the royal treatment. Ranma would rub against his leg and make mock
purring noises. He let his mind wander for a few moments before he
snapped back into reality. Something would have to be done about
Ranma.
Soun recalled hearing the story of what had happened from
Mousse, of the demon that he never saw engaging in combat with Ranma.
How Ranma almost lost until he thought to enable the cat-fist. How
the so-called 'Neko-Spawn' had ripped the being to pieces and then
proceeded to preen himself. Soun sighed for a moment. He would have
to stay awake until he could figure out what to do with Ranma. If he
fell asleep, there would be a great chance that Ranma would leave,
and wreak havoc around Nerima.
Soun got up as he decided. Before, triggering Ranma's curse
would break him out of the trance state. Maybe the shock of cold
water would bring him back. And if that didn't work, he may have to
use a last resort. Akane.
Ranma gave Soun a detached look as he got up to go into the
kitchen. A brief sound of running water, and a quick return to the
tea room, and Soun had backed Ranma into a corner. Ranma watched the
object in Soun's hands intently, knowing full well what it was.
Ranma didn't wait any longer. He lashed out, using a chain to
knock the bucket clean out of Soun's hand and onto the floor. All
that was left was a stunned looking Soun, holding one empty hand in
the air.
"I don't think he wants to get wet.", Mousse's voice came
from outside.
Soun frowned for a moment, and looked towards the source.
Mousse was poking his head down from the roof and watching with an
amused look on his face. Ranma stopped his preening long enough to
his at the man, but then continued.
"I guess that won't work eh? I'll have to try a different
approach."
Mousse shook his head, "Not a good idea. There is the
possibility that it may work, but theres also the possiblity that it
may not. And if you get him wet, he may not be happy."
Soun looked at Ranma, who was now circling the same spot
several times. A feline instinct that strangely seemed to fit Ranma.
"I suppose you're right. But the only other thing that
managed to break him out of the Cat-fist was--"
"I don't think Ranma would appreciate that very much."
"I know. I only want to use it as a last resort."
"Still, there has to be some way. Maybe if you talk to
the 'cat'. Maybe Ranma will come out."
Soun shook his head, "I doubt it."
Mousse closed his eyes for a moment and thought. "What about
the others?"
"Eh?"
"Well, if Akane could bring him out, what about Nabiki? Even
Kasumi?"
Soun blinked and pondered the suggestion. In all theory, he
could call up Nabiki or Kasumi and get them to have a go at bringing
Ranma out of his trance. After all, if Akane could do it, what about
the other Tendo Sisters? Even Kinami? Maybe it was just a female
presence that would break him out of his trance.
Soun glanced at the time and hesitated for a moment. Then he
decided the situation was an emergency and proceeded to pick the
phone up and dial.
Nabiki's eyes shot wide as the phone next to her bed rang.
There were two phones in the restaurant, one downstairs and one in
her room, right now, she wanted to destroy the latter.
She picked up the phone and groggily answered. "Hello?"
"Nabiki? Dear, I think you should get to the dojo."
"What? Why?", NAbiki glanced at the time. It wasn't as late
as she had thought. "It's 11:30!"
"Something happened to Ranma, and I think you may be able to
help. Possibly even Kasumi."
"Wait. Whats wrong?"
"Its hard to explain, dear. But the gist of it is that he's
gone into the Cat-fist trance."
"WHAT?!?!?"
A distinct thump was heard from another room and an angry
voice yelled out, "Nabiki! I was almost asleep!"
"How?", she asked her father, temporarily ignoring the sounds
coming from the adjacent room.
"I'll explain it all later, but you need to get here. Bring
Kinami, maybe she can help."
"Fine, call Kasumi and get her to bring Tofu."
"Of course, maybe he can help."
"Alright, we'll be there in a few minutes."
"Hurry."
"Alright, bye."
And with that, she hung up the phone. She got up to face an
angry looking Kinami at her door.
"What was that all about?"
Nabiki frowned. "We've got a problem."
"What now?"
"Ranma has turned into a cat."
"Again with the curses?!"
Nabiki laughed and shook her head. "Just come with me and
you'll see."
Tofu nearly jumped out of his shoes when the phone rang. He
was usually up till around this time, but had not expected the phone
to ring this late. He frantically picked it up.
