Here's part 2 of Neko Can't. As always please send C&C, ideas, etc. to
JLee100441@aol.com. Sadly this my be the only thing I'll be putting out for a
while. School is starting again and my dutys for the National Guard have now
almost doubled. (I'm now doing two weekends a month). Thus I'm cutting down on
the writing. I'll still be working on my stories, but at a slower pace. The
statis of my other stories are as follows.

Alternate Future: Part 10 is in the outline phase.

Nodoka's Daughter: Part 4 started, but currently at a stand still.

EVA/Jurassic Park crossover: The one I've worked on the most. However, it's my
longest one shot ever and won't be done for a while yet.

Other stories: Will come out when I get to them.

Oh well, on with the show!

________________________________________________________________

Neko Can't

By: James Lee
Story idea by: Gregg Sharp

Disclaimer: Nether Ranma 1/2 or Gold digger belongs to me. No money
is being made off this work of fanfiction.

I'd like to thank my pre-readers: Lord Talon, Metroanime, and MChase.

Lines like this <word> are spoken in Japanese in this chapter.

Part one can be found at:
http//members.aol.com/JLee100441/page/index.htm

Part 2

	"Hurry up Brit, they'll be here any minute." Yelled twelve year
old Gina Diggers. Today their father was coming home and he was
bringing their new little brother. Gina didn't know the whole story, but
apparently her father had helped some kid in the hospital. Then her father
decided to adopt the boy. Gina wasn't sure what to think of that. She
doubted her father was trying to replace them, so she decided to look
at it as a new experiment. She would take this Ranma under her wing
and make him into a straight A student, lest he become like her irresponsible
sister. Gina turned to see said sister enter the room yawning, no doubt
just waking up from one of her daily naps. Although her father said 
that Britanny slept so much because she was growing two bodies at
once, Gina suspected that half the time she was just slacking off.
	Eleven year old Britanny Diggers gave her sister an annoyed
glare. Still, she wanted to see her father and her new little brother. She
really didn't mind the adoption, after all, she herself was adopted. She
wondered what the boy would be like. All she really knew was that 
he was from Japan and that her father had helped him in the hospital
there. One thing she knew for sure though, was that she would have
to quickly take him under her wing. She didn't want him to become a
nerd like her sister. All the girl did now was study, study, and study 
some more, BORING. Being smart was one thing, but Gina was now
getting ready to start college. It was like she didn't know how to
have fun anymore. 
	The werecheetah checked her hair, fur, and tail; she wanted 
to make a good first impression. Gina looked at her sourly. "Can't 
you be in human form?"
	Last year Britanny had started taking on a hybrid form, sort
of a mix between her human and her cheetah form. Before she had 
only been able to be in either human or cheetah form, but now she 
preferred to be in the new hybrid form. The new form felt natural to 
her and had all the advantages of her human form without losing all 
the strength and speed of her quadruped form. "Not for another 
twenty-four hours. Besides, I like this form, so he might as well get 
use to it."
	"You mean used to his sister being weird?"
	"I'm not weird, I'm exotic."
	"That isn't what the other kids say."
	"Oh? How would you know? You're too busy being a nerd!"
	"Am not!"
	"Are too!"
	"Am not!"
	"Are too!"
	"Am not!"
	"Am not!"
	"Ar-Hey!"
	Mrs. Ivors sighed. She was the neighbor who had been 
watching over the two girls while their father was away. Mary Ivors 
had known the Diggers since they had moved in next door five years
ago, and had watched the girls often when Dr. Diggers was away.
She was now used to Britanny's odd appearance, as well as Gina's
sometimes strange inventions. Looking out the window, she saw a 
car pulling into the driveway. "Now girls stop, your father's home."

