Disclaimer: Ranma ½ and it's characters are the product and property of rumiko takahashi and viz video.
A Bengal Tale
Part Eleven
By Michael Fetter
"AAHHHH!" Ukyou woke up with a start, her hands coming up to defend herself.
There was no attack however. The rough waking was caused by the tiger, which must have carried her back to the restaurant. It was the larger tiger she remembered from school.
"Akane?" The tiger was breathing hard, panting, and seemed to be taxed to even look up at the Ukyou. "What happened? Where's Ranma?"
The Bengal tiger started growling something, but stopped when she realized Ukyou had no idea what she could be saying. Neko-Akane growled her annoyance and headed for the kitchen.
Ukyou watched the tiger walk off and then heard the running water. A few moments later, Akane, wearing only an apron, returned.
"We have to go find her." She stated, already heading for the door.
For a moment, Ukyou wondered if Akane would really start searching a city in the buff. "Did you see what happened to her?"
"No." Akane admitted after a moment. "But you saw what happened. Pussycat was knocked through a cement wall by the demon and there was a horde of Amazons around her."
Nodding, Ukyou stood up and grabbed a spare battle spatula from the wall. "What do you think they'll do to her?"
"I don't know." Akane grit her teeth, veins popping out along her arms. "It's too horrible to think about."
The weight of unconsciousness was beginning to lift, slowly. Keeping her eyes closed, she took in as much of her surroundings as she could without tipping anyone off. There was a stinging smell, like you got in a freshly painted room. Roses were being used to negate the first, but they somehow intertwined to make a nauseating toxic smell.
Ranma tried her other senses to get a better picture of her situation. There was a repetitive sound, low and soft, maybe a knife scraping against sheet-rock.
The wind brushed against her body, raising goosebumps as Ranma monitored its path. It became obvious quickly, and to her dismay, that the change had ruined another article of clothing. Akane would not like that at all. Was it really her fault that water seemed to be drawn to her like Miss Hinako to a lollipop?
The nakedness did help her realize she was resting on something soft and clean. It felt like cotton, smooth and comfortable. Akane's bed had the same feel to it, but this was much smaller. Ranma's feet were bent to fit within the confines and her left arm was thrown behind her head, lying across the semi-hard pillow at her head.
A weight rested between her breasts that she could not identify. It must be what was attached to the chains she feared before. There was only one chain, she noted with some hope, around her neck. But it felt loose and unattached to any outside source. What was going on here?
Tensing ever so slightly, in case she needed to jump to action, Ranma peeked through slitted eyelids.
That was when she saw it. It was the most disgusting, horrible, annoying person she'd ever known. "Stick Boy!" Ranma growled, sitting up quickly and balling her fists threateningly.
"Ah! My lovely pig-tailed goddess has woken! Lie still a bit longer and I shall finish thy vision's muse." He stood behind a large easel and canvas, paintbrush in one hand, and a pallet in the other. Kuno was wearing a beret on backwards and a dirty white shirt with blotches of red and peach where the paint had dripped off of his brush. "You are truly a work of art. To allow me such time to pose you thus and bring forth a joy you have entreated upon my soul that I would-"
Too angry to care what Kuno might be saying, not that she ever cared about things he said, Ranma stomped across the room and drove her elbow on top of the boy's head. He collapsed quickly enough, face landing atop his pallet, that it was hardly an effort on Ranma's part.
She looked up to see what he had been working on and was shocked to see herself, naked, wearing a ruby necklace, lying across a couch. It was just like the scene from the American movie, Titasteless, or something like that. Infuriated to be used in such a way, Ranma grabbed the canvas and started to bash it against the dazed Kuno's head.
When there was nothing but broken wood chips and shredded cloth, Ranma stepped on Stick Boy's head for good measure. She huffed and puffed for a minute, looking over her frustration. "Per-rowr-vert."
Ranma did stop by a mirror before leaving the room to admire the necklace and fist-sized ruby that hung from the silver chain. It was very nice and seemed like reasonable payment for the indignity. Besides, Ranma smiled and fingered the gem; maybe Akane would be happy if her Pussycat gave it to her.