"Hello?"
"Ahh, Tofu. Is Kasumi awake?"
"Oh, hello father. She went to bed about ten minutes ago.
Why?"
"Its hard to explain. But I can explain it all when you both
get here."
"Can you tell me anything now?"
"Not without causing some problems. Just get over here and
I'll explain it to you both."
"Okay, I suppose.", Tofu replied, unsure of the problem, but
acknowledging the weight of it.
"Thank you, Tofu. Come quick."
"Alright, see you soon."
Tofu hung the phone up and stood. He turned around to walk
into the bedroom of he and his wife and proceeded to wake her up. She
opened her eyes and smiled.
"Whats wrong?", she asked asfter seeing the look on her
husbands face.
"I don't know. Your father just called, theres something
wrong, and he needs us at the dojo." "Oh my. Both of us?"
"Yes."
"I wonder if Nabiki and Akane are going to be there too."
"Only one way to find out.", he smiled, helping his wife out
of bed.
Kasumi gave Tofu a quick peck on the cheek and began to dress
herself. Tofu smiled and left in search of his shoes.
"They're on their way now.", Soun directed outside.
"How long before they get here?"
"Not long. A few minutes. Nabiki will probably get here
first."
"Well, I'll meet them outside."
Soun nodded. "Of course. But you'll have to help me explain
Ranma to Tofu and Kasumi."
Mousse nodded. "After seeing me, they'll accept it without
much question."
Mousse perked up and listened closely. He looked at Soun and
said, "Someones here."
"How can you tell?"
"I can hear a car."
"Oh."
And sure enough, Nabiki walked through the front entrance of
the dojo, followed by Kinami.
"Boy you guys were quick. Took us an hour and a half to walk
home."
Kinami shrieked in surprise and then glared at Mousse. "Do
you _HAVE_ to do that?", she asked, shaking her fist.
Mousse shrugged. "Why are you so jumpy?"
Nabiki shook her head and began to focus. "Where is he?"
Mousse thumbed towards the dojo, and Nabiki walked on. Kinami
stuck around with Mousse, with a look of pure confusion.
"Whats going on now?"
"Eh?", Mousse asked.
"Well, Nabiki told me Ranma turned into a cat. I thought he
turned into a girl."
"He does... err... did.. But he could also turn into a cat."
"And how, pray tell does that happen?"
Mousse shrugged. "Not sure. He's scared to death of 'em.
Whenever he's too close to one, his mind pops and turns into one."
"So now theres a cat walking around that used to be Ranma?"
"Well, not quite. Theres a Ranma walking around, that thinks
hes a cat, that used to be, and still is, Ranma... In a way..."
Kinami shook her head. "I _DON'T_ want to hear anymore."
"Oh my.", a familiar voice was heard from the gate. Kasumi
stood there shocked for a moment, and then smiled.
"Oh, hey Kasumi.", Kinami greeted.
"Hello Kinami, how was the advice I gave you?"
"Well, it didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, but thanks
anyways."
"Oh hello Kinami, how are---", Tofu began, then he spotted
Mousse.
"Uhh.. Hi, you two."
Kasumi nodded and greeted Mousse warnheartedly, as Tofu
yelped and fainted promptly.
"Uhh, Dr. Tofu, you okay?", Kinami asked, approaching the
unconscious form.
"Oh I'm fine, Betty.", he replied.
"Betty?"
Tofu blinked for a moment, then looked up at Kinami. "Oh", he
said, "I'm sorry Kinami, I just imagined something.", he laughed as
he got up, "My eyes must be playing tricks on me. I thought I saw Mou-
-"
Mousse smiled and waved at Tofu as he prompty yelped and lost
consciousness, a second time.
"I hope this isn't going to happen every time he wakes up."
Kasumi looked down at her husband for a second and sighed. "I
suppose we should get him inside."
"Kinami, give me a hand here please", Mousse asked as he
grabbed Doctor Tofu's arm and hoisted it over his shoulders. Kinami
did the same.
"So Mousse, I suppose you didn't die after all.", Kasumi
pointed out.
Mousse shook his head. "No. I survived. It was hard, but I
managed."
"What about Ranma?", she asked as if it were as simple a
question as "Would you like some tea?"
