Neko-phobia Part 2: The Second Day
by David Eddy <dje@progress.com>
Draft 2: 05Jan97
#include <std/takahashi_disclaimer.h>
WARNING: This story contains a scene with adult concepts, but is
*NOT* a lemon.
Rain hammered down, and rivers of stormwater collected in
the drains and flowed swiftly away, dark, seething torrents
poorly lit by the feeble street lights. Akane peeked out from
the cover of the garbage bin to see if her pursuers still waited.
The street was clear.
Bracing herself, Akane dashed out into the bone-chilling
rain, the heavy droplets making light of the protection of her
fur. She shivered and stretched out into a dead run, trying to
get home before her doggy pursuers picked up her trail again.
She hoped against hope that the downpour would wash away her
scent so she could not be followed.
A last corner turned, and the gates of the dojo were in
sight. Akane felt her heart lift and she headed for the gate,
but skidded to a halt as a shadowy figure stepped out from under
the roof over the gate. The dull light of the street lights fell
on the figure. She stepped lightly, ignoring the driving rain.
A leotard clung to her slim, shapely figure, but her face
remained in shadows, obscuring all details except for sooty,
glowing eyes.
"Well, if it isn't little Akane-san," said the woman. With
an ugly thrill Akane recognised Kodachi's voice. "Have you met
Mr. Turtle, Akane-san? He'd like to meet you!"
The large green alligator called "Mr. Turtle" appeared by
Kodachi's side, a slim lead joining the collar around the
alligator's neck to Kodachi's hand. Mr. Turtle clopped his jaws
hungrily, saliva glistening briefly in his dark maw. Akane
wanted to turn tail and run, but Kodachi's glowing eyes held her
in place, her muscles frozen. Akane railed against the prison
her cat's body had become as Mr. Turtle took a step forward while
Kodachi laughed insanely. 'Oh please, somebody help me,' she
thought frantically. 'Oh please oh please somebodyhelpme--'
CRASH!
A bicycle had landed on Kodachi, knocking her unconscious,
and its rider kicked the alligator casually, which faded and
disappeared. Akane's saviour stepped off the bike and knelt down
in the rain, her arm outstretched beckoningly, her long black
hair hanging forward wetly and hiding her face. But there was
something about the short dress she wore that was familiar....
"Nihao."
Akane awoke with a start. The sun, already well up, was
flooding into the room. She looked at the clock by her bedside.
Six-twenty. She normally preferred to sleep in on a Sunday but
now that she was awake she decided to get up.
She looked out her window to see whether Ranma and Genma had
started training. She suspected not, since it was suspiciously
quiet. Akane gasped at what she saw.
Shampoo was clinging on to Ranma, who was in female form.
They were standing in the pond. Genma in his panda form was
lying half-in, half-out of the pond with a bicycle embedded in
his back. Ranma was bringing her hands up towards Shampoo's
chest.
A red curtain slid over Akane's vision.
"RAAAANNNMMMAAAAAAA!!!"
Onna-Ranma reached up to Shampoo's shoulders and gently
pushed her away. She didn't move, so having little patience
Ranma pushed much harder. Shampoo lost her grip and flew off her
to land in the pond. Ranma stepped out of the pond. Shampoo
surfaced a moment later.
"Husband no like Shampoo?" she asked in a hurt tone of
voice. She stood up and stepped out of the pond next to Ranma.
Onna-Ranma looked down at Shampoo to see unshed tears shimmering
in her eyes.
Akane burst out of the house, her aura aflame and her mallet
cocked in both hands over her head.
"Ranmaaa nooooo BAKA!!"
Ranma shoved Shampoo out of the way, hard, and just squeaked
out of the way of the descending hammer-blow. Shampoo landed in
the pond flat on her back and water went everywhere... including
onto Akane.
With an angry "Mrwowrr!" Akane-neko struggled out of her wet
clothes and sprinted after onna-Ranma. She jumped and landed on
Ranma's back.
