Here it is.  It's kinda big.

I don't know if you got the first part.   I tried sending it out, but PINE
had a brain-fart and decided to kick me off-line.

Standard disclaimer applies.  Ranma and cast belong ot Rumiko TAkahashi.
No lawsuits please.

C&C appreciate and requested.  Flamers are not welcome.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
	"Hurry up," the man said to his companion in Chinese.  Both were
dressed in black jumpers.  One had a baseball cap, the other a radio
headset.  The one with the headset was driving a small lifter, moving
crates into the gaping maw of an open cargo jet.
	"I'm going as fast as I can, Chung.  It's not like I can drive
this thing as fast as my Honda."
	The one with the baseball hat laughed.
	"If you could drive that as fast as your Honda, Jie, we'd be done
already.  Is that the last of the crates?"
	"Sure is."
	Chung looked up at the stars, dimly put out by the lights from the
nearby building and the lights along the tarmack leading to the hangar.
The lights near the building, however, were few and far between.  All but
the headlights on the lifter seemed to be bathed in the grey-blackness of
the night.
	"Why'd they choose this time of all times?"
	"I guess it makes it easier to slip this tuff out unnoticed."
	Chung laughed.
	"We're just sending stuff to Tokyo.  It's not a huge leap.  It's
not like we're sending stuff to the United States."
	"If we sent this stuff to America, there'd be armed guards
everywhere," Jie said with a laugh.
	A crackle of static hit Jie's headset.
	"Are the boxes loaded yet?"
	Jie nodded, and spoke into the microphone on the headset.
	"Yessir.  All of them are packed and- waitasec.  There's a small
crate here," Jie replied.  He waved at Chung and pointed at the briefcase
sized wooden box.  Chung nodded and started lugging it into the plane.
"Chung's throwing it in now."
	With the weight of the box in his arms, Chung waddled up the ramp
onto the plane, as his companion walked back over towards the lifter.  A
short parking run and a jaunt back to the plane later, Jie shot a glance
over towards the plane.
	"You done in there?" he asked out loud.
	"I'm having a little trouble here.  I can't seem to get it to fit
right between the other crates," his friend called out.
	"Forget about it.  They're all packed tight with insulation.
It'll be fine," Jie yelled out as he turned back to the hangar.
	"We'll get a beer after this, right?" he called over his shoulder.
Jie shrugged when he didn't get a response.  There was a muffled bumping
noise and some rattling from the cargo bay of the plane, but Jie didn't
notice as he walked back into the hangar.  The nosecone of the plane
closed, and the plane made its way towards the runway.
	Fresh blood smeared across the pavement as a wheel ran over the
small puddle.

	The monk looked at the water in the pool before him with a look of
detached interest.  The women had warned him against getting wet, yet what
could possibly happen?  It was water after all, and it was certainly not
foreign to him.
	His ladle broke the surface as he carefully spooned the water into
an open flask.  He corked the flask once it was full and put it carefully
with a dozen others like it.  His horse shifted uncomfortably, letting out
a nervous whinny.  The monk looked about the dense growth around him
warily.  He'd been warned that tigers were not so rare as to be seen in
these parts of northern China.  Granted, the monk had never seen one in
his life, but he'd heard stories.
	He stooped down in front of another pool and dipped his ladle into
it.  Ever so carefully, he filled another flask with the water.  He was
about the cap the flask when his horse shifted again, let out a nervous
whinny and began backing away.
	"What is wrong?" he asked nobody in particular.
	A sudden burst of dark orange and brown shot out from the
undergrowth causing him to slip and fall backwards.  He landed with a loud
thud, his arm nearly falling into the pool next to him.  The monk quickly
rolled away from the pool on to his knees.  He saw his horse bolt from the
area back towards the village of women he'd encountered earlier.  The monk
turned slowly as he heard a low growling from behind him.
	He'd never seen a live tiger before.  The monks who had made the
successful pilgrimage to India had spoken of them before.  They usually
came across them as they made their way north around the mountains.  The
monk didn't have time to ponder how far north he'd gone to merit seeing a
tiger as it pounced.  The monk instinctively threw the flask of water out
towards the feral cat as it moved through the air at him, fangs and claws
bared.  As the monk fell to his back from the impact of the cat hitting
him, he thrashed about desperately, his eyes closed in fear.  It was with
a guilty satisfaction that he felt his forearm connect with the tiger.  He
was surprised by the sound of a small boy whimpering.
	He opened his eyes to see a naked boy with orange hair staring
wide eyed at him.  The boy was hunched down on all four legs as if it were
an animal.	
	"But the man eating cat," the monk murmured.  The monk watched the
boy pull his lips back in a snarl and lunge at him again, mimicking the
movements of a large cat.  As the boy lashed out with his fingernails at
the monk's cloth swathed leg, realization dawned upon the monk.
	The monk frowned for a second and then whistled for his horse.  He
saw it peer over the hill a ways back.  Not seeing the tiger, the horse
slowly made its way back towards the monk.  The boy, seeing the horse, ran
towards it and lunged again.  The monk's horse neighed in surprise as the
boy tried to tackle it.  The monk laughed as the naked child gripped the
horse's neck with his arms and legs, trying to bite the horse's head off.
The horse for the most part looked part stunned, and part stupefied.  With
a laugh, the monk pried the boy off his horse and trussed him up with a
length of rope.  
	This water is truly amazing, the monk thought.  I must learn more
about it.

	The policeman looked at the mutilated body with disgust.
	"This is appalling," he replied weakly.  
	"Get a grip on yourself, Shino," another said.
	"But look at it!" Shino forced through clenched teeth.  "It looks
like something was eating him.  I think I'm going to lose it."
	"Then get the hell out.  Get a forensics team here as soon as
possible.  Until then, close off the area within twenty feet.  I don't
want anyone within twenty feet of this place."
	"Yes, captain."
	"And Shino-"
	"Yes sir?"
	"Get a bag or something before you vomit all over me."

	"Geez, Pop," Ranma complained, "why do we have to look at a bunch
of stupid scrolls?"
	"Foolish boy," Genma said with a swat at Ranma's head.  "These
scrolls come from a temple plundered by the Maoists during the revolution
in China.  These were the scrolls from a temple that trained rigorously in
the martial arts!  You could learn a great deal from them."
	"You don't read Chinese," Ranma said flatly.
	"But there could be pictures," Genma retorted.
	Ranma opened his mouth to speak but was cut off.
	"Airen!" a bubbly voice called out.
	Ranma groaned and braced himself for impact.  It came, but to his
surprise, from behind.
	"You jerk!  We were supposed to be here with our families!  How
dare you ask Shampoo out on a date here!"
	Ranma tried to gurgle a reply past Akane's fist, but was cut short
by a rush of purple hair and feminine wiles.
	"Ranma ask Shampoo on date now, yes?" she cooed as she clutched an
arm like a lifeline.
	Akane growled in frustration, planting a foot and grinding it.
Ranma screamed in pain into Shampoo's hair as Akane's foot found his
stomach.
	"What are you doing here, Shampoo?" Akane forced through clenched
teeth.
	"What stupid violent girl want in Chinese exhibit?"
	"I was looking at the Chinese scrolls and art!"
	"But violent ape-girl no understand Chinese."
	"I can look at the pictures, can't I?"
	"But is no pictures in exhibit.  Only writing," Shampoo said with
a smile.
	"Maybe I can, read Chinese, you purple-haired hussy!"
	"If Akane read Chinese, why no understand why Ranma marry
Shampoo?"
	"At least I can talk in coherent sentences!" Akane screamed in
frustration.
	Ranma painfully pulled himself to his feet.
	"Jeez, you two!  You could at least keep it down," Ranma muttered.
"There are people starin' at us, you know."
	"Shampoo no mind if people look," she said with a seductive grin.
	"Son-in-law, I see you have come to enlighten yourself," an old
voice called from behind an exhibit of an old vase.
	"I didn't come here to get beat up, that's for sure," Ranma
muttered.
	"These scrolls possess a great deal of knowledge," Cologne
continued.  "The monks at the temple had one of the greatest libraries in
all of China.
	"So why isn't this place any bigger?" Ranma asked with a snort.
	"Because a great deal of it is still in China, son-in-law.  These
are but a taste of the wealth of knowledge the temple had to offer."
	"And how do you know so much about this temple?" Akane asked
derisively.
	"The temple was located very close to the Amazon village, or at
least, was the closest thing to be called civilization.  They shared their
wealth of knowledge with the Amazons frequently."
	"Great-grandmother show Shampoo great things from temple!  Then
Shampoo see Ranma!"
	"Don't you have a restaurant to run?" Akane growled.
	"Great-grandmother say to close restaurant to show Shampoo very
important scrolls from homeland," Shampoo replied.
	"That is correct, Shampoo.  There is a very important artifact
from the temple that is on exhibit here."
	"This isn't some magic artifact that's going to make me declare my
love for Shampoo, is it?"
	Cologne glared at Ranma.
	"Not all of our Chinese heritage revolves around aphrodisiacs,
son-in-law.  This scroll I speak of is one that speaks of the guardian of
the temple.  The monks there supposedly protected a mystical animal, that
in turn, protected the temple.  Whoever possessed the scroll was charged
with care for the beast, and the beast would protect them."
	"Great.  So why is the temple on exhibit?"
	"Because the monks left the temple.  They followed a the large
pilgrimages to India."
	"So how do you know all about this?"
	"Because the Amazon village was once given a scroll with the exact
same conditions," Cologne replied as she hopped to another part of the
exhibit.
	Shampoo quickly followed behind dragging Ranma with her, despite
his attempts to pry her fingers from around his arm.  He stopped when he
saw Cologne staring at a neatly bound, but faded, scroll on a case in the
middle of the display floor.
	"So that's it?" he asked.
	"Yes it is," Cologne replied.
	"I don't see no mystic beast."
	"Neither do I, but to tell you the truth, I've never really seen
any mystic guardian for the scroll the entire time the village had the
other scroll."
	"So why two scrolls?" Ranma asked.
	"I'm not sure.  Perhaps the monks felt it wasn't the magic of the
scroll so much as the mystical guardian that seemed to come along with
it."
	Cologne turned and hopped away.  Ranma thought he caught a glimpse
of sadness in her eyes as she passed him.  All thoughts of it, however,
were quickly banished as he realized where his gaze rested now that
Cologne was gone. An elbow to his head affirmed it.
	"I can't believe you'd stare at Shampoo's chest while I'm next to
you, Ranma!"

	Green eyes watched from inside the trees surrounding the lake.
Flocks of waterfowl were settling down to rest as the sun set.  It was
hungry, but knew it couldn't show itself.  It had a meal once when it
arrived to this strange land, but it was hungry again.  It needed food.
As soon as the birds were asleep, it would be able to eat again.
	It's stomach growled in reply.  The meal it'd had earlier was
somewhat, tough.  Tasteless and bland, it didn't care for the fibrous meat
and skin.  It was hungry at the time, however, starved beyond
comprehension from the traveling it had done.  Now it was hungry again,
but didn't want to show itself to the other animals.  The pink ones with
strange skins of different colors were the worst.  It always felt fear
around them, despite having lived amongst a few for so long.  There was
always the fear that they would brandish the sticks of fire at him.  It
could remember the time when the men wearing skins of dark green and red
came brandishing their fire sticks.  The vision and smell of the sticks
flashing with fire and then smoking, and cries of pain still haunted him.
	There were only a few he never felt fear around, but they were
long gone.  They always were with the scroll before, and he followed the
scent in the hopes of finding trustworthy animals to live with.  Light and
dark had changed a hundred thousand times since the one that the others
called "zhu-che" had fed him, and spoken softly to it.  Less rotations of
light and dark had passed since he'd been in the village of females, but
even there he felt the fear he felt now.  It was more than any simple
fear.  It was more than a want to get away.  Now it was a want be to with
those like him again.
	The green eyes dimmed for a moment, a look of sadness entering
them.  With a low purring noise, it shifted its weight in the branches.
Its wait would soon be over.
	