Ranma stopped again before leaving the room to think over her birthday suit fashion. Even insane she understood flashers were eventually arrested for indecent exposure and she had been doing a lot of that recently thanks to the curse.
Over in the corner of the room a closet stood half-open. It was obvious that Kuno had been planning on making her wear one of the dresses she found inside. Each was conservative and expensive, most of a western design. Sighing in resignation, Ranma chose a long white satin dress with lace running down the arms. What she wouldn't have given for the slacks and button up shirt Akane had bought her. They were a lot more comfortable than this dress.
Night was beginning to fall over the city, soft blue sky and clouds taking fire. The streets were empty though it had nothing to do with the time. Being the weekend, there would often be a crowd milling about these streets, visiting friends in restaurants or outside of coffeehouses. The only ones out now were trudging home in silence, making silent gestures to the correct direction in fear they may be led around the world before making the end of the block.
The demon, Oni-Ryouga, was plenty upset at having lost his pray so easily. Some of the Amazons sported bruises for his anger, but he wound down as Shampoo told him of Ranma's challenge. He laughed his horrible laugh, resonating through the streets until their ears rang with a low din.
Cologne had tactfully ordered some of her sister Amazons ahead to scout for their enemies. It also made it easy for Oni-Ryouga to follow the correct path to the Nekohaten.
Smiling at the thoughts of his upcoming battle, he laughed again, almost striding down a wrong alleyway. The scouts yelled a warning, catching Oni-Ryouga's attention and he altered his course. They looked apologetic and explained it was just a tree.
Back on the streets, Akane and Ukyou were calling out for Pussycat with little luck. Ukyou's chest hurt from the squeeze she got during the fight and so limited herself to just keeping an eye out.
A quick stop over at the clinic relieved some of her worries. The ribs weren't cracked like she feared, but had been stressed far enough to cause some bruising and strain. Toufuu suggested staying off her feet for a while. Ukyou thanked him and left after Akane, grimacing every now and then.
They turned a corner down the street from the school and headed away from it. Most of that area had been covered and it was getting late. Akane suggested they make do at the dojo if Pussycat wasn't found by then. She put up a smug grin, reassuring herself that Pussycat was all right, just off somewhere eating.
Ukyou grinned back but said nothing.
"Ukyou?"
"Hmm?"
She wasn't sure how to ask. Nabiki could get anything she wanted out of people and they wouldn't know it was done. Those kinds of skills could come in handy, she thought. Akane didn't want the other girl to get the wrong idea; she wouldn't come between two people who were already in love. "When did you meet Pussycat?"
There was only the soft padding of feet walking along the sidewalk for a time as Ukyou tried to remember. Most of the time she was seeking revenge and didn't think of her Ranchan. She smiled a little more as old memories started to open up, images she'd forgotten for a long time.
"We were six." Ukyou began, some of the muscles around her chest relaxing. "I was helping my dad with the yatai, making okonomiyaki. Ranchan came through town one day, dirty and starving.
"I'd heard from others that there was a pair of travelers stealing food from the unsuspecting, that one of them was a child. I pictured this really bad kid, like one of the bullies from school. Big, ugly, and mean.
"Then Ranchan came around. He had this determined look in his eye as he stared at the food my dad was preparing. I don't think he noticed me, hanging out in the background, finishing my lunch. I crept up to one end of the yatai, opposite side he was coming up on, and waited, holding my breath so he wouldn't notice me.
"I didn't believe it at first. Thought he would run up front, grab the food and take off. I was ready to block him when he did. Then he starts running, five feet from the yattai, jumps over my dad's flipping arm, and snags the okonomiyaki right out of the air. Damn near landed on my head when he came down.
"I was so mad, chased him down two blocks before I could tackle him around the legs. He didn't give up, just rolled around, moving every which way, breaking all my locks and ending up sitting on my back. My dad wasn't far behind so he had to take off quick, but I started to cry.