"Waaaaaa! Geddit off, geddit off!" yelled Ranma as she ran
around the yard, trying to make herself grab Akane to get her off
her shoulders. Akane hissed angrily, deployed her claws and dug
them deeply into Ranma's trapezium.
"Arrgh! Ouch!" Ranma grabbed Akane and dropped her onto
the ground before hurriedly climbing a nearby tree.
Akane stopped on the ground beneath Ranma and looked up.
Ranma watched Akane nervously, his eyes wild. Akane reached out
with a paw and tested the bark of the tree for grip, then looked
up again. Ranma was shaking and sweating.
Extending her claws, Akane sank them into the bark and
experimentally dragged herself up the trunk a few steps. "Eep...
urk..." She looked up to see Ranma staring at her like a rabbit
in a spotlight, eyes huge and bloodshot, trembling like a leaf.
The moment stretched...
With a flip of her tail Akane jumped down and walked inside
the house. Ranma watched her go, her expression unreadable.
Heavy thuds sounded rapidly, then stopped, and a sign bashed
Ranma out of the tree. The sign, which had been swung by Genma,
read, "Show more respect for your iinazuke!!"
* * *
"Kasumi-oneechan, have you seen Ranma since this morning?"
Kasumi stopped working at the kitchen bench and turned to
face Akane, shaking her head. "No I haven't, Akane. I think
he's been in his room."
"Oh." She looked around the kitchen, brightening a little.
"Can I help you prepare lunch?"
"Thank you, Akane, but that won't be necessary. I've almost
finished." She sniffed a pot on the stove and stirred it a
little. "Akane, would you call Ranma please? It's nearly time
to eat."
"Hai, oneechan."
"And would you call Nabiki, too? She's shouldn't miss
lunch; it's time she got up even if she was up very late last
night."
At lunch, Ranma (now in male form) ate like a normal person
instead of a human vacuum cleaner. Noting this, Nabiki decided
to indulge in her favourite sport: Ranma-baiting. She said in a
concerned voice, "Ranma, are you feeling okay?"
"I feel fine."
"But you're not eating, Ranma-chan." Her voice dripped
honey.
Ranma glared at Nabiki. "Leave me alone."
Kasumi said, "Nabiki, please don't taunt Ranma. Ranma-kun,
you look as though you have something on your mind. Do you want
to discuss it?"
Ranma looked at his rice bowl for a moment. "Hai." He put
his chopsticks on the table and sat back. "I'm going to the
Nekohanten this afternoon to--"
Akane bashed the table with her fist, making the bowls jump.
"You're going to see that hussy I suppose! Now that she's no
longer a cat you're going to make kissy-face and set a date for
the wedding I suppose?! Bastard!"
Ranma glared at Akane and started to flush with anger.
Soun's aura flared into a snake's head. "What wedding?!",
he hissed at Ranma. "Do you mean you're going to marry someone
*other than* Akane?!"
Kasumi put her hand on Akane's. "Otousan, Akane, don't you
think you should wait and listen to what Ranma has to say before
saying things like that? He may have some other reason for
visiting the Nekohanten, ne Ranma?" Kasumi smiled sweetly at
Ranma.
Ranma looked oddly at Kasumi for a moment. At last he
grunted and nodded. "I'm going to the Nekohanten this afternoon
to try and get Cologne to reverse what she did to Akane," he said
simply. "Akane... I-I thought you should come in case she agrees
do it there and then."
Genma clapped Soun, whose battle aura had faded, on the
back. "Well done, son. He's coming along nicely don't you think
Tendo-kun? Maybe the wedding we should be talking about is
Akane's!" Genma and Soun chortled to each other.
Akane stared at Ranma with big eyes, amazed. "Do you really
think she'll agree?" asked Kasumi, seeing that Akane wasn't about
to respond. Her tone of voice indicated that she felt it was
unlikely.
Ranma shot Genma a glare before shrugging. "I have to try,"
he said.
