Chapter 4 -- P-chans Fate

Disclaimer: See previous disclaimer.

Author's Note: I would like to thank Koala Kitty for prereading this and helping me find problems. Her stories on on as well. As allways the mistakes remaining are my own.

P-chan was thanking the heavens that they had once again delivered him into his angels arms as he walked into the darkened room. He thought that perhaps something was odd, but he was tired and wanted to rest. He hopped up on a chair and then to the bed and started walking up the mass of covers.

Neko was having this cool kitty dream about a ball of yarn, when somehow he sensed an enemy approach. This caused Neko to wake up grumpy and poke his head out from under the covers. Yep, definitely an enemy. Neko yawned in annoyance and crawled out of the covers.

P-chan was stunned. Since when did Akane get a pet? How could she replace him? His little piggy heart was breaking. He glowed darkly with his depression until his piggy brain came to the only logical conclusion. Ranma must have given it to her to spite him. It was all Ranma's fault then. Well his little kitty would pay. A more rational observer might point out that Ranma would never ever give a cat as a gift but rationality and P-chan were often strangers.

Nabiki had awakened at this point and was trying to assess the situation. Ranma check. P-chan? What's P-chan doing here?

P-chan bweed and tried to head but his eternal rival's pet to nock him out of the bed. This was most definitely a mistake since this was not an ordinary housepet. Neko glowed softly blue before he raked his claws across the side of P-chan's face tossing him across the room into the wall. Nabiki got up to look at the pig. Oddly enough while there were deep scratches there they were only scratches. Nabiki was half expecting the pig to be cut in two.

Neko walked up to his unconscious foe and sniffed a bit. Seemingly satisfied Neko hopped back up on the bed and looked at Nabiki with a curious expression.

Nabiki turned to the cat and said quietly, "I'll be back soon Ranma. I need to treat P-chan's cuts first."

Neko meowed as if in protest and then curled up in the warmest spot in the exact middle of the bed and tried to go back to sleep.

Nabiki carried the unconscious pig into the bathroom. Why Akane loved this thing she would never know. She turned on the hot water and held a clean washcloth in the water stream until it was warm. She then wrung out the excess and gently applied them to P-chan's face where the scratches were. Suddenly she was pushed against the wall with a naked Ryoga on top of her? What the heck? Her calm exterior shattered for a second as she shoved him off herself. Even in that split second of rage she remembered not to hit him, as she had no desire to damage her hands. It took Nabiki about two seconds to figure out the truth. It was clear Ranma knew, and it was equally clear that he wanted people to know but couldn't say directly for some reason. She wondered who else knew. She would have to find out although her father and the panda were high on her list of suspects.

She glanced over at him and noted that he was still out cold. She had to admit he wasn't bad to look at if you happen to go for the stupid obsessed types. Still waste not, want not. She took several pictures after draping a towel across his middle. Then she poured a little cold water on him carefully so as not to wake him. Now where was that waterproof soap? Ah there it was. She mixed a little with some water and poured it over the little pig. She supposed she should have actually washed him for best results but didn't want to. Yep the pig is still out cold. Ranma-neko must hit rather hard or perhaps its just a manifestation of the nekoken. She glanced at the back of the Jusenkyo product and read the label, "Product is most effective if used on a person with a normal Jusenkyo curse while in their cursed form. In this case protection may last weeks." A very predatory grin came to her face. Perfect, this will give me enough time to think of a better punishment for the pig. At first she thought to just throw the pig out, but as she continued to ponder a much better idea came to mind. She made a phone call to Kinra. She lived alone and was usually up this time of night. Besides she owed Nabiki.

"Kinra, I've got a job for you. I want you to deliver a package for me."

"At this time of night?"

"No you can wait to deliver it till morning if you want, but I need you to pick it up now."

"Ok, I'll be right there."

