disclaimer
All the characters in the story belong to Takahashi
Rumiko and I have no right to use them.
Due to e-mail limitations I am using hotmail. PLease
DO NOT Send messages to the hotmail account.
Any C&C will be read and answered. Thanks to Gary
Kleppe, Shazorn, Conrad Whittle, Ryan Anderson, John Mcginnis, Ryan Wu,
William Jones for the C&C.
THANK YOU
I am trying to place this story right before vol.23
of the manga. This occurs right after the OAV
"Desperately seeking Shampoo".
____________________________________________________
The Game is Cat and Mouse
by jeff shelton
jws1@webtv.net
Chapter 1 setup
"I'm here Shampoo! Where are You?!" Shouts Akane.
"Shampoo here, Violent Girl," comes the reply from
out of the rafters above Akane.
Akane looks for Shampoo, but all she sees is more of the abandoned
factory Shampoo sent her to. The
factory has been deserted for years, ever since
cheap toys from Japan went out of style. The dust,
shadows, crates, and broken machinery make finding
Shampoo hard.
"Why did you challenge me in this place, Shampoo?
Why challenge me in the first place?" Akane asks
while looking around for Shampoo.
"Here is good place for game. Pervert Girl know why
challenge. Pervert girl destroy Shampoo's
anniversary date." The reply echoes through the
factory.
Akane remembers the last time she saw Ranma and
Shampoo together.
It was just after Ranma was released from the
hospital following the Contrary Jewel episode.
Shampoo in a very tight, very revealing dress was
all over Ranma. Akane saw the sweat on his brow, and heard the stutter
in his voice, and something made
her throw water on the pair. She giggled as she
watched Shampoo-neko try to escape her dress and
Ranma-chan trying to escape Shampoo-neko.
"Was 6 months since Shampoo got Husband date.
Shampoo wanted very much have good date. Shampoo
VERY mad at Akane. Shampoo find perrrfect way to get revenge."
"Shampoo I didn't realize..." Akane starts.
"Shampoo not finished. Shampoo make sure challenge
just between Shampoo and Akane. Great-grandmother is at Cat-cafe. Old
pervert given stack of playboys.
Told Mousse, Shampoo and Husband have date at park
today. Crazy Girl and bother told same. Spatula Girl and Umbrella Boy
told also. Mercenary Sister given
fake challenge letter to give to Husband. Letter say Shampoo and Violent
Girl fight at park today." The
direction Shampoo's voice comes from changes as she
bounces from place to place.
Akane remembers Ranma telling her about the fake
letter.
She went to her room to get the real letter. When
she got back, Nabiki and Ranma were talking
about the odds for the fight. Ranma was insulting
her skills and Nabiki was lowering her chances for
victory. She got sooo mad, she never told them about the real letter.
Akane tightens her gi, and assumes her standard
battle position. Her face froze in a very serious
frown. "Well then, stop moving around and fight!"
There is a small pause as Akane begins twisting
around to make sure Shampoo can not come up behind
her. "Come down and fight, or are you afraid of
me?!"
"Shampoo never afraid of Akane. Today Shampoo _make_ Akane afraid of
Shampoo." Shampoo states, then she
says, "LISTEN!"
The two girls stop moving around. Even though the
walls of the factory and the distance between it and the park, they hear
the sounds of combat. It takes
very little imagination to make out the classic
battle cries.
"Now Game begins." Shampoo says as she steps out of
the shadows. Akane instantly shifts her position to
be in front of Shampoo. "Game is Cat and Mouse."
Shampoo says as she throws a red water balloon at
Akane.
Akane reflexively breaks the balloon with a chop.
The water spills all over her.
As she watches Akane's gi fall to the floor, Shampoo grins and says,
"Akane is Mouse." While Akane is
struggling to get out of her gi, Shampoo thinks,
"stick with the plan, and Ranma is mine."
As the little reddish brown field mouse stares up at her, Shampoo smiles
a feral smile and says, "Shampoo is Cat." Shampoo takes out a blue water
balloon and
breaks it over her head.
end ch 1
conventions used in this chapter
Shampoo-neko is Shampoo in cat form.
Akane-nonezumi is Akane in mouse form.
Point of view will switch regularly. I have tried to make it obvious,
but.
