Ranma ½ – Happily Ever After
Disclaimer: Ranma ½ is the property of Takahashi Rumiko and all those other large corporations that publish and distribute Ranma ½. No profit is gained from this work, just a great deal of enjoyment writing it.
Chapter 21 – Countdown to Chaos
With the start of summer break, a new flurry of activity began in preparation for the upcoming wedding. Kasumi and Akane made a calendar that went up on the wall in Akane and Ranma's room. Every day seemed to have something scheduled related to the wedding. It provided a constant reminder that there was still much to accomplish before the second Saturday of August.
The calendar also made it plainly evident that the countdown had begun and there were now fewer than twenty-eight days before the wedding. Each time Akane and Ranma looked at it, a fresh batch of butterflies was released in the pit of their stomachs.
The newest member of the household was beginning to find a place in everyone's heart. The kitten, which was given the name Katsu, even won over the stonehearted Nabiki, who initially complained that all they needed was another mouth to feed. It didn't take more than one or two sad looks to win her over.
Ranma of course had the most difficult time adjusting to the presence of Katsu. Years of uncontrollable fear of cats don't disappear overnight and Katsu's habit of pouncing on an unaware Ranma didn't help matters.
"You know he's only trying to play with you. I think he likes to see how high he can make you jump," Akane commented on one such occasion as Ranma perched on one of the beams of the dojo.
"I know that," Ranma said as he jumped down to the floor next to Akane and Katsu, "And I'm really trying to not let it get to me."
"At least your not running and hiding when he walks into the dojo," Akane laughed.
Ranma stooped down and rubbed Katsu's head. Then the kitten jumped up into Ranma's arms and Ranma stood up, lightly scratching the kitten's head. "Considering that two weeks ago, I couldn't have even imagined myself doing this, I think I'm doing pretty good. I just have to convince Katsu that jumping on me when I don't expect it is not a very smart thing to do on his part."
"Good luck with that," Akane said, taking Katsu from Ranma's arms, scratching his head and placing him back on the floor. "I think that kitten loves you as much as I love you."
"That may be true," Ranma said giving Akane a hug, "but I like the way you show it much better. So what is on the schedule this afternoon?"
"You have a class for intermediate students starting in a half hour," Akane replied, "and I'm meeting with Kasumi, Nabiki, Ukyo and Shampoo. We're going to pick out the bridesmaids' dresses… And tonight after dinner I have a class to teach and then we'll sit down and start working on our summer homework assignments."
Ranma's face dropped at the mention of the summer homework assignments. "I though we might get at least a short break from schoolwork."
"If we put it off," Akane said, "we'll end up having to do it while we're on our honeymoon. You don't want that, do you?"
"I think we'll be far too occupied with other things to do homework."
"I though you would see it that way. If we don't have too many interruptions, we can have it all done in the next two weeks. Plus that gives us a good reason to lock ourselves away in our room."
"I do like that idea."
"I thought you would," Akane said, giving Ranma a kiss. "Well, you need to get ready for your class and I have to leave if I'm going to be on time for the fitting."
Katsu looked at Akane as she walked away and then rubbed up against Ranma's leg and quietly purred.
"Akane isn't going to think it's funny," Yuka said, shaking her head.
"It's a gag gift," Hikari said walking along side Yuka with Sayuri and Miyuki. "If she has any sense of humor at all, she'll laugh with the rest of us."
"She has to have a sense of humor," Miyuki added. "She's marrying Ranma, isn't she?"
"Will you stop that," Yuka protested.
"So that freak has won you over too," Miyuki responded.
"Ranma is not a freak," Yuka protested all the more. "It's a curse."
"Anybody who can't make up their mind if they're a boy or a girl is a freak to me," Miyuki said. "Whether it's a curse or whatever."
"So why are you suddenly defending Ranma?" Hikari asked.
"It's a long and complicated story," Yuka responded, "but the short version is that he saved me from getting beaten up."
"He saved your skin, so now you feel the need to defend him," Miyuki said with a sarcastic laugh.
"It's not just that," Yuka said. "It's just that after talking to Ranma and Akane and getting to know them a little better… Ranma really seems like a nice guy."
"A nice guy who just happens to turn into a girl," Miyuki said quickly. "To me, that is a freak. And the fact that Akane is marrying him, as far as I'm concerned, doesn't make her much different."
"If that's how you feel, then I don't want any part of your gift," Yuka said. "I'll get something for Akane on my own."
