Chapter Nine: Samurai Pizza Cats!
The Next Mornin' (wikki wikki)

"You got home late," Nabiki noted as a tired Ranma walked into the room.

"Eh," he said, plopping down at the table. He leaned back onto his arm and almost fell asleep in the few seconds before Kasumi placed breakfast on the table.

The breakfast ritual woke him up a small bit. Fending Genma away from his food wasn't too terribly difficult but it was a nuisance.

"What were you doing last night anyway?" Nabiki asked.

"I was at Tofu's," Ranma said simply.

"...And what were you doing at a clinic?" Nabiki asked.

"Didn't Akane tell you?" Kasumi said as she sat down, "Ranma was knocked unconscious after a fight with another young man yesterday. Akane made sure both of them got to the clinic."

"Oh," Nabiki said, turning back to Ranma, "So you lost a fight."

"You lost a fight!?" Genma suddenly howled.

"No, I didn't lose a fight!" Ranma said loudly, mostly at Genma.

"Oh the shame!" Genma said, "My own son!"

"I'm not your damn son, ya old bastard!" Ranma yelled, scoring a powerful punch to Genma's face, causing him to fly out of the door and into the koi pond.

Silence prevailed for a few moments.

"Someones a little grumpy," Nabiki idly remarked.

"Oh, shut up," Ranma said.

"Don't tell my sister to shut up, you pervert!" Akane yelled.

"Damnit, this again?" Ranma mumbled low to himself. The only one to hear it was actually the only person listening to him and not the raging Akane, Nabiki. Ranma then almost slammed him head into the table in aggravation and defeat.

Luckily, him moving his head caused Akane to miss horribly with her huge mallet. She almost tripped as a result, but she managed to let go of the 'demon hammer' before she did. This caused the hammer to fly through the door and over towards the koi pond, where it soundly hit a slowly recovering Panda squarely in the head, knocking him back into the koi pond.

Ranma looked up to see this.

"Maybe today won't be so bad," He mumbled hopefully.

Furinkan

The rest of the morning wasn't that bad in all actuality. It was only around lunch that the seemingly normal day turned weird.

Ranma found himself walking across the school courtyard towards the large tree that he normally ate under. As normal, some of the other students were watching him intently, including one Nabiki Tendo from the third story window.

Ranma sat down by the tree and pulled out the bento that Kasumi had made earlier that morning. He picked up a rice ball from within it and started to eat it.

The peaceful day was suddenly split open by a large crashing sound. Most of the students yelped and scrambled away as a section of the school outer wall came crashing downward. Ranma, however, didn't flinch as the wall toppled almost right next to him.

He listened as the sound of footsteps started to race towards him.

"Ranma-cat!" A voice called out.

"Ugh," Ranma sighed, "Why do you call me that, Shampoo?"

"Because," The purple haired Chinese girl said, "Is what Ranma-cat is."

"Hmph," Ranma shook his head, "What are you doing in Japan anyway?"

"Shampoo come for Airen," Shampoo said leaning down close to him.

"I told you, I'm not going to marry you," Ranma said, "The old ghoul said that it didn't count."

"But..." Shampoo said sadly. Ranma looked up at her.

"You didn't come all this way just for that," Ranma noted, "You're looking for Genma, aren't you."

Shampoo sat down next to him.

"Yes," She said, "Must be punished. Plus, Great Grandmother said trying to catch sneaky panda is good training. Sneaky panda very tricky to track."

"The old fool is pretty good at hiding," Ranma said, "So your on a training trip."

Shampoo nodded.

"Shampoo wanted to see Ranma-cat while in area," Shampoo told him, "Ranma-cat is very good training partner."

"Come on, Shampoo," Ranma said, "Don't call me that, people'll think it's weird."

"Okay," Shampoo said, smiling, "But Shampoo think it cute name."

"Yeah, 'cute'," Ranma noted.

It was at that moment that someone came running over to them. Ranma looked up to see that it was a exhausted and panicked looking Gosonkugi. Ranma raised an eyebrow as Gosonkugi got up to them only to trip and slam face first into the ground.

"Uh... you okay?" Ranma asked.

"Who this?" Shampoo asked.

"Oh, this is Hikaru Gosonkugi," Ranma told her. "Hey, Gosonkugi, wake up."

Gosonkugi lifted his head up, looking at them seemingly hurt but fine.

"Ranma! I have to tell you..." Gosonkugi stopped as he saw Shampoo, "W-who's this?"

"This is Xian Pu," Ranma said.

"Is she...?" Gosonkugi asked.

"She's cool," Ranma told him.

"Oh, okay," Gosonkugi nodded before somehow going strait back into full on panic mode, "Ranma! I have to tell you something!"

"What?" Ranma asked.

Gosonkugi moved closer and said something very quietly as so only Ranma and Shampoo could hear him.

