I accidentally sent the last post out with the wrong Reply to address.
The correct address to reply to is: gamers@prodigy.net
Sorry for the inconvenience.
All Ranma characters are property of Rumiko Takahashi, first published
by Shogakugan in Japan and brought over to North America by Viz
Communications.
A Different Viewpoint: Curses and Demons:
Chapter 9
Dr. Onu Tofu was only a couple blocks from the Tendo home when he
noticed a pair of cats watching him from a nearby alleyway. He gave
them a look, just in case one of them was Shampoo. Living with a girl
that changed into a cat whenever she was splashed with cold water had
gotten him into the habit of taking a look at any cat he saw, just in
case. These two, however, were strays, although they were watching him
with a strange intensity.
Tofu shook his head. < I'm just letting my imagination run away
with me.> He decided. < They probably just want food or
something....> He kept walking, casually keeping an eye on the two
cats. To his surprise, they followed him out of the alley and down the
street, slowly gaining ground on him. < Now what?> Dr. Tofu turned
around and hunkered down a bit. "Hello you two. I'm afraid I don't
have any food for you today." The two cats kept staring at him and kept
walking his way, breaking off to either side as they got closer.
The doctor frowned, turning to follow one of them with his eyes.
"Now that is strange...." He blinked in confusion as he saw two more
cats join the one that had went to his right, jumping down from a nearby
rooftop. All three cats began to, pacing back and forth as if waiting
for him to make a move. < Are they... stalking me?> The doctor glanced
the other way and noticed even more cats had joined the second feline he
had seen, and all of them were looking at him as if he was some sort of
giant mouse.
"What's going on here?" Tofu wondered out loud, then started slowly
backing away from the group of cats. "Could this have something to do
with how Shampoo is acting today?" The cats started coming closer as a
group, circling around him to cut off his avenues of retreat. The
doctor spun around quickly, noticing more and more cats were joining the
circle, their eyes fixed on him steadily. Dr. Tofu frowned worriedly.
"This is bad...."
*******************
In the Tendo dojo, Ryoga was starting to teach one of his more
advanced katas to his students when Rei stiffened and turned away,
loosing her place in the line.
Ryoga halted the kata and looked at her. "Hino-san... is there
anything the matter?"
Rei was looking off to her left, toward the Dojo's main gate, her
brow furrowed in concentration. "An evil force...." She whispered to
herself. Rei flashed a warning glance toward her friends then turned
back to Ryoga. "Er... I'm not feeling very well, Ryoga-sensei... could
you excuse me?"
Ryoga blinked. "Well... I suppose...." He glanced at his students,
who for the most part, had suddenly gotten very quiet, concerned looks
passing over their faces.
Usagi glanced around quickly, trying to think. "Um... Sensei...
could we have a break now? I um... I gotta go to the um...."
Ryoga looked at her in confusion. "What?"
Minako chimed in helpfully. "She's got to go to the bathroom!
Right Usagi?"
Usagi blushed but nodded. "That's right! Can we take just a little
break?"
Ryoga tried not to look flustered. "Er... of course.... Um...
everybody take five!"
Rei, Usagi, and Minako all hurried for the doors, while the other
senshi started to head that way more slowly, not wanting to appear like
they were in a hurry. Rei opened the door and hurried outside and
suddenly everyone could hear a slowly growing noise approaching the
dojo.
Ryoga went to the door and looked out. "That sounds like...."
Nabiki joined him, nodding. "Like cats. Angry ones. And they're
getting closer...." Everyone turned to look in the direction of the
rising wave of sound, cats hissing and yowling, from the sound, a lot of
cats. Suddenly, Dr. Tofu jumped over the Dojo's front gate and started
running toward the house.
Spotting the class mingling by the doors to the dojo he waved his
hands frantically and shouted. "Everyone get inside! Hurry!" As he
got closer it was obvious that the doctor's clothes were tattered and he
had numerous scratches on his hands and face. Even as this became
apparent, cats started jumping onto and over the Tendo compound's outer
walls.
Ryoga didn't hesitate. "Back into the dojo!" He commanded his
students, pointing toward the Tendo house. Nabiki grabbed his arm and
pushed it the other way. "The dojo is this way, Ryoga."
Naru and Umino didn't hesitate either, rushing back inside the dojo
immediately. The senshi, on the other hand, were torn in indecision.
Minako acted first, sprinting for the Tendo house, Rei grabbed Usagi's
arm and followed after her.
Ryoga blinked. "No, wait! This way!" He glanced at Nabiki.
"Right?"
Nabiki was tugging at his arm, trying to get him into the dojo.
"They'll be fine in the house! Come on!"