"Hey, I already bought the gift," Miyuki said. "Don't expect your share back."
"Fine, I don't really care." Yuka said, "Just don't put my name on the card."
And with that, Yuka walked away.
"I wonder what's gotten into her?" Hikari asked no one in particular.
"No clue," Sayuri answered, "but she's been like that since just before the end of school."
"Any idea exactly what happened?" Hikari inquired.
"Some guys were picking on a kitten and throwing stuff at it," Sayuri explained. "Yuka tried to rescue it and the guys started throwing stuff at her too. Supposedly, Akane and Ranma showed up and rescued Yuka and the kitten."
"You don't think she'll tell Akane about our gift?" Miyuki asked.
"I don't think so," Sayuri replied, "and I'll have a talk with her after she cools down."
"So when are we going to do this?" Miyuki asked.
"Akane said that she doesn't have a class to teach this Saturday," Sayuri said. "So we'll all get together at her house after practice."
"That means Ranma will more than likely be there," Miyuki grumbled.
"I don't know," Hikari said smiling. "It might be fun to see Ranma's reaction to our gift."
As Ranma suspected it would, the selection of bridesmaid's dresses turned into an all-afternoon project. So once Ranma's afternoon class was complete, he had until dinnertime to take care of some personal wedding arrangements.
Ryoga had already agreed to be Ranma's best man, and it didn't take much convincing for Kuno to agree to be part of the wedding party… but Ranma's choice for the third member of the wedding party was presenting a problem.
To Ranma, Mousse was the obvious choice to fill in the last spot in the wedding party, but every attempt Ranma made to talk to him about it was in some way thwarted by Shampoo. But today might present a perfect opportunity for Ranma to talk to Mousse without Shampoo interfering.
At least that is what Ranma thought.
When Ranma arrived at the Cat Café, only Grandma Cologne was there… there was no sign of Mousse. Cologne was busy preparing for the evening rush so she did not notice Ranma until he entered the kitchen.
"Good afternoon, Grandma Cologne," Ranma said.
"Oh! Ranma, I didn't notice you when you came in," Cologne said putting down what she was doing and wiping her hands. "Is there something I can get for you?"
"No, I'm fine," Ranma replied. "Akane made a big lunch for everyone."
"I understand that Akane's cooking skills have developed quite well. She will make a fine wife for you. But there is something that I can do for you?"
"Actually, I was looking for Mousse. I want to talk to him about something."
"Mousse is not here. Shampoo sent him out with a long shopping list. I hope he is able to get back before dinnertime. Shampoo really does mistreat that boy… but then again he lets himself be mistreated."
"I was hoping to ask Mousse if he would be part of my wedding party."
"Ah Ranma, you are treading on dangerous ground if you do that."
"I've been told on a number of occasions that I must like to live dangerously… but why would asking Mousse to be in my wedding party be so dangerous?"
"Because you are playing with Shampoo's heart."
"Because Shampoo hates Mousse?"
"No, because she doesn't."
"I don't understand," Ranma said as both he and Cologne sat down at a table. "It seems from the way she treats Mousse that she doesn't have any feeling for him."
"It is a very difficult thing to explain. You must understand that Shampoo and Mousse have known each other since they were very young children. Shampoo and Mousse were actually born within three day of each other, with Mousse being the older of the two. They were playmates and good friends all the time they were growing up. I think from the time they were very young, Shampoo felt something special for Mousse."
"But then why does she treat Mousse so badly."
"Although you would never know it, Shampoo is really quite shy. She has a difficult time expressing her feelings."
"She never had any problem expressing her feelings towards me," Ranma laughed.
"You were quite different Ranma. You actually defeated Shampoo in combat… twice, now that I think about it. The tribal rules are quite clear. Shampoo had to marry you."
"If all Mousse had to do to have Shampoo marry him was challenge and defeat her, why didn't he do that?"
"Because he was afraid."
"Afraid that he might lose?"
"No, more that he might win."
"Now I'm really confused," Ranma said scratching his head.
"Social status in an Amazon village is very complicated," Cologne explained, "especially for someone like Shampoo who might have become the leader of her village. Mousse was afraid that if he challenged Shampoo and won, it would diminish her stature and status within the village social structure, and his feelings for Shampoo prevented him from doing that."
"If being defeated by Mousse would have diminished Shampoo's status," Ranma asked, "what effect did my defeat of Shampoo do to her status?"
