Just A Little Time Chapter 10 A New Paradigm, a ranma fanfic

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 10 - A New Paradigm

Five year old Nabiki Tendo awoke with a start. Sleepily sitting up, she wondered if she had wet the bed. She didn't feel wet and patting the futon beneath her confirmed that all was dry. 'Do I have to go?' she wondered drowsily. Her body signaled back with a very vague "maybe" to the question.

The youngster was on the verge of crawling out of bed when a feral growl stopped her. She quickly glanced about the dark room looking for its source. She gave a tiny squeal of terror as her eyes settled on an indistinct figure sitting right beside her. As the form started to move, the youngest Tendo gave another squeal of terror and pulled the blanket over her head. After all, she reasoned, if you couldn't see the monster, it couldn't see you.

The little girl was startled when she heard her big sister's voice, "Nabiki, what's wrong?"

''Sumi? Oh no! The monster might get 'Sumi!' Nabiki feared in a sleep-filled haze. 'I got to save her!' Much to the older girl's surprise, her younger sister unexpectedly lunged at her, toppling her over to her back and covering her with the blanket.

"What are you doing?" came an exasperated hiss from beneath the blanket. Her sister's knee dug into her abdomen pinning her to the floor.

"Shhh..." Nabiki whispered, "There's a monster."

"No, there's not," Kasumi argued while attempting to shift her sister off of her body but the younger girl had a "death grip" on her so she couldn't gain any leverage.

"Nah uh!" she whispered, "I heard it growl." As if on cue, the inhuman growl reoccurred. "Shh! 'Sumi! It's back!" 'Sounds mad too.'

"Nabiki! That... was... my... TUMMY!" the eight year old grumbled darkly. "Now get off!" Nabiki released her hold and wiggled to the side careful to keep Kasumi covered.

'I hope she ain't mad.' "You hungry?"

The girl's head popped out from under the blanket. "Yeah. I got sent to bed without supper, remember?"

"Oh..." Nabiki replied after moment and then assumed, "No monster?"

"No."

"Promise 'Sumi?"

"Yes."

"'Kay..." the five year old sounded vaguely disappointed at this. The little girl pushed the blanket away and clambered to her feet. In the meantime, Kasumi rolled over, sat up, and watched silently as her younger sister headed for the door.

"Nabiki, where are you goin'?" Kasumi asked softly. But the girl didn't respond and a moment later, was gone. The older girl heaved a sigh and shook her head. Her father had been quite thorough in his spanking. She had cried herself to sleep long before Nabiki had come to bed. She was glad Nabiki hadn't seen it. She looked at the window vaguely wondering what time it was. The house seemed very still. 'What am I going to do?' She was still pondering this as her sister returned.

"Here," Nabiki said. She held out a peace offering in her hand as she sat beside her sister.

In the darkness, the eight year old wasn't sure what was being offered at first but she quickly discovered that it was a stack of chocolate chip cookies. "Nabiki..." Kasumi began in an admonishing tone.

"You can have mine too," Nabiki interrupted in a pleading tone. It didn't take long for Kasumi to cave in. She started eating the cookies in earnest, all the while worrying that they'd get caught. "I'm really really sorry, Kasumi," Nabiki apologized in a very quiet and miserable voice.

"For what?" Kasumi mumbled around a mouthful of cookie.

"I shouldn't've tattled on ya. That was naughty."

"What I did was, Nabiki," Kasumi countered after a few seconds of thought. 'I can't believe I acted so stupid. Your friends could've been hurt. They're just babies!' Her father and Ranma were right.

"Maki 'n' Yuki won't like me no more either." The older girl shifted over and hugged her kid sister.

"Have a cookie, Sis," she offered gently. 'Thank you, Nabiki. I owe you one.'

Nabiki, sounding on the verge of tears, began, "'Su-'Sumi, am I a..." The child yawned, slumped back onto Kasumi's pillow, and just like that drifted off to sleep. Kasumi, after finishing one final cookie, snuggled up beside her and went back to sleep, her mind whirling with dancing cats.