"He.. uhh.. Well..."
"He's dead.", Kinami interupted.
"Boy you're blunt."
"Is there a problem with that?"
Mousse smiled and shook his head. "Kasumi, Ranma died five
years ago. Seriously, but--"
Kasumi just kept walking, never losing her smile as she
interupted. "So he is dead."
"Not quite", Nabiki said at the door.
"Oh, hello Nabiki.", Kasumi greeted her sister.
Nabiki managed a smile as she hugged her sister. She was
quick to help bring Doctor Tofu inside.
Once inside, Mousse tried to take it easy. Ranma already knew
that he was inside, as he could tell from the hissing, however right
now was not a time he wanted to spend outside. He helped put Doctor
Tofu on the ground near the stairs and then backed towards the wall.
Kasumi let her smile drop for a moment as Ranma cautiously walked
into the room.
"Oh my.", she exclaimed, visibly shocked.
"Mrowr...", was Ranma's answer, although it was directed more
towards Mousse than Kasumi.
Doctor Tofu chose this moment to wake up. Not noticing
Mousse, but instead looking at the mass of chains and red cloth
slowly approaching his wife, his male instinct went into play and
jumped to action. He quickly wedged himself between the creature and
his wife, taking up a defensive stance.
"Get back Kasumi!", he yelled, ready to defend if the
creature would attack.
Ranma simply looked up at Tofu casually. Tofu was still
holding up a defensive stance when Ranma stopped his hissing and
began to preen himself. Tofu then dropped his stance, and began to
feel dizzy again.
"Doctor Tofu?", Soun asked.
Still dizzy, he managed to answer. "Eh?"
"I believe you know Ranma.", he said, motioning towards the
creature preening itself.
Tofu couldn't take any more of it. He hit the ground, hard.
Dreams.
No. Not dreams. Nightmares.
Nightmares of things long past. Nightmares of pain and
misery, in remembrance of his life.
Nightmares of Ranma. Nightmares of Mousse. Nightmares of the
entire Kenoru ordeal.
Further back.
Nightmares of past mistakes. Of family secrets and mysterious
ailments.
Nightmares of the truth. His truth.
A vision. A vision that takes the pain away. A face. A
beautiful face. Kasumi.
The Nightmare turns lighter.
Not for long. Kenoru returns. Kasumi's smile fades into an
evil grin.
It's not Kasumi. It's Kenoru.
He's saying something...
"Tofu!", Soun yelled, trying drastically to wake him up.
Slowly, one eye opens, and a gasp escapes from Tofu's lips.
"What?", he asked, rubbing the back of his head. After he
noticed his glasses sitting on the table beside him, he picked them
up and returned them to their normal position on his nose.
"Thank goodness you're awake!"
"You aren't going to faint again, are you?", Nabiki asked.
Tofu shook his head. No longer dizzy, that was for sure. It
took him a moment to realize what had caused him to faint earlier.
After he had, a lightheaded feeling, and he was finally in control of
the situation.
"I'm fine.", he said. "Ranma and Mousse are alive then?"
"I am.", Mousse said from the oposite side of the room.
"Ranma... Well, thats a bit iffy..", Kinami continued.
"Iffy? What do you mean?"
"Well, right now he's not Ranma. He's Spawn, the wonder-
cat.", Kinami quipped.
"Spawn? Wha?", he asked, watching Kasumi stroke the creatures
head.
"It's hard to explain Tofu, but he did die, and has just
returned. Not," Soun glanced at the time, "Twenty-four hours ago."
"But, how?"
"We still aren't %100 sure, but apparently, he's been
recruited by some demon god named Malebolgia to be a warrior in some
kind of demon army.", Nabiki continued.
"Yup. That creepy old guy in the trenchcoat told us.", Kinami
informed him.
"Creepy old guy?"
"Yeah, he called himself Saint Nicholas De Clockiolo or
something."
Nabiki shook her head, "It was Count Nicholas De Cogliostro."
Kinami shrugged, "Whatever."
Tofu still couldn't grasp the notion, but decided to play
along. "How did he get like this?"
"That was kinda my fault.", Mousse spoke up, "He was fighting
some demon thing and would've lost if I hadn't thrown a cat at him."
"But now we've got a bigger problem. Getting him back to
normal!", Nabiki interupted.