"Your defeat of Shampoo actually improved her social status significantly," Cologne answered. "At least your defeat of Shampoo when you were in your man form."
"OK. Run that one by me again," Ranma said, shaking his head, perplexed as ever.
"Shampoo, by marrying you would have brought new strong blood into the village," Cologne said, "guaranteeing a new generation of strong healthy children. Your defeat of Shampoo in your girl form threatened the established social order and leadership of the tribe and therefore the reason for the kiss of death."
"So the whole system is designed to encourage the strongest women of the village to marry strong men from outside the village," Ranma said, suddenly feeling that he understood the concept.
"If Shampoo had not been in the high social position that she was, there would have been no problem with her marrying Mousse."
"So Mousse is out of luck when it comes to Shampoo," Ranma commented.
"Mousse still has chance," Cologne said with a big smile. "Shampoo decided she will not go back to the village. She prefers to stay here. And her life would be in danger if she did go back, since now she is considered an outsider. Village social status means nothing. They just need to figure out that they do really have feelings each other, but they are too shy or stubborn to admit it and do something about it."
"That sounds all too familiar," Ranma said laughing. It did sound all too familiar.
By the time Ranma completed the rest of his errands Akane was already home and working on the summer homework assignments.
"And where were you all this time?" Akane asked putting down the book she had chosen for her summer reading.
"I had some errands to run," Ranma said as he gave Akane a kiss. "And I wanted to talk to Mousse about being in the wedding party, but Shampoo sent him out on errands that must have covered half the city. But Grandma Cologne and I talked for a while about it and now I'm not so sure what I should do."
"When Ukyo brought up Mousse's name to be part of the wedding party, I thought Shampoo was going to have a fit. She has some serious issues about Mousse. You may need to find someone else to take Mousse's place."
"I think Grandma Cologne sees it differently. She thinks that Shampoo has a great deal of affection for Mousse, but she is too stubborn to admit it."
"There seems to be quite a bit of that going around. But you're going to have to decide something soon. You're scheduled for your fittings next week."
"That's right," Ranma said looking at the calendar. "I'll have to have Akari bring Ryoga out for that. And I'll have a talk with Shampoo between now and then. Did you decide on bridesmaid's dresses?"
"It took a while, but yes," Akane said with a smile. "The dresses they decided on are really going to turn heads. If they showed any more cleavage there'd be no point in wearing a top at all."
"You got U-chan to agree to wear something like that?"
"She was the last holdout, but they finally all agreed."
"It sounds like something Nabiki would suggest," Ranma commented sarcastically.
"That's the funny part. It wasn't Nabiki who suggested it… It was Kasumi."
"Sweet, innocent Kasumi," Ranma said and then paused for a moment of thought. "On the other hand, some of the swimsuits I've seen her wear don't leave much to the imagination."
"Well, neither do some of the ones you've worn. Oh! And something to add to the calendar… Saturday after gymnastics practice, the girls from the club are going to come over to throw me a little party."
"Since we didn't have any classes to teach on Saturday," a disheartened looking Ranma said. "I thought that we could go out and check out some tours for out honeymoon."
"You haven't made the travel arrangements for our honeymoon yet?"
"I have a hotel reserved and I have the train tickets," replied Ranma. "And I've even reserved our room for the first night, but I haven't looked into any sightseeing tours. I wasn't sure what you would want to see, but I didn't think you would want to spent two weeks in the hotel room."
Akane smiles a wicked smile and purred, "Actually that doesn't sound like a bad idea."
"You're right. That doesn't sound like a bad idea at all."
Ranma tried several times during the week to meet with Mousse, but Shampoo made it quite clear that she did not want Ranma and Mousse to talk.
"Shampoo, I just want to have Mousse as part of the wedding party," Ranma tried explaining.
"Shampoo not want to have anything to do with Mousse," retorted Shampoo as she helped to prepare the Cat Café for the normal lunch rush. "Since Ranma propose to Akane, Mousse think Shampoo just fall into his arms."
"I'm not asking you to have anything to do with Mousse. I'm just asking you to stand next to him during the ceremony. Once the ceremony is done, I don't care what you do. You can pound him into rice flour for all I care… as long as you don't damage the tuxedo, since I'm paying for that."
"Then go ask Mousse," Shampoo replied. "Ask if he want to be in the wedding party."
"I would," Ranma said, "but it always seems that Mousse is away or too busy to talk, every time I try to talk to him."
"That Mousse problem," Shampoo said as she turned to walk to the kitchen, "not mine."
