Ranma 1/2
	Altered Destinies:  A scary thought

	What's happened so far:  Kasumi Tendo and Ranma 
Saotome were switched at an early age and raised by the other's 
parents.  Now Kasumi is cursed to change to a man and has just 
recently return to Nerima with Genma after a training trip in 
China.  She is now engaged to Ranma, who isn't pleased, has 
attracted Kuno's attention, and has to deal with a very upset 
Ukyo.  It's now been shown that Ukyo is upset for good reason, 
she changes into a dog, and Kasumi is the one who knocked her 
into the spring.  To further complicate matters Ranma, thinking 
Ukyo is a dog, has adopted her as a pet, swearing Kasumi to 
secrecy.  Last, but definitely, definitely not least, Kasumi just got 
caught in Ranma's room in a rather compromising position by 
Nodoka.  Oh my, oh my.

%Chapter 5

	It had been a long, restless night for Kasumi.  She lay on 
her bedroll, covering her face with a pillow.  Why was this 
happening to her?  Could things have possibly gone any more 
wrong?  She continued to consider these questions as she 
replayed the night's events in her head, over and over again.
	She had gone into Ranma's room with the best of 
intentions.  Ukyo was taking advantage of her position, and 
advantage of Ranma.  For his own safety Kasumi had to get 
Ukyo away from him.  She was just going to slip in, take Ukyo 
out and have a civil talk with her.  That was the plan but Ukyo 
turned it into a disaster.  In the insuing struggle Kasumi had 
managed to lose her shirt.  Naturally she ended up on top of 
Ranma, waking him up and giving him quite a view.  And worst 
yet, Nodoka caught her like that.
	They had spent much of the night talking it over, or rather 
Nodoka had talked while Kasumi had listened and nodded in all 
the right places.  "Kasumi, I know you are engaged to Ranma, 
but proper young ladies simply don't do that sort of thing.  Such 
things are for after the wedding."  Nodoka had explained 
repeatedly just to drive home the point.
	Kasumi could only respond with "I understand," "yes, of 
course," and other such things.  What was there to say?  She was 
innocent but those two honorable vows she had made bound her 
to not reveal the truth and therefore she lost her only defense.
	She could still remember the look on Nodoka's face as 
she had opened the conversation with.  "Kasumi, this is very 
delicate question but I must know, are you a virgin?"  Kasumi 
shook her head to try and purge that insinuation from her mind.  
Mrs. Saotome must think Kasumi was some sort of uncivilized 
barbarian to even ask.  Of course Kasumi replied that she was 
but the answer didn't seem to end Nodoka's doubts.
	What made the situation even more trying was it had 
opened old wounds in Kasumi's mind.  She had a picture in her 
mind of what a woman was, her mother.  That was the template 
that she measured herself by.  However, she had diverged so 
radically from that image that it was almost frightning.  It had all 
started when she went to the Saotomes'.  Unlike her own father, 
who's love was spread amoung three children, she got all of 
Genma's attention.  He managed to slip in a martial arts lesson 
now and then and for some peculiar reason she kind of liked it.  
Then her mother died.  That left Kasumi with an emptiness inside 
she just needed to fill.  When Genma suggested that training trip 
she eagerly pushed for the chance.
	Over the ten years she had spent on the road she had 
found herself diverging farther and farther from her mother's 
image.  First she had given up the dresses she had adored.  They 
were simply not practical on the road.  Whatever they could not 
carry on their backs they did without.  That meant few changes of 
clothing and going days or weeks without a bath.  Then came her 
hair.  Save her ponytail, one of the precious few hold overs she 
had, it was basically a boy's cut, short and simple.  It continued 
slowly, year over year, changing her further, losing more and 
more of the qualities she associated with her mother.  Of course 
that didn't even consider what she had missed learning 
altogether.  Under Genma's care Kasumi was basically on her 
own when it came to learning how a woman should act.  Many 
things you'd associate with women, like sewing or make-up, she 
simply never bothered with.  By the time they reached Jusenkyo 
she was living as a boy in everything except name.  The curse 
had just been the final nail in the coffin of the little girl she once 
was.  It would have been so easy to embrace her curse and to turn 
her back once and for all on her girlhood.  She didn't, however.  
There was still in her mind the image of her mother.  She might 
never be the woman her mother was but she was her mother's 
daughter and she would remain female no matter what.
	Kasumi's mind turned to Ukyo.  She had given her one 
time friend a great deal of leeway up till now but this was just too 
much.  In one night she had efficiently managed to destroy 
Kasumi's image in Nodoka's eyes and as for Ranma...the  
thought of facing Ranma this morning at breakfast sent a wave of 
red across her face.  She didn't even want to consider what he 
thought of her now.  It was a rare occasion when Kasumi was 
mad at someone, and nearly every time to date it had been 
Genma.  However, Ukyo had crossed the line.
	Kasumi tried to calm herself but wasn't having much 
success.  Embarrassment, humiliation and frustration were 
mixing into a potent brew.  Finally, Kasumi tossed aside the 
pillow.  She simply wouldn't be getting any sleep tonight.  She 
got up, dressed, and headed outside to work the emotional energy 
out of her system with some practice.