Dr. Tofu changed course to head for the house as well, and Setsuna
waved for the other senshi to enter the dojo. "Everyone do as he says,
and hurry!" < Now is not the time for our secret to be revealed.>
Reluctantly, but quickly, the other senshi went back into the dojo
leaving Ryoga alone at the door. Ryoga watched Dr. Tofu head for the
Tendo house and silently wished the older man luck. He put his hands on
the door to close it the instant the threat got too close. The cats
chased after the doctor rather than heading for the dojo and Ryoga's
eyes narrowed. The doctor reached the Tendo's front door and was about
to pull the door open when more cats jumped down from the roof of the
house. The doctor jumped away rather than let them land on him and
started running again, parallel to the house.
The lost boy stepped outside and yelled back to his students. "Stay
in there and kept this door shut!" He slammed the dojo door closed
behind him and ran to intercept Dr. Tofu.
Meanwhile, Minako, Rei and Usagi had entered the Tendo home through
the side door. They looked around quickly, but the hall was deserted.
Rei closed the door behind them. "Those cats are possessed by some
sort of evil energy. We've got to transform!" Usagi grabbed her
pendant and Minako got out her transformation pen. "Right!" As one
they called out their transformation phrases and for several moments the
hall was filled with a spectacular light show.
Dr. Tofu entered the side yard and gulped in dismay as he saw
another large group of cats come over the fences in front of him and too
the side. < I'm cut off! Only one place left to go.> Without another
thought, Dr. Tofu jumped headfirst into the Tendo pond. < Hopefully
they won't follow me in here.>
Ryoga rounded the corner, led helpfully by the horde of angry cats,
and spotted Dr. Tofu surfacing in the center of the koi pond, surrounded
by almost a hundred felines, all hissing and spitting in anger.
"Doctor! Are you alright?" What's going on here?"
Doctor Tofu waved at Ryoga to stay back. "I'm all right! Get
inside and call for help." He pointed at the open shogi doors. "Go,
quickly!"
Soun Tendo waved at Ryoga to come inside. "Come in, hurry, son.
The doctor should be alright in the pond."
The doctor glanced slowly around at the angry band of cats
surrounding him, and was careful to stay standing in the exact center of
the pond. "Call the fire department... or the zoo.... I don't think
the police have the equipment to deal with anything like this...."
Ryoga moved over to join Soun on the porch of the house, noting that
as long as he didn't get too close, the large pack of felines didn't pay
him any attention. "What in the world caused them to act like this,
doctor? Does it have something to do with Shampoo?"
The doctor shook his head. "I have no idea, I hope not. Shampoo
was acting strangely today... I hope she's alright." A faint suspicion
crossed his mind. "I wonder if she's in heat?" He muttered quietly to
himself, keeping an eye on the horde all around him.
Ryoga strained to hear what the doctor was saying. "What was that,
doctor?"
Dr. Tofu blushed slightly and shook his head. "Nothing important...
please, call for help!"
Soun nodded, heading toward the hall. "Right away, Tofu-san. Ryoga,
guard the door." The Tendo patriarch headed for the hall, but was
distracted by the sight of a small black kitten running down the stairs
and heading for the side yard. "What? C-chan, stop!"
Sailor Mars led Sailor Venus and Sailor Moon into the Tendo
bathroom. "Quick, we can go out this window, that way no one will see
us leaving the house." She opened the bathroom window and jumped out,
followed by her fellow senshi.
Venus pointed toward the roof. "Lets go up there and get a better
look. That way we can probably spot where the action is!" Mars and
Sailor Moon nodded and the three senshi leaped as one to the rooftop. A
dozen cats were already on the roof, thankfully looking toward the side
yard. The senshi hesitated. "Now what do we do?" Venus muttered. "I
can't just blast those cats.... they're not monsters, just...."
Mars finished. "Possessed. I can't use my fire attacks either, not
without hurting them." She and Sailor Venus both turned to their
companion. "Looks like it's up to you, Sailor Moon."
Sailor Moon nodded, and took hold of her broach. "Right. I'll take
care of it, just watch." She extended her broach and started to
concentrate. "Moon Healing... Escalation!" The silver crystal started
to shine brightly, and a wave of energy radiated out of it toward the
cats on the roof. The cats yowled for a moment as the beam swept over
them, then collapsed. One by one the cats recovered, looking around in
apparent confusion.
Venus laughed and gave Sailor Moon the thumbs up. "You did it
Sailor Moon! Now for the rest of them!"
Mars nodded. "Right. I sense the majority of the evil energy
in..." She pointed toward the side yard. "That direction. We had
better hurry, before they catch that poor man." She started to lead the
way when something cracked into the rooftop just in front of her,
causing her to come to a halt. "What in the world...? A gymnastics
pin?"
A slender figure alighted on the rooftop in front of them, laughing
hauntingly behind her hand. "Ho ho ho.... I'm afraid, my dears, that
you three aren't going anywhere." She laughed louder, causing the
senshi to wince slightly at the annoying noise. She went into a
gymnastics stance. "I, Kodachi the black rose Kuno, will stop you."
*********************
Inside the dojo, the senshi had gathered together in one corner,
while Umino and Mamoru Chiba guarded the door.