* * *
Ranma, Akane, and Nabiki stood across the street from the
Nekohanten. A shadow fell on them as a cloud passed in front of
the sun. Nabiki wiped her brow, smiling as she surveyed the
wreckage of the restaurant.
The Nekohanten had been almost totally destroyed by Ranma's
ki dragon. There was almost nothing left of the main restaurant
area, and the largest single piece of the facade remaining was
the sign, which had been placed neatly against the remains of one
wall by somebody. At the rear of the building, the living
quarters had collapsed into the rear part of the restaurant
itself but there were no personal effects strewn about. Clearly
somebody had been tidying up.
Despite the devastation of the restaurant itself, the
kitchen was almost completely untouched, as were the buildings to
either side, as if they had been protected by some magic shield.
"It's so hot," Nabiki said as she flung accumulated sweat
from her fingers with a flick of her wrist. Dark spots of
moisture appeared on the pavement. Her cutoff shorts were
stained with sweat at the waistband and her short tee-shirt hung
loose, not quite reaching her cutoffs and exposing a strip of
skin around her waist. "Do you think it will rain later? I hope
it does. It's always so much more pleasant after it rains."
Ranma's fists clenched. Akane looked at Nabiki with an
irritated frown. "Don't be silly, Nabiki-oneechan. You know as
well as I do that it rains every day at this time of year." She
shook her head. "Besides, it's not all that bad. The furo is
hotter than this."
"You don't wear clothes in the furo."
"I don't know why you're here anyway, Nabiki. What's this
got to do with you?"
"Believe me, sis, I've got an interest. I wanted to see
what Ranma had done to them in return for cursing you. Looks
like a pretty good start."
Ranma spun with blinding speed and grabbed the front of
Nabiki's tee-shirt near her collarbone, forming a fist beneath
her throat, the material wrapped around his fingers. He glared
into her eyes from a distance of eighteen inches. "Shut up!
You've just got no idea, have you?!" He took a half-step closer
to Nabiki, lifting his clenched fist a little, dragging her tee-
shirt higher. The bottoms of her breasts were only just covered.
Nabiki was forced to step back and balance on the balls of her
feet. "I didn't do this so you could extort or blackmail Shampoo
and Cologne!" he shouted. "I didn't mean to do it at all! If
you try to hurt them, I'll... I'll...."
Nabiki looked down her nose at Ranma, smiling in a superior
way. "You'll what, Ranma? Hit me? Kill me?" Her voice became
laden with passion, her eyes heavy-lidded. "Rip my shirt off
right here in the street and make mad, passionate love to me for
the TV cameras?"
Ranma looked down at his fist wrapped in Nabiki's tee-shirt
in surprise. He let go as if her shirt was red-hot and stepped
back. "You're disgusting. Go away." He spun again, saw that
Shampoo was standing in the ruins of the Nekohanten staring at
them, and grabbed Akane's elbow. "Come on, Akane."
Nabiki watched Ranma march Akane briskly across the street
and into the ruins of the Nekohanten, absently smoothing her tee-
shirt where Ranma had gripped it, smiling enigmatically. Her
nipples were erect. How did that happen?
Shampoo was watching Akane and Ranma come, her hands by her
sides. In one hand she held a small, charred teddy-bear, a
fairground toy. Nabiki saw that all her attention was on the
approaching pair. She crept closer to eavesdrop.
"Nihao, husband," Shampoo said softly, sadly. "Have you
come to finish the job?" She gestured slightly with the soft
toy, mutely referring to the devastation around them.
Ranma shook his head gently. "I've come to ask the question
I asked last night, Shampoo, before all this happened." Ranma's
wave at the ruins was apologetic. "I have to know. Why did the
old ghoul do it? Why did you let her?"
"Shampoo cannot. Hiibaachan forbade it."
"Just tell me why, Shampoo." Ranma's voice was firm. Akane
watched with big eyes, for once not interrupting. "I must know."