	Ranma awoke rubbing his face then blinked as he 
remembered the nights events.  He quickly scanned his room but 
found only his new pet laying next to him.  She looked up at him 
and her tail began to thump on the bed, she seemed very happy to 
see him awake.
	"Oh man, what a night."  Ranma said as he got up and 
stretched.  "You wouldn't believe the dream I had."  Ranma 
heard a startled snort from the dog and turned to look at her 
questioningly.  "Problem?"  Ranma asked as he scanned his 
room again.
	Of course it was a dream.  It had to be.  Sure, it was a 
very realistic dream.  It probably would have fooled him if it 
wasn't for the absolutely unbelievable content.  His imagination 
must have doing some really weird things in his sleep.  Really, 
Kasumi jumping into bed with him, half naked no-less!  
Preposterous!
	Ranma sat down next to his pet and scratched her behind 
the ears.  "This engagement must be working on me more than I 
thought.  Now I'm having bizarre dreams about her.  Oh well, at 
least it didn't go that far..."  Ranma trailed off as he considered 
that with a mix of relief and disappointment.  After a second of 
thought, however, he dismissed his disappointment.  "Good thing 
too.  It probably would have twisted into some sick nightmare 
with me and... her male side."  Ranma shuddered at the thought 
and stood up to get dressed.  As he did so he thought he heard a 
low angry growling, but when he turned to look at his new pet 
she only returned his gaze with one of complete calm.
	Ukyo growled as Ranma left the room. She couldn't 
believe it.  Kasumi must have been born under the luckiest star in 
the heavens!  It wasn't fair!!  She got all the breaks.  Everyone 
thought she was little Miss perfect.  Well, she was not going to 
let her get away with it.  She slipped under Ranma's bed and 
rooted around in the trash that was typical of the underside of a 
teenaged boy's bed.  If her current form had been able, she would 
have blushed at some of the things she found, but a last she 
located what she was looking for and slipped out from under the 
bed with it in her mouth.  She won't fool Ranma, not while I'm 
here to make sure he learns the truth, Ukyo thought to herself.

	Akane stepped out into the yard to join her older sister.  
"Started practicing a little early this morning?"  Akane asked as 
she entered a warm-up exercise.
	Kasumi turned to her but hesitating before responding.  
"Yes.  I couldn't sleep."
	"That Ukyo is a maniac.  You think she could at least 
keep this to daytime hours.  What's that all about anyway?  Did 
you figure it out?"
	"I'm afraid so."  Kasumi responded, sadly bowing her 
head.
	"Well?"  Akane asked, curious as to what Kasumi could 
have done to generate such anger.
	"I'm sorry.  I can't say."
	"Why not?"
	"I promised Ukyo I wouldn't say."  Kasumi replied with 
a slight frown.
	"Wait a sec, yesterday Ukyo was all fired up that you 
didn't know why she was angry, but now you know and have 
promised her not to tell?!"  Akane responded in confusion.
	"I know it's confusing but I made a promise and I can't 
break it."
	Akane shrugged.  If she had indeed made such a promise 
then Akane had no right to pry.  Maybe she'd figure it out herself 
later.
	Akane finished her warm-up just as Genma and Ranma 
came out.  Kasumi, suddenly very nervous, gave Ranma a brief 
look then turned away.  However, Akane seemed to be the only 
one to notice Kasumi's reaction.  Akane looked between the two, 
perplexed.
	What's this about, Akane asked herself.  Ranma gave no 
clues.  He seemed the same as any other morning.  Kasumi, 
however, seemed very uncomfortable.  It didn't look like Akane 
was going to get an answer from either of them.  However, she 
could give Kasumi a little help.
	"Want to spar with me today?"  Akane asked Kasumi.  
Kasumi looked at Akane, startled by her question, then nodded 
with a thankful smile.
	Kasumi was relieved.  At least she could put off the 
inevitable scene with Ranma for a little while longer.  She was 
more than a little surprised at how composed he seemed.  She 
kept darting glances at him as she spared with Akane but he 
seemed oblivious to her presence.
	The morning practice session passed in relative silence.  
Kasumi was obviously distracted, allowing Akane to slip through 
several strikes.  Akane would have laid a bet that it was 
something to do with either Ukyo or Ranma, maybe even both.  
"You sure you don't want to talk about it?"  Akane asked just 
after she had grabbed Kasumi by the arm and tossed her face first 
into the ground.
	Kasumi shook her head and began to get up.  "I wish I 
could but..."  Kasumi trailed off and began to shake as she 
looked at something in front of her.  Suddenly she screamed and 
scrabbled frantically backwards on the ground until she reached a 
tree and quickly climbed up high into its branches.  She 
continued to sit in the tree, her teeth chattering in fear.  
"C...c...c...c..."
