[Ranma][Fanfic] Nekophobia Part 2:

[David Eddy]

Neko-phobia Part 2: The Second Day

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 licencees.

WARNING: This story contains occasional adult concepts. *I* don't
think it's lemon, or even all that lime, but your mileage may vary.
You have been warned.

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

C&C is welcomed! Please!

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

Akane tossed in her bed, the yellow light of dawn gently
illuminating the room. A fitful breeze wafted through the open
window, the warm air soft with humidity. The light sheet was
creased and wrinkled. She grimaced as she writhed again.

Rain hammered down, and rivers of stormwater collected in the
drains and flowed swiftly away, dark, seething torrents poorly lit
by the feeble street lights. Akane peeked out from the cover of the
garbage bin to see if her pursuers still waited. The street was
clear.
Bracing herself, she dashed out into the bone-chilling rain,
the heavy droplets making light of the protection of her fur. She
shivered and stretched out into a dead run, trying to get home
before her doggy pursuers picked up her trail again. She hoped
against hope that the downpour would wash away her scent so she
could not be followed.
A last corner turned, and the gates of the dojo were in sight.
Akane felt her heart lift and she headed for the gate, but skidded
to a halt as a shadowy figure stepped out from under the roof over
the gate. The dull light of the street lights fell on the figure.
She stepped lightly, ignoring the driving rain. A short dress clung
wetly to her shapely figure, but her face remained in shadows,
obscuring all details except for sooty, glowing eyes.
"Hello, violent-girl," said the woman. With an ugly thrill
Akane recognised Shampoo's voice. Teeth gleamed whitely in her
shadowed face. "Shampoo has new pet. Violent-girl like
Midorigame?"
The large green alligator called "Midorigame" ("Green Turtle")
appeared by Shampoo's side, a slim lead joining the collar around
the alligator's neck to her hand. Midorigame *clopped* his jaws
hungrily, saliva glistening briefly in his dark maw. Akane wanted
to turn tail and run, but Shampoo's glowing eyes held her in place,
her muscles frozen. Akane railed against the prison her cat's body
had become as Midorigame took a step forward. Shampoo laughed
insanely. 'Not again! Oh please, somebody help me,' she thought
frantically. 'Oh no not againnotagain Oh please oh please
somebodyhelpmeRanma--'
*THUMP!* *CRASH!*
Ranma appeared from nowhere and kicked Shampoo in the jaw. She
slumped to the wet pavement and lay unmoving for a moment before
shimmering into nothingness. A moment later Midorigame did the
same. Ranma squatted in front of her and held out his hand to her.
Akane watched in disbelief as Ranma smiled at her as the rain
ran down his face and arms. He reached out to pick her up.
"Ranma!"

Akane awoke with a start. A sliver of sun was shining into her
room. She looked bleary-eyed at her clock. Five fifty. She closed
her eyes and relaxed back onto her pillow.
*THUD!* "Itetetetetete!!"
"Leave me alone, I said!" came Ranma's female voice. "Why
don't you go and annoy ojisan?! I never see *him* training!"
"Don't be lazy, boy! It's time to train."
"Who are you calling lazy, you old creep?"
"Get up!"
"*Leave* *me* *alone!*"
Silence.
A shoji opened and closed. Water ran briefly. An outside door
opened.
Silence.

* * *

Akane couldn't get back to sleep. After half an hour of
listening to the birds and watching the sun slant into her room, she
got up. She slipped on shorts and a cotton shirt and slipped out of
her room and downstairs.
Ranma was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't in his room, although
Genma was, slumped untidily half-on half-off his futon, snoring. He
wasn't perched on his favorite rock by the pool, or on the stone
lantern, or on the bird house. Nor did he seem to be in the cherry
tree by the dojo.
The doors to the dojo were open. Akane stepped curiously along
the path to the dojo. She slipped inside and knelt.
Ranma was doing katas. He was wearing his gi, and going
through the prescribed, stylized movements slowly and exactly with a
fluid, effortless grace. His eyes were closed.
Akane watched curiously. Ranma was doing *beginner's* katas.
Keeping his eyes closed, he worked his way around the dojo, his
expression outwardly calm.
He then went around again, as nearly as she could tell
retracing his steps exactly.
He finished with a bow towards the big sign at the end of the
dojo. Iroha. The fundamentals.
He turned to face her and knelt.
"Good morning, Akane. Did oyaji's passion for training wake
you?"
Akane smiled slightly. "Yes. I notice he's sleeping soundly
enough now."
"I hit his sleep spot," said Ranma with a wry smile. "It
seemed appropriate, somehow."
Akane giggled a little. "I didn't know you knew any pressure-
point moves."
"You can't hang around Tofuu-sensei and Cologne without picking
up something."
"Oh, I see." Akane felt comfortable with Ranma for the first
time in a while. She decided to assuage her curiosity. "Why were
you doing beginner's katas just now?"
The smile slipped off Ranma's face. "Let's go and sit by the
pond."