	"So you're saying there was a magic scroll there?"
	Akane nodded.
	"And that's where Ranma was ogling at Shampoo?" Nabiki continued.
	Akane frowned and shot Ranma a furious look.
	"Yes," she said vehemently.
	Ranma tried to say something but Kasumi held his face fast.
	"Ranma-kun, if you keep moving I can't put this dressing on
correctly," she admonished.
	Ranma mumbled an apology incoherently.  Nobody noticed.
	"You know, Kasumi wouldn't have to do that if you weren't such a
lecher, Ranma."
	"I'm not a lecher!" Ranma shouted.  Kasumi, startled by the
outburst, accidentally brushed rubbing alcohol up his nose.  With a hoarse
cry, Ranma gripped his nose and ran for the bathroom.
	"Oh my," Kasumi said putting a hand over her mouth.  "That must
sting something awful."
	"Serves him right," Akane said bluntly.
	A knock on the door into the yard surprised them.  Kasumi rose to
her feet and slid the door open.  Shampoo bounced into the room and
twirled in a neat pirouette, looking for Ranma.  A large steaming box was
in each hand.
	"Where Ranma?" she asked cheerfully.
	"He's not here," Akane growled in reply.
	Nabiki looked on with a bemused face as Ranma walked into the
room.
	"Is dinner ready?" he asked as he sniffed the air.  His eyes met
Shampoo's.
	"Airen!"
	With a yelp Ranma fell backwards as Shampoo dropped the boxes to
latch onto Ranma's chest.
	"Hey!  I'm busy!" he said frantically as he flailed his arms.
	"Shampoo no see Ranma doing things," Shampoo said confused.
	Ranma's eyes darted about the room.
	"I was, uh, busy doing- doing things," he finished lamely.
	Shampoo looked at him skeptically.  Ranma saw Akane fuming at him
again.
	"I was busy trying to do homework with Akane!" he said, smiling at
his newfound excuse.  Akane was taken aback.  Nabiki smiled that knowing
smile.  Kasumi smiled as well.
	"That's wonderful!" Kasumi said.
	Shampoo glared at Akane.  Akane smirked.
	"You know Ranma, Shampoo.  Intensive studying," Akane replied.
	Shampoo shot a glance at Ranma who was intently studying the wall.
She looked back to Akane who simply sighed and nodded her head.
	"Shampoo no know what going on.  Violent girl make silly story
again, but Shampoo have delivery to make.  Make delivery and come back,
yes?" she said sweetly to Ranma, who tried his best to ignore her
wandering hands.
	"Uh, su-sure Shampoo," he said lamely, his voice cracking.
	Shampoo smiled and bounced back out of the room, leaving one of
the boxes.
	"Shampoo come back for airen later!" she called.
	Ranma stared at the box as the delicious odors from its contents
made its may to his face.  He inhaled deeply, his mouth watering.
	"Oh no!  Shampoo left one of her carry-out boxes.  Akane, would
you return it to the restaurant?" Kasumi asked.
	Akane looked shocked.
	"Me?  Shampoo left it here, if she wants it she'll come back for
it," she replied hotly.
	"But what if Ranma eats the food inside?" Kasumi asked.
	"He'll ruin his appetite.  Big deal."
	"But what If Shampoo wants Ranma to eat the things inside?"
	Akane's eyes widened as the idea struck home.
	"I'll take it back, Kasumi."
	"Hey!" Ranma protested.
	"You're not touching any of the food here, Ranma," Akane said
firmly.
	"But it's free!"
	"But nothing.  It's going back," Akane said with a glare.
	Ranma sat dejectedly in his seat as Akane made to leave.
	"Ranma, aren't you going with her?"
	"Hunh?"
	"It's getting late, and I think it would be best if you went with
her."
	"Kasumi!  I can take care of myself," Akane complained.
	"But what would father think?" Kasumi replied.  "There was a
murder reported in the news today, and they said the victim was eaten by a
large animal.  It could be on the loose here!"
	Akane could see the images of her father crying rivers hearing
about how she'd gone off alone and could have been eaten by
who-knows-what.
	"Fine.  Just don't tell Dad otherwise he'll start crying again."

	Ranma and Akane stood in front of the Nekohanten.  Shampoo was
nowhere is sight.
	"At least she's not here, you know," Ranma said.
	"I guess so," Akane growled.
	"Let's just go in, drop it off and get out of here before she
shows up, okay?"
	Akane sighed and nodded in agreement.
	"Fine, fine, fine.  Let's get this over with."
	Both entered the restaurant.  People crowded the dining area, and
a few others waited by the door.  Mousse was waiting tables.  Cologne was
at the counter helping a young couple with their check.  She waved them to
the side while she finished with the couple.  
	"Mousse!  Come here when you are finished," she said.
	Mousse made his way over towards the cash register while she
motioned for them to follow her towards the kitchen.
	"So you've come to return the box," Cologne said evenly as they
entered the kitchen.  "No doubt, Shampoo will be searching for it."
	"She seems to forget things when she drops by once in a while, I
guess," Ranma said sheepishly.  Akane elbowed him in the ribs to silence
him.
	"We've got to get going now," Akane said tersely as she grabbed
Ranma's arm and dragged him towards the door.
	"You could at least stay while I make something for you to eat,"
Cologne said.
	Ranma's stomach growled to punctuate the statement.  Akane glared
at Ranma who blushed as his stomach growled a second time.
	"If you're worried I'll put anything in your ramen, you can sit
here and watch me," Cologne said with a laugh.
	Akane sat down and glared at Ranma as he sat down at the kitchen
table with a lop-sided grin.
	"It can't be that bad," he whispered to Akane.  She simply ignored
him.
	"I have a very bad feeling about the exhibit," Cologne said as she
prepared their food.
	"What do you mean?" Ranma asked.
	"What I mean to say is that I think the exhibit moving from China
was a bad idea.  Before, the exhibit was kept in another temple.  The
temple was restored for tourist purposes and the scroll was housed there
along with the other artifacts from the exhibit. It turned out to work
well with the temple.  I believe it also worked out well for the guardian
as well."
	"I thought you said you didn't really believe in the guardian."
	"I said I didn't believe in a mystic guardian, son-in-law."
	"So you've seen the guardian of the scroll?" Akane asked in
surprise.
	"It should come as no surprise.  I already said the Amazons have a
scroll similar to the one in the exhibit.  It was given to us by the head
of the temple, and for a while, sightings of the guardian were reported."
	"So you know what it looks like?"
	"Not exactly," Cologne said.
	"But I do know that what the head of the monastery was true.
There is a guardian and it does follow the scroll around, or at least, I
believe it does.  I think that may explain the murder in Tokyo that was
reported at the same time the exhibit arrived.  It would also explain why
the victim was described as half-eaten."
	Cologne turned to hand Ranma and Akane two steaming bowls of
ramen.  They stared at the food hesitantly.
	"I have my suspicions that the guardian is here in Nerima,
following the exhibit.  The head of the group of monks said that the
scroll brought a guardian that required care.  All we would need to do
would be to bring out food and water and not fear the beast.  Luck would
follow if we treated it with respect and reverence."
	"And now?" Ranma asked.
	"I do not believe pillaging a temple to be an act of reverence,
son-in-law."

	The Japanese official stared at the papers and photos on his desk
with a mixed look of revulsion and regret.  He pushed the papers away and
sighed heavily.  The reports from the past two days events and reports
from Shanghai were more than enough for him.  He could have listened, but
they were just stories to him, at the time.  Now they were real, very
real.  The photos of the dead bodies of men and animals proved it all too
well.
	A beep from his speakerphone brought him out of his reverie.
	"Mr. Fuyatsuya, the Australian is here to see you."
	"Thank you, Fumiko.  Please send him in."
	The official looked up from his desk as the oak double doors to
his office slowly opened.  A tall, tanned man with short, sandy hair
walked in.  The rugged and weathered face belied years of experience
outdoors.  A thin, trim mustache reached around his mouth to connect with
an equally trim, short beard.  It gave him a commanding, but sinister
look.  His muscles flexed noticeably under his white silk polo shirt and
black pants.  He took off small, round sunglasses and stowed them away in
a pocket.
	"Good afternoon, Mr. Fuyatsuya," the Australian said in accented
Japanese.
	"Good afternoon, Mr. Wesson.  Would you prefer we speak in
English?"
	The Australian smiled.
	"I'd appreciate that," he said with a smile.
	"Dominic Wesson, a big game hunter by the age of sixteen.  You've
made quite a reputation for yourself."
	Dominic smiled.
	"I'm just doin' what I do best.  I find 'em, and go shootin' an'
baggin'.  It's me business and I've gotten the knack for it."
	"Do you know why we've called you in to Japan, Mr. Wesson?"
	"Well, not to be rude, Mr. Fuyatsuya, but I'm a big game man
m'self.  I didna think your boys would bring in a bloke like m'self to do
rocket science for ye."
	The official laughed.
	"Of course not, Mr. Wesson.  You've worked for the South American
government, US, Asian, and Africa government.  Do you think the jobs
they've given you have prepared you for this one?"
	"After bootin' about with a man-eatin' lion in Africa, everythin's
pussyfottin' about.  Your boys didna tell me what ye had in store for me.
I take it it's a public menace?"
	"It's not just that," the official said grimly.  He pushed the
stack of photos and papers towards the Australian.  "Take a look for
yourself, Mr. Wesson."
	Dominic perused the photos with a detached air.
	"I'd say these were done by a big cat, the way the feed marks are
on these bodies.  But the marks on the paws don't look right.  Looks like
a bloody bird grabbed 'em and a cat ate 'em."
	"Well, for the most part, that's what we've surmised."
	"A lark and a cat?  It'd take a man gone daft to think that!"
Dominic said with a chuckle.
	Fuyatsuya smiled.
	"It's more than that, Mr. Wesson.  Tell me, have you ever tracked
a magical animal?"
	Dominic guffawed.
	"Ye got to be pullin' my trouser legs, Mr. Fuyatsuya.  I dinna
think there's such thing," Dominic said.  The look on the official's face
said otherwise.  "Ye can't be serious."
	"I am."
	"Bloody stories they told me when I jumped off the flitter.  Your
boys said I was gonna be trackin' some beastie right out of the folk
tales.  Bloody hell, this is."
	"You can't do it?"
	Dominic shot forward in his seat.
	"I'll dot it!  I'll get the job done, I assure you.  I'd have to
be clean off me rocker to not take ye up on this one!"
	"Very good, Mr. Wesson!"
	"Ye got me papers?"
	The official pulled a large manilla envelope and passed it across
the desk
	"I've signed all the necessary contracts you presented.
Additional information will be in the packet."
	"Right.  I'm off then," Dominic said as he rose from his seat.
	"It will take all your skills to hunt this quarry, Mr. Wesson.
Good luck."
	"Luck is one of the ones I'm best at," Dominic replied with a
wink.
	The official smiled as Dominic left the room.