"Ranchan was so nice then. He didn't like it when I cried. Said he'd give the food back if it made me feel better. After that, I let him keep it and he came by around the same time every day and we just ended up making a game of it. He'd steal it, we'd fight, and I'd end up eating lunch with him."
Childhood seemed like such a dream to Ukyou. Pleasant and lost when you woke up. It was some of the best fun she'd had growing up. Too bad it couldn't last.
"You fell in love with him when you were six?" Akane asked.
Ukyou nodded, but her smile turned sour after a moment. "I did, but then he went and ruined it. Last I remember he and his father were running off with my dad's yattai. My father said I had to go and get revenge with the dowry gone."
"Wait." Akane stopped to consider what she'd been told. "You only knew him a few months and ended up being engaged?"
Ukyou nodded. "Our father's arranged it. I was supposed to go with them when they left."
"So you don't know Ranma anymore."
"What?"
Frowning, Akane thought it over some more. "You were here to get revenge on Ranma weren't you?" Ukyou nodded and it all made sense to Akane finally. "That's why you were happy when I told you Ranma couldn't be a boy anymore."
"I wasn't happy." Ukyou protested. "It's just that . . well, that seemed to be punishment enough for what he did to me."
Arching an eyebrow, "For what he did to you?"
"Stealing the yattai."
Exasperated, Akane gaped at Ukyou for a moment then shook the cross-dresser by the shoulders. "Ukyou! He was only six years old! It was probably his father who told Ranma what to do!"
Snorting, Ukyou shook off Akane hands. "I was only six and I understood what marriage was."
"Did he?"
Wind rolled down the street, tossing the girls' hair about as they stared at each other. Ukyou thought of her innocent friend and the fun they had. How it hurt when he left, waving from the yattai. The years spent training for revenge. The redhead-"It doesn't matter anymore."
"What?"
Smiling, Ukyou shifted the combat spatula on her back and took the lead, walking down the street. "Pussycat is a nice person. I like her. There is nothing else for me to do but move on now."
Akane stared a moment at the figure slowly moving up her street. It came as a mixed blessing. Ukyou wasn't out for Ranma and she'd rather he remained Pussycat. There wasn't likely to be any help from her new friend to curing the insane martial artist.
Most of the time when people see a young girl running around in the Kuno mansion, they think it's one of the crazy siblings. As they take a closer look and see the young girl to be a redhead in a white dress, they would think Tatewaki has kidnapped another 'goddess'. And a few seconds later, as they discover this young girl to be chased by a leotard wearing, maniacally laughing, gymnast they pray to go unnoticed and leave the area quickly.
As it happened, Pussycat was making her way through the Kuno mansion looking for the exit. On the way she ran into many rooms, lavishly decorated in old age, high-society detail. A music room contained a dark wood grand piano in one corner, various wind instruments in another, and an assortment of everything else spread amongst the remainder of the room. A repository contained hundreds of old manuscripts and film selections, most in the front being of the early Shogun era.
One of the rooms that she had come upon, where this race had started, was much harder to describe. There was a chemical laboratory, rose garden, and gymnastics equipment. Curious, Pussycat stepped inside and found a dresser, mirror, and bed. The room was darker than the others even with the lights being on. Heavy smells of chemicals and unnatural black roses made her feel dizzy. Pussycat tried stumbling back into the main hall, but someone barred the door.
"Ah, so a new test subject has responded to my ad." A young lady with long brown hair tied up in a ponytail seemed absolutely delighted at Pussycat's presence. She wore a purple and black leotard that covered much of her body and yet revealed more curves than was decent in most settings. While Pussycat found this new girl to be very nice looking, the laugh, "Hohohohohoho!" made her cringe.
"Oh, come along, my dear. We should get started right away! So many experiments I need to run and so little time left in the day!" she grabbed Pussycat around the waist with her ribbon (where had that come from?) and pulled her further into the room.
By this time, Pussycat had begun to fight off the natural effects of Kuno Kodachi's chemically altered room, and gaining back some of her senses. "Who you-rowr?"
