Poetic Irony
Shampoo waited, and waited, and waited, as she did the evening dishes that were left from when they closed the restuarant for the night, She knew it was coming; as unseemingly infallible as her Great-Grandmother was, she was perhaps a trite overprotective of her heir.
Cologne walked into the kitchen, and hopped onto the counter, seeming to observe Shampoo doing the dishes. the silence began to irk Shampoo, until her Great-Grandmother finally brought up the speech she knew was coming.
"Granddaughter, I think it is best of you refrain from this hunt for your future groom. I find the events concerning him even more troublesome than what they appear on the surface,"
"Is okay, Great-grandmother," shampoo began to placate, without even turning around to address her elder, "Shampoo is strong warrior, not like Kitchen Destroyer or Spatula Girl."
"You underestimate both of your rivals a great deal," Cologne countered, "and nonetheless, it would be prudent if you allowed me to handle this search on our behalf."
"I is not abandoning Ranma," Shampoo countered, finally turning to face her elder defiantly.
"I'm afraid you may misunderstand my intentions," Cologne stated with a somewhat more softened tone, "You are, as far as the rest are concerned, still a suspect. It has nothing to do with keeping you protected physically," Cologne lied, but knew it was best to play this angle if she wanted her heir to stay out of trouble. For someone to subdue both Akane and Ukyo, and spirit away her future son-in-law in but a day was most assuradly someone not to be taken lightly.
"I'LL PROTECT YOU, SHAMPOO!"
The young Amazon sighed, "If you say is true, Great-Grandmother," Shampoo stepped back to the side of the sink, while opening the cabinet door at head level. Mousse easily missed his target, slamming bodily into the sink. Without much of a thought behind the action, Shampoo slammed the cabinet door on his head, destroying both the cabinet sheilf and its door, "then Shampoo obey until prove innocent."
"This is why you'll make me a fine successor, Shampoo," Cologne complimented, "But in the meantime, there is not much we can do until we have further information, I suggest we finish things for the night, so that I may enquire to those involved for any further information."
"Okay, Great-Grandmother," Shampoo replied, as she gathered the garbage bags, and started outside to the side alley that would lead to the back to dispose of them.
Cologne watched Shampoo walk out the door, before Mousse moaned, garnering her attention. she tsked as the myopic boy collapsed backwards onto the ground, "That cabinet is coming out of your pay, Mr. Part-timer..."
___________________
Shampoo knew the crock her Grandmother was feeding her. It was made all that more apparent when she was complimented for doing something as dutiful as simply obeying her elders. But, Shampoo knew to go against her word was not a good idea, and decided it would be best to bide her time until she was in the clear.
With a disgruntled sigh, Shampoo tossed the three bags into the dumpster heap to be collected in two days, before the hairs on the nape of her neck stood out all so slightly. Swiftly, Shampoo ducked under the attack from behind, hearing the strike cut through the air as it passed over with a weak whistle.
Shampoo flipped forward, and turned to face her attacker before she even landed, "Who there? Shampoo no to be taken lightly like Akane or Ukyo!" Shampoo's challenge went unanswered, save for the giggle of her assailant that dissappeared around the corner while moving backwards to keep facing Shampoo.
In the dim of almost no light, Shampoo gasped at what she did manage to see; though mostly obscured by the night shadows, the mop of red hair was apparent.
"Airen?" Shampoo breathed, before turning to look back down the side alley she had come from to make sure her Great-Grandmother was not around. Once she figured the coast was clear, the youthful Amazon went in pursuit of her giggling attacker. As soon as she rounded the corner, things happened so quickly, the only thing she knew was unconciousness settling over her...
___________________
Cologne swore, as she scowered the neighborhood for both any signs of Ranma, and her own Great-Granddaughter. The Amazon Matriarch knew she should have known better, but presumed that Shampoo heeded the wisdom of her words last night. Cologne had retired for the night, though didn't find Shampoo in the room already, not that it was anything unusual. Her Great-granddaughter sometimes took baths long until after the Matriarch went to sleep, fantasizing about her husband. Cologne swore that something needed to be done about that girl's hormones. Now, she had gone missing, with Cologne not even finding a trace of her beyond the Cat Cafe.
She was hesitant to alert the Tendous to the dissappearance of her daughter, suspecting that it would only raise their own suspicions of the situation. Mousse was an exellent tracker, but could barely be trusted to keep his emotions in check if worse came to be. Her best hope was that she could find Shampoo, safe and sound, before she had to return to open the restaurant, so that no one suspected anything.
