[Ranma][FanFic] Nekophobia - Part 5: Women and Cats

[Dave Eddy]

Nekophobia Part 5: Women and Cats

by David Eddy <d...@progress.com>

A fan fiction based on Takahashi Rumiko's Manga series, Ranma
1/2.

The characters of Ranma 1/2 are the property of Takahashi Rumiko
and her licensees.

See the author's notes at the end for credits and rambling.

C&C is welcomed! Please!

=======================================================

Tendou Soun and his daughters Kasumi and Akane sat quietly
at the living room table. Opposite them, silhouetted by the
bright sunlit yard, were Saotome Genma and his wife Nodoka. The
shoji of the house were fully open, as were the outer doors,
allowing the faint breeze to blow gently through the downstairs
rooms. Outside a wind chime rang gently, idly sounding soft
notes against the background noises of the city.
A large lunch sat on the table, but bowls sat empty in front
of every person. Next to Kasumi, a rice cooker steamed gently,
keeping its succulent white cargo hot and ready to eat.
Everything was ready... but nothing was happening.
There was a notable gap at the table between Kasumi and
Akane, large enough for perhaps two people. Kasumi frowned at
the gap and then at the rice cooker. "Where are those two?" she
wondered aloud, a little vexed. "The rice won't be nice if it
isn't served soon."
"Don't mind them," said Genma hungrily. "Let's eat!" He
held out his rice bowl to her, chopsticks magically appearing in
his other hand.
"Genma! Don't be rude!" Nodoka elbowed him sharply in the
short ribs and gave him a withering look. "We will wait for the
others!"
Looking hurt, Genma lowered the bowl slowly and put down his
chopsticks.
As if on cue, voices came from the other side of the yard.
"Come *on*, Ranma, lunch is ready. Aren't you hungry?" Nabiki's
voice was bantering.
"All right, all right, I'm coming." Ranma's voice sounded
dull and flat.
Akane was surprised at the demeanour of the two late-comers.
Nabiki was happy and smiling, almost bouncing as she led Ranma
into the house by the hand. He walked unenthusiastically behind
her.
Ranma? Not keen to eat? Was he coming down with something?
She watched him covertly, somewhat concerned as he sat
himself between herself and Nabiki at the table. His expression
was neutral, but something lurked in his eyes that worried her.
Even if he was a being a pig-headed boor about whatever childish
secret he wouldn't tell her, he was still her fiancee... more so
now than ever before since he had actually proposed to her last
night. She smiled at the memory.
Akane turned to Ranma as Kasumi began serving the rice.
"Ranma?" she said in a low voice. "Are you all right?"
Ranma turned to her and saw her smiling at him, and felt his
heart lift a little. His conversation with Nabiki had depressed
him. He was sure Nabiki hadn't meant to tear open that old
wound, but she had, and he had felt battered and vulnerable and
for some reason reaching out to her had made the hurt go away a
little. Now, seeing Akane -- his wife-to-be -- smiling at him
with concern in her eyes made him feel a little better. He
smiled at her and nodded.
"Itadakimas'!"
Genma began eating as usual, hunching over his own food and
protecting it before launching an attack on Ranma's bowl.
Nodoka and the others watched as Ranma did nothing to
protect his food... until at the last moment Ranma's chopsticks
flashed and gripped his father's hand, stopping it cold. Genma
struggled, trying to release his hand from the iron grip of his
son's chopsticks but failing.
"I'm not in any mood for your foolishness today, oyaji,"
said Ranma quietly. "Leave me alone." He let his father's hand
go with a little push.
Sensing an easy victory, Genma corkscrewed his chopsticks
around Ranma's hand and dove in for the kill, but suddenly
something smashed his hand into the table with stunning force,
and a red-hot spike of pain radiated up his arm.
Genma stared stupidly at the chopstick -- one of his own --
pinning his hand to the table, impaling it through the fleshy
part between thumb and forefinger like a wooden nail.
"I said, I'm in no mood for your stupid games today!
Weren't you listening, kuso oyaji?!" He shovelled some rice into
his mouth and jerked to his feet, heading outside again.
Everyone seemed to recover from their shock at once.
"Ranma, what's wrong?" "Why did you do that, Ranma?!" asked
the younger Tendou sisters. Kasumi just watched him with sad
eyes, while Soun stared at the blood leaking out of Genma's hand.
Nodoka stared at her retreating son. "Ranma!! What do you
think you're doing?! I want to talk with you, young man!"
Wordlessly, arms stiff by his sides, Ranma stalked across
the yard into the dojo.

For the rest of the meal, Akane pondered Ranma's
uncharacteristic behaviour. She had wanted so much to chase
after him, hold him, make the hurt go away, but a look from her
father had made her keep her seat. He had flicked his eyes to
Nodoka-obasama, and Akane had nodded dutifully.
But that did not stop her pondering about Ranma's behaviour.
Always before, he had seemed to enjoy the battle at meal-times
with his father. Why should he not only object today, but
actually draw blood so casually? Genma had never had a chance
against his son; Ranma had reacted so quickly she hadn't even
seen him move until it was all over. Normally he didn't really
exert himself against his father, she knew, but this time he
didn't seem to have held back anything. Why? Why now?
She noticed Nabiki casting concerned glances at the dojo as
she ate. Even when Ranma had been her fiancee, officially, Akane
thought that Nabiki hadn't shown anywhere near this level of
attention to him... except as an unwitting source of funds for
her coffers. What had happened when she had gone to collect him
for lunch? She had been in the dojo with him for quite a while.
*Something* must have happened to change Nabiki's behaviour so.
Yes, something must be wrong. But... What had happened?
Was he upset about how she had almost malleted him again this
morning? No, that couldn't be it; he'd never really been
bothered by that before. It didn't seem to make sense. He had
been happy when he woke, ecstatic to hold his mother this
morning, angry and... yes, frustrated at her a little later over
that stupid secret he wouldn't tell her about, whatever it was.
What had happened between him and Nabiki?
Why had she been holding his hand, and been happy about it?
Akane frowned to herself, an unpleasant thought taking hold
in her mind... had the incident in the bathroom been accidental?
She swallowed the last of her meal hurriedly and turned to
Nabiki.
"Nabiki-oneechan... have you finished lunch?"
Nabiki looked at her in surprise, chopsticks in her mouth.