# # # # #

Later, Kasumi flushed the toilet and washed her hands, still marveling at how much higher the sink was. She would have been in real trouble had there not been a stepstool conveniently sitting nearby. She hopped off and reached above her flicking the light switch off. The room was plunged into almost total darkness except for a small nightlight. As she left the bathroom, she ran into someone. Startled, she looked up and in the hallway's gloom, she found Ranma waiting for her.

To see Ranma Saotome up at 5:30 in the morning was shocking. To see him fully dressed and apparently fully awake was even more so. "I wanna talk to ya, Kasumi," he announced.

The eight year old had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Still, she couldn't show him she was intimidated. Her new martial arts knowledge told her that much so she crossed her arms and replied, "So talk."

The pigtailed youth motioned for her to follow him. Down the hallway, they padded on bare feet and into the kitchen. She was startled when Ranma lifted her up and sat her on the island's countertop. "Okay, Kasumi, why did ya go after the monster by yourself?"

"'Cause you weren't gonna!" she snapped more loudly than she would have liked. Realizing she might wake up the whole house, she continued in a quieter tone, "You wanna stay."

"No way," Ranma argued softly. 'Whatever gave her that idea?' The youngster snorted. "Did you ever think that if I got splashed fighting it, I'd be in REALLY big trouble?" He had been lucky to escape being in diapers himself on his last attempt.

"Yeah, that's why 'I' went after it, Ranma. 'Cuz you're too scared." She flipped her head confidently sending her long brunette hair flying. "'Sides, I'm better than you."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah and I'll prove it." The girl hopped gracefully from the counter, touched down, and took up a combat ready stance. Then it happened. She didn't even see Ranma's movement nor did she feel the infinitesimal touch at a pressure point. One instant, he was standing a few feet before her; the next instant, he was practically standing toe-to-toe during which time she gave a yelp of surprise more than of pain as every nerve in her bottom blinked on for a moment.

"Whatcha know, the Doc was right."

"Doc?" Kasumi prodded rubbing her behind.

"Yeah, Doctor Tofu. He gave me a pressure point book." Ranma explained, "He said that Number Five would get your attention."

'Oh my! It sure did!' She sighed, bowed her head, and looked towards the floor. She had been defeated by a single touch. Ranma was a true martial artist just like her dad said.

The teen knelt down in front of Kasumi to look at her at eye level and continued, "Please listen, Kasumi. I'm tryin'... But my head hurts!" He hadn't slept well. His dreams had been filled with visions of Akane held defenseless in the monster's clutches. Of waiting years before she would grow up again. Of being too old to date her.

"I wanna help, Ranma."

"You can," Ranma assured her, "But if I get splashed like last time, I'll change. What I need is a way to get it out of the water." He sighed and shifted into a sitting position. "I gotta talk to Cologne but that's gonna be tricky. The Old Ghoul just don't give up stuff for nothin'."

The girl stared at him a moment and asked, "You wanna go back?" He nodded. "But you kissed Akane." At least, Nabiki had told her he had. Didn't that mean he necessarily liked this Akane better than the other Akane? He never kissed that one. At least that she knew about. It was so confusing.

"Yeah," Ranma replied after a long pause, "But this one ain't mine."

"And Nabiki's acting all weird 'n' stuff too."

He snorted then. "Yeah, Nabsy's got it in her head that she's my fiancée." He heaved a mighty sigh. "It's not fair to her or you or Ukyo or none of them." The pigtailed martial artist then revealed soberly, "You know, Kasumi... I tried to get your dad to go easy on ya. I wanted to handle it 'cause I know you're really nineteen."

"Oh... But Nabiki... She's... She's acting shy. Nabiki wasn't ever shy."

"That's 'cuz Nabiki thinks you're mad at her." The current heir to the Tendo Dojo was startled by the admission. She had mostly understood him and he seemed sincere. "Are you?"

"What?"

"Mad at Nabiki."

"No... She's my sister... I s'ppose I sorta blew it."

Ranma gave her a crooked grin. "Sorta?"

"Do you hate me, Ranma?" the girl wondered. She deserved it after causing everyone so many problems.

His eyes went wide and he stared at her. "Nobody could ever hate you, Kasumi." There was a long moment of silence and then he suggested, "Hey Kasumi, why don't we make breakfast together?"

