Disclaimer: Ranma Nibbunoichi © Rumiko Takahashi. and is used without permission.
Author's Note: This is one of those concepts that I do not know how it happened. I was doing concept work for a totally different, MA-rated, story when this popped into my head. I found that I could not write the other story until I got this plot bunny out of my lap. So, I wrote this, the other story instead.
And no, I won't be posting the other story on FFn. It's part of why, some days, I have problems posting something.
Pussycat, Pussycat
Chapter 1: Kasumi's Secret
Kimiko Tendou looked round as she approached the pet shop, the cats mewling happily at her arrival, her hand stroking along the back of one of the kittens which offered itself for a good long stroke. She then placed a small bowl of fish pieces in a particular recessed spot, hearing a click, before she headed further into the shop, going into a room that had been revealed by the strange act.
The woman inside looked up as she entered, several cats surrounding and walking around her, green eyes studying Kimiko intently. She knew that Kimiko was not long for this world, while the woman... She would be here when her daughter's daughters came in.
"So, I hear you have a daughter..." The woman stated, "How capable would you say she is?"
"I wouldn't be a good judge of her," Kimiko replied, "How long would you need?"
"Could be a week, could be longer..." The woman replied, getting up and picking up an empty basket from beside her, "Let us go and see how long..."
Kimiko recognised the basket. She hoped that she'd see something sat in it soon...
Kasumi looked up as her mother entered with a second woman, who took out, of all things, a basket, inside which was a kitten, which mewled happily as she picked it up. The cat was purring against her hand within minutes.
"Oh, you're a friendly one..." Kasumi offered, the cat looking at her, "Oh yes, I know what you want after that long journey..."
The woman smiled, looking towards Kimiko. She'd been witness to this several times, and hadn't seen a cat that young or such a good reaction.
"Definitely won't be a long time..." The woman stated, "Didn't even need to have her bond with the kitten..."
"That is good..." Kimiko stated. She'd taken a long time to bond with the cat.
Over the following month, Kasumi's whole existence revolved around cats. She found herself surrounded by them, purring and rubbing against her. The woman only gave her sushi and a small bottle of milk, which was always delivered with a saucer, which Kasumi didn't need to be told the purpose of.
At first, she only nibbled on the fish and most of the milk went to her companions. By halfway, she found herself finishing off the sushi and only doing one saucer of milk, which usually ended up with the kitten who she'd met at the beginning of the month. At the end of the month, she looked puzzled as she found she couldn't find the kitten.
"Look in the mirror..." The woman stated, and Kasumi found herself looking at a cat girl, and she realised why she couldn't find the kitten. Part of her wanted to bury herself in the pile of pillows and cats that was her bed.
The woman didn't even argue as she let herself end up buried in the purring mass, her own voice joining the contented sounds. It was a further month before she managed to drag herself back to who she'd been before, but felt the kitten wanting to go back to snuggles with her friends. She mewled an apology, and a promise to come back soon.
"What I gave you is the basics of a style known as the Neko Ken, or Cat Fist, which is a bit of a misnomer," The woman stated, her appearance having taken on a feline shape, "Keep taking care of the kitten, give it plenty of entertainment, and you'll find that you can freely switch between her and Kasumi Tendo... and, when you are threatened, she will protect you..."
"Will there ever be…" Kasumi asked.
"As long as you keep the kitten happy, and let it out for a bit every so often, you'll have at least one good lifetime..." The woman stated.
"What do you mean?" Kasumi asked.
"How old do you think I am, kitten?" The woman asked.
"I'm not sure..." Kasumi asked, "You don't look that old..."
"I'm over a century old," The woman offered, "I'll grow old, eventually. When I went to see your mother, she took a long time for the cat she invoked to be comfortable around her, but the cats adored her for the time she stayed. I think they could tell she wasn't going to last..."
Kasumi quirked her head, giving a confused 'mew', the woman smiling and ruffling her hair, as she took out a locked cat basket. "This is similar to my own. Keep an eye on it. If you hear meowing coming from it when you meet someone you like, get it out, and see what happens..." She stated.
Over the following years, Kasumi managed to keep no-one from noticing her other self, which was how she liked it, since it meant the cat inside her was never disturbed. Right now, while her father was away, busy doing his civic duty, and her sisters were away at school, she had found her favourite easy chair, and was collapsed bonelessly across it, a really good patch of sunlight gently warming her.
When her mother was alive, she was even able to let out her ears and tail as well, her nose and mouth shifting into a short snout, getting her head stroked by her mother. Nowadays, she couldn't do it except on these rare moments when her father was busy during the day, or whenever she went clubbing at night. Admittedly, every club knew her, relatively speaking, even if, even then, no-one associated her with her public self.