Up in the third story window, Nabiki Tendo held a small object within her hand. It was a small listening device she used when she wanted to listen to people a long way away and there weren't any bugs nearby. The tree was almost out of its range though, so their voices weren't totally clear. Whatever Gosonkugi whispered was too low for her to hear, but it definitely got a reaction.

"What?!" Ranma said, "No shit!?"

"Yes!" Gosonkugi said, "I came to tell you as soon as I could!"

Ranma tore into action, leaving his bento spinning in the air behind him. Shampoo and Gosonkugi simply blinked as they saw Ranma leap clear over the courtyard wall going unbelievably fast.

A Little Less That a Minute Later

Tofu turned as he heard the door to the clinic opened loudly. He then blinked as Rhys zipped up to him.

"Ah..." Tofu paused to collect himself, "I see that you got the message. Follow me."

Rhys anxiously followed the Doctor back into the rear of the building. Tofu kept talking as they walked.

"We found her not to far away when Gosonkugi started to scry earlier today," Tofu said, "She was in pretty bad shape. We've seen at least two silver burns and she was very fatigued."

"Is she okay?" Rhys asked.

"She will be," Tofu nodded, "The fatigue will go away naturally and there are several ways to treat a silver burn. But I do want to tell you one thing."

"What?" Rhys asked as Tofu stopped in front of a closed door.

"I do not believe that she is your sister," Tofu said, "She is most definitely a werecheetah, but she is also most definitely Japanese."

Rhys deflated and sighed.

"Do not worry," Tofu said, "When we found her, we discovered that it is indeed possible to scry and find your sister magickally. Now, it is only a matter of time."

Rhys nodded.

Tofu then opened the door.

The first thing Rhys saw was Mr. Gosonkugi's back. The conversation between him at whoever else was in there stopped as the door opened. Gosonkugi looked back at them, stepping to the side to allow Rhys to see the other person in the room.

The girl sitting on the examination bed looked up at him with a tired expression. She had golden hair that was held back by a white bow hair band. She wore a short purple gi with a black belt over a light blue shirt and a pair of loose black pants.

Rhys instantly felt that this girl was extremely familiar, but he couldn't place it. Surely he would have known if he had met another werecheetah before now.

The girl, however, instantly seemed to recognize him. He face twisted into a look that was both angry and sad at the same time. It looked like it took all of her strength to move as she lunged at him.

The slow punch was easily dodged, but Rhys had to act quick as the girl tripped over her own feet and stumbled forward. Rhys moved in to catch her.

"Y-you..." She said weakly, "Y-you bastard..."

Rhys was obviously quite confused. He wanted to say something, but he was instantly tongue-tied. This inability to do anything increase substantially when the girl started to cry.

Y-you bastard..." She said softly, "Ran-chan..."

Rhys's heart suddenly fell into his stomach as he heard that. He breathed in sharply.

"U-Ukyo?"

Clinic, Waiting Room

Rhys sat in the waiting room, his mind going in circles about how one of his childhood friends had suddenly shown up again as a werecheetah. He was absolutely sure she had been human before.

His thoughts were always drawn back to the that night in the subway when he found out that it was possible for werecreatures to inflict Lycanthropy onto other people by scratching them. That was the only reason he could think of as to why Ukyo was now of the same species as him.

He looked up as he heard a door open and then close from down the hallway. Doctor Tofu came into view shortly thereafter.

"How is she?" Rhys asked.

"Asleep," Tofu told him, "At the moment, I'm more concerned about you."

"It..." Rhys said, "It's my fault. It has to be. I..."

"Stop," Tofu said, fixing his glasses, "Before you go on a spree of blaming yourself I want you to tell me how you two met."

Rhys looked up at him.

"It..." Rhys thought, "It was back when I was about six or seven. Genma had stopped in the town where Ukyo lived and we became friends. Her family are all chefs and martial artists, mainly cooking Okonomiyaki. We used to spar together."

"And when was it that you first transformed?" Tofu asked, sitting down across from him.

Rhys thought for a small bit.

"Just a few days before, I think," He said, "But I don't understand how I could of infected her. I almost never transformed back then and I don't remember ever scratching her."

"Hmm," Tofu thought for a moment.

It was at that time that an auburn haired man walked into the door. Tofu and Rhys both looked up at him.

"Ah, Hiro," Tofu said, "Just in time."

"I hurried over a soon as I could," Hiro said, "The missus had me taking care of the young'uns. I heard that we have a little situation concernin' a cheetah."

Tofu nodded.

"It seems that she and Rhys know each other from their childhood," Tofu said, "We believe that Rhys might of inflicted her with Lycanthropy but he does not remember transforming around her nor scratching her. Is there any other way of inflicting someone?"

"Oh yeah," Hiro said, "Scratchin' is just the fastest and the most common as its easy to do accidentally and it only takes about two weeks for someone to change. Biting works, but that only takes maybe a day or two to kick in."

"I don't remember biting her either," Rhys said.