"Deal!" Kasumi agreed and then giggling hugged the young man.

# # # # #

Friday turned out to be full of surprises. For Nabiki, it began with Yuriko asking her if she was mad at them for going with Kasumi. The eight year old, who was behind them holding Akane's hand, turned pink and looked like she wanted to melt into the sidewalk. Nabiki reassured her friend that she wasn't angry.

Maki, on the other hand, was obviously mad at Nabiki, which upset the littlest Tendo. Kasumi tried to smooth things over for her sister but it didn't help. Akane remained silent, for which Kasumi thanked Kami. Nabiki's next biggest shock was when Yuriko, in a fit of uncharacteristic temper, bounced a dodgeball off of Maki's nose for ignoring them. Maki for her part plunked herself down and bawled.

Kasumi's school day began with her friends gathering around her. Somehow, she found herself describing last night's adventure, although the eight year old was careful to keep the resulting consequences to herself. Her tale did not elicit the reactions she had expected. Instead, her story had the effect of starting a contest of one-upmanship amongst her new friends. The contest was not to see who had perpetrated the most outrageous stunt in their young life, but rather, who had received the severest punishment for said stunt. Kasumi could tell the embellishment factor was high. At least, she hoped it was. Thankfully, the bell cut the contest short before she was forced to contribute.

Later, the middle Tendo daughter wandered over to the kindergartner's area to spend her lunchtime with Nabiki and the others. This surprised her classmates. Kasumi wasn't one to spend much time with the "babies".

Ranma and Akane's day at Furinkan High School was going to end around lunchtime. Tatewaki Kuno, in one of his lust-induced rampages charged Ranma who defended easily. Then Kuno grabbed Akane, who didn't react the way Ranma expected. Instead of clobbering her assailant with a mallet or kicking him into low earth orbit, the eldest Tendo daughter screamed in terror. Seeing this, the pigtailed martial artist only took a moment to react and lunged at the upperclassman.

The crazed Kendo captain swung raised his wooden sword over his head and swung it at his hated foe. Akane though nudged Kuno's arms at the last second diverting the trajectory slightly away. So said blow managed to only graze her fiancé on the side of the head. He recovered quickly and shifted to the side. He had to swivel to avoid his opponent's follow up stroke.

Then without warning, Ranma was toppling out of a third-story window. The teen wasn't too worried about it until he was perhaps ten feet above the school swimming pool. Then he realized that while his normal female self could swim, his rather immature form would probably sink like a stone.

Just as panic due to the realization that he might drown started to set in, Ranma hit the water and his change overtook him. Arms and legs vanished inside clothing as he shrank; the torso grew small and slightly pudgy with baby fat as his gender shifted. His well-honed physique disappeared into that of a little girl. Stomach and bottom lost their sleek appearance his regular female form had. Then all went black.

Little Ranma Saotome might have met an untimely demise in that pool. As it turned out, Principal Kuno saved him. It would be sometime later before Ranma speculated whether drowning would have been preferable. Akane arrived just in time to save the frightened child from receiving a buzz cut, as the principal declared would be "the fastest way to dry off her wet hair". So it was a relieved little redhead who was curled up fast asleep in Akane's arms by the time they reached Doctor Tofu's clinic.

# # # # #

Meanwhile, Kodachi Kuno in her leotard frolicked along the street making her way towards the Kuno Estate. Twirling her long gymnastics ribbon behind her, she ignored the strange looks of the mundane peasants around her as she pictured Ranma in her mind. 'Oh my love!' the demented gymnast thought, 'Wouldst I be with you.'

She was so enraptured by the thoughts of what Ranma would eventually do to her that she missed her turn. Kodachi didn't realize it until she came face-to-face with a stone wall. Glancing about, hoping no one would notice her mistake, the black rose-wielding teen retraced her steps. Heading down the proper street along the canal, her mind soon slipped into its normal deranged pattern of thought. 'Ranma-darling, you are a true man among men. So strong and bold and yet so coy and crass. A man befitting of my great beauty and stature.' She sighed. 'Your love of me grows forth as the shining of the...' She paused, not used to thinking the way her brother normally spoke. As she paused, the brightness to her right caught her attention. 'Yes, your love for me is like the glowing of the sun!'

