continued from Part 6 (1/2)
**********************************************************************
Part 6#:
**********************************************************************
Back in the Tendo house, Nabiki entered the kitchen to find Kasumi
happily humming as she prepared dinner. Suddenly, Nabiki noticed a
white towel on the countertop moving all on its own. As she stepped
closer to get a better look, a small black cat peeked out from
underneath the towel. It blinked big smoky-blue eyes at her and
meowed cheerfully.
"Kasumi! What are you doing with a cat in the house!?"
"The poor thing fell into the koi pond."
"Oh great. You KNOW how Ranma's going to react if he sees this
little furball."
"But I couldn't just leave him in the water, Nabiki. The koi were
so unhappy. They were harassing him."
"Is that ALL you can worry about? A kitty-cat getting molested
by some fish? Kasumi...." Nabiki buried her face in her hands.
(Why do I even bother?)
Nabiki snatched the cat up by the scruff of its neck and headed
for the kitchen door. Instead of complaining about the rough
treatment, it purred loudly. Normally, Nabiki Tendo was not very
susceptible to cuteness, but this time, she somehow couldn't quite
bring herself to throw the little beast out of the house... at least,
not right away.
"Oh, all right, Kasumi! You win. Just make sure you get the
furball out of here before Ranma comes back, okay?"
The little feline made a little chirping noise and gnawed
playfully on Nabiki's hand.
**********************************************************************
Part 6#:
**********************************************************************
A worried trio returned to the Tendo compound late that afternoon.
-----------------------------------
Shampoo was saddened by her banishment from the Neko-hanten. It
wasn't an unexpected decision on Cologne's part, but it had still been
a shock when it actually happened. Perhaps she had been foolishly
hoping for some miracle to save her the trouble of actually defying
her great grandmother. The only good thing was that Cologne had not
seemed all that angry. Instead, the Amazon Elder had looked resigned,
thoughtful,... and tired.
-----------------------------------
Akane kept thinking about Ranma's fight with Dan Xin and her
goons. The battle had been normal enough at first, with Ranma
effortlessly dodging the women's attacks. But as soon as Dan Xin had
pulled out her sword, everything had changed. Ranma's response had
been instant and devastating.
(I've never seen him move so fast before! One second, he's over
thirty or forty feet away. The next instant, he's right next to me
and BEHIND Dan Xin. He didn't go for the sword... he actually kicked
her in the ribs! And he wasn't holding back... I HEARD her ribs snap.
If Cologne hadn't been around... if Dan Xin hadn't run away,... who
knows how much further he would've gone....)
Right off the top of her head, Akane couldn't remember a time
where Ranma had deliberately struck a woman in combat with a serious
intent to injure... a normal human woman, that is.
(Rouge doesn't count. She's some weird three-headed demon half
the time....)
Akane wasn't sure what bothered her the most -- the fact that
Ranma had actually struck Dan Xin or the fact that he didn't seem to
care that he had really tried to hurt her.
(It's like his behavior from yesterday morning is somehow carrying
over, even though he's no longer in his cat-mode. That's never
happened before.)
-----------------------------------
Akane was wrong in assuming that Ranma was not bothered by his
attack on Dan Xin. He was worried all right... worried because he
didn't feel more upset.
/ Why be upset?
/ Dan Xin hurt Akane.
/ I stopped her.
/ It was as simple as that....
....and he still couldn't quite shake the odd, tantalizing sense
of freedom that lingered at the edges of his mind.
-----------------------------------
They made their way to the kitchen where Kasumi was busy cooking
dinner. Wiping her hands on a towel, the eldest Tendo daughter
murmured, "You're back. How are your parents doing, Ranma?"
He shrugged, "They're okay. Dr. Tofu says that Pop should be able
to leave the hospital in a day or two. Mom probably needs to stay a
little while longer until her lungs get a bit stronger. The last
thing she needs is to catch a cold or pneumonia on top of all that
smoke inhalation."
"Oh dear."
Akane said, "Kasumi, Shampoo's going to be staying with us for a
little while."
Kasumi didn't bother to ask the reason why, but simply skipped to
more practical matters. "How nice. But where will you sleep?