Naru stood slightly behind her boyfriend, looking worried. "Gosh, I
hope Usagi's alright out there."
Nabiki was quick to reassure her. "I'm sure she's fine. She had
plenty of time to get to the side door, and daddy is in the house.
He'll keep your friends safe, I'm sure." Inside she winced. < If Dr.
Tofu was running, then daddy won't be able to handle whatever is going
on either... I wish Ranma and Akane were here.> She winced internally,
thinking about Ranma's likely reaction to a huge horde of cats, phobia
training or no. < On second thought, I'd settle for Happosai or the old
ghoul right about now....> Nabiki frowned. < Well, maybe not
Happosai....> Nabiki gazed at the door. < Ryoga, you had better be
alright, and you had better save Dr. Tofu!>
In the corner, shielded by her fellow senshi, Ami had pulled her
mini computer out and was busy scanning the surrounding area. "The
energy signals are very faint." She whispered, just loud enough for
those around her too hear. "Whatever is controlling those cats, it's
not nearby...." She tapped a few more keys. "I believe that whatever
force is controlling them, Sailor Moon should have no trouble disrupting
it. It's not like anything we've dealt with in the past, but at least
it's not terribly powerful."
Makoto sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. I was really starting to
get worried. I don't like leaving Usagi to fight on her own like
that...."
Hotaru took her hands, trying to reassure her. "At least Rei and
Mina are out there with her. I'm sure Usagi-san will be just fine."
Makoto sighed. "I know, I just don't like being stuck in here while
Usagi fights."
Setsuna shrugged. "We have little choice, unless we wish to reveal
our identities as senshi. Don't worry, I do not sense any major
threat... as of yet."
Luna, who had been acting as lookout, hissed a warning. "Nabiki's
coming over...." Ami slipped her computer behind her back and the other
girls tried to act normally as the middle Tendo sister came up to them.
"Don't worry." Nabiki said as she approached the group. "We're
perfectly safe in here." She waved at the walls. "We had the dojo
walls reinforced the last time we rebuilt the place." Nabiki shrugged.
"And I'm sure daddy has called someone for help by now." < If he's not
running for his life from a bunch of crazed cats that is....> Nabiki
tried to keep a calm exterior as her mind raced. < What in the world is
going on with all those cats? Does it have anything to do with
Shampoo?>
*******************
In the pond, Dr. Tofu was wondering much the same thing. The cats
around him were starting to get restless. Any time now he was afraid
that that whatever was causing them to want to attack him would overcome
their natural hatred of water. His thoughts turned out to be prophetic,
as he felt claws sinking into his back as one of the cats jumped into
him from behind. Tofu yelled and immediately dived beneath the surface
of the water, reaching back to pull the cat off his back as he did so.
The cat held on grimly despite the bath, and he was forced to pry it
free and fling it from the pond. Dr. Tofu surfaced for an instant, took
a deep breath and dived beneath the water again.
He held himself to the bottom of the pond, looking up at the surface
warily. < I'll just hold my breath for a while....>
Inside the house, Soun battled frantically with an opponent one
hundredth his mass, as a tiny ball of fur tried to tear his hand off so
it could go outside and join all the other cats. Soun was handicapped
by his extreme reluctance to hurt the tiny kitten, which was currently
acting like a miniature buzz saw on steroids.
Ryoga, seeing Soun's dilemma, decided to help the Tendo patriarch
out by finding the phone and calling for help himself. "Hang in there,
Mr. Tendo. I'm sure you can handle C-chan! I'll go find the phone!"
Soun was too busy trying to retain all of his fingers to realize just
how bad an idea that was.
On the roof, the senshi faced off with an insane gymnast as a yell
and a splash echoed up from the side yard, followed by an increased
hissing and yowling from the mass of cats down there. Mars glanced
toward her nominal leader in concern. "Sailor Moon, you had better deal
with the cats first. We'll handle the Black Rose."
Venus nodded. "Go on, Sailor Moon, that man needs your help!"
Kodachi snorted. "It's you three that need help, my dear, as you'll
soon discover." She twirled a gymnastic ribbon in their direction, and
snapped it out at them suddenly. The three senshi leaped over the
attack landing farther apart than before.
Venus smiled knowingly. "Rhythmic Gymnastic Martial Arts, huh?
I've got this one covered."
Kodachi sniffed disdainfully. "You think incorrectly, if you
believe some knowledge of my art will help you." She snapped her ribbon
at Venus again, forcing the senshi to dodge away. "If all you can do is
dodge, this battle will soon be mine!"
Sailor Mars frowned angrily. "We can do a lot more than that." She
held out her hands. "Burning...." Before she could finish her attack,
Kodachi's ribbon wrapped around her legs, pulling her off her feet and
throwing her at Venus. Venus jumped forward to intercept, taking the
hit and managing to barely stop them both from plummeting off the
rooftop. Hurting, Mars pushed herself off of her friend and both girls
dodged to either side as Kodachi attacked again.
