Disclaimer: Ranma ½ and it's characters are the product and property of rumiko takahashi and viz video.

A Bengal Tale

Part Five

By Michael Fetter

Oh, he can't be serious! Akane paced back and forth along the shoreline. She wasn't sure where they were, trusting Ranma to lead them in the right direction. At least they made it to the ocean, she remembered crossing some water on the way over. Thinking a moment, she wondered if her absence from school has actually improved her geography grade any?

She paced along the beach one more time and looked out across the ocean, hoping to see Japan. Ranma was still standing waist high, waist high for a tiger, in the water looking at her strangely. Being cursed really was a pain when you needed to tell someone you couldn't swim. What she really needed was some hot water and a couple sets of clothes. Then they could cross the ocean as two girls or maybe call home and have Nabiki take care of things.

Akane sighed and headed back into the cover of the forest. Ranma will get the hint, she decided.

Five days later.

"Yes officer. Thank you for contacting us." Nabiki's frown deepened as she considered what might have happened. Father and Akane had left on a training trip for China a long while ago. By father's schedule, he planned on returning nearly two months ago.

After the first week, she had called in a missing persons report to the local police station, but they said travelers could easily be lost in China. It helped that father was so careful to plan out all of his trips and leave the particulars with Kasumi in case of trouble. Some weeks ago, she and Kasumi had received news that Akane and father had made it to Jusenkyou like they planned, and left the area with two other travelers.

As Nabiki understood it, father was hoping to meet his old friend Genma Saotome and Ranma Saotome, his son, so that could be who the other people were. Akane is too violent to let some kidnappers grab them and daddy's tears would be enough to make the kidnappers release them. No, something else had definitely happened to her family while in China.

She found some silly tales about the training grounds being cursed, stupid tourist stuff. Where are they?

"Did Officer Torotu have any information on daddy or Akane, Nabiki?" Kasumi still held an innocent and warm smile, but it did little to hide the puffy eyes her crying had caused.

"Still no leads. They checked with the police in China and the manifests of a bunch of different methods for crossing the ocean. They said that was their last attempt. They've given up and declared them missing and presumed de-" Nabiki was cut off by an overwhelming urge to cry. After her mother died, Nabiki had cut herself off emotionally with the outside world in order to cope. She never realized how much was locked in with her. All she had was her family when she broke ties with her friends and schoolmates. Her family meant everything to her. That was why she was willing to give herself such a horrible reputation. That was why she never charged her family for her services. That was why . . . "presumed dea . . . presume . . . Kasumi! I don't want them to be de . . . why did they have to go away?! . . . Akane and daddy can't be . . ."

She collapsed into her older sister's arms, bawling as hard as she could. Three months of waiting for her family to return, and all that time she refused to believe something bad had happened. They were just lost, or they found some new martial arts technique to study, or they . . . She had held back her grief for so long and it was all coming out now like daddy's downpours.

Kasumi had cried her fill for the last few months, but she still let some tears fall down her cheeks. It was down to two now. Kasumi still held some hope for her father and Akane's return, but she had to be realistic about this. Two months without contact was an almost sure sign that they were lost, forever.

The TV in the living room had been left on when Kasumi and Nabiki had received the phone call. It flickered over the stock market for a while before the news caster came back on.

" . . . and for you frequent travelers out there, you've just gained two more individuals to aid to the ranks. It seems that a pair of Bengal tigers smuggled themselves into Japan yesterday and have since disappeared. Well, enjoy your stay in Japan and stay out of trouble, you two. In other news . . ."

You heard? Cologne asked as she stepped into the darkness of an empty store room. Shampoo, Mousse, Perfume, and herself had voyaged across the ocean to follow Ranma and Akane. Somehow the two children had completely lost the Amazon trackers a week ago.

A dark rumbling voice replied to her from the darkness. Yes. Are they gone?

Cologne nodded. Yes, we have the Tendou dojo under surveillance as requested.

Good, then all we must do is wait.

Cologne was about to hop out of the dark room when a thought occurred to her. Was it wise to release the fathers? They would have made excellent bait.

