Ranma Nibunnoichi is (c) Rumiko Takahashi, Shounen Sunday Comics, Kitty TV, and
Viz Video.
Here Comes Neko!
A Ranma Nibunnoichi fan fiction
By Luna Hinomura
http://fly.to/Luna's
Chapter 3: Friendship
Neko felt the cold water hit her, and prayed that her Great-grandmother
would also be too busy to see what would happen. She could feel the remnants of
her human form melting away, as she became the monstrosity she had learned to
accept. The others, who never tolerated her as a person, would surely not
tolerate her now.
So she ran.
Escaped.
Retreated.
Those words sounded so pitiful to her ears, synonymous with the word
surrender.
Gave up.
How pathetic. Shampoo would never have run away from what she feared.
What Neko had always feared. Hate. Prejudice. Dislike. Hate. Hate.
Hatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehate. Not wanted. Not loved.
No, Shampoo would have stood her ground. Shampoo would have looked her opponent
in the eye, stared them down in a contest of strength and willpower.
She ducked underneath the chairs, and heading out the door of the
ekoHanten. She ran, ran from the notice of the people whom she sought the
reatest approval from.
"Come, come, now, stop bickering. You *will* clean that up, Shampoo. And
where is your sister?" she heard Cologne say before she was out of earshot.
* * * * *
"Stupid sister right behind Shampoo," Shampoo replied, picking herself up
from the floor where Ranma had knocked both of them. She reached down and
helped Ranma set the table back to its original position.
"No she's not," Akane said, looking around Shampoo into the dining area
behind her. She turned around again and again, her eyes peering through the dim
light, searching the NekoHanten. "She's gone."
"Neko? I have some reading materials from when I was learning Japanese,"
Mousse said as he entered the room, his glasses on and his arms full of books.
He reached the table where Neko had been sitting before her disappearance.
"Where did she go?" he wondered aloud.
"We're trying to figure that out," Ranma said.
Angry, Mousse turned on him. "It was a *rhetorical question*," he lied,
enjoying the brief look of fury that flashed across Ranma's face. He took a
step around the table, advancing towards the three. "And furthermore--" Mousse
slipped on the water Akane had thrown, landing hard on his back amidst a mess of
now-soggy books and pages.
"Quak ga gaaa quack gwaaa!" Mousse finished in his duck form.
Shampoo gasped, taking a step back from the puddle on the floor. She
kneeled down as close as she dared to come to it, and stared. "Is cold water...
That mean Neko went to Jusenkyo, too..." she murmured.
"No way! Then where is she?" Ranma asked.
Cologne pointed at the trail of wet footsteps on the floor. They led from
the puddle to the door. "Tiny paw prints," she mused. "Like a cat's."
"A ca-ca-ca-cat?" Ranma said, the familiar pangs of fear edging into his
mind. He backed into Akane.
Akane sidestepped around Ranma, knelt down, and examined the paw prints.
"A cat, just like Shampoo...? Why *did* you name Neko that, anyway?"
"I never named Shampoo's sister. I'm her *Great-grandmother*, not her
*mother*!" Cologne replied sharply. "This doesn't concern you. Mousse asked
you to leave, and I am afraid I must tell you as well. Leave this to us. We'll
figure out what's going on.
"But if Neko--"
"No. Leave this business with Neko to us."
* * * * *
She stopped running when the NekoHanten was out of site, then leapt up to
the top of a fence with all the ease and grace of a cat.
A cat.
That's all she was now, and not even a normal cat. No *normal* cat would
have what she had. If she turned her head to the left or right, she could see
the tips of them, still slightly damp from the cold water, glistening in the
faint moonlight. She shook one, then the other, sending a spray of water
flying. At least that was the only part she gained from the second spring she'd
fallen into. Folding them up, she could hide them and look like a normal cat.
Shuddering, she thanked her lucky stars that she had not acquired a bill as
well.
She'd never planned on falling in those dratted Jusenkyo springs. She'd
only gone there to train, believing herself to be good enough, to be strong
enough to refrain from falling in. However, she was never given that chance.
If only she hadn't been so naive, so gullible... Her first curse had been
gained through heroics, heroics she had never even been thanked for.
Her first adventure to Jusenkyo was a failure. After Shampoo had left for
Japan the first time, she went to train simply because she wished to be better
at the arts, as good as Shampoo was. So she could show her sister how much
stronger and more skilled she had become. To be appreciated by Cologne. To be
noticed. When she went there, however, things didn't turn out as she planned.
Before she could even see the cursed springs, she heard a girl splashing and
crying for help. Someone was drowning.
Dropping her bag, she'd taken off at a run, to aid the girl. When she
reached the girl, a Jusenkyo guide was standing there, telling the history of
the spring, something called the "Niang ni Quan". A girl she recognized, a
younger girl named Mei Hua from her own village was flailing around in the
water. Neko had learned to swim long ago, but she knew that not many other
members of Joketsuzoku cared to do so.
"Sister, help me!" the girl cried, barely able to keep her head above the
water.
Neko dove in, pulling the girl out and onto shore. The girl collapsed in
a tired heap, gasping for breath.
"Xie xie, Shan Pu jie-jie," the girl said, coughing up water. Then the
girl turned to look up at her rescuer.