	Akane and Ranma stared outside into the night.  Kasumi sat wiping
the table and putting out cups of tea.
	"What's wrong?" she asked, a slight frown on her face.
	"Nothing really, onee-chan," Akane said with a small smile.
	"Shampoo stopped by earlier, before you two came back.  She was
looking for her delivery-box.  I told her that you already sent it back."
	"That's it?"
	"Well, she did tell me to warn you about a magical beast that
might be in the area," Kasumi said with a concerned look on her face.
"That's what was on the news, wasn't it?"
	"On the news?" Ranma asked.
	"There were two people found at the zoo this evening.  There was a
disturbance at the zoo and the police found two people that were eaten
alive.  The report said a number of animals were also missing and presumed
eaten."
	Ranma stared at Kasumi, then turned back to look at Akane.
	"What did Shampoo tell you?" he asked.
	"All she would say was that there was a magical animal out in
Nerima.  Cologne told her to be careful outside and to be wary of anything
that looked as if it had jumped right out of a fairy tale."
	Akane looked at Ranma fearfully.
	"What if Cologne was right?  What if the guardian is real and it's
on the loose here?  What if it attacks someone here?  It's already eaten
three people!"
	Ranma smirked.
	"I'm not afraid of no stupid monster.  I've taken out bigger bad
guys.  What could this thing be compared to Taro, or Herb, or one of those
guys?"
	"Your machismo fails to impress me, Ranma," Nabiki said blandly
across the table.
	"We'll see who's impressed and who's not when that thing rolls
around," Ranma muttered.  He cracked his knuckles.  "I almost can't wait
to see the thing."

	It sat atop a tall building in the business district.  Many of the
glass windows reflected to light from the streets below, making it dizzy
from the reflected images.  It'd taken quite an effort to get to the top
of the building.  The crowds of creatures below confused it.  Large
hulking animals that blared honking noises he'd never heard before slowly
trudged through the wide open areas between the flat-faced, tall rocks.
They were nothing like the temple he lived in.  He'd seen this type of
place before, when he followed the scroll out of the temple, but it was
different then.  It was smaller, calmer, and there were less of the
pink-skinned creatures.  They all seemed to be rushing to and fro like
ants that had been in the sun too long.  
	The place reeked of death.  Dead animals and the decayed seemed to
fill its nostrils.  There was the occasional pungent aroma of flowers or
of honey mixed in.  Too few pleasant smells mixed in with the rankness he
found as he approached the tall rock things.  It didn't make the creature
feel well at all.  Its stomach hurt from the smell and it didn't do
anything good for its appetite, which was already unsatisfied.
	It couldn't smell food here, only more bad pink-skinned creature
smells and dead animals.  It wasn't a carrion-eater, and it wasn't about
to start now.  It turned its gaze towards the lower-lying slant-topped
rock places.  A fresher smell came from that direction, not as many
pink-skinned things were there with their fire sticks to point at him.
The lower rock-things with their slanted tops and smooth sides were more
abundant there as well.  It would be easier to move around there.  It
would return to the scroll's resting place later on again.  It needed food
now.  Hunger was all that mattered.
	It stretched once, gave a load roar and lunged out into the night.
As it flapped its mighty wings, the arms of darkness from the night
embraced him.

	"You forgot one of them again," Cologne admonished in Chinese.
She sat atop the kitchen table as Shampoo ate her dinner with no real
relish.
	"I'm very sorry, great-grandmother.  I was too excited about
meeting Ranma again," Shampoo replied, her head hung low.
	"Shampoo, you must try to stop chasing son-in-law around.  Even I
can see that it is not helping your chances of beating the other two at
his hand in marriage.  You must use those skills that are your best.  Show
him you are a strong warrior, show him you are the best cook, and show him
you are the most beautiful of the three."
	"But how can I do that if I don't see him."
	"You must make a good impression every time you see him."
	"But how will I see him if I don't go to see him in the first
place?"
	Cologne mused for a minute.
	"No doubt he will come to find you first.  He is attracted to you,
in my opinion."
	Shampoo looked sadly out the window.
	"I hope you're right great-grandmother."
	"On the other hand, great-granddaughter, you must not chase after
him so.  No woman in the village has ever chased a man like Ranma.  You go
out of your way at every delivery to see him."
	"But none from the village are like Ranma," Shampoo said with a
smile and a twinkle in her eyes.
	"Yes, he is quite a fetching man.  If I weren't so old-"
	"Great-grandmother!" Shampoo exclaimed with a laugh.
	Cologne chuckled.
	"Have you thought of trying to make some friends here, Shampoo?"
	"Why should I care about that?"
	"Because it's important.  Perhaps if you had other girls to
socialize with, you'd adjust better-"
	"I'm adjusting fine," Shampoo said, rolling her eyes.
	"I just want what's best for you, Shampoo."
	"I know, I know," she replied halfheartedly.
	"I just thought that if you had friends, you wouldn't seem so out
of place by the others."
	"And the insane gymnast?" Shampoo asked with a smile.
	Cologne laughed.
	"She will always stick out no matter where she goes, child.  I
will agree with you there, but if you had some friends to talk to, perhaps
son-in-law would look at you differently.  Not as an obsessed girl chasing
him and dogging his every step, but as a normal woman."
	Shampoo sighed and nodded her head.
	Cologne lightly bapped Shampoo on the head with her staff.
	"Ow!" Shampoo said playfully.
	Cologne laughed as she hopped from the tabletop to the floor and
towards the door.
	"Be sure to place a large dish of scraps outside the door, as well
as a large pot of water, before you go to bed," she said over her
shoulder.
	"Why?" Shampoo asked.
	"Do you remember how I told you the guardian might be here?"
	"Yes?"
	"Well, if you leave some food out, he might pass over us if he
comes to our step."
	Shampoo raised an eyebrow.
	"You must be joking, great-grandmother.  Grandmother never put
food out for any of the animals at night.  There were many that could have
hurt us if they caught us unaware."
	Cologne laughed.
	"Your grandmother didn't know about the guardian, did she?"
	Shampoo smiled wryly.
	"If you say so, great-grandmother."

	It hopped about the tops of the rock-things.  It peered over every
edge carefully before hopping over each gap between them.  There were
barely any pink-skinned creatures around, mostly familiar animals he'd
seen near the temple.  They cursed at him or shouted to him a question,
but he ignored them.  It didn't have time to answer.  It was hungry.
	Some large roundish things seemed to smell as though food were
there.  Along with the smell of dead things and trees was the occasional
smell of bird meat or not-bird meat.  At any rate, it was better than
eating one of the offending pink-skinned creatures.  It batted one of the
roundish things to the ground and sniffed curiously inside.  There was a
commotion from inside the rock thing, but it ignored it.  It was hungry.
	Nothing of interest was there.  Some bones and eaten fruit were
near the bottom, but it wasn't anything it wished to eat.  It slowly
backed out, looking about its feet in case it had dragged something out.
	"What's going on out there?  If it's that neighbor's dog," a voice
trailed.  
	It raised its head slightly, its ears orienting on the sound.  It
sounded like a pink-skinned creature.  It backed out more quickly, afraid
if it would have a fire stick with it.
	A flood of light blinded it temporarily.  
	"What the-"
	"A monster!  It's a monster!"
	One voice shrieked.  It was a familiar sound.  It backed out of
the roundish object in a hurry, putting on a defensive stance.  It hissed
and spat at the shadowed pink-skinned creatures near it.
	"Call the police!  Call the police!" one cried.
	Both retreated into the rock thing, moving a part of it to close
it up.  The light disappeared and as it allowed its eyes to adjust, he
could hear more muffled voices inside.  It jumped onto the rock thing,
scrabbling slightly from the smoothness of the top of the rock thing and
bounded away.  It did not want to find out if they had fire sticks.  Fear
slowly engulfed its mind, a panic filling its legs.  It wanted to get away
as fast as possible.  The pink-skinned creatures didn't try to attack, but
it didn't want to see if they would either.  Curiosity was overrun by
fear, and it fled deeper into the night.
	As it bounded from rock thing to rock thing, it noticed the tops
got higher and started to differ in height.  It took to the air rather
than clumsily hop from top to top.  As it passed one of the larger rock
things, a hauntingly familiar smell wafted past it.  It stopped, circling
the rock thing, and finally dropped softly down to the source of the
smell.  It was a large pile of meat and plants.  It smelled awkward, but
it wasn't the meat of the plants that interested it.  There was a ghost of
a smell that was familiar and comfortable.  It tickled its nose, and it
sneezed lightly.  Without question it ate the pile of meat and plants
quickly.  It found a large pool of water nearby, deep and refreshing.  As
it drank, it knocked over more roundish objects as it tried to stop the
pool of water from moving.  It shifted this way and that as it drank,
clumsily splashing water around and on the ground.
	A feline form crept out from behind the roundish things curios at
the noise.  Seeing the other creature it arched its back and hissed at it.
More other cats around picked up on the noise and began caterwauling,
causing an awful din.  The creature backed away, making tentative swats at
the smaller feline.  The small cat scrambled back and turned and fled in a
hurry.   The creature triumphantly sat back on its haunches and groomed
itself.  The food it found was filling enough and the water had quenched
its thirst sufficiently.
	Suddenly, soft noises from inside the rock thing stopped it.
Something was coming.  It backed into the depths of the shadows, crouched
in defense.  It waited.
	
	"Why do these cats have to make so much noise?!" Shampoo ground
out between her teeth in frustration.  She uttered a few choice Mandarin
expletives under her breath.
	She hefted the pail of cold water from one hand to the other.
With her free hand, she threw the door open.  With a slight grimace and a
smile, she tossed the water in a large arc across the alley behind the
restaurant.  Her eyes snapped open when she heard the low growling no cat
could make.  Her eyes instantly locked with a pair of very angry green
eyes.  She tried to back away in fear, but her legs wouldn't move.
	A large catlike beast slowly stalked out of the shadows, wet and
angry.  Shampoo thought it looked like a tiger, but then two large wings
came into view.  That was all she saw as it suddenly pounced on her.  She
screamed.  As soon as it landed on her, she instinctively rolled and
pushed away at the beast with her legs, sending it flying into the
kitchen.  It landed on all four legs. 
	Shampoo looked at the cat beast with a mixture of fear and
surprise.  It was a tiger, but only to its midsection, there the fur
tapered off into dark brown scales with black markings, like a tiger.  The
tail was long and scaled, but ended in a tuft of orange.  Large
white-feathered wings were on its back, pulled tight against its body.
Green eyes looked out at her under a furrowed brow.  It growled
menacingly.  Shampoo readied herself, but slowly backed behind the table,
reaching for anything that could work as a weapon.
	Just as the cat-thing was about to pounce, Shampoo hear a voice
cutting across the kitchen.
	"Stop this instant!" a voice commanded in Chinese.
	Shampoo saw her great grandmother perched atop her cane behind the
cat thing.  
	"Great-grandmother, get out of here!" she yelled, but it was too
late.  The cat creature spun around and lunged at Cologne.  Shampoo shut
her eyes, too terrified to look.  The seconds of silence ticking away
seemed like an eternity in an inferno.  The silence drowned out all noise
but the pounding of her heart.
	She hesitantly opened up an eye.  Her great-grandmother was trying
to stand, despite being constantly knocked back over by the repeated
nuzzling from the cat creature.
	"Great-grandmother, what's going on?"
	Cologne chuckled.
	"I guess my secret's out.  Shampoo, I'd like you to meet Long
Mao."
	"Dragon Cat?"
	"Yes, he is the guardian of the scroll, and a very dear friend."