There was a heavy silence in the room, which gave Cologne some time to consider what she had just asked. She gulped loudly and wavered on her cane.

The crackling red flames that suddenly combusted around her body didn't give her the strength to scream. It was like acid chewing away at her flesh. It ended a moment later and Cologne slumped onto the ground, still smoking from her punishment.

You would do well not to question me again.

As quickly as her battered body could carry her, Cologne was out the door and planning to never argue with her master again.

Kasumi and Nabiki were just sitting down on the living room sofa, still crying and holding each other closely, when the front door creaked open. The two sisters were too involved in their shared grief that they did not hear the soft padding of feet, walking down the hall. They didn't even notice that someone was in the room until they made their presence known.

"EEAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" Synchronized screaming can be quite an event if you're into that sort of thing. Large, overly-striped, Bengal tigers are not big fans of screamers.

"Growl!" There, that shut them up. Akane started to rub her head against her sister's bodies. It was the only way a tiger could show affection. Maybe will make hot water for her and Ranma! All they would have to do is develop telepathy and consider talking to a tiger.

Akane grew depressed when she noted her sister's petrified faces and decided to wait for them to recover from across the table. After three months of running from the Amazons and living off the land, she would like nothing better than to give her sisters a few big hugs. Why do things always have to be so hard!

Ranma finally strolled into the room and sat down beside Akane. With most of the danger behind them, he started to nuzzle her again. She'd begun to miss the feeling of Ranma's furry muzzle rubbing up against her neck. But, now was not the time.

Akane brought up one of her large paws and flattened the other cat on the floor. Ranma, of course, thought this was another wrestling match and tried to bat Akane playfully with his paw. Akane sighed, which came out a bit weird for a tiger, and flopped onto the ground, pinning Ranma under her larger mass. He seemed to get the idea and kept silent.

They stayed like this for a few minutes. Ranma worked himself free and curled up against Akane and decided to take a catnap. Kasumi and Nabiki slowly started to regain the use of their bodies. While they were still quite pale and wide-eyed, at least they were breathing normally again.

"Nabiki." Kasumi whispered through unmoving lips.

"Yeah?" the middle sister responded in kind.

"Don't make any sudden movements."

Akane found it very entertaining how her sisters were reacting. She watched them with rapt amusement. Though it would have been easier to get some hot water and have a tearful reunion. Unless someone suddenly got an urge to pour their tea on a tiger, Akane just didn't see that happening.

Kasumi slowly stood up, trying not to make a sound. Of course, when you aren't trying to make a sound, that's when all the old creaks in the house turn against you. She winced every time the floorboards would give.

Akane couldn't let her sister call the animal service, then nothing would get accomplished. Coming to stand before Kasumi, she pushed her back onto the couch and thought about what she could do to make them understand. Akane almost didn't notice when Ranma began to nudge her again.

Not now, Ranma. I've got to think of something!

Akane yelped when she felt her tail being tugged. That really hurt! What does that jerk think he's doing!?! Akane faced the smaller tiger and snarled a warning.

Neko-Ranma would hear none of it. Instead he padded over to the furo door and scratched at the wood paneling.

Hey! That's not a scratching post! Akane was ready to clobber the smaller tiger when she realized what he was trying to tell her. Ranma your brilliant! Now to get Kasumi to open the door.

"Oh my!" Kasumi gasped as the larger Bengal tiger started to tug at the hem of her dress and pull her to the door. "You want me to open the door?" Akane nodded. "What a smart . . . tiger." Her innocent little smile almost returned before the fear set in again. Akane was just happy Kasumi had enough control over her body to open the door!

Ranma bounced excitedly into the room and Akane quickly followed him to the . . . Men! Always thinking with their stomachs! Akane shook her head as she watched Ranma rip the celaphane from a wrapped salmon and gnaw at the meat inside. Moving on to more important matters, Akane walked over to the furo and touched the water. Damn, cold! She growled. Maybe I can get room service, she smiled to herself.

Kasumi was still standing at the door, watching the two tigers acting very peculiar. Well, the smaller one was acting like a gentle house cat, but the other seemed to be demanding something. Well, this certainly did get our minds off of daddy and Akane. "Nabiki, please draw a warm bath for the nice tiger." Kasumi requested sweetly as she began to peal the rest of the plastic from Ranma's fish.

