char owned by others. treatment by metroanime@mindspring.com
 Spells R Us: Japanese Chronicles 1: Candy Candy

 Kasumi noticed the cat trying to sneak in and intercepted it. "And
where do you think you're going, Mister Cat?"

 "Meowmeowmewmeow. MEOW!"

 "Oh my, you certainly are a talkative little kitty."

 The cat gritted her teeth and let her ears flatten. How was she going to
tell anyone about this? How could she turn back without some help? She tried
again, yowling and spitting.

 An anguished yelp could be heard from the stairway.

 "I'm sorry, but we can't take any cats in here. Ranma's afraid of them."

 The cat ducked around her Kasumi, fleeing into the house. The kitchen
hot water tap should do it! She leapt onto the counter, began turning the
knob
and was rewarded with a jet of hot water. Yes!

 "Kasumi, what are you?" Nabiki watched the cat twist the hot water
knob, then jump under the faucet. The resulting wet cat howled. "Well, what
did
you expect? Hmmm. You DID expect something, didn't you?"

 The cat leapt up to the cupboard, looking thoroughly bedraggled
and nodded.

 "Nabiki, oh there it is." Kasumi started to remove the cat only to
be stopped by Nabiki raising a hand to bar her way.

 "Hang on, sis." Nabiki sighed and looked at the cat. A little black
cat with a stubby tail, unremarkable as far as she could tell. "Do I know
you?"

 The cat nodded.

 "You're under a curse that turned you into a cat?"

 Another nod. The cat was now staring at Nabiki with tears welling
up in her eyes.

 "Oh my."

 "Do I know you from school?" The cat shook her head. "Do I know
you personally?" The cat nodded. "Are we related?" Another nod. "Well,
Daddy,
however did you get yourself into this mess?"

 The cat howled.

 "Not Daddy?" Nabiki blinked. "Well, who the heck are you, then?"

 "Meow!"

 "Kasumi, do we have any other relatives?"

 "Not that I know of," Kasumi began uncertainly.

 "Well, this cat insists." Nabiki thought for a few moments. "Playing
twenty questions like this is not an efficient use of time. We need some
means
of communication a cat can manipulate. That lets my computer out, I don't
think
the keypad fits your paws."

 "Meow?"

 "Hmmm? Oh, sorry. It's a puzzle, and I simply can't let go of puzzles."
Nabiki pondered a few moments more. "Do you speak English?"

 "Meow?" The cat looked rather puzzled but nodded.

 "Good." Nabiki nodded and went to get a stack of notecards from
the cupboard.

 "Why English, Nabiki?" Kasumi looked curiously on as Nabiki
quickly marked each of the cards with a letter.

 "Because English only has twenty-six letters. As opposed to doing
up a card for the hiragana, katakana, and the common kanji. It's more
efficient
even if that language is quite a bit less elegant than Japanese."

 In a trice, the cat was set in the middle of a ring of cards, each marked
with a romaji letter.

 "Still not the best system," Nabiki said with a frown, "but the best I
could
come up with on short notice."

 "A-k-a-n-e-t-e-n-d-o." Kasumi read each letter off as the cat turned and
batted it with a paw.

 "Akane? Akane Tendo? Do we have a relative named Akane Tendo?"
Nabiki was rewarded with the sight of a cat facefaulting.

 "AAAAAAAAaaaaaaaa!" Ranma walked in, saw the creature in the
room, and fled.

 "Oh good grief." Nabiki covered her face. "You WOULD be the one
thing my fiance is absolutely phobic about."

 "MEOW?!" The cat's jaw was hanging open.

 "You knew me and Kasumi, but didn't know Ranma? Yes, he's my
fiance. Has been for six months now. He doesn't look like much, I'll admit,
but
he's got his good points."

 The cat facefaulted again, then started whapping cards as soon
as she recovered.

 "Curse?" Nabiki blinked. "Yes, he's got a curse. Turns into a girl."