"I was doing control exercises."
Ranma sat on his favourite boulder by the pond, facing Akane,
head bowed, looking at his feet. Akane knelt in front of him on the
rock, watching him closely. He looked a little... scared?
"I lost control last night, Akane. I let anger take me. I
attacked Cologne almost without provocation and once I started I
couldn't stop without her hurting me, so I had to finish it with a
Hiryuu Shouten Ha."
Akane nodded. "We saw it from here."
Ranma plunged onward as if he hadn't heard her. He expression
was inward-looking, his hands palm-up, arms extended towards Akane.
"While I was fighting the old ghoul I could feel this *thing* inside
me, lusting for her blood. I was winning, you know, even without
the Hiryuu Shouten Ha. It was like she wasn't fighting at her best.
She was blocking everything, but I could see it in her eyes, she
knew she was being beaten. A part of me wanted to continue, to do
her harm, to maim her for what she had done." He closed his eyes
and shuddered as if he were cold. "I had to do the Hiryuu Shouten
Ha before I got through her defenses."
Akane leaned toward Ranma, concerned. "Are... are you okay,
Ranma?"
He looked up at Akane and wrapped his arms about his legs.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I've just got to work on my control."
"But it took you so long to get back, and you came home looking
like a wreck. I was really worried about you!"
"I was just tired. I passed out afterwards, you know, for a
little while. I guess I overdid the Hiryuu Shouten Ha. The rain
woke me."
Akane turned her head to look at the pond. A koi broke the
surface for a moment before returning to the murky depths.
"Are they okay?"
"Yeah. There's not much left of the Nekohanten, though. I
thought I'd be sorry for that, you know, but I'm not." His right
fist clenched. "They deserved that at least for what they did to
you," he said with controlled anger. He was quiet for a long
moment, then sighed. "I'm just glad it wasn't more."
Akane just looked at the pond, her expression unreadable.
"Do you want to train?" asked Ranma.
Akane looked up again, surprised. Ranma didn't look angry any
more. He was looking at her. "Now? I thought you didn't want to
train?"
Ranma quirked his lips and shrugged.
"Okay, let me go and get changed." Akane got up and ran inside
the house.

Akane had her gi pants on and a white tee-shirt when a
commotion began in the yard. She stuck her head outside to see what
was going on.
Shampoo was clinging on to Ranma, who was in female form. They
were standing in the pond. Shampoo's bicycle lay forgotten on the
ground. Ranma was bringing her hands up towards Shampoo's chest.
A red curtain slid over Akane's vision.
"RAAAANNNMMMAAAAAAA!!!"

Onna-Ranma reached up to Shampoo's shoulders and gently pushed
her to try to get her to let go. Shampoo didn't move, so she
growled in frustration and pushed much harder. Shampoo lost her
grip and flew off to land in the pond. Ranma stepped out of the
pond, fists clenched. Shampoo surfaced a moment later.
"Husband no like Shampoo?" she asked in a hurt tone of voice.
She stood up and stepped out of the pond next to onna-Ranma, who
still had her back to the pool.
Akane burst out of the house, her aura aflame and her mallet
cocked in both hands by her head.
"Ranmaaa nooooo BAKA!!"
Ranma shoved Shampoo out of the way, hard, and just squeaked
out of the path of the descending hammer-blow. Shampoo landed in
the pond flat on her back and water went everywhere... including
onto Akane.
With an angry "Mrwowrr!" Akane-neko struggled out of her wet
clothes and sprinted after onna-Ranma. She jumped and landed on
Ranma's back.
"Waaaaaa! Geddit off, geddit off!" yelled Ranma as she ran
around the yard, trying to make herself grab Akane to get her off
her shoulders. Akane hissed angrily, deployed her claws and dug
them deeply into Ranma's trapezium.
"Arrgh! Ite!" Ranma frantically grabbed Akane-neko and
dropped her onto the ground like she was red-hot before hurriedly
climbing the nearby cherry tree.
Akane stopped on the ground beneath Ranma and looked up. Ranma
watched Akane nervously, his eyes wild. Akane reached out with a
paw and tested the bark of the tree for grip, then looked up again.
Ranma was shaking and sweating.
Extending her claws, Akane sank them into the bark and
experimentally dragged herself up the trunk a few steps. "Eep...
urk..." She looked up to see Ranma staring at her like a rabbit in
a spotlight, eyes huge and bloodshot, trembling like a leaf.
The moment stretched...
With a flip of her tail Akane jumped down and walked inside the
house. Ranma watched her go, her expression unreadable.