* * *

Nodoka was smiling politely as she put down her chopsticks
in the precisely-correct place and half-bowed to Kasumi. Her
husband and Tendou Soun had excused themselves a few moments ago
to go and have Genma's hand seen to at the hospital. "Thank you
very much, Kasumi-san, that was a delicious meal. You are an
excellent cook."
Kasumi smiled sunnily. "Thank you, Nodoka-san, you are too
kind."
"Not at all."
There was a brief pause. "Would you like tea?" asked
Kasumi, finally.
"Thank you, that would be pleasant, but then I must go and
see Ranma. He seemed out of sorts." She paused and shifted
position a little. "Would you please tell me, Kasumi, do my son
and husband often fight like that?"
Kasumi sighed and paused in her tea-making. "They are
always fighting. Ojisama takes every opportunity to train Ranma-
kun. They spar every morning, and it is normal for them to fight
over each other's food, and numerous other things."
"But does it ever end like this?" Nodoka gestured at
Kasumi's first-aid kit, sitting closed on the floor.
"No. Their sparring matches usually seem fairly even..."
Raised voices floated down the stairs. It was Akane and
Nabiki. Kasumi frowned at the stairwell. "Really, what ever is
wrong with those two?"
"They don't sound very happy," said Nodoka.
The two shared a look and as one got up and headed upstairs,
tea forgotten.