 The cat continued to whap at cards.

 "Oh. 'fatherisapanda' So, your father is named Panda?" Kasumi was
rewarded by the cat covering her head with her paws. "Oh."

 "Yes. Ranma's father turns into a panda." Nabiki  glanced at the cat,
still trying to come up with a faster method of communication. "So what kind
of relation are you?"

 "Sister?!" Kasumi and Nabiki exclaimed in unison as the cat finished
batting at cards.

 "You mean that Father...oh my!"

 "Six months ago this would have been ludicrous. It's quite interesting
at how speaking to a cat that claims to be my sister has become almost the
sort of
thing one would expect."

 The cat continued to bat away at cards for a few moments.

 "Cursed food turned you into a cat?" Nabiki blinked. "Nobody
remembers you? Hmmm. Sounds high level."

 "Meow?"

 "Of course I know something about curses," Nabiki chided the
cat. "I have a fiancee who changes genders when splashed with water.
What kind of idiot WOULDN'T research magic in general and curses in
particular when you've got evidence of both living in the same house?"

 The cat blinked a couple of times and looked sheepish.

 "Cursed food, eh? And a mass forgetfulness spell or else
some localized reality alteration focussing on your existence?"
Nabiki had a thought. "Was it at the Nekohanten?"

 The cat shook her head.

 "Well, I've got to think about this. Try to stay out of sight
and tomorrow we can get a start on whatever it is."

 "Na-Nabiki?"

 Akane scampered under the table only to nearly lose
control at seeing Ranma come nervously into the room. Then
Nabiki swept him in for a brief kiss that apparently took both of
their minds away from felines of any stripe.

 "Urrrrrr," came a growl from under the table when the
shock wore off.

 "Ranma, could you please go upstairs for a bit, I have
to speak with you later."

 Ranma looked into her eyes, and whatever he saw there
brought a tender smile to his lips. "You'll tell me what's going on
later?"

 "Of course, Tiger. 'No secrets from EITHER of us.'"
Nabiki let out a sigh as she watched the view of Ranma walking
up the stairs, then turned a more businesslike expression towards
the table. "All right, you. Why were you growling at Ranma? You're
not another childhood friend turned rival or friend-turned-rival-turned
fiancee, are you?"

 Akane stuck her head out, ears flat as she looked towards
where Ranma had walked off. The baka had never done any of that
with HER.

 "Oh, I'd better get busy with supper." Kasumi made an
excuse to leave the weirdness and retreat to her sanctuary.

 "Excuse me, Akane, but I want to spend some quality
time with MY fiance and if you're going to get cured it will be under
the condition that you leave all vengeance behind you. Do you
understand?"

 Akane blinked, then returned to the cards, batting away
quickly.

 "Whoa. Slow down. Geez, I'd almost think you were
doing a Chestnut Fist. 'How come you're engaged to Ranma.'
Well, this is interesting. You know about Ranma, his dad, me and
Kasumi. You seem to be rather..." Nabiki stopped and blanched.
"Not an illegitimate half-sister? A real sister? One that was
engaged to Ranma?"

 The cat nodded to each question.

 Nabiki looked sick. "Kitty, I've never had any sisters
besides Kasumi. Ranma showed up one day, to be engaged to one
of the Tendos. Kasumi and me considered the situation and I was
slightly less revolted by his being a girl half the time. I'm glad it
happened though, as I've been able to get him to stop being a jerk
and once you get past all the insecurities and overcompensation,
he can be really sweet."

 The cat made a hacking noise.

 "It's true! And in return he's gotten me to open up and
be more considerate of others. It's not an ideal relationship but we've
come to care for each other very much, and neither of us wants
anything to happen to that." Nabiki thought for a moment. "Okay,
now what kind of food and where?"

 The cat began tapping away.

 "Candy. From a store that specializes in curses? Let
me guess, you went in while looking for a cure for Ranma's curse
and got a curse yourself instead?"

 "Meeowww!" The cat nodded.

