The  characters  of the Ranma 1/2  universe  are  the
creation   and   possession  of  the  brilliant   Rumiko
Takahashi.  They  belong  to Rumiko  Takahashi  and  her
licensees   (Shogakukan   Inc.,   Kitty-Fuji   TV,   Viz
Communications   Inc.)  No  copyright  infringement   is
intended.   

This fanfiction is somewhat grittier than my other works and
less WAFFY.  There are scenes containing violence and
death.



Chapter 2

     "Alright kitty, dinner ti� 
A small figure blazed between Mu Tsu legs as he opened the
door.  Caught off guard Mu Tsu jerked, tripped and fell
backwards, hitting his head on the wall.
     Cu Lon's head snapped up at the commotion, faintly
heard from the back. A small cat darted into the room,
frantically darting among the tables. Excited shouts, grabbing
hands, kicking feet all contributed to a chaotic zig-zag
course.  The front door opened� the sudden blaze of sun-
light acted as a beacon to the desperately fleeing animal. 
Bouncing off the wall the cat made a leap and scrambled
across a table top. More shouts� a scattering of glass and
table ware. One final desperate leap for freedom� a hard
flung staff smashed the cat out of the air and skidding limply
across the floor.
     Cu Lon had a moments satisfaction . . . "No!" 
     She had time only for that brief protest before almost
half the restaurant crowded around the fallen feline in morbid
curiosity. . .completely blocking her view.
     "Aaaaa. Shit, it scratched me!"
     Cu Lon's lips tightened slightly as she sensed more
than saw the small figure dart through the open door, using
the crowd as cover. 
     "Ladies and gentlemen . . ."Cu Lon's voice carried
over the excited murmuring. "The staff and management of
the Nekohanten apologize for this mishap.  Please accept our
apologies and the gift of a free meal� Shan Pu!" Her great-
grand-daughter hurried over.
     "Great-grand-mother! What has happened? What was
that� 
     "Never mind." Cu Lon cut her off. "Please take care
of the restaurant. I will be back soon." Retrieving her staff
Cu Lon headed to the store room, where she found Mu Tsu
picking himself off the floor.  Less than three minutes had
passed since Akane had bolted from her prison.
     "What happened?"
     "I don't . . .I don't know." Mu Tsu shook his head to
clear it. "I was going in to feed� where is she?" Mu Tsu
looked around frantically. 
     "She has escaped the restaurant. I would like to
know how she escaped the cage." Cu Lon went into the
store-room, followed closely by Mu Tsu.  The Amazon
matriarch stared down at the cage . . .at the hidden corner
where the metal had been eaten away by stomach acid and
the wire mesh bent inward. 
     "Shit!"
     Cu Lon did not bother to hide her disgust at Mu Tsu's vulgarity and
loss of control .
     "What do we do�  
     Mu Tsu's query turned into an angry squawk in a
sudden splash of cold water. An angry white duck struggled
from under a tangle of robes.
     "Take this." 
     Mumuchan snatched the small cell-phone from the air
with his bill. 
     "Fly to the Tendou's. You can move faster in the air
and watch more ground. Make sure she does NOT contact
anyone. Call me the instant you spot her . I will be right
behind you. 
     "Qrrrrlk?" Mumuchan mumbled around the phone in
his bill.
     "And how many ducks do you think will be calling
me on the phone?" Cu Lon answered testily. 
     "Arrrqq." Mumuchan acknowledged and flew out of
the room and toward the outside door. 
     Cu Lon looked again at the cage and allowed a small
look of admiration to cross her face. Alone, surrounded by
enemies , stripped of her humanity� and still she had
escaped.  It would do her no good though� there was only
one place she could go.