From the doorway, a pad of paper flew into the room and skidded to a halt at Akane's feet. She frowned at Nabiki's sense of humor and growled again.

Kasumi also frowned and looked at the doodle. "That's not quite what I meant, Nabiki-chan."

"There is no way I'm going to make a bath for a tiger!" She screeched from the living room.

"Why not?" Kasumi inquired.

"There . . . There ferocious animals, Kasumi!"

Setting the pad on the floor again, Kasumi looked at the two tigers. She might have agreed with Nabiki if the two tigers in question were acting more like tigers. This was very strange. "Could you get dinner started while I start the bath then?"

"KASUMI!"

"What?" she blinked.

The two Tendou sisters were sitting down to dinner while their guests made themselves comfortable in the furo. Nabiki was flabbergasted as to why Kasumi wouldn't let her call the zoo. Her older sister just said it would be rude. Times like these, Nabiki wondered if her sister's innocent look wasn't just an act. I wonder what those cats are doing in there anyway?

It was going to take a while for the furo to get hot enough to effect Akane and Ranma's curses. They waited patiently, lounging in the look warm water. This way they would know as soon as the water was warm enough.

Ranma, after finishing his meal, was in the furo next to her, nuzzling at her neck again.

Boy, this Neko-ken thing has really given Ranma a one track mind. Akane sat and endured the affections of her friend, wishing she had a salmon to snack on.

The change seemed to occur so subtly, Akane hardly noticed her new body and just readjusted herself into a more comfortable position. It was when Ranma suddenly cried out her name and tackled her under the water, that she was pulled back to reality.

"Did you hear that?" Nabiki asked. She could've sworn she just heard some high pitch squeal from the furo, but that wasn't right. Since when could tigers speak?

Akane sputtered back to the surface of the water and found a smiling Ranma holding her up at arms length.

"Man! I can't believe how long I've been under the Neko-ken! I remember more, but it's so nice to be able to think clearly again!" Ranma pulled Akane in for another gleeful hug, uncaring over their state of clothing.

Akane bit her tongue from lashing out at Ranma. She really had been under for a long time. Ranma was just really happy to have her mind back again and Akane didn't want to ruin the mood. It'd been so long since she'd seen Ranma smile like this. Finally returning the hug, Akane blushed slightly as she felt the other girl's naked body rubbing against her own. I'm gonna have to stop this soon or I'll go crazy!

The furo door opened then and in walked Akane's sisters.

"Nabiki! Kasumi!"

The two girls just stared at her in shock until a breeze flowed through the open door and knocked them onto their backs.

Gee, what's wrong with them, Akane wondered then looked down at the smiling, naked, redhead in her lap. Oh yeah.

Oh, that was different, Nabiki thought dryly. It was not often that she feinted, but then she rarely saw visions. Must be all the crying. If I knew holding things in caused hallucinations, I would have been more open. That was still different. How often do you see you dead sister sitting in a furo with a naked girl on her lap?

She blinked in the light slowly to keep herself from getting too much of a headache. Besides her headache, everything seemed to be fine. Nothing a pill and food couldn't cure. She just had to get out of the furo to . . . The TIGERS!

Nabiki quickly sat up and looked about the room frantically. She wasn't normally scared of things, but most things you could reason with and swindle, not tigers however. A sudden rush of pain quickly reminded her of what she had been trying to do before. The movement had just intensified her headache and she fell back onto the floor with a thud. Hmm, either the tiling has gone soft or I'm lying on a mat.

Ranma could often open his eyes and make a quick scan of an area and completely assess his position. This was not one of Nabiki's talents. She opened her eyes again and found she was lying in the living room next to Kasumi, who was also lying on a mat. There were no tigers, but a big yellow and black blur on her right.

She blinked. "Akane?"

The bright smile and cheerful cry of, "Nabiki-neechan!" confirmed everything. Nabiki was instantly wrapping her little sister in one of the most affectionate and powerful hugs she could muster.