Whenever Kasumi entered a club, her hair was in a ponytail, her ears and tail were on full display, albeit the latter enclosed in a sheath, and her lower face had fully shifted. She was attired in tight pants and a latex crop top with what purported to be a jacket over the top, as well as a pair of fingerless gloves.
Notably, She didn't wear shoes. She didn't have a need for them.
Whenever she entered the dance floor, it was to the ring of the bell on her collar, as well as, with those DJs who knew of her, the Pink Panther theme. She didn't know why that tune ended up heralding her entrance, but the dance floor parted when that tune started up and you could hear her collar's bell ring.
The kitten had grown up into a lithe, energetic and passionate lover of clubbing, untamed, uncontrolled. Any man who tried to come on to her, to get themselves some nice pussy, she bared her teeth and claws. A few girls interested her, but they found her too strong, too passionate, too untamed. They were scared by the party animal, and the cat inside her felt insulted when all the cute girls ended up stammering wrecks as she tried to loosen them up.
What people saw normally was a demure, skittish and unassuming girl. Her hands very rarely reverted into claws, her hair very rarely twitched with barely hidden ears, and she'd got very good at keeping her tail hidden. Almost no-one in the part of Furinkan she lived in knew her as her real self. She heard the sound of someone approaching, catching the sound of Nabiki's voice as her ears twitched to hear them.
By the time that they'd put their outside shoes on the mat, she'd fully adopted her public persona. As she listened with half an ear to the comings and goings of the house, she knew she'd be 'on the prowl' that night. Admittedly, She practically was out every night, releasing her feline half from the shackles she put it under. She could see the house self-destructing day by day, knew she couldn't keep the facade up for much longer without making a choice of her own, and ending up permanently buried in that heap of pillows at the pet store.
She knew Nabiki was away doing something more and more, and Akane was the only one who actually stayed within the area of the house when things got heated. Half the time because it was her that started complaining. And that's how it stayed, until one fateful morning...
"I recently received a letter from my good friend Genma Saotome. He is coming here with his son for a visit." Soun declared as Kasumi mentally rolled her eyes, resisting the temptation to let her ears out to enhance the effect. She knew what this was about, just from how it was announced, and wanted nothing to do with it. Men disgusted her, with a chosen few proving themselves of use. As an example, Doctor Tofu was useful, due to the fact she could pretend to be in a relationship with him to cover up her clubbing activities, and as far as her father knew, Tofu was a healthy relationship.
He wasn't to know she spent most of her night prowling rooftops or on dance floors, her true self on full display, many people who saw that side of her stating that she'd never be anyone's house cat. A loud commotion from the gate brought her back to reality, Kasumi looking towards the entrance to see a panda run in, carrying on it's back the cutest girl she'd ever seen. She had to really try to keep her feline side from making her scoop her into her lap and purr and snuggle her.
She had such a lithe body, that would make a lovely lap warmer, that was barely hidden by the horrendous shirt and pants she wore. She imagined her, purring in her lap, tired after a night of clubbing, being oh so adorable after a long period of being oh so sexy in something tight and figure-hugging. When the girl introduced herself as Ranma Saotome, she was confused. Her father was an airhead, but even he wasn't this dumb. He'd introduced him as if this was a boyfriend for one of them, not a nice little firebrand.
Kasumi listened more intently this time, though her attention was completely on Ranma. This Ranma was so cute and innocent. For now. Akane certainly seemed interested in speaking more with their guest, so she feigned disinterest. Her other self however, she wanted to play with Ranma oh so much.
Ranma was on edge. Ever since she'd arrived, she'd felt the presence of a cat. She couldn't see one, but that annoying niggling feeling that came from just a cat walking near him. Calming himself as he felt a particularly large spike of fear creep down his back, he looked to see Kasumi approaching.
"Do you own a cat?" Ranma asked, thankful that he was currently a girl. Asking what he wanted to without the curse would be a disaster.
"No… Why?" Kasumi asked, looking confused, "If we did, you'd have seen it already..."
"My father… attempted to teach me a technique, The Neko Ken..." Ranma stated, Kasumi nodding.
"I've heard of it. There's very few safe ways to learn it..." Kasumi stated, "And even those are safe only in certain ways,"
"My father ended up giving me a terrible phobia of cats due to using one of the un-safe methods..." Ranma offered, "For some reason, I just feel like there's this cat, hiding somewhere, ready to jump me..."
