Disclaimer: As you may have figured out by now, this is a Ranma/Gold Digger crossover. I don't own either series, and I'm not profiting off this writing. There.
AN: Yes, to he who brought it up (you know who you are), the original concept of Ranma and his mother being a werecheetah (not sure about the father) began in an Anime Addventure thread...I think? That particular thread was, I believe, the basis for Thrythlind's Ranma Neko. Unfortunately, I think that it was discontinued...no updates in 3 years. Come to think of it, I can't really come up with more than one completed Ranma/GD fanfic, and that was Smoke and Wind. The world really IS unfair...
Losing Innocence, Finding Self
Chapter 6: Finding You
Resting quite comfortably on the bed in the motel room he had rented, Ranma almost winced when his mind began to dwell upon the last three weeks. For most of the flight to Atlanta, his voice had been shot from all the screaming he had done. Nothing like pure, unadulterated terror to show how much you care. Aaah, motherly love.
At first, the "training" had been relatively easy, if a bit nerve wracking. After breaking the seal on his transformation (which was, surprisingly, contained within the family katana), his mother had explained that because the seal had been in place for so long, the altered physical appearance it created was now permanent. Not that he minded one bit, it was hard to imagine what he would like look with blonde hair. The same went for the Saotome matriarch, now that he thought about it.
Changing to his hybrid form had been simple enough, and he admitted to himself that it did feel natural. Looking at himself in a mirror, Ranma found that he liked the new look- even with the feline appearance (do you really need me to describe it? I suck at descriptions, feh. A werecheetah with a pigtail, use your imagination!). He especially enjoyed the new strength by the new form, although it took him a few days to become used to the difference in physical traits. Actually having a tail to assist him somewhat in balancing felt very awkward for a time, but once all the difficulties were out of the way the advantages became quite clear. He was faster, stronger, more durable, and his already impressive healing rate was amplified greatly.
But no, it didn't stop there. His mother had insisted that he change into his cheetah form. After nearly having a heart attack when he saw his reflection, he finally got used to being his own worst fear after several hours. Even then, however, his tail still swished back and forth nervously.
After explaining that wounds caused by magic, other werecreatures, and especially silver would not heal nearly as fast, the Saotome matriarch had moved on to the next phase of the "training". Ranma had sat in the center of his room in his hybrid form as she brought in a box full of small, adorable, deadly, terrifying...er, kittens. He barely managed to keep himself from jumping up and running as fast as his furry legs could carry him as several of the kittens snoozed in his lap, one sat atop his head mewing contentedly, and another batted playfully at his tail. Finally, two hours later the fear began to subside and he played with the tiny felines as his mother watched on, smiling in relief.
Turning his head on the pillow, Ranma grimaced lightly as his thoughts turned towards the next step. It was not enough to play with a bunch of kittens, oh no. Nothing was ever that easy for the pigtailed martial artist turned werecheetah. Next, he had been introduced to a pair of local house cats. At first, he had been fine- the furry demons simply sat and considered the much larger cat before them. After ten minutes of curious eyes locked onto fear stricken ones, the hellish creatures made their move. Ranma finally lost it and began screaming his head off, flailing his arms wildly when the two felines began to purr affectionately and nuzzle him. Unaffected by the werecheetah screaming bloody murder, they continued for about ten minutes before Ranma passed out cold.
Awakened by his mother's gentle voice, he had lifted his head- and instantly regretted it as he found himself looking into a pair of slitted eyes that mirrored his own. Eyes so much like the ones that had shone ethereally in the darkness around him just before the pain had come. Ranma found that he could only watch on in horrified fascination as he waited for the hissing, clawing, and biting to begin.
It never did. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he stared helplessly at the nightmare brought to life, before it dawned on him that the cat truly meant no harm. Hesitantly, he reached forward with a trembling hand and began to pet the creature's head, eliciting a grateful purr in response.
Nodoka had beamed triumphantly as she left Ranma's room. The pigtailed boy in question slept peacefully for the first time in many long years, comforted and guided by his two feline bedmates.
Smiling in remembrance, Ranma stretched his arms slightly and rolled over onto his right side. The smile quickly contorted into a frown once more when the final branch of the training came to mind.