"Na . . . bi . . . ki . . ." Akane worked out between gasps. When had her sister gotten so strong?!

"Akane, how could you?!" Nabiki scolded her sister around her hug. "We thought you and daddy were dead! Where have you been all these months?!"

Akane slowly squirmed her way out of Nabiki's grasp. Seeing her sister so emotional was just too weird, but it was nice to know she cared. "Let's wait until Kasumi wakes up and I'll tell you guys everything."

"So, Tendou? Where are we now?"

Soun was getting a bit irritated by his friends questioning every couple of minutes. How the heck should he know? "I'm not certain, Saotome, but according to the map we got, we should be home soon."

Genma sighed and continued to follow his friend through the snow-covered peaks of some drifting glacier.

Damn, it's cold in Tokyo this time of year!

Kasumi had woken up a little after Nabiki had and Akane found herself caught in another rib-straining hug and scolded for being absent for so long. She was still rubbing her sides when Kasumi set down a cup of tea in front of her. They had taken the story of her adventure rather well.

"That's terrible!" Kasumi gasped. "You were chased by Amazons for nearly three months! But, why did you have to sneak into Japan? Why not go to the authorities?"

Here Akane began to fidget just a little more. She had started to have fun with her curse, but it was still a bit embarrassing to say she turned into an animal. They seemed to take it pretty well, though.

"What do you mean you were the tiger?" Nabiki had heard some pretty strange stories before, but this . . .

"It's a curse unfortunately. We don't know how to get rid of it either." Kasumi heard the regret and sorrow in her little sister's voice and acted as she had for the past ten years, she gathered Akane up in her arms and said some reassuring things to her.

"Don't worry, Akane. We'll figure something out. You'll be rid of that curse before you know it!"

Akane frowned. "Actually, I don't mind the curse that much. It's . . . It's Ranma I'm more worried about."

"Who?"

"The,uh . . ." Explaining Ranma was always hard. She still had difficulty figuring the whole thing out herself. " . . . guy, I guess." Ranma hated to be called a girl so it's best that her sisters call Ranma a guy.

"You mean the young man you mentioned that fought off all of those Amazons?" They had all but forgot about the other travelers in Akane's story. Kasumi had been focusing more on her sister and father.

"Hey! I fought them too!" So what if she was second rate to Ranma, she still helped!

Nabiki waved away her argument as trivial and moved onto the good part. "Ranma, huh? He cute? Did the two of you have some romantic fling while you were on the run?" Here she posed dramatically with her arm swung over her forehead. "Oh, Ranma! Save me!"

Akane blushed, not the reaction Nabiki had been expecting. "So where is he, and why are you worried about him?"

Sorry, Ranma, but my sisters have to know since you're going to go insane again eventually. "It's like this, Ranma's father trained him in something called the Neko-ken, which left him with an irrational fear of cats. Now that Ranma turns into a cat, the fear and the Neko-ken is driving him insane. It probably doesn't help that he no longer has his male body anymore either." She muttered the last part more to herself and escaped her sisters' attention.

"Wow, poor guy." Kasumi nodded at her sister's comment. To be trapped in the body of your worst nightmare, no wonder Akane is so worried about him. On a happier thought, Kasumi did realize that Akane actually found a boy she was becoming endeared to!

Nabiki and Akane gave their sister some odd looks when she began smiling. "So where is he?" Nabiki asked.

"He's up in my room hiding." She continued when her sisters gave her inquiring looks. "Ranma doesn't like wearing girl's clothes."

That was apparently the wrong thing to say. Nabiki dropped her tea cup and stared in the direction of her sister's room with an . . . evil glint in her eye. Kasumi was a little startled that her sister was so casual with a naked man to let him hide in her room. "Oh my."

Before Akane could explain further, Nabiki was up and running for the stairs and heading for Akane's room. "No, wait! Nabiki!" They chase began and ended with Nabiki standing before an open door, looking into Akane's room and staring at the very naked redheaded girl.

She didn't want to scream because that was too girly, so Ranma tried to cover herself as best she could with her hands and blushed the color of her hair.