Happosai's gone at the moment, but I really don't think you should use
that room...."
"Uh, maybe Shampoo sleep in dojo?" the Amazon suggested
tentatively.
"I don't mind sharing my bedroom, Shampoo. That is, if you don't
mind sleeping on the floor," Akane said.
"Shampoo not want to impose...," she said in a subdued voice.
Before Akane could argue further, Kasumi said, "Ranma, could you
take one of the spare futons out to the dojo?"
"Sure thing."
After he left the kitchen, Akane said in a worried voice, "Are
you're feeling okay, Shampoo?"
"Shampoo is a little upset, but it okay. Shampoo deal with it."
She shrugged, but it was clear that she was feeling very depressed.
"I was going to take a bath, but if you need talk...."
The Amazon girl smiled faintly. "Is good idea to talk, but no big
hurry. Shampoo wait after Akane's bath."
"Okay, see you later."
As Akane headed off to the bathroom, Nabiki wandered into the
kitchen and said, "What's up?"
Kasumi smiled pleasantly and said, "Isn't it nice? Shampoo's
going to staying with us for the next several days."
Observing the unhappy look on the Amazon girl's face, Nabiki
refrained from her usual comments about freeloaders. "So what
happened, Shampoo?"
The girl sighed wearily. "Shampoo tell great grandmother that
Shampoo no longer want to marry Ranma. Great grandmother throw
Shampoo out of Neko-hanten."
"Hmmm." Nabiki started, then glanced around quickly. "Is Ranma
back, too?"
Kasumi has gone back to washing vegetables in the sink. "Yes.
He's moving a futon out to the dojo for Shampoo."
"Uh, Kasumi, you DID remember to get rid of that cat, right?"
"Of course, Nabiki. I put the poor thing out into the street and
closed the gate."
Shampoo cocked her head slightly. "Cat?"
"Yeah. Kasumi rescued this little cat from the koi pond. Cute
little furball, but after what happened yesterday, I didn't want Ranma
to come home and...."
"Aiyah! Bad thing if Ranma see cat so soon after Neko-ken!"
-----------------------------------
After dumping the futon and some sheets in a corner of the dojo,
Ranma walked outside and sat down on the dojo's steps.
(That crazy Dan Xin. That look in her eyes. She's not finished
by a long shot. I wonder what she'll do next.)
He shook his head. (And what up with Shampoo? What made her
change her mind about trying to marry me so suddenly? I can't figure
it out. It's sort of nice that I don't have to worry about her
glomping me all the time and getting Akane mad, but I just don't get
it. What could have possibly made her flat out defy Cologne, of all
people, and chuck aside all those centuries of that wacky Amazon
tradition? I mean, it's good for me and Akane, but I hope she doesn't
get into serious trouble over this. It's bad enough having to worry
about this Dan Xin character. Cologne said something about death.
Does that mean that the Amazons are going to come gunning for
Shampoo?)
He got up and dusted his pants. (Maybe I should just ask her. I
should probably also ask her a few more questions about Dan Xin. She
probably has a better idea what her cousin's capable of.)
Ranma had only taken a step or two toward the dojo's door when he
abruptly froze. His skin crawled as he heard a familiar evil chuckle
behind him.
(Oh man, not him. Not now. I can't deal with this....)
He slowly turned around to see the slim male figure standing in
the Tendos' yard. "Oh hell. Not you again."
Tarou gave him a malicious grin. "What's the problem, fem-boy?
You don't look happy to see me."
"I'm not. Damn it, just go away and leave me alone!"
Tarou snorted. "You're going to have to try a lot harder than
that."
Ranma muttered, "What the hell do you want, Pantyhose?"
The young man with the unfortunate name smiled dangerously. One
could almost see him putting a mark on some mental scoreboard. "I'm
looking for Happosai, of course."
Ranma shrugged, "The last time I saw him, he was headed for
downtown Tokyo by air express. So why don't you follow his example
and buzz off!"
Tarou folded his arms and smirked. "Why should I waste my time
chasing him all over town? He always comes back here. I think I'll
just settle down and wait for him to return."
