Chapter 7: Insane, Phobic and Stubborn Martial Artists
Thoughts {Japanese}
Talon Residence
Akane looked around the room she had been left alone in. The walls were covered with framed art and shelves that contained a variety of objects from teddy bears, and Barbie dolls to glass dragons and framed photographs. An oil painting hung on one of the walls, I wonder who painted that? There is a lot of stuff here
Akane noticed the computer desk in the corner of the room and the T.V. stand that stood opposite of it. The room looked more like an extremely small apartment rather than a bedroom.
Akane yawned and looked at the time, its really not that late but I am so tired she sat on the bed and laid back to stare at the ceiling for a moment. She stared at it for a few seconds before exhaustion took over and she fell asleep right were she was.
Meanwhile, Ranma was getting a bearing on his surroundings. well this is definantly a boy's room. There weren't many posters on the wall but a computer and T.V. setup lined one wall while the bed took up the rest of the room. Since the room wasn't that interesting Ranma started to think about the people he was going to live with for a year and process the information Mrs. Talon had given them.
The oldest of the Talon kids is Jennifer, she's 20, but she looks about 16. It doesn't help that she is the shortest of the three. Then come Jon, who the same age as me and 'kane. Kate comes in last at 15. Hmm...Kate's blond hair remind me of the walls at home, that pale gold color, she's tall almost taller than me. She reminds me of Nabiki...I don't know how but she does. Maybe it was because she's tall and slim but then again Nabiki's not that tall. Anyway, Jon reminds me of ... well I don't know him well enough to know. Jennifer reminds me of both Kasumi and Akane...I cant believe how tired Akane was today. She might not forgive herself for her behavior. Man I do feel kinda bad about how she reacted about Ryoga... but I am not sorry I did it. That jerk had it coming. Why am I trying to relate everyone here to someone I know at home. I know they can't possibly all act the same.... Ranma's thoughts rambled on this way until he too fell asleep on the floor next to the bed in the bedroom.
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Ranma awoke with a start shortly after midnight. He could sense that Akane was awake, that wasn't unusual except he could feel her worry. He wondered about that and looked about the room for a moment before he heard the noise that must have awoken him.
"HAH...YOU ARE A SUCKER. YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TRADED ME PARKPLACE FOR THE RAILROAD NOW PAY UP!!!"
Ranma puzzled over that...what the hell is going on he crept out of the basement bedroom just to see Akane at the bottom of the stairs right in front of his door. {'kane, what's going on}
{Don't know, but all their doing is yelling and you can hear stomping and chairs moving from the room I am in} Akane looked at the top of the stair well {should we check it out}
Ranma shrugged and started going up the stairs, Akane followed him, neither making any noise as they made their way up, which for that house was something of a miracle to move around without making any noise. When they got to the top of the stairs they peeked their heads around the corner to see what was going on.
What they saw was the Talon kids and the group of teenagers they had met earlier sitting around the kitchen table. They looked to be engrossed in something like a board game.
{hey I recognize that game!! It monopoly. I haven't played that in forever} Akane whispered gleefully
Ranma just looked at Akane for a minute then went back to watching the other teenagers. They had still not notice Akane's and Ranma's presence. Then Ranma felt Akane stiffen next to him and he looked down at her. She was staring at the ground so he followed her gaze to the large pet food container on the landing. Next to it sat two cats who were just staring at the two of them.
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Jennifer knew that she could beat Darin. Although he was a somewhat nice guy, she didn't like him especially well right now for 2 reasons: 1. he was dating her little sister and 2. he had beat her at Monopoly two weeks ago. She hated to lose. She was winning right now but in Monopoly things could change drastically. She was going for the dice when Ranma came screaming through the room with Loki following him at a much slower pace. Jennifer was so startled by the scream as was everyone else that she managed to knock everything off the board.
{GET IT AWAY FROM ME!!! GET IT AWAY FROM ME!!} Ranma was gibbering and had backed himself into the corner of the living room, scrambling over furniture, pointing and screaming at the cat.
The American teenagers just stared at him for a moment. Although he didn't know what the other boy was saying he knew fear when he saw it, so Jon picked Loki up and put her outside. He turned from the doorway to see Akane calmly standing right behind him holding A.C.
"Could you put this one out too?"