Nabiki only stared in shock at the naked girl, yes a girl not a boy, standing in Akane's room. When her little sister caught up with her, Nabiki frowned and stepped closer to the redhead. "Hey, sis. I don't know if you've noticed, but this 'guy' is a girl." She emphasized the point by poking Ranma in the chest. She's healthy, Nabiki smirked at her own hentai thoughts, but banished them quickly, afraid of where they came from.

"No, Nabiki!" Akane leaped across the room and covered her sister's mouth, but it was too late. Ranma was already glowing blue and the veins in her arms were already standing out. She would've seemed cute with her little face all scrunched up if it weren't for the crackle of energy sparking through her aura.

"I am not a GIRL!!!" The energy exploded outwards from Ranma's body and sent everything not nailed down to the four corners of the little room. Akane and Nabiki were close enough to ground zero to feel the heat of Ranma's aura and be thrown out of the open door, landing with a thud against the opposite wall.

"Ow." Akane staggered back up to her feet and limped back up to her room where Ranma was still raging with ki and vacant yet scary look on her face. "Ranma, calm down. She didn't mean it. She never met you before the curse, remember? It's okay, Ranma. Nabiki is sorry. Calm down now, okay?" All the while she was taking slow and careful steps toward the redhead, her hands held out before her in a gesture of non-aggression.

Akane watched as Ranma fought with herself to regain the control she had lost. Slowly, the ki began to fade and the intelligence returned to her eyes. When it finally died out completely, Ranma felt a little weak and stumbled about the room a bit before landing in Akane's arms.

"I'm sorry, Akane."

"Shh." She stroked Ranma's hair and held the smaller girl comfortably in her arms. "It's okay, Ranma. Everything is all right now."

"My goodness. What was that?" Kasumi walked into the room with an appraising look that seemed to say she had seen cleaner pigsties. A moaning Nabiki followed a step behind, holding her hands over a large bump on her head. She didn't look very happy at the moment. As part of the berserker, Ranma had no idea what happened, but she was quickly becoming acutely embarrassed over the fact she was still naked in front of strangers.

"So where's Ranma, your wonderboy, Akane?" Nabiki asked dryly. Boy my foot. That chick is definitely all girl.

Kasumi was actually a fairly smart girl despite the way she may act some times. Recalling Akane's story, it was hard to figure out that Ranma was the girl in the room. But she was certain that Akane had said Ranma was a boy. So when all else fails, do something unexpected. That usually breaks the ice. "Oh! It's the naked girl from the furo. I realize you must like my sister, Ranma," Lesbian relationships are accepted now, but I never quite believed that Akane . . . "but a proper woman should wear her clothes in someone else's house."

Akane tensed for a few seconds as she felt Ranma's grip on her shirt become tighter, but her hold on her sanity was much stronger now. The redhead only let out a low growl, but that faded quickly too. "Ranma, it's either some of my clothes or your curse. It'll only be for the day then we'll look for some new clothes. We've already gone through all my gis."

Ranma seemed to be considering it for a moment, looking back and forth between Kasumi and Akane. She stepped away and seemed almost to walk to the dresser, but turned her head. Mustering all the dignity she could, Ranma left the room and headed down the hall and entered the bathroom. She didn't come out at once, giving herself some time to master her fears. It wasn't the water she hated, but the tiger that drew her insane. The brief flashes of cats, ripping at her flesh and yowling out their frustration. It chilled her to the core to think about it and caused tremors to roll through her body. If only . . . If only . . .

Akane hung her head as she watched Ranma enter the bathroom. Why did he have to be so prideful. So what if he was a guy originally? Was being a girl really that bad? Ranma still had all her strength from her male body, but that just wasn't enough for her. Would she have been worse if the Neko-ken hadn't driven her over the edge and back again?

It was a lean and muscular tiger that returned to Akane's room. Neko-Ranma immediately trotted over to his playmate, rubbing his body against her legs and purring deeply from his throat.

"Damn it, Ranma. I wanted to talk to you. Is this how it's going to be when you have to start acting like a girl?" Kasumi and Nabiki had that blank look on their faces again, she noted. Looks like I have a little more explaining to do.

End Chapter Five

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Or email me at jehtek@hotmail.com

Ja ne!