"I always thought that Mousse was smarter than that," Ranma said as he walked toward the door to leave, "but I think that if I were treated like you're treating Mousse, I would find someone else to be interested in."
Ranma walked out the door to the street, while Shampoo froze where she stood.
It seemed to be strictly by chance that Ranma crossed paths with Mousse that Saturday. Ranma had decided to visit the sweet shop to get something special for Akane and the members of the Gymnastics Club, so he was walking through the park. Mousse was sitting on one of the park benches, head bowed.
"Mousse, are you all right?" Ranma asked, carefully approaching Mousse, knowing that, if startled, Mousse might instinctively attack with one of his many hidden weapons.
Ranma need not have worried.
Mousse lifted his head and noting that it was Ranma, simply said, "I'm fine." Then he bowed his head again.
Ranma sat down next to Mousse. "You don't sound very convincing. What happened?"
"I'm not really sure," Mousse replied. "I was cleaning in the restaurant, when Ukyo came in to talk to Shampoo. They went off into the corner to talk and I really didn't think anything of it. They talked for a while and when Ukyo was leaving she said goodbye to me and I said goodbye to her. I was just being polite, but after that Shampoo seemed really angry with me. I apologized, even though I wasn't even sure what I was apologizing for. That just seemed to make her even angrier. When I asked her why she was angry, she blew up and started screaming at me… saying how annoying I was and how much she hated me. Then she told me to leave."
Ranma made no comment. He just sat and listened.
"Ranma, how can I get Shampoo to like me?" Mousse asked with his head buried in his hands. "She doesn't have to love me. It would be good enough if she liked me. I thought that once you proposed to Akane I might have a chance to win Shampoo, but she is colder to me than ever."
"Mousse, I really don't know what to tell you," Ranma said. "I'm by no means an expert on things like that."
Ranma knew what he wanted to say. He wanted to tell Mousse everything that Grandma Cologne had told him. But Ranma knew that it really wouldn't help. If Mousse and Shampoo were to work things out, they would have to do it by themselves, without interference from well meaning friends.
"But you and Akane are getting married. You found a way to make things work."
"And look how long we fought," Ranma said smiling. "And when everything came together the day I asked her to marry me, it just happened like it was meant to happen just at that time… just that way. Mousse, if it is meant to happen that way between you and Shampoo I have faith that it will. Come on and take a walk with me. I have an errand that I have to run and I need to talk to you about something."
When Ranma arrived home again, Akane was just arriving with the members of the Gymnastics Club. Some of the members were carrying small individual gifts, but Hikari was carrying one wrapped gift. Yuka walked well back from the rest of the group, carrying a small wrapped package.
"It looks like my timing was perfect," Ranma said as he greeted Akane with a kiss.
"You went out shopping this morning?" Akane asked.
"Kasumi said that she was going to make tea for your little get together, but I thought it would be nice to have something sweet to go along with it," Ranma answered, handing Akane the package of treats.
"Thank you Ranma," Akane said as she accepted the package and looked inside.
"I also had the chance to talk to Mousse," Ranma continued, "but we can talk about that later. I'll leave you ladies to your party."
"You know Ranma, your perfectly welcome to attend," Miyuki said, drawing strange looks from the rest of the members of the Gymnastics Club, especially Yuka.
"I thought that this was going to be a girls only get together?" Ranma asked.
"Well, in this case I think we can make an exception," Miyuki replied with a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
"If it's all right with Akane and everyone else. I suppose so," Ranma said looking at Akane.
"If nobody else minds, I don't have a problem with it," Akane said with a smile. "I'm not sure where it would be better to do this. We'd have more space in the dojo."
"I'll let Kasumi know that everyone is here," Ranma said, "and you can decide where the party will be."
Ranma and Akane entered through the main gate as the members of the Gymnastics Club following behind. Miyuki, Hikari and Sayuri along with several others fell behind the main group.
"Are you out of your mind Miyuki?" Hikari asked quietly.
"You said that it might be worth seeing Ranma's reaction," Miyuki replied.
"You are one sick puppy," Sayuri said walking away to catch up with the rest of the club members. "I hope you know what you're doing."
Considering that the size of the group… and that Akane's father was firmly entrenched at the dining room table with several members of the town council… the party was set up in the dojo. It didn't take long for chairs and tables to be set up and for Kasumi to delivery the tea and the treats that Ranma had purchased.