"Bu ke qi," Neko said, unable to think of anything else to say except
"you're welcome." The girl had thought she was Shampoo...?
"You're not Shan Pu!" the girl exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger in
Neko's face.
"What?"
"You! You're Shan Pu's sister! No one likes you! The Matriarch hates
you! Shan Puu jie-jie hates you! *I* hate you!
Neko was stunned by the turn of events. Mei Hua was completely ungrateful
for Neko's help, which meant she was one of the villagers who sided with
Cologne. "But I just saved your life..." Neko said softly, her forehead
furrowing.
"I don't care! I would rather have *died* than let *you* save my life!
Shan Puu jie-jie says you're weak! I can't believe I was saved by a
*weakling*!!" Mei Hua screamed, pulling Neko by the collar of her shirt up to
her face. "You will never, *ever* tell anyone about this. And this is your
punishment..." Mei Hua pulled Neko to an apparently random spring and shoved
her in. "Now, you will live as your namesake."
When Neko pushed through the water back up to the surface, everything was
different. The sights, the sounds, the smells... Everything was different.
She pulled herself out of the spring.
[Why did Mei Hua do that?] she wondered to herself. [My 'namesake'? What
does that mean?] She turned around to look at her reflection in the spring, to
see what she had become.
She froze in shock. If she had screamed, it would no longer have sounded
human.
Instead, people passing by would have heard the yowl of a frightened,
submissive cat.
* * * * *
She shuddered, remembering her worst memories, ones that she had buried
even deeper than the pain from being ostracized by her family. And if that
wasn't enough, there was the second curse added onto it. That one had been her
own fault.
After she'd heard rumors of Mousse returning to China from his search in
Japan for Shampoo, she'd set off immediately to look for her only childhood
friend. She passed by all the places where he usually visited, but he had not
shown up at any of them. However, she'd gained more information from asking
around, and learned that he'd gone to Jusenkyo.
Jusenkyo. The cursed springs.
No! She had to prevent Mousse from making the same mistake she'd made.
She got to Jusenkyo as fast as she could, hoping to reach it before Mousse got
there.
But he reached it the same time as she, and had already taken a step
towards one of the springs. She hopped from one bamboo pole to another, trying
to warn him in time...
She was standing on a pole almost directly above him when he slipped and
fell in. He crashed against the pole when he fell in, knocking her down...
Down...
Into another spring...
The same spring Mousse fell into.
* * * * *
How strange it seemed to her. A cat with wings: almost an oxymoron in
itself. Luckily, with her wings folded now, nobody would recognize what she
truly looked like. It was easy to hide her wings, but not easy to hide her
sorrow. Mousse knew her curse, but nobody else did. How would she ever explain
to Cologne and Shampoo about what she had done, about what she had been through?
They were more likely to accuse her of being too impulsive rather than find
sympathy in her situation.
"RANMA! LOOK OUT!!"
Neko turned in the direction of the shout, and saw Ranma running along the
fence, the blue-haired girl named Akane following along the ground.
"AAAAAAH!!! It's a ca-ca-caaaaat!" Ranma screamed, leaping off the fence
straight into Akane's arms. Unable to bear the weight, Akane fell back, with
the frightened Ranma curled into the fetal position on her lap.
She sat there, bewildered for a second before her mind caught up with the
chain of events that had occurred. Blushing, she briskly slapped Ranma off of
her lap in order to hide her embarrassment. She hoped he wouldn't see her
crimson cheeks in the halo of light from a nearby street lamp.
Looking up at the cat, she found it was scrutinizing her with the exact
same amount of interest.
"Ranma," Akane whispered to the trembling body next to her, ignoring his
fear. "Do you think that's Neko?"
"Miao," Neko said, pretending to be a cat. She began to lick her paw,
feigning a lack of interest in the two people who had happened upon her.
"Here, kitty, kitty..." Akane said, holding her hand out to Neko.
"HISSSSSSSS!" Neko replied. Ranma yelped at Neko's response, clinging
closer to Akane for protection. This time, Akane ignored his presence.
"Well, fine, then, do you want to go back to the NekoHanten?!" Akane
yelled at her, angering suddenly. "Do you want to go back where Shampoo and
Cologne are?!"
"Miao," Neko said sadly, still attempting to appear like a typical cat out
and about. She started walking away from them, placing her paws delicately one
in front of the other along the fence.
"Where are you going to sleep? Where are you going to live?!" Akane
yelled. "We're trying to *help* you, Neko!"
She stopped. It had taken her a long time traveling to reach Japan. On
the road, she was by herself and very, very lonely. There had been many times
she'd longed for a companion, a friend...
Turning around, she uttered another miao. This time, it sounded
expectant, almost as if she was saying, "Ok, you've got a point...but why should
I go with you?"
Out of ideas, Akane turned to Ranma. "Help me!" she whispered harshly.
"But it's a-a-a-a-a-a-a ca-ca-ca-cat!" Ranma stuttered.
"It's *Neko*," Akane said coldly.
"You don't know that," Ranma replied.
"Huh?"
"Same thing happened to me, before, ya know. It had to do with Ryoga--"
he stopped, cutting his sentence off. He'd promised never to betray Ryoga's
secret to Akane, and he wouldn't. An honorable martial artist would never go
back on a promise or a challenge. "I mean, ah, Mousse. Remember, when I
thought you were a duck?"