	Dr. Diggers and Ranma walked up to the mansion. Back in
Japan they had been unable to locate any of Ranma's family. A search
for his birth record had oddly come up with nothing.  True to his word, 
Matsui had managed to call in a few favors and have custody handed
over to the Diggers family. One of Dr. Diggers's friends in the Dekalb 
county police was now working on the restraining order. Dr. Diggers 
felt a little guilty, in that he was glad that they couldn't find any family.
Like with Britanny, he had become rather attached to Ranma during 
the time the officials had been searching for the boy's family. 
	Dr. Diggers could see Ranma was special in some way. There
seemed to be a powerful aura around the child. Dr. Diggers suspected
that the boy would be a very powerful warrior. He would have to ask
Julia when she visited in July. Dr. Diggers looked down at Ranma, who
seemed to be staring at the house wide eyed.
	<So Ranma, what do you think of America so far?>
	Ranma looked up at him. <Umm very strange, I can't understand
what anyone is saying.>
	Dr. Diggers smiled. <Don't worry, you'll learn English soon
enough.>
	<This is certainly a big house. Who else lives here?>
	<Oh just me, you, and your sisters.>
	Ranma's eyes got wide. The thought of living in such a large
house foreign, esspecially to someone who'd been living on the road
as Ranma had. <Does this mean I'll get my own room?>
	Dr. Diggers smirked as he opened the door. 
	Entering the house first, Dr. Diggers was met by Mrs. Ivors.
"Hello Mary, I'd like to thank you for watching my little girls."
	"Oh it's no problem Theodore, is this the little boy who's going
to be living here now?"
	"Yes, this is Ranma."
	Mrs. Ivors looked at the boy. She noticed the Bandage on 
his face. "Hello Ranma, how are you?"
	Ranma blinked then looked at Dr. Diggers. <What did she
say?>
	"Ranma doesn't know any English yet." Dr. Diggers explained
before turning to Ranma. <She said hello and asks how do you feel?>
	<Umm Hello, I feel Ok.>
	Dr. Diggers smiled. "He says he feels OK. Now if you
will excuse me please. I want to introduce Ranma to the girls."
	Mrs. Ivors nodded her head and started to head for home.
She hoped the boy would be OK now that he was effectively out of 
reach of his father. She wondered what type of man throws his six 
year old son into the a pit of starving cats.
	Dr. Diggers walked up to his two daughters.
	"Hi Dad, welcome home."
	"Hi Daddy! So where is he?"
	Dr. Diggers smiled brought Ranma to the front of him. "Girls,
I'd like you to meet Ranma. Ranma these are your new sisters, Gina
..." The blond headed girl with glasses smiled and nodded. "...and 
Britanny."
	Ranma's eyes widened at the sight of the other girl. The strange
pointed ears, the black spotted orange fur, the tail, only one thing came
to Ranma's mind as he dodged to hide behind Dr. Diggers legs.
<C-C-Cat!>
	Britanny blinked in confusion. "N-Neko? What does that 
mean?"
	"It means cat." said Dr. Diggers. *I was afraid of this.* 
Although the mage had repaired most of the damage caused by the
pit of cats, Ranma was still very much afraid of cats. Britanny's new
hybrid form looked very much like a cat. For a moment Dr. Diggers
considered asking Britanny to change back to human form, but decided
against it. Britanny liked her hybrid form very much and asking her
to change back might cause her to resent Ranma a little. *Besides
maybe close exposure to Britanny, might help cure him of his fear 
of cats.* That in mind, Dr. Diggers placed his hand on the boys 
shoulder and started to guide him back to the front. <It's OK, Ranma.
She won't hurt you, I promis.>
	Ranma continued to look suspiciously at the lycanthrope. He
was sure the catgirl would attack him any minute. Dr. Diggers turned 
to Gina, he wanted some time to talk to Britanny. "Gina, why don't you
show Ranma to his room. I want to talk to your sister for a moment."
	Gina nodded and walked up to the boy. Fortunately she had 
taken the time to learn some basic Japanese. <Ranma, you come. I
show room.>
	Ranma nodded and followed Gina to the stairs, giving the
werecheetah a wide a berth as possible. Britanny watched the two
leave. She then turned to her father.
	"What's wrong with him, Dad?"
	"Sit down, Britanny, I need to tell you what Ranma's father,
his biological father, did to him. You see..."