Mousse shrugged, "Either that or he be the one ripped to
shreds!"
Tofu shook his head again. There was no time to get dizzy, he
was needed for something important. "Have you tried triggering his
curse?"
"Well", Soun interupted, "He no longer has his curse."
"What about Akane?"
Nearly everyone except Kasumi shook their heads. Soun spoke
up, "Not an option. He doesn't want her to know he's back yet."
"Were there any other known methods of retrieving him from
the technique?"
"Not that we know of."
"Wait. There is someone who would know.", Nabiki said.
"Who?"
Nabiki smiled and looked straight into her fathers
eyes. "Genma."
Soun was about to dismiss the idea when he thought. Genma had
trained with Ranma for six years after his learning the cat-fist, and
he would certainly know how to get him out of it. However, contacting
him would be a problem.
"Can we call him?"
Soun nodded. "Yes, but theres no guarantee he would be there.
Nodoka might, but I doubt he would be."
"Why's that?"
"He's always going on training trips, remember."
"Oh yeah. Call now, maybe we'll get lucky."
Soun nodded as he reached for the phone and began to dial. He
waited a few moments, and was beginning to look disheartened when he
heard a groggy answer.
"Hello?", Nodoka answered.
"Nodoka? Its Soun, how are you?"
"Soun?", she answered, "It's 12:30! What do you want?"
"Ahh, well.. That is...", he kept saying until Nabiki took
the phone from him.
"Mrs. Saotome? We need your husbands help. Is he in?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, he is. But he's sleeping. In panda
form, and you know how hard he is to wake."
"Its a bit of an emergency."
"Okay, hold on a minute."
Nabiki held for a moment as she heard a few sounds in the
background. A muffled growl, some footsteps a splashing noise and a
muffled yell. A minute later, another groggy voice was on the phone.
"Hello?"
"Mr. Saotome. It's Nabiki."
"Do you know how late it is child?!", he yelled. Nabiki
smirked as she heard a distinct smack. "Ow!"
"Its an emergency."
"What kind?"
"Well, we've got someone here that was trained in the same
method that Ranma was."
A moment of silence on the other end of the phone went
by. "The Cat-fist?"
"Yes. This person is under the influence of the cat fist, but
he doesn't have a Jusenkyo curse. I was wondering, before the curse
how did he come back to normal?"
"Well, he did go under the influence of the training a number
of times before he was cursed, and it was always harder to bring him
out. What you do is this..."
Nabiki nodded and commited Genma's suggestion to memory,
giving a dirty look at it, she continued. "Is that the only way?"
Genma stood silent for a minute. "Well, there is another way,
but you may not want to do it."
"Whats that?"
"Ever had the hiccups?"
"Yes, of course."
"You know the methods of getting rid of them, right?"
"Of course."
"Well, thats definately not something you want to do. I
brought him out of the Cat-fist once, but not before getting beaten
to a pulp."
"Ahh."
"Mind if I ask a question?"
"Go ahead."
"Who is it?"
"Eh?"
"Who's under the cat-fist right now. Who?"
"Its just a friend of ours."
"Would I know him?"
"You might." Nabiki definately didn't like the direction the
conversation was going.
"Should Nodoka, Ranko and I head over there? If we leave
tomorrow morning, we'd be there in an hour. You know, in case the
methods don't work."
"Well, I don't think--"
"Good, we'll be there tomorrow morning!"
"It would be a good-- Wha?", Nabiki continued, but stopped
upon hearing that Genma had hung up.
"Whats the matter?", Soun asked.
"They're going to be here tomorrow morning."
"What? Couldn't you stop them?"
"You try and stop him when he wants something!"
"So, what did he say to do?"
"Well, there were two suggestions. Both of them sound
dangerous."
"To whom?"
"Well, the first one might not be so dangerous to us, but to
the one who has to be in the romo with Ranma, definately."
"Eh?"
"Hold on. I'll be right back, Mousse, Kinami, come with me."
A few minutes later, Kinami and Nabiki returned. A slight
commotion coming from outside.
"I suggest we get everyone out of the room, except Ranma."
Ranma was already tensing up, as if he could sense something
wrong.