Neko meowed at the mention of Mousse, jumping down from the fence and
walking over to Akane. She approached her from the opposite side as Ranma, to
prevent scaring him any further. Unfortunately, her precautions did not work.
"GET IT AWAY!" Ranma yelled, holding Akane closer.
"Ranma, get *off* of me!" Akane yelled. "You're squeezing me too tight!"
Neko backed off. The silhouette of another person attracted her
attention. She watched as the shadowy figure began to run towards the two,
dropping what looked like a backpack. As he reached the light from the street
lamp, she could tell it was a boy about Ranma's age, wearing shades of yellow
and black, a bandanna...
"Ranma, how *dare* you treat Akane in that manner! Release her at once!"
the boy barked, grabbing Ranma by his collar. Ranma's grip on Akane loosened,
and she took a grateful breath of air. Ranma turned on the boy, bracing himself
for the punch the boy was obviously happy to give.
"Miao?" Neko asked, confused.
"Ryoga! Stop! It's not his fault, we're just trying to get this cat to
follow us home, and Ranma's afraid of cats, remember?" Akane pleaded, trying to
get the boy to release Ranma.
"Huh?" Ryoga said, still holding his fist up to pummel Ranma with. "Why
do you want that cat to follow you home?" He dragged Ranma over to the cat,
reaching down as if to pet her.
"Miao!" Neko exclaimed as Ryoga roughly picked her and shoved her in
Ranma's face.
"So, Akane likes this cat, huh? So she wants to bring this cat home and
take care of it, huh? I'll bet *you* want the cat, don't you?" Ryoga asked, in
between Ranma's begs of "No! Ah! Get it away! Stop!" "You're trying to GET
RID OF P-CHAN, AREN'T YOU?!!"
"MEEEEEOW!" Neko screeched, scratching up both Ryoga's hand and Ranma's
face. Ryoga dropped her as she had planned, but more from surprise rather than
from the pain. Landing softly on her delicate paws, she walked over to Akane.
"Honestly. They never learn," Akane scoffed, gently gathering the cat
into her arms with no resistance, and walked off in the direction of the Tendo
Dojo.
* * * * *
Akane unlocked and slid open the front door. "I'm home!" she called,
taking off her shoes in the foyer.
"Welcome home, Akane," Kasumi replied, going to greet Akane at the door.
Noticing the cat, she added, "Oh, my, is that your...new pet?"
"Well... Sort-of..."
"That cat looks like NekoShampoo," Nabiki said, joining them. She leaned
over to peer at the cat. "*Is* that NekoShampoo?"
"MROOW!!" was the angry reply.
"I guess not..." Nabiki murmured, pulling her head back.
"No, Nabiki, it's Akane's new pet. Don't you remember when Shampoo mailed
herself here? She let each of us hold her except for Akane, so it *can't* be
NekoShampoo," Kasumi said.
Nabiki considered her older sister's words. "You've got a point. As long
as the cat doesn't eat as much as that P-chan, Daddy won't mind."
"Well, she's not really a pet," Akane tried to explain. "Anyway, I'm
going to take a bath. I'll explain it to you guys later."
"Explain what?" Nabiki and Kasumi looked at each other, confused. Akane
didn't answer, and only continued on into the bathing room.
* * * * *
Ranma dodged another of Ryoga's vicious kicks, countering with a punch.
He felt his tightened fist connect squarely with Ryoga's chest, sending him
flying into the fence. The fence took the impact rather badly, leaving behind a
very noticeable dent. Ryoga shoved himself up, and launched at Ranma with a
jumping inside crescent kick. Ranma anticipated the move, but was not fast
enough to avoid it. Ryoga had been aiming at Ranma's head, but it caught his
shoulder instead, dropping him to the ground.
Hitting the dirt, Ranma got the wind knocked out of him. He coughed,
trying to rid his lungs of the dust their fight had flung into the air. Ryoga
paused to clear his lungs too, and Ranma took the break in Ryoga's fighting
pattern to launch a front sweep kick, which brought Ryoga to the ground. Once
there, Ranma grabbed the front of Ryoga's shirt and pinned him.
"I ain't trying to replace you, P-chan! Get that through your thick
skull!"
"You can't trick me, Ranma! How *dare* you try to replace Akane's
favorite pet!"
"I'd replace you in a flash, but this ain't about you!"
"So, you admit it!" Ryoga accused. "You *are* trying to get rid of me! I
won't let you!"
"I just said it ain't about *you*! Can't you see this is about Shampoo?!"
Ranma yelled, pulling Ryoga closer.
"Shampoo?" Ryoga paused for a moment.
Ranma relaxed his hands, but still grasped Ryoga's shirt. "Yeah, now let
me explain, ok, P-brain?"
"I see now..." Ryoga said.
"Huh?"
"You've been chasing after Shampoo again, is that it?!"
"Now why the hell would I do that?! You P-brained idiot! If you're so
worried that you're gonna get replaced, why don't you just ask Akane?!
Akane...?" Ranma looked around. "Uh... Where's Akane?"
"She must have left when we began to fight! You deceived me, Ranma! You
only fought because you knew Akane would leave and play with her new pet!" Ryoga
grabbed Ranma's hands, trying to pry them off.