* * *

Nabiki dug in her heels as Akane dragged her past the door
to her room. "Hey, what's goin' on, sis?"
Akane stopped dragging Nabiki and let go her wrist. She
turned to face her elder sister, hands on hips. "What happened
in the dojo, oneechan?! I've never seen Ranma like this. What
did you do to him?!"
"I didn't do anything!..." Nabiki sighed. "Or maybe I did.
You'd better come on in."
Akane followed Nabiki into her room. She sat on Nabiki's
bed while her sister took up her usual post in her swivel chair.
"What is it?" she asked as she sat. "What happened? Do you know
why Ranma's doing this?!"
"I don't really know why Ranma went off the deep end but I
think I'd better tell you about what happened when I went to get
him for lunch."
Akane frowned. "You were holding his hand when you came
back," she said half-accusingly.
Nabiki nodded. "That's part of what I'm gonna tell you,
sis." Her lips twisted sardonically. "For free, no less, so
shut up and let me talk while I'm in a weak moment."
Akane sat back and folded her arms, but said nothing.
"I was talking to Ranma about his big secret, the one he
says he can't tell us about, and--"
Akane's temper flared. "What?! He told you and he says he
can't tell *me*?!" Her fists balled and she was suddenly
standing, balancing on the balls of her feet. "How dare he!!
That ingrate!!!"
"Do you think he told me?! I had to guess! He only
confirmed my guess when I confronted him with it! Didn't you
*believe* him when he told you he wasn't allowed to *tell*
anyone?!"
Akane looked rebellious for a moment, then nodded. "So what
is it?" she asked as she sat on the edge of the bed.
Nabiki glared at Akane. "As I was saying, I was talking to
Ranma, and--"
"What is it?! Don't tell me *you* can't tell me *either*?!"
"I'll tell you later."
"Tell me now!"
"What, you mean you can't guess what it is about liddle P-
chan that sends Ranma right up the wall? Why he can't stand P-
chan... why he gets jealous over him?" Nabiki pointed at her
sister. "After all this time, all the clues he's dropped, you
can't tell when your own *fiancee* is trying to tell you
something?!"
"Of course he's been trying to tell me something! But he
won't tell me what it is! Why won't he tell me?!"
"Because he swore not to!! You just acknowledged that,
stupid! And to think you call *Ranma* an idiot all the time! He
swore not to tell, he's *told* you he swore not to tell, but he's
been trying to let you know all this time... over a year now!"
Nabiki leaned forward, eyes fiery. "He's been skirting as close
as he dares to the limits of his precious honour, you know, that
thing that's about all he has in this world except for you;
risking everything, dropping hints all over the place, and you're
too short-sighted to acknowledge that and sit down and try and
work it out!! Oh, not holier-than-thou Akane! He's got to break
his *word* and spell it out for you!"
Akane stared at her sister with huge eyes, motionless,
pinned in place by Nabiki's words like a rabbit caught in a
spotlight. Nabiki sprang up from her chair and began to pace as
she ranted.
"Do you know why he's been doing this?! You have to know as
well as I do that skirting as close to the edge of an oath as he
has is a little dishonourable in itself! Do you have the
slightest inkling why he'd do that?!" Nabiki's voice was low but
intense as she reached her closed door and turned to come back
towards her desk. "You know Ranma! Does he ever do anything
casually, without a reason?! Why would he risk his honour, hmm?
Could it possibly be that it's because he's been jealous? Or
maybe concerned for *your* honour? Your honour is his honour you
know, O wife-to-be of Ranma! Maybe both of these?"
Nabiki stopped by her chair and fixed Akane with her eyes.
She began to tick off points on her fingers. "Let's review the
evidence! He can't stand P-chan, but he suffers him because you
insist. P-chan attacks him sometimes for no reason. P-chan
often disappears for long periods. When you first found P-chan,
Ranma tried to chase him out of your bedroom." She started to
pace again.
"Ryouga often disappears for long periods, and gets
hopelessly lost. P-chan and Ryouga have never been seen
together. When P-chan disappears, Ranma speculates that perhaps
he has got lost. P-chan wears a bandanna just like Ryouga's."
She stopped, again close to Akane. "Ryouga is deathly-afraid of
water, and carries an umbrella with him wherever he goes. Ranma
calls Ryouga, 'pig-boy'." She sat down in her chair again, arms
folded. "Do you get it yet!?"
"You keep talking about Ryouga and my liddle P-chan, but I
can't see the connection!" But why was her stomach sinking,
Akane asked herself?
Nabiki furiously unfolded her arms and flung her hands
forward to hit her knees. "Aagh!" She rubbed her face angrily.
"Ryouga *is* P-chan!!"
Akane shook her head frantically. "No!! That can't be
right!! You must be lying!!"
"I'm afraid not. Would I lie to you about this?!"
The riposte burst forth before she could stop it. "If you
thought it would gain you a hundred-yen profit, I believe you
would!!" she snarled.
Nabiki stopped and stared at Akane. The world seemed to
stop and she felt cold, unable to move as the barbed words
pierced her heart as if years of defence did not exist and
somehow suddenly she knew, knew with crystalline clarity, that
her sister was right. She felt trapped, frozen in ice as the
facade she had carefully erected fell away and some of the things
she had done in the name of profit flickered through her
conscious mind, only half-sensed but each leaving a residue of
revulsion, embarrassment or despair.
She couldn't stop one fist from clenching spastically on her
thigh and she grimaced briefly at the strength of the feelings.
She hung her head, hot tears starting to spill down her cold
cheeks.
"I... I guess I deserved that," she said quietly to her
knees. And she did. Laid out before her she saw all the little
things she had done, some not so little, and the way in which she
