Just a Little Time
By Douglas Helm and "Tuxedo" Will Wolfshohl
Continuing a Ranma ½ story kernel by Dark Oni
Those characters that are original and the story "Just a Little Time" are copyrighted ©2003-2004 ShoujoFiction dot com domain by Douglas Helm and Will Wolfshohl. Original kernel copyrighted ©1998 by Dark Oni.
This story and dozens of our other stories reside at ShoujoFiction dot com . Comments are welcomed.
Chapter 6 - Young Rivals
Ukyo felt herself changing even as she fought against the monster's ever-tightening grip. 'Ranma-honey...' she thought, 'Where are you?' Her hands grew small, followed quickly by her arms, which shrank and took on the barest hint of baby fat. The girl's legs followed suit, contracting upwards. Hips and waist slimmed. Her flat tummy developed a bit of a bulge as the okonomiyaki chef aged ever younger. Her torso contracted, as did her head, as she descended backwards through puberty from teen to preteen and then into early childhood. Finally with a sickening jolt that made her insides shake, the attack stopped. Ukyo Kounji, now barely four years old, fell on the ground on her butt with a soft thud as the creature slid noiselessly back into the water. The child paused for a moment in shock staring down at her tiny body and her teenage clothing piled at her feet.
Ukyo's huge razor-edged combat spatula (abandoned by the creature a few feet away) rippled and shrank, mutating from the deadly metal weapon of a skilled martial artist to a harmless child's plastic toy. The little girl's clothing shifted to that of a pair of jeans overalls and a T-shirt. She didn't want to think what that bulge around her bottom was. Her hair was still held in a ponytail, which swung back and forth, as the new youngster looked around in a bewildered sort of way.
Pushing herself up to her feet, Ukyo bent down and grabbed the former battle spatula from the ground. Then she surveyed the area. She realized the creature had left; she was now alone. Her bottom lip started to tremble. 'Me little.' Wasn't she supposed to be a big girl? She remembered being one. Yet her surroundings begged to differ. Everything was so big and scary now that dusk was becoming twilight. That funny monster must've just sunk back into the water. Might it come back? She hoped not. She didn't want to be a baby.
"Ukyo!" a sudden voice called out. It sounded exasperated but also relieved. The toddler's relief at hearing the familiar voice was so strong that she sat down and started to cry. "It's okay," consoled the man who lifted her up and hugged her. "Off on another little adventure, are we?" It reminded him of himself when he was little.
Through her tears, Ukyo was able to make out the face of Ryouga Habiki. Sniffling, she declared, "Monster got me."
"There, there. It's gone now, Ukyo," Ryouga assured the little girl, "You made it go away."
Little Ukyo brightened at this. He was right. She was a brave girl. She fought the monster and made it go away. The tears slowed and then stopped with a rapidity that would have made one Usagi Tsukino proud. "I did!" she squealed lifting her plastic yellow weapon into the air in triumph.
"Yes, you did, my big girl," the usually lost boy affirmed. "Now it's time to go home." He just hoped he could find it.
The youngster frowned. 'He not my daddy.' "Me wanna see Ranma!" 'Ranma my boyfriend.'
"Tomorrow."
"Now!"
"Tomorrow, Ukyo. Right now, it's time for your bath and then bed."
"NOW!" Ukyo demanded fiercely.
"No," Ryouga said firmly but quietly.
"You mean. Me cry..."
"Go ahead." Ukyo did not cry. She pouted instead as Ryouga started back the way she had come earlier that evening. "You shouldn't run off like that, Ukyo," Ryouga lectured sternly, "I was worried about you." She didn't say anything. The cursed martial artist let his mind wander to the next day and what preparations he would have to make for the restaurant. Keeping it solvent and keeping an eye on a little girl was certainly a challenge. Nevertheless, he had promised Ukyo's father before he died that he'd keep it going and take care of his daughter until she was old enough to run it herself. It was her inheritance.