 "Well we can check with them tomorrow for a cure
for your curse." Nabiki gave the cat a sad look. "You're sure
about the part that you're really my sister and you're really
Ranma's fiancee?"

 "MEOW!"

 "And I suppose he does all those sweet things
for you, and nuzzles you behind the ear telling you what
a sweet and wonderful creature you are?"

 The cat facefaulted again then started angrily
hissing and meowing and was intent on running up the
stairs and having a chat with that two-timer.

 Nabiki intercepted the cat. "I don't think so. I'm
really not sure how much of your story I believe..."

 The cat meowed as if indignant.

 "...but it's the duty of a martial artist to help those
in need." Nabiki straightened. "Even if I'm NOT that good as
a martial artist, I AM Heir to the Tendo School."

 "Meow?!"

 "Sorry, cat. Look, I've got to get working on
the next installment of my manga, and the dojo really needs
the money, you know. ESPECIALLY after that little spat
with the Black Rose last week."

 "Meow?" Akane didn't remember Kodachi
attacking her last week. Waitaminute. Working on the
next installment of her manga?

 "You haven't read, 'The Sword & The Rose?' It's
doing fairly well in the dojinshi circles. I may even be attracting
the attention of one of the major publishers if rumor can be
believed." Nabiki grinned and winked. "We can hope, ne?"

 Akane blinked and settled back under the table. This
was too weird.
----------------------
 Morning came and a cat hidden under the house
watched as Ranma fell into the pond with a splash.

 As a Nabiki who had never had a younger sister
to be the Heir popped out briefly to assist her fiance, only
to get dunked herself.

 As the two grinning teenagers proceeded to
reduce a panda nearly to the status of throw rug.

 "Ranma, I've got a really tricky job I've got
to work on today, so I'm going to have to back out of
checking out that 'Rivalsan Dojo' place."

 "More work with your comic? I'm tellin' ya.
More action sequences, that'll sell."

 "Now now, Ranma, I don't tell you how to
do Anything Goes (much) and you don't advise me in
what will sell. Besides, with Kodachi continually attacking
for me being a 'wicked sorceress' who's 'cursed her Ranma
sama to turn into a girl' and used 'diabolic means to ensnare
his heart', I'd kinda like to get away from fight sequences for
awhile."

 Akane lost sight of the two as they walked
into the house. From her vantage though, she could clearly
hear them as they moved overhead. She avoided Sasuke
and continued to listen.

 "It's not something you need help with, is it?"

 "Nah. This is definitely something you
can't help with. It involves a cat."

 "O-Oh."

 "Don't sweat it, Ranma. I plan on getting ahold
of Shampoo or maybe her Great Grandmother. Besides, if
this goes bad you can ride to the rescue at the last minute,
per usual."

 Akane tried to identify the sounds that followed.
What? They couldn't be! They wouldn't!

 "Well, since you two are getting along so well,
maybe I should..." Akane heard her father's voice trail off.
"Well, yes, a martial artist has to exercise patience. Heh heh."

 "Take care, Nabiki-chan. Suki desu."

 "Same here, Ranma-kun."

 Akane facefaulted, which had the effect of causing
a small amount of dirt going up her nose and a resultant sneeze.
Inside her currently feline brain, she was reeling.

 She had to wait for Nabiki, so she had plenty of
time to think about it. How could this happen? Nabiki was
only interested in profit, she'd always been badgering Ranma,
selling him off, ready with a quick insult or to make his life
miserable. And it had been Nabiki who had first nominated
Akane as the one to marry Ranma after the curse had been
demonstrated.

 Akane wasn't that used to being devious, and
wasn't the sort to enjoy figuring out puzzles. She labored
at understanding the scene she'd just observed now.

 Nabiki's overwhelming mania for quick profit
and ruthlessness had only manifested AFTER Ranma had
arrived. Nabiki had been interested in boys as something
other than a source of income before Ranma's arrival. Before
Ranma's arrival, she'd mainly taken bets and sold her skills
at photography. Before, she had read a lot of manga and had
shown interest in a few other subjects.