had taken insults and barbs and turned them into compliments in
her mind. "I've been such a fool..." For a long moment she
regretted lost opportunities.
But this was important. She had to make Akane believe her.
She raised her head, fixing her gaze on Akane, ignoring the hot
feeling in her eyes, the moisture on her cheeks. She took a
breath and rallied herself, preparing to go on, only to see Akane
moving off the bed to kneel in front of her. She took her hands.
"Oh, Nabiki! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
"Say what's true." Nabiki shook her head sadly. "No, you
were right, Akane. Sometimes the truth hurts." She squeezed the
hands holding hers. "But please, for both our sakes, believe me
when I tell you, this time I'm telling you the truth."
"P-chan is... Ryouga? You're serious?"
Nabiki nodded her head sadly.
Somehow this simple action caused it all to come together in
Akane's mind. She could feel the dull heat of rage begin.
"All... this... time?" Nabiki watched fire come into her
sister's eyes. "All this time. In my bed, watching me change,
sometimes in the bathroom--"
"Shhh! Can't you put this to one side for the moment,
sis?!"
Akane looked Nabiki in the eyes, and she felt their impact,
but her passion steamrollered the small voice that was saying
that Nabiki should be listened to. "Put it to one side?! I told
P-chan all my troubles, all my thoughts, and all this time it was
Ryouga?!! How can I put it to one side?! I'll kill that sukebe
pig!!" She tried to free her hands from her sister's grip.
Nabiki hung on for dear life. "Akane! Forget it for a
moment and listen!!"
"Listen to what?!! What else can there be?! Tell me that!"
Nabiki slid off her chair to kneel in front of her sister,
still holding her hands, and looked at her seriously. "I'm
afraid there's more. You asked me what happened in the dojo,
remember? Between me and Ranma? Well, I'm about to tell you."
Her voice was dead-serious. Apprehension replaced Akane's rage
as Nabiki's appeal finally penetrated. What *more* could there
be?
"What? What is it, then?"
Nabiki sighed. "Listen, after he confirmed my guess about P-
chan we talked some more. I stumbled on something you've gotta
know, sis, before something happens we'll all regret." Her face
looked strained. "He told me that he can't see any solution with
the oaths his father made about him--"
"You mean me and Ukyou? He told me about that. I can't
believe I didn't see the problem before, but everything's okay
about that."
Nabiki shook her head. "You think so? I don't. I can't
believe how much he must love you... the Ryouga thing, and now
this... you mean almost as much to him as his honour, maybe even
more than that. He said that he'd considered just throwing away
everything he's worked for by abrogating his father's agreement
with the Kuonji family, just so he could marry you, but he
rejected that because you'd be smeared as well. He... he also
said he'd considered *suicide* as a way out of the bind he's in,
but... but that he couldn't do that because it would hurt you
badly too." She signed deeply to ease the ache in her chest and
shook her head, moisture gathering in her eyes again. "I think
he was more serious about that than he let on, though. We've got
to do something to help him out, or we may lose him."
"Ran... Ranma?" Ranma? Lose Ranma? The thought clenched a
hand about her chest, making it hard to breathe, pushing all
thoughts of revenge on Ryouga from her mind. She sagged forward,
but Nabiki caught her shoulders with her hands. "How did you
find out? Why did he tell you this?" she asked, eyes shimmering
with moisture.
Nabiki closed her eyes, squeezing hot tears out onto her
cheeks. Ranma's dull, inflectionless voice played back in her
mind as she spoke, fuelling the tightness in her throat. "I
asked him why our fathers hadn't said something about Ryouga. He
said something about how they would have their own reasons, and
added that he thought that father was governed by his honour. I
think he meant that he thought our father was interpreting
bushido strictly and hadn't told us for that reason. But when I
tried to compliment him by saying that he, too, was an honourable
person he looked like a kicked puppy and just opened up to me.
He looked so desolate, I don't know why but I reached over and
hugged him. I... I felt so close to him when he hugged me back,
I could feel him trembling... I discovered that I love him,
Akane, in much the same way as I love you... sister."
She opened her eyes again to see Akane staring at her in
amazement. "Na... Nabiki? L...love?"
Nabiki half-smiled and nodded, and impulsively hugged her
sister. "I'm so sorry I've been so distant, so cold. I couldn't
help it, I'd got myself into it and I was stuck there, and didn't
even know it..."
Akane was floating in a sea of unreality. Her world had
been turned upside down, too many shocks too quickly. Even as
she hugged Nabiki it all felt somehow... remote. Her sister, the
ice-cold businesswoman with the soul of a computer, the person
whom half the population of Furinkan lived in fear of in case she
decided to blackmail or trick them, the ruthless evaluator of
odds and emotionless automaton... had just told her that she
loved both her and Ranma, was hugging her, was crying even now.
She shook her head. No, it couldn't be true. "Ranma would
never suicide, Nabiki; he's not like that," she protested. But
even within herself, she began to doubt. All those times Ranma
had been determined to present himself to his mother... had it
all been a ruse? Until *this* time, Nodoka's visits had been
sheer torture for him. Sometimes she had worried for him after
catching him in an unguarded moment, the pain of his mother's
visits strong in his eyes. What if... She pushed Nabiki back
firmly but hung onto her shoulders. "But let's check on him
anyway, shall we?"
Nabiki wiped her eyes and nodded. "Okay, sis. Let's go."
She stepped over to her door and opened it decisively.
And jumped back in surprise as Kasumi and Nodoka fell
through the now-open doorway.