She glanced at the pig again. She figured Ryoga would be waking up soon. Mustn't let him escape his punishment. That just wouldn't do. She quietly opened the storage closet and looked around the top in the corner. Ah there it was, an old metal pet cage just big enough for a small pet like a pig. She also grabbed a piece of pink ribbon she found. She tied a cute little bow tie around him and then quickly placed the pig inside and placed a padlock on the cage.

Next she went back to her room and typed out some care and handling instructions. Severe allergy to hot water. Rare species so care should be taken to select an appropriate piggy mate for him soon. Oh ya, and the special soap must be used to bath him every couple weeks to protect his skin from the pollution in the atmosphere. Yes, that should do it.

Nabiki heard Kinra arrive and soon enough Ryoga was on his way to his new home. She would have to have Kinra check on Asuza to make sure Ryoga was properly settling in and to protect Asuza in the off chance Ryoga was worse than she thought. Still she found it very unlikely that Ryoga would enjoy one minute there. Come to think of it, one of her assistants already sold Mikado a small female pig to give to Asuza so she would shut up about Charlotte after that ice skating mess. Perhaps she would teach the baka how to skate later. Once again she briefly wondered if passing Ranma to her little sister was a mistake. Ah well, whats done is done. Still, if the fiancee mess could be solved and she could manage to grind off a few rough edges. Yes it was something to think about since its not as if his relationship with her sister seemed likely to ever amount to anything.

At times she seemed to like the pig more than her fiancee. She smiled at that. Yes Ryoga was definitely in for a rude awakening. Who would have ever thought that such a cute harmless girl would install an electric fence and use shock collars to insure none of her pets escape err got hurt outside. She had gotten a nice bonus for being able to get Asuza to buy such an expensive system.

Nabiki yawned. She had much to do tomorrow, not the least of which was to begin finding out who all knew about the pig preferably without letting anyone know that she knew until she was ready. There was a reason people feared Nabiki Tendo and it seemed likely that some people needed to be reminded. She knew she would never forget her last words, her last promise to her mother. She thought of Akane and briefly wondered if she knew and pretended otherwise. She had certainly had a lot more chances of finding out than most. She closed her bedroom door behind her. A small grin was on her face as if she thought of something clever as she turned towards her bed and saw Neko her face grew a small yet true smile. "You just had to flop in the middle of the bed didn't you? I wonder if you will be this inconsiderate to whoever you marry." She sighed and tried to carefully move Neko, but her hands were batted away without Neko even waking up. She grumbled and grabbed one of the pillows and a couple spare blankets from the closet. After locking the door she folded a cover so as to provide some padding and tried to fall asleep on the floor.

It wasn't working, despite appearances the Ryoga thing had thrown her equilibrium. He had to be punished and she could think of few fates worse on short notice. No it wasn't Ryoga's punishment that worried her. Yet it reminded her of some of the pivotal decisions of the past. Why the heck did she ever fall for the blue blunder? And that crap where she fed his obsession for his sister as some twisted way to address her own hurt. Yes the family needed the money. It needed it badly, but there should have been some other way. She could have ended those morning challenges within a day. Kuno was so pathetically easy to manipulate that one of her leutenants could have even done it. She knew Akane had gotten so much worse after that, but she still couldn't understand what motivated her younger sibling.

In the bed above a black cat had yawned slightly and was looking down at his pillow as if wondering what it was doing down there.

She quietly said, "Oh Ranma, I want my family back yet they just seem to drift farther and farther away."

The cat jumped down and butted his head into Nabiki's face and purred as Nabiki began to pet. Before she fell asleep she said softly, "Goodnight again Ranma. Oh and don't think I'll forget you making me sleep on the floor." Her voice was more playful than anything, since she could have moved from the floor, but she didn't want to wake Neko again." Neko continued to pur softly in his sleep.

Ranma woke up and yawned from his usual futon in the guest room. That was odd. I woke up normally. I never wake up normally. It's always water or a kick or occasionally a mallet. He stumbled into the kitchen. Odd there was no food being made. Come to think of it he didn't see anyone.