Alas, that one hope had not come true, as Cologne was forced to abandon her search, and return. She would help Mousse open the restuarant, and tell the fool-hearty boy that Shampoo had went with the Tendou girl Kasumi on some morning errands, as it was best if the girls went out in groups. Once she had Mousse settled to handle the early morning commuters, she would excuse herself for her own 'errands', and continue her search.
The elder arrived back home, and strode towards the kitchen. She stopped at the door, as the restuarant phone rang. "This is the Cat Cafe, I'm afraid we aren't quite open yet, if you would like to wait an hour or two, we will..." Cologne's face grew trepid, "Yes, we own a rare Qiangxi Range Saimese..."
What the veternarian told Cologne in a rather chagrinned voice, caused her to drop the phone in shock.
___________________
"Still nothing, Daddy," Nabiki replied, hanging up the phone, "The police are totally stumped over this, not that I blame them." The last part was added quietly with a crestfallen expression.
"Everything will turn out fine, you'll see," Kasumi urged from the kitchen, although it completely lacked any of the usual exuberance her voice carried. They didn't voice it, but they all suspected Kasumi was hiding in the kitchen so that she wouldn't have to face the reality that her sister may be...
Nodoka sat in seiza at the dining table; her face stern, but tear-streaked. She, her Husband, and Soun had been up most of the night, searching for their son. The restless search had taken its toll on all three parents; with each of them maintaining a lethergic countenance at best.
Nabiki had seemed to be taking it the best, of course she remained quiet to the rest of her family, only cocentrating on police bands on her radio, and occationally calling into the station to see if there was news she may have missed, or to the Hospital to check on Ukyo's condition. If they had taken a close look at her, they would have all realized, that she was perhaps the most distraught of them all.
The Saotome Matriarch reached for her sword that was leaning against the edge of the table, and bumped it instead of grasping it. The knock of the scabbard and hilt against the wood floor caused everyone to jolt. The knock at the door almost shattered the frailer nerves.
Nobody, and yet everyone wanted to answer the door; hoping that news would be good, but knowing intellectually that it most assuradly was not. Only the braver of the residents took up the challenge of answering the door.
"I'll get it," Kasumi called out, after several moments. It was to her a morbid mixture of relief, dissappointment, and nervousness to find Elder Cologne and Shampoo at the door. Kasumi's nervousness didn't actually come in until she noted the expressions on their faces. Cologne's face was hardened, but it was apparent she was angry, *very* angry. Shampoo hid her eyes by keeping her head bowed, but Kasumi could see the tearstreaks running down the sides of her face that were visible.
"Hello, Kasumi, we must speak with you all.
___________________
"To find a cure for Shampoo?" Nabiki challenged, staring at the Amazon Matriarch defiantly, "Likely story, why would you *now* be aiming to cure Shampoo's curse?"
"She is right," Soun added, "I recall something about her curse being her punishment."
"I am not here to explain things to you," Cologne almost barked; her eyes remaining cold and hard to everyone present, not even softening when addressing Kasumi, "Just accept that this is of a dire situation, and whomever is attacking Ranma's fiancees could full well use Shampoo's curse against her."
"Sure," Nabiki quipped, "so, where are you holing Ranma up, so you can smuggle him back to your village?" Nabiki didn't back down, even as she stared at Cologne's quite visible attempt to still her temper.
"We will not have anything to do with Ran... with Son-in-law, until we have taken care of our own ordeals. We are still unaware of her location."
"We should have suspected, all along," Genma's voice added in.
Nodoka quickly stood up, unsheathing her sword, "You will tell us what happened to our son, and of what has become of his fiancee."
Cologne wasn't the one who blew her top.
"SHUT UP! YOU IS ALL STUPID! ALL... NO GREAT GRANDMOTHER FAULT! SHE LIE TO PROTECT... protect..." Shampoo roared in emotional agony, as everyone exept Cologne looked onto the young Amazon with startled expressions.
Shampoo turned back to them with a wild expression on her face, "YOU WANT REASON? WE NO NEED CURE FOR CAT CURSE..." What happened next would have been rather comical, and not to mention lewd, as she quickly dropped her pants and panties, if not for the scar. It was a small one, surgical scar; a scar that carried over from her operation while as a cat from her morning visit to the vet's office.
"SHAMPOO NO LONGER FIT FOR HUSBAND!!!" The girl shouted, "AND IS RANMA FAULT!!!"