"Then *do* something about it," Ranma said, releasing Ryoga suddenly.
"*I'm* going after Akane." He took off, running along the rooftops.
"I promise I'll get there first, Ranma..." Ryoga vowed, following.
* * * * *
Kasumi held another of Akane's dresses in front of her. "Neko, do you
like this one? It's very cute." Bringing it down, she saw that Neko was
already wearing one of Akane's outfits, a combination of shirt and pants that
imitated Chinese silks. No wonder Neko had picked it.
"So how does it fit?" Nabiki said, holding the cloth.
"Fit ok. Why all stretched out around waist?"
Fighting the urge to giggle at Akane's abrupt change of emotions from
Neko's words, Kasumi brought a hand up to her mouth. Ranma had said practically
the same thing when he--or rather, when *Ranma-chan*--had been forced to wear
Akane's clothes.
Akane cleared her throat and tried to ignore the double meaning to what
Neko had asked. "So, Neko," she said, "are you going to tell us about yourself?
What happened that made your Great-grandmother and Shampoo hate you so much?"
"Is long story. It happen when-- Aiya!" Neko jumped as a crash of
thunder shook the house. "It rain soon? Good thing got back in time. What
about Ranma and that other boy? Ranma go Jusenkyo, turn female. Is right?"
"Who cares about Ranma? He's gotten stuck out in the rain before," Akane
muttered.
"Akane no care about fiancée? Neko no understand."
"Well, the first thing is, our *parents* arranged it. Second, we're going
to have to correct your grammar. I heard you asking Mousse about teaching you
Japanese. Maybe we could help you instead." Akane saw a flash of lightning
outside her window. Moments later, another crash of thunder rumbled, and the
rain began pouring.
"If Akane help Neko learn Japanese, I tell you Neko's life. Come." She
beckoned, heading down the stairs. Akane followed, but heard sounds of fighting
long before she had reached the first floor.
"I'll replace you with that cat, just you watch!" she heard someone say.
"You stupid, stupid, pig!"
"Buiiii!"
"Aiyaaa!" she heard Neko cry, and the sounds of a body hitting the ground
echoed in her ears.
"Whoops! Sorry, Neko!" Ranma called over her shoulder, running through
the house.
"Ranma?! Neko?!" Akane scrambled downstairs, seeing Ranma chasing P-chan
around. Neko was sprawled on the floor next to big splotches of water, which
resembled the shape of Ranma's shoes and P-chan's feet. She knelt down, helping
Neko up. "Why that jerk!" she said. "He knocked you over!"
"No, is because Neko try get out of way. If he hit me, I be cat again.
He covered in cold rainwater."
"Come back here, P-brain!!" Akane heard the sounds of the chase
approaching them once more, saw P-chan was heading straight past her. She
caught him as he ran by, then stuck out her leg. Ranma was pursuing P-chan
closely, and had no time to stop. He tripped on Akane's extended leg and slid
along the floor. Nabiki watched until he came to a stop, then poured a generous
amount of hot water over his head.
"Come on, Ranma. You might find this interesting," Nabiki said.
"Wha?"
Neko looked at him. "I tell about Neko's life. You want hear?"
* * * * *
"So that is story," Neko finished, bringing the cup of tea Kasumi had
poured for her up to lips. The Tendos and the Saotomes were sitting around the
dinner table, intrigued by Neko's tale. Of course, she took care to leave out
the part where she'd fallen into the second spring. There was no need to tell
them too much.
"Wow. You're nothing at *all* like Shampoo," Akane said as Neko sipped
her tea. "But somehow you both got the same curse at-- Is something wrong?"
Neko had begun to choke on her tea when Akane had mentioned the curse.
"No, is only Neko and sister more alike than you think," Neko replied, coughing.
"But we different in many ways, too. You think is strange?"
"Not at all," Akane said.
"Well, you really should go back to the NekoHanten," Soun said. "They
might be worried.
"They not worry Neko. They no care," she said, glaring at the tabletop.
After a pause, Soun said, "Well, Neko, then you'll just have to stay
here."
"WHAT?!" Ranma screamed. "You can't let her stay! Her curse..."
"Miiiiao," Neko said tauntingly. Ranma yelped and climbed on top of
Soun's shoulders.
Ignoring Ranma, Akane looked at Neko. "Like I said, we can teach you
Japanese, and you can stay here. Is there anything else you want?"
Neko's gaze drifted over the people sitting around the table. A family
(albeit a slightly dysfunctional one) like she'd never had. There *was* one
thing she wanted...
"Neko want train in martial arts. You have dojo?" she said as Genma
helped pry Ranma off of Soun.
"Yeah, we have a dojo you can train in, but I think it'd be more like
*you* teaching *me*. After all, you beat Ranma that one time, right?" Akane
said.
"Great-grandmother say no count, so Neko and Shampoo make deal without
Great-grandmother or Mousse knowledge. Neko and Shampoo go to Mt. Terror and
fight. Whoever win stay NekoHanten with Great-grandmother, whoever lose go back
to Joketsuzoku. If Shampoo win, I take Mousse back with me. If Neko win,
Shampoo marry Mousse."
"So you want to train here?" Ranma asked.
Neko nodded. "Hai, want train here."