During all of this Yuka tried her best to talk privately to Akane. It wasn't until Katsu entered the dojo and walked over to Akane that she opportunity presented itself.
"Akane, is that the kitten from the park?" Yuka asked. "If it is, he looks far healthier than he did."
"One and the same," Akane replied picking up the kitten and handing him to Yuka. "We named him Katsu."
"I though that Ranma had a problem with cats?"
"He did, but he's trying to deal with them. He's seems to have gotten very good with that lately."
"Speaking of Ranma," Yuka said lowering her voice a bit, "I'm not so sure it's a good idea for him to be here. There are some people who…"
Akane interrupted Yuka, "Don't worry about it. I'm sure everything will be fine."
Yuka was about to try to explain, but Ranma called from the table where the tea and sweets were. "I think everything is ready, Akane."
Akane turned and began to walk to Ranma, leaving Yuka. "I'll be right there."
All Yuka could do was follow behind.
"Kasumi wanted me to ask you if you wanted her to do the grocery shopping for what you're going to cook tonight," Ranma asked when Akane arrived. "It's either that or we're ordering take out."
"I think we'll give people a break and order take out."
There was polite laughter from everyone.
All Yuka could do was stand back and hope for the best.
Yuka sat quietly, somewhat off to herself. The mood of the party continued to be congenial as everyone ate and drank. There was high praise for Kasumi's tea, who insisted that it really wasn't anything special. There was also high praise for the sweets and pastry that Ranma had provided. Everyone asked where he had purchased them, but only Yuka knew about the sweet shop where he had acquired them, since it really wasn't far from her house.
When everyone had eaten their fill, matters turned to the presentation of the gift that people had brought.
Most of the gifts were quite simple in nature and given in good humor. One of the club members gave Akane a book of recipes that promised a male partner with 'greater stamina when it was really needed.' Another presented Akane with some extremely brief panties that Happosai would love to add to his collection. Another gave a video that the cover made it quite evident what the video was about.
Akane received all of the gifts with a smile and made a point of showing them to Ranma (who blushed on several occasions and in particular when Akane showed him the video).
Yuka was one of the last to present her gift.
"Akane, I know this isn't much," Yuka said quietly as she handed her gift to Akane, "but it expresses my wishes for you and Ranma in the future."
Akane unwrapped the package. Inside was a charm that Yuka had framed.
"It's a marriage blessing charm," Yuka explained. "My uncle is a priest at a small shrine where people come to pray for the success of their marriage."
"Thank you Yuka," Akane said. "This will have a special place in our room."
"All right now," Miyuki said in a loud voice. "Now that that is over with. This gift is a special gift from everyone in the Gymnastics Club. And actually it's a gift for both you and Ranma."
Miyuki handed the rather large gift box to Akane, who looked at Miyuki questioningly.
"Go ahead and open it," Miyuki said. "I'm sure you'll understand."
Yuka could only sit back now and hope that Akane and Ranma didn't take too much offence at the gift. Akane carefully unwrapped the gift and opened it. Yuka expected Akane to explode when she realized the implication of the gift, but instead a broad smile came to Akane's face.
Akane showed the contents of the box to Ranma who also smiled when he saw it.
Akane held up a very shear, very short red nightie.
"I'm assuming that this is for me," Akane said as she let Ranma take the box.
Ranma then held up an identical nightgown, with the exception that the one that Ranma held was blue. "And I'll assume that this one is intended for me."
"I don't know," Miyuki cackled. "Some of us though that it was a perfect his and her gift for a couple like you."
Even though Miyuki was laughing, the rest of the members of the Gymnastics Club remained silent. Yuka desperately wanted to find somewhere to hide. The mood chanced though when everyone heard Akane and Ranma laughing.
"Thank you everyone," Akane said. "They are lovely."
"Akane, do you think they'd like to see us model then?" Ranma asked amid his laughter.
"I don't know," Akane replied to Ranma. Then asking the members of the club, "Would you like to see us try them on?"
"Sure, why not." Miyuki responded. Everyone else remained silent in stunned silence.
"Kasumi," Ranma asked, "do you think you could get some cold water? I don't think this will fit with me like this.
"Sure Ranma," Kasumi responded with a broad smile. "I'm not sure I'm ready to see you model that in you boy form. I'll be right back."
Kasumi quickly exited the dojo while everyone (except for Miyuki) stood or sat in stunned silence.
"You know," Hikari finally said. "It really isn't necessary for you to do that… I mean to model the nighties."
