Chapter 3: Discoveries
Sergeant Imia and Inspector Ojima looked around the restaurant. The Cat Café was in a neat orderly state. They had checked the kitchen and everything was where it should be – provided it was past closing time and not coming up on dinner time.
"No one has done anything today," Imia commented.
"No, they haven't. I don't think Shampoo even made herself breakfast here this morning," Ojima said. "No one's here at all now."
"Do you think the three of them fled?" Imia asked.
"No, not likely. Cologne's more proper than that. If she really thought Shampoo was in trouble, she'd just throw the girl on a plane, and then close everything down. At the very least, she would leave a note saying what to do with the restaurant," Ojima answered. "Let's check the second floor."
The two policemen carefully checked the bedrooms, including the storeroom Mousse slept in. Shampoo's room had half-empty drawers thrown about the room and the closet pulled apart, but the other two rooms were fairly orderly. Mousse's clothes were hanging up here and there in his room; so were Cologne's robes. Ojima pointed at a bookcase in Cologne's room. "There's no way Cologne would leave without those scrolls. She's planning on coming back from wherever she is. Looks like Shampoo packed in a hurry though."
"Maybe she did take Shampoo to the airport," Imia stated.
"Possibly. Let's check the basement and then get out of here," Ojima said.
They went back downstairs and found the basement door. As soon as Imia opened the door, Ojima bolted outside and threw up. Imia closed the door and ran outside. He placed a hand on the inspector's shoulder and asked: "What did you Feel down there?"
"Get Ono and Jouda over here. If they can't come, get another mage. Then call the lab and get some techs out here. Something happened in that basement and it wasn't pleasant," Ojima said between dry heaves. "Then get me something to clean up this mess – I'm not getting my chops busted by my own men."
The lab tech, Kodo, swabbed the hollow pommel for trace. "There's nothing obvious, Doc," he said. "I'm not seeing anything get trapped in the fibers and the swab is not absorbing any liquid. I'll run it to make sure, but it looks like there's nothing here."
"That's weird," Tofu replied. "Something seemed to affect Ranma." Kodo just shrugged his shoulders. "Am I right about the blood?" Tofu asked.
"Yep, I'm not sure how you knew, but the trace near the tip is human blood. So is the more recent – or so you say – trace by the hilt, but we already knew that. However, the blood typing kit says they are from different people. It's amazing that the runes hold the blood like they do." At the Doc's nod, the tech continued: "I'll run some more tests at the lab including looking for anticoagulants – that might be why the blood is not congealing." Kodo turned to Hideo and asked: "Are you sure that the blade is not metal?"
Hideo nodded his head and said: "It's not any kind of metal or stone. I'd say it's bone, but it's too hard, so that doesn't make any sense."
"I'd have to agree," the tech said. "Anyway, since Ojima said you were consulting on the case, I'll send you a copy of the findings and any more photographs."
"Thanks," Tofu said. The tech placed the blade in an evidence bag, and then took it with him as he left with Officer Hara for the precinct.
Tofu looked at Hideo and said: "Let's go check on the patient." The two walked into an examining room to find Dr. Ando looking at Ranko's cat eyes with a light. Akane sat next to the table holding Ranko's hand. "How do things look, Isamu?" Tofu asked.
"Judging from the references I was able to find, Ranma's eyes seem to match what you'd see in any tiger's eyes, but other than that, they are healthy. The jaw is mostly human, but changed slightly to hold the teeth properly. Everything seems sound though," Isamu answered as he straightened up. "Right up until I take an X-ray or a photograph – then nothing shows up on the image except human eyes and human teeth.
"A Chi-backed illusion then. What about the voluntary shape-shifting?" Tofu prompted.