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Somewhere between here and there
Ryoga was furious. Nabiki had wanted an awful lot of money to send him to America and then he was sent as P-Chan. He had no cloths, no supplies, and no money. He was so bored. There was nothing to look at but the other pets that were being flown places and most of them were drugged in order to keep them calm.
Ryoga's eyes watered at the memory of being attacked by those airline employees. They eventually gave up in trying to sedate him but he had to put up a fight, which for a while made them more willing to want him sedated.
Don't worry Akane. I'll be there as soon as I can be
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Nerima
"Master Kuno, it seems that Akane Tendo and Ranma Saotome both went to America." Sasuke kneeled before Kuno.
"Excellent work, Sasuke. But is there any news of the Pig-girl." Kuno's eyes glazed over for a moment at the thought of his beloved pig tailed goddess and then cleared so that he could hear Sasuke.
"No sir, but it seems that she disappeared the same time that Ranma and Akane."
"That vile Saotome, he must have taken them both with him to America. Sasuke we must find them and bring them home and away from Saotome."
"yes sir." Sasuke left the room in a black blur.
Kodachi had been standing outside the room, "my dearest Ranma went to America. This must be a test of how far I would follow my dear darling husband. I must start packing so that the moment I find out exactly where he is I go to him immediately." And with a laugh she walked down the hallway.
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Nerima
"Hello, is anyone home?" Kasumi called from the doorway of the deserted office. It always amazed her how old people who were sick and going to the doctor seemed to find enough energy to run away in terror from Dr. Tofu's office whenever she arrived.
"K-Kasumi!!" Tofu stuttered from peeking around the door frame into his examining room, "what a coincidence to find you here."
Kasumi sighed internally. She really would like to see his eyes but they were never clear for more than the split second it took him to recognize who she was and then they would fog over completely blocking them from her view.
"Dr. Tofu, I need you advice." Kasumi changed the tone of her voice so that it was serious and worried. I hope that is enough to clear through the fog "you see Nabiki is in trouble. I think she is being stalked." Kasumi watched for any sign that Dr. Tofu was listening. She was rewarded with a blink and then the fog that was ever present over his eyes cleared somewhat. Maybe he's processing what I just said
Tofu looked at Kasumi for a moment longer trying to comprehend what she had just said. Kasumi is here. In my office. What do I do. What do I do. What do I do. What do I do. What do I do. What do I do. I am so glad she is here. I am so glad she is here I am so glad she is here. I am so glad she is here...wait what did she just say...she is worried...why is she worried...Nabiki...oh no...Kasumi loves her sisters. I must help her...which means I must get my self under control.
Kasumi started to get a little worried when Tofu blinked yet again. "Dr?" He then closed his eyes and shook his head slightly as if to shake his thoughts loose. When he stopped and looked at her, she didn't know what to say, think, or feel...his eyes were clear and she could see all the different emotions that were playing across them. She had always wondered about why he acted so differently around her and now she new for sure. He was in love with her, was scared of her, lusted after her, and confused because of her. It was written in his eyes so clearly that Kasumi had to force herself to look away from those intense eyes and remember why she was there in his office.
"Kasumi, how can I help?" It was Kasumi's turn to blink in confusion and collect her thoughts. When she did she started to tell what had been going on and at the same time praying and hoping that this would be a new step for them being able to actually talk like adults but at the same time saddened because it would change everything.
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"Well, he did mention that he goes crazy around them." Jennifer gave her sister a look that said back off the poor boy as she handed both Ranma and Akane tea. Kate rolled her eyes and started to put away the forgotten Monopoly game.
"Ranma, I hate to tell you this but we won't get rid of our cats...that isn't far to them. So we need to figure out a way to make this work." Jon hesitated for a moment seeing the strange look in Ranma's eyes, "Have you ever thought of seeing a Psychiatrist for you phobia?"
"No way, I am not going to a shrink." Ranma declared having suddenly regained his composure and courage.
"Don't blame you." Jon glared at Jennifer for supporting Ranma, but she ignored him and continued, "do you know why you're afraid of cats. You know, like, did you have a traumatic experience with cats or is it the animal in general, their fur, tails, or claws?"
Akane looked at Ranma wondering if he was actually going to tell them what happened when he was going through the Nekoken training. She highly doubted these people would believe such a thing would be done to a child.