Shuddering, he decided not to dwell on that one. He still had no idea where his mother had gotten a tiger from, and he didn't really care- the point wasn't where it came from, the point was that it ended up in HIS room. After screaming until his voice went hoarse, the tiger occasionally shooting him quizzical looks as it rested on his bed, Ranma had finally managed to scoot out of the corner he had backed himself into. Of course, thirty seconds later he dashed out of the house as fast as his legs could carry him, creating a sonic boom that sent several parked cars tumbling. Nodoka merely shook her head and sighed. 'Maybe this wasn't such a great idea...'
It took him another week and three more tries, but he finally managed to tolerate the presence of the large striped feline. He even reached out a hand to stroke the seemingly gentle animal. Unfortunately, as the pigtailed boy's luck held true to form, the tiger chose that exact moment to open its mouth wide and yawn, displaying rows of wicked fangs. Ranma promptly fainted.
The training wasn't made any easier by his fiances (minus Akane), who kept trying to sneak into his room to see him. They were promptly ejected from the premises by Nodoka. Even Akane had made a visit, getting past the Saotome matriarch with an innocent smile before attempting to smash Ranma into the floor for hurting her poor, defenseless father. Yeah, right. Both werecheetahs took their hybrid forms and politely, ah, convinced the Tendo girl to leave and mind her own business.
The very next day, Genma and Soun had paid them a visit, claiming they wanted to "exorcise the demons possessing the Saotome family". They, being the idiots that they are, chalked Ranma's strange behavior up to an evil spirit taking over his body. Said evil spirit thoroughly beat both old fools before dragging them back to the Tendo home and tossing them both through Akane's window. Not one of the three bothered them again.
Nabiki and Kasumi, however, were free to visit whenever they liked. So were Ryouga and Mousse, but one was constantly lost and the other busy at the Nekohanten. Ranma enjoyed the meetings with the two elder Tendo daughters, as they took his mind off less pleasant things.
Finally, the day of his departure had come. Nodoka, Kasumi, Nabiki, and surprisingly enough, Cologne had shown up to see him off. Nabiki had officially cleared him of all his "debts", smirking at him in a teasing manner. Kasumi hugged him gently and told him to make sure and eat right, and to keep in touch. His mother had kissed him on the cheek and told him how proud she was. Cologne had taken him off to the side and explained that he need not worry about being subject to any Amazon laws. What surprised Ranma even more was when the had handed him a carefully wrapped package with a note attached.
The note had explained that inside the package was a magical artifact. Ranma nearly blanched when he found out what was enclosed, but it was quickly displaced by a smile. The object in question was an amulet with the ability to nullify most forms of direct magic, which the pigtailed fighter greatly appreciated. The only downside was that it had a limited amount of power, and once depleted the amulet would need to recharge over a period of twenty four hours.
(AN: direct magic will be defined as any spell cast directly on the target, such as mind control, curses, physical alterations, etc. Things like fireballs, lightning bolts, and the like will only be weakened in their effects. Eh, maybe I'll change the rules later, but not now.)
As soon as he had gotten on the plane, Ranma was almost but not quite surprised to find dumb and dumber waiting in ambush. How the pair had managed to sneak aboard was beyond him, but he quickly countered their initial attack and retaliated with paralysis pressure points. Bowing and scratching his head apologetically toward the other passengers, he had dragged the two toward the hatch and thrown them out. Fortunately, or unfortunately depending on who you ask, the plane had yet to take off.
Smirking wryly, the former Saotome grumbled to himself and pulled the blanket up to his shoulders and began to nod off. Tomorrow was going to be a very... interesting day, if the feeling in his gut was right. And it always was.
She awoke to the voice of her older sister over the intercom. Blearily, she sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. The message was repeated a second and third time before registering with her sleep sleep hazed mind. "Britanny, wake up already! We have a guest. And get this- he's looking for YOU!"
That got her attention. 'Someone's looking for me? Why? This better not end up being another super villain or something, 'cause I'm not in the mood.'
Shaking her head slightly to clear it, Britanny cleared her throat and responded, "I'll be right down, just let me get dressed first."
"You better be in your human form, just in case. Not everybody knows what a werecheetah is."
Grumbling to herself (she much prefered her hybrid form, after all), she finally replied, "Yeah, yeah. Don't worry, I'll change."