"I'm not sure I'd call it voluntary – he cannot stop it. If he says Akane's name or even 'Tomboy', he shifts shape," Isamu answered. Cat-Ranko smirked while Akane rolled her eyes. "His shape still responds to water though, although it seems to cause him a little discomfort – slight pain, his blood pressure rises, and his heart rate increases. But things settle quickly enough if he says Akane's name a few times. The only interesting thing to note is that the water changes the base shape 'Cat' shows up in: if the last water hit was warm, 'Cat' is male. If the last water hit is cold, 'Cat' is female. The ordering in the cycle changes though; 'Cat' always follows the 'base' shape – male if warm water, female if cold."
"Why didn't either of you mention 'Cat' before?" Tofu asked the two teenagers. It was obvious that he was a little frustrated with them. (1)
Cat shrugged her shoulders and spoke with a slight hiss: "Teacher knew about Cat Fu. Never gone away." Then Cat stopped and held up her hand and said: "Akane-mate."
Now Ranma was back in his male shape and he explained: "I can think normally as 'Cat', but speech is a little tough – the cat spirits are still learning." Ranma continued: "The Cat Fu took a more 'physical' form when Ryoga was attacked by the Oni. (2) The cats spirits felt less trapped when that happened and I felt more at ease with them. Then they fought to free my human side from Genma's potion and I've been working on not running from cats. (3) I don't know, I guess we just accepted each other. Now when I enter the Cat Fu state, I remember everything and I can talk more or less. Sometimes I feel one of the cat spirits 'wake up' when I'm not in the Cat Fu. It doesn't take over though or start with the illusions, it just shares my thoughts and feelings for a while."
"Cat needs to come out every three to four days for about an hour or so," Akane said. "Ranma starts to get a little restless and even a picture of a cat can start the Cat Fu state then."
Again, Ranma just shrugged and added: "When it happens, I don't fight it. I just put on a pair of sunglasses so not to worry folks – it also helps protect my eyes. When I'm in the Cat Fu, if I get the urge to do something a cat would like, such as eat fish or go exploring, I just do it. Often, when I'm Cat, I just keep doing what I originally was doing – the cat spirits are curious about everything, even school. When the spirits have had enough, they just drop back again. Like Akane says, they lose interest after about an hour or so and then they are happy just to tag-along again for a few days."
"And this doesn't worry you?" Tofu asked.
"I'm still me. Cat is still me," Ranma said. "Right now, I'm concerned about the constant shifting, but I'm not afraid of Cat coming forward."
"And the Chi claws and the heavy Chi shielding?" Tofu prompted.
"Still there," Isamu said holding up a very bent hypodermic needle. "I wanted to draw blood when Ranma was in the 'Cat' state and see if there are any biological differences, but that's not happening. He cannot make it stop."
"But Ranma can control the claws perfectly," Akane said. "He can hold my hand and slice a steel pole in half at the same time."
Tofu cocked an eyebrow at Akane. "And you're not fazed by this in the least?" he asked her.
Now Akane shrugged her shoulders. "He's still Ranma – he feels the same to me," she answered and then her face took on a teasing expression. "When Cat shows up, Ranma tends to be more affectionate though." Ranma started to roll his eyes, but ended up smirking instead. She continued: "I taught Cat to call himself 'Ranma' or 'Cat-Ranma' instead of 'Cat'." Akane paused to roll her eyes and added: "I also tried to teach Cat to say 'Akane' instead of 'Mate'. I settled for 'Akane-Mate' – at least it doesn't sound like a request." She tapped the smirking pig-tailed young man on the top of his head with her hand.
Tofu seemed absolutely nonplussed by the teenagers' casual acceptance of Cat. Hideo began chuckling though. "Sometimes, my friend," Hideo told Tofu. "You get immune to the craziness."
"Perhaps, but I still need to know these things as their teacher, their doctor, their friend, their Guardian and a part of their family," he said with exasperation. "Is there anything else you two should tell me? Does Akane change shape now? Has a god stopped by to visit? Anything else unusual?" he prompted with frustration, half-raising his hands in a pleading gesture.
"I'm sorry we didn't mention it, but Cat is not something we were worried about," Ranma told him.
"Besides, Cat has been around in one form or another for a while," Akane added. "It's just a form of Cat Fu."