"I think that can be arranged," Nabiki said with a glint in her eye.
End of Chapter 3
Viz Video.
Here Comes Neko!
A Ranma Nibunnoichi fan fiction
By Luna Hinomura
http://fly.to/Luna's
Chapter 3: Friendship
Neko felt the cold water hit her, and prayed that her Great-grandmother
would also be too busy to see what would happen. She could feel the remnants of
her human form melting away, as she became the monstrosity she had learned to
accept. The others, who never tolerated her as a person, would surely not
tolerate her now.
So she ran.
Escaped.
Retreated.
Those words sounded so pitiful to her ears, synonymous with the word
surrender.
Gave up.
How pathetic. Shampoo would never have run away from what she feared.
What Neko had always feared. Hate. Prejudice. Dislike. Hate. Hate.
Hatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehatehate. Not wanted. Not loved.
No, Shampoo would have stood her ground. Shampoo would have looked her opponent
in the eye, stared them down in a contest of strength and willpower.
She ducked underneath the chairs, and heading out the door of the
ekoHanten. She ran, ran from the notice of the people whom she sought the
reatest approval from.
"Come, come, now, stop bickering. You *will* clean that up, Shampoo. And
where is your sister?" she heard Cologne say before she was out of earshot.
* * * * *
"Stupid sister right behind Shampoo," Shampoo replied, picking herself up
from the floor where Ranma had knocked both of them. She reached down and
helped Ranma set the table back to its original position.
"No she's not," Akane said, looking around Shampoo into the dining area
behind her. She turned around again and again, her eyes peering through the dim
light, searching the NekoHanten. "She's gone."
"Neko? I have some reading materials from when I was learning Japanese,"
Mousse said as he entered the room, his glasses on and his arms full of books.
He reached the table where Neko had been sitting before her disappearance.
"Where did she go?" he wondered aloud.
"We're trying to figure that out," Ranma said.
Angry, Mousse turned on him. "It was a *rhetorical question*," he lied,
enjoying the brief look of fury that flashed across Ranma's face. He took a
step around the table, advancing towards the three. "And furthermore--" Mousse
slipped on the water Akane had thrown, landing hard on his back amidst a mess of
now-soggy books and pages.
"Quak ga gaaa quack gwaaa!" Mousse finished in his duck form.
Shampoo gasped, taking a step back from the puddle on the floor. She
kneeled down as close as she dared to come to it, and stared. "Is cold water...
That mean Neko went to Jusenkyo, too..." she murmured.
"No way! Then where is she?" Ranma asked.
Cologne pointed at the trail of wet footsteps on the floor. They led from
the puddle to the door. "Tiny paw prints," she mused. "Like a cat's."
"A ca-ca-ca-cat?" Ranma said, the familiar pangs of fear edging into his
mind. He backed into Akane.
Akane sidestepped around Ranma, knelt down, and examined the paw prints.
"A cat, just like Shampoo...? Why *did* you name Neko that, anyway?"
"I never named Shampoo's sister. I'm her *Great-grandmother*, not her
*mother*!" Cologne replied sharply. "This doesn't concern you. Mousse asked
you to leave, and I am afraid I must tell you as well. Leave this to us. We'll
figure out what's going on.
"But if Neko--"
"No. Leave this business with Neko to us."
* * * * *
She stopped running when the NekoHanten was out of site, then leapt up to
the top of a fence with all the ease and grace of a cat.
A cat.
That's all she was now, and not even a normal cat. No *normal* cat would
have what she had. If she turned her head to the left or right, she could see
the tips of them, still slightly damp from the cold water, glistening in the
faint moonlight. She shook one, then the other, sending a spray of water
flying. At least that was the only part she gained from the second spring she'd
fallen into. Folding them up, she could hide them and look like a normal cat.
Shuddering, she thanked her lucky stars that she had not acquired a bill as
well.
She'd never planned on falling in those dratted Jusenkyo springs. She'd
only gone there to train, believing herself to be good enough, to be strong
enough to refrain from falling in. However, she was never given that chance.
If only she hadn't been so naive, so gullible... Her first curse had been
gained through heroics, heroics she had never even been thanked for.
Her first adventure to Jusenkyo was a failure. After Shampoo had left for
Japan the first time, she went to train simply because she wished to be better
at the arts, as good as Shampoo was. So she could show her sister how much
stronger and more skilled she had become. To be appreciated by Cologne. To be
noticed. When she went there, however, things didn't turn out as she planned.
Before she could even see the cursed springs, she heard a girl splashing and
crying for help. Someone was drowning.
Dropping her bag, she'd taken off at a run, to aid the girl. When she
reached the girl, a Jusenkyo guide was standing there, telling the history of
the spring, something called the "Niang ni Quan". A girl she recognized, a
younger girl named Mei Hua from her own village was flailing around in the
water. Neko had learned to swim long ago, but she knew that not many other
members of Joketsuzoku cared to do so.
"Sister, help me!" the girl cried, barely able to keep her head above the
water.
Neko dove in, pulling the girl out and onto shore. The girl collapsed in
a tired heap, gasping for breath.
"Xie xie, Shan Pu jie-jie," the girl said, coughing up water. Then the
girl turned to look up at her rescuer.
"Bu ke qi," Neko said, unable to think of anything else to say except
"you're welcome." The girl had thought she was Shampoo...?
