Permanent part 8
Undoing past wrongs...

	Ranma gasped as Mousse dropped the bag on the floor. He snarled
at Ranma as he shoved what was left of Shampoo at her face. Ranma went
cold with fear. �Look what you did to my beautiful Shampoo!� screamed
Mousse. In his hands was a scarred and weary looking cat. It mewled
pitifully and looked up at her. As its eyes met Ranma it burst to life
and struggled to be free of Mousses grip. It hissed and yowled angrily at
Ranma.
	�Saotome are you well?� asked Kuno never taking his eyes off the
deranged hidden weapons artist. 
	�Cat.� whispered Ranma as she backed away.
	�You killed her, by dropping her into the cursed springs of
Jusenkyo. By village law she was seen as killed. To change her back would
bring disgrace to her name and family. Only as a living corpse trapped in
that body can she exist and still remain part of the tribe!! She is but
an honored memory now!!!� roared Mousse as he stalked towards the
cowering Ranma. Mousse gently placed the animal on the ground and pulled
two long swords from his robes. �Now for this you die Saotome.� he said.
	Kuno stepped between them and frowned. �I still have need of him
alive. When our business is finished I will stand aside from this battle
of honor and love, not before.� said Kuno angrily.
	�Fool.� said Mousse with a laugh as he swung at Kuno with his
sword. Kuno lunged back and sliced at the boy�s weapons with his boken he
dodged two other strikes and placed his own weapon at Mousse�s throat.
Mousse stepped back and swiped at Kuno again this time striking his good
hand. Kuno cried out in pain and switched to his other clawed hand.
	�You are weak.� snorted Mousse as he raised his swords for the
killing blow.

	Ranma was having problems of her own. Shampoo was yowling and
stalking her angrily. Ranma could see the hatred burning in her eyes and
felt a chill run down her spine. She felt her back hit against a wall and
turned to see she was backed into a corner. �No.� she croaked. Shampoo
simply moved slowly towards her and growled.

	Nabiki sat in the living room and frowned. She had been trying to
read for almost fifteen minutes now and the noise from the dojo was
getting on her nerves. �I�ve had enough of this.� she muttered as she
stood and stomped off.
	�What was that about?� said Akane to Mr.P as they were distracted
from the soap opera on the television. Mr.P only shook his head. Akane
giggled and pet him on the head. Mr.P squealed happily.
	Soun watched the whole incident with mild interest. He turned to
see the panda roll its eyes and return to reading the paper. �I didn�t
see a thing.� muttered Soun to himself.
	
	Mousse began to thrust his swords into the back of  his
opponent's head. Kuno reacted quickly, he slashed up at Mousse with
blinding speed and struck him in the chin with his bokken. Mousse was
knocked up and back into a wall and dropped his blades as he landed on
the ground hard. �To challenge Kuno with the sword is to surrender before
you begin.� said the Kendoist smugly.
	Mousse groaned and stood shakily. �Then perhaps I should use
something else.�  He waved his arms at Kuno and shot dozens of weapons at
him Kuno�s arm became a blur of motion. Mousse stared at him hard and
growled as he realized he had grossly under estimated the Kendoist�s
abilities.
	Kuno looked at the mess of weapons on the ground and frowned. His
blade had been reduced to a stub from the impact of the attacks and he
was in trouble. Then he realized, "My arm is a weapon." Some of the blows
had struck his hand and it was unharmed. It was covered in scales and if
he could avoid any direct blows to it he could still win. However, his
opponent was obviously skilled in the use of many weapons, he would still
need a sword. �My skills have increased ten fold.� thought Kuno as he
stared at his arm for a moment while Mousse assessed him. He also felt
his back strain under the stress of his newly strengthened arm. He was
unsure of his new limits and that could be dangerous for him.
	Mousse started to move forward again.

	Ranma felt Shampoo�s stare and cringed under her gaze as she
stalked ever closer to her at her maddening slow pace. She reached three
feet away and jumped  onto the hapless girl. Ranma screamed as Shampoo
dug her claws into her neck and chest. She felt a familiar comfort
surround her.

	Nabiki threw the door to the dojo open and stared in shock at
what was going on. Weapons were strewn about and embedded in the walls.
Kuno was standing in the middle of the room with a long haired boy with
one eye and glasses stalking towards him. He also looked...different.
Ranma was apparently being attacked by a cat and was losing badly and all
of them were staring at her. She blurted out the first thing that came to
her mind. �Kuno-chan, what is that?� she said as she pointed at him.

	Mousse jumped at Kuno with a knife drawn and tackled him to the
floor. Kuno yelled in pain as he landed on the floor. He felt as if he
had crushed his back. Mousse reached back and held the knife in the air
clumsily. His eyes were blood shot and unclear. Then something slammed
into his face and he was knocked off the boy. �Meow!� said a voice.
	Mousse stood and glared at what had hit him. He fell to his knees
as he picked up the unconscious Shampoo from the ground. �NO!� he cried
desperately. He turned to face her attacker and was stunned to see Ranma
stalking him on her hands and knees. [What the-] he started to say in
Chinese when Ranma jumped at him. Then the world became a red blanket of
pain. He could remember nothing else.