"Oh!" a hand went to her face to show embarrassment where it didn't exist. "How silly of me to forget the introductions. As this is my home I should present myself first. I am the rising star of St. Herbeke's Rhythmic Gymnastics Martial Arts Club, Kuno Kodachi, age sixteen." A swirl of black petals danced about her rotating body as Kodachi came to the climax of her introduction. "And who would you be, my willing guinea pig?"
Blinking, Pussycat found Crazy Girl to be just as obnoxious as Stick Boy. Deciding to leave quickly, she began work on removing the ribbon from around her waist, something that she found harder to do than it first appeared. "Uhm, meeeeeow Pussssssycat."
Leaning closer, Kodachi studied her new test experiment closely. "You are a strange one, aren't you? The clothing suggests high-breeding and yet you speak in such a primitive manner." Pulling on the ribbon, she forced Pussycat into a twirl to get a good look. "In fact, the muscle tone and abundance of scar tissue would lead me to one conclusion."
Amazed that someone would discover her secret so easily, Pussycat leaned forward, expectantly.
"You will make an excellent test subject!"
The room vibrated for a moment as Pussycat fell onto her face.
"Come along." Kodachi tugged at the ribbon and led Pussycat further into the large bedroom.
"Have you noticed the odd whether we seem to be having?"
Nabiki looked up from her latest manga, candy bar hanging between her lips. Her sister stood at the back door, gazing up at the quickly darkening skies.
"The nice weatherman seemed certain it was going to be another sunny day. I hope he isn't too disappointed." She seemed genuinely concerned, which Nabiki attributed to their father's influence.
Must be a recessive gene on daddy's side, Nabiki considered. "Pussycat seems to attract water everyday. You might think she were responsible."
Laughing lightly, Kasumi headed back for her kitchen. "Oh, that is so amusing, Nabiki. Wouldn't it just be funny if it were true?"
Nabiki caught herself before she laughed and blinked. What if it was true? She might be able to sell this unique gift to drought-plagued areas. For a reasonably overpriced fee, of course.
After the first few experiments, where Pussycat learned the effects of knockout gas, paralyzing gas, and itching powder, she decided she had had enough.
"Come back! I have so many more tests to run!" Kodachi exclaimed, leaping along the main hall in great bounds, ribbon twisting in the wind.
Pussycat ran faster. Her white gown tattered by her response to the itching powder, loosely trailing behind.
It is now that Pussycat felt some exasperation to her ability to destroy clothing on a daily basis. She could hear the coming rainfall as it pitter-pattered on the rooftops of the mansion. For some reason, Pussycat had believed herself safe while indoors and out of the vicinity of the kitchen and bathrooms.
As fate planned it, there was a small amount of water able to leak into a small crack on the roof of the house. This crack, which had been around for a long time and still gone unnoticed, led to a wet wall running along the western perimeter of the main house. As it slowly flooded over the years, it rose to a level equal with the second floor. During this particular rainfall, the level just barely reached a panel of connecting electrical circuits that directed energy through much of the house. As it fried, the lights suddenly went out causing Kodachi, someone without the extra sensory aid of the Neko-ken to miss her target with the flailing ribbon. Instead, the ribbon attached itself to the leg of a sculpture standing to one side of the hall. Mistaking the resistance for her fleeing 'guinea pig', Kodachi pulled, causing the massive piece of artwork to tip and fall through the wall, pulverizing whatever lay behind it. The infamous 'it' in this case, was one Kuno Tatewaki, who had finally recovered from his recent beating enough to stand up and pose dramatically for his return to consciousness. "Ha-urk!" And promptly collapse back into the darkness. His bokken flew through the air as he released it while falling to the ground and hit an over-pressurized faucet head, bent out of shape, and sprayed the passing redhead with freezing cold water. (And you thought the wet wall was going to break and soak her that way, tsk-tsk.)
Some people called these events bad luck. Pussycat growled and called them a conspiracy in a largely metaphorical way.
Kuno Kodachi thought it was, "Excellent! This gives me a chance to test so many other experiments!" and laughed again as she bound after the fleeing Bengal tiger, choking on a ruby necklace.