She sighed, crossed her arms, and rested them upon the railing of the bridge crossing the canal. 'When will you gather me into your arms, my beloved?' Kodachi wondered, not even noticing the bubbles approaching in the waters below. 'Shall you toy with my heart forever?' She shook her head and gazed at the setting sun. 'Never! For my brother shall take that harridan Akane Tendo away from you.' If only the harlot were skilled in the gentle art of Martial Arts Gymnastics. Worse still, Akane was totally uneducated in "The Art". Therefore, challenging the eldest Tendo daughter would not be honorable, and would upset her adored fiancé deeply.

The gymnast sighed, not noticing a blue tentacle creep over the edge of the bridge and slip through the railing. She did not notice it carefully wrap itself about her ankle.

"Oh Ranma-darling..." Kodachi cooed, "Come and kiss me!" At that instant, the tentacle let go as if Kodachi's ankle was electrified. It hastily retreated through the railing and sped into the water with an audible splash.

As the "Black Rose" made her way home, the creature hiding in the waters shuddered. "Nasty..." it gurgled to itself, "So close though!" It needed to find some energy. "So close..."

# # # # #

Ranma found himself a little overwhelmed that Saturday. Trying to feed and entertain three energetic kindergartners and a third-grader was proving more difficult than he imagined. It didn't help matters that Soun and his father vanished upon the group's arrival home.

Moreover, the pigtailed youth quickly realized that while Kasumi was an eager babysitter, she could only be trusted a few minutes without supervision. Eventually, he got the girls settled down for lunch. By that time Akane, who had gone to pickup Ukyo, was home too.

"Jeez, Akane, what took ya so long?" Ranma whined.

"Oh Ryouga was chasing Ukyo and he changed and..." Ranma, upon hearing that his fiancée had witnessed Ryouga's transformation into a pig, fired a jet of water from both nostrils. The five year olds broke into laughter.

"Do it again!" Ukyo demanded as she squirmed from Akane's grip and went over to Ranma.

Kasumi questioned, "Changed?"

"Yeah, so I had to get a kettle of hot water going for little 'P-chan'..." She giggled. "And keep an eye on Ukyo at the same time. Honestly, how Ryouga manages it alone, I don't know."

"Uh..." Ranma started nervously, "You aren't mad?"

"Mad?" Akane looked puzzled.

Nabiki suddenly became very still and watched her sister with wariness. Yuriko and Maki wondered what the fuss was all about.

"About Ryouga changing," he supplied.

"Why would I?" the eldest Tendo asked, "It's not like it's never happened before. Although Ryouga's lucky that Father didn't kill him that first time." She began to muse, "Falling asleep in my arms and then having the nerve to change in the furo."

"Change?" Kasumi asked again.

"Later, Kasumi," Ranma whispered. "Um Akane, want lunch?" he asked in a normal tone.

"No thanks, Ranma-honey. Ryouga fixed me and Ukyo a quick bite."

# # # # #

"We went ice skating that day, didn't we?" Nabiki questioned interrupting the story. Ranma halted the tale to grin at her. "Boy, was that a blast!"

"Ice skating?" was the eldest Saotome daughter's reply.

"You bet, Nabiki," Akane said and turned to her children, "Your dad and I... and Ryouga..." She grinned at her husband. "Had this match against the Golden Pair. One of them was Azusa."

"Oh..."

"So anyway," Nabiki continued, "Here are these three cute and..." pointing to herself, "one VERY cute kids..."

"But there were five kids... right, Aunty Nabiki?"

"Well, your Aunt Kasumi was eight so I suppose you could call her 'sweet' with those long pigtails she was sporting." This elicited a snort from Soun and Ranma who then grinned at each other. "Any who, nutty Azusa tries to pull one of her typical stunts..."

# # # # #

Azusa Shiratori skated about the ice rink, only mildly annoyed that Mikado wasn't there. There were other cute things, like the fish cake she had found, or the shiny gold pen. As the one member of the Golden Pair zipped past the entrance to the rink, she recognized one of its members, a teenage boy with a pigtail.