	Kuno stood and watched in disbelief as Ranma easily defeated his
opponent in one blow. She had not even struck Mousse, she simply swat at
him and scars appeared on his body and his clothing was shred. Kuno
gasped in awe. Neko Ranma just sat on Mousse�s defeated body and yowled
as she bat his head around maliciously but playfully.
	�Gods.� said Kuno. �Saotome are you all right?�
	Ranma arched her back and hissed at Kuno threateningly. Kuno
simply backed away and laughed nervously.
	�Kuno you had better leave. She might decide you look like
dinner.� said Nabiki with a curious gaze at him and Ranma.
	�What?� said Kuno in mild suprise.
	�Look for yourself.� said Nabiki as she led him to a conveniently
nearby mirror.
	Kuno paled as he saw his reflection. He looked no different for
the most part his arm was the only real difference in his appearance. His
arm, and the ten food wide wings that had appeared on his back. They were
jet black and immense. �Amazing.� said Kuno with wide eyes as he flexed
his new muscles and moved the wings around clumsily.
	�Watch it Kuno-chan.� said Nabiki as she ducked out of the way of
one of them.
	�Apologies, but we have more pressing matters to attend.� said
Kuno.
	
	A high pitched but obviously male scream came from the
dojo.�Ranma NO!� cried another voice.
	Nabiki was the first to react. �Akane!� she gasped as she turned
and ran for the dojo. Kuno followed.
	
	Akane entered the dojo and was staring at it in disbelief. She
had never seen it like it was now. It was almost completely destroyed.
Near one wall Ranma was playing with his attacker cheerfully. Mousse woke
with a start and Ranma bit his throat. He started screaming as he
realized what was happening. Ranma was playing with her food before she
killed it. He started screaming hysterically as he tried to break her
light but firm grip on his throat. Ranma increased the pressure and
purred in delight at her playthings revival.
	�Ranma NO!� cried Akane as she stepped towards the pair. Ranma
dropped Mousse and looked at her blankly. Akane froze and backed away in
fear. �My god.� she thought. Ranma jumped towards her and she screamed.

	Moments after the scream Kuno ran into the dojo and stopped cold
Nabiki was already staring in disbelief. Ranma was sitting on her lap and
 purring loudly as she pet her. �Go hurry!� she whispered to Mousse as he
stood shakily and carefully cradled Shampoo in his arms. 
	Ranma eyed him as he stood and backed away. She was barely kept
at bay by Akane�s petting and soothing. She wanted to play with her meal
and kill it, but she also wanted to stay and get pet. The decision was
almost to much to bear. Mousse backed away slowly and crept towards the
door. �Make any sudden movements and I won�t be able to stop her.� warned
Akane as she tried to grasp what was happening in her own mind. After
Mousse was out of sight Ranma settled down and went to sleep.

	A few hours later...

	Ranma sat down at the table and looked at her meal cautiously.
The others had said nothing of what had happened during the fight but she
knew well enough. She also could not deny that Akane had stopped her.
That ment trouble for her own assessment of their relationship. �What was
that?� asked Akane finally.
	�Cat fist. A very powerful technique. Very unpleasant to learn.�
said Ranma silently.
	�Why didn�t you attack Akane?� asked Nabiki. Soun looked at Ranma
cautiously, she was dangerous to his family at the moment and he could
not have that in his home.
	�I don�t attack people I like. I think I see them as other cats.�
said Ranma quietly.
	�Other cats?� asked Kasumi in mild suprise.
	�Yes, basically the technique involves setting a fear of cats
that is so great that in order to escape it I become one mentally. I have
no memory of what happens when I�m like that.� said Ranma as she sank
deeper into her seat.
	�Then you don�t know what happened?� asked Akane relieved. Ranma
simply shook her head.
	Soun relaxed. It was good that she got on so well with his
daughters, he may have had to ask her to leave. He did not want to do
that, she had been through so much.
	�So, how much is it worth to keep this little phobia a secret?�
asked Nabiki coolly.
	�Nabiki!� cried Akane in shock.
	Nabiki smiled and took another bite of her meal. She felt it move
around in her mouth and she spit it back onto her plate.
	�Oh my! Is something wrong Nabiki?� asked Kasumi in suprise. She
couldn�t have someone not like her meals. It wasn�t proper.
	Nabiki looked at her plate in disgust as it crawled with grubs
and worms, Maggots filled her rice bowl.
	�How would you like to eat like that for the rest of your life?�
asked Ranma calmly. 
	Akane looked at Nabiki in suprise. She could not see anything
wrong with her food, but she was turning green.
	�You win.� choked Nabiki.
	�I thought so.� smirked Ranma as Nabiki ran for the bathroom.
	�Ranma what did you do?!� yelled Akane angrily.
	�I changed her mind.� said Ranma coolly as she finished her own
meal.
TbC...

Next time: Ranma�s apprentice.

	Fear not Mousse will return. I have plans for him and Cologne.
I have mastered the Dramatic cut away! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAA!
	Catbert25 The evil lord of  fanfics!



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