He shook his head angrily. "I wouldn't have thought you capable
of such a thing."
Shampoo studied Ranma's face for a long moment before
nodding. "Yes, Shampoo will tell you, husband. Shampoo hopes
hiibaachan will forgive Shampoo for this.
"Hiibaachan told me a secret about the Jyusenkyo curses..."
* * *
"Shampoo, come here! I have a plan that is guaranteed to
force son-in-law to wed you."
"Yes, great grand-mother. What is it?"
"We will transfer your curse to Akane."
Shampoo stared at Cologne. "How is such a thing possible?
And if so, why wait so long to tell Shampoo?"
"I did not know it was possible until very recently, grand-
daughter. The technique is subtle but comparatively simple. As
for why the technique is not widespread, it is because it is not
a cure. The Jyusenkyo curses are permanent, forever bound to
your ki. What the technique does is to bind the curse to another
person's ki much like the action of the original curse, but the
rebinding is not total. When that person dies the curse will
return to you. It is like raising a log with a rope: When the
rope is cut, the log returns to the ground."
"But how will this force husband to wed Shampoo?"
"Son-in-law will be forced away from Akane by the action of
the curse. He's deathly afraid of cats, remember? In addition,
you will no longer be cursed to become a cat so he will no longer
reject you."
"Aiya! Shampoo understands!"
* * *
"So you just decided to inflict your curse on Akane," said
Ranma flatly. "Just like that."
"Aiya. Husband dense today. Violent-girl is weak but
uncursed, Shampoo is strong warrior but curse drives away strong
warrior male both competing for. Shampoo much stronger warrior
than Violent-girl so more deserving of husband; curse not matter
if Violent-girl has it."
Ranma's ki sense started ringing alarm bells. He looked to
his right at Akane and grabbed her hand. He said, "Akane, please
wait a moment. I tried the violent solution last night and look
where it got me." He closed his eyes for a moment and took a
deep breath. Turning to face Akane, he looked directly into her
eyes from a distance of twelve inches. "I know it's hard but
please control yourself for the moment."
Akane gasped and felt her anger dissolved by the warmth of
Ranma's hand, his reasonable words... the pleading in his eyes.
'What's got into him?' she thought. 'He's being... *nice*.' The
feel of his strong fingers against her palm took over her mind.
'I like this Ranma... why can't he be this way all the time?' At
length she nodded, her eyes locked on Ranma's. "I will. I
promise."
Ranma smiled at her reassuringly and squeezed her hand
briefly before turning back to Shampoo. Akane felt a brief pang
of disappointment as he dropped her hand.
"So, Shampoo, what happened then?" asked Ranma.
Shampoo shrugged. "Not much more to tell. Hiibaachan had
already gathered needed stuff so kidnapped Violent-girl and
transferred curse. Was easy."
"Easy?!" shouted Akane, leaning aggressively towards
Shampoo. "What do you mean, easy?!"
Ranma flung an arm in front of Akane. "Akane! Remember
your promise! This is important!" Akane looked at Ranma with
flat eyes. Ranma said, "Please?" and Akane backed off, staring
at him in amazement before nodding.
"I'm sorry, Ranma. I'll be quiet."
Ranma turned back to Shampoo to see her looking at him with
the eyes of a predator. She was smiling. Ranma swallowed.
"Umm... Shampoo?"
"How important, husband?"
"Eh?" Ranma had a sinking feeling in his stomach.
"You want to know how to transfer curse, yes? How important
is that to you?"
"<Shampoo! You may not!>"
Ranma jumped and spun to face Cologne. She hopped around
him to balance on her stick next to Shampoo, ignoring Ranma.
"<Shampoo, I cannot allow you to do this, even if Son-in-law
would be willing to wed you as payment. Some things must remain
secrets of the tribe.>"
"<But if Ranma weds Shampoo he would be of the tribe.>"
Cologne shook her head. "<Some knowledge is never given to
outsiders... or to males. Ranma is both. My decision is final.