"It was a traumatic experience involving claws and teeth mainly," Ranma stated, I won't tell them the details, it would freak them out
Jennifer laughed then, "you wouldn't have been thrown into a pit covered in sau-"
"JENNIFER" Jon bellowed having sensed that she had gone off the deep end and the fact that Ranma had gotten unbelievably paler than he was earlier.
"um, yeah, ANYWAY, look if it makes you feel better none of our cats have claws. So they can't hurt you. Just remember that when you run into one of them and you should be okay." Kate said trying to act like this was a completely normal situation.
At that point, Jane had wandered into the living room. She saw that it was almost 2 am and promptly sent everyone home or to bed respectively.
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Nerima
Nabiki sat up suddenly in her bed. She looked around frantically trying to remember why she was in her room, and why she had such a horrible headache. She glanced at the clock. She had been asleep for at least an hour. She remembered everything and decided to wash her face. I wonder where Kasumi went? She went down the stairs and was startled to see Mousse at the landing of the stairs. He looked tense, as if he was stalking prey. Nabiki blinked trying to figure out why Mousse was in her house.
"Mousse, what are you doing here?" Nabiki rasped, then she cleared her throat, and tried to speak again, "Where's Kasumi?"
"She asked me to look after you while she went to Dr. Tofu's." Mousse replied stepping out of the way of the landing and quietly disarming his hidden weapons. He had heard someone moving around upstairs and was preparing to fight when he had practically ran into Nabiki.
Nabiki raised her eyebrows. "And why would Kasumi ask you to do that?" Nabiki was no slightly annoyed but immensely curious as to why Kasumi had asked Mousse and to why Mousse had agreed.
"That is between Kasumi and I." Mousse stated as he followed her back into the main room.
well that is completely dodging the question "well, as you can see I am fine so you can go back to stalking Shampoo or whatever you do with your time. I'll even be nice enough to walk you to the door." Nabiki started to head back to the foyer of the house, when she realized that Mousse was not following her she turned around to see what was keeping him.
"I cannot leave until your sister gets back." And with that Mousse sat at the small table.
"I don't suppose there is enough money in the world to persuade you otherwise?" Nabiki asked hopeful until Mousse quietly shook his head and looked as if he was meditating. "Damn stubborn martial artist." Nabiki muttered as she headed towards the bathroom and then to the kitchen in search of food.
Thoughts {Japanese}
Talon Residence
Akane looked around the room she had been left alone in. The walls were covered with framed art and shelves that contained a variety of objects from teddy bears, and Barbie dolls to glass dragons and framed photographs. An oil painting hung on one of the walls, I wonder who painted that? There is a lot of stuff here
Akane noticed the computer desk in the corner of the room and the T.V. stand that stood opposite of it. The room looked more like an extremely small apartment rather than a bedroom.
Akane yawned and looked at the time, its really not that late but I am so tired she sat on the bed and laid back to stare at the ceiling for a moment. She stared at it for a few seconds before exhaustion took over and she fell asleep right were she was.
Meanwhile, Ranma was getting a bearing on his surroundings. well this is definantly a boy's room. There weren't many posters on the wall but a computer and T.V. setup lined one wall while the bed took up the rest of the room. Since the room wasn't that interesting Ranma started to think about the people he was going to live with for a year and process the information Mrs. Talon had given them.
The oldest of the Talon kids is Jennifer, she's 20, but she looks about 16. It doesn't help that she is the shortest of the three. Then come Jon, who the same age as me and 'kane. Kate comes in last at 15. Hmm...Kate's blond hair remind me of the walls at home, that pale gold color, she's tall almost taller than me. She reminds me of Nabiki...I don't know how but she does. Maybe it was because she's tall and slim but then again Nabiki's not that tall. Anyway, Jon reminds me of ... well I don't know him well enough to know. Jennifer reminds me of both Kasumi and Akane...I cant believe how tired Akane was today. She might not forgive herself for her behavior. Man I do feel kinda bad about how she reacted about Ryoga... but I am not sorry I did it. That jerk had it coming. Why am I trying to relate everyone here to someone I know at home. I know they can't possibly all act the same.... Ranma's thoughts rambled on this way until he too fell asleep on the floor next to the bed in the bedroom.
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Ranma awoke with a start shortly after midnight. He could sense that Akane was awake, that wasn't unusual except he could feel her worry. He wondered about that and looked about the room for a moment before he heard the noise that must have awoken him.