	Shampoo stared at the cat creature as it sat by Cologne's chair,
purring contentedly.  Cologne seemed to be quite happy, the first time
Shampoo had seen her so happy since before they left the village.  There
was a faraway look in her eyes, distant and happy, as if she were
remembering happier times.  She was idly stroking the cat's back, petting
it as if it were a pet from a long time ago.
	"Great-grandmother, how is it you know Long Mao?" she asked in
Chinese.
	The cat looked up from where he lay and glared intently at
Shampoo.  It looked back to Cologne who smiled and whispered to it.
	"That is my great-granddaughter, Mao-Mao," she said to the cat in
Mandarin.  "Go make friends with her."
	The cat creature slowly rose off its stomach and lazily walked
over to where Shampoo was sitting.  Mao sniffed at the proffered hand with
a loud "snorf," and nuzzled it.  Shampoo laughed when Mao licked her hand
and nuzzled it more.  The cat purred and brushed up against Shampoo's
legs.  Shampoo giggled as the fur tickled her.  It was odd feeling the
change from fur to feathers to scales and then back again as Mao turned
about to brush up against her legs again.  Shampoo laughed as Mao bumped a
head against Shampoo's side.  Cologne smiled. 
	"He wants you to play with him."
	Shampoo raised an eyebrow.
	"Play?"
	Cologne nodded.  
	"Watch," the elder Amazon said.  
	Shampoo watched as Cologne hopped off her seat, and held her hands
out.  With a little singsong, she chanted Mao's name and swayed back and
forth.  Mao turned, enraptured and stood back on his haunches trying to
sing along with copying Cologne's motions.  Shampoo laughed aloud.
	"I'm too old for his play, but he loves it dearly," Cologne said
with a sigh.
	Shampoo hesitantly copied her great-grandmothers movements, and
was surprised to see Mao orient on her.  This time, Mao moved close and
batted at Shampoo's hands with his paws.  Shampoo took a tentative hold on
his paws and was surprised as Mao sway in different directions in an
impromptu "dance."  Shampoo giggled and moved around with Mao-Mao,
surprised at how easily he kept up with her.  As Shampoo slowly fell
silent by the wondrous creature, Mao simply shook his paws out of her
hands and fell back to his four paws.  He nuzzled Shampoo again, prompting
her to tickle him and scratch him behind the ears.
	Cologne watched with a mixture of joy and nostalgia as Long Mao
let out a contented "whuf," and flopped onto his belly, laying his ears
back, closing his eyes, and rolling onto his back so Shampoo could tickle
his stomach.  It looked as though the big cat was in a state of heavenly
bliss.  An occasional paw would wave in the air amusingly as Shampoo
rubbed the right spot.
	"He's amazing," Shampoo whispered.
	"Yes, Long Mao is a special animal.  He is the first and last of
his kind," Cologne said sadly.
	"How do you know Mao-Mao," Shampoo asked, latching onto the
childish, but appropriate name for Long Mao.
	Cologne smiled as a sad look entered her eyes.
	"Shampoo, it was during a time far and away that I met Mao-Mao.  I
was still a young girl in the village, and at that time, only a few of the
springs were known to hold such cursed properties.  A wandering monk
stopped by asking for food and water, in exchange for scrolls and news
from the outside world.
	"We warned him of the springs beyond, in Jusenkyo.  He went there
regardless, intrigued by the possibility.  Apparently there, he met Long
Mao in his first and original form.  Long Mao was nothing more than a
young tiger who strayed into the area and attacked the monk, most likely
out of fear than hunger.  Inevitably, the monk splashed Long Mao with the
water from the spring of drowned boy.  Amazed by what had happened, he
brought the boy back to the village with him, and asked for a place to
stay for the night," she said with a grim face.
	"We all listened through the night as the monk played with the
various samples of water he had collected from the springs.  The next day,
he emerged with a smile, and leading Long Mao by a length of rope," she
finished.
	Cologne sighed heavily.
	"That was the first time I saw Long Mao.  He had such a confused,
dazed look in his eyes.  He was visibly shaken by the ordeal of being
cursed, and recursed over and over again.  The monk simply tugged at the
rope and dragged the shaking thing back with him to a nearby temple.  I
will never forget the look of fear in Mao's eyes," Cologne whispered as
she gazed at the happy cat.  Cologne chuckled and sighed as she hopped
down to join her great-granddaughter in petting the large cat, who
obviously relished the attention.
	"You saw Mao-Mao again?"
	Cologne nodded.
	"The village first heard about him as a group of monks from the
temple came passing through on a pilgrimage to India.  They spoke of a
magical guardian of the temple that had come to live there.  They had
named the creature Long Mao for the scaly hide, and cat-like body.  They
fed and protected the animal with all respect.  They cherished it as a
wondrous animal that could bring luck and good fortune.
	"I'm glad Long Mao was there first, to learn how loving and caring
people could be.  He benefited greatly from the monks and their wisdom.  I
suppose it was there that Mao-Mao learned to understand our language.  He
is much smarter than any animal I have ever seen before, being able to
understand commands and even basic conversation," Cologne said with a
chuckle.
	Shampoo laughed.
	"Are you sure, great-grandmother?  I think you're making this up."
	Cologne looked at Shampoo with a grin.
"Ask him what his name is," she told Shampoo.
	Shampoo looked back to the cat dubiously.
	"Mao-Mao, what is your name?"
	The cat looked at Shampoo with a confused look.
	"Name," Shampoo said slowly in Chinese.
	"Mraow mraow," the cat replied with a silly expression.  He looked
pleased with himself.  Shampoo laughed.
	Cologne turned to the happy cat.
	"Mao-Mao," she called to get the cat's attention.  The green eyes
opened wide and seemed to twinkle in anticipation of another game.
	"Would you please bring in the plate and pot from outside?"
Cologne said gently.  Mao-Mao looked at her curiously.  Cologne mimed the
shape of a plate and pot as she repeated the request.  Mao-Mao tilted his
head, as if in great thought then stared at Cologne again.  Cologne slowly
nodded.  Mao-Mao nodded slowly as well.
	Shampoo laughed.
	"See?  He's just copying you!" she said between giggles.  Her eyes
went wide and her laughing faded as she watched Mao-Mao approach the door,
batting at it.
	"Mao-Mao," Cologne called again.  The elderly woman pointed at the
knob and mimed turning it for the cat to see.  Mao looked at the knob and
batted at it in an attempt to turn it.  There was a click, and the door
sprung ajar.  Mao batted the door open and walked outside.
	Shampoo turned to stare wide-eyed at her great-grandmother.  She
looked back as the cat entered the kitchen with the plate, then left
again.  A short while later it brought in the pot.  It dropped both off by
the door and bounced back to Cologne and Shampoo and flopped back down
between them, looking at them with wide eyes that sparkled under the light
of the lamp above them.
	"Shampoo, please bring him a treat," Cologne said.
	Shampoo rose from her seat and opened the refrigerator.
	"What should I give him?"
	"He likes sweet things."
	Shampoo returned with some sugar cubes.  She held out one for Mao
to sniff at before slurping it up.  Shampoo laughed at his tongue lapped
at her hand trying to get the last grains of sugar from her palm.  Cologne
smiled.
	"You see?"
	"I see," Shampoo said with a laugh as Mao-Mao nuzzled her face.
"So did you see him again?"
	Cologne nodded.
	"I saw him once more after the monks decided to move towards India
in search of enlightenment.  The master of the temple chose to go to India
to see the new patriarch.  The monks went with him to protect him and
continue learning.
	"They left one all their possessions and belongings behind, not
caring for that which would hinder them.  They passed through the village
on their way, stopping to speak with the villagers.  They told us that a
scroll would be given to the matriarch of the village, and that the
guardian of the temple would seek out the scroll.  It would help us in
times of danger, but only if we treated it with respect and care.  We were
to feed it when it was hungry and nurture it so that it would continue to
grow," she said wistfully.
	Cologne shook her head.
	"It was there that Long Mao's life turned for the worse.  It was a
mixed blessing that he came to us.  The first time the women saw him, it
was while a few were outside trying to hang their laundry.  Mao-Mao flew
up next to them, thinking they would be friendly.  The women beat him off
with whatever they could find, shouting that there was a monster the
entire time.  By the time we all arrived, Mao had flown away.
	"The second time we saw him, Mao approached from the main gate.
The guards were suspicious, but too scared to do anything.  They had never
seen such a creature before.  Mao-Mao must have been lonely then, trying
to seek out companionship from anyone he could find.  The guards chased
him away, even wounding him slightly.  Before the rest of the village
could gather, he was gone again," Cologne said sadly.
	"The final time Mao-Mao tried, he cam at night.  I sat watching
the stars through my window as he perched next to my window.  He looked so
lonely, my heart went out to him immediately.  I instantly adopted him as
my new pet, and tried my best to take care of him.  When my mother found
out, she was furious, and commanded me never to have him in her presence
again," she continued in Mandarin.
	"After that I was able to train Mao-Mao to meet me outside the
village gates closest to Jusenkyo.  I brought along my friends and showed
them my new friend.  We all played there with him at great length.  We
taught him to sing, as best we could, and dance as well as a cat could
dance.  It was perhaps one of the happiest times of my life being there
and playing with Mao-Mao and the others.  It was a feeling I will never be
able to describe."
	Cologne stared at the now dozing cat, a single tear escaping her
eyes.
	"I once sat alone with him while he lay there staring at the
butterflies, sometimes playfully taking a swipe at one as it came close.
He looked so sad lying there.  I asked him what was wrong, and he looked
at me awkwardly.  I asked him where his mother was.  He kept staring at
me, not understanding.  I didn't think he had a mother then, so I wrapped
my arms around him and told him I would be his friend and his mother as
long as I lived.  That seemed to cheer him up immensely.
	"After that, my days of joy and play with Mao-Mao were short
lived.  My mother began wondering why I spent so much time outside the
gates.  She didn't know about Mao-Mao, and when she stumbled upon Mao-Mao
and I wrestling, she though I was being attacked.  Mao couldn't possibly
grasp what was going on, as my mother tore me away from him, screaming at
him and shouting for help.  I stood there crying and trying to get my
mother to understand what was going on.  My mother would have none of it,
and grabbed a stick and began beating Mao until he started to turn away.
The others came and began hunting him down," she said as another tear fell
down her face.
	"I never saw him again, thinking he was dead.  The village
declared me a courageous warrior for standing up to Mao-Mao, even though
we were really only playing.  From then on, my mother kept strict watch
over me and made sure I trained to be the warrior everyone made me out to
be.  I lost my childhood the moment Mao left."
	Shampoo smiled sadly, as she listened to her great-grandmother
tell her tale.
	"Does he know?" Shampoo asked softly.
	Cologne looked at her and smiled.
	"Ask him for yourself," Cologne replied with a smile.
	Shampoo gently nudged the big cat awake.  One eye opened slowly
and looked at her sleepily.
	"Mao-Mao," Shampoo whispered.  "Who is that?" she asked, pointing
at her great-grandmother.
	The big cat seemed to smile a lazy, happy smile.
	"Ma ma," Mao answered.

	Mousse awoke the next morning, bleary-eyed, and with a headache.
The racket last night was more than he could handle.  He thought he heard
Shampoo scream, but dismissed it as a dream, one that he continued with
him rescuing her.  He was the knight in shining armor, rescuing his fair
maiden.  After the rescue, the fair maiden Shampoo did what all maidens
did to their knight in shining armor.  She belted him, and doused him with
hot water.
	"Wake up, Mousse!" Shampoo screamed in Chinese.  "You snore to
wake the dead, and you barely even wake up from being splashed with water!
Some martial artist you are!"
	"Shampoo!" he cried, "can't we continue where we left off?"  He
burst from under the covers, half-naked, to wrap his arms around Shampoo.
	"What are you talking about you idiot?!" she screamed.
	There was sudden rush of paws and a flash of orange.  Mousse lay
on the ground of his room staring at a very large tiger's face.  The green
eyes looked at him with curiosity and mischief.
	"Gaaah!" Mousse screamed, flailing his arms.
	Mao bolted and ducked behind Shampoo instinctively.  Shampoo
belted Mousse, boxing his ears.
	"Don't scare him, you twit!"
	"But he was going to eat me!"
	"Mao-Mao can tell the difference between a threat and a toy."
	"Yeah, and he was about to kill me!  I'm a threat!"
	"Then why did he treat you like a toy?"
	Shampoo pivoted on a foot and left the room with a "harrumph,"
Mao-Mao following behind with a perplexed look.