************************************************
     "Well, hello kitty." Kuonji Ukyou looked down from
cleaning her grill. 
     "Mrrrrrrrroooooo." 
     "Sorry, I don't speak cat." Ukyou grinned down at
the sad looking little animal. "If you wait a minute I'll try to
find you something to eat."
     "Ooooooorrrrr." The small cat hopped up on the cold
grill and batted at Ukyou's hand.
     "Hey, stop that." Ukyou jerked her hand away,
laughing. "Give me a minute and I'll play� 
     "Rrrrrrrooooooooo!"
     The rising howl sent a cold shiver down Ukyou's
spine and she backed away from the little cat.
     "Now wait a minute kitty . . .uhhh . . .you're not sick
'r anything are you?"  She laughed a little. "What am I doin'
talking to a cat. It's not like you can understand� 
     "Rooo, rooo, rooo."  The cat danced up and down
on it's hind legs.
     ". . .me" Ukyou finished weakly. "Uhhh. Wait a sec."
She vanished into the back, returning with a pot of steaming
water.
     "arrrrrruuuuu." The cat hunkered down as the hot
water cascaded over it's back.
     "Sorry."Ukyou apologized. "It's just there are so
many Jusenkyou curses� 
     "Rooooooo. Roo, rooo,rooooo."
     Ukyou froze. The small cat was staring directly into
her eyes, crying frantically.
     "Are . . .no that's just silly. Hot water should
have� 
She broke off as the cat jumped onto the counter and started
clawing the wood.
     "HEY!!! Stop that." She grabbed for the cat and
jerked her hand back. Sucking on a clawed hand she glared
at the cat. "I'm gonna' make a CAT okonomyaki. You just
wait and . . .see?" Ukyou stared at the freshly scarred
counter top. It looked like . . .like . . .kanji." Staring at the
wood she could see a character. Slowly she traced the
strokes of the first character even as the cat busily clawed a
second character. "Chi . . .? The kanji for 'know'. . .that
didn't make any sense. 'Know' what?"
     "Rooollll." The cat gave Ukyou a disgusted look,
then went back to work.
     "HEY . . .don't get snippy with me. It's not my fault
you've got such lousy hand writing." She bent closer, and
traced the marks with her finger. "Hmmm. Let's see, a short
down stroke and a cross stroke . . .loooong cross stroke . . .
Aka??? Maybe� " Ukyou went cold. She drew back from
the marks as if from a snake. "Akane?"
     The cat looked up sharply at Ukyou's hoarse
whisper.
     "Akane." Stronger this time. "Akane . . .is that you?"
     "Mrrrrroooow." The small cat crooned , butting it's
head softly against Ukyou's chest.
     "My god. What happened? How did this happen?
Does Ranma know? You're supposed to be in Hawaii, at
that contest. How did you get here? Are you� 
     "Rrrrrrrwwww."
     "Oh, yeah. Heh, heh. Ummm. What should . . .hey,
what's this?" Ukyou ran her hands through the fur around
neko-Akane's neck. "A collar?" Ukyou was silent for a
moment. "OK, let me make a call." She picked Akane up in
her arms. Grabbing the plate that held her supper she headed
for her room. "You wait in here." She placed her supper on
the floor. "I hope this is OK. Uhhh, and this is oolong tea.
I'll bring you something later if you don't like it." Turning
Ukyou hurried from the room, so agitated that she shut the
door with a bang that jarred it off it's latch.
************************************************
     Akane felt her muscles turn to jelly and she collapsed
in a heap on the floor. SAFE. She was safe. Ukyou would
call Ranma. She could smell the warm okonomyaki, but was
too tired to eat. Tired. She was so very tired. Ranma would
be here soon. He would take care of her.   He would take her
home. Kasumi. Papa. Nabiki . . .Home . . .The surge of
adrenalin was wearing off and she felt her strength drain
away. She would just rest for a minute. Just for a . . .

************************************************
     Cautiously Cu Lon approached the Tendou
residence. Neon and halogen lights twisted the twilight
shadows into nightmare shapes. Her lips tightened as she
considered the problem before her.  The jangled lighting gave
the Tendou girl the advantage, as did her familiarity with the
neighborhood. She'd grown up here after all.  Her cat-keen
vision and hearing were off-set by her unfamiliarity with
these new senses and her new body. On her side, Cu Lon had
three thousand years of Amazon history and the assistance of
a psychopathic Jusekyo cursed Amazon male.  Frowning to
herself Cu Lon wondered if Mu Tsu should be entered on her
side of the ledger or the Tendou's.  Gliding through the
weirdly shifting shadows Cu Lon extended senses honed by a
lifetime of training. Opening herself to the night Cu Lon
could feel small creatures, some on four legs, some on six or
more skittering through the grass. The whirr of insects came
to her and she could pick up the faint odor of oil from a
leaky motor cycle engine. Patiently she sorted and classified
all the different events occurring in the neighborhood. 
If . . .no when Akane tried to come home Cu Lon would
know . . .would find her� stop her. Akane would return to
her cage. And this time Cu Lon would stay beside her for the
remaining days, until there was no chance� 
     "Rrrrriiiing."
     Cu Lon jerked�  startled for the first time in over
half a century. She pulled the small phone from her pocket.
************************************************
          "Moshi,moshi! Yes . . .yes he's here. Please hold on.
     Nabiki?" Kasumi called to her sister. "Could you
     please go get Ranma.? He has a telephone call.

************************************************
     "I think you should come to Ucchans . . .yes . . .right
now. No, I don't want to talk about it over the phone. NO, it
can't wait. Alright. I'll see you in a minute.