Shampoo waited, and waited, and waited, as she did the evening dishes that were left from when they closed the restuarant for the night, She knew it was coming; as unseemingly infallible as her Great-Grandmother was, she was perhaps a trite overprotective of her heir.
Cologne walked into the kitchen, and hopped onto the counter, seeming to observe Shampoo doing the dishes. the silence began to irk Shampoo, until her Great-Grandmother finally brought up the speech she knew was coming.
"Granddaughter, I think it is best of you refrain from this hunt for your future groom. I find the events concerning him even more troublesome than what they appear on the surface,"
"Is okay, Great-grandmother," shampoo began to placate, without even turning around to address her elder, "Shampoo is strong warrior, not like Kitchen Destroyer or Spatula Girl."
"You underestimate both of your rivals a great deal," Cologne countered, "and nonetheless, it would be prudent if you allowed me to handle this search on our behalf."
"I is not abandoning Ranma," Shampoo countered, finally turning to face her elder defiantly.
"I'm afraid you may misunderstand my intentions," Cologne stated with a somewhat more softened tone, "You are, as far as the rest are concerned, still a suspect. It has nothing to do with keeping you protected physically," Cologne lied, but knew it was best to play this angle if she wanted her heir to stay out of trouble. For someone to subdue both Akane and Ukyo, and spirit away her future son-in-law in but a day was most assuradly someone not to be taken lightly.
"I'LL PROTECT YOU, SHAMPOO!"
The young Amazon sighed, "If you say is true, Great-Grandmother," Shampoo stepped back to the side of the sink, while opening the cabinet door at head level. Mousse easily missed his target, slamming bodily into the sink. Without much of a thought behind the action, Shampoo slammed the cabinet door on his head, destroying both the cabinet sheilf and its door, "then Shampoo obey until prove innocent."
"This is why you'll make me a fine successor, Shampoo," Cologne complimented, "But in the meantime, there is not much we can do until we have further information, I suggest we finish things for the night, so that I may enquire to those involved for any further information."
"Okay, Great-Grandmother," Shampoo replied, as she gathered the garbage bags, and started outside to the side alley that would lead to the back to dispose of them.
Cologne watched Shampoo walk out the door, before Mousse moaned, garnering her attention. she tsked as the myopic boy collapsed backwards onto the ground, "That cabinet is coming out of your pay, Mr. Part-timer..."
___________________
Shampoo knew the crock her Grandmother was feeding her. It was made all that more apparent when she was complimented for doing something as dutiful as simply obeying her elders. But, Shampoo knew to go against her word was not a good idea, and decided it would be best to bide her time until she was in the clear.
With a disgruntled sigh, Shampoo tossed the three bags into the dumpster heap to be collected in two days, before the hairs on the nape of her neck stood out all so slightly. Swiftly, Shampoo ducked under the attack from behind, hearing the strike cut through the air as it passed over with a weak whistle.
Shampoo flipped forward, and turned to face her attacker before she even landed, "Who there? Shampoo no to be taken lightly like Akane or Ukyo!" Shampoo's challenge went unanswered, save for the giggle of her assailant that dissappeared around the corner while moving backwards to keep facing Shampoo.
In the dim of almost no light, Shampoo gasped at what she did manage to see; though mostly obscured by the night shadows, the mop of red hair was apparent.
"Airen?" Shampoo breathed, before turning to look back down the side alley she had come from to make sure her Great-Grandmother was not around. Once she figured the coast was clear, the youthful Amazon went in pursuit of her giggling attacker. As soon as she rounded the corner, things happened so quickly, the only thing she knew was unconciousness settling over her...
___________________
Cologne swore, as she scowered the neighborhood for both any signs of Ranma, and her own Great-Granddaughter. The Amazon Matriarch knew she should have known better, but presumed that Shampoo heeded the wisdom of her words last night. Cologne had retired for the night, though didn't find Shampoo in the room already, not that it was anything unusual. Her Great-granddaughter sometimes took baths long until after the Matriarch went to sleep, fantasizing about her husband. Cologne swore that something needed to be done about that girl's hormones. Now, she had gone missing, with Cologne not even finding a trace of her beyond the Cat Cafe.
She was hesitant to alert the Tendous to the dissappearance of her daughter, suspecting that it would only raise their own suspicions of the situation. Mousse was an exellent tracker, but could barely be trusted to keep his emotions in check if worse came to be. Her best hope was that she could find Shampoo, safe and sound, before she had to return to open the restaurant, so that no one suspected anything.