Sighing, she shifted to her, in her opinion, far less attractive form as she made her way to the closet. Stopping halfway there, she blinked and bowed her head in thought. 'That feeling just got stronger...does it have something to do with our guest?'
At that thought, Britanny increased her pace. One way or another, she was going to find out.
To say that Ranma was nervous was an understatement. Somehow, he found himself in somebody else's home, under intense scrutiny. The only thing comforting him at this point was that the usual language barrier wasn't a problem for him. Contrary to popular belief, he HAD paid attention in Ms. Hinako's class from time to time. He also took time to study his textbooks every few days, so that he wouldn't fall behind. Add to that the fact that he had picked up bits and pieces of several languages on his training trip, and English was mastered with little difficulty and minimal effort.
Scratching his head nervously once more, the pigtailed werecheetah in human guise glanced around at the people before him.
The redheaded woman, Julia, was silently studying him. From what he could see, she was a very powerful warrior. Maybe they could spar later? Not that she'd stand a chance, of course.
'The way that boy moves...I'm sure of it, he must be a powerful warrior. I'll ask him to spar after he takes care of whatever business he's here for. Not that he stands a chance, of course.'
Shifting his gaze to the obvious father of the household, Ranma could feel the magic radiating from him. After all, he'd run into magic enough times to develop a sort of sensitivity for it. Theodore Diggers, or Theo as he insisted on being called, fairly reeked of the arcane. The pigtailed boy was suddenly very happy he had the amulet Cologne had given him. If his luck held true to form once more, and he ended up fighting Theo for whatever ridiculous reason, it would come in handy. But it wasn't like he was planning on doing anything that would make the older man wish to hurt him, right?
'His aura...so chaotic. I can barely get a good reading on it! That's odd though...I can see more than one form of magic in his aura, and one of them almost looks like a werecreature's. Very interesting. Whatever he is, if he tries anything with any of my daughters, I'll hurt him!'
Looking toward the blonde girl named Brianna, Ranma had to suppress a shudder. She was looking at him the exact same way Shampoo and sometimes Ukyo used to...only it was much, much more intense.
(AN: Ahaha...no, I'm NOT getting into Brianna's thoughts. It's just...better that way. I'd like to try and keep it rated T, eh?)
Hearing someone approach, he turned his head and beheld another of the Diggers girls, Gina. She took a seat, then proceeded to adjust her glasses and examine him intently.
'Just why are you here? You better not be out to hurt my little sister, or you're in for a big surprise. She's more than capable of kicking that cute butt of yours, and our parents won't just let you get away with it.' Yep, she had gone into protective older sibling mode.
Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Ranma locked his hands together and stared at them. The waiting was starting to make him nervous, not that it wasn't already a tense situation to begin with. 'Hi, my name's Ranma. I'm a martial artist from Nerima- and surprise, I'm a werecheetah too! Man, I'd rather fight the old freak again.'
Just as he was getting the urge to bolt from all the pressure, Ranma's trained ears detected footsteps coming downstairs. A few moments later, he finally caught sight of the one he had been searching for. 'Blonde hair with brown spots, pointy ears, same eyes as mom when she's in her hybrid form...yep, that'd be her now.'
Sitting down next to her sisters, Britanny got her first look at the mysterious visitor. Her eyes widened when she caught his scent, and she couldn't seem to make her voice work. 'He smells like...can it be true? I'm not the last one?'
Noting the arrival of his third daughter, Theo cleared his throat and cast a wary eye toward Ranma. "Now then young man...I believe you owe us an explanation?"
Squirming uncomfortably for a moment, Ranma rose to his feet and began to speak, somewhat hesitantly. "Well um, you see, my mom told me to come all the way over here and find her."
Following the pigtailed boy's pointed look toward Britanny, Julia relaxed just a hair. As a mother herself, she felt just a bit comforted by that fact. Then again, she still wasn't letting her guard down. "You said you were from Japan, right?"
At Ranma's quick nod she continued, "That's a long way to go to find one person. So...just what IS your business with my daughter?"
Everyone else in the room except Britanny, who was still shocked into silence, tensed up as the former Saotome took a deep breath and shifted slightly. They were ready for any kind of attack, be it magical, physical, or technological. What they weren't ready for was their guest suddenly beginning to strip.