	Ranma and Akane looked at Kasumi in confusion while 
Genma became awfully nervous.  When Nodoka, Soun and 
Nabiki rushed out, also looking up at Kasumi in confusion, 
Genma began to slink away.
	"Kasumi, what's..."  Akane began to ask as she looked 
behind herself at whatever  it was Kasumi's eyes were locked on.  
Akane didn't know quite what to expect but she certainly wasn't 
expecting to see what was there.  "A cat?!"  She said in confusion 
at seeing the raged animal that was wobbling across the garden 
towards them. It managed a few steps after Akane spotted it then 
collapsed.
	"Genma!"  Nodoka sternly pronounced, attempting to 
stare a hole through her retreating husband's back.  "What is the 
meaning of this?!"

	A short time later the two families were gathered at the 
common room table.  Genma was the object of Soun and 
Nodoka's angry glares while Kasumi was attempting to get as far 
away as possible from Akane and the partially conscious cat in 
her arms.
	"I cannot believe... No, I can believe it!"  Nodoka 
exclaimed as she rubbed her eyes.  "I just never expected 
something like... _this_!  What were you thinking?!"
	"Well, the book made it sound so good and-"  Genma 
started to explain.
	"You didn't even read the whole book!!!"  Soun yelled 
out.
	"Ahh, yes, but who reads the _whole_ book now-a-
days?"  Genma asked, looking around at everyone in desperate 
hope.  They all stared back with even more anger.
	Nodoka shook her head then looked at her husband 
intensely.  "Just tell us that this is the only unusual training 
technique that Kasumi had to endure."
	"Ahh, yeahyeahyeah."
	Nodoka turned to Kasumi, unconvinced by Genma's 
answer.  "Is this true Kasumi?"  After a moment to collect 
herself, Kasumi managed to overcome her fear enough to nod.  
"Hmmm, very well then.  I suppose what is done is done."  
Nodoka said but inside she again wished she had made Genma 
sign that contract.  She turned to look at Akane and the cat.  
"Akane, you'll have to take that animal to the vet then to the 
animal shelter."
	"Animal shelter?!  But-"  Akane started to protest.
	"Akane, it's obviously a stray and we can't have a cat in 
or near the house considering Kasumi's condition."  Nodoka 
explained.
	Akane nodded reluctantly, then with a very unhappy 
expression on her face, got up and left the room.  Nabiki soon 
followed her sister and by the time Kasumi was calmed Ranma 
was leaving as well.  Kasumi quickly chased after him, leaving 
Genma to face the still very angry Soun and Nodoka.
	"Ranma, about last night-"  Kasumi said as she caught 
Ranma in the hallway.
	"Huh?  What about last night?"  Ranma asked in 
confusion.  "Oh, don't worry about it."
	It was Kasumi's turn to look confused.  "Don't worry 
about it?!  I don't understand.  You... you...  I would have 
thought-"
	"Hey, it didn't bother me that much."
	"It didn't!"  Kasumi exclaimed in shock.  Taking a 
second to recover Kasumi continued.  "You must understand that 
I don't usually do that sort of thing.  It was really
an accident."
	"Of course.  I don't usually get attacked in the middle of 
the night either."
	Kasumi blinked in bewilderment then shook her head.  
"Nono, not that, I mean..."  She trailed off and looked at 
Ranma's confused expression.  Could he possibly be that 
unaffected by what happened to not know what she was talking 
about?  Surely it would be foremost on his mind.  Kasumi 
considered this and came to one conclusion, he'd forgotten 
somehow.
	"Well?"  Ranma asked after a moment.
	"Ahh, nothing.  It's nothing."  Kasumi quickly replied 
and breathed an inner sigh of relief.  Maybe her luck wasn't so 
bad after all.  She started to turn and leave but stopped.  There 
still was the matter of Ukyo to deal with.  "Ranma, about... your 
dog."
	"You promised not to tell anyone."  Ranma replied, a 
slight bit of worry in his voice.
	"And I won't, but I don't think it is wise to have a strange 
animal in the house.  You don't know how dangerous it could 
be."
	"She's perfectly safe.  Besides, I know my way around 
animals.  I've never met one I can't handle."  Ranma responded 
with a dismissive wave of his hand.
	Kasumi frowned and thought.  She couldn't let Ukyo stay 
with Ranma like this.  It was simply too dangerous.  She wasn't 
just some common animal.  However, without revealing Ukyo's 
curse what could Kasumi say?
	Perhaps there was another way.  Ranma might not give 
up Ukyo but Ukyo might be convinced to leave Ranma.  Kasumi 
pondered this possibility and came up with an idea.  "Well, at the 
very least you should take her to the vet.  There is no telling if she 
has any diseases or such."  Threatened with that Ukyo would 
certainly give her deception a second thought.  If she persisted, 
well, it was for the best anyway.  She probably hadn't seen a 
doctor to check on her cursed form.  She could have any number 
of health problems that she didn't know about.  After all a human 
wouldn't know how to properly take care of herself as a dog.  
There was one other fact as well.  Ukyo had no records.  She 
would have to have shots for rabies, distemper and whatever 
other conditions the vet felt were necessary to guard against.  