Meanwhile, trying not to wince at the beating her friends were
taking, Sailor Moon jumped down into the Tendo's side yard and started
focusing on the silver crystal again. On the roof, Kodachi noted the
Moon senshi's action, and jumped to a spot directly above her, readying
a bomb to drop directly onto Sailor Moon's head. Just as she was about
to throw, her arm was caught by a golden chain made of energy.
Sailor Venus slowly pulled Kodachi away from the roof's edge, then
shook one finger at her. "No no no... you're fighting with me,
remember?"
Mars growled, pulling out a ward. "Don't forget me!" She started
to chant, imbuing her ward with energy. "Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin,
retsu, sai, zen. Akuryou taisan!" Bound by Venus's chain, Kodachi
couldn't avoid the ward Mars slapped onto her forehead, she stiffened,
screamed, and fainted, collapsing to the ground.
Down below, Sailor Moon had finished her own attack, sweeping the
healing light of her crystal through the mass of cats surrounding the
Tendo pond. They collapsed almost as a unit, and Sailor Moon could feel
whatever energy that had been controlling them being swept away.
Slowly, one by one, the cats started to recover, wandering off as they
woke. Sailor Moon looked around for any signs of trouble and saw none.
The lost boy glanced around distractedly. "Where in the world did
they put the phone... and how did I get outside?"
With a splash, Dr. Tofu emerged from the water and looked around.
"What happened?" He spotted Sailor Moon and stared in surprise.
"Who...?"
Sailor Moon glanced up at the roof and spotted Venus, who gave her
the thumbs up signal. "Well, then." She said, trying to act
nonchalant. "It seems my work here is done. Good bye!" Without
further explanation she leapt up onto the roof and ran off.
Ryoga watched the Moon senshi go in amazement. "Sailor Moon? What
was she doing here?"
Dr. Tofu stepped out of the pond, dripping. "I have no idea. Was
that really Sailor Moon? I thought the Sailor Senshi operated out of
Juuban?"
Ryoga scratched behind his head. "Isn't that just around the
block?"
Dr. Tofu blinked. "Er... not quite."
Soun ventured out of the house, wrapping a bandage around his
wounded hand. "Is it over?"
Tofu glanced around at the dispersing cats. "It does appear to
be...."
Up on the roof, Sailor Mars knelt over Kodachi. "Whatever evil I
sensed is gone now.... She appears to be completely human...."
Venus frowned. "But from what Johnathon told us, this... Kodachi
Kuno is supposed to be insane, right?" She grinned. "I know exactly
what to do with her!" She knelt down and picked the gymnast up. "You
two cover for me, I'll take care of Miss Kuno."
Mars nodded. "We'll go back in the window, and tell everyone we
were just hiding out in the bathroom the whole time."
Sailor Moon hesitated. "What are you going to do with Kodachi?"
Venus shook her head. "No problem, no problem... she's supposed to
be in the loony bin, right? I bet they're looking for her right now.
I'll just make sure they find her."
Sailor Moon frowned. "That's the mental hospital, Venus. It isn't
nice to call it the loony bin."
Mars sighed. "This loony just tried to kill us, and you're worried
about being politically correct?" She shrugged and went to jump off the
edge of the roof. "That's our meatball head...."
Sailor Moon followed her friend off the roof. "Don't call me a
meatball head!"
Venus jumped off the roof as well, carrying Kodachi. "Now, where is
the nearest police box?"
*******************
Minutes later, Rei and Usagi were back in the dojo, explaining to a
worried Ryoga that Minako had climbed over the back fence to call the
police, and that she was fine.
Ryoga nodded, not fully convinced. "I hope you're right. You are
all my responsibility. I don't know what I would do if anyone got hurt
while I was supposed to be teaching you...."
Over to one side of the dojo, Ami was expertly applying some
bandages to Dr. Tofu, from the first aid kit on hand in the dojo for
emergencies. "That's very well done." Tofu nodded as Ami finished up
the bandage on his left hand. "I see you've had some medical training?"
Ami flushed and shook her head. "Oh no... my mother is a doctor...
and I have done a lot of reading, but...."
Dr. Tofu smiled. "You've got a knack for medicine. I can tell.
Have you ever considered becoming a doctor?" Ami nodded, still blushing
and tried not to embarrass herself too badly over her reaction to the
handsome physician.
Nabiki had waited patiently until the doctor had gotten his wounds
taken care of, but now she wanted some answers. "Dr. Tofu, what in the
world is going on here? Did it have something to do with Shampoo?"
Tofu frowned. "I don't know, but that is a possibility. I should
get back to the clinic as soon as possible...."
Ryoga came over. "I'll go with you. You might need help." He
glanced around at his class. "I'm afraid I have to cut class short
today, but please come at the usual time on thursday."
Ami blinked as she heard the names being mentioned. < He's Dr.