* * *

Ryouga wandered the streets of Nerima, resignedly trying to
make sense of where he was. Akane's decision to go and wake
Ranma had spurred him to a decision: Today would be the day he
would proclaim his love for her! He had felt her closeness to
his rival, and had told himself that if he did not act soon, she
would be lost to him forever.
With a light heart, he had headed downstairs and found the
bathroom on his first try. 'Maybe the kami are smiling on me at
last!' he had thought to himself. The sense of euphoria over
successfully finding the bathroom had lasted all through his
bathing and dressing, until...
He had left the bathroom and realised that he was not in the
Tendou-ke any more.
Gaaah!
And now he was determined to get back to the dojo, to pledge
his love to Akane. If only he could find something he
recognised.

* * *

Ranma was performing katas, concentrating with one part of
his mind on keeping the forms as precise and fluid and powerful
as he knew how, while keeping another part, the most important
part, divorced from what was going on, leaving it free to
meditate. He was reaching for his wa, his centre of peace and
harmony.
His loss of control concerned him deeply. For the second
time in less than a week, he had been relegated to being a
passenger in his own mind as red rage took over. This time he
had wrenched control back almost immediately, but that was no
consolation. It could have grave consequences if it happened at
the wrong time... possibly even the worst possible consequences.
He *had* to work to bring himself under control before it was too
late.
Perhaps it was time for some special training. Maybe he
should try and find someone to help him.
But that would mean leaving Akane behind, and he didn't want
to do that.
But... why not bring her and train her at the same time? It
was summer holidays; school would not be back for months. Why
not go on a training trip? Just the two of them? Yeah, that'd
be just what he needed. That place where he'd gone to train when
Ryouga had learned the breaking point, that'd be great.
He noticed Akane step into the dojo. "Hey, Akane!" he
called as he continued his kata. "Wanna go on a training trip?"
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Ranma."
The sound of his mother's voice brought Ranma to a halt in
the middle of the dojo. She didn't sound angry, so why...?
"Mother! Why not?"
Nabiki and Kasumi entered also, staying back and watching.
Kasumi carried a tray of drinks.
Nodoka smiled at him. Him. Her smile reminded him of the
events of this morning... he had a mother again! He needn't fear
having to commit seppuku ever again. Euphoria started to take
hold of him.
"We have a number of problems to resolve." She sighed
sadly. "What's this I hear about you contemplating suicide, my
son? I don't think things are that bad!" She added something
under her breath that Ranma didn't catch because he was busy
facefaulting.
Picking himself up from the floor, he said, "Who said
anything about suicide? I sure don't want to do anything like
that!" He walked over towards them, shaking his head.
Nodoka looked at him askance and opened her mouth to speak,
but she was destined never to utter what she had to say as Kasumi
stumbled over the remains of a training dummy that lay on the
floor beside the door. She tripped and recovered violently,
sending the five tumblers of lemonade on the tray soaring into
the air.
Ranma dodged but collided hard with Akane, who was also
dodging the liquid arcing gracefully through the air towards
them. He grabbed her to keep her from going sprawling to the
floor and tried again to dodge when suddenly her weight
disappeared and he felt the change surge through him.
Looking around frantically to make sure Akane was okay, his
eyes soon fell on...
"C-c-cat!" he said in a strangled voice, backpedalling to
the rear of the dojo for a bit before he managed to grab hold of
himself and stand firm. 'It's only Akane!' he told himself.
'It's only Akane!'
Kasumi finished recovering without actually falling to the
floor and looked around to see the damage. The tumblers were
okay, they were made of plastic and had not broken, but the dojo
floor would need mopping if it was not to get sticky. Ranma
would need a bath, too, as would--
"Oh, my! I'm sorry, Akane and Ranma-kun!"
Nabiki was shaking her head ruefully. Nodoka was staring in
surprise at Akane-neko and her terrified... daughter.
"I wonder if I'll ever get used to that," she said to
herself.
"Don't worry," said Nabiki with a kind of half-smile, "you
will."
Nodoka shot Nabiki a sceptical look, then frowned at her
son... daughter. She was still trembling in fear.
"What ever is wrong with you, Ranma?" she asked in
exasperation. "Showing fear openly isn't very manly, you know."
Ranma rolled her eyes but didn't seem capable of replying
for the moment, so Kasumi stepped in. "I think you should know
the full story before you start making statements like that,
Nodoka-sama. Ranma has ailurophobia. Tofuu says he's never
heard of a worse case."
"What is ailurophobia?" asked Nodoka sternly. "And who is
Tofuu-san?"
"The fear of cats," said Nabiki as she knelt down and held
out her hands to Akane.
Akane-neko turned away from Ranma-onna and slowly walked
towards Nabiki. Nodoka frowned, watching Ranma calm down a
little as the cat headed away from him. "Why would Ranma be
afraid of cats, especially a cute little cat like Akane becomes?
That's not manly at all." She fondled her ever-present cloth-
wrapped katana reflexively.
Somehow Akane managed to look sad as she walked into
Nabiki's outstretched hands. Kasumi shook her head. "Please
excuse me, Nodoka-sama, but as I said, I believe you would not
say that if you knew the whole story."
Nodoka took in the body language of the two sisters and the
circumspect way Kasumi was phrasing her speech, and came to a
conclusion. "What has my husband done now, Kasumi?" she asked an
a half-resigned, half challenging tone.
Nabiki walked slowly over to Ranma as Kasumi began telling
the story of Ranma's "training" in the Neko-ken. Ranma nervously
watched Akane in Nabiki's arms as Nabiki gradually came to within
conversational distance. Akane watched him back.
"You know Ranma, you're going to have to get used to Akane
in her cat form," said Nabiki. "Why don't you start now?"
Ranma-onna flicked her attention from Akane to her mother,
seeing that she was watching events unfold even as she listened
to Kasumi. "I don't know," she prevaricated nervously in a low
voice.
Nabiki raised an eyebrow at her, then reached out with her
free hand to give her a little shove to her shoulder. "Come on,
it won't be that bad, little brother," she said. "Besides," she
continued in a quieter voice, "it's a manly sort of thing to do."
Ranma was a little surprised by Nabiki's playing, but her
statement about manliness got her attention. She cocked an eye
at her mother, who was looking aghast at Kasumi's tale but still
keeping half an eye on events at this end of the dojo.
'What the hell, why not?' Ranma thought to herself. 'Even
if I go cat again, it'll be worth it.' Thus decided, she set her
jaw and nodded decisively, holding her arms out to take Akane-
neko.
Akane watched apprehensively as Nabiki pushed Ranma-onna's
hands close to her body, then gently placed her into them. She
held herself rigid almost unconsciously as she prepared for Ranma
to drop her, but his... her hands were sure and strong and
radiated a relaxing warmth into her body. She let herself relax
and enjoy the experience of being held by Ranma. It was so...
comforting.
Ranma held herself steady against the emotions surging
within her as Nabiki placed Akane-neko in her hands. The feeling
was odd, there was none of the sharp pain he had been
subconsciously expecting, just the soft feel of her fur and the
underlying rigidity of muscles poised for instant action.
Visions arose in her head of what "instant action" could mean,
threatening to flood her mind with the echoes of yowling cats and
the shadow pain of claws ripping into flesh... and then Akane
relaxed, slumping bonelessly into her hands and against her body.
Suddenly, the images and sensations flooding Ranma's mind
retreated, not gone but in the background, pushed to one side as
Akane gently butted her stomach with her head. She looked up at
Ranma, twisting her head around with the impossible flexibility
of a cat's neck, and butted her stomach again.
Hesitantly, Ranma moved Akane so that she could hold her
with one hand, and used the other to tentatively stroke the top
of her head. She watched, awed, as Akane closed her eyes and...
purred. Getting bolder, Ranma gently stroked Akane-neko's back