"Hmm..." Hiro asked, "Was there any occurrence where she came in contact with your blood?"

Rhys thought about that for a moment.

He then nodded.

"Genma tried teaching me the neko-ken at the same time I met her," Rhys said, "One time Ukyo found me after I had gotten out of the pit and I was pretty cut up. She helped me bandage myself up."

"Did she have any open wounds herself?" Hiro asked.

"Uh..." Rhys said, "No... I don't think so, why?"

"Someone can become a Lycanthrope if any werecreature blood is introduced into their own," Hiro said, "It's slow. Very slow, maybe even takin' a few years. But it also is the only way to inflict someone without cursing them to have to follow your demands."

"Do you believe that is how it happened?" Tofu asked.

"Sounds like it," Hiro said, "To be sure, we'd have to check her over. The mark where the infliction was introduced should be visible as a pale scar on their humans forms."

Tofu then stood up and nodded to Hiro. He then walked back down the hallway and into the room where Ukyo slept.

Hiro glanced over to Rhys. Rhys continued to sit there hunched over.

"Don't fret, kid," Hiro said, "It was an accident."

"But you haven't seen her," Rhys said, "She looked miserable and Doc even said she had a few silver burns. It looked like it completely ruined her life."

Hiro paused for a moment.

"Look, kid," He said, "Beating yourself up for something you had no control over isn't going to get you anywhere. If she looks like that, all you can do is try to make it up to her."

Tendo Residence

"Where is that boy?" Genma mumbled angrily, staring down at the shoji table, "Hmph, skipping out on spending time with his fiance..."

"I agree," Soun said, "'Tis such a shame."

"Ranma disappeared at lunch," Nabiki said, "One of the other students told him something and he split."

"Hmmm..." Genma mumbled, "What is that boy doing?"

"Oh, and he also had another visitor," Nabiki said, "Some purple headed girl with a Chinese accent. Do you know...?"

She stopped as she realized that Genma had vanished. Soun was looking up at the back door which had suddenly opened. The game piece he had been holding clacked down onto the wooden table.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow at the unexpected reaction.

Clinic

Rhys sat there with his face in his hands, his mind still going in circles. He wasn't sulking the same as before, as now he was straining to try and think of a way to try and make it up to her. Nothing came to mind.

Tofu had gone and checked Ukyo and, sure enough, there was a small pale scar on top of her wrist on her left arm. Hiro, after discussing this with Tofu, had left to get back to his wife, who he said was probably livid at the moment. He had mentioned that he hoped explaining the situation would calm her down. Soon after that, Gosonkugi had left, saying that he would get back to scrying right away. Tofu himself had to get back to work, telling Rhys that he could wait here for her to awake if he wanted.

And so Rhys found himself sitting the waiting room alone. The entire room seemed eerily quiet.

It has started to rain about an hour ago and occasionally thunder could be heard off in the distance. All this did was to further deepen Rhys' depression.

He didn't even look up as he heard footsteps coming towards the waiting room. It was probably just Tofu or one of the patients leaving. The footsteps came to a stop after a few moments. Rhys still didn't look up.

"Ranma," A girls voice came.

Rhys instantly looked up to see Ukyo standing there. He quickly stood up and stepped up to her, but stopped after that. Even now, he still couldn't think of anything to say.

"Ukyo...," He said.

"Doctor Tofu..." She said, "Told me everything. About how this happened."

"Ukyo," Rhys said, "I'm sorry."

Ukyo didn't say anything for a small while. She then shook her head.

"D..." She paused, closing her eyes, "Don't be... It was an accident... right?"

"Of course it was," Rhys said, "I... I would never... I wouldn't ever do anything to hurt you."

Ukyo smiled slightly, but it went away after a few moments.

"I..." Ukyo said, "I always knew it was you... That it was because of you that this happened."

Rhys looked down at the floor, sighing.

"I'm sorry," He said, "I musta ruined your life..."

Ukyo didn't respond.

"No," She said, "Even... even knowing this would happen... you... you were hurt. I couldn't just left you there. B-but..."

She swallowed as a single tear fell down her face. Seeing this, Rhys' shoulders wilted.

"I..." She said, "My father..."

She idly rubbed one of the areas that Rhys could see was bandaged because of the silver burns. She then shook her head.

"Th-that doesn't matter," She said, looking back up at him, smiling, "I... I've missed you, Ran-chan."

"Heh," Rhys said, "Call me Rhys, 's my true name. And... I missed you too, Ucchan."

Scry (v) "Scry": Method of magickally locating and observing things or people over great distances and sometimes even through time, although there are ways of making something invisible to scrying and also ways to tell if you are being scryed upon.

Okonomiyaki (n) "Oh-koh-no-me-ya-key": Japanese pizza that is grilled instead of baked.

Cheap Labor (n) "Che-peh Lay-bor" : Sunshine filled happy muffin cakes!