Tofu? He's the one engaged to Shampoo....> She tried not to look as
disappointed as she felt. < Darn, what a lucky girl.> Ami turned back
to her friends and headed toward Usagi. "I suppose we should get going,
right Usagi?" Usagi nodded automatically and Ami stepped closer with a
whisper. "I think we should head to Dr. Tofu's clinic ourselves... as
the Senshi."
Minako showed up as everyone was getting ready to leave. "Hi
everyone, I'm back!"
Usagi confronted her immediately. "Mina, are you OK?" She asked
loudly. "What did you do with Kodachi?" She whispered under her
breath.
Mina waved her hands, smiling. "I'm fine, I never did find a
phone...." She stepped closer to Usagi, whispering back to her. "I
found a nice policeman, who promised he'd make sure Kodachi was taken
care of."
Ryoga responded to the first statement with a shake of his head.
"That's OK, I can never seem to find a phone when I want to, either." He
ignored the two girls when they started to whisper amongst themselves
and turned to the doctor. "It looks like everyone is accounted for
here, lets go check on Shampoo."
Nabiki chimed in. "I'm coming too." Ryoga and the doctor looked at
her incredulously and she rolled her eyes. "I'll stay out of the way if
there's a fight, but somebody has to keep an eye on pig boy here, or the
Tendo dojo will be out its only active instructor!"
Ryoga put his hand behind his head sheepishly. "Er... thanks, I
suppose."
Nabiki sniffed. "Don't thank me. I'm just protecting my
investment."
As the three of them set out for the clinic, Dr. Tofu suddenly
recalled why he had been headed over to the Tendo Dojo in the first
place. < I still need to talk to Nabiki... but....> He frowned. < What
could have set all those cats off, and why did the Sailor Senshi show
up? From everything I've heard, the senshi usually deal with
monsters, and supernatural threats. What does that have to do with
me?> He glanced at Ryoga. "Ryoga-kun, what do you know about the
Sailor Senshi?"
Ryoga blinked, glancing over at the doctor. "The Senshi? Er...
they fight monsters, and demons, and stuff like that.... I don't know
all that much about them really. What did you want to know about?"
Dr. Tofu looked thoughtful. "I was just wondering why they'd be
there to help us today? What could have brought them out all this way?"
Nabiki interrupted. "The Senshi were here? They showed up at my
house? You're kidding!"
Dr. Tofu shook his head. "No, it did appear to be them. I didn't
see everything that happened, but I do believe the one that Ryoga called
Sailor Moon was the reason that the cats all stopped attacking."
Ryoga nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense, she can do that sort
of thing pretty easy." He looked curious. "Which attack did she use?"
Dr. Tofu blinked. "Which attack? I didn't really see, I was
underwater.... Why do you ask?"
Ryoga shrugged. "Well, it might help if we knew, I mean, if she had
to use one of her more powerful attacks to stop the cats, we'd know how
worried to be about whatever caused them to go berserk like that."
Nabiki looked at the lost boy incredulously. "Don't tell me you're
a Sailor Moon groupie or something, like Umino. Have you seen his web
page? It's got all these "facts" and "figures" about the Senshi, about
the attack phrases they use and everything...."
Ryoga shook his head. "No, no, no... I just fought some demons with
her a while back, that's all... we had to go into this alternate
dimension and blow up this big tree...." Nabiki and Dr. Tofu stared at
him as if he had just grown another head. "No, really! It was an evil
Ygg... syderal... or something like that."
Dr. Tofu scratched his head. "The world tree, from Norse
Mythology?"
Ryoga nodded quickly. "Yeah, that thing... it was a seedling... an
evil seedling, and it was opening holes into our dimension, and all
these monster-demon things called Youma were coming out of them." He
shrugged. "Anyway, everybody showed up to help... Ranma, Akane,
Johnathon, Shampoo, Cologne, Mouse... even Kuno...." He trailed off,
looking a bit pale. "Oops... that was supposed to be a secret, wasn't
it?"
Nabiki's eyes were saucers. "You're not kidding! You mean all of
Ranma's enemies, allies and fiancees all got together with the Sailor
Senshi to stop an invasion from another dimension?!?"
Ryoga laughed weakly. "Er... did I say that?"
Dr. Tofu nodded slowly. "Now I remember, there was something on the
news about monster attacks last month. There were sightings of a cat
monster that was supposed to be either brainwashing or working with the
Senshi, and reports of a new red haired Senshi... with a pigtail, who
people were calling... Sailor Earth?"
Ryoga blinked and started to chuckle. "Really? Hah! I wish I had
seen that! I can picture the look on Ranma's face when someone called
him that...." He broke into hysterical laughter.
Nabiki slowed down and stopped in the middle of the street. "Last
month?"
Dr. Tofu turned to face her, looking concerned, recalling what else
had been happening at the same time. < That was when Nabiki was
hypnotized as well.... I wonder if there is a connection.> "What is
it, Nabiki?"