 Nabiki had briefly toyed with the idea of actually
writing manga once, but had given it up after it became
obvious that it would be an uphill battle. Had her continued
training in the martial arts given her enough discipline that
she had pursued it?

 Akane growled softly as she saw Ranma and
Nabiki exit the house together, holding hands and
apparently not even aware of it!

 Akane watched as Ranma ran off, Nabiki
watching him from the gate with a wistful expression
on her face. Akane tried to fit this Nabiki in with the
one she had come to know over the past few months.

 Something clicked that Akane had only
noticed briefly but on a few occasions within the
household. Times when the mask slipped just a
little. Nabiki goading Ranma towards one of the
other girls by making it a challenge or point of
pride, something Ranma couldn't possibly allow
to go without giving his best effort. Times when
things seemed to smooth out, only to have
Nabiki throw a little chaos into the mix.

 Feline eyes widened and she let out
an involuntary meow. Only someone who knew
Nabiki as well as a sister would have noticed the
shadow of an expression passing over the face
of the "heartless mercenary" Nabiki had become.
Expressions of sadness and jealousy.

 It couldn't be. Could it?

 "Oh hello, Ryouga."

 Akane looked around but couldn't see
Ryouga. But there was P-chan! Akane wondered
if P-chan was Nabiki's pet now, she seemed to
have everything else of hers.

 "Bweee?"

 "Ryouga, I could use your help today."

 "Buqiii!"

 "Tut tut, Ryouga-kun. You might be
interested in this one. Someone you don't know
was cursed by some store's product to turn into
a little black cat."

 P-chan began growling. Akane was
amazed at how well trained P-chan was. It was almost
as if he was having a conversation with Nabiki.

 "If you're blaming Ranma for this, don't
bother. He doesn't know about it. Now, I will be
going there to help this unfortunate girl get uncursed.
The idea being is that if this store sells the curses,
the cures are also likely to be available, though I'd
expect the cures to be at a significant markup."

 "Buqiii."

 "Because I would expect curses to be
easier than cures, also because the demand for a
cure would be rather more than that of a curse.
Supply and demand and relative value."

 "Squee."

 "And if they can cure one kind of curse,
maybe they can cure other curses."

 P-chan had turned away from Nabiki
and had closed his eyes. Now he was giving Nabiki
his full attention. If Akane didn't know better, she
could have sworn that P-chan's eyes were glimmering
with tears.

 "Thought that would get your attention."
There were deserts less dry than Nabiki's tone. "In
any case, Ryouga, sit your butt down. I'll get some
hot water, and the nice kitty cat can take us to that
store."

 "Mrow?" Akane watched Nabiki enter the
house, returning a moment later with a kettle and a
thermos.

 "I got two of those 'instant hot water dispensers'
a couple of months ago. The one in the living room has a coin
slot attatched. That's Mister Saotome's. There's another one
I keep for emergencies." Nabiki assumed the cat was asking
about the quick availability of hot water.

 Nabiki poured water down onto P-chan, eliciting
a momentary hiss from Akane. P-chan didn't need...a bath?!

 A moment later, Ryouga was attacked by a
thoroughly ticked off housecat.
-------------------------------
 "I figure it's the same thing with Ranma and you.
You don't know what you did, but you did something to
her. Missed an appointment or something, and she swore
vengeance. Etcetera, etcetera." Nabiki smirked. This was
just too amusing to have Ryouga hit with the same sort
of grudge that the lost boy had against Ranma.

 "We're here," Ryouga noted, tugging a little
against the tether that Nabiki had insisted on tying to
his belt.

 Akane blinked. The Nekohanten?

  "This won't take long." Nabiki winked at
the cat. Nabiki entered the cafe, exiting a moment
later with Shampoo.

 "Of course Shampoo ready to assist
sister Amazon with problem. Maybe find cure for
own curse?"

