When they got back to his loft, Nick couldn't help but laugh at the occurrences during their trip home. Ukyo had grabbed everyone else's belongings, and Nick had picked Kuno up again. During the whole walk home, the red haired girl walked as far away from the cat as she could. But the cat kept trying to get close to the girl. The duck and the pig just followed behind them.
The ride up in the elevator had been even more fun. The cat had jumped into the girl's arms, causing her to scream and become paralyzed with fear. "You must excuse her," Ukyo said, pulling the cat away from the girl. "She is violently afraid of cats." Finally, they entered the loft. Ukyo dropped the bundle she was carrying and walked to the stove. As Nick put Kuno down on the couch, he watched her start to boil water. After about two minutes, Ukyo took the water off and called the other girl to sit at the table.
"This will start the explaining," Ukyo said as she poured the hot water onto the pig-tailed girl. Nick watched in amazement as the girl changed before him. Now Ranma sat at the table.
"Where'd the girl go?" Nick almost yelled.
"I am the girl," Ranma said. "Several years ago, my father and I had been training in China at the fabled Cursed Springs of Jusenkio. What we hadn't known was that they were cursed. Legend has it that if anyone falls into a spring, they transform into whatever drowned there last. My father fell into one of the pools, and now he turns into a giant panda whenever he is splashed with cold water. I fell into another pool, and I now turn into a girl. The others also fell into pools, but at different times. Ryoga turns into P-Chan, the pig; Mousse into a duck, and Shampoo into a c-c-cat." Ranma paused to recollect himself. "Whenever we are splashed with hot water, we change back to normal."
"Then perhaps we should boil more water for them," Nick suggested, pointing at the cat, pig, and duck.
"Maybe, but I think they'd be embarrassed," Ranma said. "When they change, they lose their clothing. If they change back now, they'd be naked."
"Oh, so maybe they'd prefer the shower."
"I think they would," Ranma said.
======================
In an abandoned warehouse, Akane sat tied to a pole. A small but dark figure stood over her, a mischievous smile over its face.
"Soon your debt to me will be repaid, Ranma," the figure said to itself. "You'll do anything to regain your darling Akane. And when you come to rescue her, you shall die."
======================
The trip to the hotel had been in vain. When they arrived there, the congregation found her room ransacked, complete with overturned tables and chairs.
"She's not here," Tracy said to everyone but Genma, who had stayed in the car again. "Let me check with Nick. Maybe they've found something." She pulled out her phone and dialed. After a minute, she clicked it off.
"This is just great," she exclaimed. "Nick's car has been towed, so they're all at his loft. He wants us to meet him there."
"So we go to his loft?" Nabiki questioned.
"Well, I can only stay for a while," Tracy informed them. "The sun is rising soon, and I need to get some sleep. Nick offered for you to stay at his place if you want to."
"That was extremely kind of him," Kasumi said.
"Especially since we haven't booked anywhere to stay," Nabiki added in her usual sarcastic manner.
======================
When Tracy's gang finally arrived, Shampoo, Ryoga and Mousse had all changed back to normal, and Nick had called someone about returning his car. Tracy left quickly, making the excuse that she always goes to sleep as the sun was rising. Secretly, Nick knew she just wanted to see Vachon again before he went to sleep.
In his mind, Nick was trying to figure out how he was going to provide sleeping accommodations for this many people. His thought were distracted when Happosai picked up the remote to the automatic shutters.
"Isn't it kinda dark in here?" he asked, about to press the open button.
"Don't touch the blinds!" Nick demanded.
Happosai was so surprised that someone spoke to him this way, that he fell backwards, knocking Ukyo's glass of water off the table and over Mousse. A second later, Mousse was a duck again.
"Quack," was all he could say.
Shampoo felt a twinge of pity for Mousse. She got up from the leather chair and walked into the kitchen. When she returned, she had a kettle of hot water in her hand. She poured it over the duck, and it became Mousse again.
He stood up, arms outstretched. "You do care about me, Shampoo my love." Everyone looked at him peculiarly. Mousse then remembered that when he turned into a duck, he loses his clothes. He quickly crossed his arms in attempt to hide what was left of his dignity. Then, he ran upstairs. Ryoga followed with Mousse's clothing.
"Well, that was interesting," Nick said.
After about five minutes, Ryoga and Mousse returned downstairs. Mousse's face was bright red from embarrassment. The group didn't taunt him about it though. They seemed to forget it.
"Maybe we should get some sleep," Nick suggested. "It's been a long night."
No one disagreed with him.
======================
Though everyone else seemed out cold, Nick had trouble falling asleep for two reasons. One was the fact that the floor was really hard when compared to his bed. The other was that he couldn't help but think of how they were going to find Akane. It seemed impossible, even for someone with centuries of experience. One person in a city of hundreds of thousands. "Can we say needle in a haystack?" he asked himself with a whisper.