Another quandary for the young martial artist was his curse to turn into a small pig every time he got splashed with cold water. Why had he ever followed Ranma to that accursed spring? Still, he'd rather be a pig than Ranma's curse of becoming a little girl like Ukyo. Sure, Ranma was cute in that form but he knew how much his fellow martial artist's manhood suffered after returning to normal.
"Uncle Ryouga?" Ukyo sounded a little embarrassed.
"What?" he asked, half his mind still on the restaurant.
"I leaked." This was said in a very small whisper. The teen sighed internally and started walking faster. "Go that way!" she pointed when he made a wrong turn.
# # # # #
The next morning was partly cloudy although if the wind kept blowing the way it was, the clouds would likely be gone by mid-afternoon. Ranma sat at the breakfast table dressed in his typical red Chinese shirt and black pants. Nabiki had been dressed in a set of jeans and a green T-shirt. Akane was looking exceptional in a knee-length green skirt and yellow blouse. Ranma was having a hard time not gawking at her. She didn't seem as uncute as normal.
Noticing their fathers exchanging wary looks, he inquired, "Hey! What are you two up to?"
"Nothing, son," Soun replied, "Why?"
"You two haven't cooked up another crazy way to get me married to Akane."
Genma looked hopeful. "So you've c-changed your mind?"
"Huh?"
"Oh happy day... You've decided to marry Akane instead of Nabiki?" Soun asked, almost on the verge of tears. Nabiki was so startled she dropped her chopsticks. A few grains of rice fell out of her open mouth.
"Now, Daddy, we've talked about this before," Akane offered with a gleam in her eye, "You know that Ranma's betrothed to Nabiki." The youngster just stared at her older sister. She wasn't one hundred percent sure what that word meant. Ranma was also staring. "I wouldn't steal you from my own sister."
"You're kidding, aren't ya Akane?"
"Of course not," Akane said. "True, Nabiki's too young to marry you right now but it will just give you more time to get a dowry ready for when she's all grown-up."
"But..." Ranma began. 'Has she gone nuts?'
"Are you done, Nabiki?" The little girl didn't even hear the question. She was too busy grinning with delight. Had Akane really given up her claim?
"You have got to be joking!"
"Ranma, help me with the dishes please." With that, Akane grabbed the pigtailed martial artist roughly by the arm and pulled him from the room leaving the breakfast dishes on the table.
"Hey! Le'go!" He was wrong. She was just as uncute as ever.
"For goodness sakes, Ranma, will you keep your voice down!" the teenaged Tendo hissed. She let the boy go and glared at him. "What's the big idea bringing that up?"
"Huh?"
"Don't you 'huh' me!" Akane lectured, "You know perfectly well we hooked you up with Nabiki so that our dads would quit bugging us about getting married every five minutes."
"We did?"
She scowled at him then gave him a concerned look. "Did I hit you too hard or something yesterday during practice?"
"No..." Ranma frowned slightly himself. "Come to think about it, Akane... You're not exactly up to par lately either."
"Ran-ma!" Akane huffed through gritted teeth while raising her fists.
"Even Nabiki said you weren't doing like you should be."
Akane sighed. "It's hard looking after her." She gave him a serious look. "Even with you around. And I have school and with Kasumi working..." She sighed again. "There's lots to do around the house. When do I have spare time to train like I used to?" She stepped closer making him feel nervous.
"A-an-anything else I can do?" he asked, anxious not to provoke his would-be fiancée. She could still pound him with her mallet quite easily from her position if her temper allowed.
"I wouldn't mind your cooking once in a while, Ranma."
He blinked then relaxed a little. "Sure." The pigtailed martial artist had to fight down the urge to insult Akane's food. Given that this Akane's wasn't so bad... His thoughts were derailed when she moved even closer and took on a nervous look.
"Um, Ranma... Did you..."
"What?" Ranma asked.
"Did you ever think about starting your own dojo? I know our dads have plans but..." Ranma gave a slightly nervous laugh. "Ranma, you know I'd be willing to..."