Kasumi felt her hands bleed as her claws unconsciously popped out. An incomplete form of the Neko Ken was triggering off her. How Ranma had it, if something went wrong, the mind of the cat would probably overwhelm her as the fear left her human mind catatonic, losing the adorable dichotomy, while Kasumi slipped easily in and out of her feline form like a favourite outfit. Why did the world have to be so cruel to make something so cute be nearly impossible to work with?
"Why don't you go use the furo? Calm yourself down..." She suggested, discreetly hiding her injury. It would not help Ranma for her to explain that she had claws. Kasumi watched Ranma go, enjoying the view even with the terrible news she'd given her, knowing that she'd be as bad as her mother had been, and would not shift properly half as easily as she hoped.
But if she could get her to stop fearing the cat, and to start embracing it's existence...
She had finished meditating and masking her feline aura, when she heard a familiar voice screaming. "What the hell's up with Akane?" She exclaimed, her claws popping again at the sudden noise. She wiped the blood off her hands with a tissue and hurrying out of her room, looking to see Akane walk past with one of the rocks from the side of the koi pond. Oh great. When she was carrying weights like that around, people fled.
"I'm gonna kill him!" she exclaimed, stomping towards the deck. Kasumi watched Nabiki run over and attempt to reason out why their sister was so distraught. Her ears perked up at the word 'pervert'. Did she mean Ranma? But she'd distinctly said 'Him'...
Several questions ran through her head, all answered when a voice from behind them made all three sisters turn to face a young man with black hair and wearing the exact same outfit as Ranma.
"I'm Ranma Saotome... Sorry bout this..." he said, which caused Kasumi to almost vocalise a confused 'mew'. Where had the vulnerable, but kitty phobic, redhead gone? She settled on a slight head quirk, while the cat part of her yawned and went back to dreaming of mice.
The explanation that followed, answered the new questions that had arisen from that simple statement Ranma had made. The panda from before was in fact, Soun's friend, Genma Saotome. And the girl had been his son, Ranma Saotome. Kasumi was heartbroken to discover that her newfound infatuation was a guy. It wasn't fair. Discovering that the transformation was caused by a fall into a mystical spring was more interesting, as was discovering the trigger. But now she had a problem. One she couldn't solve herself.
Kasumi sighed, before knocking on Nabiki's door. Nabiki looked up as her door opened, surprised to see Kasumi there. Nabiki only ever dealt with her when the groceries were being dealt with. She never consulted with her, knowing that the fees for doing so were steep, and that was if she didn't need a 'favour' in return. Those were always expensive.
"Hello, Kasumi… What brings you to my room?" She asked, pretending to be busy on her computer. She contemplated getting her to allow her to bug the kitchen or her bedroom. Both of them were large gaps in her surveillance of the house. That and the furo. She almost contemplated reconsidering that after the recent incident. Oh yes, and getting her to move back that easy chair that belonged to their mother, that Kasumi had moved, maybe intentionally, out of the way of the surveillance of the main room. She knew Kasumi exclusively used it.
Kasumi walked in and sat on Nabiki's bed, smoothing out her skirts before responding, "I wanted to get your opinion on Ranma..."
"He's alright, I guess… Anyone who can shrug off Akane is good in my book," Nabiki offered with a shrug, "The whole curse thing is freaky. Why are you asking?"
"Just caught me off guard somewhat..." Kasumi admitted, Nabiki frowning. Kasumi wasn't caught 'off guard' that often. It was almost like she could hear someone from in the garden.
"You seemed more interested in Ranma-chan rather than Ranma-kun… I noticed you chatting with her about cats before sending her to end up meeting Akane..." Nabiki stated, "And she is right. We don't have any kind of pet. Can't walk past a pet shop without the dogs going crazy..."
"Let's leave that… What can you tell me about his father?" Kasumi stated, changing the subject hurriedly.
"The guy's a deadbeat and a scam artist. Seems to be poor too, and probably dodging something particularly juicy." replied Nabiki. "I will say this, If he knew Father, he probably lived nearby. I'll be doing some discreet investigations into his background. Already done a discreet DNA swab on both of them… and Ranma when he's cursed… to check if the son is as much a scam. Jusenkyo is true, and checks out."
"Well, When you find out what's got him rushing through this engagement so quickly, let me know..." Kasumi stated, "Also, Print me out anything you have on Jusenkyo..."
"This Saotome guy doesn't look too smart." she said, "Gimme a few days and I'll have everything… So, shall we discuss price?"
Kasumi simply tossed a roll of notes on the bed, Nabiki frowning as Kasumi left. Where had Kasumi got the kind of cash to just nonchalantly do something like that?
"Kasumi, what are you hiding?" Nabiki wondered, counting the notes, "For a bundle like this, I'll consider giving Kasumi him, no questions... But, if she has money like this... There's a lot more questions about the money itself..."