* * *

"Kasumi-oneechan, have you seen Ranma since this morning?"
Kasumi stopped working at the kitchen bench and turned to face
Akane, shaking her head. "No I haven't, Akane. When you find him,
would you tell him lunch is almost ready?."
"Oh." She looked around the kitchen, brightening a little.
"Can I help you prepare lunch?"
"Thank you, but that won't be necessary. I've almost finished.
Perhaps you can make lunch tomorrow, Akane." She sniffed a pot on
the stove and stirred it a little, then smiled at her younger
sister. "I'm going to serve your biscuits after lunch. I think
I'll let them assume that I cooked them until after they've been
eaten. Won't that be fun?" she asked.
Akane giggled. "Oneechan! That's devious!"
"Good, we'll do it that way then. Oh, Akane, would you call
Nabiki too please? She's shouldn't miss lunch; it's time she got up
even if she was up very late last night."
"Hai."
Akane went up to Nabiki's room and found her awake, then made
her way to the room Ranma shared with his lazy, freeloading father.
He wasn't there.
Nor was he in the dojo, nor on its roof or the roof of the
house. Finally she tried calling for him. "Ranma!"
"Yes?"
Akane looked in the direction of his voice, but couldn't see
anything. "Ranma? Where are you?"
"Oi! I'm up here!"
Akane walked over to the cherry tree. Its dense, dark green
foliage almost completely hid Ranma on his perch in the middle of
the tree. She smiled up at him.
"What are you doing up there? Afraid there's a cat around?"
Ranma swung down, landing sure-footedly next to Akane. "I've
been thinking, as hard as that might be to believe."
"Who would ever accuse you of thinking, Ranma?"
As soon as the words escaped her mouth, Akane slapped her hand
over her mouth and wished mightily that she could call the words
back. 'No! It was meant to be a joke!'
But Ranma was looking at her with a hurt expression that
quickly faded into stony neutrality. He stalked past her and headed
into the house.

At lunch, Ranma (now in male form) sat sullenly at the table
and ate like a normal person instead of a human vacuum cleaner,
ignoring the normal meal-time chatter. Noting this, Nabiki decided
to indulge in her favourite sport: Ranma-baiting. She said in a
concerned voice, "Ranma, are you feeling okay?"
"I feel fine."
"But you're not eating, Ranma-chan." Her voice dripped honey.
Ranma glared at Nabiki. "Leave me alone."
Kasumi said, "Nabiki, please don't taunt Ranma. Ranma-kun, you
look as though you have something on your mind. Do you want to
discuss it?"
Ranma looked at his rice bowl for a moment. "Hai." He put his
chopsticks across his bowl and sat back. "I'm going to the
Nekohanten this afternoon to--"
Akane bashed the table with her fist, making the bowls jump.
"You're going to see that hussy I suppose! Now that she's no longer
a cat you're going to make kissy-face and set a date for the wedding
I suppose?! Bastard!"
Ranma glared at Akane and started to flush with anger.
Soun's aura flared into a snake's head. "What wedding?!", he
hissed at Ranma. "Do you mean you're going to marry someone *other
than* Akane?!"
Kasumi put her hand on Akane's. "Otousan, Akane, don't you
think you should wait and listen to what Ranma has to say before
saying things like that? He may have some other reason for visiting
the Nekohanten, ne Ranma?" Kasumi smiled sweetly at Ranma.
Ranma looked oddly at Kasumi for a moment. At last he grunted
and nodded, his face returning to sullenness. "I'm going to the
Nekohanten this afternoon to find out why they did it and try and
get that wrinkled old crone to reverse what she did to Akane," he
said coldly. "I *was* going to ask Akane to come in case the old
crone agrees do it there and then."
Soun's aura disappeared as he stared at Ranma in amazement.
Genma clapped Soun on the back, grinning heartily. "Well done, son.
He's coming along nicely don't you think Tendo-kun? Maybe the
wedding we should be talking about is Akane's!" Genma and Soun
chortled to each other.
Akane stared at Ranma with big eyes, guilt and amazement
warring for control on her face. "I'm sorry, Ranma. I didn't...."
"Do you really think she'll agree?" asked Kasumi after seeing
that Akane wasn't about to continue. Her tone of voice indicated
that she felt it was unlikely.
Ranma shot his father a glare before shrugging his reply.