Please use your imagination to fill in details with the fight.
begin ch2 Tom and Jerry
begin part2a Shampoo vs Akane
"I'M A MOUSE! What will the family think? How will
my friends react? I could sit done and cry!" Akane
desolately thinks as she stares up at Shampoo, who
is breaking a blue balloon over her own head
Shampoo-neko strolls up to Akane-nonezumi and
begins to bat her from paw to paw.(no claws)
The small, reddish brown field mouse starts to
attack the cat, but standing up on her hind legs and trying to act
human, just does not work.
"This body doesn't work right! I cann't stand up to
do Kempo!" Akane thinks as she clumsily continues to attack Shampoo.
"To bad Great-grandmother said I cann't kill Akane." Shampoo wistfully
thinks as she plays with her
mouse, and remembers Cologne explaining why.
"You cann't kill Akane, Shampoo. Son-In-laws family
honor is tied into his engagement to her. If anybody kills Akane, he
will have to attack them, for his
honor's sake. You do want your Husband to be
honorable, right Shampoo? Instead we will prove
Akane is a coward. With her a coward, she will not
be a worthy wife for Son-In-Law."
While Shampoo is playing with her, Akane can _feel_
the mouse's instinctive reactions trying to take
over and cause her to run away. "I AM NOT A MOUSE! I will not act like
one!"
The cat bats the mouse into a nearby crate. The
mouse gets up and stubbornly attacks the cat again.
Shampoo-neko smashes her paw down on Akane-nonezumi.
This crushes the mouse and freezes her in place.
Shampoo slowly drags her sharp claws over
Akane's body.
"She's going to *RIP* me apart! MY RIBS!!" Akane
think in panic as she tries to squirm away.
The cat slowly brings her mouth down on the trapped
mouse. She bites the mouse ever so roughly.
"I'm going to be EATEN! I have to do something!!"
The mouse shifts her position in the cat's mouth and bites Shampoo's
lips causing Shampoo to throw her
into some crates.
"That hurt!" Shampoo-neko thinks as she throws
Akane-nonezumi through the crates.
"She's playing with me! She's too big, too strong. I have to get away."
Akane desperately thinks as she
runs for a nearby hole.
The cat catches the mouse and pushes her back into
the center of the factory.
"This is _fun_. I must do this again. Should I
continue even when she gives up?" Shampoo gloatingly thinks as she plays
with Akane. "I think she is
ready. Now, where is that hole I prepared?" She
starts looking around.
Shampoo-neko bites Akane-nonezumi, shakes her a
couple of times, and throws the mouse next to a
large hole.
"I can escape! RUN!!" Akane quickly runs into the
hole.
There is a room on the other side of the hole. On
the far will is another hole leading to the outside
of the factory. Draped over that opening is a
banner. The banner reads: "SHAMPOO WON AKANE COWARD"
The mouse stops and stares at the banner, ignoring
everything, even the cat as she walks up behind the
mouse.
The mouse steps toward the hole.
Both girls see the following scene in their minds
eye.
Ranma is at the school yard with Shampoo clinging to him. There are
several students nearby. Ranma is
saying, "Go away, you uncute tomboy, COWARD." The
students are whispering loudly; "Never knew Akane
was a coward, no wonder Ranma likes Shampoo now."
Akane runs away. While she is running a yellow
streak forms on her back and mouse ears sprout on
her head.
As the mouse heads toward the banner,something in
Akane stirs. Something that says, "I will _NOT_ be
embarrassed like that!" Something adds, "I WILL NOT
LET RANMA INSULT ME LIKE THAT!!"
"I have WON! RANMA IS MINE!!" Shampoo triumphantly
thinks as she sees the mouse step toward the banner. She begins to
daydream about her wedding night with
Ranma.
Akane jumps at the banner and rips it to shreds. A
Battle Aura forms around the mouse. "I WILL have to
use this body's natural attacks." Akane thinks as
she taps the mouse's instinctive attacks. Apparently with the battle
aura Akane CAN use the mouse's
instinctive attacks very well.
The mouse viciously attacks the cat. She gets on the daydreaming cats
back and tries to rip the back of
Shampoo's neck apart. The cat and mouse roll around
several times before the cat can get a claw on the
mouse. Shampoo-neko's full strength claw attack
sends Akane-nonezumi through the wall back into the
main room of the factory.
"MY left ear hurts!" Shampoo bends her ear down so
she can see that the top is missing.
"I will beat you!" Akane-nonezumi spits out a tuff of flesh as she picks
herself up and charges the cat.