You may not do this.>"
Ranma shook his head at the rapid spate of Chinese. His
heart lifted a little... Cologne seemed to be arguing with
Shampoo, presumably about whatever deal Shampoo had been about to
offer. He decided to try once again to get a sensible answer to
the question that burned within him.
"Old ghoul."
Cologne shifted her attention to Ranma, who was leaning
forward slightly, balancing on the balls of his feet. His fists
were clenched. "What is it, son-in-law?"
"Why did you transfer Shampoo's curse to Akane? What did
you hope to gain?!"
Cologne looked at him contemptuously. "Shampoo was right.
You *are* slow today, son-in-law. She has already told you the
answer."
"You did it just for that?" asked Ranma in disbelief. "So I
wouldn't see Shampoo as a cat, and thus come to love her?!"
"Your memory is at least functioning correctly."
"Reverse the transfer!"
"Husband *wants* Shampoo to be a cat?"
Cologne spared Shampoo a quelling glance. "Son-in-law, I
could do as you ask, but the price would be your immediate
marriage to Shampoo... for the rest of your life."
Ranma stared at Cologne, amazed and indecisive. To Akane it
looked as though he might be considering the offer. Her temper
began to boil through the meditation routine she had been
chanting to herself.
"I don't think you should take that offer, Ranma-chan," said
Nabiki from next to Akane.
"Who asked you?! And what are you doing here anyway?!"
"I was with you earlier, remember? But this is important,
Ranma." She raised a finger to point at him, frowning seriously.
Akane watched in surprise, her anger forgotten. "Shampoo said
earlier that Cologne had told her that the transfer worked much
like the original curse. She also said that those curses are
permanent. For Cologne to do as she promises, she would have to
kill Akane."
Akane gasped. Ranma turned to Cologne, his eyes blazing.
"Is. This. True?"
Cologne just glared at Nabiki, her eyes slits.
Ranma exploded. "Kuso Baba!! It's *you* who's slow! I'll
never, never marry someone who would allow such a filthy thing to
be done to somebody else!! Never!!" He turned to Shampoo, his
face filled with disappointed fury. "Shampoo... I thought you
were my friend. I see I was wrong." Ranma closed his eyes and
bowed his head, the line of his body tense and his hands shaking
in the sword-hand shape.
Shampoo burst into tears and ran into the kitchen, sobs
wracking her frame. Cologne stared at Ranma for a long moment.
Ranma, still trembling on the verge of berserk attack, returned
her regard. Eventually she spoke.
"Nabiki was correct, Ranma. It may be that there is another
way... but why should I, a Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku tribe,
waste my time and effort on a weak girl like Akane?" She turned
away and went after Shampoo.
Nabiki smirked. "Still think revenge is a bad idea, Ranma-
kun?"
Ranma glared at Nabiki and ran off.
After a moment of indecision, Akane pursued him.
* * *
Ranma sat under the bridge, knees up to his chin and arms
wrapped around his legs, looking out across the river, drinking
in the simple pleasures of Nature. The glitter of golden mid-
afternoon light reflecting off the smooth river surface made a
dramatic contrast to the gray-purple of the thunderheads building
with typical summer speed overhead. A tugboat was silhouetted
against the sunlight, two gulls dancing attendance to give the
scene a slightly surreal feel.
Ranma felt the glinting sunlight slipping into his head,
reminding him of the meditation exercises he had been forced to
do when he was younger. Feeling battered by his emotions, Ranma
tried to clear his mind, seeking an escape in the calmness of
meditation, but found that the events of the past two days were
whipsawing him, preventing him from attaining the necessary
calmness.
A step sounded behind him. "Hello Akane," he said quietly,
continuing to stare at the river.
Akane looked down at Ranma, then out at the river, and
seated herself next to him without saying a word. She watched
silently, her attention split between the river and Ranma. She
watched him think, thinking to herself that he looked a little
sad, wondering what was going through his head. Finally Ranma
spoke.