Turning, she skated backwards to watch as Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo marshaled their young charges onto the ice. The oldest child, Akane's little sister she thought, powered away from the teens with pigtails flailing behind, and blew past Azusa at top speed. The famous high school skating champ giggled at the exasperated look Akane got on her face. She skidded to a stop kicking up a spray of ice then reversed direction back towards the teenaged duo.

It was then she got a good look at the little kids with them. 'Cute!' Little kids were fun; they understood Azusa on levels that her peers didn't. The cuter the child, the better. And these certainly were.

"Maki!" Ranma shouted as one of the five year olds broke free and tore off after Kasumi. The eight year old by this point looked like she was trying to break the sound barrier.

Azusa squealed with delight when she spotted little Ukyo. 'Charlotte?' The four year old had on a pair of pink skates and looked very adorable.

# # # # #

"Of course," Nabiki drawled, "Azusa was more interested in the skates than Ukyo... although she kept offering to give little Ukyo (or Charlotte as she kept calling her) lessons." Her nieces laughed at the picture. "Ukyo didn't want anything to do with her and bawled her head off anytime Azusa came around."

"Were you a good skater, Aunt Nabiki?"

"Me?" Nabiki questioned with a snort.

# # # # #

'OW!' Nabiki thought and glared at the ice, "Stupid thing!" She smacked it hard with her hand.

"You just can't sit there," someone commented from behind her. Turning her head, Nabiki saw that it was Kasumi.

"Lots easier," the youngster replied.

"Come on, Sis," the eight year old invited and helped her little sister up onto her skates.

"'Sumi, I didn't know you could skate." Nabiki remembered herself and Akane doing some when they were younger but that's seemed like a dream.

"Me either," Kasumi remarked and then giggled, "But it is really fun."

"I can't do it!" Nabiki lamented and then in a lower tone commented, "My bottom's getting whacked more than if I was naughty."

"I'll help you, Nabiki," her big sister offered. She put one arm around Nabiki's waist to steady the wobbly girl.

"Where's Maki?" The five year old followed the older girl's glance and saw Maki trying to coax a terrified looking Yuriko onto the ice. Akane was looking more than a little concerned.

Nabiki was about to say something when a stiff breeze suddenly kicked up knocking her sideways. Thankfully, Kasumi kept her on her feet. Both Tendo children watched as Ranma, Ukyo tucked under one arm and giggling with delight, rushed at top speed away from Azusa who was in hot pursuit yelling, "Charlotte! Come back!"

"I didn't think Ranma could skate," Kasumi commented.

"Guess he can, 'Sumi," Nabiki remarked. 'Otherwise, he'd be in real trouble.' "Let's go get Yuri."

Thankfully for Ranma and Ukyo, Mikado showed up shortly afterwards and reined in his partner, although the act was rather painful. The rest of the afternoon was spent happily playing. With Kasumi's help, even Yuriko lost her fear of ice skating.

# # # # #

After dropping Maki, Yuriko, and Ukyo off at their respective homes, Ranma and the others walked to the Cat Café. "Nihau!" Shampoo greeted them. She was more than happy to see Ranma and the children. She then looked despairingly at his teenage companion. "Future Husband no make Akane have baby yet," the Chinese Amazon commented as she was seating them. "Ranma should practice now so when marry Shampoo, he have no trouble."

Nabiki stared blankly at the older girl. She had no idea what she was talking about. Kasumi giggled. Akane and Ranma were blushing. "That's not something to discuss in front of children, Shampoo," Akane commented.

'Errr...' Ranma thought, 'She can't seriously think...' The fact that Akane still had Dr. Tofu's pressure point manual wasn't very encouraging either.

"Husband need learn sometime," Shampoo replied, "Unless going be monk." He obviously was going to be a good father to their future children judging by how he interacted with Akane's two sisters. "So what want?"

After ordering, Akane turned to her sister and asked, "Did you have fun today, Kasumi?" The eight year old nodded. "That's good, and you helped a lot too. I'm proud of you."

"Suck up," Nabiki remarked, although with a grin.