Thus, the chase continued.
The evening was getting darker as Ukyou and Akane made their way down another street in a search for Pussycat. It had been a long, tiring day for both of them and their spirits were dampened by the lack of success.
One benefit to the late hour was the lack of people. Ukyou had talked Akane into wearing one of her chef uniforms rather than just an apron. The shorter girl looked a bit uncomfortable and slightly embarrassed to wear such masculine clothing, baggy too.
"So I know about how you met Pussycat, but what about those crazy chicks and the demon?" Ukyou asked to break the silence. Her voice was a little hoarse, but it did help her fill out the roll of a boy.
Akane called out again, looking over the large houses they were walking beside. "After the cursed training ground we went looking for help from the Joketsuzoku Amazons. The guide said if anyone knew how to get a cure it would be them."
The next house on the left had a large perimeter wall, ten feet high, and iron gate decorated with the family crest of the current residence. Akane shivered as she saw Kuno's mansion and picked up her pace slightly. "I'm not sure about the demon, but I think he came looking for us at the village after we left and brainwashed the Amazons."
"Brainwashed?" Ukyou looked at her slightly disbelieving.
She shrugged. "Easier to believe than people magically cursed to become tigers, ne?"
Nodding, they walked on.
"You sure he's some sort of bad guy?"
Akane looked at the taller girl strange.
"You know, maybe it was a misunderstanding, sugar."
Shaking her head, Akane continued on her way.
The earth rumbled for a moment as Ukyou and Akane threw themselves onto the ground, hiding their faces with their arms. An explosion, loud enough to leave a ringing in their ears, carried part of the Kuno mansion up in flames, scattering various pieces of would and stone across the neighborhood, perhaps further.
Akane sat up after a moment and twisted her little finger in each ear. "What?"
Ukyou was speaking but it was hard to make out what was being said.
"What?" she repeated with more volume.
"I SAID!" Ukyou was screaming in her ear. "WHAT DO YOU SUPPOSE THAT WAS?!"
Pushing the cross-dresser away, Akane stood up and rubbed her ear again. "You don't need to yell."
"Mrowr!"
She met the ground again as she was bowled over by a Bengal tiger with reddish fur. The air pushed out of her lungs, Akane couldn't resist as Pussycat began to lick her face and nuzzle her head. It was very different to feel this in her human form, not unpleasant though. "Pussycat!" Akane cheered as she regained her breath and wrapped her arms around the tiger's neck. "What's this?"
Pussycat shook his head in an attempt to remove the choking necklace. Akane got the message and did it for him. He smiled when she said it was pretty and asked if she could wear it while he was in his tiger form. As far as he was concerned, Akane could keep it; the chain had dug into his flesh a bit after the change.
Curious, Ukyou left the two cursed individuals to themselves and hopped over the fence. She wanted to see what Pussycat would have been running from that caused her to destroy a third of the mansion.
Stepping through the rubble, Ukyou passed wood beams, electrical wires, metal plumbing, and a broken statue of a Japanese samurai holding a spear in his right hand. Water was spraying the area from a broken faucet head further in and drenching the two occupants of the home who slumbered in blissful unconsciousness.
Ukyou grimaced at what must have been a painful experience. Their bodies were smoking and charred as they twitched occasionally on the ground. "Eyck!"
She left soon after.
"Say Tendou." Genma shouted over the noise of the large waterfall. It was some sort of tourist attraction in these parts. People actually paid to ride the waterfall in a barrel.
"Yes, Saotome?" Soun replied, looking out over the edge of the railing to the water crashing thousands of feet below.
"Do you suppose that boy made it back to Nerima with the directions you gave him?"
Soun stopped to consider it while looking back the way they came. "I don't know, but perhaps it would be a good idea if we followed my advice as well and just head back the way we came. At least then we can start over in Nerima."
Genma nodded. "A good idea, Tendou. We'll be back in Nerima and doing the Master's bidding in no time!"
Smirking, the two brilliant martial artists jumped back into the waterfall.
End Chapter Eleven
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Ja ne.