************************************************
     Akane snapped awake suddenly� not knowing
where she was for a moment. Downstairs came a faint noise .
. .feet shuffling . . .the murmur of voices. RANMA! Akane
felt her heart pound. Ranma had come for her. Sanity
returned a second later. Neko-ken. Cat bad. Akane cat. No
Ranma. Well, not inside. He'd have to wait outside,
probably. But Nabiki for sure. Maybe Kasumi too. And her
Dad. They'd take her home. She would tell them . . .about
Cu Lon, Mu Tsu� the cage. Akane shuddered
uncontrollably.  She went to the door and pawed at the edge.
She couldn't wait. She'd just peek over the top of the stairs .
. .

************************************************
     "So . . .I understand Tendou Akane is here?"
     "I don't know what you're talking about." Ukyou
hadn't expected this. She'd thought Cu Lon to be more
subtle.
     "I have no interest in playing games. You called
me� 
     "To tell you I had found your cat. The number was
on it's collar."
     Cu Lon stared at Ukyou expressionlessly for a
moment. "An interesting addition to your decor." She tapped
one incredibly ancient digit against the newly scarred counter
top.  
            Ukyou flushed; with embarrassment or anger,
perhaps even she could not tell.  "I called about your cat."
She insisted stubbornly. "I didn't say anything about anything
else. Do you want it, or not?"
     "When I got your call, I couldn't decide if you were
fiendishly clever, or incredibly ruthless." She speared Ukyou
with a glance. "Now I see that you are just silly and stupid."
     "Why you�  Ukyou surged forward, her fists
clenched in anger. Cu Lon stood motionless . . .watching her.
A faint smile twisted her lips as Ukyou stopped short.
     "Not entirely stupid. Now I think I will retrieve my
lost . . ."A faint noise came to her ears. "I was wrong. You
are not stupid . . .but perhaps with hard work you may
achieve that high plateau."
     "Huh?"
     Cu Lon sighed. "Do you have any relatives in
China?" At Ukyou's bewildered look she sighed again.
"Never mind. I wonder if I should kill you now. You are so
inept it would really be a mercy."
     "Hey!" Ukyou backed a step. "I . . .you . . .you can't
get away with that . People would . . .Ranma . . ." She took
a breath. "Ranma will be here soon. You'd better not . . ."
     "Son-in-law is not coming." Cu Lon headed for the
stairs. "I called him after I finished talking to you. At first I
thought that you might have been clever . . .having me come
here so that I might betray myself in front of son-in-law.
However, neither he nor any in that house, are experienced
enough to deceive me. As soon as I talked to him I could tell
he knew nothing of your scheme." She motioned and Ukyou
reluctantly followed the ancient Amazon up the stairs. "And
then I thought perhaps you were more ruthless than I
believed. That you were going to bargain with me, perhaps
even try to extort�  well, no matter. You showed neither
courage nor cleverness. Instead you appear to have acted
thoughtlessly and impulsively. You compound that with a
clumsy, childish lie; to keep your own hands clean while I did
what you would not� kill Tendou Akane."
     Ukyou's face was a frozen mask as she suddenly
realized what she'd done. Numbly she stumbled up the stairs,
stopping at the top as Cu Lon opened the door to her room. 
Her empty room. 
     Cu Lon glanced at a the curtains fluttering in front of
the closed windows. With her staff she moved the curtains
aside to find the source of the faint noise she'd heard earlier.
The lower glass pane had been smashed outward. Bending
down she could see a  tuft of black hair and a brownish stain
along one jagged edge.
     "Cats have very acute hearing." With that cryptic
remark Cu Lon started out of Ukyou's room.
     "That's it? That's all you have to say? What 
about . . .what about your cat?"
     "I was afraid when I first received your call." Cu Lon
remarked on her way down the stairs.
     Ukyou could only stare.
     "Oh, yes. I admit it. I was afraid. You were in an
unassailable position. With one call you would be a hero. To
Ranma, Akane . . .the clans Saotome and Tendou. All of
Nerima would be talking about Kuonji Ukyou. A single word
revealing Tendou Akane's plight� the treachery of the
Amazons. One whisper of what you knew and you would be
the most favored person in the Saotome and Tendou
households. The Amazons would be swiftly expelled from
Japan or destroyed. And, when it was found impossible to
restore Tendou Akane to human form� Kuonji Ukyou
would be close by to offer . . .comfort. I truly expected that I
would hear of your nuptials within the year." Cu Lon
considered the white faced girl a moment. "It's interesting
how a single decision can alter your entire life."
     "What . . ." Ukyou swallowed hard. "What are you
going to do?"
     "I am going to look for my cat."
     "What about me?"
     "You do have a problem, don't you?"