* * *

Ranma, Akane, and Nabiki stood across the street from the
Nekohanten. A shadow fell on them as a cloud passed in front of the
sun. Nabiki wiped her brow, smiling as she surveyed the wreckage of
the restaurant.
The Nekohanten had been almost totally destroyed by Ranma's
actions the previous night. There was almost nothing left of the
main restaurant area, and the largest single piece of the facade
remaining was the sign, which had been placed neatly against the
remains of one wall by somebody. At the rear of the building, the
living quarters had collapsed into the rear part of the restaurant
itself but there were no personal effects strewn about. Clearly
somebody had been tidying up.
Despite the devastation of the restaurant itself, the kitchen
was almost completely untouched, as were the buildings to either
side, as if they had been protected by some magic shield.
"It's so hot," Nabiki said as she flung accumulated sweat from
her fingers with a flick of her wrist. Dark spots of moisture
appeared on the pavement. Her cutoff shorts were stained with sweat
at the waistband and her short tee-shirt hung loose, not quite
reaching her cutoffs and exposing a strip of skin around her waist.
"Do you think it will rain later? I hope it does. It's always so
much more pleasant after it rains."
Ranma's fists clenched. Nabiki's studied ignorance of the
devastation across the road was far more eloquent than any direct
comment. He tried to push his rising anger down.
Akane looked at Nabiki with an irritated frown. "Don't be
silly, Nabiki-oneechan. You know as well as I do that it rains
every day at this time of year." She shook her head. "Besides,
it's not all that bad. The furo is hotter than this."
"You don't wear clothes in the furo."
"I don't know why you're here anyway, oneechan. What's this
got to do with you?"
"Believe me, sis, I've got an interest. I wanted to see what
Ranma had done to them in return for cursing you. Looks like a
pretty good start."
Ranma looked at Nabiki disgustedly, his eyes intense. "Shut
up, Nabiki," he grated out. "I didn't do this for you. Why don't
you go away? This doesn't concern you."
"Moi? *Moi*? And why should I-"
Ranma spun with blinding speed and grabbed the front of
Nabiki's tee-shirt near her collarbone, forming a fist beneath her
throat, the material wrapped around his fingers. He glared into her
eyes from a distance of eighteen inches. "Shut up! You've just got
no idea, have you?!" He took a half-step closer to Nabiki, lifting
his clenched fist a little, dragging her tee-shirt higher. The
bottoms of her breasts were only just covered. Nabiki was forced to
step back and balance on the balls of her feet. "I didn't do this
so you could extort or blackmail Shampoo and Cologne!" he shouted.
"I didn't mean to do it at all! If you try to make this something
it isn't, I'll... I'll...."
Nabiki looked down her nose at Ranma, smiling in her superior
way. "You'll what, Ranma? Hit me? Kill me?" Her voice became
laden with passion, her eyes heavy-lidded. "Rip my shirt off right
here in the street and make mad, passionate love to me for the TV
cameras?"
Ranma looked down at his fist wrapped in Nabiki's tee-shirt in
surprise. He let go as if her shirt was red-hot and stepped back.
"You're disgusting. Go away." He spun again, saw that Shampoo was
standing in the ruins of the Nekohanten staring at them, and grabbed
Akane's elbow. "Come on, Akane."
Nabiki watched Ranma march Akane briskly across the street and
into the ruins of the Nekohanten, absently smoothing her tee-shirt
where Ranma had gripped it, smiling enigmatically. Her nipples were
erect. How did that happen?
Shampoo was watching Akane and Ranma come, her hands by her
sides. In one hand she held a small, charred teddy-bear, a
fairground toy. Nabiki saw that all her attention was on the
approaching pair. She crept closer to eavesdrop.
"Nihao, husband," Shampoo said softly, sadly. "Have you come
to finish the job?" She gestured slightly with the soft toy, mutely
referring to the devastation around them.
Ranma stopped and planted his feet. He shook his head sharply.
"I've come to ask you again what I asked last night." He released
Akane and clenched his fists. "I have to know! Why did the old
ghoul do it? Why did you let her?"
"Shampoo cannot. Hiibaachan forbade it."
"Just tell me why, Shampoo." Ranma's voice was firm. Akane
watched with big eyes, for once not interrupting. He shook his head
angrily. "I wouldn't have thought even you capable of such a
thing!"
Shampoo studied Ranma's face for a long moment before nodding.
"Yes, Shampoo will tell you, husband. Shampoo hopes hiibaachan will
forgive her for this.
"Hiibaachan told me a secret about the Jyusenkyo curses..."

* * *

"Shampoo, come here! I have a plan that is certain to force
son-in-law to wed you."
"Yes, great grand-mother. What is it?"
"We will transfer your curse to Akane."
Shampoo stared at Cologne. "How is such a thing possible? And
if so, why wait so long to tell Shampoo?"
"I did not know it was possible until very recently, grand-
daughter. The technique is subtle but comparatively simple. As for
why the technique is not widespread, it is because it is not a cure.
The Jyusenkyo curses are permanent, forever bound to your ki. What
the technique does is to bind the curse to another person's ki much
like the action of the original curse, but the rebinding is not
total. When that person dies the curse will return to you. It is
like raising a log with a rope: When the rope is cut, the log
returns to the ground."
"But how will this force husband to wed Shampoo?"
"Son-in-law will be forced away from Akane by the action of the
curse. He's deathly afraid of cats, remember? In addition, you
will no longer be cursed to become a cat so he will no longer reject
you."
"Aiya! Shampoo understands!"