"It doesn't hurt to be a good girl, Nabiki," Ranma commented while giving the youngster, who just giggled, a stern look.

"Hmmm... So what were you up to today?" came the voice of Cologne. Turning, the four of them saw the Amazon elder bouncing towards them on her staff.

"Ice skating," Kasumi cheerfully replied. Cologne stopped momentarily, stared at the little girl oddly, and then shook her head. "What?"

"Nothing," the old woman replied with a dismissive wave of her hand, "I just thought I..." She glanced at Nabiki and then continued, "I have a special treat you can try after you're done eating."

"Ice scream?" the kindergartner hoped.

"Now that would be telling, child," the Amazon elder answered and hopped away. Moments later, Shampoo arrived with their order.

"Is good? Yes?" Shampoo questioned. "Shampoo make special."

"Very nice, Shampoo," Akane replied.

"Yep!" Kasumi seconded. Ranma nodded. Not hearing from Nabiki, four pairs of eyes turned in the little girl's direction. It was only then that they saw that Nabiki was trying to imitate Genma-panda's eating habits. The fact that she was putting on a good showing was more than a little disconcerting.

"Shampoo!" Cologne called out, "I have an order for you."

"Yes Great-Grandmother... Shampoo be back in split-second," the busty purple-haired teen declared, "Make delivery and then walk Husband home."

# # # # #

Shampoo gingerly flew along the streets and fence-tops of Nerima on her bicycle making her ramen delivery. Her mind barely registered the evening traffic; it was too busy playing games with an imaginary Ranma Saotome.

She pondered the situation with Akane Tendo. 'Why Ranma want silly flat-chested Apron Girl?' The eldest Tendo sister was not a martial artist, which meant she couldn't fight her. That would not be honorable. Ranma (and her own Amazon law) held honor as being very important. It would also make Shampoo lose face. 'Too bad he no like crazy Ribbon Girl.' Kodachi, now there was a rival she would battle, had battled for Ranma's favor. Little Kasumi had potential but was no threat. Even her little sisters Ling-Ling and Lung-Lung could take the eight year old in a fight. Maybe she could challenge Akane to some less violent contest like cooking.

Yes, Ranma would be her husband some day. Of that, she had no doubt. The busty teen smiled at that thought, failing to see that she had just run a red light. 'Now where Great-Grandmother say Shampoo make delivery?' She dug in her top, all the while peddling. 'Where paper go?' She shoved her hand deeper in. 'Come on...' She could feel it rubbing against her skin. 'Come here!' she thought angrily and snatched at it. "Shampoo got you!" she declared aloud as two fingers snagged the errant scrap of paper.

Her words seemed to be echoed in a gurgling roar. The teen's head whipped around to find the source of the noise. She felt her jaw swing open as something monstrous sprang from a nearby fire hydrant. "Aiya!" Shampoo cried, trying to leap away from her bicycle but the tentacles that the creature had were quicker. They shot out and she kicked at them but they grasped at her. She tried to produce one of her bonbori but could not as more tentacles, shimmering translucent blue wrapped about her arms.

"So close..." the monster seemed to gurgle.

"Monster let Shampoo go!" the enraged Amazon shouted as its grip tightened about her. She struggled and increased her efforts when she felt something strange happening to her. "NO!" she cried out as her ample bosom deflated like popped balloons flat against her chest. The silk of her flowered red blouse hung loosely on her. "Shampoo make monster pay!" But her arms as she tried to strike the creature shrank, growing smaller, shorter, as her legs shrank.

'Shampoo be quick!' the purple-haired girl told herself as she its grip slacking slightly. Taking advantage of the opportunity and with a violent twist, she dropped to the ground. She felt off-balance and her clothing, now much looser, wrapped itself about her legs.

Never one to back down from a fight, Shampoo leapt forward out of her oversized bicycle shorts and shoes. She stood in the clear her top now hanging down to her knees. The creature startled reared back to press its attack. In that moment, a jet of cool water hit the Amazon, triggering her transformation and smashing her backwards into the creature's grip.

End of Chapter 10

Coming next in Chapter 11 - The Kitten Kaper