	Gina lead Ranma to his new room. She was a little surprised
by Ranma's reaction to their sister. Sure Britanny seemed a bit weird,
especially in her hybrid form, but Ranma seemed down right terrified
of her. Gina hoped that Britanny wouldn't use Ranma's fear of her to 
tease him. <This your room, Ranma.> 
	Little Ranma looked around the room. It was lightly decorated
with a single bed, a dresser, and a desk. *So much room.* Thought 
Ranma as he began to unpack. He was still finding the size of the house
hard to beleave. Also according to Gina, all the things in the room were
his. Thought of owning so many things was also unfamiliar. Gina watched 
him, as he began taking his stuff out of his backpack. 
	<Are there any other bags?>
	<No> said Ranma shaking his head. Gina then noticed the
bandages on his arms as well as the one on his face. She wasn't sure 
if she should ask the next question.
	<Umm Ranma, what happen to arms?> 
	Ranma blinked at her for a moment, then answered. <Papa
wrapped me up in fish stuff and threw me into a pit of cats. Now they
say I can't be with him anymore.>
	*No way!* thought Gina. She figured she must of had gotten
the translation wrong. She couldn't imagine someone doing something
like that. She was about to ask him again, but she could now see that
he was visibly upset. Apparently it was a sensitive matter for him.

	"...and that's what happened." said Dr. Diggers as he finished
his tale. Looking at Britanny, he could see that she was now slightly 
pale, an impressive feat when you're covered with a dense layer of fur.
	"D-Daddy, who would do something like that?" Britanny was
very upset. She had trouble believing that someone would actually 
torture their child like that. It was no wonder that the boy was afraid
of her.
	"I-I don't know dear."
	"D-Do you want me to go back to being in human form?" asked
Britanny a little fearfully. 
	"No dear, I know how much your hybrid form means to you.
In fact I would like you to stay in hybrid form. It'll help Ranma overcome
his fear of cats. That means you'll have to be extra nice to him, could you 
do that?"
	Britanny nodded. "Ok daddy."
	"Also I ask that you try to stay out of your quadruped form
for a while. That would be too frightening for Ranma."
	Again Britanny nodded her head.

			*****

	A while later Britanny approached Ranma's room. As she got 
close to the door, her enhanced hearing could pick up  Gina and 
Ranma talking. 
	"Bed"
	"B-Bedu"
	"There's no u Ranma. It's just bed."
	"B-Bed." Apparently Gina was trying to teach him some 
English. Taking a deep breath, Britanny opened the door and walked
in. She could see Gina pointing at different things in the room and 
giving the English name for them. Ranma would repeat what Gina
would say. As Ranma caught sight of Britanny however, he suddenly
tensed and became very quiet.
	"Hmm?" Gina blinked as Ranma had stopped repeating her.
Turning around she saw their sister entering the room. "Britanny?"
	"Um I need to talk to Ranma. How much of that does he
know?"
	"Not much really, but he's seems to be a fast learner." 
She looked over at Ranma, who now looked very nervous. "Um
Brit. Maybe it's not such a good idea for you to be here, at least 
in that form."
	Britanny walked up to Gina and started talking to her in a
hushed voice. "Dad says I should try to be friends with Ranma. He
also said I should stay in this form, so he can overcome his fear of 
cats."
	"Fear of cats? What do you mean?"
	"According to Dad, Ranma's father threw him into a pit of
starving cats. That's why he's so afraid of me."
	Gina's looked at Britanny with widen eyes. *That stuff he 
said earlier was for real?* Gina looked back at Ranma who sat
nervously watching. "I guess you'll need me to translate huh?"
	Britanny nodded. "Tell him I want to be friends with him."
	Gina came up with the best translation she could. <Ranma.
Britanny want to be friends.>
	Ranma shook his head. <No! She's a cat! She'll hurt me!>
	Britanny looked at Gina. She hoped that Gina was helping
her with this. She didn't know a single word of Japanese. For all 
she knew Gina could have told him that the werecheetah was
going to eat him in his sleep. "What did he say?"
	"He's afraid because you're a cat." said Gina. She sweated
as she tried to come up with some sort of response. She then 
remembered a discussion she had with her father a long time ago.
It had been the first time she had actually asked about her sister's
Shape shifting. <Britanny not cat Ranma. She girl. She just different
kind of girl. She...>"Werecheetah." 
	Ranma blinked at her. <A different kind of girl?>"W-Wa-ru-
ch-chi-ta?"
	<Yes! Also she little like you. Her family all gone. She taken
in by father. Live with us since long time.>
	<L-Like me?>
	<Um hmm. Ranma no worry. Britanny very nice. She much
fun. She no hurt.>
	<No hurt?> Ranma seemed to relax a little much to Gina's 
relief. Although he still gave Brit the nervous eye, She noted that he 
no longer looked ready to bolt at the drop of hat. "I think I've gotten
somewhere."
	Britanny sat down across from him, keeping her distance for
now. "Ask him what Japan's like."
	Gina nodded, she wanted to know herself. <Ranma what Japan like?>
	Ranma looked at her for a moment. <Um well there are lots of 
mountains and hills and some real big cities like this one.>
	Gina translated for Britanny then turned back to Ranma. <You
have friends in Japan?>
	Ranma smiled. 
	<Ucchan?> 
	Ranma nodded. <He was the best. We had lots of fun.> Ranma
then turned sad for a moment. <But then we had to move again.>
	"Did your mom and dad move allot?" asked Britanny. Gina
relayed the question to Ranma.
	Ranma looked at Britanny for a moment. <No just me and
Papa.>	
	Gina blinked. <Um Ranma. Is mother gone?>
	<Papa took me from her to train.>
	Gina and Britanny looked at each other for a moment. 
They didn't like that. <You know where mother live?>
	Ranma shook his head. 
	Gina sighed. The book she had learned Japanese from had 
mention at least six or seven "big cities". Britanny then snapped her
fingers. "Hey! At least he can meet our Mom next month. She's loads of
fun!"
	Gina nodded as Ranma tried to figure out what they were talking
about.