* * *

"So you just decided to inflict your curse on Akane," said
Ranma flatly. "Just like that."
"Aiya. Husband dense today. Violent-girl is weak and
uncursed; Shampoo is strong warrior but curse drives away strong
male both competing for. Shampoo much stronger warrior than weak
violent-girl so more deserving of strong male as husband; curse not
matter if violent-girl has it."
Ranma's ki sense started ringing alarm bells. He looked to his
right at Akane and grabbed her hand. He said, "Akane, please wait a
moment. Violence didn't get me anywhere last night. I want to try
something else." He closed his eyes for a moment and took a deep
breath. Turning to face Akane, he looked directly into her eyes
from a distance of twelve inches. "I know it's hard but please
control yourself for the moment."
Akane gasped and felt her anger dissolved by the warmth of
Ranma's hand, his reasonable words... the subtle pleading in his
eyes, there only if you knew him well. 'What's got into him?' she
thought. 'He's being... *nice*.' The feel of his strong fingers
against her palm took over her mind. 'I like this Ranma... why
can't he be this way all the time?' At length she nodded, her eyes
locked on Ranma's. "I will. I promise."
Ranma smiled at her reassuringly and squeezed her hand briefly
before turning back to Shampoo. Akane felt a brief pang of
disappointment as he dropped her hand.
"So, Shampoo, what happened then?" asked Ranma.
Shampoo shrugged. "Not much more to tell. Hiibaachan had
already gathered needed stuff so Shampoo kidnapped violent-girl and
hiibaachan transferred curse. Was easy."
"Easy?!" shouted Akane, leaning aggressively towards Shampoo.
"What do you mean, easy?!"
Ranma flung an arm in front of Akane. "Akane! Remember your
promise! This is important!" Akane looked at Ranma with flat eyes.
Ranma said, "Please?" and Akane backed off, staring at him in
amazement before nodding.
"I'm sorry, Ranma. I'll be quiet."
Ranma turned back to Shampoo to see her looking at him with the
eyes of a predator. She was smiling nastily. Ranma swallowed.
"Umm... Shampoo?"
"How important, husband?"
"Eh?" Ranma had a sinking feeling in his stomach.
"You want to know how to transfer curse, yes? How important is
that to you?"
"<Shampoo! You may not!>"
Ranma jumped and spun to face Cologne. She hopped around him
to balance on her stick next to Shampoo, ignoring Ranma. "<Shampoo,
I cannot allow you to do this, even if Son-in-law would be willing
to wed you as payment. Some things must remain secrets of the
Joketsuzoku.>"
"<But if Ranma weds Shampoo he would be of the tribe.>"
Cologne shook her head. "<Some knowledge is never given to
outsiders... or to males. Ranma is both. My decision is final.
You may not do this.>"
Ranma shook his head at the rapid spate of Chinese. His heart
lifted a little... Cologne seemed to be arguing with Shampoo,
presumably about whatever deal Shampoo had been about to offer. He
decided to try once again to get a sensible answer to the question
that burned within him.
"Old ghoul."
Cologne shifted her attention to Ranma, who was leaning forward
slightly, balancing on the balls of his feet. His fists were
clenched. "What is it, son-in-law?"
"Why did you transfer Shampoo's curse to Akane? What did you
hope to gain?!"
Cologne looked at him contemptuously. "Shampoo was right. You
*are* slow today, son-in-law. She has already told you the answer."
"You did it just for that?" asked Ranma in disbelief. "So I
wouldn't see Shampoo as a cat, and thus come to love her?!"
"Your memory is at least functioning correctly."
"Stupid old ghoul! Reverse the transfer!"
"Husband *wants* Shampoo to be a cat?"
Cologne spared Shampoo a quelling glance. "Son-in-law, I could
do as you ask, but the price would be your immediate marriage to
Shampoo... for the rest of your life."
"Do you think for one moment that...!" Ranma stared at
Cologne, jaw hanging open as his brain caught up with his mouth.
Could Cologne's offer be serious? "I..." He closed his mouth and
frowned in thought. "Are you serious?"
Akane could hardly believe her eyes and ears. To her it looked
as though he might actually be considering the offer. Her temper
began to boil through the meditation routine she had been chanting
to herself.
"I don't think you should take that offer, Ranma-chan," said
Nabiki from next to Akane.
"Who asked you?! And what are you doing here anyway?!"
"I was with you earlier, remember? But this is important,
Ranma." She raised a finger to point at him, frowning seriously.
Akane watched in surprise, her anger forgotten. "Shampoo said
earlier that Cologne had told her that the transfer worked much like
the original curse. She also said that those curses are permanent.
For Cologne to do as she promises, she would have to kill Akane."
Akane gasped. Ranma turned to Cologne, his eyes blazing. "Is.
This. True?"
Cologne just glared at Nabiki, her eyes slits. Shampoo gaped
at Cologne in amazement.
Ranma exploded. "Kuso baba!! It's *you* who's slow! I'll
never, never marry someone who would allow such a filthy thing to be
done to somebody else!! Never!!" He turned to Shampoo, his face
filled with disappointed fury. "Shampoo... I had thought you were
not evil, for all your faults. I now see that I was wrong." Ranma
closed his eyes and bowed his head, the line of his body tense and
his hands shaking in the sword-hand shape.
Shampoo stared at Ranma, mouth working, then burst into tears
and ran into the kitchen, sobs wracking her frame. Cologne stared
at Ranma for a long moment. Ranma, still trembling on the verge of
berserk attack, returned her regard. Eventually she spoke.
"Nabiki was correct, Ranma. It may be that there is another
way... but why should I, a Matriarch of the Joketsuzoku tribe, waste
my time and effort on a weak girl like Akane?" She turned away and
bounced after Shampoo.
Nabiki smirked. "Still think you've 'done enough', Ranma-kun?"
Ranma moved with blurring speed, stopping a few feet from
Nabiki, eyes closed. He forced his hands down to his sides before
opening them again. He spared Nabiki a contemptuous glance before
running quickly off down the street.
After a moment of indecision, Akane pursued him.