The cat and mouse fight. Akane-nonezumi's small size and very good
reflexes allow her to dodge attacks,
but. Shampoo-neko's overwhelming strength, size, and very good reflexes
make it a VERY uneven match. The
cat bites the mouse, shakes the mouse using her full strength and throws
the mouse through several
crates. The falling crates delay the cat.
"I cann't win like this! I have GOT to do something
else. Something to help." Akane desperately thinks as she looks around.
The cat gets past the broken crates in time to see
the mouse run away.
"She fought more than I thought, but I STILL WIN!"
Shampoo starts to consider how she can follow the
mouse. "Now to find her and make her pay!"
Akane-nonezumi starts looking at the crates as she runs. She stops in
front of a crate. The stencils on the crate read: "ACME TOY COMPANY
JAPAN BRANCH" in
Japanese and English.
"I always did like Tom and Jerry anime as a kid."
Akane-nonezumi smiles.
end part2a
begin part2b Akane vs Shampoo
Shampoo-neko is looking for Akane-nonezumi. A small
black, metal bomb falls beside her. The cat dodges
out of the way as it goes off. As several more bombs begin falling
around her, the cat sees the mouse on
top of a nearby crate. The mouse has a stack of
bombs next to her. The cat charges the crate and
destroys it. This scatters bombs all over the place
and some of the bombs are still lit.
"Akane is cheating! She must be learning from
Happosai." Shampoo thinks as she tries to look for
Akane through the cloud of debris. "I just wish the
technique for destroying walls did not leave a
cloud."
The mouse is gone by the time the cloud fades. The
cat continues to look for the mouse. Suddenly there
is an explosion on the roof. Looking up the cat sees a hole in the roof
and a streak of white smoke
leading from the roof to a nearby TALL crate. On the crate is the mouse,
she is holding a mouse-sized
bazooka. She is turning it around.
"Stupid instructions! Turned it the wrong way!"
Akane fumes as she points the bazooka at the cat.
"I'm the one that should have the overwhelming
advantage." Shampoo peevishly thinks as she dodges
behind a crate.
Shampoo-neko begins to head toward Akane-nonezumi.
She is using the crates to hide behind as she sneaks up on the mouse.
She approaches the crate the mouse is on. Luckily for the cat, when she
gets to that crate, the mouse is looking the wrong way. The cat jumps on
the crate and knocks the bazooka out of the mouse's paws, damaging it.
The 20 year ago crate collapses as they fight. The falling cat swipes
the mouse away before they hit the ground. The mouse is gone again when
the cat gets up.
"Should I go to the roof and get the hot water up
there?" Shampoo considers as she tries to rethink a
plan that has gone _slightly_ crazy.
"My head hurts!" Akane looks into a piece of broken
glass and sees that Shampoo's claws have ripped her
right ear. "I did not want to use this, but."
The crate next to Shampoo-neko suddenly turns to
dust. In front of the cat is the mouse. The mouse is holding a ray gun.
The cat quickly and agilely hides behind another crate, and heads to the
roof.
"Why didn't work? DEAD battery? Spare batteries NOT included!!". Akane
angerly destroys the ray gun.
"I'll change back and get that mouse." Shampoo
thinks in frustration as her plan has totally gone
haywire.
Shampoo-neko is on the hot tin roof. She is walking
toward a bucket.
Shampoo sees this scene in her minds eye.
Ranma is saying, "You had to be human to get a
mouse! HAHAHAHAHAH"
Something in Shampoo stirs. Something that says, "I
ran from a mouse!" Something adds, "I RAN FROM
AKANE!!"
The cat flips her tail at the bucket and goes down
into the factory.
As the cat is looking for the mouse she passes under a broken piece of
machinery.
Akane-nonezumi jumps onto Shampoo-neko's back.The
two roll over several times before the cat shoves
the mouse off. They get up and start circling each
other.
This is when one of the bombs, that were scattered
around earlier, goes off. The small blast, itself,
is not a problem, but this one causes a chain reaction. When many of the
small bombs explode at the same time, however, that is a problem. This
large explosion throws broken crates, and pieces of
machinery everywhere.
When the dust clears both are trapped under
wreckage. Akane-nonezumi's small size allows her get free.
Shampoo-neko's strength would allow her to escape if she had leverage.
"Now I've got you, Shampoo! I will get you for
cursing me!" Akane bitterly thinks as she walks up
the helpless Shampoo.