Exactly what the young brunette would be willing to do would never be found out for at that moment, Nabiki came skipping into the hallway calling Ranma's name.
# # # # #
"Can I get out now?" asked Nabiki Tendo. The little girl was kneeling on the hard wooden chair she had been sitting on for what seemed like forever.
"No, Nabiki," Akane replied trying not to regard her sister, "The timer hasn't gone off."
"You keep turning it off," Nabiki whined with some heat.
"That's because you keep talking," her sister argued. "Now turn around, young lady. We don't talk when we're sitting in the corner."
"WE? I'M IN THE CORNER," Nabiki squawked, "NOT YOU!" Seeing she wasn't going to win this particular argument with her sister, she spun around and sat on the chair staring sulkily at the corner. 'Stupid Akane. I liked it better when she was little.' The five year old resisted the urge to pout for only a moment.
'Not my fault I had to go right after Mr. Saotome...' She had ran in and then out of the bathroom in about a heartbeat. 'You couldn't pay me enough...'
Akane, who was trying to ignore her little sister, sighed. 'Damn it!' she thought as she turned towards the beleaguered child, 'Ranma's supposed to be the pushover.' "I suppose that's enough, Nabiki," Akane conceded, "Put the chair away and then you can help me." The youngster was more than happy to comply and was soon standing beside her sister.
"Whatcha doin', Akane?" Nabiki wondered, and then as an afterthought, "Where's Ranma?" As if in answer, there was a loud splashing sound from the direction of the pond. "Never mind." The child grinned.
"Well," Akane remarked, "We're going to try and bake."
"Try?" the little girl asked, sounding dubious.
"Yes, I've never made a..."
Akane stopped speaking as a dripping wet, and very small, Ranma came speeding into the kitchen and giggling.
"Monster after me!" the little redhead giggled, hiding behind her best friend.
"Monster?" Nabiki asked; her heart started to beat faster. Was it back? Said monster turned out to be Genma who was looking both pained and frustrated.
"Come here!" Genma roared. Ranma gave a squeak of terrified delight and tore from the room, shooting between her father's legs and then down the hall. The middle-aged martial artist turned and was about to pursue his "son" when he was knocked off-balance by Nabiki. She had decided to give chase too.
Akane sighed before turning her attention back to the recipe.
A short time later, Nabiki was giggling with delight as well as she rose up and down rapidly. She was sitting crossed-legged on Ranma's (in boy form) back as the martial artist did pushups furiously. Genma sat moodily glaring at his son on the engawa. The sunlight glinted off of the pond in the background.
"Faster!" Nabiki shouted, "Faster!"
"Nabiki! He's not a horse!" Genma shouted, finally losing patience. Ranma stopped his pushup suddenly, so suddenly in fact that Nabiki lost her balance. With a yelp of surprise, she made a wild grab for handholds and nearly pulled the teen's ears off.
Glaring at the sometimes panda, the youngster tumbled from Ranma's back. No sooner had she slipped from his back than the pigtailed martial artist leaped at his father and another battle was joined.
This particular round didn't last long. It resulted in Genma being punted headlong into the wall of the dojo, his massive panda form slumping to the ground.
"Got him!" Nabiki cheered happily. Before her champion could respond, there was a knock at the door. "I'll get it!" she squeaked and raced off down the hallway.
"Hey!" Ranma shouted, "Don't open that without somebody around!"
# # # # #
Ukyo tugged unhappily at the very pink and very frilly dress she was wearing. It had white trimming which had pictures of blue butterflies on it. She had struggled mightily against wearing the sickening thing in spite of the flood of tears, Ryouga had somehow gotten it on her. The martial artist had also cautioned her against getting it dirty.
Ryouga, holding Ukyo, cocked his head as he listened to the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps. A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal a happy looking little brunette.