"Are you still awake Detective Knight?" Ranma called him from the chair.
"I thought I was the only one."
"Well, I'm worried about Akane," the boy said.
"That makes two of us," Nick assured him. He tried to change the subject. "So why are all of these women following you?"
"They all have their reasons. Nabiki and Kasumi are Akane's sisters."
"What about Shampoo?" Nick inquired.
"She's my fiancé."
"I thought Akane is your fiancé." Nick was confused.
"She is."
"And Ukyo?"
"My fiancé."
"Now I'm really lost."
"Well, my father and I used to travel a lot. Along the way, we would get really hungry. My father would get so hungry that he would trade me for a meal. He traded me to Ukyo's father and another girl's father, promising them that I would marry their daughters when we were old enough. He would always steal me back when the fathers were not looking. Shampoo was a different story. After my father and I had left Jusenkio, we traveled through China in our different forms. We ran into Shampoo's Amazon tribe, and she and I got into a fight. Well, I beat her. Amazon law says that when an Amazon is beaten by another woman in battle, she must find her opponent and kill her. Well, when she found me, I was in my normal form. We fought again, and I beat her again. This time, Amazon law stated that if an Amazon is beaten by a male, she must marry him."
"So, how many future wives do you have?" Nick questioned.
"Four, that I know of." After that, Ranma yawned.
"You should get some sleep," Nick told the boy.
"Good idea. Good night, I mean, day."
"Thank you." Then, they both drifted off to sleep.
======================
At about noon, Shampoo woke up and wandered downstairs from the master bedroom. She was hungry, so she went into the kitchen. When she opened the refrigerator, she found nothing but bottles of what appeared to be red wine. She picked one up and examined it. Granmother forbids me to drink alcohol, she thought to herself, as she replaced it in the fridge and closed it. How can Detective Knight live like this? she pondered. There's no food, nothing decent to drink. Maybe when he awakes I'll make him dinner. She looked over where the men were sleeping and stared at Nick. She could not help but think about how good looking he was. "Grandmother be mad if think about another man but Ranma," she whispered to herself. "Can think only of fiancé." With that, she went back up stairs, forgetting her hunger. She only wanted to sleep it off now.
======================
Ukyo stared up at the ceiling, unblinking. She had awakened when Shampoo had returned from downstairs. She kept thinking about Detective Knight, and it bothered her. Why do I find him so attractive? she asked herself. I have Ranma. How can I be falling for another? Slowly, she drifted back to sleep.
The ride up in the elevator had been even more fun. The cat had jumped into the girl's arms, causing her to scream and become paralyzed with fear. "You must excuse her," Ukyo said, pulling the cat away from the girl. "She is violently afraid of cats." Finally, they entered the loft. Ukyo dropped the bundle she was carrying and walked to the stove. As Nick put Kuno down on the couch, he watched her start to boil water. After about two minutes, Ukyo took the water off and called the other girl to sit at the table.
"This will start the explaining," Ukyo said as she poured the hot water onto the pig-tailed girl. Nick watched in amazement as the girl changed before him. Now Ranma sat at the table.
"Where'd the girl go?" Nick almost yelled.
"I am the girl," Ranma said. "Several years ago, my father and I had been training in China at the fabled Cursed Springs of Jusenkio. What we hadn't known was that they were cursed. Legend has it that if anyone falls into a spring, they transform into whatever drowned there last. My father fell into one of the pools, and now he turns into a giant panda whenever he is splashed with cold water. I fell into another pool, and I now turn into a girl. The others also fell into pools, but at different times. Ryoga turns into P-Chan, the pig; Mousse into a duck, and Shampoo into a c-c-cat." Ranma paused to recollect himself. "Whenever we are splashed with hot water, we change back to normal."
"Then perhaps we should boil more water for them," Nick suggested, pointing at the cat, pig, and duck.
"Maybe, but I think they'd be embarrassed," Ranma said. "When they change, they lose their clothing. If they change back now, they'd be naked."
"Oh, so maybe they'd prefer the shower."
"I think they would," Ranma said.
======================
In an abandoned warehouse, Akane sat tied to a pole. A small but dark figure stood over her, a mischievous smile over its face.
"Soon your debt to me will be repaid, Ranma," the figure said to itself. "You'll do anything to regain your darling Akane. And when you come to rescue her, you shall die."
======================
The trip to the hotel had been in vain. When they arrived there, the congregation found her room ransacked, complete with overturned tables and chairs.
"She's not here," Tracy said to everyone but Genma, who had stayed in the car again. "Let me check with Nick. Maybe they've found something." She pulled out her phone and dialed. After a minute, she clicked it off.
"This is just great," she exclaimed. "Nick's car has been towed, so they're all at his loft. He wants us to meet him there."