"HAH...YOU ARE A SUCKER. YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TRADED ME PARKPLACE FOR THE RAILROAD NOW PAY UP!!!"
Ranma puzzled over that...what the hell is going on he crept out of the basement bedroom just to see Akane at the bottom of the stairs right in front of his door. {'kane, what's going on}
{Don't know, but all their doing is yelling and you can hear stomping and chairs moving from the room I am in} Akane looked at the top of the stair well {should we check it out}
Ranma shrugged and started going up the stairs, Akane followed him, neither making any noise as they made their way up, which for that house was something of a miracle to move around without making any noise. When they got to the top of the stairs they peeked their heads around the corner to see what was going on.
What they saw was the Talon kids and the group of teenagers they had met earlier sitting around the kitchen table. They looked to be engrossed in something like a board game.
{hey I recognize that game!! It monopoly. I haven't played that in forever} Akane whispered gleefully
Ranma just looked at Akane for a minute then went back to watching the other teenagers. They had still not notice Akane's and Ranma's presence. Then Ranma felt Akane stiffen next to him and he looked down at her. She was staring at the ground so he followed her gaze to the large pet food container on the landing. Next to it sat two cats who were just staring at the two of them.
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Jennifer knew that she could beat Darin. Although he was a somewhat nice guy, she didn't like him especially well right now for 2 reasons: 1. he was dating her little sister and 2. he had beat her at Monopoly two weeks ago. She hated to lose. She was winning right now but in Monopoly things could change drastically. She was going for the dice when Ranma came screaming through the room with Loki following him at a much slower pace. Jennifer was so startled by the scream as was everyone else that she managed to knock everything off the board.
{GET IT AWAY FROM ME!!! GET IT AWAY FROM ME!!} Ranma was gibbering and had backed himself into the corner of the living room, scrambling over furniture, pointing and screaming at the cat.
The American teenagers just stared at him for a moment. Although he didn't know what the other boy was saying he knew fear when he saw it, so Jon picked Loki up and put her outside. He turned from the doorway to see Akane calmly standing right behind him holding A.C.
"Could you put this one out too?"
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Somewhere between here and there
Ryoga was furious. Nabiki had wanted an awful lot of money to send him to America and then he was sent as P-Chan. He had no cloths, no supplies, and no money. He was so bored. There was nothing to look at but the other pets that were being flown places and most of them were drugged in order to keep them calm.
Ryoga's eyes watered at the memory of being attacked by those airline employees. They eventually gave up in trying to sedate him but he had to put up a fight, which for a while made them more willing to want him sedated.
Don't worry Akane. I'll be there as soon as I can be
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Nerima
"Master Kuno, it seems that Akane Tendo and Ranma Saotome both went to America." Sasuke kneeled before Kuno.
"Excellent work, Sasuke. But is there any news of the Pig-girl." Kuno's eyes glazed over for a moment at the thought of his beloved pig tailed goddess and then cleared so that he could hear Sasuke.
"No sir, but it seems that she disappeared the same time that Ranma and Akane."
"That vile Saotome, he must have taken them both with him to America. Sasuke we must find them and bring them home and away from Saotome."
"yes sir." Sasuke left the room in a black blur.
Kodachi had been standing outside the room, "my dearest Ranma went to America. This must be a test of how far I would follow my dear darling husband. I must start packing so that the moment I find out exactly where he is I go to him immediately." And with a laugh she walked down the hallway.
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Nerima
"Hello, is anyone home?" Kasumi called from the doorway of the deserted office. It always amazed her how old people who were sick and going to the doctor seemed to find enough energy to run away in terror from Dr. Tofu's office whenever she arrived.
"K-Kasumi!!" Tofu stuttered from peeking around the door frame into his examining room, "what a coincidence to find you here."
Kasumi sighed internally. She really would like to see his eyes but they were never clear for more than the split second it took him to recognize who she was and then they would fog over completely blocking them from her view.
"Dr. Tofu, I need you advice." Kasumi changed the tone of her voice so that it was serious and worried. I hope that is enough to clear through the fog "you see Nabiki is in trouble. I think she is being stalked." Kasumi watched for any sign that Dr. Tofu was listening. She was rewarded with a blink and then the fog that was ever present over his eyes cleared somewhat. Maybe he's processing what I just said
Tofu looked at Kasumi for a moment longer trying to comprehend what she had just said. Kasumi is here. In my office. What do I do. What do I do. What do I do. What do I do. What do I do. What do I do. I am so glad she is here. I am so glad she is here I am so glad she is here. I am so glad she is here...wait what did she just say...she is worried...why is she worried...Nabiki...oh no...Kasumi loves her sisters. I must help her...which means I must get my self under control.
