I do not own Ranma or any of the characters, places, intellectual properties etc therein, they are in the sole ownership of one Rumiko Takahashi. Seriously, you think I could have come up with a story about a guy changing into a girl when he touches water? that's totally stu... BRILLIANT!
"Aaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" The cry rang throughout the small cafe like a gong sounding inside a safe. Many of the customers looked up and around in surprise, whispering to one another about what could have made such an unearthly noise.
Xian-Pu sprinted through the dining area, vaulted the small counter where orders were served and practically skidded into the room which had previously held Ranma's unconscious body. Instead it bore a remarkably Ranma-shaped hole in the wall, as did the wall behind it, as well as the one after that, leaving a very startled family looking over the remains of their dinner on their shattered table.
Xian-Pu ran through the wreckage, determined to catch up to Ranma and find out what was going on with her Airen. Apologising quickly to the perturbed family she rushed through the carnage her fiancée had wrought. Eventually the trail vanished as she rounded the corner onto a deserted street but she carried on down none-the-less.
"Ranma!" She received no response. "Ranma! Xian-Pu want help you!" She had run for a while and had to catch her breath, this proved lucky for her as she noticed for the first time a small child just off to the side of the road. "You see where strange boy with pigtail run to?" The child simply nodded and pointed in the direction of the park. "Aiyah you too too helpful!"
She left the boy behind as she rushed on, a large blush across his features from the mighty hug she had given him as thanks. Now she knew where to go it didn't take her long to reach the park, although the sheer size of it might prove a challenge in finding her pigtailed Airen.
About five minutes into her search Xian-Pu struck lucky. To be honest she would have never paid any mind to the completely ordinary tree, had it not been vibrating uncontrollably. Sure enough when she looked into one of the highest branches she spotted her Airen, his shivering causing the whole tree trunk to quiver.
"Ranma! What you do up in tree?" The familiar voice and innocent, questioning tone snapped Ranma out of whatever state of mind that had caused him to act so weirdly.
"Xian-Pu? I... Uh I mean... what I uh..." In the recesses of Ranma's slightly unstable mind a small snapping sound could almost be heard as the previous day's events came rushing back. Xian-Pu tying on the string, his strange behaviour afterwards, his dismissal of Akane and... the wedding.
Anger replaced uncertainty as Ranma jumped from his lofty perch to land with all the skill and grace a martial artist of his calibre could accomplish. Xian-Pu didn't have time to admire the feat as Ranma grabbed her by the shoulders, forcing him to look him in the face. Normally for Xian-Pu it would have been a joyous thing for her Airen to initiate such intimate contact but from the look on his features she was sure this time it would not live up to expectations.
"Shampoo! What did you do to me yesterday?! First you force me into acting all crazy then you try and marry us while I'm in an unsound state of mind using some stupid magic string. What were you thinking?"
"But Ra..."
"No Shampoo, let me finish! I'm angry okay! To force me into loving you with magic, I know you've tried it before but I let it slide because I knew you were obligated by your Amazon laws. This time you went too far. I outta..."
He trailed off the last sentence when the purple haired girl he had been so vehemently mad at broke down crying, falling to her knees with an expression of defeat in her eyes. If there was one thing that Ranma Saotome hated above all else (well, all else besides cats) it was the sight of a woman crying, especially if he knew that he was the one to cause said tears.
Immediately all the anger and venom in his words drained out as he too crouched down on the park ground. He did his best to comfort Xian-Pu by placing his hand on her shoulder but she flinched away from his touch.
"No. Xian-Pu no deserve Ranma's touch. Ranma right, Xian-Pu desperate and stupid. Should have known not to force Ranma to love Xian-Pu. Xian-Pu know Ranma never love her the way Xian-Pu loves Ranma." This brought on an entirely new wave of sobbing until Ranma just had to interfere.
"Well, Shampoo, I don't know, you know, well, it's" Ranma was furiously rubbing the back of one hand and red had spread from the bridge of his nose to cover half his face. "It's just, why do you always use these tricks and magic, can't you just... you know?" By this time Xian-Pu had just managed to stop crying, however there were still large streaks where the tears had dried on her cheeks. Strangely it didn't run her make-up like Ranma would have expected, which is when he realised that Xian-Pu didn't even wear make-up. This reaffirmed Ranma's idea that Xian-Pu really was cute, although why his thoughts would turn to that at a time like this was beyond him.
"What Ranma mean?" A hopeful twinkle had alighted itself in Xian-Pu's eye "If Xian-Pu stop tricks and magic Ranma might date her?"
If the blush on Ranma's face had even slightly abated in that brief interlude it returned full force after that question. "Well um, I don't... Shampoo, I..."
Immediately that small gleam died before it had a chance to burn and Xian-Pu hung her head, her word barely coming out as a whisper. "See Ranma, this is why Xian-Pu must uses tricks and schemes and ideas from Great grandmother. Ranma no even look at Xian-Pu otherwise. You say Xian-Pu does it because of Laws of Amazon village but you no understand that Xian-Pu try so hard because Ranma is Xian-Pu's Airen."
Ranma thought about interrupting Xian-Pu to argue but the girl wasn't going to allow anything to stop her bearing her soul. "Xian-Pu, no... I... I look at how you act around Perv... Akane. Even though you fight and she hurt you, lots, you always come back to her. This is why Xia... I have to fight, how can I hope to compete with that? I love you Ranma so I do what I have to."
Ranma had never seen this sign of Xian-Pu, never would have even thought it existed if it weren't directly in front of him now, staring him in the face. "Shampoo, I never knew, if-"
"No Ranma, there no need, Xian-Pu know she is to blame, Xian-Pu never tell Ranma how she feel and now she lose him forever to angry girl." The look of utter defeat was son alien on Xian-Pu's normally bubbly and irrepressible features that she looked like a whole different person. Ranma had no idea what to say to try and ease the burden of guilt now firmly entrenched on his shoulders so he decided there was only one thing he could do, reverse the situation.
Xian-Pu's brain barely had time to register as Ranma firmly wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a deep hug. Xian-Pu's body reacted automatically, pulling her even deeper into the embrace, with her head nestled in Ranma's strong chest, enjoying the unspoiled, intimate moment.
Of course this was Nerima, Tokyo and no moment can go unspoiled for long, the inevitability chosen by fate today was a group of kids running by with large super soakers.
Xian-Pu didn't mind at all that she had been sprayed by ice cold water she simply ignored it and nestled deeper into Ranma's warm, soft, comforting breasts where she could... wait... breasts? Xian-Pu-Neko looked up into the red-head girls face from her position in the young girls hands.
"C-C-C-Cat!"