The cat's and mouse's keen sense of smell catches
the aroma of fire. The explosion that trapped them
has also started a fire. Both girls look at the
fire. The crates that are burning are stenciled with the word:
"EXPLOSIVE" The stencil is in Chinese,
English and Japanese.
They look at each other. The mouse turns and walks
away.
After a couple of steps, Akane-nonezumi turns around and charges the
machine that is trapping
Shampoo-neko. Her strength is not enough. She tries
again with Shampoo helping this time. The cat is
free.
They begin running to the outside wall. The cat is
running toward a hole she knows and the mouse is
following. When the cat gets to the hole she turns
around and sees that the mouse is still only halfway there. The injuries
from the fight are catching up.
Shampoo looks outside, looks at the rapidly growing
fire, then runs toward Akane. She picks up the mouse and runs to the
hole.
Shampoo, almost, makes it outside. The explosion
that levels the factory catches Shampoo. She is
blown out of the hole. The cat flies over the grass
fields surrounding the factory. She goes through the fence shielding the
factory from outsiders. She
creates another hole in a fence surrounding a nearby house and falls to
the ground, stunned.
end part2b
end ch2
begin ch3 interruption
begin part 3a Akane and Shampoo
A beautiful, mature, but still young looking woman
with short wavy hair is listening to her radio. The
radio is talking about a gang of teenagers that is
fighting in a park across town. "Tsk,tsk,tsk, I
wonder how their parents could have allowed them to
grow up and be so wild and fond of horseplay."
The explosion from the factory across the street
draws her to the kitchen, from where she can see the smoke and fire.
>From the bottom of her eyes she sees a cat and a mouse get up and start
circling each other.
The cat has been in a fight and a fire. Her left ear is bloody. The back
of her neck is bleeding. Her
hind legs and tail are black from the explosion.
The mouse is in worse shape. Her head is bloody.
There is blood red streaks in her reddish brown fur
near her ribcage. Her hind legs are covered in
blood welling from a bite on her rump.
The woman hears the sirens of the fire and police
departments. "Good," she says, as she thinks
"somebody has already called them, so I do not need to."
As the animals circle each other, the mouse sees the woman. She jumps
over the cat to run under the
house. The cat follows.
There are scratching noises from the bathroom. Then
the sounds of wood breaking.
The woman goes to the stove and turns the flame off. She had a pot of
tea brewing.
The woman, as she is grabbing her broom, thinks,
"That cat might need help, and I do hate mice.
Getting rid of those pests is impossible."
Coming out of the bathroom is the mouse. The mouse
stops and stares up at the woman. She swings her
broom at the mouse. The mouse jumps over the broom.
As the woman turns around to attack the mouse again
her broom almost hits the cat as the cat continues
to chase the mouse.
"Sorry, Mr Cat, I almost hit you." She says to the
cat. They both go after the mouse.
The mouse has found the kitchen. She is on the stove next the the pot of
hot water the woman was
preparing for tea. The woman swings her broom at the mouse. The cat
jumps at the mouse. The mouse hides
behind the pot. The broom HITS the pot spilling hot
water everywhere.
The expression on the woman's face CAN NOT be
described.
"Mrs Saotome! I can explain!" Akane pleads from the
stove.
"Shampoo explain after beat Akane." Shampoo says as
she stands in front of Akane.
"Shampoo STOP! We need to explain what happened to
her! PLEASE!" Akane begs.
"Why Shampoo stop?" Shampoo asks.
"Tendo Akane! What is going on here!" Saotome Nodoka exclaims as the
shock has worn off.
"Mrs Saotome! Shampoo! Please, lets talk and
explain things. PLEASE!" Akane pleading begs.
" 'Mrs Saotome'? Woman's is related to Ranma?
Shampoo asks as she looks at Nodoka.
"YOU know my son? Akane, what IS going on here?"
Nodoka demands.
'I can explain, Mrs Saotome. But first can Shampoo
and I clean up and get some first aid? Some clothes, too, if possible?"
Akane asks. Everyone notices that Akane and Shampoo are nude and are
still hurt from
the their fight.
"Very well. There is a first aid kit in the bathroom. You two girls
clean up and I will see what I can find." Nodoka says.
Nodoka is rummaging through her closet. When the
girls _raise_ their voices she can hear them.
"..." "Shampoo know now" "..." "Shampoo, _I_ will
explain later, OK?" "..."