"Akane, I... I'm sorry I put you through that. It didn't
turn out like I meant. I actually thought Cologne would be able
to reverse what she did to you, but... I guess you're stuck with
your curse just like the rest of us." He shook his head
reflectively, still watching the river. "I'm such an idiot."
Akane smiled at him and said, "Ranma... that's okay."
Ranma turned his head to stare at Akane, as if seeing her
for the first time. He saw she was smiling at him, and his heart
thumped. He tentatively returned the smile. After a moment he
turned back to the river, his expression becoming contemplative,
no longer sad.
"Ranma?"
"Mmm?"
"Were you serious about what you said back at the
Nekohanten?"
Ranma looked at Akane in surprise. "Sure I was."
Akane grunted. "It's about time you realised that Chinese
bimbo was no good for you," she said carelessly.
Ranma turned back to the river, shaking his head. "I never
saw Shampoo as a fiancee, Akane," he said sadly. "That was all
her idea, but to me... I guess she was a friend. I know you got
jealous whenever she came up to me and grabbed me, but I never
encouraged her. I always tried to push her away but I never
wanted to hurt her feelings."
"At one point you looked as though you might actually have
been considering Cologne's offer," she said harshly.
Ranma's mouth twisted oddly; he closed his eyes. "I... I
might have. If it had been what I thought rather than what
Nabiki said, if it had been possible to remove the curse and for
you to live a normal life.... I might have."
Akane stared at Ranma, totally flabbergasted. She was
shocked to see what might have been a single tear trickle down
his face. After a moment, Ranma opened his eyes again to again
look at the river... or maybe beyond.
Silence fell again for a time. Neither said anything.
Eventually Akane shifted position, settling a little closer to
Ranma. "Ranma?"
"Yes, Akane?"
"Why? I... you've been really nice to me, you've defended
me, you were even willing to.... I just want to know why."
Ranma sighed to the river. The light failed quickly as the
clouds finally fully obscured the sun. Several holes in the
cloud cover showed themselves by dazzling yellow sunbeams
slanting down to strike the city and the river. Akane was
enraptured by the display.
"Beautiful," said Ranma. He turned his head to look at her.
"Just beautiful."
"Hai," breathed Akane, lost in the fiery fingers of light.
Minutes passed until finally the sunbeams failed as the cloud
thickened up. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
"We'd better get back home before we get stuck here," said
Ranma.
Akane smiled at Ranma, dazzling him. What little light
filtered through the clouds was soft and diffuse, flattering her
face. Ranma's heart thumped anew. "Would that be so bad?" she
said.
"Akane, I..."
"HELLO, RANMA!!"
SPLASH! Happosai landed between onna-Ranma's breasts,
pressing them against his cheeks. His smile was beatific.
"Kuso Jijiiii!" Ranma slammed Happosai into the ground,
HARD, then stood back a little. "I've had enough of your games!!
MOUKO TAKA--"
"Mrwrowr!!" Ranma's arm was deflected by an angry white cat
and the ki attack was spoiled. "Aarrgh!"
Tremors ran through Ranma's frame as she saw a white cat
sitting the ground. Her fur was a little matted from the water
and she looked quite forlorn. Ranma took a step backward
involuntarily, the whites showing all around his eyes and sweat
breaking out on his face.
Thunder rumbled. "Panty thief!" yelled a feminine voice
from around the corner.
"Oops, gotta go!" said Happosai, and he snatched up his
panty bag from where it had fallen and bounced off into the
distance. A crowd of women streamed around the corner in
pursuit.
Through all this Ranma had stood frozen, staring at Akane-
neko, rooted to the spot by opposing forces crashing within him.
Akane sadly watched Ranma's reaction to her, expecting him to run
off at any moment. Nothing happened for a few minutes, and she
found herself wondering if perhaps she should leave and let him
recover on his own.