"You're not Shan Pu!" the girl exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger in
Neko's face.
"What?"
"You! You're Shan Pu's sister! No one likes you! The Matriarch hates
you! Shan Puu jie-jie hates you! *I* hate you!
Neko was stunned by the turn of events. Mei Hua was completely ungrateful
for Neko's help, which meant she was one of the villagers who sided with
Cologne. "But I just saved your life..." Neko said softly, her forehead
furrowing.
"I don't care! I would rather have *died* than let *you* save my life!
Shan Puu jie-jie says you're weak! I can't believe I was saved by a
*weakling*!!" Mei Hua screamed, pulling Neko by the collar of her shirt up to
her face. "You will never, *ever* tell anyone about this. And this is your
punishment..." Mei Hua pulled Neko to an apparently random spring and shoved
her in. "Now, you will live as your namesake."
When Neko pushed through the water back up to the surface, everything was
different. The sights, the sounds, the smells... Everything was different.
She pulled herself out of the spring.
[Why did Mei Hua do that?] she wondered to herself. [My 'namesake'? What
does that mean?] She turned around to look at her reflection in the spring, to
see what she had become.
She froze in shock. If she had screamed, it would no longer have sounded
human.
Instead, people passing by would have heard the yowl of a frightened,
submissive cat.
* * * * *
She shuddered, remembering her worst memories, ones that she had buried
even deeper than the pain from being ostracized by her family. And if that
wasn't enough, there was the second curse added onto it. That one had been her
own fault.
After she'd heard rumors of Mousse returning to China from his search in
Japan for Shampoo, she'd set off immediately to look for her only childhood
friend. She passed by all the places where he usually visited, but he had not
shown up at any of them. However, she'd gained more information from asking
around, and learned that he'd gone to Jusenkyo.
Jusenkyo. The cursed springs.
No! She had to prevent Mousse from making the same mistake she'd made.
She got to Jusenkyo as fast as she could, hoping to reach it before Mousse got
there.
But he reached it the same time as she, and had already taken a step
towards one of the springs. She hopped from one bamboo pole to another, trying
to warn him in time...
She was standing on a pole almost directly above him when he slipped and
fell in. He crashed against the pole when he fell in, knocking her down...
Down...
Into another spring...
The same spring Mousse fell into.
* * * * *
How strange it seemed to her. A cat with wings: almost an oxymoron in
itself. Luckily, with her wings folded now, nobody would recognize what she
truly looked like. It was easy to hide her wings, but not easy to hide her
sorrow. Mousse knew her curse, but nobody else did. How would she ever explain
to Cologne and Shampoo about what she had done, about what she had been through?
They were more likely to accuse her of being too impulsive rather than find
sympathy in her situation.
"RANMA! LOOK OUT!!"
Neko turned in the direction of the shout, and saw Ranma running along the
fence, the blue-haired girl named Akane following along the ground.
"AAAAAAH!!! It's a ca-ca-caaaaat!" Ranma screamed, leaping off the fence
straight into Akane's arms. Unable to bear the weight, Akane fell back, with
the frightened Ranma curled into the fetal position on her lap.
She sat there, bewildered for a second before her mind caught up with the
chain of events that had occurred. Blushing, she briskly slapped Ranma off of
her lap in order to hide her embarrassment. She hoped he wouldn't see her
crimson cheeks in the halo of light from a nearby street lamp.
Looking up at the cat, she found it was scrutinizing her with the exact
same amount of interest.
"Ranma," Akane whispered to the trembling body next to her, ignoring his
fear. "Do you think that's Neko?"
"Miao," Neko said, pretending to be a cat. She began to lick her paw,
feigning a lack of interest in the two people who had happened upon her.
"Here, kitty, kitty..." Akane said, holding her hand out to Neko.
"HISSSSSSSS!" Neko replied. Ranma yelped at Neko's response, clinging
closer to Akane for protection. This time, Akane ignored his presence.
"Well, fine, then, do you want to go back to the NekoHanten?!" Akane
yelled at her, angering suddenly. "Do you want to go back where Shampoo and
Cologne are?!"
"Miao," Neko said sadly, still attempting to appear like a typical cat out
and about. She started walking away from them, placing her paws delicately one
in front of the other along the fence.
"Where are you going to sleep? Where are you going to live?!" Akane
yelled. "We're trying to *help* you, Neko!"
She stopped. It had taken her a long time traveling to reach Japan. On
the road, she was by herself and very, very lonely. There had been many times
she'd longed for a companion, a friend...
Turning around, she uttered another miao. This time, it sounded
expectant, almost as if she was saying, "Ok, you've got a point...but why should
I go with you?"
Out of ideas, Akane turned to Ranma. "Help me!" she whispered harshly.
"But it's a-a-a-a-a-a-a ca-ca-ca-cat!" Ranma stuttered.
"It's *Neko*," Akane said coldly.
"You don't know that," Ranma replied.
"Huh?"
"Same thing happened to me, before, ya know. It had to do with Ryoga--"
he stopped, cutting his sentence off. He'd promised never to betray Ryoga's
secret to Akane, and he wouldn't. An honorable martial artist would never go
back on a promise or a challenge. "I mean, ah, Mousse. Remember, when I
thought you were a duck?"