"Like hell you will!" Ranma stalked down the steps toward the
most infuriating of his rivals. Stopping a few steps away, he
snarled, "Listen. I've had a REALLY lousy day so far! I've found out
that my parents were nearly killed in a house fire, I've had Kodachi
Kuno pawing all over me, Akane and I have been attacked by the goons
of some crazy ex-Amazon, and I won't even begin to describe what
happened to me YESTERDAY! And now YOU show up. Why is it that every
time I see you, I end up getting the crap beat out of me...!"
Tarou shrugged. "Like that's my fault?"
"Of course it's your fault! You're always coming up with some
kooky scheme to force Happosai to change your stupid name. And if
it's not that, you're always managing to get me tangled up in fights
with YOUR enemies! I've got enough problems of my own! I don't need
to deal with yours as well!"
"Heh. I have a very simple solution to most of your problems.
The next time someone challenges you, give up."
"Like hell I will!"
With a contemptuous stare, Tarou said, "You can't have it both
ways, fem-boy. You want the reputation, you're going to have to fight
to keep it... if you can. So don't whine to me about having too much
trouble in your life."
The longer Tarou stood there in the Tendos' yard, the more
irritated Ranma felt. This was his home. Tarou didn't belong here.
"Fine. A lot of my trouble is my own fault. But that doesn't
mean I should have to deal with YOUR shit as well. Why can't you get
it through your head? That old pervert is never, NEVER going to
change your name. Just give it up and leave us out of it!"
Tarou smiled nastily. "Fine. Just hand over the little bastard
and I'll be glad to leave you alone... for now."
"Have you been listening to a DAMN thing I've said, Pantyhose?
He's NOT here! So quit bugging me! You better leave me alone or
you're going to get HURT!"
Tarou looked totally unimpressed. "Oh, is that supposed to scare
me, fem-boy?"
Ranma felt his hands curling slightly as he came steadily closer
to losing his temper. He whispered ominously, "It should. It really
should."
Tarou cocked his head slightly. "Hmm. Pretty good try. A nicely
understated tone of menace and all that. So... what is a
crossdressing idiot like you trying to hide?"
"You JERK! I'm not trying to hide anythin....!" Ranma's voice
abruptly trailed off as he went totally rigid.
Tarou raised an eyebrow as he watched the color drain from Ranma's
face and his eyes widen in horror. Unsure whether Ranma's fear was
genuine or just some sort of bizarre sneak trick, Tarou quickly
glanced around. Nothing.
> Meow <
With growing fascination, Tarou watched Ranma look down at his
feet... ever so slowly. Following his gaze, all he saw was a small,
fuzzy black cat enthusiastically rubbing itself against Ranma's bare
ankles.
"GYAAHHHHH!!!!"
Ranma's scream made Tarou reflexively take up a defensive stance.
The pig-tailed young man leapt away from the feline and cowered
against the dojo wall, shaking like a leaf.
> Meow? <
The little feline gazed curiously at Ranma with its big blue eyes,
then took a step in his direction.
"N-n-noooo!!!"
"What the....?" Tarou reached down and picked up the small black
cat by the scruff of the neck. The cat objected strenuously to this
treatment, hissing and snarling ferociously.
"T-t-t-take it away!"
Tarou snickered as he ignored the cat's frantic struggles. "Don't
tell me you're afraid of this little fuzzball? Oh, this is TRULY
pathetic." He held up the cat and took a step in Ranma's direction.
The terrified martial artist flattened himself even more against the
dojo wall as he watched the howling, flailing cat coming ever closer.
"S-s-s-stop it!!!"
Tarou tossed his head back and really started to laugh.
-----------------------------------
"GYAAHHHHH!!!!"
The women in the kitchen all stiffened as they hear the masculine
scream of terror through the open window. Nabiki muttered, "What the
hell...?" She flung open the kitchen door and ran out, followed
closely by Shampoo. The sight that met their eyes chilled their
blood.
....Ranma cowering against the dojo wall....
....Tarou advancing with cat in hand, laughing....
"Shampoo! Get Akane! NOW!!!" Nabiki shouted.