"A visible form of Cat Fu," Tofu shot back. "That hasn't happened before in recent history." Then Tofu sighed, "All right, let's drop it for now. Welcome to the menagerie, Cat." Even Isamu chuckled at that.
"So what's next?" Ranma asked.
"Date night is canceled tonight," Tofu said. Both teenagers pouted at that. "There's an unstable Amazon on the loose. We are going to circle the wagons until the police get a little more info. Ranma and I can sleep downstairs tonight at the house. Ciren is now stationed in town too – I'll give her a shout. We need to shake Sasuke out of his tree and let him know what's up.
"You rang?" a familiar voice sounded behind them.
"Perfect," Tofu muttered. "I'm so rattled, I didn't even Feel him."
"Hey, I've been practicing!" Sasuke defended himself.
"Never mind. Nodoka said you were not to be on the roof tonight. You have first shift on guard duty. You can keep Soun company, since he probably won't sleep all night."
"Is there anything you'd like me to do?" Hideo asked.
"Did you snag a couple of pictures of that knife?" Tofu asked in turn. At Hideo's nod, Tofu continued: "See if you can find out anything about it. If nothing else, see if you can trace the runes on the blade, maybe they will tell us something. I'll have Tomo run a copy by the Elders too."
Inspector Ojima waited outside of the restaurant for his team to finish. While he was waiting, a blond woman dressed in black hunting leathers and a cloak approached him. The inspector noted the long bow over one shoulder and called out: "Ms. Blake, Judge Sanu has said no bladed weapons!"
"I only have dum-dum arrows on me right now. Ticking off the judge – or you – is not part of my plans," the European woman said.
"What the hell is a dum-dum arrow?" he asked sharply.
Ciren tossed an arrow to him. He caught it and looked at it. The arrow had no tip or side blades at the tip. Instead it had an egg-like rubber ball at the end that had a lot of grooves cut into it. "It's a little something I make for myself," she answered. "It's an exaggerated blunt point arrow. It's good for knocking people out or slowing them down. At full draw, it will even make a Nerima Martial Artist pause."
The inspector grunted and handed the arrow back to her. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"I'm looking for my apprentice," she answered. "Mousse and I have a standing 3PM appointment on Saturday's and he wasn't here. Since Cologne approves of his lessons and tries to make sure he shows up, I took that to be a little odd. Later I heard about Shampoo's encounter with Ranma and Akane earlier in the day, and I've been trying to find him or Cologne ever since."
"Was there anyone here when you stopped by at 3PM?" the inspector asked.
"No, but I didn't go inside. Let just say that I 'knew' the restaurant was empty," she answered.
"Did you see anything amiss then?" he questioned.
She shook her head. "No, or I would have gone inside."
"All right." The inspector paused and asked: "Where's Ranma now?"
"The Doc has him locked down at the dojo house," she told him. "Everyone is staying in tonight – they are not sure if Shampoo is a threat or not. She said she was going to kill Ranma and Akane; everyone who heard her took her seriously. Neither Ranma or Akane is afraid of her, but they are afraid for the other, so they are behaving themselves." Then she answered the question he didn't ask: "Hideo is trying to find some info on the knife Shampoo used. I'm looking for Mousse and Cologne. Daran is checking sources to see if any of the Amazons have left the country. Olaf is still in China, but he's getting on a plane tomorrow. Sasuke is at the dojo but he has ordered ninjas to watch over Ranma's and Akane's friends, especially the non-martial artists. Shizuka is hunting for the Amazons too – and before you ask, 'Yes', I had a talk with her about appropriate force."
"Good," Ojima grunted. "She tends to get a little possessive of the Tendo daughters. Someone threatening Akane would definitely set her teeth on edge. Where's the little thief?"
"Mausu is in England last I knew. He has other business to attend too," she answered.
"I doubt it's legal," grumbled Ojima. Ciren just shrugged her shoulders. "What about Kuno?" (4)
"Kuno keeps his own counsel and doesn't share with us. But he is not our problem, he's yours," she smirked at him. He looked back at her darkly.