and hindquarters, getting a notable increase in volume for her
troubles.
"*What*?! That does it!! Saotome Genma, just you wait
until I get hold of you!!" Nodoka's voice was loud and outraged.
Ranma jumped at his mother's voice, causing Akane to
reflexively tighten her grip... with claws. "Itta!" yelled Ranma
as she brushed Akane off before she could stop herself. "C-c-
cat!" She began to back away.
Akane stood stock-still on the floor, staring at Ranma in
dismay. It had been going *so* well for a moment there... being
stroked by Ranma had been *so* nice.
Nabiki sighed and picked Akane up from the floor. She
looked at Ranma-onna sympathetically. "Are you okay, Ranma?" she
asked.
Ranma, now back against the dojo wall, nodded with wild
eyes.
Nabiki turned her attention to Akane. She shook her head
and stroked the fur over her shoulders for a moment. "How 'bout
you, sis? You okay?"
Akane nodded, then made a low interrogative sound, looking
in Ranma's direction.
Nabiki looked up, and was amazed to see Ranma-onna right
there, obviously nervous but very determined and reaching out for
Akane-neko. She felt Akane try to move in her hands towards
Ranma so she held her out for Ranma to take.
This time Ranma was able to make herself actually take Akane
from Nabiki's hands, and this time held her against her chest.
Again hesitantly, she stroked Akane's soft fur. From this
position, Akane was able to reach her chin and did so, gently
butting her head into Ranma's jaw in delight.
Soft footsteps drew Ranma's attention away from Akane to the
world around him. He saw his mother and Kasumi approaching
quietly, coming to stand next to Nabiki. All three were smiling.
"Isn't that beautiful?" asked Kasumi. Nabiki nodded.
"You are so manly, my son, to overcome your fears in this
way." She grimaced. "Your rather *understandable* fears," she
added with some asperity.
Akane mewed softly and tapped Ranma's collarbone with a paw.
Ranma looked down at Akane and said, "You want to change back, is
that right?"
Akane nodded, then rubbed her head against her collarbone.
Ranma smiled and nodded and headed for the dojo doors.
Nabiki followed, scooping up Akane's clothes as she went. Nodoka
and Kasumi followed.
Outside, the warm air and hot sun and amazement at actually
holding a cat and somewhat enjoying it lulled Ranma into ignoring
her environment... or maybe it was the effort of pushing her fear
of cats so far back that restricted her senses. She walked
absent-mindedly along the path, gently holding Akane to her upper
chest.
A rapid, light thudding from the roof made Nabiki look up.
She was horrified to see two cats sprinting along the roof, a
ginger tom chasing a scared-looking tortoise-shell cat. It was
with a sense of disbelieving inevitability that Nabiki watched
the tortoise-shell plunge down the pitch of the roof at break-
neck speed and leap towards the ground... directly at Ranma's
head.
"Ran--!"
Too late. The leaping cat landed squarely over Ranma's
face, the ginger tom thudding onto her shoulder a moment later.
"Oh, no," she said as she backed away.
"What's wrong?!" said Nodoka as she saw Ranma slowly curl
into a strange stance. "What's wrong, Ranma?"
Yowling in pain, the two strange cats headed for the horizon
in graceful arcs as Ranma dropped into a three-legged stance.
One hand was used for keeping Akane safe.
"Ranma's going into the neko-ken," said Nabiki as she
continued to back away. "Be careful."
Ranma looked around, checking her surroundings and looking
for a safe place. Nodoka felt her stomach sink as Ranma's eyes
caught hers for a moment and she was dismayed to see that they
were flat and utterly empty of intelligence. Ranma, whether her
son or daughter, no longer inhabited those eyes. The depth of
what Genma had *done* to her son struck her, and again she had to
push her ever-growing anger at her husband to one side. Push it
into a compartment... for the moment.
"Sweeto!"
Happousai was at Ranma-onna's rear, patting her buttocks and
grinning from ear to ear. "Ranma, my dear, you love your master
don't you?"
With blinding speed, Ranma spun in place and hissed angrily
at the old man. There was life in her eyes now, the hunger of a
predator. Happousai blanched and produced a bomb, its fuse
already lit. With a deft flip of his wrist he tossed the bomb at
Ranma and turned to flee.
And went precisely nowhere as Ranma-onna shredded the bomb
with one swipe of a paw and pounced on the old man. She put down
Akane gently and let the old man get up. Akane-neko ran for
Nabiki while Ranma-onna batted at Happousai playfully. Like a
cat playing with a mouse.
The canny old man dodged the blow, and the next, but Ranma
hissed and got him with a glancing blow that rolled him end-over-
end a few times. Smiling, Ranma bounced after him and landed on
his head. Happousai rolled out from under Ranma, but she started
getting angry again at his resistance and pounced again, paused a
moment, then backed off to let the old man rise.
Happousai stood, grey and sweating. He started to back
away. "Ranma... please... you love your master, don't y--"
In a blur of motion, Ranma was on him. Happousai screamed
once before flying across the yard with tremendous speed, to hit
the trunk of the cherry tree by the dojo with a brutal impact and
then fall to the ground, motionless. Ranma turned her back on
Happousai and flipped some dirt in his direction before wandering
over to Nabiki, who was holding Akane-neko to her chest. Ranma
brushed up against Nabiki's thighs and made a rumbling sound that
she realised with a start was supposed to be a purr. Another,
stronger shove made her stagger and she frowned down at an
ecstatic Ranma.
Kasumi frowned at this display and looked over at the cherry
tree. Happousai still hadn't moved. She started to walk quickly
in that direction to check more closely, but Ranma-onna saw her
move and sprinted over to the old man. After standing atop him
for a moment, she grabbed his shirt with her teeth and dragged
him over to Nabiki's feet, her four-legged gait somehow proud.
Kasumi knelt to check him over as Ranma resumed stropping
against Nabiki. She saw that the old master was bleeding from
several places where his skin had been shredded, although not
critically, and appeared to have broken an arm and a leg. In
addition, blood leaked from one corner of his mouth and he was
utterly unconscious. "Oh, my," she said to the others. "He's
been hurt rather badly. I'd better call a doctor. Obasama,
would you please do me the favour of helping Nabiki deal with
Ranma and Akane?"
Nodoka nodded and Kasumi went inside. She turned to Nabiki,
who was still holding Akane up and staggering from Ranma-onna
stropping herself against her thighs, circling about her happily.
Nabiki was looking a little frustrated and confused and despite
the seriousness of the situation, it was all Nodoka could do not
to smile at the ridiculous scene. "What do I need to do,
Nabiki?"
Nabiki shook her head. "Normally we'd get Akane to calm
Ranma down, but in this case I don't think we'll be able to get
Ranma away from Akane long enough to change her back."
Nodoka frowned. "Why not just change her back here?"
"She'll be naked when she changes back. Her clothes don't
fit a cat, obasama, and I don't think she'd appreciate being
changed back in front of Ranma... even if he won't remember what
happened while he was in the grip of the neko-ken."
Akane meowed in agreement. Nabiki took a step against a
particularly hard shove from Ranma. Reflexively she yelled,
"Ranma! Stop it!"
To her surprise, Ranma stopped stropping herself against her
legs and moved a short distance away and began to clean herself.
"That's funny," she said with a puzzled frown, "usually he'll
only listen to Akane." She shook her head and returned her gaze
to Nodoka. "As I was about to say, if you could get some hot
water we can pour it on Ranma and see if that knocks him out of
the neko-ken. If not, well, we'll just have to go to plan B."
"Does the water need to be boiling?"
"No, just out of the tap is more than hot enough. Any
hotter and it'd burn them."
"I... see," said Nodoka, frowning as she watched Ranma who
seemed oblivious to proceedings. "You seem to be taking this
awfully calmly, Nabiki-chan."
Nabiki grinned. "Believe me, we're well and truly used to
dealing with Ranma's curses around here. That baka seems to
collect them like a horse collects flies." She shook her head
sympathetically. "He really does live in interesting times...
the rest of us just get the backwash."
There was a short silence. "That was very profound,
Nabiki." Nodoka smiled and headed for the house. "I'll go and
get some hot water."