* * *

Ranma sat under the bridge, knees up to his chin and arms
wrapped around his legs, looking out across the river, drinking in
the simple pleasures of nature. The glitter of golden mid-afternoon
light reflecting off the smooth river surface made a dramatic
contrast to the gray-purple of the thunderheads building with
typical summer speed overhead. A tugboat was silhouetted against
the sunlight, two gulls dancing attendance to give the scene a
slightly surreal feel.
He felt the glinting sunlight slipping into his head, reminding
him of the meditation exercises he had been forced to do when he was
younger. Feeling battered by his emotions, Ranma tried to clear his
mind, seeking an escape in the calmness of meditation, but found
that the events of the past two days were whipsawing him, holding
him back.
A step sounded behind him. "Hello Akane," he said quietly,
continuing to stare at the river.
Akane looked down at Ranma, then out at the river, and seated
herself next to him without saying a word. She sat silently, her
attention split between the river and Ranma. She watched him think,
thinking to herself that he looked a little sad, wondering what was
going through his head. Finally Ranma spoke.
"Akane, I... I'm sorry I put you through that. It didn't turn
out like I meant. I actually thought Cologne would be able to
reverse what she did to you, but... I guess you're stuck with your
curse just like the rest of us." He shook his head dejectedly,
still watching the river. "I've been setting here for a while, you
know, trying to figure it all out, and all I know is that... I'm
such an idiot."
Akane smiled at him and said, "Ranma... that's okay."
Surprised, Ranma turned his head to stare at Akane as if seeing
her for the first time. He saw she was smiling at him, and his
heart thumped. 'She's so cute when she smiles,' he thought as he
tentatively returned the smile. After a moment he turned back to
the river, his expression becoming contemplative, no longer sad.
"Ranma?"
"Mmm?"
"Were you serious about what you said back at the Nekohanten?"
Ranma looked at Akane in surprise. "Sure I was."
Akane grunted. "It's about time you realised that Chinese
bimbo was no good for you," she said carelessly.
Ranma turned back to the river, shaking his head. "I never saw
Shampoo as a fiancee, Akane," he said sadly. "That was all her
idea, but to me... I guess she was... no, not a friend... a
comrade, I guess. I know you got jealous whenever she came up to me
and grabbed me, but I never encouraged her. I always tried to push
her away but I never wanted to hurt her feelings."
"She showed precious few feelings this afternoon."
Ranma shrugged.
"You looked as though you might actually have been considering
Cologne's offer," Akane said harshly.
Ranma's mouth twisted oddly; he closed his eyes. "I... I
might have. If it had been what I thought rather than what Nabiki
said, if it had been possible to remove the curse and for you to
live a normal life.... I might have."
Akane stared at Ranma, totally flabbergasted, her heart
thumping. 'He'd... do that for me?' She was shocked to see what
might have been a single tear trickle down his face. After a
moment, Ranma opened his eyes again to again look at the river... or
maybe beyond.
Silence fell again for a time. Neither said anything.
Eventually Akane shifted position, settling a little closer to
Ranma. "Ranma?"
"Yes?"
"Why? I... you've been really nice to me, you've defended me,
you were even willing to.... I just want to know why?"
Ranma sighed to the river. The light failed quickly as the
clouds finally fully obscured the sun. Several holes in the cloud
cover showed themselves by dazzling yellow sunbeams slanting down to
strike the city and the river. Akane was enraptured by the display.
"Beautiful," said Ranma. He turned his head to look at her.
"Just beautiful."
"Hai," breathed Akane, lost in the fiery fingers of light.
Minutes passed until finally the sunbeams failed as the cloud
thickened up. Thunder rumbled in the distance.
"We'd better get back home before we get stuck here," said
Ranma.
Akane smiled at Ranma, dazzling him. What little light
filtered through the clouds was soft and diffuse, flattering her
face. Ranma's heart thumped anew. "Would that be so bad?" she
said.
"Akane, I..."
"HELLO, RANMA!!"
SPLASH! Happosai landed between onna-Ranma's breasts, pressing
them against his cheeks. His smile was beatific.
"Kun jijiiii!" Ranma slammed Happosai into the ground, HARD,
then stood back a little. The little old man lay embedded in the
ground, dazed. "I've had enough of your games!! MOUKO TAKA--"
"Mrwrowr!!" Ranma's arm was deflected by an angry white cat
and the ki attack was spoiled. "Aarrgh!"
Tremors ran through Ranma's frame as she saw a white cat with
black feet, ears and tail sitting the ground. Her fur was a little
matted from the water and she looked quite forlorn. Ranma took a
step backward involuntarily, the whites showing all around his eyes
and sweat breaking out on his face. Happousai stirred, shaking his
head.
Thunder rumbled. "Panty thief!" yelled a feminine voice from
around the corner.
"Oops, gotta go!" said Happosai, and he snatched up his bag of
purloined underwear from where it had fallen and after a shaky start
bounced off into the distance. A crowd of women streamed around the
corner in pursuit.
Through all this onna-Ranma stood frozen, staring at Akane-
neko, rooted to the spot by opposing forces crashing within him.
Akane sadly watched Ranma's reaction to her, expecting him to run
off at any moment. Nothing happened for a few minutes, and she
found herself wondering if perhaps she should leave and let him
recover on his own.
When Ranma stepped forward and knelt down in front of her, she
was shocked silly. 'How can he make himself do that?' she wondered.
She watched quietly as Ranma, moving like a somnambulist, picked up
her clothes and crooked an arm and draped them over her arm to form
a pad. Nothing more happened for a long moment, then finally she
moved to pick up Akane but could not make her hand touch her. Ranma
tried again, and again failed. On her third attempt she managed to
pick up Akane-neko gently and place her securely in the crook of her
elbow on the pad of clothes, strange little sounds leaking out from
between clenched teeth.
With Ranma's arm curled protectively against her side to form a
nest, Akane felt secure and comfortable and allowed herself to relax
bonelessly against Ranma's side. She soon saw the wisdom of the pad
of clothes. As Ranma stood she found her claws extending
automatically to hold herself in place.
Ranma set off for the dojo, running with silken smoothness.
She was grateful for Akane's passiveness in the crook of her elbow;
she felt on edge but able to cope for the moment with her presence
by ignoring the fact that she was a cat. She was carrying Akane.
Akane. It's Akane.
She ran smoothly to avoid jostling Akane but as quickly as she
could to get the journey over with as soon as possible.
Congratulating herself, Ranma ran around a corner.
"Mworwr!"
A cat had chosen just that moment to leap from the top of a
wall down to the ground, and Ranma had collected it in the face as
she ran around the corner. She stopped in shock, grabbing Akane-
neko automatically to hold her in place. The cat was curled around
the front of onna-Ranma's head with its claws embedded in her scalp
to keep from sliding off. It was clearly confused by events.
"Miyaaaan" said Ranma as she melted into cat-fu stance.
"Miyaaaa!!" The hapless tabby-cat sailed towards the horizon
courtesy of a casual bat by Ranma. With a glance down at Akane-
neko, Ranma bounced away in the direction of the dojo.