"Hi there." Catching sight of his rival, he frowned slightly and declared, "Ranma Saotome... I see you're a man... for once." His adversary glowered at him and then noticed whom he was carrying. Someone he hadn't seen in over ten years.
"Who's that?" Nabiki demanded of Ryouga while pointing at the child he was holding. "Your sister?" She didn't think he had one but with Ryouga, it was hard to tell.
"RANMA!" the little girl cried out happily. She squirmed from Ryouga's arms ran over and hugged Ranma's legs.
"That's rude!" the youngest Tendo huffed in an admonishing tone. The younger girl turned her head and stuck her tongue out at Nabiki.
Ranma for his part lifted the little girl up and stared at her for a moment before breaking into a smile. "Ukyo, boy I haven't seen..." He caught himself just in time. 'Jeez, you look like when I first met you. Though that dress...' The now much smaller Ukyo grinned delightedly up at Ranma and hugged him.
"Ukyo?" the five year old squawked in surprise, "No way!" Before either teenager could respond, a new person arrived on the scene.
"Is that Ukyo?" Ryouga's head turned and he felt himself grinning as Akane emerged into view. "Hi Ryouga," she greeted him. "Oh my, you're such a sweetheart in that dress!" Nabiki made gagging noises.
"H-Hi Akane," he responded in a dreamy voice.
"Oh, I haven't seen you in ages!" Akane cooed. She took little Ukyo from Ranma and gave her a large hug. "How's are things going?"
"Ucchan's busy. We just dropped by for a visit."
"Good," the middle Tendo daughter said, "I have some old things of Nabiki's Ukyo might like."
"Don't give Ukyo my stuff!" Nabiki sputtered with indignation.
"Give Auntie Akane a big hug."
'She'll make a great mom,' Ryouga thought, wishing Akane to sweep him up in her arms too. He was brought sharply back to reality when Ukyo, who was looking quite put out by Akane's attentions, smacked the girl sharply on the head with her toy battle spatula.
"Eya!" Akane shouted and dropped the little girl who was immediately saved from a long fall by Ranma. Having gotten what she wanted, the little girl flung her arms around Ranma and snuggled against him. Nabiki was glowering at the little intruder, so was Ryouga although their reasons were completely different.
"That was not nice," the sometimes-pig stated sternly.
"Oh, it's all right," Akane remarked, waving her hand dismissively. "I should've seen that coming." She shrugged. "Well, guys, you got here at a good time - lunch is almost ready." Her smile made Ryouga's frown vanish in an instant. "Want to help me?"
"O-okay..." he agreed sounding nervous. Ranma, had he had heard any of this, might have had something to say. As it was, he was too fascinated in Ukyo's new size.
# # # # #
Nabiki followed Ranma back out to the engawa where he sat down. Ukyo, smiling, settled onto his lap.
"Um... Ukyo," Ranma began, "What happened?"
"Wha?" the youngster asked.
"Yeah, like what happened?"
"Nuffen."
"Nothing?" Nabiki demanded, "You're small." 'Even smaller than me.'
"Nuh huh. I four," Ukyo corrected, holding up seven fingers. That's what she was told. 'But I big girl 'fore...' Although even that was fuzzy. Her small forehead furrowed as Nabiki moved to sit on Ranma's lap as well. "Ranma mine!" She knew that with every fiber of her being, even if she didn't really understand why.
"No, he's not," Nabiki argued.
"Nabiki, be nice to Ukyo." The five year old glowered. "She is our guest."
"'Kay..."
"'Kay..." Ukyo mimicked. 'She not Nabiki.' "Let's play, Ranma."
"Tell us what happened first," Ranma prodded.
"Did the monster get ya?"
"Huh?"
"Did," Nabiki said slowly and in a louder voice, "The monster," she screwed up her face into a fake monster scowl. Ranma tried hard not to snicker, "Get you!" She poked the younger girl with her finger.
"NO!" was the four year old's reply before smacking Nabiki on the head with her toy battle spatula. This new girl was scary.