Kasumi chided herself for feeling a little pleasure over the fact 
that Ukyo would have difficulty sitting for a day or so.  Still, after 
last night she felt she deserved a small amount of revenge, and it 
was not as if they would harm Ukyo.  As a matter of fact, it was 
very important that Ukyo have those shots.
	Ranma gave the suggestion some thought then nodded.  
"Yeah, guess you're right.  Thanks Kasumi."  Ranma said then 
headed off upstairs while Kasumi walked off a small smile on her 
lips for the first time that day.
	As he arrived at the top of the stairs he noticed his new 
pet sitting there, something hanging from her mouth and her tale 
beating like a metronome.  "Hey, you shouldn't be out here."  
Ranma said as he knelt down next to the animal.  "What have 
you got there girl."  Ranma asked as he grasped the cloth 
hanging from Ukyo's mouth.
	Ukyo let go of Kasumi's ripped shirt which she had 
retrieved from under Ranma's bed a little while ago.  She had 
been waiting here, out of sight of the rest of the household. 
listening to the whole conversation below.  She had almost been 
ready to jump down the stairs in fury when Kasumi managed to 
avoid the issue and again when the vet came up.  However, she 
had held her temper in check.  She had the proof.
	She was almost giddy with the image of Ranma realizing 
that Kasumi really had been in his room last night, and that it had 
not been a dream.  Now she waited as Ranma unfolded the object 
in his hands and tried to make out what the torn and battered 
thing was.  Any minute now, Ukyo thought, any... minute.
	"BAD!"  Ukyo jolted back as Ranma hissed in her face, 
trying to make up for in intensity what he could not risk by 
shouting.  "Bad dog, very bad dog."
	What... I don't understand, Ukyo thought looking up in 
shock at Ranma.  He waved the torn shirt in front of her, making 
sure she knew exactly what he was displeased about.
	"Come." Ranma hissed and headed for his room.  A 
bewildered Ukyo trailed behind him, her tail hanging low and a 
look of dismay on her canine face.
	Once they reached the room, and Ranma had shut the 
door behind them, he dropped to his knees in front of her.  
Holding the shirt in one hand he waved it in her face, all the time 
repeating in the most quelling tones he could manage.  "Bad, 
very bad dog."
	Ukyo shrank down into as small a bundle of misery as a 
dog her size could manage.  What went wrong?  I don't 
understand, why is he mad at me, Ukyo asked herself.
	Ranma sighed as he looked down at the dejected and 
heartbroken form in front of him.  He felt like a complete heel, 
but if he did not teach his new pet to respect the contents of the 
house there was no hope he could ever talk his mother into 
allowing him to keep her.  At least she seemed to be genuinely 
contrite, he would just have to hope she realized it was for 
ripping up Kasumi's shirt and not just random nastiness on his 
part.  Feeling she had suffered enough, and any more action on 
his part would only alienate her from him, he reached down and 
hugged her.  "It's all right girl.  I understand you're new here and 
you don't understand the rules.  Just don't go chewing up any 
more shirts and we'll get along fine."
	At first Ukyo was so happy that Ranma was not 
permanently mad at her.  She missed the implication of what he 
was saying.  Then it hit her.  He thought she had found one of 
Kasumi's shirts and torn it up in play.  Kasumi, she howled in 
her mind, curse you and your demon blessed luck!
	"Well now that, that is out of the way you and I have to 
go visit the vet."

	Ukyo followed after Ranma as they walked down the 
street, to all appearances a happy and contented dog, but her 
mood was far from happy.  Kasumi did this on purpose. She was 
trying to scare Ukyo off.  Well, it wouldn't work.  Ukyo was 
determined to stay even if it meant enduring a check up by a vet.
	How the hell did Kasumi get so damned lucky?  Of all the 
curses she got that one.  Of all the people she ended up engaged 
to she got Ranma.  She even managed to dodge the bullet about 
the incident last night.  It wasn't fair!!
	Ukyo fumed at the thought.  The only consolation was 
that Ranma's mother had seen it.  Well, it was a start.  Kasumi 
would pay and being revealed for what she really was would be 
Ukyo's main goal.  As Ukyo gave this some more thought a new 
strategy started to look promising.  Why bother attacking Kasumi 
directly?  Ukyo just made herself look bad.  No, it was time for a 
slightly different method of attack.  It was time to attack 
Kasumi's character.  Any damage Ukyo did would be well 
deserved by that pondscum.  If the world wouldn't give Ukyo 
justice then she'd make her own.
	As these thoughts improved Ukyo's mood somewhat 
Akane came up next to them carrying the still very dazed cat.  
"What's with the dog Ranma?"  Akane asked.
	"Nothing, I just... found it."  Ranma replied with a slight 
bit of nervousness.
	"Yahweh, sure.  You and your strays."
	Ranma frowned then looked at the cat.  "Look who's 
talking.  Where did that thing come from anyway?"
	"Kasumi said it got in the house last night.  It must have 
gotten into my room and I... sort of knocked it out the window."