Kasumi started to get a little worried when Tofu blinked yet again. "Dr?" He then closed his eyes and shook his head slightly as if to shake his thoughts loose. When he stopped and looked at her, she didn't know what to say, think, or feel...his eyes were clear and she could see all the different emotions that were playing across them. She had always wondered about why he acted so differently around her and now she new for sure. He was in love with her, was scared of her, lusted after her, and confused because of her. It was written in his eyes so clearly that Kasumi had to force herself to look away from those intense eyes and remember why she was there in his office.
"Kasumi, how can I help?" It was Kasumi's turn to blink in confusion and collect her thoughts. When she did she started to tell what had been going on and at the same time praying and hoping that this would be a new step for them being able to actually talk like adults but at the same time saddened because it would change everything.
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"Well, he did mention that he goes crazy around them." Jennifer gave her sister a look that said back off the poor boy as she handed both Ranma and Akane tea. Kate rolled her eyes and started to put away the forgotten Monopoly game.
"Ranma, I hate to tell you this but we won't get rid of our cats...that isn't far to them. So we need to figure out a way to make this work." Jon hesitated for a moment seeing the strange look in Ranma's eyes, "Have you ever thought of seeing a Psychiatrist for you phobia?"
"No way, I am not going to a shrink." Ranma declared having suddenly regained his composure and courage.
"Don't blame you." Jon glared at Jennifer for supporting Ranma, but she ignored him and continued, "do you know why you're afraid of cats. You know, like, did you have a traumatic experience with cats or is it the animal in general, their fur, tails, or claws?"
Akane looked at Ranma wondering if he was actually going to tell them what happened when he was going through the Nekoken training. She highly doubted these people would believe such a thing would be done to a child.
"It was a traumatic experience involving claws and teeth mainly," Ranma stated, I won't tell them the details, it would freak them out
Jennifer laughed then, "you wouldn't have been thrown into a pit covered in sau-"
"JENNIFER" Jon bellowed having sensed that she had gone off the deep end and the fact that Ranma had gotten unbelievably paler than he was earlier.
"um, yeah, ANYWAY, look if it makes you feel better none of our cats have claws. So they can't hurt you. Just remember that when you run into one of them and you should be okay." Kate said trying to act like this was a completely normal situation.
At that point, Jane had wandered into the living room. She saw that it was almost 2 am and promptly sent everyone home or to bed respectively.
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Nerima
Nabiki sat up suddenly in her bed. She looked around frantically trying to remember why she was in her room, and why she had such a horrible headache. She glanced at the clock. She had been asleep for at least an hour. She remembered everything and decided to wash her face. I wonder where Kasumi went? She went down the stairs and was startled to see Mousse at the landing of the stairs. He looked tense, as if he was stalking prey. Nabiki blinked trying to figure out why Mousse was in her house.
"Mousse, what are you doing here?" Nabiki rasped, then she cleared her throat, and tried to speak again, "Where's Kasumi?"
"She asked me to look after you while she went to Dr. Tofu's." Mousse replied stepping out of the way of the landing and quietly disarming his hidden weapons. He had heard someone moving around upstairs and was preparing to fight when he had practically ran into Nabiki.
Nabiki raised her eyebrows. "And why would Kasumi ask you to do that?" Nabiki was no slightly annoyed but immensely curious as to why Kasumi had asked Mousse and to why Mousse had agreed.
"That is between Kasumi and I." Mousse stated as he followed her back into the main room.
well that is completely dodging the question "well, as you can see I am fine so you can go back to stalking Shampoo or whatever you do with your time. I'll even be nice enough to walk you to the door." Nabiki started to head back to the foyer of the house, when she realized that Mousse was not following her she turned around to see what was keeping him.
"I cannot leave until your sister gets back." And with that Mousse sat at the small table.
"I don't suppose there is enough money in the world to persuade you otherwise?" Nabiki asked hopeful until Mousse quietly shook his head and looked as if he was meditating. "Damn stubborn martial artist." Nabiki muttered as she headed towards the bathroom and then to the kitchen in search of food.