"Oow!" Nabiki yelped, tears coming into her eyes.
"That wasn't very nice, Ukyo," the teen chided. "Say you're sorry." The child gave a grunt. He moved the four year old to one side so he could give the Tendo girl a comforting hug. "You okay, Nabsy?"
"Yes."
"Let's play," Ukyo interjected, tugging his shirt.
"What would you like to play, Ukyo?" Ranma asked. The little girl looked puzzled. "What about 'grownup'?"
"No..." the child said seriously. That suggestion didn't sound fun at all. She never had any fun when she was big. Ranma gave Nabiki a look but she didn't notice. She was glaring at Ukyo with an intensity that made Ranma nervous.
"Tag!" Ukyo declared and tapping Ranma on the nose leapt out into the yard.
Suddenly the five year old called, "Change Ranma."
"No way," the pigtailed boy answered.
"Come on, PLEASE..."
"No!"
"Come play, Nabiki!" the young girl requested.
"Okay..." Nabiki agreed and then thought, 'I'll get you back.'
# # # # #
Ranma, thanks to his recent experience with Nabiki, knew better than to use his size advantage to always avoid the two children. He also didn't use it to catch them either. It wounded his pride to some degree and the pigtailed teen was very glad that Ryouga couldn't see it. The fact that "Pig-boy" was in the kitchen with Akane upset and distracted Ranma.
This nearly cost him a dunking in the pond thanks to an observant Nabiki. Ukyo came to his aid first though and the five year old's plan was thwarted. Not being overly happy with Ukyo to begin with, Nabiki preformed a very passable leg sweep, which caused the younger girl to land soundly on her diaper-clad bottom.
"Nabiki!" Ranma exclaimed after getting over the shock. Nabiki, in any form, should not have been able to do that to Ukyo who was an experienced martial artist in her own right. He lifted the fallen four year old up and asked, "You okay?"
"Nabiki mean," Ukyo grumbled. 'She just like big one.'
"Looks like NABIKI'S going to have a timeout."
"Not gonna happen!" Nabiki said defiantly.
Much to Ukyo's disappointment, the teenaged martial artist put the child down and turned to his attention to the youngest Tendo. "We don't use martial arts against weaker people. Didn't I learn you nothing?"
"Genma does!"
Ranma frowned then ordered, "Go on up to the engawa, and sit on there for... five minutes."
"Na-bi-ki's in tru-uble!" Ukyo sang. Said child glared.
"Go on," Ranma urged sternly.
Angrily, Nabiki stalked off but did not sit down where she had been told; instead, she entered the house looking savage.
# # # # #
Nabiki was, to put it simply, jealous. The fact that it was over Ranma confused her. Since it felt rather normal though, the youngster didn't question it. Ranma was falling under Ukyo's spell. It was bad enough that Ukyo caused Ranma trouble when she was big. Now, that she was little, she wasn't going to stand for it, hence the glass of water.
Her plan might have worked had Ukyo not seen it. "What you doin'?"
"Ranma's gonna change."
"Nabiki," Ranma snapped, eying the water, "I said no." He walked over to the child and added, "And I told you to sit on the chair for a timeout."
"I want her to see how you change."
"Later," he said, "Lunch has to be ready soon." Then thought, 'And I already got dunked for the day.' He saw Nabiki's move coming and managed to dodge the water. Moving quicker than she did, he lifted her up and marched over to the engawa. "You stay right here, young lady," he told her firmly, "You are supposed to be having a timeout." The five year old scowled. "I am not going to change either."
"But..."
"No buts, Nabiki," Ranma countered, bending down to look at her right in the eye, "If you try to splash me again, I'm gonna put you over my knee and spank you."
"Oh yeah?" Nabiki taunted. "You wouldn't have the guts."
"Nabiki, you're a big girl. Now if you sit quietly until I say times up, I might take you and Ukyo for ice cream after lunch."