	"Ah, that would account for the hole in the wall.  That 
thing looks like it went through a paint factory.  I mean really, 
pink fur?!  Cat's don't have pink fur."
	"I think C-chan looks cute with pink fur."  Akane said as 
she looked down at the cat with a smile.
	"C-chan?  You plan on keeping her or something?"  
Ranma asked with a sly smile.
	Akane responded with and angry scowl which quickly 
changed to a sad frown.  "I wish I could."
	"Well, it would be a great way to get instant home 
renovation."  Ranma replied with a chuckle as he returned his 
attention to the road.
	Akane sad expression changed back to an angry frown 
and she looked away from Ranma.  "Hmpf...Ranma, I thought 
you said you wouldn't do anything to Kasumi."
	Ranma looked back at Akane in surprise.  "I didn't do 
anything to her."
	Akane looked back at Ranma.  "Oh really?  Then why 
was she so nervous around you this morning?"
	"Oh, how should I know?!  She probably thought I was 
angry about that fight last night, which I wasn't.  Hmm, or she 
could be a bit worried about..."
	"About what?  Let me guess, something to do with your 
new pet."
	Ranma turned away from Akane, flustered.  "I don't 
know what you're talking about."
	"Hmm, I find it awfully coincidental that you have this 
dog this morning and Kasumi-"
	Ranma turned back to Akane, throwing his arms up in 
defeat.  "All right, all right!  I found her last night, and Kasumi 
promised me she wouldn't tell anyone."
	"Hmpf, I knew it.  There is no way Dad or Auntie 
Saotome are going to let you keep her."
	"I'll think of something, just don't tell them."  Ranma 
replied as they approached the vet's clinic.
	"I won't but I still say they won't let you keep her."  
Akane responded as they came to the door.  Before they could 
enter the door opened from the inside.  They stepped aside 
allowing a nurse and a tall brown haired boy to come out 
dragging a light-brown haired girl behind them.
	"Let Azusa go!  Don't worry Jean-Luc, little Azusa will 
be back!"  The girl yelled out.  Akane briefly watched this then 
walked in while Ranma observed with a curious interest.  The 
girl continued to struggle until her eyes caught sight of Ukyo and 
she suddenly stopped.
	As soon as she stopped struggling the boy and the nurse 
released Azusa.  "I thought I told you to keep her away from 
here?"  The nurse said.
	The boy looked at Azusa with a slight frown that changed 
to a seductive smile as he turned back to the nurse.  "My dearest 
apologies most lovely one but I cannot keep track of all her 
movements.  She is but my partner.  However, allow me to-"
	"Spare me.  Try your charms on some other woman 
Mikado."  The nurse said as she turned to walk back to the clinic.  
Mikado shrugged, still smiling, and began to leave.
	Ranma watched the nurse enter and was about to follow 
her when he noticed Ukyo hiding behind him.  "What?"  He 
asked the dog.  She responded with a fearful look at Azusa.
	Ukyo felt a deep primal fear as Azusa eyes seemed to 
devour her.  She had seen that expression before...usually just 
before she was invited to be the main entre at a town banquet.
	"She's not going to do anything.  Come on."  Ranma said 
as he walked into the clinic. Ukyo quickly followed, her tail 
between her legs and a fearful look back over her shoulder to 
where Azusa still stood staring at her.
	Azusa continued to stare for a moment longer.  "Bigggg 
doggy."  She whispered in admiration, then a frown crossed her 
face.  "But that fur is soooo uncute."  She fell into thought then 
smiled gleefully.  "Little Azusa can fix that, with the help of little 
Azusa's darling Pentothal!"  She said, then merrily ran off 
talking all the while to the small glass vial she had until now 
held concealed in her hand.

	Kasumi looked at the list she held in her hand.  Rice, 
onions, carrots, sprouts and a little chicken if she could find any 
for a reasonable price.  She sighed.  She had offered Nodoka 
money to go towards the food, but Nodoka would not hear of it.  
"This is your home Kasumi.  You just got back from being away 
for ten years.  We will not ask you to pay like some common 
boarder."  Kasumi sighed again.  For the first time in her life she 
had money of her own and for the first time in her life she could 
not think of anything she wanted to spend it on.  Any feminine 
clothing was out of the question because of her curse, although 
she dearly wished she could wear at least a bra after what 
happened last night.  She was not yet ready to start buying dress 
clothing that would fit her male body.  It seemed to much like 
giving in.
	Suddenly a motion in the corner of her eye caused her to 
pivot and fall into a defensive crouch.  With a startled `whuurf' 
the dog that had been about to pass her darted to the side.  
Kasumi relaxed and gave herself a mental slap on the wrist for 
over reacting and startling an innocent animal.
	She watched as the black and white dog made a wide 
circle around her, never taking its eyes off of her.  Once it was 
clear of her, the dog, which she could now see was a female, 
trotted across the market square to where a stocky teenager about 
Ranma and Akane's age was standing.  He had a puzzled look on 
his face that disappeared when he spotted the dog coming 
towards him.  He held out his arms and she leapt up and placed 
her paws on his shoulders and proceeded to lick his face with 
complete devotion.