	By the time he'd woken up, the business day was about to start and
the morning customers looking for breakfast were coming.  He entered the
kitchen to see Shampoo playing with Mao-Mao on the kitchen floor.  She was
playfully tossing scraps of steamed bread and meat in the air to the cat,
who caught them in his mouth.  On occasion, the big cat would playfully
swat at the steamed bun she had, trying to get more.  Shampoo would laugh
and toss out another piece, distracting Mao-Mao.
	"Hurry up, Mousse, and get to work.  We have some customers
already."
	Mousse pointed at Shampoo.
	"Why isn't she working?"
	"She needs to take care of Mao-Mao.  That's her job for today."
	Mousse looked at the big cat with a lop-sided grin and a laugh.
	"How hard could that be?"
	Mao-Mao suddenly pounced on Shampoo who fell back with peals of
laughter.  She accidentally fell backwards to hit the kitchen table.  A
cup of cold tea fell from the table, catching Mao-Mao's attention.  With
reflexes fast as lightning, he swat at the dull green cup, sending the
contents of the cup flying.
	Mousse squawked in surprise and fear as Mao-Mao pounced on him.
He flapped his wings, thrashing about violently.  Mao peered at him
quizzically for a minute before swatting him away with a curious sniff.
	"Great-grandmother!  Mao-Mao knew Mu-Mu-chan was Mousse!"
	Cologne mused for a moment.
	"Mao-Mao can smell things we can't, Shampoo.  I believe that's how
he recognized me.  Perhaps Mousse smells the same to Mao-Mao when he's in
either form."
	Mousse squawked helplessly as he was playfully batted back and
forth by an extremely inquisitive Mao-Mao.  Shampoo watched and laughed.
Cologne couldn't help but watch with a smile.

	"Ranma, is something wrong?"
	"I dunno, Akane.  I mean, I haven't seen Shampoo all day," he
said.
	Akane fumed.
	"Are you saying that's bad?"
	Ranma jumped back a step, holding up his hands defensively.
	"Hey!  Look, Shampoo hasn't been around all day!  Who knows what
she's planning!"
	Akane glared at Ranma, but continued walking home.
	"Look," Ranma continued, "I don't mind not seeing her.  It's
really nice to not have her grope me an' all.  It's just that I'm a little
worried that she's got something big planned.  I mean, if she doesn't show
up for a while, it usually means she's whipping up some crazy potion or
something."
	Akane thought for a minute, but agreed.  Ranma had a point.
	"So you think she's got something planned?"
	"I dunno.  I just want to get back to the dojo before anything
happens,"

	Ranma and Akane sat by the dinner table along with their families.
Nodoka had once again come for a visit, and along with Kasumi, cooked up a
storm.  An alluring aroma filled the Tendo household as the food was
meticulously placed on the table.  Ranma sat eyeing the food hungrily
while his father was nearly drooling.  As everyone sat down at the table,
about the begin tucking away at the culinary paradise set before them, a
striking voice cried out in the darkness.  It was a language they couldn't
understand, but the sound was unforgettable.
	"Mao-Mao come back!"
	Ranma froze as the high-pitched voice registered in his brain.
Akane began fuming.  The voice shot through the darkness again.
	"Mao-Mao come back here this instant!"
	Nabiki looked up from her dinner.
	"Guess who's coming for dinner, ne?"
	Ranma's chopsticks snapped in two.
	"I didn't invite her over for dinner!" he shouted.
	Akane screamed as a huge cat creature suddenly bounded out of the
darkness and towards her food.  Ranma instantly latched onto the ceiling
in fear.  Everyone scrambled away as fast as they could as the cat sniffed
hungrily at the food on the table.  Nobody flinched or even noticed that
Shampoo bounced in.
	"Mao-Mao," she admonished in Chinese, "Stop this at once!  I
should never have brought you here!  Now look what you've done!"
	"Ca-ca-ca-ca-cat!  Big c-ca-c-cat!" Ranma stammered.
	Shampoo tried to grab Mao-Mao in panic, seeing Ranma in a state of
near Neko-ken.  Mao-Mao simply ignored her and bounced to the other side
of the table next to Kasumi who sat wide-eyed and transfixed by the huge
tiger-like animal.  Mao-Mao sniffed at the food, then noticed Kasumi
staring at him.  He walked up to her, his head bobbing, sniffing the air
around her.
	Mao thought she smelled like flowers.  It reminded him of the
flowers he used to play in with Cologne before the female pink-skinned
creatures all chased him away.  She smelled pleasant and comforting.
Despite the fear she obviously radiated, there was still a feeling of
warmth and comfort around her.  Mao-Mao unceremoniously threw himself into
her lap, nuzzling her as he lay there.
	Kasumi's fright soon gave way to mirth as the whiskers on
Mao-Mao's face tickled her.  She laughed as the big cat bowled her over
with his nuzzling.  Mao-Mao bumped his head against her side twice before
laying down next to her and looking at her expectantly.  Kasumi laughed
and scratched his back.  Mao purred loudly and stretched out onto Kasumi's
lap where he closed his eyes and rolled every so often for Kasumi to
scratch his belly.
	Nodoka laughed at the sight.
	"It seems you've found a new friend, Kasumi!"
	Kasumi laughed.
	"He looks so odd, but he's quite friendly.  I have to admit that
it's not at all unpleasant, Mrs. Saotome."
	Akane stared at the animal.  No pet of Shampoo's is good news,
Akane mused.
	"So what's with the new friend Shampoo?  Is it some killer beast?"
	Shampoo snapped out of the reverie she was in while staring at how
quickly Mao-Mao took to Kasumi.
	"Mao-Mao is not killer!" she snapped in Japanese.  "Is good friend
to Shampoo!  Is very kind!  You no call Mao-Mao bad!"
	Mao-Mao snapped to attention as soon as he heard Shampoo talking
angrily to someone.  He could tell from the tone of voice the person
wasn't being friendly.  He laid back his ears, narrowed his eyes and bared
his teeth.  A low growling came from his throat as he threatened the
female that was bothering his friend.
	Akane turned at the sound of the growling.  She took one look at
the cat and scrambled back.
	"Now who's not a killer?" she asked in a shaky voice.
	"That just because you be mean to Shampoo!" Shampoo said in
frustration.  "You watch!"  
	Shampoo turned to the cat.
	"Stop being bad, Mao-Mao.  It's not nice," she admonished gently.
	Mao stopped growling and shrank back into Kasumi's lap, a dejected
look on his face.
	"Oh, now don't be so sad," Kasumi said gently.  She picked up some
shrimp.  "Would you like something to eat?"
	Mao-Mao sniffed once at the shrimp and eagerly snatched it out of
Kasumi's chopsticks.  He chewed on it with satisfaction, and look of joy
on his face.  He licked his chops and looked at Kasumi with imploring
eyes.  She giggled at the sight.
	"You scoundrel!" Kasumi admonished with a laugh, "you're just
using me to get more shrimp aren't you?"
	Mao-Mao "whuffed" three times.  It sounded like a catty chuckle.
He took the shrimp and chewed away, happily ignoring the glare from
Shampoo.
	
	"He's the guardian?" Nodoka asked incredulously, after Shampoo
explained everything.
	Shampoo nodded.  Ranma desperately tried to pry her hands off his
arm as she snuggled against him.  His attention focused on Shampoo's
death-grip and away from Mao-Mao.  Kasumi sat across the table with
Mao-Mao dozing in her lap.  Only his wings were visible above the
tabletop.  She stroked his back absently, eliciting the occasional flutter
from his wings.
	"Great-grandmother tell Shampoo all about Mao-Mao.  Mao-Mao very
old and very friendly!  Make good friend for Shampoo!"
	Nabiki snickered.
	"Better than Ranma?" she asked.
	"Is not better than airen, but is better than snobby girls in
town.  Mao-Mao listen and not think Shampoo stupid because I no talk in
good Japanese," Shampoo fired back.
	"How'd you get that thing out here without scaring everyone off?"
Ranma asked as he diligently pried at Shampoo's fingers.
	"Great-grandmother give Shampoo big blanket to put on Mao-Mao.
Cover Mao-Mao's wings and back.  Make Mao-Mao look silly, but it hide him
from people."
	"So what are you going to do with him?" Nodoka asked.
	Shampoo frowned.
	"Mao-Mao stay in Nekohanten.  Mao-Mao good friend of Shampoo and
even better friend for great-grandmother!  Great-grandmother so much
happier with Mao-Mao.  Even act strange with Mao-Mao sometimes.  It like
great-grandmother little again when she with Mao-Mao.  It funny, but it
good for great-grandmother," she said.
	Nadoka nodded.
	"You come visit Mao-Mao often, yes?  Mao-Mao likes to play with
people, become very lonely if nobody to play with."
	Nodoka and Kasumi laughed.
	"Of course, Shampoo.  Mao-Mao's absolutely adorable," Nadoka said,
giving the sleepy cat a gentle scratch below his chin.  Mao-Mao purred
louder and nuzzled Nodoka's hand.
	"I only have one question," Kasumi asked with a sheepish giggle.
"How do I get him off of me?  I think my legs are asleep."
	
	Nabiki sat at the kissaten nursing a cup of mocha.  She sat gazing
out the window of the little caf contemplating recent events of the week.
First and foremost, Shampoo had discovered a new "friend."  It was plain
to see that she was beginning to bother Ranma by that much less.  Not much
to Akane, but enough to make Ranma noticeably happier.  However, that
didn't concern her.  If anything it made her a little happier to know that
Akane wouldn't have as much trouble now that something else was occupying
some of Shampoo's attention.  On the other hand, that new "friend" didn't
like Akane much at all.  Not one bit, in fact.  Nabiki weighed the pros
and cons and had come to the decision that making money off the animal
wouldn't hurt.
	The problem was how to make money off of it.  Nobody would believe
her.  Tabloids would only buy pictures for so much, most of them not being
very interested - at least, nowhere near as interested as a sex-changing
aquaphobic martial artist.  There was little she could do to make any
money off the animal, and it made her upset to think that there was
something there that she couldn't turn into a money-making venture.
	"Am I losing my touch?" she asked herself quietly.
	As she sat there looking out the window, an attractive gaijin sat
down at the counter of the kissaten and ordered a cup of coffee.  She
watched out of the corner of her eye as he said something in English as he
waited for the coffee.  When the waiter came back, he pulled out several
photos and showed them to the waiter.
	"Have you seen this animal around?  Any animal like this?"
	"No!  What kind of beast would that be?  This is Nerima, and while
odd things happen here, I don't think anything like that has ever come
through!"
	"Thank you.  May I speak to your manager?"
	The waiter bowed politely and returned a short while later with
the manager.  The gaijin carried out the same conversation and the same
photos.  It struck Nabiki as odd.  The man didn't look like an
investigator of any kind.  He wore a pair of khaki slacks, comfortable
shoes, and a white silk shirt.  The small round sunglasses he wore and the
trimmed goatee made him look more like a businessman rather than an
investigator.  It reeked of profit possibilities.
	As the stranger left the kissaten, Nabiki casually finished her
mocha, paid her bill and followed him out the door.