Nabiki shook her head. "You say there were news reports about
monster attacks... a cat monster, and a red haired, pig tailed Sailor
Senshi?" Dr. Tofu nodded slowly. Nabiki frowned in concentration.
"You're sure?" Dr. Tofu nodded again. The middle Tendo sister shook
her head. "That's impossible, I would have heard about it." She shook
her head again. "I always keep track of the news, how could I have
missed something like that?"
Ryoga had stopped as well, looking back at Nabiki in confusion.
"Maybe it wasn't a big story... I mean, a lot happened that week...."
Dr. Tofu scratched his chin. "Maybe you missed the news for a
couple days...."
Nabiki shook her head. "No way, I'd have remembered. What channel
was showing the story, anyway?"
Dr. Tofu blinked. "It was on channel 4 and 7... prime time,
actually. I usually catch the evening news if I've had a slow day at
the clinic...."
Nabiki shook her head again. "Nope, there's no way I could have
missed that." She looked worried for a moment before her face went
cold. "There has to be some sort of mistake."
Dr. Tofu hesitated. < Memory problems? That would be consistent
with what I know of that hypnosis incense. But how do I find out for
sure?" He glanced at Ryoga. < I can't discuss Nabiki's condition with
Ryoga here, and we still have to find out if Shampoo's all right!> He
sighed. "Ryoga... could you... follow a ways behind us? I'd like to
talk to Nabiki alone."
Nabiki frowned. "I don't think so, doctor, if we let him get out of
our sight, he'll be gone before we get a block. Go ahead and say what
you want to say, I don't care if Ryoga hears." < If it's anything I
don't want repeated, I have more than enough to keep him from talking,
anyway.>
Dr. Tofu sighed and started walking again. "If you're sure, Nabiki,
but this is quite personal...."
Nabiki hurried to catch up to the doctor and walked along beside
him, dragging Ryoga behind her. "Just spit it out, doc. Do you know
why I don't remember those news reports?"
Dr. Tofu nodded slowly. "I have a theory. You see, Nabiki, you
came to me with a problem earlier that week. You were having
blackouts... and we determined that you had been hypnotized."
Nabiki blinked. "Hypnotized? What are you talking about? I don't
remember any of this?"
Dr. Tofu nodded. "Which is why I think you are still under the
influence of hypnosis. A day after coming to me with your concerns, you
called me, telling me that you had been cured of the hypnosis, the same
hypnosis I might add that Ranma had been affected by days earlier. You
told me that Ranma had given you the cure, and you were fine... but I
suspect that that wasn't the case."
Nabiki stared horrified at the doctor. "I... I don't remember any
of this! Are you sure?"
Doctor Tofu nodded. "Absolutely. Happosai had used what Johnathon
called a "magical hypnosis incense" on Ranma, causing Ranma to be stuck
in the Neko-ken. Ranma was cured, somehow, of the hypnosis, although I
was not privy to the details. When you came to me with what I could
only identify as symptoms of an extremely powerful hypnosis, I suggested
you ask Ranma about how he was cured... you later called me and said
that Ranma had gotten Happosai to reverse what he had done to you... and
that was the end of it... or so I thought."
Nabiki looked like she wanted to be sick. "I was hypnotized by...
Happosai? I don't even want to think about what his sick little mind
would have thought up for me to do...." She paled further. "But if I
don't remember any of this, that means...."
Dr. Tofu shook his head. "We can't be certain what this means. You
may be simply repressing a traumatic memory, or...."
Nabiki finished. "Or I might be still hypnotized, right?"
Dr. Tofu sighed. "I'm afraid that is a possibility."
Nabiki tried to get back some semblance of control. "You said that
Ranma was cured.... Do you have any idea how?"
Dr. Tofu shook his head. "Not really. You told me that Happosai
had cured you... but given what we know now, I don't think we can trust
that statement."
Ryoga spoke up finally. "What about Sailor Moon? She's good at
that sort of thing. Ranma even said that he owed her a big favor...
maybe it was because she cured him?" Nabiki and Dr. Tofu both looked
back at the lost boy incredulously, then at each other.
"Could that be why..." Nabiki started.
"... Those cats were after me...?" Dr. Tofu continued.
"And Sailor Moon showed up?" Nabiki concluded.
Ryoga's danger sense flared a warning, just as a dark form jumped
down from the rooftops, bringing a large circular mace down on the back
of Dr. Tofu's head with a clang.
Dr. Tofu dropped and Shampoo smiled evilly at Nabiki. "So nyou
figured it out.... nieow!!!" Shampoo pointed one of her bonboris at
Nabiki threateningly. "But it won't help you now!"
Ryoga blinked. "Now why does that accent sound familiar?" He shook
his head, moving in between Nabiki and Shampoo defensively. "You'll
have to go through me to get at Nabiki, Shampoo."
Shampoo meowed again, almost like she was laughing, and brought out
a bucket. "Nynot a problem. I owe you one, anyway." Ryoga blinked.