"You be good, Nabiki!" Ukyo declared sharply pointing at her. The older child stuck her tongue out.
# # # # #
"That's not much of a threat, Daddy," Ranma's middle daughter commented.
"About the timeout?"
"No, spanking," the youngster corrected, "Compared to Mom, you're pretty wimpy." Ranma's eyebrows rose as the others nodded their agreement.
"Wimpy?" The pigtailed martial artist was indignant.
"Well... yeah." Ranma glowered around the table before picking up the story.
# # # # #
Nabiki had never given up on anything in her life. She wasn't about to give up on this either. She wasn't sure if Ukyo was the teenage Ukyo turned small, or simply another little girl also named Ukyo who loved Ranma. In either instance, she was a rival, only for different reasons. She wanted to see Ukyo's reaction.
Despite Ranma's warning, which the youngster didn't put much stock in, she went and got two glasses of water claiming that one of them was for Ukyo. Akane smiled at her and told her that lunch would be ready in fifteen minutes. Nabiki was proud that she could still understand how long fifteen minutes was. To her stomach though, it was forever.
'So is Ryouga looking after Ukyo?' The little girl frowned. 'If Mr. Saotome left her by herself, I'll stick a bear trap in his boxers.' Her frown deepened as she heard giggling. Coming onto the engawa, she nearly dropped the cups of water. Ukyo was riding around atop Ranma's shoulders.
Trying to put her happiest face on, Nabiki walked out into the yard and announced, "I gots drinks." Ranma stopped. "Ukyo, wanna drink?"
"Yea!" Ukyo cheered and after he let her down, came over and took the cup from Nabiki. "Thanks!"
"Hey Nabsy! Where's mine?" Ranma asked. The five year old shrugged before pretending to drink.
"I gots a secret from Akane."
"What?" Ranma asked.
"Not gonna tell."
"Tell me!" Ukyo whined.
"You'll tell Ranma," Nabiki countered.
"No I won't, promise!"
"Promise?"
"Promise," Ukyo said, crossing her heart.
"Okay..." Nabiki conceded and gave the child the message that Akane had given her.
"Yeah!" the younger girl declared happily, she was hungry too.
"What is it, Ukyo?"
"Not gonna tell."
"Come on, Nabiki. Tell me, please?"
"No."
"Pretty please?"
The youngster seemed to give the request serious thought. She tapped her lip and frowned, shifting her head to peer at Ranma from different angles. "Is it okay, Ukyo?"
"Yep!"
"Well... okay then," the youngest Tendo conceded, "Come here." She motioned him closer curling her index finger. The pigtailed martial artist came closer, bending down. Nabiki cupped her hand to her mouth and whispered Akane's message into Ranma's ear. With her other hand, she took her full cup of water and tossed it at Ranma with the desired result.
"He's not big!" Ukyo squealed, eyes bulging. 'He's supposed to be big girl.'
"The monster got him," Nabiki replied, ignoring the fuming Ranma.
"THAT'S NOT NICE!" the now small female Ranma griped.
"His clothes all big now," Ukyo observed.
"Yeah, even his undies don't fit," the youngster offered before lifting up Ranma's shirt to show a bare backside.
"HEY!" Ranma squeaked and pushing her shirt down ran towards the house. "AKANE! Nabiki's bein' mean!"
The four year old former chef looked unsure whether she should be upset or not. When she saw the older girl's grin, she smiled too and not long after that, both were laughing.
"So," Nabiki asked once they had calmed, "The monster got you?"
"What monster?" Ukyo asked. With a sigh of resignation, Nabiki slapped her forehead. Little Ukyo decided now would be the perfect time to ditch the dress. The five year old watched as the younger girl squirmed from the dress before flinging it on the ground.
"My bummy not bare!" Ukyo remarked while turning around to show Nabiki. Nabiki noted the picture of a yellow duckling. "Training pants?" She shivered slightly at the thought, very glad she was five.
"Diaper," Ukyo corrected.