Ignoring the whistle of appreciation that came from...somewhere, Ranma quickly removed his favorite silk shirt, revealing the muscle shirt underneath it. He didn't have to worry about his pants- his mother had planned ahead and gotten him some new, oversized ones for when he might need to change to his hybrid form. Taking another calming breath, he began to speak again, this time in a much steadier voice. "The reason why my mom wanted me to find her is because...er, I'm not quite sure. I guess she was curious about her. She'll be coming here personally in a few weeks. As for why she would be so excited about finding Britanny here...well, you're not the only werecheetah left," he finished lamely.
'I never was any good at making speeches...oh, well, here goes nothing.'
Before anyone could get over their surprise and question him further, Ranma shifted to his hybrid form in all its glory. He grimaced lightly when the muscle shirt tore apart and fell away in pieces, but quickly plastered a nervous smile over it.
The pigtailed werecheetah was met with stunned silence, causing him to sweat lightly underneath his fur. Glancing toward Britanny, he noticed that she had finally snapped back to reality. For some reason he couldn't understand, the feeling of impending doom returned with a vengeance at that exact moment.
Looking up at last, Britanny locked eyes with the other werecheetah. 'I'm not the last one! It really is true! He really is a werecheetah...a good looking werecheetah...very good looking...'
Ranma was progressively feeling more and more nervous as he watched the cute girl before him. 'Wait, cute? Arrgh, this really isn't the time for thinking like that...even if it is true.'
He blinked in puzzlement as the other werecheetah stood up and shifted to her hybrid form, filling out her loose clothes immediately. The entire time she never broke eye contact. Ranma gulped audibly, fearing for the worst. 'Oh come on, not again! The Gods couldn't have it out for me THAT badly...right?'
Somewhere in Heaven, a booming yet musical voice laughed maniacally.
The pigtailed werecheetah's worst fears were realized when Britanny began to slowly step toward him, a dreamy and far-off look on her face complimented by a goofy grin. 'Ack! Time to get out of here!'
"Well, it was nice meeting you all but I need to return to my room at the motel, I'llbesureandkeepintouchthanksforthehospitalityseeyagoodbye!"
The Diggers family blinked in unison as Ranma turned and walked swiftly toward the door. Unfortunately, his emergency escape route, er dignified exit was cut off by a spotted blur. "A motel? Why don't you just stay here, we have plenty of room!"
"Er, you see, I really don't think that's such a good-"
Julia chose that moment to speak up. "I think that's a great idea. You can stay here until your mother arrives."
"But, I uh, wouldn't want to impose. I mooched off the Tendo's long enough, I'd hate to-"
Sensing her elusive quarry about to make a break for it, Britanny made her move.
Ranma nearly jumped out of his skin when the spotted blur suddenly molded itself to his left arm and began dragging him upstairs. "You only have so much money, right? What if your mom is delayed and you run out? Then where will you go, hmm?"
Stumbling for words, the pigtailed werecat hung his head in defeat and replied, "Um...I guess you have a point there..."
Grinning like a cat that had caught a canary (consequently making Ranma shudder), Britanny continued, "Of course I do! Come on, I'll show you to your new room. Don't worry, we're going to take good care of you. Ehehehe."
Barely suppressing a whimper, Ranma allowed the older werecheetah to pull him along. 'How...how do I always end up in these situations! Maybe I have another curse I'm not aware of? At least I don't have to worry about being bored around here, things seem very...interesting.'
Glancing toward the catgirl clinging to his arm and smirking at himvictoriously, he reconsidered his decision to stay. 'I think I'd like to retire now...'
AN: There, finally. Another chapter. Maybe not the best, but it'll do. Where's Waldo, er Strype? You'll find out next chapter! Thank you for all the reviews, and especially the advice. I think it really is helping me improve, so please continue. Lord, a reference website just for Ranma/GD crossovers would be so useful. Um...there was some other stuff I wanted to say, but I forgot...again. Oh, right. I write things that I'd like to read. That might narrow it down considerably, but eh...I'd lose my mind trying to write something I wasn't into. I'm sure you can understand. Uh yeah, I occasionally respond to stuff in the reviews, so you should read 'em sometimes. Ah...well, I'm tired, so that's all for now. G'bye!