Nodoka opens the door to the bath. She is carrying
some old clothes. Both girls have cleaned up and
patched themselves. Shampoo has done an excellent
job bandaging her ear, neck, and rear. Due to the
explosion she will not be sitting down soon. Akane
has not done as good job on herself. She has
bandaged her ear, ribs, and rear. Due to Shampoo's
bite she will not be sitting down soon.
"Put these on. Then come into the living room and
explain." Nodoka commands.
"We will need hot and cold water." Akane says.
Nodoka is sitting down in her living room with a
tray in front of her. The tray has on it two
pitchers. The girls are standing up and are as far
from each other as they can be.
"It is easiest to show what happens. If you could,
pour some cold water on us, then pour hot water on
us." Akane volunteers.
The curses are shown to Nodoka.
"Shampoo JUST cursed me, that is why we were
fighting!" Akane angrily tells Nodoka. She assumes a fighting position
in front of Shampoo.
"Shampoo no curse Akane." Shampoo says as she also
assumes a fighting stance.
"Girls! No fighting! One would think you two are a
couple of boys, not girls." Nodoka says as she steps between them.
"Shampoo, how can you say Akane is not cursed, we just saw it."
"Shampoo use instant magic spring salts. Magic salts last only one, two
hours then go away." Shampoo
explains.
"Like the instant spring of drowned boy?" Akane
asks. When Shampoo nods her head yes, Akane nearly
hugs her.
"And Shampoo you're cursed from the 'instant spring
salt', also?" Nodoka asks.
"No Shampoo is cursed from real water," Shampoo says as she hangs her
head down.
"Why did you use this 'magic' on Akane?" Nodoka
asks.
"It was a challenge, Mrs Saotome." Akane interrupts
before Shampoo can say anything.
"I know you like martial arts, dear. But to use
magic as well, is not that taking it too far."
Nodoka smiles at Akane and says, "Magic is not
something you want to use. Now promise me you will
not do this again, both of you. Challenges should
not be fought with magic." Both girls nod. "Now I
want you two to make up and be friends."
Both girls look at each other strangely, big sweat
drops on the back of their heads, then they nod at
each other.
Nodoka sighs, but accepts the nods as a gesture of
friendship. "Good, you two can get along. Now,
Shampoo, how do you know my son?" Nodoka asks.
Shampoo says, "Ranma come to restaurant all the
time." Shampoo looks at Akane and grins.
"Mrs Saotome, can I ask your opinion on something?'
Akane grins back.
"Of course," Nodoka grins as well, pleased that
things have calmed down.
"Shampoo is in Japan looking for a husband," Akane
begins.
"Shampoo found Husband. And Husband love Shampoo not Pervert Girl,"
Shampoo interrupts.
"Whatever, but your 'husband' is engaged to marry a
Japanese girl." Akane replies looking at Shampoo.
She looks at Nodoka and continues, "Shampoo's
Chinese village has a law that says if you lose to
an outsider and that outsiders is male, you will
marry him. The question is which is more important; the customs and
laws of Shampoo's Chinese village or the honorable, traditional,
engagement of the
Japanese couple?"
"NOT that simple, Shampoo love husband." Shampoo
hurriedly says.
Nodoka thinks for a couple of seconds then begins to speak, "Shampoo
loves the man, but he is engaged to
another, and he loves her back." Both girls
start to speak, but Nodoka continues, "I can see the problem. Shampoo,
you have a very good friend in
Akane, since she is trying to help break an
engagement, which she knows to be the wrong thing to do. To answer your
question Akane, Shampoo can not
marry her 'husband'. Before you ask, I will not help you break the
engagement, it just would not be the
correct thing to do."
"Now, then, I would like to met the person that has
two young girls trying to help him break an
engagement. A person who is getting you two to do
the wrong thing is just not very manly, and he needs to be taught a
lesson. You will bring him by."
Nodoka sternly says as she looks at the two young
women.
Akane has a HUGE sweat drop on the back of
her head by the time Nodoka is finished. Shampoo merely looks confused.
"On a more pleasant note, Akane, is my son back from that training trip
yet?" Nodoka smiles.
"Ranma at school yesterday." Shampoo helpfully
supplies.
"Yes, but he said something about leaving again
soon," Akane quickly adds.
"Shampoo not hear that." Shampoo begins before Akane covers Shampoo's
mouth.