Just then, Imia came out of the restaurant. "What did Forensics find?" the Inspector asked the Sergeant.
"There was a magic circle inscribed on the floor," Imia said. "Our mage thinks it's a 'protection' circle, but there's blood inside the circle – not a lot, but not a little either. The whole setup doesn't look like much or appear that threatening, but everyone – and I mean everyone – is getting a queasy feeling. People are only staying for five minutes or so before they need a break. Oota says it's time to put out a bulletin on the Amazons. We can issue a warrant for Shampoo, and a safety check for the other two."
"Do it," Ojima ordered. Then he turned to Ciren and asked: "Do you want to take a look?"
"I'd like to check their rooms if you can spare a man to watch me, but there's not a whole lot I can tell you about the basement," she said. Then she smirked at Ojima, "I don't enjoy throwing up anymore than you do."
Ojima scowled at her and debated denying her request for half-a-second…
The young boy sat cross-legged on a hill overlooking the three Temples in their walled enclosure. The Realm's sun felt warm on his face – indicating that his Guardian was in a healthy state of mind despite the latest upheaval. "May Kami-Sama Bless you, Ranma," he thought . "I know we were thrown together, but I don't know of anyone else I'd rather be Bound to." A light breeze blew about him as he felt the Dream Realm open up. He continued to study the Temples with his blue eyes. The structures were now sound – not perfect, but sound. Ranma had healed a great deal. "And they are staying that way," the boy thought with a firm expression.
"There you are!" a voice sounded behind him. He half turned to watch his Sister climb toward him in her yellow dress. The blue-black haired girl looked to be a couple of years younger than his 10-year old façade.
"So, Akane finally fell asleep too," he noted. "You know," he started. "You could look a little older if you stopped fighting with her. She really does love you."
"I know that," she answered snippily. "Our relationship is based on fighting. We wouldn't know what to do with each other if we were not fighting," she answered primly.
The boy rolled his eyes. "You might want to tell her that you love her sometime," he added with a little exasperation.
"Have you told Ranma you love him?" she shot back.
"Guys don't do that, but he knows," he replied calmly.
"Well maybe they should," she snorted at him. She looked around then and her expression became worried. "Something's off," she stated with a frown.
"I know, but Ranma will get it under control. He'll handle it," he stated confidently.
"If you say so. I just wanted to check on you and Brother before I get back to Akane. The humans have something they call 'finger paints' that I want to try." With that, his Sister vanished.
The boy sighed as he thought of his Sister loose in Akane's Museum. "I know you're strong enough, but may Kami-Sama bless you too, Akane." With that, he rose and walked back to his home in the Temple enclosure. He needed to stay out of the way until Ranma was aware of the problem, which shouldn't take long. Once Ranma was aware, the lad could move around again freely. In the meantime, the boy would guard the Temples until Ranma got here. (5)
On a rooftop overlooking Nerima, a horrified young woman watched the stars with unseeing eyes. "It's not possible! That should have worked! Ranma should be mine now!" Shampoo thought. Despair rose up in her as she whispered out loud: "Oh Ancestors! What have I done?"
A/N: Footnotes:
(1) Tofu hasn't been around when 'Cat' was about in the past. In "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome – Ignition," Ranma had broken out of the Cat-state just before Tofu showed up.
(2) Happened in "Brothers".
(3) Happened in "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome – Ignition."
(4) The reference is to Toshio Kuno, Tatewaki's and Kodachi's uncle – not their father.
(5) In "The Destruction of Ranma Saotome – Combustion" we learned that Akane, Ranma, and Ryoga had their 'Spiritual Space' merged by the events in "Ignition" and it took a while to get separated (more-or-less; the separation can never be totally complete now). To provide privacy, Ranma showed Akane and Ryoga how to construct a spiritual center within their psyches/Dream Realms. Ranma has the Three Temples, Akane has the Museum, and Ryoga has the Maze.
A/N: Next up: Dream Warriors