Oh well he was hungry so it was time to exercise those skills in martial arts cooking that he had learned awhile back for the odd challange. Soon enough he had a very nice looking breakfast that even tasted pretty good. It wasn't up to Kasumi's standards, but then Ranma had no desire to try to out do Kasumi in her own art.

Weird, at the very least he expected the panda to come try to steal his food.

He looked around outside and didn't see anyone, just the ordinary city. Ranma was beginning to wonder if he was dreaming, yet pinching himself revealed that he was awake. "Helloooooo. Is anyone around?"

No response. Well it was time for school soon.

She saw the school clock and realized that she was already late. Wait a second I'm a girl? When did this happen. I didn't get splashed, did I? Ranma felt her clothes. Yep everythings dry. In a panic she ran to the boys bathroom and splashed hot water on her face. Reassured that he was no longer top heavy he toweled off and ran to class only to find it empty.

Ranma announced quietly, "Well the world has officially gotten even wierder."

Ranma opened a window and jumped out. He then proceeded to roof hop through and around Nerima, but no matter where he went he found nothing, that is until he began to cover the same areas again. The school window he had opened was closed again. A bowl he had saw on the counter earlier at Ucchan's was no longer there. A trash can was in a different position from where it was earlier. It made no sense. He would have sensed any people unless they had Cologne or Dr. Tofu's skill at hiding. Also for some reason he couldn't understand he felt that Akane was in danger, and the feeling was growing stronger with time.

Ranma went to his spot under the bridge and did something he rarely had time to do. He sat down to think and try to figure out just what was going on. If Akane was in danger he had to help, but for the life of him he had no idea how since he had no idea where she was.

Outside the Tendo dojo Cologne looked through windows to try to figure just what was going on. She had suppressed her aura to such an extent that she doubted anyone but Happosai could have sensed her, and then only if he was actively trying. No p-chan in Akane's bed. Well he did get lost a great deal, so thats no great concern. Her aura still showed signs of Shampoo's meddling along with son-in-law's clumsy attempt to fix it. In truth she was tempted to repair the damage, but no like this she was not much of an obstacle in snagging son-in-law. If she were to become that obstacle then she might very well have to die. Cologne was, after all, ultimately responsible for enforcing Joketsuzoku law. No Akane would wait until son-in-law had done his duty or was dead. Well there was one other door that the events at phoenix mountain had opened for him, but only the elders knew of it and the law said very clearly how that must go. Given how he was raised, that solution seemed unlikely at best.

Of a much greater concern was her great granddaughter. She was a great disappointment and a fool. She very much feared that she would be called upon soon to banish her own daughter. She prayed it would not come to that, for her daughter's failure would fall upon herself and there would be no way left for her to regain her honor. Genma often complained how the gods could curse him with such an incompetent son. She wished she was half as lucky as the fat fool. True Ranma's upbringing had severely hurt his ability in situations other than martial arts, but that could be fixed. Her own daughter had the benefit of an excellent upbringing, yet she let baseless pride fool her into believing she was worth something just because she was better than her peers at the art. The entire younger generation of Joketsuzoku warriors were a joke in her book, and what was really unforgivable was her daughter had not learned how to think. A woman's greatest weapon was her mind and yet her method of attack was little more than See Ranma, glomp Ranma and ask for a wedding. At times she acted as badly as that brainless idiot of son-in-law's father, and Soun Tendo. What a discrace her heir acted as stupid as a man.

She moved to Nabiki Tendo's window. She looked in and saw a black cat's head peaking out from the covers. How very odd. Well it had a cat's aura so it wasn't another Jusenkyo curse at least. She looked again at Nabiki Tendo and studied her deeply with her aura sight. If she had to wish for an heir Nabiki Tendo was almost perfect. The only pity was she had not kept up in the art, but then again her aura did indicate skill that she must keep carefully hidden. It wasn't up to Shampoo's level, but the very fact of how well she hid it spoke well of her. It was a pity the Xi Fang Xiang Gao Shiatsu technique wouldn't work for long on her. Too little and the changes would be resisted by her sharp mind, and too much and she would be as useless as the younger Tendo.