* * *

Ranma bounded over the dojo wall, landing by the pond. She
bounced about the yard a little, looking for a place to keep Akane
safe, until finally settling on the big cherry tree by the dojo.
She bounced up to the base of the tree and settled down, Akane held
protectively.
Soun and Genma had observed Ranma's entrance, mouths agape.
"Oh, my!" said Kasumi. "What's wrong with Ranma?"
Genma grunted, not turning away from his study of his son...
well, daughter at the moment. Ranma was carrying a cat??!
"Cat-fu," he said.
"Oh! So this is what it looks like. How do you get him out of
it?"
Genma shook his head. "There used to be an old lady who could
calm him down enough, but she's far away. Akane has been able to do
it since we came here."
"Akane? Really?" She looked at Ranma, who was now licking the
back of one hand, grooming. "Perhaps I might try?"
"Good idea, Kasumi!" said Soun. "Please try."
Kasumi smiled at her father and grabbed a cat toy before
walking calmly over to the tree. Ranma stopped her grooming to
watch her approach, eyes narrowing.
Kasumi a few yards away and waved the cat toy at Ranma, making
clucking noises as she did so.
"Miyaaaaro!!" Ranma's hand flashed out and shredded the cat
toy. Kasumi dropped it in shock as she felt the breeze of Ranma's
hand passing. Ranma was clearly suspicious. Kasumi backed away
nervously, her heart hammering, watching Ranma's narrowed eyes track
her with feline ferocity.
"I... I don't think I'd better try anymore, otousan," she said
to Soun, her voice a little unsteady.
Genma stood decisively and stalked inside the house. A moment
later he returned with the big kettle from the kitchen. Steam
drifted from the spout.
"Saotome-kun," called Soun. "What are you doing?"
"We have to get Ranma out of the cat-fu," he said.
"I don't think that's a good idea just now," said Kasumi.
Ranma watched Genma approach warily. Genma stopped a short
distance from Ranma and simply threw the contents of the kettle on
her... and Akane.
Ranma in his male form sat staring stupidly at Akane's nude
body. 'How did I get here?' he wondered. 'And why is Akane--'
"HENTAI!!!" SMACK!!
Akane stormed into the house, her clothes clutched to her body.
Ranma couldn't help but watch her firm ass as she ran inside, his
hand stroking his left cheek with a thoughtful expression on his
face.

* * *

Akane lay on her bed, curled up into a foetal position, dressed
in shorts and a tee-shirt. Her window was fully open to admit the
scent and sound and the cooling breeze of the thunderstorm which had
finally broken over the city. It was not quite dark outside, and
her room light was off, the dull grey light from outside the sole
illumination.
A knock sounded on her door. "Akane? It's Kasumi. May I come
in?"
Akane lifted her head. Her eyes were red from crying. "Hai,
oneechan."
Kasumi entered and closed the door behind her. She crossed to
sit on the bed, laying one hand on Akane's side. Akane felt
Kasumi's hand as a source of much-needed warmth, spiritual warmth,
which slowly drove the darkness from her. After a few minutes she
straightened and sat up.
"Thank you, oneechan."
Kasumi smiled at her. "You're welcome. What are you so upset
about? Is it Ranma?"
Akane nodded, not trusting herself to speak.
"You had both been hit by water and Ranma was carrying you
home, right? How did that happen?"
"Happ... that stinking old pervert paid us a visit and wet
Ranma down as usual. I just got caught in the splash."
"Really? Where were you? Nabiki got home some time ago. She
said you and Ranma had run off somewhere. So... tell neechan all
about it."
Akane briefly described the encounter with Happosai, omitting
her blocking of Ranma's ki blast at the then-helpless old man.
"Do you know that he brought you home safely, despite having
been taken by cat-fu?"
"Hai. Being turned into a cat doesn't affect how I think,
oneechan. But the whole reason Ranma went into cat-fu was because
he encountered a cat in the street on the way home! What an idiot,
allowing that to happen to him."
"He was probably already on edge just from carrying you, little
sister. You've seen how he reacts around cats. I'm amazed he was
even able to approach you, let alone pick you up."
Akane looked out the window. "Hai." After a moment she turned
back to Kasumi. "Ranma must hate me. I turn into a cat! He hates
cats!" Tears shimmered in Akane's eyes.
"Ranma carried you home despite being in cat-fu."
"Oneechan, you know as well as I that there's no telling what
Ranma will do whilst he's in cat-fu."
Kasumi shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I think you're wrong,
Akane. I think he quite likes you." She smiled roguishly at Akane,
making sure she saw it. "Ranma's honourable, generous, and quite
cute. If he wasn't so young, I think you might have some
competition on your hands. From me."
Akane gaped at Kasumi. "From you? For that arrogant, rude,
perverted, womanising, thoughtless, inconsiderate--" She stopped as
Kasumi held up her hand.
"Akane, you love him, don't you?" Kasumi said it as though it
was the most natural thing in the world.
"I can't trust him! He nearly agreed to marry Shampoo this
afternoon!" She burst into tears, hugging her pillow.
"Ara..." said Kasumi.