	Kasumi smiled at the affection the two obviously felt for 
each other.  Then the scene before her tickled her memory and 
she knew she had seen it before.  Looking intently at the pair she 
struggled to recollect where she had seen them before.  The dog 
was very distinctive being solid black on one side and solid white 
on the other.  She could almost feel the image in her mind 
struggling to form.  Just a little more she, thought to herself.  "I 
know I've seen them before...where...where?"
	"Kasumi...Kasumi, is that you?"
	Her attention disrupted by the sudden shout from behind 
her, Kasumi turned and spotted one of her fellow teachers from 
Furinken, Hiro... Hitchi Hiro.  "Hello Mr. Hiro.  How are you?"  
As she spoke Kasumi looked back at where the boy and dog had 
been only to see they were gone.
	"Boyfriend late?" Hiro asked.
	"I'm sorry?"  Kasumi asked in puzzlement.
	"A beautiful young woman like yourself, what else could 
you possible be looking for on such a lovely day.  Alas however, 
your swain is obviously a mere boy.  No man would ever keep 
someone as radiant and fair as yourself waiting.  Please allow a 
real man to buy you dinner at this fine establishment."
	Kasumi smiled.  From the first day she had begun at 
Furinken  Mr. Hiro had flirted with and teased her.  She had been 
to tea at his tiny house and been made much of by his small and 
exquisite wife.  The two septuagenarians had been so much in 
love with each other it had seemed to fill the cosy living room.  
She had left with a warm glow that had lasted all through the day 
merely from being in the same room as them.  Now she felt 
herself cheering up merely by being in his presence.  Her smile 
turned to an expression of puzzlement, however, when she took a 
good look at the restaurant Mr. Hiro had invited her to dine in.  
The windows were boarded up, the door was reinforced with 
planks and a stout hasp lock secured it.  Mr. Hiro, with the air of 
a magician, twisted his hand in the air and produced a key.  
Unlocking the door he opened it and waved her through into the 
interior.
	Inside it was dim, sunlight filtering through the cracks in 
the heavy shutters that covered the windows.  Kasumi looked 
around and spotted the light switch. A flick of her finger and soft 
light filled the room.  There was a thin layer of dust over 
everything. Kasumi, armed with the knowledge gained from 
restoring more than one destroyed restaurant, and working in 
many others in order to earn money to support her and Genma 
saw at a glance that despite the dust, two days with soap and 
water would have this place up and running.  She turned to ask 
Mr. Hiro what he was doing here.  She stopped when she saw 
him standing in the doorway, tears streaming down his face.
	Before she could say anything, however, he smiled that 
good natured self deprecating smile of his and laughed.  "Don't 
mind me Kasumi, they're only tears of joy.  I spent many a happy 
day here.  It used to be my uncle's place.  He passed away several 
months ago."
	"I'm sorry."
	"Don't be.  He had a long and happy life, and he died as 
he wanted."
	Kasumi could sense the invitation by the sparkle in his 
eyes to play straight man so
she obliged.  "How was that Sir?"
	"He was in the arms of a lovely young girl...and then her 
husband came home."  As Kasumi struggles to keep any 
expression from her face Mr. Hiro waited, letting her fix the 
image in her mind.  "She was his favorite granddaughter, and she 
had been nursing him for several months."
	Kasumi smiles as he laughs and waits for him to 
continue. "Anyway he left me this restaurant for my retirement."
	"I'm sure you will enjoy running it Sir.  Some of my 
happiest memories are of working in a restaurant."
	"Run it...no.  I'm afraid the wife and I have no interest in 
that.  The price it will bring once we sell it will give us more than 
enough money to spoil our grandchildren with.  I will be sad to 
let it go, but my Uncles spirit will rest better if someone young 
were to run it and bring it back to life, full of the sounds of 
children and happiness.  There is a complete apartment upstairs 
with three bedrooms and a bathroom.  The kitchen is the same 
one the restaurant uses."  With a sigh he turned around fixing 
every detail into his memory.  "Well I must be going.  I just 
wanted one last look at it before I turned it over to the agents.  
I'm glad you were here.  Seeing you standing here, in the dining 
room brings back many memories.  It is long past time this place 
was filled again.  I'll see you at school tomorrow."

	Akane stood off to the side, anxiously waiting for the 
doctor's prognosis.  She still felt very guilty about the poor 
thing's injuries.  It had probably wandered into her room, lost 
and scared, and what's Akane do?  She knocks it out of a second 
story window, on a cold rainy night.
	The veterinarian moved over to a cabinet and pulled a 
small bottle.  "She took a really nasty bump on the head."  He 
said as he began applying some the bottle's contents to the cat's 
head.  As he finished that he pulled out a pen and waved it in 
front of the cat's eyes.  The cat tried to bat at the pen once but 
missed.  "She still isn't showing much awareness of her 
surroundings.  Could be a vision problem due to the head injury."  