Neko meowed at the mention of Mousse, jumping down from the fence and
walking over to Akane. She approached her from the opposite side as Ranma, to
prevent scaring him any further. Unfortunately, her precautions did not work.
"GET IT AWAY!" Ranma yelled, holding Akane closer.
"Ranma, get *off* of me!" Akane yelled. "You're squeezing me too tight!"
Neko backed off. The silhouette of another person attracted her
attention. She watched as the shadowy figure began to run towards the two,
dropping what looked like a backpack. As he reached the light from the street
lamp, she could tell it was a boy about Ranma's age, wearing shades of yellow
and black, a bandanna...
"Ranma, how *dare* you treat Akane in that manner! Release her at once!"
the boy barked, grabbing Ranma by his collar. Ranma's grip on Akane loosened,
and she took a grateful breath of air. Ranma turned on the boy, bracing himself
for the punch the boy was obviously happy to give.
"Miao?" Neko asked, confused.
"Ryoga! Stop! It's not his fault, we're just trying to get this cat to
follow us home, and Ranma's afraid of cats, remember?" Akane pleaded, trying to
get the boy to release Ranma.
"Huh?" Ryoga said, still holding his fist up to pummel Ranma with. "Why
do you want that cat to follow you home?" He dragged Ranma over to the cat,
reaching down as if to pet her.
"Miao!" Neko exclaimed as Ryoga roughly picked her and shoved her in
Ranma's face.
"So, Akane likes this cat, huh? So she wants to bring this cat home and
take care of it, huh? I'll bet *you* want the cat, don't you?" Ryoga asked, in
between Ranma's begs of "No! Ah! Get it away! Stop!" "You're trying to GET
RID OF P-CHAN, AREN'T YOU?!!"
"MEEEEEOW!" Neko screeched, scratching up both Ryoga's hand and Ranma's
face. Ryoga dropped her as she had planned, but more from surprise rather than
from the pain. Landing softly on her delicate paws, she walked over to Akane.
"Honestly. They never learn," Akane scoffed, gently gathering the cat
into her arms with no resistance, and walked off in the direction of the Tendo
Dojo.
* * * * *
Akane unlocked and slid open the front door. "I'm home!" she called,
taking off her shoes in the foyer.
"Welcome home, Akane," Kasumi replied, going to greet Akane at the door.
Noticing the cat, she added, "Oh, my, is that your...new pet?"
"Well... Sort-of..."
"That cat looks like NekoShampoo," Nabiki said, joining them. She leaned
over to peer at the cat. "*Is* that NekoShampoo?"
"MROOW!!" was the angry reply.
"I guess not..." Nabiki murmured, pulling her head back.
"No, Nabiki, it's Akane's new pet. Don't you remember when Shampoo mailed
herself here? She let each of us hold her except for Akane, so it *can't* be
NekoShampoo," Kasumi said.
Nabiki considered her older sister's words. "You've got a point. As long
as the cat doesn't eat as much as that P-chan, Daddy won't mind."
"Well, she's not really a pet," Akane tried to explain. "Anyway, I'm
going to take a bath. I'll explain it to you guys later."
"Explain what?" Nabiki and Kasumi looked at each other, confused. Akane
didn't answer, and only continued on into the bathing room.
* * * * *
Ranma dodged another of Ryoga's vicious kicks, countering with a punch.
He felt his tightened fist connect squarely with Ryoga's chest, sending him
flying into the fence. The fence took the impact rather badly, leaving behind a
very noticeable dent. Ryoga shoved himself up, and launched at Ranma with a
jumping inside crescent kick. Ranma anticipated the move, but was not fast
enough to avoid it. Ryoga had been aiming at Ranma's head, but it caught his
shoulder instead, dropping him to the ground.
Hitting the dirt, Ranma got the wind knocked out of him. He coughed,
trying to rid his lungs of the dust their fight had flung into the air. Ryoga
paused to clear his lungs too, and Ranma took the break in Ryoga's fighting
pattern to launch a front sweep kick, which brought Ryoga to the ground. Once
there, Ranma grabbed the front of Ryoga's shirt and pinned him.
"I ain't trying to replace you, P-chan! Get that through your thick
skull!"
"You can't trick me, Ranma! How *dare* you try to replace Akane's
favorite pet!"
"I'd replace you in a flash, but this ain't about you!"
"So, you admit it!" Ryoga accused. "You *are* trying to get rid of me! I
won't let you!"
"I just said it ain't about *you*! Can't you see this is about Shampoo?!"
Ranma yelled, pulling Ryoga closer.
"Shampoo?" Ryoga paused for a moment.
Ranma relaxed his hands, but still grasped Ryoga's shirt. "Yeah, now let
me explain, ok, P-brain?"
"I see now..." Ryoga said.
"Huh?"
"You've been chasing after Shampoo again, is that it?!"
"Now why the hell would I do that?! You P-brained idiot! If you're so
worried that you're gonna get replaced, why don't you just ask Akane?!
Akane...?" Ranma looked around. "Uh... Where's Akane?"
"She must have left when we began to fight! You deceived me, Ranma! You
only fought because you knew Akane would leave and play with her new pet!" Ryoga
grabbed Ranma's hands, trying to pry them off.