'Mrs Saotome, sorry about the problems we caused,
but. It's getting late and we need to go, NOW!"
Akane says as she shoves Shampoo out the front door.
As Nodoka goes to the front door to say good bye to the pair she
thinks,'I should stop by the dojo soon, before Ranma can leave again.'
She frowns as the two girls begin arguing as they leave her house. 'Just
like a couple of boys, and I thought better of Akane.' sigh.
end part 3a
I wanted to bring Nodoka in, bring up curses, and
engagements, and not change anything.
I changed Nodoka's place of residence to the above,
since I do not have the later manga volumes. I
believe that given Nodoka's lack and visible
support, living in a neighborhood next to a old
factory would be reasonable.
See "Like Water for Akane" OAV for Nodoka's next
visit to the dojo.
begin part3b friends
Akane and Shampoo are walking away from Saotome
Nodoka's house.
Shampoo grabs Akane's arm and demands, "Tell Shampoo NOW!"
"I shouldn't tell you anything Shampoo, It is a
private matter between Ranma and his mother, but if you do not know, you
_could_ kill Ranma, so I am
going to tell you. This is a secret, do NOT tell
anybody else, OK?" Akane demands.
Akane then explains Ranma's problem with his mother.
"Shampoo see now. We let Ranma tell Mother-In-Law
about curse, yes."
"She is not your mother-in-law, Shampoo, you heard
her." Akane angrily says.
"Shampoo find way," Shampoo replies angrily.
"Shampoo not Akane's friend."
"I'm not your friend either," is Akane's come back.
"Why, Shampoo, did you come back then?" Akane says as she smiles.
"Shampoo has reasons. Plan was to humiliate Pervert
Girl. Shampoo want Violent Girl to _SEE_ Ranma marry Shampoo." Shampoo
looks at Akane who is getting angry very rapidly and continues, "Shampoo
save Akane's life so next time Shampoo have date Akane no ruin."
"I saved your life first, Shampoo, so we are even."
Akane glares at Shampoo.
The two walk a little bit glaring at each other.
"Shampoo have question. Where did Akane get lighter
to start black Happosai bombs?"
Akane pulls out a mouse sized lighter. "It was with
the weapons." She says as she thinks, 'watching Genma hide and pull out
his signs helped, too.'
They walk some more.
Shampoo stops walking, smiles, and begins talking,
"Shampoo have plan. Plan will save Husband's life
from Mother-In-Law. Need Pervert Girl's help to do
it. Akane help save Ranma's life?"
"If it will save his life, I will listen, Shampoo."
"Good, Akane doesn't do much in plan. Just make sure nobodies stop
Shampoo from being with husband
tonight." Shampoo pauses then says, "Plan might take a couple nights,
even with fertility potion. So,
Akane, make sure Shampoo no interrupted when with
Husband for two, three nights."
Akane in a dangerously low voice asks, "Just what
are you going to be doing with Ranma?"
Shampoo in a somewhat surprised tone replies ,
"Shampoo and Husband make baby. Husband proved to be man when Wife have
baby. Mother-In-Law no kill. Is
good plan, YES?" Shampoo looks at Akane.
"WHY YOU GLOWING?!?"
As the two friends (I did say they were friends,
right?) begin a _CALM_ and _FRIENDLY_ discussion
about pre-marital sex and pregnancy, I will end this chapter.
end part 3b
end ch3
begin ch4 endings
begin part 4a Shampoo
The language in this part is Chinese.
Shampoo enters the Nekohanten, obviously angry. She
is mumbling something about violent, perverted
girls. Her borrowed clothes is in disarray, her face has scratches on
it, and her hair is a mess.
"I see the plan did not go well,
Great-granddaughter," Cologne remarks as she looks
over Shampoo.
"I will get that girl! I had her, but she started
to cheat and use some weird weapons she found. Her
weapons blew up the factory before I could win. The
explosion did knock us into Ranma's Mother's house,
though," Shampoo explains.
"Ah! So you've met your Mother-In-law, good." The
phone rings and Cologne says, "Answer that,
Part-time!" Mousse answers the phone.
"Yes, I talked with my Mother-In-Law. She likes me,
even though Akane and I broke into her house. Akane, _had_ to bring up
her 'engagement' and my marriage
to Ranma, however. She did not like that," Shampoo
sighs.
"What did your Mother-In-Law say, Shampoo?"