The doctor concluded as he put the pen away.  "But, I think she'll 
be fine in a while.  By the end of the day she should be up on her 
feet again."
	Akane didn't feel very comforted but at least the cat 
would recover.  "That's good to hear."
	"Unusual breed for these parts.  Sure you won't be 
keeping her?"  The doctor asked.
	"Afraid not."  Akane replied as she picked the cat up.
	The doctor shook his head as he put away some of his 
supplies.  "Shame really.  There hasn't been many adoptions 
lately at the shelter from what I hear and that injury won't help 
any."
	Akane stopped and look down at the cat.  "Does that 
mean they'd... put her to sleep?"
	"Unfortunately, they haven't got room to hold every 
animal indefinitely."  The doctor answered then went to the door.  
"Ranma, you're next."  He called out then took a chart handed to 
him by his nurse outside and began reading it.
	"How long do they keep them for?"  Akane asked at the 
door as Ranma entered with Ukyo-dog.
	"I think they're working on a 1 week limit right now."
	Akane nodded sadly as she thought about this.  There was 
little she could do about it.  She couldn't keep her.  After a 
moment Akane sighed.  "Well, thanks Dr. Sakai."  She said as 
she left.
	"No trouble.  Bye."  Dr. Sakai replied then turned, still 
looking at the chart, to Ranma and Ukyo, who had jumped up 
onto the examination table.  "So, Ranma, I see you didn't mark 
down your bitch's breed. You usually have no trouble with that 
question, she must be a real mutt."  He commented then looked 
up straight into Ukyo's very unamused eyes, about 4 inches from 
his own.  It took him only one second to realize two things.  One, 
he was far too close to an angry animal.  Two, this was no dog.
	The vet let out a startled scream and stumbled backwards, 
falling to the floor.  "That's a wolf!!"  He managed to blurt out.
	"What?!"  Ranma asked in confusion.
	Dr. Sakai calmed slightly when the animal held its 
position on the table.  He returned to his feet but kept his 
distance.  "I said that's a wolf!  Where did you get a wolf from?"
	Ranma looked at Ukyo in shock and surprise.  Ukyo was 
equally shocked.  A wolf?!  A wolf!!  She changed into a wolf, 
not a dog, a wolf!!  Ukyo savoured the feel of the word.  Wolf, 
WWOOLLFF.  Not mutt, Wolf!  Not someone's dinner waiting 
to be caught.  She was the eater, not the eatee.  She felt her 
shoulders square and she sat up straighter.  No one's little pet, 
not her.  A big, dangerous, wolf.  Terror of the woods, death in 
the night, WOLF.  She wanted to jump for joy but the fear in the 
doctor's eyes stopped her.  She adopted a semblance of calm, but 
inside she glowed with the knowledge of that fear, induced by a 
wolf.  A wolf, not a dog.
	No less enthusiastic about this was Ranma.  This would 
be awesome.  He had a pet wolf!  Not some common dog, but a 
wolf!!  After a second he remembered the doctor's question.  
"Oh, ah, well, she is... kinda... a pet of an old friend of mine's 
and he-"
	"A pet!!  This is a wolf we're talking about.  They're 
dangerous."  The doctor replied as he kept his eyes perfectly 
locked on the animal in front of him, fearing that any moment it 
would spring on him.
	"Not this one.  She's perfectly tame."
	Dr. Sakai looked over at Ranma, unconvinced, then 
turned back to Ukyo.  Ukyo put up her best look of friendliness to 
try and calm his fears.  After a moment of consideration he 
approached.
	"Is there something wrong doctor?"  His nursed asked as 
she opened the door and looked in.
	"Ahh, no, everything's fine.  Just got a little startled, 
that's all."  Dr. Sakai replied.  The nursed nodded and left.  
"Well, this is one... heck of an animal you have here."  The vet 
said then reluctantly, and cautiously began his examination.

	Sometime later C-chan was drifting in and out of 
consciousness.  She could recall the night before somewhat, 
leaping at some girl, wandering around confused, being startled 
and leaping out at another girl, then a great deal of pain and 
darkness.  She also had some vague recollections of a doctor's 
office, a girl's comforting voice and being held gently by the 
same girl. She could not seem to make her eyes focus, but the 
girl's scent painted a picture for her.  The scent of a young 
healthy girl, the soft gentle musk resulting from vigorous exercise 
overlaying the smell of soap and some fragrance that seemed to 
cling to her clothing.   Pretty much everything else was a haze.  
She lay in the girl's arms savoring the feeling of comfort and 
security listening to the gentle murmur of the girl's voice.  She 
soon realized that the oft repeated `C-chan' referred to herself.  
She relaxed and let herself sink back down into the darkness.

	When next she awoke enough of C-chan's senses had 
returned to her for her to make a conscious effort to raise her 
head.  She immediately regretted the action.  Her head throbbed 
like a ton of bricks had been dropped on it.  The world spun 
before her in a blur.  It took all her effort to just keep her stomach 
contents inside.  She made a quick decision to spare her stomach 
any further trauma for a while and closed her eyes, instead 
relying on her other senses.