"Then *do* something about it," Ranma said, releasing Ryoga suddenly.
"*I'm* going after Akane." He took off, running along the rooftops.
"I promise I'll get there first, Ranma..." Ryoga vowed, following.
* * * * *
Kasumi held another of Akane's dresses in front of her. "Neko, do you
like this one? It's very cute." Bringing it down, she saw that Neko was
already wearing one of Akane's outfits, a combination of shirt and pants that
imitated Chinese silks. No wonder Neko had picked it.
"So how does it fit?" Nabiki said, holding the cloth.
"Fit ok. Why all stretched out around waist?"
Fighting the urge to giggle at Akane's abrupt change of emotions from
Neko's words, Kasumi brought a hand up to her mouth. Ranma had said practically
the same thing when he--or rather, when *Ranma-chan*--had been forced to wear
Akane's clothes.
Akane cleared her throat and tried to ignore the double meaning to what
Neko had asked. "So, Neko," she said, "are you going to tell us about yourself?
What happened that made your Great-grandmother and Shampoo hate you so much?"
"Is long story. It happen when-- Aiya!" Neko jumped as a crash of
thunder shook the house. "It rain soon? Good thing got back in time. What
about Ranma and that other boy? Ranma go Jusenkyo, turn female. Is right?"
"Who cares about Ranma? He's gotten stuck out in the rain before," Akane
muttered.
"Akane no care about fiancée? Neko no understand."
"Well, the first thing is, our *parents* arranged it. Second, we're going
to have to correct your grammar. I heard you asking Mousse about teaching you
Japanese. Maybe we could help you instead." Akane saw a flash of lightning
outside her window. Moments later, another crash of thunder rumbled, and the
rain began pouring.
"If Akane help Neko learn Japanese, I tell you Neko's life. Come." She
beckoned, heading down the stairs. Akane followed, but heard sounds of fighting
long before she had reached the first floor.
"I'll replace you with that cat, just you watch!" she heard someone say.
"You stupid, stupid, pig!"
"Buiiii!"
"Aiyaaa!" she heard Neko cry, and the sounds of a body hitting the ground
echoed in her ears.
"Whoops! Sorry, Neko!" Ranma called over her shoulder, running through
the house.
"Ranma?! Neko?!" Akane scrambled downstairs, seeing Ranma chasing P-chan
around. Neko was sprawled on the floor next to big splotches of water, which
resembled the shape of Ranma's shoes and P-chan's feet. She knelt down, helping
Neko up. "Why that jerk!" she said. "He knocked you over!"
"No, is because Neko try get out of way. If he hit me, I be cat again.
He covered in cold rainwater."
"Come back here, P-brain!!" Akane heard the sounds of the chase
approaching them once more, saw P-chan was heading straight past her. She
caught him as he ran by, then stuck out her leg. Ranma was pursuing P-chan
closely, and had no time to stop. He tripped on Akane's extended leg and slid
along the floor. Nabiki watched until he came to a stop, then poured a generous
amount of hot water over his head.
"Come on, Ranma. You might find this interesting," Nabiki said.
"Wha?"
Neko looked at him. "I tell about Neko's life. You want hear?"
* * * * *
"So that is story," Neko finished, bringing the cup of tea Kasumi had
poured for her up to lips. The Tendos and the Saotomes were sitting around the
dinner table, intrigued by Neko's tale. Of course, she took care to leave out
the part where she'd fallen into the second spring. There was no need to tell
them too much.
"Wow. You're nothing at *all* like Shampoo," Akane said as Neko sipped
her tea. "But somehow you both got the same curse at-- Is something wrong?"
Neko had begun to choke on her tea when Akane had mentioned the curse.
"No, is only Neko and sister more alike than you think," Neko replied, coughing.
"But we different in many ways, too. You think is strange?"
"Not at all," Akane said.
"Well, you really should go back to the NekoHanten," Soun said. "They
might be worried.
"They not worry Neko. They no care," she said, glaring at the tabletop.
After a pause, Soun said, "Well, Neko, then you'll just have to stay
here."
"WHAT?!" Ranma screamed. "You can't let her stay! Her curse..."
"Miiiiao," Neko said tauntingly. Ranma yelped and climbed on top of
Soun's shoulders.
Ignoring Ranma, Akane looked at Neko. "Like I said, we can teach you
Japanese, and you can stay here. Is there anything else you want?"
Neko's gaze drifted over the people sitting around the table. A family
(albeit a slightly dysfunctional one) like she'd never had. There *was* one
thing she wanted...
"Neko want train in martial arts. You have dojo?" she said as Genma
helped pry Ranma off of Soun.
"Yeah, we have a dojo you can train in, but I think it'd be more like
*you* teaching *me*. After all, you beat Ranma that one time, right?" Akane
said.
"Great-grandmother say no count, so Neko and Shampoo make deal without
Great-grandmother or Mousse knowledge. Neko and Shampoo go to Mt. Terror and
fight. Whoever win stay NekoHanten with Great-grandmother, whoever lose go back
to Joketsuzoku. If Shampoo win, I take Mousse back with me. If Neko win,
Shampoo marry Mousse."
"So you want to train here?" Ranma asked.
Neko nodded. "Hai, want train here."
"I think that can be arranged," Nabiki said with a glint in her eye.
End of Chapter 3