"Right!" The Amazon bolted back into the house and raced to the
bathroom.
-----------------------------------
Akane had been half asleep in the tub when something woke her out
of her doze. It sounded like a muffled sound from outside... or was
it just her imagination? She was just about to stand up when Shampoo
burst into the inner bathroom.
Akane sputtered, "Shampoo! What do you think....?"
Shampoo grabbed Akane's arms and hauled her out of the tub.
Thrusting a bathrobe at Akane with one hand, she grabbed Akane's wrist
in the other and started to drag her toward the hallway.
"Come NOW!"
"What's....?"
The Amazon looked totally frantic. "Tarou here! He scaring Ranma
with cat!!!"
Akane gaped, then babbled, "Tarou's here! A cat!? Oh no...!"
"YES! Akane come NOW!"
Akane dashed into the hallway, only half dressed in the bathrobe.
Glancing around frantically, she shrieked, "Where are they!? Shampoo!
Where!?"
"This way!" Shampoo shoved Akane in the direction of the dojo.
-----------------------------------
Ranma's first instinct upon seeing the cat was to run as far and
as fast as possible, but then he heard Tarou's mocking laughter...
laughter which triggered a cascade of fury through his body. It
wasn't a blind berserker's rage, but rather a cold, calculating fury
that burned in the very depths of his soul.
He knew exactly what he wanted. He wanted to feel Tarou's bones
snapping between his teeth,... he wanted to sink his claws into raw
flesh,... he wanted to feel his rival's hot blood trickling down his
throat....
Torn between the desperate urge to flee and the overwhelming
desire to rip his despised rival apart, Ranma collapsed onto the
floor, clutching at his head and trembling.
-----------------------------------
"Tarou, stop it! Leave him alone!"
He turned at Nabiki's anxious shout. "And why should I do that?"
he said in a bored, disinterested voice.
"Damn it! You have no idea what you're doing to him!" Nabiki
quickly stepped between Tarou and the whimpering heap that was Ranma.
"And what exactly is that, Nabiki?"
-----------------------------------
A part of Ranma idly wondered if minotaurs had their own flavor.
Or would they taste just like beef? Would Tarou's tentacles taste
like the rest of him or would they really taste like octopus? Perhaps
the wings would have the favor of chicken....
-----------------------------------
Nabiki whirled around as soon as Ranma started to make gagging
noises.
(What the hell's going on? This is a hell of a lot worse than his
usual panic attack. Where are you, Akane!?)
The back door burst open as Akane -- dressed only in a half-open
bathrobe -- and Shampoo ran out into the yard. Akane headed straight
for Ranma while the Amazon rushed over to stand beside Nabiki, forming
a living wall between Tarou and Ranma.
"Ranma? Ranma!?" Akane cried frantically. Getting no response,
she gave Tarou a furious stare, then grabbed her fiance's shoulders
and started to drag him to the dojo door.
Although he acted as coolly as usual, Tarou was rather startled by
the sheer intensity of Ranma's reaction and the girls' frantic
response. He automatically hid his surprise by making a taunting
comment.
"So where's your backbone, fem-boy? Now you need GIRLS to save
your butt from the nasty old pussycat?"
To her horror, Akane sensed Ranma stiffen and start to pull away
from her grasp. Even worse, she felt -- rather than heard -- him
growl.
"SHAMPOO!!! GET OVER HERE!!!" shrieked Akane.
The Amazon whirled, ran over to Ranma, and grabbed a hold of his
feet. With Shampoo's help, Akane quickly carted Ranma into the dojo
like an oversized piece of baggage. The door slammed shut behind
them.
As Tarou watched the entire scene with an air of bemusement,
Nabiki took the opportunity to snatch the cat out of his grasp. As
soon as the little feline was in Nabiki's hands, it immediately
stopped struggling. The cat curled up in her arms where it panted and
trembled. Stroking the cat, Nabiki coldly watched Tarou.
With an air of nonchalance, Tarou said, "Well, no wonder fem-boy
isn't interested in marrying the cat-girl."
"Don't even try it."
Tarou smirked slightly. "Don't try what?"
"Don't even THINK of trying to take advantage of Ranma's cat
phobia."