"She said that until Akane's or Ranma's family breaks the engagement she
will not approve of me marrying Ranma. I will come up with a plan to fix
that." Shampoo pronounces smiling.
"We will come up with something, Shampoo, but since
your Mother-In-Law likes you, you should visit her as often as possible
to help her understand that you are a good Wife for her son."
"I can not, Great-grandmother. Mother-In-law doesn't know about Ranma's
curse, and until he tells her,
visiting her will cause problems. I promised Akane
not to say more."
"I don't like the idea that your keeping secrets
from me. However, since we need to break
Son-In-Law's engagement first, I will let you keep
that secret for a little while." Cologne looks a
little bit peeved as she speaks.
"Shampoo, Nabiki needs to know who won?" Mousse
questions from the phone.
"The game was interrupted before I could win,"
Shampoo heatedly replies.
Shampoo goes upstairs to clean up and change
clothes. 'It's a good thing the transformation helps heal some wounds,
it even fixed my ear." She thinks
as she cleans up.
end part 4a
begin part 4b Akane
Akane enters the house, obviously angry. She is
mumbling something about violent, chinese girls. Her borrowed clothing
is in disarray, her face has
scratches on it, and her hair is a mess.
"I see the challenge did not go well, Akane," Nabiki remarks as she
looks over Akane.
"I did not _lose_ to Shampoo, Nabiki," Akane replies as she heads to her
room. Nabiki goes to the phone
and dials a number.
"Hey! You won! That's great, Akane," Ranma says as he comes up behind
Akane.
"You really think so, Ranma," Akane smiles cutely.
"Yeah. But you should've told me where the fight
was, so I could've helped." Ranma smiles as well.
"I don't need your help, Ranma," Akane heatedly
replies.
"Hey Ranma! According to Mousse the fight was
interrupted before Shampoo could win. You know what
that means. You owe me a photo shoot." Nabiki says
from the the phone.
"Ah, sure, um, Ok" Ranma mumbles as he looks at
Akane, who is glowing.
"You bet on SHAMPOO!" Akane yells at Ranma .
"I was going to get Nabiki to owe ME money!" Ranma
yells right back at her.
Akane punches Ranma through the roof.
"You know, Akane, I need his shirt too. He bet all
his money and his shirt on you to win." Nabiki says
as she looks through the hole in the roof.
"He bet on me to win?" Akane asks.
"Yes," Nabiki replies.
Akane goes after Ranma.
end part 4b
end ch4
end fic
Special epilog / alternate Nodoka scene
Nodoka in is, perhaps, not IC, but Nodoka did say
that voyeurism is manly. (I know this was with Akane in the nude.) This
was in a story in vol 34 of the
manga.
"Good, you two can get along. Now, Shampoo, how do
you know my son?" Nodoka asks.
"Ranma is Shampoo's Husband," Shampoo helpfully
supplies.
"Ranma IS NOT your husband, Shampoo!" Akane raises
her voice at Shampoo.
"Ranma is Husband. He defeat Shampoo in battle, is
Shampoo's Husband by village law!" Shampoo also
raises her voice as the two square off, again.
"STOP! This instant!" Nodoka commands. "Now tell me
what is happening with my son."
The two girls explain the triangle between
Akane-Ranma-Shampoo.
"Shampoo, I am sorry to disappoint you, but I can
not approve of a marriage between you and my son.
The engagement between Ranma and Akane takes
precedence." Nodoka pronounces in judgement.
Akane pulls down her eye-lid and sticks her tongue
out at Shampoo.
"However, Akane, since my son likes Shampoo, if he
wants to make Shampoo his mistress, I do approve of
that. It is _so_ manly. My father had a mistress. I
have some fond memories of her. If my son can have a wife and mistress
also, I would be so proud of him." Nodoka says as she smiles, thinking,
no doubt of the happy times of childhood.
Shampoo and Akane have VERY big sweat drops on the
back of their heads.
end alternate scene
The above is a possible Nodoka personalty I am
thinking about. and C&C will be helpful.
explanation
>From my understanding, mistresses in Japan are, or
were, much common than in the US. I assumed that
Nodoka's father had a mistress. I assume that Nodoka would determine
manhood based, at least in part, on
her father. Basing manhood on Genma would not work.
Thank you for reading this far.
I do hope you enjoyed the story.
Any C&C will be read and answered.
thank you
jeff shelton
jws1@webtv.net
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