			*****
One month later.
	"Mom!" yelled Gina as she ran up to the woman with long red
hair. Julia Diggers grabbed her daughter at the waist and started twirling 
her around. "Gina! Gina! Gina!"
	The woman stopped when Britanny jumped onto her back.
"Hi Mom!"
	"Hello Brit. So have you two been good girls?" Both the girls
nodded. Gina stepped up.
	"I'm going to college next year. I've already been accepted."
	"That's wonderful!"
	"I passed all my courses this year!" said Britanny. 
	"Very good Britanny. So I understand we have a new member
in the family?" Julia had received a note from her husband shortly before
she arrived. Delivered by one of the family friends in Jade, it was the
only way Dr. Diggers could contact his wife. The letter told Julia that 
she now had a newly adopted son and she wanted to hear the whole
story later today. 
	Both the girls nodded, then stepped aside and let Ranma 
approach. Ranma nervously looked up at the woman with red hair. 
	"H-Hello, me Ranma." said the boy in broken English.
	Julia knelt down and looked into the boys eyes. For a moment
she just seemed to stare at him. This made Ranma even more nervous.
Julia then smiled at Ranma.
	<Hello Ranma. I'm Julia, you can call me mom.> At hearing
Julia's fluent Japanese and seeing her smile, Ranma relaxed a little.
	<OK Mama-san>
	"Wow mom! I didn't know you could speak Japanese." said
Britanny.
	"Well yes dear. When I first came to earth, one of the things
I did for recreation was to study the fighting styles of this world. To that
end I learned Japanese and a bit of Chinese." said Julia still looking 
at Ranma. She stood up when Dr. Diggers walked up. "Why don't 
you three play for a while? I need to talk to your father for a moment."
	As the three nodded and ran off, Julia turned to face her husband.
	"So what do you think?" asked Dr. Diggers.
	"He's wonderful. Your right, you know. Little Ranma's a born
fighter. He's got a warriors eyes, a lot of fighting potential."
	Theo nodded as he watched Britanny and Ranma playing a 
game of tag, still her favorite after all these years. Oddly Ranma didn't
seem to be having as much difficulty as Gina did. "He's a fast learner
too. He's been here just over a month and he's already picked up 
quite a bit of English."
	Julia nodded. "So what exactly happened anyway? Your letter
only said that he was part of some child abuse case."
	"Well the according to the police, Ranma's father wrapped
him up in fish sausage and then threw him into a pit of starving cats."
Dr. Diggers snorted. "according to them, he said it was martial arts 
training."
	Dr. Diggers then blinked as Julia's face took on a thoughtful
look. "That sounds like...like......Nekoken training?"
	"Wait a minute. You mean there's actually a martial art that 
requires you to throw your kid into a pit of starving cats!?"
	Julia nodded. "Yes, but the Nekoken or Cat Fu has been 
banned for years. It's a very powerful technique and it's easy to learn.
However, the training results in severe psychological damage and the style
itself has several flaws."
	"flaws?"
	"Yes, you see the way it works is that when a Cat Fist fighter
is exposed to enough cats they start to think they're a cat. That's what
the pit of starving cats is for. It causes the fighter to have a split
personality.
Sort of a Jekyll and Hyde, with Hyde being a cat. When using the Cat Fist,
the fighter becomes stronger, faster, and more agile than any normal
human being. They can sometimes even access their chi to form claws."
	"Some Nekoken fighters have been mistaken for werewolves.
Do you remember that one time I went to China, while we were looking
for Britanny's family?" Dr. Diggers nodded. "There were all those reports 
of a strang catman destroying cars and buildings. Well that was really a 
Nekoken fighter."
	"The problem with the Nekoken is that the fighter is too much
like a cat. They are usually completely unpredictable and totally 
uncontrollable. If for some reason the Nekoken fighter doesn't like
his friends, he could just as soon attack them rather than the enemy.
Also like cats, a Nekoken fighter can be easily distracted. Throw a
ball of yarn or some catnip at one and they're likely to stop fighting 
and start playing."
	Dr. Diggers nodded. "Well I was able to repair most of the 
damage. He was afraid of cats, but we've been working on that."
As the archmage said this he continued to look at the children playing in 
the yard. 
	Britanny had been instrumental in easing Ranma's fear of cats.
Although things were rough at first and got rougher still when Ranma
caught his first look of Britanny shape shifting. Britanny, with Gina's 
help, was able to overcome Ranma's fear of cats. It helped that Ranma
began to enjoy Britanny's company. Ranma still didn't like to be around
a lot of cats (except Britanny), but he was no longer terrified of them.
	"I want to take him back to Jade."
	Dr. Diggers looked at Julia. "What?"
	"I want to take him back to Jade and train him."
	"I don't know Julia. I mean taking him to Jade. Couldn't we
find an instructor around here."
	"Oh Theo it will only be for about a month and a half. You 
can pick him up at the observatory before school starts. Besides I 
can teach him better than any instructor in Atlanta."
	"Hmm I guess so. I just worried that the girls might resent him
for staying with you for the whole summer."
	"Don't worry. I'll talk to them before I leave."