* * *

The families were again around the table in the living room.
A fan had been brought out now that the earlier breeze had died,
and struggled to move the suddenly-humid air about enough to
provide a cooling effect. Outside, the sun no longer illuminated
the yard; instead a purplish-golden light told of the clouds that
now obscured most of the sky. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
Tea was being served.
"Do you think Happousai will be okay?" asked Akane.
Ranma looked a little embarrassed, but Genma just grunted
and leaned forward, one hand on his hip. His other hand, heavily
bandaged, rested on the table. "Don't worry about him," he said
with a fine arrogance. "He's tough. The doctor is good. He'll
survive, unfortunately."
Nodoka elbowed her husband in the ribs, hard. "Genma! Do
not even think about claiming credit for your son's
accomplishment!"
"But Nodoka-chan, I wasn't doing anything of the sort..."
She snorted in an unladylike way and sipped her tea. "And
don't try to ingratiate yourself. I'm still not sure what your
future is, Genma. There is not only the matter of what you have
done to our son! We have yet to deal with Kuonji Ukyou-san."
Genma blanched and looked away.
"What are we going to do about that, mother?" asked Ranma.
He and Akane were sitting very close together. Soun smiled
beatifically from the opposite side of the table, having observed
how closely they were sitting and their general demeanour,
certain now that the families would be joined no matter what
Ranma and his daughter said.
Nodoka sipped her tea. "First I must meet the young lady,
Ranma-chan, and then we shall see." She turned to Soun. "Tendou-
san, may I please invite Kuonji Ukyou-san to dinner this
evening?"
"Of course," he said magnanimously. "Please treat our home
as yours."
"What do you want me to prepare for dinner, obasama?" asked
Kasumi.
"Perhaps we should discuss that, Kasumi."
Akane finished her tea and poked Ranma in the ribs. "Time
for training, baka?"
"Eh? Sure, let's go."