"Why not?" He folded his arms and gave Nabiki an insolent stare.
"Because the consequences can be serious... deadly serious. I
mean it."
"So what happens?"
As she absently rubbed the black cat's ears, Nabiki said,
"Considering that you're one of Ranma's worst enemies, surely you
don't expect me to babble about his weak points."
Tarou sighed. "How much, Nabiki?"
Her eyes narrowed ominously as the little feline in her arms
flattened its ears and hissed at Tarou. "What do you mean by that?"
"Come on, Nabiki Tendo. How much are you charging for this little
secret?"
"You can't afford my price," she replied in a steely voice.
He shrugged. "Fine, but you can hardly expect me to ignore such
an obvious tactical advantage without good reason. And if you won't
tell me, then I guess that I'll just have to find out for myself."
"Tarou, I'm warning you...."
With an irritated glance, he drawled, "Warning me of what?"
"The situation here has changed... drastically." She heaved a
weary sigh. "Listen, yesterday Ranma came damn close to killing Ryoga
and Kuno."
Tarou raised an eyebrow. "What happened? Did pig-boy finally
manage to really piss the crossdresser off? That's no big surprise.
It was inevitable. But thanks for the warning."
"Tarou! Listen to me. You try a stunt like this again and you
could end up DEAD... and I am NOT exaggerating!" The little black cat
butted its head against Nabiki's chin and uttered soft, cooing noises,
as if trying to comfort her.
He gazed thoughtfully at Nabiki's grim expression. Usually, the
middle Tendo daughter enjoyed playing mind games. But this time, he
had an uncomfortable feeling that she wasn't dropping provocative
hints for the sheer fun of it. She seemed very serious indeed.
(Perhaps she's not exaggerating or lying. This thing with Ranma
that she keeps hinting about... it could explain why Happosai didn't
go after that mysterious document himself. Why, that sneak old
bastard!)
--------------------------------------
As soon as they entered the dojo, the two girls dumped Ranma on
the floor. Shampoo quickly closed the doors while Akane grabbed
Ranma's face and forced him to look at her. Gazing into his blank,
blue-gray eyes, she could see both fear and a frightening amount of
hostility. He hadn't slipped into his cat persona yet, but it was
close... very, very close.
"Ranma! Please, look at me!"
He reached up and his hands tightened around hers as she held his
head. Akane could tell that he was aware of her, but that wasn't
enough. He wasn't calming down. Every so often, Ranma would try to
turn his head or pull away, but she refused to let go of him. At the
moment, there was only one place he would be interested in going...
only one person he would be interested in going AFTER....
(I don't know if Tarou's capable of handling Ranma's regular
Neko-ken... but I really doubt that even Tarou's monster form is
capable of surviving the same sort of attacks that Ranma used
yesterday against Ryoga and Kuno.)
"Shampoo?" she said softly.
The Amazon girl had kept her distance from Ranma and Akane. She
didn't want to do anything which might set Ranma off or distract Akane
from her efforts to reach him.
"Yes?" Shampoo whispered back.
"Get me some cold water."
"Akane, you sure?"
"He knows me, but... I'm still losing him. Maybe changing into
his girl-form will be enough to snap him back to normal."
"Shampoo suppose we got no choice." However, she sounded
understandably unhappy with the idea.
"Please be careful, okay? If you can't find a closed container,
ask Kasumi to bring the water in."
"Right." Shampoo rose to her feet and walked toward the main
house and the kitchen. All her movements were slow and steady. It
apparently worked because Ranma paid no attention to her departure.
A few minutes later, she returned with a securely lidded kettle.
"What you want Shampoo to do?"
Akane tried to ease one hand free, but Ranma refused to let go of
her. She took a deep breath and said, "You're going to have to do it,
Shampoo."
"Okay. Akane ready?"
The youngest Tendo daughter nodded.
Gingerly holding the open kettle, Shampoo flung the water away
from her and all over Akane and Ranma. As the cold water splashed all
over the two of them, Akane stared in fascination at her close-up view
of Ranma's transformation into his new female form.