 Akane twitched at the reference to a "sister
amazon." The sooner she got back to normal and left
this insanity behind, the better.

 After a few moments, her curiosity got the
better of her. It took a little trial and error but finally
Nabiki got the idea.

 "Shampoo was my 'rival' up until last month.
This old rival of Ranma's showed up, promising to make
him suffer for something that his father apparently did."

 "Meow," said Akane, nodding. That would
have been Ukyou.

 "Anyway, this guy was going to kill Ranma,
especially when he found out that I was his fiancee and
that we were getting along." Nabiki seemed to flush slightly
and Akane wondered exactly what the two had been doing
when Ukyou had found them. "So the usual challenge and
fight like with Ryouga here, except this guy is REALLY
angry."

 "What, you mean I'm not? I've been to Hell due
to Ranma, and I won't rest until he's paid for it!"

 "During the fight I see this load of explosive
tempura flakes heading my way. I get out of the way,
evasion is a specialty of the Tendo School, but then
Shampoo here gets tagged. So, private grudge match
or not, me and Shampoo get involved in the fight.
Ranma goes into just pure rage when I get attacked,
but then has to sit on the sidelines when me and
Shampoo go to town on Mr Challenger."

 "Meow?"

 "Well, I read a lot. Research stuff online, too.
So, I see Elder Cologne in attendence. Me and Shampoo
here have just fought together against a common enemy.
So in front of the Elder, I place a wound I got from a flying
spatula on a similar one from Shampoo. Then I take some
sweat from Shampoo and taste it."

 A cat made a disagreeable noise. Still, Akane
was listening as she might be able to use this herself.

 "At this point, Cologne's eyes are as big as
saucers. You should'a seen it. Then I petition Cologne
to become Shampoo's blood sister as we have shared
blood and salt in the defeat of a common enemy."

 "Shampoo not know about rules. Never have
blood-sister. Linlin and Ranran close, but not go through
this."

 "Well, when I found out about the marriage
laws and the bit about outsider women, I knew there had
to be loopholes. They couldn't possibly go about
indiscriminately killing and marrying outsiders. This was
one, and when I saw my chance I took it. Cologne HAD
to accept the petition, and give me three tasks which I
had to complete. They couldn't be flat out impossible or
kill me directly or indirectly, though. The Trial Of War,
The Trial Of Skill, and The Trial Of The Heart.

 "The first one was to defeat Shampoo. I had
to make it other than a physical combat, but I managed
to get through the bakeoff with some help from Kasumi.
The Trial Of Skill was more difficult. The Breaking Point
training. I think I've still got bruises. I just don't heal as
fast as Ryouga.

 "The Trial Of The Heart is always the most
difficult. Cologne used some nightmare incense, trapped
me in a dream where I was a minor supporting character
watching..."

 Nabiki's face turned pale and she shot a
glance towards the cat. "Oh no."

 Shampoo gave a worried glance to her
sister. "Nabiki win Trial. Make ultimate sacrifice in
dream. Give up on own life, own happiness, for the
better of tribe. Shampoo have to stay over for a few
nights until nightmares stop. Was fun. Was also good
get away from stupid Mousse."

 Akane led the small group through a series
of streets, finally arriving at the small alleyway. Her
thoughts were whirling. How could she make use of
this new knowledge herself?

 "Lemon Street, Ecchi Way, Kimyo Plaza?"
Nabiki's eyes narrowed. "I don't remember these in
Nerima."

 "Meow!" Akane stopped at the door to
a small store. "Meow! Meow!"

 "Spells R Us?" Nabiki frowned. "Hmmm.
Nothing to do but give it a try, I suppose."
====================================
all for now.

"Just as our eyes need light in order to see,
our minds need ideas in order to create."
                                 -Nicolas Malebranche

and yes, i am *trying* to write a positive Akane
story. this will replace the Akuma story on my
"to eventually get done" list.

gregg