Everyone oblidged and stepped out into the yard, shutting the
door behind them. Nabiki and Kinami walked outside and took places by
the windows. She nodded towards Mousse.
In a split second, Mousse had manged to deposit three vicious
dogs in the front door of the home, and slipped out again, locking
the door. Sounds of barking, yowling and screeching were heard from
outside, but Ranma had knocked the lights out somehow, and the group
was unable to see what was happening. A moment later, three dogs went
running out of the window, and down the street, yelping as they went.
A quick glance inside at Ranma, who was now preening himself again
left Nabiki seriously disheartened.
"Okay," she said. "Time for plan B."
"Plan B?", Mousse asked.
"Heres what we do.", she said, motioning Kinami and Mousse
together and giving them a quick talk.
A few minutes later, Mousse had managed to slip into the
window of Nabiki's bedroom, and donned the mask he had been wearing
for the past several years. The mask felt strange on his face, even
though he was used to it. But after having his change of heart
earlier, he had decided not to wear it any longer.
He slipped down the stairs silently, walking more on the wall
than the stairs themselves, making sure not to create as much as a
creaking noise. He had slipped into the entrance room of the home
when he noticed Ranma paying close attention to the window.
Kinami was there, tracing her finger along the opposite side
of the window, attracting Ranma's attention as he playfully batted
the window with his 'paw'. This would give Mousse the time he needed
to put the plan into effect. He slipped into the kitchen and began to
set up the system. Soun would have been sued to property damage by
now, so he could do it with a clear conscience. It took him thirty
seconds to set it up, and he was about to leave when he heard a
frantic rapping at the window. It was Kinami pointing towards him.
After another moment, he realized she wasn't pointing at him, but
behind him. Slowly he turned around to see a hissing Ranma
approaching him.
As he backed away from the creature, he heard another frantic
rapping, but his heart was pounding faster now. The idea of being
ripped to shreds didn't exactly appeal to him as he backed further
away. Another frantic rap at the window and Mousse felt something
strange happen.
First thing he noticed was broken glass fall around around
him, then he noticed everything around him dissappear, literally.
Last thing he noticed was a pond hurdling towards him at monster
speeds. Then he lost consciousness.
"Oh my god.", was the first thing he heard after waking up.
Kinami was standing over him mouth agape.
"Mousse? Is that you?", she asked.
"Of course its me. Damn! I should've remembered the trap!",
was his answer, although it came out more as a "Quack Quack Quack..
QUACK!" Than anything else.
"Its true. Oh my god its true!", she yelled. She picked
Mousse up and prodded him around, recieving several angry quacks.
A moment later, Kasumi returned with a pot of hot water, and
poured it on him. She smiled and just walked away.
"There, you happy now? Damn trap. Oh well, lets try again."
"No need.", a voice came from the patio door.
Mousse spun around and looked at the standing figure of
Ranma, who has just apparently come out of 'Cat-fist mode'.
"You came out? How?"
"Well, you literally scared the hell out of me.", he
laughed. "I remember stalking you in the kitchen, and I was about to
attack when the next thing I knew you literally flew out the window
and into the koi pond."
"Uhhh."
"I'm still not sure if you just scared me, or made me laugh
so hard it hurt."
"Oh.. great. Glad to help.", Mousse said flatly.
"This Jusenkyo thing _IS_ real?", Kinami shouted.
"Yes it is. Feel glad you witnessed my transformation, its
the last time."
"Mousse.", Ranma shouted from the patio, amongst the growing
crowd walking towards him.
As Mousse turned towards him, he could make out the growing
facial expression of a smile under his cowl.
"Thanks.", he said.
There.. Chapter Six.. Seven is half-done and will be ready
for pre-reading soon.. It's called 'Dilemma of the Blunt Edge'...
Also, I would like to inform you (for all of you who have been
bugging me about it), I'm doing a chapter (possibly chapter 8 or 9)
featuring nothing but Shampoo and her exploits in San Fransisco, and
Angela will be making an appearence very soon...
-------------------------
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| Baka to the end... |
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[I walk along the avenue
I never thought I'd meet a girl like you
with Auburn hair and tormy eyes
the kind of eyes that hypnotize me through
and I ran I ran so far away
I just ran, I ran all night and day
I couldn't get away] - I Ran - Flock of Seagulls
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