Alas, that one hope had not come true, as Cologne was forced to abandon her search, and return. She would help Mousse open the restuarant, and tell the fool-hearty boy that Shampoo had went with the Tendou girl Kasumi on some morning errands, as it was best if the girls went out in groups. Once she had Mousse settled to handle the early morning commuters, she would excuse herself for her own 'errands', and continue her search.
The elder arrived back home, and strode towards the kitchen. She stopped at the door, as the restuarant phone rang. "This is the Cat Cafe, I'm afraid we aren't quite open yet, if you would like to wait an hour or two, we will..." Cologne's face grew trepid, "Yes, we own a rare Qiangxi Range Saimese..."
What the veternarian told Cologne in a rather chagrinned voice, caused her to drop the phone in shock.
___________________
"Still nothing, Daddy," Nabiki replied, hanging up the phone, "The police are totally stumped over this, not that I blame them." The last part was added quietly with a crestfallen expression.
"Everything will turn out fine, you'll see," Kasumi urged from the kitchen, although it completely lacked any of the usual exuberance her voice carried. They didn't voice it, but they all suspected Kasumi was hiding in the kitchen so that she wouldn't have to face the reality that her sister may be...
Nodoka sat in seiza at the dining table; her face stern, but tear-streaked. She, her Husband, and Soun had been up most of the night, searching for their son. The restless search had taken its toll on all three parents; with each of them maintaining a lethergic countenance at best.
Nabiki had seemed to be taking it the best, of course she remained quiet to the rest of her family, only cocentrating on police bands on her radio, and occationally calling into the station to see if there was news she may have missed, or to the Hospital to check on Ukyo's condition. If they had taken a close look at her, they would have all realized, that she was perhaps the most distraught of them all.
The Saotome Matriarch reached for her sword that was leaning against the edge of the table, and bumped it instead of grasping it. The knock of the scabbard and hilt against the wood floor caused everyone to jolt. The knock at the door almost shattered the frailer nerves.
Nobody, and yet everyone wanted to answer the door; hoping that news would be good, but knowing intellectually that it most assuradly was not. Only the braver of the residents took up the challenge of answering the door.
"I'll get it," Kasumi called out, after several moments. It was to her a morbid mixture of relief, dissappointment, and nervousness to find Elder Cologne and Shampoo at the door. Kasumi's nervousness didn't actually come in until she noted the expressions on their faces. Cologne's face was hardened, but it was apparent she was angry, *very* angry. Shampoo hid her eyes by keeping her head bowed, but Kasumi could see the tearstreaks running down the sides of her face that were visible.
"Hello, Kasumi, we must speak with you all.
___________________
"To find a cure for Shampoo?" Nabiki challenged, staring at the Amazon Matriarch defiantly, "Likely story, why would you *now* be aiming to cure Shampoo's curse?"
"She is right," Soun added, "I recall something about her curse being her punishment."
"I am not here to explain things to you," Cologne almost barked; her eyes remaining cold and hard to everyone present, not even softening when addressing Kasumi, "Just accept that this is of a dire situation, and whomever is attacking Ranma's fiancees could full well use Shampoo's curse against her."
"Sure," Nabiki quipped, "so, where are you holing Ranma up, so you can smuggle him back to your village?" Nabiki didn't back down, even as she stared at Cologne's quite visible attempt to still her temper.
"We will not have anything to do with Ran... with Son-in-law, until we have taken care of our own ordeals. We are still unaware of her location."
"We should have suspected, all along," Genma's voice added in.
Nodoka quickly stood up, unsheathing her sword, "You will tell us what happened to our son, and of what has become of his fiancee."
Cologne wasn't the one who blew her top.
"SHUT UP! YOU IS ALL STUPID! ALL... NO GREAT GRANDMOTHER FAULT! SHE LIE TO PROTECT... protect..." Shampoo roared in emotional agony, as everyone exept Cologne looked onto the young Amazon with startled expressions.
Shampoo turned back to them with a wild expression on her face, "YOU WANT REASON? WE NO NEED CURE FOR CAT CURSE..." What happened next would have been rather comical, and not to mention lewd, as she quickly dropped her pants and panties, if not for the scar. It was a small one, surgical scar; a scar that carried over from her operation while as a cat from her morning visit to the vet's office.
"SHAMPOO NO LONGER FIT FOR HUSBAND!!!" The girl shouted, "AND IS RANMA FAULT!!!"