* * *

Grunts and occasional yells echoed through the dojo as Akane
and Ranma sparred. Both were sweating in the heavy atmosphere,
even though the arrival of the rain had brought some reduction in
the temperature.
It had been raining for some time now. The overhead lights
were on. Outside it was quite dim, even though in theory the sun
should still be well up. The normal sounds of the city were
drowned out by the pouring rain.
Nabiki stepped into the dojo and sat against one wall to
watch the sparring pair. It was decidedly odd to see Ranma
actually fighting against Akane, Nabiki decided. She watched the
progress of the fight. It was quite clear that Ranma was
superior, but he was fighting Akane seriously.
Finally Ranma touched Akane on the throat and the fighting
stopped. They bowed. Nabiki was pleased to see both Ranma and
Akane grinning from ear to ear.
"That was much better," said Ranma. "You're getting better
all the time!"
"It felt better," said Akane. She walked up to Ranma until
her chest was nearly touching his and looked into his eyes. "I
guess I've got you to thank for that. We should have done this
ages ago."
"Done what?"
"The training." Then she leaned forward and gave him a peck
on the lips. "And that."
Ranma blushed and used one hand to play with the base of the
plait in his hair, but he managed not to turn away in
embarrassment. Instead he smiled sheepishly. Finally Akane took
pity on him and turned to her sister. "Hello, oneechan. What do
you want?"
Nabiki shrugged and looked a little embarrassed. "I thought
I'd come and see what you guys were doing."
Ranma was surprised to see Nabiki looking flustered. A part
of him wondered if it would snow in summer next.
"Would you like to learn?" he asked. Why else would she be
in the dojo, he reasoned.
Nabiki shrugged. "Maybe. I haven't quite decided. I
haven't done it in a very long time, you know."
"Well, you've certainly got plenty of people to learn from,"
he said. "If you have a problem with learning from your father,
maybe I or Akane could teach you. Akane is certainly qualified
to--*urk*!"
Akane had grabbed him from behind in a bear hug. "Ranma!
You say the nicest things!"
Ranma grabbed Akane's hands and forced them apart a little.
Able to breathe again, he said over his shoulder, "Well, it's
true, you know. Maybe you shouldn't teach at the advanced level
just yet, but you *certainly* know the basics."
Akane wormed her wrists out of his hands and changed her
grip on him so that her forearms ran up either side of his chest,
her hands on his shoulders pulling him to her. "Mmm," she said
as she lay her head against his back.
Ranma smiled gently and brought his arms behind himself,
holding her to him in a kind of reverse hug.
Nabiki, who was now smiling, got up and walked over to the
pair. She laid one hand on Ranma's arm. "You know, you're quite
something, little brother. I'm almost beginning to regret
palming you off onto Akane here." She took her hand away and
shook her head. "Not that you would have stayed with me," she
added sadly under her breath. She put on her confident smile
again, but to Ranma it looked a little fragile. Nabiki had
changed dramatically today; he was sure it would take her some
time to come to terms with that change. But... he had a thought,
and decided to say it out loud.
"I *do* quite like the new Nabiki... neechan."
Nabiki gasped, then impulsively wrapped her arms about Ranma
and Akane for a moment before stepping back, a big smile lighting
up her face.
"But I haven't told you what I came over here for," she
said. "It's to do with your request last night, Ranma. Where
you asked me to find you a job, a way of getting money?"
Ranma dropped his arms from about Akane and she in turn let
him go. Ranma turned to face Nabiki. "Oh?"
"I thought we'd try a calendar shoot. Swimsuit stuff, you
know."
Ranma frowned a little. "My girl form?"
Nabiki laughed. "Both forms, brother dearest, both forms!
You're quite nice in your normal form too, you know!"
Ranma blushed, and Akane giggled. "When?"
"Why not tomorrow?"
A footstep sounded at the entrance to the dojo. All three
turned in time to see Shampoo step inside. She was wearing her
normal hot-weather wear, a short Chinese dress with short
sleeves. She shed her sandals and stepped onto the main floor.
"Nihao, Ranma," she purred as she walked slowly, seductively
towards him. "You come marry Shampoo, yes?"
"I already told you, Shampoo, I won't marry you. Now or
ever." He shook his head for emphasis.
"He's marrying *me*!" added Akane.
Shampoo turned a slitted gaze on Akane. "You are obstacle,"
she said in a flat, cold voice. "Obstacles are for killing."
With that she drew a long knife, really a short sword, from
behind her back and leaped at Akane.
Akane blocked, but was hard-pressed to keep the knife from
her skin for the few short instants before Ranma joined the fray.
"Get back!" he said. "Both of you!"
As soon as Akane retreated, Shampoo stopped attacking and
tried to dodge around Ranma. He blocked her, and she tried to
pass around his other side. Again he blocked her, and again and
again. Finally Shampoo pleaded with him, desperation colouring
her voice, even as she tried yet again to get past Ranma.
"Please, Ranma, must marry Shampoo. Akane is obstacle.
Must kill obstacle." She lashed at him with her knife, but Ranma
had read her fevered eyes and disarmed her easily. He tossed the
knife to one side of the dojo, where it stuck into the wall with
a *thud*.
"Shampoo!" said Ranma. "This isn't you! You aren't like
this!"
Shampoo finally gave up trying to go around him, and just
started attacking him. He blocked her attacks, keeping himself
between her and Akane.
"Please, husband, let kill obstacle! Must kill obstacle...
must..."
For almost a minute Ranma blocked Shampoo's attacks,
frowning at the simple patterns she was using. He was trying to
think of an alternative to defeating her yet again, but nothing
obvious presented itself.
Finally when Ranma turned aside a vicious kick to the groin
followed by a series of heart kites, he decided enough was
enough. He went onto the attack and a moment later Shampoo was
unconscious at his feet.
"Well *that* was certainly interesting," said Nabiki from
her position against one wall of the dojo. Akane stood next to
her.
"It's not like her to be so simple-minded in her attacks,"
said Ranma, frowning down at Shampoo thoughtfully. "It was like
fighting... a robot, I guess."
"She must have been drugged or something," said Nabiki. "I
think it's time I did something about Cologne."
"Be careful!" warned Ranma. "She's very dangerous. Don't
even think of attacking her. I'm the only one who can even
consider it."
Nabiki smiled, her old smile, and shook her said. "Dear
brother. Did you think I was going to use force? Moi?"

========================================

Author's Notes:

This is part five of Nekophobia. I've given up estimating how
long it's going to go, but it'll be at least eight parts. *sigh*

Spelling and grammar weenies, the spelling used is *Commonwealth*
English so please don't gig me for "colour", "honour", "centred",
and numerous "s" <--> "z" replacements. I definitely want to
know about grammar and spelling errors, however. Nobody is
perfect.

I'd like to thank my pre-readers Chris Jones and Bob Barnes for
their commentary. My 'fics are always better as a result of your
input. I'd also like to thank those of you who sent in C&C for
the first version of this part. It was very useful, thanks.

--
David Eddy -- d...@progress.com
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Towers/8341