* * *

Nabiki sat on her bed in her pyjamas, sorting through her
latest batch of photos. Most of them were of the Nekohanten. Food
scraps crawling with cockroaches featured in most of them. These
pictures had been taken in the Nekohanten's kitchen. She bundled
them together and grimaced. 'Those cockroaches cost a bundle... and
for a scheme that would never have worked! I don't know why I
bothered. You're slipping in your old age, Nabiki-chan.' She shook
her head as she wrapped the photos of the Nekohanten carefully in a
piece of paper and slipped a rubber band around the bundle and put
them to one side. 'Still, nothing like a little insurance.'
She frowned as her thoughts changed direction. 'Maybe Ranma
was right. Revenge is expensive and there's not much profit in it.'
She shook her head and smiled again, an odd intensity to her eyes.
'Naahh... it's too much fun. Besides, I've got the perfect plan.
For what they did, *nothing* is too much trouble.'
The remaining shots were taken around the dojo, mostly of Akane
and Ranma in his female form. Nabiki pushed her plans for exquisite
revenge to one side and quickly sorted the rest of the photos and
put them away for later use. Except for one.
It was a picture of Ranma working out, taken yesterday. Sweat
glistened, emphasising the shapes of the muscles clothing his body.
Nabiki lay back on her bed, holding the picture up. 'Hmm... nice
bod you've got, brother-in-law. I wonder if you know how to use
it?' She cast her mind back to the encounter with Ranma that
afternoon, remembering the uconscious, effortless power she had felt
as he lifted her by her shirt, the heat of his fist against her
sternum... her own reaction. 'I wonder why I never saw him that way
before?' She stared at the picture for some minutes before slipping
it into a drawer by her bed.
She clicked off her light and lay smiling up into the darkness.

Downstairs, Ranma sneezed.

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

Author's Notes:

This is the second part of "Nekophobia".

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'd like to thank my pre-reader Chris Jones <ham...@arn.net> for
his invaluable input. Thanks also to Kun-chan for some incisive
input and everybody else who C&C'd to the original version.

This 'fic uses a fair few Japanese words. I've tried to use them
only where the meaning they express is more precise than the English
equivalent... or where there is no easy equivalent in English. I've
attached a glossary.

Ara: The expression that is generally translated as "Oh, my". I
couldn't bring myself to just put "oh, my" where I used "ara"
because it felt so trite... but it's nonetheless what Kasumi
would have said.
Baba: Old lady/crone/whatever.
Gi: A practice uniform used by many martial arts. Consists of
loose drawstring pants with a gusseted crutch to allow full leg
motion, and a loosely-cut heavily-constructed jacket which is
long-sleeved and belted closed with a cloth belt. All parts of
a gi are made of raw cotton. Women usually wear a tee-shirt
under the gi's jacket as it tends to gape once fighting has
started.
Hiibaachan: Great grand mother (familiar)
Hiryuu Shouten Ha: One of Ranma's ki attacks which causes massive
destruction.
Ite, Itetete: Expressions of pain.
Jiji: Old man, old fart.
Kata: In martial arts, a prescribed set of moves used for practice
and demonstration. Some arts have only a few; some have many.
Midorigame: Kodachi's pet alligator. The name translates as "green
turtle" ("Mr. Turtle" to Viz anime watchers).
Oi: Hey!
Ojisan: Uncle. (Also used of respected males not related by
blood.) On the very rare occasions Ranma uses the word, he
means Soun.
Oneechan: "elder sister", here used with a mixture of respect (o-
prefix) and familiarity (-chan ending).
Onna: Female.
Otousan: Father. Here the usage is fairly respectful.
Oyaji: Old man (very disrespectful). Ranma uses this to refer to
his father.
Neechan: Older sister (familiar).
Shoji: The wood and rice-paper sliding doors in a traditional
Japanese house. There are many different varieties, each with
its own name (and purpose).
Somnambulist: A sleepwalker. (*This* word is English.)

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