	"You can stop following me now," Dominic called out over his
shoulder.  He didn't hear a response.
	"I'm talking to you, young lady, the one with the jeans and the
red and white striped shirt," he continued.
	Nabiki stepped out from a sidewalk stand selling bowls of
yakisoba.  She had an embarrassed smile on her face.
	"How could you tell?"
	"I'm very good at knowing what goes on around me.  I've noticed
you trailing me for the last six restaurants, two coffeehouses and the
shopping mall."
	"Wow," she whispered, "you're good!"
	"I have to be in my line of business.  Just like you aren't as
dumb as you're playing right now.  I'm a shrewd person and I don't like
being toyed with."
	Nabiki dropped the "I'm impressed" act immediately.
	"So you know about the business."
	"Well, I can tell you seem to be of the sort that's in the
business of knowing things.  Have you seen this thing around, or anything
like it?"
	Dominic handed over two small drawings and a series of manipulated
photos.  All involved something that looked like a lion with wings and
claws.  She hid her surprise and amusement as best she could.
	"I don't think so.  They seem awfully familiar, though."
	"Really?" Dominic asked.  "That's great!"
	"What do you need to know for?  Are you working for the zoo?"
	"Well, not exactly.  I'm from the United Kingdom.  I'm a UN
ecologist, and I think this may be the mythological manticore.  It's
fairly dangerous, but there's a team I'm with that's trying to track it
down.  We've been hearing reports of it from China, and we think this may
be the real thing."
	Nabiki looked him over.
	"Ecologist?  You expect me to believe that?  With those kind of
clothes?"
	Dominic fished out his wallet and flipped it open to show a UN
identification card.
	"Could have been forged."
	"Would you like to call the home office?" he said as he offered a
cellular phone.
	"Could be rigged."
	Dominic fished around in his pocket and pulled out a folded piece
of paper.
	"Look, your government gave me this slip so I wouldn't get
arrested for poking about.  Take a look."
	Nabiki looked over the piece of paper.  For all intents and
purposes, it looked like the real thing.  She held it to the light.  The
corresponding watermark was in the paper.  It was an official government
document, but she was still slightly suspicious.
	"Okay, if you're really a UN official, then why do you want to
find this manticore?"
	"First, it's dangerous.  We don't want innocent people to get
hurt.  Second, this is a valuable animal that could be studied.  Think of
the possible zoological accomplishments that could be made!  There are a
hundred thousand questions that this animal could answer!"
	"So you're going to shoot it and stuff it?"
	"Of course not!  I'm an ecologist, not a game hunter!  We've got a
team of ecologists around.  We think we can drug it and then take it alive
to the nearby zoo.  We're planning on keeping it there until we can figure
out a way to transport it to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C."
	Nabiki raised an eyebrow.
	"Meet me at the kissaten over there," she said, pointing to one
across the street.  "Tomorrow at noon.  Sound good?"
	"Perfect.  I can bring the others?"
	"If you want, but I prefer working one on one."
	Dominic smiled.
	"Are you asking me on a date?"
	"Of course not," Nabiki said evenly.  "This is business."
	Dominic laughed and put up his hands defensively.
	"You've got me there.  It's all business then.  Tomorrow at noon."
	Dominic offered his hand.  Nabiki smiled and shook it.
	"Deal," she said.

	Shampoo sat in the kitchen playing with Mao-Mao again.  Despite
his size, he still seemed to enjoy the same games cats one tenth his size
enjoyed.  Shampoo tugged at the two spherical bells that she used to tie
her hair with.  The elastic was tied to some string which she tugged this
way and that.  The tinkling always attracted Mao-Mao's attention, making
him pounce here and there, trying to catch the tinkling bells.  Shampoo
laughed as Mao-Mao pounced and rolled clumsily searching for the bells.
Cologne had told her about his fondness for such games before she left to
speak with a customer.
	"I see little Lin has grown," Cologne said with a smile.
	The slim lady pushed her large circular glasses back onto the
bridge of her nose and smiled.  She'd met Cologne during her pregnancy,
her constant cravings for Chinese food sending her to the restaurant time
and time again.  Both had become good acquaintances and near friends over
their talks over cups of hot tea.
	"She's grown a great deal.  Tomorrow will be her eighth birthday.
I've been searching everywhere for the perfect gift for her, but she only
seems to want something to take home as a pet," she said.
	Cologne laughed.
	"Mrs. Fuyatsuya, you know as well as I that ones so young are
fascinated by animals that are cute and furry."
	Mrs. Fuyatsuya laughed.
	"I could tell you all about it.  Lin always wants to come to work
with me to see the animals.  I can never say no to her, and it always gets
me into trouble.  The last time I brought her to the zoo with me, she
almost found her way into the lion's den.  I was scared half to death!"
Mrs. Fuyatsuya said with a laugh.
	"Surely someone as affluent as yourself could afford someone to
stay at the house to watch over her."
	"My husband is very stubborn about it.  He says that the child of
a politician undergoes too much scrutiny.  A nanny would never work.  They
would have some dark secret or something or the other that would mar his
record," the woman said with a wry grin.
	Cologne smiled.  She turned and nodded to a departing customer,
noting the restaurant had finished its lunch rush leaving her alone with
her friend.  Cologne turned back to Lin's mother.
	"So what are you doing today?"
	"I've taken a few days off to watch over her.  A friend has been
kind enough to look out for her before, but I'd like to spend some time
with my daughter."
	Cologne nodded in agreement.
	"Wanna see the aminals!" Lin shouted as she tugged at her mother's
skirt.
	"I'm sure you'll get to see some today," Mrs. Fuyatsuya said with
a smile.

	Mousse walked into the kitchen, his arms loaded with vegetables..
	"Aren't you going to help?" he asked in Mandarin.
	"It's my job to play with Mao-Mao, again.  Great-grandmother said
she doesn't want anyone to know about Mao-Mao, and as long as he is out of
sight, nothing bad should happen."
	"Shampoo, if you have so much free time, why won't you go out on a
date with me?  You know I can love you more than Mao-Mao can!"
	Shampoo snickered.
	"Because I love Mao-Mao more than you," she said, turning to the
big cat.  She rubbed her cheek against his face as Mao-Mao nuzzled her
lovingly.  "Isn't that right you big fuzzy," she cooed.
	Mousse made a bland face.
	"I can't see what's so amusing about him.  He's just a cat that's
had problems with Jusenkyo."
	"Why don't you try playing with him?"
	Mousse took the string from Shampoo skeptically.
	"Just don't let him actually catch the bells, Mousse.  Tug on the
string before he does," Shampoo commanded.
	Mousse watched in fascination as Mao-Mao reacted instantly every
time he tugged on the string.  He slowly became absorbed by Mao's play.
After a while, he turned to Shampoo.
	"Do you suppose, Mao knows the Neko-ken?  He is a cat after all,"
he said.
	Shampoo turned around from cleaning the vegetables.
	"Mousse! You're not supposed to let him catch the bells," she
admonished.
	Mousse turned to see Mao-Mao about to gnaw on them.
	""Don't worry, I'll just tug on the string," he said.
	Mousse gave a sharp tug on the string, stretching the band.
Mao-Mao's head snapped back in surprise at the sudden movement.
Instinctively he bit down on the string, severing it.  The elastic band
shot out from his paws, making the bells chime as it flew up and onto the
counter.
	"Mousse, why do you have to be so clumsy?" Shampoo asked
rhetorically.  She reached for the bells, but Mao-Mao bounded to the
counter first.  He jumped to put his paws on the table, scanning for the
bells.  After a short time, his paws slipped and he jumped back up again.
	"Mommy!  Mommy!  Big kitty!  Big kitty!" Lin shouted as she jerked
on her mother's skirt.
	Mrs. Fuyatsuya turned in surprise to see what appeared to be a
tiger's head slip down behind the counter separating the kitchen and the
dining area.
	"Was that a tiger?" she asked incredulously.
	Cologne snapped to attention.  She quickly hopped over to the
kitchen.
	"What's going on?!" she hissed under her breath.  "I told you to
keep Mao-Mao out of sight!"
	Shampoo was about to answer when Mao swatted the bells off the
counter and into the dining area.
	"Oh no," Cologne groaned as Mao-Mao instantly dashed out to find
the bells.
	A shriek pierced the restaurant.
	Shampoo quickly followed her great-grandmother out into the dining
area to see Mrs. Fuyatsuya hiding behind a table.  Lin laughed innocently
as she jingled the bells in front of Mao-Mao.  Mao-Mao oblivious to the
danger batted at Lin's hand trying to get the bells.
	Cologne rushed to Mrs. Fuyatsuya's side.
	"Please do not scream!  It will upset him."
	Mrs. Fuyatsuya clutched Cologne's arms with a disquietingly strong
grip.
	"What is that monster?!  I will hold you personally responsible if
it eats my daughter!" she hissed in a panicked voice.
	The two women watched in horror as Mao stared at the young girl.
He let out a loud roar at the little girl.  Completely unfazed the little
girl screamed back at Mao-Mao.  The cat took a step back confused as the
little girl ran up to him and tried roaring at him again.  Mao-Mao swatted
her in the side.  Lin swatted him back.  Mao stared as the little girl
suddenly wrapped her arms around him in a fierce hug.
	"Kitty!" she giggled.  "Kity-kitty!"
	Lin rubbed her face into Mao-Mao's fur coat and scratched him all
over.  Mao seemed to smile as she inadvertently scratched all his favorite
spots.  He flopped to the ground with a loud "whoosh" and purred loudly.
Lin, completely enraptured by the seemingly magical animal, continued to
laugh and rub Mao-Mao's belly.  She earned an occasional twitch of Mao's
front leg.
	Cologne slowly emerged from behind the table, beckoning Mrs.
Fuyatsuya to do the same.
	"It-It didn't eat my baby," the mother whispered.
	"I can assure you, Mao-Mao only wished to play with your daughter.
Lin was in no harm whatsoever.  I was afraid you might do something rash
to scare the poor thing."
	Mrs. Fuyatsuya slowly approached Mao-Mao staring at him in
amazement.  Mao noticed her approach and rolled over to stand up.  He
noticed the woman reaching for something.  He instinctively nudged the
little girl with his head towards the older woman, who clutched her like a
lifeline.  Lin's mother gasped slightly at such an act of cognition.  Lin
simply broke free of her mother's embrace to return to petting Mao-Mao.
Mrs. Fuyatsuya stared at Mao-Mao's eyes, a sudden sense of awe and respect
filling her.
	"What is he?" she asked.  "In all my years as the head
veterinarian at the zoo, I've seen many strange animals pass through, but
this one is truly odd."
	"Suffice it to say, Mao-Mao is one of a kind.  He is a Chinese
animal produced from the magic that China hides within its expanse."
	Mrs. Fuyatsuya hesitantly reached a hand out.
	"Can I touch him?" she asked in a whisper.
	"By all means.  Mao-Mao relishes affection," Cologne said with a
laugh.
	As Lin's mother slowly became absorbed by Mao's appeal, Cologne
hopped to the front of the restaurant, closing the drapes and flipping
over the sign to mark the Nekohanten closed.
	"Mommy?" Cologne heard Lin ask.
	"Yes, sweetheart?" her mother replied.
	" I like this one.  Can I keep him?"

	Nabiki sat across from Dominic with a wry grin on her face.
	"I can't believe you got photos!"
	"Believe it."
	"And you said you know where this thing is living?"
	"I don't know.  I can't remember ever saying that."
	Dominic eyed her shrewdly.  
	"So what will it take?"
	"What will what take?"
	"What will it take for you to tell me?"
	"How much is it worth to you?"
	Dominic pulled out an attach case - a very large and heavy-looking
one..
	"Tell me everything," he said with a grin.