"So we go to his loft?" Nabiki questioned.
"Well, I can only stay for a while," Tracy informed them. "The sun is rising soon, and I need to get some sleep. Nick offered for you to stay at his place if you want to."
"That was extremely kind of him," Kasumi said.
"Especially since we haven't booked anywhere to stay," Nabiki added in her usual sarcastic manner.
======================
When Tracy's gang finally arrived, Shampoo, Ryoga and Mousse had all changed back to normal, and Nick had called someone about returning his car. Tracy left quickly, making the excuse that she always goes to sleep as the sun was rising. Secretly, Nick knew she just wanted to see Vachon again before he went to sleep.
In his mind, Nick was trying to figure out how he was going to provide sleeping accommodations for this many people. His thought were distracted when Happosai picked up the remote to the automatic shutters.
"Isn't it kinda dark in here?" he asked, about to press the open button.
"Don't touch the blinds!" Nick demanded.
Happosai was so surprised that someone spoke to him this way, that he fell backwards, knocking Ukyo's glass of water off the table and over Mousse. A second later, Mousse was a duck again.
"Quack," was all he could say.
Shampoo felt a twinge of pity for Mousse. She got up from the leather chair and walked into the kitchen. When she returned, she had a kettle of hot water in her hand. She poured it over the duck, and it became Mousse again.
He stood up, arms outstretched. "You do care about me, Shampoo my love." Everyone looked at him peculiarly. Mousse then remembered that when he turned into a duck, he loses his clothes. He quickly crossed his arms in attempt to hide what was left of his dignity. Then, he ran upstairs. Ryoga followed with Mousse's clothing.
"Well, that was interesting," Nick said.
After about five minutes, Ryoga and Mousse returned downstairs. Mousse's face was bright red from embarrassment. The group didn't taunt him about it though. They seemed to forget it.
"Maybe we should get some sleep," Nick suggested. "It's been a long night."
No one disagreed with him.
======================
Though everyone else seemed out cold, Nick had trouble falling asleep for two reasons. One was the fact that the floor was really hard when compared to his bed. The other was that he couldn't help but think of how they were going to find Akane. It seemed impossible, even for someone with centuries of experience. One person in a city of hundreds of thousands. "Can we say needle in a haystack?" he asked himself with a whisper.
"Are you still awake Detective Knight?" Ranma called him from the chair.
"I thought I was the only one."
"Well, I'm worried about Akane," the boy said.
"That makes two of us," Nick assured him. He tried to change the subject. "So why are all of these women following you?"
"They all have their reasons. Nabiki and Kasumi are Akane's sisters."
"What about Shampoo?" Nick inquired.
"She's my fiancé."
"I thought Akane is your fiancé." Nick was confused.
"She is."
"And Ukyo?"
"My fiancé."
"Now I'm really lost."
"Well, my father and I used to travel a lot. Along the way, we would get really hungry. My father would get so hungry that he would trade me for a meal. He traded me to Ukyo's father and another girl's father, promising them that I would marry their daughters when we were old enough. He would always steal me back when the fathers were not looking. Shampoo was a different story. After my father and I had left Jusenkio, we traveled through China in our different forms. We ran into Shampoo's Amazon tribe, and she and I got into a fight. Well, I beat her. Amazon law says that when an Amazon is beaten by another woman in battle, she must find her opponent and kill her. Well, when she found me, I was in my normal form. We fought again, and I beat her again. This time, Amazon law stated that if an Amazon is beaten by a male, she must marry him."
"So, how many future wives do you have?" Nick questioned.
"Four, that I know of." After that, Ranma yawned.
"You should get some sleep," Nick told the boy.
"Good idea. Good night, I mean, day."
"Thank you." Then, they both drifted off to sleep.
======================
At about noon, Shampoo woke up and wandered downstairs from the master bedroom. She was hungry, so she went into the kitchen. When she opened the refrigerator, she found nothing but bottles of what appeared to be red wine. She picked one up and examined it. Granmother forbids me to drink alcohol, she thought to herself, as she replaced it in the fridge and closed it. How can Detective Knight live like this? she pondered. There's no food, nothing decent to drink. Maybe when he awakes I'll make him dinner. She looked over where the men were sleeping and stared at Nick. She could not help but think about how good looking he was. "Grandmother be mad if think about another man but Ranma," she whispered to herself. "Can think only of fiancé." With that, she went back up stairs, forgetting her hunger. She only wanted to sleep it off now.
======================
Ukyo stared up at the ceiling, unblinking. She had awakened when Shampoo had returned from downstairs. She kept thinking about Detective Knight, and it bothered her. Why do I find him so attractive? she asked herself. I have Ranma. How can I be falling for another? Slowly, she drifted back to sleep.