She could see the subtle shifting of bone and the smoothing of
features that transformed a handsome young man's face into the face of
an equally beautiful young woman. But the hair and the eyes...
especially the eyes... remained unchanged. Ranma-chan's eyes were now
the exact same mutable blue-gray as the male Ranma's eyes. But for
the first time, Akane could see hidden depths in those eyes... a
complexity that enticed and begged for exploration....
Those beguiling eyes suddenly blinked. Ranma-chan released her
grip on Akane's hands and slowly shook her head in confusion.
"What the...?"
"Ranma? Are you all right?" Akane dazedly whispered.
Rubbing her forehead, Ranma-chan muttered, "Yeah. I... I think
so." She frowned, then pounded her fist on the wet floor. "Shit!"
"What's... wrong?"
"Tarou!" Ranma-chan's shoulders suddenly sagged. "Oh great! Now
he knows all about my fear of cats!"
It took a moment for Akane to shake off her bemusement and for the
implications to sink in. She turned pale and muttered, "Oh no...."
"'Oh no' is right. You can bet he's...." Ranma-chan stopped,
then said, "Uh... Akane?"
"Yes?"
She stared at Akane and slowly turned beet red. The hastily
donned bathrobe gaped open both above and below the loosely tied belt,
exposing most of Akane's breasts AND her lower body nearly up to her
bellybutton. Hastily turning her back, Ranma-chan muttered, "Don't
tell me you were running around in front of Tarou dressed like that!?"
"Dressed like what...?" Akane glanced down and blushed furiously.
She quickly tucked her legs together and pulled the robe closed.
(Good grief! I didn't even noticed! I was so upset, if Shampoo
hadn't given me the bathrobe...!)
Her face flaming with embarrassment, Akane smacked Ranma-chan on
the back of the head,... but not too hard.
"What did you do that for?" Ranma-chan complained.
"Why didn't you warn me!?" Akane wasn't really feeling angry. It
was more habit than anything else.
"Warn you? I only just noticed!"
"Oh sure...."
"Do you think.... Oh, never mind. That can wait. I think we need
to worry about Tarou first," Ranma-chan said quietly. She looked at
Akane. "I need to talk to him."
"Ranma, are you sure that's a good idea?"
"I've got to somehow convince him not to try something like this
again."
Akane sighed, "All right. But let me go out first and make sure
that cat's gone."
Ranma-chan twitched nervously. "Fine. You do that."
--------------------------------------
The door to the dojo suddenly slid open. The conversation between
Tarou and Nabiki came to a grinding halt as Akane, her bathrobe now
modestly closed, stepped out of the dojo.
"Akane, is Ranma...?" asked a worried Nabiki.
"He's okay. But he wants to talk to Tarou." Her eyes noticed the
small, fluffy black cat happily curled up in Nabiki's arms. "Oh no.
Don't tell me that this little creature caused all the trouble."
"That's right. Tell Ranma to wait until I come back." Nabiki ran
into the house. A few minutes later, she reappeared without the cat.
"What did you do with it?"
"Tucked it inside an empty laundry hamper and weighted down the
lid. It's not going anywhere."
Akane nodded. "All right, I'll tell Ranma."
During this conversation, Tarou glanced at his fingernails and
managed to look utterly bored.
A low female voice said, "You could have gotten yourself killed,
you idiot."
"That's what Nabiki keeps telling me, fem-...." Tarou's voice
choked off as a beautiful, black-haired young WOMAN emerged from the
shadows of the dojo's interior. Gone was the bouncy, annoyingly cute
red-haired girl. Ranma's female form was now as close in appearance
to the male Ranma as humanly possible -- hair and eye color, height,
age -- while still remaining female... a stunningly beautiful female
at that. Tarou was more than a little unnerved to realize that he
could barely keep himself from staring at Ranma-chan's perfectly
proportioned breasts which the clinging wet tank-top did absolutely
nothing to hide.
"What the hell happened to YOU!?" Tarou snapped.
None of the others could recall ever seeing Tarou looking so
visibly rattled.
Nabiki said sarcastically, "I told you that things have changed
around here. But did you believe me? No...."
"Cut it out, Nabiki," muttered Ranma-chan.