	Mousse walked outside the Nekohanten in the back alley.  Mao-Mao
walked around him, with what appeared to be a large jacket made just from
him draped about his back.  It covered him up quite well, making it harder
to tell he wasn't actually a tiger.  The sun was setting and business was
dying down.  It would be another hour before the dinner rush packed
everyone in.  His chore now was to walk Mao-Mao around to keep him from
becoming listless and frolicsome during the dinner hour.  It was a job
that Mousse actually found enjoyable.
	"C'mon," he said in Mandarin to the covered cat.  "Stick close to
me.  I don't want you to wander around too far.  Who knows what you'll run
up against."
	Mao-Mao looked at him quizzically.
	"Look," he said, kneeling down beside the cat, "if you run too
far, you'll lose this."  Mousse picked up a corner of the sheet.  "Then
you'll have all sorts of people running around screaming," he said,
pantomiming the statement for impact.  
	Mao-Mao seemed to understand giving a quiet "mrowr."  Mousse
smiled and nodded.  
	"Let's go then, shall we?"
	
	"What's that?!" Nabiki said as she pointed to the large bundle on
Dominic's back.
	"It's a hypodermic gun," Dominic replied smoothly.
	"Looks more like a hunting rifle."
	"Well, would you like to take a look?"
	Nabiki nodded her head.
	Dominic pulled out an empty hypodermic tube.  No needle was
attached to it, but from the size of the gun, Nabiki could imagine how
large it would be.
	"Where's the charge for the needle?"
	Dominic laughed.  He pulled the gun from his back and unwrapped it
a bit for Nabiki to see.
	"You don't know much about sedating animals, do you?  This thing
works on compressed air."  He patted a large solid block that was attached
to the bottom.  "This is the block of compressed air.  I pull the trigger
and it gets routed in a small burst to the chamber here," he said pointing
at a small area in the middle of the stock.  "Once it's there," he said,
"it gets decompressed and the tranquilizer gets shot out."
	Dominic grimaced.
	"Unfortunately, I don't have any real range with this weapon.
It's only air and air isn't nearly as good for shooting things.  You're
going to have to get me in pretty close."
	"Don't worry about it.  It's no problem," she replied.  "So where
are your friends?"
	"You see that big truck over on the other side of that building?"
Dominic said pointing at a nondescript truck.  A storefront and people
milling about it obscured it from view.
	"Yes, what about it?"
	"Well, all my friends are in there.  As soon as I give the signal
on this," he said patting a small headset, "they'll come a running in.  I
don't to get any more people involved than I have to.  I don't want anyone
to get hurt."
	Nabiki nodded.  A small voice in the back of her head screamed a
warning, but it was too faint for her to care.

	"That wasn't very eventful," Mousse said to Mao.  The cat mewed a
reply.  Mao-Mao seemed largely disinterested with his surroundings.
They'd walked for half an hour, by Mousse's time, and simply circled home.
They were walking through the alleyway behind the row of stores, when he
saw Nabiki and a strange man walking towards the restaurant.  The man
looked like he was carrying a large assault rifle from the glimpse Mousse
got as the gaijin unwrapped a little of it for Nabiki to see.
	"That's either a very odd boyfriend, or something's going to
happen at the Nekohanten," Mousse said quietly.  He looked at Mao-Mao and
jerked his head towards the restaurant.  Mao-Mao couldn't understand why
Mousse would suddenly run to the restaurant, but enjoyed the change of
pace, outrunning him to the back of the restaurant.  He watched curiously
as Mousse peered around a corner to watch what was going on.  Mousse
quietly shooed Mao-Mao back as the cat tried to put a head through between
Mousse's leg to see what was going on.

	"Akane!  Ranma!  What are you doing here?" Nabiki asked in
surprise.  She stared as her entire family stood outside the Nekohanten.
Even the Saotomes were there.
	"We thought we'd stop by for some food and pay the new guest here
a visit," Nodoka replied with a smile.  "We were wondering where you were,
and we left a note hoping you'd get it in time to join us."
	"Actually, Shampoo invited Ranma over for food.  She just wants
him for a date, and that jerk agreed," Akane said with a growl.  She
punctuated the statement with a jab to Ranma's ribs.  Ranma stumbled as
Akane forced the wind from his lungs.
	"I'm actually quite excited to see their friend again," Kasumi
said brightly.
	"Yeah, she even bought him a toy to play with," Ranma said with a
laugh.
	"So who's your friend there, Nabiki?" Ranma asked as he noticed
the stranger standing next to her.
	"This is a teacher that's transferring into Furinkan.  I ran met
him yesterday."
	Akane smiled.
	"Are you sure he isn't your boyfriend, Nabiki?" she asked
playfully.
	"I'm a little too old for a girl like her," Dominic said with a
chuckle.
	"What's with the bundle?" Ranma asked.
	Dominic laughed.
	"It's nothing.  I just practice a little kendo is all.
	"Isn't that a little small of a practice sword?" Akane asked.
	"Oh, I've taken it apart," Dominic replied smoothly.
	"You're not supposed to," Ranma replied.
	"I broke it during practice today."
	"Oh, okay," Ranma replied.  He sized up Dominic's form, noticing
he was built like a fighter.  "I practice martial arts too.  Wanna spar
sometime?  If you're teaching at Furinkan, you're going to need it."
	Dominic laughed.  
	"From what I've heard, I guess I will."
	Nabiki looked on with a touch of wonder at how easily Dominic
could fib his way through a situation.  She didn't have much time to
wonder, or to see how far Dominic could go.
	"Airen!" Shampoo shouted.
	The purple-haired Amazon latched onto Ranma with obvious zeal.
Ranma stumbled backwards from the sudden added weight, tripping and
falling backwards onto Kasumi.  As the three tumbled, Kasumi dropped a
small cloth ball to the ground.  With a tinkle and chime it rolled towards
the alleyway.
	Mousse barely got a curse out of his bad luck when Mao-Mao shot to
attention, bowling him over and into the street.  Everyone turned to see
him fall over in surprise, knocking his glasses off his head.
	"Mousse!  What are you doing here?!" Shampoo exclaimed in Chinese.
"You should be in the restaurant with our 'guest!'"
	Mousse tried to stutter an answer as he searched for his glasses.
	"Oh my!  Is that Mao-Mao over there?" Kasumi asked as she walked
over o pick up the cat toy she had.
	Cologne hopped out the door looking about at the people milling in
front of the restaurant.
	"What's going on?" she asked gruffly.  Her eyes spotted the toy in
Kasumi's hand, but before she could say anything, Kasumi tossed the ball
towards the alley.
	Everything went to hell.
	"Bloody Christ!" Dominic shouted as Mao-Mao jumped out from the
alleyway to pounce on the cat toy as it jingled towards him.  He quickly
unholstered and unwrapped the gun.
	"Everyone get down!" he bellowed and took quick aim.  Mao saw
Dominic and the image instantly registering in his mind.  The image of the
fire stick triggered a panic in him.  Adrenaline shot through his system
and he instantly spread his wings to fly away.
	Nabiki stared in shock as she realized Dominic hadn't loaded the
hypodermic needle in the gun.
	"The gun's real!" she exclaimed.
	"Glad you figured it out, princess," Dominic said with a chuckle
as the people flattened on the ground.
	He was pulling the trigger when Nabiki shoved him aside violently.
	"Sod it!" he cursed loudly in English as the shot went wide.
There was a sudden cry from Mao and from Mousse behind him.  Mao quickly
too to the sky, fleeing between buildings to reveal Mousse clutching his
shoulder, a deep red stain spreading quickly.
	Dominic quickly ran after the fleeing winged cat, jumping on
parked cars in his zeal.  Everyone else stared in shock.  Cologne was the
first to move, quickly moving to the rooftops to follow her childhood
friend.  Shampoo simply grabbed Ranma and followed suit.
	"Airen!  Must hurry to catch up to great-grandmother!" she shouted
as she dragged him along.
	Akane fumed as she watched Ranma disappear in the span of two
seconds.
	"That jerk!" she shouted.  She turned and instantly deflated.
Kasumi and Nodoka were tending to an injured Mousse, blood everywhere.
Nabiki was staring in shock at what had happened.  Genma and Soun simply
stared at Mousse and then Nabiki, alternating between the two.  Before
they could utter the question on everyone's mind, Akane did it for them.
She grabbed Nabiki by the arm and swung her around.
	"Would you mind telling me exactly what happened?" she asked in an
irritated voice.

And so the chase began.
	Mao flew through the alleys, trying his best to weave and roll as
many times as he could.  The man with the fire-stick chased him
relentlessly, that he could see, smell, and hear.  It took the danger away
from those he felt good with, those he knew he could live with.  So now,
he flew as fast as his body would take him away from them, and away from
the people he felt so close to.
	There was another exploding sound, and Mao could feel the heat and
wind from the fire-stick burping something at him again.  Fear crept over
him for the hundredth time again, chilling him, making his wings beat
faster and faster, his muscles straining harder and harder to move. 
	"Damn and blast!" Dominic shouted in English.  "Bloody harpy moves
like a bat
outta hell."
	Dominic jumped from his perch on the railing of a bridge and ran
full tilt after his quarry.  He could see the old crone and the teenage
friends that tried to interfere.
	"Bloody sods, all of them," he muttered.  They'd interfered once
before, but it didn't matter.  He'd have the freak of nature gutted and in
a bag before sundown.
	He ran after the beast, tracking it by the trail of blood drops it
spattered as it flapped its wings.