	She could hear various animals, dogs and cats mostly, a 
conversation between two people a fair distance away, the buzz 
of electric lights, and the occasional rattling of metal cages.  That 
didn't bring to mind the most promising of locations.  The hard 
floor, the uninviting smells and a general feeling of tension in the 
air only added to this bad impression.
	She risked opening her eyes again.  It didn't help much, 
although the room wasn't spinning this time.  Her mind was still 
far to cloudy to allow her to focus on anything.  All she could 
make out was the blurry image of fencing and several other 
moving blurs, likely the animals she was hearing.  That cinched 
it, she was in the pound.
	C-chan closed her eyes again and cursed herself for 
getting into this predicament.  How was she supposed to get out 
of this?  She tried to set her mind on that exact question but the 
throbbing in her skull was just too much to bear.  She decided to 
rest for a while then worry about escape.  Before long she dozed 
off.
	Several hours later she awoke, finding herself in the same 
place, dark now and quieter but definitely the same place.  She 
examined her surroundings as best she could given the lighting 
then set to work finding a way out.
	In the cage next to her another cat was contemplating his 
situation.  He was cursing his own stupidity at being caught and 
thrown into a place such as this.  This was no place for someone 
of his status to end up in.  As he was pondering this he noticed 
his fellow prisoner climb her cage door and begin fiddling with 
the lock.  He's was quite surprised to see that level of ingenuity 
for a common cat.  Too bad they used keys on these locks instead 
of simple latches or he'd have been long gone himself.
	"Don't bother."  He said causing her to look his way in 
surprise.  "Yeah, that's right, I can talk and I can tell you right 
now it won't work... not that you understand me."
	C-chan looked on in shock.  She couldn't believe her ears 
but that cat was definitely talking to her.  She jumped down from 
the door and walked over to the dividing fence between their 
cages and looked at his dark form in disbelief.
	"What, you never seen a talking cat before?"  The cat 
asked with a touch of amusement in its voice.  C-chan responded 
by shaking her head.  That surprised him.  "Hey, you understand 
me?"  C-chan nodded causing him to become even more 
surprised.  "Now, this is new.  I never met a cat who could 
understand me before."  The cat said as he rose to his feet and 
walked over to the fence as well, examining C-chan.  "I am 
getting some weird vibes off of you...still, you haven't turned into 
a monster and tried to kill me yet.  That must be good sign.  So, 
just who are you beautiful?"
	C-chan started to answer and then stopped in shock.  
Who was she?  She didn't know!!  Except for some vague 
recollection of the last day she had no memories of who she was.  
She looked over at her fellow prisoner.  Maybe he could help her.  
She did not know why but she felt a sense of caring and love 
surrounding him.  She tried to ask him for help.  "Meow!"  She 
blinked in surprise.  She knew the words, why couldn't she say 
them?  She tried again concentrating.  "Heewwwmm." She 
stopped in frustration.  She could not make her mouth form the 
words she could feel so clearly in her mind.  She shot a look of 
frustration at the other cat who did not seem to be surprised by 
her inability to say the simplest thing.
	"Oh, can understand me but can't talk huh...  Oh well."  
Her fellow prisoner looked at his companion with a new found 
interest.  She obviously wasn't a normal cat but also not of his 
own breed either.  He was sure the others would find this little 
discovery interesting.  Of course that meant calling for help and 
he'd never hear the end of it if he was caught here.  He didn't like 
his options all that much.
	He thought about it for a second and then decided to stay 
a while and try to get out on his own.  After all, if worse came to 
worse he could call for the others and if he did manage to figure a 
way out, what better way to impress his new lady friend.  "At 
least I got someone to talk to till I figure a way out of this hole.  It 
can get rather boring when you're stuck on death row where your 
closest intellectual company is some mutt chasing his tail."  At 
the words `death row' C-chan looked around her cage with a new 
sense of urgency.  "Don't worry about it.  I'll figure a way for us 
to get out here."  He said to try and calm her fears.  C-chan 
looked skeptical.  "Hey, trust me, I got connections.  It's liable to 
take a little while, but I will get us out.  So, if we're going to be 
together for a little while I guess introductions are in order.  I 
know who you are."  At her look of surprise he tried to wiggle his 
eyebrows in a lecherous smirk. "You're beautiful and...I'm 
Artemis."

%End Chapter 5

	Okay, that's chapter 5.  Chapter 6 is already in the works.  
C&C is very welcome.  
	Special thanks to T. H. Tiger for his creative assistance 
which has been and continues to be extraordinarily helpful.  If 
you think we've been cruel so far, wait till you see what is to 
come.
	For you heathens who don't know who Artemis is check 
out Sailor Moon.
	If you wish to check out my other works look at:
	http://www.mala.bc.ca/~tritscwa
	I'm presently off for the summer so don't expect my 
webpage to be too recent, I have no home ftp service (sympatico 
is pitiful but it's free so...).
	Bye for now.