"No, they're training pants."
"Not diaper?" She wasn't so sure now.
Nabiki considered and then said, "Better diaper." Ukyo grinned at the thought.
"NABIKI TENDO!" came the thunderous, and decidedly male, voice of Ranma. The youngster squeaked and tried to hide behind Ukyo.
"Young lady!" That was Ryouga's voice. "What did you do with your dress?"
"Me not wear stupid dress!" the four year old boldly stated.
# # # # #
The only thing that saved Nabiki was lunch. Ranma decided that being fed took precedence over following through on his threat to spank Nabiki. Ukyo wasn't so lucky.
# # # # #
"Typical," Ranma's second oldest commented. His wife had the nerve to giggle.
# # # # #
Ryouga shook his head. "Ranma, you have a beautiful young woman under your roof and the best you can do by way of a future wife is a kid barely out of diapers. That is no way for a true martial artist to behave."
"Diaper not bad," Ukyo mumbled around her food and hoped that she'd remember to go to the bathroom when she needed to. Having to be changed, especially with Ranma around, would be mortifying. She unconsciously tugged at her dress, wishing she could wear jeans like Nabiki.
"At least I'm not a pork-butt like you," Ranma retorted, stole the food that Genma had taken back, gave Nabiki some more rice, and continued eating.
"Are you saying I'm not beautiful?" Akane demanded.
"How dare you insult Akane, Ranma Saotome..."
The pigtailed martial artist blinked, regarded Akane, and said, "Of course, you are. You're cute and stuff." He blinked again, this time in surprise. The brunette took on a stunned expression. Ryouga looked upset but refrained from punching his rival. Genma and Soun, always attuned to possible wedding bells looked ready to break into raucous celebration.
That's when Nabiki spoke up, "Ranma's MY boyfriend!"
"IS NOT!" Ukyo shouted back, "He's mine."
Ryouga howled in mirth. That's when the fight broke out between the two young rivals. Soun grabbed both children who rushed to join and fled the room. Genma, always keen to see his son prove himself, unwisely got in the way, and was laid out cold by a blow from Ryouga.
Akane chased both of them out of the house, shouting invectives that were quite colorful. Nabiki, when she heard them, turned to her father, and demanded, "Where's the soap?"
Ukyo had a more urgent question. "Where potty?"
Soun, as if on cue, cried.
# # # # #
Akane looked up at the sound of little feet running. Moments later, Nabiki came into the kitchen, ran around the island counter, and hid herself behind Akane. "What's wrong, Nabiki?"
"Uh... Ranma is mad."
The elder Tendo daughter sighed a little. Ranma's mood had grown steadily darker since lunch. The fact that he had changed another four times had a significant part to do with it. The fact that Ukyo accidentally piddled on Ranma undoing one of them was little consolation.
"Well," Akane offered, "Maybe we can cheer him up."
"How?" Nabiki asked sounding anxious.
"We could go to the Cat Café for supper."
"Really?"
Akane thought and then nodded, "Yes... Now go tell Ranma."
"No way!"
"Okay then, I'll go. You go wash those hands, and your face." Nabiki nodded but didn't move from her hiding position behind her sister. Ranma was really upset.
# # # # #
To say that Shampoo was ecstatic about Ranma showing up at the Cat Café would have been understating it. Upon seeing him, she moved forward and preformed her standard class two glomp. The Amazon with her vibrant hair color and sometimes-violent temper was more than a little disappointed when Ranma didn't even react.
"Hello Shampoo," Akane greeted. Shampoo grinned but didn't release her hold on Ranma.
"Akane hug Ranma too," Shampoo offered.
"That would make Nabiki jealous."
She jumped away from Ranma as if he'd become too hot when she spotted Nabiki. A happy Nabiki meant a happy Ranma, which translated into very nice experiences for Shampoo. Nabiki was such a contrast to Akane. Akane knew what was at stake.