	Mao didn't knw where he was.  The city was a confusing morass of
steel, concrete and harsh smells.  He couldn't smell his mother, nor the
others he felt so close to.  He was frightened and as he landed clumsily
to the ground, he shied away into an alley by a large building of glass.
The reflective surfaces multiplied the people around him, making him quake
with fear.  
	People surrounding him were scattering, or stood transfixed,
pointing and screaming.
	"What the hell is that?!"
	"Call the police!"
	"Get a picture!"
	"It's a monster!"
	Mao heard it again and again.  The word echoed in his brain, the
one word he always heard that made him feel so afraid.  He couldn't
understand it, but he knew it was bad, and it hurt him terribly.  It
repeated itself over and over in his mind, "Monster!"
	Mao mewed pitifully.  His eyes were wide with fear, his ears and
tail pressed against his body.  His injured wing blaze with pain, but he
wrapped them around his body like a shield.  He backed away from the crowd
of pink-skinned creatures, crying out repeatedly.  Mao whirled in surprise
as he bumped into something solid.  He whirled about to peer past the
glass panel, seeing people plastered to the glass, pointing staring,
mouthing incomprehensible words.  Mao shut his eyes tightly, crying again
and again.
	"Mommy!  Mao-Mao!  Kitty is here!" cried a familiar voice.
	Mao's ears flipped up, alert and searching.  He oriented on the
high voice.  He saw a little pink-skinned creature worm through the crowd
of people, pointing at him and baring her teeth in a sign of familiarity.
It was the female creature he'd seen in the restaurant with his mother.
It was a kind one, and one that was good to him.  
	Mao took a hesitant step towards her, mewing pitifully and
uselessly flapping his hurt wing.  
	"Lin, please get back here!  What are you doing?" another familiar
voice called.  It was the large pink-skinned creature the little one
belonged to.  She burst through the circle of people, and gasped when she
saw Mao, looking at her with wide eyes, shaking in fear.
	"Mommy!  Mao-Mao is bleeding!  He's hurt!" the little one cried.
Tears started to roll down her face.  "Is he going to die, Mommy?"
	Mrs. Fuyatsuya dropped her shopping bags and knelt next to her
daughter.
	"No, he won't die, Lin.  He's just hurt," she said soothingly.
She turned a keen eye to Mao.  "What's wrong?" she asked him.
	People stared in wonder as Mao obligingly lay down on the ground,
on his stomach, spreading the injured wing painfully.  Mrs. Fuyatsuya
turned to look at the people around him.
	"Please don't be frightened, I know it looks bad, but it's not
dangerous.  It's just hurt and scared," she implored.
	"He's a good kitty-cat!  He likes to play and dance!" the little
girl said with a giggle.
	People crowded around them as Mrs. Fuyatsuya inspected the wing.
	"It looks like a clean puncture, here.  Have you been shot?" she
asked jokingly.
	Mao's eyes seemed to light up, trying to understand what she was
saying.  Mrs. Fuyatsuya gasped, surprised at the response.
	"Bad man?" she asked slowly.  She raised her arms in a mime of
shooting something.
	Mao mewed pitifully again and backed away in fear.  Mrs. Fuyatsuya
quickly held out a hand.
	"Oh, no.  I'm not going to shoot you.  Be Mao and stay still," she
cooed.
	Mao calmed down visibly and whimpered quietly as the woman brought
out some clothes from her bag.
	"I hate to soil these like this, but I don't seem to have much of
a choice here.  Good thing they were on sale," she said wistfully.
	Mao yelped at the pain of having his wing dressed.
	"So where's the rest of your friends, Mao?" Mrs. Fuyatsuya asked
with a smile.
	As if on cue, Shampoo and Ranma burst in, closely followed by
Cologne and Akane.
	"Long Mao!  Where are you?" Cologne asked frantically.
	"Restaurant lady!  Kitty's over here!" Lin shouted happily.  "Can
I keep him?"
	They quickly moved to kneel next to the injured cat.  Mao purred
happily at being reunited with his mother again.  He felt secure in their
presence.
	Cologne reached out a gnarled hand to scratch the calico animal
under a furry chin.  She admonsihed it in Chinese like a wayward child.
Mao seemed to smile happily, purring loudly.
	"You've seem to have gotten yourself into to trouble and out of it
again, you silly thing," she said with a smile.
	"Looks like troubles just about to start," Ranma said slowly
backing away from Mao.  People were backing away, making an aisle for a
man with a large gun to pass through.
	"Get away from the animal," a disgusting, yet familiar voice said
in accented Japanese.  The gun locked onto the injured cat.
	"Get away, and nobody gets hurt.  It's dangerous monster, and it
could snap at any moment."
	"It not dangerous, stupid barbarian," Shampoo spat in his face.
	Dominic ignored her.
	"Girl, if you'd like to discuss matters after I make sure this
animal is thoroughly dead, then that's fine by me."
	Mao looked at the Australian, growling loudly.  Cologne stood in
front of Mao, calm despite the tension in the air.  Once Mao saw the gun
pointed at him, he froze.  Fear overrode his hate and he curled inward,
making himself smaller.
	"If you wish the shoot the animal, you will have to shoot me
first."
	Dominic grumbled as he set the safety on the rifle and propped
himself up on it like a walking stick, the barrel pointing at the ground.
	"Lady, I don't know why you care about the dumb beast like you do,
but it's really getting in my way."
	"What do you know of Long Mao?" Cologne asked evenly.
	"I know enough about it to want to shoot the stupid animal,"
Dominic said exasperated.  "Stupid git," he muttered in English, under his
breath.
	"Why do you think this animal would kill anything?"
	"Because it's a freak!  All animals act like animals because the
don't know any better!  It's his natural instinct to scratch the living
daylights out of some sod and eat him.  That's why I'm going to shoot the
stupid furball and that's why I'm going to do it even if you don't get out
of my way," Dominic said heatedly.
	Cologne regarded him coldly.
	"This animal, as you so blandly put it, is much more intelligent
than you think, or even than you are.  It's only fault was being hungry
and frightened.  Wouldn't you try to save yourself if someone pointed a
gun at you?  Wouldn't you seek food if you were hungry?"
	"That doesn't mean is okay to kill people!  That's out and out
murder!"
	"It's self-defense."
	"No it isn't!  The beast ate those people!"
	"Half-ate if I recall the new report correctly," Cologne said
amused.
	Dominic angrily waved a finger at her.
	"Don't play high and mighty with me, you old hag.  This animal has
been put on a list of things that I am going to shoot because they told me
to, and because I like it.  It's my job, and I'm going to continue doing
my job."
	"You don't even care if it has feelings?"
	"It doesn't have feelings!  Where do you stupid animal-rights
bastards come from?  Who the hell told you it had feelings?  It has none,
lady!  It's just a dumb animal that crawled out of some circus freak show,
and now it's going to die because it was too good for its home."
	Cologne looked at him evenly.
	"Mao-Mao is not an animal."
	"Mao-Mao," Dominic said mockingly, "is a stupid beast that doesn't
even look right.  It's a freak.  It's a freak and a violent one at that.
Now step aside so I can plug the little mongrel."
	"You think you're so high and mighty because someone told you it
was okay to shoot him."
	"I think you're missing out an a big point.  Not only did someone
in a high position tell me to shoot the stupid thing, I like shooting
animals.  It's my job.  It's my hobby.  It's entertaining.  Not only that,
but I do it because God gave me the right to do it.  If God didn't want me
shooting animals he would have given them guns.  I'm a human being, and
I'm at the top of the food chain.  Maybe you've heard of it?
	"Look lady, maybe you didn't go to school where you come from, but
I did.  I went through lots of school, and if there's one thing I've got
it's a good education.  Now my education tells me, I'm a hell of a lot
better suited to live on this planet than that mangy beast you're standing
in front of.  I've got clothes to wear, a house to live in and a way to
adjust my own environment.  That thing behind you runs about naked as a
lark, can't communicate to anything or anyone worth a damn and lives its
life without thinking aobut the next day.  I am superior to that thing
cowering behind you in every single way.  If there's one thing I have that
that thing doesn't-"
	"It's an ego bigger than life," Ranma interrupted.
	"I'll deal with you later," Dominic said evenly at Ranma.  "I'd
like to see you try your silly martial arts hocus pocus on the end of my
pistol."
	Cologne snorted derisively.
	"So you think that as a man, you have more reason to live than
Mao-Mao?"
	"What the hell does he do to contribute to society?  Live in a
zoo?  Entertain little children?  A clown could do all those things!  Of
course I have more reason to live than that animal!  If God didn't intend
for that to be, I would be the animal and that thing would be the one
hunting me."
	"Fine, lady.  You win this time.  You get to protect your pet
Frankenstein there one more day.  You better watch it carefully, because
the next time I get a chance, I'm going to blow that things fanny clean
off," Dominic said darkly.
	Cologne scoffed as Dominic turned away, hefting his gun on his
shoulder.  She turned and walked over to Shampoo and the others as the
crowd slowly dispersed.  Mao remained shaken and mewing where he was.
	"Glad that's over with," Ranma said as he saw Dominic stop to tie
a loose shoestring.  "Stupid gaijin could've gotten us all killed."
	"I'm just glad Mao-Mao's not hurt too badly.  That hunter couldn't
do anything here."
	Dominic got up and smiled.  Ranma heard a soft click and the whir
of a spring.  The Australian whipped around, a small pistol jumping from
his shirt sleeve into his hand.  There was a click as the safety flipped.
	"Surprise," he said with a smile.
	Lin threw herself in front of Mao.
	"No shoot!" she shouted.
	"Lin!" her mother cried out.
	Mao's eyes went wide as his brain registered and recognized the
small version of the fire sticks he feared.  The smell of the girl and her
fear flooded his nose.  Mao could feel her heart beating wildly, her body
shaking violently, and he felt his instincts take over.  He heaved Lin to
the side with his head, out of the way of the gun.
	"Good boy," Dominic said with a smile.
	The sound of the gun filled Cologne with a sense of fear and
sadness.
	"No!" she screamed in Chinese.  She watched helplessly as Mao
turned to flee and was droped by the bullet.  A dark red stain started to
creep out from his twitching body.
	"Someone call an ambulance!  Now!" Mrs. Fuyatsuya commanded.
	"You bastard!" Ranma growled.  A swift kick to the wrist sent
Dominic's gun flying.  Dominc grunted as Ranma's left fist buried itself
in his stomach.  Ranma delt a swift kick to the Australian's face.
Dominic flew backwards to land on his back.  He held his face in pain.
	"Bloody Jap!" he cursed in English.
	The instant he saw Mao start to rise, slowly, painfully, Dominic's
world seemed to crawl to a halt.  For the first time, he felt a sudden awe
and fear for the animal that now glared at him, its cold green eyes
chilling him to the bone.  Mao was upon Dominic's form like lightning.
Dominic didn't have time to think, only to frantically put an arm up in
defense as Mao appeared in his face, fangs bared and claws flashing.
Dominc felt the teeth puncture his right forearm.  The pain was immense,
blinding him as he desperately reached for a second pistol tucked in a
holster in his shirt.  He felt cold clawed talons tearing his shirt to
shred, slicing his skin open like knives.  More claws punctured his thigh
and leg, holding him down like meathooks, gripping him tightly.
	Everyone watched in shock as they watched Mao savagely bite and
tear away at Dominic.  Blood seemed to flow and spray everywhere as
Dominic thrashed wildly, trying to dislodge Mao from his berserker
rampage.  Suddenly, the fierce growling and hissing from Mao stopped.  Two
shots abruptly cut off all the noise, lowering a blanket of silence.
	Ranma saw two small jets of red come from Mao's back, before
slowly spreading a red stain across his fur and scales.  Mao slumped to
the ground whining softly and mewing.  
	Dominic shakily got to his feet and pointed the gun at Mao's
suffering body.
	"Die you bloody bastard!  Die!" he shouted.
	He didn't have a chance to fire.
	"You bad man!" Lin screamed before anyone could react.  She ran as
fast as she could at Dominic crying loudly.  She savagely clamped her
teeth into an injured leg.  Dominic roared in pain and backhanded the girl
away from him.  She fell to the ground sobbing and cowering. 
	"Barbarian dog," Shampoo growled in Chinese.  An echo reverberated
off the glass windows of the buildings as Shampoo's fist impacted
Dominic's face.  The force turned him a full circle before he dropped to
the ground, the gun falling useless next to him.
	Ranma stood stunned as Shampoo rushed by her great-grandmother
next to the bleeding cat.
	"Mao, please don't die," Cologne whispered.  Her eyes were
brimming with tears, the look of a lost child in them.
	Shampoo could only watch silently as her great-grandmother wept
openly and tried to comfort Mao-Mao's trembling body.  He mewed quietly,
and licked her hand.  His eyes were dull from the pain.  He struggled to
stand, despite the pain, only to jostle himself and bleed more profusely.
Shampoo tried to quiet Mao as Cologne absentmindedly caressed the soft fur
on Mao's face.  His lips and muzzle were staned with blood.
	Nobody heard the ambulance arrive.  Cologne and Shampoo watched
numbly as Mrs. Fuyatsuya directed the medics in taking away Mao's body.
Before he was lifted away, Mao turned once to Cologne.  Their eyes met,
and for an instance, his eyes became clear again.
	"Ma ma," he mewed softly.  He let out a final rushing breath with
a loud "whuf" and fell to the stretcher.
	Cologne covered her face with trembling hands and cried.  Shampoo
tried to comfort her great-grandmother as best she could, but knew Cologne
had lost her childhood friend, and her childhood, again.


*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*	*
Ethan Tsai
1 N. College Street
Northfield, MN 55057

TSAIE@Gridley.ACNS.Carleton.edu
http://public.carleton.edu/~tsaie/ethan.html