			*****

	The next day found Ranma and Julia walking to the observatory
in Jade. They had arrived in a small town early in the morning and 
Julia brought some things to cook later. As they walked, Ranma looked
around in fascination at all the elves and other magical creatures that
inhabited Jade. Looking up at Julia he asked.
	<Where are we going?>
	<To the observatory, that's where we'll conduct your training.>
	<Who will be my Sensei?>
	Julia smiled. 
	 Ranma blurted out.
	Julia stopped and looked down at him. <Oh? And why not?>
	<Because you're a girl.>
	Julia raised an eyebrow <So?>
	<So girls are weak and distract men from the art.>
	<And who told you that?>
	<Papa.>
	<Well, Ranma, I think.....> Julia was interrupted by an ogre
crashing out of the woods. In an instant she jumped between the
ogre and Ranma. "What do you want!?"
	"Out of the way woman! I've come for the little thief."
	"You'll have to get through me first!"
	"Heh. gladly!" Ranma watch horrified as the ogre punched
Julia in the face with enough force to throw her into the bushes. He 
then started to reach down to grab Ranma. The small boy started
to back away from the large ogre.
	"We're not finished yet!!" Suddenly the ogre's hand was pulled
away as a bloody faced enraged Julia started punching him repeatedly.
	":I (punch to the face) said (punch to the face) you'll (punch to
the face) have to (punch to the face) get through (punch to the face)
me (punch to the face) FIRST!!!" with that the arms master kicked the
wart ogre into a nearby ditch. She then turned back to Ranma, wiping
the blood from her mouth.
	<Now, Ranma. I believe you were telling me about girls being
weak?> The wide eyed boy's only response was to drop the candy 
he had been munching on. Julia blinked as she suddenly noticed some-
thing. <Ranma, where did you get that candy?>
	<From a stand in the market.>
	<H-How did you pay for it?>
	 Ranma beamed.
	<WHAT!!? What do you mean you didn't pay for it!?>
	<Papa says that if you grab something fast enough and don't
get caught, it's free!>
	Julia's face became a nasty shade of red as she remembered
what the ogre had said, that he had come for the little thief. She now
realized that the ogre must have been part of the local guard. Closing
her eyes, Julia took several deep breaths. She wasn't about to take 
it out on Ranma. After all, it wasn't the child's fault. *By the Ancients!
Please...PLEASE! Let me run into this Genma someday!* Taking 
Ranma by the hand Julia started heading back to town.
	<W-Where we going?>
	<We're going back to pay for the candy and apologize to the
merchant.>
	<But why?> asked a confused Ranma.
	<Because what you did was wrong. Stealing is wrong.>
	<B-But Papa said it was ok, and papa's always right!>
	Julia stopped and looked down at Ranma. <Was he right about
girls being weak?>
	<Umm.....>
	Julia knelt down and looked Ranma in the eye. <Think Ranma,
was he right about the pit of starving cats?>
	The trembling Ranma could only shake his head. Julia sighed
<Come on.> As Julia started leading Ranma back into town, he started
to think. Mama-san had pointed out that his Papa could be wrong. 
Papa had been wrong about the pit of starving cats. Could his Papa 
be wrong about other things?