"I do know you! You're the... *Splash*"
Nabiki took a step back in dismay as her valiant "defender" shrank
into his clothing. "Ryoga you idiot...." She paled as Shampoo dropped
the bucket and pulled out her second bonbori. "Now wait a minute,
Shampoo, I'm sure we can talk this out...."
A vaguely familiar voice called down from the rooftops. "Beating up
on doctors, turning hunky guys into pigs, and threatening innocent
girls... the sun itself may forgive you, but I never will!" The owner
of the voice poised herself picturesquely in the setting sun. "I am
Sailor Moon, and in the name of the moon, I shall punish you!"
Four more girls in short fukus stepped up to either side of Sailor
Moon. "We're the Sailor Senshi, and you're not going to get away with
it!" They announced as one.
Shampoo gulped and shook her head. "Nyno way! I'm nnot fighting
them!" An instant later she collapsed bonelessly to the street.
Mercury instantly called up her visor. "There's something... it
just left Shampoo and flew south... very fast... some sort of possessing
entity or something...." She and the other Senshi jumped down to the
street and she scanned Shampoo carefully. "Whatever it was... it's gone
now, she's back to normal... I'm detecting her Jusenkyo curse, but there
isn't anything else here, except a faint residue from whatever possessed
her.
Jupiter frowned angrily. "Damn it! I didn't even get to blast it
once!"
Mercury frowned. "Jupiter... do you really have to swear?"
Mars spoke up. "Was whatever was possessing Shampoo the thing that
controlled all those cats... or is there something else causing all of
the possessions?"
Sailor Moon spoke up. "Well, Shampoo is a cat... sometimes. Maybe
whatever it is only can possess cats...?"
Mercury nodded. "Yes, that actually makes a lot of sense."
Sailor Moon looked worried. "We'd better check on Luna and Artemis,
quick!"
Nabiki had been watching the Senshi in shock for the last several
seconds and finally decided that she had heard enough. "Wait just a
second! What in the world is going on here!?!" Ryoga crawled out of
his clothing and bweed for attention as well."
Sailor Moon decided to address Nabiki. "Well... we detected an evil
force in your area, and decided to investigate...."
Nabiki frowned angrily. "Bullshit!" She swore violently in
English, which caused Mercury to flinch, Venus to take a mental note for
later, and the rest of the Senshi to look confused. "There is more to
this than just some "evil force" and you're going to tell me what!"
Sailor Moon backed a step away from Nabiki nervously. "Er... what
are you talking about?"
Shampoo groaned, slowly pushing herself up. "What hit Shampoo?" She
shook her head. "No... first person... What hit me?" Shampoo looked
around in confusion, then spotted the doctor lying unconscious on the
pavement near her. "Tofu!!!" She lunged over to him, quickly checking
for injuries. "Tofu, Tofu, are you alright?" She noted the slowly
growing lump on the back of his head and felt a cold chill as she
guessed at the cause. Shampoo looked up, recognizing the Senshi around
her. "Sailor Moon! What happen... what happened here? Did I... Did I
hurt Tofu-chan?"
Sailor Moon knelt down at Shampoo's side. "It wasn't your fault,
Shampoo. You were possessed by a spirit... or something. You weren't
yourself."
Shampoo looked horrified. "Shampoo... I was possessed?" Her face
cleared in understanding. "I remember... the ghost cat!" Ryoga nodded
firmly up and down, grunting agreement.
Mercury glanced down at the tiny pig in interest. "You recognized
it, Ryoga-kun?" Ryoga nodded again.
Nabiki blinked. "Oh yeah, Ryoga got possessed by the Ghost Cat
about a year ago... it was trying to get Akane to marry him or
something...." Ryoga flushed as red as a black pig could get and tried
to become invisible. Mercury found him suddenly to be almost
irresistibly cute and picked him up, nearly bumping heads with Jupiter
as she did so.
Jupiter glared at her and hissed under her breath. "Hey, let me
hold him!"
Mercury hesitated, then stuck her tongue out at the taller Senshi.
"Nope." She winked to show that she was kidding.
Jupiter blinked in astonishment, then smiled slightly. "OK,
Mercury, you win this round."
Mercury started to gather up Ryoga's clothing. "Now... where can we
find some how water...."
Nabiki ignored the antics of the other Senshi and glared at Sailor
Moon. "OK, now talk. What are you really doing here?"
Mars stepped slightly in front of her leader and glared at Nabiki.
"Don't go talking to Sailor Moon like that. We just saved your life you
know!"
Sailor Moon hesitated. "Well...."
Nabiki shot back. "And how did you know that my life needed
saving?"
Moon tried to speak up. "Actually...."
Mars interrupted. "We didn't! We're just here to deal with
whatever is going around possessing cats, OK?"
Nabiki sniffed. "Oh really? I still think you're not telling me
everything."
Sailor Moon cleared her throat. "Mars, Nabiki... quiet." She said
it softly, but in such a way that they both turned to her and listened.