"ACHOOO!"
The pig-tailed young woman turned to look behind her and noticed
Akane sniffling loudly. She said, "Hey. Maybe you should go inside
and change."
"I'm all right...." Akane sneezed loudly again. "I don't think I
should leave you alone with HIM." She gave Tarou an angry look.
Tarou used his usual abrasive manner in order to cover the
uneasiness he felt. He smirked and said "If you think that fem-boy
here can't talk to me without you holding his hand, then by all means
stick around."
Ranma-chan started to turn back in Tarou's direction. Akane
hastily grabbed her arm and hissed, "Ranma!"
She patted Akane's hand. "Take it easy. I'll be fine as long as
Pantyhose here doesn't do anything STUPID."
Nabiki said, "Sis, the last thing we need is for you to get sick,
okay?"
"All right, all right. I'll be RIGHT back." Akane turned and
stalked back into the house.
Tarou said, "So... what happened? Did the old pervert hit you
with some Jusenkyo water? What is it this time? Spring of the
drowned...." His voice suddenly stopped.
(Hold it a minute! With the fem-boy looking like... like....)
Tarou's thoughts trailed off incoherently as his gaze involuntarily
wandered back to the vicinity of Ranma-chan's chest. It took him a
second to get his thoughts back on track. (....looking like THAT, why
isn't Happosai all over him?)
"Nope."
"No?"
"That's what I said, okay? I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do
with Jusenkyo. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine."
"You seem to be taking this rather well. Or have you just gotten
used to the idea of being a crossdresser for the rest of your life?"
"Listen. Being called 'fem-boy' or 'crossdresser' is the least of
my problems now."
Tarou gave Ranma-chan a sly grin. "In that case, I suppose I'll
just have to figure out a new name for you. How about 'scaredy-cat'?"
"Don't push your luck, Pantyhose," Ranma-chan said in a flat
voice.
Standing inconspicuously off to the side beside Shampoo, Nabiki
bit her lip and suppressed the urge to laugh as she watched Ranma-chan
absently pull off her tee-shirt. As Shampoo opened her mouth, Nabiki
quickly make a hushing gesture.
Tarou narrowed his eyes and snapped, "What do you think you're
DOING?"
Ranma-chan started to wring the water from her shirt. "What do
you THINK I'm doing? I'm soaking wet, if you haven't noticed."
Tarou couldn't help but notice the moisture gleaming on her bare
flesh. The damp tee-shirt had left nothing to the imagination, but
now that her shirt was off, he could see... everything. He felt a
bead of sweat slide down his neck.
In a low, furious voice, Tarou snarled, "I don't know what your
game is, but if you think you're going to...."
Ranma-chan jumped to her feet, apparently unaware that she was
totally naked above the waist. Flinging her still wet tee-shirt to
the ground in disgust, she put her hands on her hips and glared at
Tarou.
"What is your problem, Pantyhose? Will you just cool it!? I'm
not going to eat you!"
--------------------------------------
(end of Part 6)
**********************************************************************
Author's Notes:
Tentatively scheduled in Part 7 of Tiger Claw...
....a tense dinner at the Tendos....
....a few more suspicious accidents....
....Kuno gets some visitors....
....another restless night for everyone....
^_-
-----------------------------------------
CREDITS:
Additional inspiration from:
"The Whisper" by Queensryche
WEREWOLF: THE APOCALYPSE (and associated materials) by White Wolf
Publishing, Inc.;
TIGER CLAWS, copyrighted 1991 by Tiger Claws Production, Ltd.;
THE HIGHROAD TRILOGY series by Alis A. Rasmussen;
USHIO & TORA, copyrighted 1992 & 1993 by Kazuhiro
Fujita/Shogakukan;
REJAR by Dara Joy.
Additional fanfic mentions: ^_^
"Hearts of Ice" by Krista Perry and "Nekophobia" by David Eddy for
starting my obsessive interest in the neko-stuff.
Many thanks to my pre-readers, for their suggestions, critiques, and
support. ^_^
--------------------------------------------
madamhydra@aol.com /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/:E
http://members.aol.com/madamhydra/index.html