When Ranma reached out to her, she was shocked silly. 'How
can he make himself do that?' she wondered. She watched quietly
as onna-Ranma knelt in front of her like a somnambulist. Ranma
picked up her clothes and crooked an arm and draped them over her
arm to form a pad. Finally she moved to pick up Akane but could
not make her hand touch her. Ranma tried again, and again
failed. On her third attempt she managed to pick up Akane-neko
gently and place her securely in the crook of her elbow on the
pad of clothes, strange little sounds leaking out from between
clenched teeth.
With Ranma's arm curled protectively against her side to
form a nest, Akane felt secure and comfortable and allowed
herself to relax bonelessly against Ranma's side. She saw the
wisdom of the pad of clothes when as Ranma stood she found her
claws extending automatically to hold herself in place.
Ranma set off for the dojo, running with silken smoothness.
She was grateful for Akane's passiveness in the crook of her
elbow; she felt on edge but able to cope for the moment with her
presence. She ran smoothly to avoid jostling Akane but as
quickly as she could to get the journey over with as soon as
possible. Congratulating herself, Ranma ran around a corner.
"Mworwr!"
A cat had chosen just that moment to leap from the top of a
wall down to the ground, and Ranma had collected it in the face
as she ran around the corner. She stopped in shock, grabbing
Akane-neko automatically to hold her in place. The cat was
curled around the front of Ranma-onna's head with its claws
embedded in her scalp to keep from sliding off. It was clearly
confused by events.
"Miyaaaa" said Ranma as she melted into cat-fu stance.
"Miyaaaa!!" The hapless tabby-cat sailed towards the horizon
after Ranma batted it away. With a glance down at Akane-neko,
Ranma bounced away in the direction of the dojo.
* * *
Ranma bounded over the dojo wall, landing by the pool. She
bounced about the yard a little, looking for a place to keep
Akane safe, until finally settling on the big tree by the dojo.
She bounced up to the base of the tree and settled down, Akane
held protectively.
Soun and Genma had observed Ranma's entrance, mouths agape.
"Oh, my!" said Kasumi. "What's wrong with Ranma?"
Genma grunted, not turning away from his study of his son...
well, daughter at the moment. Ranma was carrying a cat??!
"Cat-fu," he said.
"Oh! So this is what it looks like. How do you get him out
of it?"
Genma shook his head. "There used to be an old lady who
could calm him down enough, but she's far away. Akane has been
able to do it since we came here."
"Akane? Really?" She looked at Ranma, who was now licking
the back of one hand, grooming herself. "Perhaps I might try?"
"Good idea, Kasumi!" said Soun. "Please try."
Kasumi smiled at her father and grabbed a cat toy before
walking calmly over to the tree. Ranma stopped her grooming to
watch her approach, eyes narrowing.
Kasumi a few yards away and waved the cat toy at Ranma,
making clucking noises as she did so.
"Miyaaaaro!!" Ranma's hand flashed out and shredded the cat
toy. Kasumi dropped it in shock as she felt the breeze of
Ranma's hand passing. She was clearly suspicious. Kasumi backed
away nervously, her heart beating faster, watching Ranma's
narrowed eyes track her with feline ferocity.
"I... I don't think I'd better try anymore, otousan," she
said to Soun.
Genma stood decisively and stalked inside the house. A
moment later he returned with the big kettle from the kitchen.
"Saotome-kun," called Soun. "What are you doing?"
"We have to get Akane away from Ranma," he said.
"I don't think that's a good idea," said Kasumi.
Ranma-onna watched Genma approach warily. Genma stopped a
short distance from Ranma and simply threw the contents of the
kettle on her... and Akane.
Ranma in his male form sat staring stupidly at Akane's nude
body. 'How did I get here?' he wondered. 'And why is Akane--'
"HENTAI!!!" SMACK!!
Akane stormed into the house, her clothes clutched to her
body. Ranma couldn't help but watch her ass as she ran inside,
his hand stroking his left cheek with a thoughtful expression on
his face.