"Nabiki, do you know why the cats wanted to hurt the doctor?"
Nabiki hesitated. "Well... I was hoping you would. At first I
thought it might be because of Shampoo... and if that was the Ghost Cat,
it's a real possibility, but something the doctor and I were discussing
makes me think it might be more than that...." She turned to Shampoo.
"Something it said... about us having figured it out.... But what did
we figure out? I think it has something to do with Dr. Tofu realizing
that I might be still under Happosai's hypnosis...."
Sailor Moon blinked. "Happosai? Did he hypnotize you too?"
Nabiki chewed on her lip. "Me too? So you knew about Ranma? Were
you really the one that cured him, like Ryoga thought?"
Sailor Moon nodded slowly. "That's right, Ranma was hypnotized to
think he was a cat... and I cured him...."
Nabiki pointed at herself. "Then cure me too! From what we were
able to work out, I've probably been under the influence of hypnosis
ever since then. I've forgotten large parts of that week... nothing
else makes sense."
Mercury walked up to her, still holding Ryoga and his clothing.
"Let me take a look." She passed him somewhat reluctantly over to
Jupiter and brought out her visor and mini computer again. "Hmm...."
After several moments, Mercury nodded. "Yes, Nabiki is being effected
by the same energy that Ranma and the others were. No doubt about it."
Everyone looked at Sailor Moon, who nodded. "Alright, everyone but
Nabiki, stand back." She tried to look reassuring. "Don't worry,
Nabiki-san. This won't hurt a bit." She brought out the silver crystal
again, and pointed it at Nabiki. "Moon... Healing...." Dr. Tofu
groggily woke, and half consciously listened in as Mercury made her
diagnosis.
As Sailor Moon started to speak her command phrase, he came fully
awake. "Wait... not yet...!"
His warning came too late. "Escalation!" Sailor Moon finished,
letting her healing powers wash over Nabiki. Shampoo helped the doctor
to his feet as he headed toward Nabiki, looking concerned.
Mercury frowned. "What's wrong, doctor?" She glanced at Nabiki,
who was standing there in shock, an increasingly horrified look coming
over her face. "What's happening to Nabiki?"
Dr. Tofu reached Nabiki, who started to scream wildly. "NOOOO!!!"
Instantly he tapped a spot on the back of her neck and she crumpled into
his arms.
Tofu sighed. "I was afraid of that. The built up trauma from
everything that happened to her hit her all at once." He shook his
head. "It was bad enough when she could only remember bits and pieces,
but she's getting it all at once now... and who knows what else might
have happened in the time since I saw her."
Sailor Moon came up, looking pale. "Oh no... what happened to her
that was so terrible, doctor?"
Dr. Tofu shook his head. "I can't say, doctor patient privilege
forbids me. All I can say is that it would be best it when Nabiki wakes
up, she is in familiar surroundings, with someone she trusts."
Sailor Moon started to cry. "I'm sorry... I didn't know this would
happen...."
Dr. Tofu shook his head. "It's alright, you couldn't have known."
He smiled tiredly. "If I'm right, you simply eliminated the hypnosis
that was keeping her from remembering everything that she went through
while under it's effects. Nabiki's a strong girl, she'll be alright.
She's just undergone a shock."
Shampoo looked confused. "I don't understand. Why would the Ghost
Cat try to keep Nabiki from getting her memories back?"
Dr. Tofu shook his head. "I think only Nabiki can answer that
question. Perhaps while under hypnosis she witnessed something that it
didn't want revealed?"
Shampoo frowned. "The Ghost Cat is always trying to get me to marry
it, or trying to get revenge on Ranma... what was it up to this time?"
Sailor Mars glanced around at the slowly gathering crowd. "Er...
hadn't we better discuss this somewhere more private?"
Dr. Tofu nodded. "That would be best. We can take Nabiki home and
put her to bed... it would be best if she woke up in her own room. We
can talk this through more at the Tendo's house."
Sailor Moon nodded. "Right. We know the way. We will meet you
there Dr. Tofu!" The Senshi bounded off together (with Jupiter still
carrying Ryoga) leaving Dr. Tofu and Shampoo alone on the street with an
unconscious Nabiki.
Shampoo glanced at the unconscious girl. "Would you like me to
carry Nabiki, doctor? You shouldn't exert yourself with your head
injury."
Dr. Tofu blinked, about to protest, then shrugged. "Well... I
suppose that would be best, Shampoo. Heaven forbid that I start
insisting on my masculine prerogative while I'm engaged to marry an
Amazon."
Shampoo nodded and took Nabiki gently from the doctor, then
blinked. "Er... Tofu, what is masculine prerogative?"
They headed for the Tendo Dojo as well, while Dr. Tofu tried to
explain a certain cultural fetish that was understood almost everywhere
in the world, aside, of course, from a certain Amazon village.
End Chapter 9
You can find all the previous Chapters to this at:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Dojo/1449/fanfics.html