"Wait second, Shampoo get future husband best table." With that, she bounded over to some diners that were just finishing their meals and suggested they leave. The customers didn't take long to get the hint, paid their bill, and left quickly.
"Ah, Son-in-law."
"Ghoul," Ranma grumbled. Then he perked up. "Say, do you know anything about monsters?"
"Kuno's a good example."
"Happosai's an even better example," Akane offered with a grin. Nabiki giggled.
"Shampoo get drinks."
"NO!" Ranma squawked looking as if he'd just been threatened with a live cat. Shampoo blinked.
"Ranma... had a bad day," Nabiki interjected, trying her hardest to look innocent. Given Ranma's mood, he might follow up on his threat.
"Oh poor Ranma," the busty girl soothed moving closer. "Shampoo make better..."
Akane blocked her. She shoved Ranma into a chair and helped Nabiki into another one with a booster seat. "We'll take some refreshments, and a menu please."
The Chinese Amazon grinned, winked at Nabiki, and then dashed away, tripping Mousse in the process who was proclaiming his undying love for Shampoo to the cash register.
"What type of monsters, Son-in-law?" Cologne asked.
"Ones that can make you young." Cologne cackled. "What's so funny, old ghoul."
"My my, Ranma, if you want me younger so I can be your girlfriend, I think I can arrange that." Both Tendos and Saotome looked ill.
"Great-Grandmother no tease Ranma," Shampoo sniped. She plopped a menu down in front of Akane and then started serving drinks. Ranma eyed her nervously, downed the contents in one swallow, and started choking.
"Want 'nother?" The pigtailed martial artist tried to answer but Shampoo was already heading for the kitchen.
"Shampoo-dear, get Ranma another."
"I've heard stories," Cologne mused when he was done with his choking fit. "I've even seen it a couple of times. Turned several of our best warriors into little girls."
"Were you a victim?"
Cologne cackled, "Heavens no. It didn't think I was tasty enough back then."
"What?" Akane asked.
"It loves battle auras, the stronger the better."
"You must've been young..." Ranma mused.
Before the ancient Amazon could remark, the younger Tendo interjected, "What's it look like, Great-grandma Cologne?" She completely forgot that she had her glass tipped. A little soda dripped out of it and splatter onto her T-shirt. Akane took the glass and made a dab at the stain but the little girl was too interested to let her get very far.
"Well..." The ancient Amazon shot Ranma a wary look and elaborated, "Cat head." The sometimes-female martial artist froze, a pained look coming across his face. "And tentacles."
"It exists?"
"Well... it used to," Cologne replied, "The women of my village destroyed the thing ages ago."
"Destroyed it?"
"Yes," Cologne then added to herself, 'As far as we know.' She had been set other duties, something that still galled her occasionally. Besides, there were only the victim's words of being regressed part. No one else remembered that aspect, only battling a fierce creature.
"You're fibbing!"
"Nabiki, don't be rude."
At this point, the ditzy girl turned up with some food. The meal went smoothly at first. It started to wrong when Shampoo offered to feed her fiancé seconds, cuddling right up onto his lap to do it. Ranma, thinking over what Cologne had said, wasn't paying much attention. Nabiki, tiny battle aura flaring, decided to cool things off.
"GET A ROOM!" she shouted. Not really knowing why and flung the remaining contents of her glass at the pair. Both were startled and instantly transformed. Ranma into a tiny redhead. Her arms and legs shrinking and vanishing inside the overly large shirt. Shampoo assumed her feline form. Nabiki gulped. She had forgotten that Shampoo would go cat. This was not good.
The five year old's fear was abruptly changed to surprise as the new little girl shouted, "KITTY!"
Shampoo, having heard this ominous declaration before, took off in a streak of fur. "SHAMPOO-KITTY, COME BACK! I WANNA PET YOU!" the diminutive redhead shouted and hopping from her chair, tore off after Shampoo who was running for her life.
End of Chapter 7
Coming next in Chapter 8 - Little Helpers
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