Neko-phobia Part 2: The Second Day by David Eddy Draft 2: 05Jan97 #include 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?" "" Ranma jumped and spun to face Cologne. She hopped around him to balance on her stick next to Shampoo, ignoring Ranma. "" "" Cologne shook her head. "" 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.