* * *
Akane lay on her bed, curled up into a foetal position,
dressed in shorts and a tee-shirt. Her window was fully open to
admit the scent and sound and the cooling breeze of the
thunderstorm which has finally broken over the city. It was not
quite dark outside, and her room light was off, the dull grey
light from outside the sole illumination.
A knock sounded on her door. "Akane? It's Kasumi. May I
come in?"
Akane lifted her head. Her eyes were red from crying.
"Hai, oneechan."
Kasumi entered and closed the door behind her. She crossed
to sit on the bed, laying one hand on Akane's side. Akane felt
Kasumi's hand as a source of much-needed warmth, spiritual
warmth, which slowly drove the darkness from her. After a few
minutes she straightened and sat up.
"Thank you, oneechan."
Kasumi smiled at her. "You're welcome. What are you so
upset about? Is it Ranma?"
Akane nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
"You had both been hit by water and Ranma was carrying you
home, right? How did that happen?"
"Happ... that stinking old pervert paid us a visit and wet
Ranma down as usual. I just got caught in the splash."
"Really? Where were you? Nabiki got home some time ago.
She said you and Ranma had run off somewhere. So... tell neechan
all about it."
Akane briefly described the encounter with Happosai,
omitting her blocking Ranma's ki blast at the then-helpless old
man.
"Do you know that he brought you home safely, despite having
been taken by cat-fu?"
"Hai. Being turned into a cat doesn't affect how I think,
oneechan. But the whole reason Ranma went into cat-fu was
because he encountered a cat in the street on the way home! What
an idiot, allowing that to happen to him."
"He was probably already on edge just from carrying you,
little sister. You've seen how he reacts around cats. I'm
amazed he was even able to approach you, let alone pick you up."
Akane looked out the window. "Hai." After a moment she
turned back to Kasumi. "Ranma must hate me. I turn into a cat!
He hates cats!" Tears shimmered in Akane's eyes.
"Ranma carried you home despite being in cat-fu."
"Oneechan, you know as well as I that there's no telling
what Ranma will do whilst he's in cat-fu."
Kasumi shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I think you're
wrong, Akane. I think he quite likes you." She smiled roguishly
at Akane, making sure she saw it. "Ranma's honourable, generous,
and quite cute. If he wasn't so young, I think you might have
some competition on your hands. From me."
Akane gaped at Kasumi. "From you? For that arrogant, rude,
womanising, thoughtless, inconsiderate--" She stopped as Kasumi
held up her hand.
"Akane, you love him, don't you?" Kasumi said it as though
it was the most natural thing in the world.
"I can't trust him! He nearly agreed to marry Shampoo this
afternoon!" She burst into tears, hugging her pillow.
* * *
Nabiki sat on her bed in her pyjamas, sorting through her
latest batch of photos. Most of them were of the Nekohanten.
Food scraps crawling with cockroaches featured in most of them.
These pictures had been taken in the Nekohanten's kitchen. She
bundled them together and smiled. 'Nothing like a little
insurance,' she thought. She grimaced. 'Those cockroaches cost
a bundle.' She wrapped the photos of the Nekohanten carefully in
a piece of paper and slipped a rubber band around the bundle and
put them to one side. She frowned as her thoughts changed
direction. 'Maybe Ranma was right. Revenge is expensive and
there's not much profit in it.' She shook her head and smiled
again, an odd intensity to her eyes. 'Naahh... it's too much
fun.'
The remaining shots were taken around the dojo, mostly of
Akane and Ranma in his female form. Nabiki quickly sorted them
and put them away for later use. Except for one.
It was a picture of Ranma working out, taken yesterday.
Nabiki lay back on her bed, holding the picture up. 'Hmm... nice
bod he's got.' She cast her mind back to the encounter with
Ranma that afternoon. 'I wonder why I never saw him that way
before?' She stared at the picture for some minutes before
slipping it into a drawer by her bed.
She clicked off her light and lay smiling up into the
darkness.