"Let them do it," Miyuki said loudly. "This should be funny."
"Will you shut up," Hikari snapped back at Miyuki. "It isn't funny. It may have been at first, but now it isn't funny. It's just mean-spirited. I'm not sure why you feel this way, but it isn't funny anymore."
Hikari turned to face Akane and Ranma, "I really want to apologize for all of this. When Miyuki first suggested this, it really sounded like a funny idea, but now it just seems…"
"Don't worry about it, please," Ranma said. "I'll be honest with you. All this time I thought you all knew about the curse… about the fact that I turn into a girl when I get splashed with cold water."
"I guess we did know that, sort of." Sayuri said. "And now when I think of it, I'm sure I've seen it happen any number of times. It's just not something that is easy to accept."
"You think you had a hard time accepting it," Akane said. "Our fathers arranged my engagement to him. It took a long time for me to accept that was the way that Ranma was. Now I'm not sure I could love him any other way."
"So have you two done it as two girls?" Miyuki asked.
"Will you get over it, Miyuki," Sayuri snapped back at Miyuki.
"Sayuri," Akane said, "you don't need to do that. In fact, Ranma and I haven't done it any way yet."
Just then Kasumi returned with a pitcher of water. "Here you are Ranma."
"Thank you Kasumi," Ranma said, acknowledging Kasumi.
"Like I said, you really don't have to do that," Hikari quietly commented.
"Look, Akane and I said that we would model your gift," Ranma said. "And maybe we could try some the other items Akane got. I don't think the underwear I have on would really go with the that nightie."
Ranma took the pitcher from Kasumi and then said to Yuka, "Yuka, would you like to do the honors?"
"What do you mean?" Yuka replied.
"All you have to do is pour some of the water on me," Ranma said, handing the pitcher to Yuka.
Yuka took the pitcher of water and then after a moment to gather her courage, tipped the pitcher and poured a small amount of water on Ranma's shoulder. The change was instantaneous and Yuka was so startled by it she almost dropped the pitcher.
Where once had stood the masculine male form of Ranma now stood the equally feminine female form.
In the end, it was decided that there was no need for Akane and Ranma to model their nightwear.
"I can tolerate that there are any number of girls out there that have a nicer body than me," Hikari quipped, "but I don't need to be reminded that a guy has a better bust line than me."
The party didn't last much longer than that. Miyuki was the first to leave saying that she was meeting with someone to work on the summer homework assignment. The other members of the club slowly began to leave after that. Akane and Ranma (still in his girl form) made a point to thank everyone for the party and for the gifts.
Yuka, Sayuri and Hikari were the last to leave.
"I really want to apologize again for Miyuki," Hikari said. "I don't understand what her problem is."
"I think she's jealous because Akane ended up with a great guy," Sayuri replied, "who just happens to have better looking boobs than almost everyone in the Gymnastics Club."
Akane thought for a moment and then reflected, "Somehow I think it's a bit more than that. When everyone was trying to tell me that I shouldn't go out with Ranma, Miyuki just seemed to be so much more intense about it."
"I'm going to talk with her tomorrow," Hikari said. "Maybe I can get the receipt and you can exchange those nighties for something you really both can use."
"Don't bother," Ranma said. "I'm sure Akane and I can find an appropriate use for them… Right, Akane?"
"I'm sure we can find something to do with them," Akane purred in response.
Yuka, Sayuri and Hikari just starred in stunned silence at Akane and Ranma.
After a moment Yuka finally managed to ask, "You don't sleep together like this, do you?"
"Of course not," Akane said with a broad, wicked smile. "Ranma and I usually don't wear anything when we sleep together."
The sound of the three jaws hitting the ground was almost deafening.
Katsu quietly entered the dojo. He had not seen his playmate for some time and was beginning to feel a bit lonely. Maybe a nap would be a good thing so that he was well rested when his playmate finally decided to show up.
The kitten made its way to the middle of the dojo; looked around for a moment and then lay down. After one more look around the dojo, Katsu finally put his head down and closed his eyes.
A contented purring filled the dojo.
Ranma dropped down and landed within inches of the sleeping cat, letting out a loud snarling hiss as he did.
"Don't do that Ranma," Akane, who had just arrived on the scene and was startled as Katsu, yelled. "You'll scare that poor kitten to death."
"I just wanted to let him know how it feels, "Ranma replied, looking up at the beam of the dojo where the shaken kitten was perched.