			*****

	After they had returned to town and cleared things up with
the merchant and the local sheriff (he wasn't about to question an arms
master) Julia and Ranma once again headed towards the observatory.
Deciding she need to start some of the training now, Julia made it a
race to get to the observatory first. She slowed down enough for Ranma
to keep pace, while she lead him though a few obstacles along the road.
	Julia now watched as Ranma practiced a kata. She could see 
that she was right. Even at this early age the boy was doing a kata 
that was common among older students. Julia was sure that with a 
few years practice, Ranma could easily pass Edge Guard standards.
He could probably even become one of the ten weapons masters of 
Jade, maybe even arms master.
	<Umm Mama-san?> 
	Julia looked up from her thoughts. <Yes Ranma?>
	<Why did we have to come to this place to practice? Why
couldn't we stay home?> Asked Ranma, not stopping his kata.
	Julia took a deep breath. <Well Ranma, you see I'm under a
curse caused be a misfired spell. I can only stay on earth for one day
of the year. The rest of the time, I must stay here.>
	<So why don't the others just move here?>
	(Boom)
	<They could, but because of the curse, they wouldn't be able
to see me. I'd be like a phantom to them.>
	(Boom)
	<But I can see you?> said Ranma stopping his kata and looking 
around. The crashing boom he was hearing was getting closer.
	<That's because you weren't there when the spell was cast.>
	(BOOM!)
	Julia looked back towards door. <Ah! Your tutor's here.>
	<M-My tutor?>
	(BOOM!)
	<Yes.> said Julia opening the door. 
	Ranma's eyes widened at the sight of his 'tutor'. The Giant had
to be at least twelve feet tall. His large arms hung all the way to the 
floor. The giant also wore a rather small pair of glasses that looked
out of place on his large ogre like face.
	<Ranma, this is Brod, your tutor.> "Brod, this is my newly 
adopted son, Ranma."
	The mage troll stepped up to Ranma. Each of his steps seemed 
to shake the ground. <Hello Ranma. I'm sure you'll be a good student,
won't you?>
	Ranma nervously nodded to the house sized troll. Then Julia
stepped in. "Oh Brod, cut that out!"
	The troll nodded then turned back to Ranma. <Follow me to
the study and we will begin.>
	Ranma looked once at Julia, who nodded, and followed the
troll down the hall.

To be continued

Next:
-Ranma spends more time growing up with the Diggers family.

-Makes a new enemy.

-As well as some new friends.

Authors Notes:
	Some of you might be wondering why Gina sounds like 
Shampoo when she's talking to Ranma. This is because her Japanese
,unlike her parents, is only passable.
	Some may also ask about some of the fighting titles given in
Jade.
	Edge Guard: This is an elite fighting force that protects retreat
and deals with various problems in Jade. 
	Weapons Master: This is one of the highest ranks a warrior can
get in Jade. (Second only to Arms Master) There are only ten Weapons
Masters in the entire world of Jade.
	Arms Master: This is the highest rank a warrior can make in Jade.
Julia Diggers is an Arms Master. Her skill is such that she can easily defeat
Pantyhose or Ryoga and probably give Colone a good run for her money.