She glanced at the eldest Tendo daughter and sighed once again. Born with much potential but squandered playing the dutiful Japanese mother because of her weak father. The fathers did not interest her at all, other than the reoccuring temptation to kill them for their crimes against their respective family. It was true that the Josetsuzuko respected women more than men, but a man that weak to let his daughter's take care of him would be hated and reviled. As for Genma there was a death sentence on the books for the Nekoken alone. If Ranma had been an Amazon when it occurred she would have killed him by now.

She grimaced. There was nothing to be learned here tonight other than the fact that son-in-law wasn't there, yet she still felt his touch on the weave of the pattern in this town. It was most frustrating.

She returned to her room and locked the bag of catnip laced with sleeping drugs back into her cabinet. Josetsuzuko law forbid the use of some of the more extreme methods, but if son-in-law were really trapped in the nekoken then she could justify using some of them. An out of control nekoken student was flatly unacceptable at any cost and if when keeping him controlled for his and everyone else's safety a few dozen promising Josetsuzuko warriors happen to conceive a child, well no one would really complain too loudly.

That was her real hope that Shampoo would at least manage to trip him up long enough to conceive a child. She had long ago done the small magics on them both to insure it would be a girl child. That girl child was her true hope for an heir. Then again it was as likely that any child conceived would take after Shampoo leaving her back at square one. Perhaps son-in-law's condition was truly a blessing in disguise, since it gave her that somewhat distasteful option to achieve her goals without having to rely on Shampoo. Now she just had to find him.

Happosai may have been as skilled as the old ghoul, but he was far easier to distract. There were lingerie modelling shows in America and he was on a mission. A mission so dear to his heart that he was on a fifty state tour. Thanks to the wonderful thing called the internet he was never at a loss of where to go next.

He sat in his hotel room and began to go through his pretties. "Sweeto. Oh my dear Ranma-chan will love this one." He sighed when he realized that he would soon have nowhere left to store his pretties. Well things were getting too easy here, so perhaps it was time to check on his heir.

Author's Notes:

I actually thought I'd get further plot wise than I did in the chapter, but such is life. Part of the idea for Cologne came from Innortal's comment, but it has changed and evolved a bit as I wrote this. I went ahead and read through the previous chapters again doing some minor edits, but nothing to justify a reread in of itself. One cautionary warning is I have only general ideas where I'm going and have not plotted this out in detail so if people ask me will it be RaAk or RaNa well I really don't know. I don't even promise a happy ending. Time will tell although I think this is a little better approach, at least for now, than trying to force the story too much to a specific outcome. If nothing else one learns by experience. Feel free to make story suggestions.

Once again thanks for the reviews. This chapter is written in thanks. If people really don't want to create an account, but do want to comment on a chapter to me, then feel free to find my email address. It's on my out of date web page. I think I'll stick with my decision not to allow anonymous reviews though. Yes I realise I'll get perhaps half as many as I might otherwise, but I'd rather have a name of some kind attached to a review, be it good or bad.

One persons review claimed that I was arrogant and obnoxious for not allowing anonymous reviews yet saying I needed more than a couple to justify continuing working on this. While I will admit my previous use of the word "bothered" was perhaps a poor choice, I do not think the creation of an account is that hard and web browsers tend to store passwords if you let them these days and there is always email. (There are also features that help non author's keep track of their favorite stories and such if they have an account.) Even without anonymous reviews, if a story is truly interesting and grabbing peoples attention there will normally be more than a couple signed reviews a chapter. If there isn't, then it probably means I'm not doing so hot with that story and perhaps my time would be better spent on another story or something, or at least thats the assumption I would make.

I do hope that if the person who used those terms wishes to review in future he or she consider the fact that the reviews are really supposed to help me improve my writing and let me know how I'm doing on my writing. In that respect email would have been a more appropriate venue to express their concerns.

If anyone sees mistakes and wants to put it in an email or review I'll try to fix it eventually.